Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; North Carolina: Approval of Revisions to the 1-Hour Ozone Maintenance Plan for the Raleigh/Durham and Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point Areas, 18963-18968 [E8-7186]
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 68 / Tuesday, April 8, 2008 / Rules and Regulations
1.05–1, 6.04–1, 6.04–6, and 160.5; Pub. L.
107–295, 116 Stat. 2064; Department of
Homeland Security Delegation No. 0170.1.
2. Add a new temporary § 165.T11–
261 to read as follows:
I
§ 165.T11–261 Safety Zone; Colorado
River, Parker, AZ.
(a) Location. The Coast Guard
proposes to establish a temporary safety
zone for the Bluewater Resort and
Casino APBA National Tour/Regional
Championship. The limits of this
proposed temporary safety zone would
include that portion of the Colorado
River from Headgate Dam to 0.5 miles
north of Bluewater Marine, Parker, AZ.
(b) Effective Period. This section is
effective from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. from May
2 through May 4, 2008.
(c) Regulations. Entry into, transit
through or anchoring within this safety
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the Captain of the Port San Diego or his
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Mariners requesting permission to
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PATCOM may be contacted on VHF–FM
Channel 16.
Dated: March 17, 2008.
C.V. Strangfeld,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the
Port, San Diego.
[FR Doc. E8–7385 Filed 4–7–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–15–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R04–OAR–2008–0036–200801(a);
FRL–8551–9]
Approval and Promulgation of
Implementation Plans; North Carolina:
Approval of Revisions to the 1-Hour
Ozone Maintenance Plan for the
Raleigh/Durham and Greensboro/
Winston-Salem/High Point Areas
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with RULES
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final
action to approve a February 4, 2008,
revision to the State Implementation
Plan (SIP) submitted by the North
Carolina Department of Environment
and Natural Resources (NCDENR) on
behalf of the State of North Carolina for
the purpose of revising the subarea
motor vehicle emissions budgets
(MVEBs) for the Greensboro/WinstonSalem/High Point area. The Greensboro/
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Winston-Salem/High Point 1-hour
ozone maintenance area (hereafter
referred to as the ‘‘Triad Area’’) is
comprised of Davidson, Forsyth, and
Guilford Counties and a portion of
Davie County. The revisions to the
subarea MVEBs are approvable because
of an available safety margin for volatile
organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen
oxides (NOX) for this Area.
DATES: This direct final rule is effective
June 9, 2008 without further notice,
unless EPA receives adverse comments
by May 8, 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 No. EPA–R04–
OAR–2008–0036, by one of the
following methods:
1. https://www.regulations.gov: Follow
the on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
(a) E-mail: ward.nacosta@epa.gov or
wood.amanetta@epa.gov.
(b) Fax: (404) 562–9019.
2. Mail: EPA–R04–OAR–2008–0036,
Regulatory Development Section, Air
Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and
Toxics Management Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30303–8960.
3. Hand Delivery or Courier: Nacosta
C. Ward, Regulatory Development
Section, or Amanetta Wood, Air Quality
Modeling Transportation Section, of the
Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and
Toxics Management Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30303–8960. Such
deliveries are only accepted during the
Regional Office’s normal hours of
operation. The Regional Office’s official
hours of business are Monday through
Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, excluding federal
holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to
Docket ID No. EPA–R04–OAR–2008–
0036. EPA’s policy is that all comments
received will be included in the public
docket without change and may be
made available online at https://
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 through https://
www.regulations.gov or e-mail
information that you consider to be CBI
or otherwise protected. The https://
www.regulations.gov Web site is an
‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which
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18963
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 https://
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. For additional information
about EPA’s public docket visit the EPA
Docket Center homepage at https://
www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
Docket: All documents in the
electronic docket are listed in the
https://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 https://
www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at
the Regulatory Development Section,
Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and
Toxics Management Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30303–8960. EPA
requests that if at all possible, you
contact the person listed in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to
schedule your inspection. The Regional
Office’s official hours of business are
Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30,
excluding federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.
Nacosta C. Ward of the Regulatory
Development Section, or Ms. Amanetta
Wood, Air Quality Modeling
Transportation Section, in the Air
Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and
Toxics Management Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30303–8960. The
telephone numbers are (404) 562–9140
and (404) 562–9025 respectively. Ms.
Nacosta Ward can be reached via
electronic mail at
ward.nacosta@epa.gov. Ms. Amanetta
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Wood can be reached via electronic mail
at wood.amanetta@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. What Action Is EPA Taking?
II. What Is the Background for EPA’s Action?
III. What Is the Effect of This Action?
IV. What Is EPA’s Analysis of North
Carolina’s Subarea VOC and NOX for the
Triad Area?
V. Final Action
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What Action is EPA Taking?
EPA is taking direct final action to
approve North Carolina’s SIP revision
submitted on February 4, 2008, which
includes revisions to the subarea 1 2010,
2012, and 2015 MVEBs for VOC and
NOX for the Triad Area because it meets
all requirements of section 110 of the
Clean Air Act (‘‘CAA’’ or ‘‘Act’’). These
new MVEBs revise those established in
a September 20, 2004 (69 FR 56163)
direct final rulemaking entitled
‘‘Approval and Promulgation of
Implementation of Plans; North
Carolina: Raleigh/Durham Area and
Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point
Area Maintenance Plan Updates.’’ The
revised subarea MVEBs are in the below
tables:
TABLE 1.—DAVIDSON COUNTY MVEBS
[Tons/day]
Revised subarea MVEBs
2010
VOC ..................
NOX ..................
2012
4.91
8.09
2015
4.50
6.83
4.12
5.15
TABLE 2.—DAVIE* COUNTY MVEBS
[Tons/day]
Revised subarea MVEBs
2010
VOC ..................
NOX ..................
2012
0.03
0.05
2015
0.03
0.05
0.03
0.05
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* The Davie County MVEBs are for the portion of Davie County in the maintenance area.
1 The term ‘‘subarea’’ refers to the portion of the
area, in a nonattainment or maintenance area, for
which the MVEBs apply. In this case, the
‘‘subareas’’ are established at the county level so
this indicates that the MVEBs cover individual
counties and also indicates to transportation
conformity implementers in this area that there are
separate county-level MVEBs for each county in
this area. EPA’s Companion Guidance for the July
1, 2004, Final Transportation Conformity
Implementation in Multi-Jurisdictional
Nonattainment and Maintenance Areas for Existing
and New Air Quality Standards explains more
about the possible geographical extents of a MVEB,
how these geographical areas are defined, and how
transportation conformity is implemented in these
different geographical areas.
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the 1-hour ozone NAAQS. On
September 9, 1993, EPA redesignated
[Tons/day]
the Triad Area to attainment for the 1hour ozone NAAQS and approved the 1Revised subarea MVEBs
hour ozone maintenance plan (58 FR
2010
2012
2015
47391).
Consistent with the CAA, ozone
VOC ..................
10.31
9.36
8.50 reductions are achieved by establishing
NOX ..................
15.04
12.72
9.59
NAAQS, such as the 1-hour and
subsequent 8-hour ozone standard, and
TABLE 4.—GUILFORD COUNTY MVEBS implementing the measures necessary to
reduce ozone and its precursors. In the
[Tons/day]
April 30, 2004, rulemaking entitled ‘‘Air
Quality Designations and Classifications
Revised subarea MVEBs
for the 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient
2010
2012
2015
Air Quality Standards; Early Action
Compact Areas with Deferred Effective
VOC ..................
14.86
13.46
12.17 Dates’’ (69 FR 23858), EPA designated
NOX ..................
20.87
17.66
13.28
every county in the United States
unclassifiable/attainment or
This direct final rulemaking is in
nonattainment for the new 8-hour ozone
response to North Carolina’s February 4,
standard. The Triad Area was
2008, SIP submittal which supersedes
designated as nonattainment with a
North Carolina’s December 20, 2007,
deferred effective date as part of the
submittal that included a request for
Early Action Compact program. (For
parallel processing.
more information on the Early Action
Compact—or EAC—Program, see, https://
II. What Is the Background for EPA’s
www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/ozone/eac/
Action?
index.htm#RMNotices.) One year after
Under the CAA, states are required to
the effective date of these designations,
submit, at various times, control strategy
June 15, 2005, the 1-hour ozone
SIPs and maintenance plans for ozone
standard was revoked in most areas.
attainment areas. These control strategy
However, the 1-hour ozone standard
SIPs (reasonable further progress and
was not revoked for previous 1-hour
attainment demonstration, etc.) and
nonattainment areas that are currently
maintenance plans establish MVEBs for 8-hour EAC areas, such as the Triad
criteria pollutants and/or their
Area, even if those areas were
precursors to address pollution from
designated as attainment for the 1-hour
cars and trucks. Pursuant to 40 CFR part ozone standard prior to the 8-hour
93, an MVEB is established for the last
ozone designations.2
year of the maintenance plan. A state
Currently, the Triad EAC Area is
may adopt MVEBs for other years as
attaining the 8-hour ozone standard
well. States also have the option to
with a design value of 0.083 parts per
revise MVEBs at any time through a SIP million (ppm) using the latest three
revision. The MVEB is the portion of the years of quality assured data for the
total allowable emissions in the
years of 2005–2007. On February 6,
maintenance demonstration that is
2008 (73 FR 6863), EPA proposed that
allocated to highway and transit vehicle 13 nonattainment areas, including the
use and emissions. See, 40 CFR 93.101.
Triad Area, with deferred effective dates
The MVEB serves as a ceiling on
be designated attainment for the 8-hour
emissions from an area’s planned
ozone standard, because they have met
transportation system. The MVEB
all of the milestones of the EAC program
concept is further explained in the
and have demonstrated that they were
preamble to the November 24, 1993,
in attainment of the 8-hour ozone
transportation conformity rule (58 FR
NAAQS as of December 31, 2007. A
62188). The preamble also describes
final decision will be made on
how to establish the MVEB in the SIP
designations by April 15, 2008. EPA
and how to revise the MVEB.
also proposed that one year after the
The Triad Area was designated as a
nonattainment area for the 1-hour ozone
2 An EAC is an agreement between a State, local
national ambient air quality standard
governments and EPA to implement measures not
(‘‘NAAQS’’ or ‘‘standard’’) on November necessarily required by the Act in order to achieve
6, 1991 (56 FR 56694). In 1993, after the cleaner air as soon as possible. The program was
designed for areas that approach or monitor
area had three consecutive years, 1990– exceedances of the 8-hour ozone standard, but are
1992, of air quality data showing
in attainment for the 1-hour ozone standard. These
areas continue to implement transportation
attainment of the standard, the State of
conformity requirements related to the 1-hour
North Carolina, through NCDENR,
ozone standard. See, https://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/
submitted a redesignation request and a ozone/eac/index.htm#RMNotices, for further
maintenance plan for the Triad Area for information.
TABLE 3.—FORSYTH COUNTY MVEBS
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effective date of these designations, the
1-hour ozone standard be revoked and
the transportation conformity
requirements no longer remain in effect.
On June 4, 2004, NCDENR submitted
revisions to North Carolina’s SIP to
provide a 10-year update to the Triad
Area’s 1-hour ozone maintenance plan
as required by section 175A(b) of the
CAA. In addition to meeting the
requirements of 175A(b), the revisions
established subarea MVEBs for the Triad
Area for the years 2004, 2007, 2010,
2012, and 2015. Some of these subarea
MVEBs are currently being used by the
transportation partners to demonstrate
conformity, as approved in the
September 20, 2004, rulemaking. The
subarea MVEBs that are currently being
used by transportation partners in the
Triad Area are noted in the tables
below:
TABLE 5.—DAVIDSON COUNTY MVEBS
[Tons/day]
Current subarea MVEBs
2010
VOC ..................
NOX ..................
2012
4.73
7.79
2015
4.38
6.36
3.94
4.72
The tables above showing the
currently approved subarea MVEBs for
[Tons/day]
the Triad Area reflect the total on-road
emissions for 2010, 2012 and 2015, plus
Current subarea MVEBs
an allocation from the available VOC
2010
2012
2015
and NOX safety margins for each year.
