![[logo] US EPA](http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
Revisions to the Nevada State Implementation Plan
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: June 9, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 111)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 33413-33416]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09jn06-8]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2006-0464; FRL-8182-1]
Revisions to the Nevada State Implementation Plan
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Nevada State
Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern the Air Pollution
sections of the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS). We are proposing to
approve the
[[Page 33414]]
submitted statutes in order to bring the Nevada SIP up to date. These
statutes are being approved under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990
(CAA or the Act). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to
follow with a final action.
DATES: Any comments must arrive by July 10, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by docket number EPA-R09-OAR-
2006-0464, by one of the following methods:
1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov 
.
Follow the on-line instructions.
2. E-mail: steckel.andrew@epa.gov.
3. Mail or deliver: Andrew Steckel (Air-4), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA
94105-3901.
Instructions: All comments will be included in the public docket
without change and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov
, including any personal information provided, unless the
comment includes Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Information that you
consider CBI or otherwise protected should be clearly identified as such
and should not be submitted through http://www.regulations.gov
or e-mail. http://www.regulations.gov is an
``anonymous access'' system, and EPA will not know your identity or
contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment.
If you send e-mail directly to EPA, your e-mail address will be
automatically captured and included as part of the public comment. 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.
Docket: The index to the docket for this action is available
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov and in hard copy
at EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California. While
all documents in the docket are listed in the index, some information may
be publicly available only at the hard copy location (e.g., copyrighted
material), and some may not be publicly available in either location
(e.g., CBI). To inspect the hard copy materials, please schedule an
appointment during normal business hours with the contact listed in the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie Rose, EPA Region IX, (415) 947-
4126, rose.julie@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and
``our'' refer to EPA.
Table of Contents
I. The State's Submittal
A. What statutes did the state submit for approval?
B. What is the regulatory history of the Nevada SIP?
C. What is the purpose of this proposed rule?
II. EPA's Evaluation and Action
A. How is EPA evaluating the statutes submitted for approval?
B. Do the statutes meet the evaluation criteria?
C. Public comment and final action.
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. The State's Submittal
A. What statutes did the state submit for approval?
The Governor's designee, the Nevada Department of Conservation and
Natural Resources, Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP),
submitted a large revision to the applicable SIP on January 12, 2006.
On March 23, 2006, the Nevada SIP submittal dated January 12, 2006 was
found to meet the completeness criteria in 40 CFR part 51 Appendix V,
which must be met before formal EPA review. On March 24, 2006, the NDEP
submitted an additional revision consisting of a definition found in
Title 0, Preliminary Chapter of the General Provisions of the NRS. On
May 17, 2006, the submittal dated March 24, 2006 was found to meet the
completeness criteria in 40 CFR part 51 Appendix V. The primary purpose
of these revisions is to clarify and harmonize State and federally
enforceable requirements. Because these revisions incorporate so many
changes from the 1970s and 1980s vintage SIP regulations, EPA has
decided to review and act on the submittal in a series of separate
actions. The first such action was finalized in the Federal Register on
March 27, 2006, (71 FR 15040). The remaining portions of the submittal
will be acted on in future Federal Register actions.
The following table lists the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS)
addressed by this proposal with the dates they were submitted by NDEP.
Statutes Submitted for Approval
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Submittal
Nevada revised statutes (NRS) Title date
------------------------------------------------------------------------
445B.105........................ Definitions.............. 01/12/06
445B.110........................ Air contaminant.......... 01/12/06
445B.115........................ Air pollution............ 01/12/06
445B.120........................ Commission............... 01/12/06
445B.125........................ Department............... 01/12/06
445B.130........................ Director................. 01/12/06
445B.135........................ Federal Act.............. 01/12/06
445B.140........................ Hazardous air pollutant.. 01/12/06
445B.145........................ Operating permit......... 01/12/06
445B.150........................ Person................... 01/12/06
0.039........................... Person................... 03/24/06
445B.155........................ Source and indirect 01/12/06
source.
445B.210........................ Powers of Commission..... 01/12/06
445B.220........................ Additional powers of 01/12/06
Commission.
445B.225........................ Power of Commission to 01/12/06
require testing of
sources.
445B.235........................ Additional powers of the 01/12/06
Department.
445B.245........................ Power of Department to 01/12/06
perform or require test
of emissions from stacks.
445B.275........................ Creation; members; terms. 01/12/06
445B.280........................ Attendance of witnesses 01/12/06
at hearing; contempt;
compensation.
445B.300........................ Operating permit for 01/12/06
source of air
contaminant; notice and
approval of proposed
construction;
administrative fees;
failure of Commission or
Department to act.
445B.320........................ Approval of plans and 01/12/06
specifications required
before construction or
alteration of structure.
[[Page 33415]]
445B.500........................ Establishment and 01/12/06
administration of
program; contents of
program; designation of
air pollution control
agency of county for
purposes of federal act;
powers and duties of
local air pollution
control board; notice of
public hearings;
delegation of authority
to determine violations
and levy administrative
penalties; cities and
smaller counties;
regulation of certain
electric plants
prohibited.
445B.510........................ Commission may require 01/12/06
program for designated
area.
445B.520........................ Commission may establish 01/12/06
or supersede county
program.
445B.530........................ Commission may assume 01/12/06
jurisdiction over
specific classes of air
contaminants.
445B.540........................ Restoration of superseded 01/12/06
local program;
continuation of existing
local program.
445B.560........................ Plan or procedure for 01/12/06
emergency.
445B.595........................ Governmental sources of 01/12/06
air contaminants to
comply with state and
local provisions
regarding air pollution;
permit to set fire for
training purposes;
planning and zoning
agencies to consider
effects on quality of
air.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. What is the regulatory history of the Nevada SIP?
Pursuant to the Clean Air Amendments of 1970, the Governor of
Nevada submitted the original SIP to EPA in January 1972. EPA approved
certain portions of the original SIP and disapproved others under CAA
section 110(a). See 37 FR 10842 (May 31, 1972). For some of the
disapproved portions, EPA promulgated substitute provisions, referred to as
Federal implementation plan (FIP) provisions, under CAA section 110(c).
The original SIP included various rules, codified as articles
within the Nevada Air Quality Regulations (NAQR), and various statutory
provisions codified in title 40, chapter 445 of the Nevada Revised
Statutes (NRS). In the early 1980's, Nevada reorganized and re-codified
its air quality rules as sections within chapter 445 of the Nevada
Administrative Code (NAC). Today, Nevada codifies its air quality
regulations in chapter 445B of the NAC and codifies air quality
statutes in chapter 445B of title 40 of the NRS.
Nevada adopted and submitted many revisions to the original set of
regulations and statutes in the SIP, some of which EPA approved on
February 6, 1975 at 40 FR 5511; on March 26, 1975 at 40 FR 13306; on
January 9, 1978 at 43 FR 1341; on January 24, 1978 at 43 FR 3278; on
August 21, 1978 at 43 FR 36932; on July 10, 1980 at 45 FR 46384; on
April 14, 1981 at 46 FR 21758; on August 27, 1981 at 46 FR 43141; on
March 3, 1982 at 47 FR 9833; on April 13, 1982 at 47 FR 15790; on June
18, 1982 at 47 FR 26386; on June 23, 1982 at 47 FR 27070; on March 27,
1984 at 49 FR 11626. Since 1984, EPA has approved very few revisions to
Nevada's applicable SIP despite numerous changes that have been adopted
locally. As a result, the version of the rules enforceable by NDEP is
often quite different from the SIP version enforceable by EPA.
C. What is the purpose of this proposed rule?
The purpose of this proposal is to bring the applicable SIP up to
date. We are proposing to approve the statutes contained in Nevada's
January 12, 2006 and March 24, 2006 submittals.
II. EPA's Evaluation and Action
A. How is EPA evaluating the statutes submitted for approval?
We have reviewed the statutes submitted by NDEP on January 12, 2006
and March 24, 2006 for compliance with the CAA requirements for SIPs in
general set forth in CAA section 110(a)(2) and 40 CFR part 51 and also
for compliance with CAA requirements for SIP revisions in CAA section
110(l) and 193.
B. Do the statutes meet the evaluation criteria?
We believe the NRS statutes listed in the table are consistent with
the relevant policy and guidance regarding enforceability and SIP
relaxations. The TSD has more information on our evaluation.
C. Public Comment and Final Action
Because EPA believes the Nevada SIP will continue to fulfill all
relevant requirements, we are proposing to fully approve the submitted
revisions in accordance with section 110(k)(3) of the Act. We will
accept comments from the public on this proposal for the next 30 days.
Unless we receive convincing new information during the comment period,
we intend to publish a final approval action that will approve these
statutes into the federally enforceable SIP.
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this
proposed action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and
therefore is not subject to review by the Office of Management and
Budget. For this reason, this action is also not subject to Executive
Order 13211, ``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect
Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001). This
proposed action merely proposes to approve state law as meeting Federal
requirements and imposes no additional requirements beyond those
imposed by state law. Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that
this proposed rule will not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because this rule proposes to approve pre-
existing requirements under state law and does not impose any
additional enforceable duty beyond that required by state law, it 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).
This proposed rule also does not have tribal implications because
it will not have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian
tribes, on the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian
tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between
the Federal Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive
Order 13175 (59 FR 22951, November 9, 2000). This action also does not
have Federalism implications because it does not have substantial
direct effects on the States, on the relationship between the national
government and the States, or on the distribution of power and
responsibilities among the various
[[Page 33416]]
levels of government, as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255,
August 10, 1999). This action merely proposes to approve a state
rule implementing a Federal standard, and does not alter the
relationship or the distribution of power and responsibilities
established in the Clean Air Act. This proposed rule also is not
subject to Executive Order 13045 ``Protection of Children from
Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks'' (62 FR 19885, April 23,
1997), because it is not economically significant.
In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. In
this context, in the absence of a prior existing requirement for the
State to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority
to disapprove a SIP submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be
inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a SIP
submission, to use VCS in place of a SIP submission that otherwise
satisfies the provisions of the Clean Air Act. Thus, the requirements
of section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply. This proposed rule does
not impose an information collection burden under the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Intergovernmental
relations, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: May 25, 2006.
Laura Yoshii,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. E6-9000 Filed 6-8-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P