Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 33 / Monday, February 22, 2021 / Proposed Rules 10509 

1 80 FR 65291 (October 26, 2015). 

2 71 FR 61144 (October 17, 2006). 

3 73 FR 16483 (March 27, 2008). 

4 75 FR 6474 (February 9, 1010). 

5 75 FR 35520 (June 22, 2010). 

6 78 FR 3085 (January 15, 2013). 

7Stephen D. Page, Director, Office of Air Quality 

Planning and Standards. ‘‘Guidance on 

Infrastructure State Implementation Plan (SIP) 

Elements under Clean Air Act Section 110(a)(1) and 

110(a)(2).’’ Memorandum to EPA Air Division 

Directors, Regions 1 through 10, September 13, 

2013 (hereinafter ‘‘2013 I-SIP Guidance’’). 

* * * * * 

9.5 Documentation 

* * * * * 

9.5.5 Using a Single List 

[Revise the text of 9.5.5 by deleting 

the last sentence.] 

* * * * * 

Joshua J. Hofer, 

Attorney, Federal Compliance. 

[FR Doc. 2020–29031 Filed 2–19–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R06–OAR–2020–0604; FRL–10017– 

37-Region 6] 

Approval and Promulgation of Air 

Quality Implementation Plans; 

Louisiana; Infrastructure State 

Implementation Plan Requirements for 

the National Ambient Air Quality 

Standards 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal Clean 

Air Act (CAA or Act), the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

is proposing to approve the State 

Implementation Plan (SIP) submittal 

from Louisiana submitted on November 

4, 2020 for the 2015 ozone (O3), 2006 

PM2.5, 2008 ozone, 2010 nitrogen 

dioxide, 2010 sulfur dioxide and the 

2012 PM2.5 National Ambient Air 

Quality Standards (NAAQS). This 

submittal addresses how the existing 

SIP contains adequate provisions 

prohibiting emissions which interfere 

with required measures in any other 

State to protect visibility with respect to 

the 2015 ozone NAAQS as well as the 

2006 PM2.5, 2008 ozone, 2010 nitrogen 

dioxide, 2010 sulfur dioxide and the 

2012 PM2.5 NAAQS. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before March 24, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket No. EPA–R06– 

OAR–2020–0604, at https://

www.regulations.gov or via email to 

huser.jennifer@epa.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, please 

contact Jennifer Huser, (214) 665–7347, 

huser.jennifer@epa.gov. For the full EPA 

public comment policy, information 

about CBI or multimedia submissions, 

and general guidance on making 

effective comments, please visit https:// 

www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epadockets. 

Docket: The index to the docket for 

this action is available electronically at 

www.regulations.gov. While all 

documents in the docket are listed in 

the index, some information may not be 

publicly available due to docket file size 

restrictions or content (e.g., CBI). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Huser, EPA Region 6 Office, Air 

and Radiation Division—State Planning 

and Implementation Branch, 1201 Elm 

Street, Suite 500, Dallas, TX 75270, 

214–665–7347, huser.jennifer@epa.gov. 

Out of an abundance of caution for 

members of the public and our staff, the 

EPA Region 6 office will be closed to the 

public to reduce the risk of transmitting 

COVID–19. We encourage the public to 

submit comments via https://

www.regulations.gov, as there will be a 

delay in processing mail and no courier 

or hand deliveries will be accepted. 

Please call or email the contact listed 

above if you need alternative access to 

material indexed but not provided in 

the docket. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document wherever 

‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean 

the EPA. 

I. Background 

Under section 109 of the CAA, EPA 

establishes NAAQS to protect human 

health and public welfare. On October 

26, 2015, the EPA revised the primary 

and secondary 8-hour ozone NAAQS 

from 0.075 ppm to 0.070 ppm to provide 

increased protection of public health 

and public welfare.1 In 2006, the EPA 

revised the PM2.5 NAAQS,2 in 2008, the 

ozone NAAQS,3 in 2010, the nitrogen 

dioxide NAAQS,4 in 2010, the sulfur 

dioxide NAAQS,5 and in 2012, the 

PM2.5 NAAQS.6 The primary standards 

are set to protect human health, while 

secondary standards are set to protect 

public welfare. 

The CAA requires states to submit, 

within 3 years after promulgation of a 

new or revised NAAQS, SIPs that meet 

the applicable infrastructure elements of 

sections 110(a)(1) and (2). This SIP 

submission is commonly referred to as 

an ‘‘infrastructure SIP’’ or ‘‘i-SIP’’. 

