Rule2022-01301
Air Plan Approval; North Carolina; Mecklenburg Monitoring, Recordkeeping, and Reporting Rule Revisions
Primary source
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Published
January 25, 2022
Effective
February 24, 2022
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision to the Mecklenburg County portion of the North Carolina SIP, hereinafter referred to as the Mecklenburg Local Implementation Plan (LIP). The revision was submitted by the State of North Carolina, through the North Carolina Division of Air Quality (NCDAQ), on behalf of Mecklenburg County Air Quality (MCAQ) via a letter dated April 24, 2020, and was received by EPA on June 19, 2020. The revision updates several Mecklenburg County Air Pollution Control Ordinance (MCAPCO) rules and adds three new rules for incorporation into the LIP. These rules cover general recordkeeping, monitoring, and reporting requirements. EPA is approving these changes pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).
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 3675-3677]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-01301]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2021-0473; FRL-8981-02-R4]
Air Plan Approval; North Carolina; Mecklenburg Monitoring,
Recordkeeping, and Reporting Rule Revisions
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing a
State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision to the Mecklenburg County
portion of the North Carolina SIP, hereinafter referred to as the
Mecklenburg Local Implementation Plan (LIP). The revision was submitted
by the State of North Carolina, through the North Carolina Division of
Air Quality (NCDAQ), on behalf of Mecklenburg County Air Quality (MCAQ)
via a letter dated April 24, 2020, and was received by EPA on June 19,
2020. The revision updates several Mecklenburg County Air Pollution
Control Ordinance (MCAPCO) rules and adds three new rules for
incorporation into the LIP. These rules cover general recordkeeping,
monitoring, and reporting requirements. EPA is approving these changes
pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).
DATES: This rule is effective February 24, 2022.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2021-0473. 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: Evan Adams, 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)
562-9009. Mr. Adams can also be reached via electronic mail at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#48292c29253b662d3e2926082d3829662f273e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d7b6b3b6baa4f9b2a1b6b997b2a7b6f9b0b8a1">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Mecklenburg County LIP was originally submitted to EPA on June
14, 1990, and EPA approved the plan on May 2, 1991. See 56 FR 20140.
Mecklenburg County prepared three submittals in order to modify the LIP
for, among other things, general consistency with the North Carolina
SIP.\1\ The three submittals were submitted to EPA as follows: NCDAQ
transmitted the October 25, 2017, submittal to EPA but withdrew it from
review through a letter dated February 15, 2019. On April 24, 2020,
NCDAQ resubmitted the October25, 2017, update to EPA and also submitted
the January 21, 2016, and January 14, 2019, updates. Due to an
inconsistency with public notice at the local level, these submittals
were withdrawn from EPA through a letter dated February 15, 2019.
Mecklenburg County corrected this error, and NCDAQ submitted the
updates in a revision dated April 24, 2020.\2\
On December 6, 2021, EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking
(NPRM) proposing to approve the April 24, 2020, SIP revision regarding
updates to several of Mecklenburg's monitoring, recordkeeping and
reporting rules. See 86 FR 68957. The December 6, 2021, NPRM provides
additional detail regarding the background and rationale for EPA's
action. Comments on the December 6, 2021, NPRM were due on or before
January 5, 2022. EPA received no comments on the December 6, 2021,
NPRM.
II. Incorporation by Reference
In this document, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes
[[Page 3676]]
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR
51.5, EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of MCAPCO Rules
2.0601, Purpose and Scope; 2.0602, Definitions; 2.0604, Exceptions to
Monitoring and Reporting Requirements; 2.0605, General Recordkeeping
and Reporting Requirements; 2.0607, Large Wood and Wood-Fossil Fuel
Combination Units; 2.0610, Delegation Federal Monitoring Requirements;
2.0611, Monitoring Emissions from Other Sources; and 2.0613, Quality
Assurance Program, all of which have an effective date of December 15,
2015, into the Mecklenburg County portion of the North Carolina SIP.
EPA has made and will continue to make these materials generally
available through <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> and at the EPA Region 4 Office
(please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this preamble for more information). Therefore,
these materials have been approved by EPA for inclusion in the SIP,
have been incorporated by reference by EPA into that plan, are fully
federally enforceable under sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the
effective date of the final rulemaking of EPA's approval, and will be
incorporated by reference in the next update to the SIP compilation.\1\
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\1\ See 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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III. Final Action
EPA is finalizing the aforementioned changes and additions to the
Mecklenburg LIP. Specifically, EPA is approving changes to MCAPCO Rules
2.0601, Purpose and Scope; 2.0602, Definitions; 2.0604, Exceptions to
Monitoring and Reporting Requirements; 2.0607, Large Wood and Wood-
Fossil Fuel Combination Units; and 2.0610, Delegation Federal
Monitoring Requirements. EPA is also approving the addition of Rules
2.0605, General Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements; 2.0611,
Monitoring Emissions from Other Sources; and 2.0613, Quality Assurance
Program into the Mecklenburg LIP. EPA is approving these changes
because they are consistent with the CAA.
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. 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, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur oxides, 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 II--North Carolina
0
2. In Sec. 52.1770(c)(3), the table is amended by removing the entries
for ``Section 2.0601,'' ``Section 2.0602,'' ``Section 2.0604,''
``Section 2.0605,'' ``Section 2.0607,'' ``Section 2.0610,'' ``Section
2.0611,'' and ``Section 2.0613'' and adding in their places entries for
``Rule 2.0601,'' ``Rule 2.0602,'' ``Rule 2.0604,'' ``Rule 2.0605,''
``Rule 2.0607,'' ``Rule 2.0610,'' ``Rule 2.0611,'' and ``Rule 2.0613,''
respectively, to read as follows:
[[Page 3677]]
Sec. 52.1770 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(3) EPA Approved Mecklenburg County Regulations
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State
State citation Title/subject effective date EPA approval date Explanation
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* * * * * * *
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Article 2.0000 Air Pollution Control Regulations and Procedures
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Section 2.0600 Monitoring: Recordkeeping: Reporting
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Rule 2.0601....................... Purpose and Scope.... 12/15/2015 1/25/2022, [Insert
citation of
publication].
Rule 2.0602....................... Definitions.......... 12/15/2015 1/25/2022, [Insert
citation of
publication].
Rule 2.0604....................... Exceptions to 12/15/2015 1/25/2022, [Insert
Monitoring and citation of
Reporting publication].
Requirements.
Rule 2.0605....................... General Recordkeeping 12/15/2015 1/25/2022, [Insert
and Reporting citation of
Requirements. publication].
* * * * * * *
Rule 2.0607....................... Large Wood and Wood- 12/15/2015 1/25/2022, [Insert
Fossil Fuel citation of
Combination Units. publication].
* * * * * * *
Rule 2.0610....................... Delegation Federal 12/15/2015 1/25/2022, [Insert
Monitoring citation of
Requirements. publication].
Rule 2.0611....................... Monitoring Emissions 12/15/2015 1/25/2022, [Insert
from Other Sources. citation of
publication].
* * * * * * *
Rule 2.0613....................... Quality Assurance 12/15/2015 1/25/2022, [Insert
Program. citation of
publication].
* * * * * * *
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[FR Doc. 2022-01301 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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