[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 180 (Wednesday, September 16, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 57736-57739]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-19159]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

[EPA-R05-OAR-2019-0590; FRL-10014-25-Region 5]


Air Plan Approval; Designation of Areas for Air Quality Planning 
Purposes; Indiana; Redesignation of the Morgan County Sulfur Dioxide 
Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) is redesignating the Morgan County 
nonattainment area, which consists of Clay and Washington Townships in 
Morgan County, Indiana, to attainment for the 2010 sulfur dioxide 
(SO2) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). EPA is 
also approving Indiana's maintenance plan for the Morgan County 
SO2 nonattainment area. Indiana submitted the request for 
approval of the Morgan County area redesignation and maintenance plan 
on October 10, 2019, and a clarification letter on May 5, 2020. EPA has 
previously approved Indiana's attainment plan for Morgan County. EPA 
proposed to approve this action on July 14, 2020 and received no 
comments.

DATES: This final rule is effective on September 16, 2020.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID 
No. EPA-R05-OAR-2019-0590. All documents in the docket are listed on 
the www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, i.e., Confidential Business 
Information (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 either 
through www.regulations.gov or at the Environmental Protection Agency, 
Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 
Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays and facility 
closures due to COVID 19. We recommend that you telephone Anthony 
Maietta, Environmental Protection Specialist, at (312) 353-8777 before 
visiting the Region 5 office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony Maietta, Environmental 
Protection Specialist, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch 
(AR-18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson 
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 353-8777, 
[email protected].

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

I. Background Information

    On July 14, 2020, EPA proposed to approve the redesignation of the 
Morgan County SO2 nonattainment area to attainment of the 
2010 SO2 NAAQS and to approve Indiana's maintenance plan for 
the nonattainment area (85 FR

[[Page 57737]]

42337). An explanation of the CAA requirements, a detailed analysis of 
the revisions, and EPA's reasons for proposing approval were provided 
in the notice of proposed rulemaking and will not be restated here. The 
public comment period for the proposed action ended on August 13, 2020. 
EPA received no comments on the proposal.

II. Final Action

    EPA is redesignating the Morgan County nonattainment area to 
attainment of the 2010 SO2 NAAQS. Indiana has demonstrated 
that the area is attaining the 2010 SO2 NAAQS and that the 
improvement in air quality is due to permanent and enforceable 
SO2 emission reductions in the nonattainment area. EPA is 
also approving Indiana's maintenance plan, which is designed to ensure 
that the area will continue to maintain the 2010 SO2 NAAQS.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(d) of the Administrative Procedure 
Act (APA), EPA finds there is good cause for these actions to become 
effective immediately upon publication. The immediate effective date 
for this action is authorized under both 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1) and U.S.C. 
553(d)(3).
    Section 553(d)(1) of the APA provides that final rules shall not 
become effective until 30 days after publication in the Federal 
Register ``except . . . a substantive rule which grants or recognizes 
an exemption or relieves a restriction.'' The purpose of this provision 
is to ``give affected parties a reasonable time to adjust their 
behavior before the final rule takes effect.'' Omnipoint Corp. v. Fed. 
Commc'n Comm'n, 78 F.3d 620, 630 (D.C. Cir. 1996); see also United 
States v. Gavrilovic, 551 F.2d 1099, 1104 (8th Cir. 1977) (quoting 
legislative history). However, when the agency grants or recognizes an 
exemption or relieves a restriction, affected parties do not need a 
reasonable time to adjust because the effect is not adverse. EPA has 
determined that this rule relieves a restriction because this rule 
relieves sources in the area of Nonattainment New Source Review (NNSR) 
permitting requirements; instead, upon the effective date of this 
action, sources will be subject to less restrictive Prevention of 
Significant Deterioration (PSD) permitting requirements.
    Section 553(d)(3) of the APA provides that final rules shall not 
become effective until 30 days after publication in the Federal 
Register ``except . . . as otherwise provided by the agency for good 
cause.'' The purpose of this provision is to ``give affected parties a 
reasonable time to adjust their behavior before the final rule takes 
effect.'' Omnipoint Corp. v. Fed. Commc'n Comm'n, 78 F.3d 620, 630 
(D.C. Cir. 1996); see also United States v. Gavrilovic, 551 F.2d 1099, 
1104 (8th Cir. 1977) (quoting legislative history). Thus, in 
determining whether good cause exists to waive the 30-day delay, an 
agency should ``balance the necessity for immediate implementation 
against principles of fundamental fairness which require that all 
affected persons be afforded a reasonable amount of time to prepare for 
the effective date of its ruling.'' Gavrilovic, 551 F.2d at 1105. EPA 
has determined that there is good cause for making this final rule 
effective immediately because this rule does not create any new 
regulatory requirements such that affected parties would need time to 
prepare before the rule takes effect. On balance, EPA finds affected 
parties would benefit from the immediate ability to comply with PSD 
requirements, instead of delaying by 30 days the transition from NNSR 
to PSD.
    For these reasons, EPA finds good cause under both 5 U.S.C. 
553(d)(1) and U.S.C. 553(d)(3) for these actions to become effective on 
the date of publication of these actions.

