[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 2, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51259-51260]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-20241]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 81
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0562; FRL-8709-2]
EPA Responses to State and Tribal 2006 24-Hour PM2.5
Designation Recommendations: Notice of Availability and Public Comment
Period
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability and public comment period.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the EPA has posted its responses
to state and tribal designation recommendations for the 2006 24-hour
fine particles (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS) on its Internet Web site at http://www.epa.gov/pmdesignations/2006standards/index.htm. EPA invites public comments on
its responses during the 30-day comment period specified below. EPA
sent responses directly to the states on August 19 and tribes on or
around August 20, 2008, and plans to make final designation
determinations for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS by December
18, 2008.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 2, 2008. Please
refer to SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional information on the
comment period.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. OAR-2007-
0562, by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: [email protected]. Attention Docket ID No.
EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0562.
Fax: 202-566-9744. Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2007-0562.
Mail: Air Docket, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-
0562, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code: 6102T, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, 1301 Constitution
Avenue, NW., Room 3334, Washington, DC. Such deliveries are only
accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and special
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2007-0562. The EPA's policy is that all comments received will be
included in the public docket without change and may be made available
online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal
information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed
to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information
that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through
regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is
``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 http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is
placed in the public docket 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 is unable to read your comment and
contact you for clarification due to technical difficulties, 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. For additional information about EPA's public
docket, visit the EPA Docket Center home page at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. For additional instructions on submitting
comments, go to Section II of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this document.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. 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 http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the EPA Docket Center, EPA West,
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. The Public
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public
Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the Air
Docket is (202) 566-1742.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions concerning this
action, please contact Ben Gibson, U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality
Planning and Standards, Air Quality Planning Division, C504-01,
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone (919) 541-3065, e-mail at
[email protected]. For questions regarding EPA Region 1, please
contact Alison Simcox, U.S. EPA, telephone (617) 918-1684, e-mail at
[email protected]. For questions regarding EPA Region 2, please
contact Kenneth Fradkin, U.S. EPA, telephone (212) 637-3702, e-mail at
[email protected]. For questions regarding EPA Region 3, please
contact Maria Pino, U.S. EPA, telephone (215) 814-2181, e-mail at
[email protected]. For questions regarding EPA Region 4, please
contact Steve Scofield, U.S. EPA, telephone (404) 562-9034, e-mail at
[email protected]. For questions regarding EPA Region 5, please
contact John Summerhays, U.S. EPA, telephone (312) 886-6067, e-mail at
[email protected]. For questions regarding EPA Region 6, please
contact Joe Kordzi, U.S. EPA, telephone (214) 665-7186, e-mail at
[email protected]. For questions regarding EPA Region 7, please
contact Amy Algoe-Eakin, U.S. EPA, telephone (913) 551-7942, e-mail at
[email protected]. For questions regarding EPA Region 8, please
contact Catherine Roberts, U.S. EPA, telephone (303) 312-6025, e-mail
at [email protected]. For questions regarding EPA Region 9,
please contact Eleanor Kaplan, U.S. EPA, telephone (415) 947-4147, e-
mail at [email protected]. For questions regarding EPA Region 10,
please contact Krishna Viswanathan, U.S. EPA, telephone (206) 553-2684,
e-mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?
1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through
www.regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly
[[Page 51260]]
mark the part or all of the information that you claim to be CBI. For
CBI information in a disk or CD ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the
outside of the disk or CD ROM as CBI and then identify electronically
within the disk or CD ROM the specific information that is claimed as
CBI. In addition to one complete version of the comment that includes
information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain
the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the
public docket. Information so marked will not be disclosed except in
accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2. Send or deliver
information identified as CBI only to the following address: Roberto
Morales, U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Mail
Code C404-02, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone (919) 541-
0880, e-mail at [email protected], Attention: Docket ID No. OAR-
2007-0562.
2. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments,
remember to:
Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and
page number).
Follow directions. The Agency may ask you to respond to
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives
and substitute language for your requested changes.
II. Background
The process for designating areas following promulgation of a new
or revised NAAQS is contained in Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 107(d) (42
U.S.C. 7407). Following the promulgation of a new or revised standard,
each Governor or Tribal Leader has an opportunity to recommend air
quality designations, including the appropriate boundaries for
nonattainment areas, to EPA. EPA considers these recommendations as
part of its duty to promulgate the formal area designations and
boundaries for the new or revised standards. By no later than 120 days
prior to promulgating designations, EPA is required to notify states or
tribes of any intended modification to an area designation or boundary
recommendation that EPA deems necessary. On or around August 19 and 20,
2008, EPA notified states and tribes of its intended area designations
for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. States and tribes now have
an opportunity to demonstrate why they believe a modification proposed
by EPA may be inappropriate. In these responses, EPA encourages states
and tribes to provide comments and additional information for
consideration by EPA in finalizing designations. EPA plans to make
final designation determinations for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5
NAAQS by December 18, 2008.
The purpose of this notice is to solicit public comments from
interested parties other than states and tribes on EPA's recent
responses to the state and tribal designation recommendations for the
2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. CAA Section 107(d) provides a
process for designations that involves recommendations by states and
tribes to EPA and responses from EPA to those parties, prior to EPA
promulgating final designations and boundaries. EPA is not required
under CAA Section 107(d) to seek public comment during the designation
process, but is electing to do so for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5
NAAQS in order to gather additional information for EPA to consider
before making final designations. EPA invites public comment on its
responses to states and tribes during the 30-day comment period
provided in this notice. Due to the statutory timeframe for
promulgating designations set out in CAA Section 107(d), EPA will not
be able to consider any comments submitted after October 2, 2008,
notwithstanding what may have appeared in any state-specific
announcements. This notice and opportunity for public comment does not
affect any rights or obligations of any state, tribe or the EPA which
might otherwise exist pursuant to CAA section 107(d).
Please refer to the ADDRESSES section above in this document for
specific instructions on submitting comments and locating relevant
public documents.
In providing comments to EPA please consider the agency's
charge under CAA section 107(d). Under this section, EPA is obligated
to identify every area as attainment, nonattainment, or unclassifiable.
Further, in establishing nonattainment area boundaries, the agency is
required to identify the area that does not meet the 2006
PM2.5 24-hour standard and any nearby area that is
contributing to the area that does not meet that standard. If you
believe that a specific geographic area that EPA is proposing to
identify as a nonattainment area should not be categorized by the
section 107(d) criteria as nonattainment, or if you believe that a
specific area not proposed by EPA to be identified as a nonattainment
area should in fact be categorized as nonattainment using the section
107(d) criteria, please be as specific as possible in supporting your
belief.
Describe any assumptions and provide any technical
information and/or data that you used.
Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and
suggest alternatives.
Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the
use of profanity or personal threats.
Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
III. Internet Web Site for Rulemaking Information
The EPA has also established a Web site for this rulemaking at
http://www.epa.gov/pmdesignations/2006standards/index.htm. The Web site
includes EPA's state and tribal designation recommendations, as well as
the rulemaking actions and other related information that the public
may find useful.
Dated: August 20, 2008.
Jenny Noonan Edmonds,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. E8-20241 Filed 8-29-08; 8:45 am]
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