This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

1133 

Vol. 81, No. 6 

Monday, January 11, 2016 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R10–OAR–2015–0813: FRL–9940–92– 

Region 10] 

Approval and Promulgation of 

Implementation Plans; Washington; 

Removal of Obsolete Regulations 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing to remove 

outdated rules in the Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) for the State of 

Washington because they are 

unnecessary or obsolete. The EPA is 

also proposing to clarify regulations to 

reflect updated citations and more 

recent air quality monitoring data. 

These proposed actions make no 

substantive changes to the State 

Implementation Plan (SIP) and impose 

no new requirements. In the Final Rules 

section of this Federal Register, the EPA 

is approving these determinations as a 

direct final rule without prior proposal 

because the Agency views this as a 

noncontroversial action and anticipates 

no adverse comments. A detailed 

rationale for the approval is set forth in 

the direct final rule. If no adverse 

comments are received in response to 

this action, no further activity is 

contemplated. If the EPA receives 

adverse comments, the direct final rule 

will be withdrawn and all public 

comments received will be addressed in 

a subsequent final rule based on this 

proposed rule. The EPA will not 

institute a second comment period. Any 

parties interested in commenting on this 

action should do so at this time. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before February 10, 2016. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R10– 

OAR–2015–0813, at http://

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, 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: Jeff 

Hunt, EPA Region 10, (206) 553–0256, 

hunt.jeff@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For 

further information, please see the 

information provided in the direct final 

action, with the same title, that is 

located in the ‘‘Rules and Regulations’’ 

section of this Federal Register. Please 

note that if the EPA receives adverse 

comment on an amendment, paragraph, 

or section of this rule and if that 

provision may be severed from the 

remainder of the rule, the EPA may 

adopt as final those provisions of the 

rule that are not the subject of an 

adverse comment. 

Dated: December 21, 2015. 

Michelle L. Pirzadeh, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 10. 

[FR Doc. 2015–33176 Filed 1–8–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R03–OAR–2015–0539; FR–9940–85– 

Region 3] 

Approval and Promulgation of Air 

Quality Implementation Plans; West 

Virginia; Prevention of Significant 

Deterioration and Approval of 

Infrastructure State Implementation 

Plans for Specific National Ambient Air 

Quality Standards 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a 

State Implementation Plan (SIP) 

revision submitted by the West Virginia 

Department of Environmental Protection 

(WVDEP) for the State of West Virginia 

on June 3, 2015. 

This revision pertains to West 

Virginia’s Prevention of Significant 

Deterioration (PSD) permit program 

regulations for preconstruction 

permitting requirements for major 

sources. The revision includes a change 

in West Virginia’s PSD regulations 

related to emissions of fine particulate 

matter (PM2.5). The State’s June 3, 2015 

submittal satisfies its obligations 

pursuant to an earlier rulemaking in 

which EPA granted final conditional 

approval of West Virginia’s PSD 

implementing regulations. This action 

also addresses specific infrastructure 

program elements specified in Clean Air 

Act (CAA) section 110(a)(2) necessary to 

implement, maintain, and enforce the 

national ambient air quality standards 

(NAAQS). This action is being taken 

under the CAA. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before February 10, 2016. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID Number EPA– 

R03–OAR–2015–0539 by one of the 

following methods: 

A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

B. Email: campbell.dave@epa.gov. 

C. Mail: EPA–R03–OAR–2015–0539, 

Amy Johansen, Acting Associate 

Director, Office of Permits and State 

Programs, Mailcode 3AP10, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, 


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1134 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 6 / Monday, January 11, 2016 / Proposed Rules 

1The PSD permitting program is the NSR permit 

program in areas attaining a particular NAAQS. 

Region III, 1650 Arch Street, 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. 

D. Hand Delivery: At the previouslylisted EPA Region III address. Such 

deliveries are only accepted during the 

Docket’s normal hours of operation, and 

special arrangements should be made 

for deliveries of boxed information. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to 

Docket ID No. EPA–R03–OAR–2015– 

0539. EPA’s policy is that all comments 

received will be included in the public 

docket without change, and may be 

made available online at 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided, unless 

the comment includes information 

claimed to be Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Do not submit information that you 

consider to be CBI or otherwise 

protected through www.regulations.gov 

or email. The www.regulations.gov Web 

site is an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system, 

which means EPA will not know your 

identity or contact information unless 

you provide it in the body of your 

comment. If you send an email 

comment directly to EPA without going 

through www.regulations.gov, your 

email address will be automatically 

captured and included as part of the 

comment that is placed in the public 

docket and made available on the 

Internet. If you submit an electronic 

comment, EPA recommends that you 

include your name and other contact 

information in the body of your 

comment and with any disk or CD–ROM 

you submit. If EPA cannot read your 

comment due to technical difficulties 

and cannot contact you for clarification, 

EPA may not be able to consider your 

comment. Electronic files should avoid 

the use of special characters, any form 

of encryption, and be free of any defects 

or viruses. 

Docket: All documents in the 

electronic docket are listed in the 

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 www.regulations.gov or 

in hard copy during normal business 

hours at the Air Protection Division, 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

Region III, 1650 Arch Street, 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. 

Copies of the State submittals are 

available at the West Virginia 

Department of Environmental 

Protection, Division of Air Quality, 601 

57th Street SE., Charleston, West 

Virginia 25304. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Paul Wentworth, (215) 814–2183, or by 

email at Wentworth.paul@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The WVDEP submitted a SIP revision 

to EPA on June 3, 2015. This SIP 

revision request, if approved, would 

revise West Virginia’s currentlyapproved PSD program by amending 

Series 14 under Title 45 of West 

Virginia Code of State Rules (45CSR14). 

West Virginia is amending 45CSR14 in 

response to changes EPA made to the 

NAAQS for PM2.5 that affect certain 

aspects of the PSD program 

requirements. 

On May 16, 2008, EPA promulgated a 

rule to implement the 1997 PM2.5

NAAQS, including changes to the New 

Source Review (NSR) program (the 2008 

NSR PM2.5 Rule). See 73 FR 28321. The 

2008 NSR PM2.5 Rule revised the NSR 

program requirements to establish the 

framework for implementing 

preconstruction permit review for the 

PM2.5 NAAQS in both attainment and 

nonattainment areas.1 The 2008 NSR 

PM2.5 rule: (1) Required NSR permits to 

address directly emitted PM2.5 and 

precursor pollutants; (2) established 

significant emission rates for direct 

PM2.5 and precursor pollutants (sulfur 

dioxide (SO2) and oxides of nitrogen 

(NOX)); (3) required states to account for 

gases that condense to form particles 

(condensables) in PM2.5 emission limits; 

and (4) established certain PSD program 

requirements. EPA’s NSR requirements 

specific to PM2.5 have been subject to 

litigation in the United States Court of 

Appeal for the D.C. Circuit and to some 

subsequent revisions by EPA. For a 

detailed discussion of the NSR 

requirements for PM2.5 as relevant to 

this rulemaking for West Virginia’s PSD 

provisions, see EPA’s analysis and 

discussion in Technical Support 

Document; State of West Virginia, West 

Virginia Department of Environmental 

Protection; Division of Air Quality; 

Prevention of Significant Deterioration 

(PSD) SIP Revision Request (the WV 

PSD TSD) which is included in the 

docket for this proposed action (EPA– 

R03–OAR–2015–0539) and is available 

online at www.regulations.gov. 

In an earlier rulemaking action, EPA 

granted final condition approval of 

revisions to 45CSR14 made by West 

Virginia to address requirements of the 

CAA, 40 CFR 51.166 and the 2008 NSR 

PM2.5 Rule. See 80 FR 36483 (June 25, 

2015). EPA’s conditional approval was 

based upon West Virginia’s commitment 

to include in its PSD regulations at 

45CSR14 a significant monitoring 

concentration (SMC) of zero micrograms 

per cubic meter for PM2.5 to be 

consistent with federal PSD 

requirements. Id. EPA provided a 

detailed discussion of the changes West 

Virginia made to its PSD regulations in 

45CSR14 to be consistent with the 

federal PSD program at 40 CFR 51.166 

and the 2008 NSR PM2.5 Rule in our 

proposed conditional approval of West 

Virginia’s June 6, 2012 and July 1, 2014 

SIP submissions (the 2012 and 2014 

submissions) which contained several 

revisions to 45 CSR14. See 80 FR 16612 

(March 30, 2015). West Virginia’s June 

3, 2015 SIP submittal that is the subject 

of this action includes an amended 

45CSR14 for West Virginia’s PSD 

program that was revised to include the 

PM2.5 SMC at zero micrograms per cubic 

meter and to address the deficiency 

noted in EPA’s proposed conditional 

approval of 45CSR14. Id. With its June 

3, 2015 submittal, West Virginia has 

made all of the changes to its PSD 

implementing regulations necessary to 

address PM2.5 as prescribed by the CAA, 

40 CFR 51.166, and the 2008 NSR PM2.5

Rule. 

In this action, EPA is also proposing 

to approve several of West Virginia’s 

infrastructure SIPs as meeting PSD 

elements of section 110(a)(2) of the CAA 

for the 1997 ozone and PM2.5 NAAQS, 

the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS, the 2008 lead 

and ozone NAAQS, and the 2010 

nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and SO2

NAAQS. 

II. Summary of SIP Revision and EPA 

Analysis 

A. Summary of SIP Revision 

The SIP revision submitted by 

WVDEP on June 3, 2015 pertains to 

revisions to its PSD permit program 

regulations at 45CSR14–16.7.c that 

establish a SMC value of zero 

micrograms per cubic meter for PM2.5. 

B. EPA Analysis 

EPA finds the revisions to 45CSR14 

contained in the June 3, 2015 submittal 

are consistent with the federal PSD 

program in the CAA and in 40 CFR 

51.166(i)(5)(i)(c) pertaining specifically 

to the SMC for PM2.5. The WV PSD TSD 

contains EPA’s detailed discussion and 

analysis of the June 3, 2015 submittal 

and how it meets requirements for a 

PM2.5 SMC specifically and the 

requirements of 40 CFR 51.166 and the 

2008 NSR PM2.5 Rule in general. The 

WV PSD TSD is included in the docket 


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2As mentioned previously, the WV PSD TSD is 

included in the docket for this proposed action 

(EPA–R03–OAR–2015–0539) and is available online 

at www.regulations.gov. 

for this proposed action (EPA–R03– 

OAR–2015–0539) and is available 

online at www.regulations.gov. 

Because this submission fulfills the 

commitment made by West Virginia in 

the final conditional approval of West 

Virginia’s earlier submittals of revisions 

to 45CSR14 (i.e., the 2012 and 2014 

submissions), EPA proposes full 

approval of West Virginia’s PSD 

regulations at 45CSR14 in its entirety as 

45CSR14 meets requirements in the 

CAA and its implementing regulations 

and proposes to remove the prior 

conditional approval. See 80 FR 36483 

(final conditional approval of the 2012 

and 2014 submissions of revisions to 

45CSR14). 

Similarly, because West Virginia’s 

regulations at 45CSR14 fully meet the 

federal requirements for PSD in the 

CAA and in 40 CFR 51.166 as discussed 

in the WV PSD TSD, EPA also finds that 

West Virginia’s PSD program addresses 

specific PSD-related portions of 

infrastructure program elements in 

section 110(a)(2) of the CAA for the 

1997 ozone and PM2.5 NAAQS, the 2006 

PM2.5 NAAQS, the 2008 lead and ozone 

NAAQS, and the 2010 NO2 and SO2

NAAQS. Thus, EPA proposes to 

approve several of West Virginia’s SIP 

submissions as addressing PSD 

requirements in section 110(a)(2) of the 

CAA for these NAAQS. The WV PSD 

TSD contains a detailed discussion of 

the relevant West Virginia infrastructure 

SIP submissions, EPA’s prior 

rulemaking action on those 

infrastructure SIPs, and EPA’s rationale 

for finding those SIP submittals address 

PSD elements of section 110(a)(2) for the 

1997 ozone and PM2.5 NAAQS, the 2006 

PM2.5 NAAQS, the 2008 lead and ozone 

NAAQS, and the 2010 NO2 and SO2

NAAQS.2 EPA is soliciting public 

comments on the issues discussed in 

this document. These comments will be 

considered before taking final action. 

III. Proposed Action 

EPA is proposing to approve West 

Virginia’s June 3, 2015 SIP submittal 

containing revised PSD permit program 

implementation regulations at 45CSR14. 

In a previous rulemaking action, EPA 

evaluated 45CSR14 and found the 

provisions are consistent with the 

federal PSD permit program 

requirements at 40 CFR 51.166 with the 

exception of West Virginia’s omission of 

a PM2.5 SMC at zero micrograms per 

cubic meter. See 80 FR 36483. With the 

June 3, 2015 SIP submittal of the revised 

West Virginia PSD regulations at 

45CSR14 which now contain the PM2.5

SMC, West Virginia’s PSD regulations 

are consistent with federal PSD 

requirements. EPA proposes to remove 

the conditional approval of the 2012 

and 2014 submissions and fully approve 

45CSR14. EPA is also proposing to 

determine that West Virginia’s 

infrastructure SIP submittals for the 

1997 ozone and PM2.5 NAAQS, the 2006 

PM2.5 NAAQS, the 2008 lead and ozone 

NAAQS, and the 2010 NO2 and SO2

NAAQS meet PSD related requirements 

in section 110(a)(2) of the CAA. Finally, 

EPA proposes to remove the prior 

narrow disapproval of the West Virginia 

infrastructure SIPs for the 1997 ozone 

and PM2.5 NAAQS, the 2006 PM2.5

NAAQS, and the 2008 lead and ozone 

NAAQS for not addressing fully all PSD 

requirements for section 110(a)(2) of the 

CAA. 

IV. Incorporation by Reference 

In this proposed action, the 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, the EPA is proposing to 

incorporate by reference the West 

Virginia regulations at 45CSR14 

regarding the PSD permitting 

requirements as discussed in section III 

of this preamble. The EPA has made, 

and will continue to make, these 

documents generally available 

electronically through 

www.regulations.com and/or in hard 

copy at the appropriate EPA office (see 

the ADDRESSES section of this preamble 

for more information). 

V. 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 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); 

• 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 proposed rule, 

relating to West Virginia’s PSD program 

and to several West Virginia 

infrastructure SIPs, 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. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Incorporation by 

reference, Carbon monoxide, 

Intergovernmental relations, Lead, 

Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate 

matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile 

organic compounds. 

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

Dated: December 21, 2015. 

Shawn M. Garvin, 

Regional Administrator, Region III. 

[FR Doc. 2015–33198 Filed 1–8–16; 8:45 am] 

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