[Federal Register: September 11, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 176)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 53515-53517]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11se03-12]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81
[PA189-4300; FRL-7556-4]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Pennsylvania; Redesignation of the Liberty Borough PM10
Nonattainment Area to Attainment and Approval of the Associated
Maintenance Plan
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a request for Pennsylvania to redesignate the
Liberty Borough area of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (the Liberty
Borough area) from nonattainment to attainment for the national ambient
air quality standard (NAAQS) for particulate matter with an aerodynamic
diameter less than or equal to a nominal 10 microns (PM10).
EPA is also approving a maintenance plan for the Liberty Borough area.
Both the redesignation request and maintenance plan were submitted by
the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) on
behalf of the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD). Approval of
the maintenance plan, as a revision to the Pennsylvania State
Implementation Plan (SIP), puts a plan in place for maintaining the
PM10 standard for the next ten years in the Liberty Borough
area. This action is being taken in accordance with the Clean Air Act
(CAA).
EFFECTIVE DATE: This final rule is effective on October 14, 2003.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the documents relevant to this action are
available for public inspection during normal business hours at the Air
Protection Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III,
1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103; the Air and
Radiation Docket and Information Center, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room B108, Washington, DC 20460;
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Air
Quality, P.O. Box 8468, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
17105; and Allegheny County Health Department, Bureau of Environmental
Quality, Division of Air Quality, 301 39th Street, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania 15201.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ruth Knapp, (215) 814-2191, or by e-
mail at knapp.ruth@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On July 18, 2003 (68 FR 42657), EPA published a notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPR) for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The NPR proposed
to redesignate the Liberty Borough area of Allegheny County,
Pennsylvania (the Liberty Borough area) from nonattainment to
attainment for the national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for
particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a
nominal 10 microns (PM10) and also proposed approval of a
maintenance plan for the Liberty Borough area as a SIP Revision. The
formal SIP revision along with the redesignation request was submitted
by PADEP on behalf of the ACHD on October 28, 2002. Other specific
requirements of this action pertaining to the redesignation of the
Liberty Borough area to attainment for the PM10 NAAQS and
approval of the maintenance plan as a SIP revision, and the rationale
for EPA's proposed action are explained in the NPR and will not be
restated here. No public comments were received on the NPR.
II. Final Action
EPA is redesignating the Liberty Borough area of Allegheny County,
Pennsylvania from nonattainment to attainment for the national ambient
air quality standard (NAAQS) for particulate matter with an aerodynamic
diameter less than or equal to a nominal 10 microns (PM10)
and is also approving a maintenance plan for the Liberty Borough area
as a SIP Revision to the Pennsylvania SIP.
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. General Requirements
Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. For this
reason, this action is also not subject to Executive Order 13211,
``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy
Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001). This action
merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and imposes
no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law.
Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this rule will not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because
this rule approves pre-existing requirements under state law and does
not impose any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by
state law, it does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-4). This rule also does not
have tribal implications because it will not have a substantial direct
effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the
Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power
and responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes,
as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
This action also does not have Federalism implications because it does
not have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship
between the national government and the States, or on the distribution
of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government,
as specified in
[[Page 53516]]
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999). This action
merely approves a state rule implementing a Federal standard, and does
not alter the relationship or the distribution of power and
responsibilities established in the Clean Air Act. This rule also is
not subject to Executive Order 13045 ``Protection of Children from
Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks'' (62 FR 19885, April 23,
1997), because it is not economically significant.
In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. In
this context, in the absence of a prior existing requirement for the
State to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority
to disapprove a SIP submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be
inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a SIP
submission, to use VCS in place of a SIP submission that otherwise
satisfies the provisions of the Clean Air Act. Thus, the requirements
of section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply. This rule does not
impose an information collection burden under the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule,
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this rule and other
required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. This rule is not a
``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
C. Petitions for Judicial Review
Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by November 10, 2003. Filing a
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule
which redesignates the Liberty Borough area to attainment for
PM10 and approves a maintenance plan for the Liberty Borough
area does not affect the finality of this rule for the purposes of
judicial review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for
judicial review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness
of such rule or action. This action may not be challenged later in
proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)
List of Subjects
40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Particulate matter, Reporting
and recordkeeping requirements,
40 CFR Part 81
Air pollution control, National parks, Wilderness areas.
Dated: September 2, 2003.
James W. Newsom,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
0
40 CFR parts 52 and 81 are amended as follows:
PART 52--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart NN--Pennsylvania
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2. Section 52.2020 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(215) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.2020 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(215) The PM10 Redesignation and Maintenance Plan for
the Liberty Borough area of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
nonattainment area submitted on October 28, 2002 by the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection:
(i) Incorporation by reference.
(A) Letter of October 28, 2002 from the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection transmitting the redesignation request and
maintenance plan for the PM10 nonattainment area in the
Liberty Borough area of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
(B) Maintenance Plan for the Liberty Borough PM10
nonattainment area consisting of Part IV, ``Maintenance Plan--
Redesignation Criterion 4''; Part I, ``Attainment of the Standard--
Redesignation Criterion I,'' Section B, Figure 3a--''Countywide Network
of PM10 Monitors, (Current)'', Section C ``Modeled
Attainment''; Part VI ``Documentation of Administrative Procedures,''
Section F ``Certification of Approval and Adoption''; Appendix B :
``Attainment Inventory''; Appendix C: ``Mon-Fayette Expressway
Alignment''; Appendix D: ``Employment Forecasts''; Appendix E: ``Census
and Population Forecasts,'' dated October 4, 2002 and effective
September 14, 2002.
(ii) Additional material.
(A) Remainder of the October 28, 2002 State submittal(s) pertaining
to the revisions listed in paragraph (c)(215)(i) of this section.
(B) Additional material submitted by the State on June 20, 2003
which consisted of minor corrections to the PM10 ambient air
quality data included in the redesignation request.
PART 81--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for Part 81 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart C--Section 107 Attainment Status Designations
0
2. In Sec. 81.339, the table for ``Pennsylvania--PM-10'' is amended by
revising the entry for Allegheny County to read as follows:
Sec. 81.339 Pennsylvania.
* * * * *
Pennsylvania--PM-10
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Designation Classification
Designated area ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date Type Date Type
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Allegheny County:
The area including Liberty, Lincoln, 10/14/03 Attainment...............................
Port Vue, and Glassport Boroughs
and the City of Clairton.
[[Page 53517]]
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[FR Doc. 03-23265 Filed 9-10-03; 8:45 am]
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