[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 30 (Thursday, February 13, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 6728-6729]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-3520]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 58

[FRL-5683-4]


Modification of the Ozone Monitoring Season; Alabama, Georgia, 
and Mississippi

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: Previously, the ozone monitoring season in Region 4 was twelve 
months in Florida; March--November in Georgia, Alabama, and 
Mississippi; and April--October in North Carolina, South Carolina, 
Tennessee, and Kentucky. Based on review of ozone monitoring data, 
Region 4 has determined that the appropriate ozone monitoring ozone 
season should be April 1-October 31 for all Region 4 states except 
Florida. Florida will continue to have a twelve month monitoring 
season.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 17, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Copies of documents concerning this action are available for 
public inspection during normal business hours at the following 
locations. The interested persons wanting to examine these documents 
should make an appointment with the appropriate office at least 24 
hours before the visiting day.
    The Region 4 office may have additional background documents not 
available at the other locations.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, Air Planning Branch, 100 
Alabama Street, SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303. Dick Schutt, (404) 562-
9033.

Alabama Department of Environmental Management, 1751 Congressman W. L. 
Dickinson Drive, Montgomery, Alabama 36109. (334) 271-7861.
Air Protection Branch, Environmental Protection Division, Georgia 
Department of Natural Resources, 4244 International Parkway, Suite 120, 
Atlanta, Georgia 30354. (404) 363-7000.
Air Division, Office of Pollution Control, Mississippi Department of 
Environmental Quality, P.O. Box 10385, Jackson, Mississippi, 39289-
0385. (601) 961-5171.
Bureau of Environmental Health, Jefferson County Department of Health, 
P.O. Box 2648, Birmingham, Alabama 35202. (205) 930-1225.
The City of Huntsville, Department of Natural Resources & Environmental 
Management, 305 Church Street, Huntsville, Alabama 35801. (205) 535-
4206.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dick Schutt at 404/562-9033.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 40 CFR 58.13(a)(3) provides that ambient air 
quality data must be collected except periods or seasons exempted by 
the Regional Administrator. EPA Region 4 has analyzed ozone monitoring 
data for all of the Region 4 states except Florida during the years 
1991-1995. Air monitoring stations in the seven states recorded ozone 
values at or above .100 ppm on only three days between November 1-April 
14. Based on this data, the EPA has determined that the appropriate 
ozone monitoring season should be April 1-October 31 for all Region 4 
states except Florida. Florida will continue to have a twelve month 
monitoring season.
    Therefore, pursuant to 40 CFR 58.13(a)(3), by letter dated 
September 5, 1996, from John H. Hankinson, EPA Region 4 Administrator, 
the EPA changed the Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi ozone monitoring 
season to be April 1-October 31.
    The ozone monitoring season for Region 4 states will be re-
evaluated when the national ambient air quality standard for ozone is 
revised. The ozone monitoring season will be revised, if necessary at 
that time.
    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 (OMB) has 
exempted this regulatory action from E.O. 12866 review.
    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 600 et seq., EPA 
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, 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. EPA certifies that this rule will not have an impact on any 
number of small entities.
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), 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 
April 14, 1997. 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

[[Page 6729]]

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 CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7607(b)(2).)
    Under 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A) 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).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 58

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Intergovernmental 
relations.

    Dated: January 21, 1997.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator.

     Part 58 of chapter 1, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
is amended as follows.

PART 58--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for part 58 is revised to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7410, 7601(a), 7613, 7619.

Appendix D--[Amended]

    2. In Appendix D, the table in section 2.5 is amended by revising 
the entries for Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi to read as follows:
    Appendix D--Network Design for State and Local Air Stations 
(SLAMS), National Air Monitoring Stations (NAMS), and Photochemical 
Assessment Monitoring Stations (PAMS).
* * * * *
    2.5 * * *

                    Ozone Monitoring Season by State                    
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               State                    Begin month         End month   
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Alabama...........................  Apr...............  Oct.            
                                                                        
                  *        *        *        *        *                 
Georgia...........................  Apr...............  Oct.            
                                                                        
                  *        *        *        *        *                 
Mississippi.......................  Apr...............  Oct.            
                                                                        
                  *        *        *        *        *                 
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[FR Doc. 97-3520 Filed 2-12-97; 8:45 am]
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