Rule2022-17569
Air Plan Approval; Missouri; General Conformity Rescission
Primary source
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Published
August 16, 2022
Effective
September 15, 2022
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve a revision to the Missouri State Implementation Plan (SIP). This final action will rescind the Missouri General Conformity Rule from the Missouri SIP. General Conformity ensures federal agency actions, such as airport construction, do not interfere with a state's plans to attain and maintain national standards for air quality. After rescission of the state's General Conformity Rule, federal agency actions will be subject to the Federal General Conformity Rule.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 157 (Tuesday, August 16, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 157 (Tuesday, August 16, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 50260-50261]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-17569]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R07-OAR-2022-0482; FRL-9906-02-R7]
Air Plan Approval; Missouri; General Conformity Rescission
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 revision to the Missouri State Implementation Plan
(SIP). This final action will rescind the Missouri General Conformity
Rule from the Missouri SIP. General Conformity ensures federal agency
actions, such as airport construction, do not interfere with a state's
plans to attain and maintain national standards for air quality. After
rescission of the state's General Conformity Rule, federal agency
actions will be subject to the Federal General Conformity Rule.
DATES: This final rule is effective on September 15, 2022.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID No. EPA-R07-OAR-2022-0482. 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., 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: Jed D. Wolkins, Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 7 Office, Air Quality Planning Branch, 11201
Renner Boulevard, Lenexa, Kansas 66219; telephone number (913) 551-
7588; email address <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#582f37343331362b76323d3c183d2839763f372e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3d4a52515654534e135758597d584d5c135a524b">[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. Incorporation by Reference
V. Environmental Justice Concerns
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What is being addressed in this document?
The EPA is approving the rescission of Missouri's General
Conformity Rule, 10 CSR 10-6.300, from Missouri's SIP. General
Conformity ensures federal agency actions, such as airport
construction, do not interfere with a state's plans to attain and
maintain national standards for air quality.
As explained in detail in the EPA's proposed rule, Missouri has
demonstrated that removal of 10 CSR 10-6.300 will not interfere with
attainment of the NAAQS, reasonable further progress, or any other
applicable requirement of the CAA because federal agency actions will
be subject to the same requirements under the Federal General
Conformity Rule, codified at 40 CFR part 93 Subpart B.\1\ The public
comment period on the EPA's proposed rule opened June 12, 2022, the
date of its publication in the Federal Register and closed on July 13,
2022. During this period, the EPA received no comments. Therefore, the
EPA is finalizing its proposal to remove 10 CSR 10-6.300 from the
Missouri SIP.
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\1\ 87 FR 35709, June 13, 2022.
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II. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?
Missouri's General Conformity Rule, 10 CSR 10-6.300, titled
``Conformity of General Federal Actions to State Implementation
Plans,'' was incorporated into the SIP consistent with section 176(c)
of the CAA, as amended (42 U.S.C. 7506(c)), and regulations located in
40 CFR part 93, subpart B, that directed states to include in their
SIPs provisions requiring General Conformity of Federal actions to the
applicable implementation plan. In 2005, Congress passed the ``Safe,
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users''
(SAFETEA-LU). Section 6011 of SAFETEA-LU amended section 176(c) of the
CAA to remove the requirement for states to adopt a General Conformity
rule into the SIP. In turn, EPA amended the federal General Conformity
rule at 40 CFR part 51, subpart W, to make state adoption of a General
Conformity rule into the SIP optional rather than mandatory (75 FR
17258). 10 CSR 10-6.300 duplicates the federal regulations at 40 CFR
part 93, subpart B. After rescission of the state's General Conformity
Rule, federal agency actions will be subject to the Federal General
Conformity Rule.
CAA section 110(l), 42 U.S.C. 7410(l), states that the
Administrator cannot approve a SIP revision if the revision would
interfere with any applicable requirement concerning attainment and
reasonable further progress or any other applicable requirement. The
federal General Conformity rule contains the same requirements as the
state's General Conformity rule. Therefore, the same requirements will
apply after the state's rule is rescinded and there will be no
associated emissions increase or adverse impact to air quality. For
this reason, the EPA finds that this change will not interfere with any
area's ability to attain or maintain any NAAQS, make reasonable
progress towards natural visibility in Missouri's Class I areas nor any
Class I area in another state Missouri impacts, or any other applicable
requirement.
The State 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 August 16, 2021
to October 7, 2021 and received no comment. In addition, as explained
above, 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 April 15, 2022, rescinding the State
General Conformity Rule, 10 CSR 10-6.300 from the Missouri SIP. EPA has
determined that this revision would not interfere with attainment or
maintenance of any NAAQS or with any other CAA requirement because the
same requirements exist in federal regulations.
IV. Incorporation by Reference
In this document, the EPA is deleting rules which were previously
incorporated by reference from the applicable Missouri SIP. In
accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is deleting certain
Missouri rules as described in Section 1 of this preamble. The 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 7 Office (please
contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section of this preamble for more information).
V. Environmental Justice Concerns
This action approves the rescission of the state's General
Conformity rule from the Missouri SIP. The state's rule duplicates the
federal General Conformity rule. Once approved, all federal actions
that would have been
[[Page 50261]]
subject to the state rule will be subject to the same requirements in
the federal rule. For this reason, this action will not result in
disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental
effects on minority populations, low-income populations and/or
indigenous peoples.
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the Clean Air Act 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 the National Technology
Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTA) because this rulemaking does not
involve technical standards; and
<bullet> This action does not have disproportionately high and
adverse human health or environmental effects on minority populations,
low-income populations and/or indigenous peoples, as specified in
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). The basis for
this determination is contained in Section V of this action,
``Environmental Justice Concerns.''
<bullet> 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).
<bullet> This action is subject to the Congressional Review Act,
and the EPA will submit a rule report to each House of the Congress and
to the Comptroller General of the United States. This action is not a
``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
<bullet> 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 October 17, 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: August 9, 2022.
Meghan A. McCollister
Regional Administrator, Region 7.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the 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
Sec. 52.1320 [Amended]
0
2. In Sec. 52.1320, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by removing
the entry ``10-6.300'' under the heading ``Chapter 6--Air Quality
Standards, Definitions, Sampling and Reference Methods, and Air
Pollution Control Regulations for the State of Missouri.''
0
3. In Sec. 52.1323, paragraphs (h) and (j) are revised to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.1323 Approval status.
* * * * *
(h) Missouri rule 10 CSR 10-6.300 was rescinded on September 15,
2022.
* * * * *
(j) Missouri rule 10 CSR 10-6.300 was rescinded on September 15,
2022.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2022-17569 Filed 8-15-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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