[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 207 (Monday, October 26, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 67651-67653]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-21809]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R01-OAR-2020-0178; EPA-R01-OAR-2017-0344; FRL-10015-24-Region 1]
Air Plan Approval; New Hampshire; Infrastructure State
Implementation Plan Requirements for the 2015 Ozone and 2012 PM2.5
Standards
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule and correcting amendments.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of New
Hampshire that addresses the infrastructure requirements of the Clean
Air Act (CAA or Act), excluding the interstate transport provisions,
for the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). We
are also granting the state an exemption from the infrastructure SIP
contingency plan obligation for ozone and are conditionally approving
several elements of New Hampshire's submittal relating to air-quality
modeling requirements. In addition, we are correcting errors in our
previous approval of an infrastructure SIP submission from New
Hampshire for the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS and conditionally
approving several elements of that submittal. The infrastructure
requirements are designed to ensure that the structural components of
each state's air-quality management program, including provisions
prohibiting emissions that will have certain adverse air-quality
effects in other states, are adequate to meet the state's
responsibilities under the CAA. This action is being taken in
accordance with the Clean Air Act.
DATES: This rule is effective on November 25, 2020.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket
Identification No. EPA-R01-OAR-2020-0178. All documents in the docket
are listed on the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed
in the index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., 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 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: Alison C. Simcox, Air Quality Branch,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Region 1, 5 Post Office
Square--Suite 100, (Mail code 05-2), Boston, MA 02109-3912, tel. (617)
918-1684, email [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Background and Purpose
II. Final Action
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background and Purpose
On August 4, 2020, EPA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(NPRM) to approve most elements of a New Hampshire SIP revision
addressing the infrastructure requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or
Act)--excluding the interstate transport provisions--for the 2015 ozone
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). This NPRM also proposed
to grant the state an exemption from the infrastructure SIP contingency
plan obligation for ozone, and to correct errors and conditionally
approve several elements in our previous approval of an infrastructure
SIP submission from New Hampshire for the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS.
New Hampshire submitted the formal SIP revision for the 2015 ozone
NAAQS on September 5, 2018, and the formal SIP revision for the 2012
PM2.5 NAAQS on December 22, 2015. The rationale for EPA's
proposed action is given in the NPRM and will not be restated here. EPA
received no germane public comments on the NPRM.
II. Final Action
EPA is approving most elements of New Hampshire's September 5,
2018, infrastructure SIP submission for the 2015 ozone NAAQS--excluding
the provisions of the SIP submittal addressing section
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) (i.e., the ``Good Neighbor'' or ``transport''
provisions)--as a revision to the New Hampshire SIP. We are
conditionally approving the SIP submittal for section 110(a)(2)(K) (Air
quality modeling and data) and for the PSD-related requirements of
sections 110(a)(2)(C), (D)(i)(II), and (J). We are also granting the
state an exemption from the infrastructure SIP contingency plan
obligation for ozone.
In addition, we are correcting errors and conditionally approving
several elements in our previous approval of an infrastructure SIP
submitted by New Hampshire on December 22, 2015, for the 2012
PM2.5 NAAQS. Specifically, we are conditionally approving
the 2015 SIP submittal for section 110(a)(2)(K) and replacing approvals
of the 2015 SIP submittal for the PSD-related requirements of sections
110(a)(2)(C), (D)(i)(II), and (J) with conditional approvals.
The State must submit to EPA by October 26, 2021 the revisions to
New Hampshire Part Env-A 619.03, PSD Program Requirements needed to
fully approve the conditionally approved elements of the September 2018
and December 2015 infrastructure SIP submissions.
