Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Virginia; Fredericksburg and Shenandoah National Park 8-Hour Ozone Areas Movement From the Nonattainment Area List to the Maintenance Area List, 2159-2162 [E8-265]
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 9 / Monday, January 14, 2008 / Rules and Regulations
be challenged later in proceedings to
enforce its requirements. (See section
307(b)(2).)
Dated: December 27, 2007.
William T. Wisniewski,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
I
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic
compounds.
Name of nonregulatory SIP
revision
*
8-Hour Ozone Maintenance
Plan for the Charleston,
WV Area.
PART 52—[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for part 52
continues to read as follows:
I
§ 52.2520
*
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
State submittal
date
Identification of plan.
*
*
(e) * * *
*
[FR Doc. E8–263 Filed 1–11–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R03–OAR–2007–1149; FRL–8515–4]
Approval and Promulgation of Air
Quality Implementation Plans; Virginia;
Fredericksburg and Shenandoah
National Park 8-Hour Ozone Areas
Movement From the Nonattainment
Area List to the Maintenance Area List
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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AGENCY:
SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final
action to approve revisions to the
Virginia State Implementation Plan
(SIP) that was submitted on August 14,
2007 by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The revisions move the Fredericksburg
and the Shenandoah National Park 8Hour Ozone Areas from the
Nonattainment Area list to the
Maintenance Area list. EPA is approving
these revisions to move the
Fredericksburg 8-Hour Ozone
Nonattainment Area (Spotsylvania
County, Stafford County, and
Fredericksburg City) and the
Shenandoah National Park 8-Hour
Ozone Nonattainment Area (portions of
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11/30/05
*
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*
7/11/06 71 FR 39001
*
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Additional
explanation
1/14/08 [Insert page number
where the document begins].
the park located in Page and Madison
Counties) from the list of nonattainment
areas to the list of maintenance areas in
accordance with the requirements of the
Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: This rule is effective on March
14, 2008 without further notice, unless
EPA receives adverse written comment
by February 13, 2008. If EPA receives
such comments, it 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: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID Number EPA–
R03–OAR–2007–1149 by one of the
following methods:
A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the
on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
B. E-mail: fernandez.cristina@epa.gov.
C. Mail: EPA–R03–OAR–2007–1149,
Cristina Fernandez, Chief, Air Quality
Planning Branch, Mailcode 3AP21, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency,
Region III, 1650 Arch Street,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
D. Hand Delivery: At the previouslylisted EPA Region III address. Such
deliveries are only accepted during the
Docket’s normal hours of operation, and
special arrangements should be made
for deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to
Docket ID No. EPA–R03–OAR–2007–
1149. EPA’s policy is that all comments
received will be included in the public
PO 00000
*
EPA approval
date
01/08/07
*
*
Charleston Area (Kanawha
and Putnam Counties).
2. In § 52.2520, the table in paragraph
(e) is amended by revising the entry for
the 8-Hour Ozone Maintenance Plan for
the Charleston, WV Area at the end of
the table to read as follows:
I
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:
Applicable geographic area
*
Subpart XX—West Virginia
*
Action includes approval of
the following new motor
vehicle emission budgets
(MVEBs): 22.9 tons day
(tpd) for 2009 and 9.5 tpd
for 2018 for NOX and 12.9
tpd for 2009 and 7.5 tpd
for 2018 for VOC.
*
*
docket without change, and may be
made available online at
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided, unless
the comment includes information
claimed to be Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Do not submit information that you
consider to be CBI or otherwise
protected through www.regulations.gov
or e-mail. The www.regulations.gov Web
site is an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system,
which means EPA will not know your
identity or contact information unless
you provide it in the body of your
comment. If you send an e-mail
comment directly to EPA without going
through www.regulations.gov, your email address will be automatically
captured and included as part of the
comment that is placed in the public
docket and made available on the
Internet. If you submit an electronic
comment, EPA recommends that you
include your name and other contact
information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD–ROM
you submit. If EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties
and cannot contact you for clarification,
EPA may not be able to consider your
comment. Electronic files should avoid
the use of special characters, any form
of encryption, and be free of any defects
or viruses.
