41194 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 167 / Wednesday, August 30, 2017 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

34 CFR Chapter VI 

[Docket ID ED–2017–OPE–0076] 

RIN 1840–AD26 

Negotiated Rulemaking Committees; 

Negotiator Nominations and Schedule 

of Committee Meetings—Borrower 

Defenses, Financial Responsibility, 

and Gainful Employment 

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary 

Education, Department of Education. 

ACTION: Intent to establish negotiated 

rulemaking committees. 

SUMMARY: We announce our intention to 

establish two negotiated rulemaking 

committees to prepare proposed 

regulations for the Federal Student Aid 

programs authorized under title IV of 

the Higher Education Act of 1965, as 

amended (HEA). The committees will 

include representatives of organizations 

or groups with interests that are 

significantly affected by the subject 

matter of the proposed regulations. We 

request nominations for individual 

negotiators who represent key 

stakeholder constituencies for the issues 

to be negotiated to serve on the 

committees, and we set a schedule for 

committee meetings. We also announce 

the creation of a subcommittee, and 

request nominations for individuals 

with pertinent expertise to participate 

on the subcommittee. 

DATES: We must receive your 

nominations for negotiators to serve on 

the committees on or before September 

29, 2017. The dates, times, and locations 

of the committee meetings are set out in 

the Schedule for Negotiations and 

Subcommittee Meetings section in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. 

ADDRESSES: Please send your 

nominations for negotiators to Wendy 

Macias, U.S. Department of Education, 

400 Maryland Ave. SW., Room 6C111, 

Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: 

(202) 203–9155 or by email: 

negregnominations@ed.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information about the content of this 

document, including information about 

the negotiated rulemaking process or the 

nomination submission process, 

contact: Wendy Macias, U.S. 

Department of Education, 400 Maryland 

Ave. SW., Room 6C111, Washington, DC 

20202. Telephone: (202) 203–9155 or by 

email: Wendy.Macias@ed.gov. 

For information about negotiated 

rulemaking in general, see The 

Negotiated Rulemaking Process for Title 

IV Regulations, Frequently Asked 

Questions at www2.ed.gov/policy/ 

highered/reg/hearulemaking/hea08/negreg-faq.html or contact: Wendy Macias, 

U.S. Department of Education, 400 

Maryland Ave. SW., Room 6C111, 

Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: 

(202) 203–9155 or by email: 

Wendy.Macias@ed.gov. 

If you use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD) or text 

telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay 

Service (FRS), toll free, at 1–800–877– 

8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 

16, 2017, we published a document in 

the Federal Register (82 FR 27640) 

announcing our intent to establish two 

negotiated rulemaking committees 

under section 492 of the HEA to develop 

proposed regulations to (1) revise the 

gainful employment regulations 

published by the Department on 

October 31, 2014 (79 FR 64889), and (2) 

revise the regulations on borrower 

defenses to repayment of Federal 

student loans and other matters, and on 

the authority of guaranty agencies in the 

Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) 

Program to charge collection costs under 

34 CFR 682.410(b)(6) to a defaulted 

borrower who enters into a repayment 

agreement with the guaranty agency. We 

also announced two public hearings at 

which interested parties could comment 

on the topics suggested by the U.S. 

Department of Education (Department) 

and suggest additional topics for 

consideration for action by the 

negotiated rulemaking committees. 

Those hearings were held on July 10, 

2017, in Washington, DC, and on July 

12, 2017, in Dallas, Texas. We invited 

parties to comment and submit topics 

for consideration in writing as well. 

Transcripts from the public hearings are 

available at www2.ed.gov/policy/ 

highered/reg/hearulemaking/2017/ 

index.html. Written comments 

submitted in response to the June 16, 

2017, document may be viewed through 

the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 

www.regulations.gov. Instructions for 

finding comments are available on the 

site under ‘‘How to Use 

Regulations.gov’’ in the Help section. 

Individuals can enter docket ID ED– 

2017–OPE–0076 in the search box to 

locate the appropriate docket. 

Regulatory Issues 

After considering the information 

received at the public hearings and the 

written comments, we have decided to 

establish the following two negotiating 

committees: 

Committee 1—Borrower Defenses and 

Financial Responsibility Issues 

Committee 2—Gainful Employment 

Issues 

We list the specific topics the 

committees are likely to address under 

Committee Topics, below. 

We intend to select negotiators for the 

committees who represent the interests 

significantly affected by the topics 

proposed for negotiations. In so doing, 

we will follow the requirement in 

section 492(b)(1) of the HEA that the 

individuals selected must have 

demonstrated expertise or experience in 

the relevant topics proposed for 

negotiations. We will also select 

individual negotiators who reflect the 

diversity among program participants, 

in accordance with section 492(b)(1) of 

the HEA. Our goal is to establish 

committees that will allow significantly 

affected parties to be represented while 

keeping the committee size manageable. 

We generally select a primary and 

alternate negotiator for each 

constituency represented on a 

committee. The primary negotiator 

participates for the purpose of 

determining consensus. The alternate 

participates for the purpose of 

determining consensus in the absence of 

the primary. Either the primary or the 

alternate may speak during the 

negotiations. 

A committee may create subgroups on 

particular topics that may involve 

individuals who are not members of the 

committee. In addition, individuals who 

are not selected as members of the 

committee will be able to observe the 

committee meetings, will have access to 

the individuals representing their 

constituencies, and may be able to 

participate in informal working groups 

on various issues between the meetings. 

Committee Topics 

The topics the committees are likely 

to address are: 

Committee 1—Borrower Defenses and 

Financial Responsibility Issues 

1. Revisions to the regulations on 

borrower defenses to repayment of 

Federal student loans and other matters: 

• Borrower Defense (34 CFR 685.206); 

• Misrepresentation (34 CFR 668 

subpart F); 

• Program Participation Agreement 

(34 CFR 668.14(b)); 

• Closed School Discharge (34 CFR 

682.402, 34 CFR 685.214); 

• False Certification (34 CFR 

685.215); 

• Financial Responsibility and 

Administrative Capability (34 CFR 668 

subpart L, 34 CFR 668.16); and 

• Arbitration and class action 

lawsuits. 

2. Revisions to regulations that will 

address whether and to what extent 

guaranty agencies may charge collection 

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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 167 / Wednesday, August 30, 2017 / Proposed Rules 41195 

costs under 34 CFR 682.410(b)(6) to a 

defaulted borrower who enters into a 

loan rehabilitation or other repayment 

agreement within 60 days of being 

informed that the guaranty agency has 

paid a claim on the loan. 

As part of the negotiated rulemaking 

process, we are forming a Financial 

Responsibility Subcommittee for 

Committee 1 to have preliminary 

discussions of whether or how the 

Financial Accounting Standards Board’s 

(FASB) recent changes to the accounting 

standards for financial reporting (see 

FASB Accounting Standards Update 

(ASU) 2016–14 ‘‘Presentation of 

Financial Statement of Not-for-Profit 

Entities’’ at http://fasb.org/jsp/FASB/ 

Document_C/DocumentPage?cid=11761

68381847&acceptedDisclaimer=true) 

necessitate modifications to the 

Department’s financial responsibility 

regulations with respect to the 

calculation of the Primary Reserve 

Ratio, the Equity Ratio, and the Net 

Income Ratio that are used to calculate 

an institution’s composite score, as well 

as whether clarifications of terms used 

in the Primary Reserve, Equity, and Net 

Income ratio calculations in appendix B 

to 34 CFR part 668, subpart L, are 

needed as a result of changes in the 

financial accounting standards, 

including: 

• For the Primary Reserve Ratio: (1) 

Changes to the definition of 

‘‘expendable net assets’’ in the 

numerator to conform to new 

terminology; (2) changes to the 

definition of ‘‘total expenses’’ in the 

denominator to conform to new 

terminology; and (3) clarification of the 

treatment of endowment losses, terms of 

endowments, retirement liabilities, 

long-term debt, and construction-inprogress. 

• For the Equity Ratio, changes to the 

definition of ‘‘modified net assets’’ in 

the numerator to conform to new 

terminology. 

