Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 37 / Friday, February 26, 2021 / Proposed Rules 11691 

other state and federal regulations that 

required additional NOX ozone season 

emission reductions. As the EPA 

determined regarding New York’s CAIR 

trading program rule, see section II, the 

EPA does not believe that the removal 

of New York’s 227–3 Trading Program 

Regulation from New York’s SIP will 

interfere with any applicable 

requirement concerning attainment and 

reasonable further progress, or any other 

applicable requirement of the NAAQS. 

And as discussed in section II, New 

York’s 227–3 Trading Program 

Regulation predates more stringent rules 

and tighter NOX ozone season budgets 

under the NOX SIP call, CAIR, and 

CSAPR trading programs, as well as 

New York NOX RACT rules; it is not 

applicable to the current federal or state 

regulatory framework. New York does 

not rely on emission reductions from 

New York’s 227–3 Trading Program 

Regulation to attain any NAAQS and the 

EPA no longer operates the NOX Budget 

Trading Program allowing for the 

allocation and trading of allowances. 

Therefore, New York’s 227–3 Trading 

Program Regulation should be removed 

from the NY SIP. 

The removal of New York’s 227–3 

Trading Program Regulation from New 

York’s SIP will have no consequences 

for the attainment and maintenance of 

the NAAQS in any area, now or in the 

future. Consistent with CAA section 

110(l), the EPA has determined that the 

removal of New York’s 227–3 Trading 

Program Regulation will not interfere 

with any applicable requirement 

concerning attainment and reasonable 

further progress, or any other applicable 

requirement of the NAAQS. 

Accordingly, the EPA finds that it is 

appropriate to approve the removal of 6 

NYCRR Subpart 227–3, ‘‘Pre-2003 

Nitrogen Oxides Emissions Budget and 

Allowance Program’’, from the New 

York SIP. 

The EPA is soliciting public 

comments on the issues discussed in 

this proposal. These comments will be 

considered before the EPA takes final 

action. Interested parties may 

participate in the federal rulemaking 

procedure by submitting written 

comments as discussed in the 

ADDRESSES section of this rulemaking. 

V. Incorporation by Reference 

In this document, the EPA is also 

proposing to incorporate by reference 

NYSDEC rule discussed in section III of 

this preamble in accordance with the 

requirements of 1 CFR 51.5. The EPA 

has made, and will continue to make, 

these materials available through the 

docket for this action, EPA–R02–OAR– 

2020–0324, at http://regulations.gov, 

and at the EPA Region II Office (please 

contact the person identified in the FOR

FUTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 

this preamble for more information). 

VI. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

Under the CAA, the Administrator is 

required to approve a SIP submission 

that complies with the provisions of the 

CAA and applicable Federal regulations. 

See 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); see also 40 CFR 

52.02(a). Thus, in reviewing SIP 

submissions, EPA’s role is to approve 

state choices, provided 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 proposed 

action: 

• Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ subject to review by the Office 

of Management and Budget under 

Executive Order 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 (2 U.S.C. 1501); 

• 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, this proposed rulemaking 

action, addressing New York’s adopted 

regulation that reduces NOX emissions 

from simple cycle and regenerative 

combustion turbines during the ozone 

season, is not approved to apply on any 

Indian reservation land or in any other 

area where EPA or an Indian tribe has 

demonstrated that a tribe has 

jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian 

country, the rule does not have tribal 

implications and will not impose any 

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, 

Intergovernmental Relations, Ozone, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Volatile Organic 

Compounds. 

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

Dated: February 18, 2021. 

Walter Mugdan, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 2. 

