81 FR 45421 - Air Plan Approval; NC; Fine Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards Revision

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 135 (July 14, 2016)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve a revision to a State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the State of North Carolina, through the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality's (NCDEQ) Division of Air Quality (DAQ) on December 11, 2015, that incorporates amendments to the state rules reflecting the 2012 national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter (PM<INF>2.5</INF>). This action is being taken pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 135 (Thursday, July 14, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 45421-45423]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-16458]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2016-0106; FRL-9948-95-Region 4]


Air Plan Approval; NC; Fine Particulate Matter National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards Revision

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct 
final action to approve a revision to a State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
submitted by the State of North Carolina, through the North Carolina 
Department of Environmental Quality's (NCDEQ) Division of Air Quality 
(DAQ) on December 11, 2015, that incorporates amendments to the state 
rules reflecting the 2012 national ambient air quality standards 
(NAAQS) for fine particulate matter (PM2.5). This action is 
being taken pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

DATES: This direct final rule is effective September 12, 2016 without 
further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by August 15, 2016. 
If EPA receives such comments, it will publish a timely withdrawal of 
the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform the public 
that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2016-0106 at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. 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. 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://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Madolyn Sanchez, Air Regulatory 
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air, 
Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 
30303-8960. Ms. Sanchez can be reached via telephone at (404) 562-9644 
or via electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Sections 108 and 109 of the CAA govern the establishment, review, 
and revision, as appropriate, of the NAAQS to protect public health and 
welfare. The CAA requires periodic review of the air quality criteria--
the science upon which the standards are based--and the standards 
themselves. EPA's regulatory provisions that govern the NAAQS are found 
at 40 CFR 50--National Primary and Secondary Ambient Air Quality 
Standards. In this rulemaking, EPA is taking direct final action to 
approve North Carolina's December 11, 2015, submission amending the 
State's regulations to incorporate the NAAQS for PM2.5, 
which are found at 15A North Carolina Administrative Code (NCAC) 02D 
.0410. The SIP submittal amending North Carolina's rules to incorporate 
the NAAQS can be found in the docket for this rulemaking at 
www.regulations.gov and is summarized below.

II. Analysis of State's Submittal

    On December 14, 2012, EPA promulgated a revised primary annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS. See 78 FR 3086. In that action, EPA revised the 
primary annual PM2.5 standard, strengthening it from 15.0 
micrograms per cubic meter ([mu]g/m\3\) to 12.0 [mu]g/m\3\, and 
retained the existing 24-hour PM2.5 standard at 35 [mu]g/
m\3\. Accordingly, in the December 11, 2015, SIP submittal, North 
Carolina revised state rule 15A NCAC 02D .0410 PM2.5 Particulate Matter 
to update the primary air quality standard for PM2.5 to be 
consistent with the NAAQS that were promulgated by EPA in 2012. EPA has 
reviewed this change to North Carolina's rule for PM2.5 and 
has made the determination that this change is consistent with federal 
regulations.

III. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of North 
Carolina regulation 15A NCAC 02D .0410 PM2.5 Particulate Matter 
effective September 1, 2015, which was revised to be consistent with 
the current NAAQS. Therefore, these materials have been approved by EPA 
for inclusion in the State implementation plan, have been incorporated 
by reference by EPA into that plan, are fully federally enforceable 
under sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the effective date of the 
final rulemaking of EPA's approval, and will be incorporated by 
reference by the Director of the Federal Register in the

[[Page 45422]]

next update to the SIP compilation.\1\ EPA has made, and will continue 
to make, these materials generally available through 
www.regulations.gov and/or at the EPA Region 4 Office (please contact 
the person identified in the ``For Further Information Contact'' 
section of this preamble for more information).
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    \1\ 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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IV. Final Action

    EPA is approving the aforementioned change to the North Carolina 
SIP because it is consistent with EPA's 2012 PM2.5 
standards. EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because 
the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates 
no adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this 
Federal Register publication, EPA is publishing a separate document 
that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision should 
adverse comments be filed. This rule will be effective September 12, 
2016September 12, 2016 without further notice unless the Agency 
receives adverse comments by August 15, 2016.
    If EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish a document 
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will 
not take effect. All public comments received will then be addressed in 
a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. EPA will not 
institute a second comment period. Parties interested in commenting 
should do so at this time. If no such comments are received, the public 
is advised that this rule will be effective on September 12, 2016 and 
no further action will be taken on the proposed rule.

V. 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. See 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in 
reviewing SIP submissions, 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).
    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 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 September 12, 2016. 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. Parties with objections to this direct final rule are 
encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel notice of 
proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules 
section of today's Federal Register, rather than file an immediate 
petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can 
withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed 
rulemaking. 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, Particulate matter.

    Dated: June 30, 2016.
Heather McTeer Toney,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    40 Part 52 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 II--North Carolina

0
2. Section 52.1770(c) is amended under Table 1, at ``Subchapter 2D--Air 
Pollution Control Requirements'', ``Section .0400 Ambient Air Quality 
Standards'' by revising the entry for ``Sect .0410'' to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.1770  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

[[Page 45423]]



                                                    Table 1--EPA Approved North Carolina Regulations
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            State citation                       Title/Subject            State effective date          EPA Approval date              Explanation
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                                                    Subchapter 2D Air Pollution Control Requirements
 
                                                                      * * * * * * *
                                                       Section .0400 Ambient Air Quality Standards
 
                                                                      * * * * * * *
Sect .0410............................  PM2.5 Particulate Matter......                 9/1/2015  7/14/16, [Insert citation of    .......................
                                                                                                  publication]
 
                                                                      * * * * * * *
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[FR Doc. 2016-16458 Filed 7-13-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P