Rule2026-04159
Air Plan Approval; AK; 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
March 3, 2026
Effective
April 2, 2026
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the Alaska regional haze plan for the second implementation period. Alaska submitted the plan to address applicable requirements under the Clean Air Act and the EPA's Regional Haze Rule.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 41 (Tuesday, March 3, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 3, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10339-10342]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-04159]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R10-OAR-2023-0348; FRL-11133-02-R10]
Air Plan Approval; AK; Regional Haze State Implementation Plan
for the Second Implementation Period
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the
Alaska regional haze plan for the second implementation period. Alaska
submitted the plan to address applicable requirements under the Clean
Air Act and the EPA's Regional Haze Rule.
DATES: This final rule is effective April 2, 2026.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID No. EPA-R10-OAR-2023-0348. 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, e.g.,
Confidential Business Information or other information, the disclosure
of which 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 please
contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section for additional availability information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristin Hall, EPA Region 10, 1200
Sixth Avenue, Suite 155, Seattle, WA 98101, at (206) 553-6357 or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#dcb4bdb0b0f2b7aeb5afa8b5b29cb9acbdf2bbb3aa"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5139303d3d7f3a23382225383f113421307f363e27">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, wherever ``we'' or
``our'' is used, it means ``the EPA.''
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
III. Final Action
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
In 1977, Congress established the national goal of preventing any
future and remedying any existing impairment of visibility in mandatory
Class I Federal areas that results from manmade (anthropogenic) air
pollution.\1\ The Regional Haze Rule lays out the steps for States to
develop and implement plans to address this national visibility
goal.\2\ States work in coordination with the EPA, the Federal Land
Managers, and other interested parties, through an iterative process
and series of implementation periods.
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\1\ Clean Air Act section 169A(a)(1).
\2\ 40 CFR 51.308.
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On July 25, 2022, the Alaska Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) submitted a regional haze State Implementation Plan
revision (2022 regional haze SIP submission) to address the Regional
Haze Rule requirements for the second implementation period (2018
through 2028). On December 4, 2024, the Alaska DEC updated specific
analyses relied on in the 2022 regional haze SIP submission, and on
October 6, 2025, the Alaska DEC clarified certain aspects of the
submission.
The EPA proposed to approve Alaska's 2022 regional haze SIP
submission for the second implementation period on October 30, 2025 (90
FR 48855). Specifically, the EPA proposed to approve the submission as
meeting the requirements of 40 CFR 51.308(f)(1) through (6), (g)(1)
through (5), and (i). In addition, as requested by the Alaska DEC, the
EPA proposed to approve, and incorporate by
[[Page 10340]]
reference into the Alaska SIP at 40 CFR 52.70(c), two new regulatory
provisions of Alaska Administrative Code Title 18 Environmental
Conservation, Chapter 50 Air Quality Control (18 AAC 50), specifically,
18 AAC 50.025 and 18 AAC 50.265, State effective August 21, 2022. We
note that we extended the comment period an additional 15 days to allow
interested parties more time to develop and submit comments (90 FR
52308, November 20, 2025).
Our proposed action provided background on the requirements of the
Clean Air Act and Regional Haze Rule, a summary of Alaska's 2022
regional haze SIP submission and the rationale for the EPA's proposed
action. That background and rationale will not be restated here.
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
We received public comments from the following groups and
individuals:
<bullet> National Parks Conservation Association, Coalition to
Protect America's Parks, and Sierra Club;
<bullet> Elayna Bassuk;
<bullet> Citizen's Rulemaking Alliance;
<bullet> Alaska DEC;
<bullet> Delaney Barrett;
<bullet> Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Visibility Union; and
<bullet> Anonymous commenter.
The full text of all comments received may be found in the docket
for this action at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/EPA-R10-OAR-2023-0348">https://www.regulations.gov/docket/EPA-R10-OAR-2023-0348</a>. The EPA's responses to all significant adverse comments received
are presented in the EPA's response to comments document, file
211_EPA_Response_to_Comments_February_2026, which may be found in the
docket for this action at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/EPA-R10-OAR-2023-0348">https://www.regulations.gov/docket/EPA-R10-OAR-2023-0348</a>.
III. Final Action
For the reasons stated in the proposed action, in the response to
comments document, and in this preamble, the EPA is approving Alaska's
2022 regional haze SIP submission for the second implementation period
as meeting the following requirements:
<bullet> 40 CFR 51.308(f)(1)--calculation of baseline, current, and
natural visibility conditions; progress to date; and the uniform rate
of progress;
<bullet> 40 CFR 51.308(f)(2)--long-term strategy requirements;
<bullet> 40 CFR 51.308(f)(3)--reasonable progress goal
requirements;
<bullet> 40 CFR 51.308(f)(4)--additional monitoring needed to
address reasonably attributable visibility impairment;
<bullet> 40 CFR 51.308(f)(5)--progress report requirements;
<bullet> 40 CFR 51.308(f)(6)--monitoring strategy and other plan
requirements;
<bullet> 40 CFR 51.308(g)(1) through (5)--progress report
requirements; and
<bullet> 40 CFR 51.308(i)--State and Federal Land Manager
coordination requirements.
The EPA is also approving, and incorporating by reference into the
Alaska SIP at 40 CFR 52.70(c), the following submitted regulations:
<bullet> 18 AAC 50.025 Visibility and other special protection
areas (defining the geographic scope of the regional haze visibility
protection area), State effective August 21, 2022; and
<bullet> 18 AAC 50.265 Additional requirements for construction or
operation of title V permitted sources and operation of minor
stationary sources within the regional haze special protection area
(requiring fuel-burning and industrial sources located in the
visibility protection area to save maintenance records, submit
emissions data to the State for purposes of the national emissions
inventory, and in each permit application, provide an assessment of
whether proposed emissions increases may impact the State's reasonable
further progress goals), State effective August 21, 2022.
The EPA is taking this action pursuant to Clean Air Act sections
110 and 169A.
IV. Incorporation by Reference
In this document, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that
includes incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of
1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the
regulatory provisions described in section III. of this preamble. The
EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials generally
available through <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and at the EPA Region 10
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 the EPA for inclusion
in the SIP, have been incorporated by reference by the EPA into that
plan, are fully federally enforceable under sections 110 and 113 of the
Clean Air Act as of the effective date of the final rule of the EPA's
approval, and will be incorporated by reference in the next update to
the SIP compilation.\3\
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\3\ 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a
SIP revision that complies with the provisions of the Clean Air Act and
applicable Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a).
Thus, in reviewing SIP revisions, the 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 Order 12866 (58
FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
<bullet> Is not subject to Executive Order 14192 (90 FR 9065,
February 6, 2025) because SIP actions are exempt from review under
Executive Order 12866;
<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 Clean Air Act.
In addition, this action 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).
[[Page 10341]]
Consistent with EPA policy, the EPA contacted 24 Tribes located near
Alaska Class I areas and offered an opportunity to consult on a
government-to-government basis in letters dated January 31, 2023. We
received no consultation or coordination requests. The letters may be
found in the docket for this action.
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 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 May 4, 2026. 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, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: February 17, 2026.
Daniel Opalski,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 10.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the EPA amends 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.
Subpart C--Alaska
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2. Section 52.70 is amended by:
0
a. In table 1 to paragraph (c) by:
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i. Revising the entry ``18 AAC 50.025''; and
0
ii. Adding under the table heading ``18 AAC 50--Article 2. Program
Administration'', the entry for ``18 AAC 50.265'' immediately after the
entry for ``18 AAC 50.260''; and
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b. In table 5 to paragraph (e) by revising the entries for ``II.III.K.
Area Wide Pollutant Control Program for Regional Haze'' and
``III.III.K. Area Wide Pollutant Control Program for Regional Haze''.
The revisions and additions read as follows:
Sec. 52.70 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
Table 1 to Paragraph (c)--EPA-Approved Alaska Regulations
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State
State citation Title/subject effective EPA approval date Explanations
date
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Alaska Administrative Code Title 18 Environmental Conservation, Chapter 50--Air Quality Control (18 AAC 50)
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18 AAC 50--Article 1. Ambient Air Quality Management
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* * * * * * *
18 AAC 50.025................. Visibility and other 8/21/2022 3/3/2026, 91 FR
special protection [INSERT FEDERAL
areas. REGISTER PAGE WHERE
THE DOCUMENT
BEGINS].
* * * * * * *
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18 AAC 50--Article 2. Program Administration
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* * * * * * *
18 AAC 50.265................. Additional 8/21/2022 3/3/2026, 91 FR
requirements for [INSERT FEDERAL
construction or REGISTER PAGE WHERE
operation of Title THE DOCUMENT
V permitted sources BEGINS].
and operation of
minor stationary
sources within the
regional haze
special protection
area.
* * * * * * *
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* * * * *
(e) * * *
[[Page 10342]]
Table 5 to Paragraph (e)--EPA-Approved Alaska Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures
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Applicable geographic State submittal
Name of SIP provision or nonattainment area date EPA approval date Explanations
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State of Alaska Air Quality Control Plan: Volume II. Analysis of Problems, Control Actions
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* * * * * * *
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Section III. Areawide Pollutant Control Program
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* * * * * * *
II.III.K. Area Wide Pollutant Statewide............. 4/4/2011, 3/10/ 2/14/2013, 78 FR Approvals: first
Control Program for Regional 2016, 7/25/2022. 10546; 4/12/ implementation
Haze. 2018, 83 FR period; first
15746; 3/3/2026, progress report;
91 FR [INSERT and second
FEDERAL REGISTER implementation
PAGE WHERE THE period.
DOCUMENT BEGINS].
* * * * * * *
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State of Alaska Air Quality Control Plan: Volume III. Appendices
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* * * * * * *
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Section III. Area Wide Pollutant Control Program
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* * * * * * *
III.III.K. Area Wide Pollutant Statewide............. 4/4/2011; 7/25/ 2/14/2013, 78 FR Approvals: first
Control Program for Regional 2022. 10546; 3/3/2026, implementation
Haze. 91 FR [INSERT period; and
FEDERAL REGISTER second
PAGE WHERE THE implementation
DOCUMENT BEGINS]. period.
* * * * * * *
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[FR Doc. 2026-04159 Filed 3-2-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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