[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 222 (Tuesday, November 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73271-73272]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-23921]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-R09-OAR-2019-0471; FRL-10015-27-Region 9]
Delegation of the Title V Permitting Program to the Navajo Nation
Environmental Protection Agency for the Former Bennett Freeze
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to announce that the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region IX granted the Navajo
Nation Environmental Protection Agency's (NNEPA) request to supplement
its delegation of authority to administer the Clean Air Act (the Act)
Federal title V operating permits program. Under this supplemental
delegation, the NNEPA's authority to issue and implement title V
operating permits pursuant to EPA regulations is geographically
extended to include an area located in the western portion of the
Navajo Nation reservation known as the Former Bennett Freeze. The terms
and conditions of the supplemental delegation are specified in a Second
Supplemental Delegation of Authority Agreement (Agreement) between the
EPA Region IX and the NNEPA, effective on July 28, 2020.
DATES: The effective date for the Agreement between the EPA and the
NNEPA is July 28, 2020. Pursuant to section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air
Act, judicial review of this final decision, to the extent it is
available, may be sought by filing a petition for review in the United
States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit within 60 days of
November 17, 2020.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2019-0471. Publicly available docket
materials, including the Agreement, are available through https://www.regulations.gov, or by contacting the person identified in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. Effective July 28, 2020 all
notifications, requests, applications, reports and other correspondence
required under 40 CFR part 71 for the Former Bennett Freeze must be
submitted to the NNEPA's Air Quality Control Program Office at the
following address: NNEPA--Operating Permit Program, P.O. Box 529, Fort
Defiance, AZ 86504, Attn: Glenna Lee.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Beckham, Air Permits Office (Air-
3-1), Air & Radiation Divison, EPA Region IX, (415) 972-3811,
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of this notice is to announce
that effective on July 28, 2020, the EPA Region IX granted the NNEPA's
request to supplement its existing full delegation of authority to
administer the part 71 Federal operating permits program to include the
Former Bennett Freeze.
Previously, on October 15, 2004, the EPA and the Navajo Nation (or
``Tribe'') entered into an initial delegation of authority agreement,
which authorized the Tribe to administer the part 71 program on behalf
of the EPA for all sources located within a Delegated Program Area
specified in that agreement. At that time, the Tribe did not request
that the EPA make any determination regarding the Tribe's eligibility
to administer the part 71 program over two coal-fired generating
stations located on the Reservation (the Four Corners Power Plant and
the Navajo Generating Station), and an area within the western portion
of the Navajo Nation Reservation known as the ``Former Bennett
Freeze.'' On March 21, 2006, the EPA and the NNEPA entered into a
supplemental delegation of authority agreement for the purpose of
delegation of administration of the part 71 program over the Four
Corners Power Plant and the Navajo Generating Station.
The Act and its implementing regulations under 40 CFR part 71
authorize the EPA to delegate authority to administer the part 71
program to any eligible tribe that submits a demonstration of adequate
regulatory procedures and authority for administration of the part 71
operating permits program.
In order to be considered an ``eligible tribe,'' the NNEPA
submitted, on October 31, 2018, an application for a determination,
under the provisions of the Tribal Authority Rule (TAR), 40 CFR part
49, that it is eligible to be treated
[[Page 73272]]
in the same manner as a state for the purpose of receiving delegation
of authority to administer the Federal part 71 operating permit program
for the Former Bennett Freeze. The EPA Region IX reviewed NNEPA's
application and determined that it met the four criteria for
eligibility, identified in 40 CFR 49.6, for the Former Bennett Freeze,
and was thus eligible for entering into a supplemental delegation
agreement with the EPA Region IX to administer the part 71 program for
the Former Bennett Freeze.\1\ The EPA Region IX's eligibility
determination was signed on April 28, 2020.
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\1\ The Tribe's initial delegation agreement excluded the Former
Bennett Freeze because of ongoing litigation between the Hopi Tribe
and the Navajo Nation. On December 4, 2006, the U.S. District Court
for the District of Arizona found that lands in the Former Bennett
Freeze were no longer ``under litigation'', and that the
restrictions on development were no longer in force. Honyoama v.
Shirley. No CIV74-842-PHX EHC (D. Ariz.) (Order and final judgement,
Dec 4, 2006).
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Pursuant to 40 CFR 71.10(b), the EPA Region IX herby notifies the
public that effective July 28, 2020, it granted the NNEPA's request and
is fully delegating the authority to administer the Federal operating
permits program for the Former Bennett Freeze as set forth under 40 CFR
part 71 and in the Agreement. The terms and conditions for the
supplemental delegation are specified in the Agreement between the EPA
Region IX and the NNEPA.
If, at any time, the EPA Region IX determines that the NNEPA is not
adequately administering or cannot adequately administer the
requirements of part 71 or fulfill the terms of the Agreement, this
supplemental delegation may be revoked, in whole or in part, pursuant
to 40 CFR 71.10(c), after appropriate consultation with the NNEPA. The
EPA will notify the public through a Federal Register notice of a
partial or full termination of this Agreement.
Under the supplemental delegation, the EPA retains the authority to
(1) object to the issuance of any part 71 permit for sources located in
the Former Bennett Freeze, (2) act upon petitions submitted by the
public regarding sources in the Former Bennett Freeze, and (3) collect
fees from the owners or operators of any sources in the Former Bennett
Freeze if it is demonstrated that the NNEPA is not adequately
administering the part 71 program with respect to the Former Bennett
Freeze, in accordance with the Agreement, 40 CFR part 71, and/or the
Act. Because the EPA is retaining its authority to act upon petitions
submitted pursuant to 40 CFR 71.10(h) and 71.11(n), any such petitions
must be submitted to the EPA Region IX following the procedures set
forth in those regulations.
Dated: October 21, 2020.
John Busterud,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2020-23921 Filed 11-16-20; 8:45 am]
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