[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 24, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11212-11214]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-03196]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 62

[EPA-R06-OAR-2021-0059; FRL-10020-27-Region 6]


Approval and Promulgation of State Air Quality Plans for 
Designated Facilities and Pollutants; Louisiana; Control of Emissions 
From Existing Other Solid Waste Incineration Units

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act), the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is notifying the public that we 
have received a CAA section 111(d)/129 negative declaration from 
Louisiana for existing incinerators subject to the Other Solid Waste 
Incineration units (OSWI) Emission Guidelines (EG). This negative 
declaration certifies that existing incinerators subject to the OSWI EG 
and the requirements of sections 111(d) and 129 of the CAA do not exist 
within Louisiana. The EPA is proposing to accept the negative 
declaration and amend the agency regulations in accordance with the 
requirements of the CAA.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before March 26, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket No. EPA-R06-OAR-
2021-0059, at https://www.regulations.gov or via email to

[[Page 11213]]

[email protected]. Follow the online instructions for 
submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or 
removed from Regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any comment received 
to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you 
consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia 
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written 
comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and 
should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will 
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of 
the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing 
system). For additional submission methods, please contact Karolina 
Ruan Lei, (214) 665-7346, [email protected]. For the full EPA 
public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, 
and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
    Docket: The index to the docket for this action is available 
electronically at www.regulations.gov. While all documents in the 
docket are listed in the index, some information may not be publicly 
available due to docket file size restrictions or content (e.g., CBI).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karolina Ruan Lei, EPA Region 6 
Office, Air and Radiation Division--State Planning and Implementation 
Branch, 1201 Elm Street, Suite 500, Dallas, TX 75270, (214) 665-7346, 
[email protected]. Out of an abundance of caution for members 
of the public and our staff, the EPA Region 6 office will be closed to 
the public to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19. We encourage 
the public to submit comments via https://www.regulations.gov, as there 
will be a delay in processing mail and no courier or hand deliveries 
will be accepted. Please call or email the contact listed above if you 
need alternative access to material indexed but not provided in the 
docket.

