Designation of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; Arizona; Correction of Boundary of Phoenix Metropolitan 1-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area, 68339-68349 [05-22371]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 217 (Thursday, November 10, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 68339-68349]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-22371]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[OAR-2005-0150a; FRL-7995-3]


Designation of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; Arizona; 
Correction of Boundary of Phoenix Metropolitan 1-Hour Ozone 
Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to correct the boundary of 
the Phoenix metropolitan 1-hour ozone nonattainment area to exclude the 
Gila River Indian Reservation. EPA is taking this action under the 
authority of section 110(k)(6) of the Clean Air Act and in light of the 
Federal trust responsibility to the Tribes. This action is intended to 
facilitate and support the Gila River Indian Community's efforts to 
develop, adopt and implement a comprehensive Tribal Implementation Plan 
by removing unnecessary obligations that flow from the erroneous 
inclusion of a portion of the Reservation in the Phoenix metropolitan 
1-hour ozone nonattainment area.

DATES: This action will be effective on January 9, 2006, without 
further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comments by December 12, 
2005.
    If we receive such comments, we will publish a timely withdrawal in 
the Federal Register to notify the public that this rule will not take 
effect and that we will respond to submitted comments and take 
subsequent final action.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by docket number OAR-2005-0150, 
by one of the following methods:
    1. Agency Web site: https://docket.epa.gov/rmepub/. EPA prefers 
receiving comments through this electronic public docket and comment 
system. Follow the on-line instructions to submit comments.
    2. Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the on-line instructions.
    3. E-mail: tax.wienke@epa.gov.
    4. Mail or deliver: Wienke Tax, Office of Air Planning (AIR-2), 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street, 
San Francisco, CA 94105-3901.
    Instructions: All comments will be included in the public docket 
without change and may be made available online at https://
docket.epa.gov/rmepub/, including any personal information provided, 
unless the comment includes Confidential Business Information (CBI) or 
other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 
Information that you consider CBI or otherwise protected should be 
clearly identified as such and should not be submitted through the 
agency Web site, eRulemaking portal, or e-mail. The agency Web site and 
eRulemaking portal are ``anonymous access'' systems, and EPA will not 
know your identify or contact information unless you provide it in the 
body of your comment. If you send e-mail directly to EPA, your e-mail 
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the 
public comment. 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.
    Docket: The index to the docket for this action is available 
electronically at https://docket.epa.gov/rmepub and in hard copy at EPA 
Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California. While all 
documents in the docket are listed in the index, some information may 
be publicly available only at the hard copy location (e.g., copyrighted 
material), and some may not be publicly available in either location 
(e.g., CBI). To inspect the hard copy materials, please schedule an 
appointment during normal business hours with the contact listed in the 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wienke Tax, Office of Air Planning, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9, (520) 622-1622, e-mail: 
tax.wienke@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, the terms ``we,'' 
``us,'' and ``our'' refer to EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Regulatory Context
II. Gila River Indian Community's Request for a Boundary Change
III. EPA Review of the Gila River Indian Community's Request
    A. CAA Authority to Correct Area Designations
    B. General Physical Description of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area 
and Environs
    C. Contribution by Emission Sources on the Reservation
    D. Oxidants/Ozone Air Quality Conditions on the Reservation
    E. Ozone Planning Issues
    F. Evaluation and Conclusion
IV. Final Action
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
    A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review
    B. Paperwork Reduction Act
    C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
    D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
    E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
    F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With 
Indian Tribal Governments
    G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From 
Environmental Health and Safety Risks
    H. Executive Order 13211: Actions that Significantly Affect 
Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use
    I. National Technology Transfer Advancement Act
    J. Congressional Review Act

I. Regulatory Context

    On April 30, 1971 (36 FR 8186), pursuant to section 109 of the 
Clean Air Act (CAA or Act), as amended in 1970, EPA promulgated 
national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for six criteria 
pollutants, including photochemical oxidants (``oxidants''). EPA set 
the NAAQS for oxidants (measured as ozone) at 0.08 parts per million 
(ppm), 1-hour average. Under section 110 of the Clean Air Act 
Amendments of 1970, States were required to adopt and submit plans that 
provide for implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of the NAAQS. 
These original plans, generally submitted and approved in the early 
1970's, are known as State Implementation Plans (SIPs).

[[Page 68340]]

