[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 96 (Monday, May 18, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 29628-29630]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09072]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R01-OAR-2019-0220; FRL-10008-77-Region 1]


Air Plan Approval; Massachusetts; Negative Declaration for the 
Oil and Gas Industry

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts. The revision provides Massachusetts' determination, via 
a negative declaration, that there are no facilities within its borders 
subject to EPA's 2016 Control Technique Guideline (CTG) for the oil and 
gas industry. The intended effect of this action is to approve this 
item into the Massachusetts SIP. This action is being taken in 
accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective July 17, 2020, unless 
EPA receives adverse comments by June 17, 2020. If adverse comments are 
received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the direct final rule 
in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not 
take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R01-
OAR-2019-0220 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, 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

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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, 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. 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 and facility closures 
due to COVID-19.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ariel Garcia, Environmental Protection 
Specialist, Air and Radiation Division (Mail Code 05-2), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 
100, Boston, Massachusetts, 02109-3912; (617) 918-1660. 
[email protected].

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

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Summary of SIP Revision and EPA Analysis
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

    On October 27, 2016, EPA published in the Federal Register the 
``Final Control Techniques Guidelines for the Oil and Natural Gas 
Industry.'' See 81 FR 74798. The CTG provided information to state, 
local, and tribal air agencies to assist them in determining reasonably 
available control technology (RACT) for volatile organic compounds 
(VOC) emissions from select oil and natural gas industry emission 
sources. CAA section 182(b)(2)(A) requires that for ozone nonattainment 
areas classified as Moderate or above, states must revise their SIPs to 
include provisions to implement RACT for each category of VOC sources 
covered by a CTG document. CAA section 184(b)(1)(B) extends the RACT 
obligation to all areas of states within the Ozone Transport Region 
(OTR). Pursuant to CAA section 184(a), Massachusetts is a member state 
of the OTR. States subject to RACT requirements are required to adopt 
controls that are at least as stringent as those found within the CTG 
either via the adoption of regulations, or by issuance of single source 
Orders or Permits that outline what the source is required to do to 
meet RACT. If no source for a particular CTG exists within a state, the 
state must submit as a SIP revision a negative declaration documenting 
this fact.

II. Summary of SIP Revision and EPA Analysis

Negative Declaration for the 2016 Oil and Natural Gas Industry CTG

    On October 18, 2018, Massachusetts submitted a SIP revision to 
address its RACT requirements set forth by the CAA for the 2008 and 
2015 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). As 
part of that October 18, 2018 SIP revision, Massachusetts submitted a 
negative declaration for the 2016 Oil and Natural Gas Industry CTG. The 
term ``negative declaration'' means that the state has explored whether 
any facilities subject to the applicability requirements of the CTG 
exist within the state and concluded that there are no such sources 
within its borders. This is consistent with EPA's understanding of 
where sources subject to the Oil and Natural Gas Industry CTG are 
located, and so we are approving Massachusetts' negative declaration 
into the SIP. Other aspects of Massachusetts' October 18, 2018 SIP 
submittal, pertaining to all other RACT requirements, are not addressed 
in this direct final rulemaking and will be addressed in a separate 
rulemaking.

III. Final Action

    We are approving a negative declaration for EPA's 2016 CTG entitled 
``Control Techniques Guidelines for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry'' 
into the Massachusetts SIP.
    The EPA is publishing this action without prior proposal because 
the Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates 
no adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this 
Federal Register publication, EPA is publishing a separate document 
that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision should 
relevant adverse comments be filed. This rule will be effective July 
17, 2020 without further notice unless the Agency receives relevant 
adverse comments by June 17, 2020.
    If the EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish a notice 
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will 
not take effect. All public comments received will then be addressed in 
a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. The EPA will not 
institute a second comment period on the proposed rule. All parties 
interested in commenting on the proposed rule should do so at this 
time. If no such comments are received, the public is advised that this 
rule will be effective on July 17, 2020 and no further action will be 
taken on the proposed rule. Please note that if EPA receives adverse 
comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that 
provision may be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt 
as final those provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an 
adverse comment.

IV. 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);

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     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. Section 804, however, exempts from section 801 the 
following types of rules: Rules of particular applicability; rules 
relating to agency management or personnel; and rules of agency 
organization, procedure, or practice that do not substantially affect 
the rights or obligations of non-agency parties. 5 U.S.C. 804(3). 
Because this is a rule of particular applicability, EPA is not required 
to submit a rule report regarding this action under section 801.
    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 July 17, 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. Parties with objections to this direct final 
rule are encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel 
notice of proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed 
rules section of today's Federal Register, rather than file an 
immediate petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so 
that EPA can withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in 
the proposed rulemaking. 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, Ozone, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: April 21, 2020.
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 W--Massachusetts

0
2. In Sec.  52.1120, amend the table in paragraph (e) by adding the 
entry for ``Negative declaration for the 2016 Control Techniques 
Guideline for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry'' at the end of the 
table, to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1120  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                                          Massachusetts Non Regulatory
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                                        Applicable           State
    Name of nonregulatory SIP         geographic or     submittal date/  EPA approved date       Explanations
            provision               nonattainment area  effective date          \3\
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Negative declaration for the 2016  Statewide..........      10/18/2018  5/18/2020, [Insert   Negative
 Control Techniques Guidelines                                           Federal Register     declaration.
 for the Oil and Natural Gas                                             citation].
 Industry.
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\3\ To determine the EPA effective date for a specific provision listed in this table, consult the Federal
  Register notice cited in this column for the particular provision.

[FR Doc. 2020-09072 Filed 5-15-20; 8:45 am]
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