[FR Doc. 2021–03775 Filed 2–25–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R05–OAR–2020–0126; FRL–10020– 

53–Region 5] 

Air Plan Approval; Ohio; NSR Program 

Administrative Rules 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve, 

under the Clean Air Act (CAA), new and 

updated administrative rules for the 

Ohio State Implementation Plan (SIP) 

for the New Source Review (NSR) 

permitting program. The new and 

amended administrative rules in the 

Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) would 

replace the currently effective 

procedural rules in the NSR SIP in their 

entirety. As part of this action, EPA is 

also proposing to approve the removal 

of obsolete language related to 

Significant Deterioration of Air Quality. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before March 29, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R05– 

OAR–2020–0126 at http://

www.regulations.gov, or via email to 

Damico.Genevieve@epa.gov. For 

comments submitted at Regulations.gov, 

follow the online instructions for 


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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: Mari 

Gonza ́lez, Environmental Engineer, Air 

Permits Section, Air Programs Branch 

(AR–18J), Environmental Protection 

Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson 

Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, 

(312) 886–6175, Gonzalez.Mari@

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. This supplementary information 

section is arranged as follows: 

I. Background 

II. What action is EPA taking? 

III. Incorporation by Reference 

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. Background 

A. NSR Administrative Rules 

On January 10, 2003 (68 FR 1366), 

EPA approved Ohio’s procedural rules 

in OAC 3745–47 into the NSR SIP. 

These rules included processes for 

public notice procedures for permits in 

attainment and nonattainment areas. 

On April 2, 2012, Ohio EPA adopted 

the new and amended rules of OAC 

3745–47 and OAC 3745–49, which 

updated administrative and 

adjudication procedures and moved 

public notice procedures from OAC 

3745–47 to OAC 3745–49. 

On July 27, 2019, Ohio EPA adopted 

amendments to OAC 3745–49 to allow 

for modern electronic methods to be 

used for public noticing of SIP related 

projects and not limiting the process to 

publication of public notices in a 

newspaper. 

On February 28, 2020, Ohio EPA 

submitted new and amended rules to 

EPA for approval which would replace 

OAC chapter 3745–47. The new and 

amended rules are located in OAC 

chapters 3745–49–01 ‘‘Administrative 

Procedures’’, 3745–49–02 

‘‘Administrative procedures— 

definitions’’, 3745–49–05 ‘‘Draft actions 

and proposed actions’’, 3745–49–06 

‘‘Issuance of final actions’’, 3745–49–07 

‘‘Public notice’’, and 3745–49–08 

‘‘Contents of public notices’’. 

B. Significant Deterioration of Air 

Quality 

On June 19, 2020, Ohio EPA 

submitted a request to remove obsolete 

language in 40 CFR 52.1884. As 

explained below, EPA is proposing to 

approve the deletion of this section from 

the SIP because Ohio has a SIPapproved Prevention of Significant 

Deterioration (PSD) program, and EPA 

concurs that the provision is obsolete. 

II. What action is EPA taking? 

A. NSR Administrative Rules 

EPA is proposing to approve revisions 

to the Ohio SIP submitted on February 

28, 2020. This submittal includes 

revisions which replace the entire 

existing SIP-approved procedural rules 

in OAC 3745–47 with the administrative 

rules from OAC 3745–49–01, 3745–49– 

02, 3745–49–05, 3745–49–06, 3745–49– 

07, and 3745–49–08. 

The rules in OAC 3745–49–01, which 

EPA is proposing to approve, pertain to 

administrative procedures and are 

composed of reorganized portions of 

previously SIP-approved rules from 

OAC 3745–47–01, 3745–47–02, and 

3734–03. These rules detail the 

applicability and construction of 

administrative procedures rules. EPA 

finds that the revisions are consistent 

with Federal provisions for 

administrative procedures for SIPs 

found in 40 CFR 51.163. 

The rules in OAC 3745–49–02 contain 

administrative procedures definitions. 

