[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 145 (Tuesday, July 29, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 40457-40458]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-19884]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[MD 038-3016; FRL-5864-9]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Maryland; 15% Rate of Progress Plan and Contingency Measures for the 
Cecil County Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is granting full approval of the State Implementation Plan 
(SIP) revision submitted by the State of Maryland, for Cecil County, 
part of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton severe ozone nonattainment 
area, to meet the 15 percent reasonable further progress (RFP, or 15% 
plan) requirements of the Clean Air Act (the Act). EPA is granting 
approval of the 15% plan and contingency measures, submitted by the 
State of Maryland, because the plan achieves the required 15% emission 
reduction. This action is being taken under section 110 of the Clean 
Air Act.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This final rule is effective on August 28, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the documents relevant to this action are 
available for public inspection during normal business hours at the 
Air, Radiation, and Toxics Division, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Region III, 841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 
19107; and the Maryland Department of the Environment, 2500 Broening 
Highway, Baltimore, Maryland 21224.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carolyn M. Donahue, (215) 566-2095, at 
the EPA Region III address above. Information may also be requested via 
e-mail at the following address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Section 182(b)(1) of the Act requires ozone nonattainment areas 
classified as moderate or above to develop plans to reduce volatile 
organic compounds (VOC) emissions by fifteen percent from 1990 baseline 
levels. Cecil County, as part of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton 
nonattainment area, is classified as severe and is subject to the 15% 
plan requirement.
    The State of Maryland submitted the 15% plan SIP revision for Cecil 
County on July 12, 1995. On June 5, 1997, EPA published a notice of 
proposed rulemaking (NPR) in the Federal Register proposing approval of 
the 15% plan [62 FR 30818]. EPA's rationale for granting approval to 
the Maryland 15% plan for the Cecil County nonattainment area, and the 
details of the July 12, 1995 submittal are contained in the June 5, 
1997 NPR and the accompanying technical support document and will not 
be restated here. No public comments were received on the NPR.

II. Final Action

    EPA is today granting approval of the 15% plan and contingency 
measures for the Cecil County severe ozone nonattainment area as a 
revision to the Maryland SIP.
    Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or 
allowing or establishing a precedent for any future request for 
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.
    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.
    SIP approvals under section 110 and subchapter I, part D of the 
Clean Air 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, the EPA 
certifies 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 flexibility analysis would 
constitute Federal inquiry into the economic reasonableness of state 
action. The Clean Air Act forbids EPA to base its actions concerning 
SIPs on such grounds. Union Electric Co. v. U.S.

[[Page 40458]]

EPA, 427 U.S. 246, 255-66 (1976); 42 U.S.C. 7410(a)(2).
    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 
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 
requirements. Accordingly, no additional costs to State, local, or 
tribal governments, or to the private sector, result from this action.
    Under section 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 
section 804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action, pertaining to the final approval of the 
15% plan for the Cecil County nonattainment area, must be filed in the 
United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by September 
29, 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 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Hydrocarbons, 
Ozone.

    Dated: July 18, 1997.
Thomas Voltaggio,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.

    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 V--Maryland

    2. Section 52.1076 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 52.1076  Control strategy: ozone

    EPA is approving as a revision to the Maryland State Implementation 
Plan the 15 Percent Rate of Progress Plan and associated contingency 
measures for the Cecil County ozone nonattainment area, submitted by 
the Secretary of the Maryland Department of the Environment on July 12, 
1995.

[FR Doc. 97-19884 Filed 7-28-97; 8:45 am]
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