Reconsideration on the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) and the Utility New Source Performance Standards Startup and Shutdown Provisions; Final Action, 52346-52347 [2016-18684]
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 152 / Monday, August 8, 2016 / Rules and Regulations
or loan programs or the rights and
obligations of recipients thereof; or
(4) Raise novel legal or policy issues
arising out of legal mandates, the
President’s priorities, or the principles
stated in the Executive order.
This final regulatory action is not a
significant regulatory action subject to
review by OMB under section 3(f) of
Executive Order 12866.
We have also reviewed this final
regulatory action under Executive Order
13563, which supplements and
explicitly reaffirms the principles,
structures, and definitions governing
regulatory review established in
Executive Order 12866. To the extent
permitted by law, Executive Order
13563 requires that an agency—
(1) Propose or adopt regulations only
upon a reasoned determination that
their benefits justify their costs
(recognizing that some benefits and
costs are difficult to quantify);
(2) Tailor its regulations to impose the
least burden on society, consistent with
obtaining regulatory objectives and
taking into account—among other things
and to the extent practicable—the costs
of cumulative regulations;
(3) In choosing among alternative
regulatory approaches, select those
approaches that maximize net benefits
(including potential economic,
environmental, public health and safety,
and other advantages; distributive
impacts; and equity);
(4) To the extent feasible, specify
performance objectives, rather than the
behavior or manner of compliance a
regulated entity must adopt; and
(5) Identify and assess available
alternatives to direct regulation,
including economic incentives—such as
user fees or marketable permits—to
encourage the desired behavior, or
provide information that enables the
public to make choices.
Executive Order 13563 also requires
an agency ‘‘to use the best available
techniques to quantify anticipated
present and future benefits and costs as
accurately as possible.’’ The Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs of
OMB has emphasized that these
techniques may include ‘‘identifying
changing future compliance costs that
might result from technological
innovation or anticipated behavioral
changes.’’
We are issuing these final priorities
only on a reasoned determination that
their benefits justify their costs. In
choosing among alternative regulatory
approaches, we selected those
approaches that maximize net benefits.
Based on the analysis that follows, the
Department believes that this regulatory
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action is consistent with the principles
in Executive Order 13563.
We also have determined that this
regulatory action does not unduly
interfere with State, local, and tribal
governments in the exercise of their
governmental functions.
In accordance with both Executive
orders, the Department has assessed the
potential costs and benefits, both
quantitative and qualitative, of this
regulatory action. The potential costs
are those resulting from statutory
requirements and those we have
determined as necessary for
administering the Department’s
programs and activities.
The priorities included in this notice
would benefit students, parents,
educators, administrators, and other
stakeholders by improving the quality of
State assessment instruments and
systems. Priority 1 will yield new, more
authentic methods for collecting
evidence about what students know and
are able to do and provide educators
with more individualized, easily
integrated assessments that can support
competency-based learning and other
forms of personalized instruction.
Priority 2 will allow for States to score
non-multiple choice assessment items
more quickly and at a lower cost and
ensure that assessments provide timely,
actionable feedback to students, parents,
and educators. Priority 3 will encourage
States to ensure that assessments are of
high quality, maximize instructional
goals, and have clear purpose and
utility. Further, it will encourage States
to eliminate unnecessary or redundant
tests.
Intergovernmental Review: This
program is subject to Executive Order
12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR
part 79. One of the objectives of the
Executive order is to foster an
intergovernmental partnership and a
strengthened federalism. The Executive
order relies on processes developed by
State and local governments for
coordination and review of proposed
Federal financial assistance.
This document provides early
notification of our specific plans and
actions for this program.
Accessible Format: Individuals with
disabilities can obtain this document in
an accessible format (e.g., braille, large
print, audiotape, or compact disc) on
request to the program contact person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT.
Electronic Access to This Document:
The official version of this document is
the document published in the Federal
Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register
and the Code of Federal Regulations is
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available via the Federal Digital System
at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you
can view this document, as well as all
other documents of this Department
published in the Federal Register, in
text or Portable Document Format
(PDF). To use PDF you must have
Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is
available free at the site.
You may also access documents of the
Department published in the Federal
Register by using the article search
feature at: www.federalregister.gov.
Specifically, through the advanced
search feature at this site, you can limit
your search to documents published by
the Department.
Dated: August 1, 2016.
Ann Whalen,
Senior Advisor to the Secretary, Delegated
the Duties of Assistant, Secretary for
Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2016–18530 Filed 8–5–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–HQ–OAR–2009–0234; FRL–9950–31–
OAR]
40 CFR Parts 60 and 63
Reconsideration on the Mercury and
Air Toxics Standards (MATS) and the
Utility New Source Performance
Standards Startup and Shutdown
Provisions; Final Action
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of final action denying
petitions for reconsideration.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) is providing
notice that it has responded to two
petitions for reconsideration of the final
rule titled ‘‘Reconsideration of Certain
Startup/Shutdown Issues: National
Emission Standards for Hazardous Air
Pollutants (NESHAP) From Coal- and
Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam
Generating Units and Standards of
Performance (NSPS) for Fossil-FuelFired Electric Utility, IndustrialCommercial-Institutional, and Small
Industrial-Commercial-Institutional
Steam Generating Units,’’ published in
the Federal Register on November 19,
2014. The Administrator denied the
requests for reconsideration in separate
letters to the petitioners. The letters and
a document providing a full explanation
of the agency’s rationale for each denial
is in the docket for these rules.
DATES: August 8, 2016.
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 152 / Monday, August 8, 2016 / Rules and Regulations
Mr.
Jim Eddinger, Sector Policies and
Programs Division (D243–01), Office of
Air Quality Planning and Standards,
Environmental Protection Agency,
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
27711; telephone number: (919) 541–
5426; fax number: (919) 541–5450;
email address: eddinger.jim@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with RULES
I. How can I get copies of this document
and other related information?
This Federal Register document, the
petitions for reconsideration, the letters
denying the petitions for
reconsideration, and the document
titled ‘‘Denial of Petitions for
Reconsideration of Certain Startup/
Shutdown Issues: MATS’’
(Reconsideration Response Document)
are available in the dockets the EPA
established under Docket ID No. EPA–
HQ–OAR–2009–0234. The
Reconsideration Response Document is
available in the MATS docket by
conducting a search of the title ‘‘Denial
of Petitions for Reconsideration of
Certain Startup/Shutdown Issues:
MATS.’’ All documents in the dockets
are listed on the www.regulations.gov
Web site. 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 and will be publicly
available only in hard copy form.
Publicly available docket materials are
available either electronically through
www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at
the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), Room
3334, EPA WJC West Building, 1301
Constitution Ave. NW., Washington,
DC. The Public Reading Room is open
from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday
through Friday, excluding legal
holidays. The telephone number for the
Public Reading Room is (202) 566–1744
and the telephone number for the Air
Docket is (202) 566–1742. This Federal
Register document and the
Reconsideration Response Document
denying the petitions can also be found
on the EPA’s Web site at https://
www.epa.gov/mats.
II. Judicial Review
Section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act
(CAA) indicates which Federal Courts of
Appeals have venue for petitions for
review of final EPA actions. This section
provides, in part, that the petitions for
review must be filed in the United
States Court of Appeals for the District
of Columbia Circuit if: (i) The agency
action consists of ‘‘nationally applicable
VerDate Sep<11>2014
13:12 Aug 05, 2016
Jkt 238001
regulations promulgated, or final action
taken, by the Administrator,’’ or (ii)
such actions are locally or regionally
applicable, if ‘‘such action is based on
a determination of nationwide scope or
effect and if in taking such action the
Administrator finds and publishes that
such action is based on such a
determination.’’
The EPA’s actions denying the
petitions for reconsideration are
nationally applicable because the
underlying rules—the ‘‘National
Emission Standards for Hazardous Air
Pollutants (NESHAP) From Coal- and
Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam
Generating Units and Standards of
Performance (NSPS) for Fossil-FuelFired Electric Utility, IndustrialCommercial-Institutional, and Small
Industrial-Commercial-Institutional
Steam Generating Units,’’ are nationally
applicable. Thus, any petitions for
review of the EPA’s decisions denying
petitioners’ requests for reconsideration
must be filed in the United States Court
of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit by October 7, 2016.
III. Description of Action
On February 16, 2012, pursuant to
sections 111 and 112 of the CAA, the
EPA published the final rules titled
‘‘National Emission Standards for
Hazardous Air Pollutants From Coaland Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam
Generating Units and Standards of
Performance for Fossil-Fuel-Fired
Electric Utility, Industrial-CommercialInstitutional, and Small IndustrialCommercial-Institutional Steam
Generating Units’’ (77 FR 9304). The
NESHAP issued pursuant to CAA
section 112 is referred to as the Mercury
and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), and
the NSPS rule issued pursuant to CAA
section 111 is referred to as the Utility
NSPS. Following promulgation of the
final rules, the Administrator received
petitions for reconsideration of
numerous provisions of both MATS and
the Utility NSPS pursuant to CAA
section 307(d)(7)(B). The EPA received
20 petitions for reconsideration of the
MATS rule and 3 petitions for
reconsideration of the Utility NSPS.