This chapter of the rules contains 

reorganized definitions from previously 

approved chapter 3745–47–03, as well 

as new definitions. New definitions 

include: (C)(1) ‘‘claimant’’ which is 

added to define a person who claims 

information submitted to an agency is 

confidential because it constitutes a 

trade secret; (C)(2) ‘‘complainant’’ 

which defines a person who has filed a 

verified complaint; (P)(2) ‘‘personal 

knowledge’’ which is added to define 

knowledge gained through first hand 

observation or experience; (P)(4) 

‘‘proposed public copy’’ which defines 

a version of information submitted to 

the agency which omits trade secret 

information; (P)(5) ‘‘public copy’’ which 

defines a version of information 

maintained by the agency which omits 

trade secret information; (P)(7) ‘‘public 

record’’ which is added to clarify that it 

has the same meaning as in section 

149.43 of Ohio’s Revised Code; (T) 

‘‘trade secret’’ which is added to define 

information, not including discharge or 

emissions data, that is reasonable to 

maintain its secrecy and derives 

independent economic value from not 

being generally known; and (U) 

‘‘unredacted copy’’ which defines a 

complete official version of information 

submitted to an agency from which 

trade secret information has not been 

withheld. The definition for (V) 

‘‘verified complaint’’ which was 

previously approved into the SIP was 

revised and defined as a complaint 

which meets the requirements of ORC 

3745.08 and OAC 3745–49–12. The 

remaining definitions in this section 

contain minor word changes and are 

reformatted versions of previously 

approved definitions from OAC 3745– 

47. The definitions in OAC 3745–49–02 

are not defined within the Federal rules, 

and their approval into the SIP would 

not cause inconsistencies with the 

application of Federal regulations. EPA 

finds that the revised language and new 

definitions are consistent with Federal 

requirements for administrative 

procedures for SIPs found in 40 CFR 

51.163. 

The rules in OAC 3745–49–05, which 

EPA is proposing to approve, contain 

language on draft actions and proposed 

actions. This chapter contains language 

which has been reformatted and 

expanded from previously approved 

rules in OAC 3745–47–05 and 3745–47– 

07. EPA finds that the revisions are 

consistent with Federal requirements. 

The rules in OAC 3745–49–06 contain 

language on the issuance of final 

actions. This chapter contains language 

which has been reformatted from 

previously approved rules in OAC 

3745–47–05 and 3745–47–07. EPA finds 

that non-substantive changes have been 

made to the previously approved rule 

language, and the revisions are 

consistent with Federal requirements. 

The rules in OAC 3745–49–07 contain 

updates to public notice requirements 

for SIP-related projects. This chapter 

contains reorganized and amended rules 

from previously approved chapter 

3745–47–07 as well as new changes. 

The changes update noticing procedures 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 37 / Friday, February 26, 2021 / Proposed Rules 11693 

for public notices in subparts (B)(1) and 

(B)(2) related to Ohio’s SIP developed 

under section 110 of the CAA to allow 

for more modern electronic methods to 

be used. EPA anticipates that allowing 

for electronic methods of providing 

notice, which is already being practiced 

by many permitting authorities, will 

allow permitting authorities to 

communicate affected actions to the 

public more quickly and efficiently, 

expand access, and will provide cost 

savings over newspaper publications. 

States are obligated to provide notice of 

new and updated SIPs and offer the 

opportunity to comment through 

hearings. The remaining changes in this 

chapter include minor revisions and 

reorganized rules. EPA has determined 

that the revised rules regarding public 

noticing of SIP-related projects comply 

with Federal definitions and provisions 

found at 40 CFR 51.102 which detail 

procedural requirements for public 

hearings related to the preparation, 

adoption, and submittal of 

implementation plans. EPA finds that 

the remaining minor revisions in this 

chapter are also consistent with Federal 

requirements. 

The rules in OAC 3745–49–08 contain 

requirements for contents of public 

notices. This chapter contains 

reorganized rules from previously 

approved chapters 3745–47–08 and 

3745–47–05, amended rules, as well as 

new requirements. New requirements 

were added in subparts (A)(3) and (D)(3) 

to require that public notices of actions 

and public meetings, respectively, 

include instructions for those desiring 

to obtain additional information, a copy 

of any factsheet prepared, or a copy of 

the action. Similarly, new requirements 

were also added to subparts (A)(4) and 

(D)(4) to require public notices of 

actions and public meetings to include 

instructions for those desiring to be 

included in the mailing list. Language in 

subpart (B)(3)(c) was added to clarify 

that a draft action or proposed action 

shall not become final if an adjudication 

hearing is timely requested. New 

requirements for public notices of 

public meetings in subpart (D)(8) 

