81234 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 29, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

register by sending an email to 

CBERPublicEvents@fda.hhs.gov on or 

before January 8, 2016, and provide 

complete contact information, including 

name, title, affiliation, address, email, 

and phone number.’’ 

Dated: December 21, 2015. 

Leslie Kux, 

Associate Commissioner for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2015–32686 Filed 12–28–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4164–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Parts 51, 52, 55, 70, 71 and 124 

[EPA–HQ–OAR–2015–0090, FRL–9937–21– 

OAR] 

RIN 2060–AS59 

Revisions to the Public Notice 

Provisions in Clean Air Act Permitting 

Programs 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to 

revise the public notice rule provisions 

for the New Source Review (NSR), title 

V and Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) 

permit programs of the Clean Air Act 

(CAA) and the corresponding onshore 

area (COA) determinations for 

implementation of the OCS air quality 

regulations. This action would remove 

the mandatory requirement to provide 

public notice of a draft air permit, as 

well as certain other program actions, 

through publication in a newspaper and 

would instead allow for electronic 

noticing (e-notice) of these actions. The 

proposed rule revisions would apply to 

major source air permits issued by the 

EPA, by EPA-delegated air agencies, and 

by air agencies with EPA-approved 

programs (with the exception of permits 

that are issued pursuant to the Tribal 

NSR Rule, which already allows for enotice methods). 

DATES: Comments. Comments must be 

received on or before February 29, 2016. 

Public hearing. If anyone contacts us 

requesting a public hearing on or before 

January 13, 2016, we will hold a 

hearing. Additional information about 

the hearing, if requested, will be 

published in a subsequent Federal 

Register document. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– 

OAR–2015–0090, at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Once submitted, comments cannot be 

edited or removed from Regulations.gov. 

The EPA may publish any comment 

received to its public docket. Do not 

submit electronically any information 

you consider to be Confidential 

Business Information (CBI) or other 

information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Multimedia 

submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be 

accompanied by a written comment. 

The written comment is considered the 

official comment and should include 

discussion of all points you wish to 

make. The EPA will generally not 

consider comments or comment 

contents located outside of the primary 

submission (i.e., on the Web, Cloud, or 

other file sharing system). For 

additional submission methods, the full 

EPA public comment policy, 

information about CBI or multimedia 

submissions, and general guidance on 

making effective comments, please visit 

http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/ 

commenting-epa-dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

general information on this proposed 

rule for NSR and OCS programs, please 

contact Mr. Dave Svendsgaard, Office of 

Air Quality Planning and Standards, 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

by phone at (919) 541–2380 or by email 

at svendsgaard.dave@epa.gov; for title V 

programs please contact Ms. Grecia 

Castro, Office of Air Quality Planning 

and Standards, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, by phone at (919) 

541–1351 or by email at 

castro.grecia@epa.gov. To request a 

public hearing or information pertaining 

to a public hearing on this document, 

contact Ms. Pamela Long, Office of Air 

Quality Planning and Standards, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, by 

phone at (919) 541–0641 or by email at 

long.pam@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information 

A. How is this Federal Register notice 

organized? 

The information presented in this 

document is organized as follows: 

I. General Information 

A. How is this Federal Register notice 

organized? 

B. Does this action apply to me? 

C. What should I consider as I prepare my 

comments for the EPA? 

D. How can I find information about a 

possible public hearing? 

E. Where can I obtain a copy of this 

document and other related information? 

II. Overview of Action 

III. Background 

IV. Proposed Revisions 

A. What are the e-notice requirements? 

B. What are the e-access requirements? 

C. Requirements for Agencies 

Implementing the Federal Permit 

Program Rules 

D. Requirements for Agencies 

Implementing Approved Programs 

Pursuant to the EPA’s Permitting Rules 

for States 

E. Soliciting Comment on Allowing 

Temporary Use of Alternative Noticing 

Methods 

F. Clarifying E-Notice and E-Access 

Applicability for Minor NSR Permits 

G. Notice Requirements for PSD Permit 

Rescissions 

V. Policy Rationale and Legal Basis 

VI. Implementation 

A. Agencies Implementing Federal 

Preconstruction Permit Program Rules 

B. Agencies Implementing State 

Preconstruction Permit Program Rules 

C. Agencies Implementing Approved 

Operating Permit Programs 

D. Agencies Delegated to Implement the 

Federal Operating Permit Program 

VII. Environmental Justice Considerations 

VIII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 13563: Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review 

B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

and Safety Risks 

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions 

Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

I. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act 

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions 

to Address Environmental Justice in 

Minority Populations and Low-Income 

Populations 

IX. Statutory Authority 

B. Does this action apply to me? 

Entities potentially affected by this 

proposed rule include air agencies 

responsible for the permitting of 

stationary and OCS sources of air 

pollution or for determining COA 

designation for implementation of the 

OCS Air Regulations. This includes the 

EPA Regions, and both EPA-delegated 

air programs and EPA-approved air 

programs that are operated by state, 

local and tribal governments. Entities 

also potentially affected by this 

proposed rule include owners and 

operators of stationary and OCS sources 

that are subject to air pollution 

permitting under the CAA, as well as 

the general public who would have an 

interest in knowing about permitting 

actions, public hearings and other 

agency actions. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 29, 2015 / Proposed Rules 81235 

1 In lieu of ‘‘permitting authority,’’ in this 

preamble and rule, we sometimes use the terms 

‘‘permitting agency,’’ ‘‘reviewing authority,’’ and 

‘‘air agency’’ (or ‘‘agency’’). These terms generally 

denote all forms of air permitting authorities, 

including EPA Regions, EPA-delegated air 

programs, and air programs that are operated by 

state, local and tribal governments and that 

implement their own rules under an EPA-approved 

implementation plan. Furthermore, the rules for the 

federal permit programs sometimes use the terms 

‘‘Administrator’’ and ‘‘Director’’ in referring to the 

permitting authority. 

2NSR includes the Prevention of Significant 

Deterioration (PSD), nonattainment major NSR 

(NNSR), and minor NSR permitting programs. 

Requirements for the NSR programs can be found 

at 40 CFR 51 for approved state and local permitting 

programs, and at 40 CFR 52 for federal permit 

programs. (In addition, 40 CFR 52 references part 

124 for additional requirements.) Requirements for 

approved title V operating permit programs are 

located at 40 CFR 70 and for federal operating 

permit programs at 40 CFR 71. Requirements for the 

permitting of OCS sources can be found at 40 CFR 

55. 

3The term ‘‘major source’’ in the title V program 

rules includes any ‘‘major stationary source’’ under 

the NSR program rules. See, e.g., 40 CFR 

52.21(b)(1)(i) and 40 CFR 71.2. In this preamble, we 

use the terms ‘‘major source’’ and ‘‘major stationary 

source’’ interchangeably. 

4The EPA’s rules generally require less extensive 

public participation procedures for the permitting 

of minor sources and minor modifications. 

5Memorandum from Janet McCabe, Principal 

Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and 

Radiation, ‘‘Minor New Source Review Program 

Public Notice Requirements under 40 CFR 

51.161(b)(3)’’ (April 17, 2012). See http://www2.

epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-07/documents/

pubnot.pdf. 

6A synthetic minor source is a source that has 

taken restrictions to avoid applicability of major 

Continued 

C. What should I consider as I prepare 

my comments for the EPA? 

1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this 

information to the EPA through http:// 

www.regulations.gov or email. Clearly 

mark the specific information that you 

claim to be CBI. For CBI in a disk or 

CD–ROM that you mail to the EPA, 

mark the outside of the disk or CD–ROM 

as CBI and then identify electronically 

within the disk or CD–ROM the specific 

information that is claimed as CBI. In 

addition to one complete version of the 

comment that includes information 

claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment 

that does not contain the information 

claimed as CBI must be submitted for 

inclusion in the public docket. 

Information so marked will not be 

disclosed except in accordance with 

procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2. 

2. Tips for preparing comments. 

When submitting comments, remember 

to: 

• Identify the rulemaking by docket 

number and other identifying 

information (subject heading, Federal 

Register date and page number). 

• Follow directions. The proposed 

rule may ask you to respond to specific 

questions or organize comments by 

referencing a Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) part or section 

number. 

• Explain why you agree or disagree, 

suggest alternatives and substitute 

language for your requested changes. 

• Describe any assumptions and 

provide any technical information and/ 

or data that you used to support your 

comment. 

• If you estimate potential costs or 

burdens, explain how you arrived at 

your estimate in sufficient detail to 

allow for it to be reproduced. 

• Provide specific examples to 

illustrate your concerns wherever 

possible, and suggest alternatives. 

• Explain your views as clearly as 

possible, avoiding the use of profanity 

or personal threats. 

• Make sure to submit your 

comments by the comment period 

deadline identified. 

D. How can I find information about a 

possible public hearing? 

To request a public hearing or 

information pertaining to a public 

hearing on this document, contact Ms. 

Pamela Long, Office of Air Quality 

Planning and Standards, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, by 

phone at (919) 541–0641 or by email at 

long.pam@epa.gov. 

E. Where can I obtain a copy of this 

document and other related 

information? 

In addition to being available in the 

docket, an electronic copy of this 

Federal Register document will be 

posted at http://www3.epa.gov/nsr/

actions.html and http://www3.epa.gov/

airquality/permits/actions.html. 

II. Overview of Action 

The CAA authorizes the EPA to 

administer and oversee the permitting of 

stationary and other sources of air 

pollution. To accomplish this 

obligation, the EPA has promulgated 

permitting regulations for construction 

of sources pursuant to NSR under title 

I of the CAA, for operation of major and 

certain other sources of air pollutants 

under title V of the CAA; and for OCS 

sources under CAA § 328. These 

regulations are contained in 40 CFR 

parts 51, 52, 55, 70, 71 and 124, and 

cover the requirements for federal 

permit actions (i.e., when the EPA or a 

delegated air agency is the permitting 

authority 1) and minimum permitting 

requirements under an approved state 

implementation plan (SIP) and title V 

program.2 These rules contain, among 

other things, requirements for public 

notice and availability of supporting 

information to allow for informed 

public participation in permit actions. 

These regulatory requirements for 

public participation in permit and other 

actions are the subject of this proposed 

rule. 

In general, prior to issuing a permit to 

a major stationary source 3 of air 

pollution, the permitting authority 

prepares a draft permit, provides notice 

to the public of the draft permit, and 

provides the public reasonable access to 

the draft permit, the application, and 

supporting information. The permitting 

authority must provide an opportunity 

for public comment, as well as an 

opportunity to request a public hearing 

on the draft permit. See, e.g., 40 CFR 

70.7(h). In addition, the information that 

supports the permit decisions—referred 

to in some cases as the ‘‘permit record’’ 

or ‘‘administrative record’’—must be 

made available to the public for 

inspection. Id. Under the title V 

programs, these procedures apply to 

permits for all covered sources, 

including certain non-major sources. 

See 40 CFR 70.3.4

This action addresses the method by 

which the permitting agency provides 

the required notice of the permitting 

action and access to the information 

supporting the action. We specifically 

propose to remove from the EPA rules 

the mandatory requirement that draft 

permits under CAA permitting programs 

for major sources be noticed in a 

newspaper of general circulation and 

instead allow—and, in some cases, 

require (as explained below)—the use of 

electronic methods to provide notice of 

and access to these draft permits. We are 

not changing the majority of the existing 

procedural requirements for processing 

permit applications and the requirement 

to keep a record of the materials that 

support the permit decisions. We also 

are not changing existing requirements 

as to the substance of the information 

that must be made available when the 

permitting agency notifies the public of 

the draft permitting action. 

We are also not proposing to revise 

the federal rules for public notice that 

apply to minor NSR permits under 40 

CFR part 51.161, which require ‘‘notice 

by prominent advertisement.’’ See 

§ 51.161(b)(3). In 2012, the EPA clarified 

through guidance that the § 51.161 term 

‘‘prominent advertisement’’ is media 

neutral, and therefore newspaper notice 

of minor NSR actions is not required. 

(‘‘EPA’s 2012 Memorandum’’) 5 The 

guidance memorandum did not, 

however, address notice requirements 

for synthetic minor source permits.6 In 


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81236 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 29, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

source requirements. Under the NSR program, such 

restrictions must be legally and practically 

enforceable. See, e.g., 67 FR 80191. 

7Most states, certain local agencies and currently 

one tribe have approved part 70 programs. The EPA 

administers the part 71 federal program in most 

areas of Indian country (one tribe has been 

delegated implementation authority) and on the 

Outer Continental Shelf (when there is no delegated 

state permitting authority). 

this action, we are proposing to extend 

the media neutrality policy of the EPA’s 

2012 Memorandum to all permit actions 

governed by § 51.161, including 

synthetic minor source permits, and to 

ensure that e-access methods are 

available for minor NSR permit actions. 

We are also not proposing to revise 

the public participation requirements 

for permits that establish a Plantwide 

Applicability Limitation (PAL), which 

cross reference the public participation 

procedures at § 51.161. See 

§§ 51.165(f)(5), 51.166(w)(5), and 

52.21(aa), and Appendix S to part 51, 

Section IV.K.5. As discussed in the 

preamble to the PAL regulations (‘‘PAL 

preamble’’), ‘‘[t]he reviewing authority 

must establish a PAL in a federally 

enforceable permit (for example, a 

‘‘minor’’ NSR construction permit, a 

major NSR permit, or a SIP-approved 

operating permit program).’’ 67 FR 

80208; December 31, 2002. The PAL 

preamble further explains that ‘‘the 

reviewing authority must provide an 

opportunity for public participation 

when issuing a PAL permit . . . 

consistent with the requirements at 

§ 51.161 and include a minimum of a 

30-day period for public notice and 

opportunity for public comment.’’ Id. As 

explained above, in EPA’s 2012 

Memorandum we clarified that the term 

‘‘prominent advertisement’’ in § 51.161 

is media neutral for minor NSR permits, 

and in this action we are proposing to 

extend the applicability of the policy in 

that memorandum to all permit actions 

governed by § 51.161. In addition, the 

PAL preamble explains ‘‘[w]here the 

PAL is established in a major NSR 

permit, major NSR public participation 

procedures apply.’’ Id. In this rule 

action, we propose to amend the public 

participation requirements for major 

source permits under CAA permitting 

programs to allow or require the use of 

electronic methods to provide notice of 

these permits. Therefore, since this 

proposed action along with our previous 

rules and guidance would collectively 

ensure that § 51.161 and the major 

source specific regulations allow for enotice in lieu of newspaper notice, and 

these public notice requirements would 

apply as well to all of the types of 

permits that may be used to establish a 

PAL, we believe that it is unnecessary 

to propose any revisions to the PALspecific provisions of EPA’s air 

permitting rules. 

