[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 156 (Monday, August 13, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 39892-39894]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17248]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R01-OAR-2018-0269; FRL-9981-93-Region 1]


Air Plan Approval; Maine; Infrastructure Requirement for the 2010 
Nitrogen Dioxide National Ambient Air Quality Standard

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Maine. 
This revision addresses the interstate transport requirements of the 
Clean Air Act (CAA) with respect to the 2010 primary nitrogen dioxide 
(NO2) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). This 
action approves Maine's demonstration that the State is meeting its 
obligations regarding the interstate transport of NO2 
emissions into other states. This action is being taken under the CAA.

DATES: This rule is effective on September 12, 2018.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R01-OAR-2018-0269. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed 
in the index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI 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 are available at https://www.regulations.gov or at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 
Region 1 Regional Office, Office of Ecosystem Protection, Air Quality 
Planning Unit, 5 Post Office Square--Suite 100, Boston, MA. EPA 
requests that if at all possible, you contact the contact 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 legal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick Bird, Office of Ecosystem 
Protection, 5 Post Office Square--Suite 100 (Mail Code OEP 05-2), 
Boston, MA 01209-3912, tel. (617) 918-1287, email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Background and Purpose
II. Response to Comments
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background and Purpose

    On May 25, 2018 (83 FR 24264), EPA published a Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding specific Clean Air Act requirements 
applicable to the State of Maine. In particular, the NPRM proposed 
approval of Maine's February 21, 2018, SIP submittal for the 2010 
primary NO2 NAAQS as it pertains to section 
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) of the CAA.
    Section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) requires a state's SIP to include 
provisions prohibiting any source or other type of emissions activity 
within the state from emitting any air pollutant in amounts that will 
contribute significantly to nonattainment, or interfere with 
maintenance, of the NAAQS in another state. The two clauses of this 
section are referred to as prong 1 (significant contribution to 
nonattainment) and prong 2 (interference with maintenance of the 
NAAQS).
    In the NPRM, EPA proposed to approve Maine's February 21, 2018, 
infrastructure SIP submittal for the 2010 primary NO2 NAAQS, 
concluding Maine's SIP submittal adequately addresses prong 1 and prong 
2 requirements of CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) for the 2010 primary 
NO2 NAAQS. The rationale for EPA's proposed action is 
explained in the NPRM and will not be restated here.

II. Response to Comments

    In response to the May 25, 2018 NPRM, we received a number of 
anonymous comments that address subjects outside the scope of our 
proposed action, do not explain (or provide a legal basis for) how the 
proposed action should differ in any way, and make no specific mention 
of the proposed action. Consequently, those comments are not germane to 
this rulemaking and require no further response.
    EPA received one relevant comment that referred specifically to the 
proposed rulemaking on the Maine's infrastructure SIP submittal for the 
2010 primary NO2 NAAQS.
    Comment: The commenter suggests that, under the Plain Writing Act 
of 2010, EPA should not have used the word ``promulgated'' in the NPRM 
for this action.
    Response: The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (``PWA'' or the ``Act''), 
Public Law

[[Page 39893]]

111-274, 124 Stat. 2861, requires EPA to ``use plain writing in every 
covered document of the agency that the agency issues or substantially 
revises.'' See PWA section 4(b). The Act defines ``plain writing'' as 
``writing that is clear, concise, well-organized, and follows other 
best practices appropriate to the subject or field and intended 
audience.'' See PWA section 3(3). The Office of Management and Budget 
(``OMB'') published guidance \1\ on the Act that encourages agencies to 
follow Federal Plain Language Guidelines available at 
www.plainlanguage.gov that recommend agencies avoid certain words, 
including ``promulgate.'' Neither the PWA nor the guidelines, however, 
bar its use.
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    \1\ OMB, Final Guidance on Implementing the Plain Writing Act of 
2010 (April 13, 2011), available at https://plainlanguage.gov/law/.
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    In the NPRM, EPA used forms of ``promulgate'' twice as follows: 
``[o]n February 9, 2010, EPA promulgated a new 1-hour primary NAAQS for 
NO2 at a level of 100 parts per billion (ppb), based on a 3-
year average of the 98th percentile of the yearly distribution of 1-
hour daily maximum concentrations'' and ``states are required to submit 
SIPs meeting the applicable requirements of section 110(a)(2) within 
three years after promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS'' (emphasis 
added). The Clean Air Act specifically requires EPA to ``promulgate'' 
NAAQS, CAA section 109(a)(1)(B), and requires states to submit 
infrastructure SIPs to EPA within three years after the 
``promulgation'' of a NAAQS, CAA section 110(a)(1). EPA agrees that it 
can sometimes be clearer to avoid words like ``promulgate,'' but EPA 
appropriately used ``promulgated'' and ``promulgation'' in the NPR to 
refer specifically to these formal CAA requirements. In any event, the 
comment does not suggest that the commenter misunderstood EPA's 
proposed action due to the use of these words. See PWA section 2. Nor 
does the commenter state that EPA should disapprove Maine's submittal. 
Therefore, we are approving the SIP submittal as proposed.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving Maine's February 21, 2018, SIP revision addressing 
prongs 1 and 2 of CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) for the 2010 primary 
NO2 NAAQS. EPA is taking final action to approve this SIP 
submittal because Maine's SIP includes adequate provisions to prevent 
emissions sources within the State from significantly contributing to 
nonattainment or interfering with maintenance of this standard in any 
other state.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a 
SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Act 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 Clean Air Act. 
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 Orders 12866 (58 
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
     This action is not an Executive Order 13771 regulatory 
action because this action is not significant 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 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 methods, under 
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
    In addition, 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 and will not impose 
substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
    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 Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by October 12, 2018. 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, 
Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: August 6, 2018.
Alexandra Dunn,
Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1.
    Part 52 of chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
is amended as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:


[[Page 39894]]


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

Subpart U--Maine

0
2. Section 52.1020(e) is amended by adding an entry titled ``Interstate 
Transport SIP to meet Infrastructure Requirements for the 2010 1-hour 
NO2 NAAQS'' at the end of the table to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1020   Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) Nonregulatory.

                                              Maine Non Regulatory
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                                     Applicable           State
   Name of non regulatory SIP       geographic or    submittal date/  EPA approved date        Explanations
           provision             nonattainment area  effective date          \3\
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Interstate Transport SIP to      Statewide.........       2/21/2018  8/13/2018, [Insert  This approval addresses
 meet Infrastructure                                                  Federal Register    Prongs 1 and 2 of CAA
 Requirements for the 2010 1-                                         citation].          section
 hour NO2 NAAQS.                                                                          110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I)
                                                                                          only.
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\3\ In order to determine the EPA effective date for a specific provision listed in this table, consult the
  Federal Register notice cited in this column for the particular provision.

[FR Doc. 2018-17248 Filed 8-10-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


