[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 129 (Friday, July 5, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 44769-44770]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-16854]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[Docket  AK-02-003; FRL-7240-8]


Determination of Attainment for the Carbon Monoxide National 
Ambient Air Quality Standard for Fairbanks Carbon Monoxide 
Nonattainment Area, Alaska

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is determining that the Fairbanks Carbon Monoxide (CO) 
nonattainment area in Alaska has attained the National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards (NAAQS) for CO by the deadline required by the Clean 
Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA), December 31, 2001.

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 5, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Connie Robinson, EPA, Region 10, 
Office of Air Quality, Mail Code: OAQ-107, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle 
Washington, 98101, (206) 553-1086.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document wherever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used we mean EPA.

I. Background

    EPA has the responsibility for determining whether a nonattainment 
area has attained the CO NAAQS by the applicable attainment date. In 
this case the EPA was required to make a determination concerning 
whether the Fairbanks serious CO nonattainment area attained the NAAQS 
by its December 31, 2001, attainment date. Pursuant to the CAAA, the 
EPA is required to make an attainment determination for this area by 
June 30, 2002, no later than six months following the attainment date 
for the area. This final rule was based on all available, quality-
assured data collected from the CO monitoring sites, which has been 
entered into the Aerometric Information

[[Page 44770]]

Retrieval System (AIRS). This data was reviewed to determine the area's 
air quality status in accordance with EPA guidance at 40 CFR 50.8, and 
in accordance with EPA policy and guidance as stated in a memorandum 
from William G. Laxton, Director Technical Support Division, entitled 
``Ozone and Carbon Monoxide Design Value Calculations,'' dated June 18, 
1990.
    On May 23, 2002 (67 FR 36135), EPA proposed to determine that the 
Fairbanks CO nonattainment area in Alaska has attained the National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for CO as of December 31, 2001. A 
detailed discussion of EPA's proposal is contained in the May 23, 2002, 
proposed rule and will not be restated here. The reader is referred to 
the proposed rule for more details.

II. Public Comments

    We received no comments in response to EPA's proposed action to 
determine that the Fairbanks CO nonattainment area in Alaska has 
attained the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for carbon 
monoxide as of December 31, 2001.

III. Attainment Determination

    EPA has determined that the Fairbanks serious CO nonattainment area 
has attained the CO NAAQS by its attainment date of December 31, 2001. 
Consistent with CAAA section 188, the area will remain a serious CO 
nonattainment area with the additional planning requirements that apply 
to serious CO nonattainment areas. This finding of attainment should 
not be confused with a redesignation to attainment under CAAA section 
107(d). Alaska has not submitted a maintenance plan as required under 
section 175A(a) of the CAAA for redesignation to attainment. The 
designation status in 40 CFR part 81 will remain serious nonattainment 
for the Fairbanks CO nonattainment area until such time as EPA finds 
that Alaska has met the CAAA requirements for redesignation to 
attainment.

IV. 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 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). This action 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 September 3, 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 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
National parks, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Wilderness 
areas.

    Dated: June 26, 2002.
Ronald A. Kreizenbeck,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 02-16854 Filed 7-3-02; 8:45 am]
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