84 FR 18142 - Air Plan Approval; Maine; Infrastructure State Implementation Plan Requirements for the 2010 Sulfur Dioxide NAAQS

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Maine. This revision addresses the infrastructure requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) for the 2010 Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The EPA is conditionally approving the SIP revision for infrastructure requirements related to State Boards and Conflicts of Interest. The intended effect of this action is to approve the infrastructure requirements of Maine's air quality management program with respect to this NAAQS into the Maine SIP. This action is being taken in accordance with the Clean Air Act.

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 83 (Tuesday, April 30, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 18142-18144]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2019-08650]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R01-OAR-2018-0637; FRL-9992-50-Region 1]


Air Plan Approval; Maine; Infrastructure State Implementation 
Plan Requirements for the 2010 Sulfur Dioxide NAAQS

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Maine. 
This revision addresses the infrastructure requirements of the Clean 
Air Act (CAA or Act) for the 2010 Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The EPA is 
conditionally approving the SIP revision for infrastructure 
requirements related to State Boards and Conflicts of Interest. The 
intended effect of this action is to approve the infrastructure 
requirements of Maine's air quality management program with respect to 
this NAAQS into the Maine SIP. This action is being taken in accordance 
with the Clean Air Act.

DATES: This rule is effective on May 30, 2019.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket Identification No. EPA-R01-OAR-2018-0637. 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, 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 at https://www.regulations.gov or at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 
Region 1 Regional Office, Office of Ecosystem Protection, Air Quality 
Planning Unit, 5 Post Office Square--Suite 100, Boston, MA. The EPA 
requests that if at all possible, you

[[Page 18143]]

contact the contact listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's official 
hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
excluding legal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald Dahl, Air Permits, Toxics, and 
Indoor Programs Unit, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Region 
1, 5 Post Office Square--Suite 100, (Mail Code OEP05-2), Boston, MA 
02109-3912, tel. (617) 918-1657, email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean the EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Background and Purpose
II. Response to Comments
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background and Purpose

    Under sections 110(a)(1) and (2) of the CAA, states are required to 
submit infrastructure SIPs to ensure that SIPs provide for 
implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of the NAAQS, including 
the 2010 SO2 NAAQS. On April 19, 2017, the Maine Department 
of Environmental Protection (ME DEP) submitted to the EPA an 
infrastructure SIP revision for the 2010 SO2 NAAQS, 
including an enclosure to address the ``Good Neighbor'' (or 
``transport'') provisions of the Act. See CAA section 
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I). On December 26, 2018 (83 FR 66184), the EPA 
published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), in which the EPA 
proposed full approval of all elements of Maine's infrastructure SIP 
revision for the 2010 SO2 NAAQS, except for certain 
requirements of CAA section 110(a)(2)(E) regarding State Boards and 
Conflicts of Interest, which we proposed to conditionally approve. The 
NPRM includes the rationale for our full approval and conditional 
approval, respectively, and the EPA will not restate our rationale in 
this action.
    This rulemaking does not cover three substantive areas that are not 
integral to acting on a state's infrastructure SIP submission: (i) 
Existing provisions related to excess emissions during periods of 
start-up, shutdown, or malfunction (SSM) at sources that may be 
contrary to the CAA and the EPA's policies addressing such excess 
emissions; (ii) existing provisions related to ``director's variance'' 
or ``director's discretion'' that purport to permit revisions to SIP-
approved emissions limits with limited public process or without 
requiring further approval by the EPA, that may be contrary to the CAA; 
and, (iii) existing provisions for Prevention of Significant 
Deterioration (PSD) programs that may be inconsistent with current 
requirements of the EPA's ``Final New Source Review (NSR) Improvement 
Rule,'' 67 FR 80186 (December 31, 2002), as amended by 72 FR 32526 
(June 13, 2007). Instead, the EPA has the authority to address each of 
these substantive areas separately. A detailed history, interpretation, 
and rationale for the EPA's approach to infrastructure SIP requirements 
can be found in the EPA's May 13, 2014, proposed rule entitled, 
``Infrastructure SIP Requirements for the 2008 Lead NAAQS'' in the 
section, ``What is the scope of this rulemaking?'' See 79 FR 27241 at 
27242-45.

