Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 134 (Monday, July 13, 2020)

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 134 (Monday, July 13, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 41924-41925]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-13787]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R01-OAR-2020-0132; FRL-10011-52-Region 1]

Air Plan Approval and Air Quality Designation; Connecticut;
Determination of Clean Data for the 2008 8-Hour Ozone Standard for the
Greater Connecticut Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final action.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing a
clean data determination for the Greater Connecticut Serious 8-hour
ozone nonattainment area, concluding that the area has monitored
attainment of the 2008 8-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standard
(NAAQS) for ozone, based upon certified 2016-2018 ozone data. This
action suspends the requirements for this area to submit an attainment
demonstration, a reasonable further progress plan, contingency
measures, and other planning State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions
related to attainment of the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS on the condition
that the area continues to attain the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. This
action is being taken in accordance with the Clean Air Act.

DATES: This final action is effective on August 12, 2020.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket
Identification No. EPA-R01-OAR-2020-0132. All documents in the docket
are listed on the https://www.regulations.gov website. 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, is not placed on the
internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form.
Publicly available docket materials are available at https://www.regulations.gov or at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA
Region 1 Regional Office, Air and Radiation Division, 5 Post Office
Square--Suite 100, Boston, MA. EPA requests that if at all possible,
you contact the contact listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's official
hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,
excluding legal holidays and facility closures due to COVID-19.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Townsend, Air Quality
Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1, 5 Post Office
Square--Suite 100, (Mail code 05-2), Boston, MA 02109-3912, tel. (617)
918-1614, email townsend.elizabeth@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Background and Purpose
II. Final Action
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background and Purpose

On March 27, 2020 (85 FR 17301), EPA published a notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPRM) for the State of Connecticut. The NPRM proposed to
determine that the Greater Connecticut Serious 8-hour ozone
nonattainment area has attained the 2008 8-hour NAAQS for ozone, based
on 2016-2018 ozone data. Since the NPRM was published, EPA has
finalized and published the design values for 2019, based on 2017-2019
ozone data. These data support the conclusion that the Greater
Connecticut area attains the 2008 8-hour NAAQS for ozone.
On April 20, 2020 (85 FR 21796), EPA published a correction to the
proposed rule which corrected information, displayed in Table 1, of the
2016 fourth-high 8-hour ozone average concentration values for the
Abington, Cornwall, and East Hartford monitors. Although incorrect
values were displayed in the original version of the proposed rule, the
correct values were utilized in the calculation of the design values
and in the analysis for the clean data determination and therefore did
not change our analysis or conclusions. EPA proposed to determine that
the obligation for Connecticut to make submissions to meet certain CAA
requirements related to attainment of the NAAQS for this area is not
applicable for as long as the area continues to attain the NAAQS. The
rationale for EPA's proposed action is explained in the NPRM and will
not be restated here. No public comments were received on the NPRM.

II. Final Action

For the reasons stated in the proposed action, EPA is finalizing a
clean data determination for the Greater Connecticut Serious 8-hour
ozone nonattainment area based on the area's current attainment of the
2008 8-hour ozone standard. Pursuant to 40 CFR 51.1118, this action
suspends the requirements for this area to submit State Implementation
Plan (SIP) revisions related to attainment of the 2008 8-hour ozone
NAAQS on the condition that the area continues to attain the 2008 8-
hour ozone NAAQS. In particular, as discussed in the proposed action
(85 FR 17301), the obligation for Connecticut to submit attainment
demonstrations and associated reasonably available control measures,
reasonable further progress plans, contingency measures for failure to
attain or make reasonable progress and other planning SIPs related to
attainment of the 2008 ozone NAAQS shall be suspended until such time
as:

[[Page 41925]]

(1) The area is redesignated to attainment for the 2008 8-hour ozone
NAAQS, at which time the requirements no longer apply; or (2) EPA
determines that the area has violated the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS, at
which time the area is again required to submit such plans.

III. 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 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 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 application of those requirements would be inconsistent
with the Clean Air Act; 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, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian
reservation land or in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has
demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian
country, the action 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. 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 September 11, 2020. Filing a
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final action
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, Incorporation by
reference, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: June 22, 2020.
Dennis Deziel,
Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1.
[FR Doc. 2020-13787 Filed 7-10-20; 8:45 am]
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