[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 186 (Tuesday, September 25, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 48383-48384]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-20748]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2018-0020; FRL-9984-23--Region 4]


Air Plan Approval; North Carolina; Inspection and Maintenance 
Program

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 North 
Carolina on November 17, 2017, through the North Carolina Department of 
Environmental Quality, Division of Air Quality (DAQ), for the purpose 
of removing 26 counties from North Carolina's expanded inspection and 
maintenance (I/M) program, which was previously approved into the SIP 
for use as a component of the State's Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) 
Budget and Allowance Trading Program. The EPA has determined that North 
Carolina's November 17, 2017, SIP revision is approvable because it is 
consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and with the EPA's 
regulations.

DATES: This rule will be effective September 25, 2018.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2018-0020. All documents in the 
docket are listed on the www.regulations.gov website. Although listed 
in the index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., 
Confidential Business Information 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 either electronically through www.regulations.gov or in hard 
copy at the Air Regulatory Management Section, Air Planning and 
Implementation Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW, 
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. EPA requests that if at all possible, you 
contact the person 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 Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelly Sheckler, Air Regulatory 
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air, 
Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, Region 4, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. 
The telephone number is (404) 562-9222. Ms. Sheckler can also be 
reached via electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On November 17, 2017, DAQ submitted a SIP revision seeking to 
remove 26 counties from the expanded I/M program contained in the North 
Carolina SIP. This removal consequently removes reliance on the I/M 
reduction credits gained from the 26 counties' participation in the 
expanded I/M program from the State's NOX emissions budget--
a component of the State's response to the NOX SIP Call. 
North Carolina indicated that it no longer needs these reduction 
credits in order to meet its obligations under the NOX SIP 
Call. In addition, North Carolina provided a technical demonstration 
showing that removing the 26 counties from the expanded I/M program 
will not interfere with North Carolina's attainment or maintenance of 
any National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) or with any other 
applicable requirement of the CAA.
    The EPA published a proposed rulemaking on July 26, 2018 (83 FR 
35444), proposing to approve this SIP revision. The proposed approval 
was based on the EPA's proposed findings that the removal of the 26 
counties from the State's expanded I/M program will not interfere with 
North Carolina's obligations under the NOX SIP Call and will 
not interfere with North Carolina's attainment or maintenance of any 
NAAQS or with any other applicable requirement of the CAA. The details 
of North Carolina's submittal and the rationale for the EPA's action 
are explained in the proposed rulemaking. The comment period for this 
proposed rulemaking closed on August 27, 2018. The EPA received two 
comments supporting the proposed action. The remaining comments 
received were not relevant.

II. Final Action

    The EPA is taking final action to approve the November 17, 2017, 
revision to the North Carolina SIP. Specifically, the EPA is approving 
the removal of Brunswick, Burke, Caldwell, Carteret, Catawba, Chatham, 
Cleveland, Craven, Edgecombe, Granville, Harnett, Haywood, Henderson, 
Lenoir, Moore, Nash, Orange, Pitt, Robeson, Rutherford, Stanly, Stokes, 
Surry, Wayne, Wilkes, and Wilson counties from the SIP-approved 
expanded I/M program. Additionally, the EPA is finding that North 
Carolina's removal of the 26 counties from the SIP-approved expanded I/
M program (and the removal of reliance on the I/M emissions reductions 
generated from those counties as part of the ``credits'' in North 
Carolina's NOX emissions budget) will not interfere with the 
State's obligations under the NOX SIP Call to meet its 
Statewide NOX emissions budget. The EPA is also finding that 
the removal of the 26 counties from the SIP-approved I/M program will 
not interfere with continued attainment or maintenance of any 
applicable NAAQS or with any other applicable requirement of the CAA, 
and that North Carolina has satisfied the requirements of section 
110(l) of the CAA.
    The EPA has determined that this action is effective immediately 
upon publication under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1). 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. Section 553(d)(1) allows an 
effective date less than 30 days after publication if a substantive 
rule ``relieves a restriction.'' This action qualifies for the 
exception under section 553(d)(1) because it relieves the 26 counties 
identified above from the requirements of North Carolina's SIP-approved 
expanded I/M program.

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and applicable 
Federal regulations. See 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in 
reviewing SIP submissions, the EPA's role is to approve state choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. 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 (82 FR 9339, February 2, 
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted under 
Executive Order 12866;
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions

[[Page 48384]]

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 CAA; and
     Does not provide the 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).
    The SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian reservation land or 
in any other area where the 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 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), 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. The 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 November 26, 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, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: September 11, 2018.
Onis ``Trey'' Glenn, III,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    40 CFR part 52 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 II--North Carolina

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2. In Sec.  52.1770, the table in paragraph (e) is amended by adding 
the entry ``North Carolina Removal of 26 Counties from Inspection and 
Maintenance Program and 110(l) Non-Interference Demonstration'' at the 
end of the table to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1770  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                              EPA-Approved North Carolina Non-Regulatory Provisions
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                                      State       EPA approval    Federal Register
           Provision             effective date       date            citation               Explanation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
North Carolina Removal of 26         11/17/2017       9/25/2018  [insert Federal    ............................
 Counties from Inspection and                                     Register
 Maintenance Program and 110(l)                                   citation].
 Non-Interference Demonstration.
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[FR Doc. 2018-20748 Filed 9-24-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


