[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 221 (Wednesday, November 15, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68999-69000]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-29226]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6901-8]


Notice of Availability of Annex to the Report of the Grand Canyon 
Visibility Transport Commission

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to inform the public that the 
Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP) has submitted an Annex to the 
1996 report of the Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission (GCVTC) 
to EPA on September 29, 2000. This submittal was required under 40 CFR 
51.309 of the regional haze rule in order for nine Western States to 
have the option of submitting State plans implementing the GCVTC 
recommendations by December 31, 2003. The Annex contains a number of 
recommendations addressing sulfur dioxide emissions (a key precursor to 
the formation of fine particles and regional haze) in the region, 
including a set of emissions milestones for the 2003-2018 period across 
the 9-State region. In the coming months, we will review the Annex to 
determine whether it meets the requirements of the regional haze rule 
and applicable requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA). At the end 
of this review, we will propose changes to the regional haze rule to 
incorporate recommendations from the Annex if we find, after a formal 
60-day public notice and comment period, that the Annex meets the 
requirements of the regional haze rule and the CAA.
    Regarding today's notice of availability, we are not having a 
formal comment period on the Annex at this time. However, should 
members of the general public wish to provide any informal comments to 
us on the documents making up the Annex, we will consider these 
comments during the upcoming review of the Annex. We request that these 
informal comments be submitted to docket number A-2000-51 within 30 
days of the date of publication of this notice.

ADDRESSES: Comments. We are not actively soliciting comments at this 
time, given that we will hold a formal comment period on any future 
regulatory proposal related to the Annex. We will, however, consider 
any written comments that you may wish to provide as we review the 
Annex. We request that any such written comments be submitted within 30 
days of the date of publication of this notice.
    Written comments should be submitted (in duplicate if possible) to: 
Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center (6102), Attention: 
Docket No. A-2000-51, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460. We request that you 
also send a separate copy to the contact persons listed below (see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
    Comments may also be submitted to the EPA docket by electronic mail 
at 
[email protected], or by fax at (202) 260-4400. Electronic 
comments must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special 
characters and any form of encryption. Comments and data also will be 
accepted on computer disk in WordPerfect 5.1 (or higher) format, or in 
ASCII file format.
    All comments and data provided in electronic form or by fax must be 
identified by the docket number A-2000-51. Electronic comments on this 
notice also may be filed online at many Federal Depository Libraries.
    Docket. Docket No. A-2000-51 contains information related to this 
notice of availability, including the Annex documents received by EPA 
from the WRAP. Information at the Air and

[[Page 69000]]

Radiation Docket Office may be inspected from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays, at the following 
address: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20460 in room M-1500, Waterside Mall (ground floor). You 
may contact the docket office by phone at (202) 260-7548. A reasonable 
fee may be charged for copying.
    World Wide Web. The Annex documents may also be retrieved from 
EPA's website at: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/gener.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Smith (telephone (919) 541-4718; 
[email protected]) or Rich Damberg (telephone (919) 541-5592; 
[email protected]), Mail Drop 15, EPA, Air Quality Strategies and 
Standards Division, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27711.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of this notice is to inform the 
public that the WRAP has submitted an Annex to the 1996 report of the 
GCVTC to EPA on September 29, 2000. We have published the Annex on our 
website at the following address: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/gener.html. The EPA is not providing a formal public comment period on 
the Annex, but should members of the general public wish to provide EPA 
any comments on the WRAP's Annex documents, EPA will consider these 
comments during its upcoming review of the Annex. The EPA would like to 
receive these informal comments in docket number A-2000-51 within 30 
days of the date of publication of this notice.
    On July 1, 1999, EPA published regulations in 40 CFR 51.300-309 to 
address regional haze in mandatory Federal Class I areas (156 national 
parks and wilderness areas) (64 FR 35714; July 1, 1999). Regional haze 
is a type of visibility impairment that is caused by the emissions of 
air pollutants from numerous sources across a broad region.
    In the final regional haze rule, we included optional provisions 
that allow nine Western States to implement the specific 
recommendations of the GCVTC for improving visibility across the 
Colorado Plateau within the framework of the national regional haze 
program. These optional provisions are contained in section 40 CFR 
51.309 of the regional haze rule. When EPA published the final regional 
haze rule, we recognized that the optional approach would be contingent 
on the submittal of an Annex to the GCVTC report by October 1, 2000 
that contains acceptable stationary source sulfur dioxide emissions 
milestones for the nine-State region for the 2003-2018 period, as well 
as a backstop market trading program that would be implemented if any 
interim milestone is not achieved.
    Specifically, section 51.309(f) of the regional haze rule required 
that the GCVTC (or a regional planning body formed to implement the 
Commission recommendations) submit to EPA an Annex to the GCVTC report 
no later than October 1, 2000 that provides for stationary source 
sulfur dioxide emissions milestones for the years 2003, 2008, 2013, and 
2018. These milestones must provide for steady and continuing emissions 
reductions for the 2003-2018 time period consistent with the GCVTC's 
definition of reasonable progress, its goal of 50 to 70 percent 
reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions from 1990 actual emission levels 
by 2040, the applicable requirements under the CAA, and the timing of 
implementation plan assessments of progress and identification of 
deficiencies which will be due in the years 2008, 2013, and 2018. The 
emission reduction milestones must be shown to provide for greater 
reasonable progress than would be achieved by application of best 
available retrofit technology (BART) pursuant to section 51.308(e)(2) 
of the regional haze rule.
    In addition to the emission milestones, the Annex was required by 
section 51.309 to contain documentation of a market trading program or 
other programs that would be implemented if current programs and 
voluntary measures fail to meet the emission milestones. This 
documentation must include model rules, memoranda of understanding, and 
other provisions describing in detail how emission reduction progress 
will be monitored, what conditions will require the market trading 
program to be activated, how allocations will be made, and how the 
program will operate.
    This notice fulfills EPA's commitment under section 51.309(f)(3) of 
the regional haze rule to publish the Annex upon receipt. It does not 
contain EPA comments on the Annex or constitute any formal action on 
the Annex package at this time. The EPA stated in the regional haze 
rule that if we find, after public notice and opportunity for comment, 
that the Annex meets the requirements of the regional haze rule and 
applicable requirements under the CAA, EPA would incorporate 
recommendations from the Annex into the regional haze rule. The EPA 
would then review State implementation plans (SIPs) submitted in 2003 
to determine whether they meet all of the requirements in the revised 
section 309 and provide for ``reasonable progress'' under the regional 
haze rule. However, if we find that the Annex does not meet the 
requirements in section 309(f), then each of the affected Western 
States must meet the requirements of section 51.308, the same regional 
haze requirements that apply to other States.
    Based on discussions with WRAP participants, EPA anticipates that 
the WRAP will submit supplemental information to clarify certain issues 
discussed in the Annex. For example, the WRAP has committed to 
providing a protocol as part of the Annex that accounts for possible 
changes in emissions monitoring techniques at certain facilities that 
use continuous emissions monitors. The EPA will also provide a notice 
of availability indicating the receipt of any supplemental information 
related to the Annex and make it available on the EPA website.
    In the coming months, the EPA will consider any supplemental 
information and any public comments received in its review of the Annex 
for consistency with the regional haze rule and the CAA. If EPA finds 
that the Annex meets the requirements in the regional haze rule and 
CAA, EPA will propose appropriate revisions to the regional haze rule.

    Dated: November 6, 2000.
Robert Perciasepe,
Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 00-29226 Filed 11-14-00; 8:45 am]
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