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[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 210 (Monday, October 31, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 67067-67070]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-27991]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R07-OAR-2011-0470, FRL-9484-5]

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Iowa: 
Prevention of Significant Deterioration; Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule 
Revision

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving an Iowa State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
revision relating to regulation of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) under Iowa's 
Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program. This revision 
was submitted by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) to EPA 
on December 22, 2010. It is designed to align Iowa's regulations with 
the ``PSD and Title V Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Final Rule'' published 
June 3, 2010, in the Federal Register. EPA is approving the revision 
because the Agency has determined that the SIP revision, already 
adopted by Iowa as a final effective rule, is in accordance with the 
Clean Air Act (CAA) and EPA regulations regarding PSD permitting for 
GHGs.

DATES: Effective Date: This final rule will be effective November 30, 
2011.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R07-OAR-2011-0470. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in 
the index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., 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 either electronically 
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air Planning and 
Development Branch, Air and Waste Management Division, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas 
City, Kansas 66101. 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: For information regarding the Iowa 
SIP, contact Mr. Larry Gonzalez, Air Planning and Development Branch, 
Air and Waste Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Region 7, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66101. Mr. 
Gonzalez's telephone number is (913) 551-7041, and his email address 
is: gonzalez.larry@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. What final action is EPA taking in this final rule?
II. What is the background for the PSD SIP approval by EPA in this 
final rule?
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What final action is EPA taking in this final rule?

    On December 22, 2010, IDNR submitted a request to EPA to approve 
revisions to the State's SIP and Title V program to incorporate recent 
rule amendments adopted by the Iowa Environmental Protection 
Commission. These amendments establish thresholds for GHG emissions in 
Iowa's PSD and Title V regulations at the same emissions thresholds and 
in the same time-frames as those specified by EPA in the ``PSD and 
Title V Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Final Rule'' (75 FR 31514), hereafter 
referred to as the ``Tailoring Rule,'' ensuring that smaller GHG 
sources emitting less than these thresholds will not be subject to 
permitting requirements for GHGs that they emit. The amendments to the 
SIP clarify the applicable thresholds in the Iowa SIP, address the flaw 
discussed in the ``Limitation of Approval of Prevention of Significant 
Deterioration Provisions Concerning Greenhouse Gas Emitting-Sources in 
State Implementation Plans Final Rule,'' 75 FR 82536 (December 30, 
2010) (the ``PSD SIP Narrowing Rule''), and incorporate state rule 
changes adopted at the state level into the Federally-approved SIP.
    On August 11, 2011, EPA published a proposed rulemaking to approve 
Iowa's SIP revision. See 76 FR 49708. EPA did not receive any public 
comments on this proposal. In this final rule, pursuant to section 110 
of the CAA, EPA is approving these revisions into the Iowa SIP.\1\
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    \1\ As stated in the proposal, EPA intends to address Iowa's 
December 22, 2010, request to approve revisions to the Title V 
program relating to greenhouse gases in a subsequent rulemaking.
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II. What is the background for the PSD SIP approval by EPA in this 
final rule?

    This section briefly summarizes EPA's recent GHG-related actions 
that provide the background for this final action. More detailed 
discussion of the background is found in the preambles for those 
actions. In particular, the background is contained in what we call the 
PSD SIP Narrowing Rule,\2\ and in the preambles to the actions cited 
therein.
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    \2\ ``Limitation of Approval of Prevention of Significant 
Deterioration Provisions Concerning Greenhouse Gas Emitting-Sources 
in State Implementation Plans; Final Rule.'' 75 FR 82536 (December 
30, 2010).
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A. GHG-Related Actions

    EPA has recently undertaken a series of actions pertaining to the 
regulation of GHGs that, although for the most part distinct from one 
another, establish the overall framework for this final action on the 
Iowa SIP. Four of these actions include, as they are commonly called, 
the ``Endangerment Finding'' and ``Cause or Contribute Finding,'' which 
EPA issued in a single final action,\3\ the ``Johnson Memo 
Reconsideration,'' \4\ the ``Light-Duty Vehicle Rule,'' \5\ and the 
``Tailoring Rule.'' Taken together and in conjunction with the CAA, 
these actions established regulatory requirements for GHGs emitted from 
new motor vehicles and new motor vehicle engines; determined that such 
regulations, when they took effect on January 2, 2011, subjected GHGs 
emitted from stationary sources to PSD requirements; and limited the 
applicability of PSD requirements to GHG sources on a phased-in basis. 
EPA took this last action in the Tailoring Rule, which, more 
specifically, established appropriate GHG emission thresholds for 
determining the applicability of PSD requirements to GHG-emitting 
sources.
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    \3\ ``Endangerment and Cause or Contribute Findings for 
Greenhouse Gases Under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act.'' 74 FR 
66496 (December 15, 2009).
    \4\ ``Interpretation of Regulations that Determine Pollutants 
Covered by Clean Air Act Permitting Programs.'' 75 FR 17004 (April 
2, 2010).
    \5\ ``Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards and 
Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards; Final Rule.'' 75 FR 25324 
(May 7, 2010).
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    In many states, such as Iowa, PSD is implemented through the SIP 
and so in December 2010, EPA promulgated several rules to implement the 
new GHG PSD SIP program. Recognizing that some states had approved SIP 
PSD programs that did not apply PSD to

