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[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 164 (Monday, August 25, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 50554-50556]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-20053]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2012-0814 & EPA-R04-OAR-2012-0692; FRL-9915-65-Region 4]

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Florida; 
Infrastructure Requirement (Visibility) for the 1997 and 2006 PM, and 
2008 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: On April 18, 2008, and September 23, 2009, the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) received state implementation plan (SIP) 
submissions from the State of Florida, through the Florida Department 
of Environmental Protection (FDEP), regarding the infrastructure 
elements for the 1997 annual Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and 2006 24-hour 
PM2.5 NAAQS, respectively. On October 31, 2012, EPA received 
a SIP submission from FDEP regarding the infrastructure elements for 
the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. Additionally, on October 22, 2013, FDEP 
supplemented the three aforementioned infrastructure SIP submissions. 
The Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) requires that each state adopt and 
submit a SIP for the implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of 
each NAAQS promulgated by EPA. These plans are commonly referred to as 
``infrastructure'' SIPs. Specifically, EPA is taking final action to 
approve the submissions for Florida as they relate to the 1997 annual 
and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 and 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS 
infrastructure SIP requirements to protect visibility in other states. 
All other applicable infrastructure requirements for these NAAQS have 
been addressed in separate rulemakings. EPA is approving the elements 
of these infrastructure SIP submissions, as supplemented on October 22, 
2013, as they relate to the protection of visibility in other states.

DATES: This rule will be effective September 24, 2014.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2012-0814 for the 1997 and 2006 
PM2.5 SIP submissions and EPA-R04-OAR-2012-0692 for the 2008 
8-hour ozone SIP submission. All documents in the docket are listed on 
the www.regulations.gov Web site. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, i.e., 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 and will be publicly available only in hard copy 
form. Publicly available docket materials are available either 
electronically through www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the 
Regulatory Development Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides 
and Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. EPA 
requests that if at all possible, you contact the person listed in the 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to schedule your inspection. 
The Regional Office's official hours of business are Monday through 
Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. excluding federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sean Lakeman, Regulatory Development 
Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management 
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth 
Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The telephone number is (404) 
562-9043. Mr. Lakeman can be reached via electronic mail at 
lakeman.sean@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Upon promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS, sections 110(a)(1) and 
(2) of the CAA require states to address basic SIP requirements, 
including emissions inventories, monitoring, and modeling to assure 
attainment and maintenance for that new NAAQS. On July 18, 1997 (62 FR 
38652), EPA established an annual PM2.5 NAAQS of 15.0 
micrograms per cubic meter ([mu]g/m\3\), based on a 3-year average of 
annual mean PM2.5 concentrations, and a 24-hour NAAQS of 65 
[mu]g/m\3\. On October 17, 2006 (71 FR 61144), EPA retained the 1997 
annual PM2.5 NAAQS at 15.0 [mu]g/m\3\ based on a 3-year 
average of annual mean PM2.5 concentrations and promulgated 
a new 24-hour NAAQS of 35 [mu]g/m\3\ based on a 3-year average of the 
98th percentile of 24-hour concentrations. On March 27, 2008 (77 FR 
16436), EPA revised the 8-hour ozone NAAQS to 0.075 parts per million. 
On March 21, 2014, EPA proposed to approve SIP submissions from Florida 
as they relate to section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) infrastructure SIP 
requirements to protect visibility in other states for the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS, 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, and 2008 
8-hour ozone NAAQS. A summary of the background for today's final 
action is provided below. See EPA's March 21, 2014, proposed rulemaking 
at 79 FR 15718 for more detail.
    Section 110(a)(2)(D) has two components: 110(a)(2)(D)(i) and 
110(a)(2)(D)(ii). Section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) includes four distinct 
components, commonly referred to as ``prongs,'' that must be addressed 
in infrastructure SIP submissions. The first two prongs, which are 
codified in section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I), are provisions that prohibit 
any source or other type of emissions activity in one state from 
contributing significantly to nonattainment of the NAAQS in another 
state (prong 1) and interfering with maintenance of the NAAQS in 
another state (prong 2). The third and fourth prongs, which are 
codified in section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II), are provisions that prohibit 
emissions activity in one state interfering with measures required to 
prevent significant deterioration of air quality in another state 
(prong 3) and to protect visibility in another state (prong 4). Section 
110(a)(2)(D)(ii) requires SIPs to include provisions ensuring 
compliance with sections 115 and 126 of the Act, relating to interstate 
and international pollution abatement.
    EPA has previously taken action to address SIP submissions from 
Florida related to prongs 1 through 3 of section

