[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 26, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 65061-65063]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25576]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2019-0214; FRL-10002-53-Region 4]
Air Plan Approval; Alabama: Revisions to Cross-State Air
Pollution Rule
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve revisions to the Alabama State Implementation Plan (SIP),
submitted by the State of Alabama, through the Alabama Department of
Environmental Management (ADEM), via two letters dated August 27, 2018,
and October 25, 2018. The proposed SIP revisions make technical
amendments to the State's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR)
regulations. This action is being taken pursuant to the Clean Air Act
(CAA or Act).
DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 26, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2019-0214 at http://www.regulations.gov. 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 http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Scofield, 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. Mr. Scofield can be
reached via telephone at (404) 562-9034, or via electronic mail at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. What action is EPA taking?
EPA is proposing to approve changes to the Alabama SIP that were
provided to EPA through two letters dated August 27, 2018, and October
25, 2018.\1\ Specifically, EPA is proposing to approve two SIP
revisions that include changes to Alabama's CSAPR regulations, found in
ADEM Administrative Code Rules 335-3-5-.13, 335-3-8-.14, 335-3-8-.40,
and 335-3-8-.46.\2\
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\1\ EPA received ADEM's submissions on September 7, 2018 and
October 30, 2018, respectively.
\2\ EPA notes that the Agency received other revisions to
Alabama SIP submitted with the August 27, 2018, letter. EPA will
consider action on the remaining revisions in separate actions.
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Alabama's August 27, 2018, SIP revision makes changes to ADEM's
CSAPR regulations by adding the term ``Group 2'' in several places to
Rule 335-3-8-.40 to make the terminology consistent with EPA's CSAPR
NOX Ozone Season Group 2 Trading Program regulations.
Alabama's October 25, 2018, SIP revision changes the CSAPR regulations
in Rules 335-3-5-.13, 335-3-8-.14, and 335-3-8-.46 by explicitly
addressing the disposition of any allowances that remain after
allocations to all existing units have reached their historical
emission caps as well as any allowances set aside for new units in
Indian country within the State and not used for that purpose. In
addition, the October 25, 2018, SIP revision makes minor and
administrative changes, such as correcting typographical errors.
II. Background
EPA issued CSAPR in July 2011 and the CSAPR Update in September
2016 to address the requirements of CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I)
concerning interstate transport of air pollution for specific National
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQSs).\3\ Under CSAPR, large
electricity generating units (EGUs) in Alabama were subject to the
Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) provisions requiring the units to
participate in federal allowance trading programs for annual emissions
of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and annual and ozone season
emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOX). CSAPR includes
provisions under which states may submit for EPA approval SIP revisions
to modify or replace the CSAPR FIP requirements while allowing states
to continue to meet their transport-related obligations using either
CSAPR's federal emissions trading programs or state emissions trading
programs integrated with the federal programs, provided that the SIP
revisions meet all relevant criteria. Alabama previously submitted, and
EPA has approved, SIP revisions to replace the CSAPR and CSAPR Update
FIP requirements applicable to the State's EGUs with requirements
established under Alabama's own CSAPR state
[[Page 65062]]
trading program regulations. See 81 FR 59869 (August 31, 2016); 82 FR
46674 (October 6, 2017).
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\3\ See Federal Implementation Plans; Interstate Transport of
Fine Particulate Matter and Ozone and Correction of SIP Approvals,
76 FR 48208 (August 8, 2011); Cross-State Air Pollution Rule Update
for the 2008 Ozone NAAQS, 81 FR 74504 (October 26, 2016).
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III. Analysis of State's Submittal
Alabama's August 27, 2018, SIP revision makes changes to the
State's CSAPR regulations by adding the term ``Group 2'' throughout
Rule 335-3-8-.40. These changes were intended to make the terminology
in ADEM's Transport Rule (TR) NOX Ozone Season Group 2
Trading Program rule consistent with EPA's CSAPR regulations.
