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[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 149 (Monday, August 4, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 45108-45110]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-18257]

[[Page 45108]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 52 and 70

[EPA-R07-OAR-2014-0468; FRL-9914-52-Region 7]

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of 
Nebraska; Fine Particulate Matter New Source Review Requirements

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct 
final action to approve revisions to the State Implementation Plan 
(SIP) for the State of Nebraska. This action will amend the SIP to 
include revisions to Nebraska's Air Quality Regulations 
``Definitions'', ``Construction Permits--When Required'', and 
``Prevention of Significant Deterioration of Air Quality'' to make the 
state regulations consistent with the Federal regulations for the fine 
Particulate Matter (PM2.5) Prevention of Significant 
Deterioration (PSD) program. This revision will amend the state minor 
source construction permitting program including the addition of a 
minor source permitting threshold for PM2.5. These revisions 
are necessary to properly manage the increment requirements (maximum 
allowable deterioration to the air quality) of the PSD program and 
assure continued attainment with the PM2.5 National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). This action also recognizes the state's 
request to not include, into the SIP, provisions relating to 
Significant Impact Levels (SILs) and Significant Monitoring 
Concentrations (SMCs). These provisions were vacated and remanded by 
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on January 22, 
2013.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective October 3, 2014, 
without further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by 
September 3, 2014. If EPA receives adverse comment, we will publish a 
timely withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register 
informing the public that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R07-
OAR-2014-0468, by one of the following methods:
    1. www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    2. Email: crable.gregory@epa.gov.
    3. Mail or Hand Delivery: Greg Crable, Environmental Protection 
Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch, 11201 Renner Boulevard, 
Lenexa, Kansas 66219.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R07-OAR-
2014-0468. 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 through www.regulations.gov or 
email information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected. 
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 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, 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 at the 
Environmental Protection Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch, 
11201 Renner Boulevard, Lenexa, Kansas 66219. The Regional Office's 
official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:00 to 4:30 
excluding legal holidays. The interested persons wanting to examine 
these documents should make an appointment with the office at least 24 
hours in advance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Crable, Environmental Protection 
Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch, 11201 Renner Boulevard, 
Lenexa, Kansas 66219 at (913) 551-7391, or by email at 
crable.gregory@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' or 
``our'' refer to EPA. This section provides additional information by 
addressing the following:

I. What is being addressed in this document?
II. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?
III. What action is EPA taking?

I. What is being addressed in this document?

    EPA is approving revisions into the SIP to include amendments to 
Title 129 of the Nebraska Air Quality Regulations as they apply to 
Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) of air quality. We are 
approving rule revisions to Chapter 1, ``Definitions''; Chapter 17, 
``Construction Permits--When Required''; and Chapter 19, ``Prevention 
of Significant Deterioration of Air Quality''. The revisions make the 
state regulations consistent with Federal regulations for the 
PM2.5 PSD program. This revision will amend the state minor 
source construction permitting program including the addition of a 
minor source permitting threshold for PM2.5. A level 
consistent with the significance thresholds for PSD was added to be 
consistent with Federal regulations. These revisions are necessary to 
properly manage the increment requirements (maximum allowable 
deterioration to the air quality) of the PSD program and assure 
continued attainment with the PM2.5 NAAQS. The rules are 
amended to correspond with the Federal regulation for implementation of 
the PM2.5 PSD program as identified in 40 CFR 52.21.
    The following definitions are revised to match the Federal 
regulation: Baseline area; major source baseline date; minor source 
baseline date; regulated NSR pollutant; regulated pollutant for fee 
purposes; significant; and significant emissions unit.
    Revisions provide clarification that only pollutants specifically 
listed in state statute require a construction permit application fee 
and adds emission levels for PM2.5 to the table of 
significant levels that, if exceeded, would preclude the issuance of a 
construction permit. Also, revisions included the incorporation of 
Federal regulations by reference, the requirements for sources that 
impact Federal Class I areas; added PM2.5 to the definition 
of ``significant'' for PSD purposes; added PM2.5 to the list 
of

[[Page 45109]]

allowable ambient air increments for PSD purposes and PM2.5 
parameters to the list of exceptions from an air quality analysis for 
PSD purposes; and finally, added a definition of significant impact 
levels for PM2.5.
    This action is also consistent with the state's request to not 
include the SIP provisions relating the Significant Impact Levels 
(SILs) and Significant Monitoring Concentrations (SMCs). On January 22, 
2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia vacated 
and remanded the provisions at 40 CFR 51.166(k)(2) and 52.21(k)(2) 
concerning implementation of the PM2.5 SILs and vacated the 
provisions at 40 CFR 51.166(i)(5)(i)(c) and 52.21(i)(5)(i)(c) (adding 
the PM2.5 SMCs) that were promulgated as part of the October 
20, 2010, PSD rule for PM2.5 PSD--Increments, SILs and SMCs, 
75 FR 64864.

II. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?

    The state submission has met the public notice requirements for SIP 
submissions in accordance with 40 CFR 51.102. The submission also 
satisfied the completeness criteria of 40 CFR part 51, appendix V. In 
addition, the revision meets the substantive SIP requirements of the 
CAA, including section 110 and implementing regulations.

