Air quality implementation plans; approval and promulgation; various States: Alabama,
[Federal Register: June 4, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 107)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 29958-29961]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04jn99-4]
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[AL-40-2-9909a; FRL-6352-5]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Alabama
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
SUMMARY: The EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision for the State of Alabama. This revision consists of the 1990 base year ozone emission inventory for the Birmingham marginal ozone nonattainment area. The inventory was submitted to satisfy a Clean Air Act (CAA) requirement that states containing ozone nonattainment areas submit inventories of actual ozone precursor emissions in accordance with guidance from the EPA.
DATES: This direct final rule is effective August 3, 1999 without further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by July 6, 1999. If adverse comment is received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform the public that the rule will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: All comments should be addressed to Joey LeVasseur at the EPA, Region 4 Air Planning Branch, 61 Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303.
Copies of the state submittal are available at the following addresses for inspection during normal business hours: The interested persons wanting to examine these documents should make an appointment with the appropriate office at least 24 hours before the visiting day. Reference file AL-40-2-9909. The Region 4 office may have additional background documents not available at the other locations.
Environmental Protection Agency, Atlanta Federal Center, Region 4 Air Planning Branch, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-3104.
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Alabama Department of Environmental Management, 1751 Congressman W. L. Dickinson Drive, Montgomery, Alabama 36109.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joey LeVasseur at 404/562-9035 or E- mail (levasseur.joey@epa.gov).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Alabama submitted its 1990 base year emission inventory of ozone precursors to the EPA on November 13, 1992.
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Background Information
Under the CAA as amended in 1990, states have the responsibility to inventory emissions contributing to nonattainment of a National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS), to track these emissions over time, and to ensure that control strategies are being implemented that reduce emissions and move areas towards attainment. The 1990 base year emissions inventory is the primary inventory from which the periodic inventory, the Reasonable Further Progress (RFP) projection inventory, and the modeling inventory are derived. Further information on these inventories and their purpose can be found in the ``Emission Inventory Requirements for Ozone State Implementation Plans,'' U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, March 1991. The base year inventory may also serve as part of statewide inventories for purposes of regional modeling in transport areas. The base year inventory plays an important role in modeling demonstrations for nonattainment areas. The air quality planning requirements for marginal to extreme ozone nonattainment areas are set out in section 182(a)-(e) of title I of the 1990 amendments to the CAA (title I). The EPA has issued a General Preamble describing the EPA's preliminary views on how the Agency intends to review SIP revisions submitted under title I, including requirements for the preparation of the 1990 base year inventory (see 57 FR 13502 (April 16, 1992) and 57 FR 18070 (April 28, 1992)). In this action, EPA will rely on the General Preamble's interpretation of the CAA, and the reader should refer to the General Preamble for a more detailed discussion of the interpretations of title I advanced in today's rule and the supporting rationale.
Those states containing ozone nonattainment areas classified as marginal to extreme are required under section 182(a)(1) of the CAA to submit a final, comprehensive, accurate, and current inventory of actual ozone season, weekday emissions from all sources within 2 years of enactment (November 15, 1992). This inventory is for calendar year 1990 and is denoted as the base year inventory. It includes both anthropogenic and biogenic sources of volatile organic compounds (VOC), nitrogen oxides (NO‹INF›X‹/INF›), and carbon monoxide (CO). The inventory is to address actual VOC, NO‹INF›X‹/INF›, and CO emissions for the area during the ozone season, which is generally comprised of the summer months. All stationary point and area sources, as well as mobile sources within the nonattainment area, are to be included in the compilation. Guidance for preparing emission inventories is provided in the General Preamble (57 FR 13498 (April 16, 1992)).
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Analysis of State Submission
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Procedural Background
The CAA requires states to observe certain procedural requirements in developing emission inventory submissions to the EPA. Section 110(a)(2) of the CAA provides that each emission inventory submitted by a state must be adopted after reasonable notice and public hearing. Also section 172(c)(7) of the CAA requires that plan provisions for nonattainment areas meet the applicable provisions of section 110(a)(2).
On November 13, 1992, the State of Alabama submitted to the EPA as a SIP revision the 1990 base year inventory for the Birmingham marginal ozone nonattainment area.
