6560-50-P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2020-0325; FRL-10118-03-R3]
Air Plan Approval; Maryland; Clean Data Determination and Approval of Select
Attainment Plan Elements for the Anne Arundel County and Baltimore County, Maryland
Sulfur Dioxide Nonattainment Area; Extension of Comment Period
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of public comment period.
SUMMARY: On August 19, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published
a proposed rule determining that the Anne Arundel County and Baltimore County, Maryland
sulfur dioxide (SO2) nonattainment area attained the 2010 primary SO2 national ambient air
quality standard (2010 SO2 NAAQS) under EPA’s Clean Data Policy using a clean data
determination (CDD). EPA simultaneously proposed to approve certain elements of the
attainment plan contained in Maryland's state implementation plan (SIP) revision for the Anne
Arundel County and Baltimore County SO2 nonattainment area, submitted to EPA on January
31, 2020. Additionally, EPA proposed to approve as SIP strengthening measures certain
emission limit requirements on large SO2 emission sources that were submitted as part of
Maryland's attainment plan for the nonattainment area. EPA inadvertently failed to upload the
supporting and related materials in the docket simultaneously with the publication of the notice
of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on August 19, 2022 (87 FR 51006). The supporting and
related materials were added to the docket on August 29, 2022. To ensure that the public has
adequate time and information to submit comments, EPA is extending the comment period for
ten days to September 29, 2022. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: The public comment period for the proposal published in the Federal Register on
August 19, 2022 (87 FR 51006) is extended from September 19, 2022 to September 29, 2022.

Written comments must be received on or before September 29, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-20200325 at www.regulations.gov, or via email to gordon.mike@epa.gov. For comments submitted
at Regulations.gov, follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted,
comments cannot be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. For either manner of submission,
EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any
information you consider 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
and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. EPA will generally not consider
comments or comment contents located outside of the primary submission (i.e. on the web,
cloud, or other file sharing system). For additional submission methods, please contact the
person identified in the For Further Information Contact section. For the full EPA public
comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance on
making effective comments, please visit www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Rehn, Planning & Implementation
Branch (3AD30), Air & Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III,
Four Penn Center, 1600 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. The
telephone number is (215) 814-2176. Mr. Rehn can also be reached via electronic mail at
rehn.brian@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
On August 19, 2022, the EPA published a proposed rule taking several actions (87 FR
51006). First, the EPA proposed under its Clean Data Policy to determine that the Anne Arundel
County and Baltimore County, Maryland SO2 nonattainment area has attained the 2010 SO2
NAAQS through a CDD. If finalized, this proposed CDD would suspend the obligation to
submit certain attainment planning requirements for the nonattainment area for as long as the

area continues to attain the 2010 SO2 NAAQS. Second, the EPA proposed to approve certain
elements of the attainment plan contained in Maryland's SIP revision for the Anne Arundel
County and Baltimore County SO2 nonattainment area, submitted to EPA on January 31, 2020.
The requirement to submit the elements that EPA is proposing to approve would not be
suspended under this proposed CDD, as set forth in EPA's Clean Data Policy, because EPA
considers them to be independent of attaining the NAAQS under the CAA. Finally, EPA is
approving as SIP strengthening measures certain emission limit requirements on large SO2
emission sources that were submitted as part of Maryland's attainment plan for the nonattainment
area. This determination of attainment and approval of certain elements and emissions
limitations into the SIP does not redesignate the Area to attainment or constitute a full approval
of the submitted attainment plan or of a maintenance plan.
The NPRM was published on August 19, 2022, and specified that the comment period
would end on September 19, 2022. However, the supporting materials were not made available
in the docket until August 29, 2022 (ten days after publication).

To ensure the public and interested parties have sufficient time to review the associated
docket materials and submit comment on the NPRM, the EPA is extending the comment period
an additional 10 days to September 29, 2022 to account for the delay in posting the supporting
and related materials.

Adam Ortiz,
Regional Administrator,
Region III.
.

[FR Doc. 2022-20080 Filed: 9/15/2022 8:45 am; Publication Date: 9/16/2022]