[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 13 (Friday, January 18, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 4071-4073]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-00362]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R08-OAR-2011-0636; FRL-9636-6]
Approval and Promulgation of State Implementation Plans; State of
Utah; Smoke Management Requirements for Mandatory Class I Areas
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision
submitted by the State of Utah on September 29, 2011. The September 29,
2011 revision establishes rule R307-204 of the Utah Administrative Code
(UAC). R307-204 contains smoke management requirements for land
managers within the State of Utah as required by the regulations for
regional haze (RH). The September 29, 2011 submittal supersedes and
replaces R307-204 submitted as part of the State's December 12, 2003 RH
SIP. The September 29, 2011 submittal also supersedes and replaces the
State's May 8, 2006 submittal of R307-204.
EPA is also partially approving a SIP revision submitted by the
State of Utah on May 26, 2011. Specifically, EPA is proposing to
approve section XX.G of the State's RH SIP, which contains the State's
long-term strategy for fire programs as required by the RH regulations.
The May 26, 2011 submittal supersedes and replaces SIP revisions to
section XX.G of the RH SIP submitted by the State on December 12, 2003
and September 9, 2008. This action is being taken under section 110 of
the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: Effective Date: This final rule is effective February 19, 2013.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
No. EPA-R08-OAR-2011-0636. All documents in the docket are listed on
the www.regulations.gov Web site. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, e.g., 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
electronically through www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air
Program, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 8, 1595 Wynkoop
Street, Denver, Colorado 80202-1129. EPA requests that if at all
possible, you contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section to view the hard copy of the docket. You
may view the hard copy of the docket Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.
to 4:00 p.m., excluding Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurel Dygowski, Air Program, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8, Mailcode 8P-AR, 1595
Wynkoop, Denver, Colorado 80202-1129, (303) 312-6144,
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 4072]]
Definitions
For the purpose of this document, we are giving meaning to certain
words or initials as follows:
(i) The words or initials Act or CAA mean or refer to the Clean Air
Act, unless the context indicates otherwise.
(ii) The words EPA, we, us or our mean or refer to the United
States Environmental Protection Agency.
(iii) The initials SIP mean or refer to State Implementation Plan.
(iv) The words Utah and State mean the State of Utah.
Table of Contents
I. Background Information
II. Final Action
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background Information
Under 40 CFR 51.309 of the RH program, there are numerous
requirements aimed at protecting the 16 Class I areas of the Colorado
Plateau. This action only addresses the requirements pertaining to
programs related to fire of 40 CFR 51.309(d)(6). Pursuant to 40 CFR
51.309(d)(6), a state must show that its smoke management program and
all federal or private programs for prescribed fire in the state have a
mechanism in place for evaluating and addressing the degree of
visibility impairment from smoke in their planning and application of
burning. A state must also ensure that its prescribed fire smoke
management programs have at least the following seven elements: Actions
to minimize emissions, evaluation of smoke dispersion, alternatives to
fire, public notification, air quality monitoring, surveillance and
enforcement, and program evaluation.
States must include in their section 309 plan a statewide process
for gathering the essential post-burn activity information to support
emissions inventory and tracking systems. States must identify existing
administrative barriers to the use of non-burning alternatives and
adopt a process for continuing to identify and remove administrative
barriers where feasible. The SIP must include an enhanced smoke
management program, which means the smoke management program considers
visibility and is based on the criteria of efficiency, economics, law,
emission reduction opportunities, land management objectives, and
reduction of visibility impairment. States must also adopt a process to
establish annual emission goals to minimize emission increases from
fire.
On December 12, 2003, the State of Utah submitted a RH SIP intended
to meet all of the requirements under 40 CFR 51.309. This submittal
adopted SIP section XX--Regional Haze as well as UAC R307-204 Emissions
Standards: Smoke Management. The State revised the smoke management
requirements of R307-204 in a May 8, 2006 submittal and then again in
its September 29, 2011 submittal. The September 29, 2011 submittal
supersedes and replaces the R307-204 portion of the December 12, 2003
submittal and all of the May 8, 2006 submittal. R307-204 contains
provisions necessary to meet the requirements of 40 CFR 51.309(d)(6)
which pertain to smoke management.
Section XX.G--Long-Term Strategy for Fire Programs of the State's
RH SIP also contains provisions necessary to meet the requirements of
40 CFR 51.309(d)(6). The State originally submitted Section XX.G with
its December 12, 2003 RH SIP submittal. The State resubmitted this
section with subsequent SIP revisions on September 9, 2008 and May 26,
2011. Section XX.G of the May 26, 2011 submittal supersedes and
replaces section XX.G of the December 12, 2003 and September 9, 2008
submittals. EPA will be taking action on the remainder of the December
12, 2003, September 9, 2008, and May 26, 2011 submittals at a later
date.