In addition, these proposed revisions 

would not change the requirements for 

nonattainment NSR (NNSR), minor 

NSR, and synthetic minor NSR permits 

in Indian country, which are contained 

in 40 CFR part 49 and allow for other 

means of public noticing beyond a 

newspaper of general circulation. See 

§§ 49.157 (minor NSR and synthetic 

minor NSR permits) and 49.171 

(nonattainment major NSR permits). 

However, these proposed revisions 

would change the requirements for PSD 

permits that the EPA issues in Indian 

country, as well as Prevention of 

Significant Deterioration (PSD) permits 

that are issued by a tribe through a 

delegation agreement or by a tribe that 

has an approved tribal implementation 

plan (TIP) that incorporates by reference 

the public noticing requirements in the 

federal PSD rules at 40 CFR 52.21. Also, 

since this proposal would revise the 

noticing requirements in 40 CFR 71, 

which apply to Indian country absent an 

approved part 70 program, the revisions 

would affect the public notice 

procedures for the majority of title V 

operating permits in tribal lands.7 Also, 

the tribal agency with an approved part 

70 program would have the option to 

implement e-notice under the same 

terms that apply to other approved part 

70 programs. 

This action addresses the public 

notice requirements for all air agencies. 

For the noticing of major source permits 

by the EPA and other air agencies that 

implement the federal permitting rules, 

e-notice would be required under this 

proposed rule. For major source permits 

issued by air agencies that implement 

their own rules approved by EPA, this 

proposed rule would allow additional 

flexibility such that these permitting 

authorities would have the option to 

provide e-notice or to continue to 

provide traditional newspaper notice, 

although they must adopt a single, 

‘‘consistent noticing method’’ to be used 

for all of their major source permits. 

Thus, where an agency opts to post 

notices of draft permits on a Web site in 

lieu of newspaper publication, it must 

post all notices to this Web site in order 

to ensure that the public has a 

consistent and reliable location to turn 

to for all permit notices. If the agency 

does not maintain a consistent noticing 

method (i.e., if the state posts some 

notices to a Web site and others in the 

newspaper), the public may not know 

where to look for information regarding 

a permit for a source of interest to them. 

We are taking comment on this 

proposed approach of requiring a 

consistent noticing method for these 

approved state programs, as well as the 

option of not requiring a consistent 

noticing method. 

In addition, to satisfy the proposed 

requirements for e-notice, except for 

programs that implement part 51 

regulations for PSD and NNSR permits 

and states that issue OCS permits, the 

air agency must maintain a mailing list 

that will notify any person on the list of 

any new public notice. This approach is 

consistent with the current noticing 

requirements in the federal rules for 

NSR and EPA-issued OCS permits, and 

for federal and state operating permits 

under parts 70 and 71 (and OCS permits 

subject to these requirements), which all 

require that a copy of the notice be 

mailed to persons who have subscribed 

to the appropriate mailing list. The EPA 

believes that continuing with this 

approach will maintain the current 

efforts to reach communities through a 

variety of methods. This proposed rule 

clarifies that distributing the public 

notice information to the persons on the 

mailing list can be by way of email or 

the more traditional mailing methods 

(e.g., postal service, courier). 

This proposed action also requires 

that, when a permitting authority adopts 

the e-notice approach, it also must 

provide e-access. For the purpose of this 

proposed rule, e-access means that the 

permitting authority must make the 

draft permit available electronically 

(i.e., on the agency’s public Web site or 

on a Web site identified by the 

permitting agency, which could be an 

online document management system) 

for the duration of the public comment 

period. It is important to note that, 

while e-access in this proposed rule 

only pertains to the availability of and 

access to the draft permit during the 

public comment period, nothing in this 

rule alters the requirement for the 

permitting authority to maintain a 

record of the permit action and to make 

it available to the public. Thus, a 

permitting authority that is satisfying 

the proposed conditions of e-access by 

posting the draft permit on a Web site 

must also provide the public with 

reasonable access to the other materials 

that support the permit decision (as it 

has always been required to do). Access 

to the other materials can be provided 

either electronically, or at a physical 

location, or a combination of both. 

In addition to the proposed approach 

described above for EPA-approved 

permitting programs, we are requesting 

comment on an alternative approach. In 

the alternative approach, permitting 

programs that implement 40 CFR part 

51 or 70 and that select e-notice as their 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 29, 2015 / Proposed Rules 81237 

8Those regulations also specify the information 

that the public notice must include, and, as noted 

above, this regulation does not change such 

information requirements. 

9See 57 FR 32250 (July 21, 1992) regarding state 

operating permit programs (40 CFR 70) and 61 FR 

34202 (July 1, 1996) regarding federal operating 

permit programs (40 CFR 71). 

10See 57 FR 40792 (September 4, 1992). 

consistent noticing method would have 

the option, but would not be required 

to, provide e-access. This approach 

could be of benefit to some agencies that 

may notice permits using an online 

permits register—which would qualify 

for e-notice under this rule proposal— 

but do not have the Web site capabilities 

to satisfy the e-access requirement of 

making the draft permit available 

electronically. 

Additionally, we are soliciting 

comment on including a provision in 

the regulations to allow air agencies to 

temporarily use an alternative noticing 

method if their Web site is unavailable 

for a period of time. This may be 

necessary during periods when a Web 

site is temporarily offline due to, for 

example, malfunctions, transitions to a 

different Web site platform, or 

emergency situations that result in 

prolonged electrical system outages. As 

with the Web site noticing method, the 

permitting agency would need to assure 

that the alternative noticing method 

provides adequate notice to the affected 

public. We specifically seek comment 

on the criteria for determining when the 

alternative method should be available, 

the length of time it could be used, and 

how the transition to the method would 

be conveyed to the public. 

Finally, we are proposing to extend 

the use of e-notice methods to three 

non-permitting actions. In each case, the 

regulatory provision currently requires 

notice of the action by way of 

newspaper publication. We briefly 

describe each provision below. 

• The ‘‘OCS Air Regulations’’ at 40 

CFR part 55 apply to more than just 

OCS permitting actions. Specifically, 

when the EPA makes a COA designation 

determination, it must do so by way of 

a process that allows for public 

comment on the draft determination. 

Through this action, we are proposing to 

require electronic notice of the COA 

designation. 

• The existing federal PSD 

regulations contain a provision for 

‘‘permit rescission’’ that only refers to 

newspaper notification. Specifically, 

paragraph 40 CFR 52.21(w)(4) requires 

that, if an agency rescinds a permit, it 

shall give ‘‘adequate notice of the 

rescission,’’ and that newspaper 

publication ‘‘shall be considered 

adequate notice.’’ We are proposing in 

this action to revise the provision to 

specifically require that the 

Administrator notify the public of a 

permit rescission by e-notice. 

• Paragraph 40 CFR 71.4(g) provides 

that, when the EPA takes action to 

administer and enforce, or to delegate, 

a federal operating permits program, it 

will publish a notice in the Federal 

Register and, ‘‘to the extent practicable, 

publish notice in a newspaper of general 

circulation within the area subject to the 

part 71 program effectiveness or 

delegation.’’ We are proposing to revise 

this provision to require the additional 

notice of the program effectiveness or 

delegation by way of posting on a public 

Web site identified by the EPA. 

• It is important to note that the EPA 

is not proposing additional public 

participation where existing rules do 

not require public participation. Thus, 

the minimum notice and access 

requirements being proposed in this 

rule would apply to the public 

participation procedures of air quality 

permits issued by EPA and other air 

agencies in cases where the current 

rules require public participation in a 

permitting decision. 

III. Background 

While the CAA requires permitting 

authorities to offer the opportunity for 

public participation in the processing of 

air permits, it does not specify the best 

or preferred method for providing notice 

to the public. See, e.g., CAA 165(a)(2). 

The EPA’s air permitting regulations 

also address the issue of public 

participation, and in those rules there is 

more specificity regarding the methods 

of meeting the public notice obligations. 

The EPA’s regulations are intended to 

ensure that the EPA and other 

permitting authorities provide adequate 

public notice of their permitting actions. 

Among the procedural requirements for 

public notice, the current regulations for 

the major NSR, title V and OCS 

programs include (or cross reference to) 

specific language that requires agencies 

to notify the public of pending 

permitting actions and the opportunity 

to comment on those permitting actions 

by advertisement in a newspaper of 

general circulation.8

When the EPA first developed public 

notice provisions for the major NSR 

program in the late 1970s and early 

1980s, newspaper advertisement was 

the most commonly accepted method 

for providing notice of permits and 

other agency actions in the community. 

The EPA, therefore, finalized rules that 

contained, among other things, 

requirements for newspaper notice of 

permitting and other actions. When the 

title V rules were first issued in 1992, 

the EPA considered the public notice 

requirements for PSD permits and 

similarly required in part that the public 

be notified of a permitting action by way 

of ‘‘a newspaper of general circulation 

in the area where the source is located 

or in a State publication designed to 

give general public notice.’’ 40 CFR 

70.7(h)(1).9 OCS regulations, also 

promulgated in 1992, included this 

same approach of requiring public 

notice via newspaper publication, by 

requiring that the applicable 

requirements for federal PSD permits in 

40 CFR part 124 also apply to the 

processing of OCS permit 

applications.10 The EPA also added 

specific language within the OCS rules 

that require COA designation 

determinations to be announced by way 

of a newspaper of general circulation. 

Consequently, in promulgating the rules 

for NSR, title V and OCS air programs, 

the EPA determined that it was most 

appropriate for permitting actions, COA 

designations, and public hearings to be 

announced to the public by a newspaper 

notice. The public notice procedures in 

the regulations for each of these 

programs have not changed with respect 

to newspaper notification since they 

were first developed and issued. 

Permitting authorities typically have 

met the required newspaper notice 

provision by publishing a single-day 

legal notice of availability of the draft 

permit action in a local newspaper. In 

some cases, depending on the location 

of the source and the demographics of 

the affected community, some 

permitting agencies may publish the 

notice in multiple newspapers to reach 

the intended audience, or may provide 

bilingual newspaper notices of their 

permitting actions. The specific 

contents of the newspaper notice are 

specified for some programs, and they 

tend to vary with different permitting 

authorities. Most notices typically 

contain basic information about the 

draft permit, such as the permit number, 

the name and physical address of the 

facility, and the name and contact 

information of a person from whom 

interested persons may obtain 

additional information on the draft 

permit. Depending on the permitting 

authority, the notice may include more 

detailed information on the draft permit, 

such as the anticipated emissions 

increase from the proposed project. The 

public notice for the permit also informs 

interested parties on how to request 

and/or attend a public hearing and how 

to access additional information 

relevant to the draft permit. This 

additional information is typically 


jstallworth on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
81238 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 29, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

11Exploring the Digital Nation: Embracing the 

Mobile Internet, U.S. Department of Commerce, 

National Telecommunications and Information 

Administration, October 2014, http://www.ntia.doc.

gov/files/ntia/publications/exploring_the_digital_

nation_embracing_the_mobile_internet_

10162014.pdf. 12See 76 FR 38748, July 1, 2011. 

housed in a designated public reading 

room near the source or in a library at 

the permitting agency with specified 

hours of operation for viewing the 

documents. In the case of title V 

permits, as well as PSD and OCS 

permits that follow 40 CFR part 124, the 

regulations also provide for mailing lists 

for permit actions and, as a result, 

notice may also occur for these draft 

permits (in addition to the mandatory 

newspaper notice) via direct mail or 

other communication to those persons 

included on a mailing list. 

Over the years, however, availability 

of and access to the basic forms of 

electronic media—namely, the Internet 

and email—have increased significantly 

across the United States. More recently, 

sophisticated mobile devices and highspeed wireless networks are 

transforming the Internet and how our 

society interacts with it.11 One effect of 

this electronic media development is 

that circulation of newspapers and other 

print media is declining, making printed 

newspaper notice less effective in 

providing widespread public notice of 

permit actions. Over the same time 

period, many permitting authorities 

developed their own Internet Web sites 

and began using email for the purpose 

of communicating with the public. In 

doing so, many of these agencies began 

to supplement the required one-time 

newspaper publication with the posting 

of electronic notices of availability of 

draft permits via their agency Web sites. 

Once the permitting agency develops its 

Web site and formats it to post 

permitting notices, the agency has an 

effective and convenient way to 

communicate permitting-related 

information to the majority of the 

public. In addition, the effort and cost 

to post a notice on an alreadyestablished Web site is generally lower 

than the expense of purchasing a 

newspaper advertisement, and it 

generally enables broader and faster 

dissemination of information to 

interested and affected parties as 

compared to newspaper noticing. 

The EPA believes that having the 

notice of availability and the draft 

permit remain electronically available 

on an agency’s Web site for an extended 

period of time, as compared to a onetime publication in an area newspaper 

that directs the public to a reading room 

at the permitting agency, or at a library 

or other location near the source, results 

in a significant increase in public 

awareness of the proposed permitting 

action and access to the draft permit. 

Even without this additional electronic 

access to the draft permit, posting the 

notice for the duration of the public 

comment period provides more 

widespread public notice than a singleday publication in a newspaper of 

general circulation. 

