[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 9, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 56231-56233]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14932]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R05-OAR-2022-0369; FRL-11761-02-R5]


Air Plan Approval; Wisconsin; Milwaukee Second 10-Year 2006 24-
Hour PM2.5 Limited Maintenance Plan

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the 
limited maintenance plan (LMP) submitted by the Wisconsin Department of 
Natural Resources (WDNR) for the Milwaukee-Racine maintenance area 
including Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Racine counties. The plan addresses 
the second 10-year maintenance period for particulate matter with an 
aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a nominal 2.5 micrometers 
(PM2.5). EPA is approving Wisconsin's LMP submission for the 
Milwaukee-Racine maintenance area because it provides for the 
maintenance of the 2006 PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards (NAAQS) through the end of the second 10-year portion of the 
maintenance period. Additionally, EPA finds adequate and is approving 
the LMP as meeting the appropriate transportation conformity 
requirements. EPA proposed to approve this action on March 19, 2024, 
and received no comments.

DATES: This final rule is effective on August 8, 2024.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID 
No. EPA-R05-OAR-2022-0369. All documents in the docket are listed on 
the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the index, 
some information is not publicly available, i.e., Confidential Business 
Information (CBI) 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 
through https://www.regulations.gov or at the Environmental Protection 
Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson 
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility is open from 8:30 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. 
We recommend that you telephone Cecilia Magos, at (312) 886-7336 before 
visiting the Region 5 office.

[[Page 56232]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cecilia Magos, Air and Radiation 
Division (AR18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West 
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-7336, 
[email protected].

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

I. Background Information

    On November 13, 2009 (74 FR 58688), EPA designated the Milwaukee-
Racine area as a PM2.5 nonattainment area due to measured 
violations of the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS. On June 8, 2012, and 
later supplemented on May 30, 2013, WDNR submitted to the EPA a request 
to redesignate the Milwaukee-Racine nonattainment area to attainment. 
The submission included a plan to provide for maintenance of the 2006 
PM2.5 NAAQS in the area through 2024. EPA redesignated the 
Milwaukee-Racine area on April 22, 2014 (79 FR 22415), and approved the 
associated maintenance plan into the Wisconsin State Implementation 
Plan (SIP). The purpose of WDNR's April 8, 2022, LMP submission is to 
fulfill the second 10-year planning requirement of Clean Air Act (CAA) 
section 175A(b) to ensure PM2.5 NAAQS compliance through 
2034.
    On March 19, 2024 (89 FR 19519), EPA proposed to approve the second 
10-year PM2.5 LMP for the Milwaukee-Racine maintenance area 
addressing the 2006 PM2.5 maintenance area. EPA's approval 
of the LMP will satisfy CAA section 175A requirements for the second 
10-year period for the Milwaukee-Racine 2006 PM2.5 
maintenance area through 2034. Further explanation of the CAA 
requirements, a detailed analysis of the revisions, and the EPA's 
reasons for proposing approval were provided in the notice of proposed 
rulemaking (89 FR 19519) and will not be restated here. The public 
comment period for the proposed rule ended on April 18, 2024. EPA 
received no comments on the proposal and is finalizing our action as 
proposed.

II. Final Action

    EPA is approving the second 10-year PM2.5 LMP for the 
Milwaukee-Racine 2006 PM2.5 maintenance area submitted by 
WDNR. EPA's review of the air quality data for the maintenance area 
indicates that the State continues to show attainment well below the 
level of the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS and that WDNR's LMP meets all 
the LMP qualifying criteria set forth in the ``Guidance on Limited 
Maintenance Plan Option for Moderate PM2.5 Nonattainment 
Areas and PM2.5 Maintenance Areas''.\1\ EPA's approval of 
this LMP will satisfy the CAA section 175A requirements for the second 
10-year period for the Milwaukee-Racine 2006 PM2.5 
maintenance area. The Milwaukee-Racine PM2.5 maintenance 
area will no longer be required to perform regional emissions analyses 
as part of the conformity process but must meet project-level 
conformity analyses requirements as well as other transportation 
conformity criteria. See 40 CFR 93.109(e).
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    \1\ The guidance document developed by the Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards and the Office of Transportation and Air 
Quality, within the Office of Air and Radiation, titled ``Guidance 
on the Limited Maintenance Plan Option for Moderate PM2.5 
Nonattainment Areas and PM2.5 Maintenance Areas,'' can be 
found at https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi?Dockey=P1015UL4.pdf.
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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 CAA 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 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 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 the 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 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.''
    WDNR 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 performed an 
environmental justice analysis, as is described in the section titled, 
``Environmental Justice Considerations'' in the notice of proposed 
rulemaking. See 89 FR 19519. The analysis was done for the purpose of 
providing additional context and information about this rulemaking to 
the public, not as a basis of the action. Due to the nature of the 
action being taken here, this action is expected to have a neutral to 
positive impact on the air quality of the affected area. In addition, 
there is no information in the record upon which this decision is based 
that is inconsistent with the

[[Page 56233]]

stated goal of E.O. 12898 of achieving environmental justice for people 
of color, low-income populations, and Indigenous peoples.
    This action is subject to the Congressional Review Act, and the EPA 
will submit a rule report to each House of the Congress and to the 
Comptroller General of the United States. 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 September 9, 2024. 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, Intergovernmental relations, Particulate matter, Reporting 
and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: July 2, 2024.
Debra Shore,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, EPA amends title 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.


0
2. Section 52.2584 is amended by adding paragraph (g) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.2584  Control strategy; Particulate matter.

* * * * *
    (g) Approval--On August 8, 2024, EPA approved the 2006 24-Hour 
PM2.5 limited maintenance plan for the second 10-year 
maintenance period for the Milwaukee-Racine area (Milwaukee, Racine and 
Waukesha counties) as submitted by the State of Wisconsin on April 8, 
2022. The limited maintenance plan submission satisfies the second 10-
year planning requirement of section 175A(b) of the Clean Air Act for 
the Milwaukee-Racine area.

[FR Doc. 2024-14932 Filed 7-8-24; 8:45 am]
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