III. What action is EPA taking?

    EPA is approving the state's request to revise the SIP to include 
amendments to the Nebraska air quality rules as they apply to the PSD 
of air quality. The rule is amended to correspond with the final 
Federal regulation necessary for the PM2.5 implementation of 
the PSD program. Per the state's June 27, 2013, request, EPA is not 
including provisions of the 2010 PM2.5 PSD--Increments, SILs 
and SMCs rule (75 FR 64865, October 20, 2010) relating to SILs and SMCs 
that were affected by the January 22, 2013, U.S. Court of Appeals 
decision into SIP.
    We are publishing this direct final rule without a prior proposed 
rule because we view this as a noncontroversial action and anticipate 
no adverse comment. EPA does not anticipate adverse comment because the 
revisions to the existing rules are routine and consistent with the 
Federal regulations, thereby, strengthening the SIP. However, in the 
``Proposed Rules'' section of today's Federal Register, we are 
publishing a separate document that will serve as the proposed rule. If 
adverse comments are received on this direct final rule we will not 
institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties 
interested in commenting must do so at this time. For further 
information about commenting on this rule, see the ADDRESSES section of 
this document. Should EPA receive adverse comment on part of this rule 
and if that part can be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may 
adopt as final those parts of the rule that are not the subject of an 
adverse comment.

Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not 
subject to review under Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 (76 FR 3821, 
January 21, 2011). This action is also not subject to Executive Order 
13211, ``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect 
Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001). This 
action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and 
imposes no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. 
Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because 
this rule approves pre-existing requirements under state law and does 
not impose any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by 
state law, it 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).
    This rule also does not have tribal implications because it will 
not have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on 
the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or 
on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal 
Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 
FR 67249, November 9, 2000). This action also does not have Federalism 
implications because it does not have substantial direct effects on the 
States, on the relationship between the national government and the 
States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the 
various levels of government, as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 
FR 43255, August 10, 1999). Thus Executive Order 13132 does not apply 
to this action. This action merely approves a state rule implementing a 
Federal standard, and does not alter the relationship or the 
distribution of power and responsibilities established in the CAA. This 
rule also is not subject to Executive Order 13045, ``Protection of 
Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks'' (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997) because it approves a state rule implementing a 
Federal standard.
    In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state 
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. In this 
context, in the absence of a prior existing requirement for the State 
to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority to 
disapprove a state submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be 
inconsistent with applicable law for EPA when it reviews a state 
submission, to use VCS in place of a state submission that otherwise 
satisfies the provisions of the CAA. Thus, the requirements of section 
12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 
(15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply. This action does not impose an 
information collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Burden is defined at 5 
CFR 1320.3(b).
    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 rule 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 3, 2014. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect 
the finality of this rule 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. 
Parties with objections to this direct final rule are encouraged to 
file a comment in response to the parallel notice of proposed 
rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules section of 
today's Federal Register, rather than file an immediate petition for 
judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can withdraw 
this direct final rule and address the comment in the final

[[Page 45110]]

rulemaking. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to 
enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects

40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Air quality, 
Prevention of significant deterioration, Incorporation by reference, 
Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

40 CFR Part 70

    Administrative practice and procedure, Air pollution control, 
Intergovernmental relations, Operating permits, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: July 21, 2014.
Mike Brincks,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Environmental 
Protection Agency is amending 40 CFR parts 52 and 70 as set forth 
below:

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 CC--Nebraska

0
2. In Sec.  52.1420 the table in paragraph (c) is amended by revising 
the entries for 129-1, 129-17, and 129-19 to read as follows:

Sec.  52.1420  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                        EPA-Approved Nebraska Regulations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       State
 Nebraska citation              Title             effective date     EPA approval date          Explanation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                STATE OF NEBRASKA
                                       Department of Environmental Quality
                                   Title 129--Nebraska Air Quality Regulations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
129-1..............  Definitions................        4/1/2012  8/4/2014 [Insert
                                                                   Federal Register
                                                                   citation].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
129-17.............  Construction Permits--When         4/1/2012  8/4/2014 [Insert        Approval does not
                      Required.                                    Federal Register        include Nebraska's
                                                                   citation].              revisions to sections
                                                                                           001.02T and 013.04T
                                                                                           pertaining to ethanol
                                                                                           production
                                                                                           facilities, which
                                                                                           were not submitted by
                                                                                           the State.
129-19.............  Prevention of Significant          4/1/2012  8/4/2014 [Insert        Provisions of the 2010
                      Deterioration of Air                         Federal Register        PM2.5 PSD--
                      Quality.                                     citation].              Increments, SILs and
                                                                                           SMCs rule (75 FR
                                                                                           64865, October 20,
                                                                                           2010) relating to
                                                                                           SILs and SMCs that
                                                                                           were affected by the
                                                                                           January 22, 2013 U.S.
                                                                                           Court of Appeals
                                                                                           decision are not SIP
                                                                                           approved.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *

PART 70--STATE OPERATING PERMITS PROGRAMS

0
3. The authority citation for part 70 continues to read as follows:

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

0
4. Appendix A to Part 70 is amended by adding, in alphabetical order, 
new paragraph (l) under the heading ``Nebraska; City of Omaha; Lincoln-
Lancaster County Health Department'' to read as follows:

Appendix A to Part 70--Approval Status of State and Local Operating 
Permits Programs

* * * * *

Nebraska; City of Omaha; Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department

* * * * *
    (l) The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality approved a 
revision to NDEQ Title 129, Chapter 1 on December 1, 2011, which 
became effective April 1, 2012. This revision was submitted on 
February 13, 2013. We are approving this program revision effective 
October 3, 2014.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2014-18257 Filed 8-1-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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