Rule2022-01299
Air Plan Approval; Georgia; 2015 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment New Source Review Permit Program Requirements
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
January 25, 2022
Effective
February 24, 2022
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a revision to the Georgia State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the State of Georgia through the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA EPD) on July 2, 2020. EPA is approving Georgia's certification that its existing Nonattainment New Source Review (NNSR) permitting regulations meet the nonattainment planning requirements for the 2015 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for the Atlanta Area, comprised of the counties of Bartow, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, and Henry. This action is being taken pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and its implementing regulations.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 16 (Tuesday, January 25, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 25, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 3677-3679]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-01299]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2020-0406; FRL-9319-02-R4]
Air Plan Approval; Georgia; 2015 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment New
Source Review Permit Program Requirements
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a
revision to the Georgia State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by
the State of Georgia through the Georgia Environmental Protection
Division (GA EPD) on July 2, 2020. EPA is approving Georgia's
certification that its existing Nonattainment New Source Review (NNSR)
permitting regulations meet the nonattainment planning requirements for
the 2015 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
for the Atlanta Area, comprised of the counties of Bartow, Clayton,
Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, and Henry. This action is being taken
pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and its implementing
regulations.
DATES: This rule is effective February 24, 2022.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2020-0406. All documents in the docket
are listed on the <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> website. Although listed in the
index, some information may not be publicly available, i.e.,
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 and will be publicly available
only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are
available either electronically through <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> or in hard
copy at the 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. EPA requests that if at all possible, you contact the
person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to
schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's official hours of
business are Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding
Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pearlene Williams, 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) 562-9144. Ms. Williams can also be reached via electronic mail at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bbccd2d7d7d2dad6c895cbdedac9d7ded5defbdecbda95dcd4cd"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ef98868383868e829cc19f8a8e9d838a818aaf8a9f8ec1888099">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 3678]]
I. Background
On December 6, 2018, EPA issued a final rule entitled
``Implementation of the 2015 National Ambient Air Quality Standards for
ozone: State Implementation Plan Requirements'' (SIP Requirements
Rule), which establishes the requirements that state, tribal, and local
air quality management agencies must meet as they develop
implementation plans for areas where air quality exceeds the 2015 8-
hour ozone NAAQS. See 83 FR 62998; 40 CFR part 51, subpart CC.
Based on the nonattainment designation for the 2015 8-hour ozone
standard, Georgia was required to develop a SIP revision addressing the
requirements of CAA sections 172(c)(5) and 173 for the Atlanta Area.
See 42 U.S.C. 7502(c). Section 172(c)(5) of the CAA requires each state
with a nonattainment area to submit a SIP revision requiring NNSR
permits in the nonattainment area in accordance with the permitting
requirements of CAA section 173. The minimum SIP requirements for NNSR
permitting for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS are located in 40 CFR
51.165. See 40 CFR 51.1314. On July 2, 2020, Georgia submitted a SIP
revision addressing, among other things,\1\ permit program requirements
(i.e., NNSR) for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the Atlanta Area.
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\1\ The other elements of this submittal are being addressed in
separate rulemakings.
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On December 2, 2021, EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking
(NPRM) proposing to approve the July 2, 2020, SIP revision regarding
2015 8-hour Ozone Nonattainment New Source Review Permit Program
Requirements for the Atlanta Area. See 86 FR 68447. The December 2,
2021, NPRM provides additional detail regarding the background and
rationale for EPA's action. Comments on the December 2, 2021, NPRM were
due on or before January 3, 2022. EPA received no comments on the
December 2, 2021, NPRM.
II. Final Action
EPA is approving Georgia's SIP revision addressing the NNSR
requirements for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the Atlanta Area,
submitted on July 2, 2020. EPA has concluded that Georgia's submission
fulfills the 40 CFR 51.1314 requirement and meets the requirements of
CAA sections 172(c)(5) and 173 and the minimum SIP requirements of 40
CFR 51.165.
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. 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 that they meet the criteria of the CAA. 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).
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.
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 CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by March 28, 2022. 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, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen oxide, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: January 18, 2022.
Daniel Blackman,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, 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 L--Georgia
0
2. In Sec. 52.570, amend the table in paragraph (e) by adding an entry
for ``2015 8-hour Ozone NAAQS Nonattainment New Source Review
[[Page 3679]]
Requirements for the Atlanta Area'' after the entry for ``2008 8-hour
ozone Maintenance Plan for the Atlanta Area, Revision for the Removal
of Transportation Control Measures'' to read as follows:
Sec. 52.570 Identification of plan.
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(e) * * *
EPA-Approved Georgia Non-Regulatory Provisions
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State
Name of nonregulatory SIP Applicable geographic submittal date/ EPA approval date Explanation
provision or nonattainment area effective date
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* * * * * * *
2015 8-hour Ozone NAAQS Bartow, Clayton, 7/2/2020 1/25/2022, [Insert
Nonattainment New Source Review Cobb, DeKalb, citation of
Requirements for the Atlanta Area. Fulton, Gwinnett, publication].
and Henry Counties.
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[FR Doc. 2022-01299 Filed 1-24-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 25, 2022.
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