[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 176 (Wednesday, September 11, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 47895-47897]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-19541]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

[EPA-R08-OAR-2019-0320; FRL-9999-28-Region 8]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
State of Montana; East Helena Lead Nonattainment Area Maintenance Plan 
and Redesignation Request

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the 
Maintenance Plan, submitted by the State of Montana to the EPA on 
October 28, 2018, for the East Helena Lead (Pb) nonattainment area 
(East Helena NAA) and concurrently redesignating the East Helena NAA to 
attainment of the 1978 Pb National Ambient Air Quality Standard 
(NAAQS). The EPA is taking this action pursuant to the Clean Air Act 
(CAA).

DATES: Effective October 11, 2019.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID Number EPA-R08-OAR-EPA-R08-OAR-2019-0320. All documents in 
the docket are listed on the http://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 , or please contact 
the person identified in the For Further Information Contact section 
for additional availability information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Hou, Air and Radiation Division, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 8, Mail Code 8ARD-
QP, 1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver, Colorado 80202-1129, (303) 312-6210, 
hou.james@epa.gov.

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

I. Background

    The East Helena NAA is in southern Lewis and Clark County, and is 
defined as a rectangle that includes both the community of East Helena 
and unincorporated portions of southern Lewis and Clark County. On 
November 6, 1991 (56 FR 56694), the East Helena area was designated as 
nonattainment for the 1978 Pb NAAQS (1.5 [mu]g/m3). This designation 
was effective on January 6, 1992 and required the State to submit a 
CAA, title I, part D Pb nonattainment state implementation plan (SIP) 
by July 6, 1993. On August 16, 1995, July 2, 1996 and October 20, 1998 
the Governor of Montana submitted SIP revisions to meet the part D SIP 
requirements. The control plan submitted as part of the East Helena Pb 
attainment plan focused on limiting emissions from the ASARCO lead 
smelter, which comprised the majority of lead emissions in the NAA, as 
well as restricting emissions from the American Chemet Copper Furnace. 
These emission reductions were further assisted through the complete 
removal of lead in gasoline by 1995.
    On April 4, 2001, ASARCO shut down its lead smelter operations, 
thereby eliminating 99.8 percent of all stationary source Pb emissions 
in the NAA. The facility's three large smelter stacks were dismantled 
in August 2009. On April 15, 2007, ASARCO's Title V permit expired, and 
ASARCO's Montana Air Quality Permit was revoked in September 2013. The 
former ASARCO site is currently a Superfund site, with institutional 
controls in the form of land use restrictions and soil removal 
ordinances in place to prevent exposure to Pb contaminated soils.
    On June 18, 2001 (66 FR 32760), the EPA partially approved and 
partially disapproved the State's part D SIP submittals, which 
satisfied the CAA's criteria for Pb nonattainment SIPs. In the June 18, 
2001 action, the EPA also determined that the NAA had attained the 1978 
Pb NAAQS, based on air monitoring data through the calendar year 1999. 
The monitoring data used to determine attainment of the NAAQS included 
data while the ASARCO facility was still operating.
    The factual and legal background for this action is discussed in 
detail in our July 17, 2019 (84 FR 34102) proposed approval of the East 
Helena Pb Maintenance Plan and concurrent redesignation of the East 
Helena Pb NAA to attainment of the 1978 Pb NAAQS.

II. Response to Comments

    The public comment period on the EPA's proposed rule opened on July 
17, 2019, the date of its publication in the Federal Register, (84 FR 
34102), and closed on August 16, 2019. During this time, the EPA 
received one comment that is not addressed because it falls outside the 
scope of our proposed action.

[[Page 47896]]

III. Final Action

    The EPA is approving the East Helena Pb Maintenance Plan and is 
redesignating the East Helena Pb NAA from nonattainment to attainment 
of the 1978 Pb NAAQS.

IV. Statutory and Executive Orders Review

    Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a 
SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and 
applicable Federal regulations. 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 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:
     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, 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).

In addition, 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 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).
    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 Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by November 12, 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

40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Particulate matter, Reporting 
and recordkeeping requirements.

40 CFR Part 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks, 
Wilderness areas.

    Dated: September 4, 2019.
Gregory Sopkin,
Regional Administrator, EPA Region 8.

    40 CFR parts 52 and 81 are 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 BB--Montana

0
2. Section 52.1370(e), under ``(4) Lewis and Clark County,'' is amended 
by adding the entry ``East Helena 1978 Lead Maintenance Plan'' after 
the entry ``Total Suspended Particulate NAAQS--East Helena, East Helena 
Section of Chapter 5 of SIP, 4-6-79'' to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1370  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

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                                               State
              Title/subject               effective date   Notice of final rule date                              NFR citation
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                                                                      * * * * * * *
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                                                               (4) Lewis and Clark County
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                                                                      * * * * * * *
East Helena 1978 Lead Maintenance Plan..  ..............  September 11, 2019.........  [Insert Federal Register citation].
 

[[Page 47897]]

 
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0
3. Section 52.1375 is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1375  Control strategy: Lead.

    (a) Determination--EPA has determined that the East Helena Lead 
nonattainment area has attained the lead national ambient air quality 
standards through calendar year 1999. This determination is based on 
air quality data currently in the AIRS database (as of the date of our 
determination, June 18, 2001).
    (b) Redesignation to attainment--The EPA has determined that the 
East Helena lead (Pb) nonattainment area has met the criteria under CAA 
section 107(d)(3)(E) for redesignation from nonattainment to attainment 
for the 1978 Pb NAAQS. The EPA is therefore redesignating the East 
Helena 1978 Pb nonattainment area to attainment.
    (c)Maintenance plan approval--The EPA is approving the maintenance 
plan for the East Helena nonattainment area for the 1978 Pb NAAQS 
submitted by the State of Montana on October 28, 2018.

PART 81--DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES

0
4. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart C--Section 107 Attainment Status Designations

0
5. In Sec.  81.327, the table entitled ``Montana--1978 Lead NAAQS'' is 
amended by revising the ``Date'' and Type'' entries under 
``Designation'' for ``City of East Helena and vicinity'' to read as 
follows:


Sec.  81.327  Montana.

* * * * *

                                            Montana--1978 Lead NAAQS
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                                             Designation                            Classification
        Designated area        ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Date               Type               Date                  Type
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                                                  * * * * * * *
City of East Helena and         October 11, 2019.  Attainment.
 vicinity.
 
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[FR Doc. 2019-19541 Filed 9-10-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


