Document ID: EPA-R01-OAR-2022-0961-0011
Agency: epa
Document Type: Rule
Title: Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plan: Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut
Posted Date: 2023-04-25T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 25, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24916-24918]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08527]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 49

[EPA-R01-OAR-2022-0961, FRL-10562-02-R1]

Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plan; 
Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving 
amendments to the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut (the Mohegan 
Tribe, Mohegans, or the Tribe) Tribal Implementation Plan (TIP) under 
the Clean Air Act (CAA) to regulate air pollution within the exterior 
boundaries of the Tribe's reservation. EPA approved the Tribe for 
treatment in the same manner as a State (Treatment as State or TAS) for 
purposes of administering New Source Review (NSR) under the CAA on 
December 26, 2006. The TIP revisions we are approving include 
permitting requirements for minor sources of air pollution not covered 
by the Tribe's existing federally approved NSR permitting program. The 
purpose of the TIP revisions is to enable the Tribe to attain and 
maintain the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) within the 
exterior boundaries of its reservation by establishing new elements to 
its federally enforceable preconstruction air permitting program.

DATES: This rule is effective on May 25, 2023.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R01-OAR-2022-0961. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed 
in the index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., 
confidential business information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as 
copyrighted material, is not placed on the internet and will be 
publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket 
materials are available at https://www.regulations.gov or at the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Region 1 Regional Office, Air and 
Radiation Division, 5 Post Office Square--Suite 100, Boston, MA. EPA 
requests that, if at all possible, you contact the contact listed in 
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to schedule your 
inspection. The Regional Office's official hours of business are Monday 
through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding legal holidays and 
facility closures due to COVID-19.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Madeline Isenberg, Air Permits, 
Toxics, and Indoor Programs Branch, EPA Region 1, 5 Post Office Square 
(Mail Code: MI-5), Boston, MA, 02109-3912, telephone number (617) 918-
1271, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Background and Purpose
II. Response to Comments
III. Final Action
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Review

I. Background and Purpose

    On February 13, 2023 (88 FR 2298), EPA published a notice of 
proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for TIP revisions submitted by the Mohegan 
Tribe of Indians of Connecticut for approval under section 110 of the 
CAA. The TIP revisions address attainment and maintenance of the NAAQS 
within the exterior boundaries of its reservation by establishing new 
elements to its federally enforceable preconstruction air permitting 
program.
    The Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut is an Indian Tribe 
federally recognized on March 7, 1994, by congressional legislation 
(Pub. L. 103-377, October 19, 1994.). The Secretary of the Interior 
recognizes the ``Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut'' (86 FR 7554, January 
29, 2021). On May 4, 2005, the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut 
submitted a request that we find the Tribe eligible for TAS pursuant to 
section 301(d)(2) of the CAA and title 42, part 49 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR), for the purpose of implementing its CAA 
permitting program. The Mohegans also submitted for EPA approval its 
TIP on May 4, 2005.
    The Tribe requested a TAS eligibility determination pursuant to the 
CAA and the Tribal Authority Rule (``TAR'') for the purpose of 
administering its TIP within reservation lands. The operative portion 
of the Mohegan TIP was the Tribe's Area Wide NOX Emission 
Limitation Regulation.
    The Tribe formally submitted the applicable elements of its TIP 
revision to EPA Region 1 on July 28, 2022.
    The rationale for EPA's proposed approval of the Mohegan TIP is 
explained in the NPRM and will not be restated here. No adverse public 
comments were received on the NPRM.

II. Response to Comments

    EPA received one comment during the comment period, which supported 
EPA's proposed action. As such, this comment does not require further 
response to finalize the action as proposed. The comment is available 
in the docket for this action.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving the Mohegan TIP revisions under the Clean Air Act 
to regulate air pollution within the exterior boundaries of the Tribe's 
reservation. The TIP revisions include the addition of a source 
registration program for new and existing sources, a minor NSR 
permitting program, and provisions to obtain a potential to emit limit 
to render a source non-major for new and existing sources. The 
revisions also outline a process by which the Mohegan Tribe can 
establish permit by rules, and the Tribe has adopted one permit by rule 
into its body of regulations for gasoline dispensing facilities as part 
of these revisions.

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, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the 
Mohegan Tribe's Resolution No. 2022-31, which incorporates Article 
XIII-A and establishes a minor NSR preconstruction permitting program 
and allows for sources that would otherwise be major to take 
restrictions on their potential to emit to below major source 
thresholds, as described in the amendments to 40 CFR part 49 set forth 
below. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these documents 
generally available through https://www.regulations.gov and at the EPA 
Region 1 Office (please contact the

[[Page 24917]]

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 TIP, 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 in the next update to the TIP 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 Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a 
TIP 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 TIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve a Tribe's 
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. 
Accordingly, this action merely approves tribal law as meeting Federal 
requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those 
imposed by tribal 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 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).
    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 June 26, 2023. 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 49

    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.

    Dated: April 17, 2023.
David Cash,
Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1.

    Part 49 of chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
is amended as follows:

PART 49--INDIAN COUNTRY: AIR QUALITY PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT

0
1. The authority citation for part 49 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart D--Implementation Plans for Tribes--Region 1

0
2. Section 49.201 is amended by revising paragraph (c) to read as 
follows:

Sec.  49.201  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) EPA-approved regulations.

                        EPA-Approved Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut Regulations
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                                                            Tribal
         Tribal citation              Title/subject        effective     EPA approval date       Explanations
                                                             date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Memorandum of Agreement..........  Memorandum of              12/26/06  11/14/07, 72 FR      ...................
                                    Agreement dated                      63988.
                                    December 26, 2006,
                                    between the
                                    Mohegan Tribe of
                                    Indians of
                                    Connecticut and
                                    the U.S.
                                    Environmental
                                    Protection Agency
                                    Region I.
Mohegan Tribal Resolution No.      Approval of Amended      02/18/2009  09/29/09, 74 FR      Mohegan Tribal
 2009-28.                           Tribal Air Program                   49327.               Resolution 2009-28
                                    Area Wide NOX                                             includes the
                                    Emission                                                  ``Area Wide NOX
                                    Limitation                                                Emission
                                    Regulation.                                               Limitation
                                                                                              Regulation.''
Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority    Confirmation and          2/18/2009  09/29/09, 74 FR      ...................
 Resolution MTGA 2009-07.           Approval of                          49327.
                                    Amended Tribal Air
                                    Program ``Area
                                    Wide NOX Emission
                                    Limitation
                                    Regulation''.

[[Page 24918]]

 
Mohegan Tribal Resolution No.      Article XIII-A.          04/06/2022  4/25/2023, [Insert   The TIP revision
 2022-31.                           Minor New Source                     Federal Register     includes the
                                    Review Program.                      citation].           addition of a
                                                                                              source
                                                                                              registration
                                                                                              program, a minor
                                                                                              NSR permitting
                                                                                              program,
                                                                                              provisions to
                                                                                              obtain a potential
                                                                                              to emit limit to
                                                                                              render a source
                                                                                              non-major, a
                                                                                              process by which
                                                                                              the Mohegan Tribe
                                                                                              can establish
                                                                                              permit by rules,
                                                                                              and a permit by
                                                                                              rule for gasoline
                                                                                              dispensing
                                                                                              facilities.
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[FR Doc. 2023-08527 Filed 4-24-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P