Montana Second 10-Year Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plan for Missoula, 43180-43184 [2017-19460]
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 177 / Thursday, September 14, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
(4) Previously approved on August 29,
2006, in paragraph (c)(337)(i)(C)(1) of
this section and now deleted with
replacement in (c)(491)(i)(A)(6), Rule
2012: Attachment C, ‘‘Requirements for
Monitoring, Reporting, and
Recordkeeping for NOX Emissions:
Quality Assurance and Quality Control
Procedures,’’ amended on December 4,
2015.
(5) Previously approved on August 29,
2006, in paragraph (c)(337)(i)(C)(1) of
this section and now deleted with
replacement in (c)(491)(i)(A)(7), Rule
2012: Chapter 4, ‘‘Requirements for
Monitoring, Reporting, and
Recordkeeping for NOX Emissions:
Process Units—Periodic Reporting and
Rule 219 Equipment,’’ amended on
December 4, 2015.
(6) Previously approved on August 29,
2006, in paragraph (c)(337)(i)(C)(1) of
this section and now deleted with
replacement in (c)(491)(i)(A)(8), Rule
2011: Attachment E, ‘‘Requirements for
Monitoring, Reporting, and
Recordkeeping for SOX Emissions:
Definitions,’’ amended on February 5,
2016.
(7) Previously approved on August 29,
2006, in paragraph (c)(337)(i)(C)(1) of
this section and now deleted with
replacement in (c)(491)(i)(A)(9), Rule
2012: Attachment F, ‘‘Requirements for
Monitoring, Reporting, and
Recordkeeping for NOX Emissions:
Definitions,’’ amended on February 5,
2016.
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(342) * * *
(i) * * *
(C) * * *
(5) Previously approved on August 29,
2006 in paragraph (c)(342)(i)(C)(2) of
this section and now deleted with
replacement in (c)(491)(i)(A)(1), Rule
2001, ‘‘Applicability,’’ amended on
December 4, 2015.
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(388) * * *
(i) * * *
(A) * * *
(6) Previously approved on August 12,
2011 in paragraph (c)(388)(i)(A)(4) of
this section and now deleted with
replacement in (c)(491)(i)(A)(2), Rule
2002, ‘‘Allocations for NOX & SOX,’’
amended on October 7, 2016.
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(404) * * *
(i) * * *
(A) * * *
(5) Previously approved on December
20, 2011 in paragraph (c)(404)(i)(A)(1) of
this section and now deleted with
replacement in (c)(491)(i)(A)(3), Rule
2005, ‘‘New Source Review for Regional
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Clean Air Incentives Market,’’ amended
on December 4, 2015.
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(491) Amended regulations for the
following APCDs were submitted on
March 17, 2017 by the Governor’s
designee.
(i) Incorporation by reference.
(A) South Coast Air Quality
Management District.
(1) Rule 2001, ‘‘Applicability,’’
amended on December 4, 2015.
(2) Rule 2002, ‘‘Allocations for Oxides
of Nitrogen (NOX) and Oxides of Sulfur
(SOX),’’ amended on October 7, 2016.
(3) Rule 2005, ‘‘New Source Review
for RECLAIM,’’ amended on December
4, 2015.
(4) Protocol for Rule 2011:
Attachment C, ‘‘Quality Assurance and
Quality Control Procedures,’’ amended
on December 4, 2015.
(5) Protocol for Rule 2011: Chapter 3,
‘‘Process Units—Periodic Reporting,’’
amended on December 4, 2015.
(6) Protocol for Rule 2012:
Attachment C, ‘‘Quality Assurance and
Quality Control Procedures,’’ amended
on December 4, 2015.
(7) Protocol for Rule 2012: Chapter 4,
‘‘Process Units Periodic Reporting and
Rule 219 Equipment,’’ amended on
December 4, 2015.
(8) Protocol for Rule 2011:
Attachment E, ‘‘Definitions,’’ amended
on February 5, 2016.
(9) Protocol for Rule 2012:
Attachment F, ‘‘Definitions,’’ amended
on February 5, 2016.
[FR Doc. 2017–19454 Filed 9–13–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R08–OAR–2017–0339; FRL–9967–66–
Region 8]
Montana Second 10-Year Carbon
Monoxide Maintenance Plan for
Missoula
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is taking direct final
action approving a State
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision
submitted by the State of Montana. On
September 19, 2016, the Governor of
Montana submitted to the EPA a Clean
Air Act (CAA) section 175A(b) second
10-year maintenance plan for the
Missoula, Montana area for the carbon
monoxide (CO) National Ambient Air
SUMMARY:
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Quality Standard (NAAQS). This
limited maintenance plan (LMP)
addresses maintenance of the CO
NAAQS for a second 10-year period
beyond the original redesignation. This
action is being taken under sections 110
and 175A of the CAA.
DATES: This rule is effective on
November 13, 2017 without further
notice, unless the EPA receives adverse
comment by October 16, 2017. If
adverse comment is received, the 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 No. EPA–R08–
OAR–2017–0339 at https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Once submitted, comments cannot be
edited or removed from
www.regulations.gov. The EPA may
publish any comment received to its
public docket. Do not submit
electronically any information you
consider to be Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Multimedia submissions (audio, video,
etc.,) must be accompanied by a written
comment. The written comment is
considered the official comment and
should include discussion of all points
you wish to make. The EPA will
generally not consider comments or
comment contents located outside of the
primary submission (i.e., on the web,
cloud, or other file sharing system). For
additional submission methods, the full
EPA public comment policy,
information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on
making effective comments, please visit
https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/
commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Adam Clark, Air Program, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), Region 8, Mail Code 8P–AR,
1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver, Colorado
80202–1129. (303) 312–7104,
clark.adam@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
What should I consider as I prepare my
comments for EPA?