    Under EPA regulations promulgated under the 1970 amended Act, 
States were required to identify areas (referred to as ``air quality 
maintenance areas'' (AQMAs)) that were violating or that had the 
potential to violate the NAAQS by 1985, to submit detailed analyses of 
the impacts on air quality of projected growth in these areas, and, 
where the analysis indicates that the NAAQS will not be maintained, to 
submit SIP revisions containing measures to ensure maintenance during 
the ensuing period. In 1975, EPA approved Arizona's identification of 
the Phoenix Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) as an AQMA 
for oxidants. See 40 FR 41942 (September 9, 1975). The Phoenix SMSA 
includes all of Maricopa County, which encompasses an area of 
approximately 9,200 square miles in south-central Arizona, and includes 
the northern quarter of the Gila River Indian Reservation.\1\
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    \1\ The Gila River Indian Reservation lies south of the 
urbanized portion of the Phoenix metropolitan area and straddles the 
boundary between Maricopa County and Pinal County. The Reservation 
encompasses approximately 580 square miles, of which approximately 
140 square miles lie within Maricopa County and 440 square miles lie 
within Pinal County.
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    A task force consisting of representatives of Federal, State, and 
local government agencies as well as community groups (but no Tribal 
representatives) was created to guide the preparation of the detailed 
air quality maintenance analysis for the Phoenix AQMA as required under 
EPA regulations. The air quality maintenance analysis focused on a 
study area of approximately 1,700 square miles covering the urbanized 
portions of the Phoenix metropolitan area. The study area was based on 
the Maricopa Association of Governments \2\ (MAG) primary planning 
area, which included only a small portion of the Maricopa County 
portion of the Reservation.\3\ The final air quality maintenance 
analysis report was published in July 1977.\4\ This maintenance 
analysis report identified and evaluated 11 specific control strategies 
for attaining and maintaining the oxidants standard within the study 
area, but was not submitted to EPA as a SIP revision in anticipation of 
different planning requirements and deadlines under amendments to the 
Clean Air Act then under active consideration by Congress.
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    \2\ MAG is a Council of Governments that serves as the regional 
agency for the Phoenix metropolitan area. MAG was formed in 1967. In 
1978, the Governor of Arizona designated MAG as the lead air quality 
planning agency for Maricopa County. The Gila River Indian Community 
joined MAG in 1989.
    \3\ The portion of the Reservation that was included in the 
Phoenix AQMA study area consists of a rectangular area traversed by 
Interstate 10 and defined by the Reservation boundaries to the north 
and east and by a southward extension of Priest Drive to the west 
and a westward extension of Hunt Highway to the south. This area is 
about 24 square miles, which represents approximately 17% of the 
Maricopa County portion of the Reservation.
    \4\ Aerovironment Inc., Air Quality Maintenance Analysis in 
Phoenix, Arizona, Final Report, July 1977.
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    Congress did amend the Act in 1977, and the Clean Air Act 
Amendments of 1977 replaced the AQMA approach with a new approach, 
under which all areas of the country were designated as attainment, 
nonattainment, or unclassifiable for each of the NAAQS. Under the 1977 
amended Act, ``nonattainment area'' meant an area which is shown by 
monitored data or which is calculated by air quality modeling (or other 
methods determined by EPA to be reliable) to exceed any NAAQS. On March 
3, 1978 (43 FR 8962), under section 107(d)(2) of the 1977 Amended Act, 
EPA promulgated area designations for each State with respect to each 
of the NAAQS. The area designations are found in 40 CFR part 81. The 
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977 required specific types of SIP 
revisions for designated nonattainment areas and other types of SIP 
revisions for unclassifiable/attainment areas.
    Within the State of Arizona, EPA designated Maricopa County as a 
nonattainment area for the oxidants NAAQS. See 43 FR 8962, at 8968 
(March 3, 1978). EPA designated the rest of the State, which included 
the Pinal County portion of the Gila River Indian Reservation, as 
unclassifiable/attainment for the oxidants NAAQS. As such, the northern 
quarter of the Reservation was located in the Maricopa County 
nonattainment area and the southern three-quarters was located within 
the unclassifiable/attainment area. The following year, EPA approved a 
request by the State of Arizona to reduce the size of this county-wide 
nonattainment area to include only the MAG urban planning area (see 44 
FR 16388, March 19, 1979). The MAG urban planning area is approximately 
1,950 square miles and is 14 percent larger than the MAG primary 
planning area, which had been the study area for the purposes of the 
AQMA analysis. The MAG urban planning area also includes the Maricopa 
County portion (i.e., northern quarter) of the Gila River Indian 
Reservation.
    Also in 1979, we established a new ozone NAAQS to replace the 
oxidants NAAQS (see 44 FR 8202, February 8, 1979). The new NAAQS was 
set at 0.12 ppm, 1-hour average. In September 1979, we replaced the 
Arizona table in 40 CFR part 81 that listed areas and designations for 
the oxidants NAAQS with a table that listed areas and designations for 
the then-new 1-hour ozone NAAQS. See 44 FR 54294 (September 19, 1979). 
In that final rule, we designated the Tucson area, which had been 
designated as nonattainment for the oxidants NAAQS, as unclassifiable/
attainment for the ozone NAAQS, but we reaffirmed the previous status 
(nonattainment) and boundary (MAG urban planning area) designation for 
the Phoenix metropolitan area for the new 1-hour ozone NAAQS as had 
been established for the oxidants NAAQS. We also reaffirmed the 
unclassifiable/attainment designation for ``rest of state.''
    Under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, the concept of 
``nonattainment area'' was expanded to include areas that contribute to 
ambient air quality in a nearby area that does not meet a NAAQS as well 
as the area that actually experiences NAAQS violations. See section 
107(d)(1)(A) of the Act. Under the 1990 amended Act, the designation of 
``nonattainment'' and boundary (i.e., the MAG urban planning area) for 
the Phoenix metropolitan 1-hour ozone nonattainment area was carried 
forward by operation of law. Further, under the 1990 Act Amendments, 
the Phoenix metropolitan nonattainment area was classified as 
``moderate'' ozone nonattainment. See 56 FR 56694, 56717 (November 6, 
1991). On November 6, 1997, the Phoenix metropolitan 1-hour ozone 
nonattainment area was reclassified to ``serious'' due to a failure to 
attain the 1-hour ozone NAAQS by November 15, 1996. See 62 FR 60001 
(November 6, 1997).
    In 1997, we established a new 8-hour ozone NAAQS to replace the 1-
hour ozone NAAQS that we had established in 1979 (see 62 FR 38856, July 
18, 1997). The new NAAQS was set at 0.08 ppm, 8-hour average. In 2004, 
we published final rules that designated all areas of the country with 
respect to the 8-hour ozone NAAQS, effective June 15, 2004, and that 
established June 15, 2005 as the date on which the 1-hour ozone NAAQS 
would be revoked. See 69 FR 23858 and 69 FR 23951 (April 30, 2004). In 
consultation with the State of Arizona and the Gila River Indian 
Community, we designated the Phoenix-Mesa area as a nonattainment area 
for the 8-hour ozone NAAQS, but this 8-hour ozone nonattainment area 
does not include any portion of the Gila River Indian Reservation. See 
69 FR 23858, at 23878-23879 (April 30, 2004). All of the Gila River 
Indian Reservation, i.e., both Maricopa and Pinal County portions, lies 
within the ``rest of state'' unclassifiable/attainment area for the 8-
hour ozone NAAQS. Under the first

[[Page 68341]]

phase of the final rule implementing the 8-hour ozone NAAQS, certain 
requirements apply to former 1-hour ozone nonattainment areas that are 
designated as attainment/unclassifiable for the 8-hour ozone NAAQS 
(such as the Maricopa County portion of the Gila River Indian 
Reservation), such as the preparation and submittal of a SIP revision 
consisting of a plan that provides for continued maintenance of the 8-
hour ozone NAAQS for 10 years following designation and that includes 
contingency measures. See 40 CFR 51.905(a)(3); 69 FR 23951, at 23999 
(April 30, 2004).
    On March 21, 2005 (70 FR 13425), we published a notice in the 
Federal Register proposing this same boundary change as part of a 
notice that also proposed approval of various submittals of revisions 
to the Arizona State Implementation Plan (SIP) and a request by the 
State of Arizona for redesignation of the Phoenix metropolitan 1-hour 
ozone nonattainment area to attainment. We received no comments related 
to the proposed boundary change, but we decided to withdraw the 
boundary change portion of the March 21, 2005 proposal. See 70 FR 34362 
(June 14, 2005). We withdrew the proposed boundary change because we 
decided to review the action as a correction under section 110(k)(6) 
rather than as a redesignation under section 107(d)(3)(A) as had been 
proposed, based on our preliminary conclusion that we had incorrectly 
included the northern portion of the Gila River Indian Reservation in 
the nonattainment area boundary back in the late 1970's. In our final 
rule approving the redesignation request for the Phoenix metropolitan 
1-hour ozone nonattainment area (70 FR 34362, June 14, 2005), we 
indicated that we intended to address the boundary change issue in a 
separate rulemaking. This notice constitutes that separate rulemaking.

II. Gila River Indian Community's Request for a Boundary Change

    On March 2, 2005, the Gila River Indian Community, a federally-
recognized tribal government,\5\ adopted and submitted a resolution 
requesting EPA to revise the boundary for the Phoenix metropolitan 1-
hour ozone nonattainment area to exclude the Gila River Indian 
Reservation.\6\ The Gila River Indian Community's request includes 
background information regarding the procedural history leading to the 
designation of the boundary of the Phoenix metropolitan 1-hour oxidants 
(then ozone) nonattainment area, an analysis of air quality monitoring 
data existing at the time of and subsequent to the original designation 
in 1978, and a description of population, employment, land use, and 
traffic associated with the Reservation.
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    \5\ See 67 FR 46328, 46329 (July 12, 2002).
    \6\ As noted previously, the Phoenix metropolitan 1-hour ozone 
nonattainment area includes the portion of the Reservation that lies 
within Maricopa County, approximately the northern 25 percent of the 
Reservation.
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    The Gila River Indian Community concludes that inclusion of the 
Maricopa County portion of the Reservation in the Phoenix metropolitan 
1-hour ozone nonattainment area was incorrect based on air quality 
considerations at the time of the original designation and that 
continued inclusion of the Reservation in the nonattainment area will 
frustrate their current efforts to regulate air quality on their own 
lands through preparation, adoption, and implementation of a 
comprehensive Tribal Implementation Plan (TIP). The Community's request 
and supporting documentation are included in the docket for this 
action.

III. EPA Review of the Gila River Indian Community's Request

A. CAA Authority To Correct Area Designations

    Section 110(k)(6) of the Clean Air Act provides, ``Whenever the 
Administrator determines that the Administrator's action approving, 
disapproving, or promulgating any plan or plan revision (or part 
thereof), area designation, redesignation, classification, or 
reclassification was in error, the Administrator may in the same manner 
as the approval, disapproval, or promulgation revise such action as 
appropriate without requiring any further submission from the State. 
Such determination and the basis thereof shall be provided to the State 
and public.'' We interpret this provision to authorize the Agency to 
make corrections to a promulgated regulation when it is shown to our 
satisfaction that (1) we clearly erred in failing to consider or in 
inappropriately considering information made available to EPA at the 
time of the promulgation, or the information made available at the time 
of promulgation is subsequently demonstrated to have been clearly 
inadequate, and (2) other information persuasively supports a change in 
the regulation. See 57 FR 56762, at 56763 (November 30, 1992).
    We have reviewed the documentation submitted by the Gila River 
Indian Community, and based on that review and an independent 
assessment of the air quality data and circumstances behind our actions 
designating, redesignating or affirming air quality planning areas for 
the oxidants and ozone NAAQS, we agree with the Gila River Indian 
Community that a correction of the boundary to exclude the Gila River 
Indian Reservation from the Phoenix metropolitan 1-hour ozone 
nonattainment area is warranted. Our rationale is provided in the 
following subsections.

B. General Physical Description of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area and 
Environs 7

    The Phoenix metropolitan area is in south-central Arizona. The area 
occupies an almost-flat alluvial plain studded and surrounded by hills, 
buttes, and mountain ranges. The elevation of the valley floor is 
approximately 1,100 feet. The dominating mountain ranges around the 
area include the Sierra Estrella Mountains to the southwest, the White 
Tank Mountains to the west; the Hieroglyphic and New River Mountains to 
the north; the Superstition and Goldfield and Mazatzal Mountains to the 
east; and the Santan and Sacaton Mountains to the southeast. Elevations 
range from 3,000 feet in the southeast, to 4,000 feet in the west and 
southwest, and to 5,000 to 7,000 feet in the north and east. The 
principal natural drainages are the Salt River, the Agua Fria River, 
and the Gila River. The Gila River carves a route between the South 
Mountains and the Sierra Estrella Mountains and is joined by the Salt 
River near the northwest corner of the Gila River Indian Reservation. 
The South Mountains rise to an elevation of approximately 2,700 feet 
and partially separate the urbanized portions of the Phoenix 
metropolitan area to the north from the Gila River Indian Reservation 
to the south.
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    \7\ Sources of information for this section of the notice 
include the Army Corps of Engineers' Phoenix Urban Study, Background 
Information Appendix (February 1977) and the Arizona Department of 
Environmental Quality's Final Serious Area Ozone State 
Implementation Plan for Maricopa County (December 2000).
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    The climate of the area varies depending on the occurrence of the 
natural topographic features but is generally a warm, desert type 
climate with low annual rainfall and low relative humidity. Summers are 
usually long and hot, winters short and mild, with gradual temperature 
transitions in the spring and fall seasons.
    The most significant terrain, in term of influence on local wind 
flow, is located to the north and east of the Phoenix area. During the 
morning and afternoon, sunlight warms this terrain causing the air 
immediately above it to rise and pull air from the lower

[[Page 68342]]

elevations in the direction of the higher terrain to replace the rising 
air. In Phoenix, this ``valley'' breeze (up-valley flow) usually begins 
around noon with a west wind that persists until midnight. After 
sunset, under clear sky conditions, the surface undergoes radiative 
cooling, lowering the temperatures of the air above it and reversing 
the flow. The ``mountain'' breeze (down-valley flow), which is out of 
the east for most of the Phoenix area, begins about midnight and lasts 
until noon, when the reversal to up-valley flow takes over.
    The systematic mountain-valley circulation over the Phoenix area 
directs the timing and geographic distribution of ozone and its 
precursors. Early morning commute emissions are slowly transported to 
the west by drainage winds. By afternoon, the flow is reversed and 
emissions are transported to the east, back over the urbanized area, 
entraining additional surface emissions. During this period of ample 
sunlight and precursor emissions, the conditions are conducive for 
ozone formation. As the day progresses into late afternoon, ozone 
continues to build and is further transported toward the higher 
terrain, resulting in the maximum ozone concentration typically 
monitored east or north of the urbanized area.

