Air Plan Approval; AK: Updates to Materials Incorporated by Reference

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Final rule; administrative change.

SUMMARY:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is updating the materials that are incorporated by reference (IBR) into the Alaska State Implementation Plan (SIP). The regulations affected by this format change have all been previously submitted by Alaska and approved by the EPA. In this action, the EPA is also notifying the public of corrections to typographical errors, and minor formatting changes to the IBR tables. This update affects the SIP materials that are available for public inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the EPA Regional Office.

DATES:

This rule is effective on December 8, 2017.

ADDRESSES:

SIP materials which are incorporated by reference into 40 CFR part 52 are available for inspection at the following locations: Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10 Office of Air and Waste (OAW-150), 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101, or the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call (202) 741-6030, or go to: https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kristin Hall, EPA Region 10, (206) 553-6357, hall.kristin@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The SIP is a living document that a state revises as necessary to address its unique air pollution problems. Therefore, from time to time, the EPA must take action on SIP revisions containing new and/or revised regulations, approving and incorporating them into the SIP. On May 22, 1997, the EPA revised the procedures for incorporating by reference federally-approved SIPs, as a result of consultations between the EPA and the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) (62 FR 27968). The description of the revised SIP document, IBR procedures and “Identification of plan” format is discussed in further detail in the May 22, 1997, Federal Register document. On April 10, 2014, the EPA published a Federal Register beginning the new IBR procedure for Alaska (79 FR 19820). Since then, the EPA has approved and incorporated by reference the following provisions of Alaska Administrative Code (18 AAC 50), Alaska Statutes (AS), and Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) Code into the Alaska SIP.

A. Added Regulations

• 18 AAC 50.007 Local Government Powers or Obligations Under a Local Air Quality Control Program
• 18 AAC 50.076 Solid Fuel-fired Heating Device Fuel Requirements; Standards for Commercial Wood-sellers
• 18 AAC 50.077 Standards for Wood-fired Heating Devices
• 18 AAC 50.246 Air Quality Episodes and Advisories for PM_2.5
• 18 AAC 50.400 Permit Administration Fees
• 18 AAC 50.510 Minor Permit: 18 AAC 50.510 Minor Permit—Title V Permit Interface
• 18 AAC 50.712 Agency Responsibilities
• FNSB 21.28.010 Definitions
• FNSB 21.28.020 Borough listed devices
• FNSB 21.28.030 Prohibited acts
• FNSB 21.28.050 Forecasting exceedances and restrictions in the air quality control zone during an alert
• FNSB 21.28.060 No other adequate source of heat determination

B. Revised Regulations

• 18 AAC 50.010 Ambient Air Quality Standards
• 18 AAC 50.015 Air Quality Designations, Classifications, and Control Regions
• 18 AAC 50.020 Baseline Dates and Maximum Allowable Increases
• 18 AAC 50.025 Visibility and Other Special Protection Areas
• 18 AAC 50.035 Documents, Procedures and Methods Adopted by Reference
• 18 AAC 50.040 Federal Standards Adopted by Reference
• 18 AAC 50.050 Incinerator Emission Standards
• 18 AAC 50.055 Industrial Processes and Fuel-Burning Equipment
• 18 AAC 50.065 Open Burning
• 18 AAC 50.215 Ambient Air Quality Analysis Methods
• 18 AAC 50.220 Enforceable Test Methods
• 18 AAC 50.230 Owner-Requested Limits
• 18 AAC 50.245 Air Quality Episodes and Advisories for Pollutants Other Than PM_2.5
• 18 AAC 50.260 Guidelines for Best Available Retrofit Technology Under the Regional Haze Rule
• 18 AAC 50.302 Construction Permits
• 18 AAC 50.306 Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) Permits
• 18 AAC 50.345 Construction, Minor and Operating Permits: Standard Permit Conditions
18 AAC 50.400 Permit Administration Fees
• 18 AAC 50.502 Minor Permits for Air Quality Protection
• 18 AAC 50.508 Minor Permits Requested by the Owner or Operator
• 18 AAC 50.510 Minor Permit: 18 AAC 50.510 Minor Permit—Title V Permit Interface
• 18 AAC 50.540 Minor Permit: Application
• 18 AAC 50.542 Minor Permit: Review and Issuance
• 18 AAC 50.544 Minor Permit: Content
18 AAC 50.546 Minor Permit: Revisions
• 18 AAC 50.700 Purpose
• 18 AAC 50.705 Applicability
• 18 AAC 50.715 Interagency Consultation Procedures
• 18 AAC 50.720 Public Involvement
• 18 AAC 50.740 Written Commitments
18 AAC 50.745 Resolving Conflicts
• 18 AAC 50.750 Exempt Projects
• 18 AAC 50.990 Definitions
• AS 46.14.550 Responsibilities of Owner and Operator
• AS 46.14.990 Definitions

