37280 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 119 / Wednesday, June 22, 2022 / Proposed Rules 

1The removal becomes effective sixty days after 

the State’s Secretary of the Department of 

Environmental Quality certifies to the State’s 

Revisor of Statutes that EPA approved the SIP 

revision. 

2The I/M program was never a mandatory 

program pursuant to the CAA for Lee, Onslow, or 

Rockingham counties. 

(a) EVRoaming Foundation, 

Vondellaan 162, 3521 GH, Utrect—The 

Netherlands, https://

www.evroaming.org. 

(1) Open Charge Point Interface 

(OCPI) 2.2.1, October 6, 2021, IBR 

approved for § 680.116(c)(16)–(17). 

(2) [Reserved] 

(b) International Organization for 

Standardization, Chemin de Blandonnet 

8, CP 401, 1214 Vernier, Geneva, 

Switzerland, +41 22 749 01 11, https:// 

www.iso.org/contact-iso.html. 

(1) International Classification for 

Standards Catalogue: ‘‘Electric Road 

Vehicles: Road vehicles—Vehicle to grid 

communication interface,’’ 

43.120.15118, Sections 1 (published 

2019), 2 (published 2014), 3 (published 

2015), 4 (published 2018), 5 (published 

2018), and 8 (published 2020), IBR 

approved for § 680.106(f)(1) and 

680.108. 

(2) [Reserved] 

(c) Open Charge Alliance, 

Businesspark Arnhems Buiten, 

Utrechtseweg 310, Office Building B42, 

6812 AR Arnhem—The Netherlands, tel: 

+31 26 312 0223, https://

www.openchargealliance.org. 

(1) Open Charge Point Protocol 

(OCPP) 2.0.1, March 31, 2020, IBR 

approved for § 680.114(a)(5). 

(2) [Reserved] 

(d) SAE International, 400 

Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA 

15096, tel: (724) 776–4841; https://

www.sae.org. 

(1) SAE Electric Vehicle and Plug in 

Hybrid Electric Vehicle Conductive 

Charge Coupler, J1772_201710, October 

13, 2017, IBR approved for § 680.106(c). 

(2) [Reserved] 

[FR Doc. 2022–12704 Filed 6–21–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–RY–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R04–OAR–2020–0718; FRL–9935–01– 

R4] 

Air Plan Approval; NC: Inspection and 

Maintenance Program 

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 North 

Carolina on December 14, 2020, through 

the North Carolina Department of 

Environmental Quality (DEQ), Division 

of Air Quality (DAQ), for the purpose of 

removing Lee, Onslow, and Rockingham 

Counties from North Carolina’s motor 

vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/ 

M) program. The I/M Program was 

previously approved into the SIP for use 

as a component of the State’s Nitrogen 

Oxides (NOX) Budget and Allowance 

Trading Program. EPA has evaluated 

whether this SIP revision would 

interfere with the requirements of the 

Clean Air Act (CAA or Act), including 

EPA regulations related to statewide 

NOX emissions budgets. In summary, 

EPA proposes to find that Lee, Onslow, 

and Rockingham Counties would 

continue to attain and maintain the 

national ambient air quality standards 

(NAAQS or standards) after removal of 

the I/M program, and to rely on an 

emissions inventory comparison to 

inform its determination that the three 

counties would continue to attain and 

maintain the ozone and carbon 

monoxide (CO) NAAQS. Consequently, 

EPA is proposing to determine that 

North Carolina’s December 14, 2020, SIP 

revision is consistent with the 

applicable provisions of the CAA. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before July 22, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R04– 

OAR–2020–0718 at http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Once submitted, comments cannot be 

edited or removed from Regulations.gov. 

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. 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 

http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/ 

commenting-epa-dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kelly Sheckler, Air Regulatory 

Management Section, Air Planning and 

Implementation Branch, Air and 

Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth 

Street, SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303– 

8960. The telephone number is (404) 

562–9222. Ms. Sheckler can also be 

reached via electronic mail at 

sheckler.kelly@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. What is being proposed? 

The DAQ submitted a SIP revision on 

December 14, 2020, seeking to remove 

Lee, Onslow, and Rockingham counties 

from North Carolina’s SIP-approved I/M 

program. The DAQ submitted this SIP 

revision in response to North Carolina 

legislation enacted in Session Law 

2020–5, House Bill 85, which amended 

North Carolina General Statute (NCGS) 

section 143–215.107A(c) to remove 

these three counties from the North 

Carolina I/M Program.1 Specifically, the 

North Carolina Act requires the 

elimination of Lee, Onslow, and 

Rockingham counties from the I/M 

program, and the retention of the I/M 

program in 19 counties (Alamance, 

Buncombe, Cabarrus, Cumberland, 

Davidson, Durham, Forsyth, Franklin, 

Gaston, Guilford, Iredell, Johnston, 

Lincoln, Mecklenburg, New Hanover, 

Randolph, Rowan, Union, and Wake). 

As explained in Section II, below, 

sections 187(a)(4) and 182(b)(4) of the 

CAA require the implementation of an 

I/M program in certain areas classified 

as moderate nonattainment or higher for 

the ozone or CO NAAQS.2 Lee, Onslow, 

and Rockingham counties have never 

been designated nonattainment for 

ozone and CO, or any other NAAQS, 

and are currently in attainment for all 

NAAQS. These three counties were 

included in the State’s I/M program to 

provide North Carolina with emissions 

credit for the NOX SIP Call obligations. 

See 67 FR 66056 (October 30, 2002). The 

NOX SIP Call, issued by EPA in 1998, 

required some states, including North 

Carolina, to meet statewide NOX

emission requirements during the ozone 

season (May 1 through September 30 

control period) to reduce the amount of 

ground level ozone that is transported 

across the eastern United States. See 84 

FR 8422 (March 8, 2018). 

As part of the State’s December 14, 

2020, submittal requesting removal of 

Lee, Onslow, and Rockingham counties 

from North Carolina’s SIP-approved I/M 

program, the State included a CAA 

section 110(l) non-interference 

demonstration. Under section 110(l) of 

the CAA, EPA cannot approve a SIP 

revision if it would interfere with any 


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3The 38 counties added during this time period 

were Alamance, Buncombe, Brunswick, Burke, 

Caldwell, Carteret, Catawba, Chatham, Cleveland, 

Craven, Cumberland, Edgecombe, Franklin, 

Grainville, Harnett, Haywood, Henderson, Iredell, 

Lee, Lenoir, Lincoln, Johnston, Moore, Nash, New 

Hanover, Onslow, Pitt, Randolph, Robertson, 

Rockingham, Rowan, Rutherford, Stanly, Stokes, 

Surry, Wayne, Wilkes, and Wilson. 

