[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 80 (Tuesday, April 26, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24429-24431]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-08867]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2021-0395; FRL-9563-02-R4]


Air Plan Approval; Kentucky; Emissions Statement Requirements for 
the 2015 8-Hour Ozone Standard Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a 
revision to the Kentucky State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted to 
EPA by the Commonwealth of Kentucky through the Kentucky Division for 
Air Quality (KDAQ) on October 15, 2020. The SIP revision was submitted 
by KDAQ to address the emissions statement requirements for the 2015 8-
hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for Kentucky 
counties in the Cincinnati, Ohio-Kentucky 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS 
nonattainment area (Cincinnati, OH-KY Area), and for some of the 
Kentucky counties in the Louisville, Kentucky-Indiana 2015 8-hour ozone 
NAAQS nonattainment area (Louisville, KY-IN Area). Specifically, EPA is 
approving the emissions statement requirements for portions of Boone, 
Campbell, and Kenton Counties in the Cincinnati, OH-KY Area, and 
Bullitt and Oldham Counties in the Louisville, KY-IN Area. EPA will 
consider and take action, or has considered and taken action, on 
submissions addressing the emissions statement requirements for the 
remaining counties in these two nonattainment areas, including the 
Jefferson County, Kentucky portion of the Louisville, KY-IN Area, in a 
separate rulemaking. This action is being taken pursuant to the Clean 
Air Act (CAA or Act).

DATES: This rule is effective May 26, 2022.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2021-0395. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the 
index, some information may not be publicly available, i.e., 
Confidential Business Information 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 either electronically through www.regulations.gov or in hard 
copy at the 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. EPA requests that, if at all possible, you contact the 
person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to 
schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's official hours of 
business are Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tiereny Bell, Air Regulatory 
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air and 
Radiation Division, Region 4, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 61 
Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The telephone number is 
(404) 562-9088. Ms. Bell can also be reached via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

[[Page 24430]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On October 1, 2015, EPA promulgated a revised 8-hour primary and 
secondary ozone NAAQS, strengthening both from 0.075 parts per million 
(ppm) to 0.070 ppm. See 80 FR 65292 (October 26, 2015).\1\ Upon 
promulgation of a new or revised ozone NAAQS, the CAA requires EPA to 
designate as nonattainment any area that is violating the NAAQS based 
on the three most recent years of ambient air quality data at the 
conclusion of the designation process. On June 4, 2018 (effective 
August 3, 2018), EPA designated the 7-county Cincinnati, OH-KY Area as 
a Marginal ozone nonattainment area for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS.\2\ 
Also on June 4, 2018 (effective August 3, 2018), EPA designated the 5-
county Louisville, KY-IN Area as a Marginal ozone nonattainment area 
for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS.\3\ The Cincinnati, OH-KY Area and the 
Louisville, KY-IN Area were designated nonattainment for the 2015 8-
hour Ozone NAAQS using 2014-2016 ambient air quality data. See 83 FR 
25776.
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    \1\ The 2015 8-hour Ozone NAAQS was promulgated on October 1, 
2015, published on October 26, 2015, and effective December 28, 
2015.
    \2\ The Cincinnati, OH-KY Area consists of the following 
counties: Boone (Partial), Campbell (Partial), Kenton (Partial), in 
Kentucky and the entire counties of Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, and 
Warren in Ohio. EPA has taken action on the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS 
nonattainment area emissions statement requirements for the entire 
counties of Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, and Warren in Ohio in a 
separate action. See 86 FR 12270 (March 3, 2021).
    \3\ The Louisville, KY-IN Area consists of Bullitt, Jefferson, 
and Oldham Counties in Kentucky and Clark and Floyd Counties in 
Indiana. EPA took final action on the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS 
emissions statement requirements for the Jefferson County, Kentucky 
portion of the Louisville, KY-IN Area in a separate rulemaking, see 
87 FR 13177 (March 9, 2022), and will take action on the emissions 
statement requirements for Clark and Floyd Counties in Indiana in a 
separate rulemaking.
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    Based on the nonattainment designation, Kentucky was required to 
develop a SIP revision addressing certain CAA requirements for an area 
designated nonattainment, including, pursuant to satisfying, among 
other things, CAA section 182(a)(3)(B). On October 15, 2020,\4\ 
Kentucky submitted a SIP revision addressing the emissions statement 
requirements related to the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the Kentucky 
portion of the Cincinnati, OH-KY Area and for Bullitt and Oldham 
Counties in the Kentucky portion of the Louisville, KY-IN Area.
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    \4\ KDAQ's transmittal letter for the October 15, 2020, SIP 
revision was dated October 15, 2020, and submitted to EPA on October 
16, 2020.
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    On February 28, 2022, EPA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
(NPRM) proposing to approve the October 15, 2020, SIP revision as 
meeting the emissions statement requirements of section 182(a)(3)(B) of 
the CAA and EPA's SIP Requirements Rule.\5\ See 87 FR 10998. The 
February 28, 2022, NPRM provides additional detail regarding the 
background and rationale for EPA's action. Comments on the February 28, 
2022, NPRM were due on or before March 30, 2022. EPA received no 
comments on the February 28, 2022, NPRM.
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    \5\ On December 6, 2018, EPA finalized a rule titled 
``Implementation of the 2015 National Ambient Air Quality Standards 
for Ozone: Nonattainment Area State Implementation Plan 
Requirements'' (SIP Requirements Rule) that establishes the 
requirements that state, tribal, and local air quality management 
agencies must meet as they develop implementation plans for areas 
where air quality exceeds the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS. See 83 FR 
62998.
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II. Final Action

    EPA is approving the aforementioned October 15, 2020, Kentucky SIP 
revision addressing the emissions statement requirements for the 2015 
8-hour Ozone NAAQS for portions of Boone, Campbell, and Kenton Counties 
in the Cincinnati, OH-KY Area, and Bullitt and Oldham Counties in the 
Louisville, KY-IN Area. EPA has determined that Kentucky's SIP revision 
meets the requirements of CAA sections 110 and 182.

III. 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 
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 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.
    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. 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 ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by June 27, 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

[[Page 24431]]

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, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: April 19, 2022.
Daniel Blackman,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the EPA amends 40 CFR part 
52 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 S--Kentucky

0
2. In Sec.  52.920(e), amend the table by adding a new entry for 
``Emissions Statement Requirements for the 2015 Ozone 8-hour NAAQS'' at 
the end of the table.
    The addition reads as follows:


Sec.  52.920   Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                                 EPA-Approved Kentucky Non-Regulatory Provisions
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                                     Applicable       State submittal
   Name of non-regulatory SIP       geographic or      date/effective    EPA approval date      Explanations
           provision             nonattainment area         date
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Emissions Statement              Boone, Campbell,           10/15/2020  4/26/2022, [Insert
 Requirements for the 2015 8-     and Kenton                             citation of
 hour Ozone NAAQS.                Counties                               publication].
                                  (partial) in
                                  Kentucky portion
                                  of Cincinnati, OH-
                                  KY Area, and
                                  Bullitt and
                                  Oldham Counties
                                  (entire) in
                                  Kentucky portion
                                  of Louisville, KY-
                                  IN Area.
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[FR Doc. 2022-08867 Filed 4-25-22; 8:45 am]
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