7410 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 9, 2022 / Proposed Rules 

NAAQS maintenance plan approved by 

EPA for the first 10-year period and 

retains the relevant provisions of the 

SIP. 

EPA also finds that the Birmingham 

Area qualifies for the LMP option and 

that, therefore, the Birmingham Area 

LMP adequately demonstrates 

maintenance of the 1997 8-hour ozone 

NAAQS through documentation of 

monitoring data showing maximum 

1997 8-hour ozone levels well below the 

NAAQS and continuation of existing 

control measures. EPA believes the 

Birmingham Area’s 1997 8-hour ozone 

LMP to be sufficient to provide for 

maintenance of the 1997 8-hour ozone 

NAAQS in the Birmingham Area over 

the second 10-year maintenance period, 

through 2026, and thereby satisfy the 

requirements for such a plan under CAA 

section 175A(b). 

VII. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

Under the CAA, the Administrator is 

required to approve a SIP submission 

that complies with the provisions of the 

Act and applicable Federal regulations. 

See 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. This action merely proposes to 

approve 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 Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, 

January 21, 2011); 

• 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). 

The SIP is not approved to apply on 

any Indian reservation land or in any 

other area where EPA or an Indian tribe 

has demonstrated that a tribe has 

jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian 

country, the rule does not have tribal 

implications as specified by Executive 

Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 

2000), nor will it 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, Ozone, reporting and 

recordkeeping Requirements, Volatile 

organic compounds. 

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

Dated: February 3, 2022. 

Daniel Blackman, 

Regional Administrator, Region 4. 

[FR Doc. 2022–02683 Filed 2–8–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R01–OAR–2022–0089; FRL–9546–01– 

R1] 

Air Plan Approval; Connecticut; 

Negative Declaration for the Oil and 

Gas Industry 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a 

State Implementation Plan (SIP) 

revision submitted by the State of 

Connecticut. The revision provides the 

State’s determination, via a negative 

declaration, that there are no facilities 

within its borders subject to EPA’s 2016 

Control Technique Guideline (CTG) for 

the oil and gas industry. The intended 

effect of this action is to approve this 

item into the Connecticut SIP. This 

action is being taken under the Clean 

Air Act. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before March 11, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R01– 

OAR–2022–0089 at https://

www.regulations.gov, or via email 

rackauskas.eric@epa.gov. For comments 

submitted at Regulations.gov, follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. Once submitted, comments 

cannot be edited or removed from 

Regulations.gov. For either manner of 

submission, the EPA may publish any 

comment received to its public docket. 

Do not submit electronically any 

information you consider to be 

Confidential Business Information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Multimedia 

submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be 

accompanied by a written comment. 

The written comment is considered the 

official comment and should include 

discussion of all points you wish to 

make. The EPA will generally not 

consider comments or comment 

contents located outside of the primary 

submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or 

other file sharing system). For 

additional submission methods, please 

contact the person identified in the ‘‘For 

Further Information Contact’’ section. 

For the full EPA public comment policy, 

information about CBI or multimedia 

submissions, and general guidance on 

making effective comments, please visit 

https://www.epa.gov/dockets/ 

commenting-epa-dockets. Publicly 

available docket materials are available 

at https://www.regulations.gov or at the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

EPA Region 1 Regional Office, Air and 

Radiation Division, 5 Post Office 

Square—Suite 100, Boston, MA. EPA 

requests that if at all possible, you 

contact the contact listed in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to 

schedule your inspection. The Regional 

Office’s official hours of business are 

Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 

4:30 p.m., excluding legal holidays and 

facility closures due to COVID–19. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric 

Rackauskas, Air Quality Branch, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 

Region 1, 5 Post Office Square—Suite 

100, (Mail code 05–2), Boston, MA 

02109–3912, tel. (617) 918–1628, email 

rackauskas.eric@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document whenever 

‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean 

EPA. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 9, 2022 / Proposed Rules 7411 

1This submittal was part of Connecticut’s larger 

RACT and Nonattainment New Source Review 

(NNSR) Certification submittal, which will be acted 

upon separately and are not part of this rulemaking. 

2 ‘‘State Implementation Plans; General Preamble 

for the Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air 

Act Amendments of 1990,’’ (57 FR 13498at 13512 

(April 16, 1992)). 

3RACT Q’s and A’s—Reasonably Available 

Control Technology RACT: Questions and Answers 

Memorandum from William T. Harnett, May 18, 

2006. 

4 ‘‘Implementation of the 2008 National Ambient 

Air Quality Standards for Ozone: State 

Implementation Plan Requirements,’’ (80 FR 

12263at 12278 (March 6, 2015)). 

