Proposed Rule2024-01670
Air Plan Approval; Florida; Revisions to the State Implementation Plan Conformity Rule
Primary source
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Published
February 1, 2024
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) through a letter dated August 12, 2022. The revision updates the general conformity portion of the conformity rule in Florida's SIP. EPA is proposing to approve these changes pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 22 (Thursday, February 1, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 22 (Thursday, February 1, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6475-6477]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01670]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2023-0096; FRL-11663-01-R4]
Air Plan Approval; Florida; Revisions to the State Implementation
Plan Conformity Rule
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
Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) through a letter
dated August 12, 2022. The revision updates the general conformity
portion of the conformity rule in Florida's SIP. EPA is proposing to
approve these changes pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).
DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 4, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2023-0096 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 Regulations.gov. 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="https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets">https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</a>.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Josue Ortiz Borrero, 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. Mr. Ortiz can be
reached via phone number (404) 562-8085 or via electronic mail at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4c233e3825362e233e3e293e236226233f39290c293c2d622b233a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b8d7caccd1c2dad7cacaddcad796d2d7cbcdddf8ddc8d996dfd7ce">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
General conformity is a requirement of CAA section 176(c). General
conformity prohibits Federal actions within nonattainment and
maintenance areas unless the emissions from the actions conform to the
applicable SIP, Tribal Implementation Plan (TIP), or Federal
Implementation Plan (FIP) for the area.\1\ Conformity to an
implementation plan means conformity to an implementation plan's
purpose of eliminating or reducing the severity and number of
violations of the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or
standards) and achieving expeditious attainment of such standards. See
section 176(c)(1). Under general conformity, Federal actions cannot:
(1) Cause or contribute to any new violation of any standard in any
area; (2) increase the frequency or severity of any existing violation
of any air quality standard in any area; or (3) or delay timely
attainment of any standard, any required interim emission reductions,
or any other milestones, in any area. Id.
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\1\ ``Federal action'' is defined at 40 CFR 93.152 as ``any
activity engaged in by a department, agency, or instrumentality of
the Federal government, or any activity that a department, agency or
instrumentality of the Federal government supports in any way,
provides financial assistance for, licenses, permits, or approves,
other than activities related to transportation plans, programs, and
projects developed, funded, or approved under title 23 U.S.C. or the
Federal Transit Act (49 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). Where the Federal
action is a permit, license, or other approval for some aspect of a
non-Federal undertaking, the relevant activity is the part, portion,
or phase of the non-Federal undertaking that requires the Federal
permit, license, or approval.''
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EPA promulgated two sets of conformity regulations in November 1993
to implement section 176(c) of the CAA. First, EPA promulgated
transportation conformity regulations, which apply to highways and mass
transit, on November 24, 1993. See 58 FR 62188. These regulations
establish the criteria and procedures for determining whether
transportation plans, programs, and projects funded under 23 U.S.C. or
the Federal Transit Act (40 U.S.C. chapter 53) conform with
implementation plans. EPA subsequently revised the transportation
conformity regulations several times. See 69 FR 40004 (July 1, 2004);
70 FR 24280 (May 6, 2005); 71 FR 12468 (March 10, 2006); and 73 FR 4420
(January 24, 2008). Second, on November 30, 1993, EPA promulgated the
general conformity regulations at 40 CFR part 51, subpart W and 40 CFR
part 93, subpart B, which applied to all other Federal actions to
ensure they conformed with implementation plans. See 58 FR 63214. EPA
has revised its general conformity regulations twice. See 71 FR 40420
(July 17, 2006) and 75 FR 17254 (April 5, 2010). As part of the 2010
revisions, EPA revised its general conformity regulations to remove
rules from 40 CFR part 51, subpart W that were duplicative of those in
40 CFR part 93, subpart B. See 75 FR 17254 (April 5, 2010).\2\
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\2\ For more information on general conformity, see <a href="https://www.epa.gov/general-conformity">https://www.epa.gov/general-conformity</a>.
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Florida Rule 62-204.500, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.),
Conformity, addresses general conformity in paragraph (1). EPA
incorporated Rule 62-204.500 into the Florida SIP in a direct final
rule on August 11, 2003. See 68 FR 47468. Since then, Florida has
amended Rule 62-204.500, and those changes are the subject of this
notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).\3\
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\3\ The August 12, 2022, submittal transmits several changes to
other Florida SIP-approved rules. These changes are not addressed in
this proposed rulemaking and will be considered by EPA in separate
rulemakings. In addition, EPA will not act on subsections 62-
204.500(1)(a)-(1)(d), F.A.C., because they were withdrawn from EPA
consideration in a letter dated January 5, 2024, which is in the
docket for this proposed rulemaking.
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II. EPA's Analysis of Florida's Submittal
Florida's August 12, 2022, SIP revision updates Rule 62-204.500,
Conformity. Specifically, the SIP revision changes the ``General
Conformity'' section at paragraph (1) by updating cross-references.
Florida's SIP revision updates two cross-references in paragraph
(1) of Rule 62-204.500. Specifically, the revision replaces two cross-
references that refer to 40 CFR part 51, subpart W, with references to
40 CFR part 93, subpart B. The SIP-approved version of paragraph (1),
states that it applies to state review of all Federal general
conformity determinations submitted to the state pursuant to 40 CFR
part 51, subpart W. It also states that pursuant to 40 CFR part 51,
subpart W, Federal agencies are required to make conformity
determinations to ensure that certain Federal actions are consistent
with the SIP. As mentioned in Section I of this notice, EPA removed
rules from 40 CFR part 51, subpart W that were duplicative of those in
40 CFR part 93, subpart B. Because the SIP-approved version of Rule 62-
204.500 relies on the duplicative rules that EPA removed from 40 CFR
part 51, the SIP-approved rule is outdated. EPA is proposing to approve
the changes to paragraph (1) because they update the cross-references
to the correct location of the implementing requirements for general
conformity.
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 discussed in Section
II of this preamble, the EPA is proposing to incorporate by reference
Florida Rule 62-204.500, F.A.C., Conformity, state effective on October
23, 2016, except for 62-204.500(1)(a), 62-204.500(1)(b), 62-
204.500(1)(c), and 62-204.500(1)(d). The EPA has made, and will
continue to make, the SIP 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
For the reasons discussed above, EPA is proposing to approve the
August 12, 2022, Florida SIP revision updating Rule 62-204.500,
Conformity, in the Florida SIP.
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. 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.);
[[Page 6477]]
<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 proposed 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,
Feb. 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.''
The FDEP did not evaluate EJ 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 proposed action. Due to the
nature of the action being proposed 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 EJ for people of color,
low-income populations, and Indigenous peoples.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur
oxides.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: January 17, 2024.
Jeaneanne Gettle,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2024-01670 Filed 1-31-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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