If the State fails to do so, this approval will become a
disapproval on that date. EPA will notify the State by letter that this
action has occurred. At that time, this commitment will no longer be a
part of the approved New Hampshire SIP. EPA subsequently will publish a
notice in the Federal Register notifying the public that the
conditional approvals automatically converted to disapprovals. If the
State meets its commitment, within the applicable time frame, the
conditionally approved submissions will remain a part of the SIP until
EPA takes final action approving or disapproving the necessary SIP
revision. If EPA disapproves the new submittal(s), the conditional
approvals of the infrastructure 2015 and 2018 SIP submissions from New
Hampshire for the 2015 ozone and 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS for
section 110(a)(2)(K) and the PSD-related requirements of sections
110(a)(2)(C), 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II), and 110(a)(2)(J) will also be
disapproved at that time. If EPA approves the submittal(s) for section
110(a)(2)(K) and the revised PSD-related requirements of section
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II), 110(a)(2)(C), and 110(a)(2)(J), the infrastructure
SIP submissions from New Hampshire for the 2015 ozone and 2012
PM2.5 NAAQS will be fully approved in their entirety
[[Page 67652]]
and will replace the conditionally approved elements in the SIP.
If the conditional approval is converted to a disapproval, such
action will trigger EPA's authority to impose sanctions under section
110(m) of the CAA at the time EPA issues the final disapproval or on
the date the State fails to meet its commitment. In this situation, EPA
will notify the State by letter that the conditional approval has been
converted to a disapproval and that EPA's sanctions authority has been
triggered. In addition, the final disapproval triggers the Federal
implementation plan (FIP) requirement under section 110(c).
III. 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);
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. 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 28, 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,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: September 24, 2020.
Dennis Deziel,
Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the EPA amends 40 CFR part
52 as follows:
PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
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1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart EE--New Hampshire
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2. In Sec. 52.1520 amend the table in paragraph (e) by:
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a. Revising the entry for ``Submittals to meet Section 110(a)(2)
Infrastructure Requirements for the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS,''; and
0
b. Adding entries for ``Submittal to meet Section 110(a)(2)
Infrastructure Requirements for the 2015 Ozone NAAQS,'' and ``Request
for exemption from contingency plan obligation'' at the end of the
table.
Revision and additions to read as follows:
Sec. 52.1520 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(e) Nonregulatory.
[[Page 67653]]
New Hampshire Nonregulatory
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Applicable
Name of nonregulatory SIP geographic or State submittal
provision nonattainment date/ effective EPA approved date Explanations
area date
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* * * * * * *
Submittals to meet Section Statewide........ 12/22/2015; 12/4/2018, 83 FR These submittals are
110(a)(2) Infrastructure supplement 62464. approved with respect
Requirements for the 2012 submitted 6/8/ to the following CAA
PM2.5 NAAQS. 2016. requirements:
110(a)(2)(A), (B),
(C), (D), (E), (F),
(G), (H), (J), (L),
and (M).
................. 12/22/2015....... [Insert Federal This submittal is
Register conditionally
citation]. approved with respect
to provisions of CAA
110(a)(2)(K). The
following previously
approved items are
corrected and changed
from approval to
conditional approval:
110(a)(C) (PSD only),
(D)(i)(II) (prong 3
only), and (J) (PSD
only).
* * * * * * *
Submittal to meet Section Statewide........ 9/5/2018......... [Insert Federal This submittal is
110(a)(2) Infrastructure Register approved with respect
Requirements for the 2015 citation]. to the following CAA
Ozone NAAQS. requirements:
110(a)(2)(A), (B),
(C) (except PSD),
(D)(i)(II) (except
prong 3), (D)(ii),
(E), (F), (G), (H),
(J) (except PSD),
(L), and (M), and
conditionally
approved for the
following CAA
requirements:
110(a)(2)(K) and (C)
(PSD only),
(D)(i)(II) (prong 3
only), and (J) (PSD
only).
Request for exemption from Merrimack Valley-- 9/5/2018......... [Insert Federal State's request for
contingency plan obligation Southern New Register exemption from
for 2015 ozone NAAQS. Hampshire AQCR. citation]. contingency plan
obligation, made
pursuant to 40 CFR
51.152(d)(1), is
granted.
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[FR Doc. 2020-21809 Filed 10-23-20; 8:45 am]
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