Air Plan Approval and Air Quality Designation; KY; Redesignation of the Kentucky Portion of the Louisville Unclassifiable Area, 24714-24716 [2018-11567]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 104 / Wednesday, May 30, 2018 / Proposed Rules
that has acceded to the Trademark Law
Treaty, but not to the Singapore Treaty
on the Law of Trademarks, the
requirements of paragraphs (a) and (b) of
this section do not apply.
(d) If TEAS is unavailable, or in an
extraordinary situation, an applicant or
registrant under this section who is
required to file a submission through
TEAS may submit a petition to the
Director under § 2.146(a)(5) and (c) of
this chapter to accept the submission
filed on paper.
■ 28. Amend § 7.11 by revising the
introductory text to paragraph (a),
(a)(10), and (a)(11), and removing
paragraph (a)(12) to read as follows:
§ 7.11 Requirements for international
application originating from the United
States.
(a) The Office will grant a date of
receipt to an international application
that is filed through TEAS in
accordance with § 7.4(a), or typed on the
official paper form issued by the
International Bureau, if permitted under
§ 7.4(c) or accepted on petition pursuant
to § 7.4(d). The international application
must include all of the following:
*
*
*
*
*
(10) If the application is filed through
TEAS, the international application fees
for all classes, and the fees for all
designated Contracting Parties
identified in the international
application (see § 7.7); and
(11) A statement that the applicant is
entitled to file an international
application in the Office, specifying that
applicant: is a national of the United
States; has a domicile in the United
States; or has a real and effective
industrial or commercial establishment
in the United States. Where an
applicant’s address is not in the United
States, the applicant must provide the
address of its U.S. domicile or
establishment.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 29. Amend § 7.21 by revising the
introductory text to paragraph (b), (b)(7),
and (b)(8), and removing paragraph
(b)(9) to read as follows:
§ 7.21
Subsequent designation.
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
*
*
*
*
*
(b) The Office will grant a date of
receipt to a subsequent designation that
is filed through TEAS in accordance
with § 7.4(a), or typed on the official
paper form issued by the International
Bureau, if permitted under § 7.4(c) or
accepted on petition pursuant to
§ 7.4(d). The subsequent designation
must contain all of the following:
*
*
*
*
*
(7) The U.S. transmittal fee required
by § 7.6; and
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(8) If the subsequent designation is
filed through TEAS, the subsequent
designation fees (see § 7.7).
*
*
*
*
*
■ 30. Amend § 7.25 by revising
paragraph (a) to read as follows:
§ 7.25 Sections of part 2 applicable to
extension of protection.
(a) Except for §§ 2.21, 2.22, 2.76, 2.88,
2.89, 2.130, 2.131, 2.160 through 2.166,
2.168, 2.173, 2.175, 2.181 through 2.186,
2.197, and 2.198, all sections in parts 2
and 11 of this chapter shall apply to an
extension of protection of an
international registration to the United
States, including sections related to
proceedings before the Trademark Trial
and Appeal Board, unless otherwise
stated.
*
*
*
*
*
Dated: May 21, 2018.
Andrei Iancu,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual
Property and Director of the United States
Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2018–11353 Filed 5–29–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–16–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 81
[EPA–R04–OAR–2017–0390; FRL–9978–59–
Region 4]
Air Plan Approval and Air Quality
Designation; KY; Redesignation of the
Kentucky Portion of the Louisville
Unclassifiable Area
Environmental Protection
Agency.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
On May 4, 2018, the
Commonwealth of Kentucky, through
the Kentucky Energy and Environment
Cabinet, Division for Air Quality
(KDAQ), submitted a request for the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
to redesignate the portion of Kentucky
that is within the bi-state Louisville,
KY-IN fine particulate matter (PM2.5)
unclassifiable area (hereinafter referred
to as the ‘‘bi-state Louisville Area’’ or
‘‘Area’’) to unclassifiable/attainment for
the 2012 primary annual PM2.5 national
ambient air quality standard (NAAQS).
