Rule2021-17952
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; District of Columbia; Regional Haze State Implementation Plan for the Second Implementation Period and Reasonably Available Control Technology for Major Stationary Sources of Nitrogen Oxides; Technical Amendment
Primary source
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Published
August 31, 2021
Effective
September 30, 2021
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a regional haze state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the District of Columbia ("the District" or "DC") through the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) on November 8, 2019, as satisfying applicable requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and EPA's Regional Haze Rule (RHR) for the program's second implementation period. The District's SIP submission addressed the requirement that states must periodically revise their long-term strategies for making reasonable progress towards the national goal of preventing any future, and remedying any existing, anthropogenic impairment of visibility in mandatory Class I Federal Areas, including regional haze. EPA is taking this action pursuant to sections 110 and 169A of the CAA. EPA is also correcting an error in the citations in our previous final approval of the District's revision to the Reasonably Available Control Technology for Major Stationary Sources of Nitrogen Oxides Rule ("DC NOx RACT rule") according to our authority under section 110(k)(6) of the CAA.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 166 (Tuesday, August 31, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 166 (Tuesday, August 31, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 48504-48507]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17952]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2020-0703; FRL-8837-02-R3]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
District of Columbia; Regional Haze State Implementation Plan for the
Second Implementation Period and Reasonably Available Control
Technology for Major Stationary Sources of Nitrogen Oxides; Technical
Amendment
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a
regional haze state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the
District of Columbia (``the District'' or ``DC'') through the
Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) on November 8, 2019, as
satisfying applicable requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and
EPA's Regional Haze Rule (RHR) for the program's second implementation
period. The District's SIP submission addressed the requirement that
states must periodically revise their long-term strategies for making
reasonable progress towards the national goal of preventing any future,
and remedying any existing, anthropogenic impairment of visibility in
mandatory Class I Federal Areas, including regional haze. EPA is taking
this action pursuant to sections 110 and 169A of the CAA. EPA is also
correcting an error in the citations in our previous final approval of
the District's revision to the Reasonably Available Control Technology
for Major Stationary Sources of Nitrogen Oxides Rule (``DC NOx RACT
rule'') according to our authority under section 110(k)(6) of the CAA.
DATES: This final rule is effective on September 30, 2021.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
Number EPA-R03-OAR-2020-0703. All documents in the docket are listed on
the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website. Although listed in the index,
some information is not publicly available, e.g., 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 through
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, or please contact the person identified in
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section for additional availability
information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keila M. Pag[aacute]n-Incle, Planning
& Implementation Branch (3AD30), Air & Radiation Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. The telephone number is (215) 814-
2926. Ms. Pag[aacute]n-Incle can also be reached via electronic mail at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6d1d0c0a0c034004030e010843060804010c2d081d0c430a021b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="65150402040b480c0b0609004b0e000c0904250015044b020a13">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On April 15, 2021, EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking
(NPRM) for the District. 86 FR 19793. The NPRM proposed approval of
DC's regional haze plan for the second implementation period (``DC DOEE
2019 Regional Haze SIP submission''), which runs through 2028.
In the 1977 CAA amendments, Congress created a program for
protecting visibility in the nation's mandatory Class I Federal areas,
which include certain national parks and wilderness areas.\1\ 42 U.S.C
7491. The CAA establishes as a national goal the ``prevention of any
future, and the remedying of any existing, impairment of visibility in
mandatory Class I Federal areas which impairment results from manmade
air pollution'',\2\ and directs EPA to promulgate regulations to assure
reasonable progress toward meeting this national goal. 42 U.S.C.
7491(a)(4). On July 1, 1999, EPA promulgated the RHR, which is codified
at 40 CFR 51.308.\3\ See 64 FR 35714. Additional background and
information about regional haze and the regional haze program is
included in the April 15, 2021 proposal. 86 FR 19793.
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\1\ Areas statutorily designated as mandatory Class I Federal
areas consist of national parks exceeding 6,000 acres, wilderness
areas and national memorial parks exceeding 5,000 acres, and all
international parks that were in existence on August 7, 1977. 42
U.S.C. 7472(a). There are 156 mandatory Class I areas. The list of
areas to which the requirements of the visibility protection program
apply is in 40 CFR part 81, subpart D.
\2\ 42 U.S.C. 7491(a)(1).
\3\ In addition to the generally applicable regional haze
provisions at 40 CFR 51.308, EPA also promulgated regulations
specific to addressing regional haze visibility impairment in Class
I areas on the Colorado Plateau at 40 CFR 51.309. The latter
regulations are applicable only for specific jurisdictions' regional
haze plans submitted no later than December 17, 2007, and thus are
not relevant here.
