81 FR 41283 - Clean Air Act Title V Operating Permit Program Revision; New Jersey

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 122 (June 24, 2016)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the New Jersey title V Operating Permit Program requested by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) on May 15, 2015. NJDEP adopted a rule revision on December 29, 2014, to change the fee schedule for certain permitting activities for major facilities, including application fees for significant modifications and fees to authorize general operating permit registration and operation of used oil space heaters. The adopted rule took effect on February 27, 2015. NJDEP submitted a request to EPA to incorporate the revised fee schedule into its Operating Permit Program. EPA proposes to approve the requested change as a revision to the NJOPP.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 122 (Friday, June 24, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 41283-41284]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-15004]



[[Page 41283]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 70

[EPA-R02-OAR-2015-0837; FRL-9948-31-Region 2]


Clean Air Act Title V Operating Permit Program Revision; New 
Jersey

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve a revision to the New Jersey title V Operating Permit Program 
requested by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection 
(NJDEP) on May 15, 2015. NJDEP adopted a rule revision on December 29, 
2014, to change the fee schedule for certain permitting activities for 
major facilities, including application fees for significant 
modifications and fees to authorize general operating permit 
registration and operation of used oil space heaters. The adopted rule 
took effect on February 27, 2015. NJDEP submitted a request to EPA to 
incorporate the revised fee schedule into its Operating Permit Program. 
EPA proposes to approve the requested change as a revision to the 
NJOPP.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 25, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R02-
OAR-2015-0837, at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any 
comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any 
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) 
or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 
Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a 
written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment 
and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA 
will generally not consider comments or comment contents located 
outside of the primary submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or other 
file sharing system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA 
public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, 
and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Suilin Chan, Air Programs Branch, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 290 Broadway, 25th Floor, New York, 
New York 10007-1866, (212) 637-4019.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This section provides additional information 
by addressing the following items:

I. Background

    EPA granted full approval of the New Jersey title V Operating 
Permit Program on December 5, 2001 (66 FR 63168). The New Jersey 
Operating Permit Program (NJOPP) is implemented through its Operating 
Permits Rule codified at Subchapter 22 of Chapter 27 of Title 7 of the 
New Jersey Administrative Code (N.J.A.C. 7:27-22). As mandated by title 
V of the Clean Air Act (CAA) as well as its implementing regulations 
found in part 70 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (40 CFR 
part 70), an approved State must establish a fee schedule that results 
in the collection and retention of revenues sufficient to cover the 
direct and indirect costs of implementing the State's operating permit 
program. NJDEP periodically adjusts the title V fee schedule stipulated 
at N.J.A.C. 7:27-22 to ensure that the NJOPP is adequately funded by 
fees collected from subject sources. EPA's evaluation of New Jersey's 
title V fee program during a program audit conducted in 2012 showed 
that the fees collected by New Jersey were insufficient to cover the 
costs of administering the NJOPP. The NJOPP has a deficit carried over 
year after year that accumulated to $7.5 million dollars as of fiscal 
year (FY) 2011. As of FY 2014, the cumulative shortfall was over $10 
million dollars. New Jersey is required to resolve the funding issue by 
taking all necessary actions.

II. Summary of Program Revision

    On December 29, 2014, New Jersey finalized rule revisions to amend 
certain fee provisions for major facilities in its Operating Permits 
Rule, codified at N.J.A.C. 7:27-22. For significant modifications, 
NJDEP charges major facilities base fees for straightforward 
applications and adds supplementary fees for more complex applications. 
The prior fee schedules for significant modifications were found at 
N.J.A.C. 7:27-22.31(r), (s), (v) and (w). These provisions expired on 
December 29, 2014 and have now been deleted. New Jersey's revision 
replaces these provisions with a new Base Fee Schedule and 
Supplementary Fee Schedule for significant modifications, found at 
N.J.A.C 7:27-22.31(y) and N.J.A.C 7:27-22.31(z) respectively.
    New Jersey's revision also updated the fee schedule for a major 
facility's registration under a General Operating Permit and 
authorization to operate a used oil space heater. The prior fee 
schedule for these actions was located at N.J.A.C. 7:27-22.31(t) and 
(x) and expired on December 29, 2014. New Jersey's revision deletes 
those provisions and replaces them with a new fee schedule at N.J.A.C. 
7:27-22.31(aa).
    Finally, New Jersey's revision updates other provisions of the 
Operating Permits Rule to reflect references to the new fee schedules 
rather than the prior now-deleted provisions, including at N.J.A.C. 
7:27-22.1 (definition of ``probe'') and N.J.A.C. 7:27-22.31(a)(6), (e), 
(k)(1), (k)(2), (p) and (u)(4), (5), (7), and (9). For details of New 
Jersey's revision of its Operating Permits Rule, please refer to the 
public docket.
    New Jersey has found that these increases in fees are necessary to 
provide additional funding to help reduce the deficit for the NJOPP, 
and the rule changes effectuating the increases have undergone the 
State's complete rulemaking process. On May 15, 2015, NJDEP submitted a 
request that these revisions to its Operating Permits Rule be 
incorporated into New Jersey's Operating Permit Program as a program 
revision, in accordance with 40 CFR 70.4(i).\1\ This proposed rule 
would grant that request.
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    \1\ In the same document, NJDEP submitted rule revisions related 
to minor facilities fees found at N.J.A.C. 7:27-8 as a SIP 
submittal. This SIP submittal will be addressed in a separate 
rulemaking.
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III. Proposed Action

