Document ID: EPA-R04-OAR-2022-0201-0004
Agency: epa
Document Type: Rule
Title: Air Quality State Implementation Plans; Approvals and Promulgations: Tennessee; Revisions to Control of Sulfur Dioxide Emissions
Posted Date: 2023-02-07T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 7, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 7886-7888]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02418]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2022-0201; FRL-10437-02-R4]

Air Plan Approval; Tennessee; Revisions to Control of Sulfur 
Dioxide Emissions

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing the 
approval of a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the 
State of Tennessee through the Tennessee Department of Environment and 
Conservation (TDEC), through a letter date June 1, 2021. The SIP 
submittal revises SIP requirements regarding the installation, 
maintenance, and termination of ambient air sulfur dioxide 
(SO2) monitors near large industrial SO2 emitting 
sources in the State. EPA is approving the adoption of the changes to 
the Tennessee Air Pollution Control Regulations (TAPCR) related to the 
control of SO2 emissions into the SIP. EPA's analysis 
indicates that this SIP revision would not interfere with attainment or 
maintenance of any national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or 
standards) or any other Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) requirements.

DATES: This rule is effective March 9, 2023.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2022-0201. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the regulations.gov website. Although listed in the 
index, some information may not be publicly available, i.e., 
Confidential Business Information 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 either electronically through www.regulations.gov or in hard 
copy at the Air Regulatory Management Section, Air Planning and 
Implementation Branch, Air and Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 
30303-8960. EPA requests that if at all possible, you contact the 
person 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 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Josue Ortiz, Air Regulatory Management 
Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air and Radiation 
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth

[[Page 7887]]

Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The telephone number is (404) 
562-8085. Mr. Ortiz can also be reached via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Chapter 1200-3-14 of TAPCR regulates SO2 emissions 
within the State of Tennessee. Under the General Provisions of this 
chapter, found in TAPCR 1200-03-14-.01(6), the State requires every 
owner or operator of a certain large fuel burning installations and 
process emission sources to: (1) demonstrate to the satisfaction of the 
Technical Secretary that their SO2 emissions will not cause 
interference with attainment and maintenance of any air quality 
standard, and (2) install and maintain air quality sensors to monitor 
attainment and maintenance of ambient air quality standards in the 
areas influenced by their SO2 emissions. The rule also 
allows owners or operators to petition the Technical Secretary to 
terminate ambient monitoring previously commenced provided certain 
conditions are met.
    The June 1, 2021, SIP revision includes changes to Tennessee's 
ambient SO2 monitoring requirements for affected emission 
sources, including adding a provision to require the use of permitted 
allowable SO2 emissions for the demonstration that subject 
sources are required to make to show that their SO2 
emissions will not cause interference with attainment and maintenance 
of any air quality standard, the removal of a less than 20,000 tons per 
year threshold to qualify for the termination of monitors, the addition 
of a data completeness requirement for the two years of ambient data 
collected prior to termination of monitoring, and the addition of a 
monitoring exemption for any fuel burning installation or process 
emission source located in an area in which the Technical Secretary 
operates one or more ambient SO2 air quality monitors in the 
area under the influence of the source's emissions. Tennessee's SIP 
submittal also provides a CAA section 110(l) non-interference 
demonstration to show that the changes to paragraph 1200-03-14-.01(6) 
will not interfere with any applicable requirement concerning 
attainment of any NAAQS and reasonable further progress, or any other 
applicable CAA requirement. Lastly, the SIP includes clarifying 
administrative changes to the regulatory language at paragraph 1200-03-
14-.01(6).
    Through a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), published on 
December 5, 2022 (87 FR 74356), EPA proposed to approve the June 1, 
2021, changes to Tennessee's Section 1200-03-14-.01. The details of 
Tennessee's submission, as well as EPA's rationale for approving the 
changes, are described in more detail in the December 5, 2022, NPRM. 
Comments on the December 5, 2022, NPRM were due on or before January 4, 
2023. No comments were received on the December 5, 2022, NPRM, adverse 
or otherwise.

II. Incorporation by Reference

    In this document, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, and as discussed in Section I of the preamble, EPA is finalizing 
the incorporation by reference of TAPCR 1200-03-14-.01, General 
Provisions, state effective on May 31, 2021, into the Tennessee SIP. 
This regulation includes the changes described in Section I, above. EPA 
has made, and will continue to make, these materials generally 
available through www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region 4 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 in the next update to the SIP compilation.\1\
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    \1\ See 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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III. Final Action

    EPA is finalizing the approval of Tennessee's June 1, 2021, SIP 
submission revising paragraph 1200-03-14-.01(6). Specifically, the SIP 
revision updates Tennessee's regulations related to SO2 
criteria for applicable sources to install, maintain and terminate 
SO2 ambient air monitors near large SO2 emitting 
industrial sources. Tennessee's June 1, 2021, submittal changes 
SO2 monitoring requirements for process emission sources 
emitting more than 1,000 tons of SO2 per year and fuel 
burning installations having a total rated capacity greater than 1,000 
MMBtu/hr, including provisions to allow the owner or operator of these 
SO2 sources to petition to terminate ambient air quality 
monitoring. The SIP submittal also included a CAA section 110(l) non-
interference demonstration showing that the changes will not interfere 
with attainment or maintenance of the NAAQS. EPA is approving these 
changes because they are consistent with the CAA.

IV. 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. See 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. 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

[[Page 7888]]

jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian country, the rule does not have 
tribal implications as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, 
November 9, 2000), nor will it 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 CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by April 10, 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 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Sulfur dioxide, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: January 31, 2023.
Daniel Blackman,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, EPA amends 40 CFR part 52 
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.

Subpart RR--Tennessee

0
2. In Sec.  52.2220(c), amend Table 1 by revising the entry for 
``Section 1200-3-14-.01'' to read as follows:

Sec.  52.2220  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                   Table 1--EPA Approved Tennessee Regulations
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                                                             State
          State citation              Title/subject     effective date   EPA approval date       Explanation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Section 1200-3-14-.01............  General Provisions.       5/31/2021  2/7/2023,..........
                                                                        [Insert citation of
                                                                         publication].
 
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[FR Doc. 2023-02418 Filed 2-6-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P