1. Submitting Confidential Business
Information (CBI). Do not submit CBI to
the EPA through https://
www.regulations.gov or email. Clearly
mark the part or all of the information
that you claim to be CBI. For CBI
information on a disk or CD ROM that
you mail to the EPA, mark the outside
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of the disk or CD ROM as CBI and then
identify electronically within the disk or
CD ROM the specific information that is
claimed as CBI. In addition to one
complete version of the comment that
includes information claimed as CBI, a
copy of the comment that does not
contain the information claimed as CBI
must be submitted for inclusion in the
public docket. Information so marked
will not be disclosed except in
accordance with procedures set forth in
40 CFR part 2.
2. Tips for preparing your comments.
When submitting comments, remember
to:
• Identify the rulemaking by docket
number and other identifying
information (subject heading, Federal
Register volume, date, and page
number);
• Follow directions and organize your
comments;
• Explain why you agree or disagree;
• Suggest alternatives and substitute
language for your requested changes;
• Describe any assumptions and
provide any technical information and/
or data that you used;
• If you estimate potential costs or
burdens, explain how you arrived at
your estimate in sufficient detail to
allow for it to be reproduced;
• Provide specific examples to
illustrate your concerns, and suggest
alternatives;
• Explain your views as clearly as
possible, avoiding the use of profanity
or personal threats; and
• Make sure to submit your
comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
II. Background
Under the CAA Amendments of 1990,
the Missoula area was designated as
nonattainment and classified as a
‘‘moderate’’ CO area, with a design
value of less than or equal to 12.7 parts
per million (ppm) (56 FR 56694,
November 6, 1991). On May 27, 2005,
the Governor of Montana submitted to
the EPA a request to redesignate the
Missoula CO nonattainment area to
attainment for the 8-hour CO NAAQS.
Along with this request, the Governor
submitted a CAA section 175A(a)
maintenance plan which established an
attainment year of 2000, and
demonstrated that the area would
maintain the 8-hour CO NAAQS
through 2020. The EPA approved the
State’s redesignation request, CAA
section 175A(a) maintenance plan and
base year emissions inventory on
August 17, 2007 (72 FR 46158).
Eight years after an area is
redesignated to attainment, CAA
Section 175A(b) requires the state to
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submit a subsequent maintenance plan
to the EPA, covering a second 10-year
period.1 This second 10-year
maintenance plan must demonstrate
continued maintenance of the
applicable NAAQS during this second
10-year period. To fulfill this
requirement of the Act, the Governor of
Montana submitted the second 10-year
Missoula CO maintenance plan
(hereafter, ‘‘revised Missoula
Maintenance Plan’’) to the EPA on
September 19, 2016. With this action,
we are approving the revised Missoula
Maintenance Plan.
The 8-hour CO NAAQS—9.0 ppm—is
attained when such value is not
exceeded more than once a year. 40 CFR
50.8(a)(1). The Missoula area has
attained the 8-hour CO NAAQS from
1992 to the present.2 In October 1995,
the EPA issued guidance that provided
nonclassifiable CO nonattainment areas
the option of using a less rigorous
‘‘limited maintenance plan’’ (LMP)
option to demonstrate continued
attainment and maintenance of the 8hour CO NAAQS.3 According to this
guidance, areas that can demonstrate
design values at or below 7.65 ppm
(85% of exceedance levels of the 8-hour
CO NAAQS) for eight consecutive
quarters qualify to use a LMP. For the
revised Missoula Maintenance Plan, on
which we are finalizing action, the State
used the LMP option to demonstrate
continued maintenance of the 8-hour
CO NAAQS in the Missoula area
through 2027. We have determined that
the Missoula area qualifies for the LMP
option for this plan revision, since the
area’s maximum design value for the
most recent eight consecutive quarters
with certified data (years 2009 and
2010) was 2.4 ppm.4
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III. The EPA’s Evaluation of the Revised
Missoula Maintenance Plan
The following are the key elements of
an LMP for CO: Emission Inventory,
Maintenance Demonstration,
Monitoring Network/Verification of
Continued Attainment, Contingency
Plan, and Conformity Determinations.
Below, the EPA describes our evaluation
of each of these elements as it pertains
to the revised Missoula Maintenance
Plan.
A. Emission Inventory
The revised Missoula Maintenance
Plan contains an emissions inventory
for the base year 2010. The emission
inventory is a list, by source category, of
the air contaminants directly emitted
into the Missoula CO maintenance area
on a typical winter day in 2010.5 The
data in the emission inventory were
developed using EPA-approved
emissions modeling methods. A more
detailed description of the 2010
inventory is documented in the
Missoula CO maintenance plan. See
Revised Missoula Maintenance Plan, p.
4–6. Included in this inventory are
residential wood burning, natural gas
combustion, commercial equipment,
construction equipment, industrial
equipment, residential lawn and garden
equipment, commercial lawn and
garden equipment, railway maintenance
equipment, railway locomotives, motor
vehicle exhaust, and point sources.
Notably, motor vehicle exhaust from
onroad mobile sources accounted for
71% of total CO emissions in the
Missoula Maintenance Area during the
inventory period. The revised
maintenance plan contains detailed
emission inventory information that was
prepared in accordance with EPA
guidance, and is acceptable to the EPA.6
B. Maintenance Demonstration
1 In
this case, the initial maintenance period
described in CAA section 175A(a) was required to
extend for at least 10 years after the redesignation
to attainment, which was effective on September
17, 2007. See 72 FR 46158. The first maintenance
plan showed maintenance through 2020. CAA
section 175A(b) requires that the second 10-year
maintenance plan maintain the NAAQS for ‘‘10
years after the expiration of the 10-year period
referred to in [section 175A(a)].’’ Thus, for the
Missoula area, the second 10-year period ends in
2027.
2 https://www.epa.gov/airdata/.
3 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 (hereafter referred
to as ‘‘LMP Guidance’’).
4 See Table 1 below. Additionally, according to
the LMP guidance, an area using the LMP option
must continue to have a design value ‘‘at or below
7.65 ppm until the time of final EPA action on the
redesignation.’’ Table 1, below, demonstrates that
the area meets this requirement.
