Document ID: EPA-R04-OAR-2021-0395-0003
Agency: epa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Air Quality State Implementation Plans; Approvals and Promulgations: Kentucky; Emissions Statement Requirements for the 2015 8-Hour Ozone Standard Nonattainment Areas
Posted Date: 2022-02-28T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 39 (Monday, February 28, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 10998-11001]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-04112]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2021-0395; FRL-9563-01-R4]

Air Plan Approval; Kentucky; Emissions Statement Requirements for 
the 2015 8-Hour Ozone Standard Nonattainment Areas

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted to EPA by 
the Commonwealth of Kentucky through the Kentucky Division for Air 
Quality (KDAQ) on October 15, 2020. The proposed changes were submitted 
by KDAQ to address the emissions statement requirements for the 2015 8-
hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for Kentucky 
counties in the Cincinnati, Ohio-Kentucky 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS 
nonattainment area (Cincinnati, OH-KY Area), and for some of the 
Kentucky counties in the Louisville, Kentucky-Indiana 2015 8-hour ozone 
NAAQS nonattainment area (Louisville, KY-IN Area). Specifically, EPA is 
proposing to approve the emissions statement requirements for portions 
of Boone, Campbell, and Kenton Counties in the Cincinnati, OH-KY Area, 
and Bullitt and Oldham Counties in the Louisville, KY-IN Area. EPA will 
consider and take action, or has considered and taken action, on 
submissions addressing the emissions statement requirements for the 
remaining counties in these two nonattainment areas, including the 
Jefferson County, Kentucky portion of the Louisville, KY-IN Area, in 
separate rulemakings. EPA is proposing approval pursuant to the Clean 
Air Act (CAA or Act).

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 30, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2021-0395 at www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions 
for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or 
removed from Regulations.gov. EPA may publish any comment received to 
its public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you 
consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia 
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written

[[Page 10999]]

comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and 
should include discussion of all points you wish to make. EPA will 
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of 
the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing 
system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment 
policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general 
guidance on making effective comments, please visit www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tiereny Bell, 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. The telephone number is 
(404) 562-9088. Ms. Bell can also be reached via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On October 1, 2015, EPA promulgated a revised 8-hour primary and 
secondary ozone NAAQS, strengthening both from 0.075 parts per million 
(ppm) to 0.070 ppm (the 2015 8-hour Ozone NAAQS). See 80 FR 65292. The 
2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS is set at 0.070 ppm based on an annual fourth-
highest daily maximum 8-hour average concentration averaged over three 
years. Under EPA's regulations at 40 CFR part 50, the 2015 8-hour ozone 
NAAQS is attained when the 3-year average of the annual fourth-highest 
daily maximum 8-hour average ambient air quality ozone concentration is 
less than or equal to 0.070 ppm. See 40 CFR 50.19. Ambient air quality 
monitoring data for the 3-year period must meet a data completeness 
requirement. The ambient air quality monitoring data completeness 
requirement is met when the average percentage of days with valid 
ambient monitoring data is greater than 90 percent, and no single year 
has less than 75 percent data completeness as determined using Appendix 
U of part 50.
    Upon promulgation of a new or revised ozone NAAQS, the CAA requires 
EPA to designate as nonattainment any area that is violating the NAAQS 
based on the three most recent years of ambient air quality data at the 
conclusion of the designation process. On June 4, 2018 (effective 
August 3, 2018), EPA designated the 7-county Cincinnati, OH-KY Area as 
a Marginal ozone nonattainment area for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS.\1\ 
Also on June 4, 2018 (effective August 3, 2018), EPA designated the 5-
county Louisville, KY-IN Area as a Marginal ozone nonattainment area 
for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS.\2\ The Cincinnati, OH-KY Area and the 
Louisville, KY-IN Area were designated nonattainment for the 2015 8-
hour Ozone NAAQS using 2014-2016 ambient air quality data. See 83 FR 
25776.
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    \1\ The Cincinnati, OH-KY Area consists of the following 
counties: Boone (Partial), Campbell (Partial), Kenton (Partial), in 
Kentucky and the entire counties of Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, and 
Warren in Ohio. EPA has taken action on the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS 
nonattainment area emissions statement requirements for the entire 
counties of Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, and Warren in Ohio in a 
separate action. See 86 FR 12270 (March 3, 2021).
    \2\ The Louisville, KY-IN Area consists of Bullitt, Jefferson, 
and Oldham Counties in Kentucky and Clark and Floyd Counties in 
Indiana. EPA has proposed action on the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS 
emissions statement requirements for the Jefferson County, Kentucky 
portion of the Louisville, KY-IN area in a separate proposed 
rulemaking, see 87 FR 2101 (January 13, 2022), and will take action 
on the emissions statement requirements for Clark and Floyd Counties 
in Indiana in a separate rulemaking.
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    On December 6, 2018, EPA finalized a rule entitled ``Implementation 
of the 2015 National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone: 
Nonattainment Area State Implementation Plan Requirements'' (SIP 
Requirements Rule) that establishes the requirements that state, 
tribal, and local air quality management agencies must meet as they 
develop implementation plans for areas where air quality exceeds the 
2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS.\3\ See 83 FR 62998. This rule establishes 
nonattainment area attainment dates based on Table 1 of section 181(a) 
of the CAA, including an attainment date three years after the August 
3, 2018, designation effective date, for areas classified as Marginal 
for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
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    \3\ The SIP Requirements Rule addresses a range of nonattainment 
area SIP requirements for the 2015 ozone NAAQS, including 
requirements pertaining to attainment demonstrations, reasonable 
further progress, reasonably available control technology, 
reasonably available control measures, major new source review, 
emission inventories, and the timing of SIP submissions and 
compliance with emission control measures in the SIP.
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    Ground level ozone is not emitted directly into the air but is 
created by chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen 
(NOX) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the presence 
of sunlight. Emissions from industrial facilities and electric 
utilities, motor vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, and chemical 
solvents are some of the major sources of NOX and VOC. 
Section 182(a)(3)(B) of the CAA requires states with ozone 
nonattainment areas to submit a SIP revision requiring annual emissions 
statements to be submitted to the state by the owner or operator of 
each NOX and VOC stationary source. However, a state may 
waive the emissions statement requirement for any class or category of 
stationary sources which emit less than 25 tons per year (tpy) of VOC 
or NOX if the state provides an inventory of emissions as 
required by CAA section 182 that accounts for emissions from those 
sources. See CAA section 182(a)(3)(B)(ii). The first statement is due 
three years from the area's nonattainment designation, and subsequent 
statements are due at least annually thereafter.
    Based on the nonattainment designation, Kentucky was required to 
develop a SIP revision satisfying, among other things, CAA section 
182(a)(3)(B). On October 15, 2020,\4\ Kentucky submitted a SIP revision 
addressing the emissions statement requirements related to the 2015 8-
hour ozone NAAQS for the Kentucky portion of the Cincinnati, OH-KY Area 
and for Bullitt and Oldham Counties in the Kentucky portion of the 
Louisville, KY-IN Area. EPA is proposing to approve the October 15, 
2020, SIP submittal as meeting the requirements of section 182(a)(3)(B) 
of the CAA and associated federal regulations. EPA's analysis of the 
SIP revision and how it addresses the emissions statement requirements 
is discussed in the next section of this notice.
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    \4\ KDAQ's transmittal letter for the October 15, 2020, SIP 
revision was dated October 15, 2020, and submitted to EPA on October 
16, 2020.
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II. Analysis of the Commonwealth's Submittal

    As discussed above, section 182(a)(3)(B) of the CAA requires states 
to submit a SIP revision requiring the owner or operator of each 
NOX and VOC stationary source located in an ozone 
nonattainment area to submit to the state annual emissions statements. 
The first statement is due three years from the area's nonattainment 
designation, and subsequent statements are due at least annually 
thereafter.
    Due to previous nonattainment ozone designations, Kentucky has an 
existing emissions statement program. The October 15, 2020, SIP 
revision includes Kentucky's certification that the following SIP-
approved regulations contain provisions that meet the emissions 
statement requirements of CAA section 182(a)(3)(B) for the 2015 8-hour 
ozone NAAQS and that the Commonwealth continues to operate under these 
approved provisions: 401 Kentucky Administrative Regulations (KAR) 
52:020, Sections 22 and 23; 401

[[Page 11000]]

