[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 183 (Friday, September 24, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53024-53025]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20648]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2021-0430; FRL-9060-01-R4]


Air Plan Approval; North Carolina; Minor Revisions to Cotton 
Ginning Operations Rule

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve a revision to the North Carolina State Implementation Plan 
(SIP) submitted by the State of North Carolina Department of 
Environmental Quality, Division of Air Quality, via a letter dated 
April 13, 2021, and received by EPA on April 14, 2021. This revision 
contains minor clarifying and typographical edits to North Carolina's 
cotton ginning operations rule. EPA is proposing to approve these 
changes pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 25, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2021-0430 at www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions 
for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or 
removed from 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 www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pearlene Williams, Air Regulatory 
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air and 
Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 
Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The telephone number is 
(404) 562-9144. Ms. Williams can also be reached via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Overview

    On April 14, 2021, the State of North Carolina submitted changes to 
the North Carolina SIP for EPA approval. EPA is proposing to approve 
these changes to 15A North Carolina Administrative Code (NCAC) 
Subchapter 02D,\1\ Rule .0542--Control of Particulate Emissions from 
Cotton Ginning Operations which establishes control requirements for 
particulate emissions from cotton ginning operations.
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    \1\ In the table of North Carolina regulations federally 
approved into the SIP at 40 CFR 52.1770(c), 15A NCAC 02D is referred 
to as ``Subchapter 2D Air Pollution Control Requirements.''
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II. Analysis of North Carolina's SIP Revision

    North Carolina's SIP revision contains minor clarifying and 
typographical edits to the text of Rule .0542.\2\ For example, the 
revision adjusts the citation format for cited rules; corrects several 
typographical errors; adds text clarifying the meaning of certain words 
and phrases; and corrects a citation error. EPA has preliminarily 
determined that these changes do not interfere with attainment and 
maintenance of the national ambient air quality standards or any other 
applicable requirement of the Act because they are minor in nature. For 
these reasons, EPA is proposing to approve the changes to this rule.
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    \2\ See North Carolina's April 14, 2021 SIP revision at pp. 82-
86 (of the pdf file available in the docket for this proposed 
rulemaking) to review a redline version of the rule showing all of 
the proposed changes.
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III. Incorporation by Reference

    In this document, EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA rule 
regulatory

[[Page 53025]]

text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance with the 
requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, EPA is proposing to incorporate by 
reference 15A NCAC Subchapter 02D, Rule .0542--Control of Particulate 
Emissions from Cotton Ginning Operations, with a state-effective date 
of November 1, 2020. These changes are proposed to make minor 
clarifying and typographical edits to the rule. EPA has made, and will 
continue to make, these materials generally available through 
www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region 4 office (please contact the 
person identified in the For Further Information Contact section of 
this preamble for more information).

IV. Proposed Action

    EPA is proposing to approve the aforementioned revisions to Rule 
.0542--Control of Particulate Emissions from Cotton Ginning Operations. 
EPA is proposing to approve these changes because they are consistent 
with the CAA.

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. See 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 they meet the criteria of the CAA. This proposed 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 proposed 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).
    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 as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 
FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor will it impose substantial direct 
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.

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, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic 
compounds.

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

    Dated: September 20, 2021.
John Blevins,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2021-20648 Filed 9-23-21; 8:45 am]
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