[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 222 (Monday, November 20, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 80680-80682]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25512]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2023-0097; FRL-11564-03-R4]


Air Plan Approval; Kentucky; Revisions to Jefferson County 
Emissions Monitoring and Reporting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve changes to the Jefferson County portion of the Kentucky State 
Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, 
through the Energy and Environment Cabinet (Cabinet), in a letter dated 
June 15, 2022. The changes were submitted by the Cabinet on behalf of 
the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District (District) and 
amend the District's stationary source emissions monitoring and 
reporting requirements. The EPA is proposing to approve the changes 
because they are consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

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

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2023-0097 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 submit electronically any information you 
consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure 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. 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 CBI or multimedia submissions, and general 
guidance on making effective comments, please visit www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tiereny Bell, 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. The telephone number is 
(404) 562-9088. Ms. Bell can also be reached via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Overview

    On June 15, 2022,\1\ the Commonwealth of Kentucky submitted changes 
to the Jefferson County portion of the Kentucky SIP for EPA 
approval.2 3 In this rulemaking, EPA is proposing to approve 
changes to Regulation 1.06, Stationary Source Self-Monitoring, 
Emissions Inventory Development, and Reporting, in the Jefferson County 
portion of the Kentucky SIP, submitted on June 15, 2022. This 
regulation provides the District with the authority to require 
emissions monitoring at stationary sources and requires certain sources 
to maintain emissions records and to provide annual emissions 
statements to the District. This regulation does not impose any 
emissions limits or control requirements on any emissions source.
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    \1\ On June 15, 2022, Kentucky provided multiple SIP revisions 
that are not addressed in this rulemaking. One of the June 15, 2022, 
submittals contains changes to District Regulation 2.04, 
Construction or Modification of Major Sources in or Impacting upon 
Non-Attainment Areas (Emission Offset Requirements) in the Kentucky 
SIP. These changes are not addressed in this notice. EPA will act on 
these changes in a separate rulemaking. Another June 15, 2022, SIP 
revision contained changes to District Regulation 2.17, Federally 
Enforceable District Origin Operating Permits, in the Kentucky SIP. 
EPA finalized its approval of changes to Regulation 2.17 on March 1, 
2023. See 88 FR 12831.
    \2\ EPA received this submission on June 13, 2022, via a letter 
dated June 15, 2022. Throughout this notice of proposed rulemaking, 
this submission will be referred to as the June 15, 2022, 
submission.
    \3\ In 2003, the City of Louisville and Jefferson County 
governments merged, and the ``Jefferson County Air Pollution Control 
District'' was renamed the ``Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control 
District.'' However, to be consistent with the terminology used in 
the subheading in Table 2 of 40 CFR 52.920(c), throughout this 
notice we refer to the District regulations contained in the 
Jefferson County portion of the Kentucky SIP as the ``Jefferson 
County'' regulations.
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II. EPA's Analysis of Kentucky's SIP Revision

    The June 15, 2022, SIP submission contains a version of Regulation 
1.06 adopted by the District on March 16, 2022 (referred to as 
``Version 11'' by the District). District Regulation 1.06, Stationary 
Source Self-Monitoring,

[[Page 80681]]

Emissions Inventory Development, and Reporting, establishes 
requirements for stationary source monitoring, recordkeeping, and 
reporting. Section 6, Emissions Statements for Ozone Precursors, 
requires that on or before April 15 of each year, all stationary 
sources of oxides of nitrogen (NOX) or volatile organic 
compounds (VOC) shall submit to the District a statement of actual 
emissions of those compounds. The District requests that EPA 
incorporate Version 11 into the SIP and identifies changes in 
Regulation 1.06 between Version 11 and Version 10, the version of the 
rule in the SIP. Version 10 of Regulation 1.06 at Section 6.2.1 states 
that facilities with less than 25 tons per year (tpy) of plant-wide 
actual VOC emissions or less than 25 tpy of plant-wide actual 
NOX emissions are exempted from the emissions statement 
requirements in Section 6, unless emissions of the other pollutant (VOC 
or NOX) are at or above 25 tpy. The SIP submission revises 
Section 6.2.1 to instead exempt facilities with less than 25 tpy of 
plant-wide potential VOC and less than 25 tpy of plant-wide potential 
NOX emissions from the Section 6 emissions statement 
requirement.\4\
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    \4\ Section 6.2.1 continues to allow the District to require 
sources claiming the exemption to provide adequate information to 
verify actual emissions for the previous year.
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    Section 6 continues to satisfy the emissions statement requirements 
in CAA section 182(a)(3)(B),\5\ and the changes do not reduce the 
number of facilities that must submit emissions statements. Therefore, 
this SIP revision will not interfere with any applicable requirement 
concerning attainment, reasonable further progress, or any other 
applicable requirement of the CAA.\6\ Version 11 does not change the 
information that reporting facilities must provide in their emissions 
statements.
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    \5\ Jefferson County is subject to the requirements of CAA 
section 182(a) because it is part of the Louisville, KY-IN marginal 
nonattainment area for the 2015 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards (NAAQS).
    \6\ See CAA section 110(l).
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III. Incorporation by Reference

    In this document, the EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA 
rule regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In 
accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, and as described in Section 
II of this preamble, the EPA is proposing to incorporate by reference 
Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District Regulation 1.06, 
Stationary Source Self-Monitoring, Emissions Inventory Development, and 
Reporting, District effective on March 16, 2022, except for Section 5 
and any references to Section 5 in this regulation. The 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).

IV. Proposed Action

    The EPA is proposing to approve the aforementioned changes to 
Regulation 1.06, Stationary Source Self-Monitoring, Emissions Inventory 
Development, and Reporting, District effective on March 16, 2022, into 
the Jefferson County portion of the Kentucky SIP. The EPA is proposing 
to approve these changes because they are consistent with the CAA.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA 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. Accordingly, this 
proposed 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 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 14094 (88 FR 21879, April 11, 2023);
     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 subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, 
April 23, 1997) because it approves a state program;
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001); and
     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.
    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 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).
    Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions To Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629, 
February 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.''
    The Cabinet nor the District did not evaluate environmental justice 
considerations as part of its SIP submittal; the CAA and applicable 
implementing regulations neither prohibit nor require such an 
evaluation. The EPA did not perform an EJ analysis and did not consider 
EJ in this proposed action. Due to the nature of the proposed action 
being taken here, this proposed action is expected to have a neutral to 
positive impact on the air quality of the affected area. Consideration 
of EJ is not required as part of this proposed action, and there is no 
information in the record inconsistent with the stated goal of E.O. 
12898 of achieving environmental justice for people of color, low-
income populations, and Indigenous peoples.

[[Page 80682]]

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.

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

    Dated: November 14, 2023.
Jeaneanne Gettle,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2023-25512 Filed 11-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P