2019-14692. Air Plan Approval; Arizona; Regional Haze Progress Report

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Final rule.

SUMMARY:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving Arizona's Regional Haze Progress Report (“Progress Report” or “Report”), submitted on November 12, 2015, as a revision to its state implementation plan (SIP). This SIP revision addresses requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the EPA's rules that require states to submit periodic reports describing progress toward reasonable progress goals (RPGs) established for regional haze and a determination of adequacy of the state's existing regional haze plan. The EPA is approving the Report on the basis that it addresses the progress report and adequacy determination requirements for the first implementation period for regional haze.

DATES:

This rule is effective on August 12, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

The EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2018-0761. 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, 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 at https://www.regulations.gov,, or please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section for additional availability information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Panah Stauffer, Air Planning Office (ARD-2), EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, [phone], [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Throughout this document whenever “we,” “us,” or “our” is used, we mean the EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Background Information

II. Public Comment

III. Final Action

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background Information

On March 27, 2019, the EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to approve the Progress Report submitted by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) on November 12, 2015.^[1] A detailed discussion of the Report and the EPA's rationale for approving the SIP revision is provided in the NPRM and will not be restated here.

II. Public Comment

The EPA's proposed action provided a 30-day public comment period. During this period, we received no comments.

III. Final Action

The EPA is approving the Progress Report, submitted by ADEQ on November 12, 2015, as meeting the applicable requirements of the CAA and the federal Regional Haze Rule, as set forth in 40 CFR 51.308(g), as a revision to the Arizona SIP. The EPA is approving Arizona's determination that the existing regional haze plan is adequate to meet the state's visibility goals and requires no substantive revision at this time, as set forth in 40 CFR 51.308(h).

We have also determined that Arizona fulfilled the requirements in 40 CFR 51.308(i) regarding state coordination with federal land managers.

IV. 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. 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);
• is not an Executive Order 13771 regulatory action because this action is not significant 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 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).

In addition, 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 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 September 9, 2019. 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
• Incorporation by reference
• Intergovernmental relations
• Nitrogen dioxide
• Particulate matter
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements
• Sulfur oxides
• Visibility
• Volatile organic compounds

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

Dated: June 27, 2019.

Deborah Jordan,

Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region IX.

Part 52, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 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 D—Arizona

2. In § 52.120 (e), amend Table 1 by adding an entry for “Arizona State Implementation Plan Revision: Regional Haze 5-Year Progress Report” before the entry for “Arizona State Implementation Plan Revision under Clean Air Act Section 110(a)(1) and (2); Implementation of the 2008 Lead National Ambient Air Quality Standards, excluding the appendices.”

The addition reads as follows:

§ 52.120

Identification of plan.

* * * * *

(e) * * *

Table 1—EPA-Approved Non-Regulatory and Quasi-Regulatory Measures

[Excluding certain resolutions and statutes, which are listed in tables 2 and 3, respectively] ¹

Name of SIP provision	Applicable geographic or nonattainment area or title/subject	State submittal date	EPA approval date	Explanation
The State of Arizona Air Pollution Control Implementation Plan
Clean Air Act Section 110(a)(2) State Implementation Plan Elements (Excluding Part D Elements and Plans)
*         *         *         *         *         *         *
Arizona State Implementation Plan Revision: Regional Haze 5-Year Progress Report, excluding Appendix A-Public Process	State-wide	November 12, 2015	July 11, 2019, [Insert Federal Register Citation]
*         *         *         *         *         *         *
1 Table 1 is divided into three parts: Clean Air Act Section 110(a)(2) State Implementation Plan Elements (excluding Part D Elements and Plans), Part D Elements and Plans (other than for the Metropolitan Phoenix or Tucson Areas), and Part D Elements and Plans for the Metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson Areas.

* * * * *

3. Section 52.145 is amended by adding paragraph (n) to read as follows:

§ 52.145

Visibility protection.

* * * * *

(n) Approval. On November 12, 2015, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality submitted the “Arizona State Implementation Plan Revision: Regional Haze 5-Year Progress Report” (“Progress Report”). The Progress Report meets the requirements of the Regional Haze Rule in 40 CFR 51.308.

Footnotes

1.  84 FR 11455.