Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Ozone and PM2.5
Federal Register, Volume 79 Issue 243 (Thursday, December 18, 2014)
Federal Register Volume 79, Number 243 (Thursday, December 18, 2014)
Rules and Regulations
Pages 75431-75433
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office www.gpo.gov
FR Doc No: 2014-29586
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
EPA-R05-OAR-2014-0661; FRL-9920-47-Region-5
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Ozone and PM2.5 Standards
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve a submission by the State of Indiana as a revision to the Indiana State Implementation Plan (SIP). The submitted regulations revise Indiana's ambient air quality standards for ozone and particulate matter (PM) to be consistent with EPA's 2008 ozone and 2012 fine particulate matter (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). EPA is therefore approving this SIP submission, in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: This direct final rule will be effective February 17, 2015, unless EPA receives adverse comments by January 20, 2015. If adverse comments are received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2014-0661, by one of the following methods:
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www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
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Email: aburano.douglas@epa.gov.
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Fax: (312) 408-2279.
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Mail: Douglas Aburano, Chief, Attainment Planning and Maintenance Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
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Hand Delivery: Douglas Aburano, Chief, Attainment Planning and Maintenance Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. The Regional Office official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding Federal holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-
2014-0661. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change and may be made available online at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or email. The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov your email address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the www.regulations.gov
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index. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. We recommend that you telephone Eric Svingen, Environmental Engineer, at (312) 353-4489 before visiting the Region 5 office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Svingen, Environmental Engineer, Attainment Planning and Maintenance Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-
18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 353-4489, svingen.eric@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' ``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information section is arranged as follows:
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Background
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Summary and Analysis of SIP Revision
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What action is EPA taking?
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Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
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Background
On March 27, 2008 (73 FR 16436), EPA revised the 8-hour ozone primary and secondary NAAQS to a level of 0.075 parts per million (ppm) to provide increased protection for children and other at-risk populations against an array of ozone-related adverse health effects. These standards are based on the 3-year average of the annual fourth-
highest daily maximum 8-hour concentration.
On January 15, 2013 (78 FR 3086), EPA revised the primary (health-
based) annual PM2.5 NAAQS to a level of 12.0 micrograms per cubic meter (microg/m\3\) and retained the 24-hour primary NAAQS for PM2.5 at a level of 35 microg/m\3\. EPA also retained the existing annual PM2.5 secondary (welfare-based) NAAQS set at a level of 15.0 microg/m\3\, and retained the existing 24-hour coarse particle (PM10) primary and secondary NAAQS at 150 microg/
m\3\.
On August 20, 2014, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) submitted revisions to 326 Indiana Administrative Code (IAC) 1-3-4, ``Ambient air quality standards''. These revisions make Indiana's 8-hour ozone and annual PM2.5 ambient air quality standards consistent with the NAAQS.
The CAA specifies that EPA must reevaluate the appropriateness of each of the NAAQS every five years. As part of the process, EPA reviewed the latest health-based research and determined that several NAAQS revisions were necessary to protect public health and welfare.
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Summary and Analysis of SIP Revision
IDEM's August 20, 2014, submission consists of amendments to 326 IAC 1-3-4, which includes the revised ambient air quality standards for ozone and PM2.5. These revisions are: inclusion of the 8-
hour ozone standard of 0.075 ppm, inclusion of the annual PM2.5 primary standard of 12.0 microg/m\3\, retention of the annual PM2.5 level of 15.0 microg/m\3\ as the secondary standard, incorporation by reference of appendix N to 40 CFR 50 (``Interpretation of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM2.5''), and incorporation by reference of appendix P to 40 CFR 50 (``Interpretation of the Primary and Secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone''). The SIP submission is consistent with the current NAAQS.
On April 9, 2014, IDEM held a public hearing for the SIP submission. No comments were received at this hearing.
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What action is EPA taking?
EPA is approving the SIP submission pertaining to the amendments of Indiana's ambient air quality standards since it is consistent with the NAAQS. Specifically, we are approving revised rule 326 IAC 1-3-4, ``Ambient air quality standards'' into the state SIP.
We are publishing this action without prior proposal because we view this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipate no adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal Register publication, we are publishing a separate document that will serve as the proposal to approve the state plan if relevant adverse written comments are filed. This rule will be effective February 17, 2015 without further notice unless we receive relevant adverse written comments by January 20, 2015. If we receive such comments, we will withdraw this action before the effective date by publishing a subsequent document that will withdraw the final action. All public comments received will then be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed action. EPA will not institute a second comment period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at this time. Please note that if EPA receives adverse comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that provision may be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt as final those provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment. If we do not receive any comments, this action will be effective February 17, 2015.
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Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA and applicable Federal regulations. 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. Accordingly, 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 Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
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 Clean Air Act; and
Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental effects, using practicable and legally permissible
Page 75433
methods, under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
This rule 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, 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 February 17, 2015. 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. Parties with objections to this direct final rule are encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel notice of proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules section of today's Federal Register, rather than file an immediate petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed rulemaking. 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, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: December 5, 2014.
Susan Hedman,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:
PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
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The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
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In Sec. 52.770 the table in paragraph (c) is amended by revising the entry for 1-3-4 under ``Article 1. General Provisions'' ``Rule 3. Ambient Air Quality Standards'' to read as follows:
Sec. 52.770 Identification of plan.
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(c) * * *
EPA-Approved Indiana Regulations
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Indiana
Indiana citation Subject effective EPA approval date Notes
date
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Article 1. General Provisions
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Rule 3. Ambient Air Quality Standards
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1-3-4........................... Ambient air quality 08/07/2014 12/18/2014, insert ....................
standards. Federal Register
citation.
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FR Doc. 2014-29586 Filed 12-17-14; 8:45 am
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