The bi-state Louisville Area consists of
Jefferson County and a portion of Bullitt
County in Kentucky as well as Clark and
Floyd Counties in Indiana. EPA now has
sufficient data to determine that the bistate Louisville Area is in attainment of
the 2012 primary annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
Therefore, EPA is proposing to approve
SUMMARY:
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Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
Kentucky’s request and redesignate the
Area to unclassifiable/attainment for the
2012 primary annual PM2.5 NAAQS
based upon complete, quality-assured,
and certified ambient air monitoring
data showing that the PM2.5 monitors in
the bi-state Louisville Area are in
compliance with the 2012 primary
annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before June 29, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R04–
OAR–2017–0390 at https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Once submitted, comments cannot be
edited or removed from Regulations.gov.
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. 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:
Madolyn Sanchez, Air Regulatory
Management Section, in the Air
Planning and Implementation Branch,
Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street,
SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303–8960.
Madolyn Sanchez may be reached by
phone at (404) 562–9644 or via
electronic mail at sanchez.madolyn@
epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Clean Air Act (CAA or Act)
establishes a process for air quality
management through the establishment
and implementation of the NAAQS.
After the promulgation of a new or
revised NAAQS, EPA is required to
designate areas, pursuant to section
107(d)(1) of the CAA, as attainment,
nonattainment, or unclassifiable. On
December 14, 2012, EPA revised the
primary annual NAAQS for PM2.5 at a
level of 12 micrograms per cubic meter
E:\FR\FM\30MYP1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 104 / Wednesday, May 30, 2018 / Proposed Rules
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(mg/m3), based on a 3-year average of
annual mean PM2.5 concentrations. See
78 FR 3085 (January 15, 2013). EPA
established the standard based on
significant evidence and numerous
health studies demonstrating that
serious health effects are associated
with exposures to particulate matter.
The process for designating areas
following promulgation of a new or
revised NAAQS is contained in section
107(d)(1) of the CAA. On December 18,
2014, EPA designated the majority of
areas across the country as
nonattainment, unclassifiable/
attainment, or unclassifiable 1 for the
2012 PM2.5 NAAQS based upon air
quality monitoring data from monitors
for calendar years 2011–2013. See 80 FR
2206 (January 15, 2015). EPA’s January
15, 2015, rulemaking also described a
process by which EPA would evaluate
any complete, quality-assured, certified
air quality monitoring data from 2014
that a state submitted for consideration
before February 27, 2015. EPA stated
that it would evaluate whether, with the
inclusion of certified 2014 data, the 3year design value for 2012–2014
suggests that a change in the initial
designation would be appropriate for an
area. If EPA agreed that a change in the
initial designation would be
appropriate, EPA would withdraw the
designation announced in the January
15, 2015, document for such area before
the effective date and issue another
designation reflecting the inclusion of
2014 data.
In a follow-up designation action
published on April 7, 2015 (80 FR
18535), EPA designated five areas as
unclassifiable/attainment in Georgia,
including two neighboring counties in
the bordering states of Alabama and
South Carolina, that were initially
deferred in EPA’s January 15, 2015,
rulemaking. In the same action, EPA
changed the designations for one area in
Ohio, two areas in Pennsylvania, and
one bi-state area with portions in
Kentucky and Ohio from nonattainment
to unclassifiable/attainment. The bi1 For the initial PM area designations in 2014 (for
the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS), EPA used a
designation category of ‘‘unclassifiable/attainment’’
for areas that had monitors showing attainment of
the standard and were not contributing to nearby
violations and for areas that did not have monitors
but for which EPA had reason to believe were likely
attaining the standard and not contributing to
nearby violations. EPA used the category
‘‘unclassifiable’’ for areas in which EPA could not
determine, based upon available information,
whether or not the NAAQS was being met and/or
EPA had not determined the area to be contributing
to nearby violations. EPA reserves the ‘‘attainment’’
category for when EPA redesignates a
nonattainment area that has attained the relevant
NAAQS and has an approved maintenance plan.
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state Louisville Area was changed from
nonattainment to unclassifiable.
EPA initially designated the bi-state
Louisville Area as nonattainment in its
January 15, 2015, rulemaking based on
ambient air quality data collected from
2011–2013. In that time period, a
monitor in Clark County, Indiana,
showed a violation of the 2012 PM2.5
NAAQS. Per its policy, EPA explained
that it would change the designation for
the Area if data showed that the monitor
in Clark County, Indiana, met the 2012
PM2.5 NAAQS for the design value
period 2012–2014, and Indiana elected
to early certify 2014 ambient air quality
data. Indiana submitted complete,
quality-assured, and certified 2014 data
from the ambient air quality monitor in
Clark County, Indiana, by the prescribed
deadline of February 27, 2015, showing
that the monitor was attaining the
NAAQS. However, as noted in the final
technical support document (TSD) for
the Area included in the docket for the
January 15, 2015, rulemaking,2 EPA
explained that because air quality data
in the Jefferson County, Kentucky
portion of the Area were invalid due to
issues with the collection and analysis
of PM2.5 filter-based samples, EPA could
only change the designation to
unclassifiable. Therefore, EPA changed
the designation of the Area from
nonattainment to unclassifiable in the
action published on April 15, 2015.
II. What are the criteria for
redesignating an area from
unclassifiable to unclassifiable/
attainment?
Section 107(d)(3) of the CAA provides
the framework for changing the area
designations for any NAAQS pollutants.
Section 107(d)(3)(A) provides that the
Administrator may notify the Governor
of any state that the designation of an
area should be revised ‘‘on the basis of
air quality data, planning and control
considerations, or any other air qualityrelated considerations the Administrator
deems appropriate.’’ The Act further
provides in section 107(d)(3)(D) that
even if the Administrator has not
notified a state Governor that a
designation should be revised, the
Governor of any state may, on the
Governor’s own motion, submit a
request to revise the designation of any
area, and the Administrator must
approve or deny the request.
When approving or denying a request
to redesignate an area, EPA bases its
decision on the air quality data for the
area as well as the considerations under
2 Available in the January 15, 2015, rulemaking
docket as document number EPA–HQ–OAR–2012–
0918–0322.
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24715
section 107(d)(3)(A).3 In keeping with
section 107(d)(1)(A), areas that are
redesignated to unclassifiable/
attainment must meet the requirements
for attainment areas and thus must meet
the relevant NAAQS. In addition, the
area must not contribute to ambient air
quality in a nearby area that does not
meet the NAAQS. The relevant
monitoring data must be collected and
quality-assured in accordance with 40
CFR part 58 and recorded in the EPA
Air Quality System (AQS) database. The
designated monitors generally should
have remained at the same location for
the duration of the monitoring period.4
III. What is EPA’s rationale for
proposing to redesignate the area?
In order to redesignate the Area from
unclassifiable to unclassifiable/
attainment for the 2012 primary annual
PM2.5 NAAQS, the 3-year average of
annual arithmetic mean concentrations
(i.e., design value) over the most recent
3-year period must be less than or equal
to 12.0 mg/m3 at all monitoring sites in
the Area over the full 3-year period, as
determined in accordance with 40 CFR
50.18 and Appendix N of Part 50. EPA
reviewed PM2.5 monitoring data from
monitoring stations in the bi-state
Louisville Area for the 2012 primary
annual PM2.5 NAAQS for the 3-year
period from 2014–2016. These data have
been quality-assured, certified, and
recorded in AQS by Kentucky and
Indiana, and the monitoring locations
have not changed during the monitoring
period. As summarized in Table 1, the
design values for all monitors in the
Area for the 2014–2016 period are
below the 2012 primary annual PM2.5
NAAQS.
TABLE 1—2012 ANNUAL PM2.5 DESIGN VALUES FOR MONITORS IN THE
BI-STATE LOUISVILLE AREA FOR
2014–2016
County
Clark County, IN
Floyd County, IN
Monitoring
site
180190006
180190008
180431004
2014–2016
design
value
(μg/m3)
10.6
8.7
9.3
3 While CAA section 107(d)(3)(E) also lists
specific requirements for redesignations, those
requirements only apply to redesignations of
nonattainment areas to attainment and therefore are
not applicable in the context of a redesignation of
an area from unclassifiable to unclassifiable/
attainment.
4 See Memorandum from John Calcagni, Director,
EPA Air Quality Management Division, entitled
‘‘Procedures for Processing Requests to Redesignate
Areas to Attainment’’ (September 4, 1992).
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 104 / Wednesday, May 30, 2018 / Proposed Rules
V. Statutory and Executive Order
TABLE 1—2012 ANNUAL PM2.5 DESIGN VALUES FOR MONITORS IN THE Reviews
BI-STATE LOUISVILLE AREA FOR
Under the CAA, redesignation of an
area to unclassifiable/attainment is an
2014–2016—Continued
action that affects the status of a
geographical area and does not impose
Monitoring
any additional regulatory requirements
County
site
on sources beyond those imposed by
state law. A redesignation to
unclassifiable/attainment does not in
Jefferson County, KY ............
211110043
10.4 and of itself create any new
211110051
10.3 requirements. Accordingly, this
211110067
9.5 proposed action merely proposes to
211110075
10.4 redesignate an area to unclassifiable/
attainment and does not impose
Because the 3-year design values,
additional requirements. For that
based on complete, quality-assured data, reason, this proposed action:
demonstrate that the Area meets the
• Is not a significant regulatory action
2012 primary annual PM2.5 standard,
subject to review by the Office of
EPA is proposing to redesignate the
Management and Budget under
Kentucky portion of the Louisville Area Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735,
from unclassifiable to unclassifiable/
October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821,
attainment for this NAAQS.5
January 21, 2011);
• Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82
IV. Proposed Action
FR 9339, February 2, 2017) regulatory
EPA is proposing to approve
action because redesignations are
Kentucky’s May 4, 2018, request to
exempted under Executive Order 12866;
• Does not impose an information
redesignate the Kentucky portion of the
collection burden under the provisions
bi-state Louisville Area from
of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44
unclassifiable to unclassifiable/
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
attainment for the 2012 primary annual
• Is certified as not having a
PM2.5 NAAQS. If finalized, approval of
the redesignation request would change significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities
the legal designation, found at 40 CFR
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
part 81, of the portion of Bullitt County
U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
located in the Area and Jefferson
• Does not contain any unfunded
County, Kentucky, from unclassifiable
to unclassifiable/attainment for the 2012 mandate or significantly or uniquely
affect small governments, as described
primary annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4);
5 The State of Indiana has not yet submitted a
• Does not have Federalism
redesignation request for its portion of the
Louisville Area.
implications as specified in Executive
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
2014–2016
design
value
(μg/m3)
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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 CAA; and
• Will not have disproportionate
human health or environmental effects
under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR
7629, February 16, 1994).
The proposed action is not approved
to apply on any Indian reservation land
or in any other area where 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 as specified by
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249,
November 9, 2000), nor will it impose
substantial direct costs on tribal
governments or preempt tribal law.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 81
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401, et seq.
Dated: May 15, 2018.
Onis ‘‘Trey’’ Glenn, III,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2018–11567 Filed 5–29–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 104 (Wednesday, May 30, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 24714-24716]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11567]
=======================================================================
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 81
[EPA-R04-OAR-2017-0390; FRL-9978-59-Region 4]
Air Plan Approval and Air Quality Designation; KY; Redesignation
of the Kentucky Portion of the Louisville Unclassifiable Area
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: On May 4, 2018, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, through the
Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, Division for Air Quality
(KDAQ), submitted a request for the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) to redesignate the portion of Kentucky that is within the bi-
state Louisville, KY-IN fine particulate matter (PM2.5)
unclassifiable area (hereinafter referred to as the ``bi-state
Louisville Area'' or ``Area'') to unclassifiable/attainment for the
2012 primary annual PM2.5 national ambient air quality
standard (NAAQS). The bi-state Louisville Area consists of Jefferson
County and a portion of Bullitt County in Kentucky as well as Clark and
Floyd Counties in Indiana. EPA now has sufficient data to determine
that the bi-state Louisville Area is in attainment of the 2012 primary
annual PM2.5 NAAQS. Therefore, EPA is proposing to approve
Kentucky's request and redesignate the Area to unclassifiable/
attainment for the 2012 primary annual PM2.5 NAAQS based
upon complete, quality-assured, and certified ambient air monitoring
data showing that the PM2.5 monitors in the bi-state
Louisville Area are in compliance with the 2012 primary annual
PM2.5 NAAQS.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 29, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2017-0390 at https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot
be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. 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. 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: Madolyn Sanchez, Air Regulatory
Management Section, in the Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air,
Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta, Georgia
30303-8960. Madolyn Sanchez may be reached by phone at (404) 562-9644
or via electronic mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) establishes a process for air
quality management through the establishment and implementation of the
NAAQS. After the promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS, EPA is
required to designate areas, pursuant to section 107(d)(1) of the CAA,
as attainment, nonattainment, or unclassifiable. On December 14, 2012,
EPA revised the primary annual NAAQS for PM2.5 at a level of
12 micrograms per cubic meter
[[Page 24715]]
([mu]g/m\3\), based on a 3-year average of annual mean PM2.5
concentrations. See 78 FR 3085 (January 15, 2013). EPA established the
standard based on significant evidence and numerous health studies
demonstrating that serious health effects are associated with exposures
to particulate matter.
The process for designating areas following promulgation of a new
or revised NAAQS is contained in section 107(d)(1) of the CAA. On
December 18, 2014, EPA designated the majority of areas across the
country as nonattainment, unclassifiable/attainment, or unclassifiable
\1\ for the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS based upon air quality
monitoring data from monitors for calendar years 2011-2013. See 80 FR
2206 (January 15, 2015). EPA's January 15, 2015, rulemaking also
described a process by which EPA would evaluate any complete, quality-
assured, certified air quality monitoring data from 2014 that a state
submitted for consideration before February 27, 2015. EPA stated that
it would evaluate whether, with the inclusion of certified 2014 data,
the 3-year design value for 2012-2014 suggests that a change in the
initial designation would be appropriate for an area. If EPA agreed
that a change in the initial designation would be appropriate, EPA
would withdraw the designation announced in the January 15, 2015,
document for such area before the effective date and issue another
designation reflecting the inclusion of 2014 data.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ For the initial PM area designations in 2014 (for the 2012
annual PM2.5 NAAQS), EPA used a designation category of
``unclassifiable/attainment'' for areas that had monitors showing
attainment of the standard and were not contributing to nearby
violations and for areas that did not have monitors but for which
EPA had reason to believe were likely attaining the standard and not
contributing to nearby violations. EPA used the category
``unclassifiable'' for areas in which EPA could not determine, based
upon available information, whether or not the NAAQS was being met
and/or EPA had not determined the area to be contributing to nearby
violations. EPA reserves the ``attainment'' category for when EPA
redesignates a nonattainment area that has attained the relevant
NAAQS and has an approved maintenance plan.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In a follow-up designation action published on April 7, 2015 (80 FR
18535), EPA designated five areas as unclassifiable/attainment in
Georgia, including two neighboring counties in the bordering states of
Alabama and South Carolina, that were initially deferred in EPA's
January 15, 2015, rulemaking. In the same action, EPA changed the
designations for one area in Ohio, two areas in Pennsylvania, and one
bi-state area with portions in Kentucky and Ohio from nonattainment to
unclassifiable/attainment. The bi-state Louisville Area was changed
from nonattainment to unclassifiable.
EPA initially designated the bi-state Louisville Area as
nonattainment in its January 15, 2015, rulemaking based on ambient air
quality data collected from 2011-2013. In that time period, a monitor
in Clark County, Indiana, showed a violation of the 2012
PM2.5 NAAQS. Per its policy, EPA explained that it would
change the designation for the Area if data showed that the monitor in
Clark County, Indiana, met the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS for the
design value period 2012-2014, and Indiana elected to early certify
2014 ambient air quality data. Indiana submitted complete, quality-
assured, and certified 2014 data from the ambient air quality monitor
in Clark County, Indiana, by the prescribed deadline of February 27,
2015, showing that the monitor was attaining the NAAQS. However, as
noted in the final technical support document (TSD) for the Area
included in the docket for the January 15, 2015, rulemaking,\2\ EPA
explained that because air quality data in the Jefferson County,
Kentucky portion of the Area were invalid due to issues with the
collection and analysis of PM2.5 filter-based samples, EPA
could only change the designation to unclassifiable. Therefore, EPA
changed the designation of the Area from nonattainment to
unclassifiable in the action published on April 15, 2015.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Available in the January 15, 2015, rulemaking docket as
document number EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0918-0322.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. What are the criteria for redesignating an area from unclassifiable
to unclassifiable/attainment?
Section 107(d)(3) of the CAA provides the framework for changing
the area designations for any NAAQS pollutants. Section 107(d)(3)(A)
provides that the Administrator may notify the Governor of any state
that the designation of an area should be revised ``on the basis of air
quality data, planning and control considerations, or any other air
quality-related considerations the Administrator deems appropriate.''
The Act further provides in section 107(d)(3)(D) that even if the
Administrator has not notified a state Governor that a designation
should be revised, the Governor of any state may, on the Governor's own
motion, submit a request to revise the designation of any area, and the
Administrator must approve or deny the request.
