82 FR 24853 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Montana; Revisions to the Administrative Rules of Montana

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 103 (May 31, 2017)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the state of Montana on September 8, 2016. The revisions are to the Administrative Rules of Montana (ARM) and include updates to the citations and references to federal and state laws and regulations, updated links to sources of information, and provides clarity on how copies of federal regulations may be obtained. This action is being taken in accordance with section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 103 (Wednesday, May 31, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24853-24856]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-10924]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R08-OAR-2017-0020; FRL-9963-15-Region 8]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Montana; Revisions to the Administrative Rules of Montana

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct 
final action to approve State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions 
submitted by the state of Montana on September 8, 2016. The revisions 
are to the Administrative Rules of Montana (ARM) and include updates to 
the citations and references to federal and state laws and regulations, 
updated links to sources of information, and provides clarity on how 
copies of federal regulations may be obtained. This action is being 
taken in accordance with section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: This rule is effective on August 29, 2017 without further 
notice, unless the EPA receives adverse comment by June 30, 2017. If 
the EPA receives adverse comment, we will publish a timely withdrawal 
of the direct final rule in the Federal Register informing the public 
that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R08-
OAR-2017-0020 at https://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).
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Publicly available docket materials are 
available either

[[Page 24854]]

electronically in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air 
Program, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 8, 1595 Wynkoop 
Street, Denver, Colorado 80202-1129. The EPA requests that you contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to 
view the hard copy of the docket. You may view the hard copy of the 
docket Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., excluding federal 
holidays. 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: Jaslyn Dobrahner, Air Program, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 8, Mail Code 8P-AR, 1595 
Wynkoop Street, Denver, Colorado 80202-1129, (303) 312-6252, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Why is the EPA using a direct final rule?

    The EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because the 
Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no 
adverse comments. However, in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of the 
Federal Register, we are publishing a separate document that will serve 
as the proposed rule to approve the SIP revisions if adverse comments 
are received on this direct final rule. We will not institute a second 
comment period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting 
must do so at this time. For further information about commenting on 
this rule, see the ADDRESSES section of this document.
    If the EPA receives adverse comments, we will publish a timely 
withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule 
will not take effect. If the EPA receives adverse comment on an 
amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule, the EPA may adopt as 
final those provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an 
adverse comment. We would address all public comments in a subsequent 
final rule based on the proposed rule.

II. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit CBI to the EPA through https://www.regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark the part or all of the 
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information on a disk or 
CD ROM that you mail to the EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD ROM 
as CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD ROM the 
specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one 
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as 
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information 
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. 
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with 
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
    2. Tips for preparing your comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
     Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other 
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register, date, and 
page number);
     Follow directions and organize your comments;
     Explain why you agree or disagree;
     Suggest alternatives and substitute language for your 
requested changes;
     Describe any assumptions and provide any technical 
information and/or data that you used;
     If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how 
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced;
     Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives;
     Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the 
use of profanity or personal threats; and
     Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.

III. Background

    On September 8, 2016, the state of Montana submitted formal 
revisions to its SIP (hereafter, the ``2016 SIP revisions''). The 2016 
SIP revisions contain amendments updating citations and references to 
federal and state laws and regulations in ARM sections 17.8.102 and 
17.8.103. The Montana Board of Environmental Review adopted the 
amendments on May 29, 2015 (effective June 26, 2015).

IV. Review of the State of Montana's September 8, 2016 Submittal

    We evaluated Montana's September 8, 2016 submittal regarding 
revisions to the State's ARM. The 2016 SIP revisions to ARM 17.8.102 
and 17.8.103 update the citations and references to federal and state 
laws and regulations, update links to sources of information, and 
provide clarity on how copies of federal regulations may be obtained. 
All of the 2016 SIP revisions are approvable. Therefore, in this action 
we are approving revisions to ARM sections 17.8.102 and 17.8.103 as 
detailed in Section V below.

V. What action is the EPA taking?

    The amendments to Montana ARM 17.8.102 and 17.8.103 update the date 
of the version of the federal regulations incorporated by reference 
regarding air quality rules as they existed on July 1, 2014, federal 
statutes as they existed on December 31, 2013, and the September 30, 
2014 edition of the ARM. Therefore, the EPA is taking direct final 
action to approve the following revisions, shown in Table 1, to 
Montana's air rules.

         Table 1--List of Montana Revisions the EPA Is Approving
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      Revised Sections in September 8, 2016 Submittal for Approval
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September 8, 2016 submittal: 17.8.102(1)(a)-(c); 17.8.103(4) and (5).
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VI. 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 
Administrative Rules of Montana described in the amendments set forth 
to 40 CFR part 52 below. Therefore, these materials have been approved 
by the EPA for inclusion in the SIP, have been incorporated by 
reference by the 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 the EPA's approval, and will be incorporated by 
reference by the Director of the Federal Register in the next update to 
the SIP compilation.\1\ The EPA has made, and will continue to make, 
these materials generally available through www.regulations.gov and/or 
at the EPA Region 8 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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VII. Statutory and Executive Orders Review

    Under the CAA, 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 CAA. Accordingly, this 
direct final action merely approves some state law

[[Page 24855]]

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 Order 
12866 (58 FR 51735, Oct. 4, 1993);
     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, Aug. 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 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, Feb. 16, 1994).
    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 31, 2017. 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 CAA section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Greenhouse 
gases, Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: May 12, 2017.
Suzanne J. Bohan,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 8.

    40 CFR part 52 is amended to read 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 BB--Montana

0
2. Section 52.1370(c) is amended under ``(i) Administrative Rules of 
Montana, Subchapter 01, General Provisions'' by revising entries 
``17.8.102'' and ``17.8.103''.
    The revisions read as follows:


Sec.  52.1370  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

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                                                     State      EPA final rule     Final rule
        State citation            Rule title    effective date       date           citation         Comments
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                                                  (1) Statewide
                     (i) Administrative Rules of Montana, Subchapter 01, General Provisions
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                                                  * * * * * * *
17.8.102.....................  Incorporation           6/26/15         5/31/17  [Insert Federal
                                by Reference.                                    Register
                                                                                 citation].
17.8.103.....................  Incorporation           6/26/15         5/31/17  [Insert Federal
                                by Reference.                                    Register
                                                                                 citation].
 
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[FR Doc. 2017-10924 Filed 5-30-17; 8:45 am]
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