[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 94 (Tuesday, May 18, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 26843-26845]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10360]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R07-OAR-2021-0171; FRL-10023-93-Region 7]


Air Plan Approval; Nebraska; Revisions to Title 115 of the 
Nebraska Administrative Code; Rules of Practice and Procedure

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final 
action to approve revisions to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
submitted by the State of Nebraska on September 24, 2020. This final 
action will amend the SIP to revise the Nebraska Administrative Code 
``Nebraska Rules of Practice and Procedure.'' These rules describe the 
procedures the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE), 
formerly the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ), will 
follow for proceedings under the Administrative Procedure Act. These 
proceedings include contested cases, rulemaking petitions, and 
declaratory rulings among others. The revisions consolidate five 
chapters into a single chapter by removing duplicative language and 
incorporating by reference model rules of agency procedure promulgated 
by the Attorney General for agency use in accordance with the 
Administrative Procedure Act.

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The revisions also update language; renumber chapters; and make minor 
wording changes. The changes do not substantively change any existing 
statutory or regulatory requirement or impact the stringency of the SIP 
or air quality, do not revise emission limits or procedures, nor do 
they impact the State's ability to attain or maintain the National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards.

DATES: This final rule is effective on June 17, 2021.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. EPA-R07-OAR-2021-0171. All documents in the docket are 
listed on the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in 
the index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI 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 are available through https://www.regulations.gov or please contact the person identified in the FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section for additional information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Stone, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 7 Office, Air Quality Planning Branch, 11201 
Renner Boulevard, Lenexa, Kansas 66219; telephone number: (913) 551-
7714; email address: [email protected].

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

Table of Contents

I. What is being addressed in this document?
II. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?
III. What action is the EPA taking?
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What is being addressed in this document?

    EPA is amending Nebraska's SIP to include revisions to title 115 of 
the Nebraska Administrative Code. The EPA is approving revisions to the 
Nebraska SIP received on September 24, 2020. The revisions are to Title 
115--Nebraska Rules of Practice and Procedure. These revisions are 
described in detail in the technical support document (TSD) included in 
the docket for this action. The EPA solicited comments on the proposed 
revision to Nebraska's SIP, and received no comments.

II. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?

    The state submission has met the public notice requirements for SIP 
submissions in accordance with 40 CFR 51.102. The submission also 
satisfied the completeness criteria of 40 CFR part 51, appendix V. The 
state provided public notice of the revisions from February 28, 2019, 
to April 2, 2019, and held a public hearing on April 3, 2019. The state 
received no comments. As explained in more detail in the TSD which is 
part of this docket, the SIP revision submission meets the substantive 
requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA), including section 110 and 
implementing regulations.

III. What action is the EPA taking?

    The EPA is taking final action to amend the Nebraska SIP by 
approving the State's request to revise Title 115--Nebraska Rules of 
Practice and Procedure. Approval of these revisions will ensure 
consistency between state and federally-approved rules. The EPA has 
determined that these changes will not adversely impact air quality.

IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this document, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that 
includes incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 
1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the 
Nebraska Regulations described in the amendments to 40 CFR part 52 set 
forth below. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these 
materials generally available through www.regulations.gov and at the 
EPA Region 7 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 the EPA for 
inclusion in the State Implementation Plan, 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 the EPA's approval, and will be incorporated by reference 
in the next update to the SIP compilation.\1\
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    \1\ 62 FR 27968, May 22, 1997.
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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 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 the National Technology 
Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTA) because this rulemaking does not 
involve technical standards; 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).
    The SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian reservation land or 
in any other area where the 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).
    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

[[Page 26845]]

Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United States. The 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 July 19, 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: May 11, 2021.
Edward H. Chu,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the EPA amends 40 CFR part 
52 as set forth below:

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 CC--Nebraska

0
2. In Sec.  52.1420, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by:
0
a. Revising the entries for ``115-1'', ``115-2'', and ``115-3''; and
0
b. Removing the entries for ``115-4'', ``115-5'', ``115-6'', ``115-7'', 
``115-8'', ``115-9'', and ``115-10''.
    The revisions read as follows:


Sec.  52.1420   Identification of plan.

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    (c) * * *

                                        EPA-Approved Nebraska Regulations
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                                                          State
     Nebraska citation                Title          effective date       EPA approval date         Explanation
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                                                STATE OF NEBRASKA
                                       Department of Environmental Quality
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                                   Title 115--Rules of Practice and Procedure
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115-1......................  Adoption of Model            6/24/2019  5/18/2021, [insert Federal
                              Rules.                                  Register citation].
115-2......................  Confidentiality for          6/24/2019  5/18/2021, [insert Federal
                              Trade Secrets.                          Register citation].
115-3......................  Public Hearings.......       6/24/2019  5/18/2021, [insert Federal
                                                                      Register citation].
 
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[FR Doc. 2021-10360 Filed 5-17-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P