[Federal Register: May 12, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 91)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 25008-25010]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12my05-27]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[R06-OAR-2005-TX-0021; FRL-7910-9]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of
Texas; Control of Air Pollution From Motor Vehicles, Mobile Source
Incentive Programs
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Texas State
Implementation Plan (SIP) to incorporate the Texas Emission Reduction
Plan (TERP) into the Texas SIP. The TERP is utilized in each of the
nonattainment areas and near nonattainment areas in the state to
achieve reductions in the emissions of oxides of nitrogen from on-road
and non-road mobile sources. This action will allow the State to
capture credit from those reductions and use them in attainment
demonstrations for these areas.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 13, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Regional Material in
EDocket (RME) ID No. R06-OAR-2005-TX-0021, by one of the following
methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
Agency Web site: http://docket.epa.gov/rmepub/. Regional
Material in EDocket (RME), EPA's electronic public docket and comment
system, is EPA's preferred method for receiving comments. Once in the
system, select ``quick search,'' then key in the appropriate RME Docket
identification number. Follow the on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
U.S. EPA Region 6 ``Contact Us'' Web site: http://epa.gov/region6/r6coment.htm.
Please click on ``6PD'' (Multimedia) and select
``Air'' before submitting comments.
E-mail: Mr. Thomas Diggs at diggs.thomas@epa.gov. Please
also cc the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section below.
Fax: Mr. Thomas Diggs, Chief, Air Planning Section (6PD-
L), at fax number 214-665-7263.
Mail: Mr. Thomas Diggs, Chief, Air Planning Section (6PD-
L), Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200,
Dallas, Texas 75202-2733.
Hand or Courier Delivery: Mr. Thomas Diggs, Chief, Air
Planning Section (6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross
Avenue, Suite 1200, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733. Such deliveries are
accepted only between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays except
for legal holidays. Special arrangements should be made for deliveries
of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Regional Material in EDocket
(RME) ID No. R06-OAR-2005-TX-0021. EPA's policy is that all comments
received will be included in the public file without change, and may be
made available online at http://docket.epa.gov/rmepub/, including any
personal information provided, unless the comment includes information
claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other
information the disclosure of which is restricted by statute. Do not
submit information through Regional Material in EDocket (RME),
regulations.gov, or e-mail if you believe that it is CBI or otherwise
protected from disclosure.
The EPA RME website and the federal regulations.gov are ``anonymous
access'' systems, 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 RME
or regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured
and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public file
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: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the
Regional Material in EDocket (RME) index at http://docket.epa.gov/rmepub/.
Although listed in the index, 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 RME or in the official file which is
available at the Air Planning Section (6PD-L),
[[Page 25009]]
Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas,
Texas 75202-2733. The file will be made available by appointment for
public inspection in the Region 6 FOIA Review Room between the hours of
8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays except for legal holidays. Contact the
person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT paragraph below or
Mr. Bill Deese at (214) 665-7253 to make an appointment. If possible,
please make the appointment at least two working days in advance of
your visit. There will be a 15 cent per page fee for making photocopies
of documents. On the day of the visit, please check in at the EPA
Region 6 reception area at 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas.
The State submittal is also available for public inspection at the
State Air Agency listed below during official business hours by
appointment: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Office of Air
Quality, 12124 Park 35 Circle, Austin, Texas 78753.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sandra Rennie, Air Planning Section
(6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue,
Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, telephone (214) 665-7367; fax
number 214-665-7263; e-mail address rennie.sandra@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document wherever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean the EPA.
Outline
What Action Are We Taking?
What Is the Background for This Action?
What Did the State Submit?
What Do These Rules Require?
What Are Oxides of Nitrogen?
What Areas in Texas Will This Action Affect?
Why Are We Proposing To Approve This Submittal?
Proposed Action
Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
What Action Are We Taking?
We are proposing to approve a revision to the SIP as an economic
incentive program consistent with EPA's guidance. For a more complete
description of our review, please see the technical support document
for this action.
We are proposing to approve rules that implement a portion of the
TERP legislation. The legislation created an economic incentive program
to accelerate the introduction of lower emitting mobile source
technologies in nonattainment and near nonattainment areas of Texas.
The State adopted these rules on August 22, 2001.
We are also proposing to approve revisions to these rules that the
State adopted on January 28, 2004, and submitted to EPA on March 3,
2004.
What Is the Background for This Action?
In 2001, the Texas Legislature enacted Senate Bill 5, which
established the TERP. The TERP includes a grant program designed to
accelerate the early introduction and use of lower emitting diesel
technologies in the nonattainment and near nonattainment areas of
Texas; a grant program to fund improved energy efficiency in buildings;
purchase and lease incentives to encourage the introduction of cleaner
light duty vehicles into the Texas fleet; and funding for research and
development programs focused on new air pollution reduction
technologies. This legislation also establishes a statewide incentive
program for the purchase or lease of new on-road diesel vehicles and
light-duty motor vehicles that meet more stringent emission standards
than those required by any federal requirements. The incentives
eligible for on-road diesel vehicles are for the incremental cost to
purchase the cleaner vehicle. The incentive for eligible light duty
vehicles is a specified dollar amount. Each of the incentives is based
on the specific emission standard to which the vehicle is certified.
In 2003 Texas House Bill 1365 amended surcharges and fees which
fund TERP, along with the eligibility criteria. The 2003 amendments
broaden the list eligible to apply for a grant. This adoption also adds
three counties to the list where eligible projects may be funded and
also includes all counties in nonattainment areas. The amendment also
provides for the new methods for streamlining the grant process for
small business. The 2003 legislation was projected to provide
approximately $120 million per year for funding those programs through
September 2008.
