[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 194 (Friday, October 5, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 60904-60907]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-24525]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2011-0084; FRL-9737-8]
Air Quality Implementation Plans; Alabama; Attainment Plan for
the Alabama Portion of the Chattanooga 1997 Annual PM2.5 Nonattainment
Area
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is taking final action to approve the State Implementation
Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Alabama, through the
Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) to EPA on October
7, 2009, for the purpose of providing for attainment of the 1997 fine
particulate matter (PM2.5) national ambient air quality
standards (NAAQS) in the Alabama portion of the tri-state Chattanooga
PM2.5 nonattainment area (hereafter referred to as the
``Chattanooga Area'' or ``Area''). The Chattanooga Area is comprised of
Catoosa and Walker Counties in Georgia; Hamilton County in Tennessee;
and a portion of Jackson County in Alabama. The Alabama SIP revision
(hereafter referred to as the ``attainment plan'') pertains only to the
Alabama portion of the Chattanooga Area (hereafter referred to as
``Jackson County''). EPA is now taking final action to approve
Alabama's October 7, 2009, SIP revision regarding reasonably available
control technology (RACT) and reasonably available control measures
(RACM); reasonable further progress (RFP); contingency measures; and,
for transportation conformity purposes, an insignificance determination
for PM2.5 and nitrogen oxides (NOX) for the
mobile source contribution to ambient PM2.5 levels for the
Alabama portion of the Chattanooga Area. This action is being taken in
accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and the ``Clean Air Fine
Particle Implementation Rule,'' hereafter referred to as the
``PM2.5 Implementation Rule,'' issued by EPA on April 25,
2007.
DATES: Effective Date: This rule will be effective on November 5, 2012.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2011-0084. All documents in the docket
are listed on the www.regulations.gov Web site. Although listed in the
index, some information is not 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 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 Richard Wong of the
Regulatory Development Section, in the Air Planning Branch, Air,
Pesticides and
[[Page 60905]]
Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Joel Huey
may be reached by phone at (404) 562-9104, or via electronic mail at
[email protected]. Richard Wong may be reached by phone at (404) 562-
8726, or via electronic mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. What action is EPA taking?
II. What is the background for EPA's action?
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What action is EPA taking?
EPA is taking final action to approve Alabama's SIP revision for
the Alabama portion of the Chattanooga Area,\1\ as submitted through
the ADEM to EPA on October 7, 2009, for the purpose of demonstrating
attainment of the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS. Alabama's
PM2.5 attainment plan for Jackson County includes an
analysis of RACM/RACT, an RFP plan, contingency measures, and an
insignificance determination for mobile direct PM2.5 and
NOX emissions for transportation conformity purposes. EPA
previously approved the base year emissions inventory for the Alabama
portion of the Chattanooga Area on February 8, 2012 (77 FR 6467).
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\1\ On May 31, 2011, EPA determined that the Chattanooga Area
had attaining data for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS. See
76 FR 31239. As such, the State of Georgia withdrew its attainment
plan submittal for the Georgia portion of the Chattanooga Area on
June 29, 2011. The State of Tennessee has not withdrawn its
attainment plan submittal for the Tennessee portion of the
Chattanooga Area, however, EPA is not acting on that submittal at
this time.
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EPA has determined that Alabama's PM2.5 attainment plan
for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS for Jackson County meets the
applicable requirements of the CAA and the PM2.5
Implementation Rule. Thus, EPA is taking final action to approve
Alabama's attainment plan for Jackson County, including the
insignificance determination for direct PM2.5 and
NOX for Alabama's mobile source contribution to ambient
PM2.5 levels in the Chattanooga Area. More detail on EPA's
rationale for this approval can be found in EPA's July 12, 2012,
proposed rulemaking for this action (see 77 FR 41132).
II. What is the background for EPA's action?
On April 25, 2007, EPA published the PM2.5
Implementation Rule for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS (72 FR 20586).
