Proposed Rule2021-14175
Air Plan Approval; North Carolina; Mecklenburg Miscellaneous Rules Revisions
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
July 2, 2021
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision to the Mecklenburg County portion of the North Carolina SIP, hereinafter referred to as the Mecklenburg Local Implementation Plan (LIP). The revision was submitted by the State of North Carolina, through the North Carolina Division of Air Quality (NCDAQ), on behalf of Mecklenburg County Air Quality (MCAQ) via a letter dated April 24, 2020, and was received by EPA on June 19, 2020. The revision updates several Mecklenburg County Air Pollution Control Ordinance (MCAPCO) rules incorporated into the LIP. EPA is proposing to approve these changes pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 125 (Friday, July 2, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 125 (Friday, July 2, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 35244-35247]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14175]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2020-0726; FRL-10025-46-Region 4]
Air Plan Approval; North Carolina; Mecklenburg Miscellaneous
Rules Revisions
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 to the Mecklenburg
County portion of the North Carolina SIP, hereinafter referred to as
the Mecklenburg Local Implementation Plan (LIP). The revision was
submitted by the State of North Carolina, through the North Carolina
Division of Air Quality (NCDAQ), on behalf of Mecklenburg County Air
Quality (MCAQ) via a letter dated April 24, 2020, and was received by
EPA on June 19, 2020. The revision updates several Mecklenburg County
Air Pollution Control Ordinance (MCAPCO) rules incorporated into the
LIP. EPA is proposing to approve these changes pursuant to the Clean
Air Act (CAA or Act).
DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 2, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2020-0726 at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the online instructions
for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or
removed from <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>. 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, the full EPA public comment
policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general
guidance on making effective comments, please visit <a href="http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets">www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</a>.
[[Page 35245]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Evan Adams, Air Regulatory Management
Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air and Radiation
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth
Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The telephone number is (404)
562-9009. Mr. Adams can also be reached via electronic mail at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4c2d282d213f62293a2d220c293c2d622b233a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ef8e8b8e829cc18a998e81af8a9f8ec1888099">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background and Overview
The Mecklenburg County LIP was submitted to EPA on June 14, 1990,
and EPA approved the plan on May 2, 1991. See 56 FR 20140. Mecklenburg
County is now requesting that EPA approve updates to the LIP for
general consistency with the North Carolina SIP.\1\ Mecklenburg County
prepared three submittals in order to update the LIP and reflect
regulatory and administrative changes that NCDAQ made to the North
Carolina SIP since EPA's 1991 LIP approval. The three submittals were
submitted as follows: NCDAQ transmitted the October 25, 2017, submittal
to EPA but later withdrew it from review through a letter dated
February 15, 2019. On April 24, 2020, NCDAQ resubmitted the October 25,
2017, update to EPA and also submitted the January 21, 2016, and
January 14, 2019, updates. Due to an inconsistency with public notice
at the local level, these submittals were withdrawn from EPA through a
letter dated February 15, 2019. Mecklenburg County corrected this
error, and NCDAQ submitted the updates to EPA in a submittal dated
April 24, 2020.\2\
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\1\ Hereinafter, the terms ``North Carolina SIP'' and ``SIP''
refer to the North Carolina regulatory portion of the North Carolina
SIP (i.e., the portion that contains SIP-approved North Carolina
regulations).
\2\ EPA notes that the April 24, 2020, submittal was received by
EPA on June 19, 2020.
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II. What action is EPA proposing to take?
The April 24, 2020, submittal includes changes and updates to the
following rules to more closely align them with their analog SIP-
approved North Carolina regulations. The January 14, 2019, the
submission includes changes and updates to MCAPCO Rules 2.0101,
Definitions; 2.0201, Classification of Air Pollution Sources; 2.0202,
Registration of Air Pollution Sources; 2.0302, Episode Criteria;
2.0303, Emission Reduction Plans; and 2.0304, Preplanned Abatement
Program.\3\
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\3\ The April 24, 2020 submittal contains changes to other
Mecklenburg LIP-approved rules that are not addressed in this
notice. EPA will be acting on those rules in separate actions.
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The submittal also asks EPA to reincorporate the following rules
into the LIP with a new effective date. The January 21, 2016,
submission includes updates to the effective dates of the following
rules: MCAPCO Rules 1.5301, Special Enforcement Procedures; 1.5302,
Criminal Penalties; 1.5303, Civil Injunction; 1.5304, Civil Penalties;
1.5306, Hearings; 1.5307, Judicial Review; 2.0301, Purpose; and 2.0305,
Emission Reduction Plant: Alert Level. The text of these rules has not
changed. The remainder of this section discusses the proposed changes
to Rules 2.0101, 2.0201, 2.0202, 2.0302, 2.0303, and 2.0304.
