Rule2022-13161
Air Plan Approval; North Carolina; North Carolina BART Rule Revisions
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
June 21, 2022
Effective
July 21, 2022
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing approval of a North Carolina State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision, submitted through a letter dated April 13, 2021. The SIP revision includes changes to North Carolina's SIP-approved rule addressing best available retrofit technology (BART) for regional haze. EPA is approving North Carolina's SIP revision because the changes are consistent with Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) requirements.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 118 (Tuesday, June 21, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 118 (Tuesday, June 21, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 36769-36771]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-13161]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2021-0610; FRL-9081-02-R4]
Air Plan Approval; North Carolina; North Carolina BART Rule
Revisions
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing
approval of a North Carolina State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision,
submitted through a letter dated April 13, 2021. The SIP revision
includes changes to North Carolina's SIP-approved rule addressing best
available retrofit technology (BART) for regional haze. EPA is
approving North Carolina's SIP revision because the changes are
consistent with Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) requirements.
DATES: This rule is effective July 21, 2022.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2021-0610. 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: Michele Notarianni, 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. Ms. Notarianni can be
reached via telephone at (404) 562-9031 or electronic mail at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3759584356455e5659595e195a5e545f525b527752475619505841"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4729283326352e2629292e692a2e242f222b220722372669202831">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Regional haze is visibility impairment that is produced by a
multitude of sources and activities which are located across a broad
geographic area and emit fine particulate matter (PM<INF>2.5</INF>)
(e.g., sulfates, nitrates, organic carbon, elemental carbon, and soil
dust) and their precursors (e.g., sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and
in some cases, ammonia and volatile organic compounds). Fine particle
precursors react in the atmosphere to form PM<INF>2.5</INF>, which
impairs visibility by scattering and absorbing light. Visibility
impairment (i.e., light scattering) reduces the clarity, color, and
visible distance that one can see.
In sections 169A and 169B of the CAA, Congress created a program
for protecting visibility in the nation's national parks and wilderness
areas. The CAA establishes as a national goal the prevention of any
future, and the remedying of any existing, anthropogenic impairment of
visibility in 156 national parks and wilderness areas designated as
mandatory Class I federal areas. Section 169A of the CAA directs states
to evaluate the use of retrofit controls at certain larger, often
uncontrolled, older stationary sources in order to address visibility
impacts from these sources, often referred to as BART sources. The BART
process includes evaluating retrofit controls for certain older
sources, built between 1962 and 1977, which are identified as causing
or contributing to visibility impairment at one or more Class I areas.
On April 27, 2022 (87 FR 24930), EPA proposed approval of an April
13, 2021, SIP revision from North Carolina, which modifies North
Carolina's SIP-approved rule at 15A North Carolina Administrative Code
(NCAC) 02D .0543, Best Available Retrofit Technology (NC BART Rule) and
applies to BART-eligible sources.\1\ See 87 FR 24930. Comments on the
April 27, 2022, NPRM were due on or before May 27, 2022. No public
comments, adverse or otherwise, were received on the April 27, 2022,
NPRM. For additional background on regional haze, BART, and the NC BART
Rule, see the April 27, 2022 NPRM.
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\1\ The North Carolina SIP revision is dated April 13, 2021, and
was submitted to EPA on April 14, 2021.
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II. Incorporation by Reference
In this document, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes
incorporation by reference. In
[[Page 36770]]
accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, as descried in Section I of
the preamble, EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of North
Carolina rule 15A NCAC 02D .0543, entitled ``Best Available Retrofit
Technology,'' which became state effective November 1, 2020. 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.\2\
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\2\ See 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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III. Final Action
EPA is finalizing approval of North Carolina's April 13, 2021, SIP
revision, which makes changes to North Carolina's SIP-approved rule
addressing BART for regional haze, because the rule changes are
consistent with CAA requirements.
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 August 22, 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 dioxide, Particulate
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides,
Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: June 13, 2022.
Daniel Blackman,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.
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.
Subpart II--North Carolina
0
2. In Sec. 52.1770 amend the table in paragraph (c)(1) by revising the
entry for ``Section .0543.''
The revision reads as follows:
Sec. 52.1770 Identification of plan.
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(c) * * *
[[Page 36771]]
(1) EPA-Approved North Carolina Regulations
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State
State citation Title/subject effective EPA approval date Explanation
date
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* * * * * * *
Section .0543................ Best Available 11/1/2020 6/21/2022, [Insert .....................
Retrofit Technology. citation of
publication].
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[FR Doc. 2022-13161 Filed 6-17-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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