Document ID: EPA-R04-OAR-2020-0072-0011
Agency: epa
Document Type: Rule
Title: Air Quality State Implementation Plans; Approvals and Promulgations: Georgia: Emission Reduction Credits
Posted Date: 2020-09-22T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 184 (Tuesday, September 22, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59436-59438]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-19287]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2020-0072; FRL-10013-73-Region 4]

Air Plan Approval; Georgia: Emission Reduction Credits

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 in a letter dated October 18, 2019. The SIP 
revision updates Georgia's rule entitled Emission Reduction Credits 
which establishes a program for sources in specified counties to apply 
for credits for voluntary emissions reductions. EPA has evaluated 
Georgia's submittal and determined that it meets the applicable 
requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and EPA regulations.

DATES: This rule is effective October 22, 2020.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2020-0072. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the 
index, some information is not 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 be 
reached via telephone at (404) 562-9144 or via electronic mail at 
williams.pearlene@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA EPD) submitted a 
revision to its SIP in a letter dated October 18, 2019,\1\ modifying 
Rule 391-3-1-.03(13), Emission Reduction Credits,\2\ in the State's air 
permitting rules. This submittal revises the counties in which sources 
may create emission reduction credits (ERCs). This change aligns 
Georgia's ERC program with the current status of counties designated 
nonattainment or contributing to a nonattainment area.
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    \1\ EPA notes the Agency received the submittal on October 24, 
2019.
    \2\ EPA notes that the Agency received several submittals 
revising the Georgia SIP transmitted with the same October 18, 2019, 
cover letter. EPA is considering action for these other SIP 
revisions in separate rulemakings.
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    Georgia's October 18, 2019, SIP submittal revises the counties 
listed in Rule 391-3-1-.03(13)(a) to ensure that only sources in 
counties currently designated nonattainment--and counties \3\ 
contributing to the ambient air quality in the nonattainment area--may 
participate in the ERC program. The details of the submittal and EPA's 
rationale for approving the changes are discussed in a notice of 
proposed rulemaking (NPRM) dated May 22, 2020. See 85 FR 31112. 
Comments were due on the May 22, 2020, NPRM by June 22, 2020. No 
comments were received on the proposed action.
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    \3\ The NPRM dated May 22, 2020 (85 FR 31112) incorrectly 
included Rockdale county in the list of five counties being moved 
from 391-3-1-.03(13)(a)2 to (a)3. The correct list of counties being 
moved in this action includes Barrow, Carroll, Hall, Spalding, and 
Walton. Rockdale county remains in the list of counties under (a)2.
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    These changes clarify eligibility for sources in certain counties 
to bank and create ERCs. These changes also make paragraph 391-3-
1-.03(13)(a) consistent with current provisions under the State's 
Nonattainment New Source Review permitting program.\4\ EPA also notes 
that the ERC program is a flexibility tool used by States and affected 
sources to comply with otherwise applicable requirements and is not 
expected to impact emissions in the State. Therefore, EPA concludes 
that these changes are consistent with the CAA and applicable EPA 
regulations.\5\
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    \4\ See 85 FR 2646 (January 16, 2020).
    \5\ EPA has also concluded that these changes are consistent 
with applicable guidance on emissions trading, including EPA's 
``Emissions Trading Policy Statement; General Principles for 
Creation, Banking and Use of Emission Reduction Credits.'' See 51 FR 
43814 (December 4, 1986).
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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(13), entitled ``Emission Reduction Credits,'' effective 
September 26, 2019,\6\ to clarify which sources in which areas of the 
State are eligible to create and bank emission reduction credits. 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.\7\
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    \6\ Specifically, in this action, EPA is incorporating by 
reference subsections (a), (d), and (h) of Rule 391-3-1-.03(13) with 
a state-effective date of September 26, 2019. EPA previously 
approved and incorporated by reference subsection (f) with a state-
effective date of July 18, 2001, and subsections (b), (c), (e), (g), 
and (i) with a state-effective date of February 6, 2000; those prior 
approvals are not impacted by this action. EPA has included a 
clarifying explanation to this effect in the entry for Rule 391-3-
1-.03(13) at 40 CFR 52.570(c).
    \7\ See 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).

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[[Page 59437]]

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving the Georgia SIP revision with changes to 
Regulation 391-3-1-.03(13), Emission Reduction Credits, submitted 
October 18, 2019, to clarify which sources in which areas are eligible 
to create, bank, transfer, or use ERCs for Nitrogen Oxides and Volatile 
Organic Compounds, corresponding to the counties that are either 
currently in nonattainment or contributing to the current nonattainment 
area. EPA has concluded that the SIP revision is consistent with the 
CAA and EPA's federal 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 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 23, 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, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 
Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: August 26, 2020.
Mary Walker,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the 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 L--Georgia

0
2. In Sec.  52.570, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by revising 
the entry for ``391-3-1-.03(13)'' 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(13)................  Emission Reduction       9/26/2019  9/22/2020, Insert   Except subparagraph 391-
                                  Credits.                            citation of         3-1-.03(13)(f), which
                                                                      publication].       was approved into the
                                                                                          SIP with a state-
                                                                                          effective date of 7/18/
                                                                                          2001, and
                                                                                          subparagraphs (b),
                                                                                          (c), (e), (g), and
                                                                                          (i), which were
                                                                                          approved into the SIP
                                                                                          with a state-effective
                                                                                          date of 2/16/2000.
 
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[[Page 59438]]

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[FR Doc. 2020-19287 Filed 9-21-20; 8:45 am]
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