[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 61 (Thursday, April 1, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 17106-17109]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-06754]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R08-OAR-2020-0646; FRL-10021-65-Region 8]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Utah; 2017
Base Year Inventories for the 2015 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air
Quality Standard for the Uinta Basin, Northern Wasatch Front and
Southern Wasatch Front Nonattainment Areas
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the
State of Utah. The revision fulfills the base year inventory
requirement for the 2015 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality
standard (NAAQS) for the Uinta Basin, Northern Wasatch Front, and
Southern Wasatch Front nonattainment areas. Utah submitted the base
year emissions inventories to meet, in part, the nonattainment
requirements for Marginal ozone nonattainment areas under the 2015 8-
hour ozone NAAQS. EPA is taking this action pursuant to sections 110,
172, and 182 of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before May 3, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R08-
OAR-2020-0646, to the Federal Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from
www.regulations.gov. 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, 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.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy.
Publicly available docket materials are available electronically in
www.regulations.gov. To reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, for
this action we do not
[[Page 17107]]
plan to offer hard copy review of the docket. Please email or call the
person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section if you
need to make alternative arrangements for access to the docket.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Lang, Air and Radiation
Division, EPA, Region 8, Mailcode 8ARD-IO, 1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver,
Colorado 80202-1129, (303) 312-6709, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document wherever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
I. Background
Ground-level ozone is formed when nitrogen oxides (NOX)
and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) react in the presence of
sunlight. Referred to as ozone precursors, these two pollutants are
emitted by many types of pollution sources, including motor vehicles,
power plants, industrial facilities, and area wide sources, such as
consumer products and lawn and garden equipment. Scientific evidence
indicates that adverse public health effects may occur following
exposure to ozone pollution. These effects are more pronounced in
children and adults with lung disease. Breathing air containing ozone
can reduce lung function and inflame airways, which can increase
respiratory symptoms and aggravate asthma or other lung diseases. In
1979, in response to this scientific evidence, EPA promulgated the
first ozone NAAQS, the 0.12 part per million (ppm) 1-hour ozone
NAAQS.\1\ EPA had previously promulgated a NAAQS for total
photochemical oxidants.
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\1\ Revisions to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for
Photochemical Oxidants, 44 FR 8202 (Feb. 8, 1979).
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On July 18, 1997, EPA promulgated a revised ozone NAAQS of 0.08
ppm, averaged over eight hours.\2\ EPA determined this standard to be
more protective of public health than the previous 1979 1-hour ozone
standard. In 2008, EPA revised the 8-hour ozone NAAQS from 0.08 to
0.075 ppm.\3\ On October 26, 2015, EPA again strengthened the 8-hour
ozone NAAQS to 0.070 ppm, based on extensive scientific evidence about
ozone's effects on public health and welfare.\4\ Effective August 3,
2018, EPA designated the Uinta Basin, Northern Wasatch Front, and
Southern Wasatch Front areas as Marginal nonattainment for the more
stringent 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS.\5\
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\2\ National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone, 62 FR
38856.
\3\ National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone, 73 FR
16436 (March 27, 2008).
\4\ National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone, 80 FR
65292.
\5\ Additional Air Quality Designations for the 2015 Ozone
National Ambient Air Quality Standards, 83 FR 25776 (June 4, 2018).
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The Uinta Basin Nonattainment Area (NAA) is comprised of portions
of Duchesne and Uintah Counties. The Northern Wasatch Front NAA
includes Salt Lake, Davis, and portions of Weber and Tooele Counties.
The Southern Wasatch Front NAA is comprised of only a portion of Utah
County.
Under section 172(c)(3) of the CAA, Utah is required to submit
comprehensive, accurate, and current inventories of actual emissions
from all sources of the relevant pollutants in its Marginal
nonattainment areas, i.e., the Uinta Basin NAA, Northern Wasatch Front
NAA, and Southern Wasatch Front NAA.\6\ Specific to areas classified as
Marginal ozone nonattainment, CAA section 182(a)(1) requires that a
base year inventory of ozone precursors be submitted within two years
of the nonattainment designation.\7\
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\6\ 42 U.S.C. 7502(c)(3).
\7\ Id. 7511a(a)(1).
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EPA's guidance for emissions inventory development specifically
calls for states to report ``ozone season day emissions'' in the base
year inventory.\8\ EPA's regulations define ozone season day emissions
as an average day's emissions for a typical ozone season work
weekday.\9\ Although elevated ground-level ozone is typically a
summertime issue for many areas, high ground-level ozone can occur
during the winter with the presence of temperature inversions and snow
cover as well as sufficient solar radiation and ozone precursors.
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\8\ EPA, Emissions Inventory Guidance for Implementation of
Ozone and Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards
(NAAQS) and Regional Haze Regulations, May 2017, 21, 45, 75.
\9\ 40 CFR 51.1300(q).
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CAA sections 172 and 182 identify additional plan submissions and
requirements for ozone nonattainment areas. Under sections 172(c)(5)
and 182(a)(3)(B) of the CAA, Utah is required to implement a
nonattainment new source review permit program and emission statement
requirement, respectively.\10\ EPA will act on SIP revisions that
address these two requirements separately from the base year emissions
inventories at issue in this action.
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\10\ 42 U.S.C. 7502(c)(5); 7511a(a)(3)(B).
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II. Summary of SIP Revision
On July 30, 2020, the Utah Division of Air Quality (UDAQ) submitted
a SIP revision titled ``2017 Marginal Ozone Inventories'' to satisfy
the emission inventory requirements under CAA sections 172(c)(3) and
182(a)(1).\11\ On January 28, 2021, UDAQ submitted a superseding
supplement to the earlier submission, which corrected and explained
administrative errors in Utah's SIP revision.\12\ Utah met the
reasonable notice and public hearing requirements of CAA section 110(a)
for the SIP revision through reasonable notice posted on June 11, 2020,
and notice of a public hearing for July 16, 2020.\13\
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\11\ Letter dated July 29, 2020, from Gary R. Herbert, Governor,
State of Utah, to Gregory Sopkin, Regional Administrator, EPA,
Region 8.
\12\ Utah, Utah Administrative Documentation, Marginal Ozone
Inventory Supplement, January 2021 (``UT SIP Revision'').
\13\ Id. at 68, 86-87, 107-108.
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Utah's SIP revision uses 2017 as its base year for SIP planning
purposes, as recommended in EPA's implementation rule for the 2015
Ozone NAAQS.\14\ The 2017 base year inventories represent
NOX and VOC emissions estimates for an average episode day
(work weekday) during the peak ozone season of an area. For the Uinta
Basin NAA, an average episode day during the peak ozone season is in
February. For the Northern Wasatch Front NAA and Southern Wasatch Front
NAA, an average episode day during the peak ozone season is in
July.\15\ The inventories were developed for all major source
categories including point sources, area (nonpoint) sources, and mobile
sources, including both nonroad mobile and on-road mobile sources.\16\
Additionally, the Uinta Basin NAA inventory included a separate oil and
gas source category.\17\ Emissions sources in the Uinta Basin are
located both in state land and in Indian country. We note that the
Uinta Basin portion of Utah's SIP revision includes only emissions from
sources located on state lands within the Uinta Basin NAA.\18\
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\14\ Implementation of the 2015 National Ambient Air Quality
Standards for Ozone: Nonattainment Area State Implementation Plan
Requirements, 83 FR 62998, 63004-05, 63011 n.29 (December 6, 2018).
\15\ UT SIP Revision at 92, 98, 103.
\16\ Id. at 93, 99, 104.
\17\ Note that Utah included oil and gas emissions as area
sources for the Northern and Southern Wasatch NAAs. See, e.g., UDAQ,
Area Source Inventories, April 2, 2020.
\18\ UT SIP Revision at 95. See also 40 CFR 51.1, 51.15(b).
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Tables 1-3 of this document summarize the 2017 VOC and
NOX emission inventory by source sector for the Uinta Basin
NAA, Northern Wasatch Front NAA, and Southern Wasatch Front NAA. Ozone
season weekday emissions are given in tons per day (tpd).
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Table 1--Uinta Basin Nonattainment Area 2017 VOC and NOX Baseline
Emissions Inventory
[Tons/Day] \19\
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Source type NOX VOC
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Point......................................... 1.07 0.73
Nonpoint...................................... 0.22 1.46
On-road Mobile................................ 3.24 1.22
Nonroad Mobile................................ 0.1 0.11
Oil & Gas..................................... 10.61 37.4
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Total..................................... 15.24 40.93
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Table 2--Northern Wasatch Front Nonattainment Area 2017 VOC and NOX
Baseline Emissions Inventory
[Tons/Day] \20\
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Source type NOX VOC
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Point......................................... 18.83 5.88
Nonpoint...................................... 1.25 44.48
On-road Mobile................................ 52.46 28.56
Nonroad Mobile................................ 27.59 18.54
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Total..................................... 100.12 97.46
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Table 3--Southern Wasatch Front Nonattainment Area 2017 VOC and NOX
Baseline Emissions Inventory
[Tons/Day] \21\
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Source type NOX VOC
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Point......................................... 1.25 0.21
Nonpoint...................................... 0.56 13.1
On-road Mobile................................ 14.93 7.07
Nonroad Mobile................................ 5.18 3.67
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Total..................................... 21.92 24.06
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Point sources are large, stationary, identifiable sources of
emissions that release pollutants into the atmosphere. For Utah's 2017
base year inventories, the State determined point source emissions in
the three nonattainment areas from source-reported data in the UDAQ
State and Local Emissions Inventory System (SLEIS) database, which
includes any source that has the potential to emit greater than or
equal to 100 tons per year of NOX or VOCs. The point source
actuals are reported in tons per year.\22\ Utah's SIP revision uses the
emissions processing software SMOKE (Sparse Matrix Operator Kernel
Emissions) to distribute inventoried pollutants in time and space,
including to a 24-hour period.\23\ The SMOKE Emissions Processing
technical support document included with Utah's SIP revision describes
the processing software in greater detail.\24\ A further description of
the point source emissions inventory is found in the Base Year Ozone
SIP Point Source Inventory technical support document included with
Utah's SIP revision.\25\
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\19\ Id. at 95; Note that the Uinta Basin inventory represents
only emissions from State land in the Uinta Basin NAA.