KAR 52:030, Sections 3 and 22; 401 KAR 52:040 Section 3; and 401 KAR 
52:070 Section 3.\5\ On January 28, 2016, EPA approved Kentucky's 
emissions statement program, which applies to sources located in ozone 
nonattainment areas.\6\ See 81 FR 4896. The regulatory sections 
identified in the October 15, 2020 submittal require sources that emit 
25 tons per year or more of VOC or NOX within the Kentucky 
portion of the Cincinnati, OH-KY Area and the Kentucky portion of the 
Louisville, KY-IN Area, not including Jefferson County, to submit 
annual certified statements showing actual VOC and NOX 
emissions. EPA has preliminarily determined that the specific 
regulatory sections identified in the October 15, 2020, submittal, 
collectively, coupled with the waiver for stationary sources emitting 
less than 25 tpy of NOX or VOC discussed in the two 
paragraphs below, meet the emissions statement requirements of section 
182(a)(3)(B).
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    \5\ EPA notes that, in addition to the provisions identified in 
Kentucky's October 15, 2020, SIP revision, the following are also 
SIP-approved and apply to ozone nonattainment areas: the entirety of 
401 KAR 52:030; and relevant provisions of 401 KAR 52:040, Sections 
20 and 21. See 81 FR 4896 (January 28, 2016).
    \6\ EPA's 2016 approval of Kentucky's emissions statement 
program pertained to the Kentucky portion of the 2008 Cincinnati, 
OH-KY Area, but the Kentucky regulations approved in that 2016 
action apply to all ozone nonattainment areas in Kentucky's 
jurisdiction, which include the counties and partial counties in the 
2015 Cincinnati, OH-KY and Louisville, KY-IN Areas that are within 
Kentucky's jurisdiction.
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    As allowed by CAA section 182(a)(3)(B)(ii), Kentucky waived the 
emissions statement requirements for stationary sources emitting less 
than 25 tpy of NOX or VOC. CAA section 182(a)(3)(B)(ii) 
allows a state to waive the application of emissions statements 
requirements to any class or category of stationary sources which emit 
less than 25 tons per year of VOC or NOX if the state, in 
its submissions under section 182(a)(1) or 182(a)(3)(A), provides an 
inventory of emissions from such class or category of sources, based on 
the use of the emission factors established by the Administrator or 
other methods acceptable to the Administrator.
    Pursuant to CAA section 182(a)(3)(A), Kentucky is required to 
submit a revised inventory meeting the requirements of section 
182(a)(1) at the end of each 3-year period after submission of the 
inventory under section 182(a)(1) until the Cincinnati, OH-KY Area and 
the Louisville, KY-IN Area are redesignated to attainment. CAA section 
182(a)(1) requires the submission of a comprehensive, accurate, current 
inventory of actual emissions from all sources, as described in CAA 
section 172(c)(3), in accordance with guidance provided by EPA.\7\ To 
comply with CAA section 182(a)(3)(A)'s requirement to submit periodic 
emissions inventories, Kentucky submits NOX and VOC 
emissions data to EPA's National Emissions Inventory (NEI) \8\ 
consistent with 83 FR 62998, ``Implementation of the 2015 National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone: Nonattainment Area State 
Implementation Plan Requirements,'' and 40 CFR 51.1315. That emissions 
data includes small stationary sources (namely, those emitting less 
than 25 tpy of NOX or VOC) in accordance with CAA section 
182(a)(3)(B)(ii).
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    \7\ CAA section 172(c)(3) states, ``Such plan provisions shall 
include a comprehensive, accurate, current inventory of actual 
emissions from all sources of the relevant pollutant or pollutants 
in such area including such periodic revisions as the Administrator 
may determine necessary to assure that the requirements of this part 
are met.''
    \8\ To access EPA's NEI, please visit: U.S. EPA, National 
Emissions Inventory (NEI), https://www.epa.gov/air-emissions-inventories/national-emissions-inventory-nei.
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    For the reasons discussed above, EPA has preliminarily determined 
that Kentucky's emissions statement regulations meet the requirements 
under CAA section 182(a)(3)(B) and the SIP Requirements Rule for the 
2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the entire Kentucky portion of the 
Cincinnati, OH-KY Area and the Bullitt County, Kentucky and Oldham 
County, Kentucky portion of the Louisville, KY-IN Area.

III. Proposed Action

    EPA is proposing to approve Kentucky's October 15, 2020, SIP 
revision addressing the emissions statement requirements for the 2015 
8-hour ozone NAAQS for portions of Boone, Campbell, and Kenton Counties 
in the Cincinnati, OH-KY 2015 8-hour ozone nonattainment area, and 
Bullitt and Oldham Counties in the Louisville, KY-IN 2015 8-hour ozone 
nonattainment area. EPA is proposing to find that the Commonwealth's 
submission meets the requirements of sections 110 and 182 of 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 they meet the criteria of the CAA. This action merely proposes 
to approve state law as meeting Federal requirements and does not 
impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. For 
that reason, this proposed 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 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.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

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

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    Dated: February 17, 2022.
Daniel Blackman,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2022-04112 Filed 2-25-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P