[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 147 (Monday, August 1, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 45741-45742]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-19275]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2011-0471; FRL-9446-1]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Pennsylvania; Diesel-Powered Motor Vehicle Idling Act
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA proposes to approve the State Implementation Plan (SIP)
revision submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the purpose
of incorporating the Commonwealth's Diesel-Powered Motor Vehicle Idling
Act (Act 124 of 2008, or simply Act 124) into the Pennsylvania SIP. Act
124, passed by the Pennsylvania General Assembly and signed into state
law by Governor Rendell in October 2008 (and effective at the state
level in February 2009), reduces the allowable time that heavy-duty,
commercial highway diesel vehicles of over 10,000 pounds gross vehicle
weight can idle their main propulsion engines. The law restricts idling
of these commercial diesel vehicles (mostly heavy trucks and buses) to
a period of 5 minutes per continuous 60 minute period (with certain
allowable exemptions and exclusions). Act 124 applies statewide in the
Commonwealth, and is estimated by Pennsylvania to significantly reduce
emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOX), volatile organic
compounds (VOCs), and fine particulate matter (PM). While idle time
emissions limits are not mandatory under the Clean Air Act (CAA),
incorporation of Act 124 into the SIP does strengthen the SIP, makes
the state
[[Page 45742]]
law federally enforceable by EPA, and allows the Commonwealth to take
credit for emissions benefits from the rule as part of future
Pennsylvania SIP revisions to demonstrate compliance with CAA National
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). This action is being taken under
the CAA.
In the Final Rules section of this Federal Register, EPA is
approving the Commonwealth's SIP submittal as a direct final rule
without prior proposal because EPA views this as a noncontroversial
submittal and anticipates no adverse comments. A detailed rationale for
the approval is set forth in the direct final rule. If no adverse
comments are received in response to this action, no further activity
is contemplated. If EPA receives adverse comments, the direct final
rule will be withdrawn and all public comments received will be
addressed in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. EPA
will not institute a second comment period. Any parties interested in
commenting on this action should do so at this time.
DATES: Comments must be received in writing by August 31, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2011-0471 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-2011-0471, Cristina Fernandez, Associate
Director, Office of Air Program Planning, 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-
2011-0471. 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 Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection,
Bureau of Air Quality Control, P.O. Box 8468, 400 Market Street,
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Rehn, (215) 814-2176, or by e-
mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For further information, please see the
information provided in the direct final action, with the same title,
that is located in the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of this
Federal Register publication.
Dated: July 18, 2011.
W.C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2011-19275 Filed 7-29-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P