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To address regional haze visibility impairment, the 1999 RHR
established an iterative planning process that requires states in which
Class I areas are located and states ``the emissions from which may
reasonably be anticipated to cause or contribute to any impairment of
visibility'' in a Class I area to periodically submit SIP revisions to
address regional haze visibility impairment. 42 U.S.C. 7491(b)(2); 40
CFR 51.308(b) and (f); see also 64 FR 35768 (July 1, 1999). Under the
CAA, each SIP submission must contain ``a long-term (ten to fifteen
years) strategy for making reasonable progress toward meeting the
national goal.'' 42 U.S.C. 7491(b)(2)(B). States' first regional haze
SIP submissions were due by December 17, 2007, 40 CFR 51.308(b), with
subsequent SIP submissions containing revised long-term strategies
originally due July 31, 2018, and every ten years thereafter. 64 FR
35768.
On January 10, 2017, EPA promulgated revisions to the RHR that
apply for the second and subsequent implementation periods. 82 FR 3078.
The revisions to the regional haze program focused on the requirement
that States' SIPs contain long-term strategies for making reasonable
progress towards the national visibility goal. Among other changes
relative to the first period requirements, the 2017 RHR Revisions
adjusted the deadline for States to submit their second-implementation-
period SIP revisions from July 31, 2018 to July 31, 2021, clarified the
order of analysis and the relationship between the reasonable progress
goals (RPGs) and the long-term strategy, and focused on making
visibility improvements on the days with the most anthropogenic
visibility impairment, as opposed to the days with the most visibility
impairment overall. EPA has issued several guidance documents relevant
to SIP development for the second
[[Page 48505]]
implementation period, including the August 2019 ``Guidance on Regional
Haze State Implementation Plans for the Second Implementation Period''
(``2019 Guidance'').\4\
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\4\ Guidance on Regional Haze State Implementation Plans for the
Second Implementation Period. Available at: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/visibility/guidance-regional-haze-state-implementation-plans-second-implementation-period">https://www.epa.gov/visibility/guidance-regional-haze-state-implementation-plans-second-implementation-period</a> EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and
Standards, Research Triangle Park (August 20, 2019).
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Because the air pollutants and pollution affecting visibility in
Class I areas can be transported over long distances, successful
implementation of the regional haze program requires long-term,
regional coordination among multiple jurisdictions and agencies that
have responsibility for Class I areas and the emissions that impact
visibility in those areas. In order to address regional haze, states
need to develop strategies in coordination with one another,
considering the effect of emissions from one jurisdiction on the air
quality in another. Five regional planning organizations (RPOs), which
include representation from state and tribal governments, EPA, and
federal land managers (FLMs), were developed in the lead-up to the
first implementation period to address regional haze. RPOs evaluate
technical information to better understand how emissions from state and
tribal land impact Class I areas across the country, pursue the
development of regional strategies to reduce emissions of particulate
matter and other pollutants leading to regional haze, and help states
meet the consultation requirements of the RHR.
One of the five RPOs described above is the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast
Visibility Union (MANE-VU). MANE-VU is a collaborative effort of state
governments, tribal governments, and various Federal agencies
established to initiate and coordinate activities associated with the
management of regional haze, visibility, and other air quality issues
in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast corridor of the United States. The
District, as well as other states and tribal governments along the Mid-
Atlantic and Northeast corridor, are members of MANE-VU.
EPA published a final rule fully approving the DC regional haze SIP
submission for the first implementation period on February 2, 2012 (77
FR 5191), and approved a five-year progress report as a SIP revision
into the DC SIP on August 10, 2017 (82 FR 37305). On November 8, 2019,
the District submitted another SIP revision, developed with the
technical information from MANE-VU, to address the jurisdiction's
regional haze obligations for the second implementation period, which
runs through 2028. On April 15, 2021, EPA proposed to approve the DC
DOEE 2019 Regional Haze SIP submission as meeting the applicable
statutory and regulatory requirements. 86 FR 19793.
In the April 15, 2021 publication, EPA also proposed to correct an
error in the citations of the regulatory provisions in a previous
action--the final rule (FR) and identification of plan of the DC NOx
RACT rule (February 24, 2020, 85 FR 10295)--according to our authority
to make corrections to prior SIP actions under Section 110(k)(6) of the
CAA. As we noted in the NPRM, the DC DOEE 2019 Regional Haze SIP
submission relies in part on this rule.
