[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 129 (Monday, July 6, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 40286]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-14409]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2016-0598; FRL-10011-45-OAR]


Petition for Partial Reconsideration of Interstate Transport of 
Fine Particulate Matter: Revision of Federal Implementation Plan 
Requirements for Texas

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of action denying petition for reconsideration.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing notice 
that it has responded to a petition for partial reconsideration of a 
final rule under the Clean Air Act (CAA) published in the Federal 
Register on September 29, 2017, titled, ``Interstate Transport of Fine 
Particulate Matter: Revision of Federal Implementation Plan 
Requirements for Texas.'' This rule removed Texas from the Cross-State 
Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) trading programs for annual emissions of 
sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX), 
and affirmed the continued validity of the EPA's 2012 determination 
that participation in CSAPR meets the Regional Haze Rule's criteria for 
an alternative to the application of source-specific best available 
retrofit technology (BART). The November 28, 2018, petition, submitted 
by Sierra Club and the National Parks Conservation Association, 
requested that the EPA reconsider the latter aspect of the rule. The 
EPA has denied the petition in a letter to the petitioners for reasons 
the EPA explains in that document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Corey A. Mocka, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Air 
Quality Policy Division, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Mail Code C539-04, 
Research Triangle Park, N.C. 27711; phone number: (919) 541-5142; email 
address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Where can I get copies of this document and other related 
information?

    This Federal Register notice, the petition for reconsideration, and 
the response letter to the petitioner are available in the docket that 
the EPA established for the rulemaking, under Docket ID NO. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2016-0598.
    All documents in the docket are listed in the index at http://www.regulations.gov. Although listed in the index, some information may 
not be 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.
    Out of an abundance of caution for members of the public and our 
staff, the EPA is temporarily suspending the Docket Center and Reading 
Room for public visitors to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19. 
Our Docket Center staff will continue to provide remote customer 
service via email, phone, and webform. For further information and 
updates on EPA Docket Center services, please visit us online at 
https://www.epa.gov/dockets. The EPA continues to carefully and 
continuously monitor information from the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention, local area health departments, and our federal partners 
so we can respond rapidly as conditions change regarding COVID-19.
    In addition, the EPA has established a website for visibility and 
regional haze rulemakings at: https://www.epa.gov/visibility. This 
Federal Register notice, the petition for reconsideration, and the 
response letter denying the petition are also available on this website 
along with other information.

II. Judicial Review

    Section 307(b)(1) of the CAA indicates which Federal Courts of 
Appeal have venue for petitions of review of final actions by the EPA. 
This section provides, in part, that petitions for review must be filed 
in the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit: (i) When 
the agency action consists of ``nationally applicable regulations 
promulgated, or final actions taken, by the Administrator,'' or (ii) 
when such action is locally or regionally applicable, if ``such action 
is based on a determination of nationwide scope or effect and if in 
taking such action the Administrator finds and publishes that such 
action is based on such a determination.''
    This action is a denial of an administrative petition requesting 
reconsideration of an aspect of a final rule, ``Interstate Transport of 
Fine Particulate Matter: Revision of Federal Implementation Plan 
Requirements for Texas,'' 82 FR 45481 (September 29, 2017). That rule 
is nationally applicable; in addition, to the extent that rule may be 
found to be locally or regionally applicable, the EPA found in that 
rule that it is based on a determination of ``nationwide scope or 
effect'' within the meaning of CAA section 307(b)(1). See 82 FR at 
45495-96. Further, that rule is currently being challenged in the Court 
of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.\1\ For the same 
reasons set forth in that rule, 82 FR at 45495-96, this action denying 
a petition for reconsideration of that rule is nationally applicable 
and, in addition, to the extent this action may be found to be locally 
or regionally applicable, the Administrator finds that the action is 
based on a determination of nationwide scope or effect for purposes of 
CAA section 307(b)(1). Thus, pursuant to CAA section 307(b), any 
petition for review of this action denying the petition for 
reconsideration must be filed in the Court of Appeals for the District 
of Columbia Circuit on or before September 4, 2020.
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    \1\ Nat'l Parks Conservation Ass'n v. EPA, No. 17-1253 (D.C. 
Cir., filed November 28, 2018).

Andrew Wheeler,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2020-14409 Filed 7-2-20; 8:45 am]
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