72686 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 203 / Monday, October 23, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

1Findings of Failure to Submit State 

Implementation Plan Revisions in Response to the 

2015 Findings of Substantial Inadequacy and SIP 

Calls To Amend Provisions Applying To Excess 

Emissions During Periods of Startup, Shutdown, 

and Malfunction, 87 FR 1680 (Jan. 12, 2022), 

available at www.regulations.gov, Docket ID No. 

EPA–HQ–OAR–2021–0863. 

2 80 FR 33839 (June 12, 2015). 

permits the Secretary to designate any 

regulatory provision as one that an 

entity subject to the provision may 

choose to implement earlier and to 

outline the conditions for early 

implementation. 

On July 10, 2023, the Department 

published in the Federal Register a final 

rule amending regulations related to 

income-driven repayment (88 FR 

43820). In that final rule, we designated 

certain provisions for early 

implementation. 

The Secretary is exercising his 

authority under section 482(c) of the 

HEA to designate an additional 

regulatory change made in that final 

rule for early implementation beginning 

on October 23, 2023. 

The Secretary is designating for early 

implementation the change to the 

process for a borrower re-enrolling in 

the Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) 

repayment plan, which is now also 

known as the Saving on a Valuable 

Education (SAVE) repayment plan, after 

previously being enrolled in a different 

plan. Under current 34 CFR 

685.209(c)(4)(vi)(D) and (E), a borrower 

returning to REPAYE must provide 

documentation of income for the years 

in which the borrower was not on 

REPAYE. Section 685.209(e) of the final 

rule, which will become effective on 

July 1, 2024, employs a simpler process 

that does not require documentation of 

prior years’ income information. See 88 

FR 43820, 43901. On October 23, 2023, 

the Department will implement 

§ 685.209(e), to the extent it eliminates 

the requirement for borrowers returning 

to SAVE after having previously been on 

REPAYE to provide prior years’ income. 

The Secretary is designating only the 

removal of this requirement for early 

implementation, rather than all of 

§ 685.209(e). 

While documentation of income for 

years in which a borrower was not 

enrolled in REPAYE is no longer 

required, a borrower will still need to 

provide documentation of their income 

information to allow the Department to 

calculate the borrower’s current 

monthly payment amount under the 

SAVE plan. 

Accessible Format: On request to the 

program contact person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, 

individuals with disabilities can obtain 

this document in an accessible format. 

The Department will provide the 

requestor with an accessible format that 

may include Rich Text Format (RTF) or 

text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 

file, braille, large print, audiotape, or 

compact disc, or other accessible format. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

The official version of this document is 

the document published in the Federal 

Register. You may access the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the 

Code of Federal Regulations at 

www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can 

view this document, as well as all other 

documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Adobe Portable Document 

Format (PDF). To use PDF, you must 

have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at the site. 

You may also access documents of the 

Department published in the Federal 

Register by using the article search 

feature at www.federalregister.gov. 

Specifically, through the advanced 

search feature at this site, you can limit 

your search to documents published by 

the Department. 

Miguel A. Cardona, 

Secretary of Education. 

[FR Doc. 2023–23334 Filed 10–20–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R06–OAR–2022–0605; FRL–11128– 

02–R6] 

Air Plan Approval; Arkansas; Excess 

Emissions 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal Clean 

Air Act (CAA, the Act), the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

is approving two revisions to the 

Arkansas State Implementation Plan 

(SIP) submitted by the Governor on May 

12, 2022, and November 1, 2022. These 

SIP revisions were submitted in 

response to EPA’s June 12, 2015, finding 

of substantial inadequacy and SIP call 

concerning excess emissions during 

periods of startup, shutdown, and 

malfunction (SSM) events. EPA is 

approving these SIP revisions and finds 

that the revisions correct the 

inadequacies identified in Arkansas’ SIP 

in the June 12, 2015, SIP call. 

DATES: This rule is effective on 

November 22, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket ID 

No. EPA–R06–OAR–2022–0605. All 

documents in the docket are listed on 

the https://www.regulations.gov 

website. Although listed in the index, 

some information is not publicly 

available, e.g., Confidential Business 

Information or other information whose 

disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, is not placed on 

the internet. Publicly available docket 

materials are available electronically 

through https://www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James E. Grady, EPA Region 6 Office, 

Regional Haze and SO2 Section, (214) 

665–6745; grady.james@epa.gov. Please 

call or email Mr. Grady above or call Mr. 

Bill Deese at 214–665–7253 if you need 

alternative access to material indexed 

but not provided in the docket. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ 

and ‘‘our’’ mean ‘‘the EPA.’’ 

