[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 93 (Tuesday, May 14, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 21253-21255]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-09925]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

[EPA-R05-OAR-2018-0224; FRL-9993-54-Region 5]


Designation of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; Ohio; 
Redesignation of the Lake County Sulfur Dioxide Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) is redesignating the Lake County sulfur dioxide 
(SO2) nonattainment area from nonattainment to attainment. 
EPA is also approving Ohio's maintenance plan, which Ohio submitted on 
April 9, 2018. EPA has approved Ohio's State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
for Lake County, and the air quality in the area is meeting the 
SO2 standard.

DATES: This final rule is effective on May 14, 2019.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID 
No. EPA-R05-OAR-2018-0224. 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 Mary Portanova, Environmental Engineer, at (312) 
353-5954, before visiting the Region 5 office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Portanova, Environmental 
Engineer, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch (AR18J), 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 
Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 353-5954, [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. Public Comments
III. What action is EPA taking?
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews.

I. Background

    In 2010, EPA established a revised primary SO2 national 
ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) of 75 parts per billion (ppb) (75 
FR 35520, June 22, 2010). EPA designated the Lake County area as 
nonattainment for the 2010 SO2 NAAQS on August 5, 2013 (78 
FR 47191) based upon air quality monitoring data for calendar years 
2009-2011. The Lake County nonattainment area is comprised of the 
entirety of Lake County, Ohio.
    Ohio was required to prepare a nonattainment plan that would 
provide for attainment of the NAAQS by the SO2 attainment 
date of October 4, 2018 and meet the requirements of sections 172(c) 
and 191-192 of the CAA. Ohio submitted its plan on April 3, 2015, and 
supplemented it on October 13, 2015, and on March 13, 2017. EPA 
approved the Lake County nonattainment plan on February 14, 2019 (84 FR 
3986).
    Under CAA section 107(d)(3)(E), there are five criteria which must 
be met before a nonattainment area may be redesignated to attainment. 
The relevant NAAQS must be attained in the area; the applicable 
implementation plan must be fully approved by EPA under section 110(k); 
the improvement in air quality must be determined to be due to 
permanent and enforceable reductions in emissions; the State must meet 
all applicable requirements for the area under section 110 and part D; 
and EPA must fully approve a maintenance plan and contingency plan for 
the area under section 175A of the CAA. On March 8, 2019 (84 FR 8492), 
EPA proposed to find that these five criteria have been met for the 
Lake County nonattainment area, and thus, EPA proposed to redesignate 
Lake County from nonattainment to attainment of the 2010 SO2 
NAAQS.

II. Public Comments

    EPA received no public comments on the March 8, 2019 proposal to 
redesignate Lake County.

III. What action is EPA taking?

    EPA is redesignating the Lake County nonattainment area from 
nonattainment to attainment of the SO2 NAAQS. Ohio has 
demonstrated that the area is attaining the SO2 standard, 
and that the improvement in air quality is due to permanent and 
enforceable SO2 emission reductions in the nonattainment 
area. EPA is also approving Ohio's maintenance plan, which is designed 
to ensure that the area will continue to maintain the SO2 
standard.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(d), EPA finds there is good cause 
for these actions to become effective immediately upon publication. 
This is because a delayed effective date is unnecessary due to the 
nature of a redesignation to attainment, which relieves the area from 
certain CAA requirements that would otherwise apply to it. The 
immediate effective date for this action is authorized under both 5 
U.S.C. 553(d)(1), which provides that rulemaking actions may become 
effective less than 30 days after publication if the rule ``grants or 
recognizes an exemption or relieves a restriction,'' and section 
553(d)(3), which allows an effective date less than 30 days after 
publication ``as otherwise provided by the agency for good cause found 
and published with the rule.'' The purpose of the 30-day waiting period 
prescribed in section 553(d) is to give affected parties a reasonable 
time to adjust their behavior and prepare before the final rule takes 
effect. This rule, however, does not create any new regulatory 
requirements such that affected parties would need time to prepare 
before the rule takes effect. Rather, this rule relieves the State of 
planning requirements for this PM2.5 nonattainment area. For 
these reasons, EPA finds good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) for these 
actions to become effective on the date of publication of these 
actions.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, redesignation of an area to attainment and the 
accompanying approval of the maintenance plan under CAA section 
107(d)(3)(E) are actions that affect the status of the geographical 
area and do

[[Page 21254]]

not impose any additional regulatory requirements on sources beyond 
those required by state law. A redesignation to attainment does not in 
and of itself impose any new requirements, but rather results in the 
application of requirements contained in the CAA for areas that have 
been redesignated to attainment. Moreover, 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 (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 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 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

40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Sulfur oxides.

40 CFR Part 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks, 
Wilderness areas.

    Dated: May 2, 2019.
Cheryl L. Newton,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.

    40 CFR parts 52 and 81 are 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. In Sec.  52.1870, the table in paragraph (e) is amended under 
``Summary of Criteria Pollutant Maintenance Plan'' by adding an entry 
for ``SO2 (2010)'' before the entry ``CO (1979)'' to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.1870  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                         EPA-Approved Ohio Nonregulatory and Quasi-Regulatory Provisions
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                                          Applicable
               Title                 geographical or non-    State date         EPA approval         Comments
                                       attainment area
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                                                  * * * * * * *
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                                 Summary of Criteria Pollutant Maintenance Plan
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                                                  * * * * * * *
SO2 (2010)........................  Lake County..........        4/9/2018  5/14/2019 [insert      ..............
                                                                            Federal Register
                                                                            citation].
 
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[[Page 21255]]

PART 81--DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES

0
3. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:

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

0
4. Section 81.336 is amended by revising the entry ``Lake County, OH'' 
in the table entitled ``Ohio--2010 Sulfur Dioxide NAAQS (Primary)'' to 
read as follows:


Sec.  81.336  Ohio.

* * * * *

                Ohio--2010 Sulfur Dioxide NAAQS (Primary)
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                                                Designation
       Designated area \1\       ---------------------------------------
                                     Date \2\              Type
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                              * * * * * * *
Lake County, OH.................       5/14/2019  Attainment.
    Lake County.................
 
                              * * * * * * *
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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. 2019-09925 Filed 5-13-19; 8:45 am]
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