[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 115 (Thursday, June 13, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 29970-29973]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-14968]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

[NM 28-1-7312; FRL-5514-2]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is redesignating to attainment the Albuquerque/Bernalillo 
County carbon monoxide (CO) nonattainment area. This action is in 
response to a request from the Governor of New Mexico on behalf of the 
Albuquerque and Bernalillo County carbon monoxide nonattainment area. 
The Governor's 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. On February 16, 
1996, the EPA proposed approval of the Albuquerque/ Bernalillo County 
I/M program, 1993 periodic emissions inventory, the maintenance plan, 
and the request for redesignation, because all met the requirements set 
forth in the Clean Air Act (Act). This final action promulgates the 
rule, redesignating the area to attainment, and incorporating the 
request into the SIP.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 15, 1996.

ADDRESSES: 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.

Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center (Air Docket Room 
M1500), Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street SW., Washington, 
D. C. 20460
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, Air Planning Section (6PD-

[[Page 29971]]

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, EPA 
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)).
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    \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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    Several of these items required to be in the City/County CO SIP 
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. Transportation conformity rules were 
approved on November 8, 1995, at 60 FR 56238. This action provides 
final approval for the 1993 emissions inventory, the vehicle inspection 
and maintenance program, the attainment maintenance plan, and the 
maintenance contingency provisions.2 Hence, the City/County has a 
completely approved SIP for the purposes of redesignation.
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    \2\ 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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    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 all 
of 1995. Therefore, in an effort to comply with 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 of Petition

    The Act revised section 107(d)(3)(E) to provide specific 
requirements that an area must meet in order to be redesignated from 
nonattainment to attainment. The EPA performed a detailed analysis of 
the City/County's petition and proposed approval on February 16, 1996 
(see 61 FR 6179). The EPA concluded that the City/County had met all 
applicable requirements. No comments received during the public comment 
period have given the EPA cause to rescind the proposed approval. 
Please see the proposed rule and Technical Support Document (TSD) for 
the complete analysis.

III. Response to Comments

    The EPA received one letter containing adverse comments to the 
proposed action.
    Comment: The commenter questioned whether the City of Albuquerque 
and Bernalillo County would be in attainment if a previously 
operational special-purpose monitor were still in place. The commenter 
contended that the permanent monitoring network in place does not 
accurately reflect air quality in the ``Uptown'' area of the City.
    Response: The EPA disagrees with this comment in two respects. The 
City/County operates an extensive CO monitoring network that 
sufficiently covers the nonattainment area, operating more monitors 
than required of cities of equal or greater population and area. All 
current monitoring sites meet the siting criteria the EPA uses to 
evaluate the location of individual monitors. The network as a whole 
also conforms to the current EPA policy and guidance that dictate 
coverage and resolution of monitoring data within a given domain to 
demonstrate attainment.
    The EPA reviewed the comment with the City/County to determine if 
air quality analysis had been conducted in the ``Uptown'' area of the 
City. The City/County provided documentation and analysis of a 
monitoring exercise carried out in the high CO season of 1995. The 
City/County deployed two special purpose monitors for 11 days to 
discern if a CO ``hot spot'' exists at the intersection nearest the 
previous site of the special purpose monitor. Direct monitoring data 
showed little possibility that ambient CO concentrations currently 
present a problem for human health or the environment. The monitoring 
data generated by the special purpose monitor indicate CO levels in 
compliance with the national standards. It should be pointed out that 
the special purpose monitors were placed to measure the highest 
possible concentrations at the locations in question, and CO levels 
still remained below national standards. Statistical tests on the 
correlation between CO values at the permanent and special purpose 
monitors indicate that the monitoring data were representative of air 
quality, reasonable and accurate. Hence, the City/County has adequately 
ascertained that the existing monitoring network accurately reflects 
air quality in the ``Uptown'' area. To review the information provided 
by City/County, see the addendum to the Technical

[[Page 29972]]

Support Document (TSD) in the docket file.
    Comment: The commenter asserted that efforts of the City of 
Albuquerque and Bernalillo County to reduce vehicle-miles travelled 
(VMT) in the nonattainment area are inadequate for the City/County to 
achieve attainment.
    Response: The EPA disagrees that the City/County should be required 
to implement additional reductions in VMT to attain the standard. The 
main components of the CO control program are the vehicle inspection 
and maintenance program, the oxygenated fuels program, the episode 
contingency plan, and the new source review permit program. The City/
County has also adopted general and transportation conformity rules 
that are also currently being applied. Although the commenter 
specifically mentions high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, the use of 
mass transit, public education campaigns, and pedestrian and bike 
trails, these programs do not constitute the mainstay of the CO control 
program, upon which the City/County achieved attainment and requested 
redesignation. The main parts of the control program, in conjunction 
with other federal programs, have enabled the area to achieve four 
years of continuous attainment with the CO standard. Should the main 
parts of the program not achieve maintenence of the standard, 
contingency measures will be applied without further action by the 
City/County to bring the area back into attainment. See the proposed 
rule for discussion of the applicable contingency measures.
    Comment: The commenter asserted that implementation of the 
Intermodal Multimodal Transporation Plan and Transportation Improvement 
Program is deficient.
    Response: The implementation of the Intermodal Multimodal 
Transporation Plan and Transportation Improvement Plans (TIP) are not 
under the purview of the EPA. The EPA takes this opportunity to point 
out that the U.S. Department of Transportation renders the 
determination that the TIP does or does not conform to the SIP, for 
transportation planning purposes.

IV. Final Action

    The EPA is issuing final approval of the request of the State of 
New Mexico and Albuquerque/Bernalillo County to redesignate the 
Albuquerque CO nonattainment area to attainment status. The EPA is also 
issuing final approval of the vehicle inspection and maintenance 
program, the 1993 periodic emissions inventory, and the attainment 
maintenance plan. The EPA received and addressed comments on the 
proposed approval of all these elements of the complete CO SIP.
    This action has been classified as a Table 3 action 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.
    The 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)).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Act, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by August 12, 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).]

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, 
Incorporation by reference.

40 CFR Part 81

    Air pollution control, National parks, and Wilderness areas.

    Dated: May 15, 1996.
Carol M. Browner,
Administator.

    40 CFR Parts 52 and 81 are 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 GG--New Mexico

    2. Section 52.1620 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(63) to read 
as follows:

[[Page 29973]]

Sec. 52.1620  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (63) A revision to the New Mexico SIP approving a request for 
redesignation to attainment, a vehicle inspection and maintenance 
program, and the required maintenance plan for the Albuquerque/
Bernalillo County CO nonattainment area, submitted by the Governor on 
May 11, 1995. The 1993 emissions inventory and projections were 
included in the maintenance plan.
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    (A) A letter from the Governor of New Mexico to EPA dated April 14, 
1995, in which the Governor requested redesignation to attainment based 
on the adopted Carbon Monoxide Redesignation Request and Maintenance 
Plan for Albuquerque/Bernalillo County New Mexico.
    (B) Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board 
Regulation No. 28, Motor Vehicle Inspection, as amended April 12, 1995 
and effective on July 1, 1995.
    (ii) Additional material. Carbon Monoxide Redesignation Request and 
Maintenance Plan for Albuquerque/Bernalillo County New Mexico, approved 
and adopted by the Air Quality Control Board on April 13, 1995.
    3. Section 52.1627 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 52.1627  Control strategy and regulations: Carbon monoxide.

    Part D Approval. The Albuquerque/Bernalillo County carbon monoxide 
maintenance plan as adopted on April 13, 1995, meets the requirements 
of Section 172 of the Clean Air Act, and is therefore approved.

PART 81--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.

Subpart C--Section 107 Attainment Status Designations

    2. In Sec. 81.332 the table for ``New Mexico-Carbon Monoxide'' is 
amended by revising the entry for the Albuquerque Area Bernalillo 
County to read as follows:


Sec. 81.332  New Mexico.

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                                                               New Mexico-Carbon Monoxide                                                               
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                                                             Designation                                             Classification                     
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                                                Date\1\                        Type                       Date\1\                        Type           
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Albuquerque Area Bernalillo County..  July 15, 1996..............  Attainment.................  ...........................  ...........................
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\1\ This date is November 15, 1990, unless otherwise noted.                                                                                             

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[FR Doc. 96-14968 Filed 6-12-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P