[Federal Register: August 13, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 156)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 50071-50073]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13au04-10]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[R01-OAR-2004-CT-0003; A-1-FRL-7801-2]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality ImplementationPlans;
Connecticut; Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plan Updates; Limited
Maintenance Plans
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision
submitted by the State of Connecticut. This revision establishes
limited maintenance plans for the Hartford-New Britain-Middletown, the
New Haven-Meriden-Waterbury, and the Connecticut portion of the New
York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island carbon monoxide attainment areas,
and provides the ten-year update to these three carbon monoxide
maintenance plans. EPA is taking this action under the Clean Air Act.
DATES: Effective Date: This rule will become effective on September 13,
2004.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Regional
Material in EDocket (RME) Docket ID Number R01-OAR-2004-CT-0003. All
documents in the docket are listed in the Regional Material in EDocket
(RME) index at http://docket.epa.gov/rmepub/, once in the system,
select ``quick search,'' then key in the appropriate RME Docket
identification number. Although listed in the electronic docket, some
information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such
as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be
publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket
materials are available either electronically in Regional Material in
EDocket or in hard copy at Office of Ecosystem Protection, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional Office, One
Congress Street, Suite 1100, Boston, MA. EPA requests that if at all
possible, you contact the contact listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's
official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30
excluding Federal holidays.
Copies of the documents relevant to this action are also available
for public inspection during normal business hours, by appointment at
the Bureau of Air Management, Department of Environmental Protection,
State Office Building, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106-1630.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald O. Cooke, Air Quality Unit,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional Office,
Office of Ecosystem Protection, One Congress Street, Suite 1100 (CAQ),
Boston, MA 02114-2023, telephone number (617) 918-1668, fax number
(617) 918-0668, e-mail cooke.donald@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On June 28, 2004, the Connecticut Department of Environmental
Protection (CT DEP) submitted a revision to its State Implementation
Plan (SIP) for ``Limited Maintenance Plans for the Hartford, the New
Haven, and the Connecticut Portion of the New York/New Jersey/
Connecticut Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Areas.'' The revision consists
of a second follow-on ten-year carbon monoxide maintenance plan for the
Hartford-New Britain-Middletown carbon monoxide attainment area (period
2006 to 2015) and a request for a limited carbon monoxide maintenance
plan designation. The State of Connecticut also requested limited
maintenance plan approval and early approval of the second follow-on
ten-year maintenance plans for both the New Haven-Meriden-
[[Page 50072]]
Waterbury carbon monoxide attainment area (period 2009 to 2018), and
the Connecticut portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island
(period 2011 to 2020) carbon monoxide attainment area.
In the case of the Hartford, New Haven and Southwest Connecticut
carbon monoxide limited maintenance plan areas, EPA believes that it is
unreasonable to expect so much growth during the period of the
maintenance plan as to result in a violation of the carbon monoxide
National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). In other words, EPA
concludes that emissions are not constraining and need not be capped
for the maintenance period. Therefore, Federal actions that require
conformity determinations under the transportation conformity rule are
considered to satisfy the regional emissions analysis and ``budget
test'' requirements in 40 CFR 93.118 of the rule. Other specific
requirements of Connecticut's SIP revision and the rationale for EPA's
approval action are explained in EPA's June 23, 2004 notice of proposed
rulemaking (69 FR 34976) and will not be restated here.
Under EPA's parallel process procedures, EPA-New England Regional
Office worked closely with the CT DEP, the State air agency, while the
State developed its SIP revision. The State submitted a copy of its
proposed SIP revisions to EPA on May 11, 2004 before conducting its
June 17, 2004 public hearing. EPA reviewed this proposed State action,
and prepared a notice of proposed rulemaking which was published in the
Federal Register on June 23, 2004 (69 FR 34976). The State and EPA then
provided for concurrent public comment periods on both the State action
and Federal action. No oral or written comments were submitted to the
State or EPA. The State of Connecticut's formal SIP submittal dated
June 28, 2004 was unchanged from the May 11, 2004 draft revision. EPA
is now proceeding with its final action to approve Connecticut's SIP
revisions.
