[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 8, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 6591-6593]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-1995]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81
[WA-04-006; FRL-7866-4]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation
of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes: Washington; Yakima PM-10
Nonattainment Area Limited Maintenance Plan
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is taking
final action to approve the Limited Maintenance Plan (LMP) for Yakima
PM-10 nonattainment area (Yakima NAA) in the State of Washington and
grant a request by the State to redesignate the Yakima NAA to
attainment for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for
particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a
nominal 10 micrometers (PM-10). In a concurrent notice of final
rulemaking published today, EPA is correcting the boundary of the
Yakima NAA to exclude a small portion that lies within the exterior
boundary of the Yakama Indian Reservation. The State Implementation
Plan (SIP) that we are approving with this action does not extend to
lands which are within the boundaries of the Yakama Indian Reservation.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule is effective March 10, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the State's request and other supporting
information used in developing this action are available for inspection
during normal business hours at the following locations: EPA, Office of
Air, Waste and Toxics (OAWT-107), 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle,
Washington 98101. Interested persons wanting to examine these documents
should make an appointment with the appropriate office at least 24
hours before the visiting day. A reasonable fee may be charged for
copies.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gina Bonifacino, Office of Air Quality
(OAWT-107), EPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington
98101, (206) 553-2970.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, wherever ``we,''
``us'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. Information is organized as
follows:
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Public Comments
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
Under the authority of the Federal Clean Air Act (Clean Air Act or
the Act) EPA is taking final action to approve the Limited Maintenance
Plan (LMP) for the Yakima County PM-10 Nonattainment Area (Yakima NAA)
in the State of Washington and to redesignate the area to attainment
for PM-10. The action to redesignate the Yakima NAA to attainment is
based on valid monitoring data and analysis of ambient air quality made
in the demonstration that accompanies the LMP. EPA believes the area
will continue to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS
or standards) for PM-10 for at least 10 years beyond this
redesignation, as required by the Act. In addition, EPA believes that
the area will continue to meet the Limited Maintenance Plan design
value criteria outlined in the LMP policy \1\. A detailed description
of our proposed action to approve the Yakima NAA LMP and redesignation
request was published in a proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register
on November 29, 2004. See 69 FR 69342.
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\1\ August 9, 2001 memo from Lydia Wegman, Director, Air Quality
Standards and Strategies Division, entitled ``Limited Maintenance
Plan Option for Moderate PM-10 Nonattainment Areas.''
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II. Public Comments
EPA provided a 30-day review and comment period and solicited
comments on our proposal published in the November 29, 2004, Federal
Register. See 69 FR 69342. No comments were received for the proposed
rulemaking. EPA is now taking final action on the SIP revision
consistent with the published proposal.
III. Final Action
EPA is taking final action to approve the Yakima County PM-10
Limited Maintenance Plan and to redesignate the Yakima County
nonattainment area to attainment for PM-10. Washington has demonstrated
compliance with the requirements of section 107(d)(3)(E) based on
information provided by the Washington Department of Ecology and
contained in the Washington SIP and Yakima NAA PM-10 Limited
Maintenance Plan.
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 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
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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 is not economically
significant.
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 March 10, 2005. 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
40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Intergovernmental
relations, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
40 CFR Part 81
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks,
Wilderness areas.
Dated: January 21, 2005.
Ronald A. Kreizenbeck,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 10.
0
Parts 52 and 81, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations
are amended as follows:
PART 52--[AMENDED]
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1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart WW--Washington
0
2. In Sec. 52.2475 is amended by adding paragraph (e) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.2475 Approval of plans.
(e) Particulate matter.
(1) Yakima.
(i) EPA approves as a revision to the Washington State
Implementation Plan, the Yakima County PM-10 Nonattainment Area Limited
Maintenance Plan adopted by the Yakima Regional Clean Air Authority on
June 9, 2004, and adopted and submitted by the Washington Department of
Ecology on July 8, 2004.
(ii) [Reserved]
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PART 81--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
0
2. In Sec. 81.348, the table entitled ``Washington --PM-10'' is
amended by revising the entry for ``Yakima County'' to read as follows:
Sec. 81.348 Washington.
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Washington--PM-10
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Designation Classification
Designated area -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date Type Date Type
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Yakima County The area bounded on March 10, 2005............. Attainment.................
the south by a line from UTM
coordinate 694000mW, 5157000mN,
west to 681000mW, 5157000mN, thence
north along a line to coordinate
681000mN, 5172000mN, thence east to
694000mW, 5172000mN, thence south
to the beginning coordinate
694000mW, 5157000mN, excluding the
area within the exterior boundary
of the Yakama Indian Reservation.
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[FR Doc. 05-1995 Filed 2-7-05; 8:45 am]
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