EPA’s RESPONSE to Summary of Interagency Working Comments on Draft 

Language under EO12866/13563 Interagency Review. Subject to Further 

Policy Review.

1 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Proposed Rule 

Protection of Visibility: Amendments to Requirements for State Plans 

RIN 2060-AS55 

EPA’s Response #1: The EPA proposes to make the following changes in section IV.G, 

Changes to Reasonably Attributable Visibility Impairment Provisions, on pages 88-91 (changes 

against existing version in red): 

Regarding the time schedule for state response to an FLM certification of reasonably 

attributable visibility impairment, we are considering a number of possible approaches for the 

final rule, but with proposed rule text is provided only for the most complicated of these three 

alternative approaches. This approach will be explained first. 

The first alternative proposed rule text at §51.302(d) would retain the existing 

requirement for a state to respond to a reasonably attributable visibility impairment certification 

with a SIP revision within 3 years regardless of when the certification is made in the cycle of 

periodic comprehensive SIP revisions. 

The second alternative proposed rule text at §51.302(d) would require the state’s 

responsive SIP revision to be submitted on the due date of the next progress report (but not as 

part of the progress report, if the final rule does not require progress reports themselves to be 

submitted as SIP revisions) or the next periodic comprehensive SIP revision, whichever is 

earlier, provided the earlier date is at least 2 years after the RAVI certification. 

 The third alternative proposed rule text at §51.302(d) provides for different deadlines for 

the state response to the certification depending on when in the cycle of periodic comprehensive 

SIP revisions the reasonably attributable visibility impairment certification is made. Table 2 

provides specific examples of how application of the third alternative approach in the proposed 

rule text would determine due dates for the state response to a certification. 

• If the certification is made more than 2 years prior to the due date for any periodic 

comprehensive regional haze SIP revision required under §51.308(f) (but, with respect to 

the SIP due for the just-prior period, not so early as to be within the 6-month window 

described next), then a state must respond to the certification in that upcoming SIP 

revision. Failure to respond adequately would prevent full approval of that SIP revision. 

If the certification is made more than 2 years before the SIP due date, the state would 

have more than 2 years to respond, except as provided in the next bullet.1

 

1 Under the third alternative proposed rule text, fFor a certification made between the 2021 and 

2028 SIP due dates, the state might have up to 6.5 years to respond, assuming the next bullet 

does not apply. For a certification made between the 2028 and 2038 due dates, the state might 

have up to 9.5 years to respond. 
EPA’s RESPONSE to Summary of Interagency Working Comments on Draft 

Language under EO12866/13563 Interagency Review. Subject to Further 

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• If the certification is made less than 2 years prior to the due date for any periodic 

comprehensive SIP revision (but no more than 6 months subsequent to the submission 

date of that periodic comprehensive regional haze SIP revision or a SIP revision that 

amends a previous submission in a way that affects the emission limits applicable to the 

reasonably attributable visibility impairment-certified source 2), then the state must 

submit a revision to its regional haze SIP within 2 years from the date of certification. 

The EPA believes that in this second timing situation, when the state’s analytical 

infrastructure has been recently used to prepare a SIP revision and thus would not be in 

need of much, if any, refreshment, it is appropriate to require a responding SIP revision 

without waiting longer than 2 years for the next periodic comprehensive SIP revision. In 

this timing situation, the EPA would act on the state’s standard regional haze SIP without 

regard to the not-yet-due obligation for a reasonably attributable visibility impairmentresponse SIP revision. 

Table 2 - Example FLM Reasonably Attributable Visibility Impairment Certification Dates 

and Corresponding Due Dates for State Response Under the Third Alternative Proposed 

Rule Text. All assume submission of a SIP revision by July 31, 2021, unless otherwise 

noted. 

Date of FLM certification Proposed due date for state response 

July 30, 2019 July 31, 2021 

August 1, 2019 August 1, 2021 

January 30, 2022 January 30, 2024 

February 1, 2022 July 31, 2028 

April 1, 2022, after late submission of a SIP 

on March 1, 2022 

April 1, 2024 

August 31, 2022, after revised SIP 

submission on July 31, 2021, affecting the 

source identified in the reasonably 

attributable visibility impairment 

certification 

August 31, 2024 

 

2

 If a certification is made not too long after a SIP due date, this parenthetical provision 

contained in the third alternative proposed rule text would operate to require the SIP revision 

needed to respond to the reasonably attributable visibility impairment certification to be due 

sooner than the 6.5 or 9.5 year extreme noted in the previous footnote. 
EPA’s RESPONSE to Summary of Interagency Working Comments on Draft 

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These timing provisions can be viewed as a compromise between possibly requiring more 

than one major planning activity during each (approximately) 10-year SIP cycle and obtaining 

the benefit of additional emission controls via a response to an FLM certification of reasonably 

attributable visibility impairment within a reasonable time period. These provisions in the 

proposed rule text also reflect the fact that an FLM may, in rare cases, wish to certify a 

reasonably attributable visibility impairment source after reviewing (and having disagreements 

with) a SIP that a state has recently submitted to the EPA. 

