2022-18534. Air Plan Approval; Albuquerque-Bernalillo County, New Mexico; Excess Emissions

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Final rule.

SUMMARY:

Pursuant to the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision from the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) submitted on October 17, 2016, on behalf of the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board (Air Board). The submittal is in response to the EPA's national SIP call on June 12, 2015, concerning excess emissions during periods of Startup, Shutdown, and Malfunction (SSM). EPA is approving the SIP submittal and finds that the SIP revision corrects the substantial inadequacies identified in the June 12, 2015, SIP call.

DATES:

This rule is effective on September 28, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

The EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID No. EPA-R06-OAR-2016-0673. 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 whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the internet. Publicly available docket materials are available electronically through https://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Alan Shar, Regional Haze and SO₂ Section, EPA Region 6 Office, 1201 Elm Street, Suite 500, Dallas, Texas 75270, [phone], [e-mail]. Out of an abundance of caution for members of the public and our staff, the EPA Region 6 office may be closed to the public to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19. Please call or email the contact listed above if you need alternative access to material indexed but not provided in the docket.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Throughout this document “we,” “us,” and “our” means the EPA.

I. Background

The background for this action is discussed in detail in our June 13, 2022 (87 FR 35701) proposal. In that document, we proposed to approve the removal of Part 49 Excess Emissions from the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County provisions of the New Mexico SIP. We also proposed to determine that such SIP revision corrects the substantial inadequacies identified in the June 12, 2015 SIP call.

II. Response to Comments

The public comment period for our proposed approval and determination ended on July 13, 2022, and no adverse comments were received. We received one comment supporting the action and urged EPA to take action on a separate SIP submittal concerning 20.2.7 NMAC Excess Emissions of the New Mexico SIP.

We acknowledge the support for our proposal and note that while 20.2.7 NMAC (Part 7 Excess Emissions) of the New Mexico SIP was not the subject of our June 13, 2022 (87 FR 35701) proposal, the EPA intends to fulfill its obligations under the terms of a consent decree for taking action on the New Mexico SIP submittal concerning 20.2.7 NMAC.^[1] As no concerns were raised in public comment, we are finalizing our action as proposed.

III. Final Action

The EPA is approving a revision to the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County provisions of the New Mexico SIP submitted on October 17, 2016, in response to the EPA's national SIP call of June 12, 2015, concerning excess emissions during periods of SSM. More specifically, we are approving the removal of Part 49 Excess Emissions from the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County provisions of the New Mexico SIP. We are approving these revisions in accordance with section 110 of the Act. EPA is also determining that the SIP revision corrects the inadequacies identified in the June 12, 2015 SIP call.

IV. Environmental Justice Considerations

Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions To Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629, Feb. 16, 1994) directs federal agencies to identify and address “disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects” of their actions on minority populations and low-income populations to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law. The EPA defines environmental justice (EJ) as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.” The EPA further defines the term fair treatment to mean that “no group of people should bear a disproportionate burden of environmental harms and risks, including those resulting from the negative environmental consequences of industrial, governmental, and commercial operations or programs and policies.” ^[2]

EPA provided additional analysis of environmental justice associated with this action for the purpose of providing information to the public in our June 13, 2022 (87 FR 35701) proposal. As discussed in the proposed action, this action is intended to ensure that all communities and populations across Bernalillo County and downwind areas, including people of color and low-income and indigenous populations overburdened by pollution, receive the full human health and environmental protection provided by the CAA through the removal of affirmative defense provisions that have interfered with the enforcement structure of the CAA by raising inappropriate impediments to enforcement by states, the EPA, or citizens. We therefore determine that this rule will not have disproportionately high or adverse human health or environmental effects on communities with environmental justice concerns.

V. Incorporation by Reference

In this rule, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is removing the incorporation by reference of the “20.11.49 NMAC” in 40 CFR 52.1620, as described in the Final Action above. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials generally available through www.regulations.gov (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 EPA for removal from the SIP, have been removed from incorporation by reference by EPA into that plan, are no longer federally enforceable under sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the effective date of the final rulemaking of the EPA's approval, and incorporation by reference will be removed in the next update to the SIP compilation.

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. 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 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 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). Consistent with the EPA Policy on Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribes (May 4, 2011), the EPA offered consultation (by letter dated June 6, 2022) on our proposed rulemaking to tribal governments that may be affected by this action. We received no requests for tribal consultation.

This action is subject to the Congressional Review Act, and the EPA will submit a rule report to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United States. 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 October 28, 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: August 23, 2022.

Earthea Nance,

Regional Administrator, Region 6.

For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Environmental Protection Agency amends 40 CFR part 52 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 GG—New Mexico

§ 52.1620

[Amended]

2. Amend § 52.1620(c) in the second table titled “EPA Approved Albuquerque/Bernalillo County, NM Regulations” by removing the entry for “Part 49 (20.11.49 NMAC)”.

Footnotes

1.  See Consent Decree resolving Sierra Club et al. v. Regan (Case No. 4:21-CV-6956-SBA, N.D. Calif.).

2.   https://www.epa.gov/​environmentaljustice/​learn-about-environmental-justice.