Rule2021-20617
Air Plan Approval; Louisiana; Regional Haze Five-Year Progress Report State Implementation Plan
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 24, 2021
Effective
October 25, 2021
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
Pursuant to the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a revision to a State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) on March 25, 2021. The SIP submittal addresses requirements of Federal regulations that direct the State to submit a periodic report that assesses progress toward regional haze reasonable progress goals (RPGs) and includes a determination of adequacy of the existing implementation plan.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 183 (Friday, September 24, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 183 (Friday, September 24, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 52991-52993]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20617]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R06-OAR-2021-0215; FRL-8696-02-R6]
Air Plan Approval; Louisiana; Regional Haze Five-Year Progress
Report State Implementation Plan
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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[[Page 52992]]
SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act), the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a revision to a
State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Secretary of the
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) on March 25, 2021.
The SIP submittal addresses requirements of Federal regulations that
direct the State to submit a periodic report that assesses progress
toward regional haze reasonable progress goals (RPGs) and includes a
determination of adequacy of the existing implementation plan.
DATES: This rule is effective on October 25, 2021.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID No. EPA-R06-OAR-2021-0215. 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 or other information whose disclosure
is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted
material, is not placed on the internet. Publicly available docket
materials are available electronically through <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James E. Grady, EPA Region 6 Office,
Regional Haze and SO<INF>2</INF> Section, 214-665-6745,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#04637665607d2a6e65696177446174652a636b72"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="86e1f4e7e2ffa8ece7ebe3f5c6e3f6e7a8e1e9f0">[email protected]</span></a>. Out of an abundance of caution for members of the
public and our staff, the EPA Region 6 office will be closed to the
public to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19. Please call or
email the contact listed above if you need alternative access to
material indexed but not provided in the docket.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' or
``our'' mean ``the EPA.''
I. Background
In a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published on July 21,
2021,\1\ EPA proposed to approve LDEQ's regional haze progress report
for the first implementation period. On March 25, 2021, the State
submitted its progress report in the form of a SIP revision which,
among other things, detailed the progress made toward implementing the
State's long-term strategy for regional haze that was outlined in the
Louisiana Regional Haze SIP. The progress report assessed visibility
improvement toward meeting the 2018 RPGs for the one Class I area in
Louisiana (the Breton National Wilderness Refuge) and also for one
Class I area in Arkansas (Caney Creek Wilderness area) affected by
emissions from Louisiana. The State also provided a determination of
adequacy of the existing regional haze SIP that no further substantive
revisions are needed at this time. The details of LDEQ's submittal and
the rationale for our proposed approval are explained in the NPRM. We
did not receive any comments regarding our proposed action.
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\1\ See 86 FR 38433.
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II. Final Action
EPA is approving LDEQ's regional haze progress report SIP revision
on the basis that it satisfies the requirements of 40 CFR 51.308(g),
(h), and (i) for the first regional haze implementation period. The
State's analysis showed visibility improvement that exceeded the
visibility goals set for 2018 and emission trends indicated that
SO<INF>2</INF>, NO<INF>X</INF>, and PM emissions have all been
decreasing. Because the regional haze SIP will ensure the control of
these emission reductions relied upon by Louisiana and other states in
setting their RPG's for the first planning period, we agree with the
State's determination that there is no need to revise the existing
Louisiana regional haze implementation plan to achieve reasonable
progress at the impacted Class I areas in Louisiana or nearby states.
III. 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. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in
reviewing SIP submissions, the 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, 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 and will not impose
substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
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 Clean Air Act, petitions for
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by November 23, 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
[[Page 52993]]
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, Best available
retrofit technology, Carbon monoxide, Incorporation by reference,
Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Regional haze, Sulfur
dioxide, Visibility, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: September 17, 2021.
David Gray,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 6.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Environmental
Protection Agency 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 T--Louisiana
0
2. In Sec. 52.970(e), the second table titled ``EPA Approved Louisiana
Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures'' is amended by
adding the entry ``Louisiana Regional Haze Progress Report'' at the end
of the table to read as follows:
Sec. 52.970 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
EPA Approved Louisiana Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures
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State
submittal
Name of SIP provision Applicable geographic date/ EPA approval date Explanation
or nonattainment area effective
date
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* * * * * * *
Louisiana Regional Haze Statewide............. 3/25/2021 9/24/2021, [Insert
Progress Report. Federal Register
citation].
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[FR Doc. 2021-20617 Filed 9-23-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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