Section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) includes four 

distinct components, commonly 

referred to as prongs, that must be 

addressed in these infrastructure SIP 

submissions. These prongs require that 

states adopt measures that prohibit 

certain adverse air quality effects on 

neighboring states due to interstate 

transport of pollution. Prong 4 requires 

states to demonstrate that their SIP 

contains adequate measures that 

prohibit emissions from any source 

within a state from interfering with the 

visibility protection measures of other 

states (also referred to as visibility 

transport). 

In EPA’s 2013 guidance for states 

regarding i-SIPs,7 EPA discussed its 

interpretation of Prong 4 and its 

relationship to the Regional Haze 

program under CAA sections 169A and 

169B. EPA suggested two options states 

may have to demonstrate that the 

requirements of Prong 4 are met. One 

way in which Prong 4 may be satisfied 

for any relevant NAAQS is through 

confirmation in its infrastructure SIP 

submission that it has an approved 

regional haze SIP that fully meets the 

requirements of 40 CFR 51.308 or 

51.309. Alternatively, states may submit 

a demonstration in its infrastructure SIP 

submission that shows that emissions 

within its jurisdiction do not interfere 

with other states’ plans to protect 

visibility. The demonstration must show 

that the state has sufficient measures 

that have been approved into its SIP that 

prevent emissions within its jurisdiction 

from interfering with the visibility 

protection plans of other states. 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
10510 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 33 / Monday, February 22, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

8These i-SIP submittals are available on 

regulations.gov in docket number EPA–R06–OAR– 

2013–0465. 

9 81 FR 68322 (October 4, 2016). 

10 77 FR 33642 (June 7, 2012). 

11 77 FR 39425 (July 3, 2012). 

12 77 FR 39425 (July 3, 2012). 

13 81 FR 74750 (August 16, 2016). 

14 82 FR 22936 (May 19, 2017). 

15 82 FR 44753 (September 26, 2017). 

16 82 FR 60520 (December 21, 2017). 

17 82 FR 60520 (December 21, 2017). 

18 82 FR 60520 (December 21, 2017). 

A. Louisiana’s Infrastructure SIP 

Submittals for 2006 PM2.5, 2008 Ozone, 

2010 Nitrogen Dioxide, 2010 Sulfur 

Dioxide and the 2012 PM2.5 National 

Ambient Air Quality Standards 

(NAAQS) 

Louisiana made the following 

submissions to EPA to satisfy the i-SIP 

requirements: 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS, on 

May 11, 2011; 2008 O3, 2010 NO2, 2010 

SO2 NAAQS on June 7, 2013 and the 

2012 PM2.5 NAAQS on December 16, 

2015.8 In an October 2016 action, we 

disapproved the portions of theses 

submissions which addressed Prong 4 

and approved the other portions which 

address the other elements found in 

section 110(a)(2).9 We disapproved 

Prong 4 for these specific NAAQS, 

because the state did not have a fully 

approved Regional Haze SIP at the time 

of submittal, nor did the state provide 

a demonstration which shows that they 

have met the Prong 4 requirement. 

B. Regional Haze and Visibility 

Transport in Louisiana 

On June 13, 2008, Louisiana 

submitted a SIP to EPA, which 

addressed the regional haze 

requirements. EPA acted upon this SIP 

in two separate actions. The first was a 

limited disapproval for best available 

retrofit technology (BART) 

determinations for electric generating 

units (EGUs) as there were deficiencies 

in the SIP arising from the remand by 

the US Court of Appeals for the District 

of Columbia of the Clean Air Interstate 

Rule (CAIR).10 The second action was a 

partial limited approval/partial 

disapproval; EPA found that the 

revision met some, but not all of the 

applicable requirements.11 EPA granted 

a partial limited approval of the LA 

Regional Haze (RH) SIP submittal for 

meeting the requirements of: 51.308(d), 

for the core requirements for regional 

haze SIPs, except for the requirements 

of 51.308(d)(3); 51.308(f), for the 

commitment to submit comprehensive 

periodic revisions of regional haze SIPs; 

51.308(g), for the commitment to submit 

periodic reports describing progress 

towards the reasonable progress goals 

(RPGs); 51.308(h), for the commitment 

to conduct periodic determinations of 

the adequacy of the existing regional 

haze SIP; and 51.308(i), for coordination 

with state and Federal Land Managers.12

In that action, the EPA also partially 

disapproved the LA RH SIP submittal 

because it did not include fully 

approvable measures for meeting the 

requirements of 40 CFR 51.308(d)(3), 

long-term strategy for regional haze as it 

relied on deficient non-EGU BART 

analyses; and 51.308(e), BART 

requirements for regional haze visibility 

impairment with respect to emissions of 

visibility impairing pollutants from four 

non-EGUs. 