• For the Net Income Ratio: (1) 

Changes to the definition of ‘‘change in 

unrestricted net assets’’ in the 

numerator to conform to new 

terminology; (2) the addition of losses 

from underwater endowments to the 

numerator to reflect changes in 

treatment; (3) changes to the definition 

of ‘‘total unrestricted revenue’’ in the 

denominator to conform to new 

terminology; (4) clarification of the 

treatment of other investment and 

pension trust fund losses; and (5) 

changes to the treatment of leases. 

Subcommittees are formed to address 

specified issues and to make 

recommendations to the committee. 

Subcommittees are not authorized to 

make decisions for the committee. The 

Financial Responsibility Subcommittee 

may be comprised of some Committee 1 

members (negotiators) as well as 

individuals who are not committee 

members, but who have expertise that 

will be helpful in developing proposed 

regulations. Therefore, in addition to 

asking for nominations for individual 

negotiators who represent key 

stakeholder constituencies for the issues 

to be negotiated to serve on this 

committee (see Constituencies for 

Negotiator Nominations), we are asking 

for nominations for individuals with 

specific types of expertise to serve on 

the Financial Responsibility 

Subcommittee (see Areas of Expertise 

for Financial Responsibility 

Subcommittee). The topics for the 

subcommittee are primarily focused on 

issues affecting non-profits, but may 

touch issues that affect other sectors, so 

we welcome nominees with expertise 

across institution types. The 

subcommittee meetings will be held 

between committee meetings (see 

Schedule for Negotiations and 

Subcommittee Meetings). Before the 

conclusion of the negotiations, the 

Financial Responsibility Subcommittee 

will present any recommendations for 

changes to Committee 1 for its 

consideration. 

Committee 2—Gainful Employment 

Issues 

Revisions to the gainful employment 

regulations in 34 CFR part 668, subpart 

Q, including, but not limited to, the 

debt-to-earnings rates measure, 

sanctions, and reporting and disclosure 

of information, as well as related 

reporting and disclosure regulations in 

34 CFR 668.41. 

Topics for both committees may be 

added or removed as the process 

continues. 

Constituencies for Negotiator 

Nominations 

We have identified the following 

constituencies as having interests that 

are significantly affected by the topics 

proposed for negotiations. The 

Department plans to seat as negotiators 

individuals from organizations or 

groups representing these 

constituencies. 

Committee 1—Borrower Defenses and 

Financial Responsibility Issues 

• Students and former students. 

• Consumer advocacy organizations. 

• Legal assistance organizations that 

represent students and former students. 

• Groups representing U.S. military 

service member or veteran Federal 

student loan borrowers. 

• Financial aid administrators at 

postsecondary institutions. 

• General counsels/attorneys and 

compliance officers at postsecondary 

institutions to address issues related to 

establishing a process for reviewing 

borrower defense claims and 

determining institutional liabilities 

associated with such claims, as well as 

administrative repayment liabilities for 

this topic through program reviews and 

audit determinations under the 

Department’s regulations. 

• Chief financial officers and 

experienced business officers at 

postsecondary institutions to address 

issues such as institutional financing 

and liability, as opposed to student 

billing. 

• State attorneys general and other 

appropriate State officials. 

• State higher education executive 

officers. 

• Institutions of higher education 

eligible to receive Federal assistance 

under title III, parts A, B, and F, and 

title V of the HEA, which include 

Historically Black Colleges and 

Universities, Hispanic-Serving 

Institutions, American Indian Tribally 

Controlled Colleges and Universities, 

Alaska Native and Native HawaiianServing Institutions, Predominantly 

Black Institutions, and other institutions 

with a substantial enrollment of needy 

students as defined in title III of the 

HEA. 

• Two-year public institutions of 

higher education. 

• Four-year public institutions of 

higher education. 

• Private, nonprofit institutions of 

higher education. 

• Private, for-profit institutions of 

higher education with an enrollment of 

450 students or less. 

• Private, for-profit institutions of 

higher education with an enrollment of 

451 students or more. 

• FFEL Program lenders and loan 

servicers. 

• FFEL Program guaranty agencies 

and guaranty agency servicers 

(including collection agencies). 

• Accrediting agencies. 

Committee 2—Gainful Employment 

Issues 

• Students and former students. 

• Consumer advocacy organizations. 

• Legal assistance organizations that 

represent students and former students. 

• Groups representing U.S. military 

service member or veteran Federal 

student loan borrowers. 

