[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 167 (Wednesday, August 28, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 55121-55125]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-21940]



[[Page 55121]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[MA-085a; A-1-FRL-7268-7]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Massachusetts; Rate-of-Progress Emission Reduction Plans for the 
Boston-Lawrence-Worcester Serious Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision 
submitted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This revision 
establishes 15 percent and post-1996 rate-of-progress plans for the 
Massachusetts portion of the Boston-Lawrence-Worcester serious ozone 
nonattainment area. The intended effect of this action is to approve 
this SIP revision in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air 
Act.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective October 28, 2002, 
unless EPA receives adverse comments by September 27, 2002. If EPA 
receives adverse comments, we will publish a timely withdrawal of the 
direct final rule in the Federal Register informing the public that the 
rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to David Conroy, Unit Manager, Air 
Quality Planning , Office of Ecosystem Protection (mail code CAQ), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional Office, One 
Congress Street, Suite 1100, Boston, MA 02114-2023. Copies of the 
documents relevant to this action are available for public inspection 
during normal business hours, by appointment at the Office Ecosystem 
Protection, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England 
Regional Office, One Congress Street, 11th floor, Boston, MA, and at 
the Division of Air Quality Control, Department of Environmental 
Protection, One Winter Street, 8th Floor, Boston, MA 02108.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert McConnell, (617) 918-1046.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 10, 2002, the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts submitted a formal revision to its SIP. The SIP revision 
consists of 15 percent and post-1996 rate-of-progress (ROP) emission 
reduction plans for the Massachusetts portion of the Boston-Lawrence-
Worcester serious ozone nonattainment area. Massachusetts submitted a 
minor amendment to the ROP plans on July 26, 2002. We previously 
approved ROP plans that the State of New Hampshire submitted for the 
portions of this nonattainment area within its borders.
    This Supplementary Information section is organized as follows:

1. What action is EPA taking today?
2. Why was Massachusetts required to reduce its emissions of ozone 
forming pollutants?
3. What are the sources of these pollutants?
4. What harmful effects can these pollutants produce?
5. Should I be concerned if I live near an industry that emits a 
significant amount of these pollutants?
6. Why didn't EPA approve Massachusetts' prior versions of these 
plans?
7. Massachusetts was supposed to achieve a portion of these emission 
reductions by 1996, and the remainder by 1999. Did that happen?
8. How much do the Commonwealth's plans reduce air pollution 
emissions?
9. How will Massachusetts achieve these emission reductions?
10. Why is EPA approving a plan that only covers the eastern part of 
the Commonwealth?
11. Have these emission reductions improved air quality in 
Massachusetts?
12. Has Massachusetts met its contingency measure obligation?
13. Are conformity budgets contained in these plans?

1. What action is EPA taking today?

    EPA is approving ROP emission reduction plans submitted by 
Massachusetts for its portion of the Boston-Lawrence-Worcester serious 
ozone nonattainment area as revisions to Massachusetts' SIP. This area 
is referred to as the Eastern Massachusetts area in the remainder of 
this notice. The ROP plans document how Massachusetts complied with the 
provisions of Sections 182 (b)(1) and (c)(2)(B) of the Federal Clean 
Air Act (the Act). 42 U.S.C. 7511a (b)(1) and (c)(2)(B). These sections 
of the Act require states containing certain ozone nonattainment areas 
to develop strategies to reduce emissions of the pollutants that react 
to form ground level ozone.

2. Why was Massachusetts required to reduce its emissions of ozone 
forming pollutants?

    Massachusetts was required to develop plans to reduce ozone 
precursor emissions because it contains a serious ozone nonattainment 
area. A final rule published by EPA on November 6, 1991 (56 FR 56694) 
designated ten counties in the eastern part of Massachusetts a serious 
ozone nonattainment area. Sections 182 (b)(1) and (c)(2)(B) of the Act 
require that serious ozone nonattainment areas develop ROP plans to 
reduce ozone forming pollutant emissions in the nonattainment area.
    As stated above, two provisions of the Act make achieving these 
emission reductions necessary. Under section 182(b)(1), Massachusetts 
needed to develop a plan to reduce volatile organic compound (VOC) 
emissions by 15 percent by 1996. These plans are referred to as ``15 
percent ROP'' plans. Requirements in section 182(c)(2)(B) and (C) of 
the Act instruct Massachusetts to achieve additional emission 
reductions. These additional reductions must lower ozone precursor 
emissions (VOC or nitrogen oxides) by 9 percent by 1999. These plans 
are referred to as ``post 1996 ROP'' plans.

3. What are the sources of these pollutants?

    VOCs are emitted from a variety of sources, including motor 
vehicles, a variety of consumer and commercial products such as paints 
and solvents, chemical plants, gasoline stations, and other industrial 
sources. Nitrogen oxides (NOX) is emitted from motor 
vehicles, power plants, and other sources that burn fossil fuels.

