[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 141 (Monday, July 23, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 34816-34819]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-15480]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R08-OAR-2018-0388, FRL-9980-67--Region 8]


Approval and Promulgation of State Implementation Plan Revisions; 
Infrastructure Monitoring Requirements for the 2008 Pb, 2010 SO2, 2010 
NO2 and 2012 PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards; Utah

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve elements of State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions from the 
State of Utah to demonstrate the State meets infrastructure monitoring 
requirements of the Clean Air Act (Act or CAA) for the National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) promulgated for lead (Pb) on October 15, 
2008, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) on January 22, 2010, sulfur 
dioxide (SO2) on June 2, 2010, and fine particulate matter 
(PM2.5) on December 14, 2012. Section 110(a) of the CAA 
requires that each state submit a SIP for the implementation, 
maintenance and enforcement of each NAAQS promulgated by the EPA.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before August 22, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R08-
OAR-2018-0388 at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from www.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 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 http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

[[Page 34817]]

    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air Program, 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 8, 1595 Wynkoop Street, 
Denver, Colorado 80202-1129. The EPA requests that if at all possible, 
you contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section to view the hard copy of the docket. You may view the 
hard copy of the docket Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., 
excluding federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kate Gregory, Air Program, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 8, Mail Code 8P-AR, 1595 
Wynkoop Street, Denver, Colorado 80202-1129, (303) 312-6175, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, wherever ``we,'' 
``us'' or ``our'' is used, it is intended to refer to the EPA.

I. Background

    On October 15, 2008, the EPA revised the level of the primary and 
secondary Pb NAAQS from 1.5 micrograms per cubic meter ([mu]g/m\3\) to 
0.15 [mu]g/m\3\ (73 FR 66964, Nov. 12, 2008). On January 22, 2010, the 
EPA promulgated a new 1-hour primary NAAQS for NO2 at a 
level of 100 parts per billion (ppb), based on a 3-year average of 98th 
percentile 1-hour daily maximum concentrations, while retaining the 
annual primary standard of 53 ppb. The secondary annual NO2 
NAAQS remains unchanged at 53 ppb (75 FR 6474, Feb. 9, 2010). On June 
2, 2010, the EPA promulgated a revised primary SO2 standard 
at 75 ppb, based on a 3-year average of the annual 99th percentile of 
1-hour daily maximum concentrations (75 FR 35520, June 22, 2010). 
Finally, on December 14, 2012, the EPA promulgated a revised annual 
PM2.5 standard by lowering the level to 12.0 [mu]g/m\3\ and 
retaining the 24-hour PM2.5 standard at a level of 35 [mu]g/
m\3\ (78 FR 3086, Jan. 15, 2013).
    Under sections 110(a)(1) and (2) of the CAA, states are required to 
submit infrastructure SIPs to ensure their SIPs provide for 
implementation, maintenance and enforcement of the NAAQS. These 
submissions must contain any revisions needed for meeting the 
applicable SIP requirements of section 110(a)(2), or certifications 
that their existing SIPs for PM2.5, Pb, NO2 and 
SO2 already meet those requirements. The EPA highlighted 
this statutory requirement in an October 2, 2007, guidance document 
entitled ``Guidance on SIP Elements Required Under Sections 110(a)(1) 
and (2) for the 1997 8-hour Ozone and PM2.5 National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards'' (2007 Memo). On September 25, 2009, the EPA 
issued an additional guidance document pertaining to the 2006 
PM2.5 NAAQS entitled ``Guidance on SIP Elements Required 
Under Sections 110(a)(1) and (2) for the 2006 24-Hour Fine Particle 
(PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)'' 
(2009 Memo), followed by the October 14, 2011, ``Guidance on 
Infrastructure SIP Elements Required Under Sections 110(a)(1) and (2) 
for the 2008 Lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)'' 
(2011 Memo). Most recently, the EPA issued ``Guidance on Infrastructure 
State Implementation Plan (SIP) Elements under Clean Air Act Sections 
110(a)(1) and (2)'' on September 13, 2013 (2013 Memo).

