Proposed Rule2023-28528
Air Plan Revisions; Arizona; Arizona Department of Environmental Quality; Stationary Source Permits
Primary source
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Published
January 2, 2024
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve two revisions to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) portion of the Arizona State Implementation Plan (SIP). In this action, we are proposing to approve revisions submitted by the ADEQ governing the issuance of permits for stationary sources in accordance with changes that the EPA has made to its New Source Review (NSR) program regulations under the Clean Air Act (CAA or "the Act"). We are also proposing to determine that with these revisions, the ADEQ's NSR program satisfies the requirements for the preconstruction review and permitting of major sources and major modifications under part D of title I of the Act for areas designated nonattainment with the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) with a Marginal classification, for areas and sources within the ADEQ's permitting jurisdiction. We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 1 (Tuesday, January 2, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 2, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 39-42]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-28528]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2023-0620; FRL-11601-01-R9]
Air Plan Revisions; Arizona; Arizona Department of Environmental
Quality; Stationary Source Permits
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve two revisions to the Arizona Department of Environmental
Quality (ADEQ) portion of the Arizona State Implementation Plan (SIP).
In this action, we are proposing to approve revisions submitted by the
ADEQ governing the issuance of permits for stationary sources in
accordance with changes that the EPA has made to its New Source Review
(NSR) program regulations under the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``the Act'').
We are also proposing to determine that with these revisions, the
ADEQ's NSR program satisfies the requirements for the preconstruction
review and permitting of major sources and major modifications under
part D of title I of the Act for areas designated nonattainment with
the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) with a
Marginal classification, for areas and sources within the ADEQ's
permitting jurisdiction. We are taking comments on this proposal and
plan to follow with a final action.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 1, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No EPA-R09-
OAR-2023-0620 at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://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 the disclosure of which 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. The 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://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets">https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</a>. If you need assistance in a language other than English or if
you are a person with disabilities who needs a reasonable accommodation
at no cost to you, please contact the person identified in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Camille Cassar, EPA Region IX, 75
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105; by phone: (415) 947-4164; or by
email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#741715070715065a1715191d181811341104155a131b02"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="593a382a2a382b773a38343035353c193c2938773e362f">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,''
and ``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. The State's Submittal
A. What rules did the State submit?
B. Are there other versions of these rules?
C. What is the purpose of the submitted rules?
II. The EPA's Evaluation
A. What is the background for this action?
B. How is the EPA evaluating these rules?
[[Page 40]]
C. Do the rules meet the evaluation criteria?
III. Proposed Action and Public Comment
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. The State's Submittal
A. What rules did the State submit?
The rules that are the subject of the EPA's current proposed action
were adopted by the ADEQ and submitted to the EPA on December 6, 2022
(``December 2022 NSR submittal''). The ADEQ is the governor's designee
for submitting official revisions of the Arizona SIP to the EPA. Table
1 below identifies the rules reviewed in this action for approval into
the Arizona SIP.
Table 1--SIP Submittal
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State
effective date
Rule citation Title of rule to be
added
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R18-2-101 (except 20).......... Definitions............ 05/04/2022
R18-2-404...................... Offset Standards....... 05/04/2022
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The ADEQ's December 2022 NSR submittal was determined to be
complete by operation of law, according to Appendix V of 40 CFR part
51, on June 6, 2023.
B. Are there other versions of these rules?
The SIP-approved versions of the submitted rules are identified
below in Table 2. The ADEQ's December 2022 NSR submittal also requests
that, as part of this action, we remove from the ADEQ portion of the
Arizona SIP the previous SIP-approved versions of the same rules. The
rules requested for removal from the SIP are listed in Table 2 below.
Table 2--Current SIP Approved Rules
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Rule addressed in this TSD and Existing SIP rule(s) requested to be
rulemaking Title removed from SIP (state effective date)
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R18-2-101 (except 20)................... Definitions................ R18-2-101 (except 20) (02/01/2020).
R18-2-404............................... Offset Standards........... R18-2-404 (03/21/2017).
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C. What is the purpose of the submitted rules?
The purpose of these submitted revisions for the ADEQ's NSR program
is to update its rules to ensure consistency with certain changes that
the EPA has made to its NSR program rules, and to address the CAA's
statutory and regulatory requirements for Nonattainment New Source
Review (NNSR) permit programs in areas designated nonattainment with
the 2015 ozone NAAQS with a Marginal classification, for areas and
sources within the ADEQ's permitting jurisdiction.
