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[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 165 (Thursday, August 25, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 58400-58402]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-20309]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2015-0449; FRL-9951-25-Region 4]

Air Plan Approval; North Carolina; Regional Haze Progress Report

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of North 
Carolina through the North Carolina Division of Air Quality (NC DAQ) on 
May 31, 2013. North Carolina's May 31, 2013, SIP revision (Progress 
Report) addresses requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and 
EPA's rules that require each state 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 plan). 
EPA is approving North Carolina's Progress Report on the basis that it 
addresses the progress report and adequacy determination requirements 
for the first implementation period for regional haze.

DATES: This rule will be effective September 26, 2016.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2015-0449. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the www.regulations.gov Web site. Although listed in the 
index, 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, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available 
only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are 
available either electronically through www.regulations.gov or in hard 
copy at the Air Regulatory Management Section, Air Planning and 
Implementation Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW., 
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. EPA requests that if at all possible, you 
contact the person 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 Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sean Lakeman, Air Regulatory 
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air, 
Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 
30303-8960. Mr. Lakeman can be reached by phone at (404) 562-9043 and 
via electronic mail at lakeman.sean@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Under the Regional Haze Rule,\1\ each state was required to submit 
its first implementation plan addressing regional haze visibility 
impairment to EPA no later than December 17, 2007. See 40 CFR 
51.308(b). North Carolina submitted its regional haze plan on that 
date, and like many other states subject to the Clean Air Interstate 
Rule (CAIR), relied on CAIR to satisfy best available retrofit 
technology (BART) requirements for emissions of sulfur dioxide 
(SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) from electric 
generating units (EGUs) in the State. On June 7, 2012, EPA finalized a 
limited disapproval of North Carolina's December 17, 2007, regional 
haze plan submission because of deficiencies arising from the State's 
reliance on CAIR to satisfy certain regional haze requirements. See 77 
FR 33642. In a separate action taken on June 27, 2012, EPA finalized a 
limited approval of North Carolina's December 17, 2007, regional haze 
plan submission, as meeting some of the applicable regional haze 
requirements as set forth in sections 169A and 169B of the CAA and in 
40 CFR 51.300-308. See 77 FR 38185. On October 31, 2014, the State 
submitted a regional haze plan revision to correct the deficiencies 
identified in the June 27, 2012, limited disapproval by replacing 
reliance on CAIR with reliance on the State's Clean Smokestacks Act 
(CSA) as an alternative to NOX and SO2 BART for 
BART-eligible EGUs formerly subject to CAIR. EPA approved that SIP 
revision on May 24, 2016, resulting in a full approval of North 
Carolina's regional haze plan. See 81 FR 32652.
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    \1\ Located in 40 CFR part 51, subpart P.
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    Each state is also 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 for 
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). Each 
state is also required to submit, at the same time as the progress 
report, a determination of the adequacy of its existing regional haze 
plan. See 40 CFR 51.308(h). The first progress report was

[[Page 58401]]

due five years after submittal of the initial regional haze plan.
    On May 31, 2013, as required by 40 CFR 51.308(g), NC DAQ submitted 
to EPA, in the form of a revision to North Carolina's SIP, a report on 
progress made towards the RPGs for Class I areas in the State and for 
Class I areas outside the State that are affected by emissions from 
sources within the State. This submission also includes a negative 
declaration pursuant to 40 CFR 51.308(h)(1) that the State's regional 
haze plan is sufficient in meeting the requirements of the Regional 
Haze Rule and revised RPGs for the five Class I areas within the State 
based on updated modeling. In a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) 
published on June 15, 2016 (81 FR 38986), EPA proposed to approve North 
Carolina's Progress Report on the basis that it satisfies the 
requirements of 40 CFR 51.308(g) and 51.308(h) now that EPA has fully 
approved the State's regional haze plan. No comments were received on 
the June 15, 2016, proposed rulemaking. The details of North Carolina's 
submittal and the rationale for EPA's actions are further explained in 
the NPRM. See 81 FR 38986 (June 15, 2016).

II. Final Action

    EPA is finalizing approval of North Carolina's Regional Haze 
Progress Report SIP revision, submitted by the State on May 31, 2013, 
as meeting the applicable regional haze requirements set forth in 40 
CFR 51.308(g) and 51.308(h). EPA also is finalizing approval of the 
updated RPGs for North Carolina's Class I areas.

III. 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. 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 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.
    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 CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by October 24, 2016. 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 
enforce its requirements. See section 307(b)(2).

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.

    Dated: August 15, 2016.
Heather McTeer Toney,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart II--North Carolina

0
2. Section 52.1770(e), is amended by adding an entry for ``May 2013 
Regional Haze Progress Report'' at the end of the table to read as 
follows:

Sec.  52.1770  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

[[Page 58402]]

                                                  EPA-Approved North Carolina Non-Regulatory Provisions
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                                           State       EPA Approval
              Provision               effective date       date               Federal Register citation                        Explanation
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                                                                      * * * * * * *
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May 2013 Regional Haze Progress            5/31/2013       8/25/2016  [Insert citation of publication]........  Includes updated reasonable progress
 Report.                                                                                                         goals for North Carolina's Class I
                                                                                                                 areas.
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[FR Doc. 2016-20309 Filed 8-24-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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