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The EPA considers the maintenance
demonstration requirement to be
satisfied for areas that qualify for and
are using the LMP option. As mentioned
above, a maintenance area is qualified to
use the LMP option if that area’s
maximum 8-hour CO design value for
eight consecutive quarters does not
exceed 7.65 ppm (85% of the CO
NAAQS). The EPA maintains that if an
5 Violations of the 8-hour CO NAAQS are most
likely to occur on winter weekdays, as weekdays
see more consistent workweek traffic and the
Missoula area is prone to temperature inversions in
the winter which lead to stagnant air conditions.
The typical winter day from 2010 was used because
monitoring in Missoula ceased in 2011.
6 See ‘‘Procedures for Processing Requests to
Redesignate Areas to Attainment,’’ from John
Calcagni, Director, Air Quality Management
Division, EPA, September 4, 1992.
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area begins the maintenance period with
a design value no greater than 7.65 ppm,
the air quality along with the continued
applicability of prevention of significant
deterioration requirements, the control
measures already in the SIP, and federal
measures should provide adequate
assurance of maintenance over the 10year maintenance period and the EPA
would not require such areas to project
emissions over the maintenance period.
Because the last recorded CO design
values in the Missoula area were
consistently well below the LMP
threshold (See Table 1 below) and no
changes are proposed to the area’s
permanent and enforceable control
measures, the State has adequately
demonstrated that the Missoula area
will maintain the 8-hour CO NAAQS
into the future.
Since 2006, no Missoula monitor has
TABLE 1—8-HOUR CO DESIGN VALUES FOR MISSOULA, MONTANA— registered a design value greater than
2.7 ppm, roughly 30% of the NAAQS.9
Continued
Citing these consistently low monitor
values, and expressing a desire to
Year
conserve monitoring resources, the State
requested to discontinue CO monitoring
2.2 .........................................
2010 in Missoula and instead use an
2.1 8 .......................................
2011 alternative strategy for monitoring
maintenance of the 8-hour CO NAAQS.
C. Monitoring Network/Verification of
The alternative monitoring strategy
Continued Attainment
utilizes ADT vehicle counts collected
from permanent automatic traffic
In the revised Missoula Maintenance
recorders in the Missoula CO
Plan, the State adopted an alternative
maintenance area to determine average
monitoring strategy for Missoula that
monthly traffic during the traditional
was previously approved by the EPA to
high CO concentration season of
satisfy this requirement for both the
November through February (the winter
Billings CO Maintenance Area (80 FR
season). The State will compare the
16571, March 30, 2015) and Great Falls
latest rolling 3-year ADT volumes
CO Maintenance Area (80 FR 17331,
during the winter season to the 2008–
April 1, 2015). The State adopted the
2011 baseline ADT volumes (see Table
alternative monitoring strategy to
TABLE 1—8-HOUR CO DESIGN
conserve resources by discontinuing the 2) that correlate to the low CO
VALUES FOR MISSOULA, MONTANA
monitored values during that period
gaseous CO ambient monitor in the
Missoula CO maintenance area. In place (see Table 1).10 Because mobile sources
Design value
Year
are the biggest driver of CO pollution,
of the gaseous ambient monitor, the
(ppm) 7
the Montana Department of
State’s alternative method relies on
3.6 .........................................
2003 rolling 3-year Average Daily Traffic
Environmental Quality (MDEQ)
2.9 .........................................
2004 (ADT) vehicle counts collected from
reasoned that any significant increase in
3.6 .........................................
2005
CO emissions would have to be
2.4 .........................................
2006 permanent automatic traffic recorders
accompanied by a significant increase in
2.4 .........................................
2007 (devices installed into a street’s
ADT.11 The EPA agrees with the State’s
2.7 .........................................
2008 pavement to continuously collect data)
2.5 .........................................
2009 in each maintenance area.
reasoning.
Design value
(ppm) 7
TABLE 2—TRAFFIC VOLUMES FOR MISSOULA, MONTANA
Average daily traffic for site A–037
Winter season
November
November
November
November
November
November
November
November
2008–January 2009 *
2009–February 2010
2010–February 2011
2011–February 2012
2012–February 2013
2013–February 2014
2014–February 2015
2015–February 2016
Rolling threeyear average
% Difference
from
2008–2011
baseline
........................................
........................................
(Baseline) 19,892 ...........
20,220 ............................
20,115 ............................
20,022 ............................
20,328 ............................
20,914 ............................
..........................
..........................
..........................
1.65
1.12
0.66
2.19
5.14
Winter
monthly
average
...............................................................................
...............................................................................
...............................................................................
...............................................................................
...............................................................................
...............................................................................
...............................................................................
...............................................................................
19,134
20,320
20,221
20,120
20,004
19,943
21,037
21,763
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* There is no ADT information available for February 2009.
If the rolling 3-year ADT value is 25%
higher than the monthly average value
from the November 2008–February 2011
baseline period of 19,892, the State, in
cooperation with the Missoula CityCounty Health Department (MCCHD),
will reestablish CO ambient monitoring
in Missoula the following high season
(November–February). If the CO design
value in the following high season has
not increased from the baseline mean by
an equal or greater rate at which the
ADT has increased, and the monitor
values remain at or below 50% of the 8hour CO NAAQS (2nd max
concentration ≤4.5 ppm), the monitor
may be removed and the ADT counts
will continue to be relied upon to
determine compliance with the NAAQS.
This process will be repeated each time
the rolling 3-year ADT increases by a
factor of 25% (e.g., 50%, 75%) above the
baseline 2008–2011 period, and the
same analysis will be conducted to
determine if the monitors can be
removed.
40 CFR 58.14(c) allows approval of
requests to discontinue ambient
monitors ‘‘on a case-by-case basis if
discontinuance does not compromise
7 Design values were derived from the EPA
AirData Web site (https://www.epa.gov/
airdata/).
8 The monitor only operated for 47 days in 2011,
and ceased operation on March 31, 2011. The 2.1
ppm value in Table 1 indicates the highest value
recorded at the CO monitor in 2011.
9 See Table 1 above. Design values were derived
from the EPA AirData (https://www.epa.gov/
airdata/) Web site.
10 In the revised Missoula Maintenance Plan, the
State refers to this period 2008–2010 baseline.
