[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 117 (Tuesday, June 20, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 39801-39803]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12747]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R07-OAR-2023-0279; FRL-10989-01-R7]


Air Plan Approval; Missouri; Revisions to the Cross-State Air 
Pollution Rule SO2 Group 1 Trading Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing 
approval of revisions to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted 
on November 29, 2021, by the State of Missouri. Missouri requests EPA 
approve revisions to a state regulation related to the Cross-State Air 
Pollution Rule SO2 Group 1 Trading Program. These revisions 
include reallocating SO2 emission allowances from a recently 
retired emission unit to the original emission unit for which they were 
designated. Additionally, the revisions clarify rule language by 
condensing a list of provisions excluded from incorporation by 
reference. Approval of these revisions will not impact air quality and 
ensures Federal enforceability of the State's rules. The EPA is 
proposing to approve these SIP revisions in accordance with the 
requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 20, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R07-
OAR-2023-0279 to www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions 
for submitting comments.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID 
No. for this rulemaking. Comments received will be posted without 
change to www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and additional 
information on the rulemaking process, see the ``Written Comments'' 
heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gerald McIntyre, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 7 Office, Air Permitting and Planning Branch, 
11201 Renner Boulevard, Lenexa, Kansas 66219; telephone number: (913) 
608-8349; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' and 
``our'' refer to the EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Written Comments
II. Background
III. What is being addressed in this document?
IV. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?
V. What action is the EPA taking?
VI. Incorporation by Reference
VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Written Comments

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R07-OAR-2023-
0279, at www.regulations.gov. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited 
or removed from Regulations.gov. The 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

[[Page 39802]]

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. The 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, the full EPA public comment policy, 
information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance 
on making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

II. Background

    The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) addresses air pollution 
from upwind states that crosses state lines and affects air quality in 
downwind states. CSAPR requires fossil fuel-fired electric generating 
units at coal-, gas-, and oil-fired facilities in 27 states, including 
Missouri, to reduce emissions to help downwind areas attain fine 
particle and/or ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
    EPA sets a pollution limit (emission budget) for each of the states 
covered by CSAPR. Authorizations to emit pollution, known as 
allowances, are allocated to affected sources based on these state 
emissions budgets. The rule provides flexibility to affected sources, 
allowing sources in each state to determine their own compliance path. 
This includes adding or operating control technologies, upgrading or 
improving controls, switching fuels, and using allowances. Sources can 
buy and sell allowances and bank (save) allowances for future use as 
long as each source holds enough allowances to account for its 
emissions by the end of the compliance period. Allowance transfers 
between sources within the CSAPR SO2 Group 1 Trading Program 
are allowed with the approval of the Administrator, subject to the 
procedures and requirements of 40 CFR part 97.
    Missouri adopted EPA's SO2 Group 1 Trading Program in 40 
CFR 97.604 through 40 CFR 97.628, with certain exceptions, in 10 Code 
of State Regulations (CSR) 10-6.376. EPA finalized its approval of 10 
CSR 10-6.376 into Missouri's SIP on December 4 2019, thereby granting 
Missouri the responsibility to implement the CSAPR SO2 
Annual Trading Program in Missouri (see 84 FR 66316). 10 CSR 10-6.376 
includes a list of CSAPR SO2 Group 1 units and their 
corresponding allowances that have been allocated to each unit.
    Iatan Generating Station Unit 1 (Iatan Unit 1) is owned by two 
electric utility companies: Evergy, formerly Kansas City Power and 
Light Company; and Liberty Utilities, formerly Empire District 
Electric. Asbury Power Plant (Asbury) is owned by Liberty Utilities. 
These sources have been allocated CSAPR SO2 Group 1 
allowances in 10 CSR 10-6.376. In 2015, Missouri revised 10 CSR 1--
6.376 to reallocate 1,300 SO2 emission allowances from Iatan 
Unit 1 to Asbury based on ownership share. Asbury was retired in March 
2020. Therefore, Missouri revised 10 CSR 10-6.376 to transfer Asbury's 
1,300 SO2 emission allowances back to Iatan Unit 1, and has 
requested that EPA approve the revision to 10 CSR 10-6.376 into 
Missouri's SIP.

