Designation of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; Indiana; Redesignation of the Southwest Indiana Sulfur Dioxide Nonattainment Area

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Final rule.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is redesignating the Southwest Indiana nonattainment area, which consists of a portion of Daviess County and a portion of Pike County (Veale Township in Daviess County and Washington Township in Pike County), to attainment for the 2010 primary, health-based 1-hour sulfur dioxide (SO₂) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). EPA is also approving Indiana's maintenance plan for the Southwest Indiana SO₂ nonattainment area. Indiana submitted the request for approval of the Southwest Indiana nonattainment area's redesignation and maintenance plan on October 24, 2018, and supplemental information on August 25, 2020. EPA has previously approved Indiana's attainment plan for the Southwest Indiana area.

DATES:

This final rule is effective on April 30, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-2018-0732. All documents in the docket are listed on the www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., Confidential Business Information (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 either through www.regulations.gov or at the Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays and facility closures due to COVID-19. We recommend that you telephone Abigail Teener, Environmental Engineer, at (312) 353-7314 before visiting the Region 5 office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Abigail Teener, Environmental Engineer, Attainment Planning and Maintenance Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 353-7314, teener.abigail@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background Information

On October 29, 2020, EPA proposed to approve the redesignation of the Southwest Indiana SO₂ nonattainment area to attainment of the 2010 primary, health-based 1-hour SO₂ NAAQS and to approve Indiana's maintenance plan for the nonattainment area (85 FR 68533). An explanation of the CAA requirements, a detailed analysis of the revisions, and EPA's reasons for proposing approval were provided in the notice of proposed rulemaking and will not be restated here. The public comment period for this proposed rule ended on November 30, 2020. EPA received no comments on the proposal.

II. Final Action

In accordance with Indiana's October 24, 2018 request and August 25, 2020 supplemental letter, EPA is redesignating the Southwest Indiana nonattainment area from nonattainment to attainment of the 2010 SO₂ NAAQS. EPA finds that Indiana has demonstrated that the area is attaining the 2010 SO₂ NAAQS and that the improvement in air quality is due to permanent and enforceable SO₂ emission reductions in the area. EPA is also approving Indiana's maintenance plan, which is designed to ensure that the area will continue to maintain the SO₂ NAAQS.

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

Under the CAA, redesignation of an area to attainment and the accompanying approval of a maintenance plan under section 107(d)(3)(E) are actions that affect the status of a geographical area and do not impose any additional regulatory requirements on sources beyond those imposed by state law. A redesignation to attainment does not in and of itself create any new requirements, but rather results in the applicability of requirements contained in the CAA for areas that have been redesignated to attainment. Moreover, 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, 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 it is not a significant regulatory action 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 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 May 3, 2021. 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

40 CFR Part 52

• Environmental protection
• Air pollution control
• Incorporation by reference
• Intergovernmental relations
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements
• Sulfur oxides

40 CFR Part 81

• Environmental protection
• Air pollution control
• National parks
• Wilderness areas

For the reasons stated in the preamble, EPA amends 40 CFR parts 52 and 81 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.

2. In § 52.770, the table in paragraph (e) is amended by adding an entry for “Southwest Indiana 2010 Sulfur Dioxide (SO ₂) Maintenance Plan” following the entry “Southwest Indiana 2010 Sulfur Dioxide (SO₂) Attainment Plan” to read as follows:

PART 81—DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES

3. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:

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

4. Section 81.315 is amended in the table entitled “Indiana—2010 Sulfur Dioxide NAAQS [Primary]” by revising the entry for “Southwest Indiana, IN” to read as follows: