14460 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 50 / Friday, March 14, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

based on this proposed action. EPA will 

not institute a second comment period 

on this action. Any parties interested in 

commenting on this action should do so 

at this time. Please note that if EPA 

receives adverse comments 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. For additional information, 

see the direct final rule which is located 

in the rules section of this Federal 

Register. 

Dated: February 28, 2014. 

Karl Brooks, 

Regional Administrator, Region 7. 

[FR Doc. 2014–05523 Filed 3–13–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R09–OAR–2013–0599; FRL–9906–91– 

Region–9] 

Approval and Promulgation of 

Implementation Plans; California; San 

Francisco Bay Area and Chico 

Nonattainment Areas; Fine Particulate 

Matter Emission Inventories 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve 

revisions to the California State 

Implementation Plan (SIP) concerning 

emission inventories for the 2006 24- 

hour fine particle National Ambient Air 

Quality Standard (NAAQS) for the San 

Francisco Bay Area and Chico PM2.5

nonattainment areas. We are approving 

these emissions inventories under the 

Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act). 

DATES: Any comments on this proposal 

must arrive by April 14, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, 

identified by docket number EPA–R09– 

OAR–2013–0599, by one of the 

following methods: 

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line 

instructions. 

2. Email: steckel.andrew@epa.gov. 

3. Mail or deliver: Andrew Steckel 

(Air-4), U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, 

San Francisco, CA 94105–3901. 

Instructions: All comments 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 

Confidential Business Information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Information that 

you consider CBI or otherwise protected 

should be clearly identified as such and 

should not be submitted through 

www.regulations.gov or email. 

www.regulations.gov is an ‘‘anonymous 

access’’ system, and EPA will not know 

your identity or contact information 

unless you provide it in the body of 

your comment. If you send email 

directly to EPA, your email address will 

be automatically captured and included 

as part of the public comment. 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: Generally, documents in the 

docket for this action are available 

electronically at www.regulations.gov 

and in hard copy at EPA Region IX, 75 

Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, 

California 94105–3901. While all 

documents in the docket are listed at 

www.regulations.gov, some information 

may be publicly available only at the 

hard copy location (e.g., copyrighted 

material, large maps), 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: 

Nancy Levin, EPA Region IX, (415) 972– 

3848, levin.nancy@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

proposal addresses the submitted PM2.5

emission inventories for the San 

Francisco Bay Area and Chico 

nonattainment areas. In the Rules and 

Regulations section of this Federal 

Register, we are approving submitted 

emission inventories in a direct final 

action without prior proposal because 

we believe these SIP revisions are not 

controversial. If we receive adverse 

comments, however, we will publish a 

timely withdrawal of the direct final 

rule and address the comments in 

subsequent action based on this 

proposed rule. Please note that if we 

receive adverse comment on an 

amendment, paragraph, or section of 

this rule and if that provision may be 

severed from the remainder of the rule, 

we may adopt as final those provisions 

of the rule that are not the subject of an 

adverse comment. 

We do not plan to open a second 

comment period, so anyone interested 

in commenting should do so at this 

time. If we do not receive adverse 

comments, no further activity is 

planned. For further information, please 

see the direct final action. 

Dated: January 30, 2014. 

Jared Blumenfeld, 

Regional Administrator, Region IX. 

[FR Doc. 2014–05525 Filed 3–13–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R03–OAR–2013–0423; FRL- 9908–03– 

Region–3] 

Approval and Promulgation of 

Implementation Plans; West Virginia; 

Regional Haze Five-Year Progress 

Report State Implementation Plan 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing approval of 

a revision to the West Virginia State 

Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by 

the State of West Virginia (West 

Virginia) through the West Virginia 

Department of Environmental Protection 

(WVDEP). West Virginia’s SIP revision 

addresses requirements of the Clean Air 

Act (CAA) and EPA’s rules that require 

states to submit periodic reports 

describing progress towards reasonable 

progress goals (RPGs) established for 

regional haze and a determination of the 

adequacy of the state’s existing SIP 

addressing regional haze (regional haze 

SIP). EPA is proposing approval of West 

Virginia’s SIP revision on the basis that 

it addresses the progress report and 

adequacy determination requirements 

for the first implementation period for 

regional haze. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before April 14, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID Number EPA– 

R03–OAR–2013–0423, by one of the 

following methods: 

A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

B. Email: fernandez.cristina@epa.gov. 

C. Mail: EPA–R03–OAR–2013–0423, 

Cristina Fernandez, Associate Director, 

Office of Air Program Planning, 

Mailcode 3AP30, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 

Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

19103. 

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1On March 23, 2012 (77 FR 16937), EPA finalized 

a limited approval and limited disapproval of West 

Virginia’s June 18, 2008 regional haze SIP to 

address the first implementation period for regional 

haze. There was a limited disapproval of this SIP 

because of West Virginia’s reliance on the Clean Air 

Interstate Rule (CAIR) to meet certain regional haze 

requirements, which EPA replaced in August 2011 

with the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) (76 

FR 48208, August 8, 2011). Later on, the DC Circuit 

issued a decision in EME Homer City Generation, 

L.P. v. EPA, 696 F.3d 7 (D.C. Cir. 2012), cert. 

granted 133 U.S. 2857 (2013) vacating CSAPR and 

keeping CAIR in place pending the promulgation of 

a valid replacement rule. EPA believes that the EME 

Homer City decision impacts the reasoning that 

formed the basis for EPA’s limited disapproval of 

West Virginia’s regional haze SIP based on West 

Virginia’s reliance upon CAIR and expects to 

propose an appropriate action regarding the limited 

approval and limited disapproval of the regional 

haze SIP upon final resolution of EME Homer City. 

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–2013– 

0423. 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.regulation.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 West Virginia’s submittal 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: 

Asrah Khadr, (215) 814–2071, or by 

email at khadr.asrah@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

States are required to submit a 

progress report in the form of a SIP 

revision every five years that evaluates 

progress towards the RPGs for each 

mandatory Class I Federal area within 

the state and in each mandatory Class I 

Federal area outside the state which 

may be affected by emissions from 

within the state. See 40 CFR 51.308(g). 

States are also required to submit, at the 

same time as the progress report, a 

determination of the adequacy of the 

state’s existing regional haze SIP. See 40 

CFR 51.308(h). The first progress report 

SIP is due five years after submittal of 

the initial regional haze SIP. On June 18, 

2008, WVDEP submitted its first 

regional haze SIP in accordance with 

the requirements of 40 CFR 51.308.1

On April 30, 2013, West Virginia 

submitted, as a SIP revision (progress 

report SIP), a report on progress made 

in the first implementation period 

towards RPGs for Class I areas in West 

Virginia and Class I areas outside West 

Virginia that are affected by emissions 

from West Virginia’s sources. This 

progress report SIP included a 

determination that West Virginia’s 

existing regional haze SIP requires no 

substantive revision to achieve the 

established regional haze visibility 

improvement and emissions reduction 

goals for 2018. EPA is proposing to 

approve West Virginia’s progress report 

SIP on the basis that it satisfies the 

requirements of 40 CFR 51.308(g) and 

51.308(h). 

II. Requirements for the Regional Haze 

Progress Report SIPs and Adequacy 

Determinations 

Under 40 CFR 51.308(g), states must 

submit a regional haze progress report 

as a SIP revision every five years and 

must address, at a minimum, the seven 

elements found in 40 CFR 51.308(g). As 

described in further detail in section III 

of this rulemaking action, 40 CFR 

51.308(g) requires: (1) A description of 

the status of measures in the approved 

regional haze SIP; (2) a summary of 

emissions reductions achieved; (3) an 

assessment of visibility conditions for 

each Class I area in the state; (4) an 

analysis of changes in emissions from 

sources and activities within the state; 

(5) an assessment of any significant 

changes in anthropogenic emissions 

within or outside the state that have 

limited or impeded progress in Class I 

areas impacted by the state’s sources; (6) 

an assessment of the sufficiency of the 

approved regional haze SIP; and (7) a 

review of the state’s visibility 

monitoring strategy. 

Under 40 CFR 51.308(h), states are 

required to submit, at the same time as 

the progress report SIP, a determination 

of the adequacy of their existing 

regional haze SIP and to take one of four 

possible actions based on information in 

the progress report. As described in 

further detail in section III of this 

rulemaking action, 40 CFR 51.308(h) 

requires states to either: (1) Submit a 

negative declaration to EPA that no 

further substantive revision to the state’s 

existing regional haze SIP is needed; (2) 

provide notification to EPA (and other 

state(s) that participated in the regional 

planning process) if the state determines 

that its existing regional haze SIP is or 

may be inadequate to ensure reasonable 

progress at one or more Class I areas due 

to emissions from sources in other 

state(s) that participated in the regional 

planning process, and collaborate with 

these other state(s) to develop additional 

strategies to address deficiencies; (3) 

provide notification with supporting 

information to EPA if the state 

determines that its existing regional 

haze SIP is or may be inadequate to 

ensure reasonable progress at one or 

more Class I areas due to emissions from 

sources in another country; or (4) revise 

its regional haze SIP to address 

deficiencies within one year if the state 

determines that its existing regional 

haze SIP is or may be inadequate to 

ensure reasonable progress in one or 

more Class I areas due to emissions from 

sources within the state. 

