[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 37 (Friday, February 26, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11680-11681]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-03982]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R05-OAR-2020-0467; FRL-10020-71-Region 5]


Air Plan Approval; Illinois; Public Participation in the Permit 
Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve revisions to the Illinois State Implementation Plan (SIP) that 
were submitted on August 27, 2020 by the Illinois Environmental 
Protection Agency (IEPA). These revisions affect the public notice rule 
provisions for the New Source Review (NSR) and title V Operating Permit 
programs (title V) of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The revisions remove the 
mandatory requirement to provide public notice of draft CAA permits in 
a newspaper and allow electronic notice (e-notice) as an alternate 
noticing option. EPA is proposing to approve these revisions pursuant 
to the CAA and implementing Federal regulations.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 29, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2020-0467 at http://www.regulations.gov, or via email to 
[email protected]. For comments submitted at Regulations.gov, 
follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, 
comments cannot be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. For either 
manner of submission, 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. 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 the person 
identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the full 
EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia 
submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please 
visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Wolski, Physical Scientist, Air 
Permitting Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, 
Illinois 60604, (312) 886-0557, [email protected]. The EPA Region 5 
office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
excluding Federal holidays and facility closures due to COVID-19.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.

I. Background

    On October 5, 2016, EPA finalized revised public notice rule 
provisions for the NSR, title V, and Outer Continental Shelf permitting 
programs of the CAA. See 81 FR 71613 (October 18, 2016). These rule 
provisions remove the mandatory requirement to provide public notice of 
a draft air permit through publication in a newspaper and allow for 
internet e-notice as an option for permitting authorities implementing 
their own EPA-approved SIP rules and title V rules. Permitting 
authorities are not required to adopt e-notice. A permitting authority 
with an EPA-approved permitting program, such as IEPA, may continue to 
use newspaper notification or supplement e-notice with newspaper 
notification or additional means of notification. When e-notice is 
provided, EPA's rule requires electronic access (e-access) to the draft 
permit. Generally, state and local agencies are expected to post the 
draft permits and public notices in a designated location on their 
agency websites. For the noticing of draft permits issued by permitting 
authorities with EPA-approved programs, the rule requires the 
permitting authority to use ``a consistent noticing method'' for all 
permit notices under the specific permitting program. Permitting 
authorities must also provide the public with reasonable access to the 
other materials that support the permit decision (e.g., the permit 
application, statement of basis, fact sheet, preliminary determination, 
final determination and response to comments) as required by existing 
regulations, however such materials which comprise the permit record 
may be provided either electronically, at a physical location, or a 
combination of both.
    EPA anticipates that e-notice, which is already being practiced by 
many

[[Page 11681]]

permitting authorities, will enable permitting authorities to 
communicate permitting and other affected actions to the public more 
quickly and efficiently and will provide cost savings over newspaper 
publication. EPA further anticipates that e-access will expand access 
to permit-related documents. A full description of the e-notice and e-
access provisions are contained in EPA's October 18, 2016, rulemaking 
(81 FR 71613).

II. Analysis of Illinois' E-Notice Rule Revisions

    IEPA revised Chapter 35 Illinois Administrative Code (IAC) part 
252, Public Participation in the Air Pollution Control Permit Program, 
to incorporate EPA's amendments to the Federal public notice 
regulations discussed above. Specifically, IEPA revised 35 IAC 252 
section 201, ``Notice and Opportunity to Comment'' and section 204, 
``Availability of Documents''. IEPA's revisions to 35 IAC 252 section 
201 add language to allow for the use of e-notice for certain air 
permit hearings, including those regarding major stationary source 
construction and modification (IEPA's nonattainment NSR program), CAA 
Permit Program permits (IEPA's title V program), and others, by 
providing notice to the public by prominent placement at a dedicated 
page on IEPA's website. Revisions to part 252 section 204 specify the 
location of certain permitting documents and allow a copy of the draft 
permit to be placed on a dedicated page on IEPA's website for the 
duration of the public comment period.
    IEPA's regulations were the subject of a public hearing on January 
11, 2018 and were adopted on August 17, 2018 with an effective date of 
August 1, 2018. EPA received IEPA's SIP submittal on August 27, 2020. 
Based on a review of the proposed revisions, EPA has preliminarily 
determined that IEPA's revisions meet the requirements of the Federal 
e-notice provisions.\1\
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    \1\ IEPA has submitted additional SIP revision requests which 
will impact part 252. These submittals will be the subject of 
forthcoming EPA actions.
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III. What Action is EPA Taking?

    EPA is proposing to approve IEPA's August 27, 2020 SIP program 
revisions addressing public notice requirements for CAA permitting. EPA 
has preliminarily concluded that the State's submittal meets the plan 
revisions requirements of CAA section 110 and the implementing 
regulations at 40 CFR 51.161, 40 CFR 70.4 and 70.7.

IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA rule, 
regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance 
with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, EPA is proposing to incorporate by 
reference revisions to 35 IAC part 252 section 201 ``Notice and 
Opportunity to Comment'' and section 204, ``Availability of 
Documents'', effective August 1, 2018. EPA has made, and will continue 
to make, these documents generally available through 
www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region 5 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 CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA 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 CAA. 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 (82 FR 9339, February 2, 
2017) regulatory action because it is not a significant regulatory 
action 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 CAA; 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).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Administrative 
practice and procedure, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental 
relations, Operating permits, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: February 22, 2021.
Cheryl Newton,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2021-03982 Filed 2-25-21; 8:45 am]
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