[[Page 50555]]

110(a)(2)(D)(i) and the requirements of section 110(a)(2)(D)(ii) for 
the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS, 2006 24-hour PM2.5 
NAAQS, and 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. Today's final rulemaking relates 
only to prong 4 of section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II), which as previously 
described, requires that infrastructure SIPs contain adequate 
provisions to protect visibility in other states.

II. Response to Comments

    On March 21, 2014 (79 FR 15718), EPA published a proposed rule to 
approve SIP submissions from Florida as they relate to the section 
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) infrastructure SIP requirements to protect 
visibility in other states for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS, 
2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, and 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. EPA 
received comments and questions on the rulemaking from two members of 
the general public (collectively referred to as the ``Commenter''). A 
summary of these comments and EPA's response is provided below.
    Comment: The Commenter contends that EPA must disapprove the 
infrastructure SIP submissions as they relate to prong 4 of section 
110(a)(2)(D)(i) because, according to the Commenter, regional haze at 
the St. Marks Wildlife Refuge (St. Marks Class I Area) is caused by 
prescribed burning; the Smoke Management Plan (SMP) attached to 
Florida's regional haze SIP submittal is ``largely ignored'' by the 
Florida Forest Service (FFS); the FFS has not designated the St. Marks 
Class I Area as a Smoke Sensitive Area/Receptor and ``regularly 
approves burns that engulf'' the St. Marks Class I Area and the Gulf of 
Mexico; Georgia and Florida ``regularly send smoke from prescribed 
burning to the other state;'' the FFS should disapprove prescribed 
burns on days when the wind direction will likely send smoke in the 
direction of the St. Marks Class I Area; and Florida's regional haze 
SIP is ``never enforced.''
    Response: EPA disagrees that the concerns raised by the Commenter 
require the Agency to disapprove Florida's infrastructure SIP 
submissions under prong 4. The regional haze regulations at 40 CFR 
51.308(d)(3)(v)(E) require that each state consider smoke management 
techniques and plans for agricultural and forestry management purposes 
in developing the long-term strategy (LTS) included in its regional 
haze SIP. In reviewing Florida's regional haze SIP, EPA agreed with the 
State's determination that elemental carbon associated with prescribed 
fires was not a significant contributor to visibility in the Class I 
areas in Florida or Georgia.\1\ Florida evaluated the impact of 
emissions from within the State on Class I areas in neighboring states 
and consulted with those states through a regional planning process.\2\ 
In its formal correspondence with Florida, Georgia supported Florida's 
approach to identifying and evaluating emissions sources that 
contribute significantly to visibility impairment in Georgia's Class I 
areas and did not identify prescribed fires in Florida as a source that 
significantly impacts those areas.\3\ EPA concluded that Florida had 
satisfied the requirements of 40 CFR 51.308(d)(3)(v)(E) to consider the 
need for smoke management techniques in Florida's LTS for ensuring 
reasonable progress towards improving visibility, but had reasonably 
concluded that such techniques were not needed in its regional haze SIP 
for the first planning period.\4\ We note that the Commenter has not 
provided any information unavailable at the time that EPA finalized 
action on Florida's regional haze SIP that warrants a different 
conclusion. More importantly, given that the visibility requirements of 
section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) are directed toward the protection of 
visibility in downwind states, the comments do not show that the 
impacts from prescribed burning in Florida are interfering with the 
reasonable progress goals set by Georgia or other nearby states for 
their Class I areas. As such, the comments relating to visibility 
impacts at the St. Marks Class I Area in Florida do not provide a basis 
for disapproving FDEP's SIP submissions addressing the requirements of 
section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) with respect to visibility.
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    \1\ See 77 FR 31240, 31251, 31260-31261 (May 25, 2012).
    \2\ Id. at 31260.
    \3\ Id. at 31260-61; Letter from James P. Johnson, Georgia 
Department of Natural Resources, to Thomas G. Rogers, FDEP (May 26, 
2009) (attached as Exhibit 3 to Florida's regional haze SIP and 
available in Docket ID No. EPA-R04-OAR-2010-0935).
    \4\ 77 FR at 31250-31251.
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    Regarding the comments concerning enforcement, the Commenter has 
not identified any specific instances in which the State has failed to 
implement or enforce any elements of its regional haze SIP. Florida 
included the SMP as Appendix N to its regional haze SIP submittal, but 
as noted in the transmittal document associated with Florida's August 
31, 2010 regional haze SIP submission, the appendices to that 
submission were included to provide background information and ``were 
not proposed to be incorporated into the SIP.'' \5\ Because the SMP is 
not part of Florida's SIP, it is not federally enforceable. Concerns 
regarding the implementation of the SMP by the FFS should be addressed 
to the State.
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    \5\ FDEP, Proposed Revision to State Implementation Plan, Number 
2010-01, Regional Haze Plan (Amended), SIP Transmittal (August 31, 
2010), p.3. This document can be found in Docket ID No. EPA-R04-OAR-
2010-0935.
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III. Final Action

