Rule2024-14932
Air Plan Approval; Wisconsin; Milwaukee Second 10-Year 2006 24-Hour PM2.5 Limited Maintenance Plan
Primary source
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Published
July 9, 2024
Effective
August 8, 2024
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the limited maintenance plan (LMP) submitted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) for the Milwaukee-Racine maintenance area including Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Racine counties. The plan addresses the second 10-year maintenance period for particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a nominal 2.5 micrometers (PM<INF>2.5</INF>). EPA is approving Wisconsin's LMP submission for the Milwaukee-Racine maintenance area because it provides for the maintenance of the 2006 PM<INF>2.5</INF> National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) through the end of the second 10-year portion of the maintenance period. Additionally, EPA finds adequate and is approving the LMP as meeting the appropriate transportation conformity requirements. EPA proposed to approve this action on March 19, 2024, and received no comments.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 131 (Tuesday, July 9, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 9, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 56231-56233]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14932]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R05-OAR-2022-0369; FRL-11761-02-R5]
Air Plan Approval; Wisconsin; Milwaukee Second 10-Year 2006 24-
Hour PM2.5 Limited Maintenance Plan
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the
limited maintenance plan (LMP) submitted by the Wisconsin Department of
Natural Resources (WDNR) for the Milwaukee-Racine maintenance area
including Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Racine counties. The plan addresses
the second 10-year maintenance period for particulate matter with an
aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a nominal 2.5 micrometers
(PM<INF>2.5</INF>). EPA is approving Wisconsin's LMP submission for the
Milwaukee-Racine maintenance area because it provides for the
maintenance of the 2006 PM<INF>2.5</INF> National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS) through the end of the second 10-year portion of the
maintenance period. Additionally, EPA finds adequate and is approving
the LMP as meeting the appropriate transportation conformity
requirements. EPA proposed to approve this action on March 19, 2024,
and received no comments.
DATES: This final rule is effective on August 8, 2024.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
No. EPA-R05-OAR-2022-0369. All documents in the docket are listed on
the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website. Although listed in the index,
some information is not publicly available, i.e., Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted
by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is
not placed on the internet and will be publicly available only in hard
copy form. Publicly available docket materials are available either
through <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> or at the Environmental Protection
Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility is open from 8:30
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays.
We recommend that you telephone Cecilia Magos, at (312) 886-7336 before
visiting the Region 5 office.
[[Page 56232]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cecilia Magos, Air and Radiation
Division (AR18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-7336,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cfa2aea8a0bce1acaaaca6a3a6ae8faabfaee1a8a0b9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="610c00060e124f020402080d0800210411004f060e17">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean the EPA.
I. Background Information
On November 13, 2009 (74 FR 58688), EPA designated the Milwaukee-
Racine area as a PM<INF>2.5</INF> nonattainment area due to measured
violations of the 2006 PM<INF>2.5</INF> NAAQS. On June 8, 2012, and
later supplemented on May 30, 2013, WDNR submitted to the EPA a request
to redesignate the Milwaukee-Racine nonattainment area to attainment.
The submission included a plan to provide for maintenance of the 2006
PM<INF>2.5</INF> NAAQS in the area through 2024. EPA redesignated the
Milwaukee-Racine area on April 22, 2014 (79 FR 22415), and approved the
associated maintenance plan into the Wisconsin State Implementation
Plan (SIP). The purpose of WDNR's April 8, 2022, LMP submission is to
fulfill the second 10-year planning requirement of Clean Air Act (CAA)
section 175A(b) to ensure PM<INF>2.5</INF> NAAQS compliance through
2034.
On March 19, 2024 (89 FR 19519), EPA proposed to approve the second
10-year PM<INF>2.5</INF> LMP for the Milwaukee-Racine maintenance area
addressing the 2006 PM<INF>2.5</INF> maintenance area. EPA's approval
of the LMP will satisfy CAA section 175A requirements for the second
10-year period for the Milwaukee-Racine 2006 PM<INF>2.5</INF>
maintenance area through 2034. Further explanation of the CAA
requirements, a detailed analysis of the revisions, and the EPA's
reasons for proposing approval were provided in the notice of proposed
rulemaking (89 FR 19519) and will not be restated here. The public
comment period for the proposed rule ended on April 18, 2024. EPA
received no comments on the proposal and is finalizing our action as
proposed.
II. Final Action
EPA is approving the second 10-year PM<INF>2.5</INF> LMP for the
Milwaukee-Racine 2006 PM<INF>2.5</INF> maintenance area submitted by
WDNR. EPA's review of the air quality data for the maintenance area
indicates that the State continues to show attainment well below the
level of the 2006 PM<INF>2.5</INF> NAAQS and that WDNR's LMP meets all
the LMP qualifying criteria set forth in the ``Guidance on Limited
Maintenance Plan Option for Moderate PM<INF>2.5</INF> Nonattainment
Areas and PM<INF>2.5</INF> Maintenance Areas''.\1\ EPA's approval of
this LMP will satisfy the CAA section 175A requirements for the second
10-year period for the Milwaukee-Racine 2006 PM<INF>2.5</INF>
maintenance area. The Milwaukee-Racine PM<INF>2.5</INF> maintenance
area will no longer be required to perform regional emissions analyses
as part of the conformity process but must meet project-level
conformity analyses requirements as well as other transportation
conformity criteria. See 40 CFR 93.109(e).
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\1\ The guidance document developed by the Office of Air Quality
Planning and Standards and the Office of Transportation and Air
Quality, within the Office of Air and Radiation, titled ``Guidance
on the Limited Maintenance Plan Option for Moderate PM<INF>2.5</INF>
Nonattainment Areas and PM<INF>2.5</INF> Maintenance Areas,'' can be
found at <a href="https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi?Dockey=P1015UL4.pdf">https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi?Dockey=P1015UL4.pdf</a>.
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III. 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, the 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 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).
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 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.''
WDNR 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 performed an
environmental justice analysis, as is described in the section titled,
``Environmental Justice Considerations'' in the notice of proposed
rulemaking. See 89 FR 19519. The analysis was done for the purpose of
providing additional context and information about this rulemaking to
the public, not as a basis of the 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. In addition,
there is no information in the record upon which this decision is based
that is inconsistent with the
[[Page 56233]]
stated goal of E.O. 12898 of achieving environmental justice for people
of color, low-income populations, and Indigenous peoples.
This action is subject to the Congressional Review Act, and the EPA
will submit a rule report to each House of the Congress and to the
Comptroller General of the United States. This action is not a ``major
rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by September 9, 2024. Filing a petition for
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect
the finality of this action for the purposes of judicial review nor
does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may
be filed and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or
action. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to
enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)
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: July 2, 2024.
Debra Shore,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, EPA amends title 40 CFR
part 52 as follows:
PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
0
2. Section 52.2584 is amended by adding paragraph (g) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.2584 Control strategy; Particulate matter.
* * * * *
(g) Approval--On August 8, 2024, EPA approved the 2006 24-Hour
PM<INF>2.5</INF> limited maintenance plan for the second 10-year
maintenance period for the Milwaukee-Racine area (Milwaukee, Racine and
Waukesha counties) as submitted by the State of Wisconsin on April 8,
2022. The limited maintenance plan submission satisfies the second 10-
year planning requirement of section 175A(b) of the Clean Air Act for
the Milwaukee-Racine area.
[FR Doc. 2024-14932 Filed 7-8-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on July 9, 2024.
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