[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 69 (Tuesday, April 9, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 15715-15717]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-8435]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52

[IL133-1-7125a; FRL-5434-9]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Illinois: Motor Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance

AGENCY: United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The USEPA is giving full approval through a direct final 
action to a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted on June 
26, 1995, by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). This 
revision is a formal submittal of the 1992 motor vehicle emission 
inspection and maintenance (I/M) program enhancements developed and 
implemented, in part, as a response to the 1989 Federal Implementation 
Plan (FIP) agreement between Illinois and Wisconsin, and USEPA. The 
volatile organic compound (VOC) emission reduction from these 
improvements are creditable reduction toward achieving the 15 percent 
Reasonable Further Progress requirements toward attainment of the 
public health based ozone air quality standard. Illinois estimates that 
these program improvements achieve 8.4 tons per day (TPD) VOC reduction 
in the Chicago area and 0.2 TPD reduction in the East St. Louis area.
    The Chicago and East St. Louis ozone nonattainment areas are 
required to attain the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) 
as specified under the Clean Air Act (Act) by 2007 and 1996 
respectively. The implementation of these program enhancements in the 
areas stated above, have contributed to the further reduction of 
vehicle emissions which contribute to the formation of urban smog in 
Illinois. In the proposed rules section of this Federal Register, USEPA 
is proposing approval of this I/M program and SIP revision and solicits 
public comments on the action. If adverse comments are received on this 
direct final rule, USEPA will withdraw this final rule and address 
these comments in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule.

DATES: This final rule will be effective on June 10, 1996 unless 
adverse or critical comments are received by May 9, 1996. If the 
effective date is delayed, timely notice will be published in the 
Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of Illinois' I/M SIP submittal, and other documents 
pertinent to this direct final rule are available at the following 
address: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, Air and 
Radiation Division, Air Programs Branch, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 
Chicago, Illinois 60604.
    Comments on this rule should be addressed to: J. Elmer Bortzer, 
Chief, Regulation Development Section, Air Programs Branch (5AR-18J), 
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West 
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Francisco J. Acevedo, Environmental 
Engineer, Regulation Development Section, Air Programs Branch (5AR-
18J), United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West 
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-6061. Anyone 
wishing to come to Region 5 offices should first contact Francisco J. 
Acevedo.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    Pursuant to the requirements of the 1977 Clean Air Act, the 
Illinois General Assembly adopted legislation and signed into law in 
September 1984 the legal authority and funding mechanism for an I/M 
program in the State of Illinois. The State of Illinois contracted with 
Systems Control, Inc., to develop and operate a centralized network of 
testing facilities in both the Chicago and East St. Louis ozone 
nonattainment areas. The Illinois vehicle I/M program officially began 
testing vehicles on May 1, 1986.
    In 1989, Illinois, Wisconsin, and USEPA entered into a settlement 
agreement concerning various matters relating to compliance with 
certain provisions of the Clean Air Act (Wisconsin v. Reilly, Case No. 
87-C-0395, E.D. Wis.). Among other things, the agreement required that 
Illinois develop and implement enhancements to its I/M program which 
would make it equivalent in performance to the enhanced I/M-anti-
tampering program described in USEPA's November 24, 1987 proposal on 
its post-1987 Ozone and Carbon Monoxide Plan Revisions for Areas Not 
Attaining the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, (52 FR 45044, 
November 24, 1987). On October 30, 1989, Illinois submitted to USEPA a 
preliminary design and implementation schedule of program enhancements 
which would enable Illinois to meet the applicable standard. On October 
4, 1990, USEPA gave final approval to Illinois' I/M program as part of 
the State's 1982 ozone/CO SIP (55 FR 40658); however, USEPA noted at 55 
FR 40660 that Illinois was continuing to work on necessary enhancements 
to the I/M program and that USEPA would take action on these 
enhancements at a future date.
    On June 29, 1990, the General Assembly of the State of Illinois 
adopted Public Act 86-1433, which consists of amendments to the 
Illinois Vehicle Code, and the Illinois Motor Fuel Tax Law. These 
amendments became law on September 12, 1990 when it was signed without 
change by the Governor of the State. The legislation amended five 
sections of the Illinois Vehicle Code (625 ILCS 5/13A-102, 13A-103, 
14A-104, 15A-105, and 12A-106).
    Based on the authority of the Illinois legislation, IEPA prepared 
implementing procedural rules and published them for First Notice at 
Volume 15, Issue #38, p. 13607 of the Illinois Register (September 20, 
1991). The proposed rules subsequently became effective on June 15, 
1992, and were published in the Illinois Register on June 26, 1992 at 
Volume 16, Issue #26. These rules amended previous regulations on fleet 
testing requirements, inspection procedures, sticker issuance 
requirements, and requirements for low emission tuneups, and added a 
new section for tamper check procedures.

