[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 183 (Friday, September 20, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 49467-49470]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-20148]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

[EPA-R01-OAR-2019-0352; FRL-9999-84-Region 1]


Air Plan Approval and Air Quality Designation; New Hampshire; 
Redesignation of the Central New Hampshire Sulfur Dioxide Nonattainment 
Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

[[Page 49468]]


ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is redesignating the 
Central New Hampshire nonattainment area from nonattainment to 
attainment for the 2010 1-hour primary sulfur dioxide (SO2) 
national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). EPA is also approving 
the maintenance plan submitted by the State of New Hampshire for the 
area for the SO2 NAAQS. This nonattainment area consists of 
portions of Hillsborough County, Merrimack County, and Rockingham 
County, New Hampshire. The primary emission source in the area is now 
subject to federally-enforceable emission control standards, and air 
quality in the area now meets the SO2 NAAQS. This action is 
being taken under the Clean Air Act.

DATES: This rule is effective on September 20, 2019.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R01-OAR-2019-0352. 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, Air and Radiation Division, 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: Leiran Biton, Air Permits, Toxics and 
Indoor Programs Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 
Region 1, 5 Post Office Square--Suite 100, (Mail code 05-2), Boston, MA 
02109-3912, tel. (617) 918-1267, email biton.leiran@epa.gov.

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

Table of Contents

I. Background and Purpose
II. Final Action
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background and Purpose

    On July 31, 2019 (84 FR 37187), EPA published a Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (NPRM) for the State of New Hampshire. In the NPRM, EPA 
proposed to redesignate the Central New Hampshire nonattainment area 
from nonattainment to attainment for the 2010 1-hour primary 
SO2 NAAQS. EPA also proposed to approve the maintenance plan 
New Hampshire submitted to ensure the area will continue to maintain 
the SO2 NAAQS. New Hampshire submitted the request for 
redesignation and state implementation plan (SIP) submittal on March 
16, 2018.
    The NPRM provides the rationale for EPA's proposed approval, which 
will not be restated here. EPA received no public comments during the 
public comment period in response to the NPRM.

II. Final Action

    EPA is redesignating the Central New Hampshire nonattainment area 
from nonattainment to attainment for the 2010 1-hour primary 
SO2 NAAQS by amending 40 CFR 81.330. EPA is also approving 
the maintenance plan submitted by the State of New Hampshire for the 
Central New Hampshire nonattainment area for the 2010 1-hour primary 
SO2 NAAQS as an addition to the New Hampshire SIP at 40 CFR 
52.1520(e), ``Nonregulatory.''
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(d), EPA finds there is good cause 
for these actions to become effective immediately upon publication. 
This is because a delayed effective date is unnecessary due to the 
nature of a redesignation to attainment, which relieves the area from 
certain CAA requirements that would otherwise apply to it. The 
immediate effective date for this action is authorized under both 5 
U.S.C. 553(d)(1), which provides that rulemaking actions may become 
effective less than 30 days after publication if the rule ``grants or 
recognizes an exemption or relieves a restriction,'' and section 
553(d)(3), which allows an effective date less than 30 days after 
publication ``as otherwise provided by the agency for good cause found 
and published with the rule.'' The purpose of the 30-day waiting period 
prescribed in section 553(d) is to give affected parties a reasonable 
time to adjust their behavior and prepare before the final rule takes 
effect. Today's rule, however, does not create any new regulatory 
requirements such that affected parties would need time to prepare 
before the rule takes effect. Rather, today's rule relieves the State 
of planning requirements for this SO2 nonattainment area. 
For these reasons, EPA finds good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) for 
these actions to become effective on the date of publication of these 
actions.

III. 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);
     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

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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 November 19, 2019. 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

40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides.

40 CFR Part 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: September 12, 2019.
Dennis Deziel,
Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1.

    Parts 52 and 81 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:

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

Subpart EE--New Hampshire

0
2. In Sec.  52.1520, in paragraph (e), amend the table by adding an 
entry at the end to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1520   Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                                           New Hampshire Nonregulatory
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                                        Applicable           State
    Name of nonregulatory SIP         geographic  or    submittal date/  EPA approved date       Explanations
            provision              nonattainment  area  effective date
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                                                  * * * * * * *
1-Hour Sulfur Dioxide (2010        Central New               3/16/2018  9/20/2019 [Insert    The maintenance
 Standard) Redesignation Request    Hampshire SO2                        Federal Register     plan for the 2010
 and Maintenance Plan for the       Nonattainment Area.                  citation].           SO2 NAAQS is
 Central New Hampshire                                                                        Section 6 of this
 Nonattainment Area.                                                                          submittal.
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PART 81--DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES

0
3. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart C--Section 107 Attainment Status Designations

0
4. Section 81.330 is amended in the table entitled ``New Hampshire--
2010 Sulfur Dioxide NAAQS (Primary)'' by revising the entry for 
``Central New Hampshire, NH'' to read as follows:


Sec.  81.330   New Hampshire.

* * * * *

                                    New Hampshire--2010 Sulfur Dioxide NAAQS
                                                    [Primary]
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                                                                       Designation
          Designated area \1\          -------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      Date \2\                               Type
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Central New Hampshire, NH.............  September 20, 2019.................  Attainment.
    Hillsborough County (part).
        Goffstown Town.
    Merrimack County (part).
        Allenstown Town, Bow Town,
         Chichester Town, Dunbarton
         Town, Epsom Town, Hooksett
         Town, Loudon Town, Pembroke
         Town, Pittsfield Town, City
         of Concord.

[[Page 49470]]

 
    Rockingham County (part).
        Candia Town, Deerfield Town,
         Northwood Town.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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\1\ Includes any Indian country in each county or area, unless otherwise specified. EPA is not determining the
  boundaries of any area of Indian country in this table, including any area of Indian country located in the
  larger designation area. The inclusion of any Indian country in the designation area is not a determination
  that the state has regulatory authority under the Clean Air Act for such Indian country.
\2\ This date is April 9, 2018, unless otherwise noted.


[FR Doc. 2019-20148 Filed 9-19-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


