[Federal Register: July 21, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 139)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 43522-43525]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21jy04-7]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81
[PA209-4302; FRL-7781-3]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Pennsylvania; Redesignation of the Hazelwood SO2
Nonattainment and the Monongahela River Valley Unclassifiable Areas to
Attainment and Approval of the Maintenance Plan
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is approving State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions
submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. These revisions include
a
[[Page 43523]]
regulation change to the allowable sulfur oxide emission limits for
fuel burning equipment, and a modeled demonstration of attainment of
the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for sulfur dioxide
(SO2) in the Hazelwood nonattainment area and the
Monongahela River Valley unclassifiable area, located in the Allegheny
Air Basin in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. In addition, EPA is
redesignating these areas to attainment of the NAAQS for
SO2, and approving a combined maintenance plan for both
areas as a SIP revision. These SIP revisions were submitted by the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) on behalf
of the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD). This action is being
taken in accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: This final rule is effective on August 20, 2004.
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,
the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Air
Quality, P.O. Box 8468, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
17105, and the Allegheny County Health Department, Bureau of
Environmental Quality, Division of Air Quality, 301 39th Street,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15201.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Wentworth, (215) 814-2034, or by
e-mail at wentworth.ellen@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On April 2, 2004 (69 FR 17374), EPA published a notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPR) for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on behalf of the
ACHD. The NPR proposed approval of a regulation change to the allowable
sulfur oxide emission limits for fuel burning equipment, and a modeled
demonstration of attainment of the NAAQS for SO2 in the
Hazelwood nonattainment area and the Monongahela River Valley
unclassifiable area, located in the Allegheny Air Basin in Allegheny
County. In addition the NPR also proposed to redesignate these areas to
attainment of the NAAQS for SO2, and to approve a combined
maintenance plan for both areas as a SIP revision. The formal SIP
revision was submitted by PADEP on behalf of the ACHD on August 15,
2003. The specific details of the regulatory change to the allowable
sulfur oxide emission for limits for fuel burning equipment, the
modeled demonstration of attainment of the NAAQS for SO2 for
the Hazelwood and Monongahela River Valley areas in Allegheny County,
and the redesignation and maintenance plan for these areas, as well as
EPA's rationale for its proposed action were all provided in the April
2, 2004 NPR and will not be restated here. No comments were submitted
to EPA on that NPR.
II. Final Action
EPA is approving SIP revisions submitted on August 15, 2003 by the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on behalf of the ACHD. These SIP revisions
include a regulation change to the allowable sulfur oxide emission
limits for fuel burning equipment, and a modeled demonstration of
attainment of the NAAQS for SO2 in the Hazelwood
nonattainment and the Monongahela River Valley unclassifiable areas
located in the Allegheny Air Basin, in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
In addition, EPA is approving the redesignation of these areas to
attainment of the NAAQS for SO2, and approving a combined
maintenance plan for both areas as a SIP revision.
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 (Pub. L. 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 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
[[Page 43524]]
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 September 20, 2004. Filing a
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule,
which approves a regulation change to the allowable sulfur oxide
emission limits for fuel burning equipment, a modeled demonstration of
attainment, and the redesignation and associated maintenance plan for
the Hazelwood and Monongahela River Valley areas in Allegheny County,
Pennsylvania, 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, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur oxides.
40 CFR Part 81
Air pollution control, National parks, Wilderness areas.
Dated: June 24, 2004.
Donald S. Welsh,
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
0
2. Section 52.2020 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(216) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.2020 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(216) Revisions to the Allegheny portion of the Pennsylvania State
Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted on August 15, 2003 by the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection consisting of a
regulatory change to Article XXI, section 2104.03, Sulfur Oxide
Emissions, a modeled demonstration of attainment of the national
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for SO2 in the
Hazelwood and Monongahela River Valley areas of Allegheny County, and
the SO2 Maintenance Plan for these areas associated with
their redesignation to attainment:
(i) Incorporation by reference.
(A) Letter of August 15, 2003 from the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection transmitting a regulatory change to the
allowable sulfur oxide emission limits for fuel burning equipment, a
modeled demonstration of attainment, and the maintenance plan for the
Hazelwood and Monongahela River Valley areas of Allegheny County,
Pennsylvania.
(B) Maintenance Plan for Sulfur Dioxide for Southwestern
Pennsylvania, Parts I through V, and Appendices A and B, dated August
2001, and effective July 10, 2003.
(C) Revisions to section 2104.03 of Article XXI, Rules and
Regulations of the Allegheny County Health, effective July 10, 2003.
(ii) Additional Material.
(A) Remainder of the August 15, 2003 State submittal pertaining to
the revisions listed in paragraph (c)(216)(i) of this section.
(B) Additional material submitted by the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection on February 12, 2004, which consists of minor
clarifications to the Summary and Responses document from the public
hearing, and a letter dated February 6, 1992 which was referenced but
not included in the August 15, 2003 SIP revision submittal.
0
3. Section 52.2033 is amended by adding paragraph (c) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.2033 Control strategy: Sulfur oxides
* * * * *
(c) EPA approves the attainment demonstration State Implementation
Plan for the Hazelwood and Monongahela River Valley areas of the
Allegheny County Air Basin in Allegheny County, submitted by the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on August 15, 2003.
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--SO2'' is
amended by revising the entry for the Allegheny County Air Basin to
read as follows:
Sec. 81.339 Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania--SO2
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Does not meet Does not meet Better than
Designated area primary secondary Cannot be national
standards standards classified standards
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* * * * * * *
V. Southwest Pennsylvania Intrastate AQCR:
* * * * * * *
(B) Allegheny County Air Basin:
(1) The areas within a two-mile radius .............. .............. .............. X
of the Hazelwood monitor..............
(2) That portion of Allegheny County .............. .............. .............. X
within an eight-mile radius of the
Duquesne Golf Association Club House
in West Mifflin excluding the
nonattainment area (1).......
* * * * * * *
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[FR Doc. 04-16568 Filed 7-20-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P