• Financial aid administrators at 

postsecondary institutions. 

• General counsels/attorneys and 

compliance officers at postsecondary 

institutions. 

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41196 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 167 / Wednesday, August 30, 2017 / Proposed Rules 

• Chief financial officers and 

experienced business officers at 

postsecondary institutions. 

• State attorneys general and other 

appropriate State officials. 

• State higher education executive 

officers. 

• Business and industry (for example, 

labor economists or data experts). 

• Institutions of higher education 

eligible to receive Federal assistance 

under title III, parts A, B, and F, and 

title V of the HEA, which include 

Historically Black Colleges and 

Universities, Hispanic-Serving 

Institutions, American Indian Tribally 

Controlled Colleges and Universities, 

Alaska Native and Native HawaiianServing Institutions, Predominantly 

Black Institutions, and other institutions 

with a substantial enrollment of needy 

students as defined in title III of the 

HEA. 

• Two-year public institutions of 

higher education. 

• Four-year public institutions of 

higher education. 

• Private, nonprofit institutions of 

higher education. 

• Private, for-profit institutions of 

higher education with an enrollment of 

450 students or less. 

• Private, for-profit institutions of 

higher education with an enrollment of 

451 students or more. 

• Accrediting agencies. 

The goal of each committee is to 

develop proposed regulations that 

reflect a final consensus of the 

committee. Consensus means that there 

is no dissent by any member of a 

negotiating committee, including the 

committee member representing the 

Department. An individual selected as a 

negotiator is expected to represent the 

interests of his or her organization or 

group and participate in the 

negotiations in a manner consistent 

with the goal of developing proposed 

regulations on which the committee will 

reach consensus. If consensus is 

reached, all members of the organization 

or group represented by a negotiator are 

bound by the consensus and are 

prohibited from commenting negatively 

on the resulting proposed regulations. 

The Department will not consider any 

such negative comments on the 

proposed regulations that are submitted 

by members of such an organization or 

group. 

Areas of Expertise for Subcommittee on 

Financial Responsibility 

The Department plans to select 

individuals from organizations or 

groups with expertise in both financial 

accounting standards and the 

Department’s financial responsibility 

standards for institutions for 

participation on the Financial 

Responsibility Subcommittee, which is 

part of Committee 1. Nominations must 

include evidence of the nominee’s 

specific knowledge in these areas. Such 

individuals from organizations or 

groups may include, but are not limited 

to, representatives of: 

• Private, nonprofit institutions of 

higher education, with knowledge of the 

accounting standards and title IV 

financial responsibility requirements for 

the private, nonprofit sector. 

• Private, for-profit institutions of 

higher education, with knowledge of the 

accounting standards and title IV 

financial responsibility requirements for 

the for-profit sector. 

• Accrediting agencies. 

• Chief financial officers (to include 

experienced business officers and 

bursars) at postsecondary institutions. 

• Associations or organizations that 

provide accounting guidance to auditors 

and institutions. 

• Certified public accountants or 

firms who conduct financial statement 

audits of title IV participating 

institutions. 

• The Financial Accounting 

Standards Board (FASB), with expertise 

in the applicable financial accounting 

and reporting standards set by FASB. 

Nominations 

Nominations should include: 

• The committee (Borrower Defenses 

and Financial Responsibility or Gainful 

Employment) or subcommittee 

(Financial Responsibility) for which the 

nominee is nominated. 

• The name of the nominee, the 

organization or group the nominee 

represents, and a description of the 

interests that the nominee represents. 

• Evidence of the nominee’s expertise 

or experience in the topics proposed for 

negotiations. 

• Evidence of support from 

individuals or groups within the 

constituency or area of expertise that the 

nominee will represent. 

• The nominee’s commitment that he 

or she will actively participate in good 

faith in the development of the 

proposed regulations. 

• The nominee’s contact information, 

including address, phone number, and 

email address. 

For a better understanding of the 

negotiated rulemaking process, prior to 

committing to participate, nominees 

should review The Negotiated 

Rulemaking Process for Title IV 

Regulations, Frequently Asked 

Questions at www2.ed.gov/policy/ 

highered/reg/hearulemaking/hea08/negreg-faq.html. 

