[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 157 (Tuesday, August 16, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 48078-48080]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16192]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[R06-OAR-2005-OK-0001; FRL-7953-8]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Oklahoma; Attainment Demonstration for the Central Oklahoma Early
Action Compact Area
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The EPA is approving a revision to the Oklahoma State
Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Secretary of the Environment
on December 22, 2004 for Central Oklahoma. This revision will
incorporate a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Oklahoma
Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) and the Association of
Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG) into the Oklahoma SIP and includes
a demonstration of attainment and maintenance for the 8-hour National
Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone. The MOA outlines duties
and responsibilities of each party for implementation of pollution
control measures for the Central Oklahoma Early Action Compact (EAC)
area. EPA is approving the photochemical modeling in support of the
attainment demonstration for the 8-hour ozone standard within the
Central Oklahoma EAC area and is approving the associated control
measures. These actions strengthen the SIP in accordance with the
requirements of sections 110 and 116 of the Federal Clean Air Act (the
Act) and will result in emission reductions needed to help ensure
attainment and maintenance of the 8-hour NAAQS for ozone.
DATES: This final rule is effective on September 15, 2005.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Regional
Material in EDocket (RME) ID No. R06-OAR-2005-OK-0001. All documents in
the docket are listed in the RME index at http://docket.epa.gov/rmepub/
; once in the system, select ``quick search,'' then type in the
appropriate RME docket identification number. Although listed in the
index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., confidential
business information or other information the disclosure of which 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 RME or in hard copy at the Air
Planning Section (6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross
Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733. The file will be made
available by appointment for public inspection in the Region 6 FOIA
Review Room between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays
except for legal holidays. Contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT paragraph below or Mr. Bill Deese at 214-665-7253
to make an appointment. If possible, please make the appointment at
least two working days in advance of your visit. There will be a 15
cents per page fee for making photocopies of documents. On the day of
the visit, please check in at the EPA Region 6 reception area at 1445
Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas.
The State submittal is also available for public inspection at the
State Air Agency listed below during official business hours by
appointment:
Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, Air Quality Division,
707 North Robinson, Oklahoma City, OK 73101-1677.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carrie Paige, Air Planning Section
(6PD-L), EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733,
telephone (214) 665-6521, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, wherever ``we,''
``our,'' and ``us'' is used, we mean EPA.
Outline
I. Background
II. What Action Is EPA Taking?
III. What Comments did EPA Receive on the May 13, 2005 Proposed
Rulemaking for the Central Oklahoma EAC Area?
IV. Final Action
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
On May 13, 2005, EPA proposed approval of the Central Oklahoma EAC
area's clean air action plan (Plan), the photochemical modeling in
support of the attainment demonstration and related control measures as
revisions to the SIP submitted to EPA by the State of Oklahoma. The
proposal provides a detailed description of these revisions and the
rationale for EPA's proposed actions, together with a discussion of the
opportunity to comment. The public comment period for these actions
closed on June 13, 2005. See the Technical Support Documents or our
proposed rulemaking at 70 FR 25516 for more information. One adverse
comment was received on EPA's proposed approval of the Central Oklahoma
EAC Plan and 8-hour ozone attainment demonstration for the EAC area.
II. What Action Is EPA Taking?
Today we are approving revisions to the Oklahoma SIP under sections
110 and 116 of the Act. The revisions demonstrate continued attainment
and maintenance of the 8-hour ozone standard within the Central
Oklahoma EAC area. The revisions include the Central Oklahoma EAC Plan,
photochemical modeling and related control measures. The intent of the
SIP revisions is to reduce ozone pollution and thereby maintain the 8-
hour ozone standard.
III. What Comments Did EPA Receive on the May 13, 2005 Proposed
Rulemaking for Central Oklahoma?
We received one comment letter on the May 13, 2005 proposed
rulemaking. The letter provided both supportive and adverse discourse,
commending the State of Oklahoma for steps it has taken to improve air
quality. The commenter opposes approval of the SIP revision because,
should the area experience a violation of the 8-hour ozone standard,
the SIP revision (1) provides for the deferment of the area's
nonattainment designation to as late as December 31, 2007, and (2)
relieves the area of its obligations under Title I, Subpart D of the
Act. The commenter contends that EPA does not have the legal authority
to defer the effective date of an area's nonattainment designation nor
to relieve areas of the obligations of Part D of Title I of the Act
when areas are violating the standard and designated nonattainment.
