[Federal Register: May 10, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 90)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 25869-25873]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10my04-27]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81
[Docket AK-04-001; FRL-7659-1]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation
of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes: Alaska; Anchorage Carbon
Monoxide Nonattainment Area
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: On February 18, 2004, the State of Alaska submitted a carbon
monoxide (CO) maintenance plan for the Anchorage CO nonattainment area
to EPA for approval. The State concurrently requested that EPA
redesignate the Anchorage CO nonattainment area to attainment for the
National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for CO. In this action,
EPA is proposing approval of the maintenance plan and redesignation of
the Anchorage CO nonattainment area to attainment.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 9, 2004.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
No. AK-04-001, by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: R10aircom@epa.gov.
Fax: (206) 553-0110.
Mail: Office of Air Quality, Environmental Protection
Agency, Mail code: OAQ-107, 1200 Sixth Ave., Seattle, Washington 98101.
[[Page 25870]]
Hand Delivery: Environmental Protection Agency, 14th
Floor, 1200 Sixth Ave., Seattle, Washington 98101. Such deliveries are
only accepted during normal hours of operation, and special
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. AK-04-001.
EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the
public docket without change, including any personal information
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through regulations.gov, or
e-mail. The Federal regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access''
system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you
send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through
regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured and
included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and
made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment,
EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information
in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If
EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot
contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your
comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters,
any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
Docket: Publicly available docket materials are available in hard
copy at the Office of Air Quality, Environmental Protection Agency,
Mail code: OAQ-107, 1200 Sixth Ave., Seattle, Washington 98101, open
from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays.
The telephone number is (206) 553-1086. Copies of the submittal, and
other information relevant to this proposal are available for public
inspection during normal business hours at the Alaska Department of
Environmental Conservation, 410 Willoughby Avenue, Suite 303, Juneau,
Alaska 99801-1795.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Connie Robinson, Office of Air
Quality, Region 10, Mail code OAQ-107, Environmental Protection Agency,
1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101; telephone number: (206)
553-1086; fax number: (206) 553-0110; e-mail address:
robinson.connie@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, wherever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean the EPA. Information is organized
as follows:
I. General Information
II. What Action is EPA taking?
III. What is the background for this Action?
IV. What Evaluation Criteria were used for the Maintenance Plan and
Redesignation Request Review?
V. EPA's Evaluation of the Anchorage Maintenance Plan and
Redesignation Request
A. How does the State Show the Area Has Attained the CO NAAQS?
B. Does the Area have a fully approved SIP under section 110(k)
of the Act and has the area met all the relevant requirements under
section 110 and part D of the Act?
C. Are the Improvements in Air Quality Permanent and
Enforceable?
D. Has the State Submitted a Fully Approved Maintenance Plan
under section 175A of the Act?
E. Did the State provide adequate attainment year and
maintenance year emissions inventories?
Table 1 Anchorage 2002 CO Attainment Year Actual Emissions and
2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2023 Projected Emissions (Tons CO/
Winter Day)
F. How will this action affect the oxygenated gasoline program
in Anchorage?
G. How will the State continue to verify attainment?
H. What contingency measures does the State provide?
I. How will the State provide for subsequent maintenance plan
revisions?
J. How does this action affect Transportation Conformity in
Anchorage?
Table 2 Anchorage Maintenance Area Motor Vehicle Emissions
Budgets through 2023 and beyond (Tons CO/Winter Day)
VI. Proposed Action
VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. General Information
A. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?
1. Submitting Confidential Business Information (CBI). Do not
submit this information to EPA through regulations.gov or e-mail.
Clearly mark the part or all of the information that you claim to be
CBI. For CBI information in a disk or CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark
the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as CBI and then identify
electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the specific information that
is claimed as CBI. In addition to one complete version of the comment
that includes information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that
does not contain the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for
inclusion in the public docket. Information so marked will not be
disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) part 2.
2. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments,
remember to:
i. Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other identifying
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
ii. Follow directions--The agency may ask you to respond to
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a CFR part or
section number.
iii. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and
substitute language for your requested changes.
iv. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information
and/or data that you used.
v. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced.
vi. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and
suggest alternatives.
vii. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of
profanity or personal threats.
viii. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
II. What Action Is EPA Taking?
EPA is proposing to approve the Anchorage CO Maintenance plan and
redesignate the Anchorage area from nonattainment for CO to attainment
as requested by the Governor of Alaska on February 18, 2004. The
maintenance plan demonstrates that Anchorage will be able to remain in
attainment for the next 10 years. The Anchorage, Alaska CO
nonattainment area is eligible for redesignation to attainment because
air quality data shows that it has not recorded a violation of the
primary or secondary CO air quality standards since 1996.
