Rule2024-15573
Air Plan Approval; Ohio; OAC Chapter 3745-17 Particulate Matter
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
July 18, 2024
Effective
August 19, 2024
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving revisions to Ohio's particulate matter rules into the Ohio State Implementation Plan (SIP) under the Clean Air Act (CAA). The revisions to Ohio's particulate matter rules remove provisions for facilities or emissions units that have permanently shut down, update facility names and addresses, and make nonsubstantive revisions to the language of the rules. EPA proposed to approve this action on April 15, 2024, and received two comments.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 138 (Thursday, July 18, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 138 (Thursday, July 18, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 58291-58294]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15573]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R05-OAR-2024-0034; FRL-11775-02-R5]
Air Plan Approval; Ohio; OAC Chapter 3745-17 Particulate Matter
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving
revisions to Ohio's particulate matter rules into the Ohio State
Implementation Plan (SIP) under the Clean Air Act (CAA). The revisions
to Ohio's particulate matter rules remove provisions for facilities or
emissions units that have permanently shut down, update facility names
and addresses, and make nonsubstantive revisions to the language of the
rules. EPA proposed to approve this action on April 15, 2024, and
received two comments.
DATES: This final rule is effective on August 19, 2024.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
No. EPA-R05-OAR-2024-0034. 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), Proprietary Business Information (PBI), 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 Emily Crispell, Environmental Scientist, at (312) 353-
8512 before visiting the Region 5 office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Crispell, Air and Radiation
Division (AR-18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60604, (312) 353-8512,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e08392899390858c8cce858d898c99a0859081ce878f96"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7b180912080b1e1717551e161217023b1e0b1a551c140d">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
I. Background Information
On January 18, 2024, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
(Ohio) requested SIP approval of a variety of amendments to its
regulations in Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) Chapter 3745-17, entitled
``Particulate Matter Standards.'' The amended rules include
administrative revisions such as the removal of provisions that pertain
to facilities that have permanently shut down, renumbering of emissions
units
[[Page 58292]]
for facilities that have combined operations, and modification of
wording for phrases that Ohio wishes to rephrase. Ohio amended its
request on February 21, 2024, to request EPA not act on the alternate
set of opacity limits mentioned in OAC Rule 3745-17-03. Accordingly,
EPA is not acting on those provisions.
EPA proposed to approve the requested revisions to OAC Chapter
3745-17 on April 15, 2024, at 89 FR 26115. The notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPRM) provides a more complete discussion of the revisions
that Ohio requested be approved and EPA's evaluation of these
revisions.
The public comment period for this proposed rule ended on May 15,
2024. EPA received two comments on the proposal. All of the comments
received are included in the docket for this action.
The first comment came from an anonymous commenter and pertained to
environmental spills that have occurred in Ohio. The second comment
came from an anonymous commenter and requested that Executive Order
12898 be reviewed, and that Environmental Justice (EJ) be included in
the Ohio SIP process.
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994) requires that
Federal agencies, to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by
law, identify and address disproportionately high and adverse human
health or environmental effects of their actions on minority and low-
income populations. Additionally, Executive Order 13985 (86 FR 7009,
January 25, 2021) directs Federal agencies to assess whether, and to
what extent, their programs and policies perpetuate systemic barriers
to opportunities and benefits for people of color and other underserved
groups, and Executive Order 14008 (86 FR 7619, February 1, 2021)
directs Federal agencies to develop programs, policies, and activities
to address the disproportionate health, environmental, economic, and
climate impacts on disadvantaged communities.
As the commentor acknowledged, EPA reviewed Ohio's requested rule
revisions and determined that due to the editorial nature of the action
being taken this action is expected to have a neutral to positive
impact on the air quality of the affected area. Since the action is
expected to have a neutral to positive impact, 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. Additionally, EPA sets the National Ambient Air
Quality Standards at a level to protect the public health, with an
adequate margin of safety, including the health of at-risk populations,
and protect the public welfare from adverse effects. While EPA
recognizes the importance of assessing impacts of our actions on
potentially overburdened communities, we believe that our approval of
Ohio's request for the revision of OAC Chapter 3745-17 would not
exacerbate existing pollution exposure or burdens for populations in
Ohio.
We do not consider these comments to be germane or relevant to this
action and therefore not adverse to this action. The comments lack the
required specificity to the proposed SIP revision and the relevant
requirements of CAA section 110. Moreover, none of the comments address
a specific regulation or provision in question or recommend a different
action on the SIP submission from what EPA proposed. Therefore, we are
finalizing our action as proposed. EPA encourages the commenters to
remain engaged with stakeholders in the effort to protect human health
and the environment.
