[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 199 (Wednesday, October 14, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 64966-64969]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-20391]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R06-OAR-2020-0159; FRL-10014-57-Region 6]
Air Plan Approval; Texas; Construction Prior to Permit Amendment
Issuance
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act), the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving one revision to the
Texas (TX) State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted on August, 2020,
as adopted on July 15, 2020, that revised the State's New Source Review
(NSR) permitting rules contained in Title 30 of the Texas
Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 116 Control of Air Pollution by Air
Permits for New Construction or Modification by amending the criteria
for air pollution control permits for new construction or modification,
as well as make other non-substantive revisions.
DATES: This rule is effective on November 13, 2020.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID No. EPA-R06-OAR-2020-0159. 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, e.g.,
Confidential Business Information or other information whose disclosure
is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted
material, is not placed on the internet. Publicly available docket
materials are available electronically through https://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Layton, EPA Region 6 Office,
Air Permits Section, 214-665-2136, layton.elizabeth@epa.gov. Out of an
abundance of caution for members of the public and our staff, the EPA
Region 6 office will be closed to the public to reduce the risk of
transmitting COVID-19. Please call or email the contact listed above if
you need alternative access to material indexed but not provided in the
docket.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' and
``our'' means the EPA.
I. Background
The background for this action is discussed in depth in our April
23, 2020, proposal (85 FR 22700). We preliminarily determined that the
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proposed revisions to the State's New Source Review permitting rules
were consistent with the CAA and the EPA's regulations and guidance.
Under the EPA's ``parallel processing'' procedure, the EPA proposes a
rulemaking action on a proposed SIP revision concurrently with the
State's public review process. If the State's proposed SIP revision is
not significantly changed, the EPA will finalize the rulemaking on the
SIP revision as proposed after responding to any submitted comments.
Final rulemaking action by the EPA will occur only after the final SIP
revision has been fully adopted by the TCEQ and submitted formally to
the EPA for approval as a revision to the Texas SIP. See 40 CFR part
51, Appendix V.
The TCEQ completed their state rulemaking process and adopted
revisions on July 15, 2020. The TCEQ submitted these adopted changes to
the EPA as a revision to the Texas SIP on August 21, 2020. The EPA has
evaluated the State's final SIP revision for any changes made from the
time of proposal. The EPA's evaluation of the adopted revisions
including the completeness determination for the final SIP submission
is included in the ``Addendum to the Technical Support Document'' for
EPA-R06-OAR-2020-0159, available in the rulemaking docket.
The EPA is proceeding with our final approval of the August 21,
2020, revisions to the Texas SIP, consistent with the parallel
processing provisions in in 40 CFR part 51, Appendix V. The TCEQ
adopted the revisions as they were proposed, i.e., no changes were
made. We received four supportive comments regarding our proposal.
Therefore, we are proceeding with our final approval because the
submitted final regulations adopted by the state do not alter our
rationale for proposal presented in our April 23, 2020, proposed
rulemaking. The comments received on our proposed rulemaking are
outlined in the section below.
II. Response to Comments
We received four public comments on the proposal. All four comments
supported our proposed approval. One commenter supported the approval
but requested additional flexibility to allow construction to commence
at an earlier stage in the permitting process. All public comments
submitted are in the public docket to this rulemaking. Our responses to
the comments are discussed below.
Comment: The State of Texas (TCEQ), the Texas Industry Project
(TIP), and the Texas Oil and Gas Association (TXOGA) submitted comments
supporting the proposed approval.
Response: The EPA appreciates the supportive comments from the
TCEQ, TIP, and TXOGA. No changes will be made to the proposed rule as a
result of these comments.
Comment: Kohler Co. supports the TCEQ's proposed rulemaking but
requested that the language be revised in the final action to allow
construction to commence when the permit application is deemed
administratively complete, rather than when a draft permit is issued.
Response: The EPA appreciates the supportive comment. In reviewing
SIP submissions, the EPA's role is strictly to approve state choices,
provided those choices meet the criteria of the CAA; we refer Kohler
Co. to the State for comments regarding revisions to the rule.
III. Final Action
The EPA has determined that the August 21, 2020, revisions to the
Texas SIP are consistent with the CAA and EPA's policy and guidance on
minor NSR air permitting rules. Therefore, under section 110 of the
Act, the EPA approves the following revisions to the Texas SIP,
submitted August 21, 2020, as adopted on July 15, 2020, in the
following Sections of 30 TAC Chapter 116:
Revisions to 30 TAC Section 116.110 (except for Sections
116.110(a)(5), (c) and (d) that are not part of the Texas SIP);
Revisions to 30 TAC Section 116.116;
Addition of 30 TAC Section 116.118;
Revisions to 30 TAC Section 116.710;
Revisions to 30 TAC Section 116.721.
Additionally, the EPA approves a ministerial change to 40 CFR
52.2270(c) to clarify that 30 TAC Section 116.110 Subsections (d)
change in ownership, (e) submittal under PE seal, and (f)
responsibility for permit application were approved on November 14,
2003, and include their appropriate re-lettering to 30 TAC Subsections
116.110(e), (f), and (g), respectively, from the January 30, 2020,
proposed approval by parallel processing request.
IV. 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 the
revisions to the Texas regulations as described in the Final Action
section above. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these
materials generally available through www.regulations.gov a (please
contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section of this preamble for more information). Therefore, these
materials have been approved by EPA for inclusion in the SIP, have been
incorporated by reference by EPA into that plan, are fully federally
enforceable under sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the effective
date of the final rulemaking of EPA's approval, and will be
incorporated by reference in the next update to the SIP compilation.
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the CAA, 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 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);
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
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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 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 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. 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 December 14, 2020. 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: September 10, 2020.
Kenley McQueen,
Regional Administrator, Region 6.
40 CFR part 52 is 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 SS--Texas
0
2. In Sec. 52.2270 (c), the table titled ``EPA Approved Regulations in
the Texas SIP'' is amended by:
0
a. Revising the entries for Sections 116.110, 116.116, 116.710 and
116.721, and;
0
b. Adding a new entry for Section 116.118.
The amendments read as follows:
Sec. 52.2270 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
EPA Approved Regulations in the Texas SIP
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State approval/
State citation Title/subject submittal EPA approval date Explanation
date
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* * * * * * *
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Chapter 116 (Reg 6)--Control of Air Pollution by Permits for New Construction or Modification
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Subchapter B--New Source Review Permits
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Division 1--Permit Application
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Section 116.110............... Applicability....... 7/15/2020 10/14/2020, [Insert SIP does not include
Federal Register 116.110(a)(5),
citation]. 116.110(c), or
116.110(d).
* * * * * * *
Section 116.116............... Changes to 7/15/2020 10/14/2020, [Insert SIP does not include
Facilities. Federal Register 30 TAC Section
citation]. 116.116(b)(3).
* * * * * * *
Section 116.118............... Construction While 7/15/2020 10/14/2020, [Insert
Permit Amendment Federal Register
Application Pending. citation].
* * * * * * *
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Subchapter G--Flexible Permits
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116.710....................... Applicability....... July 15, 2020 10/14/2020, [Insert
Federal Register
citation].
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* * * * * * *
116.721....................... Amendments and July 15, 2020 10/14/2020, [Insert
Alterations. Federal Register
citation].
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[FR Doc. 2020-20391 Filed 10-13-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P