Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Tennessee: Prevention of Significant Deterioration; Greenhouse Gases-Automatic Rescission Provisions

EPA is taking direct final action to approve the State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Tennessee, through the Tennessee Department of Environmental Conservation (TDEC), Air Pollution Control Division, to EPA on January 11, 2012, for the purpose of amending the State's New Source Review (NSR) Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) regulations as they relate to greenhouse gases (GHGs). Specifically, Tennessee amended its PSD regulations to add automatic rescission provisions. These provisions provide that in the event that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court issues an order which would render GHGs not subject to regulation under the Clean Air Act's PSD permitting program, then GHGs shall not be subject to regulation under Tennessee's PSD regulations as of the effective date of EPA's Federal Register notice of vacatur. Further, the provisions provide that in the event that there is a change to Federal law that supersedes regulation of GHGs under the Clean Air Act's PSD permitting program, then GHGs shall not be subject to regulation under Tennessee's PSD regulations as of the effective date of the change in federal law. EPA took action to approve the GHG Tailoring Rule PSD provisions into the Tennessee SIP in a separate rulemaking. EPA is approving Tennessee's January 11, 2012, SIP revision because the Agency has made the determination that this SIP revision is not contrary to section 110 and part C of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) or EPA regulations regarding PSD permitting for GHGs.