E:\FR\FM\14JAR1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 9 / Monday, January 14, 2008 / Rules and Regulations
Docket: All documents in the
electronic docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index. 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 either
electronically in www.regulations.gov or
in hard copy during normal business
hours at the Air Protection Division,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region III, 1650 Arch Street,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
Copies of the State submittal are
available at the Virginia Department of
Environmental Quality, 629 East Main
Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Melissa Linden, (215) 814–2096, or by
e-mail at linden.melissa@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On September 22, 2004, under the 8Hour Ozone National Ambient Air
Quality Standard (NAAQS) the
Fredericksburg area and the
Shenandoah National Park area were
designated as nonattainment areas. The
Shenandoah National Park area formally
submitted a redesignation request on
September 21, 2005 along with a
maintenance plan on September 23,
2005. On January 3, 2006, (71 FR 24) the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) published the final rulemaking
actions approving the redesignation of
the Shenandoah National Park from
nonattainment of the 8-Hour Ozone
Standard to attainment. The
Fredericksburg area formally submitted
a redesignation request on May 2, 2005
along with a maintenance plan on May
4, 2005. On December 23, 2005, (70 FR
76165) the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) published the
final rulemaking actions approving the
redesignation of the Fredericksburg area
from nonattainment of the 8-Hour
Ozone Standard to attainment. Both
redesignations were done in accordance
with the Clean Air Act section
107(d)(3)(E).
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II. Summary of SIP Revision
On August 14, 2007, the
Commonwealth of Virginia submitted a
formal revision to its State
Implementation Plan (SIP). The SIP
revision consists of a regulatory change
that moves the Fredericksburg 8-Hour
Ozone Nonattainment Area and the
Shenandoah National Park 8-Hour
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Ozone Nonattainment Area from the list
of nonattainment areas to the list of
maintenance areas. The purpose of
Virginia’s State Implementation Plan
revision consists of a regulatory change
to move the Fredericksburg 8-Hour
Ozone Nonattainment Area
(Spotsylvania County, Stafford County,
and Fredericksburg City) and the
Shenandoah National Park 8-Hour
Ozone Nonattainment Area (portions of
the park located in Page and Madison
Counties) from the list of nonattainment
areas found in regulation 9 VAC 5–20–
204 to the list of maintenance areas
found in regulation 9 VAC 5–20–203.
III. General Information Pertaining to
SIP Submittals from the
Commonwealth of Virginia
In 1995, Virginia adopted legislation
that provides, subject to certain
conditions, for an environmental
assessment (audit) ‘‘privilege’’ for
voluntary compliance evaluations
performed by a regulated entity. The
legislation further addresses the relative
burden of proof for parties either
asserting the privilege or seeking
disclosure of documents for which the
privilege is claimed. Virginia’s
legislation also provides, subject to
certain conditions, for a penalty waiver
for violations of environmental laws
when a regulated entity discovers such
violations pursuant to a voluntary
compliance evaluation and voluntarily
discloses such violations to the
Commonwealth and takes prompt and
appropriate measures to remedy the
violations. Virginia’s Voluntary
Environmental Assessment Privilege
Law, Va. Code Sec. 10.1–1198, provides
a privilege that protects from disclosure
documents and information about the
content of those documents that are the
product of a voluntary environmental
assessment. The Privilege Law does not
extend to documents or information (1)
that are generated or developed before
the commencement of a voluntary
environmental assessment; (2) that are
prepared independently of the
assessment process; (3) that demonstrate
a clear, imminent and substantial
danger to the public health or
environment; or (4) that are required by
law.
On January 12, 1998, the
Commonwealth of Virginia Office of the
Attorney General provided a legal
opinion that states that the Privilege
Law, Va. Code Sec. 10.1–1198,
precludes granting a privilege to
documents and information ‘‘required
by law,’’ including documents and
information ‘‘required by Federal law to
maintain program delegation,
authorization or approval,’’ since
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Virginia must ‘‘enforce Federally
authorized environmental programs in a
manner that is no less stringent than
their Federal counterparts * * *.’’ The
opinion concludes that ‘‘[r]egarding
§ 10.1–1198, therefore, documents or
other information needed for civil or
criminal enforcement under one of these
programs could not be privileged
because such documents and
information are essential to pursuing
enforcement in a manner required by
Federal law to maintain program
delegation, authorization or approval.’’
Virginia’s Immunity law, Va. Code
Sec. 10.1–1199, provides that ‘‘[t]o the
extent consistent with requirements
imposed by Federal law,’’ any person
making a voluntary disclosure of
information to a state agency regarding
a violation of an environmental statute,
regulation, permit, or administrative
order is granted immunity from
administrative or civil penalty. The
Attorney General’s January 12, 1998
opinion states that the quoted language
renders this statute inapplicable to
enforcement of any Federally authorized
programs, since ‘‘no immunity could be
afforded from administrative, civil, or
criminal penalties because granting
such immunity would not be consistent
with Federal law, which is one of the
criteria for immunity.’’
Therefore, EPA has determined that
Virginia’s Privilege and Immunity
statutes will not preclude the
Commonwealth from enforcing its
program consistent with the Federal
requirements. In any event, because
EPA has also determined that a state
audit privilege and immunity law can
affect only state enforcement and cannot
have any impact on Federal
enforcement authorities, EPA may at
any time invoke its authority under the
CAA, including, for example, sections
113, 167, 205, 211 or 213, to enforce the
requirements or prohibitions of the state
plan, independently of any state
enforcement effort. In addition, citizen
enforcement under section 304 of the
CAA is likewise unaffected by this, or
any, state audit privilege or immunity
law.
IV. Final Action
EPA is approving the
Commonwealth’s request to move the
Fredericksburg area and the
Shenandoah National Park area from
8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment list to the
8-Hour Ozone Maintenance list.
EPA is publishing this rule without
prior proposal because the Agency
views this as a noncontroversial
amendment and anticipates no adverse
comment. However, in the ‘‘Proposed
Rules’’ section of today’s Federal
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Register, EPA is publishing a separate
document that will serve as the proposal
to approve the SIP revision if adverse
comments are filed. This rule will be
effective on March 14, 2008 without
further notice unless EPA receives
adverse comment by February 13, 2008.
If EPA receives adverse comment, EPA
will publish a timely withdrawal in the
Federal Register informing the public
that the rule will not take effect. EPA
will address all public comments in a
subsequent final rule based on the
proposed rule. EPA will not institute a
second comment period on this action.
Any parties interested in commenting
must do so at this time. Please note that
if EPA receives adverse comment on an
amendment, paragraph, or section of
this rule and if that provision may be
severed from the remainder of the rule,
EPA may adopt as final those provisions
of the rule that are not the subject of an
adverse comment.
V. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
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A. General Requirements
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 approves
state law as meeting Federal
requirements and imposes no additional
requirements beyond those imposed by
state law. Accordingly, the
Administrator certifies that this rule
will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small
entities under the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because this
rule approves pre-existing requirements
under state law and does not impose
any additional enforceable duty beyond
that required by state law, it 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). This rule also does not
have tribal implications because it will
not have a substantial direct effect on
one or more Indian tribes, on the
relationship between the Federal
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Government and Indian tribes, or on the
distribution of power and
responsibilities between the Federal
Government and Indian tribes, as
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65
FR 67249, November 9, 2000). 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
approves a state rule implementing a
Federal requirement, and does not alter
the relationship or the distribution of
power and responsibilities established
in the CAA. This rule also 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 approves a
state rule implementing a Federal
standard.
In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA’s
role is to approve state choices,
provided that they meet the criteria of
the CAA. In this context, in the absence
of a prior existing requirement for the
State to use voluntary consensus
standards (VCS), EPA has no authority
to disapprove a SIP submission for
failure to use VCS. It would thus be
inconsistent with applicable law for
EPA, when it reviews a SIP submission;
to use VCS in place of a SIP submission
that otherwise satisfies the provisions of
the CAA. 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. 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.).
B. 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
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2161
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).
C. Petitions for Judicial Review
Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA,
petitions for judicial review of this
action must be filed in the United States
Court of Appeals for the appropriate
circuit by March 14, 2008. 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 to
approve the revision to move the
Fredericksburg area and the
Shenandoah National Park area from the
8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment list to the
8-Hour Ozone Maintenance list may not
be challenged later in proceedings to
enforce its requirements. (See section
307(b)(2).)
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone,
Recordkeeping and reporting
requirements, Volatile organic
compounds.
Dated: December 27, 2007.
William T. Wisniewski,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
I
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:
PART 52—[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for 40 CFR
part 52 continues to read as follows:
I
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart VV—Virginia
2. In § 52.2420, the table in paragraph
(c) is amended by revising the entries
for Chapter 20, section 5–20–203 and 5–
20–204 to read as follows:
I
§ 52.2420
*
Identification of plan.
*
*
(c) * * *
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*
2162
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 9 / Monday, January 14, 2008 / Rules and Regulations
EPA-APPROVED VIRGINIA REGULATIONS AND STATUTES
State citation
(9 VAC 5)
State
effective
date
Title/subject
EPA
approval
date
Explanation
[former SIP citation]
*
Chapter 20 ......................
*
General Provisions.
*
*
*
*
*
*
Part II ..............................
*
*
Air Quality Programs.
*
*
*
*
*
5–20–203 ........................
*
*
Air Quality Maintenance Areas ..
*
09/01/06
5–20–204 ........................
Nonattainment Areas .................
09/01/06
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
01/14/08 [Insert page
number where the
document begins].
01/14/08 [Insert page
number where the
document begins].
*
Final rule; correcting
amendment.
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81
[EPA–R03–OAR–2007–0175; EPA–R03–
OAR–2007–0476; EPA–R03–OAR–2007–
0344; FRL–8515–1]
Approval and Promulgation of Air
Quality Implementation Plans;
Pennsylvania; Redesignation of 8-Hour
Ozone Nonattainment Areas to
Attainment and Approval of the Areas’
Maintenance Plans and 2002 BaseYear Inventories; Correction
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
AGENCY:
Fredericksburg and Shenandoah 8-Hour
Ozone Areas are deleted.
*
ACTION:
[FR Doc. E8–265 Filed 1–11–08; 8:45 am]
*
*
Fredericksburg and Shenandoah 8-Hour
Ozone Areas are added.
SUMMARY: This document corrects an
error in the preamble language of the
final rules pertaining to EPA’s approval
of the redesignation of Reading, Erie,
and Youngstown 8-hour ozone
nonattainment areas to attainment,
maintenance plans and 2002 base year
inventories submitted by the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
DATES: Effective Date: January 14, 2008.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rose
Quinto, (215) 814–2182 or by e-mail at
quinto.rose@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document wherever
‘‘we’’ or ‘‘our’’ are used we mean EPA.
On August 24, 2007 (72 FR 48559);
October 9, 2007 (72 FR 57207); and
October 19, 2007 (72 FR 59213), we
published final rulemaking actions
announcing our approval and
*
*
promulgation of Pennsylvania’s
redesignation of the Reading, Erie, and
Youngstown 8-hour ozone
nonattainment areas to attainment and
approval of the associated maintenance
plans and 2002 base year inventories,
respectively. In these documents, EPA
inadvertently printed the incorrect data
in a table entitled, Adequate and
Approved Motor Vehicle Emission
Budgets (MVEBs) in tons per day (tpd)
for 2009 and 2018. This action corrects
the tables in the final rulemaking
actions reflecting the correct data for the
2009 and 2018 MVEBs for Reading, Erie,
and Youngstown Areas.
Corrections
(1) Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania
Ozone Nonattainment Area (Reading
Area)
In rule document E7–16683, on page
48561, the table is corrected as follows:
ADEQUATE AND APPROVED MOTOR VEHICLE EMISSIONS BUDGETS
IN TONS PER DAY (TPD)
Budget year
NOX
2009 .........................................................................................................................................................................
2018 .........................................................................................................................................................................
(2) Erie County, Pennsylvania Ozone
Nonattainment Area (Erie Area)
VOC
21.3
9.0
13.1
7.5
In rule document E7–19633, on page
57208, the table is corrected as follows:
ADEQUATE AND APPROVED MOTOR VEHICLE EMISSIONS BUDGETS
IN TONS PER DAY (TPD)
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Budget year
NOX
2009 .........................................................................................................................................................................
2018 .........................................................................................................................................................................
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 9 (Monday, January 14, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 2159-2162]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-265]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2007-1149; FRL-8515-4]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Virginia; Fredericksburg and Shenandoah National Park 8-Hour Ozone
Areas Movement From the Nonattainment Area List to the Maintenance Area
List
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the
Virginia State Implementation Plan (SIP) that was submitted on August
14, 2007 by the Commonwealth of Virginia. The revisions move the
Fredericksburg and the Shenandoah National Park 8-Hour Ozone Areas from
the Nonattainment Area list to the Maintenance Area list. EPA is
approving these revisions to move the Fredericksburg 8-Hour Ozone
Nonattainment Area (Spotsylvania County, Stafford County, and
Fredericksburg City) and the Shenandoah National Park 8-Hour Ozone
Nonattainment Area (portions of the park located in Page and Madison
Counties) from the list of nonattainment areas to the list of
maintenance areas in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air
Act (CAA).