II. The EPA's Evaluation
A. What is the background for this action?
This action focuses on the preconstruction permitting requirements
for stationary sources, also called New Source Review, in title I of
the CAA and the EPA's implementing regulations addressing the SIP
requirements for state NSR programs at 40 CFR part 51, subpart I.
The action focuses on two necessary revisions to the ADEQ's SIP-
approved NSR program rules in accordance with changes that the EPA has
made to its NSR program rules and provides the EPA's findings on
whether these SIP revisions submitted by the ADEQ meet federal NSR
requirements.
Submitted Rule Arizona Administrative Code (A.A.C.) R18-2-101
(except 20) contains a change to the definition of categorical sources
for ``municipal incinerators'' as compared with the prior version of
the rule that is currently included in the Arizona SIP. The ADEQ
amended its definition of ``categorical sources'' to include municipal
incinerators capable of charging more than 50 tons of refuse per day,
as compared with the previous version of the definition, which applied
only to those capable of charging more than 250 tons per day. This
change was made to ensure consistency with CAA section 169(a) and
federal regulatory requirements related to major NSR applicability for
municipal incinerators in the EPA's regulations governing state Major
NSR programs at 40 CFR 51.165-51.166, as updated by the EPA's 2021
Error Corrections Rule.\1\
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\1\ See 86 FR 37918, 37922 (July 19, 2021).
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Submitted Rule A.A.C. R18-2-404 eliminates the ozone interprecursor
trading provision that was included in the prior version of the rule
that is currently included in the Arizona SIP. This change was made to
ensure consistency with the federal rules governing NNSR programs
regulating ozone precursors in 40 CFR 51.165, which were also updated
as part of the EPA's Error Corrections Rule.\2\
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\2\ See 86 FR 37918, 37924.
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The ADEQ requested that the EPA replace the current SIP-approved
versions of R18-2-101 and R18-2-404 with the submitted revised
versions.
The December 2022 NSR submittal also addresses state NNSR program
requirements for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. On October 26, 2015, the EPA
issued a final rule revising the NAAQS for ozone, reducing the
standards to a level of 0.070 ppm.\3\ On June 4, 2018, certain portions
of Arizona (Yuma and Phoenix-Mesa) were designated and classified as
Marginal nonattainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS.\4\ This designation of
certain portions of Arizona as federal ozone nonattainment areas for
the 2015 ozone NAAQS triggered the requirement for the ADEQ to provide
a SIP submittal addressing the NNSR program requirements for this NAAQS
and classification for sources and areas within its permitting
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jurisdiction.\5\ Therefore, this action also addresses whether the
ADEQ's NNSR program, as revised by the rules in this SIP submittal,
satisfies the applicable CAA NNSR program requirements for the 2015
ozone NAAQS for the Marginal classification for sources and areas
within its permitting jurisdiction.
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\3\ 40 CFR 50.19; see 80 FR 65292, 65452-53.
\4\ 83 FR 25776. We note that on October 7, 2022, the EPA issued
a final rule determining that while the Yuma nonattainment area
attained the 2015 ozone NAAQS, the Phoenix-Mesa nonattainment area
failed to attain by the applicable attainment date and therefore
would be reclassified as a Moderate nonattainment area for the 2015
ozone NAAQS. 87 FR 60897.
\5\ CAA section 182(a); 40 CFR 51.1314.
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B. How is the EPA evaluating these rules?
The EPA reviewed the December 2022 NSR submittal for compliance
with CAA requirements for SIPs in general as set forth in CAA section
110(a)(2), the requirements for state stationary source preconstruction
permitting programs in 40 CFR part 51, subpart I, including certain
changes made to those rules in the Error Corrections Rule, and the
requirements related to SIP revisions in CAA sections 110(l) \6\ and
193.\7\ Our review also evaluated the ADEQ's NNSR program, as revised
by the submitted revised rules, for compliance with the state NNSR
program requirements applicable to ozone nonattainment areas with a
Marginal classification.
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\6\ CAA section 110(l) requires SIP revisions to be subject to
reasonable notice and public hearing prior to adoption and submittal
by states to the EPA and prohibits the EPA from approving any SIP
revision that would interfere with any applicable requirement
concerning attainment and reasonable further progress, or any other
applicable requirement of the CAA.
