[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 166 (Tuesday, August 31, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 48504-48507]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17952]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2020-0703; FRL-8837-02-R3]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
District of Columbia; Regional Haze State Implementation Plan for the 
Second Implementation Period and Reasonably Available Control 
Technology for Major Stationary Sources of Nitrogen Oxides; Technical 
Amendment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a 
regional haze state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the 
District of Columbia (``the District'' or ``DC'') through the 
Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) on November 8, 2019, as 
satisfying applicable requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and 
EPA's Regional Haze Rule (RHR) for the program's second implementation 
period. The District's SIP submission addressed the requirement that 
states must periodically revise their long-term strategies for making 
reasonable progress towards the national goal of preventing any future, 
and remedying any existing, anthropogenic impairment of visibility in 
mandatory Class I Federal Areas, including regional haze. EPA is taking 
this action pursuant to sections 110 and 169A of the CAA. EPA is also 
correcting an error in the citations in our previous final approval of 
the District's revision to the Reasonably Available Control Technology 
for Major Stationary Sources of Nitrogen Oxides Rule (``DC NOx RACT 
rule'') according to our authority under section 110(k)(6) of the CAA.

DATES: This final rule is effective on September 30, 2021.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID 
Number EPA-R03-OAR-2020-0703. 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, e.g., confidential business 
information (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 availability 
information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keila M. Pag[aacute]n-Incle, Planning 
& Implementation Branch (3AD30), Air & Radiation Division, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. The telephone number is (215) 814-
2926. Ms. Pag[aacute]n-Incle can also be reached via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On April 15, 2021, EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking 
(NPRM) for the District. 86 FR 19793. The NPRM proposed approval of 
DC's regional haze plan for the second implementation period (``DC DOEE 
2019 Regional Haze SIP submission''), which runs through 2028.
    In the 1977 CAA amendments, Congress created a program for 
protecting visibility in the nation's mandatory Class I Federal areas, 
which include certain national parks and wilderness areas.\1\ 42 U.S.C 
7491. The CAA establishes as a national goal the ``prevention of any 
future, and the remedying of any existing, impairment of visibility in 
mandatory Class I Federal areas which impairment results from manmade 
air pollution'',\2\ and directs EPA to promulgate regulations to assure 
reasonable progress toward meeting this national goal. 42 U.S.C. 
7491(a)(4). On July 1, 1999, EPA promulgated the RHR, which is codified 
at 40 CFR 51.308.\3\ See 64 FR 35714. Additional background and 
information about regional haze and the regional haze program is 
included in the April 15, 2021 proposal. 86 FR 19793.
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    \1\ Areas statutorily designated as mandatory Class I Federal 
areas consist of national parks exceeding 6,000 acres, wilderness 
areas and national memorial parks exceeding 5,000 acres, and all 
international parks that were in existence on August 7, 1977. 42 
U.S.C. 7472(a). There are 156 mandatory Class I areas. The list of 
areas to which the requirements of the visibility protection program 
apply is in 40 CFR part 81, subpart D.
    \2\ 42 U.S.C. 7491(a)(1).
    \3\ In addition to the generally applicable regional haze 
provisions at 40 CFR 51.308, EPA also promulgated regulations 
specific to addressing regional haze visibility impairment in Class 
I areas on the Colorado Plateau at 40 CFR 51.309. The latter 
regulations are applicable only for specific jurisdictions' regional 
haze plans submitted no later than December 17, 2007, and thus are 
not relevant here.
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    To address regional haze visibility impairment, the 1999 RHR 
established an iterative planning process that requires states in which 
Class I areas are located and states ``the emissions from which may 
reasonably be anticipated to cause or contribute to any impairment of 
visibility'' in a Class I area to periodically submit SIP revisions to 
address regional haze visibility impairment. 42 U.S.C. 7491(b)(2); 40 
CFR 51.308(b) and (f); see also 64 FR 35768 (July 1, 1999). Under the 
CAA, each SIP submission must contain ``a long-term (ten to fifteen 
years) strategy for making reasonable progress toward meeting the 
national goal.'' 42 U.S.C. 7491(b)(2)(B). States' first regional haze 
SIP submissions were due by December 17, 2007, 40 CFR 51.308(b), with 
subsequent SIP submissions containing revised long-term strategies 
originally due July 31, 2018, and every ten years thereafter. 64 FR 
35768.
    On January 10, 2017, EPA promulgated revisions to the RHR that 
apply for the second and subsequent implementation periods. 82 FR 3078. 
The revisions to the regional haze program focused on the requirement 
that States' SIPs contain long-term strategies for making reasonable 
progress towards the national visibility goal. Among other changes 
relative to the first period requirements, the 2017 RHR Revisions 
adjusted the deadline for States to submit their second-implementation-
period SIP revisions from July 31, 2018 to July 31, 2021, clarified the 
order of analysis and the relationship between the reasonable progress 
goals (RPGs) and the long-term strategy, and focused on making 
visibility improvements on the days with the most anthropogenic 
visibility impairment, as opposed to the days with the most visibility 
impairment overall. EPA has issued several guidance documents relevant 
to SIP development for the second

[[Page 48505]]

implementation period, including the August 2019 ``Guidance on Regional 
Haze State Implementation Plans for the Second Implementation Period'' 
(``2019 Guidance'').\4\
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    \4\ Guidance on Regional Haze State Implementation Plans for the 
Second Implementation Period. Available at: https://www.epa.gov/visibility/guidance-regional-haze-state-implementation-plans-second-implementation-period EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and 
Standards, Research Triangle Park (August 20, 2019).
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    Because the air pollutants and pollution affecting visibility in 
Class I areas can be transported over long distances, successful 
implementation of the regional haze program requires long-term, 
regional coordination among multiple jurisdictions and agencies that 
have responsibility for Class I areas and the emissions that impact 
visibility in those areas. In order to address regional haze, states 
need to develop strategies in coordination with one another, 
considering the effect of emissions from one jurisdiction on the air 
quality in another. Five regional planning organizations (RPOs), which 
include representation from state and tribal governments, EPA, and 
federal land managers (FLMs), were developed in the lead-up to the 
first implementation period to address regional haze. RPOs evaluate 
technical information to better understand how emissions from state and 
tribal land impact Class I areas across the country, pursue the 
development of regional strategies to reduce emissions of particulate 
matter and other pollutants leading to regional haze, and help states 
meet the consultation requirements of the RHR.
    One of the five RPOs described above is the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast 
Visibility Union (MANE-VU). MANE-VU is a collaborative effort of state 
governments, tribal governments, and various Federal agencies 
established to initiate and coordinate activities associated with the 
management of regional haze, visibility, and other air quality issues 
in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast corridor of the United States. The 
District, as well as other states and tribal governments along the Mid-
Atlantic and Northeast corridor, are members of MANE-VU.
    EPA published a final rule fully approving the DC regional haze SIP 
submission for the first implementation period on February 2, 2012 (77 
FR 5191), and approved a five-year progress report as a SIP revision 
into the DC SIP on August 10, 2017 (82 FR 37305). On November 8, 2019, 
the District submitted another SIP revision, developed with the 
technical information from MANE-VU, to address the jurisdiction's 
regional haze obligations for the second implementation period, which 
runs through 2028. On April 15, 2021, EPA proposed to approve the DC 
DOEE 2019 Regional Haze SIP submission as meeting the applicable 
statutory and regulatory requirements. 86 FR 19793.
    In the April 15, 2021 publication, EPA also proposed to correct an 
error in the citations of the regulatory provisions in a previous 
action--the final rule (FR) and identification of plan of the DC NOx 
RACT rule (February 24, 2020, 85 FR 10295)--according to our authority 
to make corrections to prior SIP actions under Section 110(k)(6) of the 
CAA. As we noted in the NPRM, the DC DOEE 2019 Regional Haze SIP 
submission relies in part on this rule.

II. Summary of SIP Revision and EPA Analysis

    Under the CAA and EPA's regulations, each state, including the 
District, must include in its SIP a long-term (ten to fifteen years) 
strategy for making reasonable progress toward meeting the national 
goal of remedying any existing and preventing any future anthropogenic 
visibility impairment in Class I areas. 42 U.S.C. 7491(b)(2)(B). To 
this end, 40 CFR 51.308(f) lays out the process by which states 
determine what constitutes their long-term strategies, with the order 
of the requirements in 40 CFR 51.308(f)(1) through (3) generally 
mirroring the order of the steps in the reasonable progress analysis 
and (f)(4) through (6) containing additional, related requirements. In 
addition, the SIP submissions for the second implementation period must 
address the requirements in 40 CFR 51.308(g)(1) through (5) pertaining 
to periodic reports describing progress towards the RPGs, 40 CFR 
51.308(f)(5), as well as requirements for FLM consultation that apply 
to all visibility protection SIPs and SIP revisions. 40 CFR 51.309(i).
    As discussed in the April 15, 2021 (86 FR 19793) NPRM, in 
accordance with CAA sections 169A and the RHR at 40 CFR 51.308(f), on 
November 8, 2019, DC DOEE submitted a revision to the DC SIP to address 
the jurisdiction's regional haze obligations for the second 
implementation period. The revision included the analyses conducted by 
MANE-VU and the District's determinations based on those analyses; the 
District's long-term strategy for making reasonable progress; and the 
District's assessment of progress made since the first implementation 
period in reducing emissions of visibility impairing pollutants and the 
visibility improvement progress at nearby Class I areas. EPA evaluated 
the District's submission against the requirements of the CAA and RHR 
for the second implementation period of the regional haze program. The 
following is a summary of selected components of the District's SIP 
submission; EPA's full evaluation of the complete submission against 
all applicable regional haze requirements for the second implementation 
period is contained in Section IV of the April 15, 2021 NPRM.
    The core component of a regional haze SIP submission is a long-term 
strategy that addresses regional haze in each Class I area within a 
state's borders and each Class I area that may be affected by emissions 
from the state. The long-term strategy ``must include the enforceable 
emissions limitations, compliance schedules, and other measures that 
are necessary to make reasonable progress, as determined pursuant to 
[40 CFR 51.308](f)(2)(i) through (iv).'' 40 CFR 51.308(f)(2). The 
amount of progress that is ``reasonable progress'' is determined by 
applying the four statutory factors in CAA section 169A(g)(1) in an 
evaluation of potential control options for sources of visibility 
impairing pollutants, which is referred to as a ``four-factor'' 
analysis. The RHR refers to the controls identified pursuant to a four-
factor analysis as ``emission reduction measures,'' see 40 CFR 
51.308(f)(2)(i); these measures represent the level of emissions that a 
particular source or group of sources need to achieve to make 
reasonable progress towards the national visibility goal. States' SIPs 
must include ``enforceable emissions limitations, compliance schedules, 
and other measures'' (i.e., any compliance tools) for the emission 
reduction measures they have determined are necessary to make 
reasonable progress pursuant to four-factor analysis. 40 CFR 
51.308(f)(2).
    MANE-VU's strategy, on which the District relied to satisfy its 
requirements for the second implementation period, included a 
combination of (1) measures for certain source sectors and groups of 
sources that the RPO determined were reasonable for states to pursue, 
and (2) a request for member states to conduct four-factor analyses for 
individual sources that it identified as contributing to visibility 
impairment. MANE-VU developed a set of emissions reduction measures for 
making reasonable progress in the five MANE-VU Class I areas. MANE-VU 
refers to each of the components of its overall strategy as an ``Ask'' 
of its member states. The District's submission discussed each of the 
Asks and explained why or why not each is applicable and how it has 
complied with the relevant components of the emissions control strategy 
MANE-VU has laid out for its states. A

[[Page 48506]]

detailed description about the District's response to the six MANE-VU 
Asks and EPA's evaluation of the District's responses and compliance 
with 40 CFR 51.308(f)(2)(i) can be found in Section IV. E. of the April 
15, 2021 NPRM.
    The NPRM also sets out at length the other requirements in the RHR 
that the DC DOEE 2019 Regional Haze SIP submission must meet to be 
approved, EPA's evaluation of the DC DOEE 2019 Regional Haze SIP 
submission against those requirements, and EPA's conclusion that the 
District has met its requirements under 40 CFR 51.308 with respect to 
its regional haze SIP for the second implementation period, the DC DOEE 
2019 Regional Haze SIP submission. In particular, EPA evaluated these 
requirements, as set forth in the NPRM, including: (1) Monitoring 
strategy and other implementation plan requirements; (2) requirements 
for RPG; and (3) requirements for state and FLM coordination. These 
other specific requirements of the CAA and EPA's RHR, and the rationale 
for EPA's proposed action, are more fully explained in the NPRM and 
will not be restated here.

III. EPA's Response to Comments Received

    EPA received one comment supporting our proposed action in the 
April 15, 2021 NPRM. The comment received is in the docket for this 
rulemaking action. EPA received no adverse comments.

