[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 52 (Thursday, March 17, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 14584-14587]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-5969]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R08-OAR-2006-0952; FRL-9246-4]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Montana; Attainment Plan for Libby, MT PM2.5 Nonattainment Area and
PM10 State Implementation Plan Revisions
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is approving the State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision
submitted by the State of Montana on March 26, 2008. Montana submitted
this SIP revision to meet Clean Air Act requirements for attaining the
1997 annual fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) national ambient
air quality standard (NAAQS) for the Libby nonattainment area. The plan
revision, herein called an ``attainment plan,'' includes an attainment
demonstration, an analysis of Reasonably Available Control Technology
and Reasonably Available Control Measures (RACT/RACM), base-year and
projection year emission inventories, and contingency measures. The
requirement for a Reasonable Further Progress (RFP) plan is satisfied
because Montana projected that attainment with the 1997 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS will occur in the Libby nonattainment area by
April 2010. In addition, EPA is also approving revisions to the Lincoln
County Air Pollution Control Program submitted by Montana on June 26,
2006, for inclusion into Libby's attainment plan for purposes of the
1987 PM10 NAAQS.
[[Page 14585]]
This submittal contains provisions, including contingency measures, for
controlling both PM10 and PM2.5 emissions from
woodstoves, road dust, and outdoor burning. Finally, EPA is finding on-
road directly emitted PM2.5 and oxides of nitrogen
(NOX) in the Libby, Montana nonattainment area insignificant
for regional transportation conformity purposes. As a result of this
finding the Libby, Montana nonattainment area will not have to perform
a regional emissions analysis for either direct PM2.5 or
NOX as part of future conformity determinations for the 1997
annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
DATES: Effective date: This final rule is effective April 18, 2011.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
No. EPA-R08-OAR-2006-0952. 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, e.g., Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted
by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, will
be publicly available only in hard copy. Publicly available docket
materials are available either electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air Program, Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), Region 8, 1595 Wynkoop St., Denver, Colorado
80202-1129. EPA requests that, if at all possible, you contact the
individual listed in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT to view the hard
copy of the docket. You may view the hard copy of the docket Monday
through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., excluding Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Crystal Freeman, Air Program,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 8, Mailcode 8P-AR, 1595
Wynkoop Street, Denver, Colorado 80202-1129, Phone: (303) 312-6602,
Fax: (303) 312-6064, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Definitions
For the purpose of this document, we are giving meaning to certain
words or initials as follows:
(i) The words or initials Act or CAA mean or refer to the Clean Air
Act, unless the context indicates otherwise.
(ii) The words EPA, we, us or our mean or refer to the United
States Environmental Protection Agency.
(iii) The initials SIP mean or refer to State Implementation Plan.
(iv) The initials PM2.5 mean or refer to particulate matter with an
aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers.
(v) The initials PM10 mean or refer to particulate matter with an
aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 micrometers.
(vi) The word State or Montana refers to the State of Montana
unless the context indicates otherwise.
(vii) The initials NAAQS mean or refer to National Ambient Air
Quality Standards.
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Public Comment
III. EPA Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
On July 18, 1997 (62 FR 38652), EPA established the first
PM2.5 NAAQS, including annual standards of 15.0 [mu]g/m\3\
based on a 3-year average of annual mean PM2.5
concentrations, and 24-hour (or daily) standards of 65 [mu]g/m\3\ based
on a 3-year average of the 98th percentile of 24-hour concentrations.
EPA designated the Libby area ``nonattainment'' for the 1997 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS under section 107(d)(1) of the CAA on April 5,
2005 (70 FR 944, 986; see also 74 FR 58688, 58744-45). The specific
geographic boundaries of this nonattainment area appear in 40 CFR
81.327.
On April 25, 2007, EPA issued the Clean Air Fine Particle
Implementation Rule for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS (72 FR 20586).
The implementation rule describes the CAA framework and requirements
for developing PM2.5 attainment plans. Among other things,
an attainment plan must include a demonstration that a nonattainment
area will meet the applicable NAAQS within the timeframe provided in
the statute. It must also include supporting technical analyses and
descriptions of all relevant adopted federal, state, and local
regulations and control measures that have been implemented by the
proposed attainment date. For the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS, an
attainment plan must show that a nonattainment area will attain the
standard as expeditiously as practicable but within five years of
designation (April 2010), or within up to ten years of designation
(April 2015) if the EPA Administrator extends an area's attainment date
by 1-5 years based upon the severity of the nonattainment problem or
the feasibility of implementing control measures.
For each nonattainment area, the state must demonstrate that it has
adopted all Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) and
Reasonably Available Control Measures (RACM) needed to show that the
area will attain the PM2.5 standards as expeditiously as
practicable. Any measures that are necessary to meet these requirements
which are not already either federally promulgated or part of the
state's SIP must be submitted in enforceable form as part of a state's
attainment plan. The implementation rule provides recommendations
(including specific measures for certain source categories) that states
should consider in developing RACT/RACM. The implementation rule also
addresses other required elements of a state's attainment plan,
including emission inventories, the PM2.5 precursors that
must be addressed in the plan, contingency measures, and motor vehicle
emissions budgets used for transportation conformity purposes.