Response: We appreciate the support expressed towards the State of
Oklahoma and towards the efforts made to ensure that the citizens in
the Central Oklahoma EAC area continue to breathe clean air. We
continue to believe that the EAC program, as designed, gives Central
Oklahoma the flexibility to develop their own approach to maintaining
the 8-hour ozone standard and believe Central Oklahoma is serious in
their commitment to control emissions from local sources. By involving
diverse stakeholders, including representatives from industry, local
and State governments, and local environmental and citizen groups,
Central Oklahoma is implementing regional cooperation in solving air
quality problems that affect the health
[[Page 48079]]
and welfare of its citizens. People living in the Central Oklahoma EAC
area will realize reductions in pollution levels and enjoy the health
benefits of cleaner air sooner than might otherwise occur.
In the April 2004 designation rule (69 FR 23858), the Central
Oklahoma EAC area was designated as attainment for the 8-hour ozone
NAAQS. The commenter incorrectly asserts that this SIP revision
provides for deferment of the designation of the area as nonattainment
should the area experience a violation of the 8-hour ozone standard.
Additionally, EPA's approval of this SIP does not alter the
applicability of the redesignation provision of the Act should the
Central Oklahoma EAC area experience a violation of the 8-hour ozone
NAAQS in the future. Section 107(d)(3)(A) provides that EPA may
redesignate an area ``on the basis of air quality data, planning and
control considerations, or any other air quality-related
considerations.'' Should the Central Oklahoma EAC area experience a
violation of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS in the future, EPA would consider
these statutory factors in determining whether to redesignate the area
to nonattainment for the 8-hour ozone NAAQS. The commenter is also
incorrect that this SIP approval relieves the Central Oklahoma EAC area
of the requirements of Part D of Title I of the Act. These provisions
apply to areas designated nonattainment. Because the Central Oklahoma
EAC area is designated attainment for the 8-hour ozone NAAQS, these
provisions do not apply in the Central Oklahoma EAC area.
IV. Final Action
EPA is approving the attainment demonstration, the Central Oklahoma
EAC Plan, and the related control measures. We are incorporating these
revisions, as well as the MOA, into the Oklahoma SIP. We have
determined that the control measures included in the attainment
demonstration are quantified, surplus, permanent, and are Federally
enforceable once approved into the SIP. The modeling of ozone and ozone
precursor emissions from sources in the Central Oklahoma EAC area
demonstrate that the specified control strategies will provide for
continued attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS through December 31,
2007 and maintenance of that standard through 2012. We have reviewed
the Plan and the attainment and maintenance demonstration and
determined that they are consistent with the requirements of the Act,
EPA's policy, and the EAC protocol.
V. 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 and because this action will not have a significant, adverse
effect on the supply, distribution, or use of energy, 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 is not economically
significant.
In reviewing SIP submissions under the National Technology Transfer
and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note), 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 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. 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, petitions for
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by October 17, 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, Nitrogen dioxides, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
[[Page 48080]]
Dated: August 8, 2005.
Richard E. Greene,
Regional Administrator, Region 6.
0
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:
PART 52--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart LL--Oklahoma
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2. The first table in Sec. 52.1920(e) entitled ``EPA approved
nonregulatory provisions and quasi-regulatory measures'' is amended by
adding a new entry, immediately following the last entry under Chapter
4, to read as follows:
Sec. 52.1920 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
EPA Approved Oklahoma Nonregulatory Provisions
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Applicable geographic State submittal
Name of SIP provision or nonattainment area date EPA approval date Explanation
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* * * * * * *
Chapter 4, Control Strategy........ Statewide............. 10/16/1972 05/14/1973, 38 FR 12696 Ref: 52.1960(c)(6).
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J. Central Oklahoma EAC area 8-hour Canadian, Cleveland, 12/22/2004 8/16/05 [Insert FR page number where ................................
ozone standard attainment Grady, Lincoln, document begins]
demonstration, Emission Reduction Logan, McClain, and
Strategies, Clean Air Plan, and Oklahoma Counties.
Memorandum of Agreement between
the ODEQ and ACOG defining duties
and responsibilities of each party
for implementation of the Central
Oklahoma EAC area Emission
Reduciton Strategies.
* * * * * * *
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[FR Doc. 05-16192 Filed 8-15-05; 8:45 am]
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