86312 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 238 / Wednesday, December 13, 2023 / Proposed Rules 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629, 

Feb. 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.’’ 

ADEM did not evaluate EJ 

considerations as part of its SIP 

submittal; the CAA and applicable 

implementing regulations neither 

prohibit nor require such an evaluation. 

EPA did not perform an EJ analysis and 

did not consider EJ in this proposed 

action. Due to the nature of the action 

being proposed here, this proposed 

action is expected to have a neutral to 

positive impact on the air quality of the 

affected area. Consideration of EJ is not 

required as part of this proposed action, 

and there is no information in the 

record inconsistent with the stated goal 

of E.O. 12898 of achieving EJ for people 

of color, low-income populations, and 

Indigenous peoples. 

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, Sulfur oxides, Volatile 

organic compounds. 

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

Dated: December 7, 2023. 

Jeaneanne Gettle, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4. 

[FR Doc. 2023–27297 Filed 12–12–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 62 

[EPA–R10–OAR–2023–0224; FRL–10859– 

01–R10] 

Approval and Promulgation of State 

Plans for Designated Facilities and 

Pollutants; Spokane Regional Clean 

Air Agency; Control of Emissions 

From Existing Large Municipal Waste 

Combustors 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing to partially 

approve and partially disapprove a 

Clean Air Act (CAA) State Plan 

submitted by the Spokane Regional 

Clean Air Agency (SRCAA). This State 

Plan establishes emission limits for 

existing large municipal waste 

combustors (MWC) and provides for the 

implementation and enforcement of 

these limits. SRCAA submitted this 

State Plan to fulfill its requirements 

under the CAA in response to the EPA’s 

promulgation of Emissions Guidelines 

and Compliance Times for Large MWC 

Constructed on or before September 20, 

1994 (Emission Guidelines). The EPA is 

partially approving the State Plan 

because it meets the requirements of the 

Emission Guidelines for existing large 

MWC known to operate in Spokane 

County, Washington. The EPA is 

partially disapproving the State Plan 

because it omits requirements for 

fluidized bed combustors and air 

curtain incinerators, which are required 

elements of a State Plan. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before January 12, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R10– 

OAR–2023–0224 at https://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Once submitted, comments cannot be 

edited or removed from 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, 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 

https://www.epa.gov/dockets/ 

commenting-epa-dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Bryan Holtrop (he/him), U.S. EPA, 

Region 10. He can be reached by phone 

at (206) 553–4473 or by email at 

holtrop.bryan@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Section 111(d) of the CAA requires 

the EPA to establish a procedure for a 

state to submit a plan to the EPA that 

establishes standards of performance for 

any air pollutant: (1) for which air 

quality criteria have not been issued or 

which is not included on a list 

published under CAA section 108 or 

emitted from a source category which is 

regulated under CAA section 112 and 

(2) to which a standard of performance 

under CAA section 111 would apply if 

such existing source were a new source. 

Section 129(b)(2) of the CAA requires 

that after the EPA promulgates 

guidelines for a category of solid waste 

incineration units, each state in which 

units in the category are operating shall 

submit to the EPA a plan to implement 

and enforce the guidelines with respect 

to such units. Such plans shall be at 

least as protective as the guidelines 

promulgated by the EPA. The EPA 

established requirements for State Plan 

submittals in the Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) at 40 CFR part 60, 

subpart B. State submittals under CAA 

sections 111(d) and 129 must be 

consistent with the relevant emission 

guidelines, in this instance 40 CFR part 

60, subpart Cb, and the requirements of 

40 CFR part 60, subpart B. 

On May 10, 2006, the EPA revised the 

regulations established for Emissions 

Guidelines and Compliance Times for 

Large MWC That Are Constructed on or 

before September 20, 1994, in 40 CFR 

part 60, subpart Cb (71 FR 27324). This 

action was taken under sections 111(d) 

and 129 of the CAA. 

On July 18, 2022, SRCAA submitted 

to the EPA a section 111(d)/129 plan for 

existing large MWC. The submitted 

section plan was in response to the May 

10, 2006, promulgation of Federal 

emission guidelines requirements for 

large MWC, 40 CFR part 60, subpart Cb 

(71 FR 27336). 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 238 / Wednesday, December 13, 2023 / Proposed Rules 86313 

II. Summary of the Plan and EPA 

Analysis 

The EPA has reviewed the SRCAA 

section 111(d)/129 plan submittal in the 

context of the requirements of 40 CFR 

part 60, subparts B and Cb. In this 

action, the EPA is proposing to 

determine that SRCAA’s section 111(d)/ 

129 plan meets the cited Federal 

requirements, except with regard to 

fluidized bed combustors and air 

curtain incinerators. On April 5 2007, 

SRCAA amended Regulation I, Article 

VI, Section 6.17 to incorporate the 

EPA’s revisions to the Emission 

Guidelines for large MWC and made 

administrative formatting updates, 

adopted on July 9, 2020. The primary 

mechanism used by SRCAA to 

implement the Emission Guidelines for 

existing large MWC under state 

jurisdiction is through incorporation by 

reference of 40 CFR part 60, subpart Cb 

requirements into Regulation 1, Article 

VI, Section 6.17. The changes SRCAA 

made to the language in the Emission 

Guidelines were made to convert the 

language in the Emission Guidelines to 

enforceable requirements. Because 

SRCAA reported that there are only two 

units at a single facility subject to the 

proposed State Plan—both of which 

utilize the mass burn waterwall 

combustor technology—SRCAA did not 

include requirements in the Emission 

Guidelines that apply to fluidized bed 

combustors (40 CFR 60.33b(d)(3)) or air 

curtain incinerators (40 CFR 60.37b). In 

each case, the Emission Guidelines 

clearly state that ‘‘for approval, a State 

Plan shall include . . .’’ the specified 

requirements. The EPA has no 

discretion to fully approve a State Plan 

that omits a required element. For this 

reason, the EPA is proposing to partially 

disapprove SRCAA’s State Plan insofar 

as it does not address regulatory 

requirements applicable to fluidized bed 

combustors and air curtain incinerators. 

These regulations will be applicable 

to existing large MWC in Spokane 

County, Washington upon the EPA’s 

approval of the plan by final 

rulemaking, except that fluidized bed 

combustors and air curtain incinerators 

that are designated facilities under the 

Emission Guidelines per 40 CFR 60.32b 

shall be subject to the Federal Plan 

Requirements for Large Municipal 

Waste Combustors Constructed on or 

before September 20, 1994 (40 CFR part 

62, subpart FFF). A more detailed 

explanation of the rationale behind this 

proposed approval is available in the 

Technical Support Document (TSD) that 

may be found in the docket for this 

action. 

III. Proposed Action 

The EPA is proposing to partially 

approve and partially disapprove the 

SRCAA section 111(d)/129 plan for 

large MWC submitted pursuant to 40 

CFR part 60, subpart Cb. Therefore, the 

EPA is proposing to amend 40 CFR part 

62, subpart WW to reflect this action. 

This partial approval and partial 

disapproval is based on the rationale 

previously discussed in this document 

and in further detail in the TSD that 

may be found in the docket for this 

action. The scope of the proposed 

partial approval of the section 111(d)/ 

129 plan is limited to the provisions of 

40 CFR part 60, subpart Cb that apply 

to existing large MWC in Spokane 

County that are not fluidized bed 

combustors or air curtain incinerators. 

The EPA Administrator continues to 

retain the authorities identified in 40 

CFR 60.30b(b) as authorities retained by 

the Administrator. 

IV. Incorporation by Reference 

In this document, the EPA is 

proposing to include regulatory text that 

incorporates by reference the State Plan. 

In accordance with requirements of 1 

CFR 51.5, the EPA is proposing to 

incorporate by reference SRCAA 

Regulation I, Article VI, Section 6.17, 

which became effective within the 

SRCAA’s jurisdiction on July 7, 2022. 

The regulatory provisions of this section 

of the SRCAA rule incorporate all the 

CAA 111(d)/129 State Plan elements 

required by the EG for existing large 

MWC promulgated at 40 CFR part 60, 

subpart Cb. The emissions standards 

and compliance times established 

within the SRCAA State Plan are at least 

as stringent as those required by the EG 

for existing large MWC subject to 

subpart Cb. The EPA has made, and will 

continue to make, these materials 

generally available through the docket 

for this action, EPA–R10–OAR–2023– 

0224, at https://www.regulations.gov 

and at EPA Region 10 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 

In reviewing State Plan submissions, 

the 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 proposed 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 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); 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. The 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.’’ The 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 submittal; the Clean Air Act 

and applicable implementing 

regulations neither prohibit nor require 

such an evaluation. The EPA did not 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
86314 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 238 / Wednesday, December 13, 2023 / Proposed Rules 

perform an EJ analysis and did not 

consider EJ in this action. Due to the 

nature of this action, it is expected to 

have a neutral to positive impact on the 

air quality of the affected area. 

Consideration of EJ is not required as 

part of this action, and there is no 

information in the record inconsistent 

with the stated goal of Executive Order 

12898 of achieving environmental 

justice for people of color, low-income 

populations, and Indigenous peoples. 

In addition, this proposed rulemaking 

would not apply on any Indian 

reservation land or in any other area in 

Washington where the EPA or an Indian 

Tribe has demonstrated that a Tribe has 

jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian 

country, the proposed rule would not 

have Tribal implications as specified by 

Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, 

November 9, 2000). 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 62 

Environmental protection, 

Administrative practice and procedure, 

Air pollution control, Hazardous 

substances, Incorporation by reference, 

Intergovernmental relations, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements, Waste 

treatment and disposal. 

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

Dated: December 7, 2023. 

Casey Sixkiller, 

Regional Administrator, Region 10. 

[FR Doc. 2023–27295 Filed 12–12–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS