[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 38 (Monday, March 1, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 11870-11872]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-04057]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2020-0370; FRL-10019-18-Region 4]


Air Plan Approval; KY; Updates to Attainment Status Designations

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final 
action to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted 
by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, through the Kentucky Division for Air 
Quality (KDAQ), on December 9, 2019. The SIP revision updates the 
description and attainment status designations of geographic areas 
within the Commonwealth for several National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards (NAAQS or standards). The updates are being made to conform 
Kentucky's attainment status tables with the federal attainment status 
designations for these areas. EPA is approving Kentucky's SIP revision 
because it is consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and EPA's 
regulations.

DATES: This rule is effective March 31, 2021.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2020-0370. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the 
index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., 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 form. Publicly available docket materials can either 
be retrieved electronically via www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 
the Air Regulatory Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation 
Branch, Air and Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. 
EPA requests that if at all possible, you contact the person 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 Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Larocca, Air Regulatory 
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air and 
Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 
Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The telephone number is 
(404) 562-9144. Ms. Larocca can also be reached via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Sections 108 and 109 of the CAA require EPA to set NAAQS for 
criteria air pollutants (ozone (O3), particulate matter 
(PM), carbon monoxide, lead, sulfur dioxide (SO2), and 
nitrogen dioxide) and to undertake periodic review of these standards. 
After EPA sets a new NAAQS or revises an existing standard, the CAA 
requires EPA to determine if areas of the country meet the new 
standards and to designate areas as either nonattainment, attainment, 
or unclassifiable.\1\ Such designations inform the state's planning and 
implementation of requirements to achieve and maintain the NAAQS for 
each area within that state.
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    \1\ An area is designated nonattainment if it is found to be an 
area that does not meet (or that contributes to ambient air quality 
in a nearby area that does not meet) the NAAQS; an area is 
designated attainment if it is an area that meets the NAAQS and does 
not contribute to an area violating the NAAQS; and an area is 
designated unclassifiable if it cannot be classified on the basis of 
available information as meeting or not meeting the NAAQS. See CAA 
section 107(d)(1)(A).
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    Section 107(d) of the CAA governs the process for these initial 
area designations. Under this process, states and tribes submit 
recommendations to EPA as to whether or not an area is attaining the 
NAAQS for criteria air pollutants. EPA then considers these 
recommendations as part of its obligation to promulgate the area 
designations for the new or revised NAAQS. EPA codifies its 
designations for areas within each state in 40 CFR part 81.\2\ Under 
section 107(d) of the CAA, a designation for an area remains in effect 
until redesignated by EPA.
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    \2\ EPA's attainment status designations for Kentucky are found 
at 40 CFR 81.318.
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    In a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published on October 19, 
2020 (85 FR 66295), EPA proposed to approve changes to Kentucky rule 
401 Kentucky Administrative Regulation (KAR) 51:010, Attainment status 
designations, which update the description and attainment or 
nonattainment status of geographic areas within the Commonwealth with 
regard to a number of the NAAQS. The Commonwealth of Kentucky last 
amended Regulation 401 KAR 51:010 in 2016.\3\ Since that time, EPA 
promulgated the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS and redesignated several areas 
within the Commonwealth. Kentucky amended 401 KAR 51:010 in 2019 by 
updating the attainment status designations in Sections 7 through 9 for 
O3, PM less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5), 
and SO2 to conform with EPA's attainment status designations 
in 40 CFR 81.318. Regulation 401 KAR 51:010 has also been amended by 
making one minor textual modification to the NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND 
CONFORMITY section. The details of Kentucky's submission and the 
rationale for EPA's action are explained in the proposed rulemaking. 
Comments on the October 19, 2020, NPRM were due on or before November 
18, 2020. EPA did not receive any comments on the October 19, 2020, 
NPRM. EPA is now taking final action to approve the above-referenced 
changes.
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    \3\ EPA approved those amendments into the SIP in 2018. See 83 
FR 65088 (December 19, 2018).
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II. Incorporation by Reference

    In this notice, EPA is finalizing EPA rule regulatory text that 
includes incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 
1 CFR 51.5, EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of 
Kentucky regulation 401 KAR 51:010, Attainment status designations, 
state effective November 19, 2019, which was revised to be consistent 
with the federal attainment status designations for the areas within 
the Commonwealth. EPA has made, and will continue to make, these 
materials generally available through www.regulations.gov and at the 
EPA Region 4 Office (please contact the person identified in the FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this preamble for more 
information). Therefore, these materials have been approved by EPA for 
inclusion in the SIP, have been incorporated by reference by EPA into 
that plan, are fully federally enforceable under sections 110 and 113 
of the CAA as of the effective date of the final rulemaking of EPA's 
approval, and will be incorporated by reference by the Director of the 
Federal Register in the next update to the SIP compilation.\4\
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    \4\ See 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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III. Final Action

    EPA is taking final action to approve portions of the Commonwealth 
of Kentucky's SIP revision submitted on December 9, 2019, because the 
changes are consistent with the CAA and EPA regulations. The submission 
amends

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and updates Kentucky regulation 401 KAR 51:010, Attainment status 
designations, to conform with EPA's attainment status designations in 
40 CFR 81.318. EPA is proposing to approve these changes because they 
are consistent with the CAA and EPA regulations.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and applicable 
Federal regulations. See 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);
     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).
    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 as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 
FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor will it impose substantial direct 
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
    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 CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by April 30, 2021. 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).

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: February 23, 2021.
John Blevins,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, 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 S--Kentucky

0
2. In 52.920, amend Table 1 in paragraph (c) under the heading Chapter 
51 Attainment and Maintenance of the National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards by revising the entry for ``401 KAR 51:010 Attainment status 
designations'' to read as follows:


Sec.  52.920   Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                   Table 1--EPA-Approved Kentucky Regulations
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                                                          State
         State citation             Title/subject    effective date   EPA approval date        Explanation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
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               Chapter 51 Attainment and Maintenance of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards
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                                                  * * * * * * *
401 KAR 51:010.................  Attainment status       11/19/2019  3/1/2021, [Insert
                                  designations.                       citation of
                                                                      publication].
 
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[FR Doc. 2021-04057 Filed 2-26-21; 8:45 am]
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