\7\ CAA section 193 prohibits the modification of any SIP-
approved control requirement in effect before November 15, 1990 in a
nonattainment area, unless the modification ensures equivalent or
greater emission reductions of the relevant pollutants.
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C. Do the rules meet the evaluation criteria?
With respect to procedural requirements, CAA sections 110(a)(2) and
110(l) require that revisions to a SIP be adopted by the state after
reasonable notice and public hearing. Based on our review of the public
process documentation included in the December 2022 NSR submittal, we
find that the ADEQ has provided sufficient evidence of public notice,
opportunity for comment and a public hearing prior to adoption and
submittal of the rules to the EPA.
We have evaluated the rule revisions in the December 2022 NSR
submittal with respect to the CAA requirements for SIPs in general as
set forth in CAA section 110(a)(2), the requirements for state
stationary source preconstruction permitting programs in 40 CFR part
51, subpart I, including recent changes to the requirements for State
stationary source preconstruction permitting programs in 40 CFR part
51, subpart I, made in the EPA's Error Corrections Rule, as described
above, and we find that the submittal satisfies these requirements. In
addition, we have evaluated the ADEQ's NNSR program, as revised by the
submitted revised rules, for compliance with the NNSR requirements
applicable to ozone nonattainment areas with a Marginal classification,
and have determined that this program satisfies the applicable CAA and
regulatory requirements for NNSR permit programs under part D of title
I of the Act for all relevant ozone NAAQS, specifically including the
requirements applicable to areas designated nonattainment for the 2015
ozone NAAQS with a Marginal classification, for the areas and sources
within the ADEQ's permitting jurisdiction.
Regarding the additional substantive requirements of CAA sections
110(l) and 193, our action will result in a more stringent SIP, while
not relaxing any existing provision contained in the SIP. We have
concluded that our action would comply with section 110(l) because our
approval of these rules will not interfere with any applicable
requirement concerning attainment and reasonable further progress, or
any other CAA applicable requirement. In addition, our approval of
these rules will not relax any pre-November 15, 1990 requirement in the
SIP, and therefore changes to the SIP resulting from this action ensure
greater or equivalent emission reductions of the nonattainment
pollutants and their precursors in the District; accordingly, we have
concluded that our action is consistent with the requirements of CAA
section 193.
Our TSD contains a more detailed discussion of our analysis of the
December 2022 NSR submittal.
III. Proposed Action and Public Comment
As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA is proposing
to fully approve the submitted rules into the Arizona SIP because they
fulfill all relevant CAA requirements, and to remove the prior version
of these rules from the SIP. We have concluded that our approval of the
submitted rules would comply with the relevant provisions of CAA
sections 110(a)(2), 110(l), 165, 172(c)(5), 173, and 193, and 40 CFR
51.160-51.166. We are also proposing to find that with the submitted
rule revisions, the ADEQ's NSR program satisfies the requirements for
the preconstruction review and permitting of major sources and major
modifications under part D of title I of the Act for areas designated
nonattainment with the 2015 ozone NAAQS with a Marginal classification,
for the areas and sources within the ADEQ's permitting jurisdiction. If
we finalize this action as proposed, our action will be codified
through revisions to 40 CFR 52.220a (Identification of plan-in part).
We will accept comments from the public on this proposal until
February 1, 2024.
IV. Incorporation by Reference
In this rule, 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, the EPA is proposing to incorporate by
reference the following the ADEQ rules: A.A.C. R18-2-101 (except 20)
and R18-2-404, as described in Table 1 of this proposal. These rules
are intended to address the CAA's statutory and regulatory requirements
for New Source Review permit programs for major sources emitting
nonattainment air pollutants and their precursors under parts C and D
of title I of the CAA. The EPA has made, and will continue to make,
these materials available through <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and at
the EPA Region IX Office (please contact the person identified in the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this preamble for more
information).
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the Clean Air Act, 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 Clean Air Act.
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 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.);
[[Page 42]]
<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); 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 Clean Air Act.
Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629,
Feb. 16, 1994) (E.O. 12898) 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 ADEQ 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 action.
Due to the nature of the action being taken here, this 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
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.
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).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: December 20, 2023.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2023-28528 Filed 12-29-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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