[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 6 (Monday, January 11, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 1128-1131]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-33177]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R10-OAR-2015-0813; FRL-9940-93-Region 10]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Washington;
Removal of Obsolete Regulations
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct
final action to remove outdated rules in the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) for the State of Washington because they are
unnecessary or obsolete. The EPA is also clarifying regulations to
reflect updated citations and more recent air quality monitoring data.
This direct final action makes no substantive changes to the State
Implementation Plan (SIP) and imposes no new requirements.
DATES: This rule is effective on March 11, 2016, without further
notice, unless the EPA receives adverse comment by February 10, 2016.
If the EPA receives adverse comment, we will publish a timely
withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule
will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R10-
OAR-2015-0813, at http://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. 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 CBI or multimedia submissions,
and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Hunt, EPA Region 10, (206) 553-
0256, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' are used, it is intended to refer to the EPA.
I. Introduction
This action is being taken pursuant to Executive Order 13563--
Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review. It is intended to reduce
the number of pages in the CFR by identifying those rules in 40 CFR
part 52, subpart WW, for the State of Washington that are duplicative,
outdated, or obsolete. These rules no longer have any use or legal
effect because they have been superseded by subsequently approved SIP
revisions. This action also amends certain rules by revising outdated
citations and updating provisions based on more recent ambient air
quality monitoring data. One aspect of the EPA's action removes
historical information found in the ``Original Identification of plan''
section in 40 CFR 52.2477. This section is no longer necessary because
the EPA promulgated administrative rule actions to replace these
paragraphs with summary tables in 40 CFR 52.2470 (78 FR 17108, March
20, 2013). These summary tables describe the regulations, source-
specific actions, and non-regulatory requirements which comprise the
SIP.
II. Removal of Obsolete or Unnecessary Rules and Clarifications to
Certain Rules
The EPA reviewed the following regulations and found that they
should be removed or revised for the reasons set forth as follows:
[[Page 1129]]
A. Section 52.2471 Classification of Regions
In a submission received on September 22, 2014, included in the
docket for this action, the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology)
reviewed air quality monitoring data for nitrogen dioxide
(NO2) and ozone with respect to classifying regions under 40
CFR 51.150. That section classifies regions based on air quality
information for purposes of establishing requirements for emergency
episode plans. The air quality information in 40 CFR 52.2471 regarding
classification of regions in the State of Washington was last updated
by the EPA on June 5, 1980 (45 FR 37836). Ecology confirmed that the
classifications in Sec. 52.2471 remain correct for NO2
based on 2012-2014 monitoring data. Ecology also confirmed that the
classifications for ozone remain correct for all Air Quality Control
Regions in Washington, except one. Based on a review of 2012-2014 data,
Ecology noted that the classification for the Washington portion of the
Portland Interstate Air Quality Control Region is out of date. The EPA
reviewed the 2012-2014 data used by Ecology, as well as more recent
2013-2015 data included in the docket for this action. We agree with
Ecology's analysis that the Washington portion of the Portland
Interstate Air Quality Control Region should be reclassified to
Priority III based on more recent air quality monitoring data. The
reclassification of the Washington portion of the Portland Interstate
Air Quality Control Region from Priority I to Priority III will have no
significant impact on the SIP because the current emergency episode
plan covers the entire state and remains unchanged in the SIP since the
EPA's last approval (58 FR 4578, January 15, 1993).
The EPA also reviewed air quality monitoring data for carbon
monoxide. Concentrations of carbon monoxide in ambient air have
plummeted in the thirty-five years since the EPA's last update to the
classifications in Sec. 52.2471, primarily due to improved Federal
engine standards for motor vehicles. The highest 8-hour concentration
observed at all monitors in Washington from 2013-2015 was 2.4 parts per
million (ppm), which is well below the 8-hour carbon monoxide National
Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) of 9 ppm and well below the
Priority I classification level of 12 ppm. Similarly, the highest 1-
hour concentration observed at all monitors in Washington from 2013-
2015 was 4 ppm, which is well below the 1-hour carbon monoxide NAAQS of
35 ppm and well below the Priority I classification level of 48 ppm.
The EPA is therefore reclassifying all carbon monoxide areas in
Washington as Priority III, the lowest classification level. As
discussed above, this update to the classification levels will have no
significant impact on the SIP because the current emergency episode
plan covering the entire state remains unchanged in the SIP since the
EPA's last approval. At this time, we are not assessing the
classification levels for other pollutants (particulate matter and
sulfur dioxide) because the data analysis required to do so, including
consideration of any potential exceptional events, is beyond the scope
of this action.
B. Section 52.2472 Extensions
This section extended the attainment date for the Spokane and
Wallula particulate matter (PM10) nonattainment areas until
December 31, 1995 (60 FR 47280, September 12, 1995). In subsequent
actions, the EPA redesignated both of these areas to attainment of the
PM10 NAAQS (70 FR 38029, July 1, 2005 and 70 FR 50212,
August 26, 2005), making this section obsolete. The EPA is therefore
removing this section.