II. Response to Comments

    The EPA did not receive any comments on the NPRM.

III. Final Action

    The EPA is fully approving Maine's infrastructure SIP submission 
for the 2010 SO2 NAAQS as a revision to the Maine SIP, 
except with respect to CAA section 110(a)(2)(E)(ii) regarding State 
Boards and Conflicts of Interest, which we are conditionally approving.
    The outstanding issues that are being conditionally approved in 
this action concern State provisions governing the membership of 
Maine's Board of Environmental Protection and conflict of interest 
requirements pertaining to the Commissioner of ME DEP, as described in 
detail in our NPRM for this action. See 83 FR 66184 (December 26, 
2018). Maine must provide to the EPA by June 18, 2019, a submittal(s) 
addressing these issues. If Maine fails to do so, the conditional 
approval of CAA section 110(a)(2)(E)(ii) regarding State Boards and 
Conflicts of Interest, will become a disapproval on that date. The EPA 
will notify ME DEP by letter that this action has occurred. At that 
time, this commitment will no longer be a part of the approved Maine 
SIP. The EPA subsequently will publish a document in the Federal 
Register notifying the public that the conditional approval 
automatically converted to a disapproval. If the State meets its 
commitment within the applicable timeframe, the conditionally approved 
submission will remain a part of the SIP until the EPA takes final 
action approving or disapproving the new submittal. If the EPA 
disapproves the new submittal, the conditionally approved aspects will 
also be disapproved at that time. If the EPA approves the submittal, 
then the portions of Maine's infrastructure SIP submittals that were 
conditionally approved will be fully approved in their entirety and 
replace the conditional approval in the SIP. In addition, final 
disapproval of an infrastructure SIP submittal triggers the Federal 
Implementation Plan (FIP) requirement under section 110(c).

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the Clean Air Act, 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 Clean Air Act. 
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);
     This action is not an Executive Order 13771 regulatory 
action because this action is not significant under Executive Order 
12866;
     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

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     Does not provide the 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 the 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. The 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 July 1, 2019. 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, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides.

    Dated: April 24, 2019.
Deborah Szaro,
 Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1.
    Part 52 of chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
is amended as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Subpart U--Maine

0
2. Amend Sec.  52.1019 by adding paragraph (g) to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1019  Identification of plan--conditional approval.

* * * * *
    (g) 2010 Sulfur Dioxide National Ambient Air Quality Standards 
(NAAQS): The 110(a)(2) infrastructure SIP submitted on April 19, 2017, 
is conditionally approved for Clean Air Act section 110(a)(2)(E) 
regarding State Boards and Conflicts of Interest. On March 1, 2018, the 
State of Maine committed to address these requirements.

0
3. In Sec.  52.1020(e), amend the table by adding the entry ``Submittal 
to meet Clean Air Act Section 110(a)(2) Infrastructure Requirements for 
the 2010 Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards'' to the end of the table to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1020  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                                                                  Maine Non Regulatory
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                                                                State
    Name of non regulatory SIP      Applicable geographic  submittal date/          EPA approved date \3\                       Explanations
             provision              or nonattainment area  effective date
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                                                                      * * * * * * *
Submittal to meet Clean Air Act     State of Maine.......       4/19/2017  4/30/2019.............................  This submittal is approved with
 Section 110(a)(2) Infrastructure                                          [Insert Federal Register citation]....   respect to the following CAA
 Requirements for the 2010 Sulfur                                                                                   elements or portions thereof:
 Dioxide (SO2) National Ambient                                                                                     110(a)(2)(A), (B), (C), (D), (E)(i),
 Air Quality Standards..                                                                                            (F), (G), (H), (J), (K), (L), and
                                                                                                                    (M), and conditionally approved with
                                                                                                                    respect to E(ii) regarding State
                                                                                                                    Boards and Conflicts of Interest.
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\3\ In order to determine the EPA effective date for a specific provision listed in this table, consult the Federal Register notice cited in this column
  for the particular provision.

[FR Doc. 2019-08650 Filed 4-29-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P