[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 33 (Friday, February 16, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6179-6184]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-3583]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

[NM28-1-7087; FRL-5423-3]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation 
of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; State of New Mexico; 
Albuquerque/Bernalillo County; Approval of the Vehicle Inspection and 
Maintenance Program, Emissions Inventory, and Maintenance Plan; 
Redesignation of the Nonattainment Area to Attainment; and Carbon 
Monoxide Plan

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: On April 14, 1995, the Governor of New Mexico submitted a 
request for redesignation to attainment for the Albuquerque/Bernalillo 
County carbon monoxide (CO) nonattainment area. This request included a 
revision to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the administration 
of a vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) program, a 1993 emissions 
inventory for Albuquerque/Bernalillo County, and an attainment 
maintenance plan. The submission of the revised I/M program was 
intended to fulfill previously unfulfilled requirements for an I/M 
program. In this action, the EPA is proposing approval of the 
Albuquerque/Bernalillo County I/M program, 1993 periodic emissions 
inventory, and the request for redesignation, because all meet the 
requirements set forth in the Clean Air Act (Act).

DATES: All written comments must be received by March 18, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on this action should be addressed to Mr. 
Thomas H. Diggs, Chief, Air Planning Section, at the EPA Regional 
Office listed below. Copies of the documents relevant to this action 
are available for public inspection during normal business hours at the 
addresses listed below. The interested persons wanting to examine these 
documents should make an appointment with the appropriate office at 
least twenty-four hours before the visiting day.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, Air Planning Section 
(6PD-L), 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733.
Albuquerque Environmental Health Department, Air Pollution Control 
Division, One Civic Plaza Room 3023, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Matthew Witosky, Air Planning 
Section (6PD-L), Multimedia Planning and Permitting Division, USEPA 
Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, telephone (214) 
665-7214.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Albuquerque/Bernalillo County, New Mexico, was designated 
nonattainment for CO and classified as moderate with a design value 
below 12.7 parts per million (ppm) (specifically 11.1 ppm), under 
sections 107(d)(4)(A) and 186(a) of the Act, upon enactment of the 
Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of 1990 (the Act).1 Please 
reference 56 FR 56694 (November 6, 1991) and 57 FR 13498 and 13529 
(April 16, 1992). On November 5, 1992, the Governor of New Mexico 
submitted to the EPA a SIP revision for CO concerning Albuquerque/
Bernalillo County that was intended to satisfy the Act's requirements 
due on November 15, 1992. The Act outlines certain required items to be 
included in CO SIPs. The required items for the Albuquerque/Bernalillo 
County CO SIP, due November 15, 1992, included: (1) a comprehensive, 
accurate, and current inventory of actual emissions from all sources of 
CO in the nonattainment area (sections 172(c)(3) and 187(a)(1) of the 
Act); (2) no later than September 30, 1995, and no later than the end 
of each three year period thereafter, until the area is redesignated to 
attainment, a revised inventory meeting the requirements of sections 
187(a)(1) and 187(a)(5) of the Act; (3) a permit program to be 
submitted by November 15, 1993, which meets the requirements of section 
173 for the construction and operation of new and modified major 
stationary sources of CO (section 172(c)(5)); (4) contingency measures 
due November 15, 1993, that are to be implemented if the EPA determines 
that the area has failed to attain the primary standards by the 
applicable date (section 172(c)(9)); (5) a commitment to upgrade and 
submit a SIP revision for the I/M program by November 15, 1993, 
(section 187(a)(4)); and (6) an oxygenated fuels program (section 
211(m)).

    \1\ The Clean Air Act as amended (1990 Amendments) made 
significant changes to the air quality planning requirements for 
areas that do not meet (or that significantly contribute to ambient 
air quality in a nearby area that does not meet) the CO NAAQS (see 
Pub. L. No. 101-549, 104 Stat. 2399). References herein are to the 
CAAA, 42 U.S.C. sections 7401 et seq.
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    The Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board has 
ambient monitoring data showing attainment of the CO National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) during the period from 1992 through 
September of 1995. Therefore, in an effort to comply with 

[[Page 6180]]
the Act and to ensure continued attainment of the CO NAAQS, on April 
14, 1995, the Governor of New Mexico submitted a CO redesignation 
request and a maintenance plan for the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County 
area. The redesignation request and maintenance plan were both approved 
by the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board 
(hereafter referred to as City/County) after a public hearing held on 
April 13, 1995.