C. Removed Regulations

• 18 AAC 50.060 Pulp Mills
• 18 AAC 50.710 Transportation Conformity: Incorporation by Reference of Federal Regulations
• 18 AAC 50.725 General Conformity: Incorporation by Reference of Federal Regulations
• 18 AAC 50.735 General Conformity: Frequency of Conformity Determinations
• AS 46.14.510 Motor Vehicle Pollution

II. EPA Action

In this action, the EPA is announcing the update to the IBR material as of September 8, 2017. The EPA is correcting minor typographical errors and rearranging and republishing the contents of subsection 52.70(c). The EPA is also rearranging and republishing the contents of subsection 52.70(e) to align the contents with the outline of the Alaska state plan volumes and sections. We note we are correcting entries 18 AAC 50.075 and 18 AAC 50.077 in subsection 52.70(c) to accurately reflect the portions of these rule sections that were withdrawn by the State and not approved into the SIP (September 8, 2017, 82 FR 42457). We are also correcting the table in subsection 52.70(e) to reflect our approval of the appendices to the Regional Haze Plan at entry III.III.K. (February 14, 2013, 78 FR 10546) and our most recent approval of the State Air Statutes at entry III.II.A. (September 19, 2014, 79 FR 56268).

The EPA has determined that this rule falls under the “good cause” exemption in section 553(b)(3)(B) of the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) which, upon finding “good cause,” authorizes agencies to dispense with public participation and section 553(d)(3) which allows an agency to make a rule effective immediately (thereby avoiding the 30-day delayed effective date otherwise provided for in the APA). This rule simply codifies provisions which are already in effect as a matter of law in federal and approved state programs. Under section 553 of the APA, an agency may find good cause where procedures are “impractical, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.” Public comment is “unnecessary” and “contrary to the public interest” since the codification only reflects existing law. Immediate notice in the CFR benefits the public by removing outdated citations and incorrect table entries.

III. Incorporation by Reference

In this rule, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of previously EPA-approved regulations promulgated by Alaska and federally-effective prior to September 8, 2017. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials generally available through www.regulations.gov and/or at the EPA Region 10 Office (please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this preamble for more information).

IV. Statutory and Executive Orders Review

A. General Requirements

Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Administrator is required to approve a SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA 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 CAA. 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);
• 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 (Public Law 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).

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 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.

In this rule, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the Alaska regulations described in the amendments to 40 CFR part 52 set forth below. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these documents generally available electronically through www.regulations.gov and/or in hard copy at the appropriate EPA office (see the ADDRESSES section of this preamble for more information).

B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General

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 rule 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. This rule is not a “major rule” as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

C. Petitions for Judicial Review

The EPA has also determined that the provisions of section 307(b)(1) of the CAA pertaining to petitions for judicial review are not applicable to this action. Prior EPA rulemaking actions for each individual component of the Alaska SIP compilations had previously afforded interested parties the opportunity to file a petition for judicial review in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit within 60 days of such rulemaking action. Thus, the EPA sees no need in this action to reopen the 60-day period for filing such petitions for judicial review for this “Identification of plan” update action for Alaska.

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 record keeping requirements
• Sulfur oxides
• Volatile organic compounds

Part 52 of chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, is amended as follows:

PART 52—APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart C—Alaska

2. In § 52.70, revise paragraphs (b) through (e) to read as follows: