[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 107 (Friday, June 4, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 29958-29961]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-13944]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[AL-40-2-9909a; FRL-6352-5]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Alabama

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
revision for the State of Alabama. This revision consists of the 1990 
base year ozone emission inventory for the Birmingham marginal ozone 
nonattainment area. The inventory was submitted to satisfy a Clean Air 
Act (CAA) requirement that states containing ozone nonattainment areas 
submit inventories of actual ozone precursor emissions in accordance 
with guidance from the EPA.

DATES: This direct final rule is effective August 3, 1999 without 
further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by July 6, 1999. If 
adverse comment is received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of 
the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform the public 
that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: All comments should be addressed to Joey LeVasseur at the 
EPA, Region 4 Air Planning Branch, 61 Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta, 
Georgia 30303.
    Copies of the state submittal are available at the following 
addresses for inspection during normal business hours: The interested 
persons wanting to examine these documents should make an appointment 
with the appropriate office at least 24 hours before the visiting day. 
Reference file AL-40-2-9909. The Region 4 office may have additional 
background documents not available at the other locations.

Environmental Protection Agency, Atlanta Federal Center, Region 4 Air 
Planning Branch, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-3104.

[[Page 29959]]

Alabama Department of Environmental Management, 1751 Congressman W. L. 
Dickinson Drive, Montgomery, Alabama 36109.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joey LeVasseur at 404/562-9035 or E-
mail ([email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Alabama submitted its 1990 base year 
emission inventory of ozone precursors to the EPA on November 13, 1992.

I. Background Information

    Under the CAA as amended in 1990, states have the responsibility to 
inventory emissions contributing to nonattainment of a National Ambient 
Air Quality Standard (NAAQS), to track these emissions over time, and 
to ensure that control strategies are being implemented that reduce 
emissions and move areas towards attainment. The 1990 base year 
emissions inventory is the primary inventory from which the periodic 
inventory, the Reasonable Further Progress (RFP) projection inventory, 
and the modeling inventory are derived. Further information on these 
inventories and their purpose can be found in the ``Emission Inventory 
Requirements for Ozone State Implementation Plans,'' U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, 
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, March 1991. The base year 
inventory may also serve as part of statewide inventories for purposes 
of regional modeling in transport areas. The base year inventory plays 
an important role in modeling demonstrations for nonattainment areas. 
The air quality planning requirements for marginal to extreme ozone 
nonattainment areas are set out in section 182(a)-(e) of title I of the 
1990 amendments to the CAA (title I). The EPA has issued a General 
Preamble describing the EPA's preliminary views on how the Agency 
intends to review SIP revisions submitted under title I, including 
requirements for the preparation of the 1990 base year inventory (see 
57 FR 13502 (April 16, 1992) and 57 FR 18070 (April 28, 1992)). In this 
action, EPA will rely on the General Preamble's interpretation of the 
CAA, and the reader should refer to the General Preamble for a more 
detailed discussion of the interpretations of title I advanced in 
today's rule and the supporting rationale.
    Those states containing ozone nonattainment areas classified as 
marginal to extreme are required under section 182(a)(1) of the CAA to 
submit a final, comprehensive, accurate, and current inventory of 
actual ozone season, weekday emissions from all sources within 2 years 
of enactment (November 15, 1992). This inventory is for calendar year 
1990 and is denoted as the base year inventory. It includes both 
anthropogenic and biogenic sources of volatile organic compounds (VOC), 
nitrogen oxides (NOX), and carbon monoxide (CO). The 
inventory is to address actual VOC, NOX, and CO emissions 
for the area during the ozone season, which is generally comprised of 
the summer months. All stationary point and area sources, as well as 
mobile sources within the nonattainment area, are to be included in the 
compilation. Guidance for preparing emission inventories is provided in 
the General Preamble (57 FR 13498 (April 16, 1992)).

II. Analysis of State Submission

A. Procedural Background

    The CAA requires states to observe certain procedural requirements 
in developing emission inventory submissions to the EPA. Section 
110(a)(2) of the CAA provides that each emission inventory submitted by 
a state must be adopted after reasonable notice and public hearing. 
Also section 172(c)(7) of the CAA requires that plan provisions for 
nonattainment areas meet the applicable provisions of section 
110(a)(2).
    On November 13, 1992, the State of Alabama submitted to the EPA as 
a SIP revision the 1990 base year inventory for the Birmingham marginal 
ozone nonattainment area.

B. Emission Inventory Review

    Section 110(k) of the CAA sets out provisions governing the EPA's 
review of base year emission inventory submittals in order to determine 
approval or disapproval under section 182(a)(1) (see 57 FR 13565-13566 
(April 16, 1992)). This section outlines the review procedures 
performed to determine if the base year emission inventories are 
acceptable. For a base year emission inventory to be acceptable it must 
pass all of the following acceptance criteria.
    1. The state provided an approved Inventory Preparation Plan (IPP) 
and performed the Quality Assurance program contained in the IPP and 
documented its implementation.
    2. The state provided adequate documentation that enabled the 
reviewer to determine the emission estimation procedures and the data 
sources used to develop the inventory.
    3. The point source inventory must be complete.
    4. The state must have prepared or calculated the point source 
emissions according to the current EPA guidance.
    5. The area source inventory must be complete.
    6. The state must have prepared or calculated the area source 
emissions according to the current EPA guidance.
    7. The state must have prepared the biogenic emissions according to 
the current EPA guidance or another approved technique.
    8. The method (e.g., Highway Performance Modeling System or a 
network transportation planning model) used to develop vehicle miles 
traveled (VMT) estimates must follow EPA guidance, which is detailed in 
the document, ``Procedures for Emission Inventory Preparation, Volume 
IV: Mobile Sources,'' U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of 
Mobile Sources and Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Ann 
Arbor, Michigan, and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, December 
1992.
    9. The state correctly used The MOBILE model to produce emission 
factors for each of the vehicle classes.
    10. The state prepared the Non-road mobile emissions according to 
current EPA guidance for all of the source categories.
    The emission inventory prepared by Alabama meets the ten criteria. 
Documentation of the EPA's evaluation, including details of the review 
procedure, is contained within the technical support document prepared 
for the Alabama 1990 base year inventory, which is available to the 
public as part of the docket supporting this action.
    Alabama has submitted a complete inventory containing point, area, 
mobile and biogenic source data, and accompanying documentation. 
Emissions from these sources are presented in the following table.

                   Emission Inventory Summary for 1990
                             [Tons per day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            VOC        NOX         CO
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point..................................      61.83     408.98     179.87
Area...................................      59.18      54.38      42.57
Mobile.................................      94.23      60.34     585.11
Biogenic...............................     200.29         NA         NA
                                        --------------------------------
    Total..............................     415.53     523.70     807.55
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Alabama has satisfied all of the EPA's requirements for providing a 
comprehensive, accurate, and current inventory of actual ozone 
precursor emissions in the Birmingham marginal ozone nonattainment 
area. The

[[Page 29960]]

inventory is complete and approvable according to the criteria set out 
in the November 12, 1992, memorandum from J. David Mobley, Chief 
Emission Inventory Branch, TSD to G.T. Helms, Chief Ozone Carbon 
Monoxide Programs Branch, AQMD. In today's final action, the EPA is 
approving the SIP 1990 base year ozone emission inventory submitted by 
the State for the Birmingham area as meeting the requirements of 
section 182(a)(1) of the CAA.

Final Action

    EPA is approving the aforementioned emissions inventory into the 
Alabama SIP. The EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal 
because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and 
anticipates no adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section 
of this Federal Register publication, EPA is publishing a separate 
document that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision 
should adverse comments be filed. This rule will be effective August 3, 
1999 without further notice unless the Agency receives adverse comments 
by July 6, 1999.
    If the EPA receives such comments, EPA will publish a document 
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will 
not take effect. All public comments received will then be addressed in 
a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. The EPA will not 
institute a second comment period. Parties interested in commenting 
should do so at this time. If no such comments are received, the public 
is advised that this rule will be effective on August 3, 1999 and no 
further action will be taken on the proposed rule.

III. Administrative Requirements

A. Executive Order 12866

    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has exempted this 
regulatory action from Executive Order (E.O.) 12866, entitled 
``Regulatory Planning and Review.''

B. Executive Order 12875

    Under Executive Order 12875, EPA may not issue a regulation that is 
not required by statute and that creates a mandate upon a State, local 
or tribal government, unless the Federal government provides the funds 
necessary to pay the direct compliance costs incurred by those 
governments, or EPA consults with those governments. If EPA complies by 
consulting, Executive Order 12875 requires EPA to provide to the Office 
of Management and Budget a description of the extent of EPA's prior 
consultation with representatives of affected State, local and tribal 
governments, the nature of their concerns, copies of any written 
communications from the governments, and a statement supporting the 
need to issue the regulation. In addition, Executive Order 12875 
requires EPA to develop an effective process permitting elected 
officials and other representatives of State, local and tribal 
governments ``to provide meaningful and timely input in the development 
of regulatory proposals containing significant unfunded mandates.''
    Today's rule does not create a mandate on State, local or tribal 
governments. The rule does not impose any enforceable duties on these 
entities.

C. Executive Order 13084

    Under Executive Order 13084, EPA may not issue a regulation that is 
not required by statute, that significantly or uniquely affects the 
communities of Indian tribal governments, and that imposes substantial 
direct compliance costs on those communities, unless the Federal 
government provides the funds necessary to pay the direct compliance 
costs incurred by the tribal governments, or EPA consults with those 
governments. If EPA complies by consulting, Executive Order 13084 
requires EPA to provide to the Office of Management and Budget, in a 
separately identified section of the preamble to the rule, a 
description of the extent of EPA's prior consultation with 
representatives of affected tribal governments, a summary of the nature 
of their concerns, and a statement supporting the need to issue the 
regulation. In addition, Executive Order 13084 requires EPA to develop 
an effective process permitting elected officials and other 
representatives of Indian tribal governments ``to provide meaningful 
and timely input in the development of regulatory policies on matters 
that significantly or uniquely affect their communities.''
    Today's rule does not significantly or uniquely affect the 
communities of Indian tribal governments. Accordingly, the requirements 
of section 3(b) of Executive Order 13084 do not apply to this rule.

D. Executive Order 13045

    Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety 
Risks (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), applies to any rule that: (1) Is 
determined to be ``economically significant'' as defined under E.O. 
12866, and (2) concerns an environmental health or safety risk that EPA 
has reason to believe may have a disproportionate effect on children. 
If the regulatory action meets both criteria, the Agency must evaluate 
the environmental health or safety effects of the planned rule on 
children, and explain why the planned regulation is preferable to other 
potentially effective and reasonably feasible alternatives considered 
by the Agency.
    This rule is not subject to E.O. 13045 because it does not involve 
decisions intended to mitigate environmental health or safety risks.

E. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) generally requires an agency 
to conduct a regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule subject to 
notice and comment rulemaking requirements unless the agency certifies 
that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. Small entities include small 
businesses, small not-for-profit enterprises, and small governmental 
jurisdictions. This final rule will not have a significant impact on a 
substantial number of small entities because SIP approvals under 
section 110 and subchapter I, part D of the CAA do not create any new 
requirements but simply approve requirements that the State is already 
imposing. Therefore, because the Federal SIP approval does not create 
any new requirements, I certify that this action will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
Moreover, due to the nature of the Federal-State relationship under the 
CAA, preparation of 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. EPA, 427 U.S. 246, 255-66 (1976); 42 U.S.C. 
7410(a)(2).

F. Unfunded Mandates

    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 
annual 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

[[Page 29961]]

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 annual 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.

G. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General

    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally 
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating 
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, 
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the 
United States. EPA will submit 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 United States prior 
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. This rule is not a 
``major'' rule as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

H. Petitions for Judicial Review

    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by August 3, 1999. 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, Carbon monoxide, 
Hydrocarbons, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    Dated: March 30, 1999.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7641q.

Subpart B--Alabama

    2. Section 52.50 is amended by revising the word ``Delaware'' in 
paragraph (a) to read ``Alabama'' and by adding a new paragraph (e) to 
read as follows:


Sec. 52.50  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) EPA-approved Alabama non-regulatory provisions.

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           Provision                  State effective date            EPA approval date               Federal Register notice              Comments
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Birmingham 1990 Baseline         November 13, 1992............  June 4, 1999.................  [Insert cite of publication].
 Emissions Inventory.
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[FR Doc. 99-13944 Filed 6-3-99; 8:45 am]
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