83 FR 36823 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; West Virginia; 2018 Amendments to West Virginia's Ambient Air Quality Standards

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 147 (July 31, 2018)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of West Virginia. This revision updates the effective date by which the state incorporates by reference the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) as well as their monitoring reference and equivalent methods. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 147 (Tuesday, July 31, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 36823-36824]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16375]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2018-0550; FRL-9981-60--Region 3]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
West Virginia; 2018 Amendments to West Virginia's Ambient Air Quality 
Standards

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the 
State of West Virginia. This revision updates the effective date by 
which the state incorporates by reference the national ambient air 
quality standards (NAAQS) as well as their monitoring reference and 
equivalent methods. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act 
(CAA).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before August 30, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R03-
OAR-2018-0550 at http://www.regulations.gov, or via email to 
[email protected]. For comments submitted at Regulations.gov, 
follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, 
comments cannot be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. For either 
manner of submission, 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, please contact the person 
identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the

[[Page 36824]]

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: Joseph Schulingkamp, (215) 814-2021, 
or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 8, 2018, the West Virginia 
Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) submitted a formal 
revision to its SIP pertaining to amendments of Legislative Rule, 
45CSR8--Ambient Air Quality Standards. The SIP revision consists of 
revising the effective date of the incorporation by reference of the 
NAAQS and the associated monitoring reference and equivalent methods.

I. Summary of SIP Revision

    This SIP revision is required by WVDEP in order to update the 
State's incorporation by reference of the primary and secondary NAAQS 
and the ambient air monitoring reference and equivalent methods, found 
in 40 CFR parts 50 and 53, respectively. Currently, 45CSR8 incorporates 
by reference 40 CFR parts 50 and 53 as effective on June 1, 2016. Since 
that date, EPA retained the standard for lead and made a technical 
correction to the particulate standard. See 81 FR 71906 and 82 FR 
14325, respectively. EPA also designated one new ambient air monitoring 
reference method for measuring concentrations of sulfur dioxide, four 
new ambient air monitoring equivalent methods for measuring 
concentrations of fine and coarse particulate matter (PM2.5 
and PM10, respectively), and two new equivalent methods for 
measuring concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in 
ambient air.
    The amendments to the legislative rule include the following 
changes: To section 45-8-1 (General), the filing, effective, and 
incorporation by reference dates are changed to reflect the update of 
the legislative rule; to section 45-8-3 (Adoption of Standards), the 
effective dates for the incorporation by reference of the primary and 
secondary NAAQS and the ambient air monitoring reference and equivalent 
methods are changed. The filing and effective dates of the legislative 
rule were updated to March 22, 2018 and June 1, 2018 respectively. The 
effective date of the incorporation by reference of 40 CFR parts 50 and 
53 changed from June 1, 2016 to June 1, 2017.

II. Proposed Action

    EPA is proposing to approve the West Virginia SIP revision updating 
the date of incorporation by reference, which was submitted on June 8, 
2018. EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues discussed in this 
document. These comments will be considered before taking final action.

III. Incorporation by Reference

    In this proposed rule, EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA 
rule regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In 
accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, EPA is proposing to 
incorporate by reference 45CSR8, as effective on June 1, 2018. EPA has 
made, and will continue to make, these materials generally available 
through http://www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region III Office 
(please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this preamble for more information).

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA 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 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 proposed 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);
     is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2, 
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted 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 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).
    In addition, this proposed rule, updating the effective date of 
West Virginia's 45CSR8, does not have tribal implications as specified 
by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because the 
SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in the state, 
and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct costs on 
tribal governments or preempt tribal law.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate 
matter, Sulfur oxides.

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

    Dated: July 23, 2018.
Cosmo Servidio,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2018-16375 Filed 7-30-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P