II. Summary of SIP Revision and EPA Analysis
Under the CAA and EPA's regulations, each state, including the
District, must include in its SIP a long-term (ten to fifteen years)
strategy for making reasonable progress toward meeting the national
goal of remedying any existing and preventing any future anthropogenic
visibility impairment in Class I areas. 42 U.S.C. 7491(b)(2)(B). To
this end, 40 CFR 51.308(f) lays out the process by which states
determine what constitutes their long-term strategies, with the order
of the requirements in 40 CFR 51.308(f)(1) through (3) generally
mirroring the order of the steps in the reasonable progress analysis
and (f)(4) through (6) containing additional, related requirements. In
addition, the SIP submissions for the second implementation period must
address the requirements in 40 CFR 51.308(g)(1) through (5) pertaining
to periodic reports describing progress towards the RPGs, 40 CFR
51.308(f)(5), as well as requirements for FLM consultation that apply
to all visibility protection SIPs and SIP revisions. 40 CFR 51.309(i).
As discussed in the April 15, 2021 (86 FR 19793) NPRM, in
accordance with CAA sections 169A and the RHR at 40 CFR 51.308(f), on
November 8, 2019, DC DOEE submitted a revision to the DC SIP to address
the jurisdiction's regional haze obligations for the second
implementation period. The revision included the analyses conducted by
MANE-VU and the District's determinations based on those analyses; the
District's long-term strategy for making reasonable progress; and the
District's assessment of progress made since the first implementation
period in reducing emissions of visibility impairing pollutants and the
visibility improvement progress at nearby Class I areas. EPA evaluated
the District's submission against the requirements of the CAA and RHR
for the second implementation period of the regional haze program. The
following is a summary of selected components of the District's SIP
submission; EPA's full evaluation of the complete submission against
all applicable regional haze requirements for the second implementation
period is contained in Section IV of the April 15, 2021 NPRM.
The core component of a regional haze SIP submission is a long-term
strategy that addresses regional haze in each Class I area within a
state's borders and each Class I area that may be affected by emissions
from the state. The long-term strategy ``must include the enforceable
emissions limitations, compliance schedules, and other measures that
are necessary to make reasonable progress, as determined pursuant to
[40 CFR 51.308](f)(2)(i) through (iv).'' 40 CFR 51.308(f)(2). The
amount of progress that is ``reasonable progress'' is determined by
applying the four statutory factors in CAA section 169A(g)(1) in an
evaluation of potential control options for sources of visibility
impairing pollutants, which is referred to as a ``four-factor''
analysis. The RHR refers to the controls identified pursuant to a four-
factor analysis as ``emission reduction measures,'' see 40 CFR
51.308(f)(2)(i); these measures represent the level of emissions that a
particular source or group of sources need to achieve to make
reasonable progress towards the national visibility goal. States' SIPs
must include ``enforceable emissions limitations, compliance schedules,
and other measures'' (i.e., any compliance tools) for the emission
reduction measures they have determined are necessary to make
reasonable progress pursuant to four-factor analysis. 40 CFR
51.308(f)(2).
MANE-VU's strategy, on which the District relied to satisfy its
requirements for the second implementation period, included a
combination of (1) measures for certain source sectors and groups of
sources that the RPO determined were reasonable for states to pursue,
and (2) a request for member states to conduct four-factor analyses for
individual sources that it identified as contributing to visibility
impairment. MANE-VU developed a set of emissions reduction measures for
making reasonable progress in the five MANE-VU Class I areas. MANE-VU
refers to each of the components of its overall strategy as an ``Ask''
of its member states. The District's submission discussed each of the
Asks and explained why or why not each is applicable and how it has
complied with the relevant components of the emissions control strategy
MANE-VU has laid out for its states. A
[[Page 48506]]
detailed description about the District's response to the six MANE-VU
Asks and EPA's evaluation of the District's responses and compliance
with 40 CFR 51.308(f)(2)(i) can be found in Section IV. E. of the April
15, 2021 NPRM.
The NPRM also sets out at length the other requirements in the RHR
that the DC DOEE 2019 Regional Haze SIP submission must meet to be
approved, EPA's evaluation of the DC DOEE 2019 Regional Haze SIP
submission against those requirements, and EPA's conclusion that the
District has met its requirements under 40 CFR 51.308 with respect to
its regional haze SIP for the second implementation period, the DC DOEE
2019 Regional Haze SIP submission. In particular, EPA evaluated these
requirements, as set forth in the NPRM, including: (1) Monitoring
strategy and other implementation plan requirements; (2) requirements
for RPG; and (3) requirements for state and FLM coordination. These
other specific requirements of the CAA and EPA's RHR, and the rationale
for EPA's proposed action, are more fully explained in the NPRM and
will not be restated here.
