### 72742 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 235 / Thursday, December 6, 2012 / Rules and Regulations

agreement. VA provider agreements under this section will provide for payments at the rate determined by the following formula. For State Homes in a metropolitan statistical area, use the most recently published CMS Resource Utilization Groups (RUG) case-mix levels for the applicable metropolitan statistical area. For State Homes in a rural area, use the most recently published CMS Skilled Nursing Prospective Payment System case-mix levels for the applicable rural area. To compute the daily rate for each State home, multiply the labor component by the State home wage index for each of the applicable case-mix levels; then add to that amount the non-labor component. Divide the sum of the results of these calculations by the number of applicable case-mix levels. Finally, add to this quotient the amount based on the CMS payment schedule for physician services. The amount for physician services, based on information published by CMS, is the average hourly rate for all physicians, with the rate modified by the applicable urban or rural geographic index for physician work, then multiplied by 12, then divided by the number of days in the year.

Note to paragraph (c)(1): The amount calculated under this formula reflects the prevailing rate payable in the geographic area in which the State home is located fornursing home care furnished in a nonDepartment nursing home (a public or private institution not under the direct jurisdiction of VA which furnishes nursing home care). Further, the formula for establishing these rates includes CMS information that is published in the Federal Register every year and is effective beginning October 1 for the entire fiscal year. Accordingly, VA will adjust the rates annually.

(2) The State home shall not charge any individual, insurer, or entity (other than VA) for the nursing home care paid for by VA under a VA provider agreement. Also, as a condition of receiving payments under paragraph (c) of this section, the State home must agree not to accept drugs and medicines from VA provided under 38 U.S.C. 1712(d) on behalf of veterans covered by this section and corresponding VA regulations (payment under paragraph (c) of this section includes payment for drugs and medicines).

(3) Agreements under paragraph (c) of this section will be subject to this part, except to the extent that this part conflicts with this section. For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘per diem’’ in part 51 includes payments under provider agreements. (4) If a veteran receives a retroactive VA service-connected disability rating and becomes a veteran identified in paragraph (a) of this section, the State home may request payment under the VA provider agreement for nursing home care back to the retroactive effective date of the rating or February 2, 2013, whichever is later. For care provided after the effective date but before February 2, 2013, the State home may request payment at the special per diem rate that was in effect at the time that the care was rendered.

(d) VA signing official. VA provider agreements must be signed by the Director of the VA medical center of jurisdiction or designee.

(e) Forms. Prior to entering into a VA provider agreement, State homes must submit to the VA medical center of jurisdiction a completed VA Form 10– 10EZ, Application for Medical Benefits (or VA Form 10–10EZR, Health Benefits Renewal Form, if a completed VA Form 10–10EZ is already on file at VA), and a completed VA Form 10–10SH, State Home Program Application for Care— Medical Certification, for the veterans for whom the State home will seek payment under the provider agreement. After VA and the State home have entered into a VA provider agreement, forms for payment must be submitted in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section. VA Forms 10–10EZ and 10– 10EZR are set forth in full at § 58.12 of this chapter and VA Form 10–10SH is set forth in full at § 58.13 of this chapter.

(The Office of Management and Budget has approved the information collection requirements in this section under control numbers 2900–0091 and 2900–0160.)

(f) Termination of VA provider agreements. (1) A State home that wishes to terminate a VA provider agreement with VA must send written notice of its intent to the Director of the VA medical center of jurisdiction at least 30 days before the effective date of termination of the agreement. The notice shall include the intended date of termination.

(2) VA provider agreements will terminate on the date of a final decision that the home is no longer recognized by VA under § 51.30.

(g) Compliance with Federal laws. Under provider agreements entered into under this section, State homes are not required to comply with reporting and auditing requirements imposed under the Service Contract Act of 1965, as amended (41 U.S.C. 351, et seq. ); however, State homes must comply with all other applicable Federal laws concerning employment and hiring practices including the Fair Labor Standards Act, National Labor Relations Act, the Civil Rights Acts, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Worker Adjustment andRetraining Notification Act, SarbanesOxley Act of 2002, Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970, Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Consumer Credit Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 101, 501, 1710, 1720, 1741–1745; 42 U.S.C. 1395cc)

[FR Doc. 2012–29521 Filed 12–5–12; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 8320–01–P**

**ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY** 

**40 CFR Part 52**

**[EPA–R10–OAR–2012–0078; FRL–9722–9]**

**Approval and Promulgation of State Implementation Plans: State of**  **Washington; Regional Haze State Implementation Plan** 

**AGENCY :**  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

**ACTION :**  Final rule.

**SUMMARY :**  EPA is taking final action to approve the Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) determination for NOX for the TransAlta Centralia Generation LLC coal-fired power plant in Centralia, Washington (TransAlta). The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) submitted its Regional Haze State Implementation Plan (SIP) on December 22, 2010 to meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act Regional Haze Rule at 40 CFR 50.308. On December 29, 2011 Ecology submitted an update to the SIP submittal containing a revised and updated BART determination for TransAlta. On May 23, 2012, EPA proposed to approve the portion of the revised SIP submission containing the BART determination for TransAlta.77 FR 30467. EPA plans to act on the remaining Regional Haze SIP elements for Washington in the near future.

**DATES :**  This action is effective on January 7, 2013.

**ADDRESSES :**  EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket Identification No. EPA–R10–OAR–


### 72743 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 235 / Thursday, December 6, 2012 / Rules and Regulations

2012–0078. Generally documents in the docket are available at http:// www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at EPA Region 10, Office of Air, Waste, and Toxics, AWT–107, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101. Please note that while many of the documents in the docket are available electronically at http:// www.regulations.gov, some information may not be publicly available, i.e., Confidential Business Information or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, large maps or voluminous materials, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available only at the hard copy location. To inspect the hard copy materials, please schedule an appointment during normal business hours with the contact listed directly below.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Steve Body, (206) 553–0782, or by email
at body.steve@epa.gov.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  Throughout this document whenever ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean the EPA. Information is organized as follows: I. What is the background for this final action?

Ecology submitted its Regional Haze SIP on December 22, 2010 to meet the requirements of 40 CFR 50.308. On December 29, 2011 Ecology submitted an update to the SIP submittal containing a revised and updated BART determination for TransAlta. On May 23, 2012, EPA proposed to approve the portion of the SIP submission containing the BART determination for NOX at TransAlta.

The TransAlta power plant, located in Centralia, Washington, is a two unit coal-fired power plant rated at 702.5 MW each, when burning coal from the Centralia coalfield as originally designed. The units now burn coal from the Wyoming Powder River Basin and are rated at 670 MW each. As explained in the proposal, these Units are subject to BART. The Regional Haze SIP revision imposes as BART a NOX emission limitation of 0.21 lb/MMBtu for each unit based on the installation of selective noncatalytic reduction on both coal-fired units plus Flex Fuel. It also requires a one year performance optimization study and lowering the emission limits based on the study results. Additionally, the BART determination requires one unit to cease burning coal by December 31, 2020 and the second unit by December 31, 2025 unless Ecology determines that state or federal law requires selective catalytic reduction to be installed on either unit.

A detailed explanation of the Regional Haze Rule, the BART requirements, Ecology’s BART determination for TransAlta and EPA’s reasons for approving this SIP revision were provided in the notice of proposed rulemaking on May 23, 2012 and will not be restated here. II. What is our response to comments received on the notice of proposed rulemaking?

The public comment period for EPA’s proposal to approve the TransAlta BART determination closed on June 22, 2012. EPA received only one comment on its proposal. The comment, from TransAlta, encouraged EPA to approve the BART determination for NOX as proposed. III. What action is EPA taking?

EPA is approving the NOX emissions BART determination for TransAlta. IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

Under the Clean Air Act, 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 Clean Air Act. 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 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 Clean Air Act; 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. Consistent with EPA policy, EPA nonetheless provided a consultation opportunity to Tribes in Idaho, Oregon and Washington in letters dated January 14, 2011. EPA received one request for consultation, and we have followed-up with that Tribe.

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 Clean Air Act, petitions for judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by February 4, 2013. 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


### 72744 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 235 / Thursday, December 6, 2012 / Rules and Regulations

enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2)). List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

Air pollution control, Environmental protection,, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen Oxides, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, Visibility. Volatile organic compounds.

Dated: August 20, 2012. Dennis J. McLerran, Regional Administrator, Region 10.

40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

**PART 52—[AMENDED]**

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

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

**Subpart WW—Washington**

■ 2. Section 52.2470 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(89) to read as follows:

**§ 52.2470 Identification of plan.**
* * * * *

(c) * * * (89) On December 29, 2011, the Washington State Department of Ecology submitted a Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) determination and revised BART Order 6426 for the TransAlta Centralia Generating LLC facility in Centralia, Washington.