We note that, in some instances, 

communities that are potentially 

affected by a proposed permitting action 

may have limited access to the Internet, 

and therefore may rely more on 

newspapers for receiving their 

information. In these cases, newspaper 

publication can still provide a means to 

convey permitting information to these 

communities. However, we expect that 

in many cases these communities would 

have access to a public library with 

Internet access that would provide 

access to the online permit notices and 

draft permits. Furthermore, because 

many permitting authorities are now 

supplementing their newspaper notices 

with electronic posting of the notice on 

their agency Web site, it seems unlikely 

that the public would continue to seek 

out permitting announcements in 

newspapers in the future. As discussed 

later in this preamble, a report issued by 

the National Environmental Justice 

Advisory Council (NEJAC) found that 

publication in the legal section of a 

newspaper is antiquated and ineffective 

and is not ideal for providing notice to 

affected environmental justice (EJ) 

communities. Given this significant 

shift away from the public’s reliance on 

traditional newspapers for information, 

and the corresponding increased 

reliance on the Internet, the EPA 

recognizes that newspaper notice is no 

longer the only, or most effective, 

method of announcing permitting 

actions to reach the public. 

To this end, the EPA has identified 

the need to allow for more noticing 

options than just newspaper 

publication. In 2011, the EPA issued the 

Tribal NSR Rules that contained, among 

other things, requirements for noticing 

of permits in Indian country that 

allowed for options other than 

newspaper and print media.12 The July 

2011 rule provides options such as web 

posting and email lists among the 

methods that the permitting authority 

may use to provide adequate public 

notice in agreement with the prominent 

advertisement goal. See 76 FR 38764. 

Then, through guidance issued in 2012, 

the EPA clarified its position on what 

constitutes public notice for minor NSR 

permit programs and is adequate to 

meet the requirement of ‘‘notice by 

prominent advertisement.’’ 40 CFR 

51.161(b)(3). As noted above, the EPA’s 

2012 Memorandum explained, ‘‘. . . as 

the public continues to increase the use 

of web based sources of information and 

states experience decreases in budgets 

allocated for public noticing of permits, 

we believe that for the purposes of 

minor NSR programs and permits, the 

‘prominent advertisement’ requirement 

at 40 CFR 51.161(b)(3) is media 

neutral.’’ The guidance further explains 

that the EPA believes ‘‘it is appropriate 

to give state and local programs the 

flexibility to determine what constitutes 

prominent advertisement for purposes 

of minor NSR programs and permits, 

consistent with the overarching 

requirement that the public have routine 

and ready access to the alternative 

publishing venues.’’ 

IV. Proposed Revisions 

This action proposes to remove the 

mandatory requirement that draft 

permits for sources subject to the major 

NSR, title V or OCS programs be noticed 

in a newspaper of general circulation 

and instead allow the use of electronic 

methods to provide notice of draft 

permits. This action also proposes these 

same revisions for COA designations in 

the OCS program, permit rescissions 

under the federal PSD program, and 

noticing of federal operating permits 

programs. In the case of permits issued 

by the EPA or other agencies 

implementing 40 CFR parts 52 or 71, we 

are proposing to require that the EPA 

provide e-notice for all draft permits. 

For permits issued by other air 

agencies—specifically, agencies that 

implement 40 CFR parts 51 or 70—we 

are proposing that those permitting 

authorities would have the option to 

adopt either e-notice or traditional 

newspaper notice; however, they must 

select one of the noticing methods as 

their consistent noticing method to be 

used to notice all of their draft permits 

and their rules must reflect this 

selection. 

This proposed action also requires 

that, if the permitting authority adopts 

the e-notice approach, it would also 

provide e-access as described in this 

rule. Specifically, the agency would 

make the draft permit available 

electronically for the duration of the 

public comment period. Furthermore, 

this rule proposes specific minimum 

requirements for satisfying the meaning 

of the terms ‘‘e-notice’’ and ‘‘e-access.’’ 

While e-access in this rule pertains only 

to the availability and access to the draft 

permit, nothing in this rule nullifies the 

requirement for the permitting authority 

to maintain a record of the permit 


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13While 40 CFR 51.165 does not currently 

contain specific noticing provisions for draft major 

source permits, agencies implementing § 51.165 

rely on the provisions of § 51.161 for the noticing 

of NNSR permits. As noted in this preamble, the 

EPA’s 2012 Memorandum clarified that the terms 

used in § 51.161 allow for a media neutral approach 

to the noticing of permits, but the memorandum 

only applies to minor NSR permits. 

14The docket for this action contains a document 

that reflects how the proposed rule changes 

compare to the existing rule provisions. See EPA– 

HQ–OAR–2015–0090–0002. 

decisions and to make it available to the 

public. Hence, a permitting authority 

that is satisfying the proposed terms of 

e-access by posting the draft permit on 

its Web site must also maintain the 

other materials that support the permit 

decision and make them publicly 

available—either electronically, or at a 

physical location, or a combination of 

both. This proposed action does not 

affect any of the record retention or CBI 

policies of agencies. 

More specifically, this proposed 

action includes revisions to 40 CFR part 

51.166 (state/local PSD permits), part 

52.21 (EPA/delegated agency-issued 

PSD permits), part 70 (state/local/tribal 

operating permits), part 71 (EPA/ 

delegated agency-issued operating 

permits), part 55 (EPA-issued OCS 

permits and COA designations), and 

part 124 (EPA-issued permits applying 

generally to a number of media 

programs, including EPA-issued PSD 

and OCS permits). In addition, this 

action proposes to add specific public 

notice provisions in 40 CFR 51.165 (for 

state/local major NNSR permits), which 

currently does not contain sectionspecific public notification 

requirements (except for PAL 

permits).13 However, since the PSD 

program rules under 40 CFR 51.166 

contain specific newspaper public 

notice provisions at § 51.166(q)(2)(iii), 

for clarity and consistency purposes we 

are proposing to add parallel noticing 

provisions to § 51.165 to avoid any 

possible confusion as to the methods for 

providing notice under approved state 

and local NNSR programs. 

It is important to note that some of the 

rule sections that we are proposing to 

amend have existing noticing and access 

requirements that are specific to the 

section and may not appear in other 

sections. We are not proposing to alter 

these specific rule provisions in this 

action. For example, the notice 

requirements in § 51.166(q) relate to the 

‘‘degree of increment consumption’’ that 

is expected from the source or 

modification, but these requirements are 

not in other sections. Similarly, parts 70 

and 71 have differing requirements for 

what information the notice should 

identify. In the federal PSD and the OCS 

permitting sections, there are currently 

no specific provisions for permit 

noticing—nor are we proposing specific 

requirements through this action—but 

these sections cross reference the 

procedural requirements in part 124 for 

which amendments are being proposed 

in this action. Consequently, the 

proposed rule revisions that would 

allow for e-notice and e-access appear 

differently in each rule section, but the 

basic effect of the changes is the same 

across all of the sections being revised.14

In specifying that an agency 

electronically post the notice and draft 

permit ‘‘for the duration of the public 

comment period,’’ we note that there 

may be instances during the comment 

period when the Web site is 

unavailable. This may occur due to, 

among other things, Web site failures or 

power outages. While we expect that 

these situations would be infrequent 

and short in duration, they would 

nonetheless temporarily interrupt the 

noticing of the draft permit and the 

electronic posting would be less than 

‘‘the duration of the comment period.’’ 

We do not interpret ‘‘the duration of the 

comment period’’ to be a requirement 

for uninterrupted web access, but rather 

to mean that, to the extent that 

interruptions to the accessibility of the 

posted notice and draft permit occur, 

they would be short and infrequent. 

Further, we expect that the permitting 

authority or webmaster would be in a 

good position to make a reasonable 

assessment, based on experience, 

regarding unusual interruptions that 

would significantly affect the noticing of 

the permit. In general, we do not expect 

that short interruptions would 

significantly affect the noticing of the 

permit, and we do not expect these 

situations to result in a need for the 

comment period to be extended to 

account for the time during which the 

Web site is unavailable. On the other 

hand, for an agency that is providing 

only electronic access to the permit 

record (i.e., no physical access options), 

Web site interruptions could present 

larger problems for anyone who is 

attempting to understand the draft 

permit and provide timely comments. In 

such cases, the air agency should 

evaluate the degree of limitation that the 

interruption has on the public’s access 

to the permit record. For any 

interruption that impacts public access 

for an extended period, we recommend 

that the agency provide hard copies of 

the permit record at appropriate 

locations. In addition to taking comment 

on this proposed approach for the 

phrase ‘‘for the duration of the public 

comment period,’’ we are soliciting 

comment on whether we should include 

a provision in the regulations that 

allows a permitting authority to use an 

alternative noticing (and/or access) 

method to reach the affected public 

while the Web site is unavailable. 

In addition to the proposed rule 

approach, we are taking comment on an 

alternative approach for air agencies 

that implement 40 CFR parts 51 and 70 

that would not require these agencies to 

couple e-notice with e-access. In other 

words, if an agency adopts e-notice as 

its consistent noticing method, it would 

not be required to provide e-access 

(although the agency could provide eaccess at its discretion—e.g., to 

supplement its physical access of the 

draft permit). This alternative approach 

may be of benefit to some agencies that 

notice permits using an online permits 

register—which would qualify for enotice—but do not have the technical 

capabilities to satisfy the e-access 

requirement of making the draft permit 

electronically available. 

These proposed rules provide 

flexibility to air agencies with EPAapproved programs, such that they are 

no longer required to use newspaper 

noticing, although they can continue to 

use the newspaper method for noticing 

if they choose. In the case of EPA and 

other air agencies that implement the 

federal permitting rules, we are 

proposing that these programs are 

required to use e-notice and e-access, 

but these terms are limited in scope to 

require only minimal electronic noticing 

and access and to allow the agency the 

flexibility to use either its own Web site 

or another publicly available Web site 

that it identifies. We believe the 

proposed rule revisions, once final, will 

lead to more effective noticing of air 

permitting actions and will likely 

promote additional public participation 

in the permitting process, while also 

avoiding the higher costs of newspaper 

advertisement. 

A. What are the e-notice requirements? 

For the purpose of this proposed rule, 

the term ‘‘e-notice’’ means the notice of 

availability of the draft permitting 

action is provided on the permitting 

agency’s Web site or another public Web 

site identified by the permitting agency 

for the purpose of noticing permits. The 

Web site should be easily accessible by 

the public, and the noticing section of 

the Web site should be ‘‘user 

friendly’’—i.e., organized in such a way 

that it directs the public to the entire 

notice in a clear and straightforward 

manner. In some cases, the Web site 

may be characterized as a ‘‘portal’’ or it 

can be some other publicly accessible 


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81240 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 29, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

Web site that is identified by the 

permitting authority and allows for the 

noticing of draft permits (e.g., a state 

permits register). 

In some of the rule sections proposed 

for revision, the permitting authority 

must maintain a mailing list that will be 

used to notify persons on the list of any 

new public notice of a draft permit. This 

requirement exists in part 124 for EPAissued PSD and OCS permits and in 

parts 70 and 71 for title V permits. We 

are proposing that the mailing list 

requirement would continue to apply 

for the noticing of these permits, and we 

are proposing that the mailing list 

requirement would not apply to 

programs that currently do not have a 

mailing list requirement—namely, 

agencies that follow part 51 regulations 

for PSD and NNSR permits and for stateissued OCS permits. Although the 

mailing list provisions were originally 

created with the idea that authorities 

would use the postal service to 

physically convey the notice to the 

recipients on the list, it has evolved over 

time such that many agencies that 

maintain a mailing list use electronic 

notification rather than mailing the 

notice through the postal service. In 

general, email notification has become a 

common practice among air agencies 

that currently provide supplemental 

notice via their agency Web site. 

Furthermore, many of these agencies’ 

Web sites are equipped with a hyperlink 

or a radio button that facilitates 

convenient and easy sign up for 

interested persons to subscribe to the 

mailing list. Thus, we are not changing 

the current rule sections that require 

mailing lists, but we are updating the 

provisions to also allow agencies to use 

electronic methods to administer the 

activities of the mailing list, to include 

subscribing to the list, maintaining the 

list, and distributing the required 

information to the parties on the list. We 

expect that some agencies may use both 

electronic methods and more traditional 

methods (e.g., a mailing list sign-up 

sheet posted at a public hearing) to 

administer their permits mailing lists. 

Part 71.11(d)(3) currently requires the 

EPA and delegated agencies to 

affirmatively solicit for their mailing 

lists. As part of this proposed 

rulemaking, we are proposing revised 

language for part 71 to explain that the 

permitting authority will notify the 

public via Web site of the opportunity 

to be included or removed from its 

mailing list. We expect that many 

agencies will add a generally accepted 

method (e.g., hyperlink sign up 

function, radio button) to their Web 

sites that will facilitate easy and 

convenient sign-up for their mailing list, 

as well as methods for unsubscribing. 

As noted above, many air agencies 

maintain a Web site that currently 

supplements the newspaper noticing of 

their permits with online noticing of 

their permits. Furthermore, some of 

these agencies rely on a variety of 

methods, beyond mailing lists, to alert 

the affected community that their Web 

site has been updated with a new draft 

permit or new information about a 

permit. Though not required under this 

proposed rule, we encourage air 

agencies to continue the practice of 

providing appropriate additional 

outreach to the general public for 

permits of interest. These outreach 

efforts may consist of opportunities 

presented by social media services (e.g., 

RSS feed, Twitter, Facebook) where 

appropriate, or more traditional 

techniques such as online community 

bulletin boards or community 

newspapers. We are proposing that use 

of these additional outreach methods is 

not required, but is discretionary for the 

permitting authority. 

Also, it is important to reiterate that 

we are not proposing to alter any 

existing requirements regarding the 

content of the public notice. We are, 

however, expressly requiring that the 

notice direct interested parties to 

information on how to request and/or 

attend a public hearing and how to 

access additional information relevant 

to the draft permit. Requirements 

regarding additional information in the 

notice vary across the different sections 

of the permitting rules, and may further 

vary among different individual 

permitting authorities. Most notices of 

availability will contain, at a minimum, 

the permit number, name and physical 

address of the facility, and the name and 

contact information of a person from 

whom interested persons may obtain 

additional information on the draft 

permit. 

We request comment on this approach 

to defining e-notice as it applies to this 

proposed rule. In particular, we request 

comment on whether this approach and 

the corresponding rule text preclude 

some forms of electronic noticing that 

are currently being used or under 

development. 

To clarify what this action is 

proposing for e-notice, in the following 

section we provide a summary of the 

proposed rule requirements. In addition, 

we are providing recommended ‘‘best 

practices’’ for electronic notice. These 

best practices recommendations are 

intended to foster improved 

communication and outreach of permit 

notices beyond the minimum 

requirements being proposed in this 

action. 

1. Proposed Regulatory Requirements 

for E-Notice 

In order to satisfy the requirement for 

e-notice of a permit, the permitting 

authority shall electronically post, for 

the duration of the public comment 

period, the following information on a 

public Web site identified by the 

permitting authority: 

(1) notice of availability of the draft 

permit for public comment; 

(2) information on how to access the 

permit record (either electronically and/ 

or physically); 

(3) information on how to request 

and/or attend a public hearing on the 

draft permit; and 

(4) all other information currently 

required to be included in the public 

notice under the existing regulations. 

In addition, where already required 

by the current rules, the permitting 

authority shall maintain a mailing list of 

persons who request to be notified of 

permitting activity and shall distribute 

(e.g., by email) the above information to 

these persons. 

2. Recommended Best Practices for ENotice 

While not proposed as a requirement 

of this rule, the EPA is recommending 

best practices that can be used to 

augment the above requirements for 

electronic notice. These best practice 

methods are not required to satisfy the 

e-notice requirements for this proposed 

rule, but may be helpful in the course 

of providing the fullest communication 

to the public on permitting actions. The 

recommended best practices of e-notice 

include: 

• Providing notice of the final permit 

issuance on the Web site. 

• Soliciting actively for the mailing 

list on the Web site (e.g., Web site 

equipped with radio button, hyperlink, 

or ‘‘click here’’ function to subscribe). 

• Providing options for email 

notification that enable subscribers to 

tailor the types of notifications they 

receive (e.g., a person can request 

notification of only draft permit notices 

for major source actions, rather than 

receiving notice of all permitting 

activity by the agency). 

B. What are the e-access requirements? 

For the purpose of this proposed rule, 

the term ‘‘e-access’’ means the 

permitting authority shall post on its 

Web site (or a Web site identified by the 

permitting authority) the draft permit 

for the duration of the public comment 

period. As with e-notice, the posting of 

the draft permit should be in a 

prominent location on the Web site, and 

the Web site should allow user-friendly 


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15While the EPA believes it is a best practice to 

electronically post as many of the key permit 

decision documents and information as possible, 

we recognize that air quality modeling runs and 

other permit data files may not be compatible with 

e-access. These documents typically cannot be 

uploaded to an electronic format due to the size and 

storage requirements in the electronic posting. In 

some cases, permitting authorities may choose to 

upload a description of these documents with 

directions on how to access the files or how to 

request access to them. 

16OCS permits issued by delegated agencies 

should use the approved public notice requirements 

of the delegated agency. 40 CFR 55.11. 

access to the draft permit. Access to all 

other relevant materials that represent 

the record for the permit shall also be 

available to the public during the public 

comment period, but these other 

materials can be accessible either 

electronically or at a physical location, 

or in both locations. In this action, we 

are proposing that if the permitting 

authority provides e-notice, then it must 

also provide e-access. 

In defining the requirements for eaccess and authorizing the use of eaccess for major source permits that are 

undergoing public notice, we are 

proposing to add new paragraphs to 

certain program rules and specifically 

revise other program rules that have 

draft permit access requirements 

containing language that could be read 

to suggest that access requirements 

could not be met through electronic 

availability of the permit materials. See, 

e.g., 40 CFR 51.166(q)(2)(ii), 55.5(f)(1)(i). 

These revised rule paragraphs would 

expressly allow for electronic 

availability of permit documents. 

As noted above, nothing in this 

proposed rule affects the requirement 

for an agency to maintain a record to 

support the decisions of the permitting 

actions and to make it available to the 

public. Furthermore, nothing in this 

proposed rule affects the record 

retention policies and requirements of 

governmental agencies that provide 

schedules for retention and disposal of 

paper and electronic records. Finally, 

the electronic posting of draft and final 

permits, including information 

supporting the permit decisions (e.g., 

permit applications), would be subject 

to the applicable CBI policies and 

requirements of the air agency and, 

consequently, some permit-related 

documents may be redacted or 

otherwise withheld from viewing on a 

Web site or public reading room if it is 

determined that the document contains 

CBI. 

We request comment on this approach 

to defining e-access as it applies to this 

proposed rule. In particular, we request 

comment on whether this approach and 

the corresponding regulatory text 

preclude some forms of electronic 

access that are currently being used or 

under development. Also, as noted 

above, we are requesting comment on an 

alternative proposal that does not 

require air agencies with EPA-approved 

programs to electronically post the draft 

permit (i.e., e-access) if they choose enotice as their consistent noticing 

method. 

To clarify what this action is 

proposing for e-access, in the following 

section we provide a summary of the 

proposed rule requirements. As we 

provided in the preceding section on enotice, we are also sharing what we 

consider to be recommended best 

practices for electronic access. 

1. Proposed Regulatory Requirements 

for E-Access 

In order to satisfy the requirement for 

electronic access, the permitting 

authority shall electronically post, for 

the duration of the public comment 

period, the draft permit on a public Web 

site identified by the permitting 

authority, which may include the 

permitting authority’s public Web site, 

an online state permits register, or a 

publicly-available electronic document 

management Web site that allows for 

downloading documents. The draft 

permit file should be in a format that 

can be opened and viewed by the public 

using commonly accepted computer 

software (e.g., portable document format 

that can be opened with Adobe Acrobat 

Reader). We request comment on 

whether our rules should require that 

the electronic format of the draft permit 

be viewable by software that is ‘‘free’’ 

(i.e., available without charge) to the 

user. 

The Federal Docket Management 

System (FDMS) at http:// 

www.regulations.gov is a web-based 

docket system used for, among other 

things, federal permitting actions that 

require public notice and comment. 

This searchable docket system allows 

for public access and downloading of 

the draft permit and permit related 

documents. The http:// 

www.regulations.gov Web site also 

allows the public to register to receive 

email alerts to track activity on selected 

dockets. Similar online data 

management systems exist in a number 

of states and allow agencies to provide 

digital access to permits and other 

records. 

2. Recommended Best Practices for EAccess 

While not proposed as a requirement 

of this rule, the EPA is recommending 

best practices that can be used to 

augment the above requirement for 

electronic access. These best practice 

methods are not required to satisfy the 

e-access provision for this proposed 

rule, but may be helpful in the course 

of providing the fullest communication 

to the public on permitting actions. The 

recommended best practices of e-access 

include: 

• Continued posting of the draft 

permit on the Web site past the public 

comment period (e.g., until issuance of 

the final permit or until the permit 

application has been denied or 

withdrawn). 

• Posting the final permit on the Web 

site for a specified period of time after 

issuance of the permit (e.g., through the 

permit appeal period or petition period). 

• Posting (or hyperlinking to) other 

key permit support documents on the 

agency Web site or on a publiclyavailable online document management 

site (e.g., FDMS), such as the permit 

application, Statement of Basis, fact 

sheet, preliminary determination, final 

determination, and response to 

comments.15

C. Requirements for Agencies 

Implementing the Federal Permit 

Program Rules 

For programs in which the permits are 

issued by the EPA or by an air agency 

that implements the EPA’s federal 

permitting rules (i.e., 40 CFR parts 52, 

55, 71 or 124), the EPA is proposing 

specific changes to the public notice 

and permit access methods. We are 

proposing to remove the mandatory 

newspaper notice requirement and 

mandatory access to the permit 

information at a physical address, and 

to replace these requirements with 

mandatory e-notice and mandatory eaccess, as those terms are outlined in 

this rule, as the consistent noticing 

method for major source permits issued 

under the federal rules for NSR and title 

V, and for all EPA-issued OCS 

permits.16 While each of these programs 

currently has specific rule provisions for 

noticing that may be worded differently 

depending on the program, we are 

proposing to replace the existing rule 

provisions with consistently worded 

provisions that describe the 

requirements for mandatory e-notice 

and e-access. 

As noted in the above sections of this 

preamble, if an agency is satisfying the 

requirements of e-notice and e-access, 

the permitting authority would retain 

the discretion to supplement the enotice with any other noticing method 

(e.g., newspaper publication, 

announcement through social media) 

depending on the specific 

circumstances of the permit application, 

such as the location of the proposed 

project and the accessibility of 


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17For example, an agency may determine that a 

permitting action may potentially impact a 

community that has a large population with limited 

English proficiency and could decide that it is 

prudent to provide multilingual notices of the draft 

permit to reach the affected community. See http:// 

www.epa.gov/ocr/limited-english-proficiency and 

http://www.lep.gov/. 

18 In 2006, a task force assembled by the EPA 

finalized a document titled, ‘‘Final Report to the 

Clean Air Act Advisory Committee: Title V 

Implementation Experience.’’ This document was 

the result of the task force’s efforts to report on the 

implementation performance of the operating 

permit program under title V of the 1990 Clean Air 

Act Amendments, based on the first 10 years of 

experience. The final report to the CAAAC, dated 

April 2006, can be found at http://www3.epa.gov/ 

airquality/permits/taskforcedocs/ 

200604_report.pdf. 

information sources by the affected 

community and other stakeholders. 

Moreover, the EPA recommends that 

agencies supplement their Web site 

postings with notices in newspapers 

and other forms of print media when 

noticing draft permits for facilities that 

are in areas where the agency believes 

such print media may enhance noticing 

efforts for certain audiences among the 

interested public. The EPA specifically 

encourages agency practices that 

consider the input and special needs 

(such as social, economic and 

geographic factors at the location) of the 

particular communities that may be 

affected by a permit action in order to 

provide public notice by methods that 

would better reach particular 

communities.17 Thus, we are not 

proposing to require that the permitting 

agency provide additional noticing 

methods beyond e-notice. At the same 

time, nothing in the proposed rule 

revisions prevents the permitting agency 

from also providing additional notice by 

a method other than e-notice. 

With respect to title V in particular, 

the rule revisions include additional 

changes in order to support the 

movement to e-notice. Currently, the 

title V regulations in part 71 include the 

use of a mailing list for public notice 

purposes. This proposal includes 

regulatory revisions to amend the EPA’s 

solicitation obligations associated with 

the mailing list, but it otherwise keeps 

the mailing list in place. The EPA 

interprets its rules, and understands that 

many air agencies do as well, to allow 

for the mailing list to be maintained in 

an electronic format. Further, the EPA 

recognizes that many air agencies also 

maintain their part 70 mailing lists in an 

electronic format and that such a format 

is generally supported by stakeholders 

as well. See, e.g., Clean Air Act 

Advisory Committee (CAAAC) Task 

Force Report at 202, 206–207.18 With 

respect to the EPA’s mailing list 

obligations for the federal program, we 

are proposing to remove the specific 

language within 40 CFR 71.11(d)(3)(E) 

and 71.27(d)(3)(E) that requires the EPA 

to solicit mailing list membership 

through ‘‘area lists’’ and ‘‘periodic 

publication in the public press.’’ 

Similar changes are proposed for 40 

CFR part 124, which are ‘‘general 

program requirements’’ that apply to 

federally-issued PSD and OCS permits, 

as well as permits issued for other 

media programs. 40 CFR 52.21(q), 40 

CFR 55.6(a)(3). Due to the existing 

language in part 124 covering a number 

of permit programs other than air 

permitting, the EPA is proposing minor 

revisions to part 124 in order to 

maintain the current provisions for the 

other permit programs and to 

specifically clarify public notice 

requirements associated with EPAissued PSD permits (and PSD permits 

issued by any program that implements 

40 CFR 52.21). In this action, we are 

proposing to establish a new paragraph 

within paragraph 124.10(c)(2) that 

applies exclusively to PSD permits (and 

OCS permits, which use the PSD 

provisions) with clearly identified 

public notice requirements that will 

require e-notice rather than newspaper 

notice. The part 124 provisions would 

continue to require the agency to solicit 

the public to be added to a mailing list 

and to provide specific notifications 

(e.g., state, local governments, resource 

agencies). However, the proposed new 

provision would allow that in lieu of the 

existing requirement in part 124 

regarding soliciting persons for ‘‘area 

lists’’ and notifying the public of the 

opportunity to be on a mailing list, the 

agency may use generally accepted 

methods (e.g., hyperlink sign up 

function or radio button on agency Web 

site, sign-up sheet at public hearing) 

that enable interested parties to 

subscribe to the mailing list. 

The OCS regulations specify that EPA 

will use the applicable administrative 

and procedural requirements in 40 CFR 

part 124 and the federal title V rules 

(part 71 is incorporated by reference), 

and that the Administrator will follow 

the procedures used to issue PSD 

permits when using 40 CFR part 124. 40 

CFR 55.6(a)(3), 40 CFR 55.13(f), 40 CFR 

55.14(c)(5). Hence, as e-notice flexibility 

is added to parts 71 and 124, it will be 

incorporated by reference into the OCS 

regulations for EPA-issued OCS permits. 

In addition, specific language 

referencing the administrative 

procedures of 40 CFR 71 is proposed to 

be added to the Administrative 

Procedures and Public Participation 

requirements provisions of the OCS 

regulations to clarify that EPA may use 

either the applicable administrative 

procedures of 40 CFR 71 or 40 CFR 124 

when issuing OCS permits. 