C. Contribution by Emission Sources on the Reservation

    In general, ambient ozone concentrations are caused by on-road and 
nonroad mobile emissions sources, area sources, large stationary 
sources and biogenic sources that emit ozone precursors (i.e., volatile 
organic compounds, or VOC, and oxides of nitrogen oxides, or 
NOX). The level of mobile source emissions, often the 
largest part of the inventory in a major metropolitan area, can be 
generally correlated to population density and land use patterns.
    The Gila River Indian Community has historically been, and 
continues to be, primarily a rural, agricultural community with few 
industrial uses and no major population centers. The Gila River Indian 
Community has an on-Reservation population of approximately 11,300 
people, of which approximately 2,700 people live in the Maricopa County 
portion of the Reservation. The on-Reservation population density is 
approximately 20 persons per square mile. By comparison, the population 
living within the Phoenix metropolitan 1-hour ozone area as a whole is 
approximately 3 million people with a population density of 
approximately 1,500 persons per square mile, and there are at least six 
major population centers in the Phoenix nonattainment area, including 
Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, Glendale, Tempe, and Chandler. Thus, 
emissions generated by uses on the Reservation can be assumed to have 
essentially no effect on ambient ozone concentrations in the urbanized 
portions of the Phoenix metropolitan area.\8\ Our assumption in this 
regard is supported by emissions inventory estimates prepared by the 
Gila River Indian Reservation from which we find that ozone precursor 
emissions associated with the Maricopa County portion of the 
Reservation represent less than 0.2% and 0.6% of VOC and NOX 
emissions, respectively, of total estimated ozone precursor emissions 
generated within the Phoenix metropolitan 1-hour ozone nonattainment 
area.
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    \8\ The State of Arizona's Nonattainment Area Plan for Carbon 
Monoxide and Photochemical Oxidants, Maricopa County, Urban Planning 
Area (revised February 16, 1979) was based in part on traffic 
assignments in the MAG primary planning area, which essentially 
excludes the Maricopa County portion of the Reservation (see 
footnote 3, above), rather than the larger urban planning 
area (that defines the nonattainment area and that includes all of 
the Maricopa County portion of the Reservation) but justified the 
use of traffic assignments from the smaller area by concluding that 
the additional long-range fringe development would contribute 
negligibly to the highest carbon monoxide and ozone concentrations 
measured in central Phoenix. EPA approved this plan in 1982. See 47 
FR 19326 (May 5, 1982).
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D. Oxidants/Ozone Air Quality Conditions on the Reservation

    The oxidants/ozone designations for the MAG urban planning area in 
1978 and 1979 were based on ambient air quality data collected at a 
small number of monitoring stations located within the urbanized 
portions of Maricopa County.\9\ During the 1970's, there was no 
monitoring station located on the Gila River Indian Reservation. During 
this period, the ozone monitoring station that was closest to the Gila 
River Indian Reservation was the ``South Phoenix'' station located at 
4732 South Central Avenue. The South Phoenix station is located north 
of the South Mountains while the Reservation lies south of that range. 
The distance between the South Phoenix station and the closest 
Reservation boundary is approximately eight miles. We believe that the 
South Phoenix monitor provides data that is sufficiently representative 
of conditions in the Maricopa County portion of the Reservation to 
justify its use for the purposes of this correction notice although we 
recognize that ozone concentrations would generally be expected to 
decrease with increasing distance in a southerly direction from the 
Phoenix urbanized area given the prevailing mountain-valley (i.e., 
east-west) wind circulation characteristic of the area.
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    \9\ No oxidants/ozone dispersion modeling was conducted during 
this period; instead, the demonstrations of attainment in the 
various plans relied upon a linear rollback technique.
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    A review of EPA's Air Quality System (AQS) database and the Arizona 
Department of Environmental Quality's Nonattainment Area Plan for 
Carbon Monoxide and Photochemical Oxidants, Maricopa County Urban 
Planning Area (revised February 16, 1979) reveals that (1) violations 
of the oxidants NAAQS (0.08 ppm, hourly average) were recorded at the 
South Phoenix station during the 1975-1978 period, (2) no violations of 
the 1-hour ozone NAAQS (0.12 ppm) were recorded at the South Phoenix 
station during this same period, (3) maximum ozone levels at the South 
Phoenix station were generally less than those at the four other 
stations that were operating continuously through this same period. 
Thus, the available data supports the conclusion that, during the mid-
to late-1970's, while the Maricopa County portion of the Reservation 
may well have experienced violations of the oxidants NAAQS, it did not 
experience violations of the less stringent 1-hour ozone NAAQS. From 
1979 through 2004, exceedances of the 1-hour ozone NAAQS were measured 
on only 5 days at the South Phoenix station: one day in 1981, two days 
in 1983, one day in 1990 and one day in 1995.
    Since mid-2002, the Gila River Indian Community has operated an 
ozone monitoring station within the Maricopa County portion of the 
Reservation (the St. Johns station) and another in the Pinal County 
portion of the Reservation (the Sacaton station). Data have been 
collected at these stations from mid-2002 through the end of the 2004 
ozone season. No exceedances of the 1-hour ozone NAAQS have been 
recorded at either station.

