Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; New Jersey; Negative Declaration, 29627-29628 [2020-08862]
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 96 / Monday, May 18, 2020 / Rules and Regulations
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R02–OAR–2019–0674; FRL–10007–
94–Region 2]
Approval and Promulgation of
Implementation Plans; New Jersey;
Negative Declaration
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is approving a State
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision
submitted by the State of New Jersey for
purposes of making a negative
declaration regarding the October 2016
Oil and Natural Gas Control Techniques
Guidelines (2016 Oil and Gas CTG).
This action is being taken in accordance
with the requirements of the Clean Air
Act.
DATES: This final rule is effective on
June 17, 2020.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a
docket for this action under Docket ID
Number EPA–R02–OAR–2019–0674. 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
(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 electronically through https://
www.regulations.gov.
SUMMARY:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Omar Hammad, Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 2 Office, 290
Broadway, New York, New York 10007–
1866, at (212) 637–3347, or by email at
Hammad.Omar@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section is
arranged as follows:
Table of Contents
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with RULES
I. What is the background for the action?
II. What comments were received in response
to the EPA’s proposed action?
III. What action is the EPA taking?
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What is the background for this
action?
On May 13, 2019, the New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection
(NJDEP) submitted to the EPA, a State
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:02 May 15, 2020
Jkt 250001
consisting of a negative declaration for
the 2016 Oil and Gas CTG.
Per the 2016 Oil and Gas CTG, the oil
and natural gas industry includes oil
and natural gas operations involved in
the extraction and production of crude
oil and natural gas, as well as the
processing, transmission, storage, and
distribution of natural gas. For oil, the
industry includes all operations from
the well to the point of custody transfer
at a petroleum refinery. For natural gas,
the industry includes all operations
from the well to the customer.
The NJDEP cross referenced the
source operations covered in the 2016
Oil and Gas CTG and its applicability to
New Jersey. New Jersey asserts that
there are no sources within its
respective State that would be subject to
the 2016 Oil and Gas CTG. New Jersey
asserts that it is not anticipated that
crude oil or natural gas extraction will
be occurring in New Jersey for the
foreseeable future.
On January 22, 2020 (85 FR 3556), the
EPA published a notice of proposed
rulemaking that proposed to approve
the State of New Jersey’s May 13, 2019
SIP submittal, for purposes of making a
negative declaration that no sources
exist in the State of New Jersey that
would be subject to the 2016 Oil and
Gas CTG. The reader is referred to EPA’s
January 22, 2020, proposed action for
more detailed background and EPA’s
evaluation of New Jersey’s SIP revision
submittal.
II. What comments were received in
response to the EPA’s proposed action?
In response to the EPA’s January 22,
2020, proposed rulemaking on New
Jersey’s SIP revision submittal, the EPA
is providing responses to the comments
that were received. The specific
comments may be viewed under Docket
ID Number EPA–R02–OAR–2019–0674
on the https://www.regulations.gov
website.
Comment: This negative declaration
would leave New Jersey at least
temporarily exempt from the October
2016 Oil and Natural Gas Control
Techniques Guidelines in a future
scenario of discovering oil and/or
natural gas within the confines of New
Jersey.
Response: EPA has historically
allowed states to submit a negative
declaration for a particular CTG
category if the state finds that no
sources exist in the state which would
be subject to that CTG. EPA has
addressed the idea of negative
declarations numerous times and for
various NAAQS including in the
General Preamble to the 1990
PO 00000
Frm 00035
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
29627
Amendments,1 the 2006 RACT Q&A
Memo,2 and the 2008 Ozone
Implementation Rule.3 In each of these
documents, EPA asserted that if no
sources exist in the nonattainment area
for a particular CTG category, the state
would be allowed to submit a negative
declaration SIP revision.
Nothing in the Clean Air Act (CAA)
or EPA’s implementing rules or
guidance suggests that states must have
a SIP approved regulation for a category
of CTG sources that does not exist in the
state. Should a new source of the type
covered by the existing CTG be
constructed in a state after approval of
a negative declaration, EPA expects the
state to develop a regulation and submit
it to EPA for approval into the SIP in
accordance with the relevant timing
provided for by the CAA. At this time,
because New Jersey does not have any
sources subject to the 2016 Oil and Gas
CTG, no regulation is required to be
developed and submitted to EPA for SIP
approval.
Comment: If EPA has or is in the
process of withdrawing the CTG then
EPA shouldn’t be requiring states to
spend valuable time and resources on
this non-applicable ‘‘requirement’’. EPA
should remove this CTG and disapprove
New Jersey’s SIP as unnecessary as well
as any other state’s SIP attempting to
address this 2016 CTG.
Response: This SIP submittal
addresses a final document that EPA
announced on October 27, 2016, in the
Federal Register (81 FR 74798) ‘‘Release
of Final Control Techniques Guidelines
for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry.’’
This CTG is still in place. There is no
final action that withdraws this
requirement. The State is addressing
their obligations in response to the final
CTG with this submittal.
Comment: ‘‘It does not make sense for
the state of New Jersey . . . to be
looking to get rid of more of the rules
and regulations. This seems like we are
going backwards, away from the goal of
making New Jersey a cleaner state . . .
I feel that the EPA should be taking a
closer look into the regulations the state
of New Jersey is trying to get around.’’
Response: This action does not
remove any rules or regulations from the
New Jersey SIP. The negative
1 ‘‘State Implementation Plans; General Preamble
for the Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air
Act Amendments of 1990,’’ (57 FR 13498 at 13512
(April 16, 1992)).
2 ‘‘RACT Qs & As—Reasonably Available Control
Technology (RACT): Questions and Answers’’
Memorandum from William T. Harnett, May 18,
2006.
3 ‘‘Implementation of the 2008 National Ambient
Air Quality Standards for Ozone: State
Implementation Plan Requirements,’’ (80 FR 12263
at 12278 (March 6, 2015)).
E:\FR\FM\18MYR1.SGM
18MYR1
29628
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 96 / Monday, May 18, 2020 / Rules and Regulations
declaration simply asserts that no
sources exist in the State of New Jersey
that are subject to the 2016 Oil and Gas
CTG. The EPA has reviewed New
Jersey’s submittal and agrees with the
State’s evaluation.
III. What action is the EPA taking?
On May 13, 2019, the New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection
(NJDEP) submitted to the EPA a SIP
revision consisting of a negative
declaration for the 2016 Oil and Gas
CTG.
The EPA is approving the revision to
the SIP submitted by the State to
address the 2016 Oil and Gas CTG for
the Ozone Transport Region and
nonattainment RACT requirements for
both the 2008 and 2015 ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standards and is
approving their negative declaration
that no sources exist in the State of New
Jersey that would be subject to the 2016
Oil and Gas CTG.
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with RULES
IV. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
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 proposes to approve 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), and 13563 (76 FR 382,
January 21, 2011);
• Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82
FR 9339, February 2, 2017) regulatory
action because SIP approvals are exempt
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
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:02 May 15, 2020
Jkt 250001
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 rulemaking action,
pertaining to New Jersey’s Negative
Declaration SIP submission, would not
be 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 any
substantial direct costs on tribal
governments or preempt tribal law as
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65
FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations,
Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile
organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: April 21, 2020.
Peter Lopez,
Regional Administrator, Region 2.
Part 52, chapter I, title 40 of the Code
of Federal Regulations 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 FF—New Jersey
2. In § 52.1582, add paragraph (q) to
read as follows:
■
§ 52.1582 Control strategy and
regulations: Ozone.
*
PO 00000
*
*
Frm 00036
*
Fmt 4700
*
Sfmt 4700
(q) Negative declarations. The State of
New Jersey has certified to the
satisfaction of the EPA that no sources
are located in the State which are
covered by the following Control
Techniques Guidelines:
(1) Oil and Natural Gas Industry
(October 2016).
