2026-01410: Air Plan Approval; Arkansas; Codification of the State Implementation Plan

Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 16 (Monday, January 26, 2026) [Federal Register Volume 91, Number 16 (Monday, January 26, 2026)] [Rules and Regulations] [Pages 3037-3045] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2026-01410] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 52 [EPA-R06-OAR-2025-0015; FRL-12949-02-R6] Air Plan Approval; Arkansas; Codification of the State Implementation Plan

Agency

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Action

Final rule. -----------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary

Pursuant to the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving revisions to the Arkansas State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment (ADEE) to the EPA on February 4, 2025. The revisions address the codification of the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission (APC & EC) Rule 19 and Regulations 9, 26, and 31 into the Code of Arkansas Rules (CAR). The revisions are non-substantive formatting edits and do not relax or introduce new rules to the approved SIP.

Dates

This rule is effective on February 25, 2026.

Addresses

The EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID No. EPA-R06-OAR-2025-0015. 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 or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the internet. Publicly available docket materials are available electronically through https://www.regulations.gov.

For Further Information Contact

Alethea Tsui-Bowen, EPA Region 6 Office, Infrastructure and Ozone Section, 214-665-7555, [email protected]. Please call or email the contact listed above if you need alternative access to material indexed but not provided in the docket.

Supplementary Information

Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' means the EPA.

I. Background

The background for this action is discussed in detail in our August 28, 2025, proposal (90 FR 41930) and the accompanying Technical Support Document (TSD), available in the docket for this rule. In our August 2025 proposal we proposed to approve the revisions to the Arkansas State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by ADEE to the EPA on February 4, 2025, for the codification of the APC & EC Rule 19 and Regulations 9, 26, and 31 into the CAR. The comment period on our August 2025 proposal closed on September 29, 2025. We received one anonymous comment on our proposal. The submitted comment is available for review in the docket for this rulemaking. Our response to the comment is provided in Section II of this rulemaking.

II. Response to Comments

Comment: The commenter asks that the EPA should not approve the Arkansas SIP and should require the state to adopt the more stringent emissions control such as those adopted in the state of California. Response: The EPA disagrees with the commenter. The EPA must adhere to its obligation under section 110(k) to approve, disapprove, conditionally approve, in whole or in part, the codification of SIP in the state submittal at issue. The requirement of adopting more stringent emissions controls is not relevant nor relates to the subject matter raised in this rulemaking action and is thus outside the scope for this current action for EPA to address.

III. Final Action

We are approving the revisions to Arkansas SIP submitted to EPA on February 4, 2025. The revisions codify the corresponding rules and regulations in the Arkansas SIP. We are approving this SIP submission in accordance with [[Page 3038]] the requirements of section 110 of the Act and EPA's regulations.

IV. Incorporation by Reference

In this rule, 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 the revisions to the Arkansas regulations as described in Section III of this preamble, Final Action. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials generally available through www.regulations.gov (please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this preamble for more information). Therefore, these materials have been approved by EPA for inclusion in the SIP, have been incorporated by reference by EPA into that plan, are fully federally enforceable under sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the effective date of the final rulemaking of EPA's approval, and will be incorporated by reference in the next update to the SIP compilation.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and applicable Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, the EPA's role is to approve state choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. 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); Is not subject to Executive Order 14192 (90 FR 9065, February 6, 2025) because SIP actions are exempt from review 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 subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) because it approves a state program; Is not a significant regulatory action subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001); and 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 Clean Air Act. In addition, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian reservation land or in any other area where the 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 substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000). This action is subject to the Congressional Review Act, and the EPA will submit a rule report to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United States. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by March 27, 2026. 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. This action 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, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds. Dated: January 14, 2026. Walter Mason, Regional Administrator, Region 6. For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Environmental Protection Agency amends 40 CFR part 52 as follows: PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS 0