2016-10228: Protection of Visibility: Amendments to Requirements for State Plans

Summary

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing amendments to requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA) for state plans for protection of visibility in mandatory Class I federal areas (Class I areas) in order to continue steady environmental progress while addressing administrative aspects of the program. The EPA amendments would clarify the relationship between long-term strategies and reasonable progress goals in state plans, and the long-term strategy obligation of all states. The amendments would also change the way in which some days during each year are to be selected for purposes of tracking progress towards natural visibility conditions to account for events such as wildfires; change aspects of the requirements for the content of progress reports; update, simplify and extend to all states the provisions for reasonably attributable visibility impairment and revoke existing federal implementation plans (FIPs) that require the EPA to assess and address any existing reasonably attributable visibility impairment situations in some states; and add a requirement for states to consult with Federal Land Managers (FLMs) earlier in the development of state plans. The EPA also proposes to address administrative aspects of the program by making a one-time adjustment to the due date for the next state implementation plans (SIPs), revising the due dates for progress reports and removing the requirement for progress reports to be SIP revisions.

The agency’s own summary, as published.

What this changes

Amends 2 parts of the Code of Federal Regulations — the standing rules this notice rewrites.

• 40 CFR 51 Requirements for Preparation, Adoption, and Submittal of Implementation Plans
• 40 CFR 52 Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans