[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 158 (Wednesday, August 17, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 48283-48285]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16291]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[R03-OAR-2005-MD-0004; FRL-7954-2]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Maryland; Attainment Demonstration for the Washington County Ozone
Early Action Compact Area
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is taking final action to approve a revision to the State
of Maryland State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision consists of
an Early Action Compact (EAC) Plan that will enable the Washington
County, Maryland Ozone EAC Area to demonstrate attainment and
maintenance of the 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality (NAAQS)
standard. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA or
Act).
DATES: This final rule is effective on September 16, 2005.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Regional
Material in EDocket (RME) ID Number R03-OAR-2005-MD-0004. All documents
in the docket are listed in the RME index at http://www.docket.epa.gov/rmepub/. Once in the system, select ``quick search,'' then key in the
appropriate RME identification number. Although listed in the
electronic docket, some information is not publicly available, i.e.,
confidential business information (CBI) or other information whose
disclosure 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
for public inspection during normal business hours at the Air
Protection Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III,
1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of the State
submittal are available at the Maryland Department of the Environment,
1800 Washington Boulevard, Suite 705, Baltimore, Maryland 21230.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Wentworth, (215) 814-2034, or by
e-mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On May 17, 2005 (70 FR 28256), EPA published a notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPR) for the State of Maryland. The NPR proposed approval
of the attainment demonstration and the Early Action Plan (EAP) for the
Washington County Ozone EAC Area. The formal SIP revision was submitted
by the Maryland Department of the Environment on December 20, 2004 and
supplemented on February 28, 2005. Other specifics of the State's SIP
revision for the Washington County Ozone EAC Area, and the rationale
for EPA's proposed action are explained in the NPR and will not be
restated here. On June 16, 2005, EPA received adverse comments on its
May 17, 2005 NPR. A summary of the comments submitted and EPA's
responses are provided in Section II of this document.
II. Summary of Public Comments and EPA Responses
Comment: One commenter opposes the approval of the SIP revision for
the Washington County Ozone EAC Area because the Area is in violation
of the 8-hour ozone standard. The commenter also states that the SIP
revision provides for the deferment of a nonattainment designation
until a future date, potentially as late as December 31, 2007, and
relieves the Area of obligations under Title I, part D of the CAA.
Although the commenter is supportive of the goal of addressing
proactively the public health concerns associated with ozone pollution,
the commenter believes that EPA does not have the legal authority to
defer effective dates of designations or to allow areas to be relieved
of obligations under Title I, part D of the CAA while they are
violating the 8-hour ozone standard, or are designated nonattainment of
that standard.
Response: EPA first announced the EAC process in a June 19, 2002
letter from Gregg Cooke, Administrator, EPA Region VI to Robert Huston,
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, followed by a November 14,
2002 memorandum from Jeffrey R. Holmstead, Assistant Administrator,
EPA's Office of Air and Radiation to the EPA Regional Administrators,
entitled, ``Schedule for 8-Hour Ozone Designations and its Effect on
Early Action Compacts.'' EPA formalized the EAC process in the
designation rulemaking on April 30, 2004 (69 FR 23858). In the
designation rule, EPA designated 14 EAC areas as nonattainment, but
deferred the effective date of the designation until September 30,
2005. The EAC program gives local areas the flexibility to develop
their own approach to meeting the 8-hour ozone standard, provided the
participating communities are serious in their commitment to control
emissions from local sources earlier than the CAA would otherwise
require. By involving diverse stakeholders, including representatives
from industry, local and State governments, and local environmental
citizens' groups, a number of communities are discussing for the first
time the need for regional cooperation in solving air quality problems
that affect the health and welfare of its citizens. People living in
these areas that achieve reductions in pollution levels sooner will
enjoy the health benefits of cleaner air sooner than might otherwise
occur. EPA believes this proactive approach involving multiple, diverse
stakeholders is beneficial to the citizens of the area by raising
awareness of the need to adopt and implement measures that will reduce
emissions and improve air quality.
EPA disagrees with the comments that this action on the SIP
revision for the Washington County Ozone EAC Area defers the
nonattainment designation for this Area. In our May 17, 2005 NPR (70 FR
28256), EPA proposed approval of an
[[Page 48284]]
attainment demonstration and EAP SIP revision for the Washington County
Ozone EAC Area. This SIP revision includes an attainment demonstration
which demonstrates attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS in the
Washington County Ozone EAC Area by December 31, 2007, and also
demonstrates maintenance of the 8-hour NAAQS for five years following
the attainment date. As noted in the proposed action, approval of the
attainment demonstration and EAP constitutes one of several milestones
that an area must meet in order to participate in the EAC process.
While approval of this plan is a prerequisite for an extension of the
deferred effective date of the designation of this Area, see 40 CFR
81.300(e)(3), neither the proposed approval of this SIP revision nor
this final action approving the SIP revision purports to extend the
deferral of the effective date of the nonattainment designation for
this Area. In a separate rulemaking (69 FR 23858, April 30, 2004), EPA
deferred the effective date of the air quality designations of all 14
EAC areas to September 30, 2005. In the April 30, 2004 final rule, EPA
responded to comments received during the comment period for this final
rule. In a separate proposed rule (70 FR 33409, June 8, 2005), EPA
proposed to extend the deferral of the effective date of the air
quality designations for these 14 EAC areas. EPA will consider comments
regarding its legal authority in the final rule associated with the
June 8, 2005 proposed rule.
Regardless of whether EPA's separate actions deferring the
effective date of the nonattainment designation for this Area are
appropriate, EPA sees no basis to disapprove the attainment and
maintenance plan. The provisions of the statute generally provide that
areas must demonstrate attainment and maintenance of the NAAQS. See,
e.g., CAA section 110(a)(1) (requiring areas to submit plans providing
for ``implementation, maintenance, and enforcement'' of each NAAQS) and
CAA section 172(c)(1) (requiring nonattainment areas to submit plans
demonstrating attainment of the NAAQS). The commenter has provided no
substantive reason why this plan does not demonstrate attainment and
maintenance of the 8-hour standard. Therefore, this action approving
the attainment demonstration and maintenance plan is appropriate.
III. Final Action
EPA is approving the attainment demonstration and the EAP for the
Washington County Ozone EAC Area. The modeling of the ozone and ozone
precursor emissions from sources affecting the Washington County Ozone
EAC Area demonstrates that the specified control strategies will
provide for attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS by December 31, 2007,
and maintenance of that standard through 2012.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. General 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 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
requirement, 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.).
B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General
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. This rule is not a
``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
C. Petitions for Judicial Review
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, approving the attainment demonstration and
the EAP for the Washington County Ozone EAC Area, may not be challenged
later in proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section
307(b)(2).)
[[Page 48285]]
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Nitrogen dioxide,
Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic
compounds.
Dated: August 9, 2005.
Donald S. Welsh,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
0
40 CFR part 52 is 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 V--Maryland
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2. In Sec. 52.1070, the table in paragraph (e) is amended by adding an
entry for the Attainment Demonstration and the Early Action Plan for
the Washington County, Maryland Ozone Early Action Compact Area at the
end of the table to read as follows:
Sec. 52.1070 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
EPA Approved Nonregulatory and Quasi-Regulatory Material
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State
Name of non-regulatory SIP revision Applicable geographic submittal EPA approval date Additional
area date explanation
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* * * * * * *
Attainment Demonstration and Early Washington County..... 12/20/04, 8/17/05 [Insert page
Action Plan for the Washington 2/28/05 number where the
County Ozone Early Action Compact document begins].
Area.
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[FR Doc. 05-16291 Filed 8-16-05; 8:45 am]
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