Rule 2.0101, ``Definitions''
The April 24, 2020, revision modifies Rule 2.0101, Definitions,
under Article 2.0000, Air Pollution and Control Regulations and
Procedures, by updating terms and definitions, the formatting of units,
and references to more closely align the rule with the SIP-approved
state rule at 15A NCAC 02D .0101, Definitions. Rule 2.0101 was first
approved by EPA into the LIP on May 2, 1991 (56 FR 20140), and defines
certain terms used in Article 2.0000. EPA most recently approved
updates to 15A NCAC 02D .0101 in the SIP on July 17, 2020. See 85 FR
43461.
The changes to Rule 2.0101 reorganize the defined terms
alphabetically, add several terms and definitions, and delete one term
and definition. The revisions add the terms ``Administrator,''
``Approved,'' ``Capture system,'' ``Control device,'' ``Day,''
``Emission,'' ``Person,'' ``PM<INF>2.5</INF>,'' and ``Transportation
facility,'' and remove the term ``Smoke density measuring device.'' \4\
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\4\ The terms ``Approved,'' ``Capture system,'' ``Control
device,'' ``Day,'' ``Emission,'' and ``Person'' also appear in the
LIP-approved version of Rule 2.0901 with minor differences. The
April 24, 2020 submittal seeks to remove these terms from Rule
2.0901, Definitions, under Article 2.9000, Volatile Organic
Compounds, in effect moving them to Rule 2.0101; however, EPA is not
proposing to act on the removal of these terms from Rule 2.0901 at
this time. EPA will act on the changes to Rule 2.0901 in a separate
action.
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The terms and definitions in the revised version of Rule 2.0101 and
the SIP at 15A NCAC 02D .0101, Definitions, only have a few
differences. These include several LIP-approved exceptions in the
definition of ``Construction'' at 2.0101(9)(a-d). These exemptions
apply to a limited number of activities such as clearing and grading,
building access roads, driveways, and parking lots, building and
installing underground pipe work, and building ancillary structures,
including fences and office buildings that are not a necessary
component of an air contaminant source, equipment, or associated
cleaning device for which a permit is required.
EPA is proposing to approve the updates to Rule 2.0101 because they
better align the LIP with the SIP and will not interfere with any
applicable Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements.\5\
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\5\ Section 110(l) of the CAA prohibits EPA from approving a SIP
revision that would interfere with any applicable requirement
concerning attainment and reasonable further progress (as defined in
section 171), or any other applicable requirement of the Act.
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Rule 2.0201, Classification of Air Pollution Sources
The April 24, 2020, revision modifies Rule 2.0201, Classification
of Air Pollution Sources, under Article 2.0000, by making grammatical
updates and clarifying that the classification system applies to all
air pollution sources governed by the Article. Rule 2.0201 was first
approved by EPA into the LIP on May 2, 1991 (56 FR 20140), and
establishes a system to classify air pollution sources covered by
Article 2.0000. The edits align \6\ the rule with the SIP-approved
state rule, 15A NCAC 02D .0201, Classification of Air Pollution
Sources. EPA most recently incorporated updates to the state rule in
North Carolina's SIP on April 10, 2019. See 84 FR 14308. EPA is
proposing to approve the updates to Rule 2.0201 because they better
align the LIP with the SIP and will not interfere with any applicable
CAA requirements.
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\6\ The only differences between the revised version of 2.0201
and the SIP-approved version of 15A NCAC 02D .0201 tailor the rules
to reference their respective governing bodies.
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Rule 2.0202, Registration of Air Pollution Sources
The April 24, 2020, revision modifies Rule 2.0202, Registration of
Air Pollution Sources, by adding a reference to the governing North
Carolina statute at G.S. 143-215.107(a)(4). Rule 2.0202 was first
approved by EPA into the LIP on May 2, 1991 (56 FR 20140), and
identifies the information that an air pollution source must submit in
order to register the source with MCAQ. The minor edits align \7\ the
rule with the current SIP-approved rule, 15A NCAC 02D .0202,
Registration of Air Pollution Sources. EPA most recently incorporated
updates to the state rule in North Carolina's SIP on April 10, 2019.
See 84 FR 14308. EPA is proposing to approve the updates to Rule 2.0202
[[Page 35246]]
because they better align the LIP with the SIP and will not interfere
with any applicable CAA requirements.
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\7\ The only differences between the revised version of 2.0202
and the SIP-approved version of 15A NCAC 02D .0202 tailor the rules
to reference their respective governing bodies.
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Rule 2.0302, Episode Criteria
The April 24, 2020, revision modifies Rule 2.0302, Episode
Criteria, by updating the format of units, updating who proclaims air
quality alerts and warnings and declarations of emergency at various
pollutant levels requiring abatement actions from the Director of MCAQ
with concurrence of the Governor, removing obsolete pollutant levels
triggering such proclamations or declarations, and renumbering the
subsections as a result of the aforementioned changes. Rule 2.0302 was
first approved by EPA into the LIP on May 2, 1991 (56 FR 20140), and
establishes guidance for the Director on when to issue an air pollution
alert. The edits to Rule 2.0302 align \8\ the rule with the current
SIP-approved rule, 15A NCAC 02D .0302, Episode Criteria. EPA most
recently incorporated updates to the state rule in North Carolina's SIP
on April 10, 2019. See 84 FR 14308. EPA is proposing to approve the
updates to Rule 2.0302 because they better align the LIP with the SIP
and will not interfere with any applicable CAA requirements.