\20\ Id. at 100.
\21\ Id. at 105.
\22\ See, e.g., id. at 95.
\23\ Id. at 94, 100, 105.
\24\ UDAQ, SMOKE Emissions Processing, June 10, 2020.
\25\ Utah, Base Year Ozone SIP Point Source Inventory (listing
point sources by NAA).
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Nonpoint sources, also known as area sources, are sources of
pollution that are small and numerous, and that have not been
inventoried as specific point or mobile sources. They include a wide
range of sources including, for example, dry cleaners, residential
heating and cooling, auto body painting, and consumer solvents. To
inventory nonpoint sources, sources are grouped so that emissions can
be estimated collectively using one methodology. For Utah's 2017 base
year emissions inventories, the State determined area emissions from
UDAQ's area source emissions calculation workbooks that are the
foundation for data in the 2017 National Emissions Inventory (NEI).\26\
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\26\ UT SIP Revision at 93, 99, 104.
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The on-road mobile source portion of the State's 2017 base year
inventories includes emissions from vehicles, such as cars, trucks,
trash trucks, over-the-road diesel trucks, and buses, which are
operated on public roadways. These emissions were estimated using EPA's
Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator (MOVES) model version MOVES2014b.
Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) determined on-road emissions
for the urban nonattainment areas. The Utah Department of
Transportation (UDOT) determined on-road emissions for rural
nonattainment counties and UDAQ determined emissions in rural counties
in attainment. The on-road mobile source portion of the inventories for
the Uinta Basin NAA, Northern Wasatch Front NAA, and Southern Wasatch
Area were developed by UDOT, the Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC)
MPO and the Mountainland Association of Governments (MAG) MPO,
respectively.\27\
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\27\ Id. at 94, 100, 105.
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The On-road Mobile Sources technical support document \28\ included
with the State's submittal details MOVES modeling inputs including
speeds, vehicle fuel properties and specifications, Vehicle Miles
Traveled (VMT), inspection and maintenance profiles, VMT mix, vehicle
age distributions, and meteorological conditions.\29\ VMT within the
NAAs is based on their respective transportation model's output data
from the UDOT, MAG, and WFRC.\30\ The MOVES modeling used
meteorological inputs for the Uinta Basin NAA based on conditions for
an ozone exceedance event from February 1-10, 2013, in Uintah, Utah,
and conditions on an average July day in 2017 for both the Southern
Wasatch Front NAA and Northern Wasatch Front NAA. UDOT, MAG, and WFRC
developed the on-road inventories in the State's submittal using MOVES
2014b default fuel parameters for diesel and compressed natural gas.
The inventories adjusted gasoline fuel parameters for gasoline sulfur
levels in Utah since small volume refiners were not required to comply
with federal Tier 3 gasoline (10 ppm sulfur) requirements until January
1, 2020. Utah notes in the technical support document for on-road
mobile sources that the EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality
(OTAQ) provided the 2017 local gasoline sulfur value of 20.9 ppm.\31\
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\28\ Utah provided a separate technical support document for
each source sector in each of the three NAAs. Each technical support
document contains largely the same material regarding methodology.
Thus, for ease of reference, we will cite to the technical support
document for the Northern Wasatch Front NAA unless otherwise
specified. Please see the docket for specific technical support
documents.
\29\ See, e.g., UDAQ, Technical Support Document for On-road
Mobile Sources: Summertime 2017 Baseline Ozone Emissions Inventory
for the Northern Wasatch Front, UT Nonattainment Area and
Surrounding Modeling Domain in Utah, April 2020, 5.
\30\ Id. at 6-7.
\31\ Id. at 8.