In response to EPA’s partial 

disapproval and limited disapproval of 

the original regional haze submittal, 

Louisiana performed BART 

determinations for both electric 

generating units (EGUs) and other 

facilities (non-EGUs). On August 11, 

2016, Louisiana submitted a SIP 

revision to address the deficiencies 

related to BART for the non-EGU 

facilities. EPA proposed approval of this 

submittal on October 27, 2016.13 On 

February 10, 2017, Louisiana submitted 

a SIP revision intended to address the 

deficiencies related to BART for EGU 

sources. On May 19, 2017, EPA 

proposed approval of that revision with 

the exception of the portion related to 

a coal-burning facility in Calcasieu 

Parish.14 On June 20, 2017, and in a 

subsequent revision on October 26, 

2017, Louisiana submitted a SIP 

revision for parallel processing related 

to the EGU in Calcasieu Parish. On 

September 25, 2017, EPA proposed 

approval on this SIP revision.15 On 

December 21, 2017, EPA published final 

approval of these SIP revisions 

addressing the BART requirements for 

these facilities. This SIP approval 

determined that Louisiana has met all 

applicable regional haze requirements 

as set forth in sections 169A and 169B 

of the CAA and 40 CFR 51.300–308.16

II. Louisiana’s Visibility Transport 

Submittal 

On November 4, 2020, LDEQ 

submitted a SIP revision to EPA in order 

to satisfy the visibility transport 

requirements for the following NAAQS: 

2015 ozone, 2006 particulate matter 

(PM2.5), 2008 ozone, 2010 nitrogen 

dioxide, 2010 sulfur dioxide, and the 

2012 particulate matter (PM2.5). 

Louisiana determined that they have 

met the Prong 4 requirements for the 

2015 ozone NAAQS. Louisiana’s 

submittal also addresses the Prong 4 

requirements that were previously 

disapproved for the 2006 PM2.5, 2008 

ozone, 2010 nitrogen dioxide, 2010 

sulfur dioxide and the 2012 PM2.5

NAAQS. Louisiana did not have a fully 

approved Regional Haze SIP at the time 

of the disapproval action. The SIP 

revision contains the state’s Regional 

Haze SIP history: Louisiana submitted 

their first regional haze SIP to EPA on 

June 13, 2008, and after multiple SIP 

revisions, EPA approved their Regional 

Haze SIP on December 21, 2017.17 Based 

on the full approval of their Regional 

Haze SIP, Louisiana has determined that 

they now meet the Prong 4 requirements 

for visibility transport for the 2015 

Ozone NAAQS. Louisiana has also 

determined that they now meet the 

Prong 4 requirements for the 2006 PM2.5, 

2008 ozone, 2010 nitrogen dioxide, 2010 

sulfur dioxide and the 2012 PM2.5

NAAQS, which we previously 

disapproved. 

III. The EPA’s Evaluation of Louisiana’s 

i-SIP 

Under section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II), an 

infrastructure SIP submission cannot be 

approved with respect to Prong 4 

(visibility transport) until the EPA has 

issued final approval of SIP provisions 

that the EPA has found to adequately 

address any contribution of that state’s 

sources to impacts on visibility program 

requirements in other states. The EPA 

interprets this prong to be pollutantspecific, such that the infrastructure SIP 

submission need only address the 

potential for interference with 

protection of visibility caused by the 

pollutant (including precursors) to 

which the new or revised NAAQS 

applies. 

One way in which Prong 4 may be 

satisfied is through an air agency’s 

confirmation in its infrastructure SIP 

submission that it has an approved 

regional haze SIP that fully meets the 

requirements of 40 CFR 51.308 or 

51.309. 40 CFR 51.308 and 51.309 

specifically require that a state 

participating in a regional planning 

process include all measures needed to 

achieve its apportionment of emission 

reduction obligations agreed upon 

through that process. See 40 CFR 

51.308(d)(3)(ii). Thus, a fully approved 

regional haze SIP will ensure that 

emissions from sources under an air 

agency’s jurisdiction are not interfering 

with measures required to be included 

in other air agencies’ plans to protect 

visibility. 

The last remaining elements of 

Louisiana’s Regional Haze SIP were 

approved by EPA on December 21, 

2017.18 Accordingly, EPA proposes to 

find that Louisiana meets the visibility 

protection requirements of 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 33 / Monday, February 22, 2021 / Proposed Rules 10511 

1See 40 CFR 81.302. 