11 See ‘‘Review of National Ambient Air Quality
Standards for Carbon Monoxide,’’ 76 FR 54294,
August 31, 2011.
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data collection needed for
implementation of a NAAQS and if the
requirements of appendix D to 40 CFR
part 58, if any, continue to be met.’’ The
EPA finds that the alternative
monitoring strategy in the revised
Missoula Maintenance Plan meets the
criteria of 40 CFR 58.14(c) for the
Missoula CO maintenance area. Given
the long history of low CO
concentrations in the Missoula area and
the adequacy of the alternative
monitoring strategy at ensuring
continued attainment of the CO NAAQS
in the area, the EPA finds it appropriate
to approve the State’s request to not
operate a gaseous CO monitor in
Missoula and use the alternative
monitoring strategy in its place.
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D. Contingency Plan
The revised Missoula Maintenance
Plan stated that a trend of increasing CO
concentrations or a single 8-hour
average of 9.5 ppm or greater would
trigger a voluntary, local process by the
Missoula Air Pollution Control Board to
identify and evaluate potential
contingency measures. The plan also
indicated that a violation of the 8-hour
CO NAAQS (two or more values of 9.5
ppm or greater during a calendar year)
would trigger mandatory
implementation of contingency
measures.
As noted in the previous section, the
alternative monitoring strategy in the
revised Missoula Maintenance Plan
requires reestablishment of a CO
monitor in Missoula if traffic levels
(responsible for 71% of CO emissions in
Missoula) increase from the 2008–2011
baseline by a factor of 25% and provides
that any reestablished monitors showing
values above 50% of the NAAQS cannot
be removed. Therefore, the EPA finds
that CO emissions in Missoula are very
unlikely to increase to the point of an
8-hour NAAQS exceedance (the trigger
for voluntary contingency measures)
without that exceedance being observed
by a gaseous monitor, as such an
increase would most likely coincide
with a significant increase in traffic
volume.
The revised Missoula Maintenance
Plan retains two contingency measures
adopted as part of the area’s fully
approved SIP. The first expands the
oxygenated fuel program to other
months besides November, December,
January and February, as described in
Rule 10.110 of the Missoula City-County
Air Pollution Control Program. The
second further restricts woodstove
burning as described in Rule 9.601 of
the Missoula City-County Air Pollution
Control Program.
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The revised Missoula Maintenance
Plan indicates that contingency
measures will be implemented within
60 days of notification by MDEQ and
the EPA that the Missoula area has
violated the 8-hour CO NAAQS. Upon
notification of a CO NAAQS violation,
MCCHD will review relevant
information and implement one or both
of the contingency measures to correct
the violation. In the event that
violations continue to occur after
contingency measures have been
implemented, additional contingency
measures will be implemented until the
violations are corrected. See Revised
Missoula Maintenance Plan, p. 11.
We find that the contingency
measures provided in the revised
Missoula Maintenance Plan are
sufficient and meet the requirements of
section 175A(d) of the CAA.
E. Transportation Conformity
Transportation conformity is required
by section 176(c) of the CAA.
Conformity to a SIP means that
transportation activities will not
produce new air quality violations,
worsen existing violations, or delay
timely attainment of the NAAQS (CAA
176(c)(1)(B)). The EPA’s conformity rule
at 40 CFR part 93, subpart A requires
that transportation plans, programs and
projects conform to SIPs and establish
the criteria and procedures for
determining whether or not they
conform. To effectuate its purpose, the
conformity rule requires a
demonstration that emissions from the
Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and
the Transportation Improvement
Program (TIP) are consistent with the
motor vehicle emission budget (MVEB)
contained in the control strategy SIP
revision or maintenance plan (40 CFR
93.101, 93.118, and 93.124). A MVEB is
defined as the level of mobile source
emissions of a pollutant relied upon in
the attainment or maintenance
demonstration to attain or maintain
compliance with the NAAQS in the
nonattainment or maintenance area.12
Under the LMP guidance, MVEBs
generally are treated as not constraining
for the length of the maintenance
period. While the EPA’s LMP guidance
does not exempt an area from the need
to affirm conformity, it explains that the
area may demonstrate conformity
without submitting a MVEB. According
to the LMP guidance, it is unreasonable
to expect that a LMP area will
experience so much growth in that
12 Further information concerning the EPA’s
interpretations regarding MVEBs can be found in
the preamble to EPA’s November 24, 1993
transportation conformity rule (see 58 FR 62193–
62196).
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43183
period that a violation of the CO
NAAQS would result.13 We note that
the CO maintenance plan for Missoula
that we approved in 2007 (72 FR 46158,
August 17, 2007) contains a MVEB for
2020 of 42.67 tons per day of CO.
However, the State did not revise or
remove this 2020 MVEB from the SIP
with the revised Missoula Maintenance
Plan. Therefore, under our conformity
regulation, consistency with the 2020
MVEB must continue to be
demonstrated by the Missoula
Metropolitan Planning Organization
(MPO) as long as that year is within the
timeframe of the RTP (i.e., through
2020). See 40 CFR 93.118(b)(2)(i) and
(d)(2).
When the year 2020 is no longer
within the timeframe of the
transportation plan (i.e., 2021 and
beyond), there will no longer be a need
to demonstrate conformity with any
MVEB for the Missoula CO maintenance
area, for the reasons described in the
EPA’s LMP guidance. From that point
forward, all actions that require
conformity determinations for the
Missoula CO maintenance area under
our conformity rule provisions will be
considered to have already satisfied the
regional emissions analysis and ‘‘budget
test’’ requirements in 40 CFR 93.118,
because of our approval of the revised
Missoula Maintenance Plan.
However, since LMP areas are still
maintenance areas, certain aspects of
transportation conformity
determinations will be required for
transportation plans, programs and
projects. Specifically, for such
determinations, RTPs, TIPs and projects
will have to demonstrate that they are
fiscally constrained (40 CFR 93.108) and
meet the criteria for consultation and
timely implementation of
Transportation Control Measures (40
CFR 93.112 and 40 CFR 93.113,
respectively). In addition, projects in
LMP areas will be required to meet the
applicable criteria for localized CO hot
spot analyses to satisfy ‘‘project level’’
conformity determinations (40 CFR
93.116 and 40 CFR 93.123), which must
also incorporate the latest planning
assumptions and models available (40
CFR 93.110 and 40 CFR 93.111,
respectively).
Our approval of the revised Missoula
Maintenance Plan affects future CO RTP
and TIP transportation conformity
determinations as prepared by the
Missoula MPO, the Montana
Department of Transportation, the
Federal Highway Administration and
the Federal Transit Administration. See
40 CFR 93.100.
13 LMP
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 177 / Thursday, September 14, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
IV. Final Action
We are approving the revised
Missoula Maintenance Plan submitted
on September 19, 2016. This
maintenance plan meets the applicable
CAA requirements, and we have
determined it is sufficient to provide for
maintenance of the 8-hour CO NAAQS
over the course of the second 10-year
maintenance period out to 2027.
We are publishing this rule without
prior proposal because we view this as
a noncontroversial amendment and
anticipate no adverse comments.
However, in the Proposed Rules section
of today’s Federal Register publication,
we are publishing a separate document
that will serve as the proposal to
approve the SIP revision if adverse
comments are filed. This rule will be
effective November 13, 2017 without
further notice unless we receive adverse
comments by October 16, 2017. If we
receive adverse comments, we will
publish a timely withdrawal in the
Federal Register informing the public
that the rule will not take effect. We will
address all public comments in a
subsequent final rule based on the
proposed rule. We will not institute a
second comment period on this action.
Any parties interested in commenting
must do so at this time. Please note that
if we receive adverse comment on an
amendment, paragraph, or section of
this rule and if that provision may be
severed from the remainder of the rule,
we may adopt as final those provisions
of the rule that are not the subject of an
adverse comment.
rmajette on DSKBCKNHB2PROD with RULES
V. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
Under the CAA, 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, the
EPA’s role is to approve state actions,
provided that they meet the criteria of
the CAA. Accordingly, this action
merely approves some state law
provisions as meeting federal
requirements; this action 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 Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735,
October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821,
January 21, 2011);
• Does not impose an information
collection burden under the provisions
of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
VerDate Sep<11>2014
15:11 Sep 13, 2017
Jkt 241001
• 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 the 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, the SIP does not apply on
any Indian reservation land or in any
other area where the EPA or an Indian
tribe has demonstrated that a tribe has
jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian
country, the rule does not have tribal
implications and will not impose
substantial direct costs on tribal
governments or preempt tribal law as
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65
FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
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. The 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
PO 00000
Frm 00030
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 9990
this action must be filed in the United
States Court of Appeals for the
appropriate circuit by November 13,
2017. 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 the 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 CAA section
307(b)(2).)
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference,
Intergovernmental relations, Reporting
and recordkeeping requirements.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: August 31, 2017.
Debra H. Thomas,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 8.
40 CFR part 52 is amended to read as
follows:
PART 52—APPROVAL AND
PROMULGATION OF
IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
1. The authority citation for part 52
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart BB—Montana
2. Section 52.1373 is amended by
revising paragraph (d) to read as
follows:
■
§ 52.1373 Control strategy: Carbon
monoxide.
*
*
*
*
*
(d) Revisions to the Montana State
Implementation Plan, revised Carbon
Monoxide Maintenance Plan for
Missoula, as submitted by the Governor
on September 19, 2016.
[FR Doc. 2017–19460 Filed 9–13–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
E:\FR\FM\14SER1.SGM
14SER1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 177 (Thursday, September 14, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43180-43184]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-19460]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R08-OAR-2017-0339; FRL-9967-66-Region 8]
Montana Second 10-Year Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plan for
Missoula
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct
final action approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision
submitted by the State of Montana. On September 19, 2016, the Governor
of Montana submitted to the EPA a Clean Air Act (CAA) section 175A(b)
second 10-year maintenance plan for the Missoula, Montana area for the
carbon monoxide (CO) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS).
This limited maintenance plan (LMP) addresses maintenance of the CO
NAAQS for a second 10-year period beyond the original redesignation.
This action is being taken under sections 110 and 175A of the CAA.
DATES: This rule is effective on November 13, 2017 without further
notice, unless the EPA receives adverse comment by October 16, 2017. If
adverse comment is received, the 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 No. EPA-R08-
OAR-2017-0339 at https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot
be edited or removed from www.regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any
comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI)
or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.,) must be accompanied by a
written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment
and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA
will generally not consider comments or comment contents located
outside of the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other
file sharing system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA
public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions,
and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adam Clark, Air Program, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 8, Mail Code 8P-AR, 1595
Wynkoop Street, Denver, Colorado 80202-1129. (303) 312-7104,
clark.adam@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?
1. Submitting Confidential Business Information (CBI). Do not
submit CBI to the EPA through https://www.regulations.gov or email.
Clearly mark the part or all of the information that you claim to be
CBI. For CBI information on a disk or CD ROM that you mail to the EPA,
mark the outside
[[Page 43181]]
of the disk or CD ROM as CBI and then identify electronically within
the disk or CD ROM the specific information that is claimed as CBI. In
addition to one complete version of the comment that includes
information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain
the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the
public docket. Information so marked will not be disclosed except in
accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
2. Tips for preparing your comments. When submitting comments,
remember to:
Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register volume,
date, and page number);
Follow directions and organize your comments;
Explain why you agree or disagree;
Suggest alternatives and substitute language for your
requested changes;
Describe any assumptions and provide any technical
information and/or data that you used;
If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced;
Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and
suggest alternatives;
Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the
use of profanity or personal threats; and
Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
II. Background
Under the CAA Amendments of 1990, the Missoula area was designated
as nonattainment and classified as a ``moderate'' CO area, with a
design value of less than or equal to 12.7 parts per million (ppm) (56
FR 56694, November 6, 1991). On May 27, 2005, the Governor of Montana
submitted to the EPA a request to redesignate the Missoula CO
nonattainment area to attainment for the 8-hour CO NAAQS. Along with
this request, the Governor submitted a CAA section 175A(a) maintenance
plan which established an attainment year of 2000, and demonstrated
that the area would maintain the 8-hour CO NAAQS through 2020. The EPA
approved the State's redesignation request, CAA section 175A(a)
maintenance plan and base year emissions inventory on August 17, 2007
(72 FR 46158).
