Air Plan Approval; North Carolina; Infrastructure Requirements for the 2012 PM2.5

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve portions of the State Implementation Plan (SIP) submission, submitted by the State of North Carolina, through the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), formerly known as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Division of Air Quality (DAQ), on December 4, 2015, for inclusion into the North Carolina SIP. This proposal pertains to the infrastructure requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) for the 2012 Annual Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). The CAA requires that each state adopt and submit a SIP for the implementation, maintenance and enforcement of each NAAQS promulgated by EPA, which is commonly referred to as an ``infrastructure'' SIP submission. DAQ certified that the North Carolina SIP contains provisions that ensure the 2012 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS is implemented, enforced, and maintained in North Carolina. EPA is proposing to determine that portions of North Carolina's infrastructure SIP submission, provided to EPA on December 4, 2015, satisfy certain infrastructure elements for the 2012 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS.