[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 234 (Wednesday, December 4, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 64294-64295]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-30471]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 81

[NE-012-1012a; FRL-5655-6]


Designation of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; State of 
Nebraska

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: This document takes final action to correct a previous action 
published on November 6, 1991, that designated portions of Omaha, 
Nebraska, as nonattainment for the lead National Ambient Air Quality 
Standard (NAAQS) (see 56 FR 56694). Specifically, this action corrects 
a mistake made in designating the southern boundary of that 
nonattainment area.

DATES: This action is effective February 3, 1997 unless by January 3, 
1997 adverse or critical comments are received. If the effective date 
is delayed, timely notice will be published in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Josh Tapp, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Air Branch, 726 Minnesota Avenue, Kansas City, 
Kansas 66101. Copies of the documents relevant to this action are 
available for public inspection during normal business hours at the: 
Environmental Protection Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch, 
726 Minnesota Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas 66101; and the EPA Air and 
Radiation Docket and Information Center, 401 M Street, SW., Washington, 
DC 20460.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Josh Tapp at (913) 551-7606.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 24, 1991, the state of Nebraska 
submitted a letter which contained a recommendation for the EPA to 
designate a portion of Omaha as nonattainment for the lead NAAQS. In 
the letter, the state recommended the boundaries based on existing 
monitoring data. The specific boundaries listed in Nebraska's January 
1991 letter are: Fourth Street on the south, Eleventh Street on the 
west, Avenue H and the Nebraska-Iowa border on the north, and the 
Missouri River on the east.
    On August 27, 1996, the state of Nebraska submitted a letter which 
notified the EPA that its request in 1991 was not fully accurate. The 
southern boundary was originally defined based on the fact that data 
recorded at the monitor located at Fourth Street and Jones Street 
showed attainment of the lead standard. However, in its 1991 request, 
Nebraska incorrectly requested that the southern boundary be designated 
as Fourth Street which actually runs north and south. The August 1996 
letter requests that the EPA correct the error by designating the 
southern boundary as Jones Street which runs east and west. The state 
supplied a map which clearly delineates the relationship of Fourth 
Street and Jones Street to the nonattainment area to support its 
request.
    Under section 110(k)(6) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), the EPA may 
revise a previous designation when it determines that the designation 
was in error. The EPA has determined that its identification of the 
southern boundary of the Omaha lead nonattainment area was in error for 
the reasons stated above.

I. Final Action

    Pursuant to section 110(k)(6) of the Clean Air Act, this is a 
direct final action which redefines the southern boundary of the Omaha 
lead nonattainment area as Jones Street.
    The EPA is publishing this action without prior proposal because 
the Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates 
no adverse comments. However, in a separate document in this Federal 
Register publication, the EPA is proposing to approve the SIP revision 
should adverse or critical comments be filed. This action is effective 
February 3, 1997 unless, by January 3, 1997, adverse or critical 
comments are received.
    If the EPA 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 
addressed in a subsequent final rule based on this action serving as a 
proposed rule. The EPA will not institute a second comment period on 
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 is effective February 3, 1997.
    Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or 
allowing or establishing a precedent for any future request for 
revision to any SIP. Each request for revision to the SIP shall be 
considered separately in light of specific technical, economic, and 
environmental factors, and in relation to relevant statutory and 
regulatory requirements.

II. Administrative Requirements

A. Executive Order 12866

    This action has been classified as a Table 3 action for signature 
by the Regional Administrator under the procedures published in the 
Federal Register 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 E.O. 12866 review.

B. Unfunded Mandates

    Under section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
(``Unfunded Mandates Act''), signed into law on March 22, 1995, the 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 
private sector, of $100 million or more. Under section 205, the 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 the EPA to establish a 
plan for informing and advising any small governments that may be 
significantly or uniquely impacted by the rule.
    The 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 
preexisting 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.

C. Submission to Congress and the General Accounting Office

    Under 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A) as added by the Small Business 
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, EPA submitted a report 
containing this rule and other required information to the U.S. Senate, 
the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the 
General Accounting Office prior to publication of the rule in today's 
Federal Register. This rule is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 
U.S.C. 804(2).

[[Page 64295]]

D. Petitions for Judicial Review

    Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by February 3, 1997. 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).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks, 
Wilderness areas.

    Dated: November 14, 1996.
Dennis Grams,
Regional Administrator.

    Part 81, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is 
amended as follows:

PART 81--[AMENDED]

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

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

Subpart B--Nebraska

    2. Section 81.328 is amended by revising the lead table to read as 
follows:


Sec. 81.328  Nebraska.

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                                                 Nebraska--Lead                                                 
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                                                 Designation                            Classification          
        Designated area         --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     Date                  Type                  Date              Type         
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Douglas County (part):                                                                                          
    Portion of city of Omaha          1/6/92  Nonattainment                                                     
     bounded by: Jones Street                                                                                   
     on the south, Eleventh                                                                                     
     Street on the west, Avenue                                                                                 
     H and the Nebraska-Iowa                                                                                    
     border on the north, and                                                                                   
     the Missouri River on the                                                                                  
     east.                                                                                                      
Rest of State Not Designated                                                                                    
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[FR Doc. 96-30471 Filed 12-3-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P