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III. EPA’s Analysis of West Virginia’s 

Regional Haze Progress Report and 

Adequacy Determination 

The West Virginia progress report SIP 

revision addresses progress made 

towards RPGs of Class I areas in West 

Virginia and Class I areas outside West 

Virginia that are affected by emissions 

from West Virginia’s sources. This 

progress report SIP also includes a 

determination of the adequacy of West 

Virginia’s existing regional haze SIP. 

West Virginia has two Class I areas 

within its borders: Dolly Sods 

Wilderness Area (Dolly Sods) and Otter 

Creek Wilderness Area (Otter Creek). 

West Virginia mentions in the progress 

report SIP that West Virginia sources 

were also identified, through an area of 

influence modeling analysis based on 

back trajectories, as potentially 

impacting six Class I areas in five 

neighboring states: Brigantine 

Wilderness in New Jersey; Great Smoky 

Mountains National Park in North 

Carolina and Tennessee; James River 

Face in Virginia; Linville Gorge in North 

Carolina; Monmouth Cave National Park 

in Kentucky; and Shenandoah National 

Park in Virginia. 

A. Regional Haze Progress Report SIPs 

This section summarizes each of the 

seven elements that must be addressed 

by the progress report under the 

provisions of 40 CFR 51.308(g); how 

West Virginia’s progress report SIP 

addressed each element; and EPA’s 

analysis and proposed determination as 

to whether West Virginia satisfied each 

element. 

The provisions under 40 CFR 

51.308(g)(1) require a description of the 

status of implementation of all measures 

included in the regional haze SIP for 

achieving RPGs for Class I areas both 

within and outside the state. West 

Virginia evaluated the status of all 

measures included in its 2008 regional 

haze SIP in accordance with the 

requirements under 40 CFR 51.308(g)(1). 

Specifically, in its progress report SIP, 

West Virginia summarizes the status of 

the emissions reduction measures that 

were included in the final iteration of 

the Visibility Improvement—State and 

Tribal Association of the Southeast 

(VISTAS) regional haze emissions 

inventory and RPG modeling. West 

Virginia also discusses the status of 

those measures that were not included 

in the final VISTAS emissions inventory 

and were not relied upon in the initial 

regional haze SIP to meet RPGs. West 

Virginia notes that the emissions 

reductions from these measures, which 

are relied upon for reasonable progress, 

will help ensure Class I areas impacted 

by West Virginia sources achieve their 

RPGs. The measures include applicable 

Federal programs (e.g., mobile source 

rules, Maximum Achievable Control 

Technology (MACT) standards, Federal 

consent agreements, and Federal and 

state control strategies for electric 

generating units (EGUs) such as CAIR, 

CSAPR, and state multi-pollutant 

regulations for EGUs). West Virginia’s 

summary includes a discussion of the 

benefits associated with each measure 

and quantifies those benefits wherever 

possible. In instances where 

implementation of a measure did not 

occur on schedule, information is 

provided on the source category and the 

measure’s relative impact on the overall 

future year emissions inventories. The 

progress report SIP also discusses the 

status and implementation of the best 

available retrofit technology (BART) 

determinations for BART sources in 

West Virginia, and the implementation 

status of BART for a source in a 

neighboring state. Finally, West 

Virginia’s progress report SIP discusses 

implementation of regulations and 

requirements developed after the 

original regional haze SIP was prepared 

which West Virginia asserts will 

provide extra assurance that West 

Virginia’s Class I areas will meet their 

RPGs. Some of these regulations and 

requirements include the Mercury and 

Air Toxics Standard (MATS) for EGUs, 

the 2010 sulfur dioxide (SO2) National 

Ambient Air Quality Standard 

(NAAQS), Control Technique 

Guidelines for volatile organic 

compound (VOC) reductions, Federal 

consent decrees which include SO2 and 

nitrogen oxide (NOx) reductions at 

sources, and plant shutdowns. 

In aggregate, as noted later in section 

III.A of this rulemaking action, West 

Virginia notes in its submittal that 

overall SO2 emissions (the largest 

contributor to visibility impairment) 

have decreased in the State and will 

continue to decrease; therefore, West 

Virginia does not expect reasonable 

progress to be adversely impacted in 

any of the Class I areas in West Virginia 

or neighboring states. 

EPA proposes to find that West 

Virginia’s analysis adequately addresses 

the provisions under 40 CFR 

51.308(g)(1). West Virginia documents 

the implementation status of measures 

from its regional haze SIP such as 

regulations, Federal consent decrees, 

and BART determinations in addition to 

describing additional measures that 

came into effect since the VISTAS 

analysis for the West Virginia regional 

haze SIP was completed, including new 

regulations for EGUs, Federal consent 

decrees, and unanticipated plant 

shutdowns. West Virginia’s progress 

report also describes significant 

measures resulting from EPA 

regulations other than the regional haze 

program as they pertain to West Virginia 

sources. The progress report SIP 

highlights the effect of several Federal 

control measures both nationally and in 

the VISTAS region, and when possible, 

in West Virginia. 

West Virginia’s progress report 

discusses the status of key control 

measures that were relied upon in the 

first implementation period to make 

reasonable progress. In its regional haze 

SIP, West Virginia identified SO2

emissions from EGUs as a key 

contributor to regional haze in the 

VISTAS region and identified the EGU 

sector as a major contributor to visibility 

impairment at all Class I areas in the 

VISTAS region. West Virginia’s progress 

report SIP provides additional 

information on EGU control strategies 

and the status of existing and future 

expected controls for West Virginia’s 

EGUs, with updated actual SO2

emissions data for the years 2002—2011 

reflecting significant reductions of SO2

through 2011. 

Regarding the status of BART and 

reasonable progress control 

requirements for sources in West 

Virginia, EPA finds the progress report 

SIP adequately reviews the status of 

West Virginia’s BART sources and the 

one source that required further analysis 

to meet reasonable progress 

requirements by mentioning that 

controls are currently operational at 

these sources or that units have been 

shut down. Because West Virginia 

found no additional controls to be 

reasonable for the first implementation 

period for sources evaluated for 

reasonable progress in West Virginia, no 

further discussion of the status of 

controls was necessary in the progress 

report SIP. EPA proposes to conclude 

that West Virginia has adequately 

addressed the status of control measures 

in its regional haze SIP as required by 

the provisions under 40 CFR 

51.308(g)(1) by discussing the status of 

key measures that were relied upon in 

the first implementation period to make 

reasonable progress. 

The provisions under 40 CFR 

51.308(g)(2) require a summary of the 

emissions reductions achieved in the 

state through the measures subject to the 

requirements under 40 CFR 51.308(g)(1). 

In its regional haze SIP and progress 

report SIP, West Virginia focuses its 

assessment on the largest contributor to 

visibility impairment, SO2 emissions 

from EGUs. West Virginia made the 

decision that SO2 emissions from EGUs 

are the largest contributor to visibility 

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2West Virginia provides in the progress report 

SIP SO2 emissions data for each West Virginia EGU 

for 2002 through 2011. In addition, West Virginia 

includes summary SO2 emissions data from EGUs 

in all VISTAS states showing similar reductions. 

According to West Virginia, SO2 emissions 

decreased 68.6% from 2002 to 2011 for EGUs in the 

VISTAS states. 

3The ‘‘most impaired days’’ and ‘‘least impaired 

days’’ in the regional haze rule refers to the average 

visibility impairment (measured in deciviews) for 

the twenty percent of monitored days in a calendar 

year with the highest and lowest amount of 

visibility impairment, respectively, averaged over a 

five-year period. See 40 CFR 51.301. 

4Pursuant to 40 CFR 51.308(b), regional haze SIPs 

for the first implementation period were due on 

December 17, 2007. Therefore, EPA finds that the 

2007 emissions inventory used by West Virginia in 

this progress report SIP reflects an appropriate 

emissions inventory for West Virginia to use for 40 

CFR 51.308(g)(4) to track emissions changes of 

visibility-impairing pollutants from the state’s 

sources. 

5The 2007 emissions inventory was the most 

recent historical inventory that had been fully 

Continued 

impairment in its original regional haze 

SIP. 

Overall, West Virginia states SO2

emissions have decreased significantly. 

West Virginia states there has been a 

large reduction in SO2 emissions from 

EGUs, an 81.7 percent (%) decrease 

from 2002 to 2011, which resulted from 

many process and operational changes, 

including SO2 control installations and 

switches to cleaner fuels by emission 

units. Based on utility emissions data 

from 2002 through 2011 as reported in 

EPA’s Clean Air Markets Division 

(CAMD) database, West Virginia 

indicates that actual emissions of SO2

from the EGU sector have dropped from 

507,110 tons per year (tpy) in 2002 to 

92,609 tpy in 2011, reflecting the 81.7% 

decrease. Additionally, the 2011 actual 

emissions of SO2 (92,609 tpy) are 

substantially less than originally 

projected in the 2018 modeling 

inventory (106,199 tpy).2

While heat input to West Virginia’s 

EGUs has decreased approximately 

17.7% from 2002 to 2011, West Virginia 

states in its progress report SIP that SO2

emission rates for EGUs have decreased 

by 77.8% due to installation of controls 

and fuel switches. Given these 

substantial reductions in emission rates, 

West Virginia expects the significant 

reductions of SO2 should be maintained 

and expects emissions reductions to 

continue in the future. West Virginia 

also states in its progress report SIP that 

it expects additional retirements of EGU 

sources which will contribute to 

increased emissions reductions in the 

future. 

EPA proposes to conclude that West 

Virginia has adequately addressed the 

requirements under 40 CFR 51.308(g)(2) 

with its summary of the large emissions 

reductions, particularly in SO2 from 

EGUs, achieved through the measures in 

West Virginia’s regional haze SIP. West 

Virginia provides estimates, and where 

available, actual emissions reductions of 

SO2 from EGUs in West Virginia that 

have occurred since the submittal of its 

regional haze SIP. West Virginia 

appropriately focuses on SO2 emissions 

from its EGUs in its progress report SIP 

because it had been previously 

identified that these emissions are the 

most significant contributors to 

visibility impairment at Dolly Sods and 

Otter Creek and at additional Class I 

areas that West Virginia sources impact. 

In addition, West Virginia provides 

estimates, and where available, actual 

emissions reductions for certain nonEGU control measures that were in its 

regional haze SIP when addressing the 

requirements under 40 CFR 51.308(g)(1) 

for implementation status. Because no 

additional controls were found to be 

reasonable for the first implementation 

period for evaluated sources in West 

Virginia for reasonable progress, EPA 

proposes to find that no further 

discussion of emissions reductions from 

controls was necessary in the progress 

report SIP. 

The provisions under 40 CFR 

51.308(g)(3) require that states with 

Class I areas provide the following 

information for the most impaired and 

least impaired days for each area, with 

values expressed in terms of five-year 

averages of these annual values: 3 (1) 

Current visibility conditions; (2) the 

difference between current visibility 

conditions and baseline visibility 

conditions; and (3) the change in 

visibility impairment over the past five 

years. West Virginia provides visibility 

data for 2001 through 2011 that 

addresses the three requirements of 40 

CFR 51.308(g)(3) for Dolly Sods and 

Otter Creek. In the West Virginia 

regional haze SIP, for the 20% worst 

days, West Virginia established a RPG 

for Dolly Sods of 7.3 deciview (dv) 

reduction in visibility impairment by 

2018, which is significantly greater than 

the 4.3 dv reduction required to meet 

the uniform rate of progress necessary to 

achieve a natural background condition 

of 10.4 dv by 2064. For Otter Creek, 

West Virginia established a RPG for the 

20% worst days of 7.3 dv reduction in 

visibility impairment by 2018, which is 

significantly greater than the 4.3 dv 

reduction required to meet the uniform 

rate of progress necessary to achieve the 

natural background condition of 10.4 dv 

by 2064. Likewise, West Virginia also 

adopted a RPG for the 20% best days 

that would result in a 1.2 dv reduction 

in visibility impairment for both Dolly 

Sods and Otter Creek. Based on West 

Virginia’s analysis of emissions 

reductions and visibility data, West 

Virginia states it is on track to achieve 

or exceed its RPGs by 2018 and that 

visibility is improving at Dolly Sods and 

Otter Creek. 

EPA finds the difference between 

current and baseline visibility and the 

five-year rolling averages for the most 

impaired (20% worst) and least 

impaired (20% best) days at both West 

Virginia Class I areas indicates that 

visibility has significantly improved 

since the implementation of West 

Virginia’s regional haze SIP. The data 

submitted by West Virginia shows that 

there has been a dramatic visibility 

improvement during the 

implementation of the 2008 regional 

haze SIP. Analysis of visibility data 

provided by West Virginia shows that 

Dolly Sods and Otter Creek are on the 

glidepath to achieving natural visibility 

conditions in 2064. 

