Proposed Rule2024-25244
Air Plan Approval; KY; Revisions to Jefferson County Control of Open Burning
Primary source
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Published
October 31, 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 Commonwealth of Kentucky, through the Kentucky Division for Air Quality (KDAQ) on behalf of the Louisville Metro Pollution Control District (Jefferson County or District) via a letter dated May 30, 2023. The purpose of the revision is to clarify that a fire for general agricultural production must be a controlled burn; to allow the use of District-approved accelerants to start certain fires; and to adjust paragraph numbering. EPA is proposing to approve the changes pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 211 (Thursday, October 31, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 211 (Thursday, October 31, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 86771-86772]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-25244]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2023-0339; FRL-12355-01-R4]
Air Plan Approval; KY; Revisions to Jefferson County Control of
Open Burning
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
Commonwealth of Kentucky, through the Kentucky Division for Air Quality
(KDAQ) on behalf of the Louisville Metro Pollution Control District
(Jefferson County or District) via a letter dated May 30, 2023. The
purpose of the revision is to clarify that a fire for general
agricultural production must be a controlled burn; to allow the use of
District-approved accelerants to start certain fires; and to adjust
paragraph numbering. EPA is proposing to approve the changes pursuant
to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).
DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 2, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2023-0339 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>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Simone Jarvis, 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. The telephone number is
(404) 562-8393. Ms. Jarvis can also be reached via electronic mail at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#52183320243b217c013b3f3d3c37123722337c353d24"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="276d4655514e5409744e4a4849426742574609404851">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On May 30, 2023,\1\ KDAQ, on behalf of the District, submitted
changes to the Jefferson County portion of the Kentucky SIP for EPA
approval.\2\ In this proposed rulemaking, EPA is proposing to approve
changes to Jefferson County Regulation 1.11, Control of Open
Burning.\3\
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\1\ EPA received the May 30, 2023, submittal on May 31, 2023.
For clarity, throughout this notice EPA will refer to the May 31,
2023, submission by its cover letter date of May 30, 2023.
\2\ The May 30, 2023, submittal also contains changes to
Jefferson County Regulation 1.02, Definitions, in the Jefferson
County portion of the Kentucky SIP. EPA addressed those changes in a
separate rulemaking. See 89 FR 41319 (May 13, 2024).
\3\ In 2003, the City of Louisville and Jefferson County
governments merged, and the ``Jefferson County Air Pollution Control
District'' was renamed the ``Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control
District.'' However, to be consistent with the terminology used in
the subheading in table 2 of 40 CFR 52.920(c), throughout this
notice we refer to the District regulations contained in the
Jefferson County portion of the Kentucky SIP as the ``Jefferson
County'' regulations.
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II. EPA's Analysis of Kentucky's SIP Revision
Kentucky's May 30, 2023, SIP revision contains a version of
Regulation 1.11, Control of Open Burning, that was adopted by the
District on March 15, 2023 (referred to as ``Version 11'' by the
District). The District requests that EPA incorporate Version 11 into
the SIP and identifies three changes in Regulation 1.11 between Version
11 and Version 10, the version of the rule currently in the SIP.
The District's first proposed change adds the phrase ``i.e., a
controlled burn'' to Section 2.1.4 to clarify that ``a fire for general
agricultural production'' must be a controlled burn.
The District's second proposed change adds an exception to Section
2.4. Section 2.4 prohibits the use of tires, used oil, heavy oil,
gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, or similar accelerants to start or
maintain combustion of any fire described in Section 2.1. The proposed
exception would allow the use of District-approved liquid accelerants
to start fires for general agricultural production for weed abatement,
disease control, or pest prevention or for recognized silvicultural,
range, native grassland, or wildlife management practices that have
been approved by the District pursuant to Section 2.1.4.
District-allowed accelerants are petroleum products, and these
controlled burns are typically ignited by using two gallons of gasoline
and five gallons of diesel fuel per 25 acres. In the past five years,
the District has approved 32 fires for general agricultural production
for weed abatement, disease control, or pest prevention or for
recognized silvicultural, range, native grassland, or wildlife
management practices. EPA preliminarily agrees with the District's
determination that there are no significant increases or reductions in
the estimated level of emissions due to this revision. Any change in
emissions due to the use of liquid accelerants for initiating and
maintaining controlled burns is expected to have a de minimis impact on
the relevant criteria pollutants (i.e., ozone and particulate matter)
and is not expected to interfere with any applicable requirement
concerning attainment of the national ambient air quality standards
(NAAQS). This revision was requested by prescribed fire practitioners
and is reflective of typical practices for controlled burns.
The District's third proposed change renumbers the paragraph breaks
for subsections 2.1.8 and 2.1.9, and removes subsection 2.1.10. These
numbering changes do not affect the language of the rule or otherwise
have any substantive impact. Given the nature of this change and the
other changes described above, EPA is proposing that the SIP revision
will not interfere with any applicable requirement concerning
attainment of the NAAQS, reasonable further progress, or any other
applicable requirement of the CAA.\4\
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\4\ See CAA section 110(l).
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III. Incorporation by Reference
In this document, 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
document, EPA is proposing to incorporate by reference Jefferson County
Regulation 1.11, Control of Open Burning, Version 11, District-
effective on March 15, 2023, which clarifies that a fire for general
agricultural production must be a controlled burn; to allow the use of
District-approved accelerants to start certain fires; and to adjust
paragraph numbering. EPA has made, and will continue to make, these
materials generally available through
[[Page 86772]]
<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
EPA is proposing to approve the changes to Regulation 1.11, Control
of Open Burning, of the Jefferson County portion of the Kentucky SIP,
submitted by the Commonwealth on May 30, 2023, for the reasons
discussed above. The SIP revision updates the current SIP-approved
version of Regulation 1.11 (Version 10) to Version 11.
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 Act and applicable
Federal regulations. See 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.);
<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 proposing 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 rulemaking 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 communities with environmental justice
(EJ) concerns 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 District 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 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 communities with EJ
concerns.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: October 24, 2024.
Jeaneanne Gettle,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2024-25244 Filed 10-30-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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