[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 72 (Thursday, April 14, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 22135-22137]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07922]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2021-0773; FRL-9219-02-R9]


Air Plan Approval; Arizona: Maricopa County Air Quality 
Department

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final 
action to approve revisions to the Maricopa County Air Quality 
Department (MCAQD) portion of the Arizona State Implementation Plan 
(SIP). These revisions concern emissions of particulate matter (PM) 
from wood burning devices. We are approving local rules that regulate 
these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act).

DATES: These rules will be effective on May 16, 2022.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2021-0773. 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 (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as 
copyrighted material, is not placed on the internet and will be 
publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket 
materials are available through https://www.regulations.gov, or please 
contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section for additional availability information. If you need assistance 
in a language other than English or if you are a person with 
disabilities who needs a reasonable accommodation at no cost to you, 
please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Vineyard, EPA Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 947-4125 or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and 
``our'' refer to the EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Proposed Action
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
III. EPA Action
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Proposed Action

    On December 14, 2021 (86 FR 70994), the EPA proposed to approve the 
following rules into the Arizona SIP.

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                                  Rule No.
        Local agency           Ordinance No.               Rule title                 Revised        Submitted
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MCAQD......................  Ordinance P-26...  Residential Woodburning                 10/23/19        11/20/19
                                                 Restriction.
MCAQD......................  Rule 314.........  Outdoor Fires and Commercial/           10/23/19        11/20/19
                                                 Institutional Solid Fuel
                                                 Burning.
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    We proposed to approve these rules because we determined that they 
comply with the relevant CAA requirements. Our proposed action and 
Technical Support Document (TSD) contain more information on the rules 
and our evaluation.

II. Public Comments and EPA Responses

    The EPA's proposed action provided a 30-day public comment period. 
During this period, we received one comment from a private citizen.
    Comment: The commenter raises the concern that the revisions to the 
Arizona State Implementation Plan (SIP) ``do not go far enough to 
reduce the risks of wildfires and particulate matter emissions.'' The 
comment emphasizes the need to ``uphold the highest air quality 
standards of the Clean Air Act'' and ``strongly regulat[e] fires in 
Maricopa County'' to reduce the impacts

[[Page 22136]]

on environmental and human health from woodburning and seasonal 
wildfires, including those impacts that are exacerbated by the COVID-19 
pandemic.
    The commenter ultimately ``oppose[s] the conditional approval'' 
from the EPA's proposal and requests that Maricopa County ``further 
revise these provisions within their State Implementation Plan to meet 
the strongest of air quality standards regarding particulate matter.''
    EPA's Response: We note that we proposed to fully approve, not 
conditionally approve, revisions to MCAQD Ordinance P-26 and Rule 314.
    As we explained in our proposed action and TSD, during Maricopa 
County's implementation of earlier versions of Ordinance P-26 and Rule 
314 (i.e., those that were previously approved into the SIP), the MCAQD 
found that certain sections of Rule 314 were unclear and confusing to 
the public. Therefore, the MCAQD revised the rules to clarify which 
types of residential fires are subject to Rule 314 and which types of 
residential fires are subject to Ordinance P-26. The EPA's finalization 
of our proposed action to approve the submitted revisions to Ordinance 
P-26 and Rule 314 will add clarity to the SIP and improve 
implementation.
    Further, Rule 314 was revised to reduce emissions from outdoor 
fires for cooking by defining cooking, restricting the size of fires 
used for cooking, and requiring that fires ignited for cooking during a 
restricted burn period be extinguished once the food is suitable for 
human consumption. And to reduce total annual emissions from 
fireplaces, woodstoves, and chimineas at commercial and institutional 
establishments and outdoor fires, the rules were revised to require the 
use of seasoned wood, which contains no more than 20 percent moisture. 
These revisions will directly reduce particulate matter emissions and 
contribute to the area's compliance with the 2012 National Ambient Air 
Quality Standard for fine particulate matter.\1\
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    \1\ Rule 314-SIP Revision Package p. 37-38, Docket ID: EPA-R09-
OAR-2021-0773-0002.
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    Under the CAA, EPA is required to approve a SIP submission that 
complies with the provisions of the CAA and applicable federal 
regulations.\2\ In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve 
state choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Thus, 
we are approving MCAQD Ordinance P-26 and Rule 314 because they 
strengthen the SIP and comply with all requirements for SIP revisions 
under the Clean Air Act.
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    \2\ 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a).
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III. EPA Action

    No comments were submitted that change our assessment of the rules 
as described in our proposed action. Therefore, as authorized in 
section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA is fully approving these rules 
into the Arizona SIP. The October 23, 2019 version of Ordinance P-26 
and Rule 314 will replace the previously approved versions of these 
rules in the SIP.

IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the MCAQD 
rules described in Section I. of this preamble and set forth below in 
the amendments to 40 CFR part 52. Therefore, these materials have been 
approved by the EPA for inclusion in the SIP, have been incorporated by 
reference by the EPA into that plan, are fully federally enforceable 
under sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the effective date of the 
final rulemaking of the EPA's approval, and will be incorporated by 
reference in the next update to the SIP compilation.\3\ The EPA has 
made, and will continue to make, these documents available through 
www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region IX Office (please contact the 
person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this preamble for more information).
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    \3\ 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the Clean Air Act, 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 Clean Air Act. 
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 Clean Air Act; and
     Does not provide the 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 the 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. The 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

[[Page 22137]]

``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 June 13, 2022. 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 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, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: April 7, 2022.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.

    Part 52, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is 
amended 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 D--Arizona

0
2. Section 52.120, paragraph (c), Table 4, under the heading ``Post-
July 1988 Rule Codification'', is amended by:
0
a. Revising the entry for Rule 314 under the table heading ``Regulation 
III--Control of Air Contaminants''; and
0
b. Adding a heading for ``Maricopa County Ordinances'' and an entry for 
``Ordinance P-26'' under the table heading ``Appendices to Maricopa 
County Air Pollution Control Rules and Regulations'' after the entry 
for ``Appendix F''.
    The revision and addition read as follows.


Sec.  52.120   Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

            Table 4 to Paragraph (c)--EPA-Approved Maricopa County Air Pollution Control Regulations
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                                                        State effective                           Additional
         County citation             Title/subject           date          EPA approval date      explanation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
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                                        Post-July 1988 Rule Codification
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                                                  * * * * * * *
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                                   Regulation III--Control of Air Contaminants
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Rule 314........................  Outdoor Fires and   October 23, 2019..  [INSERT Federal     Submitted on
                                   Commercial/                             Register            November 20,
                                   Institutional                           CITATION], April    2019.
                                   Solid Fuel                              14, 2022.
                                   Burning.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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                    Appendices to Maricopa County Air Pollution Control Rules and Regulations
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                                                  * * * * * * *
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                                           Maricopa County Ordinances
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Ordinance P-26..................  Residential         October 23, 2019..  [INSERT Federal     Submitted on
                                   Woodburning                             Register            November 20,
                                   Restriction.                            CITATION], April    2019.
                                                                           14, 2022.
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[FR Doc. 2022-07922 Filed 4-13-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P