I. Background 

The background for this action is 

discussed in detail in our July 21, 2023, 

proposed action (88 FR 47095). In that 

document we proposed to approve 

revisions to the Arkansas SIP which 

were submitted on May 12, 2022, and 

November 1, 2022, subsequent to EPA’s 

January 12, 2022, finding of failure to 

submit concerning excess emissions 

during periods of SSM.1 We proposed to 

approve the removal of two SSM 

provisions identified as substantially 

inadequate in the June 12, 2015, SIP 

call.2 Specifically, we proposed to 

approve the removal of Regulation 

19.602-Emergency Conditions and 

Regulation 19.1004(H)-Malfunctions, 

Breakdowns, Upsets from the Arkansas 

SIP. We also proposed to determine that 

such SIP revisions correct the 

substantial inadequacies in the 

Arkansas SIP as identified in the June 

2015 SIP call and in response to EPA’s 

January 2022 finding of failure to 

submit. 

II. Response to Comments 

The public comment period for our 

proposed approval and determination 

expired on August 21, 2023, and no 

adverse comments were received. We 

received one comment from Sierra Club 

and Environmental Integrity Project 

supporting removal of Regulation 

19.602 and Regulation 19.1004(H) from 

the Arkansas SIP. Therefore, we are 

finalizing our action as proposed. 

III. Final Action 

The EPA is approving the revisions to 

the Arkansas SIP submitted by the State 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 203 / Monday, October 23, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 72687 

3https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/

pulaskicountyarkansas,AR,US/PST045222. 

of Arkansas on May 12, 2022, and 

November 1, 2022, in response to EPA’s 

national SIP call of June 12, 2015, 

concerning excess emissions during 

periods of SSM. Specifically, we are 

approving the removal of Regulation 

19.602—Emergency Conditions and 

Regulation 19.1004(H)—Malfunctions, 

Breakdowns, Upsets of Rule 19 from the 

Arkansas SIP. We are approving these 

revisions in accordance with section 

110 of the Act. EPA is also determining 

that these SIP revisions correct the 

substantial inadequacies in the 

Arkansas SIP as identified in the June 

12, 2015, SSM SIP Action and in 

response to EPA’s January 12, 2022, 

finding of failure to submit. 

IV. Environmental Justice 

Considerations 

As stated in the proposed action for 

informational purposes only, EPA 

provided additional information 

regarding potentially impacted 

populations living within Pulaski 

County as well as the State of Arkansas 

as a whole.3 As discussed in the 

proposal, this action is intended to 

ensure that all communities and 

populations across Arkansas, and 

downwind areas, receive the full human 

health and environmental protection 

provided by the CAA. The removal of 

impermissible automatic exemptions or 

impermissible affirmative defense 

provisions from the SIP is necessary to 

preserve the enforcement structure of 

the CAA, to preserve the jurisdiction of 

courts to adjudicate questions of 

liability and remedies in judicial 

enforcement actions and to preserve the 

potential for enforcement by the EPA 

and other parties under the citizen suit 

provision as an effective deterrent to 

violations. There is nothing in the 

record which would indicate that this 

action will have disproportionately high 

or adverse human health or 

environmental effects on communities 

with environmental justice concerns. 

V. Incorporation by Reference 

In this rule, the EPA is finalizing 

regulatory text that includes 

incorporation by reference. In 

accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 

51.5, the EPA is removing the 

incorporation by reference of certain 

sections of ‘‘Regulation 19’’ in 40 CFR 

52.170, as described in section III of this 

Final Action. The EPA has made, and 

will continue to make, these materials 

generally available through 

www.regulations.gov (please contact the 

person identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

preamble for more information). 

Therefore, these materials have been 

approved by EPA for removal from the 

Arkansas SIP, have been removed from 

incorporation by reference by EPA into 

that plan, are no longer federally 

enforceable under sections 110 and 113 

of the CAA as of the effective date of the 

final rulemaking of EPA’s approval, and 

incorporation by reference will be 

removed in the next update to the SIP 

compilation. 

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. 

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 14094 (88 FR 

21879, April 11, 2023); 

• 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 subject to Executive Order 

13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) 

because it approves a state program; 

• Is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 

28355, May 22, 2001); and 

• 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. 

• Executive Order 12898 (Federal 

Actions To Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629, 

February 16, 1994) directs Federal 

agencies to identify and address 

‘‘disproportionately high and adverse 

human health or environmental effects’’ 

of their actions on minority populations 

and low-income populations to the 

greatest extent practicable and 

permitted by law. EPA defines 

environmental justice (EJ) as ‘‘the fair 

treatment and meaningful involvement 

of all people regardless of race, color, 

national origin, or income with respect 

to the development, implementation, 

and enforcement of environmental laws, 

regulations, and policies.’’ EPA further 

defines the term fair treatment to mean 

that ‘‘no group of people should bear a 

disproportionate burden of 

environmental harms and risks, 

including those resulting from the 

negative environmental consequences of 

industrial, governmental, and 

commercial operations or programs and 

policies.’’ 

