[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 90 (Wednesday, May 8, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 20730-20732]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-11344]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[ID5-2-7505; FRL-5500-4]


Attainment Extensions for PM-10 Nonattainment Areas: Idaho

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In the August 28, 1995 Federal Register, EPA identified two 
nonattainment areas in the State of Idaho which failed to attain the 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter 
with an aerodynamic diameter of less than or equal to ten micrometers 
(PM-10) by the applicable attainment date of December 31, 1994: the 
Power-Bannock Counties PM-10 nonattainment area and the Sandpoint PM-10 
nonattainment area. In that same Federal Register, EPA proposed to 
grant a one-year extension to the attainment date for those areas, from 
December 31, 1994 to December 31, 1995. EPA, by this document, grants 
the extensions.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This final rule is effective June 7, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the State's request and other information 
supporting this action are available for inspection during normal 
business hours at the following locations: EPA, Office of Air Quality, 
1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101, and State of Idaho, 
Division of Environmental Quality, 1410 N. Hilton, Boise, Idaho 83710.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven K. Body, 206/553-0782, EPA, 
Office of Air Quality, Seattle, Washington.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

Clean Air Act Requirements

    Areas meeting the requirements of section 107(d)(4)(B) of the Act 
1 were designated nonattainment for particulate matter with an 
aerodynamic diameter of less than or equal to ten micrometers by 
operation of law and classified ``moderate'' upon enactment of the 1990 
Clean Air Act Amendments. See generally 42 U.S.C. section 
7407(d)(4)(B). These areas included all former Group I PM-10 planning 
areas identified in 52 FR 29383 (August 7, 1987) as further clarified 
in 55 FR 45799 (October 31, 1990), and any other areas violating the 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM-10 prior to January 1, 
1989.2 A Federal Register notice announcing the areas designated 
nonattainment for PM-10 upon enactment of the 1990 Amendments, known as 
``initial'' PM-10 nonattainment areas, was published on March 15, 1991 
(56 FR 11101) and a subsequent Federal Register notice correcting the 
description of some of these areas was published on August 8, 1991 (56 
FR 37654). See 56 FR 56694 (November 6, 1991) and 40 CFR 81.313 
(codified air quality designations and classifications for the State of 
Idaho). All initial moderate PM-10 nonattainment areas have the same 
applicable attainment date of December 31, 1994.
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    \1\ The 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act made significant 
changes to the Act. See Public Law No. 101-549, 104 Stat. 2399. 
References herein are to the Clean Air Act as amended (``Act'' or 
``CAA''), which is codified at 42 U.S.C. Sec. 7401 et seq.
    \2\ Many of these other areas were identified in footnote 4 of 
the October 31, 1990 Federal Register notice.
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    States containing initial moderate PM-10 nonattainment areas were 
required to develop and submit to EPA by November 15, 1991, a SIP 
revision providing for, among other things, implementation of 
reasonably available control measures (RACM), including reasonably 
available control technology (RACT), and a demonstration of whether 
attainment of the PM-10 NAAQS by the December 31, 1994 attainment date 
was practicable. See Section 189(a).
    The Act provides the Administrator the discretion of granting a 
one-year extension to the attainment date for a moderate PM-10 
nonattainment area provided certain criteria are met. See Section 
188(d). The statute sets forth two criteria a moderate nonattainment 
area must satisfy in order to obtain an extension: (1) the State has 
complied with all the requirements and commitments pertaining to the 
area in the applicable implementation plan; and (2) the area has no 
more than one exceedance of the 24-hour PM-10 standard in the year 
preceding the extension year, and the annual mean concentration of PM-
10 in the area for the year preceding the extension year is less than 
or equal to the standard. See Section 188(d). As discussed in the 
August 28, 1995 Federal Register document (60 FR 44452), in exercising 
its discretion to grant extensions for PM-10 nonattainment areas, EPA 
will examine the air quality planning progress made in the moderate 
area. EPA will be disinclined to grant an attainment date extension 
unless a State has, in substantial part, addressed its moderate PM-10 
nonattainment area planning obligations as evidenced by whether the 
State has: (1) adopted and substantially implemented control measures 
that represent RACM/RACT in the moderate nonattainment area; and (2) 
demonstrated that the area has made emission reductions amounting to 
reasonable further progress toward attainment of the PM-10 NAAQS as 
defined in section 171(1) of the Act. See 60 FR 44453.
    If the State does not have the requisite number of years of clean 
air quality data to show attainment and does not apply or qualify for 
an attainment date extension, the area will be reclassified to serious 
by operation of law under section 188(b)(2) of the Act. If an extension 
to the attainment date is granted, at the end of the extension year EPA 
will again determine whether the area has attained the PM-10 NAAQS. If 
the requisite three consecutive years of clean air quality data needed 
to determine attainment are not met for the area, the State may apply 
for a second one-year extension of the attainment date. In order to 
qualify for the second one-year extension of the attainment date, the 
State must satisfy the same requirements listed above for the first 
extension. EPA will also consider the State's PM-10 planning progress 
for the area in the year for which the first extension was granted. If 
a second extension is granted and the area does not have the requisite 
three consecutive years of clean air quality data needed to demonstrate 
attainment at the end of the second extension, no further extensions of 
the attainment date can be granted and the area will be reclassified 
serious by operation of law. See section 188(d).
    On August 28, 1995, EPA determined, based on air quality data 
showing violations of the PM-10 NAAQS during the period from 1992 
through 1994, that the Power-Bannock Counties PM-10 nonattainment area 
and Sandpoint PM-10 nonattainment area have each failed

[[Page 20731]]

to attain the PM-10 NAAQS by the applicable attainment date of December 
31, 1994. See 60 FR 44454. In that action, EPA also proposed to grant 
the State of Idaho's request for a one-year extension of the PM-10 
attainment date for these nonattainment areas based on the supporting 
information provided by the State.
    EPA received two comments on the proposal, both of which supported 
EPA's proposal to grant the one-year extension, but one of which 
disagreed with EPA's characterization of two underlying issues. In this 
notice, EPA is taking final action on its proposal to extend the PM-10 
attainment date for the Power-Bannock Counties PM-10 nonattainment area 
and the Sandpoint PM-10 nonattainment area from December 31, 1994 to 
December 31, 1995.

II. Final Action and Implications

A. Response to Public Comments

    EPA received comments from the State of Idaho, Division of 
Environmental Quality, North Idaho Regional Office (IDEQ-NIRO) and from 
FMC Corporation (FMC), which owns and operates a facility in the Power-
Bannock Counties PM-10 nonattainment area. IDEQ-NIRO strongly endorsed 
EPA's proposal to grant a one-year extension to the attainment date for 
the Sandpoint PM-10 nonattainment area.
    FMC supported EPA's proposal to grant a one-year extension of the 
PM-10 attainment date for the Power-Bannock Counties PM-10 
nonattainment area, but felt that EPA could have ``more appropriately 
characterized'' two issues discussed in the proposal. First, FMC 
objected to EPA's failure to acknowledge that FMC has undertaken 
efforts to voluntarily reduce particulate emissions from certain 
sources within its facility which FMC believes has in turn contributed 
to recent indications that the area is approaching attainment of the 
standard. Second, FMC stated that EPA should discount the importance of 
the Eastern Michaud Flats superfund monitoring Site #2 (EMF Site #2) 
monitoring data because FMC asserts that siting considerations and 
exceptional events substantially diminish the significance and accuracy 
of its measurements. EPA has serious concerns regarding the 
sufficiency, and in some cases, the accuracy of the information 
provided by FMC in support of its concerns. For example, although EPA 
fully supports the voluntary efforts FMC has undertaken to implement 
PM-10 reductions at its elemental phosphorus facility, FMC has not 
provided documentation to support the claimed emission reductions or to 
show that the voluntary improvements meet the RACM/RACT requirement. 
Moreover, voluntary actions are not sufficient to meet Clean Air Act 
planning requirements for PM-10 nonattainment areas. See sections 
110(a)(2)(A) and 172(c)(6) of the Act. Even if accurate and fully 
supportable, however, the information provided by FMC in its comments 
would not change EPA's decision to grant the Power-Bannock Counties PM-
10 nonattainment area a one-year extension of the attainment date. 
Indeed, FMC fully supports the granting of such an extension. The 
information provided by FMC, if fully accepted by EPA, would only 
strengthen the basis for EPA's decision.
    As EPA stated in the proposal, EPA is currently working on a 
proposed rule that would implement a control strategy for sources 
located within the Tribal portion of the nonattainment area. It is 
through this process that the control measures that have been 
voluntarily undertaken by FMC can be, if appropriate, made federally 
enforceable and their adequacy in context of the RACM/RACT requirement 
can be more appropriately evaluated. Similarly, if EPA proposes to rely 
on the data from EMF Site #2 to support its proposed control strategy, 
the public comment period on EPA's proposed strategy would be an 
appropriate time for FMC to present more information to support its 
claim that EMF Site #2 does not meet EPA siting criteria and to request 
that specifically identified events should be deemed exceptional and 
their effects on the monitoring site discounted.