4 In 2004, the Charlotte/Gastonia/Rock Hill area 

was designated as moderate nonattainment for the 

1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS, which required Iredell, 

Lincoln, and Rowan Counties to be included in the 

I/M program. 

5The 26 counties removed were Brunswick, 

Burke, Caldwell, Carteret, Catawba, Chatham, 

Cleveland, Craven, Edgecombe, Granville, Harnett, 

Haywood, Henderson, Lenoir, Moore, Nash, Orange, 

Pitt, Robertson, Rutherford, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, 

Wayne, Wilkes and Wilson counties. 

applicable requirement concerning 

attainment and reasonable further 

progress (as defined by section 171 of 

the CAA), or any other applicable 

requirement of the CAA. Section III, 

below, provides EPA’s analysis of the 

non-interference demonstration. 

For the reasons discussed more fully 

in Section III, EPA is proposing to find 

that removal of Lee, Onslow, and 

Rockingham counties from North 

Carolina’s SIP-approved I/M program 

(and consequently, the removal of 

reliance on credits gained from I/M 

emissions reductions from Lee, Onslow 

and Rockingham counties in the State’s 

NOX Budget and Allowance Trading 

Program) will not interfere with North 

Carolina’s obligations under the NOX

SIP Call. This proposed finding is based 

on a number of federal rules and SIPapproved State provisions promulgated 

and implemented subsequent to the 

2002 approval of North Carolina’s NOX

SIP Call submission. These federal rules 

and SIP provisions have created 

significant NOX emission reductions in 

North Carolina such that the credits 

gained by the three counties’ 

participation in the I/M program are no 

longer needed for North Carolina to 

meet its NOX SIP Call Statewide NOX

emissions budget. North Carolina has 

provided an analysis which supports 

this proposed finding, and which 

discusses some of these federal rules 

and SIP-approved State provisions. See 

Section III, below. 

In addition, North Carolina’s SIP 

revision evaluates the impact that the 

removal of the I/M program for the Lee, 

Onslow, and Rockingham counties 

would have on the State’s ability to 

attain and maintain the NAAQS. The 

SIP revision contains a technical 

demonstration with revised emissions 

calculations showing that removing the 

three counties from the I/M program 

will not interfere with North Carolina’s 

attainment or maintenance of any 

NAAQS or with any other applicable 

requirement of the CAA. As discussed 

more fully in Section III, EPA is 

proposing to find that North Carolina’s 

revised emissions calculations 

demonstrate that removing Lee, Onslow, 

and Rockingham counties from the I/M 

program will not interfere with the 

State’s ability to attain or maintain any 

NAAQS. 

II. What is the background of North 

Carolina’s I/M program and its 

relationship to the NOX SIP call and the 

State’s NOX budget and allowance 

trading program? 

A. History of North Carolina’s I/M 

Program 

The North Carolina I/M program 

began in 1982 in Mecklenburg County 

utilizing a ‘‘tail-pipe’’ emissions test. In 

1984, Wake County was first added to 

the program for CO NAAQS violations. 

From 1986 through 1991 the program 

expanded to include Cabarrus, 

Davidson, Durham, Forsyth, Gaston, 

Guilford, and Union Counties, to 

address violations of the ozone and/or 

CO NAAQS. The I/M program was also 

implemented in Orange County 

although it was not designated 

nonattainment for the ozone or CO 

NAAQS. 

In 1999, the North Carolina General 

Assembly (NCGA) passed legislation 

(Session law 1999–328) to expand the 

coverage area for the I/M program to 

gain additional emission reductions to 

achieve the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS 

in the State. This legislation expanded 

the I/M program to add 38 counties 

between July 1, 2003, and July 1, 2006, 

for a total of 48 counties.3 4 The I/M 

program in the expanded coverage area 

used on-board diagnostic (OBD) rather 

than tail-pipe testing. 

On August 7, 2002, North Carolina 

submitted a SIP revision to amend the 

I/M regulations included in the SIP at 

that time to, among other things, expand 

the counties subject to the I/M program 

as discussed above, and to require OBD 

in the subject counties for all light duty 

gasoline vehicles with a model year 

(MY) of 1996 and newer. Additionally, 

the SIP revision proposed to terminate 

the tail-pipe testing program on January 

1, 2006, for the nine counties subject to 

continued tail-pipe testing of MY 1995 

and older vehicles. EPA approved these 

changes to North Carolina’s I/M 

program into the SIP on October 30, 

2002. See 67 FR 66056. 

In 2012, the NCGA enacted Session 

Law 2012–199 which required North 

Carolina and the Department of Motor 

Vehicles to change the I/M program to 

exempt the three newest MY vehicles 

with less than 70,000 miles, and the 

State subsequently submitted a SIP 

revision to modify the SIP accordingly. 

EPA approved this SIP revision on 

February 5, 2015. See 80 FR 6455. 

In 2017, the NCGA passed Senate Bill 

131, which removed 26 of the 48 

counties from the North Carolina I/M 

program.5 On November 17, 2017, DAQ 

submitted to EPA a request to amend its 

SIP to remove the 26 counties specified 

in Senate Bill 131 from the I/M program. 

This submittal also included a CAA 

section 110(l) demonstration providing 

support that the removal of the 26 

counties from North Carolina’s SIP 

approved I/M program would not 

interfere with continued attainment and 

maintenance of all the NAAQS or with 

any other applicable CAA requirement. 

EPA approved this SIP revision on 

September 25, 2018. See 83 FR 48383. 

In 2019, EPA approved a rolling 20-year 

timeframe for vehicle MY coverage into 

the SIP, replacing a specific year-based 

timeframe for coverage. See 84 FR 47889 

(September 11, 2019). This action did 

not change the counties subject to the I/ 

M program. Id. 

After all the aforementioned changes, 

the remaining counties in the North 

Carolina I/M program currently include 

Alamance, Buncombe, Cabarrus, 

Cumberland, Davidson, Durham, 

Franklin, Forsyth, Gaston, Guilford, 

Johnston, Iredell, Lee, Lincoln, 

Mecklenburg, New Hanover, Onslow, 

Randolph, Rockingham, Rowan, Union, 

and Wake. 

