2022-09977. Air Plan Approval; OR; Air Contaminant Discharge Permit Fee Revision

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Final rule.

SUMMARY:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a revision to the Oregon State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted on November 5, 2020. The revision establishes new fees to be paid by stationary sources of air contaminants that submit notices of intent to construct. The revision also adds a new basic air contaminant discharge permit category to allow certain minor sources, that would otherwise be required to obtain a general, simple, or standard permit, the option to qualify for a basic permit.

DATES:

This final rule is effective June 13, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

The EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID No. EPA-R10-OAR-2020-0684. All documents in the docket are listed on the https://www.regulations.gov 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 https://www.regulations.gov, or please contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section for additional availability information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kristin Hall (15-H13), EPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue (Suite 155), Seattle, WA 98101, [phone], [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Throughout this document wherever “we” or “our” is used, it refers to the EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Background

II. Final Action

III. Incorporation by Reference

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

On November 5, 2020, Oregon submitted a SIP revision addressing stationary source permitting and associated fees.^[1] The revision, State effective September 21, 2020, makes updates to SIP-approved air quality permitting regulations. Oregon's air quality regulations are codified in Divisions 200 through 268 of Chapter 340 of the Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR).

We proposed to approve the submitted SIP revision on February 14, 2022 (87 FR 8222). The reasons for our proposed approval are included in the proposal and will not be restated here. The public comment period closed on March 16, 2022. We received no public comments, therefore, we are finalizing the action as proposed.

II. Final Action

The EPA is approving, and incorporating by reference, revisions to the Oregon SIP submitted on November 5, 2020, for the purposes of SIP-related permitting. Upon the effective date of this action, the Oregon SIP will include the following regulations, State effective September 21, 2020:

• OAR 340-210-0230, Notice of Construction and Approval of Plans: Notice to Construct;
• OAR 340-210-0240, Notice of Construction and Approval of Plans: Construction Approval; and
• OAR 340-216-8010, Table 1—Activities and Sources.

III. 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, we are finalizing the incorporation by reference of Oregon regulatory provisions as described in Section II of this preamble and set forth below in the amendments to 40 CFR part 52. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials generally available through https://www.regulations.gov 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.^[2]

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), 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, the 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);

• 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 the 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 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 it 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).

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. The 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 July 11, 2022. 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: May 3, 2022.

Michelle L. Pirzadeh,

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 10.

For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52—APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart MM—Oregon

2. In § 52.1970, amend table 2 in paragraph (c) by revising the entries for “210-0230”, “210-0240”, and “216-8010” to read as follows:

§ 52.1970

Identification of plan.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

Table 2—EPA-Approved Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) ¹

State citation	Title/subject	State effective date	EPA approval date	Explanations
Chapter 340—Department of Environmental Quality
*         *         *         *         *         *         *
Division 210—Stationary Source Notification Requirements
*         *         *         *         *         *         *
Notice of Construction and Approval of Plans
*         *         *         *         *         *         *
210-0230	Notice to Construct	9/21/2020	5/12/2022, [INSERT Federal Register CITATION]
210-0240	Construction Approval	9/21/2020	5/12/2022, [INSERT Federal Register CITATION]
*         *         *         *         *         *         *
Division 216—Air Contaminant Discharge Permits
*         *         *         *         *         *         *
216-8010	Table 1—Activities and Sources	9/21/2020	5/12/2022, [INSERT Federal Register CITATION]
*         *         *         *         *         *         *
1  The EPA approves the requirements in Table 2 of this paragraph (c) only to the extent they apply to (1) pollutants for which NAAQS have been established (criteria pollutants) and precursors to those criteria pollutants as determined by the EPA for the applicable geographic area; and (2) any additional pollutants that are required to be regulated under Part C of Title I of the CAA, but only for the purposes of meeting or avoiding the requirements of Part C of Title I of the CAA.

* * * * *

Footnotes

1.  Oregon subsequently revised the scope of the SIP revision submitted for EPA approval in a letter dated December 22, 2021. In the letter, Oregon clarified that OAR 340-216-8020, which includes the specific fee amounts to be paid by sources, is not submitted for SIP approval. The letter has been placed in the docket for this action.

2.  62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).