    As described above, EPA is approving the infrastructure SIP 
submissions from FDEP as addressing prong 4 of section 
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) of the CAA for the 1997 and 2006 PM2.5 
NAAQS and for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. Specifically, EPA is 
approving FDEP's April 18, 2008, and September 23, 2009, submissions 
for the 1997 and 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS, and FDEP's October 31, 
2011, submission for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS, as supplemented on 
October 22, 2013, as they pertain to prong 4 of section 
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) because they are consistent with section 110 of the 
CAA.

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 Act and applicable 
federal regulations. See 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 
final 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 Order 
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
     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);

[[Page 50556]]

     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 rule does not have tribal implications as specified 
by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because the 
SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in the state, 
and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct costs on 
tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally 
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating 
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, 
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the 
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this action and 
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior 
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot 
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal 
Register. This action 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 October 24, 2014. 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, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Particulate 
Matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic 
compounds.

    Dated: August 14, 2014.
Heather McTeer Tony,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart K--Florida

0
2. Section 52.520(e) is amended by adding three new entries for 
``110(a)(1) and (2) Infrastructure Requirements for the 1997 Fine 
Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards'', 
``110(a)(1) and (2) Infrastructure Requirements for the 2006 Fine 
Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards'' and 
``110(a)(1) and (2) Infrastructure Requirements for the 2008 Ozone 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards'' at the end of the table to 
read as follows:

Sec.  52.520  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                                 EPA-Approved Florida Non-Regulatory Provisions
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                                         State
             Provision                 effective     EPA  approval     Federal Register         Explanation
                                         date            date               notice
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                                                  * * * * * * *
110(a)(1) and (2) Infrastructure         4/18/2008       8/25/2014  [Insert Federal        Addressing prong 4 of
 Requirements for the 1997 Fine                                      Register citation].    section
 Particulate Matter National                                                                110(a)(2)(D)(i)
 Ambient Air Quality Standards.                                                             only.
110(a)(1) and (2) Infrastructure         9/23/2009       8/25/2014  [Insert Federal        Addressing prong 4 of
 Requirements for the 2006 Fine                                      Register citation].    section
 Particulate Matter National                                                                110(a)(2)(D)(i)
 Ambient Air Quality Standards.                                                             only.
110(a)(1) and (2) Infrastructure        10/31/2011       8/25/2014  [Insert Federal        Addressing prong 4 of
 Requirements for the 2008 Ozone                                     Register citation].    section
 National Ambient Air Quality                                                               110(a)(2)(D)(i)
 Standards.                                                                                 only.
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[FR Doc. 2014-20053 Filed 8-22-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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