III. What is being addressed in this document?

    The EPA is proposing to approve a SIP revision submitted by the 
State of Missouri on November 29, 2021. Missouri requests the EPA to 
approve revisions to 10 CSR 10-6.376 in the Missouri SIP. The state has 
revised the rule to reallocate 1,300 SO2 emission allowances 
from the Asbury Power Plant, which was retired in March 2020, to Iatan 
Unit 1, which is the original emission unit for which the 
SO2 allowances were allocated. This revision will only 
reverse the 2015 reallocation of the 1,300 SO2 emission 
allowances from Iatan Unit 1 to Asbury. The total SO2 
allowances for Iatan Unit 1 will increase from 9,833 to 11,133. The 
total SO2 allowances for Asbury will decrease from 4,480 to 
3,180. Asbury's remaining 3,180 allowances will be transferred to the 
new unit set-aside and redistributed, as is the case for any unit that 
retires under CASPR.
    Missouri has also clarified rule language by removing redundant 
language concerning provisions excluded from incorporation by 
reference. This revision also removes a provision that excluded 
incorporation by reference of any requirements imposed on any unit in 
Indian country within the borders of any state in 40 CFR 97.602 through 
40 CFR 97.635. These revisions are administrative in nature and does 
not impact the stringency of the SIP or air quality.

IV. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?

    The State submission has met the public notice requirements for SIP 
submissions in accordance with 40 CFR 51.102. The submission also 
satisfied the completeness criteria of 40 CFR part 51, appendix V. The 
State provided public notice on this SIP revision from April 15, 2021 
to May 27, 2021 and received no comments.
    In addition, as explained above, the revision meets the substantive 
SIP requirements of the CAA, including section 110 and implementing 
regulations. The EPA proposes to find that the changes to the SIP do 
not reduce the stringency of the SIP or negatively affect air quality. 
As such, in accordance with section 110(l) of the CAA, this proposed 
revision does not interfere with any applicable requirement concerning 
attainment and reasonable further progress or any other applicable 
requirement of the CAA. Therefore, the EPA is proposing to approve 
Missouri's revisions to 10-6.376.

V. What action is the EPA taking?

    The EPA is proposing to amend the Missouri SIP by approving the 
State's request to revise 10 CSR 10-6.376 ``Cross-State Air pollution 
Rule Annual SO2 Group 1 Trading Program.'' We are processing 
this as a proposed action because we are soliciting comments on this 
proposed action. Final rulemaking will occur after consideration of any 
comments.

VI. Incorporation by Reference

    In this document, the EPA is proposing to include regulatory text 
in an EPA final rule that includes incorporation by reference. In 
accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is proposing to 
incorporate by reference Missouri 10 CSR 10-6.376, discussed in section 
III of this preamble and as set forth below in the proposed amendments 
to 40 CFR part 52. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these 
materials generally available through www.regulations.gov and at the 
EPA Region 7 Office (please contact the person identified in the FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this preamble for more 
information).

VII. 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 Clean Air 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:

[[Page 39803]]

     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, 
Feb. 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.''
    Missouri 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. 
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.

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: June 9, 2023.
Meghan A. McCollister,
Regional Administrator, Region 7.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the EPA proposes to amend 
40 CFR part 52 as set forth below:

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 AA-Missouri

0
2. In Sec.  52.1320, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by revising 
the entry ``10-6.376'' to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1320  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                        EPA-Approved Missouri Regulations
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                                                             State
        Missouri citation                 Title         effective date   EPA approval date       Explanation
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                                    Missouri Department of Natural Resources
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                                                  * * * * * * *
     Chapter 6-Air Quality Standards, Definitions, Sampling and Reference Methods, and Air Pollution Control
                                      Regulations for the State of Missouri
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                                                  * * * * * * *
10-6.376.........................  Cross-State Air           7/29/2021  [Date of             ...................
                                    Pollution Rule SO2                   publication of the
                                    Group 1 Trading                      final rule in the
                                    Program.                             Federal Register],
                                                                         [Federal Register
                                                                         citation of the
                                                                         final rule].
 
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[FR Doc. 2023-12747 Filed 6-16-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


