[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 209 (Tuesday, October 29, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 57824-57826]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-23376]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2018-0819; FRL-10001-49-Region 4]


Air Plan Approval; Georgia; Revisions to Sulfur Dioxide Ambient 
Air Quality Standards

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 Georgia 
through the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) through a 
letter dated July 31, 2018. EPA is approving into the SIP a 
modification to Georgia's Ambient Air Quality Standards regulation. The 
SIP revision updates Georgia's air quality standards for sulfur dioxide 
(SO2) to be consistent with the National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards (NAAQS). EPA is approving the SIP revision because the change 
is consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and Federal 
regulations.

DATES: This rule will be effective November 29, 2019.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2018-0819. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the 
index, some information may not be 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 and Radiation 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: Tiereny Bell, Air Regulatory 
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air and 
Radiation Division, Region 4, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 61 
Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The telephone number is 
(404) 562-9088. Ms. Bell can also be reached via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On June 22, 2010, EPA promulgated a revised primary SO2 
NAAQS. The revised SO2 NAAQS is an hourly standard of 75 
parts per billion (ppb), based on a 3-year average of the annual 99th 
percentile of 1-hour daily maximum concentrations. The June 22, 2010 
action that promulgated the revised primary SO2 NAAQS also 
addressed revocation of the 1971 24-hour and annual primary 
SO2 NAAQS. See 75 FR 35520. Pursuant to the June 22, 2010 
action and 40 CFR 50.4, the 1971 primary SO2 annual and 24-
hour NAAQS will continue to apply in an area until one year after the 
effective date of the designation of that area for the 2010 
SO2 NAAQS. See 42 U.S.C. 7407; 40 CFR 50.17.\1\
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    \1\ See 75 FR at 35581. No areas in Georgia were designated as 
nonattainment for the 1971 standards at the time of promulgation of 
the 2010 1-hour SO2 annual and 24-hour SO2 
standards. See id.
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    Accordingly, in the July 31, 2018,\2\ SIP submittal, Georgia 
revised Rule 391-3-1-.02(4)(b) to provide clarity that the 1971 
standard continues to apply in Georgia.\3\ Specifically, the changes 
reflect the historical and current NAAQS for SO2 and update 
the former primary SO2 NAAQS for the 1971 annual and 24-hour 
ambient air quality standards to be consistent with the Federal 
regulations. The SIP submission can be found in the docket for this 
rulemaking at www.regulations.gov.
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    \2\ EPA received the SIP revision on August 2, 2018.
    \3\ See 40 CFR 81.311 for designated areas in the State of 
Georgia for the 2010 SO2 standard. EPA notes that Floyd 
County is the only county in Georgia that has not yet been 
designated for the 2010 SO2 standard, and thus is still 
subject to the 1971 annual and 24-hour SO2 standards. See 
81 FR 45039 (July 12, 2016); 83 FR 1098 (January 9, 2018).
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    In a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published on July 2, 2019 
(84 FR 31540), EPA proposed to approve the revision to the Georgia air 
quality rules addressing Rule 391-3-1-.02(4), Ambient Air Standards, 
into the Georgia SIP.\4\ Comments on the NPRM were due on or before 
August 1, 2019. EPA received no comments on the proposed action. 
Consistent with the NPRM, which contains additional detail on the 
submittal, EPA's analysis, and EPA's rationale for approval, EPA is now 
taking final action to approve the above-referenced revision.
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    \4\ As discussed in the NPRM, EPA received several SIP revisions 
from Georgia through the July 31, 2018, letter and is considering 
action on the additional SIP revisions in separate actions.
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II. Incorporation by Reference

    In this document, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of Georgia Rule 
391-3-1-.02(4), Ambient Air Standards, paragraph (b) Sulfur Dioxide, 
State-effective July 23, 2018, which updates the former primary 
SO2 NAAQS for the 1971 annual and 24-hour ambient air 
quality standards to be consistent with the Federal regulations. EPA 
has made, and will continue to make, these materials generally 
available through www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region 4 Office 
(please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this preamble for more information). Therefore, 
these materials have been approved by EPA for inclusion in the

[[Page 57825]]

SIP, have been incorporated by reference by EPA into that plan, are 
fully Federally enforceable under sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of 
the effective date of the final rulemaking of EPA's approval, and will 
be incorporated by reference in the next update to the SIP 
compilation.\5\
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    \5\ See 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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III. Final Action

    EPA is taking final action to approve the State of Georgia's July 
31, 2018, SIP submission revising Rule 391-3-1-.02(4), Ambient Air 
Standards, paragraph (b) Sulfur Dioxide. This revision is consistent 
with the CAA.

IV. 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, 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 final 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 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 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 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. 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 December 30, 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 in 40 CFR Part 52

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

    Dated: October 10, 2019.
Mary S. Walker,
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 L--Georgia

0
2. Section 52.570(c), is amended under Emission Standards by revising 
the entry for ``391-3-1-.02(4)'' to read as follows:


Sec.  52.570   Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                        EPA-Approved Georgia Regulations
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                                                          State
         State citation             Title/subject    effective date   EPA approval date        Explanation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
391-3-1-.02(4).................  Ambient Air              7/23/2018  10/29/2019,         Except paragraphs (a),
                                  Standards.                          [Insert citation    (c), (d), (e), (f),
                                                                      of publication].    (g), and (h), approved
                                                                                          on 12/4/2018 with a
                                                                                          State-effective date
                                                                                          of 7/20/2017.
 
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[FR Doc. 2019-23376 Filed 10-28-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


