[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 33 (Friday, February 17, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 10256-10258]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03415]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R10-OAR-2022-0753, FRL-10190-01-R10]


Air Plan Approval; ID; State Board Composition

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to approve 
a revision to the Idaho State Implementation Plan submitted on August 
9, 2022. The State of Idaho made the submission to meet the state board 
composition requirements of the Clean Air Act.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 20, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R10-
OAR-2022-0753, at www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions 
for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or 
removed from regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any comment received 
to its public docket. Do not electronically submit any information you 
consider to be Confidential Business Information or other information 
the disclosure of which 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. The 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 Confidential Business Information or 
multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making

[[Page 10257]]

effective comments, please visit www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristin Hall, EPA Region 10, 1200 
Sixth Avenue, Suite 155, Seattle, WA 98101, at (206) 553-6357 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, the use of ``we'' 
is intended to refer to the EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Evaluation
III. Proposed Action
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

    Clean Air Act section 128 requires that each State Implementation 
Plan (SIP) include provisions to regulate state boards and agency heads 
that approve permits or enforcement orders under the Clean Air Act. The 
section has two subsections. The first, 128(a)(1), governs board 
composition and requires that at least a majority of board members 
represent the public interest and do not derive any significant portion 
of income from persons subject to permits or enforcement orders under 
the Clean Air Act. The second, 128(a)(2), requires that board members 
and agency heads with similar powers adequately disclose any potential 
conflicts of interest.
    The current Idaho SIP includes two provisions that were approved by 
the EPA as meeting the Clean Air Act state board requirements, most 
recently in 2013.\1\ Specifically, we approved the Idaho Governor's 
Executive Order regarding Appointment of Members of the Board of 
Environmental Quality as meeting the board composition requirements of 
section 128(a)(1),\2\ and we approved the Idaho Ethics in Government 
Act as meeting the conflict of interest disclosure requirements of 
section 128(a)(2).\3\
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    \1\ 78 FR 63394, October 24, 2013.
    \2\ Executive Order 2013-06, dated June 26, 2013, and renewed by 
Executive Order 2016-07, dated December 14, 2016.
    \3\ Idaho Code sections 59-701 through 59-705, subsequently 
relocated to Idaho Code Title 74 Chapter 4, effective July 1, 2015. 
See 84 FR 14067, April 9, 2019 for the EPA's proposed determination 
that the relevant, substantive components of the law, approved for 
purposes of SIP authority, were retained in the recodification, and 
see 85 FR 57723, September 16, 2020, finalizing that rulemaking 
action.
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    Since that time, the Idaho Legislature updated State statute to 
effectively replace the prior executive order. Specifically, the 
legislature updated Idaho Code section 39-107, which establishes 
requirements to be followed when appointing members to the Idaho Board 
of Environmental Quality.\4\ On August 9, 2022, the Idaho Department of 
Environmental Quality submitted the statutory revision to the EPA for 
approval.
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    \4\ The EPA first approved this statutory provision into the 
Idaho SIP on July 28, 1982 (47 FR 32530), and approved a subsequent 
revision on January 16, 2003 (68 FR 2217).
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II. Evaluation

    The revision to Idaho Code section 39-107, at paragraph (1)(a), 
adds the requirement that at least four of the seven members of the 
Idaho Board of Environmental Quality must represent the public interest 
and not derive any significant portion of their income from persons 
subject to air quality permits or enforcement orders.
    After reviewing the submission, we have determined that Idaho Code 
39-107, State effective July 1, 2022, is consistent with Clean Air Act 
section 128(a)(1) requirements.\5\
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    \5\ We note that Idaho's August 9, 2022 SIP revision addresses 
the board composition requirement under CAA section 128(a)(1). The 
revision does not affect EPA's prior determination that the Idaho 
SIP satisfies CAA section 128(a)(2), and that prior determination is 
outside the scope of this action.
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III. Proposed Action

    The EPA is proposing to approve Idaho's August 9, 2022 SIP revision 
as meeting the board composition requirements of Clean Air Act section 
128(a)(1). Specifically, we propose to approve and incorporate by 
reference Idaho Code 39-107, State effective July 1, 2022, into the 
Idaho SIP at 40 CFR 52.670(c).\6\ As discussed in Section II of this 
preamble, this statutory provision replaces a prior executive order 
issued by the Idaho Governor and approved by the EPA as meeting the 
same requirements. Therefore, we are proposing to remove the prior 
executive order from the Idaho SIP at 40 CFR 52.670(e).\7\
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    \6\ 40 CFR 52.670(c) consists of EPA approved regulatory 
provisions.
    \7\ Executive Order 2013-06, dated June 26, 2013, and renewed by 
Executive Order 2016-07, dated December 14, 2016. 40 CFR 52.670(e) 
consists of EPA approved nonregulatory provisions and quasi-
regulatory measures.
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IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this document, the EPA is proposing to include in a final rule, 
regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance 
with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is proposing to incorporate by 
reference the provision described in Section III of this preamble. The 
EPA has made, and will continue to make, these documents generally 
available through regulations.gov and at the EPA Region 10 Office 
(please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this preamble for more information).

IV. 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 Clean Air 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 proposed 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 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 the 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).

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    In addition, this proposed rulemaking would not apply on any Indian 
reservation land or in any other area in Idaho where the EPA or an 
Indian tribe has demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those 
areas of Indian country, the proposed rule would not have tribal 
implications as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, 
November 9, 2000).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, Particulate matter, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile 
organic compounds.

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

    Dated: February 10, 2023.
Casey Sixkiller,
Regional Administrator, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 2023-03415 Filed 2-16-23; 8:45 am]
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