[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 147 (Tuesday, July 31, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 36823-36824]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16375]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2018-0550; FRL-9981-60--Region 3]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
West Virginia; 2018 Amendments to West Virginia's Ambient Air Quality
Standards
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the
State of West Virginia. This revision updates the effective date by
which the state incorporates by reference the national ambient air
quality standards (NAAQS) as well as their monitoring reference and
equivalent methods. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act
(CAA).
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before August 30, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R03-
OAR-2018-0550 at http://www.regulations.gov, or via email to
[email protected]. For comments submitted at Regulations.gov,
follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted,
comments cannot be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. For either
manner of submission, 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. 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, please contact the person
identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the
[[Page 36824]]
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: Joseph Schulingkamp, (215) 814-2021,
or by email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 8, 2018, the West Virginia
Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) submitted a formal
revision to its SIP pertaining to amendments of Legislative Rule,
45CSR8--Ambient Air Quality Standards. The SIP revision consists of
revising the effective date of the incorporation by reference of the
NAAQS and the associated monitoring reference and equivalent methods.
I. Summary of SIP Revision
This SIP revision is required by WVDEP in order to update the
State's incorporation by reference of the primary and secondary NAAQS
and the ambient air monitoring reference and equivalent methods, found
in 40 CFR parts 50 and 53, respectively. Currently, 45CSR8 incorporates
by reference 40 CFR parts 50 and 53 as effective on June 1, 2016. Since
that date, EPA retained the standard for lead and made a technical
correction to the particulate standard. See 81 FR 71906 and 82 FR
14325, respectively. EPA also designated one new ambient air monitoring
reference method for measuring concentrations of sulfur dioxide, four
new ambient air monitoring equivalent methods for measuring
concentrations of fine and coarse particulate matter (PM2.5
and PM10, respectively), and two new equivalent methods for
measuring concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in
ambient air.
The amendments to the legislative rule include the following
changes: To section 45-8-1 (General), the filing, effective, and
incorporation by reference dates are changed to reflect the update of
the legislative rule; to section 45-8-3 (Adoption of Standards), the
effective dates for the incorporation by reference of the primary and
secondary NAAQS and the ambient air monitoring reference and equivalent
methods are changed. The filing and effective dates of the legislative
rule were updated to March 22, 2018 and June 1, 2018 respectively. The
effective date of the incorporation by reference of 40 CFR parts 50 and
53 changed from June 1, 2016 to June 1, 2017.
II. Proposed Action
EPA is proposing to approve the West Virginia SIP revision updating
the date of incorporation by reference, which was submitted on June 8,
2018. EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues discussed in this
document. These comments will be considered before taking final action.
III. Incorporation by Reference
In this proposed rule, EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA
rule regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In
accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, EPA is proposing to
incorporate by reference 45CSR8, as effective on June 1, 2018. EPA has
made, and will continue to make, these materials generally available
through http://www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region III Office
(please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this preamble for more information).
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 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 proposed 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);
is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2,
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted under
Executive Order 12866.
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 proposed rule, updating the effective date of
West Virginia's 45CSR8, 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.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference, Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate
matter, Sulfur oxides.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: July 23, 2018.
Cosmo Servidio,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2018-16375 Filed 7-30-18; 8:45 am]
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