Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Rhode Island; Carbon Monoxide Limited Maintenance Plan for Providence, RI, 12562-12567 [E9-6643]
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EPA-APPROVED REGULATIONS IN THE WEST VIRGINIA SIP—Continued
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Added subsection 1.1.a.
Terms added: ‘‘Agency Administrator,’’ ‘‘CFR,’’
‘‘Prescribed Burning,’’ and ‘‘Secretary.’’
Terms removed: ‘‘Clean Lumber,’’ ‘‘Director,’’
‘‘Wood Waste,’’ and ‘‘Yard Waste.’’
Terms amended: ‘‘Incinerator,’’ ‘‘Incinerator Capacity,’’ ‘‘Opacity,’’ ‘‘Open Burning,’’ ‘‘Pathological Waste,’’ and ‘‘Refuse.’’
Added subsection 3.1.e. (3.1.e.1 through
3.1.e.6).
Revised subsections 3.1, 3.1.b, 3.1.c.3, and
3.2.a.
Deleted subsections 4.8, and 4.8.a through
4.8.d.
Revised subsections 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.5, 4.7 and
4.8.e.
Added subsections 4.9 and 4.10.
Revised subsection 5.1.
Revised subsections 6.1, 6.1.a.3,
6.1.b.3, 6.1.b.5, 6.1.b.6, and 6.1.b.7.
Added subsection 6.2.
Revised subsections 7.1 and 7.2.
6.1.a.4,
Revised subsections 8.1 and 8.2.
Revised subsection 9.1.
Added subsections 9.1.c, 9.2, and 9.2.a through
9.2.c.
New Section.
Recodified—formerly section 45–6–10.
Recodified—formerly section 45–6–11.
Revised subsection 12.1.
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ACTION:
[FR Doc. E9–6615 Filed 3–24–09; 8:45 am]
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Direct final rule.
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
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[EPA–R01–OAR–2008–0796 ; A–1–FRL–
8785–6]
Approval and Promulgation of Air
Quality Implementation Plans; Rhode
Island; Carbon Monoxide Limited
Maintenance Plan for Providence, RI
AGENCY: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a State
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision
submitted by the State of Rhode Island.
This revision establishes a limited
maintenance plan for the Providence
Rhode Island carbon monoxide
attainment area and addresses the
remaining portion of the ten-year update
to the carbon monoxide maintenance
plan. This action is being taken in
accordance with the Clean Air Act.
DATES: This direct final rule will be
effective May 26, 2009, unless EPA
receives adverse comments by April 24,
2009. If adverse comments are received,
EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of
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the direct final rule in the Federal
Register informing the public that the
rule will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID Number EPA–
R01–OAR–2008–0796 by one of the
following methods:
1. https://www.regulations.gov: Follow
the on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
2. E-mail: arnold.anne@epa.gov.
3. Mail: ‘‘Docket Identification
Number EPA–R01–OAR–2008–0796’’,
Anne Arnold, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, EPA New England
Regional Office, One Congress Street,
Suite 1100 (mail code CAQ), Boston,
MA 02114–2023.
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4. Hand Delivery or Courier. Deliver
your comments to: Anne Arnold,
Manager, Air Quality Planning Unit,
Office of Ecosystem Protection, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, EPA
New England Regional Office, One
Congress Street, 11th floor, (CAQ),
Boston, MA 02114–2023. 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 legal
holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to
Docket ID No. EPA–R01–OAR–2008–
0796. 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.
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
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Office of Ecosystem Protection, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, EPA
New England Regional Office, One
Congress Street, Suite 1100, Boston,
MA. EPA requests that if at all possible,
you contact the contact 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 legal holidays.
In addition, copies of the state
submittal are also available for public
inspection during normal business
hours, by appointment at the State Air
Agency; Office of Air Resources,
Department of Environmental
Management, 235 Promenade Street,
Providence, RI 02908–5767.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Donald O. Cooke, Air Quality Planning
Unit, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, EPA New England Regional
Office, One Congress Street, Suite 1100
(CAQ), Boston, MA 02114–2023,
telephone number (617) 918–1668, fax
number (617) 918–0668, e-mail
cooke.donald@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document whenever
‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean
EPA.
Organization of this document. The
following outline is provided to aid in
locating information in this preamble.
I. Background and Purpose
II. Criteria for Limited Maintenance Plan
Designation
A. EPA Guidance
B. Demonstration of Maintenance
C. Emission Inventory
D. Monitoring Network and Verification of
Continued Attainment
III. Contingency
IV. State Commitments
V. Conformity
VI. Final Action
VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background and Purpose
In 1989, Rhode Island submitted a
request to EPA to redesignate
Providence to attainment status for
carbon monoxide (CO). Since the EPA
had not yet approved that request when
the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990
(CAAA) were enacted, Rhode Island
submitted a revised redesignation
request to EPA in 1991 that addressed
additional requirements in the CAAA.
The initial ten-year maintenance plan
relied on emissions reductions from the
Federal Motor Vehicle Emission Control
Program (FMVECP) and from the
Prevention of Significant Deterioration
(PSD) program, which replaced the New
Source Review (NSR) program when the
redesignation became effective. The
maintenance plan also stated that, if the
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carbon monoxide National Ambient Air
Quality Standard (NAAQS) was violated
in the ten year period covered by the
plan, the State would submit a plan to
correct the violation within 18 months
of the violation. On September 5, 1991,
the EPA published a Final Rule in the
Federal Register that redesignated
Providence to attainment status for CO
(56 FR 43872).
Section 175A of the CAAA requires
redesignated areas to submit a second
ten-year maintenance plan to the EPA
eight years after the first plan is
approved. The second plan must
demonstrate that compliance with the
NAAQS will continue during the ten
year period following the expiration of
the first maintenance plan. In the case
of Rhode Island, the second ten-year
maintenance plan was scheduled to be
submitted in 1999 and would cover the
years 2001 through 2011. Rhode Island
did not submit a second ten-year
maintenance plan at that time; however
the emissions control programs
established in the first ten-year
maintenance plan continued to be in
effect. Monitored levels of carbon
monoxide in the Providence attainment
area continued to be well below the 8hour NAAQS standard of 9.0 parts per
million (ppm), and have stayed on a
downward trend. The 1-hour CO
NAAQS of 32 parts per million was
never exceeded in the State of Rhode
Island.
In June 2007, Rhode Island
Department of Environmental
Management (RI DEM) requested
permission to discontinue monitoring
for CO at the Dorrance Street site in
Providence. This request was prompted
by amendments to EPA’s monitoring
requirements (Final Rule: Revisions to
Ambient Air Monitoring Regulations;
October 17, 2006; 71 FR 61236), which
removed minimum requirements for CO
monitoring for determining compliance
with NAAQS. The amended EPA
regulation continued to require the
operation of CO monitors at Type II
stations in the Photochemical
Assessment Monitoring Sites (PAMS)
network. Rhode Island has operated a
year round CO monitor at its Type II
PAMS site in East Providence since
1998.
In its request to remove the Dorrance
Street CO monitor, RI DEM stated that
the monitor no longer served a useful
purpose because the CO NAAQS had
not been exceeded for 20 years and was
extremely unlikely to be exceeded in the
future, since monitored levels were
considerably below the NAAQS and
continued to trend downward and the
emissions control programs that had
resulted in this decrease remained in
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place. Moreover, this site was no longer
useful for predicting the State’s daily
Air Quality Index (AQI), which serves to
warn the public about impending poor
air quality, because all CO
measurements recorded since 2001 had
been in the ‘‘good’’ category of the AQI.
In an October 24, 2007 letter from
Michael Kenyon, Director of the Office
of Environmental Measurement and
Evaluation, EPA Region I approved the
termination of the Dorrance Street site
‘‘subject to the revision of the
Providence carbon monoxide
maintenance plan being approved by
EPA.’’ At issue was the fact that the
original maintenance plan relied on the
levels measured by the Dorrance Street
monitor to track continued attainment
of the CO NAAQS. EPA advised that, if
CO monitoring at that site were
discontinued, Rhode Island would need
to revise its CO maintenance plan to
provide another mechanism to track
continued attainment until the end of
the second ten-year maintenance period
(September 2011) and to identify levels
that would trigger the need for
additional action. RI DEM agreed to
revise its plan and discontinued CO
monitoring at the Dorrance Street site at
the end of June 2007.
On September 22, 2008, the State of
Rhode Island submitted a formal
revision to its State Implementation
Plan (SIP) for a Limited Maintenance
Plan for the Providence Rhode Island
Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Area.
The SIP revision consists of a second
follow-on ten-year carbon monoxide
maintenance plan for the Providence
carbon monoxide attainment area to
address the remainder of the
maintenance plan period (period 2001
to 2011), and a request for a limited
carbon monoxide maintenance plan
designation. The SIP revision also
includes the State’s commitment to year
round carbon monoxide monitoring at
the East Providence Photochemical
Assessment Monitoring Station (PAMS)
site.
II. Criteria for Limited Maintenance
Plan Designation
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A. EPA Guidance
In November 1994, EPA issued
guidance regarding a limited
maintenance plan option for
nonclassifiable ozone nonattainment
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areas.1 In October 1995, EPA issued
further guidance that extended that
option to nonclassifiable carbon
monoxide nonattainment areas.2 To
qualify for the limited maintenance
option, an area’s 8-hour average CO
design value at the time of redesignation
must be at or below 7.65 ppm (85% of
the NAAQS).
Unlike full maintenance plans,
limited maintenance plans are not
required to include a projection of
emissions over the maintenance period,
because, according to EPA’s 1995
guidance, ‘‘the continued applicability
of prevention of significant deterioration
(PSD) requirements, any control
measures already in the SIP, and
Federal measures (such as the Federal
Motor Vehicle Emission Control
Program) should provide adequate
assurance of maintenance for those
areas.’’
Moreover, the establishment of
emissions budgets for conformity
purposes is not required as part of
limited maintenance plans. According
to the 1995 guidance, ‘‘it is
unreasonable to expect that such an area
will experience so much growth * * *
that a violation of the CO NAAQS
would result.’’ Therefore, budgets for
transportation and general conformity
determinations are not required for
areas with approved limited
maintenance plans.
quality over the maintenance period.
EPA believes if the area begins the
maintenance period at, or below, 85% of
the CO 8 hour NAAQS, the applicability
of Prevention of Significant
Deterioration (PSD) requirements, the
control measures already in the SIP, and
Federal measures, should provide
adequate assurance of maintenance over
the initial 10-year maintenance period.
In addition, the design value for the area
must continue to be at or below 7.65
ppm until the time of final EPA action
on the redesignation. At the time of
redesignation, in 1991, Providence’s 8hour CO design value was 7.4 ppm, and
had been below 7.65 since 1989. The
design value has continued to decline as
shown in Table 1. The design value for
2006, the last full year that the
Providence monitor operated, was 2.5
ppm (as compared to the NAAQS of 9.0
ppm). Therefore, Providence
demonstrates maintenance and is
clearly eligible for the limited
maintenance plan option.
B. Demonstration of Maintenance
For areas such as Providence Rhode
Island that utilize EPA’s limited
maintenance plan approach, the
maintenance demonstration is
considered to be satisfied for ‘‘not
classified’’ areas if the monitoring data
show the design value is at or below
7.65 ppm, or 85 percent of the level of
the 8-hour carbon monoxide CO
NAAQS. The design value must be
based on the 8 consecutive quarters of
data. For such areas, there is no
requirement to project emissions of air
1991
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
1 Memorandum ‘‘Limited Maintenance Plan
Option for Nonclassifiable Ozone Nonattainment
Areas’’ from Sally L. Shaver, Director, EPA Air
Quality Strategies and Standards Division, to
Regional Air Directors, November 16, 1994.
