Proposed Rule2023-25512
Air Plan Approval; Kentucky; Revisions to Jefferson County Emissions Monitoring and Reporting
Primary source
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Published
November 20, 2023
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve changes to the Jefferson County portion of the Kentucky State Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, through the Energy and Environment Cabinet (Cabinet), in a letter dated June 15, 2022. The changes were submitted by the Cabinet on behalf of the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District (District) and amend the District's stationary source emissions monitoring and reporting requirements. The EPA is proposing to approve the changes because they are consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 222 (Monday, November 20, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 222 (Monday, November 20, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 80680-80682]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25512]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2023-0097; FRL-11564-03-R4]
Air Plan Approval; Kentucky; Revisions to Jefferson County
Emissions Monitoring and Reporting
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve changes to the Jefferson County portion of the Kentucky State
Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted by the Commonwealth of Kentucky,
through the Energy and Environment Cabinet (Cabinet), in a letter dated
June 15, 2022. The changes were submitted by the Cabinet on behalf of
the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District (District) and
amend the District's stationary source emissions monitoring and
reporting requirements. The EPA is proposing to approve the changes
because they are consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).
DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 20, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2023-0097 at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.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>. The 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, the full EPA public comment
policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general
guidance on making effective comments, please visit <a href="http://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets">www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tiereny Bell, 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) 562-9088. Ms. Bell can also be reached via electronic mail at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#8fedeae3e3a1fbe6eafdeae1f6cfeaffeea1e8e0f9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7c1e191010520815190e1912053c190c1d521b130a">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Overview
On June 15, 2022,\1\ the Commonwealth of Kentucky submitted changes
to the Jefferson County portion of the Kentucky SIP for EPA
approval.<SUP>2 3</SUP> In this rulemaking, EPA is proposing to approve
changes to Regulation 1.06, Stationary Source Self-Monitoring,
Emissions Inventory Development, and Reporting, in the Jefferson County
portion of the Kentucky SIP, submitted on June 15, 2022. This
regulation provides the District with the authority to require
emissions monitoring at stationary sources and requires certain sources
to maintain emissions records and to provide annual emissions
statements to the District. This regulation does not impose any
emissions limits or control requirements on any emissions source.
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\1\ On June 15, 2022, Kentucky provided multiple SIP revisions
that are not addressed in this rulemaking. One of the June 15, 2022,
submittals contains changes to District Regulation 2.04,
Construction or Modification of Major Sources in or Impacting upon
Non-Attainment Areas (Emission Offset Requirements) in the Kentucky
SIP. These changes are not addressed in this notice. EPA will act on
these changes in a separate rulemaking. Another June 15, 2022, SIP
revision contained changes to District Regulation 2.17, Federally
Enforceable District Origin Operating Permits, in the Kentucky SIP.
EPA finalized its approval of changes to Regulation 2.17 on March 1,
2023. See 88 FR 12831.
\2\ EPA received this submission on June 13, 2022, via a letter
dated June 15, 2022. Throughout this notice of proposed rulemaking,
this submission will be referred to as the June 15, 2022,
submission.
\3\ In 2003, the City of Louisville and Jefferson County
governments merged, and the ``Jefferson County Air Pollution Control
District'' was renamed the ``Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control
District.'' However, to be consistent with the terminology used in
the subheading in Table 2 of 40 CFR 52.920(c), throughout this
notice we refer to the District regulations contained in the
Jefferson County portion of the Kentucky SIP as the ``Jefferson
County'' regulations.
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II. EPA's Analysis of Kentucky's SIP Revision
The June 15, 2022, SIP submission contains a version of Regulation
1.06 adopted by the District on March 16, 2022 (referred to as
``Version 11'' by the District). District Regulation 1.06, Stationary
Source Self-Monitoring,
[[Page 80681]]
Emissions Inventory Development, and Reporting, establishes
requirements for stationary source monitoring, recordkeeping, and
reporting. Section 6, Emissions Statements for Ozone Precursors,
requires that on or before April 15 of each year, all stationary
sources of oxides of nitrogen (NO<INF>X</INF>) or volatile organic
compounds (VOC) shall submit to the District a statement of actual
emissions of those compounds. The District requests that EPA
incorporate Version 11 into the SIP and identifies changes in
Regulation 1.06 between Version 11 and Version 10, the version of the
rule in the SIP. Version 10 of Regulation 1.06 at Section 6.2.1 states
that facilities with less than 25 tons per year (tpy) of plant-wide
actual VOC emissions or less than 25 tpy of plant-wide actual
NO<INF>X</INF> emissions are exempted from the emissions statement
requirements in Section 6, unless emissions of the other pollutant (VOC
or NO<INF>X</INF>) are at or above 25 tpy. The SIP submission revises
Section 6.2.1 to instead exempt facilities with less than 25 tpy of
plant-wide potential VOC and less than 25 tpy of plant-wide potential
NO<INF>X</INF> emissions from the Section 6 emissions statement
requirement.\4\
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\4\ Section 6.2.1 continues to allow the District to require
sources claiming the exemption to provide adequate information to
verify actual emissions for the previous year.
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Section 6 continues to satisfy the emissions statement requirements
in CAA section 182(a)(3)(B),\5\ and the changes do not reduce the
number of facilities that must submit emissions statements. Therefore,
this SIP revision will not interfere with any applicable requirement
concerning attainment, reasonable further progress, or any other
applicable requirement of the CAA.\6\ Version 11 does not change the
information that reporting facilities must provide in their emissions
statements.
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\5\ Jefferson County is subject to the requirements of CAA
section 182(a) because it is part of the Louisville, KY-IN marginal
nonattainment area for the 2015 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS).
\6\ See CAA section 110(l).
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III. Incorporation by Reference
In this document, the 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, and as described in Section
II of this preamble, the EPA is proposing to incorporate by reference
Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District Regulation 1.06,
Stationary Source Self-Monitoring, Emissions Inventory Development, and
Reporting, District effective on March 16, 2022, except for Section 5
and any references to Section 5 in this regulation. 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 4 office (please contact the
person identified in the For Further Information Contact section of
this preamble for more information).
IV. Proposed Action
The EPA is proposing to approve the aforementioned changes to
Regulation 1.06, Stationary Source Self-Monitoring, Emissions Inventory
Development, and Reporting, District effective on March 16, 2022, into
the Jefferson County portion of the Kentucky SIP. The EPA is proposing
to approve these changes because they are consistent with the CAA.
V. 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. 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. Accordingly, this
proposed action merely proposes to approve state law as meeting Federal
requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those
imposed by state law. For that reason, this proposed 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 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).
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.
The 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.'' The 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.''
The Cabinet nor the District 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. The EPA did not perform an EJ analysis and did not consider
EJ in this proposed action. Due to the nature of the proposed action
being taken here, this proposed action is expected to have a neutral to
positive impact on the air quality of the affected area. Consideration
of EJ is not required as part of this proposed 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.
[[Page 80682]]
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: November 14, 2023.
Jeaneanne Gettle,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2023-25512 Filed 11-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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