4. What harmful effects can these pollutants produce?

    VOCs and NOX react in the atmosphere to form ozone, the 
prime ingredient of smog in our cities and many rural areas of the 
country. Though it occurs naturally at elevated levels high in our 
atmosphere, at ground level it is the prime ingredient of smog. When 
inhaled, even at very low levels, ozone can:

Cause acute respiratory problems;
Aggravate asthma;
Cause significant temporary decreases in lung capacity in some healthy 
adults;
Cause inflammation of lung tissue;
Lead to hospital admissions and emergency room visits; and
Impair the body's immune system defenses.

5. Should I be concerned if I live near an industry that emits a 
significant amount of these pollutants?

    Industrial facilities that emit large amounts of these pollutants 
are monitored by the Commonwealth's environmental agency, the 
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Many facilities are 
required to emit air pollutants through tall stacks to ensure that high 
concentrations of pollutants do not exist at ground level. Permits 
issued to these facilities include information on which pollutants are 
being released, how much may be

[[Page 55122]]

released, and what steps the source's owner or operator is taking to 
reduce pollution. The Massachusetts DEP makes permit applications and 
permits readily available to the public for review. You can contact the 
Massachusetts DEP for more information about air pollution emitted by 
industrial facilities in your neighborhood.

6. Why didn't EPA approve Massachusetts' prior versions of these plans?

    EPA proposed to approve a prior version of the Massachusetts 15 
percent plan submitted to EPA in 1997, subject to certain conditions 
(see 62 FR 37527, July 14, 1997). EPA did not grant final approval 
because Massachusetts did not meet the conditions EPA listed in that 
proposal. Specifically, Massachusetts did not meet its commitment to 
begin an automobile emission ``inspection and maintenance'' (I/M) 
program. EPA did not propose action on Massachusetts' post 1996 ROP 
plan in the July 14, 1997 notice.
    On April 10, 2002, Massachusetts submitted revisions to its 15 
percent and post 1996 ROP plans (the ``revised ROP plans'') and 
submitted minor amendments on July 26, 2002.

7. Massachusetts was supposed to achieve a portion of these emission 
reductions by 1996, and the remainder by 1999. Did that happen?

    Massachusetts did not reduce its hydrocarbon emissions by 15 
percent by November 15, 1996, or reduce ozone precursor emissions an 
additional 9 percent by November 15, 1999. However, the DEP has shown 
that all of the emission reductions required of 15 percent and post-
1996 plans occurred by mid-summer of 2001. EPA believes it can approve 
both of these plans for the reasons provided below.
    Subsequent to EPA's July 14, 1997 proposed action, ROP plans for 
the Eastern Massachusetts serious area became unnecessary because EPA 
determined, in accordance with a May 10, 1995 policy,\1\ that the area 
met the one-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for 
ozone, and that such planning requirements were unnecessary in light of 
the clean air in the area. EPA based that determination on three years 
of complete, quality assured ambient air monitoring data for the years 
1996-98 which demonstrated that the one-hour ozone NAAQS had been 
attained in this area. On the basis of that determination, EPA also 
determined that certain ROP and attainment demonstration requirements, 
along with certain other related requirements, of Part D of Title 1 of 
the Act were no longer applicable to the Eastern Massachusetts area for 
so long as the area continued to attain the one hour ozone NAAQS. 
However, ozone monitoring data for the years 1999 to 2001 indicate that 
the Eastern Massachusetts area violated the one hour ozone standard 
over that three year time period. Therefore, EPA no longer has a basis 
for deferring the planning requirements that attainment of the one-hour 
ozone NAAQS had rendered unnecessary.
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    \1\ Policy guidance contained in a May 10, 1995 memorandum from 
John Seitz, Director of EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and 
Standards, recommends that ROP and attainment demonstration 
requirements, along with certain other related requirements, of Part 
D of Title 1 of the Clean Air Act are no longer applicable to an 
area once it has air quality data indicating that the one hour ozone 
standard has been attained. This finding will remain effective for 
so long as the area continues to attain the one hour ozone NAAQS.
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    In its April 10, 2002 submittal, Massachusetts is not able to 
demonstrate a 15 percent VOC emission reduction occurred in the Eastern 
Massachusetts area by the November 15, 1996 milestone date, or that an 
additional 9 percent reduction in ozone precursor emissions occurred by 
the November 15, 1999 milestone due to delayed implementation of its I/
M program. However, the Commonwealth was not required to make this 
showing during the years it monitored attainment of the one-hour ozone 
standard. It is not possible to require Massachusetts to make this 
demonstration, as those dates have passed. Therefore, taking into 
account the individual circumstances surrounding this SIP submission 
and guidance within the May 10, 1995 policy memorandum, we notified 
Massachusetts that we would approve Massachusetts' ROP plans if the DEP 
could show that ozone precursor emissions were lowered by 24 percent 
compared to 1990 levels by 2001, instead of by the original 1999 
milestone date. At least 15 percent of the 24 percent reduction must 
come from the VOC inventory.
    Once a statutory deadline has passed and has not been replaced by a 
later one, the deadline then becomes ``as soon as possible.'' Delaney 
v. EPA, 898 F.2d 687, 691 (9th Cir. 1990), cert. den. 498 U.S. 998 
(1990). EPA has interpreted this requirement to be ``as soon as 
practicable.'' The state's revised ROP plans for Eastern Massachusetts, 
submitted on April 10, 2002, and amended on July 26, 2002, demonstrate 
that a 24% reduction in ozone precursor emissions occurred by 2001. 
This means that the overall environmental benefit represented by the 15 
percent and post-1996 ROP requirements occurred, and in fact occurred 
while the Eastern Massachusetts area still monitored attainment of the 
one-hour standard. EPA believes that this demonstration meets the as 
soon as practicable test. Therefore, we are now approving the 15 
percent and post-1996 plans.

