[Federal Register: April 15, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 73)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 20177-20179]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15ap08-13]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R07-OAR-2008-0241; FRL-8553-1]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of Iowa
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a revision to the Iowa State Implementation
Plan submitted on January 16, 2008. The revision includes changes to
the definition of ``permitting authority'' in each of Iowa's rules used
for compliance with EPA's Clean Air Interstate Rule. Iowa's SIP
revision is in response to EPA's request of Iowa to revise the
definitions to ensure that all allowances issued in the EPA Budget
Trading Programs can be traded and used for compliance with the
allowance-holding requirement in any State in the program.
DATES: This direct final rule will be effective June 16, 2008, without
further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by May 15, 2008. If
EPA receives adverse comment, we 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: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R07-
OAR-2008-0241, by one of the following methods:
1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
2. E-mail: jay.michael@epa.gov.
3. Mail: Michael Jay, Environmental Protection Agency, Air Planning
and Development Branch, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, Kansas
66101.
4. Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver your comments to Michael Jay,
Environmental Protection Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch,
901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66101.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R07-OAR-
2008-0241. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit through www.regulations.gov or e-
mail information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected.
The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system,
which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information
unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-
mail comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov,
your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part
of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available
on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends
that you include your name and other contact information in the body of
your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. 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. Electronic
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
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, i.e., 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
form. Publicly available docket materials are available either
electronically in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the
Environmental Protection Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch,
901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66101. The Regional Office's
official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30
p.m. excluding Federal holidays. 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: Michael Jay at (913) 551-7460, or by
e-mail at jay.michael@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 a SIP?
What is the Federal approval process for a SIP?
What does Federal approval of a state regulation mean to me?
What is being addressed in this document?
[[Page 20178]]
Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?
What action is EPA taking?
What is a SIP?
Section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires states to develop
air pollution regulations and control strategies to ensure that state
air quality meets the national ambient air quality standards
established by EPA. These ambient standards are established under
section 109 of the CAA, and they currently address six criteria
pollutants. These pollutants are: Carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide,
ozone, lead, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide.
Each state must submit these regulations and control strategies to
us for approval and incorporation into the Federally-enforceable SIP.
Each Federally-approved SIP protects air quality primarily by
addressing air pollution at its point of origin. These SIPs can be
extensive, containing state regulations or other enforceable documents
and supporting information such as emission inventories, monitoring
networks, and modeling demonstrations.
What is the Federal approval process for a SIP?
In order for state regulations to be incorporated into the
Federally-enforceable SIP, states must formally adopt the regulations
and control strategies consistent with state and Federal requirements.
This process generally includes a public notice, public hearing, public
comment period, and a formal adoption by a state-authorized rulemaking
body.
Once a state rule, regulation, or control strategy is adopted, the
state submits it to us for inclusion into the SIP. We must provide
public notice and seek additional public comment regarding the proposed
Federal action on the state submission. If adverse comments are
received, they must be addressed prior to any final Federal action by
us.
All state regulations and supporting information approved by EPA
under section 110 of the CAA are incorporated into the Federally-
approved SIP. Records of such SIP actions are maintained in the Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) at title 40, part 52, entitled ``Approval and
Promulgation of Implementation Plans.'' The actual state regulations
which are approved are not reproduced in their entirety in the CFR
outright but are ``incorporated by reference,'' which means that we
have approved a given state regulation with a specific effective date.
What does Federal approval of a state regulation mean to me?
Enforcement of the state regulation before and after it is
incorporated into the Federally-approved SIP is primarily a state
responsibility. However, after the regulation is Federally approved, we
are authorized to take enforcement action against violators. Citizens
are also offered legal recourse to address violations as described in
section 304 of the CAA.
What is being addressed in this document?
The SIP revision addresses changes to the definition of
``permitting authority'' in each of Iowa's rules for compliance with
the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), that include the following: 567-
34.201 for the annual NOX trading program, 567-34.210 for
the annual SO2 trading program, and 567-34.221 for the ozone
season trading program. Each rule has been revised to specify that the
definition of ``permitting authority'' shall mean the definition
contained in the corresponding EPA CAIR model rule for purposes of its
use in the definitions of ``allocate or allocation'' and in all other
references it shall mean the Iowa Department of Natural Resources
(IDNR). Iowa has made these revisions to its State rules in response to
an EPA letter request sent to the IDNR on February 17, 2007. This SIP
revision is necessary to ensure that all allowances issued in the EPA
Budget Trading Programs are fungible and can be traded and used for
compliance with the allowance-holding requirement in any State in the
program. By revising the definition of ``permitting authority'' to be
consistent with the EPA CAIR model rules when used in the definitions
of ``allocate or allocation,'' the IDNR ensures that allowances issued
by permitting authorities other than the IDNR, such as States other
than Iowa, can be used for compliance with Iowa's CAIR rules. EPA has
reviewed Iowa's revised definitions and has found that Iowa has
successfully incorporated EPA's recommended changes.
Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?
The state submittal has met the public notice requirements for SIP
submissions in accordance with 40 CFR 51.102. The submittal also
satisfied the completeness criteria of 40 CFR part 51, appendix V. In
addition, as explained above and in more detail in the technical
support document which is part of this docket, the revision meets the
substantive SIP requirements of the CAA, including section 110 and
implementing regulations.
What action is EPA taking?
EPA is taking direct final action to approve a revision to the Iowa
SIP submitted on January 16, 2008. We are processing this action as a
direct final action because the revisions make changes to the existing
rules which are noncontroversial. Therefore, we do not anticipate any
adverse comments. Please note that if EPA receives 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.
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 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 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 Order
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
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
[[Page 20179]]
application of those requirements would be inconsistent with the CAA;
and
Does not provide 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, this rule does not have tribal implications as specified
by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because the
SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in the state,
and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct costs on
tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
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 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 CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by June 16, 2008. 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 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: April 3, 2008.
William Rice,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7.
0
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:
PART 52--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart Q--Iowa
0
2. In Sec. 52.820(c) the table is amended by revising the entries for
567-34.201, 567-34.210, and 567-34.221 to read as follows:
Sec. 52.820 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
EPA-Approved Iowa Regulations
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State
Iowa citation Title effective date EPA approval date Explanation
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Iowa Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Commission [567]
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* * * * * * *
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Chapter 34--Provisions for Air Quality Emissions Trading Programs
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* * * * * * *
567-34.201 CAIR NOX annual 11/28/2007 4/15/2008 [insert ............................
trading program FR page number
provisions. where the
document begins].
* * * * * * *
567-34.210 CAIR SO2 trading 11/28/2007 4/15/2008 [insert ............................
program. FR page number
where the
document begins.
* * * * * * *
567-34.221 CAIR NOX ozone 11/28/2007 4/15/2008 [insert
season trading FR page number
program general where the
provisions. document begins.
* * * * * * *
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[FR Doc. E8-7815 Filed 4-14-08; 8:45 am]
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