B. Final Action

    EPA is granting the State of Idaho's request for a one-year 
extension of the PM-10 attainment date for both the Power-Bannock 
Counties PM-10 nonattainment area and the Sandpoint PM-10 nonattainment 
area. This determination is based upon available air quality data and a 
review of the State's progress in implementing the planning 
requirements that apply to moderate PM-10 nonattainment areas. For a 
thorough discussion of the basis for EPA's determination, please refer 
to the proposal for this action at 60 FR 44452. This action extends the 
PM-10 nonattainment date for both the Power-Bannock Counties PM-10 
nonattainment area and the Sandpoint PM-10 nonattainment area from 
December 31, 1994 to December 31, 1995.

III. Administrative Requirements

A. Docket

    Copies of the State's request and all other information relied on 
by EPA in granting one-year extension, including public comments on the 
proposal received and reviewed by EPA, are maintained in the docket at 
the EPA Regional Office. The docket is an organized and complete file 
of information submitted to or otherwise considered by EPA in making 
this decision. The docket is available for public inspection at the 
location listed under the ADDRESSES section of this document.

B. Executive Order 12866

    The Office of Management and Budget has exempted this action from 
Executive Order 12866.

C. Regulatory Flexibility

    Extensions under Section 188(d) of the Clean Air Act do not create 
any new requirements, but merely extend the potential date for the 
imposition of new requirements. Because this action does not impose any 
new requirements, it does not have a significant impact on a 
substantial number of small entities.
    Under Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
(``Unfunded Mandates Act''), signed into law on March 22, 1995, EPA 
must prepare a budgetary impact statement to accompany any proposed or 
final rule that includes a Federal mandate that may result in estimated 
costs to State, local, or tribal governments in the aggregate; or to 
the private sector, of $100 million or more. Under Section 205, EPA 
must select the most cost-effective and least burdensome alternative 
that achieves the objectives of the rule and is consistent with 
statutory requirements. Section 203 requires EPA to establish a plan 
for informing and advising any small governments that may be 
significantly or uniquely impacted by the rule.
    EPA has determined that the approval action promulgated does not 
include a Federal mandate that may result in estimated costs of $100 
million or more to either State, local, or tribal governments in the 
aggregate, or to the private sector. This Federal action approves pre-
existing requirements under State or local law, and imposes no new 
Federal requirements. Accordingly, no additional costs to State, local, 
or tribal governments, or to the private sector, result from this 
action.
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United

[[Page 20732]]

States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by July 8, 1996. 
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 be challenged 
later in proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 
307(b)(2), 42 U.S.C. 7607(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental Protection, Air pollution control, Particulate 
matter, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    Note: Incorporation by reference of the Implementation Plan for 
the State of Idaho was approved by the Director of the Office of 
Federal Register on July 1, 1982.

    Dated: April 25, 1996.
Chuck Clarke,
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: 52 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.

Subpart N--Idaho

    2. Section 52.691 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 52.691  Extensions.

    The Administrator, by authority delegated under section 188(d) of 
the Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990, hereby extends for one year 
(until December 31, 1995) the attainment date for the Power-Bannock 
Counties PM-10 nonattainment area and the Sandpoint PM-10 nonattainment 
area.

[FR Doc. 96-11344 Filed 5-7-96; 8:45 am]
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