[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 47 (Thursday, March 9, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12474-12476]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-5200]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[CT061-7220A; A-1-FRL-6542-3]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Connecticut and Rhode Island; Clean Fuel Fleets

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final rulemaking action to approve both 
Connecticut's and Rhode Island's Clean Fuel Fleets Substitute Plan, 
incorporating them into the State Implementation Plan (SIP) under the 
Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: This direct final rule takes effect on May 8, 2000 without 
further notice, unless EPA receives adverse or critical comments by 
April 10, 2000. If EPA does receive adverse comments, we 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: You may mail comments to David B. Conroy, Manager, Air 
Quality Planning Unit, Office of Ecosystem Protection, EPA Region 1, 
One Congress Street, Suite 1100 (CAA), Boston, MA 02114. You may also 
email comments to [email protected].
    You may review copies of the relevant documents to this action by 
appointment during normal business hours at the Office Ecosystem 
Protection, EPA Region 1, One Congress Street, Boston, Massachusetts. 
In addition, the information for each respective State is available at 
the Bureau of Air Management, Connecticut Department of Environmental 
Protection, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, Connecticut 06106-1630; and the 
Office of Air Resources, Department of Environmental Management, 235 
Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908-5767.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert C. Judge at 617-918-1045 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    This section is organized as follows:

    What action is EPA taking today?
    What are the Clean Fuel Fleets requirements?
    How are Connecticut and Rhode Island meeting the Clean Fuel 
Fleets requirements?
    Why is EPA approving Connecticut's and Rhode Island's Clean Fuel 
Fleets sutstitute Plan SIP revisions?
    How does Clean Fuel Fleets affect air quality in Connecticut and 
Rhode Island?
    What is the process for EPA's approval of this SIP revisions?

What Action Is EPA Taking Today?

    The EPA is approving both Connecticut's and Rhode Island's Clean 
Fuel Fleets Substitute Plan submitted May 12, 1994 and October 5, 1994, 
respectively. We are approving these submittals into the Connecticut 
and Rhode Island SIPs as meeting the requirements of Section 182(c)(4) 
of the CAA.

What Are the Clean Fuel Fleets Requirements?

    Section 246 of the CAA requires that serious or higher ozone 
nonattainment areas with populations of more than 250,000 adopt a Clean 
Fuel Fleets program (CFFP). Both ozone nonattainment areas in 
Connecticut meet that criterion: the Connecticut portion of the New 
York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island severe nonattainment area and the 
Greater Connecticut serious nonattainment area. (See 40 CFR 81.307.) 
Also, the Rhode Island ozone nonattainment area met that criterion at 
the time of submittal. (See 40 CFR 81.340.) Since that time, EPA has 
revoked the one-hour ozone standard for Rhode Island (64 FR 30911). On 
October 25, 1999 (64 FR 57424), EPA proposed that standard should apply 
again. In the event that EPA reimposes the one-hour ozone standard in 
Rhode Island, once again triggering the CFFP mandate, this approval 
action will ensure that Rhode Island meets the requirement for a CFFP.
    Section 182(c)(4)(A) of the CAA requires States with serious ozone 
nonattainment areas to submit for EPA approval a SIP revision that 
includes measures to implement the CFFP. Section 182(d) requires the 
same of severe ozone nonattainment areas. Under this program, a certain 
specified percentage of vehicles purchased by fleet operators for 
covered fleets must meet emission standards that are more stringent 
than those that apply to conventional vehicles.
    Alternatively, Section 182(c)(4)(B) of the CAA allows States to 
``opt out'' of the CFFP by submitting a program or programs that will 
result in at least equivalent long term reductions in ozone-producing 
and toxic air emissions as achieved by the CFFP. The CAA directs EPA to 
approve a substitute program if it achieves long term reductions in 
emissions of ozone producing and toxic air pollutants equivalent to 
those that would have been achieved by the CFFP or the portion of the 
CFFP for which the measure is to be substituted.

How Are Connecticut and Rhode Island Meeting the Clean Fuel Fleets 
Requirements?

