Advanced Search

Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Plan Approval and Operating Permit Fees


Published: 2015-03-27

Subscribe to a Global-Regulation Premium Membership Today!

Key Benefits:

Subscribe Now for only USD$40 per month.
ACTION:
Direct final rule.
SUMMARY:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Pennsylvania State Implementation Plan (SIP). This proposed revision pertains to minor editorial revisions to Pennsylvania's existing plan approval and operating permit fee rules. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES:
This rule is effective on May 26, 2015 without further notice, unless EPA receives adverse written comment by April 27, 2015. If EPA receives such comments, it will publish a timely withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform the public that the rule will not take effect.
ADDRESSES:
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-R03-OAR-2014-0634 by one of the following methods:
A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
B. Email: Campbell.Dave@epa.gov .
C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2014-0634, Dave Campbell, Associate Director, Office of Permits and Air Toxics, Mailcode 3AP10, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
D. Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region III address. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-2014-0634. 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 information that you consider to be CBI, or otherwise protected, through www.regulations.gov or email. 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 email comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov, your email 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 electronic 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, is not placed on the Internet and 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 during normal business hours at the Air Protection Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of the State submittal are available at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Air Quality Control, P.O. Box 8468, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Gerallyn Duke, (215) 814-2084, or by email at Duke.Gerallyn@epa.gov .
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
On February 11, 2014, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection submitted a revision to the Pennsylvania SIP for minor clarifying amendments to Pennsylvania's existing air permit fee rule.
I. Background
Section 110(a)(2)(L) of the CAA requires SIPs to include requirements that the owner or operator of each major stationary source pay to the permitting authority, as a condition of any permit required by the CAA, fees sufficient to cover reasonable costs of acting on the permit as well as implementing and enforcing the terms and conditions of the permit. EPA approved Pennsylvania's plan approval and operating permit fee regulation at 25 PA Code 127.701-127.707 into the Pennsylvania SIP in accordance with section 110 of the CAA, on July 30, 1996. 61 FR 39595.
II. Summary of SIP Revision
The February 11, 2014 revision amends 25 PA Code 127.701 to clarify that permit fees paid to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection by owners and operators of certain stationary sources are deposited into the Clean Air Fund which was previously established under section 9 of the Pennsylvania Air Pollution Control Act. Minor editorial changes to 25 PA Code 127.701 also are included to clarify that plan approval and operating permit fees collected to implement title V requirements shall be made payable to the “Pennsylvania Clean Air Fund.”
III. Final Action
EPA is approving the Pennsylvania SIP revision submitted on February 11, 2014 pertaining to payment of air permit fees to the “Pennsylvania Clean Air Fund” and requirements to deposit such fees in a restricted revenue account within the Clean Air Fund. The February 11, 2014 SIP revision is in accordance with requirements in section 110(a)(2)(L) of the CAA. EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because EPA views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no adverse comment. However, in the “Proposed Rules” section of today's Federal Register , EPA is publishing a separate document that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision if adverse comments are filed. This rule will be effective on May 26, 2015 without further notice unless EPA receives adverse comment by April 27, 2015. If EPA receives adverse comment, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take effect. EPA will address all public comments in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so at this time.
IV. Incorporation by Reference
In this rulemaking action, 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 this Pennsylvania SIP revision regarding amendments to 25 PA Code 127.701, as discussed in section II of this preamble. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these documents generally available electronically through www.regulations.gov and/or in hard copy at the appropriate EPA office (see the ADDRESSES section of this preamble for more information).
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. General Requirements
Under the CAA, 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 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 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.
B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General
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).
C. Petitions for Judicial Review
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 26, 2015. 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. Parties with objections to this direct final rule are encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel notice of proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules section of today's Federal Register, rather than file an immediate petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed rulemaking action. This action pertaining to minor editorial revisions to Pennsylvania's existing title V fee rule 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: March 10, 2015.
William C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
Therefore, 40 CFR part 52 is amended 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.
Subpart NN—Pennsylvania
2. In § 52.2020, the table in paragraph (c)(1) is amended by revising the entry “Section 127.701” to read as follows:
§ 52.2020
(c) * * *
(1) EPA-Approved Pennsylvania Regulations and Statutes
State citation
Title/Subject
State effective date
EPA Approval date
Additional explanation/§ 52.2063 citation
*******
Subchapter I—Plan Approval and Operating Permit Fees
Section 127.701
General provisions
12/14/13
3/27/15 [ Insert
Federal Register
citation ]
Paragraphs (b) and (c) revised.
*******
[FR Doc. 2015-06968 Filed 3-26-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P