Pursuant to 40 CFR 93.101, the term
VOC ..................
0.01
0.01
0.01
NOX ..................
0.02
0.02
0.01 ‘‘safety margin’’ is the difference
between the attainment level (from all
* The Davie County MVEBs are for the por- sources) and the projected level of
tion of Davie County in the maintenance area. emissions (from all sources) in the
maintenance area. The safety margin
TABLE 7.—FORSYTH COUNTY MVEBS can be allocated to the transportation
[Tons/day]
sector; however, the total emissions
must remain below the attainment level.
Current subarea MVEBs
These subarea MVEBs and the
allocations from the safety margin were
2010
2012
2015
developed in consultation with the
VOC ..................
9.93
9.12
8.14 transportation partners and were added
NOX ..................
14.49
11.83
8.79 to account for uncertainties in
population growth, changes in model
TABLE 8.—GUILFORD COUNTY MVEBS vehicle miles traveled and new
emission factor models. The allocated
[Tons/day]
portion of the safety margins for the
Triad Area that was approved in the
Current subarea MVEBs
September 20, 2004, rulemaking are as
follows:
2010
2012
2015
TABLE 6.—DAVIE * COUNTY MVEBS
VOC ..................
NOX ..................
14.32
20.11
13.10
16.44
11.66
12.18
TABLE 9.—SAFETY MARGINS FOR THE TRIAD AREA
[Tons/day]
Safety margin allocations for VOC
and NOX
County
2010
Davidson ...........................................................................................................................................................
Davie .................................................................................................................................................................
Forsyth ..............................................................................................................................................................
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Guilford ..............................................................................................................................................................
The total remaining VOC safety
margins after allocating a portion of the
safety margin to the subarea MVEBs for
the Triad Area are 26.59 tons per day
(tpd) in 2010, 26.41 tpd in 2012, and
25.50 tpd in 2015. The total remaining
NOX safety margins after allocating a
portion of the safety margin to the
subarea MVEBs for the Triad Area is
58.61 tpd in 2010, 66.09 tpd in 2012,
and 74.21 tpd in 2015. For more
information on the total remaining
safety margins, see the September 20,
2004, direct final rulemaking.
On February 4, 2008, the State of
North Carolina, through NCDENR,
submitted a request to revise the subarea
MVEBs for the Triad 1-hour ozone
maintenance area for the years 2010,
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16:20 Apr 07, 2008
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2012, and 2015. The new allocation of
the safety margins to the subarea MVEBs
is discussed in section IV of this direct
final rulemaking.
Through the Triad Area’s Interagency
Consultation Group, which includes the
North Carolina transportation and air
quality partners, NCDENR identified a
need for revised subarea MVEBs to
allow for growth in the transportation
sector. NCDENR, a partner of the
Interagency Consultation Group,
evaluated the option of revising the
subarea MVEBs for the Triad Area and
prepared a February 4, 2008, SIP
revision to effectuate that option. The
February 4, 2008, SIP revision was
submitted to EPA for approval and
requested a change to the subarea
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VOC
NOX
VOC
NOX
VOC
NOX
VOC
NOX
0.27
0.44
0.00
0.00
0.56
0.82
0.81
1.14
2012
0.47
0.42
0.00
0.00
0.98
0.77
1.40
1.08
2015
0.51
0.43
0.00
0.00
1.06
0.80
1.52
1.11
MVEBs by allocating a portion of the
available safety margins to the subarea
MVEBs. This allocation is discussed
further in section of IV of this direct
final rulemaking.
III. What Is the Effect of This Action?
The subarea MVEBs for the Triad
Area are established for each
metropolitan planning organization
(MPO), and in some instances, counties
that are ‘‘donut areas.’’ The conformity
rule defines a donut area as the portion
of a metropolitan nonattainment or
maintenance area that is located outside
an MPO’s planning boundary (40 CFR
93.101). Donut areas are not considered
isolated rural nonattainment and
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maintenance areas under the
transportation conformity rule.
The transportation conformity rule,
specifically, 40 CFR 93.124(c) and (d),
provide the regulatory mechanism for
establishing and implementing subarea
SIP MVEBs. In July 2004, EPA released
a guidance document that provided
additional details for implementing
conformity in multi-jurisdictional areas,
including establishing subarea SIP
MVEBs in areas with multiple MPOs,
entitled ‘‘Companion Guidance for the
July 1, 2004 Final Transportation
Conformity Rule Conformity
Implementation in Multi-Jurisdictional
Nonattainment and Maintenance Areas
for Existing and New Air Quality
Standards,’’ EPA 420A–B–04–012 (2004
Guidance). Although this guidance did
not address the situation where subarea
MVEBs are established for a donut area,
such MVEBs may be established in a
manner consistent with the
requirements of the CAA that ensures
that conformity determinations in the
Triad Area will continue to meet federal
conformity requirements.
Statutory and regulatory requirements
regarding conformity may be met for the
entire nonattainment or maintenance
area if conformity is determined for
every subarea SIP MVEBs at least every
four years. Only by meeting all subarea
SIP MVEBs can the SIP’s overall
purpose be met. CAA section 176(c)
states that the federal government and
MPOs cannot approve transportation
activities unless they conform to the SIP
and its SIP-approved MVEBs. See also,
page 21 of the 2004 Guidance. In a
nonattainment or maintenance area with
more than one MPO, all MPOs must
conform even if the SIP has established
subarea MVEBs. EPA believes that this
same legal standard applies in the case
where the SIP establishes a subarea
MVEBs for a donut area.
With regard to the February 4, 2008,
revisions to the Triad 1-hour ozone
maintenance area subarea MVEBs have
been established for the Area’s MPOs
and donut areas. As a result, conformity
determinations must be completed for
all subarea MVEBs according to the
statutory requirement to determine
conformity at least every four years in
areas with MPOs, transportation plans,
and Transportation Improvement
Programs (TIPs). MPOs must determine
conformity to their respective
transportation plans and TIPs every four
years, and the interagency consultation
process for the Triad Area should
ensure that conformity is demonstrated
for any subarea MVEBs for a donut area
at least every four years as well. In the
event that an MPO or donut area cannot
demonstrate conformity on a four-year
cycle, the other subareas cannot
complete a conformity determination
until all subareas conform. For further
information regarding the conformity
implications of not meeting subarea
MVEBs, see pages 20–21 of the 2004
Guidance. The effect of this action will
make new subarea MVEBs available to
transportation partners in North
Carolina.
