Proposed Rule To Implement the 1997 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard: Revision on Subpart 1 Area Reclassification and Anti-Backsliding Provisions Under Former 1-Hour Ozone Standard; Proposed Deletion of Obsolete 1-Hour Ozone Standard Provision, 7027-7029 [E9-3051]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 28 (Thursday, February 12, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7027-7029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-3051]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 50 and 51

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0956; FRL-8772-8]
RIN-2060-AO63


Proposed Rule To Implement the 1997 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient 
Air Quality Standard: Revision on Subpart 1 Area Reclassification and 
Anti-Backsliding Provisions Under Former 1-Hour Ozone Standard; 
Proposed Deletion of Obsolete 1-Hour Ozone Standard Provision

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

[[Page 7028]]


ACTION: Notice of public hearing and extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The EPA is announcing a public hearing to be held for the 
proposed rule ``Proposed Rule to Implement the 1997 8-Hour Ozone 
National Ambient Air Quality Standard: Revision on Subpart 1 Area 
Reclassification and Anti-Backsliding Provisions Under Former 1-Hour 
Ozone Standard; Proposed Deletion of Obsolete 1-Hour Ozone Standard 
Provision'' which published in the Federal Register on January 16, 
2009. The hearing will be held in Washington, DC, on Monday, March 2, 
2009.
    EPA is also announcing an extension of the public comment period on 
our proposed rule. EPA is extending the comment period that originally 
ends on February 17, 2009. The extended comment period will close on 
April 1, 2009.
    In this notice of proposed rulemaking, EPA proposed to revise the 
rule for implementing the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air 
quality standard (NAAQS) for several of the limited portions of the 
rule vacated by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of 
Columbia. The proposal addresses the classification system for the 
subset of initial 8-hour ozone nonattainment areas that the 
implementation rule originally covered under Clean Air Act (CAA) title 
I, part D, subpart 1. The proposal also addresses how 1-hour ozone 
contingency measures that apply for failure to attain or make 
reasonable progress toward attainment of the 1-hour standard should 
apply under the anti-backsliding provisions of the implementation rule. 
In addition, the proposal removes language relating to the vacated 
provisions of the rule that provided exemptions from the requirements 
of nonattainment new source review (NSR) and CAA section 185 penalty 
fees under the 1-hour standard. The public hearing will provide 
interested parties the opportunity to present data, views, or arguments 
concerning these proposed changes.

DATES: Public Hearing. The public hearing will be held on March 2, 
2009.
    Comments. Comments must be received on or before April 1, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Public Hearing. The hearing will be held at U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, EPA East, Room 1153, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Avenue, Washington, DC 20004. The public hearing will start at 10 a.m. 
and end at 3 p.m. Because this hearing is being held at U.S. government 
facilities, everyone planning to attend the hearing should be prepared 
to show valid picture identification to the security staff in order to 
gain access to the meeting room. In addition, you will need to obtain a 
property pass for any personal belongings you bring with you. Upon 
leaving the building, you will be required to return this property pass 
to the security desk. No large signs will be allowed in the building, 
cameras may only be used inside the classroom and outside of the 
building and demonstrations will not be allowed on Federal property for 
security reasons.
    Comments. Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2007-0956, by one of the following methods:
     https://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: a-and-r-docket@epa.gov.
     Fax: (202) 566-9744
     Mail: Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center, 
Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0956, Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. Mail Code: 
2822T. Please include two copies if possible.
     Hand Delivery: Air and Radiation Docket and Information 
Center, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0956, Environmental 
Protection Agency in the EPA Headquarters Library, Room Number 3334 in 
the EPA West Building, located at 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC. The EPA/DC Public Reading Room hours of operation will 
be 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), Monday through 
Friday, Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2007-0956. The EPA's policy is that all comments received will be 
included in the public docket without change and may be made available 
on-line 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 information 
that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through https://
www.regulations.gov, or e-mail. 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 docket are listed in https://
www.regulations.gov. 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 EPA Docket Center (Air Docket), EPA West, Room 3334, 
1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is 
open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 
legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is 
(202) 566-1744.
    The EPA Web site for the rulemaking, which includes the proposal 
and information about the public hearing, can be found at: https://
www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/ozone/o3imp8hr/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you would like to speak at the 
public hearing, please contact Ms. Pamela Long, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, OAQPS, Air Quality Planning Division, (C504-03), 
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone (919) 541-0641, fax number 
(919) 541-5509, e-mail address long.pam@epa.gov no later than February 
27, 2009. If you have any questions on the public hearing, please 
contact Ms. Long at the above number.
    Questions concerning the January 16, 2009, proposed rule should be 
addressed to Mr. John Silvasi, U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning 
and Standards, Air Quality Policy Division, (C539-01), Research 
Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone number (919) 541-5666, e-mail at 
silvasi.john@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The January 16, 2009, notice of proposed 
rulemaking proposes to revise the rule

[[Page 7029]]

for implementing the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS for several of the limited 
portions of the rule vacated by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for 
the District of Columbia. The proposal addresses the classification 
system for the subset of initial 8-hour ozone nonattainment areas that 
the implementation rule originally covered under CAA title I, part D, 
subpart 1. The proposal also addresses how 1-hour ozone contingency 
measures that apply for failure to attain or make reasonable progress 
toward attainment of the 1-hour standard should apply under the anti-
backsliding provisions of the implementation rule. In addition, the 
proposal removes language relating to the vacated provisions of the 
rule that provided exemptions from the requirements of nonattainment 
NSR and CAA section 185 penalty fees under the 1-hour standard.
    Public Hearing: The proposal for which EPA is holding the public 
hearing was published in the Federal Register on January 16, 2009, (74 
FR 2936) and is available at: https://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/ozone/
o3imp8hr/ and also in the docket identified below. The public hearing 
will provide interested parties the opportunity to present data, views, 
or arguments concerning the proposal. The EPA may ask clarifying 
questions during the oral presentations, but will not respond to the 
presentations at that time. Written statements and supporting 
information submitted during the comment period will be considered with 
the same weight as any oral comments and supporting information 
presented at the public hearing. Written comments on the proposed rule 
must be postmarked by April 1, 2009, which is the extended closing date 
for the comment period.
    Commenters should notify Ms. Long if they will need specific 
equipment, or if there are other special needs related to providing 
comments at the hearing. The EPA will provide equipment for commenters 
to show overhead slides or make computerized slide presentations if we 
receive special requests in advance. Oral testimony will be limited to 
5 minutes for each commenter. The EPA encourages commenters to provide 
EPA with a copy of their oral testimony electronically (via e-mail or 
CD) or in hard copy form.
    The hearing schedule, including lists of speakers, will be posted 
on EPA's Web site https://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/o3imp8hr/. Verbatim 
transcripts of the hearing and written statements will be included in 
the docket for the rulemaking.

How Can I Get Copies of This Document and Other Related Information?

    The EPA has established a docket for the proposed rule ``Proposed 
Rule to Implement the 1997 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality 
Standard: Revision on Subpart 1 Area Reclassification and Anti-
Backsliding Provisions Under Former 1-Hour Ozone Standard; Proposed 
Deletion of Obsolete 1-Hour Ozone Standard Provision'' under Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0956 (available at https://www.regulations.gov).
    As stated previously, the proposed rule was published in the 
Federal Register on January 16, 2009 (74 FR 2936) and is available at 
https://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/ozone/o3imp8hr/ and in the above-cited 
docket.

    Dated: February 5, 2009.
Mary E. Henigin,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
 [FR Doc. E9-3051 Filed 2-11-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P