[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 215 (Tuesday, November 8, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-27604]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: November 8, 1994]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52

[TX-24-1-6670; FRL-5102-9]

 

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plan: Texas 1990 Base 
Year Ozone Emissions Inventories

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The EPA today fully approves the 1990 base year ozone emission 
inventories submitted by Texas for the purpose of bringing about the 
attainment of the national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for 
ozone. The inventories were submitted by the State to satisfy certain 
Federal requirements for an approvable nonattainment area ozone State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) for the Houston/Galveston, Beaumont/Port 
Arthur, El Paso, and Dallas/Fort Worth areas of Texas.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This final rule is effective on December 8, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the documents relevant to this action are 
available for public inspection during normal business hours at the 
following locations. The interested persons wanting to examine these 
documents should make an appointment with the appropriate office at 
least 24 hours before the visiting day.
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, Air Programs Branch 
(6T-A), 1445 Ross Avenue, suite 700, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733.
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air and Radiation Docket and 
Information Center, 401 M Street, SW., Washington, DC 20460.
    Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, Office of Air 
Quality, Emissions Inventory Branch, 12124 Park 35 Circle, Austin, 
Texas 78753.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Herbert R. Sherrow, Jr., Planning 
Section (6T-AP), Air Programs Branch, USEPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, 
Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, telephone (214) 665-7237.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA), States have the 
responsibility to inventory emissions contributing to NAAQS 
nonattainment, to track these emissions over time, and to ensure that 
control strategies are being implemented that reduce emissions and move 
areas towards attainment. The CAAA require ozone nonattainment areas 
designated as moderate, serious, severe, and extreme to submit a plan 
within three years of 1990 to reduce volatile organic compounds (VOC) 
emissions by 15 percent within six years after 1990. The baseline level 
of emissions, from which the 15 percent reduction is calculated, is 
determined by adjusting the base year inventory to exclude biogenic 
emissions and to exclude certain emission reductions not creditable 
towards the 15 percent. The 1990 base year emissions inventory is the 
primary inventory from which the periodic inventory, the Reasonable 
Further Progress projection inventory, and the modeling inventory are 
derived. Further information on these inventories and their purpose can 
be found in the ``Emission Inventory Requirements for Ozone State 
Implementation Plans,'' U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of 
Air Quality Planning and Standards, Research Triangle Park, North 
Carolina, March 1991. The base year inventory plays an important role 
in modeling demonstrations for areas classified as moderate and above 
outside transport regions.
    The air quality planning requirements for marginal to extreme ozone 
nonattainment areas are set out in section 182(a)-(e) of title I of the 
CAAA. The EPA has issued a General Preamble describing the EPA's 
preliminary views on how the EPA intends to review SIP revisions 
submitted under title I, including requirements for the preparation of 
the 1990 base year inventory (see 57 FR 13502; April 16, 1992, and 57 
FR 18070; April 28, 1992). Because the EPA is describing its 
interpretations here only in broad terms, the reader should refer to 
the General Preamble (57 FR 18070, Appendix B, April 28, 1992) for a 
more detailed discussion of the interpretations of title I advanced in 
today's action and the supporting rationale.
    Those States containing ozone nonattainment areas classified as 
marginal to extreme are required under section 182(a)(1) of the 1990 
CAAA to submit a final, comprehensive, accurate, and current inventory 
of actual ozone season, weekday emissions from all sources by November 
15, 1992. This inventory is for calendar year 1990 and is denoted as 
the base year inventory. It includes both anthropogenic and biogenic 
sources of VOC, nitrogen oxides (NOX), and carbon monoxide (CO). 
The inventory is to address actual VOC, NOX, and CO emissions for 
the area during a peak ozone season, which is generally comprised of 
the summer months. All stationary point and area sources, as well as 
highway mobile sources within the nonattainment area, are to be 
included in the compilation. Available guidance for preparing emission 
inventories is provided in the General Preamble (57 FR 13498, April 16, 
1992).
    Emission inventories are first reviewed under the completeness 
criteria established under section 110(k)(1) of the CAAA (56 FR 42216, 
August 26, 1991). According to section 110(k)(1)(C), if a submittal 
does not meet the completeness criteria, ``the State shall be treated 
as not having made the submission.'' Under sections 179(a)(1) and 
110(c)(1), a finding by the EPA that a submittal is incomplete is one 
of the actions that initiates the sanctions and Federal Implementation 
Plan processes (see David Mobley memorandum, November 12, 1992).1
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    \1\Memorandum from J. David Mobley, Chief, Emission Inventory 
Branch, to Air Branch Chiefs, Region I-X, ``Guidance on States' 
Failure to Submit Ozone and CO SIP Inventories,'' November 12, 1992.
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    The State of Texas submitted the 1990 base year inventories for 
Houston/Galveston (HGA), Beaumont/Port Arthur (BPA), El Paso (ELP), and 
Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) on November 17, 1992, as a SIP revision by 
cover letter from the Governor. The inventories were reviewed by the 
EPA to determine completeness shortly after their submittal, in 
accordance with the completeness criteria set out at 40 CFR part 51, 
appendix V (1991), as amended by 57 FR 42216 (August 26, 1991). The 
submittal was found to be complete, and a letter dated January 15, 
1993, was forwarded to the Governor indicating the completeness of the 
submittal and the next steps to be taken in the review process.
    The State of Texas subsequently held public hearings to entertain 
public comment on the 1990 base year emission inventories. The State 
provided evidence to EPA Region 6 that the public hearings were held 
and that the State responded to comments. The inventories were approved 
by the Texas Air Control Board (TACB) on November 10, 1993.
    On September 1, 1993, the TACB merged with the Texas Water 
Commission to form the Texas Natural Resource Conservation (TNRCC), and 
is now called the Office of Air Quality within the TNRCC. The merger 
did not abrogate, void, or rescind any rules, regulations, orders, 
permits, or any other action previously taken by the former TACB.