III. What Is the Background for This Action?
Upon enactment of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (the Act),
areas meeting the requirements of section 107(d) of the Act were
designated nonattainment for CO by operation of law. Under section
186(a) of the Act, each CO nonattainment area was also classified by
operation of law as either moderate or serious depending on the
severity of the area's air quality problems. Anchorage was classified
as a
[[Page 25871]]
moderate CO nonattainment area. Moderate CO nonattainment areas were
expected to attain the CO NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable but no
later than December 31, 1995. Anchorage did not have the two years of
clean data required to attain the standard by the required attainment
date for CO moderate areas. Under section 186(a)(4) of the Act, Alaska
requested and EPA granted a one-year extension of the attainment date
deadline to December 31, 1996 (61 FR 33676, June 28, 1996). If a
moderate CO nonattainment area was unable to attain the CO NAAQS by the
attainment date deadline, the area was reclassified as a serious CO
nonattainment area by operation of law. Anchorage was unable to meet
the CO NAAQS by December 31, 1996, and was reclassified as a serious
nonattainment area effective July 13, 1998.
On July 12, 2001, EPA made a determination based on air quality
data that the Anchorage CO nonattainment area in Alaska attained the
NAAQS for CO by December 31, 2000, the deadline for serious areas as
required by the Act. (See 66 FR 36476, July 12, 2001.)
On January 4, 2002, the Alaska Department of Environmental
Conservation submitted the Anchorage CO attainment plan as a revision
to the Alaska SIP. We reviewed and subsequently approved the revision
effective October 18, 2002. (See 67 FR 58711, September 18, 2002.)
IV. What Evaluation Criteria Were Used for the Maintenance Plan and
Redesignation Request Review?
Section 107(d)(3)(E) of the Act states that EPA can redesignate an
area to attainment if the following conditions are met:
A. The area has attained the applicable NAAQS.
B. The area has a fully approved SIP under section 110(k) of the
Act and the area meets all the relevant requirements under section 110
and part D of the Act.
C. The air quality improvement is permanent and enforceable.
D. The area has a fully approved maintenance plan under section
175A of the Act.
V. EPA's Evaluation of the Anchorage Maintenance Plan and Redesignation
Request
EPA has reviewed the State's maintenance plan and redesignation
request. The following is a summary of EPA's evaluation and a
description of how each of the requirements is met.
A. How Does the State Show the Area Has Attained the CO NAAQS?
To attain the CO NAAQS, an area must have complete quality-assured
data showing no more than one exceedance of the standard in a year at
any monitoring site in the nonattainment area for at least two
consecutive years. The proposed redesignation of Anchorage is based on
air quality data that shows the CO standard was not violated from 1997
through 2003, or since. These data were collected by the Municipality
of Anchorage (MOA) in accordance with 40 CFR 50.8, following EPA
guidance on quality assurance and quality control, and entered in the
EPA Air Quality System database. Since the Anchorage, Alaska area has
complete quality-assured monitoring data showing attainment with no
violations after 1977, the area has met the statutory criterion for
attainment of the CO NAAQS and EPA has already found that the Anchorage
area attained the NAAQS. The MOA has committed to continue monitoring
in the area in accordance with 40 CFR part 58.
B. Does the Area Have a Fully Approved SIP Under Section 110(k) of the
Act and Has the Area Met All the Relevant Requirements Under Section
110 and Part D of the Act?
Yes. Anchorage was classified as a moderate nonattainment area on
enactment of the Act in 1990. Anchorage was unable to meet the CO NAAQS
by December 31, 1996, and was reclassified a serious nonattainment area
effective July 13, 1998. Therefore, the requirements applicable to the
Anchorage nonattainment area for inclusion in the Alaska SIP included
an attainment demonstration, base year emission inventory with periodic
updates, an oxygenated gasoline program, basic motor vehicle
inspection/maintenance (I/M) program, contingency measures, conformity
procedures, and a permit program for new or modified major stationary
sources. EPA has previously approved all elements required in the
Alaska SIP.
C. Are the Improvements in Air Quality Permanent and Enforceable?
Yes. Emissions reductions were achieved through permanent and
enforceable control measures in the attainment plan, including the
Federal Motor Vehicle Control Program, establishing emission standards
for new motor vehicles; an oxygenated gasoline program, and a basic I/M
program.
The MOA has demonstrated that permanent and enforceable emission
reductions are responsible for the air quality improvement and the CO
emissions in the base year are not artificially low due to a local
economic downturn or unusual or extreme weather patterns. We believe
the combination of certain existing EPA-approved SIP and Federal
measures resulted in permanent and enforceable reductions in ambient CO
levels that have allowed the area to attain the CO NAAQS.
D. Has the State Submitted a Fully Approved Maintenance Plan Under
Section 175A of the Act?
Today's action by EPA proposes approval of the Anchorage CO
maintenance plan. Section 175A sets forth the elements of a maintenance
plan for areas seeking redesignation from nonattainment to attainment.
To provide for the possibility of future NAAQS violations, the
maintenance plan must contain contingency measures, with a schedule for
adoption and implementation adequate to assure prompt correction of any
air quality problems. Section 175(d) of the Act requires retention of
all control measures contained in the SIP before redesignation as
contingency measures in the CO maintenance plan. The oxygenated
gasoline program, a control measure contained in the Anchorage SIP
before redesignation, has been removed as a control measure and is now
a primary contingency measure in the maintenance plan. The plan must
demonstrate continued attainment of the applicable NAAQS for at least
10 years after the Administrator approves a redesignation to
attainment. Eight years after the redesignation, the State must submit
a revised maintenance plan which demonstrates attainment for the 10
years following the initial 10-year period. The Anchorage CO
maintenance plan meets the requirements of 175A.
E. Did the State Provide Adequate Attainment Year and Maintenance Year
Emissions Inventories?
Yes. The MOA submitted comprehensive inventories of CO emissions
from point, area and mobile sources using 2002 as the attainment year.
Since air monitoring recorded attainment of CO in 2002, this is an
acceptable year for the attainment year inventory. This data was then
used in calculations to demonstrate the CO standard will be maintained
in future years. The MOA calculated projected inventories for 2004,
2006, 2008, 2013 and 2023. Future emission estimates are based on
forecast assumptions about growth in population, employment and
transportation.
[[Page 25872]]
Mobile sources are the greatest source of CO. Although vehicle use
is expected to increase in the future, more stringent Federal
automobile standards and removal of older, less efficient cars over
time will still result in an overall decline in CO emissions. The
projections in the maintenance plan demonstrate that future emissions
are not expected to exceed attainment year levels.
Total CO emissions were projected from the 2002 attainment year out
to 2023. These projected inventories were prepared according to EPA
guidance. Because compliance with the 8-hour CO standard is linked to
average daily emissions, emission estimates reflecting a typical winter
season day (tons of CO a day) were used for the maintenance
demonstration. The MOA calculated these emissions without the
implementation of the oxygenated gasoline program. The projections show
that CO emissions calculated without the implementation of the
oxygenated gasoline program are not expected to exceed 2002 attainment
year levels. The following table summarizes the 2002 attainment year
emissions, and projects maintenance year emissions. The Anchorage
Transportation Model was run for analysis years 2003, 2013 and 2023.
Emissions for intervening years were calculated by a straight line
interpolation; however, mobile source emission factors for all years
evaluated were estimated by running MOBILE6.
Table 1.--Anchorage 2002 CO Attainment Year Actual Emissions and 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2023 Projected
Emissions
[Tons CO/winter day]
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Year Mobile Non-road Area Point Total
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2002........................................... 92.94 12.87 13.03 1.45 120.29
2004........................................... 92.34 13.36 13.24 1.48 120.42
2006........................................... 91.01 13.84 13.37 1.51 119.73
2008........................................... 71.46 14.32 13.49 1.53 100.80
2010........................................... 67.72 14.80 13.60 1.56 97.68
2013........................................... 62.91 15.52 13.81 1.60 93.84
2023........................................... 60.45 17.85 16.22 1.86 96.38
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Detailed inventory data for this action is contained in the docket
maintained by EPA.
F. How Will This Action Affect the Oxygenated Gasoline Program in
Anchorage?
The oxygenated gasoline program has been removed as a control
measure. The MOA's maintenance demonstration shows the area is expected
to continue to meet the CO NAAQS without the oxygenated gasoline
program. The oxygenated gasoline program is a contingency measure in
the maintenance plan.
G. How Will the State Continue to Verify Attainment?
Under 40 CFR part 58 and EPA's Redesignation Guidance, the MOA has
committed to analyze air quality data annually to verify continued
attainment of the CO NAAQS. The MOA will also conduct a comprehensive
review of plan implementation and air quality status eight years after
redesignation. The State will then submit a SIP revision that includes
a full emissions inventory update and provides for the continued
maintenance of the standard for 10 years beyond the initial 10-year
period.
H. What Contingency Measures Does the State Provide?
The oxygenated gasoline program, a control measure contained in the
SIP before redesignation, is a primary contingency measure in the
maintenance plan. This contingency measure will be reinstated in the
event of a quality-assured violation of the NAAQS for CO at any
permanent monitoring site in the nonattainment area. A violation will
occur when any monitoring site records two eight-hour average CO
concentrations that exceed the NAAQS in a single calendar year. If
triggered, this contingency measure would require all gasoline blended
for sale in Anchorage to meet requirements identical to those of the
oxygenated gasoline program. Implementation will continue throughout
the balance of the CO maintenance period, or until a reassessment of
the ambient CO monitoring data establishes the contingency measure is
no longer needed and EPA agrees to a revision.
Maintenance projections presented by the MOA suggest the highest
emissions will occur in the first few years (2004-2006) of the
maintenance plan period. The MOA is implementing several new programs
during the next few years. Transit service was expanded in July 2003
and additional route enhancements are slated to begin in 2004 and
continue through 2006. The engine block heater and public awareness
program will continue with a renewed focus on residential areas through
2006. Implementing these contingency measures provides an added measure
of assurance of continued compliance with the NAAQS.
I. How Will the State Provide for Subsequent Maintenance Plan
Revisions?
Under section 175Ab) of the Act, the State has agreed to submit a
revised maintenance plan eight years after the area is redesignated to
attainment. That revised SIP must provide for maintenance of the
standard for an additional 10 years. It will include a full emissions
inventory update and projected emissions demonstrating continued
attainment for 10 additional years.
J. How Does This Action Affect Transportation Conformity in Anchorage?
Under section 176(c) of the Act, transportation plans, programs,
and projects in nonattainment or maintenance areas that are funded or
approved under 23 U.S.C. or the Federal Transit Act, must conform to
the applicable SIPs. A transportation plan is deemed to conform to the
applicable SIP if the emissions resulting from implementation of that
transportation plan are less than or equal to the motor vehicle
emission level established in the SIP for the maintenance year and
other analysis years.
In this maintenance plan, procedures for estimating motor vehicle
emissions are well documented. For transportation conformity and
regional emissions analysis purposes, an emissions budget has been
established for on-road motor vehicle emissions in the Anchorage
maintenance area. The transportation
[[Page 25873]]
emissions budgets for the plan are shown in Table 2.
Table 2.--Anchorage Maintenance Area Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets Through 2023 and Beyond
[Tons CO/winter day]
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Year 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
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Budget.......................... 111.0 110.7 110.4 110.0 109.7 109.4 109.1 108.8 108.5 108.1
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Year 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
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Budget.......................... 107.1 106.6 106.1 105.6 105.1 104.6 104.1 103.6 103.1 103.1
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Emission budgets for years beyond 2023 are to be computed through
linear extrapolation with the following equation: Mobile Source
Emission Budget (tons per day) = 0.438 x Year - 2023 + 103.34.
EPA found these motor vehicle emissions budgets adequate for
conformity purposes. See 69 FR 12651, March 17, 2004.
VI. Proposed Action
EPA is proposing approval of the Anchorage CO Maintenance Plan and
redesignation of the Anchorage CO nonattainment area to attainment.
This proposed redesignation is based on validated monitoring data and
projections made in the maintenance demonstration. EPA believes the
area will continue to meet the NAAQS for CO for at least 10 years
beyond this redesignation, as required by the Act. Alaska has
demonstrated compliance with the requirements of section 107(d)(3)(E)
based on information provided by the MOA and contained in the Alaska
SIP and Anchorage, Alaska CO maintenance plan. A Technical Support
Document on file at the EPA Region 10 office contains a detailed
analysis and rationale in support of the redesignation of the Anchorage
CO nonattainment area to attainment.
VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this
proposed 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
proposed action merely proposes to approve State law as meeting Federal
requirements and imposes no additional requirements beyond those
imposed by State law. Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that
this proposed 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 proposes to approve 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 proposed 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 Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999). This action
merely proposes to approve 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
proposed 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 proposed 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.).
List of Subjects
40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
40 CFR Part 81
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks,
Wilderness areas.
Dated: April 29, 2004.
Julie Hagensen,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 04-10553 Filed 5-7-04; 8:45 am]
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