
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 174 (Monday, September 11, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 62293-62295]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19286]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2023-0219; FRL-8813-02-R3]


Air Plan Approval; Pennsylvania; Liberty Borough Area Second 10-
Year PM10 Limited Maintenance Plan

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving into 
the Pennsylvania state implementation plan (SIP), a limited maintenance 
plan (LMP) submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Department 
of Environmental Protection (PADEP or Commonwealth) on behalf of the 
Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD). This plan addresses the 
second 10-year maintenance period after redesignation for coarse 
particulate matter, particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter 
less than or equal to a nominal 10 micrometers (PM10). A LMP 
is used to meet the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act) requirements for 
formerly designated nonattainment areas that meet certain qualification 
criteria. EPA has determined that ACHD's second maintenance plan meets 
applicable CAA requirements.

DATES: This final rule is effective on October 11, 2023.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID 
Number EPA-R03-OAR-2023-0219. All documents in the docket are listed on 
the www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., confidential business 
information (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 through 
www.regulations.gov, or please contact the person identified in the FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section for additional availability 
information.

[[Page 62294]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Schmitt, Planning & 
Implementation Branch (3AD30), Air & Radiation Division, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1600 John F Kennedy 
Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. The telephone number is 
(215) 814-5787. Ms. Schmitt can also be reached via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On July 21, 2021, EPA received from PADEP, on behalf of ACHD, a 
revision to the Commonwealth's SIP for the Liberty Borough area.\1\ The 
SIP revision is a PM10 LMP for the Liberty Borough area and 
fulfills the second 10-year planning requirement of CAA section 175A to 
ensure the area is compliant with the 1987 24-hour PM10 
national ambient air standard (NAAQS or standard) through 2033.\2\
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    \1\ In its SIP submission, ACHD refers to the area at issue as 
the Liberty-Clairton area. In this final rule document as well as in 
the associated proposed rulemaking action, EPA refers to this area 
as the Liberty Borough area to distinguish it from the Liberty-
Clairton fine particulate matter (PM2.5) nonattainment 
area and to be consistent with what the Agency called the area in 
our approval of the first 10-year maintenance plan and attainment 
plan. See 63 FR 47493 (September 8, 1998) and 68 FR 53515 (September 
11, 2003).
    \2\ The first 10-year maintenance period for the Liberty Borough 
area ended in 2013 and the second 10-year maintenance plan, which is 
the subject of this final rule document, extends through 2023.
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    The LMP relies upon control measures contained in the first 10-year 
maintenance plan and the determination that the Liberty Borough area 
currently monitors PM10 levels well-below the 
PM10 NAAQS. The Liberty Borough area has been meeting the 
PM10 standard for many years and was redesignated to 
attainment on September 11, 2003 (68 FR 53515) with an approved 10-year 
PM10 maintenance plan.
    On July 12, 2023 (88 FR 44237), EPA published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NPRM), approving the Commonwealth's July 2021 
PM10 LMP SIP submittal. The reasons for our approval are 
included in our July 2023 proposal and will not be restated here. The 
public comment period for our proposed action closed on August 11, 
2023. We received no public comments. Therefore, we are finalizing our 
action as proposed.

II. Final Action

    In this final action, EPA is approving the second 10-year 
PM10 LMP for the Liberty Borough area as a revision to the 
Pennsylvania SIP, which the Agency received as a submittal on July 21, 
2021. EPA's approval of the Liberty Borough area LMP satisfies CAA 
section 175A requirements for the 24-hour PM10 NAAQS for the 
second 10-year maintenance period for the Liberty Borough area.

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General Requirements

    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 Orders 12866 (58 
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
     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); and
     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.
    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).
    Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions To Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629, 
February 16, 1994) directs Federal agencies to identify and address 
``disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental 
effects'' of their actions on minority populations and low-income 
populations to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law. 
EPA defines environmental justice (EJ) as ``the fair treatment and 
meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, 
national origin, or income with respect to the development, 
implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and 
policies.'' EPA further defines the term fair treatment to mean that 
``no group of people should bear a disproportionate burden of 
environmental harms and risks, including those resulting from the 
negative environmental consequences of industrial, governmental, and 
commercial operations or programs and policies.''
    ACHD and PADEP did not evaluate environmental justice 
considerations as part of its SIP submittal; the CAA and applicable 
implementing regulations neither prohibit nor require such an 
evaluation. EPA did not perform an EJ analysis and did not consider EJ 
in this action. Due to the nature of the action being taken here, this 
action is expected to have a neutral to positive impact on the air 
quality of the affected area. Consideration of EJ is not required as 
part of this action, and there is no information in the record 
inconsistent with the stated goal of E.O. 12898 of achieving 
environmental justice for people of color, low-income populations, and 
Indigenous peoples.

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

[[Page 62295]]

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 November 13, 2023. 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 finalizing the second 10-year maintenance plan for 
the Liberty Borough PM10 area 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, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

Adam Ortiz,
Regional Administrator, Region III.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, EPA amends 40 CFR part 52 
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 NN--Pennsylvania

0
2. In Sec.  52.2020, the table in paragraph (copyright)(1) is amended 
by revising the entry for ``PM10 Maintenance Plan'' to read 
as follows:
* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    (1) * * *

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                                                             State
   Name of non-regulatory  SIP          Applicable         submittal     EPA approval date        Additional
             revision                geographic area         date                                explanation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
PM10 Maintenance Plan............  Allegheny County--          9/14/02  9/11/03, 68 FR       52.2063(c)(215).
                                    Clairton PM10                        53515.
                                    nonattainment area.
                                                               7/21/21  9/11/23, [Insert     Limited maintenance
                                                                         Federal Register     plan covering the
                                                                         Citation].           second 10-year
                                                                                              period through
                                                                                              2023.
                                                                                             ``Allegheny
                                                                                              County'' is the
                                                                                              designated name
                                                                                              for this area
                                                                                              under 40 CFR
                                                                                              81.339, but it has
                                                                                              also been referred
                                                                                              to as the
                                                                                              ``Liberty Borough
                                                                                              area'' in numerous
                                                                                              regulatory
                                                                                              actions.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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* * * * *

0
3. Section 52.2059 is amended by adding paragraph (z) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.2059  Control strategy: Particulate matter.

* * * * *
    (z) EPA approves the limited maintenance plan for the second 10-
year maintenance period for the PM10 Liberty Borough area in 
Allegheny County.

[FR Doc. 2023-19286 Filed 9-8-23; 8:45 am]
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