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Emission Inventory Review
Section 110(k) of the CAA sets out provisions governing the EPA's review of base year emission inventory submittals in order to determine approval or disapproval under section 182(a)(1) (see 57 FR 13565-13566 (April 16, 1992)). This section outlines the review procedures performed to determine if the base year emission inventories are acceptable. For a base year emission inventory to be acceptable it must pass all of the following acceptance criteria.
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The state provided an approved Inventory Preparation Plan (IPP) and performed the Quality Assurance program contained in the IPP and documented its implementation.
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The state provided adequate documentation that enabled the reviewer to determine the emission estimation procedures and the data sources used to develop the inventory.
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The point source inventory must be complete.
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The state must have prepared or calculated the point source emissions according to the current EPA guidance.
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The area source inventory must be complete.
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The state must have prepared or calculated the area source emissions according to the current EPA guidance.
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The state must have prepared the biogenic emissions according to the current EPA guidance or another approved technique.
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The method (e.g., Highway Performance Modeling System or a network transportation planning model) used to develop vehicle miles traveled (VMT) estimates must follow EPA guidance, which is detailed in the document, ``Procedures for Emission Inventory Preparation, Volume IV: Mobile Sources,'' U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Mobile Sources and Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, December 1992.
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The state correctly used The MOBILE model to produce emission factors for each of the vehicle classes.
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The state prepared the Non-road mobile emissions according to current EPA guidance for all of the source categories.
The emission inventory prepared by Alabama meets the ten criteria. Documentation of the EPA's evaluation, including details of the review procedure, is contained within the technical support document prepared for the Alabama 1990 base year inventory, which is available to the public as part of the docket supporting this action.
Alabama has submitted a complete inventory containing point, area, mobile and biogenic source data, and accompanying documentation. Emissions from these sources are presented in the following table.
Emission Inventory Summary for 1990 [Tons per day]
VOC
NO‹INF›X‹/INF›
CO
Point.................................. 61.83 408.98 179.87 Area................................... 59.18 54.38 42.57 Mobile................................. 94.23 60.34 585.11 Biogenic............................... 200.29
NA
NA
Total.............................. 415.53 523.70 807.55
Alabama has satisfied all of the EPA's requirements for providing a comprehensive, accurate, and current inventory of actual ozone precursor emissions in the Birmingham marginal ozone nonattainment area. The
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inventory is complete and approvable according to the criteria set out in the November 12, 1992, memorandum from J. David Mobley, Chief Emission Inventory Branch, TSD to G.T. Helms, Chief Ozone Carbon Monoxide Programs Branch, AQMD. In today's final action, the EPA is approving the SIP 1990 base year ozone emission inventory submitted by the State for the Birmingham area as meeting the requirements of section 182(a)(1) of the CAA.
Final Action
EPA is approving the aforementioned emissions inventory into the Alabama SIP. The EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal Register publication, EPA is publishing a separate document that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision should adverse comments be filed. This rule will be effective August 3, 1999 without further notice unless the Agency receives adverse comments by July 6, 1999.
If the EPA receives such comments, EPA will publish a document withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will not take effect. All public comments received will then be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. The EPA will not institute a second comment period. Parties interested in commenting should do so at this time. If no such comments are received, the public is advised that this rule will be effective on August 3, 1999 and no further action will be taken on the proposed rule.
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Administrative Requirements
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Executive Order 12866
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has exempted this regulatory action from Executive Order (E.O.) 12866, entitled ``Regulatory Planning and Review.''
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Executive Order 12875
Under Executive Order 12875, EPA may not issue a regulation that is not required by statute and that creates a mandate upon a State, local or tribal government, unless the Federal government provides the funds necessary to pay the direct compliance costs incurred by those governments, or EPA consults with those governments. If EPA complies by consulting, Executive Order 12875 requires EPA to provide to the Office of Management and Budget a description of the extent of EPA's prior consultation with representatives of affected State, local and tribal governments, the nature of their concerns, copies of any written communications from the governments, and a statement supporting the need to issue the regulation. In addition, Executive Order 12875 requires EPA to develop an effective process permitting elected officials and other representatives of State, local and tribal governments ``to provide meaningful and timely input in the development of regulatory proposals containing significant unfunded mandates.''
Today's rule does not create a mandate on State, local or tribal governments. The rule does not impose any enforceable duties on these entities.
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Executive Order 13084
Under Executive Order 13084, EPA may not issue a regulation that is not required by statute, that significantly or uniquely affects the communities of Indian tribal governments, and that imposes substantial direct compliance costs on those communities, unless the Federal government provides the funds necessary to pay the direct compliance costs incurred by the tribal governments, or EPA consults with those governments. If EPA complies by consulting, Executive Order 13084 requires EPA to provide to the Office of Management and Budget, in a separately identified section of the preamble to the rule, a description of the extent of EPA's prior consultation with representatives of affected tribal governments, a summary of the nature of their concerns, and a statement supporting the need to issue the regulation. In addition, Executive Order 13084 requires EPA to develop an effective process permitting elected officials and other representatives of Indian tribal governments ``to provide meaningful and timely input in the development of regulatory policies on matters that significantly or uniquely affect their communities.''
Today's rule does not significantly or uniquely affect the communities of Indian tribal governments. Accordingly, the requirements of section 3(b) of Executive Order 13084 do not apply to this rule.
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Executive Order 13045
Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), applies to any rule that: (1) Is determined to be ``economically significant'' as defined under E.O. 12866, and (2) concerns an environmental health or safety risk that EPA has reason to believe may have a disproportionate effect on children. If the regulatory action meets both criteria, the Agency must evaluate the environmental health or safety effects of the planned rule on children, and explain why the planned regulation is preferable to other potentially effective and reasonably feasible alternatives considered by the Agency.
This rule is not subject to E.O. 13045 because it does not involve decisions intended to mitigate environmental health or safety risks.
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Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) generally requires an agency to conduct a regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule subject to notice and comment rulemaking requirements unless the agency certifies that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Small entities include small businesses, small not-for-profit enterprises, and small governmental jurisdictions. This final rule will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities because SIP approvals under section 110 and subchapter I, part D of the CAA do not create any new requirements but simply approve requirements that the State is already imposing. Therefore, because the Federal SIP approval does not create any new requirements, I certify that this action will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Moreover, due to the nature of the Federal-State relationship under the CAA, preparation of flexibility analysis would constitute Federal inquiry into the economic reasonableness of state action. The Clean Air Act forbids EPA to base its actions concerning SIPs on such grounds. Union Electric Co., v. U.S. EPA, 427 U.S. 246, 255-66 (1976); 42 U.S.C. 7410(a)(2).
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Unfunded Mandates
Under section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (``Unfunded Mandates Act''), signed into law on March 22, 1995, EPA must prepare a budgetary impact statement to accompany any proposed or final rule that includes a Federal mandate that may result in estimated annual costs to State, local, or tribal governments in the aggregate; or to private sector, of $100 million or more. Under section 205, EPA must select the most cost-effective and least burdensome alternative that achieves the objectives of the rule and is consistent with statutory requirements. Section 203 requires EPA to establish a plan for informing and
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advising any small governments that may be significantly or uniquely impacted by the rule.
EPA has determined that the approval action promulgated does not include a Federal mandate that may result in estimated annual costs of $100 million or more to either State, local, or tribal governments in the aggregate, or to the private sector. This Federal action approves pre-existing requirements under State or local law, and imposes no new requirements. Accordingly, no additional costs to State, local, or tribal governments, or to the private sector, result from this action.
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Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General
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 rule 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. This rule is not a ``major'' rule as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
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Petitions for Judicial Review
Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for judicial review of this action must be filedin the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by August 3, 1999. Filing a petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect the finality of this rule 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, Hydrocarbons, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: March 30, 1999. A. Stanley Meiburg, Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:
PART 52--[AMENDED]
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The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7641q.
Subpart B--Alabama
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Section 52.50 is amended by revising the word ``Delaware'' in paragraph (a) to read ``Alabama'' and by adding a new paragraph (e) to read as follows:
Sec. 52.50 Identification of plan.
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(e) EPA-approved Alabama non-regulatory provisions.
Provision
State effective date
EPA approval date
Federal Register notice
Comments
Birmingham 1990 Baseline
November 13, 1992............ June 4, 1999................. [Insert cite of publication]. Emissions Inventory.
[FR Doc. 99-13944Filed6-3-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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