This rule describes the CAA framework and requirements for developing
SIPs to achieve attainment in areas designated nonattainment for the
1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. Such attainment plans must include a
demonstration that a nonattainment area will meet the applicable NAAQS
within the timeframe provided in the statute. For the 1997
PM2.5 NAAQS, an attainment demonstration must show that a
nonattainment area will attain the standards as expeditiously as
practicable, but within five years of designation (i.e., by an
attainment date of no later than April 5, 2010, based on air quality
data for 2007 through 2009). As mentioned above, ADEM provided
Alabama's SIP revision with the attainment plan (the subject of this
rulemaking) for the Alabama portion of the Chattanooga Area on October
7, 2009.
On May 31, 2011, EPA determined that the Chattanooga Area had
attaining data for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS. See 76 FR
31239. That determination was based on quality-assured, quality
controlled and certified ambient air monitoring data that shows the
Area met the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS. Furthermore, on
September 8, 2011, in accordance with CAA 179(c), EPA determined that
the Chattanooga Area attained the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS by
its applicable attainment date of April 5, 2010. See 76 FR 55774. This
information is mentioned here in support of EPA's determination that
Alabama's attainment plan was sufficient for the Chattanooga Area to
achieve attainment by no later than the required attainment date of
April 5, 2010.
As discussed in the May 31, 2011, rulemaking, EPA's determination
of attainment \2\ suspended the obligation for the State to meet
planning SIP requirements for the Chattanooga Area for so long as the
Area continues to attain the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS. See 40
CFR 51.1004(c). The State must still submit required emissions
inventories consistent with applicable timelines.\3\ The suspended SIP
submission obligations include the attainment demonstration (including
in this case the mobile source insignificance determination submitted
to satisfy transportation conformity requirements), the RACM/RACT
analysis and requirements, the RFP requirements as applicable, and
contingency measures. Despite the suspension of the aforementioned
attainment plan requirements for the Chattanooga Area for the 1997
Annual PM2.5 NAAQS, Alabama has requested that EPA take
action on its planning SIP for this Area in part because the SIP
submittal includes the insignificance determination for conformity
purposes.
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\2\ The determination of attainment is not a redesignation of
the Area from nonattainment to attainment and is not an indication
that the Area will continue to maintain the standard for which the
determination is made. It is merely a determination that the Area
attained the standard for a particular three year period and also by
the applicable deadline. Please see EPA's May 31, 2011, rulemaking
for more detail on the effects of a determination of attainment.
\3\ EPA has already approved the base year emissions inventory
for the Alabama portion of the Chattanooga Area on February 8, 2012
(77 FR 6469).
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EPA's July 12, 2012, proposal action provides additional details
regarding the rationale for today's final action. A brief discussion is
provided here as well. As shown in the table below, ambient
PM2.5 levels in the Chattanooga Area have declined steadily
since Alabama submitted its PM2.5 attainment plan in 2009.
Annual Average Design Value Concentrations in the Chattanooga Area
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Design values (average of three
consecutive annual average
Site name County Site No. concentrations) ([mu]g/m\3\)
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2008 2009 2010 2011
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Siskin Drive....................... Hamilton, TN.......... 47-065-4002 14.3 12.7 11.6 11.1
Tombras Avenue..................... Hamilton, TN.......... 47-065-0031 14.0 12.6 11.6 11.2
Soddy-Daisy High School............ Hamilton, TN.......... 47-065-1011 13.0 11.7 11.4 11.0
Rossville.......................... Walker, GA............ 13-295-0002 13.5 12.3 10.7 10.1
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[[Page 60906]]
EPA understands that the State chose not to withdraw the attainment
plan SIP revision for its portion of the Chattanooga Area because it
includes a mobile insignificance determination for direct
PM2.5 and NOX emissions from mobile sources. EPA
is now taking final action to approve the submittal.
On July 12, 2012, EPA proposed to approve Alabama's
PM2.5 attainment plan, which includes an attainment
demonstration; RACT and RACM; RFP; contingency measures; and, for
transportation conformity purposes, an insignificance determination for
direct PM2.5 and NOX for the mobile source
contribution to ambient PM2.5 levels for the State's portion
of the Chattanooga Area. As mentioned above, more detail on EPA's
rationale for this approval can be found in EPA's July 12, 2012,
proposed rulemaking for this action. See 77 FR 41132.