The EPA invites comment on this timing approach shown in Table 2 and the proposed rule 

text, but also on other, simpler approaches that would strike a compromise that leans more 

towards obtaining additional visibility improvements sooner following a FLM certification of 

reasonably attributable impairment at a Class I area. In particular, the EPA invites comment on 

(1) retaining the existing requirement for a state to respond to a reasonably attributable visibility 

impairment certification with a SIP revision within 3 years regardless of when the certification is 

made in the cycle of periodic comprehensive SIP revisions and (2) requiring the state’s 

responsive SIP revision to be submitted on the due date of the next progress report (but not as 

part of the progress report, if the final rule does not require progress reports themselves to be 

submitted as SIP revisions) or the next periodic comprehensive SIP revision whichever is earlier 

provided the earlier date is at least 2 years after the RAVI certification. The final rule may 

incorporate any one of these three proposals, or may combine features of these proposals. 

It is important to note that regardless how the final rule sets the deadline for the state’s 

responsive SIP revision, if the reasonable progress goals in the periodic comprehensive regional 

haze SIP for a state with a Class I area (and thus required to have reasonable progress goals in its 

SIP for that area) have been approved prior to the approval of its own or a contributing state’s 

separate reasonably attributable visibility impairment-response SIP, the state would not be 

required to revisit and revise its reasonable progress goals to take into account any additional 

emission reductions from the certified source until the next due date for a periodic 

comprehensive SIP revision. 

EPA’s Response #2: The EPA also proposes to make the following three rule text proposals in 

the alternative for 51.302(d). Note that the third alternative had previously been included as the 

only rule text proposal and is therefore not shown in red. 

§51.302 Reasonably attributable visibility impairment. 

First alternative for paragraph (d) for the final rule: 

(d) For any existing reasonably attributable visibility impairment the Federal Land Manager 

certifies to the State(s) under paragraph (a) of this section, the State(s) shall submit a revision to

its regional haze implementation plan that includes the elements described in paragraph (b) and 

(c) no later than 3 years after the date of the certification. The State(s) is not required at that time 
EPA’s RESPONSE to Summary of Interagency Working Comments on Draft 

Language under EO12866/13563 Interagency Review. Subject to Further 

Policy Review.

4 

to also revise its reasonable progress goals to reflect the additional emission reductions required 

from the source or sources. 

Second alternative for paragraph (d) for the final rule: 

(d) For any existing reasonably attributable visibility impairment the Federal Land Manager 

certifies to the State(s) under paragraph (a) of this section more than 2 years prior to the due date 

for a regional haze implementation plan revision required under §51.308(f) or the due date for a 

regional haze progress report required under §51.308(g), the State(s) shall include the elements 

described in paragraphs (b) and (c) in a plan revision by the due date for that implementation 

plan revision as part of such revision or by the due date for the progress report, whichever is due 

first, provided that the earlier date is at least 2 years after the certification. For plan revisions 

submitted by the due date for the progress report, the State(s) is not required at that time to also 

revise its reasonable progress goals to reflect the additional emission reductions required from 

the source or sources. 

Third alternative for paragraph (d) for the final rule: 

(d)(1) For any existing reasonably attributable visibility impairment the Federal Land Manager 

certifies to the State(s) under paragraph (a) of this section more than 2 years prior to the due date 

for a regional haze implementation plan revision required under §51.308(f), the State(s) shall 

include the elements described in paragraphs (b) and (c) in such revision and such elements shall 

be considered a required part of such revision. 

(2) For any existing reasonably attributable visibility impairment the Federal Land Manager 

certifies to the State(s) under paragraph (a) of this section less than 2 years prior to the due date 

for a regional haze implementation plan revision required under §51.308(f), but no more than 6 

months subsequent to the submission date of that implementation plan revision or no more than 6 

months subsequent to a further plan revision that changes the emission limitation for the subject 

source, the State(s) shall submit a revision to its regional haze implementation plan that includes 

the elements described in paragraph (b) and (c) no later than 2 years after the date of the 

certification. The State(s) is not required at that time to also revise its reasonable progress goals 

to reflect the additional emission reductions required from the source or sources.