[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 42 (Thursday, March 4, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9781-9782]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-4533]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 81
[EPA-R04-OAR-2007-0958-201005(c); FRL-9122-1]
Determination of Nonattainment and Reclassification of the
Atlanta, Georgia, 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area; Correction
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule; correcting amendment.
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SUMMARY: On March 6, 2008, EPA published a document reclassifying the
Atlanta, Georgia, area from marginal to moderate for the 1997 8-hour
ozone nonattainment area by operation of law. This action clarifies a
portion of the preamble language in the aforementioned Federal Register
notice.
DATES: This action is effective March 4, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the documentation used in the action being
corrected are available for inspection during normal business hours at
the following location: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4,
61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The Regional
Office's official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to
4:30, excluding Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Stacy Harder, Regulatory
Development Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics
Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61
Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Ms. Harder can be
reached at 404-562-9042, or via electronic mail at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This action corrects preamble language for a
designation that appears in Georgia's Attainment Designation Status
section at 40 CFR part 81.311. The reclassification of the Atlanta Area
from marginal to moderate for the 1997 8-hour ozone standard, was
approved by EPA on March 6, 2008 (73 FR 12013). However, EPA
inadvertently excluded Hall County from the list of counties included
in the Atlanta, Georgia, 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area in the
preamble portion of the rulemaking. Also, EPA inadvertently included
Pickens County in the list of counties included in the Atlanta,
Georgia, 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area, in the preamble portion
of the rulemaking. Additionally, EPA is clarifying that ``Bartow'' and
``Spalding'' Counties were inadvertently misspelled as ``Barton'' and
``Spaulding'' Counties on page 12014. Therefore, EPA is correcting this
inadvertent error by clarifying that the first sentence, in the second
paragraph, in the first column, of page 12014 (SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION, Section I) should read: ``The Atlanta Area is located in
Northern Georgia and consists of Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee,
Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton,
Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Spalding and Walton
Counties.'' The regulatory portion of the notice, found at 40 CFR
81.311, is correct as written in the March 6, 2008, rulemaking.
EPA has determined that today's action falls under the ``good
cause'' exemption in section 553(b)(3)(B) of the Administrative
Procedure Act (APA) which, upon finding ``good cause,'' authorizes
agencies to dispense with public participation where public notice and
comment procedures are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the
public interest. Public notice and comment for this action are
unnecessary because today's action to clarify the list of counties
included in the Atlanta 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area, in the
narrative portion of the rulemaking, has no substantive impact on EPA's
March 6, 2008, approval of this regulation. In addition, EPA can
identify no particular reason why the public would be interested in
being notified of the correction of this omission, or in having the
opportunity to comment on the correction prior to this action being
finalized, since this correction action does not change the meaning of
EPA's analysis or action to reclassify the Atlanta 1997 8-hour ozone
nonattainment area from marginal to moderate.
EPA also finds that there is good cause under APA section 553(d)(3)
for this correction to become effective on the date of publication of
this action. Section 553(d)(3) of the APA allows an effective date less
than 30 days after publication ``as otherwise provided by the agency
for good cause found and published with the rule.'' 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3).
The purpose of the 30-day waiting period prescribed in APA section
553(d)(3) is to give affected parties a reasonable time to adjust their
behavior and prepare before the final rule takes effect. Today's rule,
however, does not create any new regulatory requirements such that
affected parties would need time to prepare before the rule takes
effect. Rather, today's rule merely corrects an inadvertent error in
the preamble portion of a prior rule by clarifying the list of counties
included in the 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area, which EPA
approved on March 6, 2008. For these reasons, EPA finds good cause
under APA section 553(d)(3) for this correction to become effective on
the date of publication of this action.
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
[[Page 9782]]
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 corrects an inadvertent error of omission in the preamble of a
prior rule by identifying the list of counties included in the Atlanta
1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area in a regulation which EPA approved
on March 6, 2008, 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 merely corrects an inadvertent error in
the preamble of a prior rule, 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 rule 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 rule merely corrects an inadvertent
error of omission in the preamble of a prior rule by identifying the
list of counties included in the Atlanta 1997 8-hour ozone
nonattainment area in a regulation which EPA approved on March 6, 2008,
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 is not economically significant. In addition, this
rule does not involve technical standards, 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 also 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. section 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.
section 804(2).
Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), petitions for
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by May 3, 2010. 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 CAA section 307(b)(2).)
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: February 23, 2010.
Beverly H. Banister,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2010-4533 Filed 3-3-10; 8:45 am]
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