Document ID: EPA-R04-OAR-2020-0071-0011
Agency: epa
Document Type: Rule
Title: Air Quality State Implementation Plans; Approvals and Promulgations: Georgia; Permit Requirements
Posted Date: 2020-09-16T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 180 (Wednesday, September 16, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 57694-57696]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-18108]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2020-0071; FRL-10013-22-Region 4]

Air Plan Approval; Georgia: Permit Requirements

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final 
action to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted 
by the State of Georgia, through the Georgia Environmental Protection 
Division (GA EPD), on October 18, 2019. This SIP revision makes minor 
edits to the Georgia rule prescribing permitting requirements. EPA has 
evaluated Georgia's submittal and determined that it meets the 
applicable requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and 
applicable regulations.

DATES: This rule is effective October 16, 2020.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2020-0071. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the www.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 can either 
be retrieved electronically via 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: Pearlene Williams, 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. Ms. Williams can also 
be reached via phone at (404) 562-9144 or via electronic mail at 
williams.pearlene@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Through a letter dated October 18, 2019,\1\ GA EPD submitted a SIP 
revision for EPA's approval. The revision makes clarifying and 
ministerial changes to permitting regulations at Rule 391-3-1-.03(8), 
Permit Requirements. This submittal changes the status of five counties 
under paragraph (e), which specifies counties that are contributing to 
the ambient air levels of the current nonattainment area for the 2015 
8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) \2\ and 
makes other minor typographical edits to other subparagraphs for 
consistent formatting.
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    \1\ EPA notes the Agency received the submittal on October 24, 
2019.
    \2\ The Atlanta nonattainment area for the 2015 8-hour ozone 
NAAQS consists of the following counties: Bartow, Clayton, Cobb, 
DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, and Henry.
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    In a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published on May 22, 2020 
(85

[[Page 57695]]

FR 31116), EPA proposed to approve revisions to Georgia Rule 391-3-
1-.03(8), to list Barrow, Carroll, Hall, Spalding, and Walton Counties 
among those determined by the GA EPD Director to contribute to the 
ambient air level of ozone in a revised list of metropolitan Atlanta 
counties. EPA does not believe that the corresponding change to 
subparagraph (e)1. proposed in the NPRM will substantively impact 
implementation of Georgia's nonattainment new source review program. 
EPA provided further analysis of these changes, as well as the Agency's 
rationale for approving the changes, in its May 22, 2020, NPRM. 
Comments on the May 22, 2020, NPRM were due on or before June 22, 2020. 
EPA received no comments on the proposed action. EPA is now taking 
final action to approve the above-referenced revision.

II. 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 Georgia Rule 
391-3-1-.03(8), titled ``Permit Requirements,'' effective September 26, 
2019, which incorporates minor revisions to the State's permitting 
requirements. 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 by the Director of the Federal Register in 
the next update to the SIP compilation.\3\
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    \3\ See 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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III. Final Action

    EPA is approving the Georgia SIP revision to Rule 391-3-1-.03(8) 
titled ``Permit Requirements,'' submitted on October 18, 2019. This 
revision updates the status of five counties that are designated as 
attainment for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS, but which the Director has 
determined to impact ambient ozone concentrations in the metropolitan 
Atlanta area. These counties therefore must comply with certain 
additional permitting requirements under Rule 391-3-1-.03(8), 
subparagraph (8)(c)15. In addition, the October 18, 2019, submittal 
makes typographical edits to Rule 391-3-1.03(8). EPA has concluded that 
the SIP revision is consistent with the CAA and applicable regulations.

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);
     Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2, 
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted under 
Executive Order 12866;
     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 subject to this action 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 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 November 16, 2020. 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, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: August 12, 2020.
Mary Walker,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the EPA amends 40 CFR part 
52 as follows:

[[Page 57696]]

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 L--Georgia

0
2. In Sec.  52.570, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by revising 
the entry for ``391-3-1-.03(8)'' to read as follows:

Sec.  52.570   Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                        EPA Approved Georgia Regulations
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                                                           State
        State citation              Title/subject     effective date    EPA approval date        Explanation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
391-3-1-.03(8)................  Permit Requirements.       9/26/2019  9/16/2020, [Insert    ....................
                                                                       citation of
                                                                       publication].
 
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[FR Doc. 2020-18108 Filed 9-15-20; 8:45 am]
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