81 FR 70360 - Air Plan Approval; NH; Regional Haze 5-Year Report

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 197 (October 12, 2016)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of New Hampshire on December 16, 2014. New Hampshire's SIP revision addresses requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and EPA's rules that require States to submit periodic reports describing progress toward reasonable progress goals (RPGs) established for regional haze and a determination of the adequacy of the state's existing Regional Haze SIP. In addition, the December 16, 2014 submittal includes a revised regulation that reduces the total suspended particulate (TSP) emission limit for the state's sole Tangential-Firing, Dry-Bottom Boiler.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 197 (Wednesday, October 12, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 70360-70362]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-24495]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R01-OAR-2014-0909; A-1-FRL-9953-84-Region 1]


Air Plan Approval; NH; Regional Haze 5-Year Report

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 New 
Hampshire on December 16, 2014. New Hampshire's SIP revision addresses 
requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and EPA's rules that require 
States to submit periodic reports describing progress toward reasonable 
progress goals (RPGs) established for regional haze and a determination 
of the adequacy of the state's existing Regional Haze SIP. In addition, 
the December 16, 2014 submittal includes a revised regulation that 
reduces the total suspended particulate (TSP) emission limit for the 
state's sole Tangential-Firing, Dry-Bottom Boiler.

DATES: This rule is effective on November 14, 2016.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R01-OAR-2014-0909. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the http://www.regulations.gov Web site. 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 http://www.regulations.gov or at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 
New England Regional Office, Office of Ecosystem Protection, Air 
Quality Planning Unit, 5 Post Office Square--Suite 100, Boston, MA. EPA 
requests that if at all possible, you 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: Anne McWilliams, Air Quality Unit, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional Office, 
5 Post Office Square--Suite 100, (Mail Code OEP05-02), Boston, MA 
02109-3912, telephone number (617) 918-1697, fax number (617) 918-0697, 
email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
    Organization of this document. The following outline is provided to 
aid in locating information in this preamble.

I. Background.
II. Final Action.
III. Incorporation by Reference.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews.

I. Background

    States are required to submit a progress report in the form of a 
SIP revision every five years that evaluates progress towards the RPGs 
for each mandatory Class I Federal area within the state and in each 
mandatory Class I Federal area outside the state which

[[Page 70361]]

may be affected by emissions from within the state. See 40 CFR 
51.308(g). In addition, the provisions under 40 CFR 51.308(h) require 
States to submit, at the same time as the 40 CFR 51.308(g) progress 
report, a determination of the adequacy of the state's existing 
regional haze SIP. The first progress report SIP is due five years 
after submittal of the initial regional haze SIP.
    On July 19, 2016 (81 FR 46866), EPA published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NPR) proposing approval of New Hampshire's December 16, 
2014 Regional Haze 5-Year Progress Report SIP revision on the basis 
that it satisfies the requirements of 40 CFR 51.308(g) and (h). The NPR 
also proposed to approve, and incorporate into the New Hampshire SIP, 
New Hampshire's revised section Env-A 2302.02 Emission Standards 
Applicable to Tangential-Firing, Dry Bottom Boilers which had been 
revised to include more stringent particulate matter emission limits.
    The specific details of New Hampshire's December 16, 2014 SIP 
revision and the rationale for EPA's approval are discussed in the NPR 
and will not be restated here. No public comments were received on the 
NPR.

II. Final Action

    EPA is approving New Hampshire's December 16, 2014 Regional Haze 5-
Year Progress Report as meeting the requirements of 40 CFR 51.308(g) 
and (h). In addition, EPA is approving, and incorporating into the New 
Hampshire SIP, New Hampshire's revised section Env-A 2302.02 Emission 
Standards Applicable to Tangential-Firing, Dry Bottom Boilers.

III. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of New 
Hampshire's regulation described in the amendments to 40 CFR part 52 
set forth below. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these 
documents generally available through http://www.regulations.gov.

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, 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);
     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 (Public Law 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).
    In addition, 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 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. 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 December 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. 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, Regional Haze, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: September 23, 2016.
H. Curtis Spalding,
Regional Administrator, EPA New England.
    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 EE--New Hampshire

0
2. In Sec.  52.1520:
0
a. Paragraph (c) is amended in the table by revising the existing 
entries for state citation Env-A 2300; and
0
b. Paragraph (e) is amended by adding a new entry at the end of the 
table.
    The revision and addition read as follows:


Sec.  52.1520  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) EPA approved regulations.

[[Page 70362]]



                                     EPA-Approved New Hampshire Regulations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            State        EPA approval date
         State citation              Title/subject     effective date           \1\              Explanations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Env-A 2300.....................  Mitigation of             11/22/2014  10/6/2016 [Insert     Revises Env-A
                                  Regional Haze.                        Federal Register      2302.02
                                                                        citation].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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\1\ 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.

* * * * *
    (e) Nonregulatory.

                                           New Hampshire NonRegulatory
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      Applicable            State
  Name of  nonregulatory  SIP        geographic or     submittal date/  EPA approved date \      Explanations
           provision              nonattainment area   effective date           3\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Regional Haze Five-Year          Statewide...........        12/16/14  10/6/2016 [Insert
 Progress Report.                                                       Federal Register
                                                                        citation].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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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. 2016-24495 Filed 10-11-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P