IV. What Is EPA’s Analysis of North
Carolina’s Subarea VOC and NOX for
the Triad Area?
In a June 4, 2004, SIP submittal,
NCDENR, after interagency consultation
with the transportation partners for the
Triad Area, elected to develop countylevel subarea MVEBs for VOC and NOX.
In addition to other years, North
Carolina developed these MVEBs, for
the years 2010, 2012, and 2015 of its
maintenance plan. The aforementioned
MVEBs reflect the total on-road
emissions for 2010, 2012 and 2015, plus
an allocation from the available VOC
and NOX safety margins for each year.
Refer to the section II entitled ‘‘What is
the Background for EPA’s Proposed
Actions?’’ of this rulemaking for further
explanation of the safety margin. These
MVEBs were approved into the SIP in
the September 20, 2004, direct final
rulemaking. On February 4, 2008,
NCDENR submitted a SIP revision
seeking to change the MVEBs that were
approved in the September 20, 2004,
SIP revision. The February 4, 2008,
change is consistent with the CAA. The
revised subarea VOC and NOX MVEBs
for the Triad Area are defined in the
revised MVEBs tables, Tables 1 through
4, in section I of this direct final
rulemaking.
North Carolina has chosen to allocate
a portion of the available safety margin
to the 2010, 2012 and 2015 subarea VOC
and NOX MVEBs. The following table
identifies the amount of the safety
margin that was allotted to the 2010,
2012 and 2015 VOC and NOX subarea
MVEBs per the February 4, 2008,
submittal:
TABLE 10.—REVISED SAFETY MARGIN ALLOCATIONS FOR VOC AND NOX
[Tons/day]
Revised safety margin allocations
for VOC and NOX
County
2010
Davidson ...........................................................................................................................................................
Davie .................................................................................................................................................................
Forsyth ..............................................................................................................................................................
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Guilford ..............................................................................................................................................................
The total remaining VOC safety
margin after allocation of some of the
safety margin to the subarea MVEBs for
the Triad Area is 25.47 tpd in 2010,
25.67 tpd in 2012, and 24.43 tpd in
2015. The total remaining NOX safety
margin after allocation of some of the
safety margin to the subarea MVEBs for
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the Triad Area is 56.97 tpd in 2010,
63.48 tpd in 2012, and 71.84 tpd in
2015.
Through this rulemaking, EPA is
approving the revised 2010, 2012 and
2015 subarea MVEBs for VOC and NOX
for the Triad Area because EPA has
determined that the Area maintains the
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VOC
NOX
VOC
NOX
VOC
NOX
VOC
NOX
0.45
0.74
0.02
0.03
0.94
1.37
1.35
1.90
2012
0.59
0.89
0.02
0.03
1.22
1.66
1.76
2.30
2015
0.69
0.86
0.02
0.04
1.42
1.60
2.03
2.21
1-hour ozone standard with the
emissions at the levels of the MVEBs
and demonstrates that based upon
expected emissions for all other source
categories, the Triad Area will continue
to maintain the 1-hour ozone standard.
As mentioned above, these MVEBs are
subarea MVEBs for each individual
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 68 / Tuesday, April 8, 2008 / Rules and Regulations
county in the Triad Area. Once the new
subarea MVEBs for the Triad Area (the
subject of this rulemaking) are approved
they must be used for future conformity
determinations.
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with RULES
V. Final Action
EPA is approving revisions to the 1hour ozone maintenance plan for the
Triad Area submitted by NCDENR on
February 4, 2008. Tables 1–4, above, list
the new MVEBs for VOC and NOX being
approved in this action. Table 10, above,
lists the new available safety margins
being approved in this action. The
safety margin was reallocated as
described in section IV of this action.
Within 24 months from the effective
date of this direct final rule or the date
of publication for the final rule for this
action, the transportation partners will
need to demonstrate conformity to the
new subarea MVEBs pursuant to 40 CFR
93.104(e). See, 73 FR 4419 (January 24,
2008).
EPA is publishing this rule without
prior proposal because the Agency
views this as a noncontroversial
submittal and anticipates no adverse
comments. However, in the proposed
rules section of this Federal Register
publication, EPA is publishing a
separate document that will serve as the
proposal to approve the SIP revision
should adverse comments be filed. This
rule will be effective June 9, 2008
without further notice unless the
Agency receives adverse comments by
May 8, 2008.
If EPA receives such comments, then
EPA will publish a document
withdrawing the final rule and
informing the public that the rule will
not take effect. All public comments
received will then be addressed in a
subsequent final rule based on the
proposed rule. EPA will not institute a
second comment period. Parties
interested in commenting should do so
at this time. If no such comments are
received, the public is advised that this
rule will be effective on June 9, 2008
and no further action will be taken on
the proposed rule.
VI. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
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
VerDate Aug<31>2005
16:20 Apr 07, 2008
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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 standard, 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 is not
economically significant.
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.).
PO 00000
Frm 00025
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18967
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. 804(2).
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 June 9, 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 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, Intergovernmental
relations, Incorporation by reference,
Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile
organic compounds.
Dated: March 27, 2008.
J.I. Palmer, Jr.,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.
I
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:
PART 52—[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for part 52
continues to read as follows:
I
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart II—North Carolina
2. Section 52.1770 (e) is amended by
adding a new entry at the end of the
table for ‘‘1-Hour Ozone Maintenance
plan revision for the Greensboro/
Winston-Salem/High Point area’’ to read
as follows:
I
§ 52.1770
*
Identification of plan.
*
*
(e) * * *
E:\FR\FM\08APR1.SGM
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*
*
18968
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 68 / Tuesday, April 8, 2008 / Rules and Regulations
EPA-APPROVED NORTH CAROLINA NON-REGULATORY PROVISIONS
Provision
*
State effective date
*
*
1-Hour Ozone Maintenance plan revision
for the Greensboro/Winston-Salem/
High Point area (Davidson, Forsyth,
and Guilford counties and a portion of
Davie County).
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 62
[EPA–R03–OAR–2008–MD–0209; FRL–
8552–5]
Approval and Promulgation of State
Air Quality Plans for Designated
Facilities and Pollutants; State of
Maryland; Control of Large Municipal
Waste Combustor (LMWC) Emissions
From Existing Facilities
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with RULES
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final
action to approve the Maryland
Department of the Environment (MDE)
large municipal waste combustor plan
(the plan) revision for implementing
emission guideline (EG) amendments
promulgated on May 10, 2006 by EPA
under the Clean Air Act (the Act). The
plan revision establishes revised
emission limits, monitoring, and
recordkeeping requirements for existing
LMWC units with a unit capacity greater
than 250 tons per day (TPD). An
existing LMWC unit is one for which
construction commenced on or before
September 20, 1994.
DATES: This rule is effective June 9, 2008
without further notice, unless EPA
receives adverse written comment by
May 8, 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–2008–0209 by one of the
following methods:
A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the
on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
B. E-mail: https://
wilkie.walter@epa.gov.
16:20 Apr 07, 2008
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*
Frm 00026
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*
April 8, 2008 ..............................
C. Mail: EPA—R03 OAR–2008 MD–
0209, Walter Wilkie, Chief, Air Quality
Analysis Branch, Mailcode 3AP22, 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–2008–
MD–0209. 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 email address will be automatically
captured and included as part of the
comment that is placed in the public
docket and made available on the
Internet. If you submit an electronic
comment, EPA recommends that you
include your name and other contact
information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD–ROM
you submit. If EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties
and cannot contact you for clarification,
EPA may not be able to consider your
comment. Electronic files should avoid
the use of special characters, any form
of encryption, and be free of any defects
or viruses.
Docket: All documents in the
electronic docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index. Although
PO 00000
Federal Register citation
*
February 4, 2008 ......................
[FR Doc. E8–7186 Filed 4–7–08; 8:45 am]
VerDate Aug<31>2005
EPA approval date
Sfmt 4700
*
[Insert first page of publication].
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 Maryland Department of
the Environment, 1800 Washington
Boulevard, Suite 705, Baltimore,
Maryland, 21230.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
James B. Topsale, P.E., at (215) 814–
2190, or by e-mail at
topsale.jim@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Section 129(a)(5) of the Clean Air Act
(the Act) requires EPA to conduct a 5year review of the solid waste
incinerator new source performance
standards (NSPS) and emission
guidelines (EG) and revise both, as
appropriate. Accordingly, in the May
10, 2006 edition of the Federal Register,
EPA promulgated revised LMWC rules
under sections 111 and 129 of the Act.
EG for existing affected facilities are not
federally enforceable. However, section
129(b)(2) of the Act requires States to
submit to EPA for approval State Plans
and revisions that implement and
enforce the amended EG, in this case, 40
CFR part 60, subpart Cb. State Plans and
revisions must be at least as protective
as the EG, and become federally
enforceable as a section 111(d)/129 plan
revision upon approval by EPA. The
procedures for adoption and submittal
of State Plans and revisions are codified
in 40 CFR Part 60, subpart B.
E:\FR\FM\08APR1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 68 (Tuesday, April 8, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 18963-18968]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-7186]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2008-0036-200801(a); FRL-8551-9]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; North
Carolina: Approval of Revisions to the 1-Hour Ozone Maintenance Plan
for the Raleigh/Durham and Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point Areas
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve a February 4,
2008, revision to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR)
on behalf of the State of North Carolina for the purpose of revising
the subarea motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) for the Greensboro/
Winston-Salem/High Point area. The Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point
1-hour ozone maintenance area (hereafter referred to as the ``Triad
Area'') is comprised of Davidson, Forsyth, and Guilford Counties and a
portion of Davie County. The revisions to the subarea MVEBs are
approvable because of an available safety margin for volatile organic
compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) for this Area.
DATES: This direct final rule is effective June 9, 2008 without further
notice, unless EPA receives adverse comments by May 8, 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 No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2008-0036, by one of the following methods:
1. https://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
(a) E-mail: ward.nacosta@epa.gov or wood.amanetta@epa.gov.
(b) Fax: (404) 562-9019.
2. Mail: EPA-R04-OAR-2008-0036, Regulatory Development Section, Air
Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960.
3. Hand Delivery or Courier: Nacosta C. Ward, Regulatory
Development Section, or Amanetta Wood, Air Quality Modeling
Transportation Section, of the Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and
Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Such
deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office's normal hours
of operation. The Regional Office's official hours of business are
Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, excluding federal holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R04-OAR-
2008-0036. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at
https://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 through https://
www.regulations.gov or e-mail information that you consider to be CBI
or otherwise protected. The https://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 https://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. For additional information about EPA's public
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at https://www.epa.gov/
epahome/dockets.htm.
Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the
https://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 https://
www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Regulatory Development
Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth
Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. EPA requests that if at all
possible, you contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's
official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30,
excluding federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Nacosta C. Ward of the Regulatory
Development Section, or Ms. Amanetta Wood, Air Quality Modeling
Transportation Section, in the Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and
Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The
telephone numbers are (404) 562-9140 and (404) 562-9025 respectively.
Ms. Nacosta Ward can be reached via electronic mail at
ward.nacosta@epa.gov. Ms. Amanetta
[[Page 18964]]
Wood can be reached via electronic mail at wood.amanetta@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. What Action Is EPA Taking?
II. What Is the Background for EPA's Action?
III. What Is the Effect of This Action? [FEDREG][VOL]*[/VOL][NO]*[/
NO][DATE]*[/DATE][RULES][RULE][PREAMB][AGENCY]*[/AGENCY][SUBJECT]*[/
SUBJECT][/PREAMB][SUPLINF][HED]*[/HED][REGTEXT][EXTRACT][P]*[/P]?>
IV. What Is EPA's Analysis of North Carolina's Subarea VOC and
NOX for the Triad Area?
V. Final Action
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What Action is EPA Taking?