II. Background

    On June 26, 1995, IEPA submitted to USEPA a SIP revision containing 
I/M enhancements implemented in the Illinois program between January 1, 
1991 through December 31, 1992. The Illinois submittal seeks USEPA 
approval of the 1992 program enhancements. The State is taking emission 
reduction credits acquired from these enhancements for purposes of 
meeting requirements related to the 15% Reasonable Further Progress 
Plan for the Chicago and East St. Louis ozone nonattainment areas. In 
addition, IEPA believes that all material submitted in

[[Page 15716]]
the Illinois SIP has undergone an appropriate level of public review 
during the legislative and rulemaking processes and that all applicable 
state and federal public hearing requirements for this SIP submittal 
have been met.

III. EPA's Analysis of the Illinois 1992 Enhancements

    The Illinois ozone SIP revision submitted to USEPA on June 26, 
1995, contains the legal authority to implement the 1992 enhancements 
to the Illinois I/M program. The legal authority to implement such 
enhancements was submitted in the form of State legislative authority 
approved on September 12, 1990 by Illinois Governor Edgar. In addition, 
the state also prepared implementing procedural rules based on the 
legislative authority and submitted such rules as part of this SIP. 
Such rules were published in the Illinois Register on June 26, 1992 at 
Volume 16, Issue #26.
    The Illinois legislation established a ``hybrid'' test frequency 
schedule which incorporated a three-year new vehicle exemption period, 
a biennial frequency for three to seven year old vehicles, and annual 
testing for eight year and older vehicles. In addition, the legislation 
contained the authority to incorporate a three element anti-tampering 
inspection into the inspection requirement for 1975 and later model 
year vehicles beginning on July 1, 1991. Finally, the legislation 
established the geographic expansion of the inspection area into 
previously exempt portions of DuPage County; most of the previously 
exempt portions of Lake county; and into portions of Kane and Will 
Counties starting on January 1, 1992. In addition to the above 
requirements, the legislation also included other minor provisions 
affecting the I/M program including the ability for fleets of 15 or 
more vehicles, which are subject to the inspection, to establish and 
operate a Private Official Inspection Station. After review of the 
Illinois I/M legislation and submittal USEPA finds the above provisions 
approvable.
    The procedural rules submitted along with the legislation in the 
Illinois SIP includes two new sections and fifteen amended sections to 
Part 276 of the Illinois Administrative Code Title 35. The procedural 
rules include the tamper check procedures to be followed when 
performing the tamper check as part of the emission inspection. The 
rules prohibit the testing of any vehicle with apparent fuel or oil 
leaks, as well as any vehicle missing tail pipe sections which prevent 
the ability to test the vehicle properly. The tamper check consists of 
the visual inspection of the catalytic converter in addition to a fuel 
cap inspection and the fuel inlet restrictor inspection. In addition, 
the rules prohibit vehicles from receiving a waiver or passing the 
emission test unless the vehicle successfully passes the tamper check. 
Other provisions in the rule includes a revision to the program's 
procedures with regard to initial and corrected emission inspection 
stickers; a revision to the program's fleet inspection station 
operation requirements. The provision submitted in the Illinois SIP 
were fully implemented by January 1, 1992 and are acceptable to USEPA.

IV. Comments and Approval Procedure

    The USEPA is publishing this action without prior proposal because 
the agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates 
no adverse public comments. However, in a separate document in this 
Federal Register publication, the USEPA is proposing to approve the SIP 
revision should adverse or critical comments be filed. This action will 
be effective on June 10, 1996 unless, by May 9, 1996, adverse or 
critical comments are received. If USEPA 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 discussed in a subsequent final rule 
based on the separate proposed rule. The USEPA will not institute a 
second comment period for 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 on June 10, 1996.

Final Action

    USEPA is approving this revision to the Illinois SIP for the 1992 
enhancements to Illinois' vehicle I/M program. The Agency has reviewed 
this request for revision of the Federally-approved SIP for conformance 
with the provisions of the 1990 Amendments enacted on November 15, 
1990. The Agency has determined that this action conforms with those 
requirements. Under section 307(b)(1) of the Act, 42 U.S.C. 7607 
(b)(1), petitions for judicial review of this action must be filed in 
the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by 
August 1, 1995. Filing a petition for reconsideration by the 
Administrator of this final rule does not affect the finality of this 
rule for 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 
be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See 
section 307(b)(2) of the Act, 42 U.S.C. 7607 (b)(2).) The Office of 
Management and Budget has exempted this rule from the requirements of 
section 6 of Executive Order 12866.

Precedental Effect

    Nothing in this action shall be construed as permitting or allowing 
or establishing a precedent for any future request for a revision to 
any state implementation plan. Each request for revision to the state 
implementation plan shall be considered separately in light of specific 
technical, economic, and environmental factors and in relation to 
relevant statutory and regulatory requirements.

Regulatory Flexibility

    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 600 et seq., USEPA 
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, USEPA 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 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, 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 USEPA 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) and 7410(k)(3). [Page 28726]

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, USEPA 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, or tribal governments in the aggregate. To the extent that the

[[Page 15717]]
rules being approved by this action will impose any enforceable duty 
upon the State, local, or tribal governments, or upon the private 
sector, USEPA's 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. For these reasons, USEPA has 
determined that this final action does not include a Federal mandate.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Hydrocarbons, Incorporation by reference, Ozone, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: February 15, 1996.
David A. Ullrich,
Acting Regional Administrator.

    Part 52, 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 O--Illinois

    2. Section 52.720 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(122) to read 
as follows:


Sec. 52.720  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (122) On June 26, 1995, the Illinois Environmental Protection 
Agency (IEPA) submitted a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision 
containing the 1992 enhancements to the Illinois vehicle inspection and 
maintenance (I/M) program. Such enhancements were originally developed 
to meet the I/M performance standard as called for in the United States 
Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA's) proposed `post-1987' I/M 
SIP policy and specified in the settlement agreement entered into by 
the parties in Wisconsin v. Reilly, Case No. 87-C-0395, E.D. Wis. The 
submittal includes authorizing legislation P.A. 86-1433, signed into 
law on September 12, 1990 and procedural rules published in the 
Illinois Register on June 26, 1992 at Volume 16, Issue #16.
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    (A) 35 Illinois Administrative Code 276; Sections 276.101, 276.102, 
276.204, 276.206, 276.301, 276.303, 276.304, 276.307, 276.308, 276.309, 
276.310, 276.311, 276.401, 276.402, 276.701, 276.702, and 276.703 
amended or added at 16 Ill. Reg. 10230, effective June 15, 1992.
    (ii) Other material.
    (A) Public Act 86-1433 adopted by the Illinois General Assembly on 
June 29, 1990, signed into law by Governor Edgar on September 12, 1990 
effective September 12, 1990 (Sections 2,3, and 4) and January 1, 1991 
(Section 1). (B) June 26, 1995 letter and attachments from the IEPA's 
Bureau of Air Chief to the USEPA's Regional Air and Radiation Division 
Director submitting Illinois' revision to the ozone SIP.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 96-8435 Filed 4-8-96; 8:45 am]
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