[Federal Register: August 6, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 151)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 46489-46491]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06au03-20]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 70
[KS 189-1189a; FRL-7540-7]
Approval and Promulgation of Operating Permits Program; State of
Kansas
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
[[Page 46490]]
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is approving revisions to the Kansas Operating Permit
Program. On June 25, 2001, the state of Kansas requested a revision to
change the Class I Operating Permits annual emission inventory due date
and to revise the annual emissions fee. Approval of these revisions
will ensure consistency between the state and Federally-approved rules.
DATES: This direct final rule will be effective October 6, 2003, unless
EPA receives adverse comments by September 5, 2003. If adverse comments
are received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the direct final
rule in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule will
not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted either by mail or electronically.
Written comments should be submitted to Heather Hamilton, Environmental
Protection Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch, 901 North 5th
Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66101. Electronic comments should be sent
either to Heather Hamilton at hamilton.heather@epa.gov or to http://www.regulations.gov
, which is an alternative method for submitting
electronic comments to EPA. To submit comments, please follow the
detailed instructions described in ``What action is EPA taking'' in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
Copies of documents relative to this action are available for
public inspection during normal business hours at the above-listed
Region 7 location. The interested persons wanting to examine these
documents should make an appointment with the office at least 24 hours
in advance.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heather Hamilton at (913) 551-7039 or
by e-mail at hamilton.heather@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This section provides
additional information by addressing the following questions: What is
the Part 70 operating permits program? What is being addressed in this
document? What action is EPA taking?
What Is the Part 70 Operating Permits Program?
The Clean Air Act (CAA) Amendments of 1990 requires all states to
develop operating permits programs that meet certain Federal criteria.
In implementing this program, the states are to require certain sources
of air pollution to obtain permits that contain all applicable
requirements under the CAA. One purpose of the Part 70 operating
permits program is to improve enforcement by issuing each source a
single permit that consolidates all of the applicable CAA requirements
into a Federally enforceable document. By consolidating all of the
applicable requirements for a facility into one document, the source,
the public and the permitting authorities can more easily determine
what CAA requirements apply and how compliance with those requirements
is determined.
Sources required to obtain an operating permit under this program
include: ``major'' sources of air pollution and certain other sources
specified in the CAA or in EPA's implementing regulations.
Revisions to the state operating permits program are subject to
public notice, comment, and EPA approval.
What Is Being Addressed in This Document?
The state of Kansas has requested that EPA approve as a revision to
the 40 CFR Part 70 Operating Permits Program the following revisions:
1. This revision to K.A.R. 28-19-202 Annual Emissions Fee raised
the annual rate from $18.00 per ton to $20.00 per ton for emissions
occurring in 2001 and later. This revision changes the annual rate back
to the original rate set when the Title V program was established, for
which Kansas made a demonstration that it was collecting fees
sufficient to cover its costs of implementing the Title V program. This
monetary revision will adjust the balance in the air quality fee fund
to adequately support the current actual developmental costs of the
program.
2. This revision to rule K.A.R. 28-19-517 Class I Operating
Permits, annual emission inventory changed the annual inventory due
date for Class I operating permits from April 1 of each year to June 1.
This revision is being made to allow additional time to submit fees and
to regulate the fee cycle with the state's budget cycle.
What Action Is EPA Taking?
EPA is approving the revision to the Kansas Operating Permits
Program to change the due date of the annual emission inventory from
April 1 to June 1, and to raise the annual emissions fee from $18.00 to
$20.00 per ton for emissions occurring in the year 2001 and later. On
June 25, 2001, the state of Kansas submitted a request for EPA to
revise the rules to reflect these changes.
We are processing this action as a direct final action because the
revisions make routine changes to the existing rules which are
noncontroversial. Therefore, we do not anticipate any adverse comments.
Please note that if EPA receives an adverse comment on part of this
rule and if that part can be severed from the remainder of the rule,
EPA may adopt as final those parts of the rule that are not the subject
of an adverse comment.