EPA is taking direct final action to approve North Carolina's SIP
revision submitted on February 4, 2008, which includes revisions to the
subarea \1\ 2010, 2012, and 2015 MVEBs for VOC and NOX for
the Triad Area because it meets all requirements of section 110 of the
Clean Air Act (``CAA'' or ``Act''). These new MVEBs revise those
established in a September 20, 2004 (69 FR 56163) direct final
rulemaking entitled ``Approval and Promulgation of Implementation of
Plans; North Carolina: Raleigh/Durham Area and Greensboro/Winston-
Salem/High Point Area Maintenance Plan Updates.'' The revised subarea
MVEBs are in the below tables:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The term ``subarea'' refers to the portion of the area, in a
nonattainment or maintenance area, for which the MVEBs apply. In
this case, the ``subareas'' are established at the county level so
this indicates that the MVEBs cover individual counties and also
indicates to transportation conformity implementers in this area
that there are separate county-level MVEBs for each county in this
area. EPA's Companion Guidance for the July 1, 2004, Final
Transportation Conformity Implementation in Multi-Jurisdictional
Nonattainment and Maintenance Areas for Existing and New Air Quality
Standards explains more about the possible geographical extents of a
MVEB, how these geographical areas are defined, and how
transportation conformity is implemented in these different
geographical areas.
Table 1.--Davidson County MVEBs
[Tons/day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revised subarea MVEBs
--------------------------
2010 2012 2015
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOC.......................................... 4.91 4.50 4.12
NOX.......................................... 8.09 6.83 5.15
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 2.--Davie* County MVEBs
[Tons/day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revised subarea MVEBs
--------------------------
2010 2012 2015
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOC.......................................... 0.03 0.03 0.03
NOX.......................................... 0.05 0.05 0.05
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The Davie County MVEBs are for the portion of Davie County in the
maintenance area.
Table 3.--Forsyth County MVEBs
[Tons/day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revised subarea MVEBs
--------------------------
2010 2012 2015
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOC.......................................... 10.31 9.36 8.50
NOX.......................................... 15.04 12.72 9.59
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 4.--Guilford County MVEBs
[Tons/day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revised subarea MVEBs
--------------------------
2010 2012 2015
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOC.......................................... 14.86 13.46 12.17
NOX.......................................... 20.87 17.66 13.28
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This direct final rulemaking is in response to North Carolina's
February 4, 2008, SIP submittal which supersedes North Carolina's
December 20, 2007, submittal that included a request for parallel
processing.
II. What Is the Background for EPA's Action?
Under the CAA, states are required to submit, at various times,
control strategy SIPs and maintenance plans for ozone attainment areas.
These control strategy SIPs (reasonable further progress and attainment
demonstration, etc.) and maintenance plans establish MVEBs for criteria
pollutants and/or their precursors to address pollution from cars and
trucks. Pursuant to 40 CFR part 93, an MVEB is established for the last
year of the maintenance plan. A state may adopt MVEBs for other years
as well. States also have the option to revise MVEBs at any time
through a SIP revision. The MVEB is the portion of the total allowable
emissions in the maintenance demonstration that is allocated to highway
and transit vehicle use and emissions. See, 40 CFR 93.101. The MVEB
serves as a ceiling on emissions from an area's planned transportation
system. The MVEB concept is further explained in the preamble to the
November 24, 1993, transportation conformity rule (58 FR 62188). The
preamble also describes how to establish the MVEB in the SIP and how to
revise the MVEB.
The Triad Area was designated as a nonattainment area for the 1-
hour ozone national ambient air quality standard (``NAAQS'' or
``standard'') on November 6, 1991 (56 FR 56694). In 1993, after the
area had three consecutive years, 1990-1992, of air quality data
showing attainment of the standard, the State of North Carolina,
through NCDENR, submitted a redesignation request and a maintenance
plan for the Triad Area for the 1-hour ozone NAAQS. On September 9,
1993, EPA redesignated the Triad Area to attainment for the 1-hour
ozone NAAQS and approved the 1-hour ozone maintenance plan (58 FR
47391).
Consistent with the CAA, ozone reductions are achieved by
establishing NAAQS, such as the 1-hour and subsequent 8-hour ozone
standard, and implementing the measures necessary to reduce ozone and
its precursors. In the April 30, 2004, rulemaking entitled ``Air
Quality Designations and Classifications for the 8-Hour Ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standards; Early Action Compact Areas with Deferred
Effective Dates'' (69 FR 23858), EPA designated every county in the
United States unclassifiable/attainment or nonattainment for the new 8-
hour ozone standard. The Triad Area was designated as nonattainment
with a deferred effective date as part of the Early Action Compact
program. (For more information on the Early Action Compact--or EAC--
Program, see, https://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/ozone/eac/
index.htm#RMNotices.) One year after the effective date of these
designations, June 15, 2005, the 1-hour ozone standard was revoked in
most areas. However, the 1-hour ozone standard was not revoked for
previous 1-hour nonattainment areas that are currently 8-hour EAC
areas, such as the Triad Area, even if those areas were designated as
attainment for the 1-hour ozone standard prior to the 8-hour ozone
designations.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ An EAC is an agreement between a State, local governments
and EPA to implement measures not necessarily required by the Act in
order to achieve cleaner air as soon as possible. The program was
designed for areas that approach or monitor exceedances of the 8-
hour ozone standard, but are in attainment for the 1-hour ozone
standard. These areas continue to implement transportation
conformity requirements related to the 1-hour ozone standard. See,
https://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/ozone/eac/index.htm#RMNotices, for
further information.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Currently, the Triad EAC Area is attaining the 8-hour ozone
standard with a design value of 0.083 parts per million (ppm) using the
latest three years of quality assured data for the years of 2005-2007.
On February 6, 2008 (73 FR 6863), EPA proposed that 13 nonattainment
areas, including the Triad Area, with deferred effective dates be
designated attainment for the 8-hour ozone standard, because they have
met all of the milestones of the EAC program and have demonstrated that
they were in attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS as of December 31,
2007. A final decision will be made on designations by April 15, 2008.
EPA also proposed that one year after the
[[Page 18965]]
effective date of these designations, the 1-hour ozone standard be
revoked and the transportation conformity requirements no longer remain
in effect.
