[Federal Register: January 8, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 5)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 1282-1285]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08ja08-10]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2007-0215; FRL-8513-8]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
West Virginia; Section 110(a)(1) 8-Hour Ozone Maintenance Plan and
Amendments to the 1-Hour Ozone Maintenance Plan
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is approving State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions
[[Page 1283]]
submitted by West Virginia. These revisions pertain to: the maintenance
plan prepared by West Virginia to maintain the 8-hour national ambient
air quality standard (NAAQS) for ozone in Greenbrier County, which is
designated attainment for the ozone NAAQS; and two amendments to the
existing 1-hour ozone maintenance plan, which include removal of the
obligation to submit a maintenance plan for the 1-hour NAAQS eight
years after approval of the initial 1-hour maintenance plan, and
removal of the State's obligation to implement contingency measures
upon a violation of the 1-hour NAAQS. The purpose of this approval is
to ensure Federal enforceability of the state air program plan and to
maintain consistency between the State-adopted plan and the approved
SIP. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: Effective Date: This final rule is effective on February 7,
2008.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
Number EPA-R03-OAR-2007-0215. All documents in the docket are listed in
the http://www.regulations.gov website. 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 West Virginia Department of
Environmental Protection, Division of Air Quality, 601 57th Street,
SE., Charleston, WV 25304.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irene Shandruk, (215) 814-2166, or by
e-mail at shandruk.irene@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Section 110(a)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires, in part,
that states submit to EPA plans to maintain any NAAQS promulgated by
EPA. EPA interprets this provision to require that areas that were
maintenance areas for the 1-hour ozone NAAQS, but attainment for the 8-
hour ozone NAAQS submit a plan to demonstrate the continued maintenance
of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS. EPA established June 15, 2007, three years
after the effective date of the initial 8-hour ozone designations, as
the deadline for submission of plans for these areas.
On May 20, 2005, EPA issued guidance that applies, in part, to
areas that are designated attainment/unclassifiable for the 8-hour
ozone standard and that had an approved 1-hour ozone maintenance plan.
The purpose of the guidance, referred to as section 110(a)(1) guidance,
is to assist the states in the development of a SIP which addresses the
maintenance requirements found in section 110(a)(1) of the CAA. There
are five components of the section 110(a)(1) maintenance plan which
are: (1) An attainment inventory, which is based on actual typical
summer day emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxides of
nitrogen (NOX) for a ten-year period from a base year as
chosen by the state; (2) a maintenance demonstration which shows how
the area will remain in compliance with the 8-hour ozone standard for
10 years after the effective date of designations (June 15, 2004); (3)
a commitment to continue to operate air quality monitors; (4) a
contingency plan that will ensure that a violation of the 8-hour ozone
NAAQS is promptly addressed; and (5) an explanation of how the State
will track the progress of the maintenance plan.
On November 7, 2007 (72 FR 62809), EPA published a notice of
proposed rulemaking (NPR) for the State of West Virginia. The NPR
proposed approval of the 8-hour ozone maintenance plan for Greenbrier
County, as well as concurrent approval of two amendments to its
existing 1-hour ozone maintenance plan, which include (a) removal of
the obligation to submit a maintenance plan for the 1-hour NAAQS eight
years after approval of the initial 1-hour maintenance plan, and (b)
removal of the State's obligation to implement contingency measures
upon a violation of the 1-hour NAAQS. The formal SIP revision was
submitted by West Virginia on November 29, 2006.
II. Summary of SIP Revision
The WVDEP 8-hour ozone maintenance plan addresses the components of
the section 110(a)(1) 8-hour ozone maintenance plan as outlined in
EPA's May 20, 2005 guidance. West Virginia requested approval of their
8-hour ozone maintenance plan for Greenbrier County, as well as
concurrent approval of two amendments to its existing 1-hour ozone
maintenance plan.
Emissions Inventory: An emissions inventory is an itemized list of
emission estimates for sources of air pollution in a given area for a
specified time period. WVDEP has provided a comprehensive and current
emissions inventory for NOX and VOCs. WVDEP has chosen to
use 2002 as the base year from which it will project emissions. The
maintenance plan also includes an explanation of the methodology used
for determining the anthropogenic (area and mobile sources) emissions.
There are no Title V point sources located in Greenbrier County, so a
2002 point source inventory was not compiled. The inventory is based on
emissions from a typical ozone season day. The term ``typical'' refers
to emissions being emitted during a typical weekday during the months
where ozone concentrations are typically the highest.
Maintenance Demonstration and Tracking Progress: With regard to
demonstrating continued maintenance of the 8-hour ozone standard, West
Virginia projects that the total emissions from Greenbrier County will
decrease during the ten-year maintenance period. WVDEP has projected
emissions for 10 years from the effective date of initial designations,
or 2014. In 2002, the total anthropogenic emissions in Greenbrier
County were 7.7 tons/ozone season day for VOCs and 7.4 tons/ozone
season day for NOX. The projected 2014 anthropogenic
emissions from Greenbrier County are 7.0 tons/ozone season day for VOCs
and 4.9 tons/ozone season day for NOX. As such, the plan
demonstrates that, from an emissions projections standpoint, emissions
are projected to decrease.
It is important to note that the formation of ozone is dependent on
a number of variables which cannot be estimated through emissions
growth and reduction calculations. A few of these variables include
weather and the transport of ozone precursors from outside the
maintenance area. In the section 110(a)(1) maintenance plan, WVDEP had
indicated that the state will track the progress of the maintenance
plan by updating the emissions inventory for Greenbrier County
approximately every three years. The emissions inventory update will
include point, area, and mobile emissions. Information from these
future updates will be compared with the projected growth estimates for
the 2002 base inventory data to track maintenance of the standard.
Ambient Monitoring: With regard to the ambient air monitoring
component of the maintenance plan, West Virginia commits to continue
operating air quality monitoring stations in accordance with 40 CFR
Part 58 throughout the maintenance period to
[[Page 1284]]
verify maintenance of the 8-hour ozone standard, and will submit
quality-assured ozone data to EPA through the AIRS system.
Contingency Measures: EPA interprets section 110(a)(1) of the CAA
to require that the state develop a contingency plan that will ensure
that any violation of a NAAQS is promptly corrected. The purposes of
the contingency measures, as outlined in West Virginia's maintenance
plan, is to accordingly select and adopt one or more measures outlined
in the maintenance plan so as to assure continued attainment in the
event that a violation of the ozone NAAQS is measured. Violation of the
8-hour ozone standard would trigger one or more of the control measures
outlined in the plan.
Approval of two amendments to West Virginia's existing 1-hour
maintenance plan has also been requested by WVDEP. Section 175A(b)
requires that maintenance plans be updated. The 1-hour maintenance plan
for Greenbrier County extends to 2005, but no update has been
developed. West Virginia identifies the most important reason for this
being that available resources are being devoted to attainment and
maintenance of the 8-hour standard since the 8-hour standard is
considered by the State to be more protective than the former 1-hour
standard upon which the current maintenance plan is based. As such,
West Virginia is amending this existing maintenance plan, which is
codified at 40 CFR 52.2520(e), for the Greenbrier County 1-hour
maintenance area by removing the State's obligation to submit a
maintenance plan for the 1-hour NAAQS eight years after approval of the
initial 1-hour maintenance plan, and is requesting approval of these
amendments.
III. Final Action
EPA is approving the SIP revisions submitted by WVDEP pertaining to
their section 110(a)(1) 8-hour ozone maintenance plan for Greenbrier
County, West Virginia. This plan demonstrates how the State intends to
maintain the 8-hour NAAQS for ozone. Additionally, EPA is concurrently
approving two amendments to the existing 1-hour ozone maintenance plan:
(1) Removal of the obligation to submit a maintenance plan for the 1-
hour NAAQS 8 years after approval of the initial 1-hour maintenance
plan; and (2) removal of the State's obligation to implement
contingency measures upon a violation of the 1-hour NAAQS.
IV. 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
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. 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
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 March 10, 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 section 110(a)(1) 8-hour Ozone Maintenance
Plan for Greenbrier County, West Virginia, and concurrent approval of
two amendments to the existing 1-hour ozone maintenance plan 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, Incorporation by
reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
[[Page 1285]]
Dated: December 19, 2007.
Donald S. Welsh,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
0
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:
PART 52--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for 40 CFR part 52 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart XX--West Virginia
0
2. In Sec. 52.2520, the table in paragraph (e) is amended by:
0
a. Revising the existing entry for Ozone Maintenance Plan & contingency
measures (Greenbrier County).
0
b. Adding an entry for the 8-hour Ozone Maintenance plan for Greenbrier
County, WV, at the end of the table.
The amendments read as follows:
Sec. 52.2520 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
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Applicable geographic State
Name of non-regulatory SIP revision area submittal date EPA approval date Additional explanation
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* * * * * * *
Ozone Maintenance Plan & contingency Greenbrier County...... 9/9/94 8/4/95, 60 FR 39857.... 52.2565(c)(36)
measures.
* * * * * * *
11/29/06 1/8/08, [Insert page Action includes (a) removal of the obligation to
number where the submit a maintenance plan eight years after
document begins]. initial approval, and (b) removal of the
obligation to implement contingency measures
upon a violation of the NAAQS
* * * * * * *
8-Hour Ozone Maintenance Plan for Greenbrier County...... 11/29/06 1/8/08, [Insert page
Greenbrier County, WV. number where the
document begins].
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[FR Doc. E7-25640 Filed 1-7-08; 8:45 am]
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