[Federal Register: November 14, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 219)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 63990-63992]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14no07-11]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52 and 81
[EPA-R03-OAR-2007-0533; FRL-8494-2]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Pennsylvania; Redesignation of the Centre County (State College) 8-Hour
Ozone Nonattainment Area to Attainment and Approval of the Area's
Maintenance Plan and 2002 Base Year Inventory
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 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) is requesting that the
Centre County ozone nonattainment area (State College Area) be
redesignated as attainment for the 8-hour ozone ambient air quality
standard (NAAQS). EPA is approving the ozone redesignation request for
the State College Area. In conjunction with its redesignation request,
PADEP submitted a SIP revision consisting of a maintenance plan for the
State College Area that provides for continued attainment of the 8-hour
ozone NAAQS for at least 10 years after redesignation. EPA is approving
the 8-hour maintenance plan. PADEP also submitted a 2002 base year
inventory for the State College Area which EPA is approving. In
addition, EPA is approving the adequacy determination for the motor
vehicle emission budgets (MVEBs) that are identified in the State
College Area maintenance plan for purposes of transportation
conformity, and is approving those MVEBs. EPA is approving the
redesignation request, and the maintenance plan and the 2002 base year
emissions inventory as revisions to the Pennsylvania SIP in accordance
with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: Effective Date: This final rule is effective on December 14,
2007.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
Number EPA-R03-OAR-2007-0533. All documents in the docket are listed in
the http://www.regulations.gov Web site. Although listed in the electronic
docket, some information is not publicly available, i.e., confidential
business information (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 through http://www.regulations.gov or in hard
copy 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. Copies of the State
submittal are available at the Pennsylvania Department of Environment
Protection, Bureau of Air Quality Control, P.O. Box 8468, 400 Market
Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rose Quinto, (215) 814-2182, or by e-
mail at quinto.rose@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On September 11, 2007 (72 FR 51747), EPA published a notice of
proposed rulemaking (NPR) for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The NPR
proposed approval of Pennsylvania's redesignation request, a SIP
revision that establishes a maintenance plan for the State College Area
that provides for continued attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS for at
least 10 years after redesignation, and a 2002 base year emissions
inventory. The formal SIP revisions were submitted by PADEP on June 12,
2007. Other specific requirements of Pennsylvania's redesignation
request SIP revision for the maintenance plan and the rationales for
EPA's proposed actions are explained in the NPR and will not be
restated here. No public comments were received on the NPR.
However, on December 22, 2006, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit vacated EPA's Phase 1 Implementation Rule
for the 8-hour Ozone Standard. (69 FR 23591, April 30, 2004). South
Coast Air Quality Management Dist. v. EPA, 472 F.3d 882 (D.C. Cir.
2006). On June 8, 2007, in South Coast Air Quality Management Dist. v.
EPA, Docket No. 04-1201, in response to several petitions for
rehearing, the D.C. Circuit clarified that the Phase 1 Rule was vacated
only with regard to those parts of the rule that had been successfully
challenged. Therefore, the Phase 1 Rule provisions related to
classifications for areas currently classified under subpart 2 of Title
I, part D of the Act as 8-hour nonattainment areas, the 8-hour
attainment dates and the timing for emissions reductions needed for
attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS remain effective. The June 8
decision left intact the Court's rejection of EPA's reasons for
implementing the 8-hour standard in certain nonattainment areas under
subpart 1 in lieu of subpart 2. By limiting the vacatur, the Court let
stand EPA's revocation of the 1-hour standard and those anti-
backsliding provisions of the Phase 1 Rule that had not been
successfully challenged. The June 8 decision reaffirmed the December
22, 2006 decision that EPA had improperly failed to retain measures
required for 1-
[[Page 63991]]
hour nonattainment areas under the anti-backsliding provisions of the
regulations: (1) Nonattainment area New Source Review (NSR)
requirements based on an area's 1-hour nonattainment classification;
(2) Section 185 penalty fees for the 1-hour severe or extreme
nonattainment areas; and (3) measures to be implemented pursuant to
section 172(c)(9) or 182(c)(9) of the CAA, on the contingency of an
area not making reasonable further progress toward attainment of the 1-
hour NAAQS, or for failure to attain NAAQS. In addition, the June 8
decision clarified that the Court's reference to conformity
requirements for anti-backsliding purposes was limited to requiring the
continued use of the 1-hour motor vehicle emissions budgets until 8-
hour budgets were available for 8-hour conformity determinations, which
is already required under EPA's conformity regulations. The Court thus
clarified the 1-hour conformity determinations are not required for
anti-backsliding purposes.