You may submit comments either electronically or by mail. To ensure
proper receipt by EPA, identify the appropriate rulemaking
identification number, KS 189-1189a, in the subject line on the first
page of your comment. Please ensure that your comments are submitted
within the specified comment period. Comments received after the close
of the comment period will be marked ``late.'' EPA is not required to
consider these late comments.
1. Electronically. If you submit an electronic comment as
prescribed below, EPA recommends that you include your name, mailing
address, and an e-mail address or other contact information in the body
of your comment. This ensures that you can be identified as the
submitter of the comment and allows EPA to contact you in case EPA
cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties or needs further
information on the substance of your comment. EPA's policy is that EPA
will not edit your comment, and any identifying or contact information
provided in the body of a comment will be included as part of the
comment that is placed in the official public docket. If EPA cannot
read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you
for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment.
a. Electronic mail. Comments may be sent by e-mail to Heather
Hamilton at hamilton.heather@epa.gov. Please include identification
number KS 189-1189a in the subject line. EPA's e-mail system is not an
``anonymous access'' system. If you send an e-mail comment directly
without going through regulations.gov, EPA's e-mail system
automatically captures your e-mail address. E-mail addresses that are
automatically captured by EPA's e-mail system are included as part of
the comment that is placed in the official public docket.
b. Regulations.gov. Your use of regulations.gov is an alternative
method of submitting electronic comments to EPA. Go directly to http://www.regulations.gov
, click on ``To Search for Regulations,'' then
select Environmental Protection Agency and use the ``go'' button. The
list of current EPA actions available for comment will be listed.
Please follow the online
[[Page 46491]]
instructions for submitting comments. The system is an ``anonymous
access'' system, which means EPA will not know your identity, e-mail
address, or other contact information unless you provide it in the body
of your comment.
2. By Mail. Written comments should be sent to the name and address
listed in the ADDRESSES section of this document.
Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. For this
reason, this action is also not subject to Executive Order 13211,
``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy
Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001). This action
merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and imposes
no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law.
Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this rule will not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because
this rule approves pre-existing requirements under state law and does
not impose any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by
state law, it 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).
This rule also does not have tribal implications because it will
not have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on
the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or
on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal
Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65
FR 67249, November 9, 2000). This action also does not have Federalism
implications because it does not have substantial direct effects on the
States, on the relationship between the national government and the
States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the
various levels of government, as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64
FR 43255, August 10, 1999). This action merely approves a state rule
implementing a Federal standard, and does not alter the relationship or
the distribution of power and responsibilities established in the CAA.
This rule also is not subject to Executive Order 13045, ``Protection of
Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks'' (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not economically significant.
In reviewing state operating permits programs submitted pursuant to
Title V of the CAA, EPA will approve state programs provided that they
meet the requirements of the CAA and EPA's regulations codified at 40
CFR part 70. In this context, in the absence of a prior existing
requirement for the state to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS),
EPA has no authority to disapprove a state operating permits program
for failure to use VCS. It would thus be inconsistent with applicable
law for EPA, when it reviews an operating permit program submission, to
use VCS in place of a state program that otherwise satisfies the
provisions of the CAA. Thus, the requirements of section 12(d) of the
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272
note) do not apply. This rule does not impose an information collection
burden under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
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 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. 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 October 6, 2003. Filing a petition for
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect
the finality of this rule 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 70
Environmental Protection, Administrative practice and procedure,
Air pollution control, Intergovernmental relations, Operating permits,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: July 28, 2003.
William Rice,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7.
0
40 CFR part 70 is amended as follows:
PART 70--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 70 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401, et seq.
0
2. Appendix A to part 70 is amended by adding paragraph (b) under
Kansas to read as follows:
Appendix A to Part 70--Approval Status of State and Local Operating
Permits Programs
* * * * *
Kansas
* * * * *
(b) The Kansas Department of Health and the Environment approved
revisions to the Kansas Administrative Record (K.A.R.), 28-19-202
and 28-19-517, which became effective on March 23, 2001, and
February 28, 1998, respectively. These revisions were submitted on
June 25, 2001. We are approving these program revisions effective
October 6, 2003.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 03-20019 Filed 8-5-03; 8:45 am]
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