Response to Comments

    The EPA, Region 6, proposed approval of the Texas 1990 Base Year 
ozone emissions inventories on September 6, 1994 (59 FR 46015-46019) 
and received no adverse comments regarding the proposed approval. The 
State of Texas submitted a letter to Region 6 on September 30, 1994, 
which recognized a typographical error in the El Paso VOC point source 
emissions. The correct emissions from point sources are 9.47 tons per 
day instead of 11.88 tons per day and the total VOC emissions are 
100.40 tons per day instead of 102.81 tons per day. The tables in this 
document have been corrected to reflect this change.

Final Action

    In today's action, the EPA is fully approving the SIP 1990 base 
year ozone emission inventories submitted to the EPA for the Houston/
Galveston, Beaumont/Port Arthur, El Paso, and Dallas/Fort Worth areas 
on November 17, 1993, as meeting the requirements of section 182(a)(1) 
of the Act.
    The State has submitted complete inventories containing point, 
area, biogenic, on-road mobile, and non-road mobile source data, and 
accompanying documentation. Emissions from these sources are presented 
in the following tables: 

                                          VOC--Ozone Seasonal Emissions                                         
                                               [In Tons Per Day]                                                
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Non-Road                                   
       NAA         Point source     Area source   On-Road mobile      mobile         Biogenic     Totalemissions
                    emissions        emissions       emissions       emissions                                  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HGA.............          480.34          229.01          251.72          195.11          335.47         1491.65
BPA.............          245.60           32.48           31.61           32.47           91.95          434.11
ELP.............            9.47           27.43           39.00           11.88           12.62          100.40
DFW.............           66.64          174.25          306.60           97.44          126.09         771.02 
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                                          NOX--Ozone Seasonal Emissions                                         
                                               [In Tons Per Day]                                                
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Non-Road                                   
       NAA         Point source     Area source   On-Road mobile      mobile         Biogenic     Totalemissions
                     emissions       emissions       emissions       emissions                                  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HGA.............          780.65           14.37          337.03          236.92              NA         1368.97
BPA.............          221.01            1.44           41.09           60.72              NA          324.26
ELP.............           33.43            2.43           36.90           15.02              NA           87.78
DFW.............          108.86           19.99          293.03          166.05              NA         587.93 
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                                          CO--Ozone Seasonal Emissions                                          
                                               [In Tons Per Day]                                                
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Non-Road                                   
       NAA         Point source     Area source   On-Road mobile      mobile         Biogenic     Totalemissions
                     emissions       emissions       emissions       emissions                                  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HGA.............          334.38           28.03         2412.68         1269.55              NA         4044.64
BPA.............          117.16           16.08          282.69          162.64              NA          578.57
LP..............            7.41            2.64          327.10          112.01              NA          449.16
DFW.............           13.33            4.47         2837.88         1116.99              NA        3972.67 
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    Based on Region 6's review of the inventories, Texas has satisfied 
all of the EPA's requirements for providing a comprehensive, accurate, 
and current inventory of actual emissions in the ozone nonattainment 
areas.