C. Section 52.2473 Approval Status
This section, last updated February 23, 1982 (47 FR 7840), is out
of date. The second sentence addresses the geographic applicability of
the regulations in the Washington SIP. Applicability is now addressed
in the tables in Sec. 52.2470, and this sentence is out of date and is
being removed (see 79 FR 59653, October 3, 2014). The fourth sentence
describes ozone-related reasonably available control technology (RACT)
requirements under the 1977 Clean Air Act (CAA). This sentence is being
removed because the EPA subsequently approved Washington SIP revisions
for the ozone NAAQS under the requirements of the 1990 CAA (see 40 CFR
52.2470(c) and (e)). Similarly, the fifth sentence in this section is
also out of date and is being removed. It describes the requirements of
the emission offset interpretive rule as it applies to permitting new
sources in a nonattainment area, published January 16, 1979 (44 FR
3274). This concern became obsolete when the EPA approved Washington
Administrative Code (WAC) 173-400-091 ``Voluntary limits on emissions''
and WAC 173-400-112 ``Requirements for new sources in nonattainment
areas'' (60 FR 28726, June 2, 1995). More recently, the EPA approved
updates to Washington's nonattainment new source review permitting
program as meeting all CAA requirements on November 7, 2014 (79 FR
59653).
D. Section 52.2474 General Requirements
This section, addressing public availability of emission data, is
out of date (40 FR 55334, November 28, 1975), and is being removed. On
October 3, 2014, the EPA approved WAC 173-400-175 ``Public
Information'' as meeting the requirements of the CAA, including making
ambient air quality data and emission data available to the public (79
FR 59653). For a full discussion, please see the proposed approval of
WAC 173-400-175 (79 FR 39351, 39357, July 10, 2014).
E. Section 52.2475 Approval of Plans
This section is no longer necessary because the EPA replaced the
historical information contained in this section with summary tables in
Sec. 52.2470 (78 FR 17108, March 20, 2013). These summary tables
describe the regulations, source-specific actions, and non-regulatory
requirements which comprise the SIP, including a history of attainment
plan and visibility protection SIP submittals. The EPA reviewed Sec.
52.2475 to verify that all relevant historical information in this
section is contained in Sec. 52.2470. The EPA is therefore removing
Sec. 52.2475.
F. Section 52.2477 Original Identification of Plan Section
Paragraphs (b) and (c) of Sec. 52.2477, originally designated as
40 CFR 52.2470(b) and (c), contain historical information about the
EPA's approval actions for the Washington SIP which occurred from
January 28, 1972 until March 20, 2013. On March 20, 2013, the EPA
reorganized the Identification of plan section (Sec. 52.2470) for
subpart WW by listing and summarizing Washington's currently approved
SIP requirements in Sec. 52.2470(a) through (e) (78 FR 17110).
Paragraphs (b) and (c) of Sec. 52.2477 are being removed because the
EPA has determined that it is no longer necessary to codify the
information found in these paragraphs. Paragraph (a) of Sec. 52.2477
is being amended to state that this historical information will
continue to be made available in the CFR annual editions, title 40,
part 52 (years 1996 through 2012). These annual editions are available
on line at the following url address: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionCfr.action?collectionCode=CFR.
[[Page 1130]]
G. Section 52.2495 Voluntary Limits on Potential To Emit
This section discusses the mechanisms for issuance of voluntary
limits on potential to emit in Washington. In 1995, the EPA approved
this regulation (with a state effective date of September 20, 1993) as
meeting the requirements for Federally-enforceable state operating
permit programs set forth in 54 FR 27274 (June 28, 1989), with respect
to criteria pollutants and pollutants regulated under the PSD program
under section 110 of the CAA (as part of the SIP) and with respect to
hazardous air pollutants under section 112(l) of the CAA (as part of
Ecology's CAA section 112 program and not as part of the SIP). See 60
FR 9805 (proposed action); 60 FR 28726 (final action). Subsequent to
that approval, Ecology made minor changes to WAC 173-400-091. The EPA
approved these minor changes to the Washington SIP in 2014 with respect
to criteria pollutants and pollutants regulated under the PSD program
(referred to as ``regulated NSR pollutants''). See 79 FR 39351, 39354
(July 10, 2014) (proposed action); 79 FR 59653 (final action). The 1993
version of WAC 173-400-091 continues to be the approved version for
purposes of section 112(l). The EPA is amending Sec. 52.2495 to make
it clear that WAC 173-400-091 remains approved under both sections 110
and 112(l) of the CAA, and that the SIP-approved version is identified
in Sec. 52.2470(c). The EPA is also deleting the reference in Sec.
52.2495 to 40 CFR 51.104(e) because that paragraph has been repealed.