Nominees will be notified whether or 

not they have been selected as soon as 

the Department’s review process is 

completed. 

Schedule for Negotiations and 

Subcommittee Meetings 

Committee 1—Borrower Defenses and 

Financial Responsibility Issues 

committee will meet for three sessions 

on the following dates: 

Session 1: November 13–15, 2017 

Session 2: January 8–11, 2018 

Session 3: February 12–15, 2018 

Sessions will run from 9 a.m. to 5 

p.m. 

The November committee meetings 

will be held at the Holiday Inn 

Washington Capitol at: 550 C Street 

SW., Congressional II Room, 

Washington, DC 20024. 

The January committee meetings will 

be held at the U.S. Department of 

Education at: Union Center Plaza (UCP) 

Center, 830 First Street NE., Lobby 

Level, Washington, DC 20002. 

The February committee meetings 

will be held at the U.S. Department of 

Education at: Barnard Auditorium, 400 

Maryland Ave. SW., Washington, DC 

20202. 

The committee meetings are open to 

the public. 

The Financial Responsibility 

Subcommittee will meet on the 

following dates: 

Meeting 1: November 16–17, 2017 

Meeting 2: January 4–5, 2018 

Meeting 3: January 29–30, 2018 

Meetings will run from 9 a.m. to 5 

p.m. 

The subcommittee meetings will be 

held at the U.S. Department of 

Education: Training and Development 

Center, First floor, 400 Maryland Ave. 

SW., Washington, DC 20202. 

The November 16–17, 2016, meeting 

will be held in room 1W103. The 

January 4–5, 2017, meeting will be held 

in room 1W128. The January 29–30, 

2017, meeting will be held in Room 

1W103. Arrangements will be made to 

allow members to attend remotely. 

The subcommittee meetings are not 

open to the public. 

Committee 2—Gainful Employment 

Issues committee will meet for three 

sessions on the following dates: 

Session 1: December 4–7, 2017 

Session 2: February 5–8, 2018 

Session 3: March 12–15, 2018 

Sessions will run from 9 a.m. to 5 

p.m. 

The December committee meetings 

will be held at the U.S. Department of 

Education at: Union Center Plaza (UCP) 

Learning Center, 830 First Street NE., 

Lobby Level, Washington, DC 20002. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 167 / Wednesday, August 30, 2017 / Proposed Rules 41197 

1This requirement applies to both primary and 

secondary NAAQS, but EPA’s approval in this 

notice applies only to the 2010 primary NAAQS for 

SO2 and NO2 because EPA did not establish in 2010 

a new secondary NAAQS for SO2 and NO2. 

The February committee meetings 

will be held at the U.S. Department of 

Education: Barnard Auditorium, 400 

Maryland Ave. SW., Washington, DC 

20202. 

The March committee meetings will 

be held at the U.S. Department of 

Education at: Potomac Center Plaza 

Auditorium, 550 12th Street SW., 

Washington, DC 20202. 

The committee meetings are open to 

the public. 

Accessible Format: Individuals with 

disabilities can obtain this document in 

an accessible format (e.g., braille, large 

print, audiotape, or compact disc) by 

contacting Wendy Macias, U.S. 

Department of Education, 400 Maryland 

Ave. SW., Room 6C111, Washington, DC 

20202. Telephone: (202) 203–9155 or by 

email: Wendy.Macias@ed.gov. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

The official version of this document is 

the document published in the Federal 

Register. Free internet access to the 

official edition of the Federal Register 

and the Code of Federal Regulations is 

available via the Federal Digital System 

at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you 

can view this document, as well as all 

other documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Portable Document Format 

(PDF). To use PDF you must have 

Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at the site. You may also 

access documents of the Department 

published in the Federal Register by 

using the article search feature at: 

www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, 

through the advanced search feature at 

this site, you can limit your search to 

documents published by the 

Department. 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1098a. 

Kathleen A. Smith, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary 

Education. 

[FR Doc. 2017–18510 Filed 8–29–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R01–OAR–2017–0151; FRL–9967–06– 

Region 1] 

Air Plan Approval; Rhode Island; 

Infrastructure Requirement for the 

2010 Sulfur Dioxide and 2010 Nitrogen 

Dioxide National Ambient Air Quality 

Standards 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve 

an October 15, 2015 State 

Implementation Plan (SIP) revision 

submitted by the State of Rhode Island. 