When approving or denying a request to redesignate an area, EPA
bases its decision on the air quality data for the area as well as the
considerations under section 107(d)(3)(A).\3\ In keeping with section
107(d)(1)(A), areas that are redesignated to unclassifiable/attainment
must meet the requirements for attainment areas and thus must meet the
relevant NAAQS. In addition, the area must not contribute to ambient
air quality in a nearby area that does not meet the NAAQS. The relevant
monitoring data must be collected and quality-assured in accordance
with 40 CFR part 58 and recorded in the EPA Air Quality System (AQS)
database. The designated monitors generally should have remained at the
same location for the duration of the monitoring period.\4\
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\3\ While CAA section 107(d)(3)(E) also lists specific
requirements for redesignations, those requirements only apply to
redesignations of nonattainment areas to attainment and therefore
are not applicable in the context of a redesignation of an area from
unclassifiable to unclassifiable/attainment.
\4\ See Memorandum from John Calcagni, Director, EPA Air Quality
Management Division, entitled ``Procedures for Processing Requests
to Redesignate Areas to Attainment'' (September 4, 1992).
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III. What is EPA's rationale for proposing to redesignate the area?
In order to redesignate the Area from unclassifiable to
unclassifiable/attainment for the 2012 primary annual PM2.5
NAAQS, the 3-year average of annual arithmetic mean concentrations
(i.e., design value) over the most recent 3-year period must be less
than or equal to 12.0 [micro]g/m\3\ at all monitoring sites in the Area
over the full 3-year period, as determined in accordance with 40 CFR
50.18 and Appendix N of Part 50. EPA reviewed PM2.5
monitoring data from monitoring stations in the bi-state Louisville
Area for the 2012 primary annual PM2.5 NAAQS for the 3-year
period from 2014-2016. These data have been quality-assured, certified,
and recorded in AQS by Kentucky and Indiana, and the monitoring
locations have not changed during the monitoring period. As summarized
in Table 1, the design values for all monitors in the Area for the
2014-2016 period are below the 2012 primary annual PM2.5
NAAQS.
Table 1--2012 Annual PM2.5 Design Values for Monitors in the Bi-State
Louisville Area for 2014-2016
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014-2016
design
County Monitoring value
site ([mu]g/m3)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clark County, IN.............................. 180190006 10.6
180190008 8.7
Floyd County, IN.............................. 180431004 9.3
[[Page 24716]]
Jefferson County, KY.......................... 211110043 10.4
211110051 10.3
211110067 9.5
211110075 10.4
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Because the 3-year design values, based on complete, quality-
assured data, demonstrate that the Area meets the 2012 primary annual
PM2.5 standard, EPA is proposing to redesignate the Kentucky
portion of the Louisville Area from unclassifiable to unclassifiable/
attainment for this NAAQS.\5\
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\5\ The State of Indiana has not yet submitted a redesignation
request for its portion of the Louisville Area.
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IV. Proposed Action
EPA is proposing to approve Kentucky's May 4, 2018, request to
redesignate the Kentucky portion of the bi-state Louisville Area from
unclassifiable to unclassifiable/attainment for the 2012 primary annual
PM2.5 NAAQS. If finalized, approval of the redesignation
request would change the legal designation, found at 40 CFR part 81, of
the portion of Bullitt County located in the Area and Jefferson County,
Kentucky, from unclassifiable to unclassifiable/attainment for the 2012
primary annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the CAA, redesignation of an area to unclassifiable/
attainment is an action that affects the status of a geographical area
and does not impose any additional regulatory requirements on sources
beyond those imposed by state law. A redesignation to unclassifiable/
attainment does not in and of itself create any new requirements.
Accordingly, this proposed action merely proposes to redesignate an
area to unclassifiable/attainment and does not impose additional
requirements. For that reason, this proposed 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);
Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2,
2017) regulatory action because redesignations are exempted under
Executive Order 12866;
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 CAA; and
Will not have disproportionate human health or
environmental effects under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February
16, 1994).
The proposed action is not approved to apply on any Indian
reservation land or in any other area where 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 as specified by
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor will it
impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal
law.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 81
Environmental protection, Air pollution control.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401, et seq.
Dated: May 15, 2018.
Onis ``Trey'' Glenn, III,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2018-11567 Filed 5-29-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
