Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; North Carolina 110(a)(1) and (2) Infrastructure Requirements for the 1997 and 2006 Fine Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards

EPA is taking final action to approve in part and conditionally approve in part portions of the State Implementation Plan (SIP) submissions, submitted by the State of North Carolina, through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NC DENR), Division of Air Quality (DAQ), as demonstrating that the State meets the SIP requirements of sections 110(a)(1) and (2) of the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act) for the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour fine particulate matter (PM<INF>2.5</INF>) national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). Section 110(a) of the CAA requires that each state adopt and submit a SIP for the implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of each NAAQS promulgated by EPA, which is commonly referred to as an "infrastructure" SIP. North Carolina certified in two separate submissions that its SIP contains provisions that ensure the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour PM<INF>2.5</INF> NAAQS are implemented, enforced, and maintained in North Carolina (hereafter referred to as "infrastructure submissions"). With the exception of elements 110(a)(2)(C), 110(a)(2)(D)(i), 110(a)(2)(E)(ii) and 110(a)(2)(J), North Carolina's infrastructure submissions, provided to EPA on April 1, 2008, and September 21, 2009, address all the required infrastructure elements for the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour PM<INF>2.5</INF> NAAQS. With respect to sections 110(a)(2)(C), 110(a)(2)(E)(ii) and 110(a)(2)(J), EPA is conditionally approving these requirements.