Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 46415 

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. 

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 crable.gregory@

epa.gov. 

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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46416 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 

1 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997). 

Director of the Federal Register in the 

next update to the SIP compilation.1

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: 

• 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 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 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 52 

continues to read as follows: 

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

Subpart CC—Nebraska 

■ 2. Amend § 52.1420(c) by revising the 

entry ‘‘129–43’’ to read as follows: 

§ 52.1420 Identification of plan. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

EPA-APPROVED NEBRASKA REGULATIONS

Nebraska citation Title 

State 

effective 

date 

EPA approval date Explanation 

STATE OF NEBRASKA 

Department of Environmental Quality 

Title 129—Nebraska Air Quality Regulations 

*******

129–43 ................ Visibility Protection ......... 2/6/08 10/5/17 [Insert Federal 

Register citation].

*******


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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 46417 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2017–21379 Filed 10–4–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R08–OAR–2016–0620; FRL–9968–74– 

Region 8] 

Approval and Promulgation of Air 

Quality Implementation Plans; State of 

Utah; Revisions to Ozone Offset 

Requirements in Davis and Salt Lake 

Counties 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is taking final action to 

approve State Implementation Plan 

(SIP) revisions submitted by the State of 

Utah on August 20, 2013, and on June 

29, 2017. The submittals revise the 

portions of the Utah Administrative 

Code (UAC) that pertain to ozone offset 

requirements in Davis and Salt Lake 

Counties for major sources. This action 

is being taken under section 110 of the 

Clean Air Act (CAA) (Act). 

DATES: This final rule is effective on 

November 6, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket 

Identification Number EPA–R08–OAR– 

2016–0620. All documents in the docket 

are listed on the http://

www.regulations.gov index. Although 

listed in the index, some information 

may not be publicly available, e.g., 

Confidential Business Information or 

other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Certain other 

material, such as copyrighted material, 

will be publicly available only in hard 

copy. Publicly available docket 

materials are available either 

electronically through http://

www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 

the Air Program, Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA), Region 8, 

1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver, Colorado 

80202–1129. The EPA requests that you 

contact the individual listed in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to 

view the hard copy of the docket. You 

may view the hard copy of the docket 

Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 

4:00 p.m., excluding federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kevin Leone, Air Program, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, 

Region 8, Mailcode 8P–AR, 1595 

Wynkoop, Denver, Colorado 80202– 

1129, (303) 312–6227, leone.kevin@

epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On August 20, 2013, with supporting 

administrative documentation 

submitted on September 12, 2013, Utah 

sent the EPA revisions to their 

nonattainment permitting regulations, 

specifically to address EPA identified 

deficiencies in those regulations that 

may also affect the EPA’s ability to 

approve Utah’s fine particulate matter 

(PM2.5) SIP. These revisions addressed 

R307–403–1 (Purpose and Definitions), 

R307–403–2 (Applicability), R307–403– 

11 (Actual Plant-wide Applicability 

Limits (PALs)), and R307–420 (Ozone 

Offset Requirements in Davis and Salt 

Lake Counties). On June 2, 2016, the 

EPA entered into a consent decree with 

the Center for Biological Diversity, 

Center for Environmental Health, and 

Neighbors for Clean Air regarding a 

failure to act, pursuant to CAA sections 

110(k)(2)–(4), on certain complete SIP 

submissions from states intended to 

address specific requirements related to 

the 2006 p.m.2.5 NAAQS for certain 

nonattainment areas, including the 

submittal from the Governor of Utah 

dated August 20, 2013. 

On February 3, 2017, the EPA 

published a final rulemaking (82 FR 

9138) to conditionally approve the 

revisions in Utah’s August 20, 2013 

submittal, except for the revisions to 

R307–420. The submittal did not 

contain the appropriate supporting 

documentation required for the EPA to 

take action on R307–420. As a result, 

the EPA requested an extension for 

taking action on R307–420, and on 

December 20, 2016, the EPA was 

granted an extension which moved the 

deadline for taking final action on 

R307–420 from January 3, 2017, to 

September 29, 2017 (See docket). Utah 

submitted on June 29, 2017, an 

additional SIP revision that addresses 

the lack of appropriate supporting 

documentation for R307–420. 

II. Response to Comments 

No comments were received on our 

July 14, 2017 notice of proposed 

rulemaking (82 FR 32517). 

III. Final Action 

The EPA is taking final action to 

approve Utah’s revisions to R307–420 

and R307–403–6, as submitted on 

August 20, 2013, and June 29, 2017. 

R307–420 maintains the offset 

provisions of the nonattainment area 

new source review (NNSR) permitting 

program in Salt Lake and Davis 

Counties after the area is re-designated 

to attainment for ozone. R307–420 also 

establishes more stringent offset 

requirements for nitrogen oxides that 

may be triggered as a contingency 

measure under Utah’s ozone 

maintenance plan. R307–420 was also 

modified to include the definitions and 

applicability provisions of R307–403 

(Permits: New and Modified Sources in 

Nonattainment Areas and Maintenance 

Areas) to ensure that the definitions and 

applicability provisions in R307–420 are 

consistent with related permitting rules 

in R307–403. The EPA is taking final 

action to approve these revisions. 

On August 20, 2013, Utah submitted 

revisions to the definitions in the NNSR 

program that addressed certain 

deficiencies in the program. Utah also 

submitted revisions to the 

corresponding definitions in R307–420. 

As explained in our proposed 

rulemaking published on July 14, 2017 

(82 FR 32517), since the EPA had not 

received the 1999 rulemaking that 

created R307–420 as a SIP submittal, we 

were unable to take action on the 

revisions to R307–420 in our February 

3, 2017 (82 FR 9138) final rulemaking 

for Utah’s revisions to Nonattainment 

Permitting Regulations. 

Utah’s June 29, 2017 submittal 

addressed this issue by submitting the 

1999 rule revisions that created R307– 

420 and modified R307–403–6. As these 

rule revisions preserve the ozone 

maintenance plan requirements for 

offsets and contingency measures in Salt 

Lake and Davis Counties while 

improving the clarity of those 

requirements, we proposed to approve 

the 1999 rule revisions on July 14, 2017 

(82 FR 32517). We also proposed to 

approve the remaining portion of the 

August 20, 2013 submittal. 

The EPA is taking final action to 

approve the subsequent revisions to 

R307–420, submitted on August 20, 

2013, that Utah promulgated to ensure 

that the definitions and applicability 

provisions in R307–420 are consistent 

with related permitting rules in R307– 

403. For the reasons explained in our 

July 14, 2017 notice of proposed 

rulemaking, the definitions and 

applicability provisions in R307–403 are 

consistent with requirements for NNSR 

programs found in 40 CFR 51.165. 

While R307–420 is part of the ozone 

maintenance plan for Salt Lake and 

Davis Counties and not part of the 

NNSR program, and therefore, not 

directly subject to the requirements in 

40 CFR 51.165, we view the 

corresponding revisions to the 

definitions and applicability provisions 

as strengthening the maintenance plan. 

Specifically, the EPA is approving the 


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