II. Evaluation Criteria

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

III. Review of City/County Submittal

    The Act requires States to observe certain procedural requirements 
in developing implementation plans and plan revisions for submission to 
the EPA. Section 110(a)(2) of the Act provides that each implementation 
plan submitted by a State must be adopted after reasonable notice and 
public hearing.2 See also section 110(l) of the Act. Also, the EPA 
must determine whether a submittal is complete and therefore warrants 
further EPA review and action (see section 110(k)(1) and 57 FR 13565 of 
April 16, 1992). The EPA's completeness criteria for SIP submittals are 
set out at 40 CFR 51, appendix V (1991), as amended by 56 FR 42216 
(August 26, 1991). The EPA attempts to make completeness determinations 
within 60 days of receiving a submission. However, a submittal is 
deemed complete by operation of law if a completeness determination is 
not made by the EPA six months after receipt of the submission.

    \2\ Section 172(c)(7) of the Act requires that plan provisions 
for nonattainment areas meet the applicable provisions of section 
110(a)(2).
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    After providing adequate notice, City/County held a public hearing 
on April 13, 1995, to entertain public comment on the CO redesignation 
request and maintenance plan. Following the public hearing, these 
elements were adopted by the City/County, signed by the Governor on 
April 14, 1995, and submitted to the EPA as a proposed revision to the 
SIP.
    The SIP revision was reviewed by the EPA shortly after its 
submittal to determine if it was administratively complete in 
accordance with the criteria referenced above. A letter dated June 2, 
1995, was forwarded to the Governor indicating the completeness of the 
submittal and the next steps to be taken in the review process.
    The information contained in the City/County redesignation request 
demonstrates that the area has met the five requirements of section 
107(d)(3)(E) of the Act as noted above. The following is a brief 
description of how the City/County fulfilled each of these 
requirements. For a more detailed analysis of the submittal, refer to 
the Technical Support Document. In addition, because the maintenance 
plan is a critical element of the redesignation request, the EPA will 
discuss its evaluation of the maintenance plan under its analysis of 
the redesignation request.

1. Attainment of the CO NAAQS

    The City/County request contains 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 years 1992 through September of 1995 show no violations of the 
CO NAAQS in the City of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County area. Since 
the area has complete quality- assured data showing no violations of 
the CO NAAQS 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 40 CFR 50 appendix C).

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

    The City/County CO SIP is made up of a number of elements which 
were approved at different times prior to this action. The 1990 base 
year inventory, the oxygenated fuels program, and the winter wood 
burning program were approved on November 29, 1993, at 58 FR 62535. The 
nonattainment New Source Review program was approved on December 21, 
1994, at 58 FR 67326. Required contingency measures were approved on 
May 5, 1995, at 59 FR 23167. In addition, a Clean Fuel Fleet 
demonstration project was approved with the contingency measures. 
Though not a requirement and not a contingency measure, it was approved 
because it could provide some emission reductions. Transportation 
conformity rules were approved on November 8, 1995, at 60 FR 56238. 
This action proposes to approve the 1993 emissions inventory, the 
vehicle inspection and maintenance program, maintenance plan, and 
maintenance contingency provisions.3 If approved, the City/County 
will have a completely approved SIP for the purposes of redesignation. 
Although the EPA has not approved City/County's general conformity SIP 
provision, the EPA believes it is reasonable to proceed with 
redesignation, and approve the state's general conformity provisions in 
a subsequent notice. See section C titled Conformity of this notice for 
the EPA's rationale for proceeding with the redesignation.