2 Memorandum ‘‘Limited Maintenance Plan
Option for Nonclassifiable CO Nonattainment
Areas’’ from Joseph W. Paisie, Group Leader, EPA
Integrated Policy and Strategies Group, to Air
Branch Chiefs, October 6, 1995.
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TABLE 1—8-HOUR CARBON MONOXIDE
DESIGN VALUES FOR PROVIDENCE
RHODE ISLAND
[8-Hour carbon monoxide design values for
Providence Rhode Island]
Year
......................................
......................................
......................................
......................................
......................................
......................................
......................................
......................................
......................................
......................................
......................................
Design value
(ppm)
7.4
4.7
3.9
3.5
3.8
2.7
2.3
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.5
C. Emission Inventory
An annual carbon monoxide emission
inventory was prepared for both Rhode
Island Statewide and Providence
County for the year 2002, a year in
which attainment was monitored in the
Providence Rhode Island carbon
monoxide attainment area, and the 8hour carbon monoxide design value was
2.7 parts per million. Please see Table
2. below:
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TABLE 2—STATEWIDE AND PROVIDENCE COUNTY RHODE ISLAND 2002 ANNUAL CARBON MONOXIDE EMISSIONS
[2002 carbon monoxide annual emissions (tons per year)]
Rhode Island
statewide carbon
monoxide
emissions
Source
Providence county
carbon monoxide
emissions
Stationary point ............................................................................................................................................
Stationary nonpoint ......................................................................................................................................
Non-road mobile ..........................................................................................................................................
On-road mobile ............................................................................................................................................
1,742
10,535
68,804
188,312
1,663
4,875
30,501
109,794
Total Anthropogenic (man-made) .........................................................................................................
269,393
146,833
Biogenic .......................................................................................................................................................
1,925
554
Total ...............................................................................................................................................
271,318
147,387
D. Monitoring Network and Verification
of Continued Attainment
In the limited maintenance plan,
Rhode Island Department of
Environmental Management commits to
maintain a continuous CO monitor at
the East Providence PAMS site and reestablish a CO monitoring site meeting
EPA specifications in downtown
Providence should (1) the East
Providence 8-hour CO design value
increase to five parts per million; or (2)
total calendar year CO emissions in
Providence County from all
anthropogenic sources exceed 190,883
tons per year (a value 30% higher than
the total anthropogenic emissions in the
2002 inventory); or (3) average motor
vehicle CO emissions measured by the
remote sensing program in any year
between 2008 and 2011 exceed 0.39%,
which is three times the 2006 value.
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III. Contingency
EPA concurs with RI DEM that
specific contingency measures are not
needed at the present, since current CO
levels are so far below the NAAQS and
emissions from mobile sources, the
dominant source of CO in the State and
in Providence County, are decreasing as
the percentage of vehicles subject to
tighter Federal Motor Vehicle Emission
Control Program (FMVECP) standards
increase in the State. However, if
monitoring for CO in downtown
Providence is triggered, based on the
criteria specified below, in ‘‘State
Commitments,’’ RI DEM will develop
contingency measures that will go into
effect if a violation of the NAAQS
occurs without further action by the
State.
IV. State Commitments
EPA’s guidance for limited
maintenance plans also requires states
to include several commitments as part
of the SIP revision. To fulfill those
requirements, Rhode Island’s September
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22, 2008 SIP submittal includes the
following commitments:
• RI DEM will maintain a continuous
CO monitor at the East Providence
PAMS site to verify continued
compliance with the CO NAAQS in the
CO maintenance area;
• Should the East Providence 8-hour
CO design value increase to five parts
per million, RI DEM will re-establish a
CO Monitoring site meeting EPA
specifications in downtown Providence
within six months;
• Should total calendar year CO
emissions in Providence County from
all anthropogenic sources exceed
190,883 tons per year (a value 30%
higher than the total anthropogenic
emissions in the 2002 inventory) RI
DEM will re-establish a CO Monitoring
site meeting EPA specifications in
downtown Providence within six
months;
• Should average motor vehicle CO
emissions measured by the remote
sensing program in any year between
2008 and 2011 exceed 0.39%, which is
three times the 2006 value, RI DEM will
re-establish a CO Monitoring site
meeting EPA specifications in
downtown Providence within six
months;
• Should the design value in the
Providence maintenance area exceed
7.65 ppm, RI DEM will coordinate with
EPA to: Verify the validity of the data;
evaluate whether the data should be
excluded based on an ‘‘exceptional
event’’; and, if warranted based on the
data review, develop a full maintenance
plan for the affected maintenance areas;
and,
• RI DEM will continue to ensure that
project-level CO evaluations of
transportation projects (i.e., project-level
conformity, as described in 40 CFR
93.116) in the Providence CO
attainment area are conducted through
the end of the second ten-year
maintenance period.
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V. Conformity
Section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act
(CAA) defines transportation conformity
as conformity to the state
implementation plan’s purpose of
eliminating or reducing the severity and
number of violations of the NAAQS and
achieving expeditious attainment of
such standards. The CAA further
defines transportation conformity to
mean that no Federal transportation
activity will: (1) Cause or contribute to
any new violation of any standard in
any area; (2) increase the frequency or
severity of any existing violation of any
standard in any area; or (3) delay timely
attainment of any standard or any
required interim emission reductions or
other milestones in any area. The
Federal Transportation Conformity
Rule, 40 CFR part 93, subpart A, sets
forth the criteria and procedures for
demonstrating and assuring conformity
of transportation plans, programs and
projects which are developed, funded or
approved by the U.S. Department of
Transportation, and by metropolitan
planning organizations or other
recipients of funds under title 23 U.S.C.
or the Federal Transit Laws (49 U.S.C.
53). The transportation conformity rule
applies within all nonattainment and
maintenance areas. As prescribed by the
transportation conformity rule, once an
area has an applicable state
implementation plan with motor vehicle
emissions budgets, the expected
emissions from planned transportation
activities must be consistent with
(‘‘conform to’’) such established budgets
for that area.
In the case of the Providence Rhode
Island CO limited maintenance plan
area, however, the emissions budgets
may be treated as essentially not
constraining for the length of the second
maintenance period as long as the area
continues to meet the limited
maintenance criteria, because there is
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no reason to expect that these areas will
experience so much growth in that
period that a violation of the CO
NAAQS would result. In other words,
emissions from on-road transportation
sources need not be capped for the
remainder of the maintenance period
because it is unreasonable to believe
that emissions from such sources would
increase to a level that would threaten
the air quality in this area for the
duration of this maintenance period.
Therefore, for the limited maintenance
plan CO maintenance area, all Federal
actions that require conformity
determinations under the transportation
conformity rule are considered to satisfy
the regional emissions analysis and
‘‘budget test’’ requirements in 40 CFR
93.118 of the rule.
Since limited maintenance plan areas
are still maintenance areas, however,
transportation conformity
determinations are still required for
transportation plans, programs and
projects. Specifically, for such
determinations, transportation plans,
transportation improvement programs,
and projects must still demonstrate that
they are fiscally constrained (40 CFR
part 108) and must meet the criteria for
consultation and Transportation Control
Measure (TCM) implementation in the
conformity rule (40 CFR 93.112 and 40
CFR 93.113, respectively). In addition,
projects in limited maintenance areas
will still be required to meet the criteria
for CO hot spot analyses to satisfy
‘‘project level’’ conformity
determinations (40 CFR 93.116 and 40
CFR 93.123) which must incorporate the
latest planning assumptions and models
that are available. All aspects of
transportation conformity (with the
exception of satisfying the emission
budget test) will still be required.
If the carbon monoxide attainment
area monitors carbon monoxide
concentrations at or above the limited
maintenance eligibility criteria, or 7.65
parts per million, then that maintenance
area would no longer qualify for a
limited maintenance plan and would
revert to a full maintenance plan. In this
event, the limited maintenance plan
would remain applicable for conformity
purposes only until the full
maintenance plan is submitted and EPA
has found its motor vehicle emissions
budgets adequate for conformity
purposes or EPA approves the full
maintenance plan SIP revision. At that
time regional emissions analyses would
resume as a transportation conformity
criteria.
VI. Final Action
EPA is approving Rhode Island’s
September 22, 2008 State
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Implementation Plan (SIP) revision
establishing a limited maintenance plan
for the Providence Rhode Island carbon
monoxide attainment area.
The EPA is publishing this action
without prior proposal because the
Agency views this as a noncontroversial
amendment 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 relevant adverse comments be
filed. This rule will be effective May 26,
2009 without further notice unless the
Agency receives relevant adverse
comments by April 24, 2009.
If the EPA receives such comments,
then EPA will publish a notice
withdrawing the final rule and
informing the public that the rule will
not take effect. All public comments
received will then be addressed in a
subsequent final rule based on the
proposed rule. The EPA will not
institute a second comment period on
the proposed rule. All parties interested
in commenting on the proposed rule
should do so at this time. If no such
comments are received, the public is
advised that this rule will be effective
on May 26, 2009 and no further action
will be taken on the proposed rule.
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.
VII. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
Under the Clean Air Act, the
Administrator is required to approve a
SIP submission that complies with the
provisions of the Act and applicable
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k);
40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in reviewing SIP
submissions, EPA’s role is to approve
state choices, provided that they meet
the criteria of the Clean Air Act.
Accordingly, this action merely
approves state law as meeting Federal
requirements and does not impose
additional requirements beyond those
imposed by state law. For that reason,
this action:
• Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory
action’’ subject to review by the Office
of Management and Budget under
Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735,
October 4, 1993);
• Does not impose an information
collection burden under the provisions
of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
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• Is certified as not having a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
• 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);
• Does not have Federalism
implications as specified in Executive
Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10,
1999);
• Is not an economically significant
regulatory action based on health or
safety risks subject to Executive Order
13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997);
• Is not a significant regulatory action
subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR
28355, May 22, 2001);
• Is not subject to requirements of
Section 12(d) of the National
Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because
application of those requirements would
be inconsistent with the Clean Air Act;
and
• Does not provide EPA with the
discretionary authority to address, as
appropriate, disproportionate human
health or environmental effects, using
practicable and legally permissible
methods, under Executive Order 12898
(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, this rule does not have
tribal implications as specified by
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249,
November 9, 2000), because the SIP is
not approved to apply in Indian country
located in the state, and EPA notes that
it will not impose substantial direct
costs on tribal governments or preempt
tribal law.
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 action 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 Clean
Air Act, petitions for judicial review of
this action must be filed in the United
States Court of Appeals for the
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 56 / Wednesday, March 25, 2009 / Rules and Regulations
appropriate circuit by May 26, 2009.
Filing a petition for reconsideration by
the Administrator of this final rule does
not affect the finality of this action 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. Parties with
objections to this direct final rule are
encouraged to file a comment in
response to the parallel notice of
proposed rulemaking for this action
published in the proposed rules section
of today’s Federal Register, rather than
file an immediate petition for judicial
review of this direct final rule, so that
EPA can withdraw this direct final rule
and address the comment in the
proposed rulemaking. This action may
not be challenged later in proceedings to
enforce its requirements. (See section
307(b)(2).)
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference,
Intergovernmental relations, Lead,
Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile
organic compounds.
PART 52—[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for part 52
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart OO—Rhode Island
2. Section 52.2089 is added to read as
follows:
■
§ 52.2089 Control strategy: carbon
monoxide.
