[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 122 (Tuesday, June 29, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 34139-34141]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-13771]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R06-OAR-2021-0177; FRL-10024-83-Region 6]


Air Plan Approval; Texas; Clean Air Act Requirements for 
Emissions Inventories for Nonattainment Areas for the 2015 Ozone 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the 
portions of the State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the State 
of Texas to meet the Emissions Inventory (EI) requirements of the 
Federal Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act), for the Dallas-Fort Worth 
(DFW), Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (HGB), and Bexar County ozone 
nonattainment areas for the 2015 8-hour ozone national ambient air 
quality standards (NAAQS). EPA is approving this action pursuant to 
section 110 and part D of the CAA and EPA's regulations.

DATES: This final rule is effective on July 29, 2021.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action Docket No. 
EPA-R06-OAR-2021-0177. All documents in the docket are listed on the 
https://www.regulations.gov. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., 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 are available either 
electronically through https://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nevine Salem, EPA Region 6 Office, 
Infrastructure and Ozone Section, 214-665-7222, [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. 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

    On March 26, 2021 (86 FR 16171), the EPA published a Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the State of Texas, for approval of the 
State's 2017 base year emissions inventories for the DFW, HGB, and the 
Bexar County marginal ozone nonattainment areas for the 2015 ozone 
NAAQS. The background for this action and rational for EPA's proposed 
action are explained in the NPRM and will not be restated here.

II. Response to Comments

    We received one anonymous comment that did not raise any 
substantive issues with the proposed rule. The comment did not explain 
(or provide any legal basis for) how the proposed action should differ 
in any way. We determined that the comment is not germane to the final 
rulemaking and therefore requires no further response. We also noted a 
typographical error in the NPRM--the numbers in Tables 1, 2 and 3 that 
summarize the 2017 NOX and VOC emissions inventory

[[Page 34140]]

in DFW, HGB and Bexar County marginal nonattainment areas, were 
transposed for the On-road Mobile and Non-road Mobile sources. This 
correction does not change or affect the total NOX or VOC 
emissions in the 2017 emission inventory for these marginal 
nonattainment areas for typical ozone season day emissions. In the 
interest of good government, we are including the corrected Tables 1, 2 
and 3 below. We also note that the original and correct tables were 
included in the State's SIP revision submittal and are included in the 
docket for this rule making.\1\
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    \1\ A copy of the SIP revision is available online at 
www.regulations.gov, Docket number EPA-R06-OAR-2021-0177.

                  Table 1--DFW 2017 Emissions Inventory
                             [Tons per day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Source type                       NOX          VOC
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point.........................................        29.90        21.04
Nonpoint (Area)...............................        41.82       293.62
Non-road Mobile...............................        74.79        31.74
On-road Mobile................................       125.13        60.56
                                               -------------------------
    Total.....................................       271.64       406.96
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                  Table 2--HGB 2017 Emissions Inventory
                             [Tons per day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Source type                       NOX          VOC
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point.........................................        97.31        73.34
Nonpoint (Area)...............................        32.12       287.74
Non-road Mobile...............................        86.34        32.29
On-road Mobile................................       101.49        58.65
                                               -------------------------
    Total.....................................       317.26       452.02
------------------------------------------------------------------------


             Table 3--Bexar County 2017 Emissions Inventory
                             [Tons per day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Source type                       NOX          VOC
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point.........................................        29.88         3.56
Nonpoint (Area)...............................         6.62        74.61
Non-road Mobile...............................        11.42         7.09
On-road Mobile................................        35.70        20.84
                                               -------------------------
    Total.....................................        83.62       106.10
------------------------------------------------------------------------

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving the portion of the Texas SIP revisions submitted 
on June 24, 2020 to address the emissions inventory requirements for 
the DFW, HGB, and Bexar County nonattainment areas for the 2015 ozone 
NAAQS.

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, 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, Reporting and record keeping 
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: June 22, 2021.
David Gray,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 6.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the 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 SS--Texas

0
2. In Sec.  52.2270, the second table in paragraph (e), titled ``EPA 
Approved Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures in the 
Texas SIP,'' is amended by adding an entry for ``2017 Emissions 
Inventory for the 2015 Ozone NAAQS'' at the end of the table to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.2270  Identification of plan.

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    (e) * * *

[[Page 34141]]



              EPA Approved Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures in the Texas SIP
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                                                           State
                                        Applicable       submittal/
      Name of SIP provision           geographic or      effective    EPA approval date          Comments
                                    nonattainment area      date
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                                                  * * * * * * *
2017 Emissions Inventory for the   Dallas-Fort Worth,      June 24,  June 29, 2021
 2015 Ozone NAAQS.                  Houston Galveston-         2020   [Insert Federal
                                    Brazoria, and                     Register citation].
                                    Bexar County Ozone
                                    Nonattainment
                                    Areas.
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[FR Doc. 2021-13771 Filed 6-28-21; 8:45 am]
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