Table of Contents 

I. Background 

II. Summary of SIP Revision and EPA 

Analysis 

III. Proposed Action 

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. Background and Purpose 

On October 27, 2016, EPA published 

in the Federal Register the ‘‘Final 

Control Techniques Guidelines for the 

Oil and Natural Gas Industry’’ (81 FR 

74798). The CTG provided information 

to state, local, and tribal air agencies to 

assist them in determining reasonably 

available control technology (RACT) for 

volatile organic compounds (VOC) 

emissions from select oil and natural gas 

industry emission sources. CAA section 

182(b)(2)(A) requires that for ozone 

nonattainment areas classified as 

Moderate or above, states must revise 

their SIPs to include provisions to 

implement RACT for each category of 

VOC sources covered by a CTG 

document. CAA section 184(b)(1)(B) 

extends the RACT obligation to all areas 

of states within the Ozone Transport 

Region (OTR). In addition to 

Connecticut being classified as 

nonattainment for the 2008 and 2015 

ozone standards in both the Connecticut 

portion of the New York-Northern New 

Jersey-Long Island, NY–NJ–CT area and 

Greater Connecticut areas, Connecticut 

is a member state of the OTR. States 

subject to RACT requirements are 

required to adopt controls that are at 

least as stringent as those found within 

the CTG either via the adoption of 

regulations, or by issuance of single 

source orders or permits that outline 

what the source is required to do to 

meet RACT. If no source for a particular 

CTG exists within a state, the state must 

submit as a SIP revision a negative 

declaration documenting this fact. 

II. Summary of SIP Revision and EPA 

Analysis 

On December 29, 2020, the 

Connecticut Department of Energy and 

Environmental Protection (DEEP) 

submitted a negative declaration for the 

2016 Oil and Natural Gas Industry 

CTG.1 The term ‘‘negative declaration’’ 

means that the state has explored 

whether any facilities subject to the 

applicability requirements of the CTG 

exist within the state and concluded 

that there are no such sources within its 

borders. As part of this determination, 

DEEP reviewed the inventory of sources 

for facilities covered by the CTGs, 

interviewed its field staff, and searched 

telephone directories and internet web 

pages, including other state government 

databases, to identify and evaluate 

sources that might meet the 

applicability requirements. Connecticut 

DEEP ultimately determined there are 

no sources covered by this CTG in the 

State. This is consistent with EPA’s 

understanding of where sources subject 

to the Oil and Natural Gas Industry CTG 

are located. 

EPA has historically allowed states to 

submit a negative declaration for a 

particular CTG category if the state finds 

that no sources exist in the state which 

would be subject to that CTG. EPA has 

addressed the idea of negative 

declarations numerous times and for 

various NAAQS including in the 

General Preamble to the 1990 

Amendments,2 the 2006 RACT Q&A 

Memo,3 and the 2008 Ozone 

Implementation Rule.4 In each of these 

documents, EPA asserted that if no 

sources exist in the nonattainment area 

for a particular CTG category, the state 

would be allowed to submit a negative 

declaration SIP revision. This principle 

also applies to states in the OTR. EPA 

is not aware of any information 

indicating that a facility subject to the 

2016 Oil and Natural Gas Industry CTG 

exists within the State of Connecticut 

and so we are proposing to approve 

Connecticut’s negative declaration into 

the SIP. 

III. Proposed Action 

EPA is proposing to approve 

Connecticut’s negative declaration for 

the 2016 Oil and Natural Gas Industry 

CTG. EPA is soliciting public comments 

on the issues discussed in this notice or 

on other relevant matters. These 

comments will be considered before 

taking final action. Interested parties 

may participate in the Federal 

rulemaking procedure by submitting 

written comments to this proposed rule 

by following the instructions listed in 

the ADDRESSES section of this Federal 

Register. 

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 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 Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, 

January 21, 2011); 

• 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, the SIP is not approved 

to apply on any Indian reservation land 

or in any other area where EPA or an 

Indian tribe has demonstrated that a 

tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of 

Indian country, the rule does not have 

tribal implications and will not impose 

substantial direct costs on tribal 

governments or preempt tribal law as 

specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 

FR 67249, November 9, 2000). 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
7412 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 9, 2022 / Proposed Rules 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 

Incorporation by reference, 

Intergovernmental relations, Lead, 

Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate 

matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile 

organic compounds. 

Dated: February 3, 2022. 

Deborah Szaro, 

Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region 

1. 