Eight years after an area is redesignated to attainment, CAA
Section 175A(b) requires the state to submit a subsequent maintenance
plan to the EPA, covering a second 10-year period.\1\ This second 10-
year maintenance plan must demonstrate continued maintenance of the
applicable NAAQS during this second 10-year period. To fulfill this
requirement of the Act, the Governor of Montana submitted the second
10-year Missoula CO maintenance plan (hereafter, ``revised Missoula
Maintenance Plan'') to the EPA on September 19, 2016. With this action,
we are approving the revised Missoula Maintenance Plan.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ In this case, the initial maintenance period described in
CAA section 175A(a) was required to extend for at least 10 years
after the redesignation to attainment, which was effective on
September 17, 2007. See 72 FR 46158. The first maintenance plan
showed maintenance through 2020. CAA section 175A(b) requires that
the second 10-year maintenance plan maintain the NAAQS for ``10
years after the expiration of the 10-year period referred to in
[section 175A(a)].'' Thus, for the Missoula area, the second 10-year
period ends in 2027.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 8-hour CO NAAQS--9.0 ppm--is attained when such value is not
exceeded more than once a year. 40 CFR 50.8(a)(1). The Missoula area
has attained the 8-hour CO NAAQS from 1992 to the present.\2\ In
October 1995, the EPA issued guidance that provided nonclassifiable CO
nonattainment areas the option of using a less rigorous ``limited
maintenance plan'' (LMP) option to demonstrate continued attainment and
maintenance of the 8-hour CO NAAQS.\3\ According to this guidance,
areas that can demonstrate design values at or below 7.65 ppm (85% of
exceedance levels of the 8-hour CO NAAQS) for eight consecutive
quarters qualify to use a LMP. For the revised Missoula Maintenance
Plan, on which we are finalizing action, the State used the LMP option
to demonstrate continued maintenance of the 8-hour CO NAAQS in the
Missoula area through 2027. We have determined that the Missoula area
qualifies for the LMP option for this plan revision, since the area's
maximum design value for the most recent eight consecutive quarters
with certified data (years 2009 and 2010) was 2.4 ppm.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ https://www.epa.gov/airdata/.
\3\ 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 (hereafter referred to as ``LMP
Guidance'').
\4\ See Table 1 below. Additionally, according to the LMP
guidance, an area using the LMP option must continue to have a
design value ``at or below 7.65 ppm until the time of final EPA
action on the redesignation.'' Table 1, below, demonstrates that the
area meets this requirement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. The EPA's Evaluation of the Revised Missoula Maintenance Plan
The following are the key elements of an LMP for CO: Emission
Inventory, Maintenance Demonstration, Monitoring Network/Verification
of Continued Attainment, Contingency Plan, and Conformity
Determinations. Below, the EPA describes our evaluation of each of
these elements as it pertains to the revised Missoula Maintenance Plan.
A. Emission Inventory
The revised Missoula Maintenance Plan contains an emissions
inventory for the base year 2010. The emission inventory is a list, by
source category, of the air contaminants directly emitted into the
Missoula CO maintenance area on a typical winter day in 2010.\5\ The
data in the emission inventory were developed using EPA-approved
emissions modeling methods. A more detailed description of the 2010
inventory is documented in the Missoula CO maintenance plan. See
Revised Missoula Maintenance Plan, p. 4-6. Included in this inventory
are residential wood burning, natural gas combustion, commercial
equipment, construction equipment, industrial equipment, residential
lawn and garden equipment, commercial lawn and garden equipment,
railway maintenance equipment, railway locomotives, motor vehicle
exhaust, and point sources. Notably, motor vehicle exhaust from onroad
mobile sources accounted for 71% of total CO emissions in the Missoula
Maintenance Area during the inventory period. The revised maintenance
plan contains detailed emission inventory information that was prepared
in accordance with EPA guidance, and is acceptable to the EPA.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ Violations of the 8-hour CO NAAQS are most likely to occur
on winter weekdays, as weekdays see more consistent workweek traffic
and the Missoula area is prone to temperature inversions in the
winter which lead to stagnant air conditions. The typical winter day
from 2010 was used because monitoring in Missoula ceased in 2011.
\6\ See ``Procedures for Processing Requests to Redesignate
Areas to Attainment,'' from John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality
Management Division, EPA, September 4, 1992.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. Maintenance Demonstration
The EPA considers the maintenance demonstration requirement to be
satisfied for areas that qualify for and are using the LMP option. As
mentioned above, a maintenance area is qualified to use the LMP option
if that area's maximum 8-hour CO design value for eight consecutive
quarters does not exceed 7.65 ppm (85% of the CO NAAQS). The EPA
maintains that if an
[[Page 43182]]
area begins the maintenance period with a design value no greater than
7.65 ppm, the air quality along with the continued applicability of
prevention of significant deterioration requirements, the control
measures already in the SIP, and federal measures should provide
adequate assurance of maintenance over the 10-year maintenance period
and the EPA would not require such areas to project emissions over the
maintenance period. Because the last recorded CO design values in the
Missoula area were consistently well below the LMP threshold (See Table
1 below) and no changes are proposed to the area's permanent and
enforceable control measures, the State has adequately demonstrated
that the Missoula area will maintain the 8-hour CO NAAQS into the
future.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ Design values were derived from the EPA AirData Web site
(https://www.epa.gov/airdata/ airdata/).
\8\ The monitor only operated for 47 days in 2011, and ceased
operation on March 31, 2011. The 2.1 ppm value in Table 1 indicates
the highest value recorded at the CO monitor in 2011.
Table 1--8-Hour CO Design Values for Missoula, Montana
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Design value (ppm) \7\ Year
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.6..................................................... 2003
2.9..................................................... 2004
3.6..................................................... 2005
2.4..................................................... 2006
2.4..................................................... 2007
2.7..................................................... 2008
2.5..................................................... 2009
2.2..................................................... 2010
2.1 \8\................................................. 2011
------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. Monitoring Network/Verification of Continued Attainment
In the revised Missoula Maintenance Plan, the State adopted an
alternative monitoring strategy for Missoula that was previously
approved by the EPA to satisfy this requirement for both the Billings
CO Maintenance Area (80 FR 16571, March 30, 2015) and Great Falls CO
Maintenance Area (80 FR 17331, April 1, 2015). The State adopted the
alternative monitoring strategy to conserve resources by discontinuing
the gaseous CO ambient monitor in the Missoula CO maintenance area. In
place of the gaseous ambient monitor, the State's alternative method
relies on rolling 3-year Average Daily Traffic (ADT) vehicle counts
collected from permanent automatic traffic recorders (devices installed
into a street's pavement to continuously collect data) in each
maintenance area.
Since 2006, no Missoula monitor has registered a design value
greater than 2.7 ppm, roughly 30% of the NAAQS.\9\ Citing these
consistently low monitor values, and expressing a desire to conserve
monitoring resources, the State requested to discontinue CO monitoring
in Missoula and instead use an alternative strategy for monitoring
maintenance of the 8-hour CO NAAQS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ See Table 1 above. Design values were derived from the EPA
AirData (https://www.epa.gov/airdata/) Web site.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The alternative monitoring strategy utilizes ADT vehicle counts
collected from permanent automatic traffic recorders in the Missoula CO
maintenance area to determine average monthly traffic during the
traditional high CO concentration season of November through February
(the winter season). The State will compare the latest rolling 3-year
ADT volumes during the winter season to the 2008-2011 baseline ADT
volumes (see Table 2) that correlate to the low CO monitored values
during that period (see Table 1).\10\ Because mobile sources are the
biggest driver of CO pollution, the Montana Department of Environmental
Quality (MDEQ) reasoned that any significant increase in CO emissions
would have to be accompanied by a significant increase in ADT.\11\ The
EPA agrees with the State's reasoning.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ In the revised Missoula Maintenance Plan, the State refers
to this period 2008-2010 baseline.
\11\ See ``Review of National Ambient Air Quality Standards for
Carbon Monoxide,'' 76 FR 54294, August 31, 2011.
Table 2--Traffic Volumes for Missoula, Montana
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average daily traffic for site A-037
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Winter season Winter % Difference
monthly Rolling three- year average from 2008-2011
average baseline
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 2008-January 2009 *.......... 19,134 ....................................... ...............
November 2009-February 2010........... 20,320 ....................................... ...............
November 2010-February 2011........... 20,221 (Baseline) 19,892...................... ...............
November 2011-February 2012........... 20,120 20,220................................. 1.65
November 2012-February 2013........... 20,004 20,115................................. 1.12
November 2013-February 2014........... 19,943 20,022................................. 0.66
November 2014-February 2015........... 21,037 20,328................................. 2.19
November 2015-February 2016........... 21,763 20,914................................. 5.14
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* There is no ADT information available for February 2009.
If the rolling 3-year ADT value is 25% higher than the monthly
average value from the November 2008-February 2011 baseline period of
19,892, the State, in cooperation with the Missoula City-County Health
Department (MCCHD), will reestablish CO ambient monitoring in Missoula
the following high season (November-February). If the CO design value
in the following high season has not increased from the baseline mean
by an equal or greater rate at which the ADT has increased, and the
monitor values remain at or below 50% of the 8-hour CO NAAQS (2nd max
concentration <=4.5 ppm), the monitor may be removed and the ADT counts
will continue to be relied upon to determine compliance with the NAAQS.
This process will be repeated each time the rolling 3-year ADT
increases by a factor of 25% (e.g., 50%, 75%) above the baseline 2008-
2011 period, and the same analysis will be conducted to determine if
the monitors can be removed.
40 CFR 58.14(c) allows approval of requests to discontinue ambient
monitors ``on a case-by-case basis if discontinuance does not
compromise
[[Page 43183]]
data collection needed for implementation of a NAAQS and if the
requirements of appendix D to 40 CFR part 58, if any, continue to be
met.'' The EPA finds that the alternative monitoring strategy in the
revised Missoula Maintenance Plan meets the criteria of 40 CFR 58.14(c)
for the Missoula CO maintenance area. Given the long history of low CO
concentrations in the Missoula area and the adequacy of the alternative
monitoring strategy at ensuring continued attainment of the CO NAAQS in
the area, the EPA finds it appropriate to approve the State's request
to not operate a gaseous CO monitor in Missoula and use the alternative
monitoring strategy in its place.
D. Contingency Plan
The revised Missoula Maintenance Plan stated that a trend of
increasing CO concentrations or a single 8-hour average of 9.5 ppm or
greater would trigger a voluntary, local process by the Missoula Air
Pollution Control Board to identify and evaluate potential contingency
measures. The plan also indicated that a violation of the 8-hour CO
NAAQS (two or more values of 9.5 ppm or greater during a calendar year)
would trigger mandatory implementation of contingency measures.
As noted in the previous section, the alternative monitoring
strategy in the revised Missoula Maintenance Plan requires
reestablishment of a CO monitor in Missoula if traffic levels
(responsible for 71% of CO emissions in Missoula) increase from the
2008-2011 baseline by a factor of 25% and provides that any
reestablished monitors showing values above 50% of the NAAQS cannot be
removed. Therefore, the EPA finds that CO emissions in Missoula are
very unlikely to increase to the point of an 8-hour NAAQS exceedance
(the trigger for voluntary contingency measures) without that
exceedance being observed by a gaseous monitor, as such an increase
would most likely coincide with a significant increase in traffic
volume.
The revised Missoula Maintenance Plan retains two contingency
measures adopted as part of the area's fully approved SIP. The first
expands the oxygenated fuel program to other months besides November,
December, January and February, as described in Rule 10.110 of the
Missoula City-County Air Pollution Control Program. The second further
restricts woodstove burning as described in Rule 9.601 of the Missoula
City-County Air Pollution Control Program.