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, redesignation of an area to attainment and the 
accompanying approval of a maintenance plan under section 107(d)(3)(E) 
are actions that affect the status of a geographical area and do not 
impose any additional regulatory requirements on sources beyond those 
imposed by state law. A redesignation to attainment does not in and of 
itself create any new requirements, but rather results in the 
applicability of requirements contained in the CAA for areas that have 
been redesignated to attainment. Moreover, 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 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 it is not a significant regulatory 
action 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), 
because redesignation is an action that affects the status of a 
geographical area and does not impose any new regulatory requirements 
on tribes, impact any existing sources of air pollution on tribal 
lands, nor impair the maintenance of SO2 national ambient 
air quality standards in tribal lands.
    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

[[Page 57738]]

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 CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by November 16, 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

40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides.

40 CFR Part 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks, 
Sulfur oxides, Wilderness areas.

    Dated: August 26, 2020.
Kurt Thiede,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the EPA amends 40 CFR parts 
52 and 81 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.


0
2. In Sec.  52.770, the table in paragraph (e) is amended by adding an 
entry for ``Morgan County 2010 Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) 
Maintenance Plan'' following the entry ``Morgan County 2010 Sulfur 
Dioxide (SO2) Attainment Plan'' to read as follows:


Sec.  52.770  Identification of plan.

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    (e) * * *

                       EPA--Approved Indiana Nonregulatory and Quasi-Regulatory Provisions
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               Title                         Indiana date              EPA approval             Explanation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Morgan County 2010 Sulfur Dioxide           10/10/2019, 5/5/2020  9/16/2020, [Insert      ......................
 (SO2) Maintenance Plan.                                           Federal Register
                                                                   citation].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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* * * * *

PART 81--DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES

0
3. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:

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


0
4. Section 81.315 is amended by revising the entry ``Morgan County, 
IN'' in the table entitled ``Indiana--2010 Sulfur Dioxide NAAQS 
[Primary]'' to read as follows:


Sec.  81.315  Indiana.

* * * * *

                   Indiana--2010 Sulfur Dioxide NAAQS
                                [Primary]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                Designation
       Designated area1 3        ---------------------------------------
                                       Date \2\              Type
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                              * * * * * * *
Morgan County, IN...............  September 16, 2020  Attainment.
    Morgan County (part)........  ..................  ..................
        Clay Township,            ..................  ..................
         Washington Township.
 
                              * * * * * * *
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\1\ Includes any Indian country in each county or area, unless otherwise
  specified. EPA is not determining the boundaries of any area of Indian
  country in this table, including any area of Indian country located in
  the larger designation area. The inclusion of any Indian country in
  the designation area is not a determination that the state has
  regulatory authority under the Clean Air Act for such Indian country.
\2\ This date is April 9, 2018, unless otherwise noted.
\3\ Porter County will be designated by December 31, 2020.


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[FR Doc. 2020-19159 Filed 9-15-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P