[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 192 (Thursday, October 5, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 46415-46417]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-21379]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R07-OAR-2017-0386; FRL-9968-76-Region 7]


Approval of Nebraska Air Quality Implementation Plans; Adoption 
of a New Chapter Under the Nebraska Administrative Code

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct 
final action to approve revisions to the State Implementation Plan 
(SIP) submitted by the state of Nebraska on November 14, 2011. Nebraska 
is adding a new chapter titled ``Visibility Protection'' which provides 
Nebraska authority to implement Federal regulations relating to 
Regional Haze and Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART). The new 
chapter incorporates by reference EPA's Guidelines for BART 
Determinations Under the Regional Haze Rule. The revision to the SIP 
meets the visibility component of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective December 4, 2017, 
without further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by November 
6, 2017. If EPA receives adverse comment, we 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-R07-
OAR-2017-0386, to https://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 https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Crable, Environmental Protection 
Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch, 11201 Renner Boulevard, 
Lenexa, Kansas 66219 at (913) 551-7391, or by email at 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#95f6e7f4f7f9f0bbf2e7f0f2fae7ecd5f0e5f4bbf2fae3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="147766757678713a736671737b666d547164753a737b62">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' and 
``our'' refer to EPA. This section provides additional information by 
addressing the following:

I. What is being addressed in this document?
II. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?
III. What action is EPA taking?
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What is being addressed in this document?

    EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to 
Nebraska's SIP that will amend title 129 of the Nebraska Administrative 
Code to include rules regulating regional haze. This revision adds a 
new chapter, chapter 43, entitled ``Visibility Protection'', to title 
129 which incorporates by reference EPA Code of Federal Regulations 
under title 40 part 51 of EPA's Guidelines for BART determiniations 
under the Regional Haze Rule. This new chapter provides the Nebraska 
Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) the authority to require 
sources to conduct BART determinations for the purpose of issuing BART 
permits. This revision to title 129 is consistent with Federal 
regulations related to Regional Haze and BART, adopting by reference 
the definitions for the Federal Regional Haze rule at 40 CFR 51.301 and 
adopts by reference, appendix Y, to 40 CFR part 51, ``Guidelines for 
BART Determinations under the Regional Haze Rule.'' The revision to the 
SIP also meets the visibility component of the CAA section 
110(a)(2)(J). Approval of these revisions will not impact air quality 
and will ensure consistency between the State and Federally approved 
rules.

II. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?

    The state submission has met the public notice requirements for SIP 
submissions in accordance with 40 CFR 51.102. The submission also 
satisfied the completeness criteria of 40 CFR part 51, appendix V. The 
revised chapter was placed on public notice and a public hearing was 
held by the State on July 13, 2007, where no comments were received. In 
addition, the revision meets the substantive SIP requirements of the 
CAA, including section 110 and implementing regulations.

III. What action is EPA taking?

    EPA is approving the state's request to revise the SIP to include 
amendments to the Nebraska air quality rules as it relates to the 
Regional Haze and Best Available Retrofit Technology.
    We are publishing this direct final rule without a prior proposed 
rule because we view this as a noncontroversial action and anticipate 
no adverse comment. EPA does not anticipate adverse comment because the 
revisions to the existing rules are routine and consistent with the 
Federal regulations, thereby, strengthening the SIP. However, in the 
``Proposed Rules'' section of this Federal Register, we are publishing 
a separate document that will serve as the proposed rule to revise 
title 129 of the Nebraska Administrative Code, chapter 43, ``Visibility 
Protection''. If adverse comments are received on this direct final 
rule, we will not institute a second comment period on this action. Any 
parties interested in commenting must do so at this time. For further 
information about commenting on this rule, see the ADDRESSES section of 
this document. Should EPA receive adverse comment on part of this rule 
and if that part can be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may 
adopt as final those parts of the rule that are not the subject of an 
adverse comment.

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 Nebraska 
regulations described in the direct final amendments to 40 CFR part 52 
set forth below. EPA has made, and will continue to make, these 
materials generally available through www.regulations.gov and/or at the 
EPA Region 7 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 CAA 
as of the effective date of the final rulemaking of EPA's approval, and 
will be incorporated by reference by the

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Director of the Federal Register 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 Act 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:
    <bullet> 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);
    <bullet> Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
    <bullet> 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.);
    <bullet> 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);
    <bullet> Does not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
    <bullet> Is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
    <bullet> Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
    <bullet> 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
    <bullet> 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 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).
    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally 
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating 
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, 
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the 
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this action and 
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior 
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot 
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal 
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by December 4, 2017. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect 
the finality of this action for the purposes of judicial review nor 
does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may 
be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or 
action. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to 
enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Best available 
retrofit technology, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental 
relations, Nitrogen oxides, Particulate matter, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Regional haze, Sulfur dioxide, Visibility, 
Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: September 25, 2017.
Cathy Stepp,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, EPA amends 40 CFR part 52 
as set forth below:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

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

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

Subpart CC--Nebraska

0
2. Amend Sec.  52.1420(c) by revising the entry ``129-43'' to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.1420  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                        EPA-Approved Nebraska Regulations
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                                                        State
     Nebraska citation               Title         effective date   EPA approval date          Explanation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                STATE OF NEBRASKA
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
                                       Department of Environmental Quality
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
                                   Title 129--Nebraska Air Quality Regulations
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
129-43.....................  Visibility                    2/6/08  10/5/17 [Insert      ........................
                              Protection.                           Federal Register
                                                                    citation].
 
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[FR Doc. 2017-21379 Filed 10-4-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


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