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with RULES
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
Approval and Promulgation of Air
Quality Implementation Plans:
Kentucky; Approval Section 110(a)(1)
Maintenance Plans for the 1997 8-Hour
Ozone Standard for the HuntingtonAshland Area, Lexington Area and
Edmonson County
Part 52 of chapter I, title 40 of the
Code of Federal Regulations is amended
as follows:
(a) Approval—On September 22,
2008, the Rhode Island Department of
Environmental Management submitted a
request to establish a limited
maintenance plan for the Providence
Rhode Island carbon monoxide
attainment area for the remainder of the
second ten-year maintenance plan. The
State of Rhode Island has committed to
year round carbon monoxide monitoring
at the East Providence Photochemical
Assessment Monitoring Station (PAMS)
site; re-establishing downtown
Providence CO monitoring if criteria
specified in the Limited Maintenance
Jkt 217001
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
[EPA–R04–OAR–2007–1186–200821(a);
FRL–8781–5]
■
00:39 Mar 25, 2009
[FR Doc. E9–6643 Filed 3–24–09; 8:45 am]
40 CFR Part 52
Dated: March 12, 2009.
Ira W. Leighton,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA New
England.
VerDate Nov<24>2008
Plan are triggered; and, ensuring that
project-level carbon monoxide
evaluations of transportation projects in
the maintenance area are conducted.
The limited maintenance plan satisfies
all applicable requirements of section
175A of the Clean Air Act. Approval of
a limited maintenance plan is
conditioned on maintaining levels of
ambient carbon monoxide levels below
the required limited maintenance plan
8-hour carbon monoxide design value
criterion of 7.65 parts per million. If the
Limited Maintenance Plan criterion is
no longer satisfied, Rhode Island must
develop a full maintenance plan to meet
Clean Air Act requirements.
(b) [Reserved]
AGENCY: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
SUMMARY: EPA is approving revisions to
the Kentucky State Implementation Plan
(SIP) concerning the maintenance plans
addressing the 1997 8-hour ozone
standard for the following areas: the
Kentucky portion of the Huntington—
Ashland Area (a portion of Greenup
County); Lexington Area (Fayette and
Scott Counties); and Edmonson County.
These maintenance plans were
submitted to EPA on May 27, 2008, by
the Commonwealth of Kentucky and
ensure the continued attainment of the
1997 8-hour ozone National Ambient
Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) through
the year 2020. These plans meet the
statutory and regulatory requirements,
and are consistent with EPA’s guidance.
EPA is approving the revisions pursuant
to section 110 of the Clean Air Act
(‘‘CAA’’ or ‘‘Act’’). On March 12, 2008,
EPA issued a revised ozone standard.
The current action, however, is being
taken to address requirements under the
1997 ozone standard. Requirements for
the Huntington-Ashland, Lexington, and
Edmonson County Areas under the 2008
standard will be addressed in the future.
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12567
DATES: This rule is effective on May 26,
2009 without further notice, unless EPA
receives adverse comment by April 24,
2009. If EPA receives such comment,
EPA will publish a timely withdrawal in
the Federal Register informing the
public that this rule will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R04–
OAR–2007–1186, by one of the
following methods:
1. Federal eRulemaking Portal:
www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments.
2. E-mail: Jane Spann at
spann.jane@epa.gov.
3. Fax: (404) 562–9019.
4. Mail: ‘‘EPA–R04–OAR–2007–
1186,’’ 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.
5. Hand Delivery or Courier: Jane
Spann, 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. 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–2007–
1186.’’ 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 through
www.regulations.gov or e-mail,
information that you consider to be CBI
or otherwise protected. The
www.regulations.gov website 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
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 25, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12562-12567]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-6643]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R01-OAR-2008-0796 ; A-1-FRL-8785-6]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Rhode Island; Carbon Monoxide Limited Maintenance Plan for Providence,
RI
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision
submitted by the State of Rhode Island. This revision establishes a
limited maintenance plan for the Providence Rhode Island carbon
monoxide attainment area and addresses the remaining portion of the
ten-year update to the carbon monoxide maintenance plan. This action is
being taken in accordance with the Clean Air Act.
DATES: This direct final rule will be effective May 26, 2009, unless
EPA receives adverse comments by April 24, 2009. If adverse comments
are received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the direct final
rule in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule will
not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R01-OAR-2008-0796 by one of the following methods:
1. https://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
2. E-mail: arnold.anne@epa.gov.
3. Mail: ``Docket Identification Number EPA-R01-OAR-2008-0796'',
Anne Arnold, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England
Regional Office, One Congress Street, Suite 1100 (mail code CAQ),
Boston, MA 02114-2023.
[[Page 12563]]
4. Hand Delivery or Courier. Deliver your comments to: Anne Arnold,
Manager, Air Quality Planning Unit, Office of Ecosystem Protection,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional Office,
One Congress Street, 11th floor, (CAQ), Boston, MA 02114-2023. 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 legal holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R01-OAR-
2008-0796. 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.
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 Office of Ecosystem Protection,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional Office,
One Congress Street, Suite 1100, Boston, MA. EPA requests that if at
all possible, you contact the contact 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 legal holidays.
In addition, copies of the state submittal are also available for
public inspection during normal business hours, by appointment at the
State Air Agency; Office of Air Resources, Department of Environmental
Management, 235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908-5767.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald O. Cooke, Air Quality Planning
Unit, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional
Office, One Congress Street, Suite 1100 (CAQ), Boston, MA 02114-2023,
telephone number (617) 918-1668, fax number (617) 918-0668, e-mail
cooke.donald@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
Organization of this document. The following outline is provided to
aid in locating information in this preamble.