We note that some air programs with 

EPA-approved plans for implementing 

the PSD program incorporate by 

reference the federal rule provisions— 

e.g., 40 CFR part 52.21. Furthermore, 

some of these program rules 

automatically update whenever the EPA 

revises its rules and the revisions 

become effective. These agencies would 

not have the option to continue with 

newspaper notice as their noticing 

method (unless they revise their rules 

and undertake a SIP revision to remove 

the referencing of the federal rules). 

These agencies would be required to 

provide e-notice and e-access according 

to this rule. This same scenario would 

apply to programs that are delegated by 

the EPA to implement 40 CFR 52.21 and 

issue PSD permits on behalf of the EPA. 

We specifically solicit comment on 

whether any air program that 

incorporates by reference the federal 

permitting rules would have difficulty 

meeting the e-notice and e-access 

requirements of this proposed rule if the 

revisions become effective immediately 

upon finalizing the rule. We also solicit 

suggestions for addressing such 

difficulties. 

In addition, we are proposing to 

delete a superfluous provision from 40 

CFR 52.21(q) ‘‘Public participation.’’ 

The second sentence reads ‘‘[t]he 

Administrator shall follow the 

procedures at 40 CFR 52.21(r) as in 

effect on June 19, 1979, to the extent 

that the procedures of 40 CFR part 124 

do not apply.’’ The preamble to the 1980 

NSR rules explained the transition from 

the previous regulations to the 

consolidated permitting regulations at 

part 124: ‘‘. . . the procedures of the 

1978 Part 52 regulations continue to 

apply to the extent that the new 

procedures have not yet displaced them. 

In time, the new procedures will 

displace the old ones entirely.’’ See 45 

FR 52686, August 7, 1980. Since the 

procedures of 40 CFR 124 have 

displaced the old procedures, this 

sentence is no longer necessary. 

We solicit comment on this 

‘‘mandatory e-notice and e-access’’ 

approach for permit programs 

implemented by the EPA and by other 

agencies implementing the federal air 

permitting rules. 

D. Requirements for Agencies 

Implementing Approved Programs 

Pursuant to the EPA’s Permitting Rules 

for States 

For the noticing of major source 

permits issued pursuant to EPAapproved air agency programs under 40 

CFR part 51 or 70, we are proposing to 


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remove the mandatory newspaper 

notice requirement and provide these 

agencies with the option to select either 

e-notice or newspaper notice. A 

required element of these programs is to 

provide adequate notice and informed 

public participation, and this program 

element is not changing. However, a key 

aspect of this proposed approach is that 

the agency would be required to adopt 

one noticing method—known as the 

‘‘consistent noticing method’’—to be 

used for all of its notices. Thus, if an 

agency selects e-notice, it must provide 

e-notice for all of its draft permit 

notices. If a consistent noticing 

approach is not adhered to (i.e., if the 

agency posted some notices to its Web 

site and others in the newspaper), it 

could lead to confusion for the public, 

who may not know where to look for 

permitting information regarding a 

source proposing to locate in the 

community. Accordingly, if the agency 

elects e-notice as its consistent noticing 

method (and e-notice is not available in 

its approved SIP), it must implement its 

choice of noticing method through a 

change in its program rules. As 

discussed later in this preamble, we are 

requesting comment on whether there 

are air agencies that believe they can 

implement e-notice and e-access in lieu 

of newspaper notice without 

contravening their state rules. 

As with the proposed mandatory 

requirements for e-notice for the federal 

programs, if the e-notice option is 

chosen as the consistent noticing 

method for a particular state program, 

the state must use e-notice to provide 

the information required under existing 

public notification regulations and must 

provide e-access to the draft permit. All 

other permit documents required under 

existing regulations can be accessible 

either electronically or physically (i.e., 

in a designated reading room). However, 

if the agency chooses newspaper notice 

as the consistent noticing method, then 

the agency can either provide electronic 

access or physical access (or both) to the 

additional materials that existing 

regulations require be made publicly 

available. 

We are aware that many states already 

have Web sites that are actively used for 

permitting purposes—e.g., permit 

application instructions, form 

downloads, online permit applications. 

Consequently, we anticipate that most 

of these state agencies will opt for the 

e-notice approach, since it may mirror 

what they are already doing to 

supplement their newspaper notice. For 

these agencies, we believe this change 

would be minimally burdensome and 

would relieve them of the additional 

burden of providing newspaper notice. 

At the same time, we recognize that 

some air agencies do not have an 

established Web site, or they may have 

a Web site but they would need to 

invest in significant infrastructure to 

increase their Web site capability in 

order to accommodate the posting of 

permit information that existing 

regulations require be included in a 

newspaper notice. These agencies may 

opt to continue with the newspaper 

notice as their consistent noticing 

method. 

With regard to part 70, the proposed 

revisions would affect only the 

mandatory newspaper language, and 

would not change any other obligations 

such as the requirement to have or 

maintain a mailing list. The EPA 

interprets the existing mailing list 

obligations to include either electronic 

or hardcopy mailing list, or both, at the 

reasonable discretion of the air agency. 

Furthermore, nothing in these 

proposed revisions to parts 51 and 70 

prevents the air agency from also 

providing public notice through other 

methods including, but not limited to, a 

newspaper notice. As with our proposal 

for noticing of permitting actions under 

the federal rules, under this proposed 

option, agencies would have the 

discretion to provide public notice 

through other methods—in addition to 

their consistent noticing method—if a 

particular permit action warrants it and 

ensure that the notice of the draft permit 

reaches the affected community and 

stakeholders. We encourage all air 

agencies to consider facility- and 

permit-specific facts in determining the 

appropriate methods of public notice, 

such as expected public interest, 

location and type of source being 

permitted, environmental justice 

considerations, including the language 

that will be understood by the affected 

community. 

To summarize, we propose that for air 

agencies that implement 40 CFR part 51 

or 70, for the noticing of their major 

source draft permits, they either 

provide: (1) Mandatory e-notice and eaccess, as these terms are used in the 

context of this proposed rule, or (2) 

newspaper notice with either electronic 

access (e.g., Web site) and/or physical 

access (e.g., reading room) to the draft 

permit. In choosing (1) or (2), they must 

use a consistent method of noticing. 

These air agencies can continue to 

supplement the consistent noticing 

method with other noticing methods at 

their discretion or as currently required 

under part 70. We specifically request 

comment on this approach for EPAapproved NSR and title V permit 

programs to establish either ‘‘e-notice’’ 

or newspaper notice as the single, 

consistent noticing method. 

As noted above, since many air 

agencies with EPA approved programs 

currently have a Web site and notice 

draft permits and provide permit 

documents on their Web sites, we do 

not believe that the e-notice requirement 

would impose any additional burden on 

most agencies. We are specifically 

seeking comment on whether (and how 

significantly) this rule imposes 

additional burden on air agencies that 

already provide postings of permits on 

their Web sites and those air agencies 

that do not already use a Web site for 

permit postings. 

Finally, the EPA is requesting 

comment on two alternative approaches 

to the ones being proposed in this rule 

and described above, one for providing 

notice and the other for providing 

access. In the first alternative approach, 

an agency implementing rules pursuant 

to either part 51 or 70 would not be 

required to choose a consistent noticing 

method. Thus, the agency could 

potentially provide one noticing method 

for some permits (or some types of 

permits) and another noticing method 

for other permits. This approach is 

analogous to the ‘‘media neutral’’ 

approach that is available under 

§ 51.161 for the noticing of minor NSR 

permits, as well as the approach 

adopted in the Tribal NSR Rule. See 40 

CFR 49.157(b)(1). Neither of these other 

program rules requires a consistent 

noticing method. Thus, under such an 

approach for this rule, we would amend 

the part 51 and 70 rules that currently 

require ‘‘newspaper’’ notice to require 

use of Web site or newspaper notice, but 

without specifying a consistent noticing 

method. Alternatively, to provide 

additional flexibility to the agency, we 

could simply require that they provide 

notice via ‘‘a method reasonably likely 

to provide routine and ready access to 

the public’’ without imposing any more 

specific requirements. The EPA requests 

comment on whether to allow such an 

approach, how likely it is that this 

approach could lead to confusion (e.g., 

if the permitting agency regularly or 

frequently changed its noticing method 

from one permitting action to another), 

and whether EPA should require the 

permitting agency to specify the 

circumstances under which it will use 

a particular method or articulate criteria 

for doing so. The EPA also requests 

comment on whether it is reasonable to 

assume that permitting authorities 

would try to avoid such problems 

because each agency is ultimately 

responsible to ensure that it provides 

adequate notice on each of its permits 

and access to the permit information. In 


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other words, does the suggested 

requirement for the agency to notice via 

‘‘a method reasonably likely to provide 

routine and ready access to the public,’’ 

in and of itself ensure that some level 

of noticing consistency is achieved? 

The EPA also requests comments on 

a second alternative approach to 

providing access, under which e-notice 

would not need to be coupled with eaccess for state agency programs 

implementing approved rules pursuant 

to parts 51 and 70. This may help some 

states that notice permits using an 

online permits register (which would 

qualify for e-notice), but where the state 

may not have its own Web site to satisfy 

the ‘‘e-access’’ requirement of making 

the draft permit available electronically. 

As noted elsewhere in this preamble, 

the state would still be required to 

provide access to the draft permit, as 

well as any other documents that are 

part of the permit record. 

E. Soliciting Comment on Allowing 

Temporary Use of Alternative Noticing 

Methods 

We are requesting comments on 

adding a provision to each of the 

program rules that would allow an 

agency that is relying on e-notice (and/ 

or e-access) to temporarily use another 

noticing medium for a reasonable period 

of time during which its Web site is 

unavailable. This may be necessary 

during planned Web site outages (e.g., a 

transition to a different Web site 

platform) or unforeseen circumstances, 

such as Web site malfunctions or 

emergency situations (e.g., hurricanes) 

that result in prolonged electrical 

system outages. We do not believe this 

same problem existed under the current 

regulations that require newspaper 

notice. This is based on the assumption 

that, in the event that a problem occurs 

with a newspaper that the agency plans 

to use, the agency can notice the permit 

in another newspaper in the area that it 

determines would provide adequate 

notice. 

If an alternative noticing method is 

used, it would need to be publicly 

announced in some way before they 

occur, so that the public has reasonable 

notice of where to look for permit 

notices during such outages. It would 

also need to assure adequate notice to 

the affected public. Noticing either in 

the newspaper or State Register could be 

an agency’s alternative noticing method, 

since each method is generally 

presumed to provide adequate notice to 

the public. 

Given the broad range of situations 

that could lead to problems with a Web 

site, it may be difficult to specify the 

limits of the duration of the 

‘‘temporary’’ period. We expect that 

most agencies would generally have an 

incentive to restore operations to their 

Web site as soon as possible for cost 

purposes and to ensure that they 

continue to provide the most effective 

notice of their permitting actions. We 

request comment as to whether 

providing specific boundaries around 

the use of the alternative noticing 

method should be required, and how 

those boundaries should be established 

and what criteria should be used to 

judge their adequacy. We specifically 

seek comment on the appropriate 

criteria for invoking the alternative 

noticing method, the length of time it 

could be used, and how the transition 

to the alternative method would be 

conveyed to the public. 

F. Clarifying E-Notice and E-Access 

Applicability for Minor NSR Permits 

As noted earlier in this preamble, this 

rule proposal is not revising any 

regulatory requirements for minor NSR 

permits. Notably, this rule proposal is 

not revising the requirement for ‘‘notice 

by prominent advertisement’’ in 40 CFR 

51.161(b)(3), because the prominent 

advertisement term, as discussed in the 

EPA’s 2012 Memorandum, is 

sufficiently broad to allow for e-notice. 

However, while we are reaffirming the 

guidance provided in the EPA’s 2012 

Memorandum, we are proposing to 

amplify its policy guidance in two 

respects. 

This rule is proposing to clarify that 

the EPA’s 2012 Memorandum’s 

interpretation of ‘‘prominent 

advertisement’’ in paragraph 

51.161(b)(3) as ‘‘media neutral’’ also 

applies to paragraph 51.161(b)(1). The 

provision currently reads: ‘‘[a]vailability 

for public inspection in at least one 

location in the area affected of the 

information submitted by the owner or 

operator and of the State or local 

agency’s analysis of the effect on air 

quality.’’ Thus, paragraph 51.161(b)(1) 

does not expressly require that 

permitting information be made 

available in the form of paper records, 

and we are proposing to clarify that it 

allow for electronic access to the 

permitting information. More 

specifically, we are proposing that 

allowing electronic access to the 

information submitted by the owner or 

operator and to the agency’s analysis of 

the effect on air quality by way of a Web 

site identified by the permitting 

authority would satisfy the requirement 

of ‘‘availability for public inspection in 

at least one location in the area affected 

. . .’’ We believe this approach is 

consistent with the memorandum with 

respect to allowing use of electronic and 

other methods to provide notice of 

minor NSR actions, and it is reasonable 

for the same reasons discussed in this 

preamble for allowing electronic access 

to permit documents for major source 

permits. We specifically request 

comment on this clarification for the 

minor NSR program rules. 

In addition, in issuing the EPA’s 2012 

Memorandum, the EPA indicated that 

our guidance on the meaning of the term 

‘‘prominent advertisement’’ in 40 CFR 

part 51.161(b)(3) applies only to minor 

sources and not to synthetic minor 

sources. See Footnote 1. Given the 

statement in the memorandum, which 

raises uncertainty about the flexibility to 

use media neutral methods for synthetic 

minor programs, the EPA has now 

determined that it is not appropriate to 

exclude synthetic minor permits in this 

regard, and that this action should 

propose to clarify that the limitation 

established in the footnote is no longer 

appropriate. In this action, we are 

proposing to treat minor and synthetic 

minor sources identically in this regard 

by extending the EPA’s media neutrality 

policy to synthetic minor sources. In 

addition, we propose to extend this 

policy to any permit action that relies 

on the public notice requirements of 

§ 51.161. 

