[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 97 (Thursday, May 18, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 31480-31482]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-12395]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[MO 096-1096b; FRL-6701-6]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans: State of 
Missouri

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In this final rule, we (EPA) are announcing approval of a 
revision to Missouri's State Implementation Plan (SIP) for air 
pollution control. This action approves the inspection and maintenance 
(I/M) program which is applicable to the St. Louis nonattainment area 
as a revision to the SIP. The state program requires the implementation 
of a motor vehicle I/M program containing many of the features of an 
enhanced I/M program in Jefferson, St. Louis, and St. Charles counties 
and St. Louis City. We proposed approval of this program in the Federal 
Register on February 17, 2000. This final action is being published to 
meet our statutory obligation under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act).

DATES: This rule is effective on June 19, 2000.

ADDRESSES: A copy of the state submittal is available at the following 
address for inspection during normal business hours: EPA, Region 7, Air 
Planning and Development Branch, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, 
Kansas 66101.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Leland Daniels at (913) 551-7651.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This section provides additional information 
by addressing the following questions:

What Is a SIP?

    Section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires states to develop 
air pollution regulations and control strategies to ensure that state 
air quality meets the national ambient air quality standards that we 
established. These ambient standards are established under section 109 
of the CAA, and they currently address six criteria pollutants. These 
pollutants are: carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, lead, 
particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide. Each state must submit these 
regulations and control strategies to us for approval and incorporation 
into the Federally enforceable SIP. Each Federally approved SIP 
protects air quality primarily by addressing air pollution at its point 
of origin. These SIPs can be extensive, containing state regulations or 
other enforceable documents and supporting information such as emission 
inventories, monitoring networks, and modeling demonstrations.

What Is the Federal Approval Process for a SIP?

    In order for state regulations to be incorporated into the 
Federally enforceable SIP, states must formally adopt the regulations 
and control strategies consistent with state and Federal requirements. 
This process generally includes a public notice, public hearing, public 
comment period, and a formal adoption by a state-authorized rulemaking 
body.
    Once a state rule, regulation, or control strategy is adopted, the 
state submits it to us for inclusion into the SIP. We must provide 
public notice and seek additional public comment regarding our proposed 
action on the state submission. If adverse comments are received, we 
must address them prior to taking any final action.
    All state regulations and supporting information that we approve 
under section 110 of the CAA are incorporated into the Federally 
approved SIP. The record of such SIP approvals is maintained in the 
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at Title 40, Part 52, entitled 
``Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans.'' The actual state 
regulations which are approved are not reproduced in their entirety in 
the CFR but are ``incorporated by reference,'' which means that EPA has 
approved a given state regulation with a specific effective date.

What Does Federal Approval of a State Regulation Mean?

    Enforcement of the state regulation before and after it is 
incorporated into the Federally approved SIP is primarily a state 
responsibility. However, after the regulation is Federally approved, we 
are authorized to take an enforcement action to return a violator to 
compliance. Citizens are also offered legal recourse to address 
violations as described in section 304 the CAA.

[[Page 31481]]

What Is Being Addressed in This Document?

    In a letter of November 10, 1999 to Dennis Grams, Regional 
Administrator, Stephen Mahfood, Director, Missouri Department of 
Natural Resources (MDNR), submitted a revised I/M program as an 
amendment to the SIP. The submittal included the SIP revision and a 
number of attachments including the adopted state statute and 
regulation, the signed I/M contract, a memorandum of understanding with 
the Missouri Highway Patrol, an interagency agreement with the Missouri 
Department of Revenue (MDOR), the I/M budget, modeling input and output 
files, sample calculations, a table showing the number of vehicles in 
the I/M program, procedures and specifications, a list of zip codes for 
the I/M program, the public education program, and an example of the 
MDOR contract with fee offices. The Missouri rule being approved is 10 
CSR 10-5.380, Motor Vehicle Emissions Inspection, with a state 
effective date of December 30, 1999.
    On February 17, 2000 we proposed to approve this SIP revision. The 
proposal stated that the state I/M regulations established pass/fail 
exhaust standards for hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, 
and oxides of nitrogen. Missouri neither passes nor fails vehicles 
based on carbon dioxide readings, nor do we require states to base 
compliance on carbon dioxide measurements, anywhere. Carbon dioxide is 
measured but only as a quality control process.
    The public comment period was open through March 20, 2000. No 
comments were received. In the February 17, 2000, proposal, we noted 
that comments had been received on a prior proposal (64 FR 9460 on 
February 26, 1999) on a previous submission of the I/M program. The 
comments asserted deficiencies in the previous state submission. We 
also noted that the submission on which the February 17 proposal was 
based contained substantial revisions to the prior submittal, and 
encouraged comments relevant to the revised submittal. No comments were 
forthcoming, and we have determined that the prior comments are not 
relevant to the state's November 1999 submittal and our February 17, 
2000 proposal.
    On April 5, 2000 MDNR began implementation of the I/M program in 
the St. Louis nonattainment area.
    This Federal Register notice takes final action to fully approve 
the I/M program, including the state's I/M rule, as it relates to the 
Missouri portion of the St. Louis nonattainment area.

Have the Requirements for Approval of a SIP Revision Been Met?

    The state submittal has met the public notice requirements for SIP 
submissions in accordance with 40 CFR section 51.102. The submittal 
also satisfied the completeness criteria of 40 CFR part 51, appendix V. 
In addition, as explained above and in more detail in our proposal 
published February 17, 2000, the revision meets the substantive SIP 
requirements of the CAA, including section 110, Part D of Title I, and 
implementing regulations in 40 CFR part 51, subpart S (the ``I/M 
rule''). In the February 17 proposal, we discussed in detail how the 
state's submittal meets each of the relevant requirements of the I/M 
rule and EPA's rationale for approval. The reader is referred to that 
discussion for the rationale for this final action.

What Action Is EPA Taking?

    Section 182(b) of the Act requires states with moderate ozone 
nonattainment areas to implement a ``basic'' I/M program. The state's 
plan relies on the I/M program and other specific control measures to 
achieve the necessary emission reductions so that the National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards are met. The I/M rule strengthens the SIP by 
obtaining needed emission reductions. Today's final action incorporates 
the St. Louis I/M program into the SIP.

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 law as meeting Federal requirements and imposes 
no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. 
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 preexisting 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 CAA. 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 CAA. 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 CAA. 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, 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. section 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 United States Senate, the 
United States House of Representatives, and the Comptroller

[[Page 31482]]

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. section 804(2).
    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 July 17, 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).)

List of Subjects 40 CFR Part 52

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

    Dated: May 8, 2000.
Dennis Grams,
Regional Administrator, Region 7.

    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 AA--Missouri

    2. In Sec. 52.1320 the table in paragraph (c) is amended by 
revising the entry for 10-5.380, under Chapter 5, to read as follows:


Sec. 52.1320  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                        EPA-Approved Missouri Regulations
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                                                        State effective
        Missouri citation                Title               date          EPA approval date      Explanation
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                                    Missouri Department of Natural Resources
 
    *                *                *                *                *                *                *
   Chapter 5--Air Quality Standards and Air Pollution Control Regulations for the St. Louis Metropolitan Area
 
    *                 *                *                *                *                *                *
10-5.380........................  Motor vehicle       12/30/99..........  [insert FR cite]
                                   emissions                               May 18, 2000.
                                   inspection.
 
    *                *                 *                *                *                *                *
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    3. In Sec. 52.1320 the table in paragraph (e) is amended by adding 
an entry at the end of the table in the Nonregulatory SIP Provisions 
for the inspection/ maintenance program, to read as follows:
* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                               EPA-Approved Missouri Nonregulations SIP Provisions
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                                      Applicable
    Name of nonregulatory SIP        geographic or      State submittal    EPA approval date       Comments
            Provision             nonattainment area         date
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     *                *                *                *                *                *                *
Implementation plan for the       St. Louis.........  11/12/99..........  [insert FR cite]
 Missouri inspection/.                                                     May 18, 2000.
maintenance program.............
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[FR Doc. 00-12395 Filed 5-17-00; 8:45 am]
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