For the reasons set forth in the proposal, EPA does not believe
that the Court's rulings alter any requirements relevant to this
redesignation action so as to preclude redesignation, and do not
prevent EPA from finalizing this redesignation. EPA believes that the
Court's December 22, 2006 and June 8, 2007 decisions impose no
impediment to moving forward with redesignation of this area to
attainment, because even in the light of the Court's decisions,
redesignation is appropriate under the relevant redesignation
provisions of the CAA and longstanding policies regarding redesignation
requests.
II. Final Action
EPA is approving the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's redesignation
request, maintenance plan, and the 2002 base year emissions inventory
because the requirements for approval have been satisfied. EPA has
evaluated Pennsylvania's redesignation request that was submitted on
June 12, 2007 and determined that it meets the redesignation criteria
set forth in section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA. EPA believes that the
redesignation request and monitoring data demonstrate that the State
College Area has attained the 8-hour ozone standard. The final approval
of this redesignation request will change the designation of the State
College Area from nonattainment to attainment for the 8-hour ozone
standard. EPA is approving the maintenance plan for the State College
Area submitted on June 12, 2007 as a revision to the Pennsylvania SIP.
EPA is also approving the MVEBs submitted by PADEP in conjunction with
its redesignation request. In addition, EPA is approving the 2002 base
year emissions inventory submitted by PADEP on June 12, 2007 as a
revision to the Pennsylvania SIP. In this final rulemaking, EPA is
notifying the public that we have found that the MVEBs for
NOX and VOCs in the State College Area for the 8-hour ozone
maintenance plan are adequate and approved for conformity purposes. As
a result of our finding, the State College Area must use the MVEBs from
the submitted 8-hour ozone maintenance plan for future conformity
determinations. The adequate and approved MVEBs are provided in the
following table:
Adequate and Approved Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets in Tons per Day
(TPD)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget year NOX VOC
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009.................................................. 12.5 5.4
2018.................................................. 6.0 3.7
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The State College Area is subject to the CAA's requirement for the
basic nonattainment areas until and unless it is redesignated to
attainment.
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.
Redesignation is an action that affects the status of a geographical
area and does not impose any new regulatory requirements on sources.
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 final 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). Because this action affects the status of
a geographical area, does not impose any new requirements on sources,
or allows the state to avoid adopting or implementing other
requirements, 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 requirement, and does not alter the relationship or the
distribution of power and responsibilities established in the CAA. 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 approves a state rule implementing a
Federal standard.
In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA(s role is to approve state
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. 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 CAA. Redesignation is an action that
affects the status of a geographical area and does not impose any new
requirements on sources. 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
[[Page 63992]]
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 CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by January 14, 2008. 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, approving the redesignation of the State College Area to
attainment for the 8-hour ozone NAAQS, the associated maintenance plan,
the 2002 base year emission inventory, and the MVEBs identified in the
maintenance plan, 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, Nitrogen dioxide,
Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic
compounds.
40 CFR Part 81
Air pollution control, National parks, Wilderness areas.
Dated: November 1, 2007.
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. In Sec. 52.2020, the table in paragraph (e)(1) is amended by adding
an entry at the end of the table to read as follows:
Sec. 52.2020 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
(1) * * *
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Name of non-regulatory SIP Applicable State submittal Additional
revision geographic area date EPA approval date explanation
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* * * * * * *
8-Hour Ozone Maintenance Plan State College 06/12/07.......... 11/14/07 [Insert ..................
and 2002 Base Year Emissions (Centre County). page number where
Inventory. the document
begins].
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* * * * *
PART 81--[AMENDED]
0
3. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
0
4. In Sec. 81.339, the table entitled ``Pennsylvania--Ozone (8-Hour
Standard)'' is amended by revising the entry for the State College, PA,
Centre County to read as follows:
Sec. 81.339 Pennsylvania.
* * * * *
Pennsylvania--Ozone (8-Hour Standard)
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Designation \a\ Category/classification
Designated area --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date \1\ Type Date \1\ Type
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* * * * * * *
State College, PA: Centre 12/14/07 Attainment.
County.
* * * * * * *
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\a\ Includes Indian County located in each county or area, except otherwise noted.
\1\ This date is June 15, 2004, unless otherwise noted.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. E7-22042 Filed 11-13-07; 8:45 am]
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