[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 40 (Thursday, February 28, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 13493-13495]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-04291]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2012-0378; FRL-9783-8]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Pennsylvania; Revision to Allegheny County Regulations for Prevention
of Significant Deterioration
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 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This revision pertains
to the Air Pollution Control portion of the Allegheny County Health
Department (ACHD) Rules and Regulations, relating to ACHD's Prevention
of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program. Additionally, EPA is also
approving this revision for the purpose of determining that ACHD has
met its statutory obligations with respect to the infrastructure
requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) which relate to ACHD's PSD
permitting program and are necessary to implement, maintain, and
enforce the 1997 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) as
well as the 1997 and 2006 NAAQS for particulate matter less than 2.5
microns (PM2.5). EPA is approving these revisions that
incorporate by reference the Federal PSD program in its entirety in
accordance with the requirements of the CAA.
DATES: This final rule is effective on April 1, 2013.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
Number EPA-R03-OAR-2012-0378. All documents in the docket are listed in
the www.regulations.gov Web site. Although listed in the electronic
docket, 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 electronically through www.regulations.gov or in hard
copy for public inspection during normal business hours at the Air
Protection Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III,
1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of the State
submittal are available at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection, Bureau of Air Quality Control, P.O. Box 8468, 400 Market
Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105; Allegheny County Health
Department, Bureau of Environmental Quality, Division of Air Quality,
301 39th Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15201.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul T. Wentworth, (215) 814-2183, or
by email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On June 11, 2012 (77 FR 34300), EPA published a notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPR) for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The
[[Page 13494]]
NPR proposed approval of a SIP revision pertaining to the Air Pollution
Control portion of the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) Rules
and Regulations, relating to ACHD's PSD program. The formal SIP
revision was submitted by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on July 1, 2008.
II. Summary of SIP Revision
The SIP revision submitted by Pennsylvania on behalf of ACHD
consists of regulations pertaining to ACHD's Prevention of Significant
Deterioration (PSD) program. These regulations incorporate by reference
the federal PSD program at 40 CFR section 52.21. Any changes in the
Federal program occurring after the date the ACHD regulations were
promulgated are automatically incorporated into ACHD's regulations and
into its SIP. By approving this SIP revision, EPA is formally approving
ACHD's PSD program, which had previously been operating under a
delegation agreement.
Accordingly, the SIP revision incorporates the new PSD requirements
for PM2.5 pursuant to the EPA's ``Prevention of Significant
Deterioration (PSD) for Particulate Matter less than 2.5 Micrometers
(PM2.5)--Increments, Significant Impact Levels (SILs) and
Significant Monitoring Concentration (SMC)'' (PSD PM2.5
Rule), which was promulgated on October 20, 2010 (75 FR 64864),
including the provision at 40 CFR section 52.21(k)(2) adding the
PM2.5 SILs and the provision at section 52.21(i)(5)(i)(c)
adding the PM2.5 SMC. On January 22, 2013, the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (``the Court'') in Sierra
Club v. EPA, No. 10-1413 (filed Dec. 17. 2010), issued a judgment that,
inter alia, vacated and remanded the provisions at section 52.21(k)(2)
and vacated the provisions at section 52.21(i)(5)(i)(c) that were
promulgated as part of the October 20, 2010 PSD PM2.5 Rule.
On this same date, the Court ordered that issuance of the mandate shall
be withheld until seven days after any timely petition for rehearing or
petition for rehearing en banc. See Fed. R. App. Proc. 40(a)(1); Fed.
R. App. P. 41(b). Upon issuance of the mandate, the Court's decision
will become final and the provisions of sections 52.21(k)(2) and
(i)(5)(i)(c) will be vacated. At that time, ACHD's regulations and SIP
will automatically update such that they no longer include that
regulatory text, as the vacatur will render those provisions without
legal effect. Although the Court's decision is not final until the
mandate issues, EPA expects ACHD to act consistently with the Court's
opinion in applying the Federal PSD regulations prior to formal
issuance of the mandate. Thus, EPA is approving the SIP revision as
submitted.
Other specific requirements of the regulations and the rationale
for EPA's proposed action are explained in the NPR and will not be
restated here. No public comments were received on the NPR.
III. Final Action
EPA is approving the July 1, 2008 SIP revision as a revision to the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania SIP. EPA is also approving this revision
for the purpose of determining that ACHD has met its obligations
pursuant to the PSD portions of CAA sections 110(a)(2)(C), (D)(i)(II),
and (J) for the 1997 ozone and PM2.5 NAAQS and the 2006
PM2.5 NAAQS.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. General Requirements
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, 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 Order
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
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).
In addition, this rule does not have tribal implications as specified
by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because the
SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in the state,
and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct costs on
tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General
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).
C. Petitions for Judicial Review
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 April 29, 2013. 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, relating to ACHD's PSD program, 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,
[[Page 13495]]
Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides,
Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: February 8, 2013.
W.C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
Therefore, 40 CFR part 52 is amended 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 NN--Pennsylvania
0
2. In Sec. 52.2020:
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a. The table in paragraph (c)(2) is amended by adding an entry for
section ``2102.07'' in numerical order.
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b. The table in paragraph (e)(1) is amended by adding three new entries
``Section 110(a)(2) Infrastructure Requirements for the 1997 8-Hour
Ozone NAAQS'', ``Section 110(a)(2) Infrastructure Requirements for the
1997 PM2.5 NAAQS'', and ``Section 110(a)(2) Infrastructure
Requirements for the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS'' at the end of the
table.
The revised and added text reads as follows:
Sec. 52.2020 Identification of plan
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(2) * * *
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State Additional explanation/Sec. 52.2063
Article XX or XXI citation Title/subject effective date EPA approval date citation
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* * * * * * *
Part B Permits Generally
* * * * * * *
2102.07........................... Prevention of 3/31/98 2/28/13 [Insert page number where the Added.
Significant document begins].
Deterioration.
* * * * * * *
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* * * * *
(e) * * *
(1) * * *
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Name of non-regulatory SIP Applicable geographic State
revision area submittal date EPA approval date Additional explanation
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* * * * * * *
Section 110(a)(2) Infrastructure Allegheny County..... 7/1/08 2/28/13 [Insert page number where the This action addresses the PSD related
Requirements for the 1997 8-Hour document begins]. elements of the following CAA
Ozone NAAQS. requirements: 110(a)(2)(C),
(D)(i)(II), and (J)
Section 110(a)(2) Infrastructure Allegheny County..... 7/1/08 2/28/13 [Insert page number where the This action addresses the PSD related
Requirements for the 1997 PM2.5 document begins]. elements of the following CAA
NAAQS. requirements: 110(a)(2)(C),
(D)(i)(II), and (J)
Section 110(a)(2) Infrastructure Allegheny County..... 7/1/08 2/28/13 [Insert page number where the This action addresses the PSD related
Requirements for the 2006 PM2.5 document begins]. elements of the following CAA
NAAQS. requirements: 110(a)(2)(C),
(D)(i)(II), and (J)
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[FR Doc. 2013-04291 Filed 2-27-13; 8:45 am]
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