B. NOX SIP Call 

On August 7, 2002, North Carolina 

submitted a SIP revision to EPA as a 

component of its response to the NOX

SIP call requirements. As mentioned 

previously, the NOX SIP Call required 

some states to meet statewide NOX

emission requirements during the ozone 

season to reduce the amount of ground 

level ozone transported across the 

eastern United States. See 84 FR 8422 

(March 8, 2019). In response to the SIP 

Call, North Carolina’s SIP revision 

expanded the I/M program from 10 

counties to 48, pursuant to North 

Carolina Session Law 1999–328, Section 

3.1(d), and incorporated the OBD test 

procedure. 

The expansion to the I/M program 

helped reduce certain criteria pollutants 

and their precursors, including NOX, by 


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6CAIR created regional cap-and-trade programs to 

reduce sulfur dioxide (SO2) and NOX emissions in 

28 eastern states, including North Carolina, that 

contributed to downwind nonattainment or 

interfered with maintenance of the 1997 8-hour 

ozone NAAQS or the 1997 fine particulate matter 

(PM2.5) NAAQS. CAIR was challenged in federal 

court and in 2008, the United States Court of 

Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Circuit) 

remanded CAIR to EPA without vacatur. North 

Carolina v. EPA, 550 F.3rd 1176, 1178 (D.C. Cir. 

2008). 

7 In response to the D.C. Circuit’s remand of 

CAIR, EPA promulgated CSAPR to replace it. 

CSAPR requires 28 eastern states, including North 

Carolina, to limit their statewide emissions of SO2

and NOX in order to mitigate transported air 

pollution impacting other states’ ability to attain or 

maintain four NAAQS: the 1997 ozone NAAQS, the 

1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS, the 2006 24-hour PM2.5

NAAQS, and the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. The 

CSAPR emissions limitations are defined in terms 

of maximum statewide ‘‘budgets’’ for emissions of 

annual SO2 and NOX, and/or ozone-season NOX by 

each covered state’s large EGUs. The CSAPR state 

budgets are implemented in two phases of generally 

increasing stringency, with Phase I budgets 

applying to emissions in 2015 and 2016 and the 

Phase 2 budgets applying to emissions in 2017 and 

later years. CSAPR was challenged in the D.C. 

Circuit, and on August 12, 2012, it was vacated and 

remanded to EPA. The vacatur was subsequently 

reversed by the United States Supreme Court on 

April 29, 2014. EPA v. EME Homer City Generation, 

L.P., 134 S.Ct. 1584 (2014). This litigation 

ultimately delayed implementation of CSAPR for 

three years. 

8The Tier 2 standards, begun in 2004, continue 

to significantly reduce NOX emissions and EPA 

expects that these standards will reduce NOX

emissions from vehicles by approximately 74 

percent by 2030 (or nearly 3 million tons annually 

by 2030). See 80 FR 44873, 44876 (July 28, 2015) 

(citing EPA, Regulatory Announcement, EPA 420– 

F–99–051 (December 1999). 

9Also begun in 2004, implementation of this rule 

is expected to achieve a 95 percent reduction in 

NOX emissions from diesel trucks and buses by 

2030. See 80 FR 44873, 44876 (July 28, 2015). 

10EPA estimated that compliance with this rule 

will cut NOX emissions from non-road diesel 

engines by up to 90 percent nationwide. See 80 FR 

44873, 44876 (July 28, 2015). 

11North Carolina indicates that the utilities 

reduced NOX emissions by 83 percent as of 2017 

relative to the 1998 emissions levels. See Letter 

from Michael A. Abraczinskas, Director of the 

Division of Air Quality for the North Carolina 

Department of Environmental Quality, dated July 

11, 2018. A copy of this letter is included in the 

docket for this proposed action. 

identifying and requiring the repair of 

more high-emitting vehicles. The OBD 

test helps reduce certain criteria 

pollutants and their precursors by 

checking the vehicles increasingly 

advanced OBD systems to monitor the 

performance of a vehicle’s emissionsrelated components and provides 

owners with an early warning of 

malfunctions through the dashboard 

‘‘check engine’’ light (also known as a 

Malfunction Indicator Light). By 

identifying degrading parts early 

through the OBD system, owners of 

these vehicles can perform the type of 

preventative maintenance that extends 

the long-term durability of expensive 

components (catalytic converter, fuel 

injections, oxygen sensors, and 

transmissions). 

While the addition of 38 counties to 

the I/M program pursuant to Section 

3.1(d) of the 1999 Session law was 

initially ratified to satisfy the 1997 8- 

hour ozone NAAQS, it was included in 

the SIP with the new OBD testing 

procedure to support the establishment 

of emission credits for North Carolina’s 

NOX budget and trading program. See 

67 FR 66056 (October 30, 2002). On 

October 30, 2002, EPA approved the I/ 

M rule revision and North Carolina’s 

use of the I/M program credits for the 

NOX SIP call budget and trading 

program. Id. The ozone season I/M NOX

emissions credit was 914 tons in 2004; 

2,078 tons in 2006; and 4,385 tons in 

2007 and beyond. 

Subsequent to the NOX SIP Call, a 

number of federal rules, as well as North 

Carolina SIP provisions, have created 

significant NOX emission reductions in 

North Carolina, including ozone season 

reductions. For stationary sources, 

including large Electric Generating 

Units (EGUs), one of these federal rules 

included the Clean Air Interstate Rule 

(CAIR) in 2005 and its replacement in 

2011, the Cross State Air Pollution Rule 

(CSAPR).6 7 Consequently, any 

emissions reduction credits derived 

from the three counties’ participation in 

the expanded I/M program are no longer 

needed for North Carolina to meet its 

Statewide NOX emissions budget. 

Other federal rules that have created 

significant NOX emission reductions in 

the area of mobile-sources include: the 

Tier 2 vehicle and fuel standards; 8

nonroad spark ignition engines and 

recreational engine standards; heavyduty gasoline and diesel highway 

vehicle standards; 9 and large nonroad 

diesel engine standards.10 These mobile 

source measures, coupled with fleet 

turnover (i.e., the replacement of older 

vehicles that predate the standards with 

newer vehicles that meet the standards), 

have resulted in, and continue to result 

in, large reductions in NOX emissions 

over time. 