E. Ozone Planning Issues

    Ozone planning efforts for the Phoenix metropolitan area began in 
earnest in the mid-1970's at the direction of the Phoenix AQMA Task 
Force, including the identification and evaluation of control 
strategies focused on the AQMA study area. The Phoenix AQMA Task Force 
included representatives from EPA and various State and local agencies 
as well as representatives from certain non-governmental entities such 
as the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce and the League of Women Voters. The 
Gila River Indian Community, however, was not a member of the AQMA Task 
Force nor is there any evidence that suggests that the community's 
views or concerns were

[[Page 68343]]

taken into account in identification of the appropriate study area, the 
analysis of air quality conditions and projects, or in the 
identification and evaluation of possible control strategies, which is 
documented in a final report entitled, Air Quality Maintenance Analysis 
in Phoenix, Arizona (July 1977).
    Likewise, there is no evidence that suggests that the Gila River 
Indian Community was consulted by EPA, the State of Arizona, or MAG 
\10\ in the decision-making process leading to the nonattainment 
designation first on a county-wide basis for oxidants under the Clean 
Air Act Amendments of 1977, then on a MAG urban planning area boundary 
basis for the oxidants NAAQS (and later affirmed for the 1-hour ozone 
NAAQS). Ever since this time, the Gila River Indian Reservation has 
been split into two air quality planning areas for the purposes of the 
1-hour ozone NAAQS: a Maricopa County portion that is part of a 
nonattainment area and a Pinal County portion that is part of an 
``unclassifiable/attainment'' area.
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    \10\ The Gila River Indian Community became a member of MAG in 
November of 1989.
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    Since the late 1970's, EPA has approved various State and local 
regulations and other control measures that have helped to attain the 
1-hour ozone NAAQS in the Phoenix metropolitan nonattainment area and 
that provided the basis upon which EPA recently approved the State's 
redesignation request for the area to ``attainment.'' See 70 FR 34362 
(June 14, 2005). It is important to note that, under the CAA, the State 
and local air pollution control agencies do not have authority to 
administer air regulatory programs over the Reservation; consequently, 
the SIP rules that have been adopted and implemented within the non-
Tribal portions of the Phoenix metropolitan area and that have provided 
for attainment of the 1-hour ozone NAAQS do not apply within the Gila 
River Indian Reservation. Furthermore, due to the Reservation's lack of 
ozone precursor sources, it was never considered necessary to apply 
ozone precursor limits to sources on the Reservation.
    In 2004, we designated all areas of the country as nonattainment, 
attainment, or unclassifiable for the 8-hour ozone NAAQS. See 69 FR 
23858 (April 30, 2004). In contrast to the process undertaken in 
connection with the area designations established in the late 1970's, 
we made a significant effort to consult with the Tribes on the 
appropriate designations for their lands for the new (8-hour) ozone 
NAAQS. In our final rule establishing area designations for the 8-hour 
ozone NAAQS, we agreed with the Gila River Indian Community that the 
Reservation, including both Maricopa and Pinal County portions, should 
be included in the larger area designation of ``unclassifiable/ 
attainment.'' Thus, in contrast to the status of the Reservation 
relative to the 1-hour ozone designations, the Gila River Indian 
Reservation is not split into different air quality planning areas for 
the 8-hour ozone NAAQS, and no part of the Reservation is included in 
the Phoenix metropolitan 8-hour ozone nonattainment area.
    Under phase 1 of our 8-hour ozone implementation rule, areas 
designated as ``unclassifiable/attainment'' for the 8-hour ozone NAAQS 
that were designated nonattainment for the 1-hour ozone NAAQS at the 
time of the initial 8-hour ozone designation (i.e., mid-2004) are 
subject to certain requirements (such as a vehicle inspection and 
maintenance program, stage II vapor recovery, and a clean fuels fleet 
program) that applied by virtue of their 1-hour ozone nonattainment 
status and that continue to apply even after revocation of the 1-hour 
ozone standard (which occurred on June 15, 2005). These areas are also 
subject to a requirement to prepare and submit a plan that provides for 
continued maintenance of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS for 10 years following 
designation and that includes contingency measures. See 40 CFR 
51.900(f), 40 CFR 51.905(a)(3), 69 FR 23951, at 23979 (April 30, 2004) 
and 70 FR 30592 (May 26, 2005). The Maricopa County portion of the Gila 
River Indian Reservation is one of the areas that was designated as 
unclassifiable/attainment for the 8-hour ozone NAAQS but, at the time 
of that designation, was designated ``nonattainment'' for the 1-hour 
ozone NAAQS.
    On June 14, 2005, we redesignated the Phoenix ``serious'' 1-hour 
ozone nonattainment area (including the Maricopa County portion of the 
Gila River Indian Reservation) to attainment, and our redesignation was 
predicated on our finding that all applicable requirements for that 
nonattainment area had been met. See 70 FR 34362 (June 14, 2005). 
However, because none of the State and local adopted control measures 
that were relied upon for redesignation apply within the Gila River 
Indian Reservation, the obligation to adopt (at least as contingency 
measures) the requirements listed in 40 CFR 51.900(f) that apply within 
former ``serious'' 1-hour ozone nonattainment areas (such as an 
enhanced inspection and maintenance program, stage II vapor recovery, 
and a clean fuels fleet program) remains in effect for the Maricopa 
County portion of the Reservation, notwithstanding the redesignation of 
the Phoenix metropolitan 1-hour nonattainment area to attainment, and 
notwithstanding the revocation of the 1-hour ozone NAAQS on June 15, 
2005. In addition, the Maricopa County portion of the Reservation is 
subject to the requirement under 40 CFR 51.905(a)(3) to prepare and 
submit a plan that provides for continued maintenance of the 8-hour 
ozone NAAQS for 10 years following designation and that includes 
contingency measures. See EPA Memorandum dated May 20, 2005: 
``Maintenance Plan Guidance for Certain 8-Hour Ozone Areas Under 
Section 110(a)(1) of the Clean Air Act.''
    Meanwhile, the Gila River Indian Community is in the final stages 
of preparing, adopting and submitting a Tribal Implementation Plan 
(TIP) to EPA for approval. The TIP contains several ordinances 
including permit requirements and fees; administrative appeals 
procedures; enforcement provisions (civil and criminal); and controls 
on non-metallic mineral mining; secondary aluminum processing 
operations; solvent metal cleaning; VOC usage, storage and handling; 
aerospace manufacturing and rework processes; and open burning and 
visible emissions. As such, the Gila River Indian Community is 
developing a comprehensive air quality regulatory program, but the 
Community is doing so with the view that their historic inclusion in 
the Phoenix metropolitan 1-hour ozone nonattainment area was erroneous. 
EPA supports the Community's efforts to manage its own air quality 
regulatory program through development, adoption and implementation of 
the TIP and recognizes that the control measure and planning 
antibacksliding obligations that apply to the Maricopa County portion 
of the Reservation under our phase 1 implementation rule for the 8-hour 
ozone NAAQS (by virtue of its inclusion within the Phoenix metropolitan 
1-hour ozone nonattainment area) represent an obstacle to the 
Community's objectives in this regard.

F. Evaluation and Conclusion

    Based on the historic ambient monitoring data and prevailing wind 
patterns in the area, we conclude that we clearly erred in failing to 
consider data made available at the time of our September 1979 
affirmation of the preexisting oxidants nonattainment area boundary 
(i.e., the MAG urban planning

[[Page 68344]]

area) as the geographic basis for the Phoenix metropolitan 1-hour ozone 
nonattainment area.\11\ Our September 1979 action affirming the 
oxidants nonattainment area boundary for the purposes of the 1-hour 
ozone NAAQS had the effect of including a portion of the Gila River 
Indian Reservation (the Maricopa County portion) that was not 
experiencing violations of the 1-hour ozone NAAQS into the larger 
urbanized nonattainment area where violations of the 1-hour ozone NAAQS 
were relatively frequent and widespread and thereby unnecessarily 
splitting the Reservation into two different air quality planning 
areas.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ With respect to our promulgation of a County-wide 
designation for the oxidants NAAQS (in the March 1978) and our 
approval of a reduction in the size of the oxidants nonattainment 
area to conform to the MAG urban planning area boundary (in March 
1979), we find that our inclusion of the Maricopa County portion of 
the Gila River Indian Reservation in those areas, while 
questionable, was not clearly in error because of the violations of 
the oxidants NAAQS measured at the South Phoenix station.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In support of this conclusion, we find that, had we considered the 
available data for the purpose of determining whether the Reservation 
should be included in the ozone nonattainment area (as opposed to the 
oxidants nonattainment area), we would have concluded based on data 
from the South Phoenix station and the prevailing mountain-valley 
(east-west) wind circulation in the area that no part of the 
Reservation was experiencing violations of the 1-hour ozone NAAQS, and 
that affirming the pre-existing oxidants nonattainment boundary for the 
purposes of the 1-hour ozone NAAQS and thereby continuing the split of 
the Reservation into two air quality planning areas with different 
designations would be inappropriate.
    We also find that other information persuasively supports a 
correction in the boundary to exclude the Gila River Indian Reservation 
at this time: Namely, (1) The Reservation is not a significant source 
area for ozone precursor emissions and thus has essentially no effect 
on ambient ozone concentrations in the urbanized portions of the 
Phoenix metropolitan area; (2) data from the South Phoenix station 
indicates that ambient ozone levels on the Reservation, with the 
possible exception of a period in the early 1980's, have never violated 
the 1-hour ozone NAAQS; (3) available ambient ozone data collected at 
the two monitoring stations located on the Reservation indicate that 
the area currently is not experiencing violations of the 1-hour ozone 
NAAQS; and (4) the former nonattainment status of the Maricopa County 
portion of the Reservation for the 1-hour ozone NAAQS will 
unnecessarily complicate and frustrate the Gila River Indian 
Community's development and implementation of a Tribal Implementation 
Plan.

IV. Final Action

    Therefore, as authorized in section 110(k)(6) of the CAA and at the 
request of the Gila River Indian Community, EPA is correcting the 
boundary of the Phoenix metropolitan 1-hour ozone nonattainment area to 
exclude the Gila River Indian Reservation.\12\ This action revises the 
description of the Phoenix metropolitan 1-hour ozone nonattainment area 
in the table entitled ``Arizona--Ozone (1-Hour Standard)'' in 40 CFR 
81.303.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ In so doing, we note the similarities between our action 
here and previous EPA actions in which we corrected 1-hour ozone 
nonattainment designations that had originally been established for 
the oxidants NAAQS and that were erroneously affirmed for the 
purposes of the 1-hour ozone NAAQS. See 62 FR 14641 (March 27, 1997) 
(direct final rule correcting ozone nonattainment designations in 
New Hampshire and Maine); and 61 FR 5707 (February 14, 1996) (final 
rule correcting ozone nonattainment designations in Michigan).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We do not anticipate any objections to this action, so we are 
finalizing the correction action without proposing it in advance. 
However, in the Proposed Rules section of this Federal Register, we are 
simultaneously proposing this same action to correct the boundary. If 
we receive adverse comments by December 12, 2005, we will publish a 
timely withdrawal in the Federal Register to notify the public that the 
direct final approval will not take effect and we will address the 
comments in a subsequent final action based on the proposal. If we do 
not receive timely adverse comments, the direct final action will be 
effective without further notice on January 9, 2006.
    The effect of this action is to attach the Maricopa County portion 
of the Gila River Indian Reservation to the pre-existing 
``unclassifiable/attainment'' area for the 1-hour ozone NAAQS that 
consists of all of those portions of the State of Arizona (including 
the rest of the Reservation that lies in Pinal County) that are not 
designated as a ``nonattainment'' area or as an ``attainment'' area 
subject to a maintenance plan. Also, this action relieves the Agency 
and the Gila River Indian Community from any specific obligations that 
flow from the former nonattainment status of the Maricopa County 
portion of the Gila River Indian Reservation under our phase 1 
implementation rule for the 8-hour ozone NAAQS, including the 
applicable requirements listed in 40 CFR 51.900(f) and the preparation 
and submittal of a plan under 40 CFR 51.905(a)(3) that provides for 
continued maintenance of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS for 10 years following 
designation and that includes contingency measures for that portion of 
the Reservation.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \13\ While no longer subject to the specific maintenance plan 
requirements under 40 CFR 51.905(a)(3), the Gila River Indian 
Reservation, like other areas designated as unclassifiable/
attainment for the 8-hour ozone NAAQS, remains subject to the 
general requirement to provide for implementation, maintenance, and 
enforcement of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS under section 110(a)(1) of the 
Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review

