[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 188 (Thursday, September 27, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 49297-49299]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-24200]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[IN138-2; FRL-7056-2]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; IN

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In this final rule, the EPA is announcing approval of a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Indiana Department 
of Environmental Management (IDEM) on June 8, 2000. The revised SIP 
pertains to the Indiana motor vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) 
program. The purpose of this action is to approve certain amendments to 
the Indiana program, which EPA originally approved on March 19, 1996 
(61 FR 11142). EPA proposed approval of the June 8, 2000 SIP revision 
submittal in the Federal Register on June 28, 2001 (66 FR 34391). 
Because EPA did not receive any public comments in response to its 
proposed approval, we are approving Indiana's submission.

DATES: This rule is effective on October 29, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Copies of this SIP revision request are available for public 
inspection during normal business hours at the following address: U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 
77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. (It is recommended 
that you telephone Francisco J. Acevedo at (312) 886-6061 before 
visiting the Region 5 Office.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Francisco J. Acevedo, Regulation 
Development Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, 
Illinois 60604, Telephone: (312) 886-6061, e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, the terms ``you'' 
and ``me'' refer to the reader of this proposed rulemaking and to 
sources subject to the State rule addressed by this proposed 
rulemaking, and the terms ``we,'' ``us,'' or ``our'' refer to the EPA.

Table of Contents

A. What is a State Implementation Plan (SIP)?
B. What is the federal approval process for a SIP?
C. What does federal approval of a state rule mean to me?
D. What is EPA addressing in this document?
E. Does Indian's submission meet the requirements for approval of a 
SIP revision?
F. What action is EPA taking today?
G. Administrative Requirements

A. What Is a State Implementation Plan (SIP)?

    Section 110 of the Clean Air Act (Act or CAA) requires states to 
develop air pollution control regulations and strategies to ensure that 
state air quality meets the national ambient air quality standards 
established by the EPA. Each state must submit the regulations and 
emission control strategies to the EPA for approval and promulgation 
into the federally enforceable SIP.
    Each federally approved SIP protects air quality primarily by 
addressing air pollution at its points of origin. The SIPs can be and 
generally are extensive, containing many state regulations or other 
enforceable documents and supporting information, such as emission 
inventories, monitoring documentation, and modeling (attainment) 
demonstrations.

B. 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 emission control strategies consistent with state and federal 
requirements. This process generally includes public notice, public 
hearings, public comment periods, and formal adoption by state-
authorized rulemaking bodies.
    Once a state has adopted a rule, regulation, or emissions control 
strategy it submits it to us for inclusion into the SIP. We must 
provide public notice and seek additional public comment regarding the 
proposed federal action on the state submission. If we receive adverse 
comments we address them prior to any final federal action (we 
generally address them in a final rulemaking action).
    The EPA incorporates into the federally approved SIP all state 
regulations and supporting information it has approved under section 
110 of the Act. Records of such SIP actions are maintained in the Code 
of Federal Regulations (CFR) at title 40, part 52, titled ``Approval 
and Promulgation of Implementation Plans.'' The actual state 
regulations the EPA has 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 (or rule) with a specific 
effective date.

[[Page 49298]]

C. What Does Federal Approval of a State Rule Mean to Me?

    Enforcement of a state rule before and after it is incorporated 
into a federally approved SIP is primarily a state responsibility. 
After the rule is federally approved, however, the CAA authorizes the 
EPA to take enforcement actions against violators. The CAA also offers 
citizens legal recourse to address violations, as provided in section 
304 of the Act.

D. What Is EPA Addressing in This Document?

    In a letter dated June 8, 2000 to Francis X. Lyons, Regional 
Administrator, Lori F. Kaplan, Commissioner, Indiana Department of 
Environmental Management, submitted amendments to the Indiana I/M rule 
as a SIP revision. These amendments revise portions of the I/M 
requirements in Lake/Porter Counties (Hammond, Gary, East Chicago) and 
Clark/Floyd Counties (Louisville area) in Indiana. Among the most 
significant changes being made to the program are: the exemption of the 
current calendar year model vehicles plus the three previous model year 
vehicles from emission testing; the inclusion of language that allows 
the use of the IM93 alternative vehicle emission test currently being 
used in the program; language that updates the requirement to test 
vehicles equipped with second generation on-board diagnostics systems 
(OBDII); and the elimination of the off-cycle test, which is the 
emission test currently required when there is a change in possession 
of motor vehicle titles. In addition, a number of minor administrative 
changes are also included. On June 28, 2001, we published a Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) to approve the SIP revision request. The 
public comment period was open through July 30, 2001, and EPA received 
no comments. This Federal Register document takes final action to 
approve the June 8, 2000 SIP revision submittal.

E. Does Indiana's Submission Meet the Requirements for Approval of 
a SIP Revision?

    The state submittal has met the public notice requirements for SIP 
submissions in accordance with 40 CFR 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 June 28, 2001, these revisions meet the substantive SIP 
requirements on the CAA including I/M program requirements addressed in 
40 CFR part 51, subpart S. In the June 28 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 of this final 
action.

F. What Action Is EPA Taking?

    The EPA is approving Indiana's I/M SIP revision submitted by 
Indiana on June 8, 2000. The SIP revision amends certain program 
elements of Indiana's motor vehicle inspection and maintenance 
requirements.

G. 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. 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 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.).
    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). This rule will be effective October 29, 2001.
    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 November 26, 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

[[Page 49299]]

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, Incorporation by 
reference, Ozone, Volatile organic compounds.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: September 14, 2001.
Thomas V. Skinner,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.

    Part 52, 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. 7401-7671q.

Subpart P--Indiana

    2. Section 52.770, is amended by adding paragraph (c)(142) to read 
as follows:


Sec. 52.770  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (142) On June 8, 2000 the Indiana Department of Environmental 
Management submitted a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision 
amending certain provisions of the Indiana vehicle inspection and 
maintenance (I/M) program in operation in Lake, Porter, Clark, and 
Floyd Counties. Among the most significant changes being made to the 
program include: the exemption of the current calendar year model 
vehicle plus the (3) previous model years vehicles from emission 
testing; the inclusion of language that allows the use of the IM93 
alternative vehicle emission test currently being used in the program; 
language that updates the requirement to test vehicles equipped with 
second generation on-board diagnostics systems (OBDII); and the 
elimination of the off-cycle test, which is the emission test currently 
required when there is a change in possession of motor vehicle titles. 
The Air Pollution Control Board amended 326 IAC 13-1.1 and repealed 326 
IAC 13-1.1-17, thereby putting in place the revisions to the I/M 
program.
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    (A) 326 Indiana Administrative Code 13-1.1 adopted December 2, 
1998, effective January 22, 1999.
    (ii) Other material.
    (A) June 8, 2000 letter and enclosures from the Indiana Department 
of Environmental Management (IDEM) Commissioner to the Regional 
Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency 
(USEPA) submitting Indiana's revision to the ozone State Implementation 
Plan (SIP).

[FR Doc. 01-24200 Filed 9-26-01; 8:45 am]
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