II. What is the scope of this rulemaking?

    The EPA is acting upon the SIP submissions from Utah that address 
the infrastructure monitoring requirements of CAA sections 110(a)(1) 
and 110(a)(2) for the 2008 Pb, 2010 SO2, 2010 NO2 
and 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS. The requirement for states to make a 
SIP submission of this type arises out of CAA section 110(a)(1). 
Pursuant to section 110(a)(1), states must make SIP submissions 
``within 3 years (or such shorter period as the Administrator may 
prescribe) after the promulgation of a national primary ambient air 
quality standard (or any revision thereof),'' and these SIP submissions 
are to provide for the ``implementation, maintenance, and enforcement'' 
of such NAAQS. The statute directly imposes on states the duty to make 
these SIP submissions, and the requirement to make the submissions is 
not conditioned upon the EPA taking any action other than promulgating 
a new or revised NAAQS. Section 110(a)(2) includes a list of specific 
elements that ``[e]ach such plan'' submission must address.
    The EPA has historically referred to these SIP submissions made for 
the purpose of satisfying the requirements of CAA sections 110(a)(1) 
and 110(a)(2) as ``infrastructure SIP'' submissions. Although the term 
``infrastructure SIP'' does not appear in the CAA, the EPA uses the 
term to distinguish this particular type of SIP submission from 
submissions that are intended to satisfy other SIP requirements under 
the CAA, such as ``nonattainment SIP'' or ``attainment plan SIP'' 
submissions to address the nonattainment planning requirements of part 
D of title I of the CAA; ``regional haze SIP'' submissions required by 
the EPA rule to address the visibility protection requirements of CAA 
section 169A; and nonattainment new source review (NSR) permit program 
submissions to address the permit requirements of CAA, title I, part D.
    Section 110(a)(1) addresses the timing and general requirements for 
infrastructure SIP submissions, and section 110(a)(2) provides more 
details concerning the required contents of these submissions. The list 
of required elements provided in section 110(a)(2) contains a wide 
variety of disparate provisions, some of which pertain to required 
legal authority, some of which pertain to required substantive program 
provisions, and some of which pertain to requirements for both 
authority and substantive program provisions.\1\ The EPA therefore 
believes that while the timing requirement in section 110(a)(1) is 
unambiguous, some of the other statutory provisions are ambiguous. In 
particular, the EPA believes that the list of required elements for 
infrastructure SIP submissions provided in section 110(a)(2) contains 
ambiguities concerning what is required for inclusion in an 
infrastructure SIP submission.
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    \1\ For example: Section 110(a)(2)(E)(i) provides that states 
must provide assurances that they have adequate legal authority 
under state and local law to carry out the SIP; section 110(a)(2)(C) 
provides that states must have a SIP-approved program to address 
certain sources as required by part C of title I of the CAA; and 
section 110(a)(2)(G) provides that states must have legal authority 
to address emergencies as well as contingency plans that are 
triggered in the event of such emergencies.
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    Examples of some of these ambiguities and the context in which the 
EPA interprets the ambiguous portions of section 110(a)(1) and 
110(a)(2) are discussed at length in our notice of proposed rulemaking: 
Promulgation of State Implementation Plan Revisions; Infrastructure 
Requirements for the 1997 and 2006 PM2.5, 2008 Lead, 2008 
Ozone, and 2010 NO2 National Ambient Air Quality Standards; 
South Dakota (79 FR 71040, Dec. 1, 2014) under ``III. What is the Scope 
of this Rulemaking?''
    With respect to certain other issues, the EPA does not believe that 
an action on a state's infrastructure SIP submission is necessarily the 
appropriate type of action in which to address possible deficiencies in 
a state's

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existing SIP. These issues include: (i) Existing provisions related to 
excess emissions from sources during periods of startup, shutdown, or 
malfunction (SSM) that may be contrary to the CAA and the EPA's 
policies addressing such excess emissions; (ii) existing provisions 
related to ``director's variance'' or ``director's discretion'' that 
may be contrary to the CAA because they purport to allow revisions to 
SIP-approved emissions limits while limiting public process or not 
requiring further approval by the EPA; and (iii) existing provisions 
for Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) programs that may be 
inconsistent with current requirements of the EPA's ``Final NSR 
Improvement Rule,'' 67 FR 80186, Dec. 31, 2002, as amended by 72 FR 
32526, June 13, 2007 (``NSR Reform'').

III. What infrastructure elements are required under sections 110(a)(1) 
and (2)?

    CAA section 110(a)(1) provides the procedural and timing 
requirements for SIP submissions after a new or revised NAAQS is 
promulgated. Section 110(a)(2) lists specific elements the SIP must 
contain or satisfy. These infrastructure elements (listed below) 
include requirements such as modeling, monitoring and emissions 
inventories, which are designed to assure attainment and maintenance of 
the NAAQS.
     110(a)(2)(A): Emission limits and other control measures.
     110(a)(2)(B): Ambient air quality monitoring/data system.
     110(a)(2)(C): Program for enforcement of control measures.
     110(a)(2)(D): Interstate transport.
     110(a)(2)(E): Adequate resources and authority, conflict 
of interest, and oversight of local governments and regional agencies.
     110(a)(2)(F): Stationary source monitoring and reporting.
     110(a)(2)(G): Emergency powers.
     110(a)(2)(H): Future SIP revisions.
     110(a)(2)(J): Consultation with government officials; 
public notification; and PSD and visibility protection.
     110(a)(2)(K): Air quality modeling/data.
     110(a)(2)(L): Permitting fees.
     110(a)(2)(M): Consultation/participation by affected local 
entities.
    Of these infrastructure elements, element B is the subject of this 
action, as all other elements were acted on in the EPA rulemaking 
titled Promulgation of State Implementation Plan Revisions; 
Infrastructure Requirements for the 2008 Lead, 2008 Ozone, 2010 
NO2, 2010 SO2, and 2012 PM2.5 National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards; Utah.\2\ A detailed discussion of 
element 110(a)(2)(B) is contained in the next section.
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    \2\ 81 FR 50626 (August 2, 2016).
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IV. How did Utah address the infrastructure elements of sections 
110(a)(1) and (2)?

