Air Plan Approval; AL; Section 128 Board Requirements for Infrastructure SIPs

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) submission, submitted by the State of Alabama, through the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), on October 24, 2017. This submission addresses the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) requirements applicable to Alabama state boards or agency personnel with respect to the approval of permits or enforcement orders. The submission also specifically addresses requirements for implementation of the following national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS): 1997, 2006, and 2012 Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5), 2008 8-hour Ozone, 2008 Lead, 2010 Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), and 2010 Sulfur Dioxide (SO2). The CAA requires that each state adopt and submit a SIP for the implementation, maintenance and enforcement of each NAAQS promulgated by EPA. Whenever EPA promulgates a new or revised NAAQS, the CAA requires the state to make a new SIP submission establishing that the existing SIP meets the various applicable requirements, or revising the SIP to meet those requirements. This type of SIP submission is commonly referred to as an ``infrastructure'' SIP. In this proposed action, EPA is proposing to approve the October 24, 2017, submission with respect to: (1) The requirements applicable to state boards of the CAA; and (2) the related state board infrastructure SIP requirements for the 1997, 2006, and 2012 PM2.5, 2008 8-hour Ozone, 2008 Lead, 2010 NO2, and 2010 SO2 NAAQS. In addition, EPA is proposing approval of ADEM's December 9, 2015, infrastructure SIP submission (as supplemented by the October 24, 2017 submission) related to the state board requirements for the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS. If this proposed approval action is finalized, EPA will no longer be required to promulgate a federal implementation plan (FIP) to address these CAA state board requirements for Alabama, as described in more detail below.