[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 87 (Monday, May 6, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 19750-19752]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-09143]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R06-OAR-2018-0555; FRL-9992-89-Region 6]


Air Plan Approval; Texas; Revisions to Public Notice for Air 
Quality Permit Applications

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act), the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing one revision to the 
Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted on July 9, 2018 to 
revise the public notice provisions for certain air quality permit 
applications. The EPA is also proposing ministerial changes to the Code 
of Federal Regulations (CFR) to reflect recent EPA SIP approvals to the 
Texas SIP for public notice provisions for air quality permit 
applications.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before June 5, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket No. EPA-R06-OAR-
2018-0555, at https://www.regulations.gov or via email to 
[email protected]. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from 
Regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any comment received to its public 
docket. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, 
video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. The written 
comment is considered the official comment and should include 
discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will generally not 
consider comments or comment contents located outside of the primary 
submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). For 
additional submission methods, please contact Elizabeth Layton, 214-
665-2136, [email protected]. For the full EPA public comment 
policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general 
guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
    Docket: The index to the docket for this action is available 
electronically at www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at the EPA 
Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas. While all 
documents in the docket are listed in the index, some information may 
be publicly available only at the hard copy location (e.g., copyrighted 
material), and some may not be publicly available at either location 
(e.g., CBI).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Layton, Air Permits Section, 
EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, TX 75202, 214-665-
2136, [email protected]. To inspect the hard copy materials, 
please schedule an appointment with Ms. Elizabeth Layton or Mr. Bill 
Deese at 214-665-7253.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document wherever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean the EPA.

I. Background

    Section 110(a)(2)(C) of the CAA requires states to develop and 
submit to the EPA for approval into the SIP, preconstruction review and 
permitting programs applicable to certain new and modified stationary 
sources of air pollutants for attainment and nonattainment areas that 
cover both major and minor new sources and modifications, collectively 
referred to as the NSR SIP. The CAA NSR SIP program is composed of 
three separate programs: Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD), 
Nonattainment New Source Review (NNSR), and Minor NSR. The EPA codified 
minimum requirements for these State permitting programs including 
public participation and notification requirements at 40 CFR 51.160-
51.164. Requirements specific to construction of new stationary sources 
and major modifications in nonattainment areas are codified in 40 CFR 
51.165 for the NNSR program. Requirements for permitting of new 
stationary sources and major modifications in attainment areas subject 
to PSD, including additional public participation requirements, are 
found at 40 CFR 51.166. This proposed

[[Page 19751]]

approval action will address one revision to the Texas SIP submitted on 
July 9, 2018 by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). 
This proposal will revise the public notice revisions applicable to air 
quality permit applications.

II. The EPA's Evaluation

A. Evaluation of the July 9, 2018 Revisions to Texas Public Notice 
Requirements

    On July 9, 2018, the TCEQ submitted one revision to the Texas SIP 
(Rule Project No. 2017-027-039-LS) revising the public notice 
provisions applicable to air quality permit applications under 30 Texas 
Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 39, Sections 39.411 and 39.603 and 
Chapter 55, Section 55.152. The accompanying Technical Support Document 
(TSD) for this action includes a detailed analysis of the submitted 
revisions to the Texas SIP. In many instances the revisions are minor 
or non-substantive in nature and do not change the intent of the 
originally approved SIP requirements; these minor revisions to 
39.411(e), 39.411(f), and 39.603(a), (b), and (c) update cross 
references, correct grammar, and renumber existing SIP approved 
provisions. These minor, non-substantive revisions are discussed in 
detail in the TSD which is included in the docket for this proposed 
rulemaking.
    The substantive revisions to 30 TAC Sections 39.411, 39.603 and 
55.152 establish new provisions that provide for one, consolidated 30-
day comment period for air quality permit applications where the 
executive director has declared the application administratively and 
technically complete and has prepared a draft permit within 15 days of 
receipt of the application. This consolidated process would create a 
combined Notice of Receipt of Application and Intent to Obtain Permit 
(NORI) and Notice of Application and Preliminary Decision (NAPD) and 
would continue to require applicants to comply with the existing SIP-
approved elements for newspaper notice and sign posting. The combined 
public notice process could be used by any permit applicant applying 
for a for major or minor NSR permit as long as the executive director 
has declared their application to be administratively and technically 
complete and has prepared a draft permit within 15 days of the receipt 
of the application. The EPA has determined it is appropriate to approve 
these revisions to the Texas SIP as these revisions to public notice 
for eligible air permit applications are consistent with the existing 
federal requirements for public notice by providing the required 30-day 
comment period and therefore, will not interfere with attainment, 
reasonable further progress, or any other applicable requirements of 
the Act.

B. Ministerial Changes to the CFR

    We are also proposing ministerial changes to 40 CFR 52.2270(c) to 
reflect that 30 TAC Section 39.411(e)(11)(A)(v) as adopted by the State 
on December 7, 2016, is SIP-approved. The EPA fully approved this 
provision on May 9, 2018 but neglected to correctly identify this 
notation in the amendments to 40 CFR 52.2270(c) at that time. See 83 FR 
21178.

III. Proposed Action

    We are proposing to approve revisions to the Texas SIP that revise 
the NSR public notice requirements. We have determined that the 
revisions submitted on July 9, 2018 were developed in accordance with 
the CAA and EPA's regulations, policy, and guidance for NSR permitting. 
Therefore, under section 110 of the CAA, the EPA proposes approval of 
the revisions to 30 TAC Section 39.411, 39.603, and 55.152 adopted on 
May 9, 2018, and submitted to the EPA on July 9, 2018.
    The EPA is also proposing ministerial changes to 40 CFR 52.2270(c) 
to reflect that 30 TAC Section 39.411(e)(11)(A)(v) adopted by the State 
on December 7, 2016, is SIP-approved.

IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this action, we are proposing to include in a final rule 
regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance 
with the requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, we are proposing to incorporate by 
reference revisions to the Texas regulations as described in the 
Proposed Action section above. We have made, and will continue to make, 
these documents generally available electronically through 
www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at the EPA Region 6 office (please 
contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section of this preamble for more information).

V. 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. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in 
reviewing SIP submissions, the EPA's role is to approve state choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this 
action merely proposes to approve 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 (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).
    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 proposed 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).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Carbon monoxide, Intergovernmental relations, Lead,

[[Page 19752]]

Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: April 30, 2019.
David Gray,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 6.
[FR Doc. 2019-09143 Filed 5-3-19; 8:45 am]
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