[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 103 (Friday, May 28, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 29894-29897]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-12929]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2010-0320; FRL-9156-1]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
District of Columbia; Transportation Conformity Regulations
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the
District of Columbia State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revisions
establish general and transportation conformity regulations for the
District of Columbia. EPA is approving these revisions in accordance
with the requirements of the Clean Air Act.
DATES: This rule is effective on July 27, 2010 without further notice,
unless EPA receives adverse written comment by June 28, 2010. 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-2010-0320 by one of the following methods:
A. http://www.regulations.gov, Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
B. E-mail: [email protected].
C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2010-0320, Cristina Fernandez, Associate
Director, Office of Air Planning Programs, Mailcode 3AP30, 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-
2010-0320. 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://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 http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. 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.
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 in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy 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 District of Columbia District
Department of the Environment, Air Quality Division, 51 N Street, NE.,
Fifth Floor, Washington, DC 20002.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Martin Kotsch, (215) 814-3335, or by
e-mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. What is transportation conformity?
Transportation conformity is required under Section 176(c) of the
Clean Air Act to ensure that Federally supported highway, transit
projects, and other activities are consistent with (conform to) the
purpose of the SIP. Conformity currently applies to areas that are
designated nonattainment, and those redesignated to attainment after
1990 (maintenance areas), with plans developed under section 175A of
the Clean Air Act for the following transportation related criteria
pollutants: ozone, particulate matter (PM2.5 and
PM10), carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrogen dioxide
(NO2). Conformity to the purpose of the SIP means that
transportation activities will not cause new air quality violations,
worsen existing violations, or delay timely attainment of the relevant
[[Page 29895]]
national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). The transportation
conformity regulation is found in 40 CFR part 93 and provisions related
to conformity SIPs are found in 40 CFR 51.390.
II. What is the background for this action?
On August 10, 2005, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) was signed
into law. SAFETEA-LU revised certain provisions of section 176(c) of
the Clean Air Act, related to transportation conformity. Prior to
SAFETEA-LU, States were required to address all of the Federal
conformity rule's provisions in their conformity SIPs. After SAFETEA-
LU, State's SIPs were required to contain all or portions of only the
following three sections of the Federal rule, modified as appropriate
to each State's circumstances: 40 CFR 93.105 (consultation procedures);
40 CFR 93.122(a)(4)(ii) (written commitments to implement certain kind
of control measures); and 40 CFR 93.125(c) (written commitments to
implement certain kinds of mitigation measures). States are no longer
required to submit conformity SIP revisions that address the other
sections of the Federal conformity rule.
III. What did the state submit and how did we evaluate it?
On January 26, 2010, the District of Columbia Department of the
Environment submitted a revision to its SIP for general and
transportation conformity regulations adopted on January 8, 2010. The
portion of the SIP dealing with general conformity is strictly a
recodification of its previously approved general conformity regulation
from Chapter 4 of the District of Columbia Regulations (DCMR) to
Chapter 15 and contains no substantial changes from its previous
approval. The SIP revision section for transportation conformity
addresses the three provisions of the EPA Conformity Rule required
under SAFETEA-LU: 40 CFR 93.105 (consultation procedures); 40 CFR
93.122(a)(4)(ii) (control measures), and 40 CFR 93.125(c) (mitigation
measures).
We reviewed the submittals to assure consistency with the February
14, 2006 ``Interim Guidance for Implementing the Transportation
Conformity provisions in the SAFETEA-LU.'' The guidance document can be
found at http://epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/policy.htm. The
guidance document states that each State is only required to address
and tailor the afore-mentioned three sections of the Federal Conformity
Rule to be included in their State conformity SIPs. EPA's review of the
District of Columbia's proposed SIP revision indicates that it is
consistent with EPA's guidance in that it includes the three elements
specified by SAFETEA-LU. Consistent with the EPA Conformity Rule at 40
CFR 93.105 (consultation procedures), Title 20, DCRM Chapter 15,
Sections 1503, 1504, and 1505 identifies the appropriate agencies,
procedures and allocation of responsibilities. In addition, Title 20,
DCMR Chapter 15, Section 1506 provides for appropriate, public
consultation/public involvement consistent with 40 CFR 93.105. With
respect to the requirements of 40 CFR 93.122(a)(4)(ii) and 40 CFR
93.125(c), the Title 20, DCRM Chapter 15, Section 1509 of the
regulation specifies that written commitments for control measures and
mitigation measures for meeting these requirements will be provided as
needed.
IV. Final Action
EPA is approving the District of Columbia SIP revisions for general
and transportation conformity, 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 July 27, 2010 without further
notice unless EPA receives adverse comment by June 28, 2010. 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. Please note that if EPA receives adverse comment on an
amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that provision may
be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt as final those
provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment.
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. General Requirements
Under the Clean Air Act, 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 Clean Air Act.
Accordingly, this 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 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 Clean Air Act; 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 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.
B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small
[[Page 29896]]
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 action 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).
C. Petitions for Judicial Review
Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by July 27, 2010. Filing a petition for
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect
the finality of this final 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 the District of Columbia transportation
conformity regulations may not be challenged later in proceedings to
enforce its requirements. (See, section 307(b)(2)).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: May 17, 2010.
William C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
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 J--District of Columbia
0
2. In Sec. 52.470, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by removing
the existing entry for Chapter 4, Section 403 and adding a new entry
for Chapter 15. The amendments read as follows:
Sec. 52.470 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
EPA-Approved District of Columbia Regulations
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State
State citation Title/subject effective EPA approval date Additional
date explanation
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* * * * * * *
Chapter 15 General and Transportation Conformity
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Section 1500..................... General Conformity-- 1/8/10 5/28/10 [Insert page New Regulation.
Purpose. number where the
document begins].
Section 1501..................... General Conformity-- 1/8/10 5/28/10 [Insert page New Regulation.
Requirements. number where the
document begins].
Section 1502..................... Transportation 1/8/10 5/28/10 [Insert page New Regulation.
Conformity--Purpos number where the
e. document begins].
Section 1503..................... Transportation 1/8/10 5/28/10 [Insert page New Regulation.
Conformity--Consul number where the
tation Process. document begins].
Section 1504..................... Transportation 1/8/10 5/28/10 [Insert page New Regulation.
Conformity--Intera number where the
gency Consultation document begins].
Requirements.
Section 1505..................... Transportation 1/8/10 5/28/10 [Insert page New Regulation.
Conformity--Confli number where the
ct Resolution document begins].
Associated With
Conformity
Determinations.
Section 1506..................... Transportation 1/8/10 5/28/10 [Insert page New Regulation.
Conformity--Public number where the
Consultation document begins].
Procedures.
Section 1507..................... Transportation 1/8/10 5/28/10 [Insert page New Regulation.
Conformity--Intera number where the
gency Consultation document begins].
Procedures.
Section 1508..................... Transportation 1/8/10 5/28/10 [Insert page New Regulation.
Conformity--Proced number where the
ures for document begins].
Determining
Regional
Transportation-
Related Emissions.
Section 1509..................... Transportation 1/8/10 5/28/10 [Insert page New Regulation.
Conformity--Enforc number where the
eability of Design document begins].
Concept and Scope
and Project-Level
Mitigation and
Control Measures.
[[Page 29897]]
Section 1599..................... Definitions........ 1/8/10 5/28/10 [Insert page New Regulation.
number where the
document begins].
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[FR Doc. 2010-12929 Filed 5-27-10; 8:45 am]
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