(i) Incorporation by reference. (A) State of Washington, Department of Ecology, Order 6426, first revision, ‘‘BART Emission Limitations,’’ issued to TransAlta Centralia Generation, LLC, dated December 13, 2011, except the undesignated introductory text, the section titled ‘‘Findings,’’ and the undesignated text following condition
13.

■ 3. Section 52.2475 is amended by adding paragraph (g)(2) to read as follows:

**§ 52.2475 Approval of plans.**
* * * * *

(g) * * * (2) EPA approves the Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) determination for the TransAlta Centralia Generating LLC facility in Centralia Washington submitted by the Washington State Department of Ecology on December 29, 2011.

[FR Doc. 2012–29397 Filed 12–5–12; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 6560–50–P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION**  **AGENCY**

**40 CFR Part 55**

**[EPA–R09–OAR–2004–0091; FRL–9750–6]**

**Outer Continental Shelf Air Regulations Consistency Update for**  **California**

**AGENCY :**  Environmental Protection Agency.

**ACTION :**  Final rule.

**SUMMARY :**  The Environmental Protection Agency (‘‘EPA’’) is finalizing the update of the Outer Continental Shelf (‘‘OCS’’) Air Regulations proposed in the Federal Register on August 30, 2012. Requirements applying to OCS sources located within 25 miles of States’ seaward boundaries must be updated periodically to remain consistent with the requirements of the corresponding onshore area (‘‘COA’’), as mandated by the Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990 (‘‘the Act’’). The portion of the OCS air regulations that is being updated pertains to the requirements for OCS sources for which the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (‘‘Santa Barbara County APCD’’ or ‘‘District’’) is the designated COA. The intended effect of approving the OCS requirements for the Santa Barbara County APCD is to regulate emissions from OCS sources in accordance with the requirements onshore.

**DATES :**  This rule is effective on January 7, 2013. The incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in this rule is approved by the Director of the Federal Register as of January 7, 2013.

**ADDRESSES :**  EPA has established docket number OAR–2004–0091 for this action. The index to the docket is available electronically at www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California. While all documents in the docket are listed in the index, some information may be publicly available only at the hard copy location (e.g., copyrighted material), and some may not be publicly available in either location (e.g., CBI). To inspect the hard copy materials, please schedule an appointment during normal business hours with the contact listed in the **FOR**
**FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT** section.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Cynthia G. Allen, Air Division (Air–4), U.S. EPA Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, (415) 947–4120, allen.cynthia@epa.gov.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  Throughout this document, the terms ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ or ‘‘our’’ refer to U.S. EPA. Organization of this document: The following outline is provided to aid in locating information in this preamble.
I. Background II. Public Comment III. EPA Action IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews I. Background

On August 30, 2012 (77 FR 52630), EPA proposed to incorporate various Santa Barbara County APCD air pollution control requirements into the OCS Air Regulations at 40 CFR part 55. We are incorporating these requirements in response to the submittal of these rules by the District. EPA has evaluated the proposed requirements to ensure that they are rationally related to the attainment or maintenance of federal or state ambient air quality standards or Part C of title I of the Act, that they are not designed expressly to prevent exploration and development of the OCS and that they are applicable to OCS sources. 40 CFR 55.1. EPA has also evaluated the rules to ensure that they are not arbitrary or capricious. 40 CFR 55.12(e).

Section 328(a) of the Act requires that EPA establish requirements to control air pollution from OCS sources located within 25 miles of states’ seaward boundaries that are the same as onshore requirements. To comply with this statutory mandate, EPA must incorporate applicable onshore rules into part 55 as they exist onshore. This limits EPA’s flexibility in deciding which requirements will be incorporated into part 55 and prevents EPA from making substantive changes to the requirements it incorporates. As a result, EPA may be incorporating rules into part 55 that do not conform to all of EPA’s state implementation plan (SIP) guidance or certain requirements of the Act. Consistency updates may result in the inclusion of state or local rules or regulations into part 55, even though the same rules may ultimately be disapproved for inclusion as part of the SIP. Inclusion in the OCS rule does not imply that a rule meets the requirements of the Act for SIP approval, nor does it imply that the rule will be approved by EPA for inclusion in the SIP.

II. Public Comment

EPA’s proposed action provided a 30- day public comment period. During this period, we received no comments on the proposed action.

III. EPA Action

In this document, EPA takes final action to incorporate the proposed changes into 40 CFR part 55. No changes were made to the proposed