EPA finds West Virginia provided the 

required information regarding visibility 

conditions and changes to meet the 

requirements under 40 CFR 51.308(g)(3), 

specifically providing current 

conditions based on the latest available 

Interagency Monitoring of Protected 

Visual Environments (IMPROVE) 

monitoring data, the difference between 

current visibility conditions and 

baseline visibility conditions, and the 

change in visibility impairment over the 

most recent five-year period for which 

data were available at the time of the 

progress report SIP development. Given 

the visibility improvement in West 

Virginia’s Class I areas, EPA finds West 

Virginia’s assessment that it is on track 

to meet RPGs by 2018 to be reasonable. 

EPA proposes to conclude that West 

Virginia has adequately addressed the 

requirements under 40 CFR 51.308(g)(3). 

The provisions under 40 CFR 

51.308(g)(4) require an analysis tracking 

emissions changes of visibilityimpairing pollutants from the state’s 

sources by type or category over the past 

five years based on the most recent 

updated emissions inventory. In its 

progress report SIP, West Virginia 

presents emissions inventories for 2002, 

2007, 2009, and 2018 in accordance 

with the requirements of 40 CFR 

51.308(g)(4). The progress report SIP 

includes West Virginia’s baseline 

emissions inventory from 2002 and 

estimated emissions inventories for 

2009 and 2018. West Virginia’s progress 

report SIP includes the 2007 emissions 

inventory prepared by the Southeastern 

Modeling, Analysis, and Planning 

(SEMAP) project, which was funded by 

EPA and the ten states in VISTAS.4 5

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quality-assured at the time West Virginia developed 

its progress report SIP. 

6As stated above, West Virginia’s 2007 emissions 

inventory reflects emissions in the year the first 

regional haze SIP was due per 40 CFR 51.308(b), 

and EPA finds the 2007 inventory to be an 

appropriate emissions inventory for West Virginia 

to use for 40 CFR 51.308(g)(4) to track emissions 

changes of visibility-impairing pollutants. 

7According to West Virginia, previous VISTAS 

modeling from West Virginia’s 2008 regional haze 

SIP had indicated the visibility benefits from 

reducing NOX emissions were small. EPA notes 

nevertheless that West Virginia’s NOX emissions 

from all point source sectors decreased by 94,801 

tons from 2002 to 2007. In addition, EPA reviewed 

NOX emissions data from West Virginia EGUs 

which was provided by West Virginia for 2002– 

2011. NOX emissions from West Virginia EGUs 

decreased from approximately 230,000 tons in 2002 

to approximately 150,000 tons in 2007 to 55,660 

tons in 2011. EPA reviewed CAMD data for NOX

emissions from West Virginia EGUs for 2012 and 

2013 and notes the NOX emission decreases have 

been maintained. 

8EPA reviewed CAMD data for 2012 and 2013 for 

SO2 emissions from West Virginia’s EGUs and notes 

that the declining SO2 emissions trend has 

continued in 2012 and 2013. 

The pollutants inventoried include 

VOCs, NOX, fine particulate matter 

(PM2.5), coarse particulate matter (PM10), 

ammonia (NH3), and SO2. The emissions 

inventories include the following source 

classifications: Stationary point and area 

sources, off-road and on-road mobile 

sources, and biogenic sources. The 

comparison of emissions inventory data 

shows that emissions of the key 

visibility-impairing pollutant SO2

continued to drop from 586,437 tpy in 

2002 to 437,014 tpy in 2007 to 337,488 

tpy in 2009. 

Additionally, West Virginia 

documented the substantial emissions 

reductions in SO2 from EGUs that 

already have occurred and that SO2

emissions from EGUs for the years 2009, 

2010, and 2011 are already under the 

2018 SO2 emissions projections. As 

noted in section III.A of this rulemaking 

action, West Virginia expects overall 

EGU SO2 emissions to continue to 

decline due the retirement of different 

EGUs and additional fuel switches not 

previously projected which should 

result in further visibility improvement 

at Class I areas affected by West Virginia 

sources. EPA proposes to conclude that 

West Virginia has adequately addressed 

the requirements under 40 CFR 

51.308(g)(4). While ideally the five-year 

period to be analyzed for emissions 

inventory changes is the time period 

since the current regional haze SIP was 

submitted, availability of qualityassured data may not always correspond 

with this period. Therefore, EPA 

believes that there is some flexibility in 

the five-year time period states can 

select for tracking emissions changes to 

meet this requirement. EPA proposes to 

find West Virginia appropriately 

compared its 2011 EGU SO2 emissions 

with the 2007 point source SO2

emissions.6 EPA believes that West 

Virginia presented an adequate analysis 

tracking emissions trends for the key 

visibility impairing pollutant SO2 since 

2007 using the emissions data available 

to West Virginia.7 West Virginia’s 2011 

EGU SO2 emissions show a significant 

reduction of SO2 emissions.8 The West 

Virginia 2007 point source SO2

emissions of which a significant portion 

were EGU emissions were 428,350 tpy 

while the 2011 EGU SO2 emissions are 

92,609 tpy, which shows a significant 

reduction of SO2 emissions from 2007. 

The 2011 EGU SO2 emissions are below 

the emissions projected for 2018, which 

demonstrates greater progress than West 

Virginia had projected in its regional 

haze SIP. EPA believes this provides 

sufficient information to support the 

representativeness of the period 

evaluated by West Virginia particularly 

as sulfates from EGUs were identified in 

West Virginia’s 2008 regional haze SIP 

as the largest contributor to visibility 

impairment at West Virginia’s and 

VISTAS’ Class I areas. 

The provisions under 40 CFR 

51.308(g)(5) require an assessment of 

any significant changes in 

anthropogenic emissions within or 

outside the state that have occurred over 

the past five years that have limited or 

impeded progress in reducing pollutant 

emissions and improving visibility in 

Class I areas impacted by the state’s 

sources. In its progress report SIP, West 

Virginia states that sulfates continue to 

be the biggest single contributor to 

regional haze at Dolly Sods and Otter 

Creek. Accordingly, West Virginia 

focused its analysis on addressing large 

SO2 emissions from point sources. In its 

progress report SIP, West Virginia 

demonstrates that there has been 

significant improvement in visibility as 

well as a significant decrease in sulfates’ 

contribution to visibility impairment. 

EPA proposes to find that West 

Virginia has adequately addressed the 

provisions under 40 CFR 51.308(g)(5). 

West Virginia adequately demonstrated 

that there has been significant 

improvement in visibility in its Class I 

areas. West Virginia also adequately 

demonstrated that there has been a 

significant decrease in sulfates’ 

contribution to visibility impairment. 

West Virginia’s progress report SIP 

demonstrates that there are no 

significant changes in emissions that 

have impeded its progress in reducing 

emissions or in improving visibility in 

the Class I areas within West Virginia or 

impacted by West Virginia sources. 

Furthermore, the progress report SIP 

shows that the State is on track to 

meeting its 2018 RPGs for Dolly Sods 

and Otter Creek. 

The provisions under 40 CFR 

51.308(g)(6) require an assessment of 

whether the current regional haze SIP is 

sufficient to enable the state, or other 

states, to meet the RPGs for Class I areas 

affected by emissions from the state. In 

its progress report SIP, West Virginia 

states that it believes that the elements 

and strategies outlined in its original 

2008 regional haze SIP are sufficient to 

enable West Virginia and other 

neighboring states to meet all the 

established RPGs. To support this 

conclusion, West Virginia presents 

visibility data for all Class I areas inside 

and outside of the state that are 

impacted by West Virginia sources. The 

impacted Class I areas include two areas 

in West Virginia (Dolly Sods and Otter 

Creek) and six areas in neighboring 

states. The impacted Class I areas 

outside of West Virginia are Brigantine 

Wilderness in New Jersey; Great Smoky 

Mountains National Park in North 

Carolina and Tennessee; James River 

Face in Virginia, Linville Gorge in North 

Carolina; Monmouth Cave National Park 

in Kentucky; and Shenandoah National 

Park in Virginia. The visibility data 

provided by West Virginia for Dolly 

Sods and Otter Creek show that those 

areas are on track to achieving their 

2018 RPGs. Additionally, West Virginia 

expects SO2 emissions from West 

Virginia sources to continue to decrease 

in the future due to expected shutdowns 

and installation of controls. Therefore 

West Virginia expects that visibility 

impairment in its Class I areas will 

decrease as well. The visibility data 

presented for Class I areas outside of 

West Virginia show that each area is on 

track to achieve its RPGs in 2018. 

EPA proposes to conclude that West 

Virginia has adequately addressed the 

requirements of 40 CFR 51.308(g)(6). 

EPA views this requirement as a 

qualitative assessment that should 

evaluate emissions and visibility trends 

and other readily available information, 

including expected emissions 

reductions associated with measures 

with compliance dates that have not yet 

become effective. West Virginia 

referenced the improving visibility 

trends with appropriately supported 

data and referenced the downward 

emissions trends with a focus on SO2

emissions from West Virginia EGUs that 

support the determination that the West 

Virginia 2008 regional haze SIP is 

sufficient to meet RPGs for Class I areas 

within and outside the state impacted 

by West Virginia sources. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 50 / Friday, March 14, 2014 / Proposed Rules 14465 

The provisions under 40 CFR 

51.308(g)(7) require a review of a state’s 

visibility monitoring strategy and an 

assessment of whether any 

modifications to the monitoring strategy 

are necessary. In its progress report SIP, 

West Virginia summarizes the existing 

monitoring network at Dolly Sods and 

Otter Creek and discusses its intended 

continued reliance on the IMPROVE 

monitoring network for its visibility 

planning. West Virginia also mentions 

its PM2.5 monitoring network and that it 

is used to understand air pollution 

levels across the state. West Virginia 

also encourages VISTAS and other 

regional planning organizations to 

maintain support of the existing data 

management system or an equivalent to 

facilitate availability analysis of 

IMPROVE and visibility-related data. 

West Virginia concludes that the 

existing network is adequate and that no 

modifications to visibility monitoring 

strategy are necessary at this time. 

EPA proposes to conclude that West 

Virginia has adequately addressed the 

sufficiency of its monitoring strategy as 

required by the provisions under 40 

CFR 51.308(g)(7). West Virginia 

reaffirmed its continued reliance upon 

the IMPROVE monitoring network and 

discussed its additional PM2.5

monitoring network used to further 

assess air pollution levels. West Virginia 

also explained the importance of the 

IMPROVE monitoring network for 

tracking visibility trends at Dolly Sods 

and Otter Creek and identified no 

expected changes in this network. 

B. Determination of Adequacy of 

Existing Regional Haze Plan 

Under 40 CFR 51.308(h), states are 

required to take one of four possible 

actions based on the information 

gathered and conclusions made in the 

progress report SIP. The following 

section summarizes: the action taken by 

West Virginia under 40 CFR 51.308(h); 

West Virginia’s rationale for the selected 

action; and EPA’s analysis and proposed 

determination regarding the West 

Virginia’s action. 

In its progress report SIP, West 

Virginia submitted a negative 

declaration that it had determined that 

the existing regional haze SIP requires 

no further substantive revision to 

achieve the RPGs for Class I areas 

affected by West Virginia’s sources. The 

basis for the negative declaration is the 

findings from the progress report (as 

discussed in section III of this 

rulemaking action), including the 

findings that: Visibility data has 

improved at Dolly Sods and Otter Creek; 

SO2 emissions from West Virginia 

sources have decreased beyond original 

projections; additional EGU control 

measures not relied upon in West 

Virginia’s regional haze SIP have been 

and are being implemented; and the 

EGU SO2 emissions in West Virginia are 

already below the levels projected for 

2018 in the regional haze SIP and are 

expected to continue to trend 

downward for the next five years. EPA 

proposes to conclude West Virginia 

adequately addressed the requirements 

of 40 CFR 51.308(h) because the 

visibility data trends at the Class I areas 

impacted by West Virginia sources and 

the emissions trends of the largest 

emitters of visibility-impairing 

pollutants both indicate that the RPGs 

for 2018 will be met or exceeded. 

IV. EPA’s Proposed Action 

EPA is proposing to approve West 

Virginia’s regional haze five-year 

progress report SIP revision, submitted 

on April 30, 2013, as meeting the 

applicable regional haze requirements 

set forth in 40 CFR 51.308(g) and 

51.308(h). 

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 proposed 

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 to 

approve West Virginia’s regional haze 

progress report SIP revision 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, Intergovernmental relations, 

Nitrogen oxides, Particulate matter, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Sulfur dioxide, Volatile 

organic compounds. 

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

Dated: March 3, 2014. 

W.C. Early, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region III. 

[FR Doc. 2014–05743 Filed 3–13–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 

Safety Administration 

49 CFR Parts 171, 173, 178, and 180 

[Docket Number PHMSA–2010–0019 (HM– 

241)] 

RIN 2137–AE58 

Hazardous Materials: Adoption of 

ASME Code Section XII and the 

National Board Inspection Code 

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration 

(PHMSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; 

extension of comment period. 

SUMMARY: PHMSA is notifying the 

public of our intent to extend the 

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