[[Page 67068]]

GHGs, EPA issued a SIP Call and, for some of these states, a Federal 
Implementation Plan (FIP).\6\ Recognizing that other states had 
approved SIP PSD programs that do apply PSD to GHGs, but that do so for 
sources that emit as little as 100 or 250 tpy of GHG, and that do not 
limit PSD applicability to GHGs to the higher thresholds in the 
Tailoring Rule, EPA issued the PSD SIP Narrowing Rule. Under that rule, 
EPA withdrew its approval of the affected SIPs to the extent those SIPs 
covered GHG-emitting sources below the Tailoring Rule thresholds. EPA 
based its action primarily on the ``error correction'' provisions of 
CAA section 110(k)(6).
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    \6\ Specifically, by notice dated December 13, 2010, EPA 
finalized a ``SIP Call'' that would require those states with SIPs 
that have approved PSD programs but do not authorize PSD permitting 
for GHGs to submit a SIP revision providing such authority. ``Action 
To Ensure Authority To Issue Permits Under the Prevention of 
Significant Deterioration Program to Sources of Greenhouse Gas 
Emissions: Finding of Substantial Inadequacy and SIP Call,'' 75 FR 
77698 (December 13, 2010). EPA made findings of failure to submit in 
some states which were unable to submit the required SIP revision by 
their deadlines, and finalized FIPs for such states. See, e.g. 
``Action To Ensure Authority To Issue Permits Under the Prevention 
of Significant Deterioration Program to Sources of Greenhouse Gas 
Emissions: Finding of Failure To Submit State Implementation Plan 
Revisions Required for Greenhouse Gases,'' 75 FR 81874 (December 29, 
2010); ``Action To Ensure Authority To Issue Permits Under the 
Prevention of Significant Deterioration Program to Sources of 
Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Federal Implementation Plan,'' 75 FR 82246 
(December 30, 2010). Because Iowa's SIP already authorizes Iowa to 
regulate GHGs once GHGs became subject to PSD requirements on 
January 2, 2011, Iowa is not subject to the SIP Call or FIP.
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B. Iowa's Actions