    \3\ The attainment contingency measure approved on May 5, 1995 
at 59 FR 23167 would become one of two maintenance contingency 
measures through final action on this petition.
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A. Emission Inventory
    Under cover dated November 5, 1992, the State of New Mexico 
submitted a comprehensive inventory of CO emissions from the 
Albuquerque/Bernalillo County area. The inventory included emissions 
from area, stationary, and mobile sources using 1990 as the base year 
for calculations. The 1990 inventory was approved after the EPA 
performed the Level I, II, and III reviews required to determine that 
the submission positively fulfilled the evaluation criteria. The 
comprehensive base year emissions inventory was submitted in the 
National Emission Data System format.
    Section 187(a)(5) of the Act requires that nonattainment plan 
provisions include a periodic comprehensive, accurate, and current 
inventory of actual emissions from all sources of relevant pollutants 
in the nonattainment area after the 1990 base year inventory has been 
prepared. Albuquerque/Bernalillo County included the requisite periodic 
inventory in the CO Redesignation SIP. The periodic inventory was for 
1993, using a three month CO season of November 1993 through January 
1994. Stationary point, stationary area, on-road mobile, and non-road 
mobile sources of CO were included in the inventory. Stationary sources 
with emissions greater than 100 tons per year within a 25-mile buffer 
of the designated area were also included in the inventory. The 
periodic inventories are to be prepared with the same guidance used in 
preparing the 1990 base year inventory. The available guidance for 
preparing emission inventories is provided in the General Preamble (57 
FR 13498, April 16, 1992). 

[[Page 6181]]

    Section 110(k) of the Act sets out provisions governing EPA's 
review of base year emission inventory submittals in order to determine 
approval or disapproval under section 187(a)(5) (see 57 FR 13565-66, 
April 16, 1992). The EPA is granting approval of the Albuquerque/
Bernalillo County 1993 periodic CO emissions inventory submitted on May 
11, 1995, based on the EPA review guidance. Please refer to the 
technical support document for a description of the EPA review process.
    The following list presents a summary of the CO peak season daily 
emissions estimates in tons per day by source category: point sources, 
3.18 tons per day; Area sources, 111.60 tons per day; Mobile Onroad 
sources, 274.16 tons per day; Mobile Nonroad sources, 45.74 tons per 
day; Total sources, 434.69 tons per day.
    The EPA is approving this emission inventory as having met the 
requirements of Section 187(a)(5) of the Act as well as approving the 
inventory for redesignation purposes. Please reference appendix A of 
the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County CO Redesignation SIP for specific 
details on the inventory.
B. Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance
    (1) Background. In a letter dated April 14, 1995, the State of New 
Mexico submitted to the EPA rules for an Albuquerque SIP revision to 
implement an I/M program in the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County carbon 
monoxide (CO) nonattainment area. These rules were submitted as part of 
the SIP revision regarding requirements pursuant to Section 182 of the 
Act and 40 CFR Part 51, Subpart S of the Federal I/M rule. The SIP was 
submitted in conjunction with a redesignation request and maintenance 
plan since the area has the air quality data to support such a request. 
In addition to the State regulations (Air Quality Control Board 
Regulation 28, Motor Vehicle Inspection), Albuquerque has submitted its 
I/M ``Procedures Manual'' narrative describing the I/M program, 
Analyzer Specification Manual, the legal authority for the program (NM 
Air Quality Control Act 74-2, NM Statutes Chapter 66, Motor Vehicles) 
and other supporting documents relating to the I/M program.
    As a moderate CO nonattainment area, the City of Albuquerque was 
required to submit an I/M SIP by November 15, 1993, which met all the 
requirements of the Federal I/M Rule for a basic I/M program. Since a 
SIP was not received by EPA, on January 14, 1994, EPA issued a finding 
of nonsubmittal which initiated an 18 month sanction clock. EPA stopped 
the sanction clock on June 2, 1995, upon the determination that the SIP 
submitted by the State on April 14, 1995, was complete.
    On January 5, 1995, EPA issued rules providing basic I/M areas such 
as Albuquerque that were redesignating to attainment significant 
amounts of flexibility determining which features in the I/M program 
the State would implement (See 60 FR 1735-38). Essentially, the rule 
allows that areas having an ultimately approvable redesignation request 
could keep their current I/M program without upgrades, if upgrades were 
not needed to maintain the standard in the ten year maintenance plan. 
For this reason EPA is publishing the approval of the I/M SIP at the 
same time as the redesignation to attainment. Since such a program 
would not be fully upgraded to meet the requirements of a basic program 
as contained in 40 CFR Part 51, Subpart S of the Federal I/M rule, the 
program implemented would have to assume an 80% rule effectiveness for 
the purposes of modeling in the ten year maintenance plan.
    (2) Review Criteria and Determination. The criteria used to review 
the submitted SIP revision is based on the requirements contained in 
the I/M redesignation rule published January 5, 1995. This notice lists 
four criteria that are needed for the Agency to approve the 
redesignation request and the I/M program if the program is not fully 
upgraded to meet all the requirements in the Federal I/M rule. These 
criteria are: (1) legal authority for a basic I/M program, meeting all 
the requirements of Subpart S such that implementing regulations can be 
adopted without further legislation; (2) a request to place the I/M 
plan or upgrades, as defined in the I/M redesignation rule, (as 
applicable) in the contingency measures portion of the maintenance plan 
upon redesignation as described in the fourth element below; (3) a 
contingency measure to go into effect as soon as a triggering event 
occurs, consisting of a commitment by the Governor or the designee to 
adopt regulations to implement the I/M program in response to the 
specified triggering event; and (4) a commitment that includes an 
enforceable schedule for adopting and implementing the I/M program, 
including appropriate milestones, in the event the contingency measure 
is triggered (milestones shall be defined by states in terms of months 
since the triggering event).