I. Background and Purpose
II. Criteria for Limited Maintenance Plan Designation
A. EPA Guidance
B. Demonstration of Maintenance
C. Emission Inventory
D. Monitoring Network and Verification of Continued Attainment
III. Contingency
IV. State Commitments
V. Conformity
VI. Final Action
VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background and Purpose
In 1989, Rhode Island submitted a request to EPA to redesignate
Providence to attainment status for carbon monoxide (CO). Since the EPA
had not yet approved that request when the Clean Air Act Amendments of
1990 (CAAA) were enacted, Rhode Island submitted a revised
redesignation request to EPA in 1991 that addressed additional
requirements in the CAAA. The initial ten-year maintenance plan relied
on emissions reductions from the Federal Motor Vehicle Emission Control
Program (FMVECP) and from the Prevention of Significant Deterioration
(PSD) program, which replaced the New Source Review (NSR) program when
the redesignation became effective. The maintenance plan also stated
that, if the carbon monoxide National Ambient Air Quality Standard
(NAAQS) was violated in the ten year period covered by the plan, the
State would submit a plan to correct the violation within 18 months of
the violation. On September 5, 1991, the EPA published a Final Rule in
the Federal Register that redesignated Providence to attainment status
for CO (56 FR 43872).
Section 175A of the CAAA requires redesignated areas to submit a
second ten-year maintenance plan to the EPA eight years after the first
plan is approved. The second plan must demonstrate that compliance with
the NAAQS will continue during the ten year period following the
expiration of the first maintenance plan. In the case of Rhode Island,
the second ten-year maintenance plan was scheduled to be submitted in
1999 and would cover the years 2001 through 2011. Rhode Island did not
submit a second ten-year maintenance plan at that time; however the
emissions control programs established in the first ten-year
maintenance plan continued to be in effect. Monitored levels of carbon
monoxide in the Providence attainment area continued to be well below
the 8-hour NAAQS standard of 9.0 parts per million (ppm), and have
stayed on a downward trend. The 1-hour CO NAAQS of 32 parts per million
was never exceeded in the State of Rhode Island.
In June 2007, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
(RI DEM) requested permission to discontinue monitoring for CO at the
Dorrance Street site in Providence. This request was prompted by
amendments to EPA's monitoring requirements (Final Rule: Revisions to
Ambient Air Monitoring Regulations; October 17, 2006; 71 FR 61236),
which removed minimum requirements for CO monitoring for determining
compliance with NAAQS. The amended EPA regulation continued to require
the operation of CO monitors at Type II stations in the Photochemical
Assessment Monitoring Sites (PAMS) network. Rhode Island has operated a
year round CO monitor at its Type II PAMS site in East Providence since
1998.
In its request to remove the Dorrance Street CO monitor, RI DEM
stated that the monitor no longer served a useful purpose because the
CO NAAQS had not been exceeded for 20 years and was extremely unlikely
to be exceeded in the future, since monitored levels were considerably
below the NAAQS and continued to trend downward and the emissions
control programs that had resulted in this decrease remained in
[[Page 12564]]
place. Moreover, this site was no longer useful for predicting the
State's daily Air Quality Index (AQI), which serves to warn the public
about impending poor air quality, because all CO measurements recorded
since 2001 had been in the ``good'' category of the AQI.
In an October 24, 2007 letter from Michael Kenyon, Director of the
Office of Environmental Measurement and Evaluation, EPA Region I
approved the termination of the Dorrance Street site ``subject to the
revision of the Providence carbon monoxide maintenance plan being
approved by EPA.'' At issue was the fact that the original maintenance
plan relied on the levels measured by the Dorrance Street monitor to
track continued attainment of the CO NAAQS. EPA advised that, if CO
monitoring at that site were discontinued, Rhode Island would need to
revise its CO maintenance plan to provide another mechanism to track
continued attainment until the end of the second ten-year maintenance
period (September 2011) and to identify levels that would trigger the
need for additional action. RI DEM agreed to revise its plan and
discontinued CO monitoring at the Dorrance Street site at the end of
June 2007.
On September 22, 2008, the State of Rhode Island submitted a formal
revision to its State Implementation Plan (SIP) for a Limited
Maintenance Plan for the Providence Rhode Island Carbon Monoxide
Maintenance Area. The SIP revision consists of a second follow-on ten-
year carbon monoxide maintenance plan for the Providence carbon
monoxide attainment area to address the remainder of the maintenance
plan period (period 2001 to 2011), and a request for a limited carbon
monoxide maintenance plan designation. The SIP revision also includes
the State's commitment to year round carbon monoxide monitoring at the
East Providence Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Station (PAMS)
site.
II. Criteria for Limited Maintenance Plan Designation
A. EPA Guidance
In November 1994, EPA issued guidance regarding a limited
maintenance plan option for nonclassifiable ozone nonattainment
areas.\1\ In October 1995, EPA issued further guidance that extended
that option to nonclassifiable carbon monoxide nonattainment areas.\2\
To qualify for the limited maintenance option, an area's 8-hour average
CO design value at the time of redesignation must be at or below 7.65
ppm (85% of the NAAQS).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Memorandum ``Limited Maintenance Plan Option for
Nonclassifiable Ozone Nonattainment Areas'' from Sally L. Shaver,
Director, EPA Air Quality Strategies and Standards Division, to
Regional Air Directors, November 16, 1994.
\2\ Memorandum ``Limited Maintenance Plan Option for
Nonclassifiable CO Nonattainment Areas'' from Joseph W. Paisie,
Group Leader, EPA Integrated Policy and Strategies Group, to Air
Branch Chiefs, October 6, 1995.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unlike full maintenance plans, limited maintenance plans are not
required to include a projection of emissions over the maintenance
period, because, according to EPA's 1995 guidance, ``the continued
applicability of prevention of significant deterioration (PSD)
requirements, any control measures already in the SIP, and Federal
measures (such as the Federal Motor Vehicle Emission Control Program)
should provide adequate assurance of maintenance for those areas.''
Moreover, the establishment of emissions budgets for conformity
purposes is not required as part of limited maintenance plans.
According to the 1995 guidance, ``it is unreasonable to expect that
such an area will experience so much growth * * * that a violation of
the CO NAAQS would result.'' Therefore, budgets for transportation and
general conformity determinations are not required for areas with
approved limited maintenance plans.
B. Demonstration of Maintenance
For areas such as Providence Rhode Island that utilize EPA's
limited maintenance plan approach, the maintenance demonstration is
considered to be satisfied for ``not classified'' areas if the
monitoring data show the design value is at or below 7.65 ppm, or 85
percent of the level of the 8-hour carbon monoxide CO NAAQS. The design
value must be based on the 8 consecutive quarters of data. For such
areas, there is no requirement to project emissions of air quality over
the maintenance period. EPA believes if the area begins the maintenance
period at, or below, 85% of the CO 8 hour NAAQS, the applicability of
Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) requirements, the control
measures already in the SIP, and Federal measures, should provide
adequate assurance of maintenance over the initial 10-year maintenance
period. In addition, the design value for the area must continue to be
at or below 7.65 ppm until the time of final EPA action on the
redesignation. At the time of redesignation, in 1991, Providence's 8-
hour CO design value was 7.4 ppm, and had been below 7.65 since 1989.
The design value has continued to decline as shown in Table 1. The
design value for 2006, the last full year that the Providence monitor
operated, was 2.5 ppm (as compared to the NAAQS of 9.0 ppm). Therefore,
Providence demonstrates maintenance and is clearly eligible for the
limited maintenance plan option.
Table 1--8-Hour Carbon Monoxide Design Values for Providence Rhode
Island
[8-Hour carbon monoxide design values for Providence Rhode Island]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Design value
Year (ppm)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1991.................................................... 7.4
1998.................................................... 4.7
1999.................................................... 3.9
2000.................................................... 3.5
2001.................................................... 3.8
2002.................................................... 2.7
2003.................................................... 2.3
2004.................................................... 2.5
2005.................................................... 2.5
2006.................................................... 2.5
2007.................................................... 2.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. Emission Inventory
An annual carbon monoxide emission inventory was prepared for both
Rhode Island Statewide and Providence County for the year 2002, a year
in which attainment was monitored in the Providence Rhode Island carbon
monoxide attainment area, and the 8-hour carbon monoxide design value
was 2.7 parts per million. Please see Table 2. below:
[[Page 12565]]
Table 2--Statewide and Providence County Rhode Island 2002 Annual Carbon
Monoxide Emissions
[2002 carbon monoxide annual emissions (tons per year)]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rhode Island
statewide carbon Providence county
Source monoxide carbon monoxide
emissions emissions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stationary point.................. 1,742 1,663
Stationary nonpoint............... 10,535 4,875
Non-road mobile................... 68,804 30,501
On-road mobile.................... 188,312 109,794
-------------------------------------
Total Anthropogenic (man-made) 269,393 146,833
-------------------------------------
Biogenic.......................... 1,925 554
=====================================
Total..................... 271,318 147,387
------------------------------------------------------------------------
D. Monitoring Network and Verification of Continued Attainment
In the limited maintenance plan, Rhode Island Department of
Environmental Management commits to maintain a continuous CO monitor at
the East Providence PAMS site and re-establish a CO monitoring site
meeting EPA specifications in downtown Providence should (1) the East
Providence 8-hour CO design value increase to five parts per million;
or (2) total calendar year CO emissions in Providence County from all
anthropogenic sources exceed 190,883 tons per year (a value 30% higher
than the total anthropogenic emissions in the 2002 inventory); or (3)
average motor vehicle CO emissions measured by the remote sensing
program in any year between 2008 and 2011 exceed 0.39%, which is three
times the 2006 value.
III. Contingency
EPA concurs with RI DEM that specific contingency measures are not
needed at the present, since current CO levels are so far below the
NAAQS and emissions from mobile sources, the dominant source of CO in
the State and in Providence County, are decreasing as the percentage of
vehicles subject to tighter Federal Motor Vehicle Emission Control
Program (FMVECP) standards increase in the State. However, if
monitoring for CO in downtown Providence is triggered, based on the
criteria specified below, in ``State Commitments,'' RI DEM will develop
contingency measures that will go into effect if a violation of the
NAAQS occurs without further action by the State.
IV. State Commitments
EPA's guidance for limited maintenance plans also requires states
to include several commitments as part of the SIP revision. To fulfill
those requirements, Rhode Island's September 22, 2008 SIP submittal
includes the following commitments:
RI DEM will maintain a continuous CO monitor at the East
Providence PAMS site to verify continued compliance with the CO NAAQS
in the CO maintenance area;
Should the East Providence 8-hour CO design value increase
to five parts per million, RI DEM will re-establish a CO Monitoring
site meeting EPA specifications in downtown Providence within six
months;
Should total calendar year CO emissions in Providence
County from all anthropogenic sources exceed 190,883 tons per year (a
value 30% higher than the total anthropogenic emissions in the 2002
inventory) RI DEM will re-establish a CO Monitoring site meeting EPA
specifications in downtown Providence within six months;
Should average motor vehicle CO emissions measured by the
remote sensing program in any year between 2008 and 2011 exceed 0.39%,
which is three times the 2006 value, RI DEM will re-establish a CO
Monitoring site meeting EPA specifications in downtown Providence
within six months;
Should the design value in the Providence maintenance area
exceed 7.65 ppm, RI DEM will coordinate with EPA to: Verify the
validity of the data; evaluate whether the data should be excluded
based on an ``exceptional event''; and, if warranted based on the data
review, develop a full maintenance plan for the affected maintenance
areas; and,
RI DEM will continue to ensure that project-level CO
evaluations of transportation projects (i.e., project-level conformity,
as described in 40 CFR 93.116) in the Providence CO attainment area are
conducted through the end of the second ten-year maintenance period.