The air agency did not evaluate 

environmental justice considerations as 

part of its SIP submittal; the CAA and 

applicable implementing regulations 

neither prohibit nor require such an 

evaluation. The EPA performed an 

environmental justice analysis, as is 

described above in the section titled, 

‘‘Environmental Justice 

Considerations.’’ The analysis was done 

for the purpose of providing additional 

context and information about this 

rulemaking to the public, not as a basis 

of the action. Due to the nature of the 

action being taken here, this action is 

expected to have a neutral to positive 

impact on the air quality of the affected 

area by removal of an automatic 

exemption provision and an affirmative 

defense provision from the Arkansas 

SIP. In addition, there is no information 

in the record upon which this decision 

is based inconsistent with the stated 

goal of E.O. 12898 of achieving 

environmental justice for people of 

color, low-income populations, and 

Indigenous peoples. 

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). 

This action is subject to the 

Congressional Review Act, and the EPA 

will submit a rule report to each House 

of the Congress and to the Comptroller 

General of the United States. This action 


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72688 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 203 / Monday, October 23, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

is not a ‘‘major rule’’ as defined by 5 

U.S.C. 804(2). 

Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, 

petitions for judicial review of this 

action must be filed in the United States 

Court of Appeals for the appropriate 

circuit by December 22, 2023. Filing a 

petition for reconsideration by the 

Administrator of this final rule does not 

affect the finality of this action for the 

purposes of judicial review nor does it 

extend the time within which a petition 

for judicial review may be filed, and 

shall not postpone the effectiveness of 

such rule or action. This action may not 

be challenged later in proceedings to 

enforce its requirements. See section 

307(b)(2). 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 

Incorporation by reference, 

Intergovernmental relations, Lead, 

Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate 

matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile 

organic compounds. 

Dated: October 16, 2023. 

Earthea Nance, 

Regional Administrator, Region 6. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the Environmental Protection 

Agency amends 40 CFR part 52 as 

follows: 

PART 52—APPROVAL AND 

PROMULGATION OF 

IMPLEMENTATION PLANS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 52 

continues to read as follows: 

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

Subpart E—Arkansas 

■ 2. In § 52.170, the table in paragraph 

(c) titled ‘‘EPA-Approved Regulations in 

the Arkansas SIP’’ is amended under the 

heading for Regulation 19 by: 

■ a. Removing the entry for Reg. 19.602 

under the heading for Chapter 6; and 

■ b. Revising the entry for Reg. 19.1004 

under the heading for Chapter 10. 

The revision reads as follows: 

§ 52.170 Identification of plan. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

EPA-APPROVED REGULATIONS IN THE ARKANSAS SIP 

State citation Title/subject 

State 

submittal/effective 

date 

EPA approval date Explanation 

Regulation No. 19: Regulations of the Arkansas Plan of Implementation for Air Pollution Control 

*******

Chapter 10: Regulations for the Control of Volatile Organic Compounds in Pulaski County 

*******

Reg. 19.1004 .......... General Provisions 1/25/2009, 5/12/ 

2022.

3/4/2015, 80 FR 11573, 10/23/2023, 

[Insert Federal Register citation].

Reg. 19.1004(H) is no longer in SIP, 

10/23/2023. 

* * * * * * * 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2023–23256 Filed 10–20–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R03–OAR–2023–0206; FRL–11037– 

02–R3] 

Air Plan Disapproval; Delaware; 

Removal of Excess Emissions 

Provisions 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final action. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is disapproving certain 

portions of a state implementation plan 

(SIP) revision submitted by the State of 

Delaware, through the Delaware 

Department of Natural Resources and 

Environmental Control (DNREC), on 

November 22, 2016. The revision was 

submitted by Delaware in response to a 

national finding of substantial 

inadequacy and SIP call published on 

June 12, 2015, which included certain 

provisions in the Delaware SIP related 

to excess emissions during startup, 

shutdown, and malfunction (SSM) 

events. EPA is disapproving certain 

portions of the SIP revision and 

determining that such SIP revision does 

not correct the remaining deficiencies in 

Delaware’s SIP identified in the June 12, 

2015, SIP call in accordance with the 

requirements for SIP provisions under 

the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act). This 

action addresses the remaining 

deficiencies identified in EPA’s June 

2015 SIP call that have not yet been 

addressed by prior EPA actions on 

Delaware’s November 2016 SIP 

submission. 

DATES: This final action is effective on 

November 22, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket ID 

Number EPA–R03–OAR–2023–0206. All 

documents in the docket are listed on 

the www.regulations.gov website. 

Although listed in the index, some 

information is not publicly available, 

e.g., confidential business information 

(CBI) or other information whose 

disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, is not placed on 

the internet and will be publicly 

available only in hard copy form. 

Publicly available docket materials are 

available through www.regulations.gov, 

or please contact the person identified 

in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section for additional 

availability information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mallory Moser, Planning & 

Implementation Branch (3AD30), Air & 

Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, Region III, Four 

Penn Center, 1600 John F. Kennedy 

Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

19103. The telephone number is (215) 


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