III. EPA's Response to Comments Received
EPA received one comment supporting our proposed action in the
April 15, 2021 NPRM. The comment received is in the docket for this
rulemaking action. EPA received no adverse comments.
IV. Final Action
EPA is approving the revision to the District of Columbia SIP
submitted by the District through DC DOEE on November 8, 2019. EPA is
approving the District's SIP submission as satisfying the regional haze
requirements for the second implementation period.
V. Incorporation by Reference
In addition, EPA is correcting errors in the regulatory citation in
our February 24, 2020 (85 FR 10295) final action on the DC
NO<INF>X</INF> RACT rule and is codifying this correction by revising
the appropriate entries under 40 CFR 52.470 (Identification of Plan).
EPA approved the District's revision to the DC NO<INF>X</INF> RACT rule
(20 DCMR 805) into the SIP on February 24, 2020. 85 FR 10295. However,
after we finalized the rulemaking, EPA discovered that we had erred in
identifying the particular sections of the DC NO<INF>X</INF> RACT rule
for incorporation by reference into the DC SIP. EPA is amending the
table in paragraph (c) of 40 CFR 52.470 to correctly reflect our
intended approval of 20 DCMR sections 805.1(a), 805.1(a)(2), 805.4(a),
and 805.4(b), described as follows.
EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials generally
available through <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> 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).
Amendments to 20 District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (20
DCMR) Chapter 8, section 805.4:
a. Amending sections 805.4(a)(1) and (2) to set NO<INF>X</INF>
emission limitations for any stationary combustion turbines with a heat
input rating greater than fifty million (50,000,000) BTU per hour;
b. Amending section 805.4(a)(3) to set NO<INF>X</INF> emission
limitations for certain stationary combustion turbines with a heat
input rating less than or equal to fifty million (50,000,000) BTU per
hour;
c. Amending section 805.4(a)(4) to set NO<INF>X</INF> emission
limitations for certain stationary combustion turbines with a heat
input rating less than or equal to ten million (10,000,000) BTU per
hour;
d. Amending section 805.4(b) to replace requirements for stationary
combustion turbines with an energy input capacity of one hundred
million (100,000,000) BTU per hour or greater which is operated for
less than five hundred (500) hours per year with testing and continuous
monitoring requirements for any person required to comply with section
805.4.
These regulatory changes to section 805 were adopted on November
27, 2018, and effective on the date of publication, December 14, 2018,
in the District of Columbia Register (Vol. 65, Number 51, page 013499,
December 14, 2018).
VI. 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:
<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
<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).
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
[[Page 48507]]
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 November 1, 2021. 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 pertaining to the District's regional haze state
implementation plan for the second implementation period and correction
for the RACT rule for major stationary sources of NO<INF>X</INF> 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, Sulfur oxides.
Dated: August 11, 2021.
Diana Esher,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the EPA amends 40 CFR part
52 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 J--District of Columbia
0
2. Amend Sec. 52.470:
0
a. In the table in paragraph (c), by revising the entry for ``Section
805''; and
0
b. In the table in paragraph (e), by adding the entry ``Regional Haze
State Implementation Plan for the Second Implementation Period'' at the
end of the table.
The revision and addition read as follows:
Sec. 52.470 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
EPA--Approved Regulations and Statutes in the District of Columbia
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State Additional
State citation Title/subject effective date EPA approval date explanation
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* * * * * * *
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Chapter 8 Asbestos, Sulfur and Nitrogen Oxides
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* * * * * * *
Section 805................... Reasonably Available 12/14/2018 8/31/2021, Amended 805.1(a),
Control Technology [insert Federal 805.1(a)(2), and
for Major Stationary Register 805.4 (a) and (b).
Sources of Nitrogen citation]. Previous approval
Oxides. (see the Federal
Register of 2/24/
2020) corrected to
include accurate
citation of
amendments to DC NOx
RACT rule.
* * * * * * *
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* * * * *
(e) * * *
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Name of non-regulatory SIP Applicable State Additional
revision geographic area submittal date EPA approval date explanation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
Regional Haze State Statewide.......... 11/8/2019 8/31/2021, [insert For the Regional
Implementation Plan for the Federal Register Haze Second
Second Implementation Period. citation]. Implementation
Period.
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[FR Doc. 2021-17952 Filed 8-30-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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