Approval and Promulgation of State Air Quality Plans for Designated Facilities and Pollutants; Puerto Rico; Negative Declaration for the Oil and Gas Industry

Issuing agencies

Abstract

Pursuant to the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to approve a negative declaration for oil and natural gas facilities within the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. This negative declaration formally certifies that there are no existing crude oil or natural gas facilities in the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico that must comply with the Emission Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Existing Crude Oil and Natural Gas Facilities.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 165 (Thursday, August 27, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 165 (Thursday, August 27, 2026)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 55313-55315]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-17495]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 62

[EPA-R02-OAR-2026-2741; FRL-13326-01-R2]


Approval and Promulgation of State Air Quality Plans for 
Designated Facilities and Pollutants; Puerto Rico; Negative Declaration 
for the Oil and Gas Industry

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection 
Agency is proposing to approve a negative declaration for oil and 
natural gas facilities within the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. This 
negative declaration formally certifies that there are no existing 
crude oil or natural gas

[[Page 55314]]

facilities in the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico that must comply with the 
Emission Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Existing Crude 
Oil and Natural Gas Facilities.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before September 28, 
2026.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket No. EPA-R02-OAR-
2026-2741, at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>. The 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. The 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, please contact 
Blythe Reder by telephone at (212)-637-3678, or by email at 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d5a7b0b1b0a7fbb7b9aca1bdb095b0a5b4fbb2baa3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fe8c9b9a9b8cd09c92878a969bbe9b8e9fd0999188">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>. For 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>. Docket: The index to the docket for this action 
is available electronically at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. While all 
documents in the docket are listed in the index, some information may 
not be publicly available due to docket file size restrictions or 
content (e.g., CBI).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Blythe Reder, EPA Region 2 Office, Air 
and Radiation Division--Air Planning Branch; telephone number: (212)-
637-3678; email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bdcfd8d9d8cf93dfd1c4c9d5d8fdd8cddc93dad2cb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="56243332332478343a2f223e331633263778313920">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>. We encourage the public 
to submit comments via <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Please call or 
email the contact listed above if you need alternative access to 
material indexed but not provided in the docket.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this proposed rule, the use of 
``we,'' ``us,'' or ``our'' is intended to refer to the EPA. We use 
multiple abbreviations and terms in this proposed rule. While this list 
may not be exhaustive, for ease of reading and for reference purposes, 
the EPA defines the following terms and acronyms here: CAA, Clean Air 
Act; CBI, Confidential Business Information; CFR, Code of Federal 
Regulations; EPA, Environmental Protection Agency; FR, Federal 
Register; GHG, Greenhouse Gas.

Table of Contents

I. Executive Summary
    A. What action is the EPA taking?
    B. What is the legal authority and What are the requirements?
II. Background
III. Summary of Puerto Rico's Submittal
IV. The EPA's Evaluation of Puerto Rico's Submittal
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Executive Summary

A. What action is the EPA taking?

    The EPA is proposing to amend 40 CFR part 62 to formally reflect 
the receipt and approval of Puerto Rico's negative declaration 
regarding existing crude oil and natural gas facilities subject to the 
Emission Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Existing Crude 
Oil and Natural Gas Facilities codified under 40 CFR part 60, subpart 
OOOOc.

B. What is the legal authority and what are the requirements?

    Pursuant to section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act and 40 CFR part 60, 
subpart OOOOc, State regulatory agencies are required to submit 
implementation plans establishing methane emission standards for 
existing crude oil and natural gas facilities. Jurisdictions failing to 
submit an approvable plan will be subject to a Federal implementation 
plan, while States and territories lacking any such designated 
facilities are permitted to satisfy these mandates by submitting a 
formal negative declaration.

II. Background

    The Clean Air Act (CAA) requires State regulatory agencies to 
implement Federal emission guidelines and associated compliance 
schedules through a State plan developed under CAA section 111(d). 
Section 111(d) of the CAA requires the establishment of performance 
standards for specific existing stationary sources. The air pollutants 
regulated under this section are restricted to those not already 
designated as criteria air pollutants under 42 U.S.C. 7408(a) or 
hazardous air pollutants under 42 U.S.C. 7412. Pursuant to this 
statutory mandate, on March 8, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) codified 40 CFR part 60, subpart OOOOc, which requires 
State and territorial agencies to implement emission guidelines and 
compliance timelines controlling greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within 
the crude oil and natural gas source category (See 89 FR 17140, March 
8, 2024). The targeted GHG emissions under subpart OOOOc consist of 
methane emissions from designated facilities that commenced 
construction, modification, or reconstruction on or before December 6, 
2022, as specified in 40 CFR 60.5362c.
    Section 111(d)(1) of the CAA mandates that States submit a formal 
plan to the EPA for review and approval that establishes, implements, 
and enforces these standards of performance. If a jurisdiction fails to 
submit an approvable State-specific plan, the EPA is required to 
prescribe an overarching Federal implementation plan. However, if a 
State or Territory contains no designated facilities within a regulated 
source category, it must submit a formal negative declaration in lieu 
of a State Plan; the negative declaration relevant to this action is 
governed by the procedural requirements of 40 CFR 60.23a(b), 62.06, and 
60.5362c(b). In accordance with this regulatory framework, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has submitted a formal negative declaration 
in lieu of a CAA section 111(d) State Plan.

III. Summary of Puerto Rico's Submittal

    The Emissions Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Existing 
Crude Oil and Natural Gas Facilities, codified under 40 CFR Part 60, 
subpart OOOOc, apply to jurisdictions containing one or more onshore 
designated facilities in the crude oil and natural gas source category 
that are listed under 60.5386c(a) through (h), for which construction, 
modification, or reconstruction commenced on or before December 6, 
2022.
    On March 26, 2025, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico submitted a 
formal negative declaration to the EPA certifying that the Commonwealth 
does not contain any existing crude oil and natural gas facilities 
subject to subpart OOOOc within its jurisdiction.

IV. The EPA's Evaluation of Puerto Rico's Submittal

    The EPA is proposing to amend 40 CFR part 62 to formally reflect 
the receipt and approval of Puerto Rico's negative declaration 
regarding existing crude oil and natural gas facilities. In accordance 
with these regulations, the EPA proposes to find that the submission 
serves in lieu of a Clean Air Act (CAA) section 111(d) State Plan for

[[Page 55315]]

the designated crude oil and natural gas source category. Pursuant to 
the administrative procedures of part 62, the EPA is soliciting public 
comment on the regulatory interpretations and facility analyses 
discussed in this proposed action. All submitted comments will be 
reviewed and evaluated prior to the agency executing a final rule 
amending 40 CFR part 62, subpart BBB--Puerto Rico.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the EPA is required to approve a CAA section 129/
111(d) submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and 
applicable Federal regulations (See 42 U.S.C. 7411(d); 42 U.S.C. 7429; 
and 40 CFR part 62, subpart A). In reviewing CAA section 129/111(d) 
submissions, EPA's role is to approve State choices, provided that they 
meet the criteria of the CAA and its implementing regulations. States 
are allowed to submit a negative declaration in lieu of a State plan 
(See 40 CFR 60.23a(b), 62.06, and 60.5362c(b)). Accordingly, this 
proposed action merely notifies the public of the EPA's receipt of 
Puerto Rico's negative declarations for crude oil and natural gas 
facilities and proposes to revise 40 CFR part 62, subpart BBB to 
reflect this. 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 Order 12866 (58 
FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
    <bullet> Is not an Executive Order 14192 (90 FR 9065, February 6, 
2025) regulatory action because this action is not significant under 
Executive Order 12866;
    <bullet> Does not contain any information collection activities and 
so 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, as described in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4), or significantly 
or uniquely affect small governments;
    <bullet> Does not have federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999) because it will 
not have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship 
between the national government and the States, or on the distribution 
of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government;
    <bullet> Is not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, 
April 23, 1997) because it approves a State program, it is not a 
significant regulatory action under section 3(f)(1) of Executive Order 
12866, and because the EPA does not believe the environmental health or 
safety risks addressed by this action present a disproportionate risk 
to children;
    <bullet> Is not a significant regulatory action under Executive 
Order 12866 and thus is not 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. This action does not involve technical standards.
    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).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 62

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, 
Air pollution control, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Michael Martucci,
Regional Administrator, Region 2.
[FR Doc. 2026-17495 Filed 8-26-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


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