What Did the State Submit?
On March 9, 2005, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
submitted Texas Emission Reduction Plan rules at 30 TAC, Chapter 114,
Subchapter K, Mobile Source Incentive Programs, Division 3, Diesel
Emission Reduction Incentive Program for On-Road and Non-Road Vehicles,
to EPA as a revision to the SIP. These new rules are found in 30 TAC
Sections 114.620-623, 114.626, and 114.629. The State adopted revisions
to these rules on January 28, 2004, and submitted them to EPA on March
3, 2004.
What Do These Rules Require?
The TERP includes a number of voluntary incentive and assistance
programs designed to help improve the air quality in Texas. The
programs included in TERP are as follows: Heavy-Duty Motor Vehicle
Purchase or Lease Incentive Program, Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Purchase
or Lease Incentive Program and Diesel Emission Reduction Incentive
Grant Program for On-Road and Non-Road Vehicles (``Incentive Grant
Program''). It is the Incentive Grant Program that is contained in
Division 3 and that is before us as a SIP revision.
The Incentive Grant Program rules delineate the individuals and
businesses that may apply for grants under TERP and provide that all
applicants are subject to the criteria listed in Texas Emission
Reduction Plan: Guidance for Emissions Reduction Incentive Grants
Program (RG-388). Eligible projects include multiple variations of
leasing or purchasing, retrofitting, repowering, or other
NOX reducing technologies for on-road and off-road diesel
powered engines. The rule requires that any project funded by a grant
must operate no less than 75 percent of the vehicle miles traveled or
hours of operations of that project over the following five years in a
nonattainment or near nonattainment county.
The plan also requires that a project, excluding infrastructure
projects, must meet a cost-effectiveness not to exceed $13,000 per ton
of NOX emissions. Except in extreme circumstances, the
emissions reductions gained by any project funded through a TERP grant
may not be used for credit under any state or federal emission
reduction credit averaging, banking or trading program. The program
allows TERP reductions to be credited toward the NOX cap and
trade program in Houston but only in the unlikely event that the
industrial source's compliance cost exceeds $75,000/ton. In that case,
the source would be able to deposit $75,000/ton into the TERP account
where the money would be utilized to achieve more cost effective mobile
source reductions.
Use of TERP reductions in the NOX cap and trade program
is covered in 30 TAC 101.357, which is not the subject of this proposed
action. We will address this issue when we act on the Mass Emissions
Cap and Trade revisions at a later date.
What Are Oxides of Nitrogen?
Nitrogen oxides (NOX) belong to the group of criteria
air pollutants. NOX results from burning fuels, including
[[Page 25010]]
gasoline and coal. Nitrogen oxides react with volatile organic
compounds to form ozone or smog and are also major components of acid
rain.
What Areas in Texas Will This Action Affect?
The TERP will provide potential emission reductions in the
following counties: Bastrop, Bexar, Brazoria, Caldwell, Chambers,
Collin, Comal, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Ellis, Fort Bend, Galveston,
Gregg, Guadalupe, Harris, Hardin, Harrison, Hayes, Henderson, Hood,
Hunt, Jefferson, Johnson, Kaufman, Liberty, Montgomery, Nueces, Orange,
Parker, Rockwall, Rusk, San Patricio, Smith, Tarrant, Travis, Upshur,
Victoria, Waller, Williamson, Wilson, and any other county located
within an area of Texas designated as nonattaiment for ground-level
ozone.
Why Are We Proposing To Approve This Submittal?
TERP Division 3 is a measure relied upon in State Implementation
Plans for the Early Action Compact areas of Austin, San Antonio, and
Northeast Texas, as well as the Houston/Galveston Attainment
Demonstration, and the Dallas/Fort Worth 5 percent Increment of
Progress Plan. The amount of emission reductions projected for the TERP
program is delineated in each of these plan revisions. These reductions
are assisting areas to come into attainment with the National Ambient
Air Quality Standard for ozone.
Diesel engines are targeted due to their relatively high
NOX emissions and their long operational life, which makes
the introduction of newer cleaner engines into a fleet a long term
process with normal turnover. The TERP will offset the incremental cost
of projects that will reduce oxides of nitrogen emissions from heavy
duty diesel trucks and construction equipment in nonattainment areas.
This is an incentive to owners and operators to upgrade their fleets at
an expedited rate. The upgrade of these fleets will reduce the amount
of NOX emissions to the atmosphere. We are proposing to
approve these revisions to the Texas SIP because they will contribute
to the attainment of the ozone standard, and therefore strengthen the
SIP.
Proposed Action
TERP Division 3 is consistent with EPA guidance for an economic
incentive program. See ``Improving Air Quality With Economic Incentive
Programs,'' EPA Office of Air and Radiation, EPA-452-/R-01-001 (Jan.
2001). Therefore, we propose to approve the TERP Division 3 rules.
Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has exempted this
regulatory action from Executive Order 12866, entitled ``Regulatory
Planning and Review.'' This rule is not a ``significant energy action''
as defined in Executive Order 13211, ``Actions Concerning Regulations
That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR
28355 (May 22, 2001)), because it is not likely to have a significant
adverse effect on the supply, distribution, or use of energy. 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 (Pub. L. 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). EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 as
applying only to those regulatory actions that are based on health or
safety risks, such that the analysis required under section 5-501 of
the Order has the potential to influence the regulation. This proposed
rule is not subject to Executive Order 13045 because it approves a
state program.
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 in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: May 4, 2005.
Richard E. Greene,
Regional Administrator, Region 6.
[FR Doc. 05-9480 Filed 5-11-05; 8:45 am]
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