11678 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 37 / Friday, February 26, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

1See EPA’s ‘‘Interim Air Quality Policy on 

Wildland and Prescribed Fires’’ May 15, 1998. 

Indian Tribal Governments’’ (65 FR 

67249, November 9, 2000), requires the 

EPA to develop an accountable process 

to ensure ‘‘meaningful and timely input 

by tribal officials in the development of 

regulatory policies that have tribal 

implications.’’ The EPA has concluded 

that this proposed rule will have tribal 

implications in that it will have 

substantial direct effects on the 

Northern Cheyenne Tribe. However, it 

will neither impose substantial direct 

compliance costs on tribal governments 

nor preempt tribal law. The EPA is 

proposing to approve the TIP at the 

request of the Tribe. Tribal law will not 

be preempted as the Tribe has already 

incorporated the TIP into Tribal law on 

December 7, 2016. The Tribe has 

applied for, and fully supports, the 

proposed approval of the TIP. If it is 

approved, the TIP will become federally 

enforceable. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 49 

Environmental protection, 

Administrative practice and procedure, 

Air pollution control, Incorporation by 

reference, Indians, Indians—law, 

Indians—tribal government, 

Intergovernmental relations, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements. 

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

Dated: February 17, 2021. 

Debra H. Thomas, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 8. 

[FR Doc. 2021–03826 Filed 2–25–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R08–OAR–2020–0541; FRL–10019– 

42–Region 8] 

Approval and Promulgation of 

Implementation Plans; Utah; R307–204 

Emission Standards: Smoke 

Management 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve 

a State Implementation Plan (SIP) 

revision package submitted by the State 

of Utah on November 5, 2019. The 

November 5, 2019 revision amends 

R307–204 to meet the requirements set 

forth in Utah’s 2019 House Bill (H.B.) 

155. This action is being taken under 

section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before March 29, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R08– 

OAR–2020–0541, to the Federal 

Rulemaking Portal: https://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Once submitted, comments cannot be 

edited or removed from 

www.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. 

Docket: All documents in the docket 

are listed in the www.regulations.gov 

index. Although listed in the index, 

some information is not publicly 

available, e.g., CBI or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, will be publicly 

available only in hard copy. Publicly 

available docket materials are available 

electronically in www.regulations.gov. 

To reduce the risk of COVID–19 

transmission, for this action we do not 

plan to offer hard copy review of the 

docket. Please email or call the person 

listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section if you need to make 

alternative arrangements for access to 

the docket. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Amrita Singh, Air and Radiation 

Division, EPA, Region 8, Mailcode 

8ARD–IO, 1595 Wynkoop Street, 

Denver, Colorado 80202–1129, (303) 

312–6103, singh.amrita@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Specifically, EPA is proposing to 

approve revisions to sections: R307– 

204–1. Purpose and Goals; R307–204–2. 

Applicability; R307–204–3. Definitions; 

R307–204–4. General Requirements; 

R307–204–5. Burn Schedule; R307– 

204–6. Small Prescribed Fires (de 

minimis); R307–204–7. Small 

Prescribed Fires (de minimis); R307– 

204–8. Large Prescribed Fires; R307– 

204–9. Large Prescribed Pile Fires; and 

R307–204–10. Requirements for 

Wildland Fire Use Events. 

Throughout this document wherever 

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

the EPA. 

I. Background 

The EPA’s Interim Air Quality Policy 

on Wildland and Prescribed Fires 1 was 

designed to integrate two public policy 

goals, (1) to allow fire to function as 

nearly as possible, in its natural role in 

maintaining healthy wildland 

ecosystems, and (2) to protect public 

health and welfare by mitigating the 

impacts of air pollutant emissions on air 

quality and visibility. The document 

expands on the responsibilities of 

wildland owners/managers and state/ 

tribal air quality managers to coordinate 

fire activities, minimize air pollutant 

emissions, manage smoke from 

prescribed fires as well as wildland fires 

used for resource benefits, and establish 

emergency action programs to mitigate 

the unavoidable impacts on the public. 

EPA does not directly regulate the use 

of fire within a state or in Indian 

country. The agency’s authority is to 

enforce the requirements of the CAA, 

which requires states to attain and 

maintain the National Ambient Air 

Quality Standards (NAAQS) adopted to 

protect public health and welfare. The 

Air Quality Policy on Wildland and 

Prescribed Fires recommends that 

states/tribes implement Smoke 

Management Plans (SMPs) to mitigate 

the public health and welfare impacts of 

fires managed for resource benefits. The 

SMPs establish a basic framework of 

procedures and requirements for 

managing smoke from fires managed for 

resource benefits and are typically 

developed by states/tribes with 

cooperation and participation by 

wildland owners/managers. The goal of 

SMPs is to prevent deterioration of air 

quality and NAAQS violations; to 

address visibility impacts in mandatory 

Class 1 Federal areas; and to reduce the 

nuisance and public safety hazards 

posed by smoke intrusions into 

populated areas. 

The SMP serves as the operational 

plan for the state administrative rule, 

R307–204, by providing the direction 

and operating procedures for all 

organizations involved in the use of 

prescribed fire, wildfire, and wildland 

fire use. The procedures that land 

managers are required to follow to 

mitigate the impact of smoke on public 

health and visibility in the State is 

established by the rule, R307–204. The 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 37 / Friday, February 26, 2021 / Proposed Rules 11679 

2See docket for Utah’s Enhanced Smoke 

Management Plan August 1, 2003. 

3Areas designated as mandatory Class I Federal 

areas consist of national parks exceeding 6,000 

acres, wilderness areas and national memorial parks 

exceeding 5,000 acre, and all international parks 

that were in existence on August 7, 1977. 42 U.S.C. 

7472(a). In accordance with section 169A of the 

CAA, EPA, in consultation with the Department of 

the Interior, promulgated a list of 156 areas where 

visibility is identified as an important value. 44 FR 

69122 (November 30, 1979). The extent of a 

Mandatory Class I area includes subsequent 

changes in boundaries, such as park expansions. 42 

U.S.C. 7472(a). Although states and tribes may 

designate as Class I additional areas which they 

consider having visibility as an important value, the 

requirements of the visibility program set forth in 

section 169A of the CAA apply only to ‘‘mandatory 

Class I Federal areas. Each mandatory Class I 

Federal area is the responsibility of a ‘Federal Land 

Manager.’’ 

4See docket for Utah’s Smoke Management Plan 

approved in 1992 and last revised on January 16, 

2006. 

5See docket for Utah’s State Legislature’s H.B. 

155 from the 2019 General Session. 

Utah Enhanced Smoke Management 

Plan (ESMP)),2 (Appendix B of the 

SMP), provides details on the visibility 

requirements of the Regional Haze Rule, 

40 CFR 51.309(d)(6), and operating 

procedures to reduce visibility impacts 

from smoke in Class 1 Federal areas.3

The SMP was approved by the EPA on 

Nov. 8, 1999,4 under the Interim Air 

Quality Policy on Wildland and 

Prescribed Fires. The requirements 

established in the SMP provide the 

framework for R307–204 Emission 

Standards: Smoke Management. 

Previously, EPA approved the 

September 29, 2011 R307–204 submittal 

which superseded and replaced the 

R307–204 portion of the December 12, 

2003 submittal and all of the May 8, 

2006 submittal. 

II. The EPA’s Evaluation 

Section 110(k) of the CAA addresses 

the EPA’s rulemaking action on SIP 

submissions by states. The CAA 

requires states to observe certain 

procedural requirements in developing 

SIP revisions for submittal to the EPA. 

Section 110((a)(2) of the CAA requires 

that each SIP revision be adopted after 

reasonable notice and public hearing. 

This must occur prior to the revision 

being submitted by a state to EPA. 

Pursuant to 40 CFR 51.309(d)(6), a 

state must show that its smoke 

management program and all federal or 

private programs for prescribed fire in 

the state have a mechanism in place for 

evaluating and addressing the degree of 

visibility impairment from smoke in 

their planning and application of 

burning. A state must also ensure that 

its prescribed fire smoke management 

programs have at least the following 

seven elements: Action to minimize 

emissions; evaluation of smoke 

dispersion; alternatives to fire; public 

notification; air quality monitoring; 

surveillance and enforcement; and 

program evaluation. 

On June 5, 2019 the State of Utah’s 

Department of Environmental Quality, 

Air Quality Board approved proposed 

amendments to R307–204 to include 

requirements established by the Utah 

State Legislature set forth in 2019 H.B. 

155.5 A public comment period was 

held from July 1 to July 31, 2019. One 

non-substantive comment was received, 

and no public hearing was requested. 

The main purpose for amending R307– 

204 was to meet the requirements set 

forth in 2019 H.B. 155 which states: 

‘‘In the rules made by the board . . . . . 

the board shall require the land manager to: 

(i) describe the use of state, county, or 

municipal resource in the large prescribed 

fire or large prescribed pile fire; 

(ii) provide the division the burn plan for 

a large prescribed fire or large prescribed pile 

fire by no later than one week before the day 

of the burn window; and 

(iii) notify the division of nonfull 

suppression event once a fire becomes a 

nonfull suppression event.’’ 

The rule revisions include removing 

outdated terminology, such as, 

‘‘wildland fire use,’’ ‘‘plan stage’’ and 

language regarding adjusting fire 

emission factors. Also, in EPA’s 1998 

‘‘Interim Air Quality Policy on Wildland 

and Prescribed Fires,’’ it is stated that 

federally prescribed fire projects would 

be considered to conform with the 

implementation plan if they are 

managed under a certified basic SMP. 

Since, Utah’s SMP meets that criteria, 

the State will be removing conformity 

from R307–204. Finally, Section R307– 

204–6. Small Prescribed Fires (de 

minimis), R307–204–7. Small 

Prescribed Pile Fires (de minimis), 

Section R307–204–8. Large Prescribed 

Fires and R302–20–9. Large Prescribed 

Pile Fires will be combined to reduce 

redundancies. 

III. Proposed Action 

EPA is proposing to approve a SIP 

revision submitted by the State of Utah 

on November 5, 2019. The revisions 

meet the requirements set forth in 

Utah’s State Legislature’s H.B. 155 and 

reduce redundancies and outdated 

portions of the rule, while also 

streamlining it. EPA is proposing to 

approve revisions to sections: R307– 

204–1. Purpose and Goals; R307–204–2. 

Applicability; R307–204–3. Definitions; 

R307–204–4. General Requirements; 

R307–204–5. Burn Schedule; R307– 

204–6. Small Prescribed Fires (de 

minimis); R307–204–7. Small 

Prescribed Fires (de minimis); R307– 

204–8. Large Prescribed Fires; R307– 

204–9. Large Prescribed Pile Fires; and 

R307–204–10. Requirements for 

Wildland Fire Use Events. The revision 

for R307–204 meets the applicable CAA 

requirements and contains smoke 

management requirements for land 

managers within the State of Utah as 

required by 40 CFR 51.309(d)(6). 

IV. Incorporation by Reference 

In this document, the EPA, is 

proposing to include regulatory text in 

an EPA final rule that includes 

incorporation by reference. In 

accordance with the requirements of 1 

CFR 51.5, the EPA is proposing to 

incorporate by reference the Utah rules 

promulgated in the Division of 

Administrative Rule (DAR), R307–204– 

1, R307–204–2, R307–204–3, R307–204– 

4, R307–204–5, R307–204–6, R307–204– 

7, R307–204–8, R307–204–9 and R307– 

204–10, as discussed in section III of the 

preamble. The EPA has made, and will 

continue to make, these materials 

generally available through 

www.regulations.gov and at the EPA 

Region 8 Office (please contact the 

person identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

preamble for more information). 

