[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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