[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 166 (Monday, August 29, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 52688-52690]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18532]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R06-OAR-2021-0772; FRL-9889-02-R6]


Air Plan Approval; New Mexico; Interstate Transport Requirements 
for 2010 Nitrogen Dioxide National Ambient Air Quality Standards

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the 
State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of New 
Mexico, through the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), for the 
purpose of addressing the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act'') ``good 
neighbor'' interstate transport (prongs 1 and 2) infrastructure SIP 
requirements for the 2010 1-hour Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) 
National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). Specifically, the EPA is 
approving New Mexico's June 25, 2021, SIP revision that address prongs 
1 and 2 to ensure that air emissions in the State do not significantly 
contribute to nonattainment or interfere with the maintenance of the 
2010 1-hour NO2 NAAQS in any other state. The EPA is 
approving this action pursuant to section 110 and part D of the CAA and 
the EPA's regulations.

DATES: This final rule is effective on September 28, 2022.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action, Docket No. 
EPA-R06-OAR-2021-0772. All documents in the docket are listed on the 
https://www.regulations.gov. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., 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 electronically 
through https://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Nevine Salem, EPA Region 6 Office, 
Infrastructure and Ozone Section, 214-665-7222, [email protected]. 
Out of an abundance of caution for members of the public and our staff, 
the EPA Region 6 office may be closed to the public to reduce the risk 
of transmitting COVID-19. Please call or email the contact listed above 
if you need alternative access to material indexed but not provided in 
the docket.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document wherever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean the EPA.

I. Background

    The EPA published a proposed rule for the approval of New Mexico's, 
June 25, 2021, SIP submission to address the 2010 1-hour NO2 
NAAQS. The background for this action and rational for EPA's proposed 
action are explained in the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) (87 FR 
38362, June 28, 2022), and will not be restated here. No comment was 
received during the public comment period which ended on July 28, 2022.

II. Final Action

    EPA is approving the New Mexico's June 25, 2021, SIP submission as 
satisfying the requirements of CAA

[[Page 52689]]

section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) for the 2010 1-hour NO2 NAAQS 
interstate transport prongs 1 and 2. New Mexico's SIP submission 
includes provisions that ensure emissions from New Mexico will not 
significantly contribute to nonattainment or interfere with the 
maintenance of the 2010 NO2 NAAQS in any other state. The 
EPA is approving this action pursuant to section 110 of the CAA.

III. Environmental Justice Considerations

    Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions To Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629, 
Feb. 16, 1994) directs federal agencies to identify and address 
``disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental 
effects'' of their actions on minority populations and low-income 
populations to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law. 
The EPA defines environmental justice (EJ) as ``the fair treatment and 
meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, 
national origin, or income with respect to the development, 
implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and 
policies.'' The EPA further defines the term fair treatment to mean 
that ``no group of people should bear a disproportionate burden of 
environmental harms and risks, including those resulting from the 
negative environmental consequences of industrial, governmental, and 
commercial operations or programs and policies.'' \1\
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    \1\ https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/learn-about-environmental-justice.
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    The EPA provided additional analysis of environmental justice 
associated with this action for the purpose of providing information to 
the public in our June 28, 2022 proposal (87 FR 38362). The EPA's 
analysis shown in the proposed action demonstrates that there are no 
areas in New Mexico or nationwide that show problems attaining or 
maintaining air quality with regard to 2010 NO2 NAAQS. There 
is also no indication that NO2 emissions from New Mexico 
would contribute to environmental and health impacts on any group, 
including minority and low-income population. In addition, the national 
average of NO2 concentrations have decreased substantially 
over the years.\2\
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    \2\ See https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/nitrogen-dioxide-trends.
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    We therefore believe that this rule will not have 
disproportionately high or adverse human health or environmental 
effects on communities with environmental justice concerns.

IV. 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. 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 CAA. Accordingly, 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 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).
    In addition, 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 proposed 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 Start Printed Page 
11875 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 October 28, 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, Incorporation by 
reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and record keeping 
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: August 23, 2022.
Earthea Nance,
Regional Administrator, Region 6.

    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.

[[Page 52690]]

Subpart GG--New Mexico

0
2. In Sec.  52.1620(e), the table titled ``EPA-Approved Nonregulatory 
Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures in the New Mexico SIP'' is 
amended by adding the entry ``Interstate Transport for the 2010 
NO2 NAAQS'' at the end of the table to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1620  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

            EPA-Approved Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures in the New Mexico SIP
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                                        Applicable           State
      Name of SIP provision           geographic or       submittal/     EPA approval date       Explanation
                                    nonattainment area  effective date
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Interstate Transport for the 2010  Statewide..........       6/25/2021  8/29/2022, [Insert   ...................
 NO2 NAAQS.                                                              Federal Register
                                                                         citation].
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[FR Doc. 2022-18532 Filed 8-26-22; 8:45 am]
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