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

I. Background

    Sections 111(d) and 129 of the CAA require states to submit plans 
to control certain pollutants (designated pollutants) at existing solid 
waste combustor facilities (designated facilities) whenever standards 
of performance have been established under section 111(b) for new 
sources of the same type, and the EPA has established emission 
guidelines for such existing sources. CAA section 129 directs the EPA 
to establish standards of performance for new sources (NSPS) and 
emissions guidelines (EG) for existing sources for each category of 
solid waste incineration unit. Under CAA section 129, NSPS and EG must 
contain numerical emissions limitations for particulate matter, opacity 
(as appropriate), sulfur dioxide, hydrogen chloride, oxides of 
nitrogen, carbon monoxide, lead, cadmium, mercury, and dioxins and 
dibenzofurans. While NSPS are directly applicable to affected 
facilities, EG for existing units are intended for states to use to 
develop a state plan to submit to the EPA. Once approved by the EPA, 
the state plan becomes federally enforceable. If a state does not 
submit an approvable state plan to the EPA, the EPA is responsible for 
developing, implementing, and enforcing a federal plan.
    The regulations at 40 CFR part 60, subpart B, contain general 
provisions applicable to the adoption and submittal of state plans for 
controlling designated pollutants. Additionally, 40 CFR part 62, 
subpart A, provides the procedural framework by which EPA will approve 
or disapprove such plans submitted by a state. When an affected 
facility is located in a state, the state must then develop and submit 
a plan for the control of the designated pollutant. However, 40 CFR 
60.23(b) and 62.06 provide that if there are no existing sources of the 
designated pollutant in the state, the state may submit a letter of 
certification to that effect (i.e., negative declaration) in lieu of a 
plan. The negative declaration exempts the state from the requirements 
of subpart B that require the submittal of a CAA section 111(d)/129 
plan.
    EPA promulgated the OSWI NSPS and EG on December 16, 2005, codified 
at 40 CFR part 60, subparts EEEE and FFFF, respectively (70 FR 74870). 
Thus, states were required to submit plans for incinerators subject to 
the OSWI EG pursuant to sections 111(d) and 129 of the Act and 40 CFR 
part 60, subpart B. The designated facilities to which the OSWI EG 
apply are existing incinerators \1\ subject to the OSWI EG that 
commenced construction on or before December 9, 2004, and were not 
modified or reconstructed on or after June 16, 2006, as specified in 40 
CFR 60.2991 and 60.2992, with limited exceptions as provided under 40 
CFR 60.2993. The EPA proposed revisions to the OSWI EG and NSPS on 
August 31, 2020 (85 FR 54178). When the EPA finalizes the revisions to 
the OSWI EG,\2\ each state (and air quality control jurisdiction) will 
need to submit a negative declaration or plan, as applicable, for those 
sources subject to the requirements of the revised OSWI EG.
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    \1\ These incinerators include both OSWI and air curtain 
incinerators (ACI). These ACI that are subject to the OSWI EG at 40 
CFR part 60, subpart FFFF, are those ACI that may not fit the 
definition of an ``OSWI'' under the OSWI EG as they burn certain 
types of wastes. See 40 CFR 60.2994(b) and 40 CFR 60.3078.
    \2\ The court ordered deadline to promulgate the final OSWI 
review is May 31, 2021. Sierra Club v. Wheeler, 330 F. Supp. 3d 407. 
(D.D.C. 2018).
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    The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) determined 
that there are no sources subject to the OSWI EG in its individual air 
pollution control jurisdiction in Louisiana. In order to fulfill its 
obligations under CAA sections 111(d) and 129, LDEQ submitted a 
negative declaration certifying that incinerators subject to the OSWI 
EG and the requirements of sections 111(d) and 129 of the CAA do not 
exist within its jurisdiction. LDEQ submitted its OSWI negative 
declaration letter to the EPA on November 24, 2020.\3\ A copy of the 
negative declaration letter can be found in the docket for this 
rulemaking. EPA is notifying the public that the negative declaration 
fulfills LDEQ's obligations under CAA sections 111(d) and 129. The 
submittal of this negative declaration exempts Louisiana from the 
requirement to submit a state plan for incinerators subject to the OSWI 
EG under 40 CFR part 60, subpart FFFF.
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    \3\ The Louisiana negative declaration letter for incinerators 
subject to the OSWI EG does not cover sources located in Indian 
country.
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II. Proposed Action

    The EPA is proposing to amend 40 CFR part 62, subpart T, to reflect 
receipt of the negative declaration letter from LDEQ, submitted on 
November 24, 2020, certifying that there are no existing incinerators 
subject to the OSWI EG at 40 CFR part 60, subpart FFFF, in Louisiana in 
accordance with 40 CFR 60.2982, 40 CFR 60.23(b), 40 CFR 62.06, and 
sections 111(d) and 129 of the CAA.

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a CAA 
section 111(d)/129 submission that complies with the provisions of the 
Act and applicable Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7411(d); 42 U.S.C. 
7429; 40 CFR part 60, subparts B and FFFF; and 40 CFR part 62, subpart 
A. With regard to

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negative declarations for designated facilities received by the EPA 
from states, the EPA's role is to notify the public of the receipt of 
such negative declarations and revise 40 CFR part 62 accordingly. 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);
     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 CAA; and
     Does not provide the 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).
    This proposed rule also does not have Tribal implications because 
it will not have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian 
Tribes, on the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian 
Tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between 
the Federal Government and Indian Tribes, as specified by Executive 
Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 62

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, 
Air pollution control, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Waste treatment and disposal.

    Dated: February 11, 2021.
David Gray,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 6.
[FR Doc. 2021-03196 Filed 2-23-21; 8:45 am]
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