106328 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 249 / Monday, December 30, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

1 88 FR 85112 (December 7, 2023). 

2State Implementation Plans: Response to 

Petition for Rulemaking; Restatement and Update of 

EPA’s SSM Policy Applicable to SIPs; Findings of 

Substantial Inadequacy; and SIP Calls To Amend 

Provisions Applying to Excess Emissions During 

Periods of Startup, Shutdown and Malfunction, 80 

FR 33840 (June 12, 2015). 

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 165 

Harbors, Marine safety, Navigation 

(water), Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Security measures, 

Waterways. 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33 

CFR part 165 as follows: 

PART 165—REGULATED NAVIGATION 

AREAS AND LIMITED ACCESS AREAS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 165 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 46 U.S.C. 70034, 70051, 70124; 

33 CFR 1.05–1, 6.04–1, 6.04–6, and 160.5; 

Department of Homeland Security Delegation 

No. 00170.1, Revision No. 01.3. 

■ 2. Revise and republish § 165.T01– 

0820 to read as follows: 

§ 165.T01–0820 Safety Zone; Kernwood 

Avenue Bridge Repairs—Danvers River, 

Salem, MA, and Beverly, MA. 

(a) Location. The following area is a 

safety zone: all navigable waters within 

a 100-yard radius of the center point of 

the Massachusetts Department of 

Transportation (MassDOT) Kernwood 

Avenue Bridge, at mile 1.0 spanning the 

Danvers River between Salem, MA, and 

Beverly, MA, in approximate position 

42°32′34.8′′N 70°53′54.2′′W. 

(b) Enforcement period. The safety 

zone in paragraph (a) of this section is 

effective from December 20, 2024, 

through 11:59 p.m. on November 30, 

2025. The section is subject to 

enforcement only during periods the 

navigable channel is restricted by the 

contractor’s work vessels, when the 

span cannot be mechanically operated, 

or in response to an emergency or 

hazardous condition during this period. 

The Coast Guard will make notice of 

this safety zone via the Local Notice to 

Mariners and issue a Broadcast Notice 

to Mariners via marine channel 16 

(VHF–FM) as soon as practicable in 

response to an emergency or hazardous 

condition. In addition, if the project is 

completed before 11:59 p.m. on 

November 30, 2025, enforcement of the 

safety zone will be suspended, and 

notice given via Local Notice to 

Mariners. The First Coast Guard District 

Local Notice to Mariners can be found 

at: http://www.navcen.uscg.gov. 

(c) Definitions. As used in this 

section: 

(1) Designated representative means 

any Coast Guard commissioned, 

warrant, petty officer, or any federal, 

state, or local law enforcement officer 

who has been designated by the Captain 

of the Port Boston (COTP) to act on his 

or her behalf. The designated 

representative may be on an official 

patrol vessel or may be on shore and 

will communicate with vessels via 

VHF–FM radio or loudhailer. In 

addition, members of the Coast Guard 

Auxiliary may be present to inform 

vessel operators of this regulation. 

(2) Official patrol vessels mean any 

Coast Guard, Coast Guard Auxiliary, 

state, or local law enforcement vessels 

assigned or approved by the COTP to 

enforce this section. 

(d) Regulations. When this safety zone 

is enforced, the following regulations, 

along with those contained in 33 CFR 

165.23 apply: 

(1) No person or vessel may enter or 

remain in this safety zone without the 

permission of the COTP or the COTP’s 

designated representatives. Any person 

or vessel permitted to enter the safety 

zone must comply with the lawful 

directions and orders of the COTP or the 

COTP’s designated representatives. 

(2) To seek permission to enter the 

safety zone, individuals may reach the 

COTP or a COTP-designated 

representative via Channel 16 (VHF– 

FM) or (857) 416–3015 (Sector Boston 

Command Center). 

Dated: December 20, 2024. 

J.C. Frederick, 

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the 

Port Boston. 

[FR Doc. 2024–31311 Filed 12–27–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R06–OAR–2019–0212; FRL–10997– 

04–R6] 

Air Plan Disapproval; Louisiana; 

Removal of Excess Emissions 

Provisions; Correction 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final action; correction. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is determining that a 

portion of a December 7, 2023, final 

disapproval action of a state 

implementation plan (SIP) revision 

submitted by the State of Louisiana was 

in error and making a correction 

pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA). 