We seek comment on these two 

proposed revisions to the policy 

guidance provided by the EPA’s 2012 

Memorandum. Through the preamble to 

the final rule for this action, we intend 

to provide amplifying guidance with 

regard to the EPA’s noticing policies for 

permits subject to 40 CFR 51.161. 

G. Notice Requirements for PSD Permit 

Rescissions 

In addition to the existing mandatory 

newspaper notice required for draft 

permits, part 71 permits programs and 

COA designations, the permitting 

program rules contain another 

regulatory provision that provides for 

newspaper notification. In the federal 

PSD regulations, a provision titled 

‘‘permit rescission’’ requires that ‘‘[i]f 

the Administrator rescinds a permit 

under this paragraph, the public shall be 

given adequate notice of the rescission’’ 

and that notice ‘‘in a newspaper of 

general circulation in the affected region 

. . .’’ is considered adequate. 40 CFR 

52.21(w)(4). While this language does 

not foreclose the notion that another 

type of noticing method could also be 

‘‘adequate,’’ we are proposing to revise 

the rule provision to specifically require 

that the permitting authority notify the 

public of a permit rescission 

electronically—i.e., on a Web site 

identified by the permitting authority. 

This ‘‘mandatory e-notice’’ approach for 


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permit rescissions under 40 CFR 

52.21(w) is consistent with our 

approach for the noticing of other 

actions that implement the federal 

program rules. We specifically request 

comment on whether this is an 

appropriate approach for the noticing of 

a permit rescission. 

V. Policy Rationale and Legal Basis 

This proposal to revise these CFRs to 

allow permitting authorities to provide 

public notice of permits and other 

actions on a publicly available Web site 

in lieu of the newspaper publication 

requirement, when final and effective, 

would reduce burden to all air agencies. 

In addition, the proposed requirements 

are consistent with practices some 

permitting agencies currently follow to 

supplement existing requirements for 

noticing permits, and they would 

provide flexibility for agencies to use 

the noticing methods that they 

determine are appropriate, reasonable 

and effective without the need for 

newspaper notice. These proposed 

changes are consistent with the 

approaches taken in EPA’s permitting 

rule for Indian country and in EPA’s 

minor NSR regulations, and with broad 

stakeholder input regarding more 

effective advertisement of permitting 

actions. 

As noted earlier in this preamble, 

Internet Web sites have become an 

increasingly effective and widely 

employed avenue for broadly 

disseminating information to the public 

and many agencies currently 

supplement the required newspaper 

publication by posting draft and final 

permits on their agency Web sites. Since 

the Internet is generally available at all 

times, it allows for the noticing of a 

permit, and for the information that 

supports the permit, to be available and 

accessible over a longer period of time, 

rather than a one-day newspaper 

publication of the notice. As noted 

above, most states are already using the 

Internet (to varying degrees) for noticing 

permitting actions, so we do not 

anticipate many agencies having to 

spend a lot of time or funding on 

upgrading their existing Web sites to 

meet the proposed requirements. For 

agencies currently without a Web site 

for noticing permits and hearings, the 

use of e-notice and other applicable 

alternatives may allow the permitting 

authority to redirect funds that were 

being used for newspaper publication in 

order to establish and maintain a Web 

site where permit information could be 

posted. Thus, the EPA anticipates these 

proposed rule revisions, when finalized, 

would result in more effective 

dissemination of permitting and hearing 

information to the surrounding 

communities (including the 

underserved and environmental justice 

(EJ) communities) and possibly 

substantial cost savings for both the EPA 

and for state and local program 

permitting authorities. 

We believe these proposed 

requirements are consistent with CAA 

goals of providing public notice and 

promoting access to information in 

permitting, and they would enhance the 

permitting process. With respect to 

preconstruction permit actions, CAA 

§ 160(1) establishes a statutory policy of 

providing for informed public 

participation in the permitting process, 

and CAA § 165(a)(2) precludes issuing a 

PSD permit without an opportunity for 

the public to review the decision and 

submit comments. These proposed 

revisions enable the use of e-notice and 

e-access for both EPA-issued and other 

agency-issued permits and further the 

statutory policies these provisions 

establish. With respect to operating 

permits, the 1990 CAA Amendments 

require that the EPA rules for permitting 

programs provide ‘‘adequate, 

streamlined and reasonable procedures’’ 

including an opportunity for the general 

public to have informed participation in 

the air permitting process in the areas 

affected by a proposed permit. CAA 

§ 502(b)(6). Also, § 502(b)(8) provides 

that procedures to make information 

available should be consistent with the 

need for expeditious action on permit 

applications or related matters. The 

proposed revisions, which enable the 

use of e-notice for both EPA-issued and 

other agency-issued permits, would 

improve implementation of the statutory 

policy of ensuring public notice of title 

V permits by providing more effective 

noticing procedures in affected areas 

across the country. 

Another basis for, and benefit from, 

the proposed action would come from 

the cost savings associated with the 

move to electronic notification instead 

of legal notice advertisements in 

newspapers. The EPA’s annual costs for 

publishing notices in newspapers is a 

significant annual expenditure, and it is 

the EPA’s understanding that the 

newspaper publication for noticing 

permits has become costly for states as 

well. The EPA’s proposal intends to 

reduce those costs by allowing the 

permitting authority to notice draft 

permits using a publicly available Web 

site in lieu of newspaper publication. 

While e-notice may pose a burden for 

certain states that do not already have 

a permitting Web site, the EPA is not 

mandating that permitting authorities 

that implement 40 CFR part 51 or 70 

adopt the e-notice and e-access 

approaches, so these agencies can 

continue with the current program of 

newspaper publication if they prefer. In 

addition, permitting authorities that 

incorporate by reference the federal PSD 

rules at 40 CFR 52.21 that wish to 

continue to use newspaper notice as 

their primary method of notice can 

undertake a SIP revision to remove the 

reference to the federal provisions and 

adopt their own noticing rules that 

conform to § 51.166. 

As an example of the approximate 

costs for publishing permit and hearing 

notices in the newspaper, in Fiscal Year 

2013, the EPA Regions incurred a cost 

of over $40,000 to publish newspaper 

notices for NSR, title V and OCS 

permits. In Fiscal Year 2014, newspaper 

notice for the EPA regional permits 

exceeded $35,000. Newspaper 

publication costs vary widely 

depending on a number of factors, but 

for most permits the cost to notice 

averages between $600 and $1,000 per 

notice. While these costs vary on a 

yearly basis in each EPA Region, the 

overall annual costs are significant for 

the EPA. Moreover, given that state and 

local air agencies generally process 

more air permits than the EPA, it is 

reasonable to expect that the annual 

costs incurred for newspaper 

publication by state and local permitting 

agencies exceed the annual costs 

incurred by the EPA. (We note, 

however, that some air agencies require 

that the applicant bear the cost of 

newspaper publication.) 

While we recognize that there is a cost 

associated with developing and 

maintaining an agency Web site for the 

purpose of noticing permits, the 

incremental cost to upload permit 

notices is expected to be very low, and 

we expect the overall burden would be 

less than that of the existing rules that 

mandate newspaper publication. This is 

because most agencies already have 

their own Web sites (or some other 

means to electronically notice draft 

permits and hearings) and they will 

continue to have their Web sites 

regardless of the requirements that are 

being proposed by this action. Thus, 

even though the costs of creating, 

upgrading and maintaining a Web site 

and providing web security may very 

well be many times higher than the cost 

of an agency’s annual newspaper notice, 

states are choosing to continue to have 

a Web site due to the convenience of 

noticing and the ability to level out the 

overall costs of the Web site across all 

of the program areas of the agency. 

Furthermore, for agencies that already 

do web postings and posting of the draft 

permit, the newspaper requirement is 

duplicative and consequently the 


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81246 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 29, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

removal of the requirement would result 

in savings. The EPA specifically seeks 

comments on the potential cost savings, 

and the possibility of increased burden, 

from the specific noticing requirements 

in this rule proposal. 

A broad range of stakeholders has 

identified e-notice as a more efficient, 

more prominent, less costly and more 

cost-effective, and more reasonable 

approach to public notice of permitting 

actions, as compared to newspaper 

notice. For example, e-notice is 

responsive to recommendations from 

the CAAAC’s Title V Task Force Report, 

which includes a number of 

recommendations for implementation 

improvements, such as public notice. 

Importantly, task force members agreed 

unanimously on two recommendations 

related to the means of providing public 

notice. First, task force members 

recommended that state program rules 

should be allowed to include 

alternatives to newspaper notification, 

provided the alternative is more 

effective in informing a cross section of 

the affected public. (A remaining 

concern mentioned was that members of 

the public may lack routine access to 

the Internet.) See Recommendation #1 at 

210. Second, task force members agreed 

that states should improve their title V 

Web sites to provide better notice and 

access to relevant documents in a 

permit proceeding. Accordingly, the 

Final Report recommended that the EPA 

should encourage permitting authorities 

to provide the option to receive 

notification by email instead of 

traditional mail, and to maintain their 

Web sites with information, documents, 

and dates helpful for public 

participation, including how to sign up 

to be included on a mailing list. See 

Recommendation #3 at 210. While these 

recommendations were focused on 

permitting under title V, the EPA 

believes that the same concepts and 

concerns would also apply to NSR and 

OCS permits. 

As noted in the previous sections, 

providing e-notice is consistent with 

noticing requirements of the EPA’s 

Tribal NSR Rule issued in 2011 and 

with the EPA’s 2012 Memorandum that 

clarified the term ‘‘prominent 

advertisement’’ is media neutral for the 

minor NSR program. This action also 

supports Executive Orders 13563 and 

13610 (issued in 2011 and 2012, 

respectively), which direct the Agency 

to modernize its rules periodically in 

order to achieve regulatory objectives 

more effectively, considering the agency 

resources and priorities. 

VI. Implementation 

A. Agencies Implementing Federal 

Preconstruction Permit Program Rules 

Once this rule becomes final, it will 

become effective within 30 days for air 

permitting programs that implement the 

federal program rules at 40 CFR parts 

52, 55 and 124. This includes EPA 

Regions, air agencies that are delegated 

authority by the EPA to issue permits on 

behalf of the EPA (via a delegation 

agreement), and air agencies that have 

their own rules approved by EPA in a 

SIP and the SIP incorporates by 

reference the federal program rules and 

automatically updates when EPA’s rules 

are amended. Under this rule proposal, 

these programs would be required to 

implement e-notice and e-access, with 

the exception of states that are delegated 

authority to issue permits under part 55 

(as described earlier in this preamble). 

While we expect that most programs 

that implement the federal permitting 

rules are in a position to comply with 

the proposed requirements for e-notice 

and e-access once this rule is finalized, 

some programs may need more time. 

More time may be necessary if, for 

example, a delegated air program needs 

to upgrade or improve its Web site to 

allow for e-notice and/or e-access. We 

request comment on whether any air 

programs that would be required to 

immediately implement 40 CFR 52.21 

would need a ‘‘phase in’’ period, 

beyond the 30 days, in order to 

implement e-notice and e-access. 

B. Agencies Implementing State 

Preconstruction Permit Program Rules 

For an air agency with an approved 

SIP that implements 40 CFR part 51 and 

that chooses e-notice and e-access as its 

consistent noticing method, it may need 

to revise its applicable program rules 

and seek the EPA’s approval of a SIP 

revision in order to begin to implement 

e-notice in lieu of newspaper notice. 

(However, NNSR programs under 

§ 51.165 are subject to the public 

participation requirements at § 51.161 

and may be able to interpret their state 

rules and SIP to currently allow for 

implementing e-notice in lieu of 

newspaper notice.) Similarly, for an 

agency that implements rules that 

incorporate by reference our federal 

program regulations (40 CFR 52), and if 

its rules do not automatically update 

upon the EPA amending its federal 

rules, it may need to amend its 

regulations and seek the EPA’s approval 

of a SIP revision in order to implement 

e-notice and e-access in lieu of 

newspaper notice. 

Under this proposed rule it is 

voluntary for these programs to move to 

e-notice and e-access, and we are not 

proposing to impose a deadline for 

submission of SIP revisions for those 

programs that are choosing to adopt enotice and e-access instead of 

newspaper notice. Furthermore, nothing 

in the current or proposed 40 CFR part 

51 rules prevents an agency from 

beginning to implement e-notice and eaccess methods once the agency is 

ready, but depending on the air agency’s 

rules there may be ongoing obligations 

to continue with newspaper notices 

until the agency revises its rules. We 

request comment on whether agencies 

believe they have the ability to 

implement e-notice and e-access in lieu 

of newspaper notice without amending 

their state rules. 

C. Agencies Implementing Approved 

Operating Permit Programs 

Consistent with title V and the part 70 

regulations for initial program 

submittals, approved part 70 programs 

must provide for implementation of 40 

CFR 70.7, including subsection ‘‘h’’ 

which sets forth the public participation 

obligations including ‘‘adequate 

procedures for public notice.’’ See, e.g., 

40 CFR 70.4(b)(16). A program revision 

may be necessary when the relevant 

federal regulations are modified or 

supplemented. 40 CFR 70.4(i). When 

part 70 is revised after the air agency 

program is approved, the EPA 

determines the need for conforming 

revisions, but the approved program 

may initiate a program revision on its 

own initiative. See, e.g., 40 CFR 70.4(a) 

and (i). Under the proposed rulemaking, 

air agencies implementing part 70 have 

a choice as to whether or not to adopt 

e-notice as their consistent method of 

public notice of air permits. If an air 

agency chooses that approach and a 

program revision is necessary (e.g., 

additional authority is needed), then the 

agency should initiate a program 

revision by undergoing a rule change 

and submitting a program revision 

package to the EPA for review and 

approval consistent with § 70.4(i)(2). 