    The EPA has reviewed this request for revision of the Federally-
approved SIP for conformance with the provisions of the 1990 CAAA of 
November 15, 1990. The EPA has determined that this action conforms 
with those requirements.
    This final action on the Texas 1990 Base Year emissions inventories 
is unchanged from the September 6, 1994, proposed approval action, 
other than the El Paso point source VOC correction. The discussion 
herein provides only a broad overview of the proposed action that the 
EPA is now finalizing. The public is referred to the September 6, 1994 
proposed approval Federal Register action for a full discussion of the 
action that the EPA is now finalizing.
    This action makes final the action proposed at 59 FR 46015-46019 
(September 6, 1994). As noted elsewhere in this document, the EPA 
received no adverse public comments on the proposed action. As a direct 
result, the Regional Administrator has reclassified this action from 
table two to table three under the processing procedures established at 
54 FR 2214, January 19, 1989, and revised via memorandum from the 
Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation to the Regional 
Administrators dated October 4, 1993.
    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, in relation to relevant statutory and regulatory 
requirements.

Regulatory Flexibility

    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 600 et seq., the 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, the EPA may certify that the rule will not have a 
significant economic 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 
Clean Air Act 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, I certify 
that it does not have a significant impact on small entities affected. 
Moreover, due to the nature of the Federal-State relationship under the 
CAA, preparation of a regulatory flexibility analysis would constitute 
Federal inquiry into the economic reasonableness of State action. The 
CAA forbids the EPA to base its actions concerning SIPs on such 
grounds. (Union Electric Co. v. U.S. E.P.A., 427 U.S. 246, 256-66 (S. 
Ct. 1976); 42 U.S.C. 7410 (a)(2)).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by January 9, 1995. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect 
the finality of this rule 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. 
This action may not by challenged later in proceedings to enforce its 
requirements (see section 307(b)(2)).

Executive Order 12866

    This action has been classified as a Table Three action by the 
Regional Administrator under the procedures published in the Federal 
Register on January 19, 1989 (54 FR 2214-2225), as revised by an 
October 4, 1993, memorandum from Michael H. Shapiro, Acting Assistant 
Administrator for Air and Radiation. The Office of Management and 
Budget has exempted this regulatory action from Executive Order 12866 
review.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Hydrocarbons, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Reporting 
and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: October 26, 1994.
William B. Hathaway,
Acting Regional Administrator.

    Part 52, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is 
amended as follows:
    1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-767lq.

Subpart SS--Texas

    2. Section 52.2309 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 52.2309  Emissions inventories.

    (a) The Governor of the State of Texas submitted the 1990 base year 
emission inventories for the Houston/Galveston (HGA), Beaumont/Port 
Arthur (BPA), El Paso (ELP), and Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) ozone 
nonattainment areas on November 17, 1992 as a revision to the State 
Implementation Plan (SIP). The 1990 base year emission inventory 
requirement of section 182(a)(1) of the Clean Air Act, as amended in 
1990, has been satisfied for each of these areas.
    (b) The inventories are for the ozone precursors which are volatile 
organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide. The 
inventories cover point, area, non-road mobile, on-road mobile, and 
biogenic sources.
    (c) The HGA nonattainment area is classified as Severe-17 and 
includes Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, 
Montgomery, and Waller Counties; the BPA nonattainment area is 
classified as Serious and includes Hardin, Jefferson, and Orange 
Counties; the ELP nonattainment area is classified as Serious and 
includes El Paso County; and the DFW nonattainment area is classified 
as Moderate and includes Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant Counties.

[FR Doc. 94-27604 Filed 11-7-94; 8:45 am]
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