III. Final Action
The EPA has determined that the above referenced rules should be
removed or revised at this time. The EPA is publishing this rule
without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a
noncontroversial action and anticipates no adverse comment. However, in
the ``Proposed Rules'' section of this Federal Register, the EPA is
publishing a separate document that will serve as the proposal to
approve the SIP revision if adverse comments are filed. This rule will
be effective on March 11, 2016 without further notice unless the EPA
receives adverse comment by February 10, 2016. If the EPA receives
adverse comment, the EPA will publish a timely withdrawal in the
Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take
effect. The EPA will address all public comments in a subsequent final
rule based on the proposed rule. The EPA will not institute a second
comment period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting
must do so at this time. Please note that if the EPA receives adverse
comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that
provision may be severed from the remainder of the rule, the EPA may
adopt as final those provisions of the rule that are not the subject of
an adverse comment.
IV. Statutory and Executive Orders Reviews
Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a
SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the 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 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 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 those 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).
The SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian reservation land in
Washington except as specifically noted below and is also not approved
to apply 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 as specified by
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000). Washington's SIP
is approved to apply on non-trust land within the exterior boundaries
of the Puyallup Indian Reservation, also known as the 1873 Survey Area.
Under the Puyallup Tribe of Indians Settlement Act of 1989, 25 U.S.C.
1773, Congress explicitly provided state and local agencies in
Washington authority over activities on non-trust lands within the 1873
Survey Area.
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. The 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).
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 11, 2016. 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. Parties with objections to this direct final
rule are encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel
notice of proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed
rules section of this Federal Register, rather than file an immediate
petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that the EPA
can withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the
[[Page 1131]]
proposed rulemaking. 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, Incorporate by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Particulate matter, Reporting
and Recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: December 21, 2015.
Michelle L. Pirzadeh,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 10.
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:
PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
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1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart WW--Washington
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2. Section 52.2471 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 52.2471 Classification of regions.
The Washington plan was evaluated on the basis of the following
classifications:
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Pollutant
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Air quality control region Particulate Nitrogen Carbon
matter Sulfur oxides dioxide monoxide Ozone
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Eastern Washington-Northern I IA III III III
Idaho Interstate...............
Northern Washington Intrastate.. II III III III III
Olympic-Northwest Washington II II III III III
Intrastate.....................
Portland Interstate............. I IA III III III
Puget Sound Intrastate.......... I IA III III I
South Central Washington I III III III III
Intrastate.....................
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Sec. 52.2472 [Removed and Reserved]
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3. Section 52.2472 is removed and reserved.
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4. Section 52.2473 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 52.2473 Approval status.
With the exceptions set forth in this subpart, the Administrator
approves Washington's plan for the attainment and maintenance of the
national standards under section 110 of the Clean Air Act. Furthermore,
the Administrator finds that the plan satisfies all requirements of
part D, title 1, of the Clean Air Act.
Sec. Sec. 52.2474 and 52.2475 [Removed and Reserved]
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4. Sections 52.2474 and 52.2475 are removed and reserved
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5. Section 52.2477 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 52.2477 Original identification of plan section.
(a) This section identified the original ``Air Implementation Plan
for the State of Washington'' and all revisions submitted by Washington
that were Federally approved prior to March 20, 2013. The information
in this section is available in the 40 CFR, part 52, Volume 3 of 3
(Sec. Sec. 52.2020 to End) edition revised as of July 1, 2012.
(b) [Reserved]
(c) [Reserved]
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6. Section 52.2495 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 52.2495 Voluntary limits on potential to emit.
(a) Terms and conditions of regulatory orders covering regulated
NSR pollutants (as defined in 40 CFR 52.21(b)), issued pursuant to WAC
173-400-091 ``Voluntary limits on emissions'' and in accordance with
the provisions of WAC 173-400-091, WAC 173-400-105 ``Records,
monitoring, and reporting,'' and WAC 173-400-171 ``Public
involvement,'' shall be applicable requirements of the Federally-
approved Washington SIP for the purposes of section 113 of the Clean
Air Act and shall be enforceable by EPA and by any person in the same
manner as other requirements of the SIP. Such regulatory orders issued
pursuant to WAC 173-400-091 are part of the Washington SIP and shall be
submitted to EPA Region 10 in accordance with the requirements of 40
CFR 51.326. The EPA-approved provisions of the WAC are identified in 40
CFR 52.2470(c).
(b) Terms and conditions of regulatory orders covering hazardous
air pollutants (as defined in 40 CFR 63.2), issued pursuant to WAC 173-
400-091 ``Voluntary limits on emissions,'' as in effect on September
20, 1993, and in accordance with the provisions of WAC 173-400-091, WAC
173-400-105 ``Records, monitoring, and reporting,'' and WAC 173-400-171
``Public involvement,'' shall be applicable requirements of the
Federally-approved Washington section 112(l) program for the purposes
of section 113 of the Clean Air Act and shall be enforceable by EPA and
by any person in the same manner as other requirements of section 112.
[FR Doc. 2015-33177 Filed 1-8-16; 8:45 am]
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