2014-22418. Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; West Virginia; 2014 Amendments to West Virginia's Ambient Air Quality Standards

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Direct final rule.

SUMMARY:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve a revision to the West Virginia State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revision pertains to amendments of West Virginia's Legislative Rule on Ambient Air Quality Standards which change the effective date of the incorporation by reference of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) as well as their monitoring reference and equivalent methods. EPA is approving these revisions in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES:

This rule is effective on November 21, 2014 without further notice, unless EPA receives adverse written comment by October 22, 2014. If EPA receives such comments, it will publish a timely withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform the public that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-R03-OAR-2014-0596 by one of the following methods:

A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.

B. Email: [e-mail].

C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2014-0596, Cristina Fernandez, Associate Director, Office of Air Program Planning, Air Protection Division, Mailcode 3AP30, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.

D. Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region III address. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.

Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-2014-0596. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change, and may be made available online at www.regulations.gov,, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or email. The www.regulations.gov Web site is an “anonymous access” system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov,, your email address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.

Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., 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 either electronically in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy during normal business hours at the Air Protection Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of the State submittal are available at the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Air Quality, 601 57th Street SE., Charleston, West Virginia 25304.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ellen Schmitt, [phone], or by email at [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

On July 1, 2014, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) submitted a formal revision to its SIP pertaining to amendments of Legislative Rule, 45 CSR 8—Ambient Air Quality Standards. The SIP revision consists of revising the effective date of the incorporation by reference of the NAAQS and the associated monitoring reference and equivalent methods. This rulemaking action is required because on January 15, 2013, EPA revised the NAAQS for fine particulate matter (PM_2.5). See 78 FR 3086. The annual arithmetic mean concentration was set at 12 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m³), and the standard for the 24-hour concentration was retained at 35 μg/m³, (collectively, the 2013 PM_2.5 NAAQS).

II. Summary of SIP Revision

This SIP revision is required by WVDEP in order to update the State's incorporation by reference of the primary and secondary NAAQS and the ambient air monitoring reference and equivalent methods, found in 40 CFR parts 50 and 53, respectively. Currently, 45 CSR 8 incorporates by reference 40 CFR parts 50 and 53 as effective on June 1, 2011. Since that date, EPA revised the standards for PM_2.5; this SIP revision updates 45 CSR 8 to include the 2013 PM_2.5 NAAQS.

The amendments to the legislative rule include the following changes: To section 45-8-1 (General), the filing and effective dates are changed to reflect the update of the legislative rule; to section 45-8-3 (Adoption of Standards), the effective dates for the incorporation by reference of the primary and secondary NAAQS and the ambient air monitoring reference and equivalent methods are changed. The filing and effective dates of the legislative rule were updated to April 4, 2014 and June 1, 2014 respectively. The effective date of the incorporation by reference of 40 CFR Parts 50 and 53 changed from June 1, 2011 to June 1, 2013.

III. Final Action

EPA is approving the amendments to Legislative Rule, 45 CSR 8—Ambient Air Quality Standards, into the West Virginia SIP. EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because EPA views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no adverse comment. However, in the “Proposed Rules” section of this Federal Register, EPA is publishing a separate document that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision if adverse comments are filed. This rule will be effective on November 21, 2014 without further notice unless EPA receives adverse comment by October 22, 2014. If EPA receives adverse comment, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take effect. EPA will address all public comments in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so at this time.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General Requirements

Under the 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, 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 Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
• 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 (Public Law 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, this rule does not have tribal implications as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because the SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in the state, and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.

B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General

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. 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).

C. Petitions for Judicial Review

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 November 21, 2014. 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. Parties with objections to this direct final rule are encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel notice of proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules section of this Federal Register, rather than file an immediate petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed rulemaking action. This action, revising 45 CSR 8, 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
• Lead
• Nitrogen dioxide
• Ozone
• Particulate matter
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements
• Sulfur oxides

Dated: September 2, 2014.

William C. Early,

Acting, Regional Administrator, Region III.

Therefore, 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 XX—West Virginia

2. In § 52.2520, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by revising the entries for 45-8-1 through 45-8-4 to read as follows:

§ 52.2520

Identification of plan.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

EPA-Approved Regulations in the West Virginia SIP

State citation [Chapter 16-20 or 45 CSR ]	Title/subject	State effective date	EPA approval date	Additional explanation/ citation at 40 CFR 52.2565
*         *         *         *         *         *         *
[45 CSR] Series 8 Ambient Air Quality Standards
45-8-1	General	6/1/14	9/22/14 [Insert Federal Register citation]	Filing and effective dates are revised.
45-8-2	Definitions	6/1/14	9/22/14 [Insert Federal Register citation]
45-8-3	Adoption of Standards	6/1/14	9/22/14 [Insert Federal Register citation]	Effective date is revised.
45-8-4	Inconsistency Between Rules	6/1/14	9/22/14 [Insert Federal Register citation]
*         *         *         *         *         *         *

* * * * *