Proposed Rule2024-12815
Air Plan Approval; Nevada; Washoe County Health District
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
June 14, 2024
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the Washoe County portion of the Nevada State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns emissions of particulate matter (PM) from woodburning devices. We are proposing to approve a revision to a local rule that regulates these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 116 (Friday, June 14, 2024)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 116 (Friday, June 14, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50543-50545]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-12815]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2023-0405; FRL-11263-01-R9]
Air Plan Approval; Nevada; Washoe County Health District
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve a revision to the Washoe County portion of the Nevada State
Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns emissions of
particulate matter (PM) from woodburning devices. We are proposing to
approve a revision to a local rule that regulates these emission
sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act). We are taking
comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 15, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2023-0405 at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</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>. 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. 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 a disability
who needs a reasonable accommodation at no cost to you, please contact
the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
[[Page 50544]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Vineyard, EPA Region IX, 75
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 947-4125 or by
email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#295f40474c50485b4d074a415b405a5d40474c694c5948074e465f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6117080f04180013054f020913081215080f04210411004f060e17">[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 rule did the State submit?
B. Are there other versions of this rule?
C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule revisions?
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action
A. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?
B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
C. Public comment and proposed action
III. Incorporation by Reference
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. The State's Submittal
A. What rule did the State submit?
Table 1 lists the rule addressed by this proposal with the date
that it was adopted by the Washoe County District Board of Health
(DBOH),\1\ and submitted by the Nevada Division of Environmental
Protection (NDEP).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The DBOH changed its name to Northern Nevada Public Health
(NNPH) on August 31, 2023. We still refer to the agency as the DBOH
because this name change has not yet been reflected in the agency's
regulations.
Table 1--Submitted Rule
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local agency Rule No. Rule title Revised Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DBOH................................ 040.051 Wood-Burning Devices... 02/24/22 10/04/22
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On April 4, 2023, the submittal for DBOH Rule 040.051 was deemed by
operation of law to meet the completeness criteria in 40 CFR part 51,
appendix V, which must be met before formal EPA review.
B. Are there other versions of this rule?
We approved an earlier version of Rule 040.051 into the SIP on June
16, 2017 (82 FR 27622). The DBOH adopted revisions to the SIP-approved
version on February 24, 2022, and NDEP submitted them to us on October
4, 2022. If we approve the October 4, 2022 version of Rule 040.051, it
will replace the previously approved version of this rule in the Washoe
County portion of the Nevada SIP.
C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule revisions?
Emissions of PM, including PM equal to or less than 2.5 microns in
diameter (PM<INF>2.5</INF>) and PM equal to or less than 10 microns in
diameter (PM<INF>10</INF>), contribute to effects that are harmful to
human health and the environment, including premature mortality,
aggravation of respiratory and cardiovascular disease, decreased lung
function, visibility impairment, and damage to vegetation and
ecosystems. Section 110(a) of the CAA requires States to submit
regulations that control PM emissions. Rule 040.051 limits PM emissions
from wood-burning devices. DBOH revised Rule 040.051 and submitted the
updated version to replace the now outdated version in the SIP. The
revisions add clarity and transparency to the implementation of the
program. For example, the exemption section is now included at the
beginning of the rule to provide greater clarity as to which actions
are exempted from specific sections of the rule. In addition, an
exemption was added that allows EPA-certified wood-burning devices
installed between 1990 and May 15, 2020, to remain in place following a
real estate transaction. Finally, requirements regarding the limitation
on the number of wood-burning devices allowed per parcel has been
reformatted to ensure the limitation is accurately determined based on
the acreage of the parcel. The EPA's technical support document (TSD)
has more information about this rule.
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action
A. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?
Rules in the SIP must be enforceable (see CAA section 110(a)(2)),
must not interfere with applicable CAA requirements (see CAA section
110(l)), and must not modify certain SIP control requirements in
nonattainment areas without ensuring equivalent or greater emissions
reductions (see CAA section 193).
DBOH does not currently regulate any PM nonattainment areas.
Therefore, DBOH is not required to implement reasonably available
control measures or best available control measures for PM. Guidance
and policy documents that we used to evaluate enforceability, revision/
relaxation and rule stringency requirements for the applicable criteria
pollutants include the following:
1. ``State Implementation Plans; General Preamble for the
Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990,'' 57
FR 13498 (April 16, 1992); 57 FR 18070 (April 28, 1992).
2. ``Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and
Deviations,'' EPA, May 25, 1988 (the Bluebook, revised January 11,
1990).
3. ``Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule
Deficiencies,'' EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001 (the Little Bluebook).
B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
This rule meets CAA requirements and is consistent with relevant
guidance regarding enforceability and SIP revisions. In particular, the
new exemption that allows EPA-certified wood-burning devices installed
between 1990 and May 15, 2020, to remain in place following a real
estate transaction will not interfere with maintenance of the NAAQS in
Washoe County. On May 15, 2020, more stringent Federal standards for
new wood-burning devices became effective. WBOH revised its rule to
include the new standards for new devices but is allowing existing EPA-
certified devices to remain in place during real estate transactions.
This exemption does not allow any emissions increases. The TSD has more
information on our evaluation.
C. Public Comment and Proposed Action
As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA proposes to
fully approve the submitted rule because it fulfills all relevant
requirements. We will accept comments from the public on this proposal
until July 15, 2024. If we approve the submitted rule, our final action
will incorporate this rule into the federally enforceable SIP.
III. 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 DBOH, Rule 040.051, Wood-Burning Devices (revised on February
24, 2022),
[[Page 50545]]
which regulates particular matter emissions from wood-burning devices.
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).
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. 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 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 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 proposes to approve 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 Clean Air Act.
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 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.
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 State did not evaluate EJ 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. 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, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Particulate matter, Reporting
and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: June 2, 2024.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2024-12815 Filed 6-13-24; 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 June 14, 2024.
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.