[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 4 (Thursday, January 7, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1105-1106]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-00026]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2019-0668; FRL-10019-17-OAR]


Guidance on the Preparation of Clean Air Act Section 179B 
Demonstrations for Nonattainment Areas Affected by International 
Transport of Emissions

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) has posted on its website a final guidance document 
titled, ``Guidance on the Preparation of Clean Air Act Section 179B 
Demonstrations for Nonattainment Areas Affected by International 
Transport of Emissions.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions concerning this 
final guidance document, please contact Gobeail McKinley, U.S. EPA, 
Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Air Quality Policy 
Division, C539-04, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone (919) 
541-5246, email at [email protected]. For questions about the 
technical issues discussed in Section 6 of this guidance, please 
contact Barron Henderson, U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and 
Standards, Air Quality Assessment Division, Research Triangle Park, NC 
27711, telephone (919) 541-2760, email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

How can I get copies of this guidance document and other related 
information?

    Docket: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2019-0668. All documents in the docket are 
listed on the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in 
the index, some information may not be publicly available, e.g., 
Confidential Business Information 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. Publicly available docket materials are available 
electronically through https://www.regulations.gov.
    Agency Website: The EPA has established the EPA Guidance Portal 
website for posting of all active final guidance documents. The EPA 
Guidance Portal can be accessed at the following website: https://epa.gov/guidance/.
    The EPA has a website to house information related to the 
international transport of air pollution at: https://www.epa.gov/ground-level-ozone-pollution/international-transport-air-pollution. The 
website includes the EPA's draft and final Clean Air Act (CAA) section 
179B guidance documents, a recording of and the slides presented during 
the public webinar held on February 12, 2020, and other technical 
information and resources related to the international transport of air 
pollution. The website provides related information that the public may 
find useful.

What's the purpose of the EPA's guidance?

    The purpose of this new final guidance document is to assist state, 
local, and tribal air agencies that are considering the development of 
a demonstration, under section 179B of the CAA, that a nonattainment 
area would be able to attain, or would have attained, the relevant 
National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) but for air pollutant 
emissions emanating from outside the United States. The guidance 
describes and provides examples of the kinds of information and 
analyses that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends 
air agencies consider including in a CAA section 179B demonstration. 
The guidance also describes a weight of evidence approach that the EPA 
intends to use when evaluating CAA section 179B demonstrations. This 
nonbinding guidance is intended to assist air agencies considering the 
preparation of a CAA section 179B demonstration but does not limit the 
types of information or analyses that could be provided as part of any 
such demonstration under the CAA.
    The EPA has the authority under CAA section 179B to assess such an 
international transport demonstration when evaluating a state 
implementation plan (SIP) submitted in response to a nonattainment 
designation or reclassification of an area, or when the EPA determines 
whether a nonattainment area has or has not failed to attain the 
standard by the attainment date (and thus would become subject to 
additional CAA requirements). If the EPA determines that such a 
demonstration is approvable, the EPA will provide certain regulatory 
relief as described in CAA section 179B. If the EPA approves a CAA 
section 179B demonstration showing that an area in the future would 
attain the relevant NAAQS but for international emissions, then the air 
agency would not be subject to the SIP requirement to provide an 
attainment demonstration. If the EPA approves a CAA section 179B 
demonstration showing that a nonattainment area would have attained the 
relevant NAAQS based on past air quality data but for international 
emissions, then the nonattainment area would not be subject to 
reclassification to a higher classification and would not be subject to 
additional regulatory requirements that come with a higher 
classification.
    In addition to describing the kinds of information and analyses 
that may be helpful to include in a CAA section 179B demonstration, 
this guidance provides:
     A review of the existing regulatory framework for 
considering CAA section 179B demonstrations;
     A review of other existing regulatory mechanisms that may 
be more appropriate alternatives to CAA section 179B in certain 
situations;
     Recommended timeframes for the CAA section 179B 
demonstration development and submittal process; and

[[Page 1106]]

     Background on the nature of intracontinental and 
intercontinental transport of air pollution.
    The EPA accepted comments on the draft guidance from January 9, 
2020, through March 10, 2020. The EPA received comments from 15 
entities. All comments received by the EPA are included in the docket 
for this guidance. The EPA thoroughly considered the points raised in 
the comments in the development of this final guidance.
1. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive 
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review
    This action is a significant guidance document that was submitted 
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. Any changes 
made in response to OMB recommendations have been documented in the 
docket.
2. Executive Order 13771: Reducing Regulations and Controlling 
Regulatory Costs
    This action is not considered an Executive Order 13771 deregulatory 
or regulatory action. This action is considered a significant guidance 
action. There are no quantified cost estimates for this guidance 
because it does not create regulatory requirements for states. To the 
extent the clarifications in the guidance influence the behaviors of 
states, this guidance could help a state develop an approvable CAA 
section 179B demonstration, which in turn would be expected to reduce 
the state's burden associated with implementing nonattainment area 
requirements.
3. Executive Order 13609: Promoting International Regulatory 
Cooperation
    This guidance does not impact regulatory cooperation because it is 
not a regulation.
4. Executive Order 13777: Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda
    This guidance is not being issued as a result of the agency's 
regulatory reform agenda or through a recommendation from the Agency's 
Regulatory Reform Task Force because it is not a regulation.
5. Executive Order 13891: Promoting the Rule of Law Through Improved 
Agency Guidance Documents
    This guidance complies with all the requirements of Executive Order 
13891.

    Dated: December 18, 2020.
Panagiotis Tsirigotis,
Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2021-00026 Filed 1-6-21; 8:45 am]
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