DATES: This rule is effective on March 14, 2008 without further notice,
unless EPA receives adverse written comment by February 13, 2008. If
EPA receives such comments, it 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: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2007-1149 by one of the following methods:
A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
B. E-mail: fernandez.cristina@epa.gov.
C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2007-1149, Cristina Fernandez, Chief, Air
Quality Planning Branch, Mailcode 3AP21, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
D. Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region III address.
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of
boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-
2007-1149. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change, and may be made available online
at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to
be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or e-mail.
The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system,
which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information
unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-
mail comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov,
your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part
of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available
on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends
that you include your name and other contact information in the body of
your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read
your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
[[Page 2160]]
Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index. 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 either electronically in www.regulations.gov or
in hard copy during normal business hours at the Air Protection
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch
Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of the State submittal
are available at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, 629
East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melissa Linden, (215) 814-2096, or by
e-mail at linden.melissa@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On September 22, 2004, under the 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air
Quality Standard (NAAQS) the Fredericksburg area and the Shenandoah
National Park area were designated as nonattainment areas. The
Shenandoah National Park area formally submitted a redesignation
request on September 21, 2005 along with a maintenance plan on
September 23, 2005. On January 3, 2006, (71 FR 24) the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the final rulemaking
actions approving the redesignation of the Shenandoah National Park
from nonattainment of the 8-Hour Ozone Standard to attainment. The
Fredericksburg area formally submitted a redesignation request on May
2, 2005 along with a maintenance plan on May 4, 2005. On December 23,
2005, (70 FR 76165) the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
published the final rulemaking actions approving the redesignation of
the Fredericksburg area from nonattainment of the 8-Hour Ozone Standard
to attainment. Both redesignations were done in accordance with the
Clean Air Act section 107(d)(3)(E).
II. Summary of SIP Revision
On August 14, 2007, the Commonwealth of Virginia submitted a formal
revision to its State Implementation Plan (SIP). The SIP revision
consists of a regulatory change that moves the Fredericksburg 8-Hour
Ozone Nonattainment Area and the Shenandoah National Park 8-Hour Ozone
Nonattainment Area from the list of nonattainment areas to the list of
maintenance areas. The purpose of Virginia's State Implementation Plan
revision consists of a regulatory change to move the Fredericksburg 8-
Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area (Spotsylvania County, Stafford County,
and Fredericksburg City) and the Shenandoah National Park 8-Hour Ozone
Nonattainment Area (portions of the park located in Page and Madison
Counties) from the list of nonattainment areas found in regulation 9
VAC 5-20-204 to the list of maintenance areas found in regulation 9 VAC
5-20-203.
III. General Information Pertaining to SIP Submittals from the
Commonwealth of Virginia
In 1995, Virginia adopted legislation that provides, subject to
certain conditions, for an environmental assessment (audit)
``privilege'' for voluntary compliance evaluations performed by a
regulated entity. The legislation further addresses the relative burden
of proof for parties either asserting the privilege or seeking
disclosure of documents for which the privilege is claimed. Virginia's
legislation also provides, subject to certain conditions, for a penalty
waiver for violations of environmental laws when a regulated entity
discovers such violations pursuant to a voluntary compliance evaluation
and voluntarily discloses such violations to the Commonwealth and takes
prompt and appropriate measures to remedy the violations. Virginia's
Voluntary Environmental Assessment Privilege Law, Va. Code Sec. 10.1-
1198, provides a privilege that protects from disclosure documents and
information about the content of those documents that are the product
of a voluntary environmental assessment. The Privilege Law does not
extend to documents or information (1) that are generated or developed
before the commencement of a voluntary environmental assessment; (2)
that are prepared independently of the assessment process; (3) that
demonstrate a clear, imminent and substantial danger to the public
health or environment; or (4) that are required by law.
On January 12, 1998, the Commonwealth of Virginia Office of the
Attorney General provided a legal opinion that states that the
Privilege Law, Va. Code Sec. 10.1-1198, precludes granting a privilege
to documents and information ``required by law,'' including documents
and information ``required by Federal law to maintain program
delegation, authorization or approval,'' since Virginia must ``enforce
Federally authorized environmental programs in a manner that is no less
stringent than their Federal counterparts * * *.'' The opinion
concludes that ``[r]egarding Sec. 10.1-1198, therefore, documents or
other information needed for civil or criminal enforcement under one of
these programs could not be privileged because such documents and
information are essential to pursuing enforcement in a manner required
by Federal law to maintain program delegation, authorization or
approval.''
Virginia's Immunity law, Va. Code Sec. 10.1-1199, provides that
``[t]o the extent consistent with requirements imposed by Federal
law,'' any person making a voluntary disclosure of information to a
state agency regarding a violation of an environmental statute,
regulation, permit, or administrative order is granted immunity from
administrative or civil penalty. The Attorney General's January 12,
1998 opinion states that the quoted language renders this statute
inapplicable to enforcement of any Federally authorized programs, since
``no immunity could be afforded from administrative, civil, or criminal
penalties because granting such immunity would not be consistent with
Federal law, which is one of the criteria for immunity.''
Therefore, EPA has determined that Virginia's Privilege and
Immunity statutes will not preclude the Commonwealth from enforcing its
program consistent with the Federal requirements. In any event, because
EPA has also determined that a state audit privilege and immunity law
can affect only state enforcement and cannot have any impact on Federal
enforcement authorities, EPA may at any time invoke its authority under
the CAA, including, for example, sections 113, 167, 205, 211 or 213, to
enforce the requirements or prohibitions of the state plan,
independently of any state enforcement effort. In addition, citizen
enforcement under section 304 of the CAA is likewise unaffected by
this, or any, state audit privilege or immunity law.
IV. Final Action
EPA is approving the Commonwealth's request to move the
Fredericksburg area and the Shenandoah National Park area from 8-Hour
Ozone Nonattainment list to the 8-Hour Ozone Maintenance list.
EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because the
Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no
adverse comment. However, in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of today's
Federal
[[Page 2161]]
Register, EPA is publishing a separate document that will serve as the
proposal to approve the SIP revision if adverse comments are filed.
This rule will be effective on March 14, 2008 without further notice
unless EPA receives adverse comment by February 13, 2008. If EPA
receives adverse comment, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal in the
Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take
effect. EPA will address all public comments in a subsequent final rule
based on the proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment
period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so
at this time. Please note that if EPA receives adverse comment on an
amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that provision may
be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt as final those
provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment.
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. General Requirements
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 approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and imposes
no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law.
Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this rule will not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because
this rule approves pre-existing requirements under state law and does
not impose any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by
state law, it 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). This rule also does not
have tribal implications because it will not have a substantial direct
effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the
Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power
and responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes,
as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
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 approves a state rule implementing a Federal
requirement, and does not alter the relationship or the distribution of
power and responsibilities established in the CAA. This rule also 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 approves a state rule implementing a Federal
standard.
In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. In this
context, in the absence of a prior existing requirement for the State
to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority to
disapprove a SIP submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be
inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a SIP
submission; to use VCS in place of a SIP submission that otherwise
satisfies the provisions of the CAA. 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. 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.).
B. 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).
C. Petitions for Judicial Review
Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by March 14, 2008. 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 to approve the revision to move the Fredericksburg area and
the Shenandoah National Park area from the 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment
list to the 8-Hour Ozone Maintenance list may not be challenged later
in proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone, Recordkeeping and reporting
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: December 27, 2007.
William T. Wisniewski,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
0
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:
PART 52--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for 40 CFR part 52 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart VV--Virginia
0
2. In Sec. 52.2420, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by revising
the entries for Chapter 20, section 5-20-203 and 5-20-204 to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.2420 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
[[Page 2162]]
Epa-Approved Virginia Regulations And Statutes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State
State citation (9 VAC 5) Title/subject effective EPA approval date Explanation [former
date SIP citation]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
Chapter 20...................... General Provisions..
* * * * * * *
Part II......................... Air Quality Programs
* * * * * * *
5-20-203........................ Air Quality 09/01/06 01/14/08 [Insert Fredericksburg and
Maintenance Areas. page number where Shenandoah 8-Hour
the document Ozone Areas are added.
begins].
5-20-204........................ Nonattainment Areas. 09/01/06 01/14/08 [Insert Fredericksburg and
page number where Shenandoah 8-Hour
the document Ozone Areas are
begins]. deleted.
* * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * *
[FR Doc. E8-265 Filed 1-11-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