The revised Missoula Maintenance Plan indicates that contingency
measures will be implemented within 60 days of notification by MDEQ and
the EPA that the Missoula area has violated the 8-hour CO NAAQS. Upon
notification of a CO NAAQS violation, MCCHD will review relevant
information and implement one or both of the contingency measures to
correct the violation. In the event that violations continue to occur
after contingency measures have been implemented, additional
contingency measures will be implemented until the violations are
corrected. See Revised Missoula Maintenance Plan, p. 11.
We find that the contingency measures provided in the revised
Missoula Maintenance Plan are sufficient and meet the requirements of
section 175A(d) of the CAA.
E. Transportation Conformity
Transportation conformity is required by section 176(c) of the CAA.
Conformity to a SIP means that transportation activities will not
produce new air quality violations, worsen existing violations, or
delay timely attainment of the NAAQS (CAA 176(c)(1)(B)). The EPA's
conformity rule at 40 CFR part 93, subpart A requires that
transportation plans, programs and projects conform to SIPs and
establish the criteria and procedures for determining whether or not
they conform. To effectuate its purpose, the conformity rule requires a
demonstration that emissions from the Regional Transportation Plan
(RTP) and the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) are consistent
with the motor vehicle emission budget (MVEB) contained in the control
strategy SIP revision or maintenance plan (40 CFR 93.101, 93.118, and
93.124). A MVEB is defined as the level of mobile source emissions of a
pollutant relied upon in the attainment or maintenance demonstration to
attain or maintain compliance with the NAAQS in the nonattainment or
maintenance area.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ Further information concerning the EPA's interpretations
regarding MVEBs can be found in the preamble to EPA's November 24,
1993 transportation conformity rule (see 58 FR 62193-62196).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under the LMP guidance, MVEBs generally are treated as not
constraining for the length of the maintenance period. While the EPA's
LMP guidance does not exempt an area from the need to affirm
conformity, it explains that the area may demonstrate conformity
without submitting a MVEB. According to the LMP guidance, it is
unreasonable to expect that a LMP area will experience so much growth
in that period that a violation of the CO NAAQS would result.\13\ We
note that the CO maintenance plan for Missoula that we approved in 2007
(72 FR 46158, August 17, 2007) contains a MVEB for 2020 of 42.67 tons
per day of CO. However, the State did not revise or remove this 2020
MVEB from the SIP with the revised Missoula Maintenance Plan.
Therefore, under our conformity regulation, consistency with the 2020
MVEB must continue to be demonstrated by the Missoula Metropolitan
Planning Organization (MPO) as long as that year is within the
timeframe of the RTP (i.e., through 2020). See 40 CFR 93.118(b)(2)(i)
and (d)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ LMP Guidance at 4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
When the year 2020 is no longer within the timeframe of the
transportation plan (i.e., 2021 and beyond), there will no longer be a
need to demonstrate conformity with any MVEB for the Missoula CO
maintenance area, for the reasons described in the EPA's LMP guidance.
From that point forward, all actions that require conformity
determinations for the Missoula CO maintenance area under our
conformity rule provisions will be considered to have already satisfied
the regional emissions analysis and ``budget test'' requirements in 40
CFR 93.118, because of our approval of the revised Missoula Maintenance
Plan.
However, since LMP areas are still maintenance areas, certain
aspects of transportation conformity determinations will be required
for transportation plans, programs and projects. Specifically, for such
determinations, RTPs, TIPs and projects will have to demonstrate that
they are fiscally constrained (40 CFR 93.108) and meet the criteria for
consultation and timely implementation of Transportation Control
Measures (40 CFR 93.112 and 40 CFR 93.113, respectively). In addition,
projects in LMP areas will be required to meet the applicable criteria
for localized CO hot spot analyses to satisfy ``project level''
conformity determinations (40 CFR 93.116 and 40 CFR 93.123), which must
also incorporate the latest planning assumptions and models available
(40 CFR 93.110 and 40 CFR 93.111, respectively).
Our approval of the revised Missoula Maintenance Plan affects
future CO RTP and TIP transportation conformity determinations as
prepared by the Missoula MPO, the Montana Department of Transportation,
the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit
Administration. See 40 CFR 93.100.
[[Page 43184]]
IV. Final Action
We are approving the revised Missoula Maintenance Plan submitted on
September 19, 2016. This maintenance plan meets the applicable CAA
requirements, and we have determined it is sufficient to provide for
maintenance of the 8-hour CO NAAQS over the course of the second 10-
year maintenance period out to 2027.
We are publishing this rule without prior proposal because we view
this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipate no adverse
comments. However, in the Proposed Rules section of today's Federal
Register publication, we are publishing a separate document that will
serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision if adverse comments
are filed. This rule will be effective November 13, 2017 without
further notice unless we receive adverse comments by October 16, 2017.
If we receive adverse comments, we will publish a timely withdrawal in
the Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take
effect. We will address all public comments in a subsequent final rule
based on the proposed rule. We will not institute a second comment
period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so
at this time. Please note that if we receive adverse comment on an
amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that provision may
be severed from the remainder of the rule, we may adopt as final those
provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment.
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the CAA, 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, the EPA's role is to approve state actions,
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this
action merely approves some state law provisions as meeting federal
requirements; this action 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 Orders 12866 (58
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
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 the 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, the SIP does not apply on any Indian reservation land
or in any other area where the EPA or an Indian tribe has demonstrated
that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian country, the
rule does not have tribal implications and will not impose substantial
direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as specified
by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
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. The 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 appropriate circuit by November 13, 2017. 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 the 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 CAA section
307(b)(2).)
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: August 31, 2017.
Debra H. Thomas,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 8.
40 CFR part 52 is amended to read as follows:
PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart BB--Montana
0
2. Section 52.1373 is amended by revising paragraph (d) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.1373 Control strategy: Carbon monoxide.
* * * * *
(d) Revisions to the Montana State Implementation Plan, revised
Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plan for Missoula, as submitted by the
Governor on September 19, 2016.
[FR Doc. 2017-19460 Filed 9-13-17; 8:45 am]
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