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[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 19, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 65088-65091]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-27356]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2018-0308; FRL-9987-98-Region 4]

Air Plan Approval; KY; Updates to Attainment Status Designations

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final 
action to approve portions of a State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
revision submitted by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, through the 
Kentucky Division for Air Quality, on December 13, 2016. The changes to 
the SIP that EPA is taking final action to approve are the attainment 
status designations, as of October 6, 2016, for geographic areas within 
the Commonwealth for several national ambient air quality standards 
(NAAQS). The updates are being made to conform Kentucky's attainment 
status tables with the federal attainment status designations made for 
these areas. EPA has determined that the December 13, 2016, SIP 
revision is consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and EPA's 
regulations.

DATES: This rule will be effective January 18, 2019.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2018-0308. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the 
index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., Confidential 
Business Information or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted 
material, is not placed on the internet and will be publicly available 
only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are 
available either electronically through www.regulations.gov or in hard 
copy at the Air Regulatory Management Section, Air Planning and 
Implementation Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW, 
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. EPA requests that if at all possible, you 
contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's official 
hours of business are Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
excluding Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Madolyn Sanchez, Air Regulatory 
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air, 
Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 
30303-8960. Ms. Sanchez can be reached via telephone at (404) 562-9644 
or via electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Sections 108 and 109 of the CAA require EPA to set NAAQS for 
criteria air pollutants: Ozone (O3); particulate matter 
(PM); carbon monoxide (CO); lead (Pb); sulfur dioxide (SO2); 
and nitrogen dioxide (NO2); and to undertake periodic review 
of these standards. After EPA sets a new NAAQS or revises an existing 
standard, the CAA requires EPA to determine if areas of the country 
meet the new standards and to designate areas as either nonattainment, 
unclassifiable/attainment, or unclassifiable. Such designations inform 
the state's planning and implementation of requirements to achieve and 
maintain the NAAQS for each area within that state.
    Section 107(d) of the CAA governs the process for these initial 
area designations. Under this process, states and tribes submit 
recommendations to EPA as to whether or not an area is attaining the 
NAAQS for criteria air pollutants. EPA then considers these 
recommendations as part of its obligation to promulgate the area 
designations and boundaries for the new or revised NAAQS. EPA codifies 
its designations for areas within each state in 40 CFR part 81.\1\ 
Under section 107(d) of the CAA, a designation for an area remains in 
effect until redesignated by EPA.
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    \1\ EPA's attainment status designations for Kentucky are found 
at 40 CFR 81.318.
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    In a proposed rulemaking published on September 21, 2018 (83 FR 
47856), EPA proposed to approve changes to Kentucky regulation 401 KAR 
51:010, which update, as of October 6, 2016, the description and 
attainment or nonattainment status of geographic areas within the 
Commonwealth with regard to a number of the NAAQS. The Commonwealth of 
Kentucky last amended Regulation 401 KAR 51:010 in 1997 and, since that 
time, EPA has promulgated several changes to the designations of areas 
within the Commonwealth. As a result, Kentucky has amended Regulation 
401 KAR 51:010 by updating, as of October 6, 2016, the attainment 
status designations in Sections 4 through 8 and Section 10 for CO, Pb, 
NO2, O3, PM2.5, and total suspended 
solids \2\ to conform with EPA's designations as reflected in 40 CFR 
81.318. Regulation 401 KAR 51:010 has also been amended by making minor 
textual modifications to the NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY 
section and Section 1 (Definitions) and Section 2 (Attainment Status 
Designations). The details of Kentucky's submission and the rationale 
for EPA's action are explained in the proposed rulemaking. Comments on 
the proposed rulemaking were due on or before October 22, 2018. EPA did 
not receive any relevant comments on the proposed action. EPA is now 
taking final action to approve the above-referenced revisions.
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    \2\ EPA is not taking final action on the portion of the 
submittal (Section 9) that modifies the attainment status 
designations for SO2.
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II. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of Kentucky 
regulation 401 KAR 51:010, Attainment Status Designations, effective 
October 6, 2016, which was revised to be consistent with the current 
NAAQS.\3\ 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 EPA for inclusion in 
the SIP, have been incorporated by reference by EPA into that plan, are 
fully federally enforceable under sections 110 and 113 of the CAA 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.\4\
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    \3\ With the exception of Section 9. Attainment Status 
Designations for Sulfur Dioxide (SO2).
    \4\ See 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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III. Final Action

    EPA is taking final action to approve portions of the Commonwealth 
of Kentucky's SIP revision submitted on December 13, 2016, because the 
changes are consistent with the CAA and EPA regulations. The submission 
revises Kentucky's attainment status designations tables for several 
NAAQS to conform with the federal attainment status designations made 
for geographic areas within the Commonwealth.

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 Act and applicable 
Federal regulations. See 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in 
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. This action merely 
approves state law as meeting Federal

[[Page 65090]]

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) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
     Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2, 
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted 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 in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     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; and
     Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to 
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental 
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under 
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
    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 as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 
FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor will it impose substantial direct 
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally 
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating 
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, 
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the 
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this action and 
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior 
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot 
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal 
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by February 19, 2019. 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).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 
Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur 
oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: November 28, 2018.
Mary S. Walker,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart S--Kentucky

0
2. In Sec.  52.920, table 1 in paragraph (c) is amended by revising the 
entry ``401 KAR 51:010'' to read as follows:

Sec.  52.920  Identification of plan.

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    (c) * * *

                                   Table 1--EPA-Approved Kentucky Regulations
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                                                        State
       State citation             Title/subject       effective      EPA approval date          Explanation
                                                         date
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                                                  * * * * * * *
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               Chapter 51 Attainment and Maintenance of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards
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                                                  * * * * * * *
401 KAR 51:010.............  Attainment status          10/06/16  12/19/18, [insert       With the exception of
                              Designations.                        Federal Register        Section 9. Attainment
                                                                   citation].              Status Designations
                                                                                           for Sulfur Dioxide
                                                                                           (SO2).
 
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[FR Doc. 2018-27356 Filed 12-18-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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