2018-12453. Response to Clean Air Act Section 126(b) Petitions From Delaware and Maryland

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice of public hearing.

SUMMARY:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing that a public hearing will be held on the EPA's proposed response to petitions from Delaware and Maryland pursuant to section 126 of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act). The EPA is proposing to deny four CAA section 126(b) petitions submitted by the state of Delaware and one CAA section 126(b) petition submitted by the state of Maryland between July and November 2016. The hearing will be held on June 22, 2018, in Washington, DC.

DATES:

The public hearing will be held on June 22, 2018, in Washington, DC. Please refer to SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional information on the public hearing.

ADDRESSES:

Public Hearing. The June 22, 2018, public hearing will be held at the EPA, William Jefferson Clinton East Building, Room 1153, 1201 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. Identification is required. If your driver's license is issued by America Samoa, you must present an additional form of identification to enter (see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional information on this location).

Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. 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, will be publicly available only in hard copy. Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at EPA Docket Center Reading Room, William Jefferson Clinton West Building, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The phone number for the Public Reading Room is [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

If you would like to speak at the public hearing, please contact Ms. Pamela Long, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS), Air Quality Planning Division (C504-01), Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone [phone], fax number [phone], email address [e-mail], no later than June 20, 2018. If you have any questions relating to the public hearing, please contact Ms. Long.

If you have questions concerning the petitions from Maryland and Delaware, please contact Mr. Lev Gabrilovich, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS), Air Quality Planning Division, (C539-01), Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone [phone], email address [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The public hearing will provide interested parties the opportunity to present data, views, or arguments concerning the EPA's proposed response to the petitions from Maryland and Delaware. The EPA may ask clarifying questions during the oral presentations, but will not respond to the presentations at that time. Written statements and supporting information that are submitted during the comment period will be considered with the same weight as any oral comments and supporting information presented at the public hearing. Written comments must be postmarked by the last day of the comment period.

The public hearing will convene at 9:00 a.m. and end at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) or at least two hours after the last registered speaker has spoken. The EPA will make every effort to accommodate all individuals interested in providing oral testimony. A lunch break is scheduled from 12:00 p.m. until 1:00 p.m. Please note that this hearing will be held at a U.S. government facility. Individuals planning to attend the hearing should be prepared to show valid picture identification to the security staff in order to gain access to the meeting room. The REAL ID Act, passed by Congress in 2005, established new requirements for entering federal facilities. These requirements took effect on July 21, 2014. If your driver's license is issued by American Samoa, you must present an additional form of identification to enter the federal building where the public hearing will be held. Acceptable alternative forms of identification include: Federal employee badges, passports, enhanced driver's licenses and military identification cards. For additional information for the status of your state regarding REAL ID, go to http://www.dhs.gov/​real-id-enforcement-brief.

If you would like to present oral testimony at the hearing, please notify Ms. Pamela Long, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS), Air Quality Planning Division (C504-01), Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone [phone], fax number [phone], email address [e-mail], no later than 4:00 p.m. ET on June 20, 2018. Ms. Long will arrange a general time slot for you to speak. The EPA will make every effort to follow the schedule as closely as possible on the day of the hearing.

Oral testimony will be limited to 5 minutes for each commenter. The EPA encourages commenters to provide the EPA with a copy of their oral testimony electronically (via email) or in hard copy form. Commenters should notify Ms. Long if they need specific translation services for non-English speaking commenters.

The hearing schedule, including the list of speakers, will be posted on the EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/​ozone-pollution/​ozone-national-ambient-air-quality-standards-naaqs-section-126-petitions prior to the hearing. Verbatim transcripts of the hearing and written statements will be included in the docket for the action.

How can I get copies of this document and other related information?

The EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0295 (available at http://www.regulations.gov). The EPA has made available information related to the proposed action on the following website: https://www.epa.gov/​ozone-pollution/​ozone-national-ambient-air-quality-standards-naaqs-section-126-petitions.

Dated: June 5, 2018.

Panagiotis Tsirigotis,

Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.