    Connecticut has decided to opt out of the CFFP. Connecticut's 
substitute plan relies on the implementation of its reformulated 
gasoline (RFG) program and the enhanced inspection and maintenance (I/
M) program in areas in Connecticut where these programs are not 
required explicitly by the CAA. Since Connecticut is implementing both 
programs statewide, an additional 87 towns will use RFG and 40 towns 
will have enhanced I/M beyond what would be required by the CAA. The 
resulting reductions of ozone-producing emissions meet or exceed the 
emissions reductions that would have occurred if the CFFP were 
implemented. Yet only those emissions reductions needed to meet CFFP 
targets are being approved herein. Specifically, Connecticut's Clean 
Fuel Fleets Substitute Plan will result in 0.1 tons per day (tpd) of 
ozone-producing chemicals (total reduction of volatile organic 
compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides combined) in 2000 and 0.4 tpd in 
2015 in the severe area and 0.4 tpd in 2000 and 1.2 tpd in the serious 
area.

[[Page 12475]]

    Rhode Island has also decided to opt out of the CFFP. Rhode 
Island's substitute plan relies on the implementation of its 
reformulated gasoline (RFG) program, which is required statewide. The 
resulting reductions of ozone-producing emissions meet or exceed the 
emissions reductions that would have occurred if the CFFP were 
implemented. Yet, only those emissions reductions needed to meet CFFP 
targets are being approved herein. Specifically, Rhode Island's Clean 
Fuel Fleets Substitute Plan will result in 0.119 tpd of ozone-producing 
chemicals (total VOC and nitrogen oxides) in 2000 and 0.487 tpd in 
2015.
    The emission reductions for Connecticut's implementation of 
enhanced I/M and RFG, and Rhode Island's implementation of RFG greatly 
exceed the reductions that could have been achieved with the CFFP. In 
the case of Connecticut, enhanced I/M and RFG were explicitly required 
by the Act in much of the State. But in other parts of the State, and 
for RFG in Rhode Island, the programs are being implemented in areas 
not specifically mandated by the Act. These programs can be counted for 
the purposes of CFFP substitution and they are needed for meeting CAA 
rate of progress and air quality goals. In Connecticut, the substitute 
measures achieve 0.7 tons per day (tpd) of ozone-producing chemicals, 
or VOC, in this case, in 2000 and 0.4 tpd in 2015 in the severe area. 
Further, the substitute measures achieve 17.1 tpd in 2000 and 7.8 tpd 
in the Connecticut serious area beyond the levels explicitly mandated 
by the Act. In Rhode Island, the substitute measure (RFG) achieves 
approximately 7 tons per day (tpd) of ozone-producing chemicals (VOC) 
in 2000 and a comparable reduction in 2015. Again, in all cases, only 
those emissions reductions needed to meet CFFP targets are being 
approved herein. Finally, since reductions in toxic air emissions are 
proportional to the reductions in VOC, any substitute plan which 
reduces VOCs will also reduce toxic air emissions in the same 
proportion. Therefore, both Connecticut and Rhode Island's substitute 
plans will meet substitute CFFP requirement for air toxics.

Why Is EPA Approving Connecticut's and Rhode Island's Clean Fuel 
Fleets Substitute Plan SIP Revisions?

    EPA is approving Connecticut's and Rhode Island's Clean Fuel Fleets 
Substitute Plan SIP revision because each State has successfully 
demonstrated that it has achieved long term reductions in emissions of 
ozone producing and toxic air pollutants equivalent to those that would 
have been achieved by the CFFP. Both Connecticut's and Rhode Island's 
emission reduction calculations follow EPA guidance. Further 
information on both Connecticut's and Rhode Island's Clean Fuel Fleets 
Substitute Plan SIP revision and EPA's evaluation of these SIP 
revisions can be found in a memorandum entitled ``Technical Support 
Document--Clean Fuel Fleets, Connecticut and Rhode Island.'' Copies of 
this document are available, upon request, from the EPA Regional Office 
listed in the ADDRESSES section of this document.

How Does Clean Fuel Fleets Affect Air Quality in Connecticut and 
Rhode Island?

    EPA's approval of both Connecticut's and Rhode Island's Clean Fuel 
Fleets Substitute Plan will have a positive benefit on air quality in 
both Connecticut and Rhode Island. The emission reductions which 
Connecticut and Rhode Island are using to offset a CFFP will be 
permanent and will not be available for emissions trading.

