Proposed Rule2023-15290
Air Plan Approval; Illinois; NAAQS Update
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
July 24, 2023
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA or Illinois). The revision, submitted on July 8, 2022, incorporates revisions to the Illinois air pollution control rules entitled "Part 243--Ambient Air Quality Standards" and also updates the "List of Designated Reference and Equivalent Methods" in response to EPA rulemakings and changes to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) that EPA adopted in 2021.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 140 (Monday, July 24, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 140 (Monday, July 24, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 47413-47414]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15290]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R05-OAR-2022-0673; FRL-10900-01-R5]
Air Plan Approval; Illinois; NAAQS Update
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA or Illinois). The
revision, submitted on July 8, 2022, incorporates revisions to the
Illinois air pollution control rules entitled ``Part 243--Ambient Air
Quality Standards'' and also updates the ``List of Designated Reference
and Equivalent Methods'' in response to EPA rulemakings and changes to
the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) that EPA adopted in
2021.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 23, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2022-0673 at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, or via email to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#23414f42484f465a0d53424e464f42634653420d444c55"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="dbb9b7bab0b7bea2f5abbab6beb7ba9bbeabbaf5bcb4ad">[email protected]</span></a>. For comments submitted at <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>,
follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted,
comments cannot be edited or removed from <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>. For either
manner of submission, EPA may publish any comment received to its
public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you
consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written
comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and
should include discussion of all points you wish to make. EPA will
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of
the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing
system). For additional submission methods, please contact the person
identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the full
EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please
visit <a href="https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets">https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daphne Onsay, Life Scientist, Control
Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago,
Illinois 60604, (312) 886-5945, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#630c0d10021a4d0702130b0d06230613024d040c15"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="80efeef3e1f9aee4e1f0e8eee5c0e5f0e1aee7eff6">[email protected]</span></a>. The EPA Region 5
office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,
excluding Federal holidays and facility closures due to COVID-19.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
I. What are the State rule revisions?
On July 8, 2022, IEPA submitted a request to EPA to incorporate
revisions to the Illinois air pollution control rules in Title 35 of
the Illinois Administrative Code, Part 243--Air Quality Standards. The
submission updates sections 243.108 and 243.122. Part 243 includes
Illinois' adoption of ambient air quality standards related to the
NAAQS.
II. What is EPA's analysis of the State's submittal?
Illinois revised Part 243 to reflect amendments to EPA's ``List of
Designated References and Equivalent Methods'' used to determine
compliance with the NAAQS (fine particulate matter (PM<INF>2.5</INF>)
and coarse particulate matter (PM<INF>10</INF>), SO<INF>2</INF>, carbon
monoxide (CO), lead (Pb), oxides of nitrogen (NO<INF>X</INF>), and
ozone (O<INF>3</INF>)). In addition to these changes, Illinois updated
existing rule language to address EPA's revocation of the 1971 primary,
24-hour, and annual average NAAQS for SO<INF>2</INF>.
Other revisions to Part 243 include a range of administrative
changes, such as making grammatical corrections, removing the
unnecessary version date from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
citations, and updating the CFR citations to the latest version
available.
EPA is proposing to approve the revisions to Part 243 which are
described below:
Section 243.108 Incorporation by Reference--incorporates by
reference EPA's ``List of Designated Reference and Equivalent Methods''
for measuring ambient concentrations to demonstrate compliance with the
NAAQS (PM<INF>2.5</INF> and PM<INF>10</INF>, SO<INF>2</INF>, CO, Pb,
NO<INF>X</INF>, and O<INF>3</INF>).
EPA designated one new Federal reference monitoring method on March
4, 2021 (86 FR 12682) for SO<INF>2</INF> in ambient air. On December
15, 2021, EPA updated the ``List of Designated Reference and Equivalent
Methods'' to include the new Federal reference monitoring method for
SO<INF>2</INF>. The proposed SIP revision would update section 243.108
to incorporate the changes based on EPA's action dated December 15,
2021.
Section 243.122 Sulfur Oxides (Sulfur Dioxide)--the sulfur oxide
(as SO<INF>2</INF>) primary and secondary standards and measurement
methods, respectively, in subsections 243.122(a) and (b). EPA removed
the 1971 primary, 24 hour, and annual standard on April 30, 2022. IEPA
has removed (subsection 243.122(a) to be consistent with EPA's actions.
