[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 13, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 8986-8987]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-04547]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 81
[EPA-R06-OAR-2018-0624; FRL-9990-00-Region 6]
Air Quality Designation for the 2010 Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Primary
National Ambient Air Quality Standard; Arkansas; Redesignation of the
Independence County Area
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: On April 20, 2018, the State of Arkansas, through the Arkansas
Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) submitted a request for the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assess new available
information and redesignate the Independence County unclassifiable area
(hereinafter referred to as the ``County'' or ``Area'') for the 2010
sulfur dioxide (SO2) primary national ambient air quality
standard (NAAQS) to attainment/unclassifiable. Pursuant to the Clean
Air Act (CAA), the EPA is approving the State's request and
redesignating the Area to attainment/unclassifiable for the 2010
primary SO2 NAAQS based on EPA's review confirming that the
State's modeling results appropriately characterize the air quality in
Independence County, Arkansas and that predicted ambient SO2
concentrations are below this NAAQS.
DATES: This rule is effective April 12, 2019.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
No. EPA-R06-OAR-2018-0624. All documents listed in the docket are
listed on the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in
the index, some information may not be 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 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, 1445 Ross
Avenue, Dallas, TX 75202. 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: Mr. Ruben Casso, (214) 665-6763,
[email protected]. To inspect the hard copy materials, please
schedule an appointment with Mr. Casso.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' or
``our'' means the EPA.
I. Background
In a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published on November 23,
2018 (83 FR 59350) \1\ EPA proposed to approve the State's
redesignation request. The details of Arkansas' submittal and the
rationale for EPA's actions are further explained in the NPRM. EPA did
not receive any relevant adverse comments on the proposed action.\2\
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\1\ Proposed AR SO2 redesignation can be found at
www.regulations.gov; Docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2014-0464).
\2\ ADEQ submitted a letter supportive of EPA's proposed
redesignation which can be found at www.regulations.gov/document
Docket EPA-R06-OAR-2018-0624-0028. An anonymous comment regarding
the writing in support of the Roadless Area Conservation; National
Forest System Lands in Alaska was not relevant to this action. This
comment can be found at www.regulations.gov Docket EPA-R06-OAR-2018-
0624-0027.
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As noted in our NPRM, on April 20, 2018, Arkansas submitted a
request to change the EPA's previous designation and redesignate
Independence County from unclassifiable to attainment/unclassifiable
for the 2010 SO2 primary NAAQS. The EPA has reviewed the
modeling provided by the State with its redesignation request and finds
that it is acceptable for assessing the attainment status of
Independence County, and that predicted ambient SO2
concentrations are below the 2010 SO2 primary NAAQS of 196.4
[mu]g/m3, or 75 ppb.
II. Final Action
The EPA is approving Arkansas' April 20, 2018, request to change
the EPA's previous designation and redesignate Independence County from
unclassifiable to attainment/unclassifiable for the 2010 SO2
primary NAAQS.
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the CAA, redesignation of an area to attainment/
unclassifiable is an
[[Page 8987]]
action that affects the status of a geographical area and does not
impose any additional regulatory requirements on sources beyond those
imposed by state law. A redesignation to attainment/unclassifiable does
not in and of itself create any new requirements. Accordingly, this
action merely redesignates an area to attainment/unclassifiable and
does not impose additional requirements. For that reason, this action:
Is exempt from 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 it is exempt 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 not subject to 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 (Public Law 104-4);
Is not subject because it does not have federalism
implications as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August
10, 1999);
Is not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885,
April 23, 1997) because it does not establish an environmental standard
intended to mitigate health or safety risks;
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 this action does not involve technical standards;
Will not have disproportionate human health or
environmental effects under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February
16, 1994); and
Does not have Tribal implications as specified by
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000) because no tribal
lands are located within the Area and the redesignation does not create
new requirements. The EPA notes this action will not 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 May 13, 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 81
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks,
Wilderness areas.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: March 7, 2019.
Anne Idsal,
Regional Administrator, Region 6.
40 CFR part 81 is amended as follows:
PART 81--DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES
0
1. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401, et seq.
0
2. In Sec. 81.304, the table entitled ``Arkansas-2010 Sulfur Dioxide
NAAQS (Primary)'' is amended by revising the entry for ``Independence
County'' to read as follows:
Sec. 81.304 Arkansas.
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ARKANSAS-2010 SULFUR DIOXIDE NAAQS (PRIMARY)
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Designation
Designated area \1\ ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Date \2\ Type
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Independence County....................... April 12, 2019 Attainment/Unclassifiable.
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\1\ Includes any Indian country in each county or area, unless otherwise specified. EPA is not determining the
boundaries of any area of Indian country in this table, including any area of Indian country located in the
larger designation area. The inclusion of any Indian country in the designation area is not a determination
that the state has regulatory authority under the Clean Air Act for such Indian country.
\2\ This date is April 9, 2018, unless otherwise noted.
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[FR Doc. 2019-04547 Filed 3-12-19; 8:45 am]
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