[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 62 (Thursday, March 31, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18759-18760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06773]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2021-0472; FRL-9646-01-R4]


Air Plan Approval; North Carolina; Repeal of Delegation Authority

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the 
State of North Carolina's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), 
Division of Air Quality (DAQ or Division), via a letter dated April 13, 
2021. This proposed rulemaking addresses the repeal of a State 
regulation related to delegation of authority and removal of the 
regulation from the North Carolina SIP. EPA is proposing to approve 
these changes pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 2, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2021-0472 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: Andres Febres, 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) 562-8966. Mr. Febres can also be reached via electronic mail 
at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On April 13, 2021, the State of North Carolina submitted changes to 
the North Carolina SIP for EPA's approval.\1\ Specifically, EPA is 
proposing to approve changes to the North Carolina SIP related to 15A 
North Carolina Administrative Code (NCAC) Subchapter 02D, Rule .0615, 
Delegation.\2\ The April 13, 2021, SIP revision seeks to remove the 
aforementioned regulation from the SIP because the regulation is 
unnecessary and has been repealed at the state level.
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    \1\ EPA received the submittal on April 14, 2021, and for 
clarity, refers to the submission per its ``letter date'' of April 
13, 2021, throughout this notice.
    \2\ EPA notes that the Agency received several revisions to the 
North Carolina SIP that were transmitted with the same April 13, 
2021, cover letter. EPA will be considering action for these other 
SIP revisions in separate rulemakings.
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II. Analysis of the State's Submittal

    The April 13, 2021, SIP revision seeks to remove 15 NCAC 02D, Rule 
.0615--Delegation, from the North Carolina SIP. Rule .0615 provides 
that the Director of the DAQ has the authority to delegate his or her 
administrative and approval functions under Section 02D .0600, 
Monitoring: Recordkeeping: Reporting, to other officials in the 
Division. North Carolina states in its April 13, 2021, submittal that 
this rule is unnecessary and was repealed at the state level. EPA is 
proposing to approve the removal of Rule .0615 from the SIP for these 
reasons and because removal will not impact emissions or interfere with 
attainment and maintenance of the NAAQS or any other applicable 
requirement of the Act.

III. Incorporation by Reference

    In this document, EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA rule 
amended regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. EPA 
is proposing to remove 15A NCAC 02D, Rule .0615--Delegation, state 
effective on November 1, 2020, from the North Carolina State 
Implementation Plan, which is incorporated by reference in accordance 
with the requirements of 1

[[Page 18760]]

CFR part 51. EPA has made, and will continue to make, the State 
Implementation Plan generally available 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 changes to the North Carolina SIP. 
Specifically, for the reasons described above, EPA is proposing to 
approve the removal of 15 NCAC 02D, Rule .0615--Delegation, from the 
North Carolina SIP.

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 that they meet the criteria of the CAA. This 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, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

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


    Dated: March 25, 2022.
Daniel Blackman,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2022-06773 Filed 3-30-22; 8:45 am]
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