As previously noted in this preamble, 

this proposal would not change the 

requirement to provide ‘‘adequate 

procedures for public notice.’’ 

Consequently, we believe that a program 

revision will not necessarily be required 

for all approved programs and that 

certain agency programs could 

implement e-notice and e-access upon 

approval of the rules at the state level. 

We propose that, for an agency that 

needs only to revise the agency program 

rules to clarify its implementation of enotice and e-access but does not 

otherwise require a program change 

because the current program practice 


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19 ‘‘Enhancing Environmental Justice in EPA 

Permitting Programs.’’ National Environmental 

Justice Advisory Council. April, 2011, pp. 20–21, 

http://www3.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/

resources/publications/nejac/ej-in-permittingreport-2011.pdf. 

includes electronic posting of public 

notices and the draft permit and has 

adequate authority and resources for 

maintaining the practice, that such 

agency does not need a program 

revision for implementing the revised 

part 70 notice requirements. We request 

comment on our proposed 

determination that certain approved 

programs will not need a program 

revision for implementing e-notice. 

Alternatively, the EPA proposes that 

these program revisions are nonsubstantial. Accordingly, the EPA 

Regional offices would issue direct 

approvals of these program revisions 

concurrent with their notice of proposed 

approval. We request comment on our 

interpretation that the program revisions 

are non-substantial. 

D. Agencies Delegated To Implement 

the Federal Operating Permit Program 

With regard to the proposed part 71 

program revisions, once the rules are 

finalized, an air agency that is delegated 

the part 71 program would likely need 

to update its delegation agreement to 

update its notice procedures consistent 

with the e-notice requirement in the 

federal rules. 

VII. Environmental Justice 

Considerations 

The 1990 CAA Amendments 

generally require that the EPA or the 

permitting authority provide for 

adequate procedural opportunity for the 

general public to have informed 

participation in the air permitting 

process in the areas affected by a 

proposed permit. These areas include EJ 

communities. 

The effectiveness of noticing methods 

for reaching underserved and EJ 

communities is a substantial concern to 

the EPA. A 2011 report issued by NEJAC 

found that publication in the legal 

section of a regional newspaper is 

antiquated and ineffective, and is not 

ideal for providing notice to affected EJ 

communities.19 Regarding public 

participation, the report recommends to 

the EPA: ‘‘To ensure meaningful public 

participation, the public notice and 

outreach process must include direct 

communication in appropriate 

languages through telephone calls and 

mailings to EJ and tribal communities, 

press releases, radio announcements, 

electronic and regular mail, Web site 

postings and the posting of signs.’’ 

Thus, the NEJAC specifically listed Web 

site postings as a method to ensure 

meaningful public participation. The 

EPA concludes that notice via the 

Internet would be a viable and effective 

means of making information widely 

available to the public. We encourage 

permitting authorities to provide 

additional notice where they determine 

that a specific jurisdiction or population 

would be better served with notice by 

traditional newspaper or another 

noticing method. 

VIII. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 13563: Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review 

This action is not a significant 

regulatory action and was therefore not 

submitted to the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) for review. 

B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 

This action does not impose any new 

information collection burden under the 

PRA. OMB has previously approved the 

information collection activities 

contained in the existing regulations 

and has assigned OMB control numbers 

2060–0003 (for PSD and NNSR permit 

programs) and 2060–0243 and 2060– 

0336 (for operating permit programs). 

In this action, the EPA is proposing to 

revise regulations to address public 

noticing method requirements for 

permits for major sources of air 

pollution. It is important to note that the 

proposed rule revisions would not 

require air agencies that implement the 

permitting program through an EPAapproved title V program or SIP to use 

e-notice. These agencies may continue 

to provide notice by newspaper 

publication or they can adopt e-notice 

as their consistent noticing method. 

Only in the latter case would an agency 

be required to revise the title V program 

rules or undertake a SIP revision. For 

EPA-delegated agencies, and for 

agencies that incorporate by reference 

the federal rules and their rules 

automatically update when the EPA 

revises its rules, no rulemaking action 

would be required by the agency to 

adopt the e-notice requirements. In 

addition, an agency delegated a part 71 

program may need to update its 

delegation agreement. However, if any 

of these agencies desire to continue to 

provide notice by way of newspaper 

publication, they could request removal 

of delegation, revise their program rules 

consistent with the rules for state 

programs (e.g., 40 CFR 51.166), and 

undertake a SIP revision. An agency 

delegated the part 71 program may have 

to choose between implementing enotice, obtaining approval for 

implementing a part 70 program, or 

relinquishing their title V program. 

Given that many air agencies already are 

providing various forms of electronic 

notice as a supplement to their 

newspaper notices, we anticipate that 

many agencies will cease to notice 

permits by way of newspaper. However, 

to the extent that a SIP revision or a title 

V program revision is necessary to effect 

the changes being proposed, we believe 

that the burden is already accounted for 

under the approved information 

collection requests noted above. 

In addition, the proposed rule would 

not create any new requirements for 

regulated entities, since air agencies are 

responsible for the noticing of permits. 

Some industry sources could experience 

a reduction in costs for permitting in 

cases where the permitting agency 

requires that the cost of the newspaper 

public notice be incurred by the permit 

applicant. 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

I certify that this action will not have 

a significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities 

under the RFA. This action will not 

impose any requirements on small 

entities. Entities potentially affected 

directly by this proposal include state, 

local and tribal governments, and none 

of these governments would qualify as 

a small entity. Other types of small 

entities are not directly subject to the 

requirements of this action. 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(URMA) 

This action does not contain any 

unfunded federal mandate as described 

in UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 1531–1538, and does 

not significantly or uniquely affect small 

governments. The action imposes no 

enforceable duty on any state, local or 

tribal governments or the private sector. 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

This action does not have federalism 

implications. It will not have substantial 

direct effects on the states, on the 

relationship between the national 

government and the states, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. 

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

This action does not have tribal 

implications as specified in Executive 

Order 13175. Specifically, these 

proposed public notice revisions do not 

affect the relationship or distribution of 


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81248 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 29, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

power and responsibilities between the 

federal government and Indian tribes. 

Elsewhere in this preamble we 

specifically describe the interaction of 

this proposed rule with tribal air 

agencies. Thus, Executive Order 13175 

does not apply to this action. 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

and Safety Risks 

The EPA interprets Executive Order 

13045 as applying only to those 

regulatory actions that concern 

environmental health or safety risks that 

the EPA has reason to believe may 

disproportionately affect children, per 

the definition of ‘‘covered regulatory 

action’’ in section 2–202 of the 

Executive Order. This action is not 

subject to Executive Order 13045 

because it does not concern an 

environmental health risk or safety risk. 

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions 

Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

This action is not subject to Executive 

Order 13211 because it is not a 

significant regulatory action under 

Executive Order 12866. 

I. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act 

This rulemaking does not involve 

technical standards. 

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal 

Actions To Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations 

The EPA believes the human health or 

environmental risk addressed by this 

action will not have potential 

disproportionately high and adverse 

human health or environmental effects 

on minority, low-income or indigenous 

populations because it does not affect 

the level of protection provided to 

human health or the environment. The 

results of this evaluation are contained 

in Section VII of this preamble titled, 

‘‘Environmental Justice 

Considerations.’’ 

IX. Statutory Authority 

The statutory authority for this action 

is provided by 23 U.S.C. 101; 42 U.S.C. 

6901, et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 300f, et seq. 33 

U.S.C. 1251, et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 7401, et 

seq. 

List of Subjects 

40 CFR Part 51 

Environmental protection, 

Administrative practice and procedure, 

Air pollution control. 

40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Incorporation by 

reference. 

40 CFR Part 55 

Environmental protection, 

Administrative practice and procedure, 

Air pollution control. 

40 CFR Part 70 

Environmental protection, 

Administrative practice and procedure, 

Air pollution control. 

40 CFR Part 71 

Environmental protection, 

Administrative practice and procedure, 

Air pollution control. 

40 CFR Part 124 

Environmental protection, 

Administrative practice and procedure, 

Air pollution control. 

Dated: December 21, 2015. 

Gina McCarthy, 

Administrator. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, title 40, chapter I of the Code 

of Federal Regulations is proposed to be 

amended as follows: 

PART 51—REQUIREMENTS FOR 

PREPARATION, ADOPTION, AND 

SUBMITTAL OF IMPLEMENTATION 

PLANS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 51 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 23 U.S.C. 101; 42 U.S.C. 7401— 

7671q. 

Subpart I—Review of New Sources and 

Modifications 

■ 2. Section 51.165 is amended by 

adding paragraph (i) to read as follows: 

§ 51.165 Permit requirements. 

* * * * * 

(i) Public participation requirements. 

The reviewing authority shall notify the 

public of a draft permit by a method 

described in either paragraph (i)(1) or 

(2) of this section. The selected method, 

known as the ‘‘consistent noticing 

method,’’ shall comply with the public 

participation procedural requirements 

of § 51.161 of this chapter and be used 

for all permits issued under this section 

and can be supplemented by other 

methods on individual permits at the 

discretion of the reviewing authority. 

(1) Post the information in paragraphs 

(i)(1)(i) through (iv) of this section, for 

the duration of the public comment 

period, on a public Web site(s) 

identified by the reviewing authority. 

(i) A notice of availability of the draft 

permit for public comment; 

(ii) The draft permit; 

(iii) Information on how to access the 

record for the permit; and 

(iv) Information on how to request 

and/or attend a public hearing on the 

permit. 

(2) Publish a notice of availability of 

the draft permit for public comment in 

a newspaper of general circulation in 

the area where the source is located. 

The notice shall include information on 

how to access the draft permit and the 

record for the permit and how to request 

and/or attend a public hearing on the 

draft permit. 

■ 3. Section 51.166 is amended by 

revising paragraphs (q)(2)(ii), (iii), (iv), 

(vi), and (viii) to read as follows: 

§ 51.166 Prevention of significant 

deterioration of air quality. 

* * * * * 

(q) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(ii) Make available in at least one 

location in each region in which the 

proposed source would be constructed a 

copy of all materials the applicant 

submitted, a copy of the preliminary 

determination, and a copy or summary 

of other materials, if any, considered in 

making the preliminary determination. 

This requirement can be met by making 

these materials available at a physical 

location or on a public Web site 

identified by the reviewing authority. 

(iii) Notify the public, by 

advertisement in a newspaper of general 

circulation in each region in which the 

proposed source would be constructed, 

of the application, the preliminary 

determination, the degree of increment 

consumption that is expected from the 

source or modification, and of the 

opportunity for comment through a 

public hearing and through written 

public comment. Alternatively, these 

notifications can be made on a public 

Web site identified by the reviewing 

authority; however, the reviewing 

authority’s selected notification method 

(i.e., either newspaper or Web site), 

known as the ‘‘consistent noticing 

method,’’ shall be used for all permits 

subject to notice under this section and 

can be supplemented by other methods 

on individual permits at the discretion 

of the reviewing authority. If the 

reviewing authority selects Web site 

notice as its consistent noticing method, 

the notice shall be available for the 

duration of the comment period and 

shall include the notice of public 

comment, the draft permit, and 

information on how to access the record 

for the permit and how to request and/ 

or attend a public hearing on the permit. 


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(iv) Distribute (e.g., via email, courier 

mail, postal service) a copy of the notice 

of public comment to the applicant, the 

Administrator and to officials and 

agencies having cognizance over the 

location where the proposed 

construction would occur as follows: 

Any other State or local air pollution 

control agencies, the chief executives of 

the city and county where the source 

would be located; any comprehensive 

regional land use planning agency, and 

any State, Federal Land Manager, or 

Indian Governing body whose lands 

may be affected by emissions from the 

source or modification. 

* * * * * 

(vi) Consider all written comments 

submitted within a time specified in the 

notice of public comment and all 

comments received at any public 

hearing(s) in making a final decision on 

the approvability of the application. The 

reviewing authority shall make all 

comments available for public 

inspection in the same physical 

location(s), or the same Web site(s), 

where the reviewing authority made 

available preconstruction information 

relating to the proposed source or 

modification. 

* * * * * 

(viii) Notify the applicant in writing 

of the final determination and make 

such notification available for public 

inspection at the same location(s) or 

Web site(s) where the reviewing 

authority made available 

preconstruction information and public 

comments relating to the proposed 

source or major modification. 

* * * * * 

PART 52—APPROVAL AND 

PROMULGATION OF 

IMPLEMENTATION PLANS 

■ 4. The authority citation for part 52 

continues to read as follows: 

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

Subpart A—General Provisions 

■ 5. Section 52.21 is amended by 

revising paragraphs (q) and (w)(4) to 

read as follows: 

§ 52.21 Prevention of significant 

deterioration of air quality. 

* * * * * 

(q) Public participation. The 

administrator shall follow the 

applicable procedures of 40 CFR part 

124 in processing applications under 

this section. 

* * * * * 

(w) * * * 

(4) If the Administrator rescinds a 

permit under this paragraph, the 

Administrator shall post a notice of the 

rescission determination on a public 

Web site identified by the Administrator 

within 60 days of the rescission. 

* * * * * 

PART 55—OUTER CONTINENTAL 

SHELF AIR REGULATIONS 

■ 6. The authority citation for the part 

55 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Section 328 of the Clean Air Act 

(42 U.S.C. 7401, et seq.) as amended by 

Public Law 101–549. 

■ 7. Section 55.5 is amended by revising 

paragraphs (f)(1)(i) and (ii) and (f)(2) and 

(4) to read as follows: 

§ 55.5 Corresponding onshore area 

designation. 