II. What action is EPA taking?
In response to the NPRM, EPA received two comments which were not
relevant to the proposed rulemaking. EPA continues to find that the
requested revisions warrant approval for the reasons given in the NPRM.
Therefore, EPA is approving the revisions to OAC 3745-17 that Ohio
submitted on January 18, 2024, with the exception of selected sections
of OAC 3745-17-03 as clarified by Ohio on February 21, 2024.
Specifically, EPA is approving Ohio rules 3745-17-01, 3745-17-03 [with
the exception of the phrase in 3745-17-03(B)(1)(a) reading ``Except as
provided in paragraph (B)(1)(b) of this rule'' and 3745-17-
03(B)(1)(b)], 3745-17-04, 3745-17-07, 3745-17-08, 3745-17-09, 3745-17-
10, 3745-17-11, 3745-17-12, 3745-17-13, and 3745-17-14, effective
August 25, 2023.
III. Incorporation by Reference
In this rule, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR
51.5, EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the Ohio
Regulations described in section II of this preamble and set forth in
the amendments to 40 CFR part 52 below. EPA has made, and will continue
to make, these documents generally available through <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, and at the EPA Region 5 Office (please contact the
person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this preamble for more information). Therefore, these materials have
been approved by EPA for inclusion in the SIP, have been incorporated
by reference by EPA into that plan, are fully federally enforceable
under sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the effective date of the
final rule of EPA's approval, and will be incorporated by reference in
the next update to the SIP compilation.\1\
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\1\ 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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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 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
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.
[[Page 58293]]
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.
EPA defines 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 Ohio 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 action. Due to the editorial
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.
This action is subject to the Congressional Review Act, and 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 16, 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 10, 2024.
Debra Shore,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, title 40 CFR part 52 is
amended 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. In Sec. 52.1870, amend the table in paragraph (c) under ``Chapter
3745-17 Particulate Matter Standards'' by revising entries ``3745-17-
01'' through ``3745-17-14'' to read as follows:
Sec. 52.1870 Identification of plan.
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(c) * * *
EPA-Approved Ohio Regulations
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Ohio effective
Ohio citation Title/subject date EPA approval date Notes
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Chapter 3745-17 Particulate Matter Standards
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3745-17-01.............. Definitions and 8/25/2023 7/18/2024, [INSERT
referenced materials. FIRST PAGE OF FEDERAL
REGISTER CITATION].
3745-17-03.............. Measurement methods 8/25/2023 7/18/2024, [INSERT Except for paragraph
and procedures. FIRST PAGE OF FEDERAL (B)(1)(b) and the
REGISTER CITATION]. phrase in paragraph
(B)(1)(a) reading
``Except as provided
in paragraph
(B)(1)(b) of this
rule''.
3745-17-04.............. Compliance time 8/25/2023 7/18/2024, [INSERT
schedules. FIRST PAGE OF FEDERAL
REGISTER CITATION].
3745-17-07.............. Control of visible 8/25/2023 7/18/2024, [INSERT
particulate emissions FIRST PAGE OF FEDERAL
from stationary REGISTER CITATION].
sources.
3745-17-08.............. Restriction of 8/25/2023 7/18/2024, [INSERT
emission of fugitive FIRST PAGE OF FEDERAL
dust. REGISTER CITATION].
3745-17-09.............. Restrictions on 8/25/2023 7/18/2024, [INSERT
particulate emissions FIRST PAGE OF FEDERAL
and odors from REGISTER CITATION].
incinerators.
3745-17-10.............. Restrictions on 8/25/2023 7/18/2024, [INSERT
particulate emissions FIRST PAGE OF FEDERAL
from fuel burning REGISTER CITATION].
equipment.
[[Page 58294]]
3745-17-11.............. Restrictions on 8/25/2023 7/18/2024, [INSERT
particulate emissions FIRST PAGE OF FEDERAL
from industrial REGISTER CITATION].
processes.
3745-17-12.............. Additional 8/25/2023 7/18/2024, [INSERT
restrictions on FIRST PAGE OF FEDERAL
particulate emissions REGISTER CITATION].
from specific air
contaminant sources
in Cuyahoga county.
3745-17-13.............. Additional 8/25/2023 7/18/2024, [INSERT
restrictions on FIRST PAGE OF FEDERAL
particulate emissions REGISTER CITATION].
from specific air
contaminant sources
in Jefferson county.
3745-17-14.............. Contingency plan 8/25/2023 7/18/2024, [INSERT
requirements for FIRST PAGE OF FEDERAL
Cuyahoga and REGISTER CITATION].
Jefferson counties.
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[FR Doc. 2024-15573 Filed 7-17-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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