[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 204 (Tuesday, October 22, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 64815-64817]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-26847]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 81
[Docket WA-02-001; FRL-7397-1]
Finding of Attainment for PM10; Wallula PM10 Nonattainment Area,
Washington
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA has determined that the Wallula nonattainment area in
Washington has attained the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for
particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than or equal
to a nominal ten micrometers as of December 31, 2001, as required by
the Clean Air Act.
DATES: This rule will become effective on November 21, 2002.
ADDRESSES: Copies of all information supporting this action are
available for public inspection and copying between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30
p.m., Pacific Standard Time at EPA Region 10, Office of Air Quality,
10th Floor, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101. A reasonable
fee may be charged for copies.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Deneen, Office of Air Quality,
EPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle Washington, 98101, (206) 553-
6706.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On September 3, 2002, EPA solicited public comment on a proposal to
find that the Wallula nonattainment area had attained the National
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter with an
aerodynamic diameter of less than or equal to 10 microns
(PM10) by the attainment date of December 31, 2001, as
required by the Clean Air Act. See 67 FR 56249.
The Wallula area was designated nonattainment for PM10
and classified as moderate under sections 107(d)(4)(B) and 188(a) of
the Clean Air Act upon enactment of the Clean Air Act Amendments of
1990 (Act or CAA) with an attainment date of December 31, 2001. See 40
CFR 81.348 (PM10 Initial
[[Page 64816]]
Nonattainment Areas); see also 56 FR 56694 (November 6, 1991). EPA
later granted the area a temporary waiver of the moderate area
attainment date, which extended the attainment date to December 31,
1997. See 62 FR 3800 (January 27, 1997).
On February 9, 2001, EPA made a final determination that the
Wallula area had not attained the PM10 standard by the
moderate area attainment date of December 31, 1997. See 66 FR 9663
(February 9, 2001) (final action); (65 FR 69275 (November 16, 2000)
(proposed action). EPA made this determination based on air quality
data for calendar years 1995, 1996, and 1997. As a result of that
finding, the Wallula PM10 nonattainment area was
reclassified by operation of law as a serious PM10
nonattainment area effective March 12, 2001, with an attainment date of
December 31, 2001. See sections 188(b)(2)(A) and 188(c)(2).
Pursuant to sections 179(c) of the CAA, we have the responsibility
of determining within six months of the applicable attainment date
whether, based on air quality data, PM10 nonattainment areas
attained the PM10 NAAQS by the attainment date.
Determinations under section 179(c)(1) of the Act are to be based upon
the area's ``air quality as of the attainment date.'' Three consecutive
years of air quality data are generally required to show attainment of
the annual and 24-hour standards for PM10. See 40 CFR part
50 and appendix K.
As discussed in the proposal, the Wallula monitor recorded no
violations of the annual PM10 standard for the three-year
period from 1999 though 2001. EPA therefore proposed to determine that
the Wallula area attained the annual PM10 standard as of the
serious area attainment date of December 31, 2001. See 67 FR 56250.
With respect to the 24-hour PM10 standard, there were
two exceedences of the 24-hour PM10 standard recorded at the
Wallula monitor during the period of 1999 through 2001: A concentration
of 297 [mu]g/m3 on June 23, 1999, and a concentration of 215
[mu]g/m3 on August 10, 2000.\1\ Washington flagged both of
these exceedances as attributable to high wind ``natural events.''
Under section 107(d)(4)(B)(ii) of the CAA and 40 CFR part 50, appendix
K, section 2.4, specific exceedances due to uncontrollable natural
events, such as unusually high winds, may be discounted or excluded
entirely from decisions regarding an area's air quality status in
appropriate circumstances. See Memorandum from EPA's Assistant
Administrator for Air and Radiation to EPA Regional Air Directors
entitled ``Areas Affected by Natural Events,'' dated May 30, 1996
(EPA's Natural Events Policy). EPA has stated that it will treat
ambient PM10 exceedances caused by dust raised by unusually
high winds as due to uncontrollable natural events (and thus excludable
from attainment determinations) if either (1) the dust originated from
nonanthropogenic sources or (2) the dust originated from anthropogenic
sources controlled with best available control measures (BACM). See
Natural Events Policy, pp. 4-5.
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\1\ Because the Wallula monitor is scheduled to sample only once
every six days, each measured exceedance is generally counted as six
expected exceedances and would generally represent a violation of
the 24-hour PM10 standard.
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As discussed in detail in the proposal, based on information
submitted by Washington and other information available to EPA, EPA
proposed to find that the exceedances that occurred on June 23, 1999
and August 10, 2000, as well as two previous exceedances on June 21,
1997 and July 10, 1998 (which had also been flagged by Washington as
high wind events), qualify as high wind natural events under EPA's
Natural Events Policy. Therefore, EPA proposed to exclude the 1999 and
2000 exceedences from consideration in determining whether the Wallula
PM10 nonattainment area attained the 24-hour as of December
31, 2001 and to find that the area had attained the 24-hour
PM10 standard as of that date. See 67 FR 56250-56252. EPA
noted, however, that identification and application of BACM for
agricultural lands is evolving and that EPA expects Washington to
continue efforts in identifying and implementing BACM on sources of
agricultural windblown dust in the Wallula area in order for future
exceedances caused by high winds to be characterized as ``natural
events'' and excluded in attainment determinations. See 67 FR 56252.
EPA received no comments in response to its September 3, 2002 proposal.
II. Final Action
EPA has determined that the Wallula PM10 nonattainment
area attained the PM10 NAAQS as of the serious area
attainment date of December 31, 2001 and that the exceedances that
occurred on June 21, 1997, July 10, 1998, June 23, 1999, and August 10,
2000 qualify as high wind natural events under EPA's Natural Events
Policy.
Consistent with CAA section 188, the Wallula nonattainment area
will remain a serious PM10 nonattainment area, but will
avoid the additional planning requirements that apply to serious
PM10 nonattainment areas that fail to meet the attainment
date under section 189(d) of the CAA. This finding of attainment should
not be confused with a redesignation to attainment under CAA section
107(d). Washington has not submitted a serious area plan for the
Wallula area that meets the requirements of section 189(b) of the CAA.
In addition, Washington has not submitted a maintenance plan as
required under section 175(A) of the CAA or met the other CAA
requirements for redesignations to attainment. The designation status
in 40 CFR part 81 will remain serious nonattainment for the Wallula
PM10 nonattainment area until such time as Washington meets
the CAA requirements for redesignations to attainment.
III. Administrative 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 makes a determination based on air quality data and does not
impose any requirements. Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that
this finding 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 finding does not impose any
enforceable duty, it does not contain any unfunded mandate or
significantly or uniquely affect small governments, as described in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-4).
This finding 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 makes a determination
based on air quality data and does not alter the relationship or the
distribution of power
[[Page 64817]]
and responsibilities established in the Clean Air Act. This finding
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.
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
because this action does not involve technical standards. This finding
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 December 23, 2002. 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).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 81
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks,
Wilderness areas.
Dated: October 10, 2002.
Ronald A. Kreizenbech,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 02-26847 Filed 10-21-02; 8:45 am]
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