On June 4, 2004, NCDENR submitted revisions to North Carolina's SIP
to provide a 10-year update to the Triad Area's 1-hour ozone
maintenance plan as required by section 175A(b) of the CAA. In addition
to meeting the requirements of 175A(b), the revisions established
subarea MVEBs for the Triad Area for the years 2004, 2007, 2010, 2012,
and 2015. Some of these subarea MVEBs are currently being used by the
transportation partners to demonstrate conformity, as approved in the
September 20, 2004, rulemaking. The subarea MVEBs that are currently
being used by transportation partners in the Triad Area are noted in
the tables below:
Table 5.--Davidson County MVEBs
[Tons/day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current subarea MVEBs
--------------------------
2010 2012 2015
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOC.......................................... 4.73 4.38 3.94
NOX.......................................... 7.79 6.36 4.72
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 6.--Davie * County MVEBs
[Tons/day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current subarea MVEBs
--------------------------
2010 2012 2015
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOC.......................................... 0.01 0.01 0.01
NOX.......................................... 0.02 0.02 0.01
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The Davie County MVEBs are for the portion of Davie County in the
maintenance area.
Table 7.--Forsyth County MVEBs
[Tons/day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current subarea MVEBs
--------------------------
2010 2012 2015
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOC.......................................... 9.93 9.12 8.14
NOX.......................................... 14.49 11.83 8.79
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 8.--Guilford County MVEBs
[Tons/day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current subarea MVEBs
--------------------------
2010 2012 2015
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOC.......................................... 14.32 13.10 11.66
NOX.......................................... 20.11 16.44 12.18
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The tables above showing the currently approved subarea MVEBs for
the Triad Area reflect the total on-road emissions for 2010, 2012 and
2015, plus an allocation from the available VOC and NOX
safety margins for each year. Pursuant to 40 CFR 93.101, the term
``safety margin'' is the difference between the attainment level (from
all sources) and the projected level of emissions (from all sources) in
the maintenance area. The safety margin can be allocated to the
transportation sector; however, the total emissions must remain below
the attainment level. These subarea MVEBs and the allocations from the
safety margin were developed in consultation with the transportation
partners and were added to account for uncertainties in population
growth, changes in model vehicle miles traveled and new emission factor
models. The allocated portion of the safety margins for the Triad Area
that was approved in the September 20, 2004, rulemaking are as follows:
Table 9.--Safety Margins for the Triad Area
[Tons/day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Safety margin allocations for VOC and
NOX
County ---------------------------------------
2010 2012 2015
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Davidson........................ VOC 0.27 0.47 0.51
NOX 0.44 0.42 0.43
Davie........................... VOC 0.00 0.00 0.00
NOX 0.00 0.00 0.00
Forsyth......................... VOC 0.56 0.98 1.06
NOX 0.82 0.77 0.80
Guilford........................ VOC 0.81 1.40 1.52
NOX 1.14 1.08 1.11
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The total remaining VOC safety margins after allocating a portion
of the safety margin to the subarea MVEBs for the Triad Area are 26.59
tons per day (tpd) in 2010, 26.41 tpd in 2012, and 25.50 tpd in 2015.
The total remaining NOX safety margins after allocating a
portion of the safety margin to the subarea MVEBs for the Triad Area is
58.61 tpd in 2010, 66.09 tpd in 2012, and 74.21 tpd in 2015. For more
information on the total remaining safety margins, see the September
20, 2004, direct final rulemaking.
On February 4, 2008, the State of North Carolina, through NCDENR,
submitted a request to revise the subarea MVEBs for the Triad 1-hour
ozone maintenance area for the years 2010, 2012, and 2015. The new
allocation of the safety margins to the subarea MVEBs is discussed in
section IV of this direct final rulemaking.
Through the Triad Area's Interagency Consultation Group, which
includes the North Carolina transportation and air quality partners,
NCDENR identified a need for revised subarea MVEBs to allow for growth
in the transportation sector. NCDENR, a partner of the Interagency
Consultation Group, evaluated the option of revising the subarea MVEBs
for the Triad Area and prepared a February 4, 2008, SIP revision to
effectuate that option. The February 4, 2008, SIP revision was
submitted to EPA for approval and requested a change to the subarea
MVEBs by allocating a portion of the available safety margins to the
subarea MVEBs. This allocation is discussed further in section of IV of
this direct final rulemaking.
III. What Is the Effect of This Action?
The subarea MVEBs for the Triad Area are established for each
metropolitan planning organization (MPO), and in some instances,
counties that are ``donut areas.'' The conformity rule defines a donut
area as the portion of a metropolitan nonattainment or maintenance area
that is located outside an MPO's planning boundary (40 CFR 93.101).
Donut areas are not considered isolated rural nonattainment and
[[Page 18966]]
maintenance areas under the transportation conformity rule.
The transportation conformity rule, specifically, 40 CFR 93.124(c)
and (d), provide the regulatory mechanism for establishing and
implementing subarea SIP MVEBs. In July 2004, EPA released a guidance
document that provided additional details for implementing conformity
in multi-jurisdictional areas, including establishing subarea SIP MVEBs
in areas with multiple MPOs, entitled ``Companion Guidance for the July
1, 2004 Final Transportation Conformity Rule Conformity Implementation
in Multi-Jurisdictional Nonattainment and Maintenance Areas for
Existing and New Air Quality Standards,'' EPA 420A-B-04-012 (2004
Guidance). Although this guidance did not address the situation where
subarea MVEBs are established for a donut area, such MVEBs may be
established in a manner consistent with the requirements of the CAA
that ensures that conformity determinations in the Triad Area will
continue to meet federal conformity requirements.
Statutory and regulatory requirements regarding conformity may be
met for the entire nonattainment or maintenance area if conformity is
determined for every subarea SIP MVEBs at least every four years. Only
by meeting all subarea SIP MVEBs can the SIP's overall purpose be met.
CAA section 176(c) states that the federal government and MPOs cannot
approve transportation activities unless they conform to the SIP and
its SIP-approved MVEBs. See also, page 21 of the 2004 Guidance. In a
nonattainment or maintenance area with more than one MPO, all MPOs must
conform even if the SIP has established subarea MVEBs. EPA believes
that this same legal standard applies in the case where the SIP
establishes a subarea MVEBs for a donut area.
