SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Throughout this rule, the use of “we,” “us,” or “our” is intended to refer to the EPA. We use multiple abbreviations and terms in this rule. While this list may not be exhaustive, for ease of reading and for reference purposes, the EPA defines the following terms and acronyms here:

ADEM—Alabama Department of Environmental Management ( printed page 60519)

CAA—Clean Air Act

EPA—Environmental Protection Agency

MOA—Memorandum of Agreement

NPRM—Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

SIP—State Implementation Plan

Table of Contents

I. Executive Summary

II. Background

III. Incorporation by Reference

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Executive Summary

The EPA is approving a SIP revision submitted by ADEM on April 7, 2026. The revision replaces the existing Alabama Interagency Transportation Conformity MOA with a revised MOA signed by the Federal and State transportation and air quality partners and the Birmingham Planning Organization, which is subject to the transportation conformity requirements. The MOA establishes procedures for interagency consultation, dispute resolution, public participation, and enforceability of certain transportation-related control measures and mitigation measures. The EPA is also approving minor stylistic changes to Rules 335-3-17-.01, Transportation Conformity, and 335-3-17-.02, General Conformity, in the Alabama SIP.^[1] The State made this stylistic change to be more consistent with Alabama's Legislative Agency Service Requirements. The EPA has reviewed the April 7, 2026, submittal, and has determined that it is consistent with the CAA and the applicable requirements of the Conformity Rule.

II. Background

Through a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), published on July 2, 2026,^[2] the EPA proposed to approve the April 7, 2026, changes to the conformity MOA and updates to Rules 335-3-17-.01 and 335-3-17-.02 in the Alabama SIP. The details of Alabama's submission, as well as the EPA's rationale for approving these changes, are described in more detail in the July 2, 2026, NPRM. Comments on the July 2, 2026, NPRM were due on August 3, 2026. One comment supportive of the EPA's proposed action and one comment that was outside the scope of this rulemaking were received on the NPRM. These comments are available in the docket for this action.

III. Incorporation by Reference

In this document, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, and as discussed in section I of this preamble, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of Rules 335-3-17-.01, Transportation Conformity, and 335-3-17-.02, General Conformity, State effective February 12, 2024, which removes “(1) General” from the beginning of their respective paragraphs. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials generally available through www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region 4 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 the EPA for inclusion in the SIP, have been incorporated by reference by the EPA into that plan, are fully federally enforceable under sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the effective date of the final rule of the EPA's approval, and will be incorporated by reference in the next update to the SIP compilation.^[3]

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.^[4] Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, the EPA's role is to approve State choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this action 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 underExecutive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
• Is not subject toExecutive Order 14192 (90 FR 9065, February 6, 2025) regulatory action because this action is not exempt 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 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 CAA.

In addition, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian reservation land or in any other area where the 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.^[5]

This action is subject to the Congressional Review Act, and the EPA will submit a rule report to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United States. This action is not a “major rule” as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

Under CAA section 307(b)(1), petitions for judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by November 23, 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.^[6]

For the reasons stated in the preamble, the EPA amends 40 CFR part 52 as follows:

91 FR 60518