110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) for the 2015 ozone, 

2006 PM2.5, 2008 ozone, 2010 nitrogen 

dioxide, 2010 sulfur dioxide and the 

2012 PM2.5 NAAQS. 

IV. Proposed Action 

The EPA is proposing to approve the 

SIP revision submitted on November 4, 

2020 which addresses the Prong 4 

requirements for the following NAAQS: 

2015 Ozone, 2006 PM2.5, 2008 Ozone, 

2010 Nitrogen dioxide, 2010 Sulfur 

Dioxide, and the 2012 PM2.5 as 

Louisiana now has a fully approved 

Regional Haze SIP. 

V. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

Under the CAA, the Administrator is 

required to approve a SIP submission 

that complies with the provisions of the 

Act and applicable Federal regulations. 

42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). 

Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, the 

EPA’s role is to approve state choices, 

provided that they meet the criteria of 

the CAA. Accordingly, this action 

merely proposes to approve state law as 

meeting Federal requirements and does 

not impose additional requirements 

beyond those imposed by state law. For 

that reason, this action: 

• Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ subject to review by the Office 

of Management and Budget under 

Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, 

January 21, 2011); 

• Does not impose an information 

collection burden under the provisions 

of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.); 

• Is certified as not having a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities 

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

• Does not contain any unfunded 

mandate or significantly or uniquely 

affect small governments, as described 

in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4); 

• Does not have federalism 

implications as specified in Executive 

Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 

1999); 

• Is not an economically significant 

regulatory action based on health or 

safety risks subject to Executive Order 

13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997); 

• Is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 

28355, May 22, 2001); 

• Is not subject to requirements of 

section 12(d) of the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because 

application of those requirements would 

be inconsistent with the CAA; and 

• Does not provide EPA with the 

discretionary authority to address, as 

appropriate, disproportionate human 

health or environmental effects, using 

practicable and legally permissible 

methods, under Executive Order 12898 

(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). 

In addition, the SIP is not approved to 

apply on any Indian reservation land or 

in any other area where EPA or an 

Indian tribe has demonstrated that a 

tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of 

Indian country, the proposed rule does 

not have tribal implications and will not 

impose substantial direct costs on tribal 

governments or preempt tribal law as 

specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 

FR 67249, November 9, 2000). 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Incorporation by 

reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Sulfur dioxide. 

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

Dated: February 5, 2021. 

David Gray, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 6. 

[FR Doc. 2021–02894 Filed 2–19–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R10–OAR–2021–0060; FRL–10017– 

16–Region 10] 

Air Plan Approval; AK, Fairbanks North 

Star Borough; 2006 24-hour PM2.5

Serious Area Plan 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve 

parts of state implementation plan (SIP) 

submissions, submitted by the State of 

Alaska (Alaska or the State) to address 

Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) 

requirements for the 2006 24-hour fine 

particulate matter (PM2.5) national 

ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) 

in the Fairbanks North Star Borough 

PM2.5 nonattainment area (Fairbanks 

PM2.5 Nonattainment Area). EPA is also 

proposing to approve rule revisions and 

an associated air quality control plan 

chapter submitted by Alaska into the 

Federally-approved SIP. Alaska made 

these submissions on December 13, 

2019, (Fairbanks Serious Plan) and 

December 15, 2020. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before March 24, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R10– 

OAR–2021–0060, at https://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Once submitted, comments cannot be 

edited or removed from regulations.gov. 

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 

the disclosure of which 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. 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 

https://www.epa.gov/dockets/ 

commenting-epa-dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Matthew Jentgen, EPA Region 10, 1200 

Sixth Avenue—Suite 155, Seattle, WA 

98101, (206) 553–0340, 

jentgen.matthew@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document wherever 

‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, it is 

intended to refer to EPA. 

Table of Contents 

I. Background 

II. Clean Air Act Requirements for PM2.5

Serious Area Plans and Summary of 

Proposal 

III. Review of the Fairbanks Serious Plan 

A. Base Year Emissions Inventory 

B. PM2.5 Precursor Demonstration 

C. SIP Strengthening Measures 

IV. Summary of Proposed Action 

V. Incorporation by Reference 

VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. Background 

In 2009, EPA designated a portion of 

the Fairbanks North Star Borough as 

‘‘nonattainment’’ for the 2006 24-hour 

PM2.5 NAAQS of 35 micrograms per 

cubic meter (mg/m3) (Fairbanks PM2.5

Nonattainment Area) (74 FR 58688, 

November 13, 2009).1 Effective July 2, 

2014, EPA classified the area as 

‘‘Moderate’’ (79 FR 31566, June 2, 2014). 

Subsequently, Alaska submitted, and 

the EPA approved, a plan to meet 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS