[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 101 (Thursday, May 24, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 30902-30903]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-12491]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R10-OAR-2012-0112; FRL-9674-2]
Partial Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans;
Washington: Infrastructure Requirements for the 1997 8-Hour Ozone
National Ambient Air Quality Standard
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is partially approving the State Implementation Plan (SIP)
submittal from the State of Washington to demonstrate that the SIP
meets the requirements of section 110(a)(1) and (2) of the Clean Air
Act (CAA) for the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS)
promulgated for ozone on July 18, 1997. EPA finds that the current
Washington SIP meets the following 110(a)(2) infrastructure elements
for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS: (A), (B), (C), (D)(ii), (E), (F), (G),
(H), (J), (K), (L), and (M), except for portions related to the major
source Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permitting program
which is implemented under a Federal Implementation Plan.
DATES: This action is effective on June 25, 2012.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
No. EPA-R10-OAR-2012-0112. All documents in the docket are listed on
the www.regulations.gov Web site. Although listed in the index, some
information may not be publicly available, i.e., Confidential Business
Information 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 through www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at EPA
Region 10, Office of Air, Waste and Toxics (AWT-107), 1200 Sixth
Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle, WA 98101. EPA requests that 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: Jeff Hunt at telephone number: (206)
553-0256, email address: [email protected], or the above EPA, Region 10
address.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document wherever ``we'',
``us'' or ``our'' are used, we mean EPA. Information is organized as
follows:
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Scope of Action
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
On July 18, 1997, EPA promulgated a new NAAQS for ozone. EPA
revised the ozone NAAQS to provide an 8-hour averaging period which
replaced the previous 1-hour averaging period, and the level of the
NAAQS was changed from 0.12 parts per million (ppm) to 0.08 ppm (62 FR
38856). The CAA requires SIPs meeting the requirements of sections
110(a)(1) and (2) be submitted by states within 3 years after
promulgation of a new or revised standard. Sections 110(a)(1) and (2)
require states to address basic SIP requirements, including emissions
inventories, monitoring, and modeling to assure attainment and
maintenance of the standards, so-called ''infrastructure''
requirements. To help states meet this statutory requirement for the
1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS, EPA issued guidance to address infrastructure
SIP elements under section 110(a)(1) and (2).\1\ In the case of the
1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS, states typically have met the basic program
elements required in section 110(a)(2) through earlier SIP submissions
in connection with previous ozone standards. The State of Washington
submitted a certification to EPA on January 24, 2012, certifying that
Washington's SIP meets the infrastructure obligations for the 1997 8-
hour ozone NAAQS. The certification included an analysis of
Washington's SIP as it relates to each section of the infrastructure
requirements with regard to the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. On March 6,
2012, EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) for the State
of Washington (77 FR 13238) to partially approve the state's
infrastructure SIP for the 1997 ozone NAAQS. Specifically in the NPR,
EPA proposed approval of Washington's SIP as meeting the requirements
for the following 110(a)(2) infrastructure elements for the 1997 8-hour
ozone NAAQS: (A), (B), (C), (D)(ii), (E), (F), (G), (H), (J), (K), (L),
and (M), except for portions related to the major source Prevention of
Significant Deterioration (PSD) permitting program which is implemented
under a Federal Implementation Plan codified at 40 CFR 52.2497. Also,
as discussed in the NPR, this action does not address 110(a)(2)(D)(i)
and 110(a)(2)(I). The public comment period for EPA's NPR closed on
April 5, 2012. EPA received no comments on the proposed action.
Accordingly, EPA is taking final action to approve the provisions as
discussed in the NPR.
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\1\ William T. Harnett, Director, Air Quality Policy Division,
Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards. ``Guidance on SIP
Elements Required Under Sections 110(a)(1) and (2) for the 1997 8-
hour Ozone and PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality
Standards.'' Memorandum to EPA Air Division Directors, Regions I-X,
October 2, 2007.
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II. Scope of Action
This partial SIP approval does not extend to sources or activities
located in ''Indian Country'' as defined in 18 U.S.C. 1151.\2\
Consistent with previous Federal program approvals or delegations, EPA
will continue to implement the Act in Indian Country because Washington
did not adequately demonstrate authority over sources and activities
located within the exterior boundaries of Indian reservations and other
areas of Indian Country. The one exception is within the exterior
boundaries of the Puyallup Indian Reservation, also known as the 1873
Survey Area. Under the Puyallup Tribe of Indians Settlement Act of
1989, 25 U.S.C. 1773, Congress explicitly provided state and local
agencies in Washington authority over activities on non-trust lands
within the 1873 Survey Area. Therefore, EPA's proposed SIP approval
applies to sources and activities on nontrust lands within the 1873
Survey Area.
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\2\ ''Indian country'' is defined under 18 U.S.C. 1151 as: (1)
All land within the limits of any Indian reservation under the
jurisdiction of the United States Government, notwithstanding the
issuance of any patent, and including rights-of-way running through
the reservation, (2) all dependent Indian communities within the
borders of the United States, whether within the original or
subsequently acquired territory thereof, and whether within or
without the limits of a State, and (3) all Indian allotments, the
Indian titles to which have not been extinguished, including rights-
of-way running through the same. Under this definition, EPA treats
as reservations trust lands validly set aside for the use of a Tribe
even if the trust lands have not been formally designated as a
reservation.
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III. Final Action
EPA is approving the January 24, 2012, SIP submittal from the State
of Washington to demonstrate that the SIP meets the requirements of
section 110(a)(1) and (2) of the CAA for the NAAQS promulgated for
ozone on July 18, 1997. EPA is approving the following section
110(a)(2) infrastructure elements for Washington
[[Page 30903]]
for the 1997 ozone NAAQS: (A), (B), (C), (D)(ii), (E), (F), (G), (H),
(J), (K), (L), and (M), except for portions related to the major source
Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permitting program which
is implemented under a Federal Implementation Plan codified at 40 CFR
52.2497. EPA is taking no action on infrastructure elements (D)(i) and
(I) for the 1997 ozone NAAQS. This action is being taken under section
110 of the CAA.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
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.
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 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).
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 July 23, 2012. Filing a
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule
does not affect the finality of this action 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 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, Lead, Nitrogen
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate Matter, and Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: May 4, 2012.
Michelle L. Pirzadeh,
Deputy Regional Administrator, Region 10.
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 WW--Washington
0
2. Section 52.2491 is added to read as follows:
Sec. 52.2491 Section 110(a)(2) infrastructure requirements.
On January 24, 2012, Washington Department of Ecology submitted a
certification to address the requirements of CAA Section 110(a)(1) and
(2) for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. EPA approves the submittal as
meeting the following 110(a)(2) infrastructure elements for the 1997 8-
hour ozone NAAQS: (A), (B), (C), (D)(ii), (E), (F), (G), (H), (J), (K),
(L), and (M), except for portions related to the major source
Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permitting program which
is implemented under a Federal Implementation Plan codified at 40 CFR
52.2497.
[FR Doc. 2012-12491 Filed 5-23-12; 8:45 a.m.]
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