Rule2021-19016
Air Plan Approval; Pennsylvania; 1997 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards Second Maintenance Plan for the Greene County Area
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
September 2, 2021
Effective
October 4, 2021
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The revision pertains to the Commonwealth's plan, submitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP), for maintaining the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) (referred to as the "1997 ozone NAAQS") in the Greene County, Pennsylvania area (Greene County Area). EPA is approving these revisions to the Pennsylvania SIP in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 168 (Thursday, September 2, 2021)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 168 (Thursday, September 2, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 49246-49248]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-19016]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2021-0358; FRL-8686-02-R3]
Air Plan Approval; Pennsylvania; 1997 8-Hour Ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standards Second Maintenance Plan for the Greene
County Area
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a state
implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania. The revision pertains to the Commonwealth's plan,
submitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
(PADEP), for maintaining the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air
quality standard (NAAQS) (referred to as the ``1997 ozone NAAQS'') in
the Greene County, Pennsylvania area (Greene County Area). EPA is
approving these revisions to the Pennsylvania SIP in accordance with
the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: This final rule is effective on October 4, 2021.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
Number EPA-R03-OAR-2021-0358. 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: Adam Yarina, 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) 814-2108. Mr. Yarina can also be reached
via electronic mail at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b5ecd4c7dcdbd49bf4d1d4d8f5d0c5d49bd2dac3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7821190a11161956391c1915381d0819561f170e">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On July 13, 2021, (86 FR 36673), EPA published a notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPRM) for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In the NPRM,
EPA proposed approval of Pennsylvania's plan for maintaining the 1997
ozone NAAQS in the Greene County Area through April 20, 2029, in
accordance with CAA section 175A. The formal SIP revision was submitted
by PADEP on February 25, 2020.
II. Summary of SIP Revision and EPA Analysis
On March 19, 2009 (74 FR 11671, effective April 20, 2009), EPA
approved a redesignation request and maintenance plan from PADEP for
the Greene County Area. In accordance with CAA section 175A(b), at the
end of the eighth year after the effective date of the redesignation,
the state must also submit a second maintenance plan to ensure ongoing
maintenance of the standard for an additional 10 years, and in South
Coast Air Quality Management
[[Page 49247]]
District v. EPA,\1\ the D.C. Circuit held that this requirement cannot
be waived for areas--like the Greene County Area--that had been
redesignated to attainment for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS prior to
revocation and that were designated attainment for the 2008 ozone
NAAQS. CAA section 175A sets forth the criteria for adequate
maintenance plans. In addition, EPA has published longstanding guidance
that provides further insight on the content of an approvable
maintenance plan, explaining that a maintenance plan should address
five elements: (1) An attainment emissions inventory; (2) a maintenance
demonstration; (3) a commitment for continued air quality monitoring;
(4) a process for verification of continued attainment; and (5) a
contingency plan.\2\ PADEP's February 25, 2020 submittal fulfills
Pennsylvania's obligation to submit a second maintenance plan and
addresses each of the five necessary elements.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 882 F.3d 1138 (D.C. Cir. 2018).
\2\ ``Procedures for Processing Requests to Redesignate Areas to
Attainment,'' Memorandum from John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality
Management Division, September 4, 1992 (Calcagni Memo).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As discussed in the July 13, 2021 NPRM, EPA allows the submittal of
a limited maintenance plan (LMP) to meet the statutory requirement that
the area will maintain for the statutory period. Qualifying areas may
meet the maintenance demonstration by showing that the area's design
value \3\ is well below the NAAQS and that the historical stability of
the area's air quality levels indicates that the area is unlikely to
violate the NAAQS in the future. EPA evaluated PADEP's February 25,
2020 submittal for consistency with all applicable EPA guidance and CAA
requirements. EPA found that the submittal met CAA section 175A and all
CAA requirements and proposed approval of the LMP for the Greene County
Area as a revision to the Pennsylvania SIP.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ The ozone design value for a monitoring site is the 3-year
average of the annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour average
ozone concentrations. The design value for an ozone nonattainment
area is the highest design value of any monitoring site in the area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other specific requirements of PADEP's February 25, 2020 submittal
and the rationale for EPA's proposed action are explained in the NPRM
and will not be restated here. No public comments were received on the
NPRM.
III. Final Action
EPA is approving PADEP's second maintenance plan for the Greene
County Area for the 1997 ozone NAAQS as a revision to the Pennsylvania
SIP.
IV. 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 if
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 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, approving PADEP's second maintenance plan for the
Greene County Area for the 1997 ozone NAAQS, 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, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: August 27, 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.
[[Page 49248]]
Subpart NN--Pennsylvania
0
2. In Sec. 52.2020, the table in paragraph (e)(1) is amended by adding
the entry ``Second Maintenance Plan for the State College 1997 8-Hour
Ozone Nonattainment Area'' at the end of the table to read as follows:
Sec. 52.2020 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
(1) * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State
Name of non-regulatory SIP Applicable submittal EPA approval date Additional
revision geographic area date explanation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
Second Maintenance Plan for the Greene County Area.. 2/25/20 9/2/21, [insert The Greene County
State College 1997 8-Hour Ozone Federal Register area consists
Nonattainment Area. citation]. solely of Greene
County.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2021-19016 Filed 9-1-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 2, 2021.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.