[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 189 (Monday, September 30, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 51416-51418]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-20676]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2019-0153; FRL-10000-26-Region 4]


Air Plan Approval; North Carolina: Amendments of Air Quality 
Rules

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the North Carolina 
Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Air Quality (DAQ), 
through a letter dated March 21, 2018, readopting and amending air 
quality rules related to transportation conformity requirements in the 
state of North Carolina. EPA has determined that North Carolina's March 
21, 2018, SIP revision is consistent with the federal transportation 
conformity requirements and the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

DATES: This rule is effective October 30, 2019.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2019-0153. 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 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 the Air Regulatory Management Section, Air Planning and 
Implementation Branch, Air and Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 
30303-8960. EPA requests that if 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: Kelly Sheckler, Air Regulatory 
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air and 
Radiation Division, Region 4, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 61 
Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The telephone number is 
(404) 562-9222. Ms. Sheckler can also be reached via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    EPA is approving a SIP revision submitted by DAQ, through a letter 
dated March 21, 2018, seeking to readopt and amend the air quality 
rules pertaining to transportation conformity in the North Carolina 
SIP.\1\ North Carolina's SIP submission revises the following North 
Carolina regulations in 15A NCAC 2D Section .2000: Section .2001 
Purpose, Scope and Applicability, Section .2002 Definitions, Section 
.2003 Transportation Conformity Determination, and Section .2005 
Memorandum of Agreement.\2\ The changes submitted by North Carolina 
include updates to applicability and definitions, updates to 
references, clarifications regarding written commitments to implement 
control measures, and non-substantive wording, punctuation and 
formatting changes. EPA is approving the changes to rules .2001, .2002, 
.2003,\3\ and .2005 because the changes do not alter transportation 
conformity requirements in North Carolina for any applicable area, nor 
do these changes conflict with the federal requirements for 
transportation conformity. Thus, the changes are consistent with the 
federal transportation conformity requirements and the CAA.
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    \1\ EPA received the official electronic version of the 
submittal on April 4, 2018. EPA has already taken action on the 
other North Carolina changes submitted through the cover letter 
dated March 21, 2018, in a separate action. See 84 FR 14308.
    \2\ The table at 40 CFR 52.1770(c), identifying the North 
Carolina regulations approved into the SIP, labels each rule as a 
``Sect.'' (i.e., Section) under the column titled ``State 
citation.'' For consistency with the nomenclature used in the table, 
this notice uses the term ``Section'' when referring to individual 
North Carolina rules.
    \3\ With respect to Section .2003, EPA notes that it is 
approving a cross-reference to the entirety of 40 CFR 93.104 into 
North Carolina's SIP. Accordingly, EPA is removing the regulatory 
text in 40 CFR 52.1770(c)(1) that previously stated ``Except for the 
incorporation by reference of 40 CFR 93.104(e) of the Transportation 
Conformity Rule.''
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    EPA proposed approval of the North Carolina March 21, 2018, SIP 
revision to amend the transportation conformity related state 
regulations, as mentioned above, on July 8, 2019 (84 FR 32359). The 
details of North Carolina's submission and the rationale for EPA's 
actions are explained in the proposed rulemaking. Comments were due on 
August 7, 2019, and EPA did not receive any comments on the proposed 
action. EPA is now taking final action to approve the above-referenced 
revisions.

II. Incorporation by Reference

    In this document, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with the requirements of 1 
CFR 51.5, EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the 
following air quality rules under Subchapter 2D of North Carolina's 
SIP: Section .2001 Purpose, Scope and Applicability, Section .2002 
Definitions, Section .2003 Transportation Conformity Determination, and 
Section .2005 Memorandum of Agreement effective January 1, 2018, which 
amend the State's transportation conformity requirements. EPA has made, 
and will continue to make, these materials generally available through 
www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region 4 Office (please contact the 
person identified in the For Further Information Contact section of 
this preamble for more information). Therefore, these materials have 
been approved by EPA for inclusion in the SIP, have been incorporated 
by reference by EPA into that plan, are fully federally enforceable 
under sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the effective date of the 
final rulemaking of EPA's approval, and will be incorporated by 
reference in the next update to the SIP compilation.\4\
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    \4\ See 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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III. Final Action

    EPA is taking final action to approve North Carolina's March 21, 
2018, SIP revision, which amends and readopts the following rules in 
Subchapter 2D, Air Pollution Control Requirements: Section .2001 
Purpose, Scope and Applicability, Section .2002 Definitions, Section 
.2003 Transportation Conformity Determination, and Section .2005 
Memorandum of Agreement. EPA is taking final action to approve these 
revisions into the State of North Carolina's SIP because they are 
consistent with the CAA.

IV. 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. See 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in 
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices, if 
they meet the criteria of the CAA. This action merely approves state 
law as

[[Page 51417]]

meeting Federal requirements and does not impose additional 
requirements beyond those imposed by state law. For that reason, this 
action:
     Does not contain significant regulatory actions 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 subject to Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, 
February 2, 2017) regulatory actions 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 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);
     Does not contain economically significant regulatory 
actions based on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 
13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997);
     Does not contain significant regulatory actions 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).
    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 as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 
FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor will it 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 November 29, 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 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Carbon 
monoxide, Sulfur dioxide, Particulate matter, Lead, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: September 11, 2019.
Mary S. Walker,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    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.

Subpart II--North Carolina

0
2. In Sec.  52.1770, the table (1) in paragraph (c) is amended under 
``Subchapter 2D Air Pollution Control Requirements'', ``Section .2000 
Transportation Conformity'' by revising the entries for ``Section 
.2001'', ``Section .2002'', ``Section .2003'', and ``Section .2005'' to 
read as follows.


Sec.  52.1770  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                   (1) EPA Approved North Carolina Regulations
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                                                      State
      State citation           Title/subject        effective      EPA approval date          Explanation
                                                      date
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                                Subchapter 2D Air Pollution Control Requirements
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                                                  * * * * * * *
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                                     Section .2000 Transportation Conformity
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Section .2001............  Purpose, Scope and          1/1/2018  9/30/2019 [Insert
                            Applicability.                        citation of
                                                                  publication].
Section .2002............  Definitions.........        1/1/2018  9/30/2019 [Insert
                                                                  citation of
                                                                  publication].
Section .2003............  Transportation              1/1/2018  9/30/2019 [Insert
                            Conformity                            citation of
                            Determination.                        publication].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Section .2005............  Memorandum of               1/1/2018  9/30/2019 [Insert
                            Agreement.                            citation of
                                                                  publication].
 
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[FR Doc. 2019-20676 Filed 9-27-19; 8:45 am]
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