Rule2021-20972
Air Plan Approval; Approval of Missouri Air Quality Implementation Plans; Revisions to St. Louis 1997 PM2.5 Maintenance 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 30, 2021
Effective
November 1, 2021
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Missouri on November 12, 2019, revising the maintenance plan demonstrating continued maintenance of the 1997 PM<INF>2.5</INF> National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in the St. Louis area. This revision demonstrates that the St. Louis area no longer needs to rely on the vehicle Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) program and the use of Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) for continued maintenance throughout the maintenance period for the 1997 PM<INF>2.5</INF> NAAQS. The EPA has determined that this revision meets the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 187 (Thursday, September 30, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 187 (Thursday, September 30, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 54106-54107]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20972]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R07-OAR-2021-0405; FRL-8708-02-R7]
Air Plan Approval; Approval of Missouri Air Quality
Implementation Plans; Revisions to St. Louis 1997 PM2.5 Maintenance
Plan
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final
action to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted
by the State of Missouri on November 12, 2019, revising the maintenance
plan demonstrating continued maintenance of the 1997 PM<INF>2.5</INF>
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in the St. Louis area.
This revision demonstrates that the St. Louis area no longer needs to
rely on the vehicle Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) program and the
use of Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) for continued maintenance throughout
the maintenance period for the 1997 PM<INF>2.5</INF> NAAQS. The EPA has
determined that this revision meets the requirements of the Clean Air
Act (CAA).
DATES: This final rule is effective on November 1, 2021.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID No. EPA-R07-OAR-2021-0405. 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, i.e.,
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 information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Brown, Environmental Protection
Agency, Region 7 Office, Air Quality Planning Branch, 11201 Renner
Boulevard, Lenexa, Kansas 66219; telephone number: (913) 551-7718;
email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e587978a928bcb96918093808ba5809584cb828a93"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c6a4b4a9b1a8e8b5b2a3b0a3a886a3b6a7e8a1a9b0">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' and
``our'' refer to EPA.
Table of Contents
I. What is being addressed in this document?
II. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?
III. What action is the EPA taking?
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What is being addressed in this document?
The EPA is taking final action to approve SIP revisions submitted
by the State of Missouri on November 12, 2019, revising the 1997
PM<INF>2.5</INF> maintenance plan. This SIP revision demonstrates
continued maintenance of the 1997 PM<INF>2.5</INF> NAAQS in the St.
Louis area through the future year of 2025. The maintenance area
boundary includes the Missouri counties of Franklin, Jefferson, St.
Charles, and St. Louis along with the City of St. Louis.
Through this final action, the EPA is approving this maintenance
plan into Missouri's SIP pursuant to the CAA section 175A as a
replacement to the maintenance plan previously approved by EPA on
October 2, 2018 (83 FR 38033).
On August 3, 2018, EPA published in the Federal Register a final
rulemaking approving the State of Missouri's request to redesignate the
Missouri portion of the St. Louis nonattainment area to attainment and
their demonstration for maintaining the 1997 PM<INF>2.5</INF> NAAQS
through the ten-year maintenance period. The effective date for this
approval was on October 2, 2018 (83 FR 38033).
The SIP revision we are approving in this final rulemaking removes
the reliance on the St. Louis vehicle Inspection and Maintenance (I/M)
program and the use of Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) for continued
maintenance of the 1997 PM<INF>2.5</INF> standard. To support this
revision, Missouri utilized EPA's 2014 Motor Vehicle Emissions
Simulator (MOVES2014b) emission modeling system to project revised
mobile source emissions by removing emissions reductions related to I/M
and RFG throughout the maintenance period to the future year of 2025.
EPA is approving this revised maintenance plan based on information
provided in the emissions projections, modeling results and an
evaluation of quality assured air monitoring data submitted as part of
this revision and in a previously reviewed analysis as part of the St.
Louis Nonattainment Area 1997 PM<INF>2.5</INF> NAAQS Redesignation
rulemaking published on August 3, 2018 (83 FR 38033). Current and
future projections of air quality and emissions data for this revision
demonstrates maintenance for the 1997 PM<INF>2.5</INF> NAAQS.
This revision only affects maintenance for the 1997
PM<INF>2.5</INF> standard, only removes the reliance upon the I/M and
RFG programs for continued maintenance and therefore meets the
requirements of the Clean Air Act.
The full text of the plan revisions including Missouri's technical
demonstration can be found in the State's submission, which is included
in the docket for this action.
The EPA solicited comments on these proposed revision to Missouri's
SIP published on July 28, 2021 (86 FR 40395), and did not receive any
comments. Therefore, the EPA is finalizing the approval of these
revisions to the SIP.
II. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?
The State's submission has met the public notice requirements for
SIP submissions in accordance with 40 CFR 51.102. The submission also
satisfied the completeness criteria of 40 CFR part 51, appendix V. The
State provided public notice on this SIP revision from July 29, 2019,
through September 13, 2019, and received one comment from the Missouri
Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, one comment from
Abel Realty, and thirteen comments from EPA. After receiving comments,
the State revised the SIP prior to submitting the plan to EPA. In
addition, as explained above and in more detail in the Missouri
submittal document, which is part of the docket, the revision meets the
substantive SIP requirements of the CAA, including section 110 and
implementing regulations.
III. What action is the EPA taking?
The EPA is taking final action to approve a SIP revision submitted
by the State of Missouri on November 12, 2019, revising the 1997
PM<INF>2.5</INF> maintenance plan. EPA has determined that this
revision does not interfere with attainment or maintenance of the NAAQS
or with any other CAA requirement.
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 Act and applicable
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in
reviewing SIP submissions, the
[[Page 54107]]
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 the National Technology
Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTA) because this rulemaking does not
involve technical standards; and
<bullet> Does not provide the 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 the 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).
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 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, Particulate matter.
Dated: September 22, 2021.
Edward H. Chu,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, EPA amends 40 CFR part 52
as set forth below:
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 AA--Missouri
0
2. In Sec. 52.1320, the table in paragraph (e) is amended by adding
the entry ``(80)'' in numerical order to read as follows:
Sec. 52.1320 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(e)* * *
EPA-Appoved Missouri Nonregulatory SIP Provisions
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Applicable
Name of nonregulatory SIP geographic or State submittal EPA approval date Explanation
provision nonattainment area date
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* * * * * * *
(80) Revisions to St. Louis 1997 St. Louis Area: 11/12/2019 9/30/2021, [insert This action
PM2.5 Maintenance Plan. Missouri counties Federal Register replaces the
of Franklin, citation]. Maintenance plan
Jefferson, St. for the 1997 PM2.5
Charles, and St. (published in the
Louis along with Federal Register
the City of St. on October 2,
Louis. 2018).
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[FR Doc. 2021-20972 Filed 9-29-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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