[Federal Register: November 14, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 219)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 63988-63990]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14no07-10]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 49
[EPA-R01-OAR-2005-TR-0001; A-1-FRL-8491-7]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: EPA is approving a Tribal Implementation Plan (TIP) submitted
by the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut. The TIP establishes an
enforceable cap on nitrogen oxide emissions from stationary sources
owned by the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority and located within the
external boundaries of the Mohegan Reservation. This action is intended
to help attain the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for
ground-level ozone. This action is being taken in accordance with the
Clean Air Act.
DATES: Effective Date: This rule is effective on December 14, 2007.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket
Identification No. EPA-R01-OAR-2005-TR-0001. All documents in the
docket are listed on the http://www.regulations.gov Web site. 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
through http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the 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 legal holidays.
Copies of the documents relevant to this action are also available
for public inspection during normal business hours, by appointment at
the Mohegan Tribe, Mohegan Environmental Protection Department, 49
Sandy Desert Road, Uncasville, CT 06382, telephone number (860) 862-
6112.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ida E. McDonnell, Air Permits, Toxics
and Indoor Air Unit, Office of Ecosystem Protection, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional Office, One Congress
Street, 11th floor, (CAP), Boston, MA 02114-2023, telephone number
(617) 918-1653, fax number (617) 918-0653, e-mail
mcdonnell.ida@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
Organization of this document. The following outline is provided to
aid in locating information in this preamble.
I. Background and Purpose
II. Final Action
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background and Purpose
On September 6, 2007 (72 FR 51204) EPA published a Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) for the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of
Connecticut.
The NPR proposed approval of the Mohegan Tribal Implementation Plan
(TIP) consisting of a tribal ordinance, entitled ``Area Wide
NOX Emissions Limitation Regulation,'' that establishes a
limit on nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions from stationary
sources owned by the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority and located within
the external boundaries of the Mohegan Reservation. The formal TIP was
submitted by Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut on May 4, 2005 and
amended on August 22, 2007.
Other specific requirements of the Tribal Implementation Plan and
the rationale for EPA's proposed action are explained in the NPR and
will not be restated here. No public comments were received on the NPR.
II. Final Action
EPA is approving the Mohegan Tribal Implementation Plan that was
submitted by the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut on May 4,
2005, and amended on August 22, 2007 for limiting NOX
emissions from stationary sources owned by the Mohegan Tribal Gaming
Authority to 49 TPY.
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 tribal law as meeting Federal requirements and imposes
no additional requirements beyond those imposed by tribal 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 tribal law and does
not impose any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by
tribal 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).
Since this rule simply approves pre-existing tribal law, it does
not result in any direct costs or preemption of tribal law as specified
by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000). Nonetheless,
EPA has consulted extensively with the Mohegan Tribe concerning this
proposed TIP approval. 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 tribal rule
implementing a federal standard within the exterior boundaries of the
Tribe's reservation,
[[Page 63989]]
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 approves a tribal rule implementing a Federal
standard.
In reviewing TIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve tribal
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
Tribe to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority
to disapprove a TIP submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be
inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a TIP
submission, to use VCS in place of a TIP 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. 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.
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 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 may not be challenged later in proceedings
to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 49
Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure,
Air pollution control, Incorporation by reference, Indians,
Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: October 25, 2007.
Robert W. Varney,
Regional Administrator, EPA New England.
0
Part 49 of chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is
amended as follows:
PART 49--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 49 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart D--Implementation Plans for Tribes-Region I
0
2. Subpart D of Part 49 is amended by adding an undesignated center
heading and Sec. 49.201 as follows:
Implementation Plan for the Mohegan Tribe of Indians, Connecticut.
Sec. 49.201 Identification of plan.
(a) Purpose and scope. This section contains the implementation
plan for the Mohegan Tribe of Indians, Connecticut. This plan consists
of an area wide NOX emission limitation regulation submitted
by the Mohegan Tribe on May 4, 2005, applicable to the reservation of
The Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut.
(b) Incorporation by reference. (1) Material listed in paragraph
(c) of this section with an EPA approval date prior to November 14,
2007, was approved for incorporation by reference by the Director of
the Federal Register in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part
51. Material is incorporated as it exists on the date of the approval,
and notice of any change in the material will be published in the
Federal Register.
(2) EPA Region I certifies that the rules/regulations provided by
EPA in the TIP compilation at the addresses in paragraph (b)(3) of this
section are an exact duplicate of the officially promulgated tribal
rules/regulations which have been approved as part of the Tribal
Implementation Plan as of November 14, 2007.
(3) Copies of the materials incorporated by reference may be
inspected at the New England Regional Office of EPA at One Congress
Street, Suite 1100, Boston, MA 02114-2023; the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), Air and Radiation Docket
and Information Center, MC 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20460 and the National Archives and Records
Administration. For information on the availability of this material at
NARA, call 202-741-6030, or go to: http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html
.
(c) EPA-approved regulations.
EPA-Approved Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut Regulations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tribal
Tribal citation Title/subject effective EPA approval date Explanations
date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mohegan Tribal Ordinance 2005- Area Wide NOX Emission 04/28/05 11/14/07 [Insert
01. Limitation Regulation. Federal Register page
number where the
document begins].
Mohegan Tribal Resolution 2005- Amending Mohegan 05/23/05 11/14/07 [Insert
19. Tribal Ordinance 2005- Federal Register page
01. number where the
document begins].
Mohegan Tribal Resolution 2007- Amending Mohegan 08/22/07 11/14/07 [Insert
28. Tribal Ordinance 2005- Federal Register page
01. number where the
document begins].
Mohegan Tribal Resolution 2005- Approving the ``Area 04/28/05 11/14/07 [Insert
17. Wide NOX Emission Federal Register page
Limitation Regulation number where the
Tribal NOX document begins].
Regulations.''.
[[Page 63990]]
Mohegan Tribal Resolution 2005- Authorizing civil 04/28/05 11/14/07.............. [Insert Federal
16. penalties up to Register page
$25,000 per violation. number where the
document begins]
Memorandum of Agreement........ Memorandum of 12/26/06 11/14/07 [Insert
Agreement dated Federal Register page
December 26, 2006, number where the
between the Mohegan document begins].
Tribe of Indians of
Connecticut and the
U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency
Region I.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[FR Doc. E7-22221 Filed 11-13-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P