[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 175 (Monday, September 11, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 47084-47085]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-22332]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[FRL-5291-5]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; Disapproval of the Enhanced Motor Vehicle
Inspection and Maintenance Program
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA hereby gives notice that pursuant to its authority under
Clean Air Act (the Act) section 110(k)(4), 42 U.S.C. 7410(k)(3), in an
April 13, 1995 letter EPA notified Pennsylvania that the conditional
approval of the Pennsylvania enhanced Inspection and Maintenance (I/M)
State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision had been converted to a
disapproval. The letter triggered the 18-month timeclock for the
mandatory application of sanctions under section 179(a) of the Act and
the 24-month timeclock for the Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) under
section 110(c)(1). This also serves to amend the C.F.R. to note the
conversion of the conditional approval to a disapproval.
EFFECTIVE DATE: September 11, 1995.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mrs. Kelly L. Bunker, (215) 597- 4554.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 31, 1994 a final rule was
published in the Federal Register (59 FR 44936) which conditionally
approved the November 3, 1993 Pennsylvania SIP submittal for a
centralized, test-only enhanced I/M program. The first two conditions
of the conditional approval were required to be fulfilled by December
31, 1994. The first two conditions for approvability were as follows:
(1) by December 31, 1994, the Commonwealth was required to submit
to EPA as a SIP revision, the Pennsylvania Bulletin notice which
certified that the enhanced I/M program was required in order to comply
with federal law, certified the geographic areas which were subject to
the enhanced I/M program, and certified the
[[Page 47085]]
commencement date of the enhanced I/M program and
(2) by December 31, 1994, the Commonwealth was required to submit
to EPA as a SIP amendment, the amendments to the Pennsylvania I/M
regulation, 67 Pa Code Sec. 178.202-205, which require EPA approval
prior to implementation of any alternate purge test procedure and
incorporate the transient emission standards for Tier 1 vehicles, the
Phase 2 standards for all vehicle types and model years, and the
transient and evaporative purge test procedures found in the final
version of the EPA document entitled ``High-Tech I/M Test Procedures,
Emission Standards, Quality Control Requirements, and Equipment
Specifications'', EPA-AA-EPSD-IM-93-1, April 1994.
The proposed rulemaking stated that if the Commonwealth did not
submit, by December 31, 1994, a SIP revision in response to the first
two conditions of the approval action, the conditional approval would
convert to a disapproval. EPA has not received a SIP revision which
fulfills the first two conditions of the August 31, 1994 conditional
approval. EPA notified the Commonwealth by an April 13, 1995 letter
that the conditional approval of the Pennsylvania enhanced I/M SIP had
been converted to a full disapproval pursuant to section 110(k)(4) of
the Clean Air Act (the Act). This action taken on April 13, 1995
started both the 18 and subsequent 6 month sanctions clocks and the 24-
month FIP clock. The Commonwealth must submit and EPA must take
rulemaking action to approve an enhanced I/M SIP by October 13, 1996
and April 13, 1997, respectively, in order to halt these sanctions and
FIP clocks.
EPA believes that the good cause exception to the notice and
comment rulemaking requirement applies to this rulemaking action.
[Administrative Procedure Act (APA) section 553(a)(B)]. Section
553(a)(B) of the APA provides that the Agency need not provide notice
and an opportunity for comment if the Agency, for good cause,
determines that notice and comment are ``impracticable, unnecessary, or
contrary to the public interest.'' In the present circumstance, notice
and comment are unnecessary. The conversion of the conditional approval
to a disapproval does not require any judgment on the part of the
Agency. The issue is clear that the Agency must state whether or not it
has received any SIP revision by the required date from the
Commonwealth in response to the conditions set forth in the conditional
approval of the Commonwealth's enhanced I/M SIP. No substantive review
is required for such a determination. The Agency is the only judge of
whether or not it has received the SIP revision to meet the conditions
of the conditional approval. Because there is nothing on which to
comment, notice and comment rulemaking are unnecessary.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Ozone.
Dated: August 2, 1995.
W. Michael McCabe,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
40 CFR part 52 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 NN--Pennsylvania
2. Section 52.2023 is amended by adding paragraph (j) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.2023 Approval status.
* * * * *
(j) The conditionally approved Pennsylvania enhanced I/M SIP
revision (59 FR 44936) submitted on November 3, 1993 by the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources was converted to a
disapproval by an April 13, 1995 letter from EPA to Pennsylvania.
Sec. 52.2026 [Removed and Reserved]
3. Section 52.2026 is removed and reserved.
[FR Doc. 95-22332 Filed 9-8-95; 8:45 am]
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