Legal Authority

    Legal authority for the current I/M program along with a potential 
future upgrade is contained in the New Mexico Air Quality Control Act 
as well as the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Code. Specifically, authority 
for the implementation of the I/M program is contained in Article 2 of 
the Air Quality Control Act, section 74-2-4. This section gives the 
local authority the ability to adopt rules, regulations and guidelines, 
set fees, and operate alternate program types in case of a federally 
required contingency. Authority for enforcement of the program by 
requiring a valid emission inspection certificate before a registration 
is granted is found in the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Code 66-3-7.1. No 
other legal authority is needed to fully upgrade the program to meet 
the basic I/M requirements of 40 CFR Part 51.

I/M Program Upgrades In Contingency Measure

    Air Quality Control Board Regulation 28.23, Motor Vehicle 
Inspection contains the provision for program automatic upgrades as a 
contingency measure if the area experiences a violation of the ambient 
carbon monoxide standard. By regulation the program will convert to an 
annual testing program and will be upgraded to meet the performance 
standards as outlined in 40 CFR Part 51.

I/M Contingency Effective Upon Triggering Mechanism

    By Regulation 28.23, the triggering mechanism is effective upon an 
EPA confirmed violation of the federal ambient carbon monoxide 
standard. The effective date of Regulation 28.23 is July 1, 1995.

Schedule for Implementing Triggered I/M Upgrade

    Regulation 28.23 sets forth the schedule for implementing program 
upgrades, a major feature of which would be to increase the testing 
frequency from biennial to annual. The regulation calls for I/M program 
upgrades 120 days after the EPA confirmed violation of the carbon 
monoxide standard.
    In addition to these four criteria being met, the redesignation 
portion of the SIP has incorporated the 80% rule effectiveness in its 
calculations demonstrating that the area can 

[[Page 6182]]
maintain the standard for ten years. See pages 30 and Appendix Ba of 
the redesignation SIP for these calculations.