This revision addresses the interstate 

transport requirements of the Clean Air 

Act (CAA), referred to as the good 

neighbor provision, with respect to the 

2010 primary sulfur dioxide (SO2) and 

2010 primary nitrogen dioxide (NO2) 

national ambient air quality standards 

(NAAQS). This action proposes to 

approve Rhode Island’s demonstration 

that the state is meeting its obligations 

regarding the transport of SO2 and NO2

emissions into other states. This action 

is being taken under the Clean Air Act. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before September 29, 

2017. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R01– 

OAR–2017–0151 at http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Once submitted, comments cannot be 

edited or removed from Regulations.gov. 

For either manner of submission, the 

EPA may publish any comment received 

to its public docket. Do not submit 

electronically any information you 

consider to be Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Multimedia submissions (audio, video, 

etc.) must be accompanied by a written 

comment. The written comment is 

considered the official comment and 

should include discussion of all points 

you wish to make. EPA will generally 

not consider comments or comment 

contents located outside of the primary 

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

other file sharing system). For 

additional submission methods, please 

contact the person identified in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

For the full EPA public comment policy, 

information about CBI or multimedia 

submissions, and general guidance on 

making effective comments, please visit 

http://www.epa.gov/dockets/ 

commenting-epa-dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Donald Dahl, (617) 918–1657; or by 

email at dahl.donald@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document whenever 

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

EPA. Organization of this document. 

The following outline is provided to aid 

in locating information in this preamble. 

Table of Contents 

I. Background 

II. State Submittal 

III. Summary of the Proposed Action 

IV. Section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I)—Interstate 

Transport 

A. General Requirements and Historical 

Approaches for Criteria Pollutants 

B. Approach for Addressing the Interstate 

Transport Requirements of the 2010 

Primary SO2 NAAQS in Rhode Island 

C. Approach for Addressing the Interstate 

Transport Requirements of the 2010 

Primary NO2 NAAQS in Rhode Island 

V. Interstate Transport Demonstration for SO2

Emissions 

A. Prong 1 Analysis—Significant 

Contribution to SO2 Nonattainment 

1. SO2 Emissions Trends 

2. SO2 Ambient Air Quality 

3. Federally Enforceable Regulations 

Specific to SO2 and Permitting 

Requirements 

4. Conclusion 

B. Prong 2 Analysis—Interference with 

Maintenance of the SO2 NAAQS 

VI. Significant Contribution to 

Nonattainment and Interference with 

Maintenance of the NO2 NAAQS 

VII. Proposed Action 

VIII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. Background 

On February 9, 2010 (75 FR 6474), 

EPA promulgated a revised primary 

NAAQS for NO2 at a level of 100 ppb, 

based on a 3-year average of the annual 

98th percentile of 1-hour daily 

maximum concentrations. On June 22, 

2010 (75 FR 35520), EPA promulgated a 

revised primary NAAQS for SO2 at a 

level of 75 ppb, based on a 3-year 

average of the annual 99th percentile of 

1-hour daily maximum concentrations. 

Pursuant to section 110(a)(1) of the 

CAA, states are required to submit SIPs 

meeting the applicable requirements of 

section 110(a)(2) within three years after 

promulgation of a new or revised 

NAAQS, or within such shorter period 

as EPA may prescribe.1 These SIPs, 

which EPA has historically referred to 

as ‘‘infrastructure SIPs,’’ are to provide 

for the ‘‘implementation, maintenance, 

and enforcement’’ of such NAAQS, and 

the requirements are designed to ensure 

that the structural components of each 

state’s air quality management program 

are adequate to meet the state’s 

responsibilities under the CAA. A 

detailed history, interpretation, and 

rationale of these SIPs and their 

requirements can be found in, among 

other documents, EPA’s May 13, 2014 

proposed rule titled, ‘‘Infrastructure SIP 

requirements for the 2008 Lead 

NAAQS,’’ in the section ‘‘What is the 

scope of this rulemaking?’’ (see 79 FR 

27241 at 27242–27245). As noted above, 

section 110(a) of the CAA imposes an 

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