Document ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0233-0364
Agency: epa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Air Quality Designations for 2010 Sulfur Dioxide Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard: Denial of Petition for Reconsideration and Stay Request
Posted Date: 2014-04-01T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 1, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18248-18249]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-06813]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0233; FRL-9908-80-OAR]

Air Quality Designations for the 2010 Sulfur Dioxide 
(SO2) Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS): 
Notice of Action Denying Petition for Reconsideration and Stay Request

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of action denying petition for reconsideration and stay 
request.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing notice 
that it has responded to a petition for reconsideration of a rule 
published in the Federal Register on August 5, 2013, that promulgated 
the initial air quality designations for the 2010 Primary Sulfur

[[Page 18249]]

Dioxide (SO2) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) 
for certain areas in the United States. The rule is titled, ``Air 
Quality Designations for the 2010 SO2 Primary NAAQS.'' 
Subsequent to publishing the rule, the EPA received three petitions 
requesting that the EPA reconsider its designation decisions for 
certain areas. This document announces the EPA's response to one of 
those petitions: a petition from U.S. Steel requesting the EPA to 
reconsider its designation decision for Detroit, Michigan. A subsequent 
document will announce the EPA's response to the other two petitions. 
The EPA carefully considered the U.S. Steel's petition and supporting 
information, along with information contained in the rulemaking docket, 
in reaching its decision on the petition. The EPA denied the U.S. 
Steel's petition for reconsideration in a letter to the petitioner 
dated March 11, 2014. The letter explains the EPA's reasons for the 
denial. The petitioner also requested that the EPA stay the 
effectiveness of the designations rule, pending reconsideration. 
Because the EPA denied the reconsideration request, the EPA also denied 
the stay request.

DATES: The petition for reconsideration discussed in this document is 
denied as of April 1, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rhonda Wright, Air Quality Planning 
Division, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code C539-04, Research Triangle 
Park, NC 27711; telephone: (919) 541-1087; email: 
wright.rhonda@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Where can I get copies of this document and other related 
information?

    This Federal Register document, the petition for reconsideration 
and the response letter to the petitioner are available in the EPA's 
docket established for the rulemaking to promulgate the air quality 
designations for the 2010 SO2 Primary NAAQS, under Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0233. The table below identifies the petitioner, 
the date of petition to the EPA, the document identification number of 
the petition in the docket, the date of the EPA's acknowledgement 
letter and the document identification number in the docket for the 
EPA's response.

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                                                                                                                                             The EPA
                                                                                     Petition:                                              response:
                Petitioner                      Date of petition to the EPA       document No. in        Date of the EPA response        document number
                                                                                       docket                                               in docket
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                                                             Detroit, MI Nonattainment Area
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U.S. Steel Corporation--Great Lakes Works  October 2, 2013......................            0357   March 11, 2014......................           -0363
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    All documents in the docket are listed in the index at http://www.regulations.gov. Although listed in the index, some information is 
not publicly available, e.g., confidential business information or 
other information where 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 http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at EPA's Docket 
Center, Public Reading Room, William Jefferson Clinton West Building, 
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20004. This 
Docket Center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public 
Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the Air 
Docket is (202) 566-1742.
    In addition, the EPA has established a Web site for the 
SO2 designations rulemaking at http://www.epa.gov/so2designations. This Federal Register notice, the petition for 
reconsideration, and the response letter to the petitioner are also 
available on this Web site along with other information relevant to the 
designations process.

II. Judicial Review

    Section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act indicates which Federal 
Courts of Appeal have venue for petitions for review of final actions 
by the EPA. This section provides, in part, that petitions for review 
must be filed in the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia 
Circuit (i) when the agency action consists of ``nationally applicable 
regulations promulgated, or final actions taken, by the 
Administrator,'' or (ii) when such action is locally or regionally 
applicable, if ``such action is based on a determination of nationwide 
scope or effect and if in taking such action the Administrator finds 
and publishes that such action is based on such a determination.'' In 
the rule establishing air quality designations for the 2010 
SO2 Primary NAAQS, the EPA determined that the actions are 
of nationwide scope and effect for the purposes of section 307(b)(1). 
(See 78 FR 47191, 47197 (August 5, 2013).)
    The EPA has determined that its action denying the petition for 
reconsideration also is of nationwide scope and effect because this 
action directly relates to the SO2 designations rulemaking 
that the EPA previously determined is of nationwide scope and effect. 
Thus, any petition for review of the final letter denying the petition 
for reconsideration must be filed in the Court of Appeals for the 
District of Columbia Circuit on or before June 2, 2014.

    Dated: March 19, 2014.
Janet McCabe,
Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 2014-06813 Filed 3-31-14; 8:45 am]
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