[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 213 (Friday, November 3, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 64647-64649]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-18501]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2006-0629; FRL-8238-9]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Maryland; Nitrogen Oxides Allowance Allocations for 2008
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve a revision to the
Maryland State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revision consists of the
[[Page 64648]]
Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) allowance allocations for the 2008
ozone season, in accordance with Maryland's approved NOX SIP
Call trading program. EPA is approving this revision to Maryland's
NOX Reduction and Trading Program in accordance with the
requirements of the Clean Air Act.
DATES: This rule is effective on January 2, 2007 without further
notice, unless EPA receives adverse written comment by December 4,
2006. If EPA receives such comments, it will publish a timely
withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform
the public that the rule will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2006-0629 by one of the following methods:
A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
B. E-mail: [email protected]
C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2006-0629, Makeba Morris, Chief, Air Quality
Planning Branch, Mailcode 3AP21, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
D. Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region III address.
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of
boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-
2006-0629. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change, and may be made available online
at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to
be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or e-mail.
The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system,
which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information
unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-
mail comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov,
your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part
of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available
on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends
that you include your name and other contact information in the body of
your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read
your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, i.e., 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 www.regulations.gov or
in hard copy during normal business hours at the Air Protection
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, and 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: Marilyn Powers (215) 814-2308, or by
e-mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On June 21, 2006, the State of Maryland submitted a formal revision
to its State Implementation Plan (SIP). Maryland's NOX
Reduction and Trading Program under COMAR 26.11.29 and 26.11.30 was
approved by EPA as meeting the requirements of the NOX SIP
Call on January 10, 2001 (66 FR 1866). The approved program contains
NOX reduction requirements beginning on May 1, 2003 and
establishes allowance allocations for affected trading sources for the
2003 through 2005 ozone seasons. Thereafter, Maryland's approved rule
requires that allocations be updated, three years in advance, for each
subsequent two year period. The allocations for 2006 and 2007 were
approved into Maryland's SIP on March 22, 2004 (55 FR 13236). This SIP
revision consists of Maryland's allocation update for 2008. Allocations
for 2009 are not included in this SIP revision to ensure that
Maryland's NOX Reduction and Trading program does not
conflict with Clean Air Interstate Rule (70 FR 25162 of May 12, 2005)
requirements that will apply to electric generating units (EGUs)
greater than 25 MW starting in 2009.
II. Summary of SIP Revision
The revision consists of allocations for the ozone season in 2008
for each of the affected sources for which allocations were provided in
the initial control period (2003 through 2005 ozone seasons). The
allocations for EGUs were derived using each source's average actual
heat input from the 2002 and 2003 ozone seasons multiplied by an
emission rate of 0.15 pounds NOX/MMBTU. The allocations for
non-electric generating units (non-EGUs) are unchanged from the initial
control period. For most sources the 2008 allocations do not differ
significantly from the initial 3-year allocations. The total number of
2008 allocations established for the sources in Maryland that are
subject to its NOX Budget Trading Program are consistent
with the State's budget under the NOX SIP Call.
III. Final Action
EPA is approving the SIP revision submitted by MDE on June 21, 2006
consisting of NOX allowance allocations for the 2008 ozone
season. .
EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because the
Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no
adverse comment. However, in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of today's
Federal Register, EPA is publishing a separate document that will serve
as the proposal to approve the SIP revision if adverse comments are
filed. This rule will be effective on January 2, 2007 without further
notice unless EPA receives adverse comment by December 4, 2006. If EPA
receives adverse comment, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal in the
Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take
effect. EPA will address all public comments in a subsequent final rule
based on the proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment
period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so
at this time.
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
[[Page 64649]]
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 (Public Law 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 January 2, 2007. 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 to approve Maryland's NOX SIP Call
allocations for 2008 may not be challenged later in proceedings to
enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Parts 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Nitrogen dioxide,
Ozone.
Dated: October 26, 2006.
Donald S. Welsh,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
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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 V--Maryland
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2. In Sec. 52.1070, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by revising
the entry for COMAR 26.11.30.09 to read as follows:
Sec. 52.1070 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
EPA-Approved Regulations in the Maryland SIP
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Additional
Code of Maryland administrative State effective explanation/
regulations (COMAR) citation Title/subject date EPA approval date citation at 40 CFR
52.1100
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* * * * * * *
COMAR 26.11.30.................. Policies and
Procedures
Relating to
Maryland's NOX
Reduction and
Trading Program.
* * * * * * *
COMAR 26.11.30.09............... Allocation of 6/19/06........... November 3, 2006 New column for
Allowances. [Insert page 2008 allocations
number where the
document begins].
* * * * * * *
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[FR Doc. E6-18501 Filed 11-2-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P