[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 16, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14396-14398]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05329]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R06-OAR-2020-0713; FRL-10020-73-Region 6]


Air Plan Approval; Texas; Revisions to the Texas Diesel Emissions 
Reduction Incentive Program

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 proposing to approve a 
revision to the Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP) that pertains to 
the Texas Diesel Emissions Reduction Incentive Program, submitted on 
August 13, 2020.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before April 15, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket No. EPA-R06-OAR-
2020-0713, at https://www.regulations.gov or via email to 
[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 Carl Young, 214-665-6645, 
[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: Carl Young, EPA Region 6 Office, 
Infrastructure and Ozone Section, 214-665-6645, [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 wherever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean the EPA.

I. Background

    Section 110 of the CAA requires states to develop and submit to the 
EPA a SIP to ensure that state air quality meets National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards (NAAQS). These ambient standards currently address 
six criteria pollutants: Carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, 
lead, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide. Each federally-approved 
SIP protects air quality primarily by addressing air pollution at its 
point of origin through air pollution regulations and control 
strategies. The EPA approved SIP regulations and control strategies are 
federally enforceable.
    An Economic Incentive Program (EIP) is a program that uses market-
based strategies to reduce emissions of air pollutants.\1\ The Texas 
Diesel Emissions Reduction Incentive Program (DERIP) for On-Road and 
Non-Road Vehicles is part of the Texas Emissions Reduction Program 
(TERP) that was established by the Texas Legislature in 2001 and 
approved in the Texas SIP as an economic incentive program (70 FR 
48647, August 19, 2005). DERIP provides grants to eligible individuals, 
businesses, or local governments to reduce emissions from diesel-
powered vehicles and equipment in areas designated as nonattainment for 
a NAAQS or other counties identified by the Texas Legislature.\2\
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    \1\ For more information on EIPs see ``Improving Air Quality 
with Economic Incentive Programs'', EPA-452/R-01-001, January 2001, 
available at https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-07/documents/eipfin.pdf.
    \2\ For more information on TERP and DERIP please see ``Texas 
Emissions Reduction Plan Biennial Report (2019-2020), Report to the 
87th Texas Legislature, December 2020, SFR-079/20''. The document is 
available at: https://www.tceq.texas.gov/assets/public/comm_exec/pubs/sfr/079-20.pdf.
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    In 2019 the Texas Legislature revised the eligibility requirements 
for DERIP. As a result, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality 
(TCEQ) revised the DERIP regulations found in Title 30, Chapter 114 
(Control of Air Pollution from Motor Vehicles) of the Texas 
Administrative Code (30 TAC 114). The revisions were adopted on June 
10, 2020 and submitted to the EPA as a SIP revision on August 13, 2020. 
Specifically, the TCEQ revisions: (1) Changed the minimum required 
usage for grant-funded vehicles and equipment in the eligible area from 
75% to 55% (30 TAC 114.622), and (2) removed Victoria County from the 
list of counties eligible for DERIP grants (30 TAC 114.629). A copy of 
the SIP revision submitted to EPA is available in the electronic docket 
for this action.

II. The EPA's Evaluation

    We approved DERIP regulations into the Texas SIP in 2005 (70 FR 
48647, August 19, 2005). More recently, we approved updates to DERIP 
regulations in 2018 (83 FR 50018, October 4, 2018). This SIP revision 
further updates DERIP regulations. The effect of this update is to: (1) 
Allow more diesel vehicles and equipment in nonattainment areas or

[[Page 14397]]

affected counties to be eligible for grant funding (30 TAC 114.622) and 
(2) exclude Victoria County from eligibility for DERIP grants (30 TAC 
114.629).
    Section 110(l) of the CAA requires that EPA shall not approve a SIP 
revision if the revision would interfere with any applicable 
requirement concerning attainment and reasonable further progress (as 
defined in Section 171 of the CAA) or any other applicable requirements 
of the CAA. DERIP is a voluntary incentive program for reducing 
emissions and is not a requirement of the Act. The inclusion of DERIP 
in the SIP, therefore, is discretionary and as such, revisions can be 
made as long as they do not contribute to nonattainment or interfere 
with maintenance. Reductions from the TERP program were part of the 
emission reductions in SIP revisions relied upon to provide for 
attainment of (1) the 1997 ozone standard in the Dallas-Fort Worth area 
(70 FR 15592, March 28, 2005) and (2) the 1-hour ozone standard in the 
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria area (71 FR 52670, September 6, 2006). The 
reductions relied upon in these plans have long been achieved through 
grants and rebates that have already been issued and none of the 
subsequent ozone attainment plans submitted by the State have relied 
upon reductions from the TERP or DERIP programs. However, the State 
could use DERIP as a tool in future SIP revisions to obtain needed 
emission reductions.
    As noted above, revisions to 30 TAC 114.622 changed the amount of 
time equipment needs to operate in the affected counties. This change 
will provide for an increase in the pool of vehicles and equipment 
eligible for this program and potentially generate more emission 
reductions through future state grants. Some of these reductions, 
however, will likely be outside of designated nonattainment areas. As 
Texas is not relying on emission reductions from future DERIP grants, 
it is not necessary for the reductions to occur exactly in an affected 
nonattainment area.
    As stated previously, DERIP and TERP are not mandated by the Clean 
Air Act. The implementation of these programs is discretionary. The 
Texas legislature originally adopted the programs to apply in 
nonattainment areas and other affected areas deemed near-nonattainment 
areas. None of the reductions that will be achieved by these programs 
going forward are being relied upon in any plan for any affected area 
in Texas. The Texas legislature decided that it no longer should 
implement the program in Victoria County which is meeting all current 
NAAQS. Not providing grants to reduce emissions from diesel equipment 
will not cause emissions to increase in Victoria county. Instead 
emissions in the county will not be impacted by this SIP revision. 
Therefore, approval of the revision to 30 TAC 114.629 will not 
contribute to nonattainment or interfere with maintenance in Victoria 
County. As more diesel equipment become eligible, the concentration of 
the DERIP program in nonattainment areas will likely result in 
additional emission reductions. As additional grants are issued to 
reduce emissions from diesel equipment, the air quality will benefit, 
which will assist in maintenance and attainment of the NAAQS. 
Therefore, the proposed approval of the SIP revision is consistent with 
the CAA section 110(1). Also, because the program is discretionary, it 
will not interfere with any applicable requirement for attainment and 
reasonable further progress, or any other applicable requirement of the 
CAA. Because the revised program will continue to achieve additional 
reductions not relied upon by any plan for attainment or maintenance, 
the revisions will not contribute to nonattainment or interfere with 
maintenance.

III. Proposed Action

    We are proposing to approve the revisions to 30 TAC 114.622 and 
114.629 adopted on June 10, 2020 and submitted on August 13, 2020.

IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this action, we are proposing to include in a final rule 
regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance 
with the requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, we are proposing to incorporate by 
reference revisions to the Texas regulations as described in the 
Proposed Action section above. We have made, and will continue to make, 
these documents generally available electronically through 
www.regulations.gov (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 Act and applicable 
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in 
reviewing SIP submissions, the EPA's role is to approve state choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this 
action merely proposes to approve 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).
    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 proposed 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, Incorporation by 
reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.


[[Page 14398]]


    Dated: March 10, 2021.
David Gray,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 6.
[FR Doc. 2021-05329 Filed 3-15-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P