include requirements for providing a 

statement of issues to be addressed at a 

public meeting if activities or operations 

that are the subject of the action are not 

included in the public notice. The new 

language in subpart (D)(9) was added to 

require a statement that the purpose of 

the public meeting was to obtain 

additional information which the 

director will consider prior to taking 

further action on the matter under 

consideration. Part (E) was added to 

OAC 3745–49–08 to include 

requirements for public notices of 

verified complaints. Language in part 

(F) was reorganized from previously 

approved language in OAC 3745–47–08 

and subpart (F)(5) was added to clarify 

that all other public notices shall also 

include a statement specifying that 

written comments regarding the subject 

of the public notice may be submitted 

within thirty days or any longer period 

as specified by the Ohio EPA. 

Additional new language in this chapter 

includes subpart (G) which addresses 

cases where duplicate information is 

required in multiple notices, subpart (H) 

which specifies the requirements for 

notices of any action to modify an 

action of the director, and subpart (I) 

which specifies that all notices required 

by OAC 3745–49–07 may be in 

summary form. The remaining language 

in OAC 3745–49–08 includes 

reorganized rules from previously 

approved chapters. EPA finds that the 

minor revisions and new rules in this 

chapter are consistent with Federal 

provisions and requirements concerning 

public availability of information found 

in 40 CFR 51.161. 

EPA has determined that the rules in 

OAC 3745–49 are consistent with EPA’s 

PSD regulations and that approval of 

these amendments, revisions, and new 

rules is consistent with the 

requirements of CAA section 110(l) and 

will not adversely impact air quality. 

For these reasons, EPA is proposing to 

approve these rules into the Ohio SIP. 

B. Significant Deterioration of Air 

Quality 

EPA is also proposing to approve the 

removal of 40 CFR 52.1884 from the 

CFR. 40 CFR 52.1884 incorporates the 

provisions of the Federal PSD program 

into Ohio’s state plan and only applies 

when the requirements of sections 160 

through 165 of the CAA are not met. 

Since Ohio’s PSD program was 

approved into the SIP on January 22, 

2003 (68 FR 2909), this language is no 

longer applicable. The language 

contained in 40 CFR 52.1884 became 

obsolete when EPA delegated authority 

to Ohio EPA to implement the Federal 

PSD program. 

EPA has determined that removal of 

this obsolete language would not 

interfere with any applicable 

requirement concerning attainment and 

reasonable further progress and that 

approval of this revision is consistent 

with the requirements of CAA section 

110(l) and will not adversely impact air 

quality. Therefore, EPA is proposing to 

approve deletion of the obsolete 

language from the Ohio SIP. 

III. Incorporation by Reference 

In this action, EPA is proposing to 

include in a final EPA rule regulatory 

text that includes incorporation by 

reference. In accordance with 

requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, EPA is 

proposing to incorporate by reference 

the following rules in Ohio 

Administrative Code Chapter 3745–49: 

Rules 3745–49–01, 3745–49–02, 3745– 

49–06, and 3745–49–08, effective April 

2, 2012 and Rule 3745–49–07, effective 

July 27, 2019, discussed in Section II of 

this action. EPA has made, and will 

continue to make, these documents 

generally available through 

www.regulations.gov and at the EPA 

Region 5 Office (please contact the 

person identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

preamble for more information). 

IV. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

Under the CAA the Administrator is 

required to approve a SIP submission 

that complies with the provisions of the 

CAA and applicable Federal regulations. 

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

Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, 

EPA’s role is to approve state choices, 

provided that they meet the criteria of 

the CAA. Accordingly, this action 

merely approves state law as meeting 

Federal requirements and does not 

impose additional requirements beyond 

those imposed by state law. For that 

reason, this action: 

• Is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to review by the Office of 

Management and Budget 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); 


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1EPA’s approval of a SIP has several 

consequences. For example, after the EPA approves 

a SIP, the EPA and citizens may enforce the SIP’s 

requirements in federal court under section 113 and 

section 304 of the Act; in other words, the EPA’s 

approval of a SIP makes the SIP ‘‘federally 

enforceable.’’ Also, once the EPA has approved a 

SIP, a state cannot unilaterally change the federally 

enforceable version of the SIP. Instead, the state 

must first submit a SIP revision to the EPA and gain 

EPA’s approval of that revision. 

• 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 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, 

Incorporation by reference, 

Intergovernmental relations, Lead, 

Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate 

matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile 

organic compounds. 

Dated: February 22, 2021. 

Cheryl Newton, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5. 

[FR Doc. 2021–03984 Filed 2–25–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Parts 52 and 81 

[EPA–R08–OAR–2020–0021; FRL–10020– 

28–Region 8] 

Approval and Promulgation of 

Implementation Plans; State of Utah; 

Logan, Utah-Idaho PM2.5

Redesignation to Attainment, 

Maintenance Plan, and Rule Revisions 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve 

the request by the State of Utah to 

redesignate the Logan, Utah-Idaho (UTID) nonattainment area (NAA) (‘‘Logan 

NAA’’) to attainment status for 

particulate matter with an aerodynamic 

diameter less than or equal to a nominal 

2.5 microns (PM2.5), and to approve 

related State Implementation Plan (SIP) 

revisions submitted by the State of Utah 

on November 5, 2019, and January 13, 

2020. The redesignation request 

documents that the area has attained the 

2006 PM2.5 National Ambient Air 

Quality Standards (NAAQS) and 

provides supporting information. The 

November 5, 2019 submittal includes 

revisions to Utah’s R307–110–31 and 

R307–110–36 rules, concerning SIP 

Sections X.A and X.F. The January 13, 

2020 submittal includes revisions to 

UAC R307–110–10 and the maintenance 

plan for the Logan NAA, which 

demonstrates attainment through the 

year 2035. The EPA is taking this action 

pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or 

the Act). A separate EPA redesignation 

rulemaking will be conducted for the 

Idaho portion of the Logan NAA. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before March 29, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R08– 

OAR–2020–0021, 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: 

Crystal Ostigaard, Air and Radiation 

Division, Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA), Region 8, Mailcode 

8ARD–QP, 1595 Wynkoop Street, 

Denver, Colorado 80202–1129, (303) 

312–6602, ostigaard.crystal@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document wherever 

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

the EPA. 

I. Background 

A. Statutory and Regulatory Background 

for EPA’s Regulation of PM2.5

Under section 109 of the Act, the EPA 

has promulgated NAAQS for certain 

pollutants, including PM2.5. Once the 

EPA promulgates a NAAQS, section 107 

of the Act specifies a process for the 

designation of each area within a state, 

generally as either an attainment area 

(an area attaining the NAAQS) or as a 

NAA (an area not attaining the NAAQS, 

or that contributes to nonattainment of 

the NAAQS in a nearby area). For PM2.5, 

certain areas have also been designated 

‘‘unclassifiable.’’ These various 

designations, in turn, trigger certain 

state planning requirements. 

For all areas, regardless of 

designation, section 110 of the Act 

requires that each state adopt and 

submit for EPA approval a plan to 

provide for implementation, 

maintenance, and enforcement of the 

NAAQS. This plan is commonly 

referred to as a SIP. Section 110 

contains requirements that a SIP must 

meet to gain EPA approval.1 For NAAs, 

SIPs must meet additional requirements 

in part D of Title I of the Act. Usually, 

SIPs include measures to control 

emissions of air pollutants from various 

sources, including stationary, mobile, 

and area sources. For example, a SIP 

may specify emission limits at power 

plants or other industrial sources. 

On October 17, 2006 (71 FR 61144), 

the EPA revised the level of the 24-hour 

PM2.5 NAAQS, lowering the primary 

and secondary standards from the 1997 

standard of 65 micrograms per cubic 

meter (mg/m3) to 35 mg/m3. On 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS