[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 182 (Wednesday, September 21, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-23294]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: September 21, 1994]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

[NC66-1-6567a; FRL-5071-5]

 

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation 
of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; State of North Carolina

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: On April 27, 1994, the North Carolina Department of 
Environmental Management (NCDEM), submitted a maintenance plan and a 
request to redesignate the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County area from 
nonattainment to attainment for carbon monoxide (CO). The CO 
nonattainment area consists only of Forsyth County. Under the Clean Air 
Act as amended in 1990 (CAA), designations can be revised if sufficient 
data is available to warrant such revisions. In this action, EPA is 
approving the North Carolina request because it meets the maintenance 
plan and redesignation requirements set forth in the CAA.

DATES: This final rule will be effective November 7, 1994, unless 
critical or adverse comments are received by October 21, 1994. If the 
effective date is delayed, timely notice will be published in the 
Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Ben Franco, at the EPA 
Regional Office listed below. Copies of the redesignation request and 
the State of North Carolina's submittal are available for public review 
during normal business hours at the addresses listed below.

Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center (Air Docket 6102), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20460;
Environmental Protection Agency, Region IV, Air Programs Branch, 345 
Courtland Street NE., Atlanta, Georgia, 30365;
Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources, P.O. Box 
29535, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27626-0535.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ben Franco of the EPA Region IV Air 
Programs Branch at (404) 347-3555, ext. 4211, and at the above address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    In a March 15, 1991, letter to the EPA Region IV Administrator, the 
Governor of North Carolina recommended the area of Winston-Salem/
Forsyth County be designated as nonattainment for CO as required by 
section 107(d)(1)(A) of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAA) (Public 
Law 101-549, 104 Stat. 2399, codified at 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q). The 
city was designated nonattainment and classified as ``moderate'' under 
the provisions outlined in sections 186 and 187 of the CAA. (See 56 FR 
56694 (Nov. 6, 1991) and 57 FR 56762 (Nov. 30, 1992), codified at 40 
CFR part 81, Sec. 81.334.) Because Winston-Salem had a design value of 
9.7 ppm (based on 1988 and 1989 data), the area was considered 
moderate. The CAA established an attainment date of December 31, 1995, 
for all moderate CO areas.
    Forsyth County has ambient monitoring data showing attainment of 
the CO NAAQS, during the period from 1990 through 1993. The area has 
continued to monitor attainment to date in 1994. Therefore, in an 
effort to comply with the CAA and to ensure continued attainment of the 
NAAQS, on April 27, 1994, the State of North Carolina submitted a CO 
redesignation request and a maintenance plan for the Winston-Salem/
Forsyth County area. The request for redesignation submittal and 
maintenance plan was approved by NCEMC on April 14, 1994. North 
Carolina submitted evidence that a public hearing was held on March 25 
and 28, 1994.

II. Evaluation Criteria

    The 1990 CAA Amendments revised section 107(d)(1)(E) to provide 
five specific requirements that an area must meet in order to be 
redesignated from nonattainment to attainment.
    1. The area must have attained the applicable NAAQS;
    2. The area must meet all applicable requirements under section 110 
and Part D of the CAA;
    3. The area must have a fully approved SIP under section 110(k) of 
CAA;
    4. The air quality improvement must be permanent and enforceable; 
and,
    5. The area must have a fully approved maintenance plan pursuant to 
section 175A of the CAA.

III. Review of State Submittal

    On June 14, 1994, Region IV determined that the information 
received from the NCDEM constituted a complete redesignation request 
under the general completeness criteria of 40 CFR part 51, appendix V, 
Secs. 2.1 and 2.2.
    The North Carolina redesignation request for the Winston-Salem/
Forsyth County area meets the five requirements of section 
107(d)(3)(E), noted above. The following is a brief description of how 
the State has fulfilled each of these requirements. Because the 
maintenance plan is a critical element of the redesignation request, 
EPA will discuss its evaluation of the maintenance plan under its 
analysis of the redesignation request.

1. Attainment of the CO NAAQS

    The North Carolina request is based on an analysis of quality 
assured CO air monitoring data which is relevant to the maintenance 
plan and to the redesignation request. The ambient air CO monitoring 
data for calendar year 1990 through calendar year 1993 shows no 
violations of the CO NAAQS in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County area. 
The most recent ambient CO data for the calendar year 1994 continue to 
show no violations in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County area. Because 
the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County area has complete quality assured data 
showing no more than one exceedance of the standard per year over at 
least two consecutive years, the area has met the first statutory 
criterion of attainment of the CO NAAQS (40 CFR 50.9 and appendix C). 
North Carolina has committed to continue monitoring in this area in 
accordance with 40 CFR part 58.

2. Meeting Applicable Requirements of Section 110 and Part D

    The 1990 CAA Amendments, modified section 110(a)(2) and, under part 
D, revised section 172 and added new requirements for all nonattainment 
areas. Therefore, for purposes of redesignation, to meet the 
requirement that the SIP contain all applicable requirements under the 
CAA, EPA has reviewed the SIP to ensure that it contains all measures 
that were due under the 1990 Amendments prior to or at the time the 
State submitted its redesignation request.
A. Section 110 Requirements
    Although section 110 was amended by the 1990 Amendments, the 
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County SIP meets the requirements of amended 
section 110(a)(2). The State implemented an Oxygenated Fuel program for 
the areas of Raleigh/Durham and Winston-Salem during the 1992 and 1993 
winter seasons. EPA has analyzed the SIP and determined that it is 
consistent with the requirements of amended section 110(a)(2).
B. Part D Requirements
    Before Winston-Salem/Forsyth County may be redesignated to 
attainment, it also must have fulfilled the applicable requirements of 
part D. Under part D, an area's classification indicates the 
requirements to which it will be subject. Subpart 1 of part D sets 
forth the basic nonattainment requirements applicable to all 
nonattainment areas, classified as well as nonclassifiable. Subpart 3 
of part D establishes additional requirements for nonattainment areas 
classified under section 186(a). The Winston-Salem area was classified 
as moderate (See 40 CFR 81.334). Therefore, in order to be redesignated 
to attainment, the State must meet the applicable requirements of 
subpart 1 of part D, specifically sections 172(c) and 176, and the 
requirements of subpart 3 of part D, which became due on or before 
April 27, 1994, the date the State submitted a complete redesignation 
request. EPA interprets section 107(d)(3)(v) to mean that, for a 
redesignation request to be approved, the State must have met all 
requirements that become applicable to the subject area prior to or at 
time of the submission of the redesignation request. The area will 
become subject to the CAA that come due subsequent to the submission of 
the redesignation request until the request is approved (See section 
175A(c)) and if the redesignation is disapproved, the State remains 
obligated to fulfill those requirements.
    B1. Subpart 1 of Part D--Section 172(c) sets forth general 
requirements applicable to all nonattainment areas. Under section 
172(b), the section 172(c) requirements are applicable as determined by 
the Administrator but no later than three years after an area is 
designated as nonattainment. Because Winston-Salem was designated as a 
new CO nonattainment area on June 6, 1992, the requirements are not due 
until June 6, 1995. Therefore, the submission of a New Source Review 
program and contingency measures required under 172(c) are not yet due. 
The Region is, however, in the process of approving the State's revised 
NSR regulation which includes CO nonattainment areas. Upon 
redesignation of these areas to attainment, the Prevent of Significant 
Deterioration (PSD) provisions contained in part C of title I are 
applicable. On June 12, 1975, December 30, 1976, June 19, 1978, August 
7, 1980, February 23, 1982, and August 15, 1994, EPA approved revisions 
to the State of North Carolina's PSD program (See 40 FR 25004, 41 FR 
56805, 43 FR 26388, 45 FR 52676, 47 FR 7836, 59 FR 41708).
    B2. Subpart 1 of Part D--Section 176(c) of the CAA requires States 
to revise their SIPs to establish criteria and procedures to ensure 
that Federal actions, before they are taken, conform to the air quality 
planning goals in the applicable SIP. The requirement to determine 
conformity applies to transportation plans, programs and projects 
developed, funded or approved under Title 23 U.S.C. or the Federal 
Transit Act (``transportation conformity''). Section 176 further 
provides that the conformity revisions to be submitted by States must 
be consistent with Federal conformity regulations that the CAA required 
EPA to promulgate. Congress provided for the State revisions to be 
submitted one year after the date for promulgation of final EPA 
conformity regulations. When that date passed without such 
promulgation, EPA's General Preamble for the Implementation of Title I 
informed States that its conformity regulations would establish a 
submittal date (see 57 FR 13498, 13557 (April 16, 1992)).
    EPA promulgated final conformity regulations on November 24, 1993 
(58 FR 62188) and November 30, 1993 (58 FR 63214). These conformity 
rules require that the States adopt both transportation and general 
conformity provisions in the SIP for areas designated nonattainment or 
subject to a maintenance plan approved under CAA section 175A. Pursuant 
to Sec. 51.396 of the transportation conformity rule and Sec. 51.851 of 
the general conformity rule, the State of North Carolina is required to 
submit a SIP revision containing transportation conformity criteria and 
procedures consistent with those established in the Federal rule by 
November 25, 1994. Similarly, North Carolina is required to submit a 
SIP revision containing general conformity criteria and procedures 
consistent with those established in the Federal rule by December 1, 
1994. Because the deadlines for these submittals have not yet come due, 
they are not applicable requirements under section 107(d)(3)(E)(v) and, 
thus, do not affect approval of this redesignation request.
    B3. Subpart 3 of Part D--Under section 187(a) areas designated 
nonattainment for CO under the amended CAA and classified as moderate 
were required to meet several requirements by November 15, 1992. North 
Carolina was required to submit a 1990 Emission Inventory. EPA has 
reviewed and is approving in this notice North Carolina's 1990 Base 
Year Emission Inventory. The requirement to make I/M corrections are 
not applicable to Forsyth County since it was not a pre-enactment 
nonattainment area, and therefore did not have an existing program 
before the CAA. Section 211(m) further required North Carolina to 
submit an oxygenated fuels regulation for the Winston-Salem area. North 
Carolina submitted a complete Oxygenated Fuel SIP on November 20, 1992. 
The Oxygenated Fuel Program is fully adopted and has been approved by 
EPA (See 59 FR 33683 published on June 30, 1994). Therefore, all 
Subpart 3 requirements that were applicable at the time the State 
submitted its redesignation request have been met.

3. Fully Approved SIP Under Section 110(k) of the CAA

    Based on EPA's approval of SIP revisions under the 1990 Amendments, 
EPA has determined that the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County area has a 
fully approved SIP under section 110(k), which also meets the 
applicable requirements of section 110 and Part D as discussed above.

4. Improvement in Air Quality Due to Permanent and Enforceable Measures

    The control measures to which the emission reductions are 
attributed mostly to the Federal Motor Vehicle Control Program (FMVCP). 
The fleet turnover under the FMVCP produced annual CO emission 
reductions of 6 percent.
    In association with its emission inventory discussed below, the 
State of North Carolina has demonstrated that actual enforceable 
emission reductions are responsible for the air quality improvement and 
that the CO emissions in the base year are not artificially low due to 
local economic downturn. EPA finds that the combination of certain 
existing EPA-approved SIP and federal measures contribute to the 
permanence and enforceability of reduction in ambient CO levels that 
have allowed the area to attain the NAAQS.

5. Fully Approved Maintenance Plan Under Section 175A

    Section 175A of the CAA sets forth the elements of a maintenance 
plan for areas seeking redesignation from nonattainment to attainment. 
The plan must demonstrate continued attainment of the applicable NAAQS 
for at least ten years after the Administrator approves a redesignation 
to attainment. Eight years after the redesignation, the state must 
submit a revised maintenance plan which demonstrates attainment for the 
ten years following the initial ten-year period. To provide for the 
possibility of future NAAQS violations, the maintenance plan must 
contain contingency measures, with a schedule for implementation 
adequate to assure prompt correction of any air quality problems. In 
this notice, EPA is approving the State of North Carolina's maintenance 
plan for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County area because EPA finds that 
North Carolina's submittal meets the requirements of section 175A.
A. Emissions Inventory--Base Year Inventory
    On November 16, 1992, the State of North Carolina submitted a 
comprehensive inventory of CO emissions from the Winston-Salem/Forsyth 
County area. The inventory includes emissions from area, stationary, 
and mobile sources using 1990 as the base year for calculations. The 
1990 inventory is considered representative of attainment conditions 
because the NAAQS was not violated during 1990.
    The State submittal contains the detailed inventory data and 
summaries by county and source category. The comprehensive base year 
emissions inventory was submitted in the National Emission Data System 
format. Finally, this inventory was prepared in accordance with EPA 
guidance. It also contains summary tables of the 1990 base year and was 
projected to the year 2005. 