What Is the Process for EPA's Approval of This SIP Revision?

    EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because we view 
this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipate no adverse 
comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal 
Register publication, EPA is also publishing a separate document that 
will serve as the proposal to approve this SIP revision should we 
receive relevant adverse. This action will be effective May 8, 2000 
without further notice unless we receive relevant adverse comments by 
April 10, 2000.
    If EPA does receive adverse comments, we will withdraw the direct 
final rule and publish a document stating that the rule will not take 
effect. We will then respond to all public comments received in a 
subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. The EPA will not 
institute a second comment period on the proposed rule. If you are 
interested in commenting on this action, you should do so at this time. 
If no such comments are received, you should know that this rule will 
be effective on May 8, 2000 and no further action will be taken on the 
proposed rule.
    Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting 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.

Administrative Requirements

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not 
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. This action 
merely approves state laws as meeting federal requirements and imposes 
no additional requirements beyond those imposed by those state laws. 
Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because 
this rule approves pre-existing requirements under state law and does 
not impose any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by 
state law, it does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-4). For the same reason, 
this rule also does not significantly or uniquely affect the 
communities of tribal governments, as specified by Executive Order 
13084 (63 FR 27655, May 10, 1998). This rule will not have substantial 
direct effects on the States, on the relationship between the national 
government and the States, or on the distribution of power and 
responsibilities among the various levels of government, as specified 
in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999), because it 
merely approves a state rule implementing a federal standard, and does 
not alter the relationship or the distribution of power and 
responsibilities established in the Clean Air Act. This rule also is 
not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), 
because it is not economically significant.
    In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state 
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. In 
this context, in the absence of a prior existing requirement for the 
State to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority 
to disapprove a SIP submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be 
inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a SIP 
submission, to use VCS in place of a SIP submission that otherwise 
satisfies the provisions of the Clean Air Act. Thus, the requirements 
of section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply.
    As required by section 3 of Executive Order 12988 (61 FR 4729, 
February 7,

[[Page 12476]]

1996), in issuing this rule, EPA has taken the necessary steps to 
eliminate drafting errors and ambiguity, minimize potential litigation, 
and provide a clear legal standard for affected conduct. EPA has 
complied with Executive Order 12630 (53 FR 8859, March 15, 1988) by 
examining the takings implications of the rule in accordance with the 
``Attorney General's Supplemental Guidelines for the Evaluation of Risk 
and Avoidance of Unanticipated Takings'' issued under the executive 
order. This rule does not impose an information collection burden under 
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.).
    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. A major rule cannot 
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal 
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
804(2).
    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 May 8, 2000. 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).) EPA encourages 
interested parties to comment on the proposed rule rather than filing a 
petition for review in the Court of Appeals.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Hydrocarbons, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, 
Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: February 14, 2000.
Mindy S. Lubber,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA--New England.

    Part 52 of 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 et seq.

Subpart H--Connecticut

    2. Section 52.370 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(81) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 52.370  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (81) Revisions to the State Implementation Plan submitted by the 
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection on May 12, 1994.
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    (A) ``Clean Fuel Fleet Substitute Plan,'' prepared by the 
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, dated May 12, 1994.
    (ii) Additional materials.
    (A) Letter from the Connecticut Department of Environmental 
Protection dated May 12, 1994 submitting a revision to the Connecticut 
State Implementation Plan.

Subpart OO--Rhode Island

    3. In Sec. 52.2070 the table in paragraph (e) is amended by adding 
a new state citation to the end of the table to read as follows:


Sec. 52.2070  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                                           Rhode Island Non Regulatory
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                                     Applicable        State submittal
   Name of non regulatory SIP       geographic or      date/ effective    EPA approved date      Explanations
           provision             nonattainment area         date
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*                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *
                                                        *
Letter from RI DEM submitting    Providence (all of  October 5, 1994...  March 9, 2000
 revision for Clean Fuel Fleet    Rhode Island)                           [Insert FR
 Substitution Plan.               nonattainment                           citation from
                                  area.                                   published date].
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[FR Doc. 00-5200 Filed 3-8-00; 8:45 am]
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