[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 197 (Friday, October 9, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 64050-64053]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-21813]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R08-OAR-2019-0621; FRL-10015-23-Region 8]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Utah; Regional 
Haze 5-Year Progress Report State Implementation Plan

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a 
regional haze progress report State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision 
submitted by the State of Utah on March 7, 2016. The revision addresses 
the requirements for states to submit periodic reports describing 
progress toward reasonable progress goals established for regional haze 
and a determination of adequacy of the State's regional haze SIP. The 
EPA is taking this action pursuant to section 110 of the Clean Air Act 
(CAA).

DATES: This rule is effective on November 9, 2020.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. EPA-R08-OAR-2019-0621. All documents in the docket are 
listed on the http://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in 
the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., 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 through http://www.regulations.gov, or please email the person identified in the FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section for additional availability 
information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jaslyn Dobrahner, Air and Radiation 
Division, EPA, Region 8, Mailcode 8ARD-IO, 1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver, 
Colorado 80202-1129, (303) 312-6252, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' and 
``our'' means the EPA.

I. Background

    Under the Regional Haze Rule, states are required to submit 
progress reports that evaluate progress towards the reasonable progress 
goals for each mandatory federal Class I area within the state and in 
each Class I area outside the state that may be affected by emissions 
from within the state.\1\ In addition, the provisions also require 
states to submit, at the same time as the progress report, a 
determination of the adequacy of the state's existing regional haze 
plan. The first progress report must be in the form of a SIP revision 
and is due 5 years after submittal of the initial regional haze SIP.
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    \1\ 40 CFR 51.309(d)(10).
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    On March 7, 2016, Utah submitted a Progress Report SIP revision 
which: (1) detailed the progress made toward achieving progress for 
improving visibility at Class I areas; \2\ and (2)

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declared a determination of adequacy of the State's regional haze plan 
to meet reasonable progress goals.
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    \2\ 42 U.S.C. 7491(a). Areas designated as mandatory Class I 
Federal areas consist of national parks exceeding 6,000 acres, 
wilderness areas and national memorial parks exceeding 5,000 acres, 
and all international parks that were in existence on August 7, 
1977. 42 U.S.C. 7472(a). In accordance with section 169A of the CAA, 
the EPA, in consultation with the Department of Interior, 
promulgated a list of 156 areas where visibility is identified as an 
important value. 44 FR 69122 (November 30, 1979). The extent of a 
mandatory Class I area includes subsequent changes in boundaries, 
such as park expansions. 42 U.S.C. 7472(a). Although states and 
tribes may designate as Class I additional areas whose visibility 
they consider to be an important value, the requirements of the 
visibility program set forth in section 169A of the CAA apply only 
to ``mandatory Class I Federal areas.'' Each mandatory Class I 
Federal area is the responsibility of a ``Federal Land Manager.'' 42 
U.S.C. 7602(i). When we use the term ``Class I area'' in this 
section, we mean a ``mandatory Class I Federal area.''
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    On June 16, 2020, the EPA published a proposed rulemaking titled 
``Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Utah; Regional 
Haze 5-Year Progress Report State Implementation Plan'' proposing to 
approve Utah's Progress Report SIP revision.\3\ The rationale for the 
EPA's proposed action is explained in the proposed rulemaking and will 
not be restated here. The EPA is finalizing its proposed approval of 
the Progress Report as meeting the applicable regional haze 
requirements set forth in 40 CFR 51.309(d)(10).
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    \3\ 85 FR 36359 (June 16, 2020).
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II. Response to Comments

