[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 39 (Thursday, February 27, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10995-10998]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04168]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R05-OAR-2013-0645; FRL-9907-08-Region 5]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Wisconsin; Transportation Conformity Procedures
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Wisconsin
on August 1, 2013, for the purpose of establishing transportation
conformity ``Conformity'' criteria and procedures related to
interagency consultation, and enforceability of certain transportation
related control and mitigation measures. This revision replaces
Wisconsin's
[[Page 10996]]
Conformity SIP that was approved on August 27, 1996.
DATES: This direct final rule will be effective April 28, 2014, unless
EPA receives adverse comments by March 31, 2014. If adverse comments
are received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the direct final
rule in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule will
not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2013-0645, by one of the following methods:
1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
2. Email: [email protected].
3. Fax: (312) 692-2450.
4. Mail: Pamela Blakley, Chief, Control Strategies Section, Air
Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
5. Hand Delivery: Pamela Blakley, Chief, Control Strategies
Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. 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-R05-OAR-
2013-0645. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at
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 www.regulations.gov or email. The
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 email comment
directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov your email
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 docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy.
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Environmental Protection
Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility is open from 8:30
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays.
We recommend that you telephone Michael Leslie, Environmental Engineer,
at (312) 353-6680 before visiting the Region 5 office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Leslie, Environmental
Engineer, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J),
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard,
Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 353-6680, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information
section is arranged as follows:
I. What is the background for this action?
II. What is EPA's analysis of Wisconsin's SIP revision?
III. What action is EPA taking?
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What is the background for this action?
Transportation conformity is required under section 176(c) of the
Clean Air Act (Act) to ensure that transportation planning activities
are consistent (``conform to'') with air quality planning goals in
nonattainment/maintenance areas. The transportation conformity
regulation is found in 40 CFR part 93 and provisions related to
transportation conformity SIPs are found in 40 CFR 51.390.
Transportation conformity applies to areas that are designated
nonattainment or maintenance for the following transportation related
criteria pollutants: Ozone, particulate matter (PM2.5 and
PM10), carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide.
EPA originally promulgated the Federal transportation conformity
criteria and procedures (``Transportation Conformity Rule'') on
November 24, 1993 (58 FR 62188). 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
section 176(c) of the Act which contains transportation conformity
provisions. SAFETEA-LU streamlined the requirements for conformity
SIPs. Under SAFETEA-LU, states are required to address and tailor only
three sections of the rules in their conformity SIPs: 40 CFR 93.105, 40
CFR 93.122(a)(4)(ii), and, 40 CFR 93.125(c). States are no longer
required to submit conformity SIP revisions that address the other
sections of the conformity rule. Wisconsin's SIP revision updates the
state's transportation conformity provisions, to be consistent with the
Act as amended by SAFETEA-LU and EPA regulations (40 CFR part 93 and 40
CFR 51.390).
II. What is EPA's analysis of Wisconsin's SIP revision?
A conformity SIP can be adopted as a state rule, as a memorandum of
understanding (MOU), or memorandum of agreement (MOA). The appropriate
form of the state conformity procedures depends upon the requirements
of local or state law, as long as the selected form complies with all
Act requirements for adoption, submission to EPA, and implementation of
SIPs. EPA will accept state conformity SIPs in any form provided the
state can demonstrate to EPA's satisfaction that, as a matter of state
law, the state has adequate authority to compel compliance with the
requirements of the conformity SIP.
Wisconsin concluded that this SIP revision in the form of a MOA
will be enforceable through a number of Wisconsin Statutes, as with
their original conformity SIP. These statutes authorize state agencies
to enter into legally binding cooperative contracts for the receipt or
furnishing of services. Wisconsin collaborated with the Wisconsin
Department of Transportation (WisDOT), EPA, Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA), Federal Transit Administration, the Southeast
Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC), Bay-Lake Regional Planning
Commission (BLRPC), to develop the Transportation Conformity MOA. This
MOA was agreed upon and signed by all of the above consultation
parties.
[[Page 10997]]
EPA has evaluated this SIP submission and finds that the state has
addressed the requirements of the Federal transportation conformity
rule as described in 40 CFR part 51, subpart T and 40 CFR part 93,
subpart A. The transportation conformity rule requires the states to
develop their own processes and procedures for interagency consultation
and resolution of conflicts meeting the criteria in 40 CFR 93.105. The
SIP revision did include processes and procedures to be followed by the
MPO, state DOT, and U.S. DOT in consulting with the state and local air
quality agencies and EPA before making transportation conformity
determinations. Their transportation conformity SIP also included
processes and procedures for the state and local air quality agencies
and EPA to coordinate the development of applicable SIPs with MPOs,
state DOTs, and U.S. DOT, and requires written commitments to control
measures and mitigation measures (40 CFR 93.122(a)(4)(ii) and
93.125(c)).
EPA's review of the Wisconsin SIP revision indicates that is
consistent with the Act as amended by SAFETEA-LU and EPA regulations
(40 CFR part 93 and 40 CFR 51.390) governing state procedures for
transportation conformity and interagency consultation and has
concluded that the submittal is approvable.
III. What action is EPA taking?
EPA is approving a SIP revision submitted by the State of
Wisconsin, for the purpose of establishing transportation conformity
criteria and procedures related to interagency consultation, and
enforceability of certain transportation related control and mitigation
measures.
We are publishing this action without prior proposal because we
view this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipate no adverse
comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal
Register publication, we are publishing a separate document that will
serve as the proposal to approve the state plan if relevant adverse
written comments are filed. This rule will be effective April 28, 2014
without further notice unless we receive relevant adverse written
comments by March 31, 2014. If we receive such comments, we will
withdraw this action before the effective date by publishing a
subsequent document that will withdraw the final action. All public
comments received will then be addressed in a subsequent final rule
based on the proposed action. EPA will not institute a second comment
period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should 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.
If we do not receive any comments, this action will be effective April
28, 2014.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the 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 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 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 Act, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by April 28, 2014. 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. Parties with objections to this direct final rule are
encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel notice of
proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules
section of today's Federal Register, rather than file an immediate
petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can
withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed
rulemaking. 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, Ozone, Particulate matter,
Volatile organic compounds.
[[Page 10998]]
Dated: February 10, 2014.
Susan Hedman,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
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.
0
2. Section 52.2584 is amended by adding paragraph (c) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.2584 Control strategy; Particulate matter.
* * * * *
(c) Approval--On August 1, 2013, the State of Wisconsin submitted a
revision to their Particulate Matter State Implementation Plan. The
submittal established transportation conformity ``Conformity'' criteria
and procedures related to interagency consultation, and enforceability
of certain transportation related control and mitigation measures.
0
3. Section 52.2585 is amended by adding paragraph (bb) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.2585 Control strategy; Ozone.
* * * * *
(bb) Approval--On August 1, 2013, the State of Wisconsin submitted
a revision to their Ozone State Implementation Plan. The submittal
established transportation conformity ``Conformity'' criteria and
procedures related to interagency consultation, and enforceability of
certain transportation related control and mitigation measures.
[FR Doc. 2014-04168 Filed 2-26-14; 8:45 am]
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