[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 209 (Tuesday, October 29, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 57836-57838]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-23516]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R10-OAR-2019-0568, FRL-10001-57-Region 10]


Air Plan Approval; Washington; Update to the Adoption by 
Reference, Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
revise the Washington State Implementation Plan (SIP) to approve 
updates to the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) air 
quality regulations. The EFSEC regulations apply to major energy 
facilities in the State of Washington and establish permitting 
requirements and emissions standards for such facilities. The EFSEC 
regulations primarily adopt by reference the Washington Department of 
Ecology (Ecology) general air quality regulations for program 
implementation. We are proposing to approve EFSEC's updated adoption by 
reference to include certain changes to Ecology's general air quality 
regulations since EFSEC's last adoption by reference, consistent with 
prior approvals.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 29, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R10-
OAR-2018-0568 at https://www.regulations.gov. 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, 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Hunt at (206) 553-0256, or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, it is intended to refer to the EPA.

I. Background

    By statute, EFSEC has jurisdiction for managing the air program 
with respect to major energy facilities in the State of Washington. See 
Chapter 80.50 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW). The EFSEC air 
quality regulations are contained in Chapter 463-78 Washington 
Administrative Code (WAC) General and Operating Permit Regulations for 
Air Pollution Sources. These EFSEC regulations rely primarily on the 
adoption by reference of the corresponding Ecology general air quality 
regulations contained in Chapter 173-400 WAC General Regulations for 
Air Pollution Sources, with certain exceptions discussed below.
    As discussed in our prior approval of the EFSEC regulations on May 
30, 2017 (82 FR 24531), EFSEC's adoption by reference of Chapter 173-
400 WAC is modified in several ways. First, references in Chapter 173-
400 WAC regarding appeals are modified to reflect EFSEC's independent 
appeals process in WAC 463-78-140. Second, the cross references to fees 
under Chapter 173-455 WAC are modified to reflect EFSEC's independent 
fee structure set out in Chapter 80.50 RCW. Third, while EFSEC 
generally adopts most of the

[[Page 57837]]

provisions of Chapter 173-400 WAC by reference, not all provisions are 
included.
    EFSEC did not adopt by reference the enforcement and authority 
provisions contained in WAC 173-400-220 through 260. For these 
provisions, EFSEC relies on its own independent authorities, which are 
currently part of Washington's federally-approved SIP under WAC 463-78-
135 through 230. In other cases, such as WAC 173-400-118 Designation of 
Class I, II, and III Areas, WAC 173-400-151 Retrofit Requirements for 
Visibility Protection, and parts of WAC 173-400-070 Emission Standards 
for Certain Source Categories, EFSEC did not adopt these Chapter 173-
400 WAC provisions by reference because they pertain to source 
categories or authorities outside the scope of EFSEC's jurisdiction.
    Lastly, many parts of Chapter 173-400 WAC contain provisions that 
are not related to the criteria pollutants regulated under title I of 
the CAA, not related to the requirements for SIPs under section 110 of 
the CAA, or not changed since the EPA's last approval. For this reason, 
EFSEC's previous SIP revision, submitted on December 20, 2016, 
requested approval for only those parts of Chapter 173-400 WAC 
consistent with the EPA's October 3, 2014 (79 FR 59653), November 7, 
2014 (79 FR 66291), and April 29, 2015 (80 FR 23721) approvals.

II. Washington SIP Revisions

    On September 30, 2019, Ecology submitted EFSEC's updated adoption 
by reference of Chapter 173-400 WAC as an appendix to Ecology's SIP 
revision, National Ambient Air Quality Standards: Infrastructure State 
Implementation Plan for 2015 Ozone and 2010 Sulfur Dioxide, to 
demonstrate that the state has adequate infrastructure (statutory, 
regulatory, and programmatic authority) to implement revised air 
quality standards.\1\ The updated adoption by reference was submitted 
primarily to bring EFSEC's regulatory program current with the most 
recent update Ecology made to Chapter 173-400-025 WAC ``Adoption of 
federal rules'' which adopts by reference the federal rules as they 
existed on January 24, 2018. However, the specific Chapter 173-400 WAC 
provisions adopted by reference, and submitted to the EPA for approval, 
also include changes to Chapter 173-400 WAC approved by the EPA on 
October 6, 2016 (81 FR 69385) and other recent changes to Chapter 173-
400 WAC contained in the proposed SIP revision submittal Revised Public 
Notice Provisions and Other Changes to Chapters 173-400, 173-405, 173-
410, and 173-415 WAC, included in the docket for this action.
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    \1\ The EPA intends to act on the remainder of Ecology's 
infrastructure SIP revision separately.
    \2\ Many of the provision of Chapter 173-400 WAC adopted by 
reference remain unchanged since the EPA's last approval of EFSEC's 
regulations and were not resubmitted as part of the September 30, 
2019 SIP revision. Other revised Chapter 173-400 WAC provisions were 
not submitted for approval as part of this current SIP update.
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III. Proposed Action

    The EPA proposes to approve and incorporate by reference into the 
Washington SIP the revised EFSEC regulations listed in Table 1 and the 
corresponding updates to EFSEC's adoption by reference in Table 2.

