[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 240 (Friday, December 17, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 71603-71604]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27312]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 60
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0317; FRL-8510-04-OAR]
RIN 2060-AV16
Standards of Performance for New, Reconstructed, and Modified
Sources and Emissions Guidelines for Existing Sources: Oil and Natural
Gas Sector Climate Review; Extension of Comment Period
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rulemaking; extension of public comment period.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: On November 15, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) published a proposed rule which included new source performance
standards (NSPS) and emissions guidelines (EG) for the Crude Oil and
Natural Gas source category under the CAA to respond to the President's
January 20, 2021, Executive order (E.O.) titled ``Protecting Public
Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate
Crisis.'' In this proposal, the EPA also requested comments on
regulating other types of potential emissions sources and numerous
topics associated with the proposed NSPS and EG. EPA has received
numerous requests to extend the comment period given the complexity and
length of the proposed rulemaking, which is currently January 14, 2022.
Accordingly, the EPA is extending the deadline of the comment period to
January 31, 2022.
DATES: The public comment period for the proposal published in the
Federal Register on November 15, 2021 (86 FR 63110) is extended from
January 14, 2022 to January 31, 2022.Written comments must be received
on or before January 31, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Comments. You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No.
EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0317, by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/
(our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
Email: [email protected]. Include Docket ID No. EPA-
HQ-OAR-2021-0317 in the subject line of the message.
Fax: (202) 566-9744. Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2021-0317.
Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket
Center, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0317, Mail Code 28221T, 1200
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460.
Hand Delivery or Courier (by scheduled appointment only):
EPA Docket Center, WJC West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. The Docket Center's hours of operation
are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday (except Federal holidays).
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2021-0317. The EPA's policy is that all comments received will be
included in the public docket without change and may be made available
online at https://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal
information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed
to be CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by
statute. Do not submit electronically any information that you consider
to be CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by
statute. This type of information should be submitted by mail as
discussed below.
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.
The 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 https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
The https://www.regulations.gov/ website allows you to submit your
comment anonymously, which means the EPA will not know your identity or
contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment.
If you send an email comment directly to the EPA without going through
https://www.regulations.gov/, your email address will be automatically
captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the
public docket and made available on the internet. If you submit an
electronic comment, the EPA recommends that you include your name and
other contact information in the body of your comment and with any
digital storage media you submit. If the EPA cannot read your comment
due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification,
the EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files
should not include special characters or any form of encryption and
should be free of any defects or viruses. For additional information
about the EPA's public docket, visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at
https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
Out of an abundance of caution for members of the public and EPA
staff, the EPA Docket Center and Reading Room are closed to the public,
with limited exceptions, to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19.
The EPA's Docket Center staff will continue to provide remote customer
service via email, phone, and webform. The Agency encourages the public
to submit comments via https://www.regulations.gov/ or email, as there
may be a delay in processing mail and faxes. Hand deliveries and
couriers may be received by scheduled appointment only. For further
information on EPA Docket Center services, please visit us online at
https://www.epa.gov/dockets. The EPA continues to carefully and
continuously monitor information from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, local area health departments, and our Federal partners
so that the Agency can respond rapidly as conditions change regarding
COVID-19.
Submitting CBI. Do not submit information containing CBI to the EPA
through https://www.regulations.gov/ or email. Clearly mark the part or
all of the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information on
any digital storage media that you mail to the EPA, mark the outside of
the digital storage media as CBI and then identify electronically
within the digital storage media the specific information that is
claimed as CBI. In addition to one complete version of the comments
that includes information claimed as CBI, you must submit a copy of the
comments that does not contain the information claimed as CBI directly
to the public docket through the procedures outlined in Instructions
above. If you submit any digital storage media that does not contain
CBI, mark the outside of the digital storage media clearly that it does
not contain CBI. Information not marked as CBI will be included in the
public docket and the
[[Page 71604]]
EPA's electronic public docket without prior notice. Information marked
as CBI will not be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set
forth in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 2. Send or deliver
information identified as CBI only to the following address: OAQPS
Document Control Officer (C404-02), OAQPS, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711,
Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0317. Note that written
comments containing CBI and submitted by mail may be delayed and no
hand deliveries will be accepted.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about this action,
contact Ms. Karen Marsh, Sector Policies and Programs Division (E143-
05), Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711;
telephone number: (919) 541-1065; fax number: (919) 541-0516; and email
address: [email protected] or Ms. Amy Hambrick, Sector Policies and
Programs Division (E143-05), Office of Air Quality Planning and
Standards, Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park,
North Carolina 27711, telephone number: (919) 541-0964; facsimile
number: (919) 541-3470; email address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 15, 2021,\1\ the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule that
included distinct groups of actions. First, the EPA proposed to revise
the new source performance standards (NSPS) for GHGs and volatile
organic compounds (VOCs) for the Crude Oil and Natural Gas source
category under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to reflect the Agency's most
recent review of the feasibility and cost of reducing emissions from
these sources. Second, the EPA proposed emissions guidelines (EG) under
the CAA, for states to follow in developing, submitting, and
implementing state plans to establish performance standards to limit
GHGs from existing sources (designated facilities) in the Crude Oil and
Natural Gas source category. Third, the proposal included several
related actions stemming from the joint resolution of Congress, adopted
on June 30, 2021 under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), disapproving
the EPA's final rule titled, ``Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission
Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources Review.'' 85 FR
57018 (September 14, 2020). Finally, in the proposal, the EPA requested
comments on potentially regulating other types of emission sources and
numerous topics associated with the proposed NSPS and EG. Since
publication of the proposal, which specifies that the comment period
closes on January 14, 2022 the EPA has received numerous requests from
industry and states to extend the comment period due to the lengthy and
complex nature of the action. After considering these requests to
extend the public comment period, the EPA has decided to extend the
public comment period until January 31, 2022. This extension will
provide additional time requested by the public to review the proposal
and gather and provide information to the Agency.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 86 FR 63110.
Penny Lassiter,
Director, Sector Policy and Programs Division.
[FR Doc. 2021-27312 Filed 12-16-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P