    The State of New Jersey has adopted rule revisions to increase the 
base and supplementary fees for significant modifications at major 
facilities, at N.J.A.C. 7:27-22.31(y) and (z), and registration fees 
for major facilities' use of General Operating Permits and 
authorization to operate used oil space heaters at N.J.A.C. 7:27-
22.31(aa). The rule revisions also deleted outdated fee provisions at 
7:27-22.31(r)-(t) and (v)-(x) and updated cross-references found in 
N.J.A.C. 7:27-22.1 (definition of ``probe'') and N.J.A.C. 7:27-
22.31(a)(6), (e), (k)(1), (k)(2), (p) and (u)(4), (5), (7), and (9). 
The rule revisions were adopted in accordance with the state's 
rulemaking procedures on December 29, 2014. The rule changes are 
necessary to increase fee revenues to fund the NJOPP. The requirement 
that revenues collected from sources subject to a state's Operating 
Permits Program provide funding sufficient to cover the permit 
program's costs is mandated by

[[Page 41284]]

title V of the CAA and its implementing regulations at 40 CFR 70.9. In 
today's action, pursuant to 40 CFR 70.4(i)(2), EPA is proposing to 
approve NJDEP's May 15, 2015 request to incorporate New Jersey's 
Operating Permits Rule (N.J.A.C. 7:27-22) as revised on December 29, 
2014 as a revision to New Jersey's Operating Permit Program. EPA is 
soliciting public comments on EPA's proposed action to incorporate the 
revised rule into the NJOPP. These comments will be considered before 
taking final action.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
proposed action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and 
therefore is not subject to review by the Office of Management and 
Budget. For this reason, this action is also not subject to Executive 
Order 13211, ``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect 
Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001).
    This proposed action merely proposes to approve State law as 
meeting Federal requirements and imposes no additional requirements 
beyond those imposed by State law. Accordingly, the Administrator 
certifies that this proposed rule will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). It also 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).
    Because this rule proposes to approve pre-existing requirements 
under State law and does not impose any additional enforceable duty 
beyond that required by State law, it 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).
    This proposed rule also does not have tribal implications because 
it will not have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian 
tribes, on the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian 
tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between 
the Federal Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive 
Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
    This action also does not have federalism implications because it 
does not have substantial direct effects on the States, on the 
relationship between the National Government and the States, or on the 
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of 
government, as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 
10, 1999). This action merely proposes to approve a state rule 
implementing a Federal standard, and does not alter the relationship or 
the distribution of power and responsibilities established in the Act.
    This proposed rule also is not subject to Executive Order 13045 
``Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety 
Risks'' (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not economically 
significant.
    Section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
Act of 1995 (NTTAA), 15 U.S.C. 272 note, requires Federal agencies to 
use technical standards that are developed or adopted by voluntary 
consensus to carry out policy objectives, so long as such standards are 
not inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise impracticable. In 
reviewing State Operating Permit Programs submitted pursuant to title V 
of the Clean Air Act, EPA will approve such regulations provided that 
they meet the requirements of the CAA and EPA's regulations codified at 
40 CFR part 70. In this context, in the absence of a prior existing 
requirement for the State to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), 
EPA has no authority to disapprove such regulations for failure to use 
VCS. It would, thus, be inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when 
it reviews such regulations, to use VCS in place of a State regulation 
that otherwise satisfies the provisions of the Clean Air Act. Thus, the 
requirements of section 12(d) of the NTTAA do not apply.
    This proposed rule does not impose an information collection burden 
under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 70

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, 
Air pollution control, Intergovernmental relations, Operating permits, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

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

    Dated: June 14, 2016.
Judith A. Enck,
Regional Administrator, Region 2.
[FR Doc. 2016-15004 Filed 6-23-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P