(3) Current I/M Program Parameters

------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Parameter                     Albuquerque I/M program    
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Network Type...........................  Decentralized, Test and Repair.
Emission Test..........................  Two Speed idle test with BAR90 
                                          as of 1/1/96. BAR84 analyzers 
                                          allowed prior to that date.   
                                          Visual check includes         
                                          catalytic converter, air      
                                          injection system, and oxygen  
                                          sensor.                       
Vehicle Coverage.......................  1975 and later spark ignition  
                                          motor vehicles between 1,000  
                                          and 26,000 pounds, including  
                                          fleets operating within       
                                          Bernalillo County and vehicles
                                          operating on Federal          
                                          installations in the county.  
Test Frequency.........................  Biennial.                      
Extensions.............................  Excludes an emission-related   
                                          tune-up. Motorists have 12    
                                          months to perform repairs up  
                                          to $300 and 24 months for     
                                          repairs over $300.            
Waivers................................  None.                          
Enforcement Penalties against Test       Monetary penalties and/or      
 Stations or Inspectors.                  denial, suspension or         
                                          revocation of certification.  
Enforcement Penalty against Motorists..  Registration Denial.           
Contingency Measure....................  Annual testing and upgrades to 
                                          meet the performance standards
                                          in 40 CFR Part 51.            
Upgrade Triggering Mechanism...........  An EPA-confirmed violation of  
                                          the carbon monoxide standard. 
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (4) Finding of the EPA Review. EPA has reviewed the Albuquerque I/M 
SIP submittal SIP revision submitted to the EPA, using the criteria 
stated above. Albuquerque's regulations and accompanying materials 
contained in the SIP represent an acceptable approach to the I/M 
requirements in view of the approvable redesignation request.
C. Conformity
    Section 176(c) of the Act 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 Act required the 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, the 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)).
    The 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 the Act's 
section 175A. The City/County submitted both transportation and general 
conformity rules to the EPA for approval. The transportation conformity 
rule was approved at 60 FR 56280 on November 8, 1995.
    Although this redesignation request was submitted to EPA after the 
due dates for the SIP revisions for transportation conformity (58 FR 
62188) and general conformity (58 FR 63214) rules, the EPA believes it 
is reasonable to proceed with a redesignation while approval of general 
conformity rules is under consideration by the EPA. The rationale for 
this is based on a combination of two factors. First, the requirement 
to submit SIP revisions to comply with the conformity provisions of the 
Act continues to apply to areas after redesignation to attainment. 
Therefore, the State remains obligated to enforce the transportation 
and general conformity rules even after redesignation and would risk 
sanctions for failure to do so. While redesignation of an area to 
attainment enables the area to avoid further compliance with most 
requirements of section 110 and part D, since those requirements are 
linked to the nonattainment status of an area, the conformity 
requirements apply to both nonattainment and maintenance areas. Second, 
EPA's federal conformity rules require the performance of conformity 
analyses in the absence of state-adopted rules. Therefore, a delay in 
approving State general conformity rules does not relieve an area from 
the obligation to implement such requirements. Hence, EPA believes the 
area has met these requirements for the purpose of a redesignation 
request.

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

    The control measures producing emission reductions are comprised of 
the following: (1) the Federal Motor Vehicle Control Program; (2) the 
oxyfuels program; (3) the winter wood burning program; and (4) the I/M 
program. The EPA finds that these control measures contribute to the 
permanence and enforceability of reductions in ambient CO levels that 
have allowed the area to attain the NAAQS.

4. Fully Approved Maintenance Plan Under Section 175A

    Section 175A of the Act 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 that 
is adequate to assure prompt correction of any air quality problems. In 
this action, the EPA is proposing to approve the City/County's 
maintenance plan because the EPA finds that the plan meets the 
requirements of section 175A.
A. Demonstration of Maintenance--Projected Inventories
    Total CO emissions were projected from a 1990 base year out to 
2006. These projected inventories were prepared in 

[[Page 6183]]
accordance with EPA guidance. The redesignation request contains the 
detailed inventory data and summaries by source category. Like the base 
year inventory, the inventory projections were prepared in accordance 
with EPA guidance. The following table summarizes the 1990 base year 
inventory and inventory projections to the year 2006.

                                         CO Emissions Inventory Summary                                         
                                                 [Tons per day]                                                 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Year                           Area       Non-road      Mobile       Point        Total   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1993...........................................       111.60        45.75       274.16         3.18       434.69
1996...........................................       116.28        48.12       235.50         0.00       399.90
1999...........................................       120.98        50.48       207.95         0.00       379.41
2002...........................................       125.71        52.86       197.13         0.00       375.70
2005...........................................       130.42        55.22       199.12         0.00       384.76
2006...........................................       131.98        55.98       202.95         0.00       390.91
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Please reference appendix B for specific details of the projected 
inventories. The projections show that calculated CO emissions are not 
expected to exceed the level of the base year inventory during this 
time period. Therefore, it is anticipated that the City/County area 
will maintain the CO standard.
B. Verification of Continued Attainment
    Continued attainment of the CO NAAQS in the Albuquerque/ Bernalillo 
County area depends, in part, on the City/County's efforts in tracking 
the indicators of continued attainment during the maintenance period. 
The City/County has also committed to submit periodic inventories of CO 
emissions every three years to fulfill the requirements of sections 
187(a)(1) and 187(a)(5).
C. Contingency Plan
    In accordance with section 175A(d) of the Act, the City/County has 
submitted contingency measures designed to ``assure that the state will 
promptly correct any violation of the standard which occurs after the 
redesignation.'' The City/County submitted one contingency measure to 
correct a violation of the CO standard, and another contingency measure 
designed to forestall such a violation. The EPA appreciates the quality 
of both contingency measures for several reasons.
    The City/County submitted a ``primary'' contingency measure that 
will take effect without further action by the City/County or the State 
of New Mexico. If EPA confirms that two exceedences have occurred in 
the maintenance area, and issues a notice of violation, two automatic 
policy changes will occur. One, the vehicle inspection and maintenance 
program will become annual rather than biannual. Two, the oxygenated 
fuel regulation will require that all fuel sold in the nonattainment 
area contain no less than 3.0 percent oxygenate by weight. The change 
in the I/M program will take place within 120 days after the violation 
is confirmed by EPA. The requirement to increase the oxygenate content 
will be effective at the beginning of the next CO season. For this 
area, the CO season begins on November 1 and concludes the last day of 
February. The EPA favors the contingency measures as corrective actions 
because they produce real and quantifiable reductions of CO, that are 
readily enforceable.
    The City/County submitted a ``secondary'' contingency measure that 
can take effect if the periodic emissions inventory exceeds the 
baseline inventory used in this request for redesignation. In this 
contingency measure, the City/County authority will consider 
implementing the primary contingency measures if the periodic emissions 
inventory surpasses the amount of emissions quantified in the baseline 
inventory.
    It is important to note that a CO inventory every three years after 
redesignation is not a requirement of the Act. The City/County has 
volunteered to perform such an inventory in addition to the 
requirements to submit a ten year maintenance plan, and revise the SIP 
eight years after the designation to attainment, to assure maintenance 
of the standard for an additional 10 years.
    This contingency measure is particularly advantageous to the City/
County because the consideration of contingency measures is required 
through the use of a forecasting model. By properly using the periodic 
emissions inventory as a forecasting tool, the City/County should be 
able to act to prevent any exceedences. This secondary measure is 
therefore protective of air quality and the status of attainment.
D. Subsequent Maintenance Plan Revisions
    In accordance with section 175A(b) of the Act, the City/County has 
agreed to submit a revised maintenance SIP eight years after the area 
is redesignated to attainment. This SIP revision must provide for the 
maintenance of the CO standard for an additional ten years.

5. Applicable Requirements of Section 110 and Part D

    The 1990 Amendments modified section 110(a)(2) and revised section 
172 of part D, by adding new requirements for all nonattainment areas. 
The EPA has reviewed the SIP to ensure that it contains all measures 
that were due under the Act prior to or at the time the City/County 
submitted its redesignation request.
    Under section 187(a), areas designated nonattainment for CO under 
the Act and classified as moderate were required to meet several 
requirements by November 15, 1992. The City/County was required to 
submit a 1990 Emission Inventory. The EPA has reviewed and approved the 
1990 base year emission inventory (see 58 FR 62535-62539, November 29, 
1993). Section 211(m) further required the City/County to submit an 
oxygenated fuels regulation. This rule was submitted to the EPA and 
approved on November 29, 1993, in the FR. Finally, the I/M program 
requirement has been met by the City/County's submittal to the EPA on 
May 8, 1995.
    Section 172(c) sets forth general requirements applicable to all 
nonattainment areas. Two requirements under section 172(c) for 
Albuquerque/Bernalillo County were: (1) to submit a preconstruction 
permit program for new or modified major stationary sources that wish 
to locate in a nonattainment area (section 172(c)(5)); and (2) to 
submit contingency measures to be implemented if the area failed to 
make reasonable further progress (RFP) or to attain the applicable 
NAAQS by the 

[[Page 6184]]
applicable date (section 172(c)(9)). The City/County submitted both of 
the above programs, which were fully approved in the FR (Please 
reference 58 FR 67326-67330, December 21, 1993, for the nonattainment 
New Source Review (NSR) program approval, and 59 FR 23167-23169, May 6, 
1994, for the contingency measures approval). Upon redesignation to 
attainment, the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) 
permitting program will be applicable. City/County's PSD program was 
approved in the FR on December 21, 1993, at 58 FR 67330-67334. In 
addition, City/County's preconstruction permit program was approved in 
the FR on March 15, 1994, at 59 FR 12170-12172, and the winter wood 
burning program was approved on November 29, 1993, at 58 FR 62535-
62539.

IV. Proposed Action

    The EPA is proposing to approve the request of the State of New 
Mexico to redesignate to attainment the Albuquerque CO nonattainment 
area to attainment status. The EPA is also proposing approval of the 
vehicle inspection and maintenance program, the 1993 periodic emissions 
inventory, and the attainment maintenance plan. The EPA will take final 
action on this notice following analysis of public comments on this 
proposal.
    This action has been classified as a Table 3 action for signature 
by the Regional Administrator under the procedures published in the FR 
on January 19, 1989 (54 FR 2214-2225), as revised by a July 10, 1995, 
memorandum from Mary Nichols, Assistant Administrator for Air and 
Radiation. The Office of Management and Budget has exempted this 
regulatory action from Executive Order 12866 review.
    Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting, allowing 
or establishing a precedent for any future request for revision to any 
SIP. The EPA shall consider each request for revision to the SIP in 
light of specific technical, economic, and environmental factors and in 
relation to relevant statutory and regulatory requirements.

Miscellaneous

    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. Sec. 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. 
Secs. 603 and 604). Alternatively, the 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 
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 any small entities affected. Moreover, 
due to the nature of the Federal-State relationship under the Act, 
preparation of a regulatory flexibility analysis would constitute 
Federal inquiry into the economic reasonableness of State action. The 
Act 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 (1976); 42 
U.S.C. Sec. 7410(a)(2)).

Unfunded Mandates

    Under sections 202, 203, and 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act of 1995 (``Unfunded Mandates Act''), signed into law on March 22, 
1995, EPA must undertake various actions in association with proposed 
or final rules that include a Federal mandate that may result in 
estimated costs of $100 million or more to the private sector, or to 
State, local, or tribal governments in the aggregate.
    Through submission of this state implementation plan or plan 
revision, the State and any affected local or tribal governments have 
elected to adopt the program provided for under section 110 of the Act. 
These rules may bind State, local and tribal governments to perform 
certain actions and also require the private sector to perform certain 
duties. To the extent that the rules being approved by this action will 
impose no new requirements; such sources are already subject to these 
regulations under State law. Accordingly, no additional costs to State, 
local, or tribal governments, or to the private sector, result from 
this action. The EPA has also determined that this action does not 
include a mandate that may result in estimated costs of $100 million or 
more to State, local, or tribal governments in the aggregate or to the 
private sector.

List of Subjects

40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide.

40 CFR Part 81

    Air pollution control, National parks, Wilderness areas.

    Dated: January 30, 1996.
Jane N. Saginaw,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 96-3583 Filed 2-15-96; 8:45 am]
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