[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 172 (Thursday, September 3, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 54960-54961]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-17980]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R10-OAR-2019-0573, FRL-10011-61-Region 10]


Air Plan Approval; WA; Infrastructure Requirements for the 2010 
Sulfur Dioxide and 2015 Ozone Standards; Availability of Supplemental 
Information and Reopening of the Comment Period

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule; availability of supplemental information and 
reopening of the comment period.

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SUMMARY: Whenever a new or revised National Ambient Air Quality 
Standard (NAAQS) is promulgated, the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires 
states to submit a plan for the implementation, maintenance, and 
enforcement of the standard, commonly referred to as infrastructure 
requirements. On May 26, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) published a notice of proposed rulemaking to approve the 
Washington State Implementation Plan as meeting specific infrastructure 
requirements for the 2010 sulfur dioxide (SO2) and 2015 
ozone NAAQS. Due to an administrative error, the technical support 
document was left out of the docket during the initial comment period 
from May 26, 2020 to June 25, 2020. Thus, the EPA is providing an 
additional 30 days for public comment on the proposed action. We are 
also supplementing the docket with additional supporting materials in 
response to a comment on our proposed approval.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 5, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R10-
OAR-2019-0573 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, EPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth 
Avenue--Suite 155, Seattle, WA 98101, 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. This 
supplementary information section is arranged as follows:

I. What action is the EPA taking?

    On May 26, 2020, at 85 FR 31421, the EPA proposed to approve the 
Washington State Implementation Plan (SIP) as meeting certain 
infrastructure requirements for the 2010 SO2 and 2015 ozone 
NAAQS, specifically CAA section 110(a)(2)(A), (B), (C) (except for 
those provisions covered by the PSD FIP), (D)(i)(II) (except for those 
provisions covered by the PSD and regional haze FIPs), (D)(ii) (except 
for those provisions covered by the PSD FIP), (E), (F), (G), (H), (J) 
(except for those provisions covered by the PSD FIP), (K), (L), and 
(M). We received three comments on the original proposal. Two of the 
comments noted that the EPA neglected to include the technical support 
document (TSD) in the docket explaining the EPA's rationale for the 
proposed approval. Due to this administrative error, the EPA is 
providing an additional 30 days for public comment on the proposed 
action.
    A third comment suggested that insufficient information was 
provided in the docket to allow the reviewer to fully evaluate the 
EPA's rationale in proposing to approve the Washington SIP as meeting 
the requirements of CAA section 110(a)(2)(E) regarding assurances of 
adequate resources. Section 110(a)(2)(E) requires states to provide for 
adequate personnel, funding, and legal authority under state law to 
carry out its SIP, that the state comply with the requirements of CAA 
section 128 respecting state boards and conflict of interest, and 
necessary assurances that, where the state has relied on a local or 
regional government, agency, or instrumentality for the implementation 
of any plan provision, the state has responsibility for ensuring 
adequate implementation of such plan provision.

[[Page 54961]]

    While most of the state's SIP submittal narrative and the EPA's 
analysis focused on the statutory and regulatory authorities necessary 
to meet CAA section 110(a)(2)(E), the EPA's TSD noted that ``Washington 
receives CAA sections 103 and 105 grant funds from the EPA and provides 
state matching funds necessary to carry out SIP requirements'' as part 
of our basis to propose approval of this element. We are supplementing 
the docket with the source materials that support the analysis in the 
TSD. Specifically, we are including the ``Federal Fiscal Year 2020-2021 
Performance Partnership Grant'' (PPG) award and associated documents. 
The PPG details Federal and state funding for the air program by budget 
category under the CAA section 105 grant program, reporting 
requirements, and, critically, the level of state matching funds. We 
are also including the ``State Fiscal Years 2020-2021 Environmental 
Performance Partnership Agreement'' (PPA) that serves as a joint 
workplan the PPG and provides specific outcome measures and outputs in 
determining progress. Lastly, we are including our most recent annual 
evaluation of the state air program under the PPG/PPA which concluded 
that, ``Ecology is meeting all air-related PPA objectives and no issues 
were identified that would impact the Performance Partnership Grant 
(PPG).'' We note that most of these materials are already publicly 
available at https://sgita.epa.gov/apex/sgitapub/f?p=SGITAPUB:Home.
    Aside from supplementing the docket with the inadvertently omitted 
TSD and other supporting materials described previously, we are making 
no changes to the proposed action in our original May 26, 2020 
document. The EPA is providing an additional 30 days for public review 
and comment on the proposed action. We will address all comments 
received on the original proposal and on this supplemental action in 
our final action.

II. Statutory and Executive Orders Review

    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, the EPA's role is to approve state choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. 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 application of those requirements would be inconsistent 
with the Clean Air Act; 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 as specified by 
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor will it 
impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal 
law. 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 July 15, 2019.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, 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: August 12, 2020.
Christopher Hladick,
Regional Administrator, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 2020-17980 Filed 9-2-20; 8:45 am]
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