[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 26, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 65007-65009]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25595]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R01-OAR-2019-0348; FRL-10002-42-Region 1]


Air Plan Approval; Connecticut; Regional Haze Five Year Progress 
Report

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the 
Connecticut Regional Haze 5-Year Progress Report submitted as a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision on June 30, 2015. This revision 
addresses the requirements of the Clean Air Act and its implementing 
regulations that States submit periodic reports describing progress 
toward reasonable progress goals established for regional haze and a 
determination of adequacy of the State's existing regional haze SIP.

[[Page 65008]]

Connecticut's progress report notes that Connecticut has made 
substantial progress toward the emissions reduction expected for the 
first regional planning period and that visibility in the Federal Class 
I areas affected by emission from Connecticut is improving and has 
already met the applicable reasonable progress goals for 2018. The EPA 
is approving Connecticut's determination that the State's regional haze 
SIP is adequate to meet these reasonable progress goals for the first 
implementation period, which extends through 2018, and requires no 
substantive revision at this time.

DATES: This rule is effective on December 26, 2019.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R01-OAR-2019-0348. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed 
in the index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., 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 at https://www.regulations.gov or at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 
Region 1 Regional Office, Air and Radiation Division, 5 Post Office 
Square--Suite 100, Boston, MA. EPA requests that if at all possible, 
you contact the contact 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 legal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anne K. McWilliams, Air Quality 
Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Region 1, 5 Post 
Office Square--Suite 100, (Mail code 05-2), Boston, MA 02109-3912, tel. 
(617) 918-1697, email [email protected].

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

Table of Contents

I. Background and Purpose
II. Final Action
II. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background and Purpose

    On September 25, 2019 (84 FR 50363), EPA published a notice of 
proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for the State of Connecticut proposing 
approval of the Regional Haze 5-Year Progress Report and a 
determination of adequacy of the regional haze plan for the first 
planning period. The formal SIP revision was submitted by Connecticut 
on June 30, 2015.
    The rationale for EPA's proposed action is explained in the NPRM 
and will not be restated here. No public comments were received on the 
NPRM.

II. Final Action

    EPA is approving Connecticut's June 30, 2015 Regional Haze 5-Year 
Progress Report SIP submittal and determination of adequacy of the 
regional haze plan for the first planning period as meeting the 
requirements of 40 CFR 51.308(g) and (h).

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    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, EPA's role is to approve state 
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. 
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 regulatory action because 
this action is not significant 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 Clean Air Act; 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 Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by January 27, 2020. 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, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference,

[[Page 65009]]

Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate 
matter, Regional haze, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur 
oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: November 19, 2019.
Dennis Deziel,
Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1.

    Part 52 of chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
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 H--Connecticut

0
2. Section 52.370 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(121) to read as 
follows:


 Sec.  52.370  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (121) Revisions to the State Implementation Plan submitted by the 
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection on June 
30, 2015.
    (i) [Reserved]
    (ii) Additional materials. (A) The Connecticut Department of Energy 
and Environmental Protection document ``Regional Haze 5-Year Progress 
Report,'' Final July 8, 2015.
    (B) [Reserved]

[FR Doc. 2019-25595 Filed 11-25-19; 8:45 am]
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