On March 25, 2008, the Montana Board of Environmental Review (MBER)
submitted revisions to meet the new attainment plan requirements for
the Libby PM2.5 nonattainment area. On March 23, 2006, the
MBER had previously submitted revisions to the existing PM10
SIP plan for Lincoln County (the county containing Libby). EPA elected
to act on both of these revisions simultaneously. On September 14, 2010
we proposed approval of both the PM2.5 attainment plan and
the PM10 SIP revisions (75 FR 55713).
The Libby attainment plan provided a demonstration that the 1997
annual PM2.5 NAAQS would be met by April 2010 through the
implementation of the revisions to the Lincoln County Air Pollution
Control Program (Program) summarized below. Among other things, the
Libby attainment plan includes an emissions inventory (EI), a woodstove
air pollution control calculation, and a technical analysis showing
that the emissions of PM2.5 will be reduced sufficiently to
meet the NAAQS.
The 2006 revisions to the PM10 SIP are also relevant to
PM2.5 for the Libby nonattainment area. Several provisions
are included to regulate solid fuel burning devices (such as
woodstoves) and to require owners and operators of these devices to
obtain operating permits. Additionally, the revisions allow for air
pollution alerts if either PM10 or PM2.5
concentrations averaged over a 4-hour period exceed a level 20 percent
below any federal or state particulate matter standard. Provisions are
also included for penalties for non-compliance and for contingency
measures that are triggered by an exceedance of the PM2.5
NAAQS. Additionally, revisions were made for open and outdoor burning,
including more stringent limits on the time periods for open burning
activities.
[[Page 14586]]
The bases for EPA's approval of both the attainment plan for the
1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS for the Libby area and for the
revisions to the existing PM10 SIP plan for Lincoln County,
including EPA's analysis and findings, are explained in much more
detail in the proposed rulemaking (75 FR 55713). Additional technical
support documents are available at www.regulations.gov, Docket No. EPA-
R08-OAR-2006-0952.
II. Public Comment
We received no public comments on the proposed approvals.
III. EPA Final Action
EPA is approving two separate Montana SIP submittals. First, EPA is
approving the attainment plan for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS for
the Libby area submitted by Montana on March 26, 2008. Second, EPA is
approving the PM10 SIP revisions to the Lincoln County Air
Pollution Control Program for Lincoln County submitted by Montana on
June 26, 2006. EPA has determined that the PM2.5 attainment
plan and PM10 SIP revisions meet applicable requirements of
the Clean Air Act, including (for the PM2.5 attainment plan)
the Clean Air Fine Particle Implementation Rule issued by EPA on April
25, 2007 (72 FR 20586) and (for the PM10 SIP revisions)
other statutory requirements including section 110(l). In particular,
EPA has determined that Montana's PM2.5 attainment plan for
the Libby area includes the following acceptable elements: An
attainment demonstration, an analysis of RACT/RACM and adoption of
selected control measures, base-year and projection-year emission
inventories, and contingency measures. Finally, EPA is finding on-road
directly emitted PM2.5 and NOX in the Libby,
Montana nonattainment area insignificant for regional transportation
conformity purposes.
In accordance with section 172(c) of the CAA and the implementation
rule, the attainment plan submitted by Montana for the Libby area
included: (1) Emission inventories for the plan's base year (in this
case, 2005) and projection year (2010); and (2) an attainment
demonstration consisting of: (a) Technical analyses that locate,
identify, and quantify sources of emissions contributing to violations
of the annual PM2.5 NAAQS; (b) a determination of which
PM2.5 precursors should be controlled in this area for
purposes of expeditious attainment; (c) analyses of future-year
emission reductions and air quality improvements expected to result
from national and local programs, and from new measures to meet
requirements for RACT/RACM; (d) adopted emission reduction measures;
and (e) contingency measures.
With respect to the pollutants to control in the plan, the State
evaluated, based on its emission inventories and by source category,
sources of direct PM2.5, SO2 and NOX
for RACT/RACM control measures. The State's evaluation of sources of
SO2 and NOX resulted in their conclusion that no
additional controls for those precursors are necessary to attain the
1997 PM2.5 NAAQS expeditiously based on the absence of
stationary sources or area sources that can be cost effectively or
reasonably controlled for these precursors in this area. The
overwhelmingly predominant contributor to the PM2.5
nonattainment problem in the Libby area was area sources of direct
PM2.5, and in particular emissions from wood burning devices
and open burning. The State therefore adopted control measures it
determined to be RACM for direct PM2.5 from these area
source categories. EPA has reviewed Montana's RACT/RACM analysis and
has determined that the state reasonably identified potential control
measures and reasonably selected and adopted appropriate measures for
RACT/RACM for the Libby area. In addition, the state used a
proportional model to demonstrate attainment in 2010 resulting from
these measures, and adopted contingency measures triggered by any
future exceedance of the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS.
Finally, transportation conformity is required under CAA section
176(c) to ensure that transportation plans, transportation improvement
programs (TIPs) and federally supported highway and transit projects
are consistent with (``conform to'') the state air quality
implementation plan. Transportation conformity applies to areas that
are designated nonattainment, and to those areas redesignated to
attainment after 1990 with a CAA section 175A maintenance plan
(``maintenance areas'') for transportation-related criteria pollutants:
Carbon monoxide (CO), NOX and particulate matter
(PM2.5 and PM10).
EPA's transportation conformity rule (40 CFR parts 51 and 93)
establishes the criteria and procedures for determining whether
transportation activities conform to the SIP. One requirement of the
rule is that transportation plans, TIPs, and projects must satisfy a
regional emissions analysis for the relevant pollutants and precursors
(40 CFR 93.118, 119). However, section 93.109(m) states that an area is
not required to satisfy a regional emissions analysis for a pollutant
or precursor if EPA finds that the SIP demonstrates that motor vehicle
emissions of that pollutant or precursor are an insignificant
contributor to the area's air quality problem.
In this action, EPA finds that regional emissions from motor
vehicles of PM2.5 and NOX in the Libby
PM2.5 nonattainment area are an insignificant contributor to
the Libby area's PM2.5 air quality problem. In making this
insignificance finding, EPA evaluated the provisions of 40 CFR
93.109(m) against the relevant information contained in the SIP
attainment plan, the SIP revision's associated technical support
document (TSD), and additional information as developed by EPA. We
evaluated the following factors in determining whether on-road direct
PM2.5 and NOX emissions are insignificant
contributors to the area's PM2.5 air quality problem; (1)
the percentage of motor vehicle emissions in the context of the total
SIP inventory; (2) the current state of air quality as determined by
monitoring data for that NAAQS; (3) the absence of SIP motor vehicle
control measures; and (4) historical trends and future projections of
the growth of motor vehicle emissions. Detailed information regarding
our evaluations of these factors and our conclusions are provided in
our September 14, 2010 proposed rulemaking and will not be repeated
here. EPA did not receive any public comments on the proposed
insignificance finding. Please refer to our September 14, 2010 proposed
rulemaking (75 FR 55713) and additional technical support documents
which are available at http://www.regulations.gov, Docket No. EPA-R08-
OAR-2006-0952.
Based on our evaluations and conclusions, as presented in our
proposed rulemaking action (see 75 FR 55713, September 14, 2010), EPA
is finding that regional motor vehicle emissions of PM2.5
and NOX are insignificant contributors to Libby's
PM2.5 nonattainment problem. With our finding,
PM2.5 and NOX motor vehicle emissions budgets
(MVEB) are not required to be established and a regional emissions
analysis is not required for either PM2.5 or NOX
in any future conformity determination in Libby. Please note, however,
that PM2.5 hot-spot analyses will be required for individual
projects, if such an analysis is required in the future for
transportation conformity purposes.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and
[[Page 14587]]
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 standard, 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 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 Clean Air Act. 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 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 May 16, 2011. 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 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Oxides of nitrogen, Particulate
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: December 20, 2010.
James B. Martin,
Regional Administrator, Region 8.
PART 52--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.
Subpart BB--Montana
0
2. Section 52.1370 is amended by adding and reserving paragraphs
(c)(69) and (c)(70), and by adding paragraph (c)(71) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.1370 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(71) The Governor of Montana submitted revisions, reordering and
renumbering to the Libby County Air Pollution Control Program in a
letter dated June 26, 2006. The revised Lincoln County regulations
focus on woodstove emissions, road dust, and outdoor burning emissions.
(i) Incorporation by reference.
(A) Before the Board of Environmental Review of the State of
Montana order issued on March 23, 2006, by the Montana Board of
Environmental Review approving amendments to the Libby Air Pollution
Control Program.
(B) Libby City Council Resolution No. 1660 signed February 27, 2006
and Lincoln County Board of Commissioners Resolution No. 725 signed
February 27, 2006, adopting revisions, reordering and renumbering to
the Lincoln County Air Pollution Control Program, Health and
Environment Regulations, Chapter 1--Control on Air Pollution,
Subchapter 1--General Provisions; Subchapter 2--Solid Fuel Burning
Device Regulations; Subchapter 3--Dust Control Regulations; Subchapter
4--Outdoor Burning Regulations; as revised on February 27, 2006.
(ii) Additional Material.
(A) Stipulation signed October 7, 1991, between the Montana
Department of Health and Environmental Sciences (MDHES), the County of
Lincoln and the City of Libby, which delineates responsibilities and
authorities between the MDHES, Lincoln County and Libby.
[FR Doc. 2011-5969 Filed 3-16-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P