Document ID: EPA-R05-OAR-2013-0343-0002
Agency: epa
Document Type: Rule
Title: Direct Final Approval of the Illinois GHG Annual Emissions Report Program
Posted Date: 2013-07-03T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 3, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 40013-40015]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-15611]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R05-OAR-2013-0343; FRL-9824-9]

Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Illinois

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: EPA is approving a request submitted by the Illinois 
Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) on April 11, 2013, to 
revise the Illinois state implementation plan (SIP). The submission 
revises Title 35 of the Illinois Administrative Code (IAC) Part 254, 
Annual Emissions Report. The revision provides clarification regarding 
greenhouse gases (GHGs) as it relates to the annual emissions report. 
The rationale for approval and other information are provided in this 
rulemaking action.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective September 3, 2013, 
unless EPA receives adverse comments by August 2, 2013. If adverse 
comments are received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the 
direct final rule in the Federal Register informing the public that the 
rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2013-0343, by one of the following methods:
    1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    2. Email: blakley.pamela@epa.gov.
    3. Fax: (312) 692-2450.
    4. Mail: Pamela Blakley, Chief, Control Strategies Section, Air 
Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West 
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
    5. Hand Delivery: Pamela Blakley, Chief, Control Strategies 
Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. Such 
deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information. The Regional Office official hours of business are 
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding Federal 
holidays.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-
2013-0343. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to 
be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or email. The 
www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which 
means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you 
provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email comment 
directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov your email 
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the 
comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the 
Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you 
include your name and other contact information in the body of your 
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your 
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic 
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of 
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information

[[Page 40014]]

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 
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Environmental Protection 
Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson 
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. This Facility is open from 8:30 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. 
We recommend that you telephone Charles Hatten, Environmental Engineer, 
(312) 886-6031 before visiting the Region 5 office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Hatten, Environmental 
Engineer, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 
Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312)886-6031, hatten.charles@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information 
section is arranged as follows:

I. What is the background for this action?
II. What revision did the state request?
III. What action is EPA taking today?
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews.

I. What is the background for this action?

    On April 11, 2013, the Illinois EPA submitted a request to EPA to 
revise the SIP to provide clarification regarding GHGs as it relates to 
the provisions at 35 IAC Part 254, Annual Emissions Report.
    On December 28, 2012, the Illinois EPA published a ``Notice of 
Public Information'' in the Illinois Register providing a 30-day public 
comment period on the proposed revision to its SIP for GHGs relating to 
the annual emissions report program. The notice also provided for a 
public hearing if a request for a hearing was received by January 28, 
2013. The Illinois EPA received no requests for a public hearing, and 
placed a ``no public hearing request'' notice on the Illinois EPA Web 
site at http://www.epa.state.il.us/public-notices on February 6, 2013.

II. What revision did the state request?

    The state has requested that EPA approve revisions to 35 IAC Part 
254, which requires facilities to submit an annual emissions report to 
Illinois EPA. This revision is a non-substantive technical change that 
clarifies that the type of annual emissions report that a source needs 
to submit to Illinois EPA will not be based upon GHG emissions.
    Prior to this revision, section 254.102(a)(1) of Subpart A, General 
Provisions, 35 IAC Part 254, provided that Subpart B, Reporting 
Requirements for Large Sources, applied to owners or operators of any 
source required to have an operating permit in accordance with 35 IAC 
201 that is permitted to emit 25 tons per year or more of any 
combination of regulated air pollutants. In 2011, the Illinois General 
Assembly revised the definition of ``regulated air pollutant'' in 
section 39.5 of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act [415 Illinois 
Compiled Statutes 5/39.5] to include GHGs. As a result, Illinois EPA 
revised section 254.102(a)(1) of Subpart A, General Provisions, 35 IAC 
Part 254, to clarify that the type of annual emissions report, i.e., a 
long form or a short form, that a source is required to submit will not 
be based on its GHG emissions. The revised applicability provisions at 
35 IAC 254.102(a)(1) provide that Subpart B, Reporting Requirements for 
Large Sources, applies to owners or operators of any source required to 
have an operating permit in accordance with 35 IAC 201 that is 
permitted to emit 25 tons per year or more of any combination of 
regulated air pollutants, excluding greenhouse gases. Illinois EPA 
anticipates that the revised rule will avoid additional costs for small 
businesses, small municipalities and not-for-profit corporations who 
would otherwise be required to complete a long-form annual emissions 
report absent the revised rule.
    EPA finds that the revision to the applicability provisions of 35 
IAC Part 254 as they relate to GHGs is acceptable.

III. What action is EPA taking today?

    EPA is approving the revision to the Illinois SIP at 35 IAC Part 
254, regarding GHGs as it relates to the annual emissions report.
    We are publishing this action without prior proposal because we 
view this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipate no adverse 
comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal 
Register publication, we are publishing a separate document that will 
serve as the proposal to approve the state plan if relevant adverse 
written comments are filed. This rule will be effective September 3, 
2013 without further notice unless we receive relevant adverse written 
comments by August 2, 2013. If we receive such comments, we will 
withdraw this action before the effective date by publishing a 
subsequent document that will withdraw the final action. All public 
comments received will then be addressed in a subsequent final rule 
based on the proposed action. The EPA will not institute a second 
comment period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action 
should do so at this time. Please note that if EPA receives adverse 
comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that 
provision may be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt 
as final those provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an 
adverse comment. If we do not receive any comments, this action will be 
effective September 3, 2013.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a 
SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Clean Air 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 Clean Air Act. 
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 Order 
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
     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

[[Page 40015]]

be inconsistent with the Clean Air Act; 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).
    In addition, this rule does not have tribal implications as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), 
because the SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in 
the state, and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct 
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
    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 Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by September 3, 2013. Filing a 
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule 
does not affect the finality of this action for the purposes of 
judicial review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for 
judicial review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness 
of such rule or action. Parties with objections to this direct final 
rule are encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel 
notice of proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed 
rules section of today's Federal Register, rather than file an 
immediate petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so 
that EPA can withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in 
the proposed rulemaking. This action may not be challenged later in 
proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Emissions 
Reporting, Incorporation by reference, Ozone, Volatile organic 
compounds.

    Dated: June 6, 2013.
Susan Hedman,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.

    40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

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

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

0
2. Section 52.720 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(196) to read as 
follows:

Sec.  52.720  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (196) On April 11, 2013, Illinois submitted a revision to 35 IAC 
Part 254, Annual Emissions Report. The revision amends the 
applicability provisions as they relate to greenhouse gases.
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    Illinois Administrative Code Title 35: Environmental Protection, 
Subtitle B: Air Pollution; Chapter II: Environmental Protection Agency; 
Part 254: Annual Emission Report, Section 254.102: Applicability, 
effective April 20, 2012.
[FR Doc. 2013-15611 Filed 7-2-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P