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); 

• Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 

FR 9339, February 2, 2017) regulatory 

action because SIP approvals are 

exempted under Executive Order 12866; 

• Does not impose an information 

collection burden under the provisions 

of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

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

• Is certified as not having a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities 

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

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


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11680 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 37 / Friday, February 26, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

• 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, Carbon monoxide, 

Greenhouse gases, Incorporation by 

reference, Intergovernmental relations, 

Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 

Particulate matter, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur 

oxides, Volatile organic compounds. 

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

Dated: February 11, 2021. 

Debra Thomas, 

Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region 

8. 

[FR Doc. 2021–03277 Filed 2–25–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R05–OAR–2020–0467; FRL–10020– 

71–Region 5] 

Air Plan Approval; Illinois; Public 

Participation in the Permit Program 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve 

revisions to the Illinois State 

Implementation Plan (SIP) that were 

submitted on August 27, 2020 by the 

Illinois Environmental Protection 

Agency (IEPA). These revisions affect 

the public notice rule provisions for the 

New Source Review (NSR) and title V 

Operating Permit programs (title V) of 

the Clean Air Act (CAA). The revisions 

remove the mandatory requirement to 

provide public notice of draft CAA 

permits in a newspaper and allow 

electronic notice (e-notice) as an 

alternate noticing option. EPA is 

proposing to approve these revisions 

pursuant to the CAA and implementing 

Federal regulations. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before March 29, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R05– 

OAR–2020–0467 at http://

www.regulations.gov, or via email to 

damico.genevieve@epa.gov. For 

comments submitted at Regulations.gov, 

follow the online instructions for 

submitting comments. Once submitted, 

comments cannot be edited or removed 

from Regulations.gov. For either manner 

of submission, 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. 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 the person 

identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section. For 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: 

Daniel Wolski, Physical Scientist, Air 

Permitting Section, Air Programs 

Branch (AR–18J), Environmental 

Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West 

Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 

60604, (312) 886–0557, wolski.daniel@

epa.gov. The EPA Region 5 office is 

open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, excluding 

Federal holidays and facility closures 

due to COVID–19. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document whenever 

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

EPA. 

I. Background 

On October 5, 2016, EPA finalized 

revised public notice rule provisions for 

the NSR, title V, and Outer Continental 

Shelf permitting programs of the CAA. 

See 81 FR 71613 (October 18, 2016). 

These rule provisions remove the 

mandatory requirement to provide 

public notice of a draft air permit 

through publication in a newspaper and 

allow for internet e-notice as an option 

for permitting authorities implementing 

their own EPA-approved SIP rules and 

title V rules. Permitting authorities are 

not required to adopt e-notice. A 

permitting authority with an EPAapproved permitting program, such as 

IEPA, may continue to use newspaper 

notification or supplement e-notice with 

newspaper notification or additional 

means of notification. When e-notice is 

provided, EPA’s rule requires electronic 

access (e-access) to the draft permit. 

Generally, state and local agencies are 

expected to post the draft permits and 

public notices in a designated location 

on their agency websites. For the 

noticing of draft permits issued by 

permitting authorities with EPAapproved programs, the rule requires 

the permitting authority to use ‘‘a 

consistent noticing method’’ for all 

permit notices under the specific 

permitting program. Permitting 

authorities must also provide the public 

with reasonable access to the other 

materials that support the permit 

decision (e.g., the permit application, 

statement of basis, fact sheet, 

preliminary determination, final 

determination and response to 

comments) as required by existing 

regulations, however such materials 

which comprise the permit record may 

be provided either electronically, at a 

physical location, or a combination of 

both. 

EPA anticipates that e-notice, which 

is already being practiced by many 


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