[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 213 (Monday, November 6, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 51350-51351]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-24116]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 62

[EPA-R03-OAR-2017-0484; FRL-9970-28-Region 3]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Maryland; Continuous Opacity Monitoring Requirements for Municipal 
Waste Combustors

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct 
final action to approve revisions to the State of Maryland's Clean Air 
Act (CAA) section 111(d)/129 State Plan for municipal waste combustors 
(MWCs). The revisions contain Maryland's amendments to Regulations .07 
and .08 under the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) 26.11.08. These 
amendments update the MWC references to opacity compliance. The 
Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE)'s discontinued Technical 
Memorandum (TM 90-01) is no longer applicable and the regulations now 
refer to COMAR 26.11.31, which codifies quality assurance (QA) and 
quality control (QC) procedures for continuous opacity monitors (COMs). 
EPA is approving this revision to remove TM 90-01 from Maryland's CAA 
section 111(d)/129 State Plan in accordance with the requirements of 
the CAA.

DATES: This rule is effective on January 5, 2018 without further 
notice, unless EPA receives adverse written comment by December 6, 
2017. If EPA receives such comments, it will publish a timely 
withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform 
the public that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R03-
OAR-2017-0484 at https://www.regulations.gov, or via email to 
[email protected]. For comments submitted at Regulations.gov, 
follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, 
comments cannot be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. For either 
manner of submission, 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 
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, please contact the person 
identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the full 
EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia 
submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please 
visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Linn, (215) 814-5273, or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On May 10, 2016, the State of Maryland submitted a formal revision 
(MD Submittal #16-05) to its CAA section 111(d)/129 State Plan for 
MWCs. The revisions contain Maryland's amendments to COMAR 26.11.08.08, 
``Requirements for an Existing Large MWC with a Capacity Greater Than 
250 Tons Per Day.'' These amendments update the MWC references to 
opacity compliance previously made by MDE. MDE's discontinued technical 
memorandum which previously addressed QA/QC procedures for COMs, TM 90-
01, is no longer state effective and the Maryland regulations therefore 
now refer to COMAR 26.11.31, which codifies similar QA and QC 
procedures for COMs.\1\ In a state rulemaking action, MDE also revised 
the title of COMAR 26.11.08.07, ``Requirements for Municipal Waste 
Combustors with a Capacity of 35 tons or greater per day and less than 
or equal to 250 Tons Per Day,'' to clarify that the state regulation 
applies to small MWCs. However, this clarification to the title of 
COMAR 26.11.08.07 is a minor administrative change and is not part of 
this action. The text of 26.11.08.07 remains unchanged, and thus the 
requirements for MWCs remain unchanged. EPA is approving this revision 
to remove TM 90-01 from Maryland's 111(d)/129 State Plan for MWCs in 
accordance with the requirements of the CAA as the changes are 
administrative in nature.
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    \1\ EPA previously approved Maryland's State Plan for large MWCs 
on April 8, 2008 (see 73 FR 18970). In addition, EPA previously 
approved, as a revision to the Maryland state implementation plan, 
the regulatory requirements for QA/QC controls for COMs in COMAR 
26.11.31. 81 FR 78048 (November 7, 2016).
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II. Summary of CAA Section 111(d)/129 State Plan Revision and EPA 
Analysis

    EPA has reviewed Maryland's submittal to revise its CAA section 
111(d)/129 State Plan for MWCs in the context of the requirements of 40 
CFR part 60, subpart Eb. These amendments are largely administrative in 
nature. In this action, EPA is finalizing its determination that the 
submitted revision meets the above-cited requirements. EPA is revising 
40 CFR part 62, subpart V (Sec.  62.5110 and Sec.  61.5112) to reflect 
this approval.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving the May 10, 2016 Maryland CAA section 111(d)/129 
State Plan revision submittal as a revision to Maryland's CAA section 
111(d)/129 State Plan for MWCs. EPA is publishing this rule without 
prior proposal because EPA views this as a noncontroversial amendment 
and anticipates no adverse comment. However, in the ``Proposed Rules'' 
section of this Federal Register, EPA is publishing a separate document 
that will serve as the proposal to approve the 111(d)/129 State Plan 
revision if adverse comments are filed. This rule will be effective on 
January 5, 2018 without further notice unless EPA receives adverse 
comment by December 6, 2017. If EPA receives adverse comment, EPA will 
publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the 
public that the rule will not take effect. EPA will address all public 
comments in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. EPA 
will not institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties 
interested in commenting must do so at this time.

[[Page 51351]]

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General Requirements

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not 
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. For this 
reason, this action is also not subject to Executive Order 13211, 
``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355 (May 22, 2001)). This 
action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and 
imposes no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. 
Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because 
this rule approves pre-existing requirements under state law and does 
not impose any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by 
state law, it 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). This rule also does not 
have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the 
relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on 
the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal 
Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 
FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor will it have substantial direct 
effects on the States, on the relationship between the national 
government and the States, or on the distribution of power and 
responsibilities among the various levels of government, as specified 
in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999), because it 
merely approves a state rule implementing a Federal requirement, and 
does not alter the relationship or the distribution of power and 
responsibilities established in the CAA. This rule also is not subject 
to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), because it 
approves a state rule implementing a Federal standard.
    In reviewing Section 111(d)/129 plan submissions, EPA's role is to 
approve state choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the 
Clean Air Act. In this context, in the absence of a prior existing 
requirement for the State to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), 
EPA has no authority to disapprove a Section 111(d)/129 plan submission 
for failure to use VCS. It would thus be inconsistent with applicable 
law for EPA, when it reviews a Section 111(d)/129 plan submission, to 
use VCS in place of a Section 111(d)/129 plan submission that otherwise 
satisfies the provisions of the Clean Air Act. Thus, the requirements 
of section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply. This rule does not 
impose an information collection burden under the provisions of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General

    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).

C. Petitions for Judicial Review

    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 January 5, 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. 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 this 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 action. This action approving Maryland's revisions to their 
111(d)/129 State Plan for MWCs may not be challenged later in 
proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 62

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Particulate 
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides.

    Dated: October 18, 2017.
Cosmo Servidio,
Regional Administrator, Region III.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, 40 CFR part 62 is amended 
as follows:

PART 62--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF STATE PLANS FOR DESIGNATED 
FACILITIES AND POLLUTANTS

0
1. The authority citation for part 62 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart V--Maryland

0
2. Section 62.5110 is amended by adding paragraph (c) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  62.5110  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) On May 10, 2016, Maryland submitted a revised State Plan and 
related COMAR 26.11.08.08 amendments.

0
3. Section 62.5112 is amended by adding paragraph (c) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  62.5112  Effective date.

* * * * *
    (c) The plan revision is effective January 5, 2018.

[FR Doc. 2017-24116 Filed 11-3-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


