[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 172 (Thursday, September 7, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 42233-42235]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18873]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R01-OAR-2013-0089; A-1-FRL-9967-28-Region 1]
Air Plan Approval; Maine; New Motor Vehicle Emission Standards
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: 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 Maine on
August 18, 2015. This SIP revision includes Maine's revised regulation
for new motor vehicle emission standards. Maine has updated its rule to
be consistent with various updates made to California's low emission
vehicle (LEV) program. Maine has adopted these revisions to reduce
emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides
(NOX) in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air
Act (CAA), as well as to reduce greenhouse gases. The intended effect
of this action is to approve Maine's August 15, 2015 SIP revision. This
action is being taken in accordance with the Clean Air Act.
DATES: This rule is effective on October 10, 2017.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket
Identification No. EPA-R01-OAR-2013-0089. All documents in the docket
are listed on the http://www.regulations.gov Web site. 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 at http://www.regulations.gov or at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA
New England Regional Office, Office of Ecosystem Protection, Air
Quality Planning Unit, 5 Post Office Square--Suite 100, Boston, MA. EPA
requests that if at all possible, you contact the contact listed in the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to schedule your inspection.
The Regional Office's official hours of business are
[[Page 42234]]
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding legal
holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Rackauskas, Air Quality Planning
Unit, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional
Office, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 100 (Mail Code: OEP05-2), Boston,
MA 02109-3912, telephone number (617) 918-1628, fax number (617) 918-
0628, email [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Background and Purpose
II. Final Action
III. Incorporation by Reference
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background and Purpose
On June 23, 2017 (82 FR 28611), EPA published a Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (NPR) for the State of Maine. The NPR proposed approval of
Maine's Chapter 127, ``New Motor Vehicle Emission Standards.'' The
regulation establishes motor vehicle emission standards for new
gasoline powered passenger cars, light-duty trucks, medium-duty
vehicles, as well as for heavy-duty diesel vehicles. The regulation
also requires that vehicles display an environmental performance label,
and that aftermarket catalytic converters be certified to the
California Air Resources Board (CARB) standards. Maine has worked to
ensure that their program is identical to California's, as required by
the CAA. The formal SIP revision was submitted by Maine on August 18,
2015.
A detailed discussion of Maine's August 18, 2015 SIP revision and
EPA's rationale for proposing approval of the SIP revision were
provided in the NPR and will not be restated in this notice. EPA
received several comments in support of approving Maine's SIP revision
in response to the NPR. No adverse comments were received.
II. Final Action
EPA is approving Maine's August 18, 2015 SIP revision.
Specifically, EPA is approving Maine's revised Chapter 127, ``New Motor
Vehicle Emission Standards,'' and incorporating it into the Maine SIP.
EPA is approving this SIP revision because it meets all applicable
requirements of the Clean Air Act and relevant EPA guidance, and it
will not interfere with attainment or maintenance of the ozone NAAQS.
III. Incorporation by Reference
In this rule, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR
51.5, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the State
of Maine's revised Chapter 127 described in the amendments to 40 CFR
part 52 set forth below. The EPA has made, and will continue to make,
these documents generally available through http://www.regulations.gov.
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 Orders 12866 (58
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
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, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian
reservation land or in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has
demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian
country, the rule does not have tribal implications and will not impose
substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
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 November 6, 2017. 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, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.
[[Page 42235]]
Dated: August 10, 2017.
Deborah A. Szaro,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA New England.
Part 52 of chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations
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 U--Maine
0
2. In Sec. 52.1020, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by revising
the entry for ``Chapter 127 and Appendix A'' to read as follows:
Sec. 52.1020 Identification of plan.
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(c) * * *
EPA-Approved Maine Regulations
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State EPA approval date
State citation Title/subject effective date and citation \1\ Explanations
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* * * * * * *
Chapter 127 and Appendix A..... New Motor Vehicle 5/19/2015 9/7/2017 [Insert Includes LEV II GHG and
Emission Federal Register ZEV provisions, and
Standards. citation]. Advanced Clean Cars
program (LEV III,
updated GHG and ZEV
standards).
* * * * * * *
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\1\ In order to determine the EPA effective date for a specific provision listed in this table, consult the
Federal Register notice cited in this column for the particular provision.
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[FR Doc. 2017-18873 Filed 9-6-17; 8:45 am]
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