In 2002, North Carolina also enacted 

and subsequently implemented its 

Clean Smokestacks Act (CSA), which 

created system-wide annual emissions 

caps on actual emissions of NOX and 

SO2 from coal-fired power plants within 

the State, the first of which became 

effective in 2007. The CSA required 

certain coal-fired power plants in North 

Carolina to significantly reduce annual 

NOX emissions by 189,000 tons (or 77 

percent) by 2009 (using a 1998 baseline 

year). This represented about a onethird reduction of the NOX emissions 

from all sources in North Carolina. See 

76 FR 36468, 36470 (June 11, 2011).11

The CSA’s requirement to meet annual 

emissions caps and disallow the 

purchase of NOX credits to meet the 

caps led to a reduction of NOX

emissions beyond the requirements of 

the NOX SIP Call even though the CSA 

did not limit emissions only during the 

ozone season. EPA approved the CSA 

emissions caps into North Carolina’s SIP 

on September 26, 2011. See 76 FR 

59250. 

North Carolina also has its own SIPapproved State provisions that have 

helped create significant NOX emission 

reductions in North Carolina. The 

majority of these rules are contained in 

15A North Carolina Administrative 

Code (NCAC) Subchapter 02D, Section 

.1400, Nitrogen Oxides. These rules 

contain NOX SIP Call requirements and 

work in conjunction with the CSA to 

reduce NOX emissions in the State. 

Together, implementation of these 

federal rules and SIP-approved state 

provisions have created significant NOX

emissions reductions since North 

Carolina’s NOX SIP Call emissions 

budget was approved into the SIP in 

2002. These federal rules and State 

provisions have significantly reduced 

ozone season NOX emissions from EGUs 

in particular, resulting in overall 

emissions levels well below the original 

NOX SIP Call budget. This last point is 

illustrated in Table 1, which compares 

the EGU NOX SIP Call budget to actual 

emissions in 2007 and 2017 (the 

attainment base year), as well as 2018 

and 2019. Actual EGU emissions in 

2007 and 2017, the attainment base 

year, were 23 percent (7,274 tons) and 

60 percent (18,906 tons) below the NOX

SIP Call budget for EGUs, respectively. 

Notably, the entirety of the emissions 

reduction credits from the expanded I/ 

M program (and used by the State in its 

NOX emissions budget) only totaled 

4,385 tons, of which approximately only 

1,000 tons was initially needed to meet 

the overall budget. 


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12PM2.5 refers to particles with an aerodynamic 

diameter of less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers, 

oftentimes referred to as ‘‘fine’’ particles. Lee, 

Onslow, and Randolph counties have never been 

designated as nonattainment for the PM2.5 NAAQS. 

13PM10 refers to particles with an aerodynamic 

diameter less than or equal to 10 micrometers, 

which includes PM2.5. 

14On November 12, 2008, EPA promulgated a 

revised lead NAAQS of 0.15 microgram per cubic 

meter (mg/m3). See 73 FR 66964. EPA designated the 

entire state of North Carolina as unclassifiable/ 

attainment for the 2008 lead NAAQS. See 76 FR 

72097 (November 22, 2011). As of January 1, 1996, 

the sale of leaded fuel for use in on-road motor 

vehicles was banned. Therefore, removing the I/M 

program for Lee, Onslow, and Randolph counties 

from the North Carolina SIP will not have any 

impact on ambient concentrations of lead. 

TABLE 1—COMPARISON OF OZONE SEASON NOX SIP CALL BUDGET TO ACTUAL EMISSIONS FOR EGUS

2007 2017 2018 2019 

NOX SIP Call Budget, Tons * ........................................................................... 31,451 31,451 31,451 31,451 

Actual Emissions, Tons ................................................................................... 24,177 12,545 13,046 12,989 

Below Budget, Tons ........................................................................................ 7,274 18,906 18,405 18,462 

Below Budget, Percent .................................................................................... 23 60 59 59 

* From EPA’s proposed approval of North Carolina’s NOX SIP Call submission. See 67 FR 42519 (June 24, 2002). 

Further, the State has provided 

modeling results showing that NOX

emissions will remain below the NOX

SIP Call budgets after removal of the 

three counties from the I/M program. 

Table 2 shows the impact of the 

estimated ozone season NOX emissions 

increases due to the proposed changes 

to the I/M program. Despite this 

increase, EPA expects NOX emissions in 

2022 to continue to be lower than the 

attainment base year in 2017. This is 

further explained in Section III.C, 

below. As noted above, in 2019, EGU 

emissions were 18,462 tons (59 percent) 

below the NOX SIP Call budget for 

EGUs. The proposed change to the I/M 

program, combined with other recently 

approved changes to North Carolina’s 

SIP-approved I/M program, would 

reduce the gap between the budget and 

actual emissions by 950 tons, or about 

5.15 percent, to 17,512 tons below the 

NOX SIP Call budget for EGUs based on 

2019 EGU emissions. Thus, based on 

this EGU-focused analysis, EPA 

concludes that the ozone season NOX

emissions increase associated with the 

proposed change to the expanded I/M 

program will not interfere with North 

Carolina’s obligations under the NOX

SIP call to meet its Statewide NOX

emissions budget. 

TABLE 2—IMPACT OF NOX EMISSIONS INCREASES DUE TO PROPOSED CHANGES TO I/M PROGRAM ON EGU REDUCTIONS

AND NOX SIP CALL I/M CREDITS

I/M Emissions increases from I/M program changes Impact in tons 

Removal of 26 counties (previous action) ....................................................................................................................................... 611 

Revision to vehicle MY coverage in 22 counties (previous action) ................................................................................................ 311 

Removal of three counties (this proposed action) .......................................................................................................................... 28 

Total NOX Emission Increase .................................................................................................................................................. 950 

Amount NOX EGU emissions below budget in 2019 (From table 1 above) ................................................................................... 18,462 

Emissions increases from I/M program changes ............................................................................................................................ (¥) 950 

Amount below budget in 2019 after increases from I/M changes .................................................................................................. 17,512 

NOX SIP Call Budget ....................................................................................................................................................................... 31,451 

III. What is EPA’s analysis of North 

Carolina’s submittal? 

A. Impact on the State’s NOX SIP Call 

Obligations 

North Carolina’s December 14, 2020, 

submittal seeks to remove Onslow, Lee, 

and Rockingham counties from the I/M 

program contained in the SIP. This 

removal consequently removes reliance 

on the I/M reduction credits gained 

from these three counties’ participation 

in the I/M program in meeting the 

State’s NOX emissions budget. North 

Carolina has indicated that it no longer 

needs these reduction credits to meet its 

obligation under the NOX SIP Call. 