* * * * * 

(f) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(i) Make available, in at least one 

location in the NOA and in the area 

requesting COA designation, which can 

be a public Web site identified by the 

EPA, a copy of all materials submitted 

by the requester, a copy of the 

Administrator’s preliminary 

determination, and a copy or summary 

of other materials, if any, considered by 

the Administrator in making the 

preliminary determination; and 

(ii) Notify the public, by prominent 

advertisement in a newspaper of general 

circulation in the NOA and the area 

requesting COA designation or on a 

public Web site identified by the EPA, 

of a 30-day opportunity for written 

public comment on the available 

information and the Administrator’s 

preliminary COA designation. 

(2) A copy of the notice required 

pursuant to paragraph (f)(1)(ii) of this 

section shall be sent (or emailed) to the 

requester, the affected source, each 

person from whom a written request of 

such notice has been received, and the 

following officials and agencies having 

jurisdiction over the COA and NOA: 

State and local air pollution control 

agencies, the chief executive of the city 

and county, the Federal Land Manager 

of potentially affected Class I areas, and 

any Indian governing body whose lands 

may be affected by emissions from the 

OCS source. 

* * * * * 

(4) The Administrator will make a 

final COA designation within 60 days 

after the close of the public comment 

period. The Administrator will notify, 

in writing (which includes email), the 

requester and each person who has 

requested notice of the final action and 

will set forth the reasons for the 

determination. Such notification will be 

made available for public inspection. 

■ 8. Section 55.6 is amended by revising 

paragraph (a)(3) to read as follows: 

§ 55.6 Permit requirements. 

(a) * * * 

(3) Administrative procedures and 

public participation. The Administrator 

will follow the applicable procedures of 

40 CFR part 71 or 40 CFR part 124 in 

processing applications under this part. 

When using 40 CFR part 124, the 

Administrator will follow the 

procedures used to issue Prevention of 

Significant Deterioration (‘‘PSD’’) 

permits. 

* * * * * 

■ 9. Section 55.7 is amended by revising 

paragraphs (f)(4)(ii) and (iii) to read as 

follows: 

§ 55.7 Exemptions. 

* * * * * 

(f) * * * 

(4) * * * 

(ii) Make available, in at least one 

location in the COA and NOA, which 

can be a public Web site identified by 

the permitting authority, a copy of all 

materials submitted by the requester, a 

copy of the preliminary determination, 

and a copy or summary of other 

materials, if any, considered in making 

the preliminary determination. 

(iii) Notify the public, by prominent 

advertisement in a newspaper of general 

circulation in the COA and NOA or on 

a public Web site identified by the 

permitting authority, of a 30-day 

opportunity for written public comment 

on the information submitted by the 

owner or operator and on the 

preliminary determination. 

* * * * * 

PART 70—STATE OPERATING PERMIT 

PROGRAMS 

■ 10. The authority citation for the part 

70 continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 11. Section 70.7 is amended by 

revising paragraphs (h)(1) and (2) to 

read as follows: 

§ 70.7 Permit issuance, renewal, 

reopenings, and revisions. 

* * * * * 

(h) * * * 

(1) Notice shall be given by one of the 

following methods that is selected by 

the permitting authority as its 

‘‘consistent noticing method’’: by 

publishing the notice in a newspaper of 

general circulation in the area where the 

source is located (or in a State 

publication designed to give general 

public notice) or by posting the notice, 

for the duration of the public comment 

period, on a public Web site identified 


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by the permitting authority. The 

consistent noticing method shall be 

used for all permits subject to notice 

under this paragraph. If Web site 

noticing is selected as the consistent 

noticing method, the draft permit shall 

also be posted, for the duration of the 

public comment period, on a public 

Web site identified by the permitting 

authority. In addition, notice shall be 

given to persons on a mailing list 

developed by the permitting authority, 

including those who request in writing 

(via email, Web sign up, or other 

method) to be on the list. The permitting 

authority shall use other means if 

necessary to assure adequate notice to 

the affected public. 

(2) The notice shall identify the 

affected facility; the name and address 

of the permittee; the name and address 

of the permitting authority processing 

the permit; the activity or activities 

involved in the permit action; the 

emissions change involved in any 

permit modification; the name, address, 

and telephone number of a person (or an 

email or Web site address) from whom 

interested persons may obtain 

additional information, including copies 

of the permit draft, the application, all 

relevant supporting materials, including 

those set forth in § 70.4(b)(3)(viii) of this 

part, and all other materials available to 

the permitting authority (except for 

otherwise publically available materials 

and publications) that are relevant to the 

permit decision; a brief description of 

the comment procedures required by 

this part; and the time and place of any 

hearing that may be held, including a 

statement of procedures to request a 

hearing (unless a hearing has already 

been scheduled). 

* * * * * 

PART 71—FEDERAL OPERATING 

PERMIT PROGRAMS 

■ 12. The authority citation for part 71 

continues to read as follows: 

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

Subpart A—Operating Permits 

■ 13. Section 71.4 is amended by 

revising paragraph (g) to read as follows: 

§ 71.4 Program implementation. 

* * * * * 

(g) Public notice of part 71 programs. 

In taking action to administer and 

enforce an operating permits program 

under this part, the Administrator will 

publish a notice in the Federal Register 

informing the public of such action and 

the effective date of any part 71 program 

as set forth in § 71.4(a) through (c) or 

(d)(1)(ii). The publication of this part in 

the Federal Register on July 1, 1996 

serves as the notice for the part 71 

permit programs described in 

§ 71.4(d)(1)(i) and (e). The EPA will also 

publish a notice in the Federal Register 

of any delegation of a portion of the part 

71 program to a State, eligible Tribe, or 

local agency pursuant to the provisions 

of § 71.10. In addition to notices 

published in the Federal Register under 

this paragraph (g), the Administrator 

will, to the extent practicable, post a 

notice on a public Web site identified by 

the Administrator of the part 71 

program effectiveness or delegation, and 

will send a letter to the Tribal governing 

body for an Indian Tribe or the 

Governor (or his or her designee) of the 

affected area to provide notice of such 

effectiveness or delegation. 

* * * * * 

■ 14. Section 71.11 is amended by 

revising paragraphs (d)(3)(i) 

introductory text, (d)(3)(ii), and 

(d)(4)(i)(G) to read as follows: 

§ 71.11 Administrative record, public 

participation, and administrative review. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(3) * * * 

(i) By mailing (or emailing) a copy of 

a notice to the following persons (any 

person otherwise entitled to receive 

notice under paragraph (d) of this 

section may waive his or her rights to 

receive notice for any permit): 

* * * * * 

(ii) By posting a notice on a public 

Web site identified by the permitting 

authority for the duration of the public 

comment period. The notice shall be 

consistent with paragraph (d)(4)(i) of 

this section and be accompanied by a 

copy of the draft permit. 

* * * * * 

(4) * * * 

(i) * * * 

(G) The physical location and/or Web 

site address of the administrative 

record, the times at which the record 

will be open for public inspection, and 

a statement that all data submitted by 

the applicant are available as part of the 

administrative record; and 

* * * * * 

Subpart B—Permits for Early 

Reductions Sources 

■ 15. Section 71.27 is amended by 

revising paragraphs (d)(3)(i) 

introductory text, (d)(3)(ii), and 

(d)(4)(i)(E) to read as follows: 

§ 71.27 Public participation and appeal. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(3) * * * 

(i) By mailing (or emailing) a copy of 

a notice to the following persons (any 

person otherwise entitled to receive 

notice under this paragraph (d) may 

waive his or her rights to receive notice 

for any permit): 

* * * * * 

(ii) By posting a notice of availability 

and a copy of the draft permit on a 

public Web site identified by the 

permitting authority for the duration of 

the public comment period. 

* * * * * 

(4) * * * 

(i) * * * 

(E) The physical location and/or Web 

site address of the administrative 

record, the times at which the record 

will be open for public inspection, a 

statement that all data submitted by the 

applicant are available as part of the 

administrative record, and the name, 

address, and telephone number of a 

person (or an email or Web site address) 

from whom interested persons may 

obtain additional information, including 

copies of the draft permit, the 

application, all relevant supporting 

materials, and all other materials 

available to the Administrator that are 

relevant to the permit decision; 

* * * * * 

PART 124—PROCEDURES FOR 

DECISIONMAKING 

■ 16. The authority citation for part 124 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Resource Conservation and 

Recovery Act, 42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.; Safe 

Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.; 

Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.; 

Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq. 

Subpart A—General Program 

Requirements 

■ 17. Section 124.10 is amended by 

adding paragraph (c)(2)(iii) to read as 

follows: 

§ 124.10 Public notice of permit actions 

and public comment period. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(iii) For PSD permits: 

(A) In lieu of the requirement in 

paragraphs (c)(1)(ix)(B) and (C) of this 

section regarding soliciting persons for 

‘‘area lists’’ and notifying the public of 

the opportunity to be on a mailing list, 

the Director may use generally accepted 

methods (e.g., hyperlink sign up 

function or radio button on agency Web 

site, sign-up sheet at public hearing, 

etc.) that enable interested parties to 

subscribe to a mailing list. The Director 

may update the mailing list from time 

to time by requesting written indication 

of continued interest from those listed. 

The Director may delete from the list the 


jstallworth on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 29, 2015 / Proposed Rules 81251 

name of any person who fails to respond 

to such a request within a reasonable 

timeframe. 

(B) In lieu of the requirement in 

paragraph (c)(2)(i) of this section to 

publish a notice in a daily or weekly 

newspaper, the Director shall notify the 

public by posting the following 

information, for the duration of the 

public comment period, on a public 

Web site identified by the Director: a 

notice of availability of the draft permit 

for public comment (or the denial of the 

permit application), the draft permit, 

information on how to access the 

administrative record, and information 

on how to request and/or attend a 

public hearing on the permit. 

(C) In lieu of the requirement in 

paragraph (d)(1)(vi) of this section to 

specify a location of the administrative 

record, the Director may post the 

administrative record on a public Web 

site identified by the Director. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2015–32639 Filed 12–28–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Parts 52, 78, and 97 

[EPA–HQ–OAR–2015–0500; FRL–9940–57– 

OAR] 

RIN 2060–AS05 

Cross-State Air Pollution Rule Update 

for the 2008 Ozone NAAQS 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of 

comment period. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is extending the comment 

period for the proposed rule titled 

‘‘Cross-State Air Pollution Rule Update 

for the 2008 Ozone NAAQS’’ that was 

published in the Federal Register on 

December 3, 2015. The proposal 

provided for a public comment period 

ending January 19, 2016. The EPA 

received several requests from the 

public to extend this comment period. 

The EPA is extending the comment 

period to a 60-day public comment 

period ending February 1, 2016. 

DATES: The comment period for the 

proposed rule published December 3, 

2015, at 80 FR 75706, is extended. 

Comments, identified by docket 

identification (ID) number EPA–HQ– 

OAR–2015–0500, must be received on 

or before February 1, 2016. 

ADDRESSES: Follow the detailed 

instructions as provided under 

ADDRESSES in the December 3, 2015 

proposal. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

David Risley, Clean Air Markets 

Division, Office of Atmospheric 

Programs (Mail Code 6204M), 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 

Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, 

DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 

343–9177; email address: Risley.David@

epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

document extends the public comment 

period for the proposed Cross-State Air 

Pollution Rule Update for the 2008 

Ozone NAAQS (80 FR 75706, December 

3, 2015) in order to ensure that the 

public has sufficient time to review and 

comment on the proposal. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Parts 52, 78, 

and 97 

Environmental protection, 

Administrative practice and procedure, 

Air pollution control, Electric power 

plants, Incorporation by reference, 

Nitrogen oxides, Reporting and record 

keeping requirements. 

Dated: December 18, 2015. 

Sarah Dunham, 

Director, Office of Atmospheric Programs. 

[FR Doc. 2015–32507 Filed 12–28–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Parts 216 and 300 

[Docket No. 090223227–5999–02] 

RIN 0648–AX63 

Trade Monitoring Procedures for 

Fishery Products; International Trade 

in Seafood; Permit Requirements for 

Importers and Exporters 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations to 

revise procedures and requirements for 

filing import, export, and re-export 

documentation for certain fishery 

products to meet requirements for the 

SAFE Port Act of 2006, the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act (MSA), other 

applicable statutes, and obligations that 

arise from U.S. participation in regional 

fishery management organizations 

(RFMOs) and other arrangements to 

which the United States is a member or 

contracting party. Specifically, NMFS 

proposes to integrate the collection of 

trade documentation within the 

government-wide International Trade 

Data System (ITDS) and require 

electronic information collection 

through the automated portal 

maintained by the Department of 

Homeland Security, Customs and 

Border Protection (CBP). Under this 

integration, NMFS would require 

annually renewable International 

Fisheries Trade Permits (IFTP) for the 

import, export, and re-export of certain 

regulated seafood commodities that are 

subject to trade monitoring programs of 

RFMOs and/or subject to trade 

documentation requirements under 

domestic law. These trade monitoring 

programs enable the United States to 

exclude products that do not meet the 

criteria for admissibility to U.S. markets, 

including products resulting from 

illegal, unregulated, and unreported 

(IUU) fishing activities. This proposed 

rule would consolidate existing 

international trade permits for regulated 

seafood products under the Antarctic 

Marine Living Resources (AMLR) and 

Highly Migratory Species International 

Trade Permit (HMS ITP) programs and 

expand the scope of the permit 

requirement to include regulated 

seafood products under the Tuna 

Tracking and Verification Program 

(TTVP). This proposed rule would also 

stipulate data and trade documentation 

for the above programs which must be 

provided electronically to CBP and 

address recordkeeping requirements for 

these programs in light of the proposed 

changes. Trade documentation excludes 

any programmatic documents that are 

not required at the time of entry/export 

(e.g., biweekly dealer reports). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received by February 29, 2016. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by docket 

NOAA-NMFS-2009-0124, by any of the 

following methods: 

Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2009- 

0124, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

Mail: Mark Wildman, International 

Fisheries Division, Office for 

International Affairs and Seafood 

Inspection, NOAA Fisheries, 1315 EastWest Highway, Silver Spring, MD 

20910. 


jstallworth on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS