[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 230 (Friday, November 29, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 65683-65685]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25818]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81
[EPA-R05-OAR-2019-0394; FRL-10002-56-Region 5]
Designation of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; Ohio;
Redesignation of the Ohio Portion of the Steubenville Sulfur Dioxide
Nonattainment Area
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) is redesignating the Ohio portion of the
Steubenville Ohio-West Virginia interstate sulfur dioxide
(SO2) nonattainment area (Steubenville nonattainment area)
from nonattainment to attainment. EPA is also approving Ohio's
maintenance plan. Emissions of SO2 in the area have been
reduced and the air quality in the nonattainment area is currently well
below the 2010 SO2 national ambient air quality standard
(NAAQS).
DATES: This final rule is effective on November 29, 2019.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
No. EPA-R05-OAR-2019-0394. All documents in the docket are listed on
the www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, i.e., Confidential Business
Information (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 either
through www.regulations.gov 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 Mary Portanova, Environmental Engineer, at (312)
353-5954, before visiting the Region 5 office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Portanova, Environmental
Engineer, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch (AR18J),
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard,
Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 353-5954, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
I. Background Information
On September 20, 2019 (84 FR 49492), EPA proposed to redesignate
the Ohio portion of the Steubenville Ohio-West Virginia interstate
SO2 nonattainment area from nonattainment to attainment of
the 2010 SO2 NAAQS. EPA also proposed to approve Ohio's
SO2 maintenance plan for the area. An explanation of the CAA
requirements for redesignation, a detailed analysis of the
redesignation request and maintenance plan, and EPA's reasons for
proposing approval were provided in the notice of proposed rulemaking
and will not be restated here. The public comment period for this
proposed rule ended on October 21, 2019.
The Steubenville nonattainment area is comprised of a portion of
Jefferson County, Ohio and a portion of Brooke County, West Virginia.
The Ohio portion of the Steubenville nonattainment area includes Cross
[[Page 65684]]
Creek Township, Steubenville Township, Warren Township, Wells Township,
and Steubenville City in Jefferson County.
Ohio and West Virginia prepared nonattainment State Implementation
Plans (SIPs) to provide for attainment of the 2010 SO2 NAAQS
in the Steubenville nonattainment area by the SO2 attainment
date of October 4, 2018. EPA approved the nonattainment SIPs from Ohio
and West Virginia on October 22, 2019 (84 FR 56385).
II. Public Comments
EPA received two public comments on the September 20, 2019 proposal
to redesignate the Ohio portion of the Steubenville nonattainment area.
Both comments supported the proposed redesignation. The comments are
included in the docket for this action.
III. What action is EPA taking?
EPA is redesignating the Ohio portion of the Steubenville
nonattainment area from nonattainment to attainment of the 2010
SO2 NAAQS. The Ohio portion of the Steubenville
nonattainment area includes Cross Creek Township, Steubenville
Township, Warren Township, Wells Township, and Steubenville City in
Jefferson County. Ohio has demonstrated that the area is attaining the
SO2 standard, and that the improvement in air quality is due
to permanent and enforceable SO2 emission reductions in the
nonattainment area. EPA is also approving Ohio's maintenance plan,
which is designed to ensure that the area will continue to maintain the
SO2 standard.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(d), EPA finds there is good cause
for these actions to become effective immediately upon publication.
This is because a delayed effective date is unnecessary due to the
nature of a redesignation to attainment, which relieves the area from
certain CAA requirements that would otherwise apply to it. The
immediate effective date for this action is authorized under both 5
U.S.C. 553(d)(1), which provides that rulemaking actions may become
effective less than 30 days after publication if the rule ``grants or
recognizes an exemption or relieves a restriction,'' and section
553(d)(3), which allows an effective date less than 30 days after
publication ``as otherwise provided by the agency for good cause found
and published with the rule.'' The purpose of the 30-day waiting period
prescribed in section 553(d) is to give affected parties a reasonable
time to adjust their behavior and prepare before the final rule takes
effect. This rule, however, does not create any new regulatory
requirements such that affected parties would need time to prepare
before the rule takes effect. Rather, this rule relieves the State of
planning requirements for this nonattainment area. For these reasons,
EPA finds good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) for these actions to
become effective on the date of publication of these actions.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the CAA, redesignation of an area to attainment and the
accompanying approval of the maintenance plan under CAA section
107(d)(3)(E) are actions that affect the status of the geographical
area and do not impose any additional regulatory requirements on
sources beyond those required by state law. A redesignation to
attainment does not in and of itself impose any new requirements, but
rather results in the application of requirements contained in the CAA
for areas that have been redesignated to attainment. Moreover, 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:
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);
Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2,
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted under
Executive Order 12866;
Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
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.);
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);
Does not have federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
Is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
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; and
Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
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 as specified by
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because
redesignation is an action that affects the status of a geographical
area and does not impose any new regulatory requirements on tribes,
impact any existing sources of air pollution on tribal lands, nor
impair the maintenance of ozone national ambient air quality standards
in tribal lands.
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 CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by January 28, 2020. 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
[[Page 65685]]
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
40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Sulfur oxides.
40 CFR Part 81
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks,
Wilderness areas.
Dated: November 13, 2019.
Cathy Stepp,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
Title 40 CFR parts 52 and 81 are 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, the table in paragraph (e) is amended under
``Summary of Criteria Pollutant Maintenance Plan'' by adding an entry
for ``SO2 (2010)'' before the entry ``CO (1979)'' to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.1870 Identification of plan.
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(e) * * *
EPA-Approved Ohio Nonregulatory and Quasi-Regulatory Provisions
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Applicable geographical
Title or non-attainment area State date EPA approval Comments
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* * * * * * *
Summary of Criteria Pollutant Maintenance Plan
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* * * * * * *
SO2 (2010)............... Steubenville OH-WV 6/25/2019 11/29/2019, [insert
(partial Jefferson Federal Register
County). citation].
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PART 81--DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES
0
3. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401, et seq.
0
4. Section 81.336 is amended by revising the entry ``Steubenville, OH-
WV'' in the table entitled ``Ohio--2010 Sulfur Dioxide NAAQS
(Primary)'' to read as follows:
Sec. 81.336 Ohio.
* * * * *
Ohio--2010 Sulfur Dioxide NAAQS
[Primary]
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Designation
Designated area \1\ --------------------------------------
Date \2\ Type
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Steubenville, OH-WV.............. November 29, 2019 Attainment.
Jefferson County (part).
Cross Creek Township,
Steubenville Township,
Warren Township, Wells
Township, Steubenville
City.
* * * * * * *
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\1\ Includes any Indian country in each county or area, unless otherwise
specified. EPA is not determining the boundaries of any area of Indian
country in this table, including any area of Indian country located in
the larger designation area. The inclusion of any Indian country in
the designation area is not a determination that the state has
regulatory authority under the Clean Air Act for such Indian country.
\2\ This date is April 9, 2018, unless otherwise noted.
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[FR Doc. 2019-25818 Filed 11-27-19; 8:45 am]
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