    On July 20, 2010, Iowa provided a letter to EPA, in accordance with 
a request to all states from EPA in the Tailoring Rule, with 
confirmation that the State of Iowa has the authority to regulate GHGs 
in its PSD program. The letter also confirmed Iowa's intent to amend 
its air quality rules for the PSD program for GHGs to match the 
thresholds set in the Tailoring Rule. See the docket for this final 
rulemaking for a copy of Iowa's letter.
    In the PSD SIP Narrowing Rule, published on December 30, 2010, EPA 
withdrew its approval of Iowa's SIP (among other SIPs) to the extent 
that the SIP applies PSD permitting requirements to GHG emissions from 
sources emitting at levels below those set in the Tailoring Rule.\7\ As 
a result, Iowa's current approved SIP provides the State with authority 
to regulate GHGs, but only at and above the Tailoring Rule thresholds; 
and requires new and modified sources to receive a Federal PSD permit 
based on GHG emissions only if they emit at or above the Tailoring Rule 
thresholds.
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    \7\ ``Limitation of Approval of Prevention of Significant 
Deterioration Provisions Concerning Greenhouse Gas Emitting-Sources 
in State Implementation Plans; Final Rule.'' 75 FR 82536 (December 
30, 2010).
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    The basis for this SIP revision is that limiting PSD applicability 
to GHG sources at the higher thresholds in the Tailoring Rule is 
consistent with the SIP provisions that require assurances of adequate 
resources, and thereby addresses the flaw in the SIP that led to the 
PSD SIP Narrowing Rule. Specifically, CAA section 110(a)(2)(E) includes 
as a requirement for SIP approval that states provide ``necessary 
assurances that the State * * * will have adequate personnel [and] 
funding * * * to carry out such [SIP].'' In the Tailoring Rule, EPA 
established higher thresholds for PSD applicability to GHG-emitting 
sources on grounds that the states generally did not have adequate 
resources to apply PSD to GHG-emitting sources below the Tailoring Rule 
thresholds,\8\ and no state, including Iowa, asserted that it did have 
adequate resources to do so.\9\ In the PSD SIP Narrowing Rule, EPA 
found that the affected states, including Iowa, had a flaw in their SIP 
at the time they submitted their PSD programs, which was that the 
applicability of the PSD programs was potentially broader than the 
resources available to them under their SIP.\10\ Accordingly, for each 
affected state, including Iowa, EPA concluded that EPA's action in 
approving the SIP was in error, under CAA section 110(k)(6), and EPA 
rescinded its approval to the extent the PSD program applies to GHG-
emitting sources below the Tailoring Rule thresholds.\11\ EPA 
recommended that states adopt a SIP revision to incorporate the 
Tailoring Rule thresholds, thereby (i) assuring that under state law, 
only sources at or above the Tailoring Rule thresholds would be subject 
to PSD; and (ii) avoiding confusion under the Federally approved SIP by 
clarifying that the SIP applies to only sources at or above the 
Tailoring Rule thresholds.\12\
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    \8\ Tailoring Rule, 75 FR at 31517.
    \9\ PSD SIP Narrowing Rule, 75 FR at 82540.
    \10\ Id. at 82542.
    \11\ Id. at 82544.
    \12\ Id. at 82540.
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    IDNR's December 22, 2010, SIP submission establishes thresholds for 
determining which stationary sources and modification projects become 
subject to permitting requirements for GHG emissions under Iowa's PSD 
program. Specifically, the SIP revision includes changes--which are 
already effective--to Iowa's Administrative Code, revising the subrule 
33.3(1) definition of ``regulated New Source Review (NSR) pollutant'' 
to specifically define the term ``subject to regulation'' for the PSD 
program, and to define ``greenhouse gases (GHGs)'' and ``tpy 
CO2 equivalent emissions (CO2e).'' Additionally, 
the amendments to subrule 33.3(1) specify the methodology for 
calculating an emissions increase for GHGs, the applicable thresholds 
for GHG emissions subject to PSD, and the schedule for when the 
applicability thresholds take effect.
    Iowa is currently a SIP-approved State for the PSD program, and has 
previously incorporated EPA's 2002 NSR reform revisions for PSD into 
its SIP. See 72 FR 27056 (May 14, 2007).\13\ The changes to Iowa's PSD 
program regulations are substantively the same as the Federal 
provisions amended in EPA's Tailoring Rule.
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    \13\ This rulemaking does not act on any other revisions to the 
Iowa PSD rules occurring after the PSD rules approved by EPA in 
2007. Therefore this rulemaking only addresses the 2010 revisions 
discussed herein, relating to the State's adoption of the Tailoring 
Rule provisions.
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    As part of its review of Iowa's submittal, EPA performed a line-by-
line review of Iowa's proposed revision and has determined that it is 
consistent with the Tailoring Rule.

III. Final Action

    Pursuant to section 110 of the CAA, EPA is approving Iowa's 
December 22, 2010 revisions to the Iowa SIP, relating to PSD 
requirements for GHG-emitting sources. EPA has made the determination 
that this SIP revision is approvable because it is in accordance with 
the CAA and EPA regulations regarding PSD permitting for GHGs. The 
detailed rationale for this action is set forth in the proposed 
rulemaking referenced above, and in this final rule.
    Since EPA is finalizing its approval of Iowa's changes to its air 
quality regulations to incorporate appropriate thresholds for GHG 
permitting applicability into Iowa's SIP, then section 52.822(b) of 40 
CFR part 52, added in EPA's PSD SIP Narrowing Rule to codify the 
limitation of its approval of Iowa's PSD SIP to exclude the 
applicability of PSD to GHG-emitting sources below the Tailoring Rule 
thresholds, is no longer necessary. In this action, EPA is also 
amending section 52.822(b) of 40 CFR part 52 to remove this unnecessary 
regulatory language.

[[Page 67069]]

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. 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 the State's law as meeting Federal requirements 
and does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by the 
State's law. For that reason, this action:
     Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under the terms 
of 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);
     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 final rule does not have tribal implications as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), 
because the SIP program 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 amended 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 December 30, 2011. 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

    Air pollution control, Environmental protection, Greenhouse gases, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, and Reporting 
and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: October 20, 2011.
Karl Brooks,
Regional Administrator, Region 7.
    40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

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

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

Subpart Q--Iowa

0
2. Section 52.820(c) is amended by revising the entry for ``567-33.3'' 
under Chapter 33 to read as follows:

Sec.  52.820  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                          EPA-Approved Iowa Regulations
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                                                      State
      Iowa citation                Title         effective date    EPA approval date          Explanation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Chapter 33--Special Regulations and Construction Permit Requirements for Major Stationary Sources--Prevention of
 Significant Deterioration (PSD) of Air Quality.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
567-33.3.................  Special construction      12/22/2010  10/31/2011 [Insert    .........................
                            permit requirement                    citation of
                            for major                             publication].
                            stationary sources
                            in areas designated
                            attainment or
                            unclassified (PSD).
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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Sec.  52.822  [Amended]

0
3. Section 52.822 is amended by removing and reserving paragraph (b).

[FR Doc. 2011-27991 Filed 10-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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