§ 60.23a - Adoption and submittal of State plans; public hearings.

§ 60.23a Adoption and submittal of State plans; public hearings.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 88 FR 80542, Nov. 17, 2023.

(a)

(1) Unless otherwise specified in the applicable subpart in this part, within three years after notice of the availability eighteen months after publication in the Federal Register of a final emission guideline is published under § 60.22a(a), each State shall adopt and submit to the Administrator , in accordance with § 60.4, a plan for the control of the designated pollutant to which the emission guideline applies. The submission of such plan shall be made in electronic format according to paragraph (a)(3) of this section or as specified in an applicable emission guideline.

(2) At any time, each State may adopt and submit to the Administrator any plan revision necessary to meet the requirements of this subpart or an applicable subpart of this part.

(3) States must submit to the Administrator any plan or plan revision using the State Planning Electronic Collaboration System (SPeCS), which can be accessed through the EPA's Central Data Exchange (CDX) (https://cdx.epa.gov/) or through an analogous electronic reporting tool provided by the EPA for the submission of any plan required by this subpart. Do not use SPeCS to submit confidential business information (CBI). Anything submitted using SPeCS cannot later be claimed to be CBI. The State must confer with the Regional Office for the procedures to submit CBI information. All CBI must be clearly marked as CBI.

(b) If no designated facility is located within a State, the State shall submit a letter of certification to that effect to the Administrator within the time specified in paragraph (a) of this section. Such certification shall exempt the State from the requirements of this subpart for that designated pollutant. The State must submit the letter using the SPeCS, or through an analogous electronic reporting tool provided by the EPA for the submission of any plan required by this subpart.

(c) The State shall, prior to the adoption of any plan or revision thereof, conduct one or more public hearings within the State on such plan or plan revision in accordance with the provisions under this section.

(d) Any hearing required by paragraph (c) of this section shall be held only after reasonable notice. Notice shall be given at least 30 days prior to the date of such hearing and shall include:

(1) Notification to the public by prominently advertising the date, time, and place of such hearing in each region affected. This requirement may be satisfied by advertisement on the internet;

(2) Availability, at the time of public announcement, of each proposed plan or revision thereof for public inspection in at least one location in each region to which it will apply. This requirement may be satisfied by posting each proposed plan or revision on the internet;

(3) Notification to the Administrator;

(4) Notification to each local air pollution control agency in each region to which the plan or revision will apply; and

(5) In the case of an interstate region, notification to any other State included in the region.

(e) The State may cancel the public hearing through a method it identifies if no request for a public hearing is received during the 30 day notification period under paragraph (d) of this section and the original notice announcing the 30 day notification period states that if no request for a public hearing is received the hearing will be cancelled; identifies the method and time for announcing that the hearing has been cancelled; and provides a contact phone number for the public to call to find out if the hearing has been cancelled.

(f) The State shall prepare and retain, for a minimum of 2 years, a record of each hearing for inspection by any interested party. The record shall contain, as a minimum, a list of witnesses together with the text of each presentation.

(g) The State shall submit with the plan or revision:

(1) Certification that each hearing required by paragraph (c) of this section was held in accordance with the notice required by paragraph (d) of this section; and

(2) A list of witnesses and their organizational affiliations, if any, appearing at the hearing and a brief written summary of each presentation or written submission.

(h) Upon written application by a State agency (through the appropriate Regional Office), the Administrator may approve State procedures designed to insure public participation in the matters for which hearings are required and public notification of the opportunity to participate if, in the judgment of the Administrator, the procedures, although different from the requirements of this subpart, in fact provide for adequate notice to and participation of the public. The Administrator may impose such conditions on his approval as he deems necessary. Procedures approved under this section shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of this subpart regarding procedures for public hearings.

(i) The State must submit, with the plan or revision, documentation of meaningful engagement including a list of identified pertinent stakeholders and/or their representatives, a summary of the engagement conducted, a summary of stakeholder input received, and a description of how stakeholder input was considered in the development of the plan or plan revisions.

[84 FR 32575, July 8, 2019, as amended at 88 FR 80542, Nov. 17, 2023]