DATES: This final action is effective on 

December 30, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket ID 

Number EPA–R06–OAR–2019–0212. All 

documents in the docket are listed on 

the www.regulations.gov website. 

Although listed in the index, some 

information is not publicly available, 

e.g., confidential business information 

(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 through www.regulations.gov, 

or please contact the person identified 

in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section for additional 

availability information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

General questions concerning this 

publication should be addressed to 

Michael Feldman, Regional Haze and 

SO2 Section, Air & Radiation Division, 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

Region VI, 1201 Elm Street, Dallas, 

Texas 75270; by telephone (214) 665– 

9793 or by email at feldman.michael@

epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information 

A. How is the preamble organized? 

The information presented in this 

preamble is organized as follows: 

Table of Contents 

I. General Information 

A. How is the preamble organized? 

II. Background 

III. What is the EPA correcting? 

IV. What action is the EPA taking? 

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

II. Background 

On November 8, 2024, the EPA 

proposed to correct an error in an earlier 

EPA action, using the authority of 

section 110(k)(6) of the CAA. 

Specifically, the proposed action 

explained that the error occurred in a 

December 7, 2023, EPA action 1

disapproving revisions to the SIP for the 

State of Louisiana submitted in response 

to the 2015 SSM SIP Action.2

On June 12, 2015, the EPA finalized 

the 2015 SSM SIP Action, which 

clarified, restated, and updated the 

EPA’s national policy regarding SIP 

provisions applying to excess emissions 

during periods of startup, shutdown, 

and malfunction (SSM). As part of the 

2015 SSM SIP Action, the EPA issued 

a finding that certain SIP provisions for 

36 states that were applicable in 45 

statewide and local jurisdictions were 


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3See 78 FR 12460, 12521–12522 (February 22, 

2013) and 80 FR 33840 at 33967 (June 12, 2015). 

4See 88 FR 85112 (December 7, 2023). 

5On October 5, 2022, EPA Region 6 finalized 

approval of a portion of Louisiana’s SIP revision 

that corrected six of Louisiana’s seven deficient SIP 

provisions originally identified in EPA’s 2015 SSM 

SIP Call. See 87 FR 60292. On December 7, 2023 

(88 FR 85112), the EPA Region 6 finalized 

disapproval of Louisiana’s SIP revision that sought 

to correct the remaining deficient provision. 

6 In vacating certain portions of the 2015 SSM SIP 

Action, the D.C. Circuit’s decision did not 

determine whether the SIP-called provisions were 

otherwise lawful under the CAA. See e.g. 94 F.4th 

at 110 (‘‘We thus do not reach the question whether 

the called SIPs’ relevant emission restrictions in 

fact amount to (or must amount to) ‘‘emission 

limitations’’ per the statutory definition.’’). 

substantially inadequate to meet CAA 

requirements due to how those SIP 

provisions treated excess emissions 

during SSM periods. Further, the EPA 

issued a ‘‘SIP call’’ to each of those 45 

air agencies, including the State of 

Louisiana on the basis that Louisiana’s 

SIP contained impermissible automatic 

and discretionary exemptions that were 

substantially inadequate to meet CAA 

requirements.3 To respond to the EPA’s 

SIP call in the 2015 SSM SIP Action, 

each affected state was required to 

submit its corrective SIP revision by 

November 22, 2016. On December 7, 

2023, the EPA took final action 4 to 

disapprove certain portions of a SIP 

revision submitted by the State of 

Louisiana on November 20, 2016, and 

supplemented on June 9, 2017, because 

the EPA found that Louisiana’s SIP 

revision did not correct the deficiency 

identified in Louisiana’s SIP in the 2015 

SSM SIP Action.5

As a result of the March 1, 2024, 

decision from the United States Court of 

Appeals for the District of Columbia 

Circuit in Environ. Comm. Fl. Elec. 

Power v. EPA, 94 F.4th 77 (D.C. Cir. 

2024), certain portions of the EPA’s SIP 

call in the 2015 SSM SIP Action were 

vacated by the D.C. Circuit and therefore 

have no legal effect. Thus, certain states 

subject to the 2015 SSM SIP Action no 

longer have a legal obligation to submit 

the revisions that the EPA had originally 

determined were required to correct the 

deficiencies identified in the SIP call.6

In other words, by partially vacating the 

EPA’s 2015 SSM SIP Action, the D.C. 

Circuit’s decision rendered Louisiana’s 

SIP submission in response to the 2015 

SSM SIP Action voluntary rather than 

mandatory. As a result, the EPA 

proposed to correct the EPA’s December 

7, 2023, disapproval action with respect 

to the consequences of that disapproval. 

A more complete explanation of the 

reasons for the proposed error 

correction can be found in the 

November 8, 2024, proposed action. 

Comments on the November 8, 2024, 

proposed action were due on or before 

December 9, 2024. The EPA did not 

receive any comments on the November 

8, 2024, proposed action. 

III. What is the EPA correcting? 

In this action, the EPA is correcting 

the erroneous triggering of mandatory 

sanctions under CAA section 179 and 

40 CFR 52.31 for the state of Louisiana 

following its December 7, 2023, 

disapproval of Louisiana’s SIP revision 

submitted in response to the 2015 SSM 

SIP Call. The EPA is also correcting the 

erroneous triggering of the EPA’s 

obligation to issue a Federal 

Implementation Plan (FIP) under CAA 

section 110(c)(1)(B). As a result, in 

finalizing this error correction action, 

the imposition of sanctions for the State 

of Louisiana and the FIP obligation for 

the EPA that were triggered as a result 

of the December 7, 2023, final 

disapproval action are no longer in 

effect. 

IV. What action is the EPA taking? 

As a result of the D.C. Circuit’s 

decision in Environ. Comm. Fl. Elec. 

Power v. EPA, the EPA is determining 

that, pursuant to section 110(k)(6) of the 

CAA, a portion of the EPA’s December 

7, 2023, final disapproval action of 

Louisiana’s SIP revision was in error 

with respect to the consequences of that 

disapproval. By partially vacating the 

EPA’s 2015 SSM SIP Action, the D.C. 

Circuit’s decision rendered Louisiana’s 

SIP submission in response to the 2015 

SSM SIP Action voluntary rather than 

mandatory. Thus, the EPA is finding 

that the triggering of mandatory 

sanctions and FIP obligation following 

the December 7, 2023, final disapproval 

was erroneous and, through this action, 

is terminating the imposition of 

sanctions for the State and the FIP 

obligation for the EPA triggered by that 

disapproval as they are no longer legally 

valid. 

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. However, this action, which 

seeks to correct an error in a prior SIP 

disapproval action under section 

110(k)(6) of the CAA, is neither an 

approval nor a disapproval. This action 

merely corrects an error in EPA’s prior 

action and does not impose additional 

requirements beyond those imposed by 

state law. 

• 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 14094 (88 FR 

21879, April 11, 2023); 

• 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 subject to Executive Order 

13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) 

because it because it is an error 

correction taken under section 110(k)(6) 

of the CAA and does not directly or 

disproportionately affect children. 

• Is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 

28355, May 22, 2001); and 

• 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. 

• 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 action 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). 

Executive Order 12898 (Federal 

Actions To Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629, 

Feb. 16, 1994) directs Federal agencies 

to identify and address 

‘‘disproportionately high and adverse 

human health or environmental effects’’ 

of their actions on communities with 

environmental justice (EJ) concerns to 

the greatest extent practicable and 

permitted by law. EPA defines EJ as 

‘‘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 


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106330 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 249 / Monday, December 30, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

environmental laws, regulations, and 

policies.’’ EPA further defines the term 

fair treatment to mean that ‘‘no group of 

people should bear a disproportionate 

burden of environmental harms and 

risks, including those resulting from the 

negative environmental consequences of 

industrial, governmental, and 

commercial operations or programs and 

policies.’’ 

The air agency did not evaluate 

environmental justice considerations as 

part of its SIP submittal; the CAA and 

applicable implementing regulations 

neither prohibit nor require such an 

evaluation. Although not a basis for that 

action, the EPA performed an EJ 

analysis for informational purposes only 

in its June 13, 2023, proposed 

disapproval of Louisiana’s SIP revision. 

See 88 FR 38448, 38453–38455 (June 13, 

2023) and 88 FR 85112, 85123–85124 

(December 7, 2023) for more 

information. The EPA views this action 

as a necessary procedural step following 

the D.C. Circuit decision and vacatur of 

portions of the 2015 SIP call. 

Consideration of EJ is not required as 

part of this action, and there is no 

information in the record inconsistent 

with the stated goal of E.O. 12898 of 

achieving environmental justice for 

communities with EJ concerns. 

This action is subject to the 

Congressional Review Act, and the EPA 

will submit a rule report to each House 

of the Congress and to the Comptroller 

General of the United States. 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 February 28, 2025. 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. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, 

Administrative practice and procedures, 

Air pollution control, Incorporation by 

reference, Intergovernmental relations, 

and Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Dated: December 19, 2024. 

Earthea Nance, 

Regional Administrator, EPA Region 6. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30747 Filed 12–27–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R05–OAR–2024–0529; FRL–12471– 

01–R5] 

Air Plan Approval; Ohio; Nitrogen 

Oxide Standards Rules 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is approving revisions to 

the Ohio State Implementation Plan 

(SIP) submitted by the Ohio 

Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio 

EPA) on November 4, 2024. Ohio EPA 

requested that EPA approve the revised 

rules for nitrogen oxide standards in the 

Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) into 

Ohio’s SIP. The revised rules include 

non-substantive updates to rule 

language and updates to referenced 

material. The revisions will assist with 

Ohio’s efforts to attain and maintain the 

National Ambient Air Quality Standards 

(NAAQS) for nitrogen dioxide (NO2). 

DATES: This direct final rule will be 

effective February 28, 2025, unless EPA 

receives adverse comments by January 

29, 2025. If adverse comments are 

received, EPA will publish a timely 

withdrawal of the direct final rule in the 

Federal Register informing the public 

that the rule will not take effect. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R05– 

OAR–2024–0529 at https://

www.regulations.gov or via email to 

langman.michael@epa.gov. For 

comments submitted at Regulations.gov, 

follow the online instructions for 

submitting comments. Once submitted, 

comments cannot be edited or removed 

from the docket. EPA may publish any 

comment received to its public docket. 

Do not submit electronically any 

information you consider to be 

Confidential Business Information (CBI), 

Proprietary Business Information (PBI), 

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. 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, PBI, or 

multimedia submissions, and general 

guidance on making effective 

comments, please visit https://

wwww.epa.gov/dockets/commentingepa-dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Delaney Kilgour, Air and Radiation 

Division (AR–1–8J), Environmental 

Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West 

Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 

60604, (312) 886–1106, 

kilgour.delaney@epa.gov. The EPA 

Region 5 office is open from 8:30 a.m. 

to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

excluding Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document whenever 

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

EPA. 

I. What is the background for these 

actions? 

Ohio EPA is subject to requirements 

in Ohio Revised Code 106.03 and 

106.031 to review each of its regulations 

every five years to assess whether any 

updates to the regulations are warranted 

and for other purposes. Accordingly, 

Ohio EPA reviewed its regulations in 

OAC Chapter 3745–23, entitled 

‘‘Nitrogen Oxide Standards.’’ OAC 

Chapter 3745–23 is part of Ohio’s 

strategy for attainment and maintenance 

of the NAAQS for NO2. 

As a result of its review, Ohio EPA 

concluded that rule revisions were 

needed to modify the wording of 

selected text to correct typos and reflect 

new formatting guidelines, and to 

update publication and referenced 

material titles, effective dates, 

addresses, and websites. Ohio EPA 

adopted these various minor revisions 

and updated their rules on August 15, 

2024, and then requested that EPA 

approve these revisions into the Ohio 

SIP in a submittal dated November 4, 

2024. 

II. What is EPA’s analysis of Ohio’s SIP 

revision? 

Ohio EPA has requested that EPA 

approve revised rules under Chapter 

3745–23 of the OAC. These rules 

include 3745–23–01 (Definitions) and 

3745–23–02 (Methods of measurement). 

These revised rules are intended to 

assist in maintaining the NO2 NAAQS. 

The revisions are described in detail 

below. EPA is determining that these 

revisions are approvable since they are 

primarily administrative in nature and 

serve to strengthen the SIP. 

A. 3745–23–01 Definitions 

This rule contains the applicable 

definitions and referenced material for 

OAC Chapter 3745–23. The rule is being 


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