[FR Doc. 2022–02675 Filed 2–8–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 141 

[EPA–HQ–OW–2022–0114; FRL–8543–O3– 

OW] 

Notice of Public Meeting: 

Environmental Justice Considerations 

for the Development of the Proposed 

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances 

(PFAS) National Primary Drinking 

Water Regulation (NPDWR) 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is hosting two identical 

public meetings to discuss and solicit 

input on environmental justice 

considerations related to the 

development of the proposed per- and 

polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) 

national primary drinking water 

regulation (NPDWR) under the Safe 

Drinking Water Act (SDWA). In the 

context of developing this proposed 

regulation, environmental justice 

considerations include the fair 

treatment and meaningful involvement 

of all people regardless of race, color, 

national origin, or income with respect 

to the development, implementation, 

and enforcement of environmental laws, 

regulations, and policies with a 

particular focus on unique challenges 

faced by communities 

disproportionately burdened by 

environmental harms and risks. EPA is 

holding these meetings to share 

information and provide an opportunity 

for communities to offer input on the 

development of the proposed PFAS 

NPDWR. Information on how to register 

and request to speak during one of the 

meetings is detailed in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this announcement. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before April 20, 2022. The two 

identical public meetings will be held 

on March 2, 2022 (1 p.m. to 4 p.m., 

eastern time) and April 5, 2022 (5 p.m. 

to 8 p.m., eastern time). The public 

meetings will be held in an online-only 

format. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– 

OW–2022–0114, to the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal: https://

www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the Docket ID No. EPA– 

HQ–OW–2022–0114 for this action. 

Comments received may be posted 

without change to https://

www.regulations.gov/, including any 

personal information provided. For 

detailed instructions on sending 

comments and additional information 

on the rulemaking process, see the 

‘‘Public Participation’’ heading of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this announcement. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

technical inquiries, contact Ashley 

Greene, Standards and Risk 

Management Division, Office of Ground 

Water and Drinking Water (MC 4607M), 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 

20460 at (202) 566–1738 or 

greene.ashley@epa.gov. For more 

information about the proposed PFAS 

NPDWR, visit: https://www.epa.gov/ 

sdwa/and-polyfluoroalkyl-substancespfas. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Participation 

These online meetings will be open to 

the public and EPA encourages input 

and will provide opportunities for 

public engagement. 

A. Written Comments 

Submit your comments, identified by 

Docket ID No, EPA–HQ–OW–2022–0114 

at https://www.regulations.gov; see 

instructions identified in the ADDRESSES

section of this announcement. Once 

submitted, comments cannot be edited 

or removed from the docket. The EPA 

may publish any comment received to 

its public docket. Do not submit 

electronically any information you 

consider to be Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Multimedia submissions (audio, video, 

etc.) must be accompanied by a written 

comment. The written comment is 

considered the official comment and 

should include discussion of all points 

you wish to make. The EPA will 

generally not consider comments or 

comment contents located outside of the 

primary submission (i.e., on the web, 

cloud, or other file sharing system). For 

additional submission methods, the full 

EPA public comment policy, 

information about CBI or multimedia 

submissions, and general guidance on 

making effective comments, please visit 

https://www.epa.gov/dockets/ 

commenting-epa-dockets. 

B. Participation in Public Meeting 

Registration: Individuals planning to 

participate in either of the online public 

meetings must register at https://

www.epa.gov/sdwa/andpolyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas no later 

than March 1, 2022, for the March 2, 

2022 meeting and April 4, 2022, for the 

April 5, 2022 meeting. Individuals are 

also invited to speak during the 

meetings. Those interested in speaking 

can sign-up to make brief verbal remarks 

as a part of their registration. EPA will 

do its best to include all those interested 

in attending and requesting verbal 

input, but may have to limit attendance 

due to web conferencing size or limit 

verbal remarks due to meeting time 

limitations; therefore, EPA urges people 

to register early. Meeting information 

and web conferencing meeting details, 

including telephone call-in information, 

will be emailed to registered 

participants in advance of each of the 

meetings. If you have any difficulty 

registering or have additional questions 

or comments about the public meeting, 

please email PFASmeetingsupport@

cadmusgroup.com. 

Special Accommodations: For 

information on electronic access or 

accommodations for individuals with 

disabilities or other requested assistance 

(e.g., language translation), please 

contact Ashley Greene at (202) 566– 

1738 or by email at greene.ashley@

epa.gov. Please allow at least five 

business days prior to each of the 

meetings to give EPA time to process 

your request. 

II. The Proposed PFAS National 

Primary Drinking Water Regulation 

Under SDWA, EPA sets public health 

goals and enforceable standards for 

drinking water quality. On March 3, 

2021, EPA published a final 

determination (https://www.epa.gov/ccl/ 

regulatory-determination-4) to regulate 

perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and 

perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) in 

drinking water. EPA is currently 

developing a proposed NPDWR for 

PFOA and PFOS. EPA is also evaluating 

additional PFAS and assessing the 

available science to consider regulations 

for groups of PFAS. NPDWRs are legally 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1