IEPA has updated its SO<INF>2</INF> standard (section 243.122) to
reflect updates at the Federal level.
III. Section 110(l) Analysis of the State's Submittal
EPA is proposing to approve the revisions to Part 243 discussed
above because the revisions meet all applicable requirements under
section 110(k)(3) the Clean Air Act (CAA). Furthermore, Illinois has
shown that the revisions to Part 243 do not interfere with any
applicable requirement concerning attainment and reasonable further
progress or any other applicable CAA requirement, consistent with
section 110(l) of the CAA.
Under section 110(l) of the CAA, EPA shall not approve a SIP
revision if it would interfere with any applicable requirement
concerning attainment and reasonable further progress (as defined in
section 171 of the CAA) or any other applicable requirement of the CAA.
The proposed SIP revision would not interfere with any applicable CAA
requirements based on technical analysis submitted by Illinois. Part
243 contains the state's ambient air quality standards, which are now
consistent with the NAAQS. The changes to the ambient air quality
standards in Part 243 rules will have no effect on actual or allowable
emissions as they only update references to the NAAQS in the Illinois
SIP. Illinois has shown there is no impact of revising Part 243 that
[[Page 47414]]
would hinder Illinois' ability to maintain and meet the NAAQS for
NO<INF>2</INF>, O<INF>3</INF>, Pb, PM<INF>2.5</INF>, PM<INF>10</INF>,
SO<INF>2</INF>, and CO. Therefore, these revisions to sections 243.108
and 243.122 are approvable as they update sections 243.108 and 243.122
to be consistent with EPA's promulgated NAAQS. The revisions will not
increase any emissions to the atmosphere because they do not impact on
any source applicability or emissions.
IV. What action is EPA taking?
EPA is proposing to approve a revision to the Illinois SIP. The
submittal updates revisions to the Illinois regulations at Title 35 of
the Illinois Administrative Code, Part 243--Air Quality Standards (Part
243). Specifically, the updates made to the following rules in Part
243: Sections 243.108 and 243.122 to be ``identical in substance'' to
and consistent with updates to the list of designated Federal
equivalent and reference methods and updates to the NAAQS adopted by
EPA. IEPA's revisions mirror EPA's reference method for the 2010 1-hour
SO<INF>2</INF> standard. IEPA removed the 1971 primary, 24 hour and
annual SO<INF>2</INF> standard reflecting EPA's action at the Federal
level.
V. Incorporation by Reference
In this rule, EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA rule
regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance
with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, EPA is proposing to incorporate by
reference Illinois rules 243.108 and 243.122, effective May 18, 2022,
discussed in section II of this preamble. EPA has made, and will
continue to make, these documents generally available through
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> and at the EPA Region 5 Office (please contact the
person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this preamble for more information).
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA and applicable
Federal regulations. 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. 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 14094 (88 FR 21879, April 11, 2023);
<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 subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885,
April 23, 1997) because it approves a state program;
<bullet> Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001); and
<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.
In addition, 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 rulemaking 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).
Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629,
February 16, 1994) directs Federal agencies to identify and address
``disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental
effects'' of their actions on minority populations and low-income
populations to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law.
EPA defines environmental justice (EJ) as ``the fair treatment and
meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color,
national origin, or income with respect to the development,
implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and
policies.'' EPA further defines the term fair treatment to mean that
``no group of people should bear a disproportionate burden of
environmental harms and risks, including those resulting from the
negative environmental consequences of industrial, governmental, and
commercial operations or programs and policies.''
IEPA did not evaluate environmental justice considerations as part
of its SIP submittal; the CAA and applicable implementing regulations
neither prohibit nor require such an evaluation. EPA did not perform an
EJ analysis and did not consider EJ in this action. Consideration of EJ
is not required as part of this action, and there is no information in
the record inconsistent with the stated goal of E.O. 12898 of achieving
environmental justice for people of color, low-income populations, and
Indigenous peoples.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Ozone,
Particulate matter, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: July 13, 2023.
Debra Shore,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2023-15290 Filed 7-21-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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