[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]


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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.

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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.
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    \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