[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 189 (Friday, September 30, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59322-59324]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21235]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 52 and 70

[EPA-R04-OAR-2021-0363; FRL-10016-02-R4]


Air Plan and Operating Permit Program Approval; TN; Electronic 
Notice (e-Notice) Provisions

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing the 
approval of changes to the Tennessee State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
and the Tennessee title V operating permit program (title V) submitted 
by the State of Tennessee, through the Tennessee Department of 
Environment and Conservation (TDEC), Division of Air Pollution Control 
on March 23, 2021, and supplemented on July 1, 2022. These changes 
address the public notice rule provisions for the New Source Review 
(NSR) and title V programs of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) by 
providing for electronic notice (e-notice) and removing the mandatory 
requirement to provide public notice of a draft air permit in a printed 
newspaper. EPA is approving these changes as they are consistent with 
the CAA and implementing federal regulations.

DATES: This rule is effective October 31, 2022.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2021-0363. 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: Sarah LaRocca, 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. Ms. LaRocca can be 
reached via telephone at (404) 562-8994 and via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

[[Page 59323]]

I. Background

    On October 5, 2016, EPA finalized changes to the public notice 
provisions for the NSR, title V, and Outer Continental Shelf permitting 
programs of the CAA. See 81 FR 71613 (October 18, 2016). These rule 
changes removed the mandatory requirement to provide public notice of 
permitting actions through publication in a newspaper and allow for 
internet e-notice as an option for permitting authorities implementing 
their own EPA-approved SIP rules and title V rules, such as Tennessee's 
EPA-approved permitting programs. Permitting authorities are not 
required to adopt e-notice, however, nothing in the revised rules 
prevents a permitting authority with an EPA-approved permitting program 
from continuing to use newspaper notification and/or from supplementing 
e-notice with newspaper notification and/or additional means of 
notification. For permits issued by permitting authorities with EPA-
approved programs, the rule requires the permitting authority to use 
``a consistent noticing method'' for all permit notices under the 
specific permitting program. When e-notice is provided, EPA's rule 
requires electronic access (e-access) to the draft permit for the 
duration of the public comment period.
    Through a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), published on July 
25, 2022, EPA proposed to approve changes to Tennessee's Rule 1200-03-
09-.01, Construction Permits; and Rule 1200-03-09-.02, Operating 
Permits, of Chapter 1200-03-09, Construction and Operating Permits, as 
submitted by TDEC on March 23, 2021. See 87 FR 44076. These changes 
establish a revised method of publication of public notices for public 
hearings and public comment periods and change how documents related to 
permit proceedings will be available for public inspection. Additional 
details on Tennessee's March 23, 2021, SIP revision, as well as EPA's 
analysis of the changes, can be found in the July 25, 2022, NPRM. 
Comments on the July 25, 2022, NPRM were due on or before August 25, 
2022. No adverse comments were received on the July 25, 2022, NPRM, so 
EPA is now finalizing the approval of the changes as proposed.

II. Incorporation by Reference

    In this document, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, and as discussed in Section I of this preamble, and the July 25, 
2022, NPRM, EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of Rule 
1200-03-09-.01, Construction Permits, state effective January 21, 2021, 
into the Tennessee SIP.\1\ EPA has made, and will continue to make, 
these materials generally available through www.regulations.gov and at 
the EPA Region 4 Office (please contact the person identified in the 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this preamble for more 
information). Therefore, these materials have been approved by EPA for 
inclusion in the State implementation plan, have been incorporated by 
reference by 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 EPA's approval, and will be incorporated by reference in 
the next update to the SIP compilation.\2\
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    \1\ EPA is not incorporating the January 21, 2021, state 
effective version of certain provisions of 1200-03-09-.01 identified 
below in the amended Explanation column of the SIP table at 40 CFR 
52.2220(c).
    \2\ See 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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III. Final Action

    As described in the July 25, 2022, NPRM, EPA is approving the 
changes to Chapter 1200-03-09, Construction and Operating Permits; Rule 
1200-03-09-.01, Construction Permits of the Tennessee SIP; and Rule 
1200-03-09-.02, Operating Permits, of the Tennessee title V program, as 
submitted on March 23, 2021, and supplemented on July 1, 2022.

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. 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 November 29, 2022. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not

[[Page 59324]]

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

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.

40 CFR Part 70

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, 
Air pollution control, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental 
relations, Operating permits, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: September 23, 2022.
Daniel Blackman,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, EPA amends 40 CFR parts 52 
and 70 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 RR--Tennessee

0
2. In Sec.  52.2220(c), amend Table 1 by revising the entry for 
``Section 1200-3-9-.01'' to read as follows:


Sec.  52.2220  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                   Table 1--EPA Approved Tennessee Regulations
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                                                          State
         State citation             Title/subject       effective         EPA approval date        Explanation
                                                          date
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                                                   * * * * * *
Section 1200-3-9-.01...........  Construction             1/21/2021  9/30/2022, [Insert          Except for 1200-
                                  Permits.                            citation of publication].   03-09-.01(1)(a
                                                                                                  ), (1)(d),
                                                                                                  (1)(f),
                                                                                                  (4)(b)24(i)(XV
                                                                                                  II), (4)(b)29,
                                                                                                  (4)(b)47(i)(IV
                                                                                                  ), (4)(j)3,
                                                                                                  (4)(k),
                                                                                                  (5)(b)1(x)(I)(
                                                                                                  VII), and
                                                                                                  (5)(b)2(iii)(I
                                                                                                  I), which have
                                                                                                  a state
                                                                                                  effective date
                                                                                                  of 4/24/2013;
                                                                                                  1200-3-9-.01(1
                                                                                                  )(j), which is
                                                                                                  not
                                                                                                  incorporated
                                                                                                  into the SIP;
                                                                                                  and the PM2.5
                                                                                                  SILs (found in
                                                                                                  1200-3-9-.01(5
                                                                                                  )(b)1(xix))
                                                                                                  and the SMC
                                                                                                  (found in 1200-
                                                                                                  3-9-.01(4)(d)6
                                                                                                  (i)(III))
                                                                                                  provisions, as
                                                                                                  promulgated in
                                                                                                  the October
                                                                                                  20, 2010,
                                                                                                  PM2.5
                                                                                                  Increments-
                                                                                                  SILs-SMC Rule.
 
                                                   * * * * * *
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* * * * *

PART 70--STATE OPERATING PERMIT PROGRAMS

0
3. The authority citation for part 70 continues to read as follows:

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


0
4. Amend appendix A to part 70 by adding paragraph (a)(3) under the 
heading for ``Tennessee'' to read as follows:

Appendix A to Part 70--Approval Status of State and Local Operating 
Permits Programs

* * * * *

Tennessee

    (a) * * *
    (3) Revisions to Rule 1200-03-09-.02, Operating Permits, of the 
Tennessee title V program, submitted on March 23, 2021, and 
supplemented on July 1, 2022, with a state effective date of January 
21, 2021, to allow for electronic notice of operating permits, are 
approved on September 30, 2022.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2022-21235 Filed 9-29-22; 8:45 am]
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