V. Conformity
Section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) defines transportation
conformity as conformity to the state implementation plan's purpose of
eliminating or reducing the severity and number of violations of the
NAAQS and achieving expeditious attainment of such standards. The CAA
further defines transportation conformity to mean that no Federal
transportation activity will: (1) Cause or contribute to any new
violation of any standard in any area; (2) increase the frequency or
severity of any existing violation of any standard in any area; or (3)
delay timely attainment of any standard or any required interim
emission reductions or other milestones in any area. The Federal
Transportation Conformity Rule, 40 CFR part 93, subpart A, sets forth
the criteria and procedures for demonstrating and assuring conformity
of transportation plans, programs and projects which are developed,
funded or approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation, and by
metropolitan planning organizations or other recipients of funds under
title 23 U.S.C. or the Federal Transit Laws (49 U.S.C. 53). The
transportation conformity rule applies within all nonattainment and
maintenance areas. As prescribed by the transportation conformity rule,
once an area has an applicable state implementation plan with motor
vehicle emissions budgets, the expected emissions from planned
transportation activities must be consistent with (``conform to'') such
established budgets for that area.
In the case of the Providence Rhode Island CO limited maintenance
plan area, however, the emissions budgets may be treated as essentially
not constraining for the length of the second maintenance period as
long as the area continues to meet the limited maintenance criteria,
because there is
[[Page 12566]]
no reason to expect that these areas will experience so much growth in
that period that a violation of the CO NAAQS would result. In other
words, emissions from on-road transportation sources need not be capped
for the remainder of the maintenance period because it is unreasonable
to believe that emissions from such sources would increase to a level
that would threaten the air quality in this area for the duration of
this maintenance period. Therefore, for the limited maintenance plan CO
maintenance area, all Federal actions that require conformity
determinations under the transportation conformity rule are considered
to satisfy the regional emissions analysis and ``budget test''
requirements in 40 CFR 93.118 of the rule.
Since limited maintenance plan areas are still maintenance areas,
however, transportation conformity determinations are still required
for transportation plans, programs and projects. Specifically, for such
determinations, transportation plans, transportation improvement
programs, and projects must still demonstrate that they are fiscally
constrained (40 CFR part 108) and must meet the criteria for
consultation and Transportation Control Measure (TCM) implementation in
the conformity rule (40 CFR 93.112 and 40 CFR 93.113, respectively). In
addition, projects in limited maintenance areas will still be required
to meet the criteria for CO hot spot analyses to satisfy ``project
level'' conformity determinations (40 CFR 93.116 and 40 CFR 93.123)
which must incorporate the latest planning assumptions and models that
are available. All aspects of transportation conformity (with the
exception of satisfying the emission budget test) will still be
required.
If the carbon monoxide attainment area monitors carbon monoxide
concentrations at or above the limited maintenance eligibility
criteria, or 7.65 parts per million, then that maintenance area would
no longer qualify for a limited maintenance plan and would revert to a
full maintenance plan. In this event, the limited maintenance plan
would remain applicable for conformity purposes only until the full
maintenance plan is submitted and EPA has found its motor vehicle
emissions budgets adequate for conformity purposes or EPA approves the
full maintenance plan SIP revision. At that time regional emissions
analyses would resume as a transportation conformity criteria.
VI. Final Action
EPA is approving Rhode Island's September 22, 2008 State
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision establishing a limited maintenance
plan for the Providence Rhode Island carbon monoxide attainment area.
The EPA is publishing this action without prior proposal because
the Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment 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
relevant adverse comments be filed. This rule will be effective May 26,
2009 without further notice unless the Agency receives relevant adverse
comments by April 24, 2009.
If the EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish a notice
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will
not take effect. All public comments received will then be addressed in
a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. The EPA will not
institute a second comment period on the proposed rule. All parties
interested in commenting on the proposed rule should do so at this
time. If no such comments are received, the public is advised that this
rule will be effective on May 26, 2009 and no further action will be
taken on the proposed rule. 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.
VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a
SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and
applicable Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a).
Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act.
Accordingly, this action merely approves state law as meeting Federal
requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those
imposed by state law. For that reason, this action:
Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
Is certified as not having a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
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);
Does not have Federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
Is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent
with the Clean Air Act; and
Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, this rule does not have tribal implications as specified
by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because the
SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in the state,
and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct costs on
tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
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 action 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 Clean Air Act, petitions for
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court
of Appeals for the
[[Page 12567]]
appropriate circuit by May 26, 2009. Filing a petition for
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect
the finality of this action 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. Parties with objections to this direct final rule are
encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel notice of
proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules
section of today's Federal Register, rather than file an immediate
petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can
withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed
rulemaking. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to
enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: March 12, 2009.
Ira W. Leighton,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA New England.
0
Part 52 of chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 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 OO--Rhode Island
0
2. Section 52.2089 is added to read as follows:
Sec. 52.2089 Control strategy: carbon monoxide.
(a) Approval--On September 22, 2008, the Rhode Island Department of
Environmental Management submitted a request to establish a limited
maintenance plan for the Providence Rhode Island carbon monoxide
attainment area for the remainder of the second ten-year maintenance
plan. The State of Rhode Island has committed to year round carbon
monoxide monitoring at the East Providence Photochemical Assessment
Monitoring Station (PAMS) site; re-establishing downtown Providence CO
monitoring if criteria specified in the Limited Maintenance Plan are
triggered; and, ensuring that project-level carbon monoxide evaluations
of transportation projects in the maintenance area are conducted. The
limited maintenance plan satisfies all applicable requirements of
section 175A of the Clean Air Act. Approval of a limited maintenance
plan is conditioned on maintaining levels of ambient carbon monoxide
levels below the required limited maintenance plan 8-hour carbon
monoxide design value criterion of 7.65 parts per million. If the
Limited Maintenance Plan criterion is no longer satisfied, Rhode Island
must develop a full maintenance plan to meet Clean Air Act
requirements.
(b) [Reserved]
[FR Doc. E9-6643 Filed 3-24-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
