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Operating Permits Program; Notice of Location of Response Letters
to Citizens Concerning Program Deficiencies in Texas
Related Material
[Federal Register: April 5, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 66)]
[Notices]
[Page 16374-16375]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05ap02-53]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-7168-5]
Operating Permits Program; Notice of Location of Response Letters
to Citizens Concerning Program Deficiencies in Texas
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The EPA is adding a letter to its web site which responds to
citizens' comments on alleged deficiencies in the Texas air operating
permits programs. The citizen comments were submitted to EPA as a
result of a 90-day comment period EPA provided for members of the
public to identify deficiencies they perceive exist in State and local
agency operating permits programs required by title V of the Clean Air
Act (Act). The 90-day comment period was from December 11, 2000, until
March 12, 2001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Herring, C304-04, Information
Transfer and Program Integration Division, Environmental Protection
Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27711. Telephone: 919-
541-3195. Internet address: herring.jeff@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 11, 2000 (65 FR 77376), EPA
announced a 90-day comment period during which the public could submit
comments identifying deficiencies they perceived to exist in State and
local agency operating permits programs required by title V of the Act.
The 90-day comment period ended on March 12, 2001.
The December 11, 2000 notice solicited comment from the public
regarding either deficiencies in the elements of the approved program,
such
[[Page 16375]]
as deficiencies in the States' approved regulations, or deficiencies in
how a permitting authority was implementing its program. The Agency
indicated that it would consider information received from the public
and determine whether it agreed or disagreed with the purported
deficiencies and would then publish notices of those findings. Where
the Agency agreed that a claimed shortcoming constituted a deficiency,
it indicated it would issue a notice of deficiency. Where the Agency
disagreed as to the existence of a deficiency, it indicated it would
respond to the citizen comments by December 1, 2001, for comments on
programs granted interim approval as of December 11, 2000. For programs
granted full approval as of December 11, 2000, EPA indicated it would
respond to citizen comments by April 1, 2002.
In accordance with the procedures set forth in the December 11,
2000, notice and outlined above, EPA issued a notice of deficiency for
Texas in connection with the citizen comment letters submitted pursuant
to the December 11, 2000, notice (see 67 FR 732, January 7, 2002). The
State of Texas must adopt appropriate corrections to its title V
program and submit them to EPA for approval within the timeframes set
out in the notice of deficiency or face highway and/or offsets
sanctions under section 179(b) of the Act \1\ and implementation of a
whole or partial Federal operating permits program under part 71 if it
fails to do so.
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\1\ The EPA is in the process of promulgating a rule which will
address the order of sanctions.
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Also in accordance with the December 11, 2000, notice, EPA has
issued Agency response letters to citizen comments which explain EPA's
reasoning in those instances where the Agency disagrees that particular
alleged problems constitute deficiencies within the meaning of part 70.
The EPA hereby notifies the public that an EPA letter responding to
citizen allegations concerning Texas is available at the following web
address: (http://www.epa.gov/air/oaqps/permits/response/). In a
previously published notice (67 FR 6709, January 13, 2002), EPA alerted
the public to this same web site as the location for all EPA response
letters that had been signed at that time. The EPA also notes that when
it signs additional EPA response letters in the future, it will publish
additional notices of availability to identify the location of its web
site containing those letters.
The EPA notes further that the terms ``deficiency'' and ``notice of
deficiency'' are terms of art under the operating permits regulations
in part 70. Thus, as explained in our letters responding to citizen
comments, in some instances where EPA declined to issue a notice of
deficiency, it was because the Agency disagreed that there was a
problem with the State program or its implementation that requires
correction. In other instances, however, EPA agreed in whole or in part
with commenters that a program was not being properly implemented but
nevertheless did not issue a notice of deficiency. Rather, EPA
determined that the alleged deficiency had been corrected because the
State had made a firm commitment to correct program implementation
shortcomings where that could be accomplished on a timely basis by the
State administratively without additional rulemaking or legislation.
Background
Pursuant to section 502(b) of the Act, EPA has promulgated
regulations establishing the minimum requirements for State and local
air agency operating permits programs. We promulgated these regulations
on July 21, 1992 (57 FR 32250), in part 70 of title 40, chapter I, of
the Code of Federal Regulations. Section 502(d) of the Act requires
each State to develop and submit to EPA an operating permits program
meeting the requirements of the part 70 regulations and requires us to
approve or disapprove the submitted program. In some cases, States have
delegated authority to local city, county, or district air pollution
control agencies to administer operating permits programs in their
jurisdictions. These operating permits programs must meet the same
requirements as the State programs. In accordance with section 502(g)
of the Act and 40 CFR section 70.4(d), for 99 State and local operating
permits programs, we granted ``interim'' rather than full approval
because the programs substantially met, but did not fully meet, the
provisions of part 70. For interim approved programs, we identified in
the notice of interim approval those program deficiencies that would
have to be corrected before we could grant the program full approval.
As of December 11, 2000, some of those 99 programs had since been
granted full approval and the remainder still had interim approval
status.
After a State or local permitting program is granted full or
interim approval, EPA has oversight of the program to insure that the
program is implemented correctly and is not changed in an unacceptable
manner. Section 70.4(i) of the part 70 regulations requires permitting
authorities to keep us apprised of any proposed program modifications
and also to submit any program modifications to us for approval.
Section 70.10(b) requires any approved operating permits program to be
implemented ``* * * in accordance with the requirements of this part
and of any agreement between the State and the Administrator concerning
operation of the program.''
Furthermore, sections 70.4(i) and 70.10(b) provide authority for us
to require permitting authorities to correct program or implementation
deficiencies. As explained previously, EPA has exercised these
authorities by in some instances issuing notices of deficiency and in
other instances issuing letters explaining why we do not agree that
deficiencies exist.
Administrative Requirements
Under section 307(b)(1) of the Act, petitions for judicial review
of EPA's action responding to the citizen letter on Texas' operating
permits programs may be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit within 60 days of April 5, 2002.
Dated: March 25, 2002.
Robert G. Kella,
Acting Director, Information Transfer and Program Integration Division.
[FR Doc. 02-8299 Filed 4-4-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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