    Under Executive Order 12866, [58 FR 51735 (October 4, 1993)] the 
Agency must determine whether the regulatory action is ``significant'' 
and therefore subject to OMB review and the requirements of the 
Executive Order. The Order defines ``significant regulatory action'' as 
one that is likely to result in a rule that may: (1) Have an annual 
effect on the economy of $100 million or more or adversely affect in a 
material way the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, 
competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or State, 
local, or tribal governments or communities; (2) create a serious 
inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by 
another agency; (3) materially alter the budgetary impact of 
entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights and 
obligations of recipients thereof; or (4) raise novel legal or policy 
issues arising out of legal mandates, the President's priorities, or 
the principles set forth in the Executive Order.''
    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not 
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. For this 
reason, this action is also not subject to Executive Order 13211, 
``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001). This action 
merely reduces the size of a nonattainment area for air quality 
planning purposes.

B. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This action does not impose an information collection burden under 
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. 
Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by 
persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or

[[Page 68345]]

provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time 
needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize 
technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and 
verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and 
disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing ways to 
comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements; 
train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; 
search data sources; complete and review the collection of information; 
and transmit or otherwise disclose the information.
    This rule does not impose an information collection burden under 
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.). An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 
required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's 
regulations in 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) generally requires an agency 
to prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule subject to 
notice and comment rulemaking requirements under the Administrative 
Procedure Act or any other statute unless the agency certifies that 
this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities. Small entities include small businesses, 
small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions.
    For purposes of assessing the impacts of today's rule on small 
entities, small entity is defined as: (1) A small business as defined 
by the Small Business Administration's (SBA) regulations at 13 CFR 
121.201; (2) a small governmental jurisdiction that is a government of 
a city, county, town, school district or special district with a 
population of less than 50,000; and (3) a small organization that is 
any not-for-profit enterprise which is independently owned and operated 
and is not dominant in its field.
    After considering the economic impacts of today's rule on small 
entities, I certify that this action will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. This rule 
will not impose any direct requirements on small entities. EPA is 
taking direct final action to correct the boundary of the Phoenix 
metropolitan 1-hour ozone nonattainment area to exclude the Gila River 
Indian Reservation. This action is intended to facilitate and support 
the Gila River Indian Community's efforts to develop, adopt and 
implement a comprehensive Tribal Implementation Plan by removing 
unnecessary obligations that flow from the erroneous inclusion of a 
portion of the Reservation in the Phoenix metropolitan 1-hour ozone 
nonattainment area.

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), P.L. 
104-4, establishes requirements for Federal agencies to assess the 
effects of their regulatory actions on State, local, and tribal 
governments and the private sector. Under section 202 of the UMRA, EPA 
generally must prepare a written statement, including a cost-benefit 
analysis, for proposed and final rules with ``Federal mandates'' that 
may result in expenditures to State, local, and tribal governments, in 
the aggregate, or to the private sector, of $100 million or more in any 
one year.
    Before promulgating an EPA rule for which a written statement is 
needed, section 205 of the UMRA generally requires EPA to identify and 
consider a reasonable number of regulatory alternatives and adopt the 
least costly, most cost-effective or least burdensome alternative that 
achieves the objectives of the rule. The provisions of section 205 do 
not apply when they are inconsistent with applicable law. Moreover, 
section 205 allows EPA to adopt an alternative other than the least 
costly, most cost-effective or least burdensome alternative if the 
Administrator publishes with the final rule an explanation why that 
alternative was not adopted.
    Before EPA establishes any regulatory requirements that may 
significantly or uniquely affect small governments, including tribal 
governments, it must have developed under section 203 of the UMRA a 
small government agency plan. The plan must provide for notifying 
potentially affected small governments, enabling officials of affected 
small governments to have meaningful and timely input in the 
development of EPA regulatory proposals with significant Federal 
intergovernmental mandates, and informing, educating, and advising 
small governments on compliance with the regulatory requirements.
    Today's rule contains no Federal mandates (under the regulatory 
provisions of Title II of the UMRA) for State, local, or tribal 
governments or the private sector. The rule imposes no enforceable duty 
on any State, local or tribal governments or the private sector. In any 
event, EPA has determined that this rule does not contain a Federal 
mandate that may result in expenditures of $100 million or more for 
State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or the private 
sector in any one year. Thus, today's rule is not subject to the 
requirements of sections 202 and 205 of the UMRA.

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism

    Executive Order 13132, entitled ``Federalism'' (64 FR 43255, August 
10, 1999), requires EPA to develop an accountable process to ensure 
``meaningful and timely input by State and local officials in the 
development of regulatory policies that have federalism implications.'' 
``Policies that have federalism implications'' is defined in the 
Executive Order to include regulations that have ``substantial direct 
effects on the States, on the relationship between the national 
government and the States, or on the distribution of power and 
responsibilities among the various levels of government.''
    This action also does not have Federalism implications because it 
does not have substantial direct effects on the States, on the 
relationship between the national government and the States, or on the 
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of 
government, as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 
10, 1999). This action merely reduces the size of a nonattainment area 
for air quality planning purposes and does not alter the relationship 
or the distribution of power and responsibilities established in the 
Clean Air Act.

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian 
Tribal Governments

    Executive Order 13175, entitled ``Consultation and Coordination 
with Indian Tribal Governments'' (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), 
requires EPA to develop an accountable process to ensure ``meaningful 
and timely input by tribal officials in the development of regulatory 
policies that have tribal implications.'' ``Policies that have tribal 
implications'' are defined in the Executive Order to include 
regulations that have ``substantial direct effects on one or more 
Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal government and 
the Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities 
between the Federal government and Indian tribes.''
    Under section 5(b) of Executive Order 13175, EPA may not issue a 
regulation that has tribal implications, that imposes substantial 
direct compliance costs, and that is not required by statute, unless 
the Federal government provides

[[Page 68346]]

the funds necessary to pay the direct compliance costs incurred by 
tribal governments, or EPA consults with tribal officials early in the 
process of developing the proposed regulation. Under section 5(c) of 
Executive Order 13175, EPA may not issue a regulation that has tribal 
implications and that preempts tribal law, unless the Agency consults 
with tribal officials early in the process of developing the proposed 
regulation.
    EPA has concluded that this action may have tribal implications. 
Representatives of the Gila River Indian Community approached EPA two 
years ago and requested that EPA make this boundary correction. 
Consistent with EPA policy, EPA consulted with representatives of the 
community early in the process of developing this action to permit them 
to have meaningful and timely input into its development. We agree with 
the technical and policy rationale that the community provided for this 
boundary correction, and believe that all tribal concerns have been 
met. EPA's action corrects the boundary of the Phoenix metropolitan 1-
hour ozone area to exclude the Gila River Indian Reservation. As such, 
it will neither impose substantial direct compliance costs on tribal 
governments, nor preempt tribal law. Thus, the requirements of sections 
5(b) and 5(c) of the Executive Order do not apply to this rule.

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental 
Health and Safety Risks

    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 Executive Order 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 Executive Order 13045 ``Protection of 
Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks'' (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not economically significant as 
defined in Executive Order 12866, and because the Agency does not have 
reason to believe the environmental health or safety risks addressed by 
this rule present a disproportionate risk to children.

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use

    Executive Order 13211, ``Actions Concerning Regulations That 
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355 
(May 22, 2001), requires EPA to prepare and submit a Statement of 
Energy Effects to the Administrator of the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, for certain 
actions identified as ``significant energy actions.'' Section 4(b) of 
Executive Order 13211 defines ``significant energy actions'' as ``any 
action by an agency (normally published in the Federal Register) that 
promulgates or is expected to lead to the promulgation of a final rule 
or regulation, including notices of inquiry, advance notices of 
proposed rulemaking, and notices of proposed rulemaking: (1)(i) that is 
a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866 or any 
successor order, and (ii) is likely to have a significant adverse 
effect on the supply, distribution, or use of energy; or (2) that is 
designated by the Administrator of the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs as a significant energy action.''
    This rule is not subject to Executive Order 13211, ``Actions 
Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 
Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355 (May 22, 2001)) because it is not a 
significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866.

I. National Technology Transfer Advancement Act

    Section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
Act of 1995 (``NTTAA''), Public Law No. 104-113, 12(d) (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) directs EPA to use voluntary consensus standards in its 
regulatory activities unless to do so would be inconsistent with 
applicable law or otherwise impractical. Voluntary consensus standards 
are technical standards (e.g., materials specifications, test methods, 
sampling procedures, and business practices) that are developed or 
adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies. The NTTAA directs EPA 
to provide Congress, through OMB, explanations when the Agency decides 
not to use available and applicable voluntary consensus standards.
    This rule does not involve establishment of technical standards, 
and thus, the requirements of section 12(d) of the National Technology 
Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply 
to this action.

J. Congressional Review Act

    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. 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. 
section 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 January 9, 2006. 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 CAA section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks, 
Wilderness areas.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: November 3, 2005.
Stephen L. Johnson,
Administrator.

0
Part 81, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations are 
amended as follows:

PART 81--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Subpart C--[Amended]

0
2. In Sec.  81.303, the table entitled ``Arizona--Ozone (1-Hour 
Standard)'' is amended by revising the entry for the Phoenix Area to 
read as follows:


Sec.  81.303  Arizona.

* * * * *

[[Page 68347]]



                                                                     Arizona--Ozone
                                                                    [1-Hour Standard]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Designation                                           Classification
             Designated area             ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Date \1\                      Type                      Date \1\                      Type
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phoenix Area: Maricopa County (part)....      6/14/05  Attainment...............................
Phoenix nonattainment Forest area
 boundary:
    1. Commencing at a point which is
     the intersection of the eastern
     line of Range 7 East, Gila and Salt
     River Baseline and Meridian, and
     the southern line of Township 2
     South, said point is the
     southeastern corner of the Maricopa
     Association of Governments Urban
     Planning Area, which is the point
     of beginning;
    2. Thence, proceed northerly along
     the eastern line of Range 7 East
     which is the common boundary
     between Maricopa and Pinal
     Counties, as described in Arizona
     Revised Statutes Section 11-109, to
     a point where the eastern line of
     Range 7 East intersects the
     northern line of Township 1 North,
     said point is also the intersection
     of the Maricopa County Line and the
     Tonto National Forest Boundary, as
     established by Executive Order 869
     dated July 1, 1908, as amended and
     shown on the U.S. Forest Service
     1969 Planimetric Maps;
    3. Thence, westerly along the
     northern line of Township 1 North
     to approximately the southwest
     corner of the southeast quarter of
     Section 35, Township 2 North, Range
     7 East, said point being the
     boundary of the Tonto National
     Forest and Usery Mountain Semi-
     Regional Park;
    4. Thence, northerly along the Tonto
     National Forest Boundary, which is
     generally the western line of the
     east half of Sections 26 and 35 of
     Township 2 North, Range 7 East, to
     a point which is where the quarter
     section line intersects with the
     northern line of Section 26,
     Township 2 North, Range 7 East,
     said point also being the northeast
     corner of the Usery Mountain Semi-
     Regional Park;
    5. Thence, westerly along the Tonto
     National Forest Boundary, which is
     generally the south line of
     Sections 19, 20, 21 and 22 and the
     southern line of the west half of
     Section 23, Township 2 North, Range
     7 East, to a point which is the
     southwest corner of Section 19,
     Township 2 North, Range 7 East;
    6. Thence, northerly along the Tonto
     National Forest Boundary to a point
     where the Tonto National Forest
     Boundary intersects with the
     eastern boundary of the Salt River
     Indian Reservation, generally
     described as the center line of the
     Salt River Channel;
    7. Thence, northeasterly and
     northerly along the common boundary
     of the Tonto National Forest and
     the Salt River Indian Reservation
     to a point which is the northeast
     corner of the Salt River Indian
     Reservation and the southeast
     corner of the Fort McDowell Indian
     Reservation, as shown on the plat
     dated July 22, 1902, and recorded
     with the U.S. Government on June
     15, 1902;
    8. Thence, northeasterly along the
     common boundary between the Tonto
     National Forest and the Fort
     McDowell Indian Reservation to a
     point which