Air Plan Approval; Arkansas; Regional Haze State Implementation Plan for the Second Implementation Period

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY <CFR>40 CFR Part 52</CFR> <DEPDOC>[EPA-R06-OAR-2022-0735; FRL-9405-01-R6]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Air Plan Approval; Arkansas; Regional Haze State Implementation Plan for the Second Implementation Period</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Proposed rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> Pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Arkansas through the Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on August 8, 2022, and clarified by DEQ on July 29, 2025, as satisfying the requirements of the Act and the EPA's Regional Haze Rule (RHR) for visibility protection in mandatory Class I Federal areas (Class I areas) for the program's second implementation period. Arkansas' SIP submission addresses the requirement that states must revise their long-term strategies for making reasonable progress to prevent any future and remedy any existing man-made visibility impairment in the Class I areas. The EPA is taking this action pursuant to sections 110 and 169A of the CAA. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Written comments must be received on or before October 6, 2025. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> Submit comments, identified by Docket No. EPA-R06-OAR-2022-0735, at <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov.</E> Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from <E T="03">Regulations.gov.</E> The EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any information that is considered to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment with multimedia submissions and should include all discussion points desired. The EPA will generally not consider comments or their contents located outside of the primary submission ( <E T="03">i.e.,</E> on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). For additional submission methods, please contact James E. Grady, 214-665-6745, <E T="03">grady.james@epa.gov.</E> For the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit <E T="03">https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.</E> <E T="03">Docket:</E> The index to the docket for this action is available electronically at <E T="03">www.regulations.gov.</E> While all documents in the docket are listed in the index, some information may not be publicly available due to docket file size restrictions or content ( <E T="03">e.g.,</E> CBI). <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> James E. Grady, EPA Region 6 Office, Regional Haze and SO <E T="52">2</E> Section, (214) 665-6745; <E T="03">grady.james@epa.gov.</E> We encourage the public to submit comments via <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov.</E> Please call or email Mr. Grady or call Mr. Bill Deese at 214-665-7253 if you need alternative access to material indexed but not provided in the docket. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> Throughout this document “we,” “us,” and “our” mean the EPA. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Table of Contents</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. What action is the EPA proposing?</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Background and Requirements for Regional Haze Plans</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Regional Haze Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Roles of Agencies in Addressing Regional Haze</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Previous Actions on Arkansas Regional Haze</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Arkansas Regional Haze Planning Period II SIP Submittal</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Requirements for Regional Haze Plans for the Second Implementation Period</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Long-Term Strategy</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. RPGs</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Monitoring Strategy and Other State Implementation Plan Requirements</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Requirements for Periodic Reports Describing Progress Toward the RPGs</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Requirements for State and FLM Coordination</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. EPA's Evaluation of Arkansas' Regional Haze Planning Period II SIP Submittal</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Identification of Class I Areas</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. Arkansas Class I Areas</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Other State Class I Areas Affected by Arkansas Emissions</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Calculations of Baseline, Current, and Natural Visibility Conditions; Progress to Date; and the URP for Arkansas' Class I Areas</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Long-Term Strategy</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. EPA's Rationale To Evaluate the Long-Term Strategy</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Source Selection Methodology</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">a. Key Pollutants and Source Categories</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">b. Area of Influence Analysis</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">3. Four Factor Analyses</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">a. Entergy White Bluff Power Plant</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">b. Entergy Independence Power Plant</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">c. FutureFuel Chemical Company</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">d. Domtar Ashdown Mill</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">e. SWEPCO Flint Creek Power Plant</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">f. Conclusion</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">4. Consultation Requirement With States</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">5. Documentation Requirement for Emission Reduction Measures</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">6. Five Additional Factors for Long-Term Strategy</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. RPGs</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Reasonably Attributable Visibility Impairment (RAVI)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Monitoring Strategy and Other Implementation Plan Requirements</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">G. Requirements for Periodic Reports Describing Progress Toward the RPGs</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">H. State and FLM Coordination Requirements</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">V. Proposed Action</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VI. Incorporation by Reference</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. What action is the EPA proposing?</HD> On August 8, 2022, DEQ submitted its 2022 Arkansas Regional Haze Planning Period II SIP submission to the EPA to satisfy the regional haze program requirements for the second implementation period. The EPA is proposing to find that the Arkansas regional haze SIP submission for the second implementation period meets the applicable statutory and regulatory requirements and, therefore, is proposing to approve Arkansas' submission into its SIP. Specifically, the EPA is proposing to approve Arkansas' 2022 SIP submission, clarified by DEQ on July 29, 2025, as satisfying the requirements of (1) 40 CFR 51.308(f)(1): calculations of baseline, current, and natural visibility conditions, progress to date, and the uniform rate of progress (URP); (2) 40 CFR 51.308(f)(2): long-term strategy; (3) 40 CFR 51.308(f)(3): reasonable progress goals (RPGs); (4) 40 CFR 51.308(f)(4): reasonably attributable visibility impairment (RAVI); (5) 40 CFR 51.308(f)(5) and 40 CFR 51.308(g)(1) through (5): progress report requirements; (6) 40 CFR 51.308(f)(6): monitoring strategy and other implementation plan requirements; and (7) 40 CFR 51.308(i): Federal Land Manager (FLM) consultation. The State's submission can be found in the docket of this action. <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Background and Requirements for Regional Haze Plans</HD> A detailed history and background of the regional haze program is provided in multiple prior EPA proposal actions. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> For additional background, please refer to Section III, “Overview of Visibility Protection Statutory Authority, Regulation, and Implementation” of the 2017 RHR revisions titled, “Protection of Visibility: Amendments to Requirements for State Plans.”  <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> The following is an abbreviated history and background of the regional haze program and 2017 RHR as it applies to the current action. <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> 90 FR 13516 (March 24, 2025). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> 82 FR 3078 (January 10, 2017) located at <E T="03">https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/01/10/2017-00268/protection-of-visibility-amendments-to-requirements-for-State-plans#h-16.</E> </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD2">A. Regional Haze Background</HD> In the 1977 CAA Amendments, Congress created a program for protecting visibility in the nation's mandatory Class I Federal areas, which include certain national parks and wilderness areas. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> CAA section 169A(a)(1) establishes as a national goal the “prevention of any future, and the remedying of any existing, impairment of visibility in mandatory class I Federal areas which impairment results from manmade air pollution.” <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>  CAA 169A establishes visibility protection for mandatory Class I Federal areas and CAA 162(a) statutorily designates these areas as consisting of all national parks exceeding 6,000 acres, all national wilderness areas and memorial parks exceeding 5,000 acres, and all international parks that were in existence on August 7, 1977. There are 156 mandatory Class I areas. The list of areas to which the requirements of the visibility protection program apply is in 40 CFR part 81, subpart D. </FTNT> Regional haze is visibility impairment that is produced by a multitude of anthropogenic sources and activities which are located across a broad geographic area that emit pollutants that impair visibility. Visibility impairing pollutants predominantly include fine particulates (PM <E T="52">2.5</E> ) and their precu ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 297k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━