[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 183 (Friday, September 24, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 52991-52993]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20617]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R06-OAR-2021-0215; FRL-8696-02-R6]


Air Plan Approval; Louisiana; Regional Haze Five-Year Progress 
Report State Implementation Plan

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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[[Page 52992]]

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act), the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a revision to a 
State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Secretary of the 
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) on March 25, 2021. 
The SIP submittal addresses requirements of Federal regulations that 
direct the State to submit a periodic report that assesses progress 
toward regional haze reasonable progress goals (RPGs) and includes a 
determination of adequacy of the existing implementation plan.

DATES: This rule is effective on October 25, 2021.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. EPA-R06-OAR-2021-0215. 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 or other information whose disclosure 
is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted 
material, is not placed on the internet. Publicly available docket 
materials are available electronically through https://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James E. Grady, EPA Region 6 Office, 
Regional Haze and SO2 Section, 214-665-6745, 
[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 ``we,'' ``us,'' or 
``our'' mean ``the EPA.''

I. Background

    In a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published on July 21, 
2021,\1\ EPA proposed to approve LDEQ's regional haze progress report 
for the first implementation period. On March 25, 2021, the State 
submitted its progress report in the form of a SIP revision which, 
among other things, detailed the progress made toward implementing the 
State's long-term strategy for regional haze that was outlined in the 
Louisiana Regional Haze SIP. The progress report assessed visibility 
improvement toward meeting the 2018 RPGs for the one Class I area in 
Louisiana (the Breton National Wilderness Refuge) and also for one 
Class I area in Arkansas (Caney Creek Wilderness area) affected by 
emissions from Louisiana. The State also provided a determination of 
adequacy of the existing regional haze SIP that no further substantive 
revisions are needed at this time. The details of LDEQ's submittal and 
the rationale for our proposed approval are explained in the NPRM. We 
did not receive any comments regarding our proposed action.
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    \1\ See 86 FR 38433.
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II. Final Action

    EPA is approving LDEQ's regional haze progress report SIP revision 
on the basis that it satisfies the requirements of 40 CFR 51.308(g), 
(h), and (i) for the first regional haze implementation period. The 
State's analysis showed visibility improvement that exceeded the 
visibility goals set for 2018 and emission trends indicated that 
SO2, NOX, and PM emissions have all been 
decreasing. Because the regional haze SIP will ensure the control of 
these emission reductions relied upon by Louisiana and other states in 
setting their RPG's for the first planning period, we agree with the 
State's determination that there is no need to revise the existing 
Louisiana regional haze implementation plan to achieve reasonable 
progress at the impacted Class I areas in Louisiana or nearby states.

III. 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 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 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 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 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 Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by November 23, 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

[[Page 52993]]

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, Best available 
retrofit technology, Carbon monoxide, Incorporation by reference, 
Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate 
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Regional haze, Sulfur 
dioxide, Visibility, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: September 17, 2021.
David Gray,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 6.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Environmental 
Protection Agency 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 T--Louisiana

0
2. In Sec.  52.970(e), the second table titled ``EPA Approved Louisiana 
Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures'' is amended by 
adding the entry ``Louisiana Regional Haze Progress Report'' at the end 
of the table to read as follows:


Sec.  52.970  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                  EPA Approved Louisiana Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures
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                                                        State
                                                      submittal
   Name of SIP provision      Applicable geographic     date/        EPA approval date          Explanation
                              or nonattainment area   effective
                                                         date
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Louisiana Regional Haze      Statewide.............    3/25/2021  9/24/2021, [Insert
 Progress Report.                                                  Federal Register
                                                                   citation].
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[FR Doc. 2021-20617 Filed 9-23-21; 8:45 am]
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