Alabama's October 25, 2018, SIP revision makes changes to the
State's CSAPR regulations by amending Rules 335-3-8-.14 and 335-3-
8-.46, in the CSAPR NOX trading rules in Chapter 335-3-8,
and Rule 335- 3-5-.13, in the CSAPR SO2 trading rules in
Chapter 335-3-5, to more clearly address the distribution of any
allowances that may remain after allocations to all existing units have
reached their historical emissions caps. These revisions ensure that
Alabama's rules contain provisions explicitly providing for the
disposition of the total budget established for units in Alabama by EPA
for each trading program, consistent with Alabama's original intent in
adopting its trading program regulations and with EPA's understanding
when initially approving the regulations into the SIP.\4\ Similarly,
language was also added to Rule 335-3-8-.14 to explicitly provide for
the disposition of 13 allowances that are set aside for any new CSAPR
NOX Ozone Season Group 2 units in Indian country within the
State of Alabama in the event that EPA does not allocate the allowances
to such units. Finally, as discussed above, addition, the October 25,
2018, SIP revision makes minor changes that do not change the substance
of the regulations, such as correcting typographical errors.
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\4\ See notices of proposed rulemaking to approve Alabama's
CSAPR state trading program regulations at 82 FR 39070 (August 17,
2017), and 81 FR 41914 (June 28, 2016).
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With the aforementioned changes, the State's CSAPR regulations as
revised remain consistent with all the applicable requirements in 40
CFR 52.38 and 52.39 for approval of CSAPR SIP revisions. EPA proposes
to find that these changes to Rule 335-3-5 and Rule 335-3-8 also will
not interfere with any applicable requirement concerning attainment and
reasonable further progress (as defined in section 171), or any other
applicable requirement of the CAA. Therefore, EPA is proposing to
approve these changes into the Alabama SIP.
IV. 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, EPA is proposing to incorporate by
reference ADEM Administrative Code Rules 335-3-5-.13, 335-3-8-.14, 335-
3-8-.40, and 335-3-8-.46, which make the following revisions to
Alabama's SIP: Add the term ``Group 2'' to the State's rules consistent
with EPA's CSAPR NOX Ozone Season Group 2 Trading Program
regulations, address the disposition of any allowances that remain
after allocations to all existing units have reached their historical
emission caps as well as any allowances set aside for new CSAPR
NOX Ozone Season Group 2 units in Indian country within
Alabama and not used for that purpose, and make other minor changes.
The revisions were state effective on October 5, 2018, and December 7,
2018. EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials
generally available through www.regulations.gov 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).
V. Proposed Action
EPA is proposing to approve changes to the Alabama SIP, that were
provided to EPA through Alabama's August 27, 2018, and October 25,
2018, SIP revisions. Specifically, EPA is proposing to approve changes
to ADEM Administrative Code Rules 335-3-5-.13, 335-3-8-.14, 335-3-
8-.40, and 335-3-8-.46, as described above, in order to make the
terminology in Alabama's regulations more consistent with the federal
CSAPR regulations and explicitly provide for the disposition of certain
allowances included in the State's overall budgets. This action is
limited to the rules currently before the Agency and does not modify
any other CSAPR rules in Alabama's SIP.
VI. 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. These actions merely
propose to approve state law as meeting Federal requirements and do not
impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. For
that reason, these proposed actions:
Are not significant regulatory actions 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);
Are not Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2,
2017) regulatory actions because SIP approvals are exempted under
Executive Order 12866;
Do not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
Are certified as not having significant economic impacts
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
Do not contain any unfunded mandates or significantly or
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
Do not have Federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
Are not economically significant regulatory actions based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
Are not significant regulatory actions subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
Are 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
Do 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).
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), nor will it impose substantial direct
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur
oxides.
[[Page 65063]]
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: November 13, 2019.
Mary S. Walker,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2019-25576 Filed 11-25-19; 8:45 am]
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