On November 8, 2011, EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking
(NPR) for the State of Utah (76 FR 69217). The NPR proposed approval of
the smoke management requirements adopted by the State as part of the
September 29, 2011 (R307-204) and May 26, 2011 (section XX.G) SIP
submittals.
II. Final Action
EPA is approving a SIP revision submitted by the State of Utah on
September 29, 2011. The September 29, 2011 revision establishes UAC
R307-204. R307-204 contains smoke management requirements for land
managers within the State of Utah as required by 40 CFR 51.309(d)(6)
for regional haze. The September 29, 2011 submittal supersedes and
replaces R307-204 submitted as part of the State's December 12, 2003
regional haze SIP. The September 29, 2011 submittal also supersedes and
replaces the State's May 8, 2006 submittal of R307-204. EPA is also
partially approving a SIP revision submitted by the State of Utah on
May 26, 2011. Specifically, EPA is approving section XX.G of the
State's RH SIP which contains the State's long-term strategy for fire
programs as required by 40 CFR 51.309(d)(6). The May 26, 2011 submittal
supersedes and replaces SIP revisions to section XX.G of the RH SIP
submitted by the State on December 12, 2003 and September 9, 2008.
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. For this
reason, this action is also not subject to Executive Order 13211,
``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy
Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001). This action
merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and imposes
no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law.
Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this rule will not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because
this rule approves pre-existing requirements under state law and does
not impose any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by
state law, it 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).
This rule also does not have tribal implications because it will
not have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on
the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or
on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal
Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65
FR 67249, November 9, 2000). This action also does not have Federalism
implications because it does not have substantial direct effects on the
States, on the relationship between the national government and the
States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the
various levels of government, as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64
FR 43255, August 10, 1999). This action merely approves a state rule
implementing a Federal standard, and does not alter the relationship or
the distribution of power and responsibilities established in the Clean
Air Act. This rule also is not subject to Executive Order 13045
``Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety
Risks'' (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), because it approves a state rule
implementing a Federal standard.
In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. In
this context, in the
[[Page 4073]]
absence of a prior existing requirement for the State to use voluntary
consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority to disapprove a SIP
submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be inconsistent with
applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a SIP submission, to use VCS in
place of a SIP submission that otherwise satisfies the provisions of
the Clean Air Act. Thus, the requirements of section 12(d) of the
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272
note) do not apply. This rule does not impose an information collection
burden under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. section 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
rule 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 Clean Air Act, petitions for
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by March 19, 2013. Filing a
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule
does not affect the finality of this rule 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, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen
dioxide, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements,
Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: February 8, 2012.
James B. Martin,
Regional Administrator, Region 8.
40 CFR part 52 is amended to read as follows:
PART 52--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart TT--Utah
0
2. Section 52.2320 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(72) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.2320 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(72) On May 26, 2011 and September 29, 2011, the State of Utah
submitted revisions to its State Implementation Plan to incorporate the
smoke management requirements of the regional haze program.
(i) Incorporation by reference.
(A) Title R307 of the Utah Administrative Code--Environmental
Quality, Air Quality, Rule R307-204--Emission Standards: Smoke
Management, sections -1, Purpose and Goals, and -2, Applicability.
Effective December 31, 2003; as published in the Utah State Bulletin
October 1, 2003 and January 15, 2004.
(B) Title R307 of the Utah Administrative Code--Environmental
Quality, Air Quality, Rule R307-204--Emission Standards: Smoke
Management, section -4, General Requirements. Effective April 7, 2006;
as published in the Utah State Bulletin March 1, 2006 and May 1, 2006.
(C) Title R307 of the Utah Administrative Code, Rule R307-204--
Environmental Quality, Air Quality, Rule R307-204--Emission Standards:
Smoke Management, sections -3, Definitions, -5, Burn Schedule, -6,
Small Prescribed Fires (de minimis), -7, Small Prescribed Pile Fires
(de minimis), -8, Large Prescribed Fires, -9, Large Prescribed Pile
Fires, and -10, Requirements for Wildland Fire Use Events. Effective
July 7, 2011; as published in the Utah State Bulletin May 1, 2011 and
August 1, 2011.
(ii) Additional materials.
(A) Section XX.G of the Utah Regional Haze State Implementation
Pan. Effective April 7, 2011. Published in the Utah State Bulletin
February 1, 2011.
[FR Doc. 2013-00362 Filed 1-17-13; 8:45 am]
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