[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 162 (Tuesday, August 21, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43795-43796]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-21032]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[PA 169-4134; FRL-7038-3]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Pennsylvania; Nitrogen Oxides Budget Trading Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision 
submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on October 30, 2000 and 
April 4, 2001. This revision establishes and requires a nitrogen oxides 
( NOX) allowance trading program for large electric 
generating and industrial units beginning in 2003. The intended effect 
of this action is to approve the Pennsylvania NOX Budget 
Trading Program because it addresses the requirements of the 
NOX SIP Call Phase I that will significantly reduce ozone 
transport in the eastern United States.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This final rule is effective on September 20, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the documents relevant to this action are 
available for public inspection during normal business hours at the Air 
Protection Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 
1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103; the Air and 
Radiation Docket and Information Center, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, 401 M Street, SW., Washington, DC 20460; Pennsylvania 
Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Air Quality, P.O. Box 
8468, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cristina Fernandez, (215) 814-2178, or 
by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On May 29, 2001 (66 FR 29064), EPA published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NPR) for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The NPR proposed 
approval of the Pennsylvania NOX Budget Trading Program. The 
formal SIP revision was submitted by the Pennsylvania Department of 
Environmental Protection (PADEP) on October 30, 2000 and April 4, 2001. 
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania submitted a revision to its SIP to 
address the requirements of the NOX SIP Call Phase I. 
Pennsylvania's SIP revision to address the requirements of the 
NOX SIP Call Phase I consists of the addition of Chapter 
145--Interstate Pollution Transport Reduction (sections 145.1 through 
145.90, inclusive) as well as amendments and additions to Chapter 123--
Standards for Contaminants. A detailed description of this SIP revision 
and EPA's rationale for approving it was provided in the May 29, 2001 
NPR and will not be restated here. Two letters of comment were 
submitted on EPA's proposal. The comments do not oppose EPA's proposed 
action to approve Pennsylvania's regulations, but rather asked that EPA 
clarify whether or not section 145.100 of 25 PA Code Chapter 145--
Interstate Pollution Transport Reduction was being made part of the 
SIP. A summary of the comments and EPA's response is provided in 
Section II, below.

II. Public Comments and EPA Response

    Comment: Two letters of comment were submitted requesting that EPA 
clarify that its approval of 25 PA Code Chapter 145--Interstate 
Pollution Transport Reduction does not include section 145.100 of that 
regulation. The commenters stated that while they could infer from 
reading the May 29, 2001 NPR that Section 145.100 was not included in 
the SIP revision, they urged EPA to state explicitly in its final 
rulemaking that Section 145.100 was not being approved as a revision to 
the Pennsylvania SIP.
    Response: Pennsylvania's submittal to EPA requesting that its 
NOX Budget Trading Program be approved as a SIP revision did 
not include Section 145.100 of 25 PA Code Chapter 145--Interstate 
Pollution Transport Reduction. Therefore, EPA is neither approving 
section 145.100 nor incorporating it into the Pennsylvania SIP.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving SIP revisions as submitted by the Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania on October 30, 2000 and April 4, 2001. These SIP revisions 
consist of the Commonwealth's NOX Budget Trading Program to 
satisfy the requirements of the NOX SIP Call Phase I. 
Pennsylvania's SIP revisions to address the requirements of the 
NOX SIP Call Phase I consist of the addition of Chapter 
145--Interstate Pollution Transport Reduction (sections 145.1 through 
145.90, inclusive) as well as amendments and additions to Chapter 123--
Standards for Contaminants. The Commonwealth's SIP revision request 
does not include section 145.100 of 25 PA Code Chapter 145--Interstate 
Pollution Transport Reduction.

IV. Administrative Requirements

A. General 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. For this 
reason, this action is also not subject to Executive Order 13211, 
``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001). 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 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). This rule also does not 
have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the 
relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on 
the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal 
Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 
FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor will it 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

[[Page 43796]]

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, 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.).

B. 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).

C. 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 October 22, 2001. 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 approving the Pennsylvania NOX 
Budget Trading Program 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, Incorporation by 
reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    Dated: August 10, 2001.
Judith M. Katz,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.

    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 et seq.

Subpart NN--Pennsylvania

    2. Section 52.2020 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(168) to read 
as follows:


Sec. 52.2020  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (168) Revisions submitted on October 30, 2000 and March 28, 2001 by 
the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental 
Protection requesting approval of Pennsylvania's Nitrogen Oxides Budget 
Trading Program :
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    (A) Letters of October 30, 2000 and March 28, 2001 from the 
Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection 
transmitting regulatory amendments to 25 PA Code to implement the 
Nitrogen Oxides Budget Trading Program .
    (B) Revisions to 25 PA Code, amending Chapter 123 and adding 
Chapter 145 pertaining to the Nitrogen Oxides Budget Trading Program, 
effective on September 23, 2000.
    (1) Revisions to section 123.115.
    (2) Addition of section 123.121.
    (3) Addition of sections 145.1 through 145.7, 145.10 through 
145.14, 145.30, 145.31, 145.40 through 145.43, 145.50 through 145.57, 
145.60 through 145.62, 145.70 through 145.76, 145.80 through 145.88, 
and 145.90.

[FR Doc. 01-21032 Filed 8-20-01; 8:45 am]
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