[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 194 (Tuesday, October 10, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 46921-46923]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-21605]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2017-0360; FRL-9968-90-Region 4]
Air Plan Approval; Alabama: Prevention of Significant
Deterioration Updates
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final
action to approve portions of revisions to Alabama's State
Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted by the State of Alabama, through
the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), on May 8,
2013, and August 23, 2016. The portions of these SIP revisions that EPA
is finalizing approval of relate to the State's Prevention of
Significant Deterioration (PSD) permitting program. This action is
being taken pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).
DATES: This rule is effective November 9, 2017.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2017-0360. All documents in the docket
are listed on the www.regulations.gov Web site. Although listed in the
index, some information may not be publicly available, i.e.,
Confidential Business Information 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 Regulatory Management Section, Air Planning and
Implementation Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. EPA requests that if at all possible, you
contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's official
hours of business are Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,
excluding Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andres Febres of the Air Regulatory
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air,
Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia
30303-8960. Mr. Febres can be reached by telephone at (404) 562-8966 or
via electronic mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On May 8, 2013 and August 23, 2016, ADEM submitted SIP revisions
for EPA's approval that include changes to Alabama's PSD permitting
regulations, among other changes. In a notice of proposed rulemaking
published on August 15, 2017 (82 FR 38660), EPA proposed to approve
certain portions of these submittals that make changes to ADEM
Administrative Code Rule 335-3-14-.04--``Air Permits Authorizing
Construction in Clean Areas (Prevention of Significant Deterioration
Permitting (PSD)),'' which applies to the construction or modification
of any major stationary source in areas designated as attainment or
unclassifiable as required by part C of title I of the CAA.
Alabama's May 8, 2013, SIP submittal includes changes to Rule 335-
3-14-.04 to address the Federal rule entitled ``Implementation of the
New Source Review (NSR) Program for Particulate Matter Less Than 2.5
Micrometers (PM2.5): Amendment to the Definition of
`Regulated NSR Pollutant' Concerning Condensable Particulate Matter,''
77 FR 65107 (October 25, 2012) (hereinafter referred to as the
PM2.5 Condensables Correction Rule),\1\ and plantwide
applicability limits (PALs) for greenhouse gases (GHGs) as allowed in
the Federal rule entitled ``Prevention of Significant Deterioration and
Title V Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule Step 3 and GHG Plantwide
Applicability Limits,'' 77 FR 41051 (July 12, 2012) (hereinafter
referred to as the GHG Step 3 Rule).\2\ In addition, the SIP submittal
includes changes to the definition of GHGs in Rule 335-3-14-.04 and
Rule 335-3-16 (regarding major source operating permits) to address
EPA's July 20, 2011 rule deferring PSD requirements for carbon dioxide
(CO2) emissions from bioenergy and other biogenic sources
(hereinafter referred to as the ``Biomass Deferral Rule'').\3\
Alabama's May 8, 2013, SIP submission also includes the following
changes to other Alabama rules: Changes to the definition of Volatile
Organic Compounds (VOCs) at Rule 335-3-1-.02; changes to the
incorporation by reference (IBR) of the Federal New Source Performance
Standards in Chapter 335-3-10 and National Emissions Standards for
Hazardous Air Pollutants in Chapter 335-3-11; and changes regarding
transportation conformity provisions at Rule Chapter 335-3-16.
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\1\ Given the corrections to the federal definition of
``particulate matter emissions'' in the PM2.5
Condensables Correction Rule, EPA is removing the note regarding
``particulate matter emissions'' in the table entry for Rule 335-3-
14-.04 at 40 CFR 52.50(c). In addition, EPA is removing the note
regarding PM2.5 Significant Impact Levels (SILs) in the
table entry for Rule 335-3-14-.04 at 40 CFR 52.50(c) because, on
October 9, 2014, ADEM submitted a letter to EPA withdrawing these
SILs from EPA's consideration as included in a May 2, 2011, SIP
submittal.
\2\ For background information on GHG permitting, including the
GHG Step 3 Rule, see 82 FR 38662.
\3\ Emissions of CO2 from a stationary source
directly resulting from the combustion or decomposition of
biologically-based materials other than fossil fuels and mineral
sources of carbon (e.g., calcium carbonate) and biologically-based
material (non-fossilized and biodegradable organic material
originating from plants, animals or micro-organisms, including
products, by-products, residues and waste from agriculture, forestry
and related industries as well as the non-fossilized and
biodegradable organic fractions of industrial and municipal wastes,
including gases and liquids recovered from the decomposition of non-
fossilized and biodegradable organic material).
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Alabama's August 23, 2016, SIP submittal includes changes to Rule
335-3-14-.04 and Rule Chapter 335-3-16 to remove the treatment of GHGs
as an air pollutant for the specific purpose of determining whether a
source is a major source (or a modification thereof) in PSD and title V
permitting requirements.\4\ The submittal also withdraws the portion of
the State's May 8, 2013, SIP submittal that revises Rule 335-3-14-.04
to address the Biomass Deferral Rule and makes changes to the GHG Step
3 language proposed in Alabama's May 8, 2013, submittal.
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\4\ i.e., removing regulation of ``GHG-only'' sources.
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In the August 15, 2017, proposed rulemaking, EPA proposed to
approve only the portions of the May 8, 2013, submittal that make
changes to the GHG PAL provisions pursuant to the GHG Step 3 rule and
the portions of the August 23, 2016, submittal that discontinue
regulation of GHGs as an air pollutant for the specific purpose of
determining whether a source is a major source (or a modification
thereof) in PSD and title V permitting requirements and that make
changes to the GHG Step 3 language proposed in Alabama's May 8, 2013,
submittal. EPA did not propose any action on the remaining portions of
these submittals. The details of Alabama's SIP revisions and the
[[Page 46922]]
rationale for EPA's action are further explained in the notice of
proposed rulemaking. Comments on the proposed rulemaking were due on or
before September 14, 2017. EPA did not receive any comments on the
proposed action, adverse or otherwise.
II. Incorporation by Reference
In this rule, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR
51.5, EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of ADEM
Administrative Code Rules 335-3-14-.04(1)(k), 335-3-14-.04(2)(a)(ii),
and 335-3-14-.04(b)4, state effective on November 25, 2014. EPA has
made, and will continue to make, these materials generally available
through www.regulations.gov and/or at the EPA Region 4 Office (please
contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section of this preamble for more information). Therefore, these
materials have been approved by EPA for inclusion into Alabama's SIP,
have been incorporated by reference by EPA into that plan, are fully
federally enforceable under sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the
effective date of the final rulemaking of EPA's approval, and will be
incorporated by reference by the Director of the Federal Register in
the next update to the SIP compilation.\5\
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\5\ 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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III. Final Action
EPA is finalizing approval of portions of Alabama's May 8, 2013,
and August 23, 2016, SIP submittals that revise the PSD permitting
program at Rule 335-3-14-.04--``Air Permits Authorizing Construction in
Clean Areas (Prevention of Significant Deterioration Permitting
(PSD))'' by removing language regulating GHG-only sources and by adding
language to the PAL provisions.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP
submission that complies with the provisions of the Act 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
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 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).
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 as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65
FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor will it impose substantial direct
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
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).
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 December 11, 2017. 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, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate Matter, Volatile
organic compounds.
Dated: September 21, 2017.
Onis ``Trey'' Glenn, III,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.
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 B--Alabama
0
2. In Sec. 52.50, the table in paragraph (c) is amended under
``Chapter No. 335-3-14 Air Permits'' by revising the entry for
``Section 335-3-14-.04'' to read as follows:
Sec. 52.50 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
[[Page 46923]]
EPA Approved Alabama Regulations
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State
State citation Title/subject effective date EPA approval date Explanation
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* * * * * * *
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Chapter No. 335-3-14 Air Permits
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* * * * * * *
Section 335-3-14-.04............. Air Permits Authorizing 11/25/2014 10/10/2017.......................... ....................................
Construction in Clean [Insert Federal Register citation]..
Air Areas [Prevention of
Significant
Deterioration Permitting
(PSD)).
* * * * * * *
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[FR Doc. 2017-21605 Filed 10-6-17; 8:45 am]
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