Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; State of Kansas; Cross-State Air Pollution Rule

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve a December 1, 2015, State Implementation Plan (SIP) submittal from Kansas concerning allocations of Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) emission allowances. Under CSAPR, large electricity generating units in Kansas are subject to a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) requiring the units to participate in CSAPR's Federal trading program for annual emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOX). This action approves Kansas's adoption into its SIP of state regulations establishing state-determined allocations to replace EPA's default allocations to Kansas units of CSAPR allowances for annual NOX emissions for 2017 through 2019. EPA is approving the SIP revision because it meets the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and EPA's regulations for approval of an abbreviated SIP revision replacing EPA's default allocations of CSAPR emission allowances with state-determined allocations. Approval of this SIP revision does not alter any provision of CSAPR's Federal trading program for annual NOX emissions as applied to Kansas units other than the allowance allocation provisions, and the FIP requiring the units to participate in the trading program (as modified by the SIP revision) remains in place. The approval is being issued as a direct final rule without a prior proposed rule because EPA views it as uncontroversial and does not anticipate adverse comment.