[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 6, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10099-10101]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-5185]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[ME065-7014a; A-1-FRL-7152-1]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Maine; Control of Gasoline Volatility

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 State of Maine on June 7, 2000 and May 29, 2001, 
establishing a lower Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) fuel requirement for 
gasoline distributed in southern Maine which includes York, Cumberland, 
Sagadahoc, Kennebec, Androscoggin, Knox, and Lincoln Counties. Maine 
has developed these fuel requirements to reduce emissions of volatile 
organic compounds (VOC) in accordance with the requirements of the 
Clean Air Act (CAA). EPA is approving Maine's fuel requirements into 
the Maine SIP because EPA has found that the requirements are necessary 
for southern Maine to achieve the national ambient air quality standard 
(NAAQS) for ozone. The intended effect of this action is to approve 
Maine's request to control the RVP of fuel in these seven southern 
counties. This action is being taken under section 110 of the Clean Air 
Act.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule will become effective on April 5, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the documents relevant to this action are 
available for public inspection during normal business hours, by 
appointment at the Office of Ecosystem Protection, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional Office, One Congress 
Street, 11th floor, Boston, MA; Air and Radiation Docket and 
Information Center, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Room M-1500, 
401 M Street, (Mail Code 6102), SW., Washington, DC; and the Bureau of 
Air Quality Control, Department of Environmental Protection, 71 
Hospital Street, Augusta, ME 04333.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert C. Judge at (617) 918-1045.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 6, 2001 (66 FR 63343), EPA 
published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) for the State of Maine. 
The NPR proposed approval of a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision 
submitted by the State of Maine on June 7, 2000 and May 29, 2001, 
establishing a lower Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) fuel requirement for 
gasoline distributed in southern Maine which includes York, Cumberland, 
Sagadahoc, Kennebec, Androscoggin, Knox, and Lincoln Counties.
    The rule as amended requires that beginning May 1, 1999 through 
September 15, 1999, and each May 1 through September 15 thereafter, no 
gasoline may be sold with an RVP greater than 7.8 pounds per square 
inch (psi) in the counties of York, Cumberland, Sagadahoc, Kennebec, 
Androscoggin, Knox, and Lincoln. The State's low-RVP rule is codified 
in Chapter 119 of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection's 
regulations, entitled ``Motor Vehicle Fuel Volatility Limit.'' Other 
specific requirements of the rule and the rationale for EPA's proposed 
action are explained in the NPR and will not be restated here. No 
public comments were received on the NPR.

[[Page 10100]]

Final Action

    EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision 
submitted by the State of Maine on June 7, 2000 and May 29, 2001, 
establishing a lower Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) fuel requirement for 
gasoline distributed in southern Maine which includes York, Cumberland, 
Sagadahoc, Kennebec, Androscoggin, Knox, and Lincoln Counties.

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 (Pub. L. 104-4).
    This rule also does not have tribal implications because it will 
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). This action also does not have Federalism 
implications because it does 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 
``Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety 
Risks'' (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. 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 6, 2002. 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 in 40 CFR Part 52

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

    Dated: February 21, 2002.
Robert W. Varney,
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 U--Maine

    2. Section 52.1020 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(49) to read 
as follows:


Sec. 52.1020  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (49) Revisions to the State Implementation Plan submitted by the 
Maine Department of Environmental Protection on June 7, 2000 and May 
29, 2001.
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    Maine Chapter 119, entitled ``Motor Vehicle Fuel Volatility Limit'' 
as amended and effective on June 1, 2000.
    (ii) Additional materials:
    (A) Letter from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection 
dated June 7, 2000 submitting Chapter 119 as a revision to the Maine 
State Implementation Plan.
    (B) Letter from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection 
dated May 29, 2001 submitting additional technical support and an 
enforcement plan for Chapter 119 as an amendment to the State 
Implementation Plan.

    3. In Sec. 52.1031 Table 52.1031 is amended by revising the 
existing state citation 119 to read as follows:


Sec. 52.1031  EPA-approved Maine regulations.

* * * * *

[[Page 10101]]



                               Table 52.1031.--EPA-Approved Rules and Regulations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                Date
   State     Title/Subject   adopted by  Date approved by EPA    Federal Register      52.1020
 citation                       State                                citation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *
                                                        *
      119   Motor Vehicle       6/1/00   3/6/02..............  [Insert FR citation     (c)(49)   Controls fuel
             Fuel                                               from published                    volatility in
             Volatility                                         date].                            the State. 7.8
             Limit.                                                                               psi RVP fuel
                                                                                                  required in 7
                                                                                                  southern
                                                                                                  counties.
*                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *
                                                        *
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    Note. 1. The regulations are effective statewide unless stated 
otherwise in comments section.

[FR Doc. 02-5185 Filed 3-5-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P