                                         CO Emissions Inventory Summary                                         
                                                 [Tons per day]                                                 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Year                     Area          Non-road         Mobile           Point           Total    
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990............................           32.82            0.95          285.79            4.44          324.00
1993\1\.........................           33.40            0.97          186.59            4.57          225.53
1996............................           34.40            0.99           212.6           64.71          252.76
1999............................           36.05            1.01          195.93            4.85          237.84
2002............................           37.09            1.03          187.23            4.97          230.32
2005............................           37.83            1.04          183.90            5.06         227.83 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Oxygenated Fuel program was in place.                                                                        

B. Demonstration of Maintenance--Projected Inventories
    Total CO emissions were projected from 1990 base year out to 2005. 
These projected inventories were prepared in accordance with EPA 
guidance. North Carolina will not continue the Oxygenated Fuel program 
in Winston-Salem. The projections show that calculated CO emissions, 
assuming no oxygenated fuels program after 1993, are not expected to 
exceed the level of the base year inventory during this time period. 
Therefore, it is anticipated that Winston-Salem will maintain the CO 
standard without the program, and the program would no longer be 
implemented following redesignation. In case of an air quality problem, 
the program may be implemented as a contingency measure.
C. Verification of Continued Attainment
    Continued attainment of the CO NAAQS in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth 
County area depends, in part, on the State's efforts toward tracking 
indicators of continued attainment during the maintenance period. The 
State has also committed to submit periodic inventories of CO emissions 
every three years.
D. Contingency Plan
    The level of CO emissions in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County area 
will largely determine its ability to stay in compliance with the CO 
NAAQS in the future. Despite the State's best efforts to demonstrate 
continued compliance with the NAAQS, the ambient air pollutant 
concentrations may exceed or violate the NAAQS. Also, section 175(A)(d) 
of the CAA requires that the contingency provisions include a 
requirement that the State implement all measures contained in the SIP 
prior to redesignation. Therefore, North Carolina has provided 
contingency measures with a schedule for implementation in the event of 
a future CO air quality problem. The plan contains triggering 
mechanisms to determine when contingency measures are needed. The 
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County contingency plan's primary trigger will be 
a violation of the CO NAAQS. A secondary trigger will be activated 
within 30 days of the State finding either: (1) The periodic emissions 
inventory exceeds the base inventory by 10 percent or more, or (2) a 
monitored air quality exceedance pattern indicates that an actual CO 
NAAQS violation may be imminent. A pattern will be deemed to indicate 
an imminent violation if: (a) One exceedance of the standard per year 
has been monitored at a single monitor for two successive years and 
those exceedances are at least greater than 20 percent above the 
standard (i.e., 10.8 ppm or above) or (b) the monitored air quality 
exceedance pattern otherwise suggest that a CO NAAQS violation is 
likely. Within 45 days of the trigger, the State will activate the pre-
adopted regulations discussed below to become effective at the 
beginning of the next CO season. When other measures are needed to 
ensure that a future violation of the CO NAAQS does not occur, the 
State will complete the adoption process within one year of the 
secondary trigger. As the State has demonstrated that the area will 
continue to maintain the standard without the Oxygenated Fuels program, 
the State will make that program a contingency measure that will be 
implemented in the event of a trigger being activated. In case of a 
primary or secondary trigger, NCDEM will implement an oxygenated 
gasoline fuel program or expand an already-existing program's coverage. 
In addition, NCDEM may do one or a combination of the following: expand 
the I/M program coverage; upgrade to an enhanced I/M program; institute 
transportation control measures; or implement an employee commute 
options program. EPA finds that the contingency measures provided in 
the State submittal meet the requirements of section 175A(d) of the 
CAA.
E. Subsequent Maintenance Plan Revisions
    In accordance with section 175A(b) of the CAA, the State has agreed 
to submit a revised maintenance SIP eight years after the area is 
redesignated to attainment. Such revised SIP will provide for 
maintenance for an additional ten years.

Final Action

    EPA is approving the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County CO maintenance 
plan because it meets the requirements set forth in section 175A of the 
CAA. In addition, the Agency is approving the request and redesignating 
the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County CO area to attainment, because the 
State has demonstrated compliance with the requirements of section 
107(d)(3)(E) for redesignation.
    The EPA is publishing this action without prior proposal because 
the Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates 
no adverse comments. However, in a separate document in this Federal 
Register publication, the EPA is proposing to approve the SIP revision 
should adverse or critical comments be filed. This action will be 
effective November 7, 1994 unless, by October 21, 1994 adverse or 
critical comments are received.
    If the EPA receives such comments, this action will be withdrawn 
before the effective date by publishing a subsequent document that will 
withdraw the final action. All public comments received will then be 
addressed in a subsequent final rule based on this action serving as a 
proposed rule. The EPA will not institute a second comment period on 
this action. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should 
do so at this time. If no such comments are received, the public is 
advised that this action will be effective November 7, 1994.
    Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or 
allowing or establishing a precedent for any future request for 
revision to any SIP. Each request for revision to the SIP shall be 
considered separately in light of specific technical, economic, and 
environmental factors and in relation to relevant statutory and 
regulatory requirements.
    The CO SIP is designed to satisfy the requirements of part D of the 
CAA and to provide for attainment and maintenance of the CO NAAQS. This 
final redesignation should not be interpreted as authorizing the State 
to delete, alter, or rescind any of the CO emission limitations and 
restrictions contained in the approved CO SIP. Changes to CO SIP 
regulations rendering them less stringent than those contained in the 
EPA approved plan cannot be made unless a revised plan for attainment 
and maintenance is submitted to and approved by EPA. Unauthorized 
relaxations, deletions, and changes could result in both a finding of 
non-implementation (section 179(a) of the CAA) and in a SIP deficiency 
call made pursuant to sections 110(a)(2)(H) and 110(k)(2) of the CAA.
    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 600 et seq., EPA 
must prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis assessing the impact of 
any proposed or final rule on small entities. 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604. 
Alternatively, EPA may certify that the rule will not have a 
significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. Small 
entities include small businesses, small not-for-profit enterprises, 
and government entities with jurisdiction over populations of less than 
50,000.
    SIP approvals under section 110 and subchapter I, part D of the CAA 
do not create any new requirements, but simply approve requirements 
that the State is already imposing. Therefore, because the federal SIP 
approval does not impose any new requirements, it does not have any 
economic impact on any small entities. Redesignation of an area to 
attainment under section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA does not impose any 
new requirements on small entities. Redesignation is an action that 
affects the status of a geographical area and does not impose any 
regulatory requirements on sources. Accordingly, I certify that the 
approval of the redesignation request will not have an impact on any 
small entities.

List of Subjects

40 CFR Part 52

    Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, Hydrocarbons, Incorporation 
by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Ozone.

40 CFR Part 81

    Air pollution control, National parks, and Wilderness areas.

    Dated: September 2, 1994.
Joe R. Franzmathes,
Acting Regional Administrator.

    Chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended 
as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42.U.S.C. 7401-7671q.

Subpart II--North Carolina

    2. Section 52.1770 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(75) to read 
as follows:


Sec. 52.1770  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (75) The redesignation and maintenance plan for Winston-Salem/
Forsyth County submitted by the North Carolina Department of 
Environmental Management on April 27, 1994, as part of the North 
Carolina SIP. The emission inventory projections are included in the 
maintenance plan.
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    (A) Maintenance Plan for the Forsyth County Carbon Monoxide 
Nonattainment Area adopted on April 14, 1994.
    (ii) Other material. None.

PART 81--[AMENDED]

Subpart C--Section 107 Attainment Status Designations

    1. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.
    2. In Sec. 81.334 the table for ``North Carolina-Carbon Monoxide'' 
is amended by revising the entry for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County 
area to read as follows:


Sec. 81.334  North Carolina.

* * * * * 

                                                            North Carolina--Carbon Monoxide                                                             
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                                                   Designation                                                    Classification                        
     Designated area     -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     Date\1\                           Type                          Date\1\                           Type             
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                                        
                                                                      * * * * * * *                                                                     
Winston-Salem Area                                                                                                                                      
    Forsyth County......  November 7, 1994                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                        
                                                                     * * * * * * *                                                                      
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\This date is November 15, 1990, unless otherwise noted.                                                                                              

[FR Doc. 94-23294 Filed 9-20-94; 8:45 am]
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