The recent D.C. Circuit decision on the Cross-State Air Pollution
Rule (Transport Rule), EME Homer Generation LP v. EPA, No. 11-1302
(D.C. Cir., August 21, 2012) \4\ does not disturb EPA's determination
that it is appropriate to move forward with this final action. As EPA
explained in the proposed rule, the air quality analysis conducted for
the Transport Rule demonstrates that the Chattanooga Area would be able
to attain the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS even in the absence of
either the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) or the Transport Rule.
Nothing in the D.C. Circuit's August 2012 decision disturbs or calls
into question that conclusion or the validity of the air quality
analysis on which it is based. More importantly, and as EPA also
explained in the proposal, see 77 FR 41136, the Transport Rule is not
relevant to this action. The Transport Rule only addressed emissions in
2012 and beyond. As such, it is not relevant to the question addressed
in today's action--whether the attainment plan submitted by Alabama is
sufficient for bringing the Area into attainment by the April 2010
attainment date, a date before the Transport Rule was even promulgated.
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\4\ The court's judgment is not final at this time as the
mandate has not yet issued.
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For this same reason, the status of CAIR after the April 2010
attainment date is also not relevant to this action. While the
monitoring data that shows the Area attained the 1997 Annual
PM2.5 NAAQS by the April 2010 attainment deadline was
impacted by CAIR, CAIR was in place and enforceable through the 2010
attainment date that is relevant to action on this attainment plan.
CAIR was an enforceable control measure during the relevant period
applicable to affected sources in the Area, as well as sources
throughout the eastern U.S. As such, the status of CAIR after that date
is irrelevant and does not impact our conclusion that the attainment
plan should be approved. Moreover, in its August 2012 decision, the
Court also ordered EPA to continue implementing CAIR. See Homer, slip
op. at 60. In sum, neither the current status of CAIR nor the current
status of the Transport Rule affects any of the criteria for proposed
approval of this SIP revision.
The comment period for EPA's July 12, 2012, proposed rulemaking
closed on August 13, 2012. EPA did not receive any comments, adverse or
otherwise, on the proposed rulemaking to approve Alabama's submission
for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS, which includes an attainment
demonstration; RACT and RACM; RFP; contingency measures; and, for
transportation conformity purposes, an insignificance determination for
direct PM2.5 and NOX for the mobile source
contribution to ambient PM2.5 levels for the State's portion
of the Chattanooga Area.
III. Final Action
EPA is taking final action to approve a revision to Alabama's SIP
submitted to EPA by ADEM on October 7, 2009, for the purpose of
demonstrating how the Alabama portion of the Chattanooga Area would
achieve attainment of the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS by no
later than April 5, 2010. Alabama's October 7, 2009, SIP revision
includes an attainment demonstration; RACT and RACM analyses; an RFP
plan; base-year emissions inventories; contingency measures; and, for
transportation conformity purposes, an insignificance determination for
direct PM2.5 and NOX for the mobile source
contribution to ambient PM2.5 levels for the State's portion
of the Chattanooga Area. After review and consideration of the relevant
information and data, EPA has determined that the Alabama October 7,
2009, SIP revision is consistent with the CAA and EPA's
PM2.5 Implementation Rule, and as such EPA is approving this
SIP revision.
IV. 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
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 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 final 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,
[[Page 60907]]
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 CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by December 4, 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, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Particulate
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides,
Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: September 25, 2012.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:
PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart B--Alabama
0
2. In Sec. 52.50, table ``EPA Approved Alabama Non-Regulatory
Provisions'' in paragraph (e) is amended by adding a new entry for
``Attainment Plan for the Alabama Portion of the Chattanooga 1997
Annual PM2.5 Nonattainment Area'' to read as follows:
Sec. 52.50 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
EPA-Approved Alabama Non-Regulatory Provisions
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Applicable State
Name of non-regulatory SIP geographic or submittal date/ EPA approval date Explanation
provision nonattainment area effective date
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* * * * * * *
Attainment Plan for the Alabama A portion of 10/07/2009 10/05/2012 [Insert ....................
Portion of the Chattanooga 1997 Jackson County, citation of
Annual PM2.5 Nonattainment Area. Alabama. publication].
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[FR Doc. 2012-24525 Filed 10-4-12; 8:45 am]
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