[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 238 (Monday, December 13, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 77595-77597]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-31208]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2010-0798-201048; FRL-9237-7]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and
Designations of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; Georgia: Rome;
Determination of Attaining Data for the 1997 Annual Fine Particulate
Standards
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to determine that the Rome, Georgia, fine
particulate (PM2.5) nonattainment area (hereafter referred
to as ``the Rome Area'') has attained the 1997 annual average
PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The
Rome Area is comprised of Floyd County in its entirety. This proposed
clean data determination is based upon complete, quality-assured and
certified ambient air monitoring data for the 2007--2009 period showing
that the Area has monitored attainment of the 1997 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS. If EPA finalizes this proposed clean data
determination, the requirements for the Area to submit an attainment
demonstration and associated reasonably available control measures
(RACM), a reasonable further progress (RFP) plan, contingency measures,
and other planning State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions related to
attainment of the standard shall be suspended so long as the Area
continues to attain the annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 12, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2010-0798, by one of the following methods:
1. http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
2. E-mail: [email protected].
3. Fax: (404) 562-9040.
4. Mail: EPA-R04-OAR-2010-0798, Regulatory Development Section, Air
Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960.
5. Hand Delivery: Lynorae Benjamin, Chief, Regulatory Development
Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth
Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Such deliveries are only
accepted during the Regional Office normal hours of operation, and
special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed
information. The Regional Office official hours of business are Monday
through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding Federal holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R04-OAR-
2010-0798. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at
http://
[[Page 77596]]
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 through http://www.regulations.gov
or e-mail, information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise
protected. The http://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 http://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. For additional information about EPA's public docket visit the
EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the
http://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 at http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Regulatory Development
Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth
Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. EPA requests that if at all
possible, you contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's
official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30,
excluding Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joel Huey or Sara Waterson, Regulatory
Development Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics
Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61
Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Mr. Huey may be
reached by phone at (404) 562-9104. Mr. Huey can also be reached via
electronic mail at [email protected]. Ms. Waterson may be reached by
phone at (404) 562-9061 or via electronic mail at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. What action is EPA taking?
II. What is the background for this action?
III. Does the Rome area meet the annual PM2.5 NAAQS?
A. Criteria
B. Rome Area Air Quality
IV. What is the effect of this action?
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What action is EPA taking?
EPA is proposing to determine that the Rome Area (comprised of
Floyd County) has attaining data for the 1997 annual PM2.5
NAAQS.\1\ The proposal is based upon complete, quality-assured and
certified ambient air monitoring data for the 2007-2009 monitoring
period that show that the Area has monitored attainment of the 1997
annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
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\1\ ``1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS'' refers to both the
primary and secondary standards, which are identical.
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II. What is the background for this action?
On July 18, 1997 (62 FR 36852), EPA established an annual
PM2.5 NAAQS at 15.0 micrograms per cubic meter ([mu]g/
m3) based on a 3-year average of annual mean
PM2.5 concentrations. At that time, EPA also established a
24-hour NAAQS of 65 [mu]g/m3. See 40 CFR 50.7. On January 5,
2005 (70 FR 944), EPA published its air quality designations and
classifications for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS based upon air
quality monitoring data from those monitors for calendar years 2001-
2003. These designations became effective on April 5, 2005. The Rome
Area was designated nonattainment for the 1997 annual PM2.5
NAAQS. See 40 CFR 81.311.
On October 17, 2006 (71 FR 61144), EPA retained the 1997 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS at 15.0 [mu]g/m3 based on a 3-year
average of annual mean PM2.5 concentrations, and promulgated
a 24-hour NAAQS of 35 [mu]g/m3 based on a 3-year average of
the 98th percentile of 24-hour concentrations. On November 13, 2009,
EPA designated the Rome Area as attainment for the 2006 24-hour NAAQS
(74 FR 58688). In that action, EPA also clarified the designations for
the NAAQS promulgated in 1997, stating that the Rome Area was
designated as nonattainment for the annual NAAQS but attainment for the
24-hour standard. Thus, today's action does not address attainment of
either the 1997 or the 2006 24-hour NAAQS.
In response to legal challenges of the annual standard promulgated
in 2006, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
(DC Circuit) remanded this NAAQS to EPA for further consideration. See
American Farm Bureau Federation and National Pork Producers Council, et
al. v. EPA, 559 F.3d 512 (DC Cir. 2009). However, given that the 1997
and 2006 annual NAAQS are essentially identical, attainment of the 1997
annual NAAQS would also indicate attainment of the remanded 2006 annual
NAAQS.
On April 25, 2007 (72 FR 20664), EPA promulgated its
PM2.5 implementation rule, codified at 40 CFR part 51,
subpart Z, in which the Agency provided guidance for State and Tribal
plans to implement the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. This rule, at 40
CFR 51.1004(c), specifies some of the regulatory consequences of
attaining the NAAQS, as discussed below.
III. Does the Rome area meet the annual PM2.5 NAAQS?
A. Criteria
Today's rulemaking proposes that the Rome Area is attaining the
1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. The Rome Area is comprised of Floyd
County in its entirety.
Under EPA regulations at 40 CFR 50.7, the annual primary and
secondary PM2.5 NAAQS are met when the annual arithmetic
mean concentration, as determined in accordance with 40 CFR part 50,
Appendix N, is less than or equal to 15.0 [mu]g/m3 at all
relevant monitoring sites in the subject Area.
B. Rome Area Air Quality
EPA has reviewed the ambient air monitoring data for the Rome Area
in accordance with the provisions of 40 CFR part 50, Appendix N. All
data considered have been quality-assured, certified, and recorded in
EPA's Air Quality System database. This review addresses air quality
data collected in the 3-year period from 2007-2009.
The following table provides the annual average concentrations
averaged over 2007-2009 at the site in the Rome Area with at least 75
percent complete data in each quarter of each of those 3 years.
Quarters 1 and 2 of 2008 had completeness of approximately 73 percent
for site 13-115-0005, which is the only particulate matter monitoring
site in this Area. Data substitution, as described in 40 CFR part 50,
Appendix
[[Page 77597]]
N, was used to make a complete record. In March 2009, 13-115-0005 was
relocated to site 13-115-0003. The design value below is a combined
monitor record. The 3-year average annual concentration for 2007-2009
on this table without data substitution is 13.3 [mu]g/m3 and
14.6 [mu]g/m3 with data substitution.
Table 1--Annual Average Concentrations in the Rome Area
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Annual average
County Site No. concentration
([mu]g/m3)
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Without data substitution..................... Floyd........................... 13-115-0003 13.3
With data substitution........................ Floyd........................... 13-115-0003 14.6
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The Rome Area is meeting the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS
both with and without data substitution. More generally, EPA believes
that the Rome Area is now meeting the 1997 annual PM2.5
NAAQS.
Since few data are available for 2010, the 2007-2009 data represent
the most recent available data for EPA to use in its assessment. On the
basis of this review, EPA is proposing to determine that the Rome Area
has attained the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
EPA is soliciting public comments on its proposal to determine that
the Rome Area has attained the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
IV. What is the effect of this action?
If this proposed clean data determination is made final, the
requirements for the Rome PM2.5 nonattainment Area to submit
an attainment demonstration and associated RACM, a RFP plan,
contingency measures, and any other planning SIPs related to attainment
of the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS would be suspended for so
long as the Area continues to attain the PM2.5 NAAQS. See 40
CFR 51.1004(c). Notably, as described below, any such determination
would not be equivalent to the redesignation of the Area to attainment
for the annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
If this proposed rulemaking is finalized and EPA subsequently
determines, after notice-and-comment rulemaking in the Federal
Register, that the Area has violated the annual PM2.5 NAAQS,
the basis for the suspension of the specific requirements would no
longer exist for the Rome nonattainment Area, and the Area would
thereafter have to address the applicable requirements. See 40 CFR
51.1004(c).
Finalizing this proposed action would not constitute a
redesignation of the Area to attainment of the annual PM2.5
NAAQS under section 107(d)(3) of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).
Further, finalizing this proposed action does not involve approving a
maintenance plan for the Area as required under section 175A of the
CAA, nor would it find that the Area has met all other requirements for
redesignation. Even if EPA finalizes the proposed action, the
designation status of the Rome Area would remain nonattainment for the
1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS until such time as EPA determines
that the Area meets the CAA requirements for redesignation to
attainment and takes action to redesignate the Area.
This action is only a proposed clean data determination that the
Rome Area has attained the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. Today's
action does not address the 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS.
If the Rome Area continues to monitor attainment of the annual
PM2.5 NAAQS, the requirements for the Rome Area to submit an
attainment demonstration and associated RACM, a RFP plan, contingency
measures, and any other planning SIPs related to attainment of the
annual PM2.5 NAAQS will remain suspended.
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP
submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and applicable
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve State choices,
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this
proposed action merely approves State law as meeting Federal
requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those
imposed by State law. For that reason, this proposed action:
Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
Is certified as not having a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
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);
Does not have Federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
Is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent
with the CAA; and
Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, this proposed rule does not have Tribal implications
as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000),
because the SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in
the State, and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct
costs on Tribal governments or preempt Tribal law.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Particulate
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: November 30, 2010.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2010-31208 Filed 12-10-10; 8:45 am]
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