On November 30, 2012, the EPA
issued a proposed rule reconsidering
certain new source limits in MATS, the
requirements applicable during periods
of startup and shutdown for MATS and
the Utility NSPS (for the particulate
matter standard only), certain
definitional and monitoring issues in
the Utility NSPS, and additional
technical corrections to both MATS and
the Utility NSPS (77 FR 71323). On
April 24, 2013, the EPA issued the final
action on reconsideration of the new
PO 00000
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Fmt 4700
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52347
source MATS, the definitional and
monitoring provisions in the Utility
NSPS, and the technical corrections in
both rules (78 FR 24073). The EPA
issued the final action on
reconsideration of the startup and
shutdown provisions in the MATS and
Utility NSPS on November 19, 2014 (79
FR 68777).
The EPA received two petitions for
reconsideration of the November 19,
2014, final action on reconsideration of
the startup and shutdown provisions in
the MATS rule. One petition was
submitted by the Environmental
Integrity Project, the Chesapeake
Climate Action Network, and the Sierra
Club, and the other was submitted by
the Utility Air Regulatory Group.
CAA section 307(d)(7)(B) states that
‘‘[o]nly an objection to a rule or
procedure which was raised with
reasonable specificity during the period
for public comment (including any
public hearing) may be raised during
judicial review. If the person raising an
objection can demonstrate to the
Administrator that it was impracticable
to raise such objection within such time
or if the grounds for such objection
arose after the period for public
comment (but within the time specified
for judicial review) and if such objection
is of central relevance to the outcome of
the rule, the Administrator shall
convene a proceeding for
reconsideration of the rule and provide
the same procedural rights as would
have been afforded had the information
been available at the time the rule was
proposed.’’
The EPA carefully reviewed the
petitions for reconsideration and
evaluated all issues raised to determine
if they meet the CAA section
307(d)(7)(B) criteria for reconsideration.
In separate letters to the petitioners, the
EPA Administrator, Gina McCarthy,
denied the petitions for reconsideration.
The letters were accompanied by a
separate Reconsideration Response
Document that articulates in detail the
rationale for the EPA’s final responses.
These documents are all available in the
docket for this action.
Dated: July 29, 2016.
Gina McCarthy,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2016–18684 Filed 8–5–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
E:\FR\FM\08AUR1.SGM
08AUR1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 152 (Monday, August 8, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 52346-52347]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-18684]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0234; FRL-9950-31-OAR]
40 CFR Parts 60 and 63
Reconsideration on the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS)
and the Utility New Source Performance Standards Startup and Shutdown
Provisions; Final Action
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of final action denying petitions for reconsideration.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing
notice that it has responded to two petitions for reconsideration of
the final rule titled ``Reconsideration of Certain Startup/Shutdown
Issues: National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants
(NESHAP) From Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating
Units and Standards of Performance (NSPS) for Fossil-Fuel-Fired
Electric Utility, Industrial-Commercial-Institutional, and Small
Industrial-Commercial-Institutional Steam Generating Units,'' published
in the Federal Register on November 19, 2014. The Administrator denied
the requests for reconsideration in separate letters to the
petitioners. The letters and a document providing a full explanation of
the agency's rationale for each denial is in the docket for these
rules.
DATES: August 8, 2016.
[[Page 52347]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jim Eddinger, Sector Policies and
Programs Division (D243-01), Office of Air Quality Planning and
Standards, Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park,
North Carolina 27711; telephone number: (919) 541-5426; fax number:
(919) 541-5450; email address: eddinger.jim@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. How can I get copies of this document and other related information?
This Federal Register document, the petitions for reconsideration,
the letters denying the petitions for reconsideration, and the document
titled ``Denial of Petitions for Reconsideration of Certain Startup/
Shutdown Issues: MATS'' (Reconsideration Response Document) are
available in the dockets the EPA established under Docket ID No. EPA-
HQ-OAR-2009-0234. The Reconsideration Response Document is available in
the MATS docket by conducting a search of the title ``Denial of
Petitions for Reconsideration of Certain Startup/Shutdown Issues:
MATS.'' All documents in the dockets are listed on the
www.regulations.gov Web site. 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 and will be publicly available only in hard copy
form. Publicly available docket materials are available either
electronically through www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the EPA
Docket Center (EPA/DC), Room 3334, EPA WJC West Building, 1301
Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is open
from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal
holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202)
566-1744 and the telephone number for the Air Docket is (202) 566-1742.
This Federal Register document and the Reconsideration Response
Document denying the petitions can also be found on the EPA's Web site
at https://www.epa.gov/mats.
II. Judicial Review
Section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) indicates which
Federal Courts of Appeals have venue for petitions for review of final
EPA actions. This section provides, in part, that the petitions for
review must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit if: (i) The agency action consists of
``nationally applicable regulations promulgated, or final action taken,
by the Administrator,'' or (ii) such actions are locally or regionally
applicable, if ``such action is based on a determination of nationwide
scope or effect and if in taking such action the Administrator finds
and publishes that such action is based on such a determination.''
The EPA's actions denying the petitions for reconsideration are
nationally applicable because the underlying rules--the ``National
Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) From Coal- and
Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units and Standards of
Performance (NSPS) for Fossil-Fuel-Fired Electric Utility, Industrial-
Commercial-Institutional, and Small Industrial-Commercial-Institutional
Steam Generating Units,'' are nationally applicable. Thus, any
petitions for review of the EPA's decisions denying petitioners'
requests for reconsideration must be filed in the United States Court
of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by October 7, 2016.
III. Description of Action
On February 16, 2012, pursuant to sections 111 and 112 of the CAA,
the EPA published the final rules titled ``National Emission Standards
for Hazardous Air Pollutants From Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility
Steam Generating Units and Standards of Performance for Fossil-Fuel-
Fired Electric Utility, Industrial-Commercial-Institutional, and Small
Industrial-Commercial-Institutional Steam Generating Units'' (77 FR
9304). The NESHAP issued pursuant to CAA section 112 is referred to as
the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), and the NSPS rule issued
pursuant to CAA section 111 is referred to as the Utility NSPS.
Following promulgation of the final rules, the Administrator received
petitions for reconsideration of numerous provisions of both MATS and
the Utility NSPS pursuant to CAA section 307(d)(7)(B). The EPA received
20 petitions for reconsideration of the MATS rule and 3 petitions for
reconsideration of the Utility NSPS.
On November 30, 2012, the EPA issued a proposed rule reconsidering
certain new source limits in MATS, the requirements applicable during
periods of startup and shutdown for MATS and the Utility NSPS (for the
particulate matter standard only), certain definitional and monitoring
issues in the Utility NSPS, and additional technical corrections to
both MATS and the Utility NSPS (77 FR 71323). On April 24, 2013, the
EPA issued the final action on reconsideration of the new source MATS,
the definitional and monitoring provisions in the Utility NSPS, and the
technical corrections in both rules (78 FR 24073). The EPA issued the
final action on reconsideration of the startup and shutdown provisions
in the MATS and Utility NSPS on November 19, 2014 (79 FR 68777).
The EPA received two petitions for reconsideration of the November
19, 2014, final action on reconsideration of the startup and shutdown
provisions in the MATS rule. One petition was submitted by the
Environmental Integrity Project, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network,
and the Sierra Club, and the other was submitted by the Utility Air
Regulatory Group.
CAA section 307(d)(7)(B) states that ``[o]nly an objection to a
rule or procedure which was raised with reasonable specificity during
the period for public comment (including any public hearing) may be
raised during judicial review. If the person raising an objection can
demonstrate to the Administrator that it was impracticable to raise
such objection within such time or if the grounds for such objection
arose after the period for public comment (but within the time
specified for judicial review) and if such objection is of central
relevance to the outcome of the rule, the Administrator shall convene a
proceeding for reconsideration of the rule and provide the same
procedural rights as would have been afforded had the information been
available at the time the rule was proposed.''
The EPA carefully reviewed the petitions for reconsideration and
evaluated all issues raised to determine if they meet the CAA section
307(d)(7)(B) criteria for reconsideration. In separate letters to the
petitioners, the EPA Administrator, Gina McCarthy, denied the petitions
for reconsideration. The letters were accompanied by a separate
Reconsideration Response Document that articulates in detail the
rationale for the EPA's final responses. These documents are all
available in the docket for this action.
Dated: July 29, 2016.
Gina McCarthy,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2016-18684 Filed 8-5-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P