[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 219 (Wednesday, November 13, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 61592-61593]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-24575]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2019-0483; FRL-10001-97-Region 3]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Pennsylvania; Allegheny County Administrative Revisions to Definitions, 
Remedies, and Enforcement Orders Sections and Incorporation by 
Reference of National Ambient Air Quality Standards

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve a state implementation plan (SIP) revision formally submitted 
by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on behalf of Allegheny County. 
These revisions include administrative amendments made to the Allegheny 
County Health Department (ACHD) Rules and Regulations, Article XXI, Air 
Pollution Control. Specifically, the revisions added a definition for 
``County Council;'' deleted its current listing of ambient air quality 
standards and added, through incorporation by reference, all national 
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) promulgated by EPA; revised 
references to the ``Board of County Commissioners'' to ``County 
Executive'' or ``County Council;'' added the ``Manager of the Air 
Quality Program or their respective designee'' as a signatory for 
enforcement orders; and revised a reference from the ``Bureau of 
Environmental Quality Division of Air Quality'' to ``Air Quality 
Program of the Department.'' This action is being taken under the Clean 
Air Act (CAA).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before December 13, 
2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R03-
OAR-2019-0483 at https://www.regulations.gov, or via email to 
[email protected]. For comments submitted at Regulations.gov, 
follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, 
comments cannot be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. For either 
manner of submission, 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. 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 the person 
identified in the For Further Information Contact section. 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin Malone, Planning & Implementation 
Branch (3AD30), Air & Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. 
The telephone number is (215) 814-2190. Ms. Malone can also be reached 
via electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On February 15, 2019, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania formally 
submitted, on behalf of Allegheny County, a revision to the 
Pennsylvania SIP (Revision 73).\1\ The revision consists of 
administrative and definition amendments, as well as incorporation by 
reference of the NAAQS to ACHD Rules and Regulations, Article XXI, Air 
Pollution Control. The revision was adopted by ACHD and became 
effective September 25, 2013.
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    \1\ On April 28, 2017, ACHD submitted Revision 73 to the 
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP). PADEP, 
on behalf of Allegheny County, also submitted a clarification letter 
dated June 24, 2019 to EPA to further clarify the revisions to 
sections 2101.10 and 2101.20 of Article XXI of ACHD's Rules and 
Regulations.
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II. Summary of SIP Revision and EPA Analysis

    The February 15, 2019 submittal includes amended versions of ACHD 
Rules and Regulations, Article XXI, Air Pollution Control, sections 
2101.10 Ambient Air Quality Standards, 2101.20 Definitions, 2109.02 
Remedies, and 2109.03 Enforcement Orders. The amendment to section 
2101.10 deleted ACHD's existing list of NAAQS and added, through 
incorporation by reference, all NAAQS promulgated by the EPA under the 
CAA at 40 CFR part 50. The amendment to section 2101.20 added the 
following definition for County Council, ```County Council' means the 
Council of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.'' The amendments to section 
2109.02 revised the reference to ``Board of County Commissioners'' to 
``County Executive'' in paragraphs (a)(5) and (a)(6).
    In section 2109.03, the amendments include revising references from 
``Board of County Commissioners'' to ``County Council,'' as well as an 
additional signatory option for enforcement orders in paragraph (b)(1). 
The language in paragraph (b)(1) was revised from ``Be in written form 
and be signed by the Director or the Deputy Director, Bureau of 
Environmental Quality'' to ``Be in written form and be signed by the 
Director, the Deputy Director of the Bureau of Environmental Quality, 
or the Manager of the Air Quality Program, or their respective 
designee.'' Lastly, in the provisions of paragraph (d)(1), Hearings, 
the ``Bureau of Environmental Quality Division of Air Quality'' was 
revised to the ``Air Quality Program of the Department'' to specify 
that such hearings cannot be held before employees of the Department 
who are assigned to the Air Quality Program.
    EPA's review of this material indicates the February 15, 2019 
submittal is approvable as it meets requirements of the CAA under 
section 110(a) and contains the deletion/addition of language 
incorporating by reference all of the NAAQS promulgated by EPA and 
other administrative revisions to regulations that were previously 
included in the Pennsylvania SIP. None of these deletions, additions, 
or revisions affect emissions of air pollutants, and none of the 
deletions, additions, or revisions will interfere with any applicable 
requirement concerning attainment of reasonable further progress or any 
other applicable requirements in the CAA. Thus, EPA finds the revision 
approvable specifically for section 110(l) of the CAA.
    A detailed summary of EPA's review and rationale for approving the 
February 15, 2019 submittal may be found in the technical support 
document (TSD) for this proposed rulemaking action, available online at 
www.regulations.gov, docket number EPA-R03-OAR-2019-0483.

III. Proposed Action

    EPA's review of this material indicates the February 15, 2019 
submittal is approvable as it meets the requirements of the CAA under 
section 110(a) and includes the deletion/addition of language 
incorporating by reference all of the NAAQS promulgated by EPA and 
other administrative

[[Page 61593]]

revisions to regulations that were previously included in the 
Pennsylvania SIP. EPA is proposing to approve the February 15, 2019 
submittal, which includes administrative deletions, additions, and 
revisions to ACHD Rules and Regulations, Article XXI, Air Pollution 
Control, sections 2101.10 Ambient Air Quality Standards, 2101.20 
Definitions, 2109.02 Remedies, and 2109.03 Enforcement Orders, as a 
revision to the Pennsylvania SIP. EPA is soliciting public comments on 
the issues discussed in this document. These comments will be 
considered before taking final rulemaking action.

IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this document, 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, EPA is proposing to incorporate by 
reference the revisions to ACHD Rules and Regulations, Article XXI, Air 
Pollution Control, sections 2101.10 Ambient Air Quality Standards, 
2101.20 Definitions, 2109.02 Remedies, and 2109.03 Enforcement Orders 
discussed in Section II of this preamble. Also, in this document, as 
described in the proposed amendments to 40 CFR part 52, EPA is 
proposing to remove provisions of the EPA-Approved Pennsylvania 
Regulations and Statutes from the Pennsylvania State Implementation 
Plan, which is incorporated by reference in accordance with the 
requirements of 1 CFR part 51.
    EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials generally 
available through https://www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region III 
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 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 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 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, this proposed rule, proposing approval of 
administrative revisions to ACHD Rules and Regulations, Article XXI, 
Air Pollution Control, sections 2101.10 Ambient Air Quality Standards, 
2101.20 Definitions, 2109.02 Remedies, and 2109.03 Enforcement Orders, 
does not have tribal implications as specified by Executive Order 13175 
(65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because the SIP is not approved to 
apply in Indian country located in the state, and EPA notes that it 
will not impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or 
preempt tribal law.

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, Sulfur oxides.

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

    Dated: October 30, 2019.
Cosmo Servidio,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2019-24575 Filed 11-12-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P