    We received three comments on our proposed rulemaking during the 
public comment period. The EPA determined that some of these comments, 
or portions thereof, are outside the scope of our proposed action and 
fail to identify any material issue necessitating a response.
    Comment: The commenter stated that part of the approval is based on 
7-year old data noting that key visibility metrics described previously 
show improvement in visibility conditions between the baseline (2000-
2004) and current conditions (2009-2013).
    Response: We agree with the commenter that Utah provided data from 
2009-2013 (current period) to compare visibility progress with the 
2000-2004 (baseline period). The Regional Haze Rule required that the 
first progress reports be submitted in 2013 and include an assessment 
of changes in visibility conditions between the baseline period and the 
``past five years.'' \4\ Additionally, the EPA's April 2013 General 
Principles for the 5-Year Regional Haze Progress Reports for the 
Initial Regional Haze State Implementation Plans states that ``[f]or 
`current visibility conditions,' the reports should include the 5-year 
average that includes the most recent quality assured public data 
available at the time the state submits its 5-year progress report for 
public review.'' \5\ Thus, Utah's report, which was submitted for 
public review in 2014 and to the EPA in 2016,\6\ appropriately compared 
2009-2013 data to the baseline period. Additionally, we note that 
Utah's progress report and the proposed rule also assessed Utah's 
progress in comparison to the Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP) 
2018 Preliminary Reasonable Progress projections.\7\
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    \4\ 40 CFR 51.309(d)(10), (d)(10)(C).
    \5\ U.S. EPA, General Principles for the 5-Year Regional Haze 
Progress Reports for the Initial Regional Haze State Implementation 
Plans (Intended to Assist States and EPA Regional Offices in the 
Development and Review of the Progress Reports), page 7, April 2013.
    \6\ Utah Progress Report, page 2 (Certification).
    \7\ See 85 FR 36364-68.
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    Comment: The commenter argues that private universities have 
CO2 emissions and should be regulated. In addition, the 
commenter states that the definition of haze should be broadened to 
include light emissions.
    Response: This action is limited to the visibility impairing 
pollutants that Utah considered during the initial 10-year regional 
haze implementation period as required for regional haze progress 
reports, which included sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen 
oxides (NOX), and particulate matter (PM).\8\ Therefore, an 
EPA assessment of CO2 and anthropogenic light emissions is 
beyond the scope of this action as CO2 and anthropogenic 
light emissions are not included in Utah's initial regional haze SIP.
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    \8\ See 40 CFR 51.309(d)(10).
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    Comment: The commenter expressed support for the rulemaking and 
noted that reductions in visibility impairing emissions will benefit 
people residing in Utah, as well as the entire ecosystem.
    Response: We acknowledge the commenter's support for this action.

III. Final Action

    The EPA is finalizing approval of Utah's March 7, 2016, Regional 
Haze Progress Report as meeting the applicable regional haze 
requirements set forth in 40 CFR 51.309(d)(10).

IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this document, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that 
includes incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 
1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the 
Utah State Air Quality Rules described in amendments to 40 CFR part 52 
set forth below. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these 
materials generally available through www.regulations.gov and at the 
EPA Region 8 Office (please email the person identified in the FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this preamble for more 
information). Therefore, these materials have been approved by the EPA 
for inclusion in the SIP, have been incorporated by reference by the 
EPA into that plan, are fully federally enforceable under sections 110 
and 113 of the CAA as of the effective date of the final rulemaking of 
the EPA's approval, and will be incorporated by reference in the next 
update to the SIP compilation.\9\
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    \9\ 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, 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, the 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 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, 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);

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     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 CAA; 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 December 8, 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, 
Greenhouse gases, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental 
relations, Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting 
and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic 
compounds.

    Dated: September 28, 2020.
Gregory Sopkin,
Regional Administrator, Region 8.

    40 CFR part 52 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 TT--Utah

0
2. In Sec.  52.2320:
0
a. The table in paragraph (c) is amended by adding the entry ``R307-
110-28'' in numerical order.
0
b. The table in paragraph (e) is amended by adding the entry ``Progress 
Report for Utah's State Implementation Plan for Regional Haze'' at the 
end of the section under the center heading ``XVII. Visibility 
Protection''.
    The additions read as follows:


Sec.  52.2320  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

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                                                          State          Final rule
            Rule No.                 Rule title      effective date    citation, date            Comments
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                                                  * * * * * * *
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                            R307-110. General Requirements: State Implementation Plan
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                                                  * * * * * * *
R307-110-28....................  Section XX.               2/4/2016  [insert Federal
                                  Regional Haze.                      Register
                                                                      citation], 10/9/
                                                                      2020.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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* * * * *
    (e) * * *

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                                             State
              Rule title                effective date  Final rule citation, date             Comments
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                                                  * * * * * * *
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                                           XVII. Visibility Protection
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Progress Report for Utah's State              2/4/2016  [insert Federal Register
 Implementation Plan for Regional Haze.                  citation], 10/9/2020.
 
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[FR Doc. 2020-21813 Filed 10-8-20; 8:45 am]
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