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Nonroad mobile sources are mobile sources other than on-road
vehicles, including aircraft, locomotives, construction and
agricultural equipment, recreational equipment like snowmobiles, and
marine vessels. The 2017 base year inventory includes emissions from
nonroad mobile sources, excluding aircraft and locomotives, as
estimated for the Uinta Basin NAA, Northern Wasatch Front NAA, and
Southern Wasatch Front NAA by EPA's Non-Road Model. EPA's Non-Road
Model is incorporated into EPA's MOVES model.\32\
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\32\ Utah SIP Revision at 94, 100, 105.
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The State prepared aircraft emissions from data reported by the
2017 NEI, and determined emissions from airport ground support
equipment using the Federal Aviation Administration's Aviation
Environmental Design Tool.\33\
[[Page 17109]]
For rail yard emissions, associated with the operation of switcher
engines, Utah used emissions reported by the 2017 NEI that are compiled
by the Eastern Regional Technical Advisory Committee. Commuter rail
emissions from UTA FrontRunner are also included.\34\ The State
processed the nonroad emissions for the inventories included in the
State's submittal with SMOKE. Additional information describing the
development of the inventory of the nonroad mobile source sector can be
found in the Non-Road Mobile Source technical support document included
with the State's submittal.
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\33\ UDAQ, Technical Support Document Non-Road Mobile Source:
Ozone Inventory for 2017 Base Year, February and July, April 2020,
3, 5.
\34\ Id. at page 8.
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To inventory oil and gas emissions, Utah explains in the SIP
revision that emissions within the Uinta Basin NAA were determined from
workbooks submitted by sources as well as EPA/NOMAD (Nonpoint Methods
Advisory group) oil and gas tool outputs.\35\ Additionally, the State
included emissions associated with off-road mobile oil and gas and
nonroad oil and gas well pad construction equipment in the 2017 base
year inventory for the Uinta Basin NAA. Off-road mobile oil and gas
emissions are from mobile sources that operate within the oil and gas
fields located in the Uinta Basin NAA and were calculated in the base
year inventory from emission factors generated using MOVES2014b.\36\
Nonroad oil and gas well equipment emissions, which include emissions
from well pad, access road, and pipeline construction, were calculated
from emissions factors generated by the EPA MOVES2014b Non-Road
Model.\37\ Well counts for 2017 were provided for by the UDAQ Technical
Analysis Section from the Utah Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining for
both the determination of oil and gas off-road mobile and nonroad
emissions.\38\
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\35\ Utah SIP Revision at 94.
\36\ UDAQ, Technical Support Document 2017 Baseline Wintertime
Ozone Emissions Inventory: Off-road Mobile Sources Operating Within
the Oil and Gas Fields Located in the Uintah, UT Nonattainment Area,
March 2020, 5-6.
\37\ UDAQ, Technical Support Document 2017 Baseline Wintertime
Ozone Emissions Inventory: Non-Road Well Pad Construction Equipment
Operating within the Oil and Gas Fields within the Uintah, UT
Nonattainment Area, March 2020, 4.
\38\ Id. at 5; UDAQ, Technical Support Document 2017 Baseline
Wintertime Ozone Emissions Inventory: Off-road Mobile Sources
Operating Within the Oil and Gas Fields Located in the Uintah, UT
Nonattainment Area, March 2020, 9.
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EPA has reviewed Utah's 2017 base year emission inventories'
results, procedures, and methodologies for the Uinta Basin NAA,
Northern Wasatch Front NAA, and Southern Wasatch Front NAA and we
propose to find them approvable. EPA has concluded that the 2017 base
year inventories are based on the most current and accurate information
available to the State at the time the inventories were developed.
Additionally, the 2017 inventory comprehensively addresses all source
categories in Utah's NAAs and was developed consistent with the
relevant EPA emission inventory guidance and models.
III. Proposed Action
As detailed in the Utah SIP Revision and summarized previously in
this proposed rulemaking, the procedures used by the State in
developing the 2017 base year inventories for the source sectors in the
Uinta Basin NAA, Northern Wasatch Front NAA, and Southern Wasatch Front
NAA satisfy the requirements of the CAA. Therefore, we are proposing to
approve the 2017 base year inventories for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS
for the Uinta Basin, Northern Wasatch Front, and Southern Wasatch Front
Marginal NAAs because the State prepared the inventories in accordance
with the requirements in sections 172(c)(3) and 182(a)(1) of the CAA
and its implementing regulations, including those at 40 CFR 51.1315.
EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues discussed in this
document. EPA will consider these comments before taking final action.
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. 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 requirements 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);
Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2,
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted 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 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, Carbon monoxide,
Greenhouse gases, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental
relations, Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting
and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic
compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: March 23, 2021.
Debra H. Thomas,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 8.
[FR Doc. 2021-06754 Filed 3-31-21; 8:45 am]
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