Rule2022-21235
Air Plan and Operating Permit Program Approval; TN; Electronic Notice (e-Notice) Provisions
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, 2022
Effective
October 31, 2022
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing the approval of changes to the Tennessee State Implementation Plan (SIP) and the Tennessee title V operating permit program (title V) submitted by the State of Tennessee, through the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), Division of Air Pollution Control on March 23, 2021, and supplemented on July 1, 2022. These changes address the public notice rule provisions for the New Source Review (NSR) and title V programs of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) by providing for electronic notice (e-notice) and removing the mandatory requirement to provide public notice of a draft air permit in a printed newspaper. EPA is approving these changes as they are consistent with the CAA and implementing federal regulations.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 189 (Friday, September 30, 2022)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 189 (Friday, September 30, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59322-59324]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21235]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 70
[EPA-R04-OAR-2021-0363; FRL-10016-02-R4]
Air Plan and Operating Permit Program Approval; TN; Electronic
Notice (e-Notice) Provisions
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing the
approval of changes to the Tennessee State Implementation Plan (SIP)
and the Tennessee title V operating permit program (title V) submitted
by the State of Tennessee, through the Tennessee Department of
Environment and Conservation (TDEC), Division of Air Pollution Control
on March 23, 2021, and supplemented on July 1, 2022. These changes
address the public notice rule provisions for the New Source Review
(NSR) and title V programs of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) by
providing for electronic notice (e-notice) and removing the mandatory
requirement to provide public notice of a draft air permit in a printed
newspaper. EPA is approving these changes as they are consistent with
the CAA and implementing federal regulations.
DATES: This rule is effective October 31, 2022.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2021-0363. 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: Sarah LaRocca, Air Regulatory
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air and
Radiation Division, Region 4, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 61
Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Ms. LaRocca can be
reached via telephone at (404) 562-8994 and via electronic mail at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#462a27342925252768352734272e0623362768212930"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="224e43504d4141430c514350434a624752430c454d54">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 59323]]
I. Background
On October 5, 2016, EPA finalized changes to the public notice
provisions for the NSR, title V, and Outer Continental Shelf permitting
programs of the CAA. See 81 FR 71613 (October 18, 2016). These rule
changes removed the mandatory requirement to provide public notice of
permitting actions through publication in a newspaper and allow for
internet e-notice as an option for permitting authorities implementing
their own EPA-approved SIP rules and title V rules, such as Tennessee's
EPA-approved permitting programs. Permitting authorities are not
required to adopt e-notice, however, nothing in the revised rules
prevents a permitting authority with an EPA-approved permitting program
from continuing to use newspaper notification and/or from supplementing
e-notice with newspaper notification and/or additional means of
notification. For permits issued by permitting authorities with EPA-
approved programs, the rule requires the permitting authority to use
``a consistent noticing method'' for all permit notices under the
specific permitting program. When e-notice is provided, EPA's rule
requires electronic access (e-access) to the draft permit for the
duration of the public comment period.
Through a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), published on July
25, 2022, EPA proposed to approve changes to Tennessee's Rule 1200-03-
09-.01, Construction Permits; and Rule 1200-03-09-.02, Operating
Permits, of Chapter 1200-03-09, Construction and Operating Permits, as
submitted by TDEC on March 23, 2021. See 87 FR 44076. These changes
establish a revised method of publication of public notices for public
hearings and public comment periods and change how documents related to
permit proceedings will be available for public inspection. Additional
details on Tennessee's March 23, 2021, SIP revision, as well as EPA's
analysis of the changes, can be found in the July 25, 2022, NPRM.
Comments on the July 25, 2022, NPRM were due on or before August 25,
2022. No adverse comments were received on the July 25, 2022, NPRM, so
EPA is now finalizing the approval of the changes as proposed.
II. Incorporation by Reference
In this document, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR
51.5, and as discussed in Section I of this preamble, and the July 25,
2022, NPRM, EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of Rule
1200-03-09-.01, Construction Permits, state effective January 21, 2021,
into the Tennessee SIP.\1\ 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 State implementation plan, 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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ EPA is not incorporating the January 21, 2021, state
effective version of certain provisions of 1200-03-09-.01 identified
below in the amended Explanation column of the SIP table at 40 CFR
52.2220(c).
\2\ See 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. Final Action
As described in the July 25, 2022, NPRM, EPA is approving the
changes to Chapter 1200-03-09, Construction and Operating Permits; Rule
1200-03-09-.01, Construction Permits of the Tennessee SIP; and Rule
1200-03-09-.02, Operating Permits, of the Tennessee title V program, as
submitted on March 23, 2021, and supplemented on July 1, 2022.
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 November 29, 2022. Filing a petition for
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not
[[Page 59324]]
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
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.
40 CFR Part 70
Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure,
Air pollution control, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental
relations, Operating permits, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: September 23, 2022.
Daniel Blackman,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, EPA amends 40 CFR parts 52
and 70 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 RR--Tennessee
0
2. In Sec. 52.2220(c), amend Table 1 by revising the entry for
``Section 1200-3-9-.01'' to read as follows:
Sec. 52.2220 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
Table 1--EPA Approved Tennessee Regulations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State
State citation Title/subject effective EPA approval date Explanation
date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * *
Section 1200-3-9-.01........... Construction 1/21/2021 9/30/2022, [Insert Except for 1200-
Permits. citation of publication]. 03-09-.01(1)(a
), (1)(d),
(1)(f),
(4)(b)24(i)(XV
II), (4)(b)29,
(4)(b)47(i)(IV
), (4)(j)3,
(4)(k),
(5)(b)1(x)(I)(
VII), and
(5)(b)2(iii)(I
I), which have
a state
effective date
of 4/24/2013;
1200-3-9-.01(1
)(j), which is
not
incorporated
into the SIP;
and the PM2.5
SILs (found in
1200-3-9-.01(5
)(b)1(xix))
and the SMC
(found in 1200-
3-9-.01(4)(d)6
(i)(III))
provisions, as
promulgated in
the October
20, 2010,
PM2.5
Increments-
SILs-SMC Rule.
* * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * *
PART 70--STATE OPERATING PERMIT PROGRAMS
0
3. The authority citation for part 70 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401, et seq.
0
4. Amend appendix A to part 70 by adding paragraph (a)(3) under the
heading for ``Tennessee'' to read as follows:
Appendix A to Part 70--Approval Status of State and Local Operating
Permits Programs
* * * * *
Tennessee
(a) * * *
(3) Revisions to Rule 1200-03-09-.02, Operating Permits, of the
Tennessee title V program, submitted on March 23, 2021, and
supplemented on July 1, 2022, with a state effective date of January
21, 2021, to allow for electronic notice of operating permits, are
approved on September 30, 2022.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2022-21235 Filed 9-29-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 30, 2022.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.