2022-03303. Air Plan Approval; AK; Removal of Excess Emissions Provision

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Final rule.

SUMMARY:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Alaska, through the Alaska Department of Environment Conservation, on January 9, 2017. The revision was submitted by Alaska in response to a finding of substantial inadequacy and SIP call published on June 12, 2015, for a provision in the Alaska SIP related to excess emissions during startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM) events. EPA is approving the SIP revision and finds that such SIP revision corrects the deficiency identified in the June 12, 2015, SIP call.

DATES:

This final rule is effective March 21, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID No. EPA-R10-OAR-2017-0031. 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 the disclosure of which 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 listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section for additional availability information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Randall Ruddick, EPA Region10, 1200 Sixth Avenue (Suite 155), Seattle, WA 98101, [phone]; or email [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Throughout this document, wherever “we,” “us,” or “our” is used, it means the EPA.

I. Background

On December 6, 2021, we proposed to approve a SIP revision submitted by the State of Alaska, through the Alaska Department of Environment Conservation, on January 9, 2017 (86 FR 68960). In that proposal, we also proposed to determine that the SIP revision corrects the deficiency with respect to Alaska that we identified in our June 12, 2015 action entitled “State Implementation Plans: Response to Petition for Rulemaking; Restatement and Update of EPA's SSM Policy Applicable to SIPs; Findings of Substantial Inadequacy; and SIP Calls to Amend Provisions Applying to Excess Emissions During Periods of Startup, Shutdown, and Malfunction” (“June 12, 2015 SIP call”) (80 FR 33839, June 12, 2015). The reasons for our proposed approval and determination are stated in the proposed action (86 FR 68960, January 9, 2017) and will not be restated here. The public comment period for our proposed approval and determination ended on January 5, 2022, and no comments were received. Therefore, we are finalizing our action as proposed.

II. Final Action

EPA is approving Alaska's January 9, 2017 SIP submission requesting removal of 18 AAC 50.240 “Excess Emissions” from the Alaska SIP. EPA has also determined this SIP revision corrects the deficiency identified in the June 12, 2015 SIP call. Alaska is retaining 18 AAC 50.240 for state law purposes only, with revisions to clarify that (1) all excess emissions are violations and (2) the provision applies only to Alaska in exercising its enforcement authority and therefore does not preclude citizens or EPA from seeking injunctive relief or civil penalties for excess emissions (86 FR 68961).

III. Incorporation by Reference

In this document, EPA is finalizing removal of regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, EPA is removing the incorporation by reference of “18 AAC 50.240” in 40 CFR 52.70, as described in section II of this preamble. EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials generally available through https://www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region 10 Office (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 Alaska 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 rule of the EPA's approval, and incorporation by reference will be removed by the Director of the Federal Register in the next update to the SIP compilation.^[1]

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Review

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, 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 Clean Air Act; 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).

The Alaska SIP does not apply on any Indian reservation land in or in any other area where EPA or Indian tribe has demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian country, this rulemaking does not have tribal implications as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor will it impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.

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 CAA, petitions for judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by April 18, 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: February 10, 2022.

Michelle L. Pirzadeh,

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 10.

For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 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 C—Alaska

§ 52.70

[Amended]

2. In § 52.70, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by removing the entry “18 AAC 50.240” under the heading “18 AAC 50—Article 2. Program Administration”.

Footnotes

1.  62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).