With regard to the February 4, 2008, revisions to the Triad 1-hour
ozone maintenance area subarea MVEBs have been established for the
Area's MPOs and donut areas. As a result, conformity determinations
must be completed for all subarea MVEBs according to the statutory
requirement to determine conformity at least every four years in areas
with MPOs, transportation plans, and Transportation Improvement
Programs (TIPs). MPOs must determine conformity to their respective
transportation plans and TIPs every four years, and the interagency
consultation process for the Triad Area should ensure that conformity
is demonstrated for any subarea MVEBs for a donut area at least every
four years as well. In the event that an MPO or donut area cannot
demonstrate conformity on a four-year cycle, the other subareas cannot
complete a conformity determination until all subareas conform. For
further information regarding the conformity implications of not
meeting subarea MVEBs, see pages 20-21 of the 2004 Guidance. The effect
of this action will make new subarea MVEBs available to transportation
partners in North Carolina.
IV. What Is EPA's Analysis of North Carolina's Subarea VOC and
NOX for the Triad Area?
In a June 4, 2004, SIP submittal, NCDENR, after interagency
consultation with the transportation partners for the Triad Area,
elected to develop county-level subarea MVEBs for VOC and
NOX. In addition to other years, North Carolina developed
these MVEBs, for the years 2010, 2012, and 2015 of its maintenance
plan. The aforementioned MVEBs reflect the total on-road emissions for
2010, 2012 and 2015, plus an allocation from the available VOC and
NOX safety margins for each year. Refer to the section II
entitled ``What is the Background for EPA's Proposed Actions?'' of this
rulemaking for further explanation of the safety margin. These MVEBs
were approved into the SIP in the September 20, 2004, direct final
rulemaking. On February 4, 2008, NCDENR submitted a SIP revision
seeking to change the MVEBs that were approved in the September 20,
2004, SIP revision. The February 4, 2008, change is consistent with the
CAA. The revised subarea VOC and NOX MVEBs for the Triad
Area are defined in the revised MVEBs tables, Tables 1 through 4, in
section I of this direct final rulemaking.
North Carolina has chosen to allocate a portion of the available
safety margin to the 2010, 2012 and 2015 subarea VOC and NOX
MVEBs. The following table identifies the amount of the safety margin
that was allotted to the 2010, 2012 and 2015 VOC and NOX
subarea MVEBs per the February 4, 2008, submittal:
Table 10.--Revised Safety Margin Allocations for VOC and NOX
[Tons/day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revised safety margin allocations for
VOC and NOX
County ---------------------------------------
2010 2012 2015
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Davidson........................ VOC 0.45 0.59 0.69
NOX 0.74 0.89 0.86
Davie........................... VOC 0.02 0.02 0.02
NOX 0.03 0.03 0.04
Forsyth......................... VOC 0.94 1.22 1.42
NOX 1.37 1.66 1.60
Guilford........................ VOC 1.35 1.76 2.03
NOX 1.90 2.30 2.21
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The total remaining VOC safety margin after allocation of some of
the safety margin to the subarea MVEBs for the Triad Area is 25.47 tpd
in 2010, 25.67 tpd in 2012, and 24.43 tpd in 2015. The total remaining
NOX safety margin after allocation of some of the safety
margin to the subarea MVEBs for the Triad Area is 56.97 tpd in 2010,
63.48 tpd in 2012, and 71.84 tpd in 2015.
Through this rulemaking, EPA is approving the revised 2010, 2012
and 2015 subarea MVEBs for VOC and NOX for the Triad Area
because EPA has determined that the Area maintains the 1-hour ozone
standard with the emissions at the levels of the MVEBs and demonstrates
that based upon expected emissions for all other source categories, the
Triad Area will continue to maintain the 1-hour ozone standard.
As mentioned above, these MVEBs are subarea MVEBs for each
individual
[[Page 18967]]
county in the Triad Area. Once the new subarea MVEBs for the Triad Area
(the subject of this rulemaking) are approved they must be used for
future conformity determinations.
V. Final Action
EPA is approving revisions to the 1-hour ozone maintenance plan for
the Triad Area submitted by NCDENR on February 4, 2008. Tables 1-4,
above, list the new MVEBs for VOC and NOX being approved in
this action. Table 10, above, lists the new available safety margins
being approved in this action. The safety margin was reallocated as
described in section IV of this action.
Within 24 months from the effective date of this direct final rule
or the date of publication for the final rule for this action, the
transportation partners will need to demonstrate conformity to the new
subarea MVEBs pursuant to 40 CFR 93.104(e). See, 73 FR 4419 (January
24, 2008).
EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because the
Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no
adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this
Federal Register publication, EPA is publishing a separate document
that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision should
adverse comments be filed. This rule will be effective June 9, 2008
without further notice unless the Agency receives adverse comments by
May 8, 2008.
If EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish a document
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will
not take effect. All public comments received will then be addressed in
a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. EPA will not
institute a second comment period. Parties interested in commenting
should do so at this time. If no such comments are received, the public
is advised that this rule will be effective on June 9, 2008 and no
further action will be taken on the proposed rule.
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
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 standard, 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 is not economically significant.
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.).
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.
804(2).
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 June 9, 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 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, Intergovernmental
relations, Incorporation by reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: March 27, 2008.
J.I. Palmer, Jr.,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.
0
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:
PART 52--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart II--North Carolina
0
2. Section 52.1770 (e) is amended by adding a new entry at the end of
the table for ``1-Hour Ozone Maintenance plan revision for the
Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point area'' to read as follows:
Sec. 52.1770 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
[[Page 18968]]
EPA-Approved North Carolina Non-Regulatory Provisions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal Register
Provision State effective date EPA approval date citation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-Hour Ozone Maintenance plan February 4, 2008........ April 8, 2008.......... [Insert first page of
revision for the Greensboro/Winston- publication].
Salem/High Point area (Davidson,
Forsyth, and Guilford counties and
a portion of Davie County).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[FR Doc. E8-7186 Filed 4-7-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