 Table 1--Energy Facilities Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) Regulations
          for Proposed Approval and Incorporation by Reference
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              State
    State citation       Title/subject   effective date    Explanations
------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Chapter 463-78 WAC, General and Operating Permit Regulations for Air
                            Pollution Sources
------------------------------------------------------------------------
78-005...............  Adoption by              8/26/19  Subsection (1)
                        Reference.                        only. See the
                                                          table below
                                                          for updated
                                                          Chapter 173-
                                                          400 WAC
                                                          provisions
                                                          adopted by
                                                          reference and
                                                          submitted to
                                                          the EPA for
                                                          approval.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


 Table 2--Revised Chapter 173-400 WAC, Regulations Adopted by Reference
                          in WAC 463-78-005 \2\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              State
    State citation       Title/subject   effective date    Explanations
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Washington Administrative Code, Chapter 173-400--General Regulations for
                          Air Pollution Sources
------------------------------------------------------------------------
173-400-025..........  Adoption of              9/16/18  ...............
                        Federal Rules.
173-400-030..........  Definitions.....         9/16/18  Except: 173-400-
                                                          030(6); 173-
                                                          400-030(32);
                                                          173-400-030(38
                                                          ); 173-400-
                                                          030(45); 173-
                                                          400-030(83);
                                                          173-400-030(89
                                                          ); 173-400-
                                                          030(96); 173-
                                                          400-030(97);
                                                          173-400-030(10
                                                          0); 173-400-
                                                          030(103); 173-
                                                          400-030(104).
173-400-040..........  General                  9/16/18  Except: 173-400-
                        Standards for                     040(2); 173-
                        Maximum                           400-040(3);
                        Emissions.                        173-400-040(5)
                                                          .
173-400-050..........  Emission                 9/16/18  Except: 173-400-
                        Standards for                     050(2); 173-
                        Combustion and                    400-050(4);
                        Incineration                      173-400-050(5)
                        Units.                            ; 173-400-
                                                          050(6).
173-400-060..........  Emission                11/25/18  ...............
                        Standards for
                        General Process
                        Units.
173-400-105..........  Records,                11/25/18  ...............
                        Monitoring, and
                        Reporting.
173-400-111..........  Processing              07/01/16  Except: 173-400-
                        Notice of                         111(3)(h);
                        Construction                     The part of 173-
                        Applications                      400-111(8)(a)(
                        for Sources,                      v) that says,
                        Stationary                        ``and
                        Sources and                       173-460-040,''
                        Portable                          ; 173-400-
                        Sources.                          111(9).
173-400-116..........  Increment               07/01/16  ...............
                        Protection.
173-400-171..........  Public Notice            9/16/18  Except: The
                        and Opportunity                   part of 173-
                        for Public                        400-171(3)(b)
                        Comment.                          that says,
                                                          ``or
                                                          any increase
                                                          in emissions
                                                          of a toxic air
                                                          pollutant
                                                          above the
                                                          acceptable
                                                          source impact
                                                          level for that
                                                          toxic air
                                                          pollutant as
                                                          regulated
                                                          under chapter
                                                          173-460 WAC'';
                                                          173-400-171(3)
                                                          (o); 173-400-
                                                          171(12).

[[Page 57838]]

 
173-400-710..........  Definitions.....        07/01/16  ...............
173-400-720..........  Prevention of           07/01/16  Except: 173-400-
                        Significant                       720(4)(a)(i
                        Deterioration                     through iv)
                        (PSD).                            and 173-400-
                                                          720(4)(b)(iii)
                                                          (C).
173-400-730..........  Prevention of           07/01/16  ...............
                        Significant
                        Deterioration
                        Application
                        Processing
                        Procedures.
173-400-740..........  PSD Permitting           9/16/18  ...............
                        Public
                        Involvement
                        Requirements.
173-400-810..........  Major Stationary        07/01/16  ...............
                        Source and
                        Major
                        Modification
                        Definitions.
173-400-830..........  Permitting              07/01/16  ...............
                        Requirements.
173-400-840..........  Emission Offset         07/01/16  ...............
                        Requirements.
173-400-850..........  Actual Emissions        07/01/16  ...............
                        Plantwide
                        Applicability
                        Limitation
                        (PAL).
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IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, the EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA rule 
regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance 
with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is proposing to incorporate by 
reference the regulations listed in section III of this proposal. The 
EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials generally 
available through www.regulations.gov.

V. Statutory and Executive Orders Review

    Under the Clean Air Act, 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 Clean Air Act. 
Accordingly, this proposed 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 proposed 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 this action does not involve technical standards; and
     Does not provide the 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 in 
Washington except as specifically noted below and is also not approved 
to apply in any other area where the 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). 
Washington's SIP is approved to apply on non-trust land within the 
exterior boundaries of the Puyallup Indian Reservation, also known as 
the 1873 Survey Area. Under the Puyallup Tribe of Indians Settlement 
Act of 1989, 25 U.S.C. 1773, Congress explicitly provided state and 
local agencies in Washington authority over activities on non-trust 
lands within the 1873 Survey Area. Consistent with EPA policy, the EPA 
provided a consultation opportunity to the Puyallup Tribe in a letter 
dated May 16, 2019.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

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

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

    Dated: October 16, 2019.
Chris Hladick,
Regional Administrator, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 2019-23516 Filed 10-28-19; 8:45 am]
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