[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 210 (Thursday, October 29, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 68472-68474]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-22527]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R01-OAR-2020-0255; FRL-10013-47-Region 1]


Air Plan Approval; Connecticut; Control of Particulate Matter and 
Visible Emissions

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of 
Connecticut. This revision amends a Connecticut air-quality regulation 
for controlling particulate matter (PM) and visible emissions. The 
intended effect of this action is to define the process industries and 
activities to which this regulation applies, and to make technical 
corrections to an emission-rate calculation method. This action is 
being taken in accordance with the Clean Air Act.

DATES: This rule is effective on November 30, 2020.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R01-OAR-2020-0255. 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

[[Page 68473]]

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. Response to Comments
III. Final Action
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background and Purpose

    On June 29th, 2020 (85 FR 38830), EPA published a Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the State of Connecticut. The NPRM 
proposed approval of amendments to Regulations of Connecticut State 
Agencies (RCSA) section 22a-174-18, Control of particulate matter (PM) 
and visible emissions. The formal SIP revision was submitted by 
Connecticut on October 19, 2018. The revision consists of amendments to 
subsections (c), (f), and (j) to define the process industries and 
activities to which this regulation applies, to make technical 
corrections to an emission-rate calculation method, and to make minor, 
non-substantive modifications in regulatory language. The rationale for 
EPA's proposed action is given in the NPRM and will not be restated 
here.

II. Response to Comments

    EPA received three comments during the comment period. The comments 
we received discuss subjects outside the scope of the action on this 
Connecticut air-quality regulation, do not explain (or provide a legal 
basis for) how the proposed action should differ in any way, and, 
indeed, make no specific mention of the proposed action. Consequently, 
the received comments are not germane to this rulemaking and require no 
further response.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving, and incorporating into the Connecticut SIP, the 
revisions to subsections (c), (f), and (j) of RCSA section 22a-174-18, 
Control of Particulate Matter and Visible Emissions, effective on 
August 3, 2018, submitted to EPA on October 19, 2018.

IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, the EPA is finalizing incorporation by reference into the 
Connecticut SIP the Connecticut regulation referenced in Section III 
above. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these documents 
generally available through https://www.regulations.gov and at the EPA 
Region 1 Office (please contact the person identified in the FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this preamble for more 
information).

V. 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).)

[[Page 68474]]

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 30, 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

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart H--Connecticut

0
2. Section 52.370 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(124) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.370   Identification of plan

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (124) Revisions to the State Implementation Plan submitted by the 
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection on 
October 19, 2018.
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    (A) Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies Section 22a-174-18, 
entitled ``Control of Particulate Matter and Visible Emissions,'' as 
amended August 3, 2018, as follows:
    (1) 22a-174-18(c) Control of airborne particulate matter and 
fugitive particulate matter;
    (2) 22a-174-18(f) Process industries--general; and
    (3) 22a-174-18(j)(1).
    (B) [Reserved].
    (ii) [Reserved]

0
3. In Sec.  52.385, Table 52.385 is amended by revising the entry in 
state citations for ``22a-174-18'' to read as follows:


Sec.  52.385  EPA-approved Connecticut regulations.

* * * * *

                                     Table 52.385--EPA-Approved Regulations
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                                                   Dates
                                        --------------------------     Federal
  Connecticut state      Title/subject       Date         Date         Register       Section       Comments/
       citation                           adopted by  approved by      citation        52.370      description
                                            state          EPA
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                                                  * * * * * * *
22a-174-18...........  Control of           8/3/2018   10/29/2020  [Insert Federal     (c)(124)  Approval of
                        Particulate                                 Register                      revisions to
                        Matter and                                  citation].                    subsections
                        Visible                                                                   (c), (f), and
                        Emissions.                                                                (j).
 
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[FR Doc. 2020-22527 Filed 10-28-20; 8:45 am]
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