[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 86 (Friday, May 3, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 18989-18991]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-09110]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R05-OAR-2018-0569; FRL-9993-25-Region 5]


Air Plan Approval; Wisconsin; Nonattainment New Source Review 
Requirements for the 2008 8-Hour Ozone Standard

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving, as a 
State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision, Wisconsin's certification 
that its SIP satisfies the nonattainment new source review (NNSR) 
requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the 2008 ozone National 
Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). The State's submittal is in 
response to EPA's February 3 and December 11, 2017, Findings of Failure 
to Submit (FFS) final rule, which found that Wisconsin failed to 
satisfy CAA requirements for implementation of the 2008 ozone NAAQS in 
nonattainment areas.

DATES: This final rule is effective on June 3, 2019.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID 
No. EPA-R05-OAR-2018-0569. 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 (CBI) 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 
through www.regulations.gov or at the Environmental Protection Agency, 
Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 
Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. We recommend 
that you telephone Rachel Rineheart, Environmental Engineer, at (312) 
886-7017 before visiting the Region 5 office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rachel Rineheart, Environmental 
Engineer, Air Permits Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 
Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-7017, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information 
section is arranged as follows:

I. Background
II. What action is EPA taking?
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

A. Background on the 2008 Ozone Standard

    On March 27, 2008, EPA promulgated a revised 8-hour ozone NAAQS of 
0.075 parts per million (ppm).\1\ Promulgation of a revised NAAQS 
triggers a requirement for EPA to designate areas of the country as 
nonattainment, attainment, or unclassifiable for the standard. For the 
ozone NAAQS, this also involves classifying any nonattainment areas at 
the time of designation.\2\ Ozone nonattainment areas are classified 
based on the severity of their ozone levels (as determined based on the 
area's ``design value,'' which represents air quality in the area for 
the most recent 3 years). The classifications for ozone nonattainment 
areas are marginal, moderate, serious, severe, and extreme.\3\
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    \1\ 73 FR 16436.
    \2\ CAA sections 107(d)(1) and 181(a)(1).
    \3\ CAA section 181(a)(1).
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    Areas that EPA designates nonattainment for the ozone NAAQS are 
subject to the general nonattainment area planning requirements of CAA 
section 172 and also to the ozone-specific planning requirements of CAA 
section 182. Ozone nonattainment areas in the lower classification 
levels have fewer and/or less stringent mandatory air quality planning 
and control requirements than those in higher classifications. For 
marginal areas, a state is required to submit a baseline emissions 
inventory, adopt provisions into the SIP requiring emissions statements 
from stationary sources, and implement a NNSR program for the relevant 
ozone NAAQS.\4\ For moderate areas, a state needs to comply with the 
marginal area requirements, plus additional moderate area requirements, 
including the requirement to submit a modeled demonstration that the 
area will attain the NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable but no later 
than 6 years after designation, the requirement to submit a reasonable 
further progress (RFP) plan, the requirement to adopt and implement 
certain emissions controls, such as Reasonably Available Control 
Technology and Vehicle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance, and the 
requirement for greater emissions offsets for new or modified major 
stationary sources under the state's NNSR program.\5\
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    \4\ CAA section 182(a).
    \5\ CAA section 182(b).

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[[Page 18990]]

B. Background on the Wisconsin Ozone Nonattainment Areas

    On June 11, 2012,\6\ EPA designated the Chicago area as a marginal 
nonattainment area for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. The Chicago area includes 
Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties and part of Grundy 
and Kendall Counties in Illinois; Lake and Porter Counties in Indiana; 
and part of Kenosha County in Wisconsin. On May 4, 2016,\7\ pursuant to 
section 181(b)(2) of the CAA, EPA determined that the Chicago area 
failed to attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS by the July 20, 2015 marginal 
area attainment deadline and thus reclassified the area from marginal 
to moderate nonattainment. In that action, EPA established January 1, 
2017, as the due date for all moderate area nonattainment plan SIP 
requirements applicable to newly reclassified areas. Pleasant Prairie 
and Somers townships in Kenosha County are part of the Chicago area 
nonattainment area. The remainder of Kenosha County is designated as 
unclassifiable/attainment.
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    \6\ 77 FR 34221, effective July 20, 2012.
    \7\ 81 FR 26697.
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    On May 21, 2012,\8\ EPA designated Sheboygan County in Wisconsin as 
a marginal nonattainment area for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. On December 19, 
2016,\9\ pursuant to section 181(b) of the CAA, EPA determined that 
Sheboygan County failed to attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS by the July 20, 
2016 marginal area attainment deadline and thus reclassified the area 
from marginal to moderate nonattainment. In that action, EPA 
established January 1, 2017, as the due date for all moderate area 
nonattainment plan SIP requirements applicable to newly reclassified 
areas. Effective March 6, 2017, EPA found that 15 states and the 
District of Columbia failed to submit SIP revisions in a timely manner 
to satisfy certain requirements for the 2008 ozone NAAQS.\10\ This 
finding established certain deadlines for the imposition of sanctions 
if a state does not submit a timely SIP revision addressing the 
requirements for which the finding was made and for EPA to promulgate a 
Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) to address any outstanding SIP 
requirements. As part of that action, EPA made a finding that Wisconsin 
failed to submit a marginal NNSR SIP for the Wisconsin portion of the 
Chicago area and for Sheboygan County.
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    \8\ 77 FR 30088 (May 21,2012).
    \9\ 81 FR 91841 (December 19, 2016).
    \10\ 82 FR 9158 (February 3, 2017).
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C. Wisconsin's Submittal

    On July 19, 2018, Wisconsin submitted a SIP revision requesting EPA 
approve Wisconsin's certification that its existing SIP-approved NNSR 
regulations fully satisfy the NNSR requirements set forth in 40 CFR 
51.165 for both marginal and moderate ozone nonattainment areas for the 
2008 ozone NAAQS. EPA proposed to approve Wisconsin's certification on 
February 12, 2019, with a comment period ending on March 14, 2019 (84 
FR 3376). No comments were received during the comment period.

II. What action is EPA taking?

    EPA is approving Wisconsin's July 18, 2018, SIP revision addressing 
the NNSR requirements for the 2008 ozone NAAQS for the Wisconsin 
portion of the Chicago Nonattainment Area and for Sheboygan County. EPA 
has concluded that Wisconsin's submission fulfills the 40 CFR 51.1114 
revision requirement, meets the requirements of CAA sections 110 and 
172 and the minimum SIP requirements of 40 CFR 51.165. Approval of the 
NNSR requirements addresses EPA's finding that Wisconsin failed to 
submit moderate ozone NNSR requirements and EPA's approval turns off 
the sanctions and FIP clock.

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA and applicable 
Federal regulations. 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. Accordingly, 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 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 (Public Law 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).
    In addition, 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 and will not impose 
substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
    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 July 2, 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

[[Page 18991]]

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, Ozone, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: April 24, 2019.
Cheryl L. Newton,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.

    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.


0
2. Section 52.2585 is amended by adding paragraph (hh) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.2585  Control strategy: Ozone.

* * * * *
    (hh) Approval--On July 19, 2018, Wisconsin submitted a SIP revision 
certifying that the existing SIP-approved nonattainment new source 
review regulations fully satisfy the nonattainment new source review 
requirements for marginal and moderate ozone nonattainment areas for 
the 2008 ozone NAAQS.

[FR Doc. 2019-09110 Filed 5-2-19; 8:45 am]
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