(2) [Reserved]
[FR Doc. 2020–08862 Filed 5–15–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R01–OAR–2019–0220; FRL–10008–
77–Region 1]
Air Plan Approval; Massachusetts;
Negative Declaration for the Oil and
Gas Industry
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is approving a State
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision
submitted by the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts. The revision provides
Massachusetts’ determination, via a
negative declaration, that there are no
facilities within its borders subject to
EPA’s 2016 Control Technique
Guideline (CTG) for the oil and gas
industry. The intended effect of this
action is to approve this item into the
Massachusetts SIP. This action is being
taken in accordance with the Clean Air
Act (CAA).
DATES: This direct final rule will be
effective July 17, 2020, unless EPA
receives adverse comments by June 17,
2020. If adverse comments are received,
EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of
the direct final rule in the Federal
Register informing the public that the
rule will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R01–
OAR–2019–0220 at https://
www.regulations.gov, or via email to
garcia.ariel@epa.gov. For comments
submitted at Regulations.gov, follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments. Once submitted, comments
cannot be edited or removed from
Regulations.gov. For either manner of
submission, the EPA may publish any
comment received to its public docket.
Do not submit electronically any
information you consider to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI)
or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Multimedia
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\18MYR1.SGM
18MYR1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 96 (Monday, May 18, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 29627-29628]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-08862]
[[Page 29627]]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R02-OAR-2019-0674; FRL-10007-94-Region 2]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; New Jersey;
Negative Declaration
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of New Jersey
for purposes of making a negative declaration regarding the October
2016 Oil and Natural Gas Control Techniques Guidelines (2016 Oil and
Gas CTG). This action is being taken in accordance with the
requirements of the Clean Air Act.
DATES: This final rule is effective on June 17, 2020.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID Number EPA-R02-OAR-2019-0674. 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 (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 electronically through https://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Omar Hammad, Environmental Protection
Agency, Region 2 Office, 290 Broadway, New York, New York 10007-1866,
at (212) 637-3347, or by email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section is
arranged as follows:
Table of Contents
I. What is the background for the action?
II. What comments were received in response to the EPA's proposed
action?
III. What action is the EPA taking?
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What is the background for this action?
On May 13, 2019, the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection (NJDEP) submitted to the EPA, a State Implementation Plan
(SIP) revision consisting of a negative declaration for the 2016 Oil
and Gas CTG.
Per the 2016 Oil and Gas CTG, the oil and natural gas industry
includes oil and natural gas operations involved in the extraction and
production of crude oil and natural gas, as well as the processing,
transmission, storage, and distribution of natural gas. For oil, the
industry includes all operations from the well to the point of custody
transfer at a petroleum refinery. For natural gas, the industry
includes all operations from the well to the customer.
The NJDEP cross referenced the source operations covered in the
2016 Oil and Gas CTG and its applicability to New Jersey. New Jersey
asserts that there are no sources within its respective State that
would be subject to the 2016 Oil and Gas CTG. New Jersey asserts that
it is not anticipated that crude oil or natural gas extraction will be
occurring in New Jersey for the foreseeable future.
On January 22, 2020 (85 FR 3556), the EPA published a notice of
proposed rulemaking that proposed to approve the State of New Jersey's
May 13, 2019 SIP submittal, for purposes of making a negative
declaration that no sources exist in the State of New Jersey that would
be subject to the 2016 Oil and Gas CTG. The reader is referred to EPA's
January 22, 2020, proposed action for more detailed background and
EPA's evaluation of New Jersey's SIP revision submittal.
II. What comments were received in response to the EPA's proposed
action?
In response to the EPA's January 22, 2020, proposed rulemaking on
New Jersey's SIP revision submittal, the EPA is providing responses to
the comments that were received. The specific comments may be viewed
under Docket ID Number EPA-R02-OAR-2019-0674 on the https://www.regulations.gov website.
Comment: This negative declaration would leave New Jersey at least
temporarily exempt from the October 2016 Oil and Natural Gas Control
Techniques Guidelines in a future scenario of discovering oil and/or
natural gas within the confines of New Jersey.
Response: EPA has historically allowed states to submit a negative
declaration for a particular CTG category if the state finds that no
sources exist in the state which would be subject to that CTG. EPA has
addressed the idea of negative declarations numerous times and for
various NAAQS including in the General Preamble to the 1990
Amendments,\1\ the 2006 RACT Q&A Memo,\2\ and the 2008 Ozone
Implementation Rule.\3\ In each of these documents, EPA asserted that
if no sources exist in the nonattainment area for a particular CTG
category, the state would be allowed to submit a negative declaration
SIP revision.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ ``State Implementation Plans; General Preamble for the
Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990,''
(57 FR 13498 at 13512 (April 16, 1992)).
\2\ ``RACT Qs & As--Reasonably Available Control Technology
(RACT): Questions and Answers'' Memorandum from William T. Harnett,
May 18, 2006.
\3\ ``Implementation of the 2008 National Ambient Air Quality
Standards for Ozone: State Implementation Plan Requirements,'' (80
FR 12263 at 12278 (March 6, 2015)).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nothing in the Clean Air Act (CAA) or EPA's implementing rules or
guidance suggests that states must have a SIP approved regulation for a
category of CTG sources that does not exist in the state. Should a new
source of the type covered by the existing CTG be constructed in a
state after approval of a negative declaration, EPA expects the state
to develop a regulation and submit it to EPA for approval into the SIP
in accordance with the relevant timing provided for by the CAA. At this
time, because New Jersey does not have any sources subject to the 2016
Oil and Gas CTG, no regulation is required to be developed and
submitted to EPA for SIP approval.
Comment: If EPA has or is in the process of withdrawing the CTG
then EPA shouldn't be requiring states to spend valuable time and
resources on this non-applicable ``requirement''. EPA should remove
this CTG and disapprove New Jersey's SIP as unnecessary as well as any
other state's SIP attempting to address this 2016 CTG.
Response: This SIP submittal addresses a final document that EPA
announced on October 27, 2016, in the Federal Register (81 FR 74798)
``Release of Final Control Techniques Guidelines for the Oil and
Natural Gas Industry.'' This CTG is still in place. There is no final
action that withdraws this requirement. The State is addressing their
obligations in response to the final CTG with this submittal.
Comment: ``It does not make sense for the state of New Jersey . . .
to be looking to get rid of more of the rules and regulations. This
seems like we are going backwards, away from the goal of making New
Jersey a cleaner state . . . I feel that the EPA should be taking a
closer look into the regulations the state of New Jersey is trying to
get around.''
Response: This action does not remove any rules or regulations from
the New Jersey SIP. The negative
[[Page 29628]]
declaration simply asserts that no sources exist in the State of New
Jersey that are subject to the 2016 Oil and Gas CTG. The EPA has
reviewed New Jersey's submittal and agrees with the State's evaluation.
III. What action is the EPA taking?
On May 13, 2019, the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection (NJDEP) submitted to the EPA a SIP revision consisting of a
negative declaration for the 2016 Oil and Gas CTG.
The EPA is approving the revision to the SIP submitted by the State
to address the 2016 Oil and Gas CTG for the Ozone Transport Region and
nonattainment RACT requirements for both the 2008 and 2015 ozone
National Ambient Air Quality Standards and is approving their negative
declaration that no sources exist in the State of New Jersey that would
be subject to the 2016 Oil and Gas CTG.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
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 proposes to approve 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), and 13563 (76 FR 382, January 21,
2011);
Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2,
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempt 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, this rulemaking action, pertaining to New Jersey's
Negative Declaration SIP submission, would not be 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 any substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt
tribal law as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November
9, 2000).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: April 21, 2020.
Peter Lopez,
Regional Administrator, Region 2.
Part 52, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 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 FF--New Jersey
0
2. In Sec. 52.1582, add paragraph (q) to read as follows:
Sec. 52.1582 Control strategy and regulations: Ozone.
* * * * *
(q) Negative declarations. The State of New Jersey has certified to
the satisfaction of the EPA that no sources are located in the State
which are covered by the following Control Techniques Guidelines:
(1) Oil and Natural Gas Industry (October 2016).
(2) [Reserved]
[FR Doc. 2020-08862 Filed 5-15-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P