SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Throughout this document whenever “we,” “us,” or “our” is used, we mean EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Background and Purpose

II. Final Action

III. Incorporation by Reference

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background and Purpose

On March 13, 2026, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the State of Connecticut.^[1] In the NPRM, EPA proposed to approve Connecticut's submittal adding Consent Order 8383 to the Connecticut SIP and to approve its declaration that no rubber tire manufacturing sources exist in the state (also referred to as a “negative declaration”). Consent Order No. 8383 establishes emission standards that the State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) determined satisfy RACT for VOCs pursuant to Section 22a-174-32(e)(1)(D) of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies (RCSA) for the Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC's Cromwell compressor station facility located at 252 Shunpike Road, Cromwell, Middlesex County, CT. The formal SIP revision was submitted to the EPA by CT DEEP on December 10, 2024.

The specifics of Consent Order No. 8383 and the rationale for the EPA's proposed action are explained in the NPRM and will not be restated here. The EPA received three comments during the public comment period. Two fully support EPA approval of Connecticut's SIP submittal. The EPA appreciates and agrees with the supportive commenters. The third comment states only that the anonymous commenter is “confused” but does not elaborate and does not expressly oppose EPA approval. None of the comments warrant any further response.

II. Final Action

The EPA is approving the revisions to the Connecticut SIP to include Consent Order 8383 and is approving the negative declaration for existing rubber tire manufacturing sources statewide.

III. 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 ( printed page 50720) incorporation by reference of revisions to the Connecticut SIP to include Consent Order No. 8383, dated December 9, 2024, issued to Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC for the Cromwell compressor station as discussed in section I. of this preamble and set forth below in the amendments to 40 CFR part 52. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these documents generally available through www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region 1 Office (please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this preamble for more information). Therefore, these materials have been approved by EPA for inclusion in the State implementation plan, have been incorporated by reference by EPA into that plan, are fully federally enforceable under CAA sections 110 and 113 as of the effective date of the final rulemaking of EPA's approval, and will be incorporated by reference in the next update to the SIP compilation.^[2]

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Clean Air 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 Clean Air Act. 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 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);
• Is not subject to anExecutive Order 14192 (90 FR 9065, February 6, 2025) regulatory action because this action is not significant 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 (Public Law 104-4);
• Does not have federalism implications as specified inExecutive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
• Is not subject toExecutive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) because it approves a state program;
• Is not a significant regulatory action subject toExecutive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001); and
• 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 Clean Air Act.

In addition, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian reservation land or in any other area where 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).

This rule is exempt from the Congressional Review Act because it is a rule of particular applicability.

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 October 5, 2026. 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 section 307(b)(2).)

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

For the reasons stated in the preamble the Environmental Protection Agency amends part 52 of chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations to read as follows:

91 FR 50719