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\8\ The only differences between the revised version of 2.0302
and the SIP-approved version of 15A NCAC 02D .0302 tailor the rules
to reference their respective governing bodies.
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Rule 2.0303, Emission Reduction Plans
The April 24, 2020, revision modifies Rule 2.0303, Emission
Reduction Plans, by making updates to references. Rule 2.0303 was first
approved by EPA into the LIP on May 2, 1991 (56 FR 20140), and
establishes when persons responsible for operating an air pollution
source must take air pollution alert, warning, or emergency actions.
The revisions add a cross-reference to Rule 2.0304, Preplanned
Abatement Program, described below. The edits align \9\ the rule with
the current SIP-approved rule, 15A NCAC 02D .0303, Emission Reduction
Plans. EPA most recently incorporated updates to the state rule in
North Carolina's SIP on April 10, 2019. See 84 FR 14308. EPA is
proposing to approve the updates to Rule 2.0303 because they better
align the LIP with the SIP and will not interfere with any applicable
CAA requirements.
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\9\ The only differences between the revised version of 2.0303
and the SIP-approved version of 15A NCAC 02D .0303 tailor the rules
to reference their respective governing bodies.
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Rule 2.0304, Preplanned Abatement Program
The April 24, 2020, revision modifies Rule 2.0304, Preplanned
Abatement Program, by making updates to references. Rule 2.0304 was
first approved by EPA into the LIP on May 2, 1991 (56 FR 20140), and
establishes who must prepare a plan to reduce emissions during any air
pollution episode. The edits align \10\ the rule with the current SIP-
approved rule, 15A NCAC 02D .0304, Preplanned Abatement Program. EPA
most recently incorporated updates to the state rule in North
Carolina's SIP on April 10, 2019. See 84 FR 14308. EPA is proposing to
approve the updates to Rule 2.0304 because they better align the LIP
with the SIP and will not interfere with any applicable CAA
requirements.
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\10\ The only differences between the revised version of 2.0304
and SIP-approved version of 15A NCAC 02D .0304 tailor the rules to
reference their respective governing bodies.
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III. Incorporation by Reference
In this document, 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 approve MCAPCO
Rules 1.5301--Special Enforcement Procedures; 1.5302--Criminal
Penalties; 1.5303--Civil Injunction; 1.5304--Civil Penalties; 1.5306--
Hearings; 1.5307--Judicial Review; 2.0301--Purpose; and 2.0305--
Emission Reduction Plant: Alert Level, all of which have an effective
date of December 15, 2015; as well as MCAPCO Rules 2.0101--Definitions;
2.0201--Classification of Air Pollution Sources; 2.0202--Registration
of Air Pollution Sources; 2.0302--Episode Criteria; 2.0303--Emission
Reduction Plans; and 2.0304--Preplanned Abatement Program, all of which
have an effective date of December 18, 2018, into the Mecklenburg
County portion of the North Carolina SIP to update the rules to more
closely align with their analog North Carolina rules in the SIP. EPA
has made and will continue to make the SIP generally available through
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> and at the EPA Region 4 Office (please contact the
person identified in the For Further Information Contact section of
this preamble for more information).
IV. Proposed Action
EPA is proposing to approve the aforementioned revisions to the
Mecklenburg LIP. Specifically, EPA is proposing to approve revisions to
MCAPCO Rules 1.5301--Special Enforcement Procedures; 1.5302--Criminal
Penalties; 1.5303--Civil Injunction, 1.5304--Civil Penalties; 1.5306--
Hearings; 1.5307--Judicial Review; 2.0101--Definitions; 2.0201--
Classification of Air Pollution Sources; 2.0202--Registration of Air
Pollution Sources; 2.0301--Purpose; 2.0302--Episode Criteria; 2.0303--
Emission Reduction Plans; 2.0304--Preplanned Abatement Program; and
2.0305--Emission Reduction Plant: Alert Level. EPA is proposing to
approve these revisions because they are consistent with the CAA.
V. 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 they meet the criteria of the CAA. This proposed action merely
proposes to approve state law as meeting Federal requirements and does
not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law.
For that reason, this proposed action:
<bullet> 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);
<bullet> Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
<bullet> 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.);
<bullet> 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);
<bullet> Does not have Federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
<bullet> Is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
<bullet> Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
<bullet> 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
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<bullet> 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.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: June 28, 2021.
John Blevins,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2021-14175 Filed 7-1-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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