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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 249 (Monday, December 30, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 106330-106332]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-30734]

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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.

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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 
[email protected]. 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/commenting-epa-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, 
[email protected]. 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

[[Page 106331]]

revised to include updates to the publication dates and website URLs of 
referenced material, and to adopt minor changes in rule language to 
correct typos and meet updated style and formatting guidelines. No 
terms or definitions were added or removed from this section. Since the 
revised definitions do not make this rule less stringent, EPA finds 
that 3745-23-01 is approvable.

B. 3745-23-02 Methods of measurement

    This rule contains methods for measuring and determining the 
concentration of NO2 in ambient air. The rule is being 
revised to adopt minor language adjustments, including removal of the 
word ``shall'' and rearrangement of sentences. Since the revisions to 
the rule language are minor in nature and do not affect the scope or 
intent of the rules, EPA finds that 3745-23-02 is approvable.

III. What action is EPA taking?

    EPA is approving the November 4, 2024, submission by Ohio EPA as a 
revision to the Ohio SIP. Specifically, EPA is approving updates to OAC 
Chapter 3745-23.
    We are publishing this action without prior proposal because we 
view this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipate no adverse 
comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal 
Register publication, we are publishing a separate document that will 
serve as the proposal to approve the state plan if relevant adverse 
written comments are filed. This rule will be effective February 28, 
2025 without further notice unless we receive relevant adverse written 
comments by January 29, 2025. If we receive such comments, we will 
withdraw this action before the effective date by publishing a 
subsequent document that will withdraw the final action. All public 
comments received will then be addressed in a subsequent final rule 
based on the proposed action. EPA will not institute a second comment 
period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do 
so at this time. Please note that if EPA receives adverse comment on an 
amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that provision may 
be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt as final those 
provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment. 
If we do not receive any comments, this action will be effective 
February 28, 2025.

IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the Ohio 
Regulations described in section II of this preamble and set forth in 
the amendments to 40 CFR part 52 below. EPA has made, and will continue 
to make, these documents generally available through 
www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region 5 Office (please contact the 
person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this preamble for more information). Therefore, these materials have 
been approved by EPA for inclusion in the SIP, have been incorporated 
by reference by EPA into that plan, are fully federally enforceable 
under sections 110 and 113 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) as of the 
effective date of the final rulemaking of EPA's approval, and will be 
incorporated by reference in the next update to the SIP compilation.\1\
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    \1\ 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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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 
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 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 approves a state program;
     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 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).
    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. 
Executive Order 14096 (Revitalizing Our Nation's Commitment to 
Environmental Justice for All, 88 FR 25251, April 26, 2023) builds on 
and supplements E.O. 12898 and defines EJ as, among other things, the 
just treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of 
income, race, color, national origin, or Tribal affiliation, or 
disability in agency decision-making and other Federal activities that 
affect human health and the environment.
    Ohio EPA did not evaluate EJ considerations as part of its SIP 
submittal; the CAA and applicable implementing regulations neither 
prohibit nor require such an evaluation. EPA did not perform an EJ 
analysis and did not consider EJ in this action. Due to the nature of 
the action being taken here, this action is expected to have a neutral 
to positive impact on the air quality of the affected area. 
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. 12898/14096 of achieving EJ for communities with EJ concerns.
    This action is subject to the Congressional Review Act, and EPA 
will submit a rule report to each House of

[[Page 106332]]

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. Parties with objections to this direct final rule are 
encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel notice of 
proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules 
section of this Federal Register, rather than file an immediate 
petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can 
withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed 
rulemaking. 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 dioxide, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: December 19, 2024.
Debra Shore,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, title 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.

0
2. In Sec.  52.1870, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by revising 
entries ``3745-23-01'' and ``3745-23-02'' under ``Chapter 3745-23 
Nitrogen Oxide Standards'' to read as follows:

Sec.  52.1870  Identification of plan.

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    (c) * * *

                                          EPA-Approved Ohio Regulations
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                                                  Ohio effective
      Ohio citation            Title/subject           date          EPA Approval date             Notes
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                                    Chapter 3745-23 Nitrogen Oxide Standards
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3745-23-01..............  Definitions...........       8/15/2024  12/30/2024, [INSERT
                                                                   FIRST PAGE OF Federal
                                                                   Register CITATION].
3745-23-02..............  Methods of Measurement       8/15/2024  12/30/2024, [INSERT
                                                                   FIRST PAGE OF Federal
                                                                   Register CITATION].
 
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[FR Doc. 2024-30734 Filed 12-27-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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