Voglio sapere a riguardo di…

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 32 / Friday, February 19, 2021 / Proposed Rules which 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, the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit https www.epa.gov/dockets/
commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Randall Ruddick, EPA Region 10, 1200
Sixth Avenue, Suite 155, Seattle, WA
98101, at 206 5531999, or ruddick.randall@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document, wherever we, us, or our is used, it means EPA.
Table of Contents
tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS

I. Background II. Oregons Smoke Management Program A. 2014 Submittal Summary B. 2019 Submittal Summary III. Evaluation of Oregons SIP Submittals IV. Technical Corrections V. EPAs Proposed Action VI. Incorporation by Reference VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background Each state has a State Implementation Plan SIP containing the control measures and strategies used to attain and maintain the national ambient air quality standards NAAQS established by the Environmental Protection Agency EPA for the criteria pollutants carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide. The SIP contains such elements as air pollution control regulations, emission inventories, attainment demonstrations, and enforcement mechanisms. Oregon, and some other states, have adopted Smoke Management Plan SIPs to reduce emissions that contribute to visibility impairment. Wildfire has had a serious impact on Oregon during the past decade with many large-scale wildfires impacting the summer air quality in Oregon. The state anticipates that the Oregon Department of Forestry ODF
will increase the use of prescribed fire to minimize the impacts of wildfire on air quality in response to this trend.
Through the SMP, Oregon carefully manages prescribed fires to minimize smoke impacts to populated areas while
VerDate Sep<11>2014

18:27 Feb 18, 2021

Jkt 253001

maximizing the use of prescribed fire as a forest management tool.
EPA first approved Oregons Smoke Management Plan and associated rules into the SIP in 1988 and has approved numerous revisions to the Plan over time.1 Oregon requested additional revisions to smoke management rules contained in OAR Chapter 629048, and ODF Directive 141601 in a SIP
submittal dated October 31, 2014
received November 3, 2014, hereafter 2014 Submittal. Before EPA took action on the 2014 Submittal, Oregon began additional rulemaking to revise portions of its smoke management rules.
Oregon submitted those additional revisions to OAR 629048 for SIP
approval on September 24, 2019
hereafter 2019 Submittal. The 2019
Submittal includes revisions to regulations in Oregons 2014 Submittal on which the EPA has not yet taken action. In this action, EPA is proposing to approve only the most recent submitted version of such regulations because the previous versions of the regulations included in the 2014
Submittal are no longer in effect as a matter of state law.
II. Oregons Smoke Management Program The ODF oversees prescribed forest burning in Oregon forest lands to decrease forest fuels and debris that pose increased fire risk, restore forest health and reduce the potential for major wildfires. ORS 477.013 directs ODF to develop and implement a Smoke Management Plan for prescribed forestry burning. To carry out this directive, ODF developed a Smoke Management Plan, which currently consists of rules under OAR 629048 previously under OAR 629043 and the Operational Guidance for the Oregon Smoke Management Program in Directive 14
1601. Oregons Smoke Management Plan applies to prescribed burning on federal, state and private forestland. The objectives of the Oregon Smoke 1 On November 22, 1988, 53 FR 47188 EPA
approved the Oregon Smoke Management Plan at Oregon Administrative Rule OAR Chapter 629, Division 43043, and the Oregon Department of Forestry ODF Operational Guidance for the Oregon Smoke Management Program Directive 141601, into the Oregon SIP. On November 1, 2001, 66 FR 55105 EPA approved revisions to the Smoke Management Plan at OAR 62943043, and approved modifications to the ODF directive Operational Guidance for the Oregon Smoke Management Program into the Oregon SIP. Oregon requested EPA approve further changes to the Smoke Management Rule in a December 20, 2010, SIP submittal. In the 2010 submittal, OAR 629048
Smoke Management replaced OAR 629043
Smoke Management Plan. EPA approved the 2010 submission on August 22, 2012 77 FR 50611.

PO 00000

Frm 00011

Fmt 4702

Sfmt 4702

10221

Management Plan 62904800104
are to:
a Minimize smoke emissions resulting from prescribed burning as described by ORS
477.552;
b Provide maximum opportunity for essential forestland burning;
c Protect public health by avoiding smoke intrusions;
d Coordinate with other state smoke management programs;
e Comply with state and federal air quality and visibility requirements; and f Promote the further development of techniques to minimize or reduce emissions by encouraging cost-effective utilization of forestland biomass, alternatives to burning and emission reduction techniques.

A. 2014 Submittal Summary As discussed above, in 2014 Oregon revised its Smoke Management Plan and submitted it to EPA for approval into the SIP. Among the 2014 revisions, OAR
6290480130, Visibility Objectives, was strengthened by extending applicability to the full calendar year, as it was previously only applicable from July 1 to September 15. OAR 629048
0130 is the only provision in the 2014
Submittal that remains in effect. All other portions of OAR 629048
submitted in 2014 were further revised and included in the states subsequent 2019 Submittal. Since the remainder of the 2014 Submittal is no longer in effect as a matter of state law, EPA is not proposing to take action on any other component of Oregons 2014 Submittal.
B. 2019 Submittal Summary In the 2019 Submittal, Oregons process for approving prescribed fires focuses heavily on forecasting weather conditions and their effects on smoke dispersal with new NAAQS-related considerations. Oregons previous approach included making single decisions for large tracts approximately 150,000 contiguous acres, roughly the size of a ranger district even though these large tracts can contain multiple airsheds and vastly different smoke dispersion conditions. The approach in the 2019 Submittal is more protective because ODF tailors burn decisions based on air quality and meteorological conditions within airsheds allowing for more accurate forecasts of smoke dispersion overall.
Oregons prescribed fires and resulting smoke are managed under the 2019 Submittal with no burning allowed within 35 miles of a smoke sensitive receptor area 2 SSRA, if smoke or 2 SSRAs are defined in OAR 629048000526 as areas designated for the highest level of protection under the Smoke Management Plan. They are designated by the State Board of Forestry, in
E:FRFM19FEP1.SGM

Continued
19FEP1