In light of the analysis in Section II.B, 

above, EPA is proposing to find that 

North Carolina’s removal of the three 

counties from the expanded I/M 

program contained in its SIP (and the 

use of I/M emissions reductions 

generated from those counties as part of 

the reduction credits in the State’s NOX

emissions budget) will not interfere 

with the State’s obligations under the 

NOX SIP Call to meet its Statewide NOX

emissions budget. Subsequent to the 

NOX SIP Call, the promulgation and 

implementation of a number of federal 

rules and SIP-approved State 

provisions, and in particular those 

impacting EGUs, have created 

significant NOX emissions reductions in 

the State that are more than sufficient to 

offset the I/M reduction credits from 

Lee, Onslow, and Rockingham counties 

to meet its Statewide NOX emissions 

budget. 

B. North Carolina’s Non-Interference 

Analysis of Removing Three Counties 

From the I/M Program 

Section 110(l) of the CAA requires 

that a revision to the SIP not interfere 

with any applicable requirement 

concerning attainment and reasonable 

further progress (as defined in section 

171), or any other applicable 

requirement of the CAA. EPA evaluates 

section 110(l) non-interference 

demonstrations on a case-by-case basis 

considering the circumstances of each 

SIP revision. EPA interprets section 

110(l) as applying to all NAAQS that are 

in effect, including those that have been 

promulgated but for which EPA has not 

yet made designations. The degree of 

analysis focused on any particular 

NAAQS in a non-interference 

demonstration varies depending on the 

nature of the emissions associated with 

the proposed SIP revision. There are six 

NAAQS established to protect human 

health and the environment. These 

NAAQS are CO, lead, nitrogen dioxide 

(NO2), ozone, particulate matter (PM)— 

including PM2.5 12 and PM10 13, and SO2. 

Considering modern fuel types and the 

science and technology related to 

emissions from motor vehicles, EPA 

does not believe that there would be any 

changes in emissions of lead 14 or 


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15On March 15, 1991, EPA completed initial 

designations for the PM10 NAAQS. See 56 FR 

11101. The current primary and secondary PM10

NAAQS are each set at 150 mg/m3 over a 24-hour 

average, not to be exceeded more than an average 

of once per year over a three-year period. The entire 

state of North Carolina has been designated 

attainment for every PM10 standard. On-road motor 

vehicles do not emit PM10, therefore, removing the 

I/M program for Lee, Onslow, and Randolph 

counties from the North Carolina SIP will not have 

any impact on ambient concentrations of PM10. 

16On June 22, 2010, EPA revised the 1-hour SO2

NAAQS to 75 parts per billion (ppb) which became 

effective on August 23, 2010. See 75 FR 35520. On 

February 25, 2019, based on a review of the full 

body of currently available scientific evidence and 

exposure/risk information, EPA retained the 

existing 2010 1-hour SO2 primary NAAQS. See 84 

FR 9866. All areas in the State are currently 

designated as attainment/unclassifiable for the SO2

NAAQS. In 2006, EPA finalized regulations that 

began to phase in a requirement to use ULSD, a 

diesel fuel with a maximum of 15 ppm sulfur. Since 

2010, EPA’s diesel standards have required that all 

highway diesel fuel vehicles use ULSD, and all 

highway diesel fuel supplied to the market is ULSD. 

Due to the requirements to use ULSD under the onroad diesel fuel standards, the amount of SO2

emitted from on-road vehicles is already low. 

Furthermore, the I/M program in North Carolina’s 

SIP is not designed to reduce emissions of SO2, and 

the removal of the three counties from the program 

will not have any appreciable impact on ambient 

concentrations of SO2. 

17 Design values are how EPA measures 

compliance with the NAAQS. 

18As shown in Table 1 above, 2017 is one of the 

years associated with attaining design values for the 

ozone NAAQS. 

19With respect to ozone transport obligations, 

EPA determined through the CSAPR Update that 

North Carolina does not contribute significantly to 

nonattainment or interfere with maintenance in 

downwind states for the 2008 8-hour ozone 

NAAQS. See 81 FR 74504 (October 26, 2016); See 

also the Revised CSAPR Update, 82 FR 230676 

(April 30, 2021) (reiterating EPA’s finding that 

North Carolina does not contribute significantly to 

nonattainment, or interfere with maintenance, in 

any other state with respect to the 2008 ozone 

NAAQS). Additionally, EPA determined that 

emissions from sources in North Carolina will not 

significantly contribute to nonattainment or 

interfere with maintenance of the 2015 8-hour 

ozone NAAQS in any other state. See 86 FR 68413 

(December 2, 2021). 

PM10 15 resulting from the removal of 

the I/M program in Lee, Onslow, and 

Randolph counties from the North 

Carolina SIP. Furthermore, EPA does 

not believe that SO2 air quality would 

be threatened given the mandatory use 

of ultra-low sulfur (ULSD) diesel fuel.16

Therefore, this section is focused on 

evaluating air quality for NO2, ozone, 

CO, and PM2.5. North Carolina is in 

attainment for all NAAQS. 

North Carolina’s December 14, 2020, 

SIP revision included a non-interference 

demonstration to support the removal of 

the I/M program in Lee, Onslow, and 

Rockingham Counties from North 

Carolina’s SIP-approved expanded I/M 

program. This demonstration addresses 

all NAAQS with a focus on ozone 

(through its precursors NOX and VOC) 

and CO, the criteria pollutants 

addressed by I/M programs. I/M 

programs are not designed to address 

lead and SO2 emissions, and NO2 is 

captured generally through the same 

measures that target NOX impacts. 

Both VOC and NOX emissions 

contribute to the formation of ozone. 

The rate of ozone formation can be 

limited by either VOCs or NOX. When 

an area has high-NOX conditions and 

low-VOC conditions, the rate of ozone 

production is more sensitive to the 

number of VOCs and is considered a 

NOX-rich regime. Alternatively, when 

the atmosphere has high-VOC 

conditions and low-NOX conditions, the 

formation of ozone is influenced by a 

NOX-limited regime, which means 

ozone formation is more sensitive to 

changes in NOX concentration. In North 

Carolina approximately 81 percent of 

the statewide VOC emissions come from 

biogenic or natural sources, which 

cannot be controlled. As a result, North 

Carolina is NOX-limited for ozone 

formation, meaning controlling NOX

emissions is a more effective way to 

reduce the formation of ozone. In the 

three counties being removed, very few 

anthropogenic sources of NOX exist. 

EPA used an emissions inventory 

comparison to determine whether the 

three counties would maintain the 

ozone and CO NAAQS after removal of 

the I/M program. North Carolina 

provided much of this data, which it 

later supplemented with additional data 

for EPA. This is a long-standing 

approach EPA uses to determine 

whether an area can maintain the 

NAAQS and is very similar to the 

maintenance demonstrations that 

support the redesignations of areas from 

nonattainment to attainment and the 

second 10-year maintenance plans. EPA 

has not required photochemical 

modeling or any other modeling 

analyses to support these 

demonstrations. In general, EPA 

compares future year emissions to 

emissions in a base year with an 

attaining design value.17 If the total 

future year emissions for the relevant 

pollutant(s) are less than the total base 

year emissions, EPA considers that to be 

a sufficient and reasonable 

demonstration that the area will 

maintain the NAAQS because the base 

year emissions are at a level sufficient 

to achieve the NAAQS. 

As mentioned above, North Carolina’s 

December 14, 2020, SIP revision 

included a non-interference 

demonstration to support the State’s 

request to remove Lee, Onslow, and 

Rockingham counties from North 

Carolina’s SIP-approved expanded I/M 

program. This demonstration includes 

an evaluation of the impact that the 

removal of the I/M program for these 

counties would have on North 

Carolina’s ability to attain or maintain 

any NAAQS in the State. 

For North Carolina’s non-interference 

demonstration, EPA used 2017 as an 

attainment base year 18 and compared 

the total emissions of NOX, VOC, and 

CO in 2017 to the total emissions of 

these pollutants in 2022, the year when 

the I/M program in Lee, Onslow and 

Rockingham Counties is expected to 

end. EPA chose 2017 because that point, 

nonroad, and non-point data was 

provided in North Carolina’s December 

14, 2020, submission as it was the most 

complete data available to the State at 

the time of the development of the SIP 

revision. For consistent comparisons, 

EPA obtained the 2017 mobile 

emissions from the National Emissions 

Inventory (NEI). Tables 3, 4, and 5 

provide a summary for Lee, Onslow, 

and Rockingham Counties of the total 

emissions for NOX, VOC, and CO in 

2017; total emissions for NOX, VOC, and 

CO in 2022 with the I/M program; and 

total emissions for NOX, VOC, and CO 

in 2022 without the I/M program. Table 

6 shows the three county total for 

emissions in 2017, in 2022 with I/M and 

in 2022 without I/M. 

As shown in Table 6 below, the total 

difference in emissions in 2022 with 

and without the I/M program in the 

three counties combined is a decrease of 

0.47 tpd for NOX and an increase of 0.20 

tpd for VOC. However, the total NOX

emissions in 2022 without the I/M 

program are 11.38 tpd under the total 

NOX emissions in 2017, and the total 

VOC emissions in 2022 without the I/M 

program is 2.07 tpd below the total VOC 

emissions in 2017. The difference in 

emissions in 2022 with and without the 

I/M program is an increase of 5.78 tpd 

for CO. However, the total CO emissions 

without the I/M program are 18.66 tpd 

under the total CO emissions in 2017. 

Because 2022 total emissions without 

the I/M program are under total 2017 

base year emissions, it is reasonable to 

conclude that removal of the I/M 

program in Lee, Onslow, and 

Rockingham Counties will not interfere 

with attainment or maintenance of the 

NAAQS. Additionally, as shown in 

Table 7 below, the highest ozone design 

value associated with 2017 is 5 ppb 

above the most recently available ozone 

design value for 2019–2021, thereby 

providing an additional buffer.19


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TABLE 3—LEE COUNTY ANTHROPOGENIC EMISSIONS

[tpd] 

Sector 

2017 

Emissions 

2022 Projected emissions 

with I/M 

2022 Projected emissions 

without I/M 

NOX VOC CO NOX VOC CO NOX VOC CO 

Onroad ........................................................... 8.6 0.97 14.2 1.40 1.01 12.91 1.44 1.06 14.31 

Point ............................................................... 3.0 0.63 0.84 0.12 0.74 0.06 0.12 0.74 0.06 

Nonroad .......................................................... 1.4 0.40 6.8 0.54 0.35 6.65 0.54 0.35 6.65 

Nonpoint ......................................................... 0.15 2.5 1.3 0.46 2.82 0.08 0.46 2.82 0.08 

Total ........................................................ 13.15 4.5 23.14 2.52 ∧4.93 19.70 2.56 4.97 21.1 

Note 1: For tables 3, 4, and 5, tpd emissions for the 2017 baseline NOX and VOC were derived from the 2017NEI_Apr2020 with an apportioned emissions factor. Table 6 shows the three county totals. The apportioned emissions factor for each pollutant and data category were developed from EPA’s 2016v1 modeling platform, and what North Carolina relied on for the basis in developing the future year emissions projection 

as part of the SIP submission. ∧ difference in total emission is due to rounding convention. 

TABLE 4—ONSLOW COUNTY ANTHROPOGENIC EMISSIONS

[tpd] 

Sector 

2017 

Emissions 

2022 Projected emissions 

with I/M 

2022 Projected emissions 

without I/M 

NOX VOC CO NOX VOC CO NOX VOC CO 

Onroad ........................................................... 3.69 2.18 28.9 2.27 1.92 23.65 2.35 2.02 26.39 

Point ............................................................... 0.73 0.50 1.3 0.75 0.49 0.09 0.75 0.49 0.09 

Nonroad .......................................................... 1.29 2.0 15.3 1.64 1.32 12.49 1.64 1.32 12.49 

Nonpoint ......................................................... 0.8 5.4 2.9 0.17 4.36 0.17 0.17 4.36 0.17 

Total ........................................................ 6.51 10.08 48.4 4.83 8.09 36.4 4.91 8.19 39.14 

TABLE 5—ROCKINGHAM COUNTY ANTHROPOGENIC EMISSIONS

[tpd] 

Sector 

2017 

Emissions 

2022 Projected emissions 

with I/M 

2022 Projected emissions 

without I/M 

NOX VOC CO NOX VOC CO NOX VOC CO 

Onroad ........................................................... 3.1 1.9 23.0 2.43 1.86 18.56 2.49 1.92 20.20 

Point ............................................................... 2.1 3.13 2.4 3.23 1.47 0.88 3.23 1.47 0.88 

Nonroad .......................................................... 0.58 0.69 8.9 0.90 0.54 8.17 0.90 0.54 8.17 

Nonpoint ......................................................... 0.39 3.13 2.4 0.36 4.27 0.09 0.36 4.27 0.09 

Total ........................................................ 6.17 8.85 36.7 6.92 8.14 27.7 6.98 8.20 29.34 

TABLE 6—THREE COUNTY TOTAL ANTHROPOGENIC EMISSIONS

[tpd] 

Sector 

2017 

Emissions 

2022 Projected emissions 

with I/M 

2022 Projected emissions 

without I/M 

NOX VOC CO NOX VOC CO NOX VOC CO 

Lee ................................................................. 13.15 4.5 23.14 2.52 4.93 19.70 2.56 4.97 21.1 

Onslow ........................................................... 6.51 10.08 48.4 4.83 8.09 36.4 4.91 8.19 39.14 

Rockingham ................................................... 6.17 8.85 36.7 6.92 8.14 27.7 6.98 8.20 29.34 

Total ........................................................ 25.83 23.43 108.24 14.92 21.16 83.80 14.45 21.36 89.58 

i. Non-Interference Analysis for the 

Ozone NAAQS 

EPA promulgated a revised 8-hour 

ozone standard of 0.08 ppm on July 18, 

1997. On March 12, 2008, EPA revised 

both the primary and secondary NAAQS 

for ozone to a level of 0.075 ppm to 

provide increased protection of public 

health and the environment. See 73 FR 

16435 (March 27, 2008). On October 26, 

2015, EPA published a final rule 

lowering the level of the 8-hour ozone 

NAAQS to 0.070 ppm. See 80 FR 65292. 

The 2015 ozone NAAQS retains the 

same general form and averaging time as 

the 1997 ozone NAAQS and 2008 ozone 

NAAQS but is set at a more protective 

level. Under EPA’s regulations at 40 

CFR part 50, the 2015 8-hour ozone 

NAAQS is attained when the 3-year 


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20All design values in this notice of proposed 

rulemaking are available on EPA’s website at 

https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-designvalues#report. 

average of the annual fourth highest 

daily maximum 8-hour average ambient 

air quality ozone concentrations is less 

than or equal to 0.070 ppm. 

Lee, Onslow, and Rockingham 

counties were originally designated 

unclassifiable/attainment for the 1997 8- 

hour ozone NAAQS and have continued 

to attain the standard. On May 21, 2012, 

EPA designated all three counties as 

‘‘unclassifiable/attainment’’ for the 2008 

8-hour ozone NAAQS. See 77 FR 30088. 

Finally, on November 6, 2017, EPA 

designated the entire state of North 

Carolina attainment/unclassifiable for 

the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS. See 82 

FR 54232 (November 6, 2017). North 

Carolina continues to maintain 

attainment designation statewide for all 

ozone NAAQS. 

As discussed above, the emissions 

inventory comparison made in Tables 3, 

4, and 5 above for the ozone precursors 

(NOX and VOC) demonstrates that the 

removal of the I/M program from all 

three counties will not interfere with 

attainment or maintenance of the ozone 

NAAQS. Table 6 shows the three county 

totals. Additionally, Table 7 presents 

recent design values (the measure of 

compliance with the ozone NAAQS) 

that have demonstrated attainment of 

the 2015 ozone NAAQS of 0.070 ppm or 

70 parts per billion (ppb). For these 

reasons, EPA proposes to find that 

removal of Lee, Onslow, and 

Rockingham counties from the SIPapproved expanded I/M program would 

not interfere with maintenance of the 

ozone NAAQS in the State. 

TABLE 7—MONITOR OZONE DESIGN VALUES (DV) 20

Monitor 2013–2015 DV 

(ppb) 

2014–2016 DV 

(ppb) 

2015–2017 DV 

(ppb) 

2016–2018 DV 

(ppb) 

2017–2019 DV 

(ppb) 

2018–2020 DV 

(ppb) 

2019–2021 DV 

(ppb) 

Lee County .................. NA .................. 62 ................... 61 ................... Shut down * ... Shut down * ... Shut down * ... Shut down.* 

Onslow County ............ No monitor ..... No monitor ..... No monitor ..... No monitor ..... No monitor ..... No monitor ..... No monitor. 

Rockingham County .... 64 ................... 66 ................... 65 ................... 63 ................... 63 ................... 60 ................... 60. 

* The Blackstone monitor in Lee County operated from November 2013 to July 2018 and only collected enough data for the two complete DVs. 

It was a special purpose monitoring site and was not required to be part of the Part 58 monitoring network and it was subsequently shut down. 

ii. Non-Interference Analysis for the 

Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) NAAQS 

Over the course of several years, EPA 

has reviewed and revised the PM2.5

NAAQS a number of times. On July 18, 

1997, EPA established an annual PM2.5

NAAQS of 15.0 micrograms per cubic 

meter (mg/m3), based on a 3-year average 

of annual mean PM2.5 concentrations, 

and a 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS of 65 mg/ 

m3, based on a 3-year average of the 

98th percentile of 24-hour 

concentrations. See 62 FR 36852. On 

September 21, 2006, EPA retained the 

1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS of 15.0 mg/ 

m3 but revised the 24-hour PM2.5

NAAQS to 35 mg/m3, based again on a 

3-year average of the 98th percentile of 

24-hour concentrations. See 71 FR 

61144 (October 17, 2006). On December 

14, 2012, EPA retained the 2006 24-hour 

PM2.5 NAAQS of 35 mg/m3 but revised 

the annual primary PM2.5 NAAQS to 

12.0 mg/m3, based again on a 3-year 

average of annual mean PM2.5

concentrations. See 78 FR 3086 (January 

15, 2013). 

EPA promulgated designations for the 

1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS on January 

5, 2005 (70 FR 943). Lee, Onslow, and 

Rockingham counties were designated 

unclassifiable/attainment for the 1997 

Annual PM2.5 NAAQS. On November 

13, 2009, and on January 15, 2015, EPA 

published notices determining that the 

entire state of North Carolina was 

unclassifiable/attainment for the 2006 

daily PM2.5 NAAQS and the 2012 

Annual PM2.5 NAAQS, respectively. See 

74 FR 58688 (November 13, 2009) and 

80 FR 2206 (January 15, 2013). 

In North Carolina’s December 14, 

2020, SIP revision, the State concluded 

that the removal of Lee, Onslow, and 

Rockingham counties from the 

expanded I/M program would not 

interfere with attainment or 

maintenance of the PM2.5 NAAQS. The 

pollution control systems for light-duty 

gasoline vehicles subject to the I/M 

program are not designed to reduce 

emissions for PM2.5; therefore, removing 

counties from the program will not have 

any impact on ambient concentrations 

of PM2.5 NAAQS. In addition, 

MOVES2014(b) modeling results in the 

State’s SIP revision indicate that 

removing these three counties from the 

expanded I/M program would not 

increase PM2.5 emissions. For these 

reasons, EPA proposes to find that 

removal of Lee, Onslow, and 

Rockingham counties from the SIPapproved expanded I/M program would 

not interfere with maintenance of the 

PM2.5 NAAQS in the State. 

iii. Non-Interference Analysis for the 

2010 NO2 NAAQS 

The 2010 NO2 1-hour standard is set 

at 100 ppb, based on the 3-year average 

of the 98th percentile of the yearly 

distribution of 1-hour daily maximum 

concentrations. The annual standard of 

53 ppb is based on the annual mean 

concentration. On February 17, 2012, 

EPA designated all counties in North 

Carolina as unclassifiable/attainment for 

the 2010 NO2 NAAQS. See 77 FR 9532. 

Based on the technical analysis in 

North Carolina’s December 14, 2020, SIP 

revision, the projected increase in total 

anthropogenic NOX emissions (of which 

NO2 is a component) associated with the 

removal of the three counties from the 

expanded I/M program ranges from 0.04 

tpd (Lee County) to 0.08 tpd (Onslow 

County) in 2022. However, it is 

important to note that the total NOX

emissions in 2022 without the I/M 

program in these three counties 

decreases by 11.38 tpd from 2017. All 

NO2 monitors in the State are measuring 

below the annual NO2 standard, and all 

near road monitors are measuring well 

below the 1-hour NO2 standard. For 

these reasons, EPA proposes to find that 

removal of Lee, Onslow, and 

Rockingham counties from the SIPapproved expanded I/M program would 

not interfere with maintenance of the 

NO2 NAAQS in the State. 

iv. Non-Interference Analysis for the CO 

NAAQS 

EPA promulgated the CO NAAQS in 

1971 and has retained the primary 

standards since its last review of the 

standard in 2011. The primary NAAQS 

for CO include: (1) an 8-hour standard 

of 9.0 ppm, measured using the annual 

second highest 8-hour concentration for 

two consecutive years as the design 

value; and (2) a 1-hour average of 35 

ppm, using the second highest 1-hour 

average within a given year. The three 

counties subject to this proposed action 

have always been designated as 

unclassifiable/attainment for the CO 

NAAQS. 

As discussed in Section III.B above, 

the emissions inventory comparison 


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made in Tables 3, 4, 5, and 6 above for 

CO demonstrates that the removal of the 

I/M program from all three counties will 

not interfere with attainment or 

maintenance of the CO NAAQS. In 

North Carolina’s December 14, 2020, SIP 

revision, the State concluded that the 

removal of Lee, Onslow, and 

Rockingham counties from the 

expanded I/M program would not 

interfere with attainment or 

maintenance of the CO NAAQS. 

MOVES2014(b) mobile emissions 

modeling results show a slight increase 

in CO emissions for each of the three 

counties of 1.4 tpd (Lee County), 2.74 

tpd (Onslow County), and 1.64 tpd 

(Rockingham County)—5.78 tpd total for 

all three counties when comparing 

emissions with and without the I/M 

program in 2022. This increase is not 

expected to interfere with continued 

attainment of the CO NAAQS in any of 

the three counties or adjacent counties, 

particularly because the three-county 

total CO emissions in 2022 without I/M 

is 18.66 tpd less than the total CO 

emissions in 2017. Furthermore, 

statewide, the current ambient air 

quality levels for CO are less than 20 

percent of the CO NAAQS. For these 

reasons, EPA proposes to find that 

removal of Lee, Onslow, and 

Rockingham counties from the SIPapproved I/M program would not 

interfere with maintenance of the CO 

NAAQS in the State. 

IV. Proposed Action 

For the reasons explained above, EPA 

is proposing to approve North Carolina’s 

December 14, 2020, SIP revision. 

Specifically, EPA is proposing to 

approve the removal of Lee, Onslow, 

and Rockingham counties from the SIPapproved expanded I/M program. 

Additionally, EPA is proposing to find 

that North Carolina’s removal of Lee, 

Onslow, and Rockingham counties from 

the SIP-approved expanded I/M 

program (and the removal of reliance on 

the additional I/M emissions reductions 

generated for the NOX Budget and 

Allowance Trading Program) will not 

interfere with the State’s obligations 

under the NOX SIP Call to meet its 

Statewide NOX emissions budget. In 

addition, EPA is also proposing to find 

that the removal of Lee, Onslow, and 

Rockingham counties from the SIPapproved—I/M program will not 

interfere with continued attainment or 

maintenance of any applicable NAAQS 

or with any other applicable 

requirement of the CAA, and that North 

Carolina has satisfied the requirements 

of section 110(l) of the CAA. 

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 

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 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, Carbon monoxide, 

Incorporation by reference, 

Intergovernmental relations, Lead, 

Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate 

matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile 

organic compounds. 

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

Dated: June 13, 2022. 

Daniel Blackman, 

Regional Administrator, Region 4. 

[FR Doc. 2022–13163 Filed 6–21–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Parts 174 and 180 

[EPA–HQ–OPP–2022–0161; FRL–9410–02– 

OCSPP] 

Receipt of Pesticide Petitions Filed for 

Residues of Pesticide Chemicals in or 

on Various Commodities May 2022 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notices of filing of petitions and 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: This document announces the 

Agency’s receipt of initial filings of 

pesticide petitions requesting the 

establishment or modification of 

regulations for residues of pesticide 

chemicals in or on various commodities. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before July 22, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by docket identification (ID) 

number EPA–HQ–OPP–2022–0161, 

through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 

at https://www.regulations.gov. Follow 

the online instructions for submitting 

comments. Do not submit electronically 

any information you consider to be 

Confidential Business Information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. For the latest 

information on EPA/DC docket access, 

services and submitting comments, visit 

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Marietta Echeverria, Registration 

Division (RD) (7505P), main telephone 

number: (703) 305–7090, email address: 

RDFRNotices@epa.gov. The mailing 

address for each contact person is Office 

of Pesticide Programs, Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 

Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460–0001. 


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