    The Utah Department of Environmental Quality (Department or UDEQ) 
submitted certification of Utah's infrastructure SIP for the 2008 Pb 
NAAQS on January 19, 2012; 2010 NO2 NAAQS on January 31, 
2013; 2010 SO2 NAAQS on June 2, 2013; and 2012 
PM2.5 on December 4, 2015. Utah's infrastructure 
certifications demonstrate how the State, where applicable, has plans 
in place that meet the requirements of section 110 for the 2008 Pb, 
2010 NO2, 2010 SO2 and 2012 PM2.5 
NAAQS. These plans reference the Utah Code Annotated (UCA) and the Utah 
SIP. These submittals are available within the electronic docket for 
today's proposed action at www.regulations.gov. The UCA and the Utah 
SIP referenced in the submittals are publicly available at http://le.utah.gov/xcode/code.html and https://deq.utah.gov/legacy/laws-and-rules/air-quality/sip/. Air pollution control regulations and statutes 
that have been previously approved by the EPA and incorporated into the 
Utah SIP can be found at 40 CFR 52.2320.

V. Analysis of the State Submittals

    Ambient air quality monitoring/data system: Section 110(a)(2)(B) 
requires SIPs to ``provide for establishment and operation of 
appropriate devices, methods, systems, and procedures necessary'' to 
``(i) monitor, compile, and analyze data on ambient air quality, and 
(ii) upon request, make such data available to the Administrator.''
    The State's submissions cite UAC rule R307-110-5, which 
incorporates by reference SIP Section IV (Ambient Air Monitoring 
Program), and provides a brief description of the purposes of the air 
monitoring program approved by the EPA in the early 1980s and most 
recently on June 25, 2003 (68 FR 37744). Pursuant to its Quality 
Assurance Project Plan (QAPP), the Department makes arrangements to 
operate and maintain federal reference monitors and establishes 
federally-approved protocols for sample collection, handling and 
analysis. The State's QAPP was most recently approved on November 28, 
2016, with an annual update in November of 2017.
    Utah's annual monitoring network plan (AMNP), is made available by 
the Department for public review and comment prior to submission to the 
EPA. Additionally, the State of Utah submits data to the EPA's Air 
Quality System database in accordance with 40 CFR 58.16. Finally, 
Utah's 2017 AMNP was approved by the EPA through a letter dated October 
27, 2017 (available within the docket). The State provides the EPA with 
prior notification when changes to its monitoring network or plan are 
being considered. This action proposes to approve the State's submittal 
in reference to element B: Ambient air quality monitoring/data system. 
Previous action was not taken in the final EPA ruling titled 
Promulgation of State Implementation Plan Revisions; Infrastructure 
Requirements for the 2008 Lead, 2008 Ozone, 2010 NO2, 2010 
SO2, and 2012 PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards; Utah.\3\
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    \3\ 81 FR 50626 (August 2, 2016).
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    We find that Utah's SIP and practices are adequate for the ambient 
air quality monitoring and data system requirements and therefore 
propose to approve the infrastructure SIP for the 2008 Pb, 2010 
SO2, 2010 NO2 and 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS for 
this element. Approval of element B will satisfy any outstanding 
requirements under Section 110(a)(2).

VI. What proposed action is the EPA taking?

    In this action, the EPA is proposing to approve infrastructure 
element B for the 2008 Pb, 2010 SO2, 2010 NO2 and 
2012 PM2.5 NAAQS from the State's certifications as shown in 
Table 1.

 Table 1--List of Utah Infrastructure Elements That the EPA Is Proposing
                               To Approve
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                    Proposed for approval                       Element
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January 19, 2012 submittal--2008 Pb NAAQS....................       (B)
January 31, 2013 submittal--2010 NO2 NAAQS...................       (B)
June 2, 2013 submittal--2010 SO2 NAAQS.......................       (B)
December 4, 2015 submittal--2012 PM2.5 NAAQS.................       (B)
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VII. Statutory and Executive Orders Review

    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. Accordingly, this 
proposed action merely proposes to approve state law as meeting federal 
requirements and

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does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state 
law. For that reason, this proposed 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 regulatory action because 
this action is not significant 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 this action does not involve technical standards; 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.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Greenhouse 
gases, Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: July 13, 2018.
Debra Thomas,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 8.
[FR Doc. 2018-15480 Filed 7-20-18; 8:45 am]
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