Rule2024-21041
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Connecticut; Regional Haze State Implementation Plan for the Second Implementation Period
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
September 17, 2024
Effective
October 17, 2024
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the regional haze State implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by Connecticut on January 5, 2022, as satisfying applicable requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and EPA's Regional Haze Rule for the program's second implementation period. Connecticut's SIP submission addresses the requirement that States must periodically revise their long-term strategies for making reasonable progress towards the national goal of preventing any future, and remedying any existing, anthropogenic impairment of visibility, including regional haze, in mandatory Class I Federal areas. The SIP submission also addresses other applicable requirements for the second implementation period of the regional haze program. The EPA is taking this action pursuant to sections 110 and 169A of the Clean Air Act.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 180 (Tuesday, September 17, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 180 (Tuesday, September 17, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 75973-75975]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-21041]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R01-OAR-2023-0186; FRL-12105-02-R1]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Connecticut; Regional Haze State Implementation Plan for the Second
Implementation Period
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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[[Page 75974]]
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the
regional haze State implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by
Connecticut on January 5, 2022, as satisfying applicable requirements
under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and EPA's Regional Haze Rule for the
program's second implementation period. Connecticut's SIP submission
addresses the requirement that States must periodically revise their
long-term strategies for making reasonable progress towards the
national goal of preventing any future, and remedying any existing,
anthropogenic impairment of visibility, including regional haze, in
mandatory Class I Federal areas. The SIP submission also addresses
other applicable requirements for the second implementation period of
the regional haze program. The EPA is taking this action pursuant to
sections 110 and 169A of the Clean Air Act.
DATES: This rule is effective on October 17, 2024.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket
Identification No. EPA-R01-OAR-2023-0186. 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., 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 at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> or at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA
Region 1 Regional Office, Air and Radiation Division, 5 Post Office
Square--Suite 100, Boston, MA. EPA requests that if at all possible,
you contact the contact listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's official
hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,
excluding legal holidays and facility closures due to COVID-19.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Rackauskas, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 1, Air Quality Branch, 5 Post Office Square--
Suite 100, (Mail code 5-MI), Boston, MA 02109-3912, at 617-918-1628, or
by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a8dac9cbc3c9dddbc3c9db86cddac1cbe8cdd8c986cfc7de"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c9bba8aaa2a8bcbaa2a8bae7acbba0aa89acb9a8e7aea6bf">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Background and Purpose
II. Response to Comments
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background and Purpose
On January 5, 2022, the Connecticut Department of Energy and
Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) submitted a revision to its SIP to
address regional haze for the second implementation period. CT DEEP
made this SIP submission to satisfy the requirements of the CAA's
regional haze program pursuant to CAA sections 169A and 169B and 40 CFR
51.308. On July 19, 2024, EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking
(NPRM) in which EPA proposed to approve Connecticut's January 5, 2022,
SIP submission as satisfying the regional haze requirements for the
second implementation period contained in the CAA and 40 CFR 51.308 (89
FR 58663). EPA is now finalizing its proposed determination that the
Connecticut regional haze SIP submission for the second implementation
period meets the applicable statutory and regulatory requirements and
is thus approving New Hampshire's submission into its SIP.
Other specific requirements of the Connecticut submittal and the
rationale for EPA's proposed action are explained in the NPRM and will
not be restated here.
II. Response to Comments
EPA received five comments during the comment period. Four
supported the EPA's proposed action. The fifth comment discusses
subjects outside the scope of this SIP action and fails to assert (and
explain how) EPA approval of Connecticut's Regional Haze SIP submission
is erroneous or otherwise inconsistent with the CAA, applicable
regulations, or other authorities. As such, the comment does not
require further response to finalize the action as proposed.
III. Final Action
EPA is approving Connecticut's January 5, 2022, SIP submission as
satisfying the regional haze requirements for the second implementation
period contained in 40 CFR 51.308(f), (g), and (i), and incorporating
the submission into the State's SIP.
IV. 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, EPA's role is to approve State
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act.
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 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.);
<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.
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,
Feb. 16, 1994) directs Federal agencies to identify and address
``disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental
effects'' of their actions on communities with environmental justice
(EJ) concerns to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law.
EPA defines EJ as
[[Page 75975]]
``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 Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
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. 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 communities with EJ
concerns.
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule,
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this action and
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C.
804(2).
Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by November 18, 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, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Particulate matter, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: September 11, 2024.
David Cash,
Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, EPA amends part 52 of
chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 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.
Subpart H--Connecticut
0
2. Section 52.370 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(133) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.370 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(133) Revisions to the State Implementation Plan submitted by the
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection on
January 5, 2022.
(i) [Reserved]
(ii) Additional materials. (A) The Connecticut Department of Energy
and Environmental Protection document ``Connecticut Regional Haze State
Implementation Plan Revision--Second Implementation Period (2018-
2028)''.
(B) [Reserved]
[FR Doc. 2024-21041 Filed 9-16-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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