IV. Final Action

    EPA is approving the revision to the District of Columbia SIP 
submitted by the District through DC DOEE on November 8, 2019. EPA is 
approving the District's SIP submission as satisfying the regional haze 
requirements for the second implementation period.

V. Incorporation by Reference

    In addition, EPA is correcting errors in the regulatory citation in 
our February 24, 2020 (85 FR 10295) final action on the DC 
NOX RACT rule and is codifying this correction by revising 
the appropriate entries under 40 CFR 52.470 (Identification of Plan). 
EPA approved the District's revision to the DC NOX RACT rule 
(20 DCMR 805) into the SIP on February 24, 2020. 85 FR 10295. However, 
after we finalized the rulemaking, EPA discovered that we had erred in 
identifying the particular sections of the DC NOX RACT rule 
for incorporation by reference into the DC SIP. EPA is amending the 
table in paragraph (c) of 40 CFR 52.470 to correctly reflect our 
intended approval of 20 DCMR sections 805.1(a), 805.1(a)(2), 805.4(a), 
and 805.4(b), described as follows.
    EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials generally 
available through https://www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region III 
Office (please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this preamble for more information).
    Amendments to 20 District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (20 
DCMR) Chapter 8, section 805.4:
    a. Amending sections 805.4(a)(1) and (2) to set NOX 
emission limitations for any stationary combustion turbines with a heat 
input rating greater than fifty million (50,000,000) BTU per hour;
    b. Amending section 805.4(a)(3) to set NOX emission 
limitations for certain stationary combustion turbines with a heat 
input rating less than or equal to fifty million (50,000,000) BTU per 
hour;
    c. Amending section 805.4(a)(4) to set NOX emission 
limitations for certain stationary combustion turbines with a heat 
input rating less than or equal to ten million (10,000,000) BTU per 
hour;
    d. Amending section 805.4(b) to replace requirements for stationary 
combustion turbines with an energy input capacity of one hundred 
million (100,000,000) BTU per hour or greater which is operated for 
less than five hundred (500) hours per year with testing and continuous 
monitoring requirements for any person required to comply with section 
805.4.
    These regulatory changes to section 805 were adopted on November 
27, 2018, and effective on the date of publication, December 14, 2018, 
in the District of Columbia Register (Vol. 65, Number 51, page 013499, 
December 14, 2018).

VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General Requirements

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA 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 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 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, this rule does not have tribal implications as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), 
because the SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in 
the State, and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct 
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.

B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General

    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

[[Page 48507]]

is published in the Federal Register. This action is not a ``major 
rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

C. Petitions for Judicial Review

    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 November 1, 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 pertaining to the District's regional haze state 
implementation plan for the second implementation period and correction 
for the RACT rule for major stationary sources of NOX 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, Incorporation by 
reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Sulfur oxides.

    Dated: August 11, 2021.
Diana Esher,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.

    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 J--District of Columbia

0
2. Amend Sec.  52.470:
0
a. In the table in paragraph (c), by revising the entry for ``Section 
805''; and
0
b. In the table in paragraph (e), by adding the entry ``Regional Haze 
State Implementation Plan for the Second Implementation Period'' at the 
end of the table.
    The revision and addition read as follows:


Sec.  52.470  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                       EPA--Approved Regulations and Statutes in the District of Columbia
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                                                             State                               Additional
        State citation               Title/subject      effective date  EPA approval date       explanation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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                                 Chapter 8 Asbestos, Sulfur and Nitrogen Oxides
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Section 805...................  Reasonably Available        12/14/2018  8/31/2021,         Amended 805.1(a),
                                 Control Technology                      [insert Federal    805.1(a)(2), and
                                 for Major Stationary                    Register           805.4 (a) and (b).
                                 Sources of Nitrogen                     citation].         Previous approval
                                 Oxides.                                                    (see the Federal
                                                                                            Register of 2/24/
                                                                                            2020) corrected to
                                                                                            include accurate
                                                                                            citation of
                                                                                            amendments to DC NOx
                                                                                            RACT rule.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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* * * * *
    (e) * * *

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    Name of non-regulatory SIP          Applicable           State                                Additional
             revision                geographic area    submittal date   EPA approval date       explanation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Regional Haze State                Statewide..........       11/8/2019  8/31/2021, [insert   For the Regional
 Implementation Plan for the                                             Federal Register     Haze Second
 Second Implementation Period.                                           citation].           Implementation
                                                                                              Period.
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[FR Doc. 2021-17952 Filed 8-30-21; 8:45 am]
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