II. Final Action
EPA is approving the State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision
submitted on June 28, 2004 by the State of Connecticut. This SIP
revision establishes limited maintenance plans for the Hartford-New
Britain-Middletown, the New Haven-Meriden-Waterbury, and the
Connecticut portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island
carbon monoxide attainment areas, and approves the ten-year update to
these three carbon monoxide maintenance plans. As a result of approving
the limited maintenance plan revisions, the three carbon monoxide (CO)
attainment areas with maintenance plans will satisfy their obligation
to submit sequential second ten-year maintenance plans, and eliminate
the need to prepare regional carbon monoxide emissions analysis for
transportation conformity.
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
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 Executive Order 13132 (64
FR 43255, August 10, 1999), because it 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.)
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. section 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. A major rule
cannot take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C.
section 804(2).
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 October 12, 2004. Filing a
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule
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 in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Intergovernmental relations.
[[Page 50073]]
Dated: August 6, 2004.
Ira W. Leighton,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA New England.
0
Chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is 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.
0
2. Section 52.376 is amended by revising paragraphs (b), (d) and (f)
and adding paragraph (h) to read as follows:
Sec. 52.376 Control strategy: Carbon monoxide.
* * * * *
(b) Approval--On September 30, 1994, the Connecticut Department of
Environmental Protection submitted a request to redesignate the
Hartford/New Britain/Middletown Area carbon monoxide nonattainment area
to attainment for carbon monoxide. The redesignation request and the
1995-2005 initial ten-year maintenance plan meet the redesignation
requirements in sections 107(d)(3)(E) and 175A of the Act as amended in
1990, respectively.
* * * * *
(d) Approval--On January 17, 1997, the Connecticut Department of
Environmental Protection submitted a request to redesignate the New
Haven/Meriden/Waterbury carbon monoxide nonattainment area to
attainment for carbon monoxide. The redesignation request and the 1998-
2008 initial ten-year maintenance plan meet the redesignation
requirements in sections 107(d)(3)(E) and 175A of the Act as amended in
1990, respectively.
* * * * *
(f) Approval--On May 29, 1998, the Connecticut Department of
Environmental Protection submitted a request to redesignate the
Connecticut portion of the New York-N. New Jersey-Long Island carbon
monoxide nonattainment area to attainment for carbon monoxide. The
redesignation request and the 2000-2010 initial ten-year maintenance
plan meet the redesignation requirements in sections 107(d)(3)(E) and
175A of the Act as amended in 1990, respectively.
* * * * *
(h) Approval--On June 28, 2004, the Connecticut Department of
Environmental Protection (CT DEP) submitted a request to establish
limited maintenance plans for the Hartford-New Britain-Middletown
Connecticut carbon monoxide attainment area, the New Haven-Meriden-
Waterbury Connecticut carbon monoxide attainment area, and the
Connecticut portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island
carbon monoxide attainment area for the remainder of the individual
area's initial ten-year maintenance plan. As part of the maintenance
plan request, CT DEP also requested approval of a second follow-on ten-
year carbon monoxide maintenance plan for the Hartford-New Britain-
Middletown carbon monoxide attainment area (period 2006 to 2015), for
the New Haven-Meriden-Waterbury carbon monoxide attainment area (period
2009 to 2018), and for the Connecticut portion of the New York-Northern
New Jersey-Long Island carbon monoxide attainment area (period 2011 to
2020). The State of Connecticut has committed to: maintain a continuous
carbon monoxide monitoring network in each carbon monoxide maintenance
area; implement contingency measures in the event of an exceedance of
the carbon monoxide National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) in
any of the three maintenance areas; coordinate with EPA in the event
the carbon monoxide design value(s) in any maintenance area(s) exceed
7.65 ppm, to verify the validity of the data and, if warranted based on
the data review, develop a full maintenance plan(s) for the affected
maintenance area(s); and, ensure that project-level carbon monoxide
evaluations of transportation projects in each area are carried out as
part of environmental reviews or Connecticut's indirect source
permitting program. The limited maintenance plans satisfy all
applicable requirements of section 175A of the Clean Air Act. Approval
of a Limited Maintenance Plan is conditioned on maintaining levels of
ambient carbon monoxide levels below the required limited maintenance
plan 8-hour carbon monoxide design value criterion of 7.65 parts per
million. If the Limited Maintenance Plan criterion is no longer
satisfied, Connecticut must develop a full maintenance plan to meet
Clean Air Act requirements.
[FR Doc. 04-18555 Filed 8-12-04; 8:45 am]
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