[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 31 (Thursday, February 14, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 3991-3993]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-02211]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2018-0531; FRL-9989-38-Region 4]


Air Plan Approval; North Carolina; Ozone NAAQS Update

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of North 
Carolina through the North Carolina Division of Air Quality (NCDAQ) 
with a letter dated March 21, 2018. The SIP submittal includes changes 
to the State's air quality rules for ozone to be consistent with the 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). EPA is approving these 
provisions of the SIP revision because the State has demonstrated that 
these changes are consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and 
federal regulations.

DATES: This rule is effective March 18, 2019.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2018-0531. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the 
index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., Confidential 
Business Information or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted 
material, is not placed on the internet and will be publicly available 
only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are 
available either electronically through www.regulations.gov or in hard 
copy at the Air Regulatory Management Section, Air Planning and 
Implementation Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW, 
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. EPA requests that if at all possible, you 
contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's official 
hours of business are Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
excluding Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tiereny Bell, Air Regulatory 
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air, 
Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 
30303-8960. The telephone number is (404) 562-9088. Ms. Bell can also 
be reached via electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Sections 108 and 109 of the CAA govern the establishment, review, 
and revision, as appropriate, of the NAAQS to protect public health and 
welfare. The CAA requires periodic review of the air quality criteria--
the science upon which the standards are based--and the standards 
themselves. EPA's regulatory provisions that govern the NAAQS are found 
at 40 CFR 50--National Primary and Secondary Ambient Air Quality 
Standards. In this rulemaking, EPA is approving revisions to the North 
Carolina air quality rules addressing Rule 15A NCAC 02D .0405, Ozone, 
in the North Carolina SIP.\1\ EPA notes that the cover letter was dated 
March 21, 2018.\2\ Under Subchapter 2D, Section .0405 is amended by 
updating air quality standards to reflect the most recent ozone NAAQS 
as well as making textual modifications in the following manner: 
Removing 0.075 parts per million (ppm) and replacing it with 0.070 ppm; 
deleting ``8-hour'' and replacing it with ``eight-hour''; deleting the 
word ``is'' and replacing it with ``shall be'' and later ``shall be 
deemed''; and deleting Appendix P, which referenced the 2008 Ozone 
Standard, and replacing it with Appendix U, which references the 2015 
Ozone Standard. The SIP submission amending

[[Page 3992]]

the North Carolina regulations to incorporate the most recent ozone 
NAAQS can be found in the docket for this rulemaking at 
www.regulations.gov.
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    \1\ In the table of North Carolina regulations federally-
approved into the SIP at 40 CFR 52.1770(c), 15A NCAC 02D is referred 
to as ``Subchapter 2D Air Pollution Control Requirements.''
    \2\ The submittal was received on April 4, 2018.
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    In a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published on October 1, 
2018, (83 FR 49330), EPA proposed to approve revisions to the North 
Carolina air quality rules addressing Section .0405, Ozone, in the 
North Carolina SIP. Comments on the NPRM were due on or before October 
31, 2018. EPA received no adverse comments on the proposed action. EPA 
is now taking final action to approve the above-referenced revision.

II. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of North 
Carolina's NCDAQ Rule under Subchapter 2D, Section .0405, Ozone, state 
effective January 1, 2018, which revises the ozone standard to be 
consistent with the 2015 ozone NAAQS. EPA has made, and will continue 
to make, these materials generally available through 
www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region 4 Office (please contact the 
person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this preamble for more information). Therefore, these materials have 
been approved by EPA for inclusion in the State implementation plan, 
have been incorporated by reference by EPA into that plan, are fully 
federally enforceable under sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the 
effective date of the final rulemaking of EPA's approval, and will be 
incorporated by reference in the next update to the SIP compilation.\3\
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    \3\ See 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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III. Final Action

    EPA is taking final action and approving the State of North 
Carolina's March 21, 2018, SIP submission identified in section I 
above, because these changes are consistent with the CAA and federal 
regulations.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and applicable 
Federal regulations. See 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in 
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. This action merely 
approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and does not impose 
additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. For that 
reason, this final action:
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to review 
by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders 12866 (58 
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
     Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2, 
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted under 
Executive Order 12866;
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Is certified as not having a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
     Does not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent 
with the CAA; and
     Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to 
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental 
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under 
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
    The SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian reservation land or 
in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has demonstrated that a 
tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian country, the rule does 
not have tribal implications as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 
FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor will it impose substantial direct 
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally 
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating 
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, 
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the 
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this action and 
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior 
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot 
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal 
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by April 15, 2019. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect 
the finality of this action for the purposes of judicial review nor 
does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may 
be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or 
action. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to 
enforce its requirements. See section 307(b)(2).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: December 21, 2018.
Mary S. Walker,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Subpart II--North Carolina

0
2. In Sec.  52.1770, in the table in paragraph (c)(1), revise the entry 
for ``Section .0405'' under Subchapter 2D, Section .0400, to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.1770  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

[[Page 3993]]



                                   (1) EPA-Approved North Carolina Regulations
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                                                            State
          State citation               Title/subject      effective     EPA approval date        Explanation
                                                             date
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                                Subchapter 2D Air Pollution Control Requirements
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                                   Section .0400 Ambient Air Quality Standards
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Section .0405....................  Ozone...............     1/1/2018  2/14/2019, [Insert    ....................
                                                                       citation of
                                                                       publication in
                                                                       Federal Register].
 
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[FR Doc. 2019-02211 Filed 2-13-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P