2021-20617. Air Plan Approval; Louisiana; Regional Haze Five-Year Progress Report State Implementation Plan

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 revision to a State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) on March 25, 2021. The SIP submittal addresses requirements of Federal regulations that direct the State to submit a periodic report that assesses progress toward regional haze reasonable progress goals (RPGs) and includes a determination of adequacy of the existing implementation plan.

DATES:

This rule is effective on October 25, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

The EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID No. EPA-R06-OAR-2021-0215. 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:

James E. Grady, EPA Region 6 Office, Regional Haze and SO₂ Section, 214-665-6745, [e-mail]. Out of an abundance of caution for members of the public and our staff, the EPA Region 6 office will 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,” or “our” mean “the EPA.”

I. Background

In a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published on July 21, 2021,^[1] EPA proposed to approve LDEQ's regional haze progress report for the first implementation period. On March 25, 2021, the State submitted its progress report in the form of a SIP revision which, among other things, detailed the progress made toward implementing the State's long-term strategy for regional haze that was outlined in the Louisiana Regional Haze SIP. The progress report assessed visibility improvement toward meeting the 2018 RPGs for the one Class I area in Louisiana (the Breton National Wilderness Refuge) and also for one Class I area in Arkansas (Caney Creek Wilderness area) affected by emissions from Louisiana. The State also provided a determination of adequacy of the existing regional haze SIP that no further substantive revisions are needed at this time. The details of LDEQ's submittal and the rationale for our proposed approval are explained in the NPRM. We did not receive any comments regarding our proposed action.

II. Final Action

EPA is approving LDEQ's regional haze progress report SIP revision on the basis that it satisfies the requirements of 40 CFR 51.308(g), (h), and (i) for the first regional haze implementation period. The State's analysis showed visibility improvement that exceeded the visibility goals set for 2018 and emission trends indicated that SO₂, NO_X, and PM emissions have all been decreasing. Because the regional haze SIP will ensure the control of these emission reductions relied upon by Louisiana and other states in setting their RPG's for the first planning period, we agree with the State's determination that there is no need to revise the existing Louisiana regional haze implementation plan to achieve reasonable progress at the impacted Class I areas in Louisiana or nearby states.

III. 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).

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).

Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by November 23, 2021. 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
• Best available retrofit technology
• Carbon monoxide
• Incorporation by reference
• Intergovernmental relations
• Lead
• Nitrogen dioxide
• Ozone
• Particulate matter
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements
• Regional haze
• Sulfur dioxide
• Visibility
• Volatile organic compounds

Dated: September 17, 2021.

David Gray,

Acting 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 T—Louisiana

2. In § 52.970(e), the second table titled “EPA Approved Louisiana Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures” is amended by adding the entry “Louisiana Regional Haze Progress Report” at the end of the table to read as follows:

§ 52.970

Identification of plan.

* * * * *

(e) * * *

EPA Approved Louisiana Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures

Name of SIP provision	Applicable geographic or nonattainment area	State submittal date/ effective date	EPA approval date	Explanation
*         *         *         *         *         *         *
Louisiana Regional Haze Progress Report	Statewide	3/25/2021	9/24/2021, [Insert Federal Register citation]

Footnotes

1.  See 86 FR 38433.