8. How much do the Commonwealth's plans reduce air pollution emissions?

    By 2001, the Commonwealth's plans indicate that VOC emissions in 
the Eastern Massachusetts area will decrease by 32 percent, and 
NOX emissions will decrease by 13 percent compared to 1990 
emission levels as a result of federal and state control programs.
    DEP's April 10, 2002 submittal illustrates how Massachusetts met 
the post-1996 ROP requirements of section 182(c)(2)(B) of the Act, and 
the 15 percent ROP requirements of section 182(b) of the Act. Both sets 
of reductions were calculated from a 1990 baseline, and the plans 
describe how any growth in emissions was offset. Under section 
182(c)(2)(C) of the Act, NOX reductions can also be used to 
meet the post-1996 ROP emission reduction obligation; the Act only 
allows for VOC reductions in 15 percent ROP plans.
    The manner in which states are to determine the required level of 
emission reductions is described in EPA guidance documents entitled, 
``Guidance on the Adjusted Base Year Emissions Inventory and the 1996 
Target for the 15 Percent ROP Plans,'' (EPA-452/R-92-005), and 
``Guidance on the Post-1996 Rate-of-Progress Plan and the Attainment 
Demonstration'' (EPA 452-93-015). The calculation procedures to 
determine both the 15 percent and post-1996 ROP emission reduction 
obligations are similar. Table 1 below contains a summary of DEP's 
calculations for the Eastern Massachusetts area.
    As shown below in Table 1, DEP's April 10, 2002 submittal 
demonstrates more than a 24 percent reduction in ozone precursor 
emissions occurred by mid-summer, 2001. In other words, Massachusetts 
shows that their projected, controlled 2001 emission levels for VOC and 
NOX are lower than the 1999 target emission levels 
calculated for these pollutants. The 1999 target levels represent the 
amount of emissions that can be emitted after accounting for the 
required 24 percent reduction in ozone precursor emissions, and other 
required emission reductions that the Act does not allow be credited 
towards the ROP emission reduction obligation, such as reductions from 
the pre-1990 Federal Motor Vehicle Control

[[Page 55123]]

Program (FMVCP), revisions to deficient reasonably available control 
technology (RACT) regulations, and corrections to deficient automobile 
I/M programs.
    One step in the above demonstration consists of a projection of 
emissions from the base year to a future year. A prior version of these 
plans submitted to EPA on March 31, 1997 contains emission projections 
that were obtained by applying growth factors to the baseline 1990 
emissions to obtain estimated 1999 emission levels. The Commonwealth's 
current submittal contains an improved projection of emissions that 
uses actual 1999 emissions data. The 1999 emissions data, in addition 
to being much more current than the 1990 estimates, also contain 
improvements to area and non-road mobile source estimation 
methodologies, the most significant of which is use of the EPA's draft 
non-road model. Although this model is not a final model, Massachusetts 
DEP believes, and we agree, that it provides a more accurate evaluation 
of air pollution emissions from non-road engines than the alternative 
emission estimation procedure available to DEP, which consists of 
estimates prepared in 1991 by an EPA contractor. The Commonwealth 
projected its 1999 emissions to 2001 through application of growth 
factors.
    We commented during the public hearing process that the DEP needed 
to ensure that it calculated its 1999 emission estimates with the same 
emission factors that were used to determine 1990 baseline emissions. 
Since the 15 percent and 9 percent ROP emission reduction obligations 
are calculated off of the 1990 baseline, use of consistent emission 
factors in the baseline and projected emission inventories ensures that 
emission reductions due to changed emission estimation procedures are 
not reflected in the plan.
    Massachusetts' April 10, 2002 submittal and July 26, 2002 amendment 
contain several revisions to the 1990 baseline area and non-road 
emission estimates made to ensure that consistent emission factors were 
used to develop the 1990 and 1999 inventories. DEP then revised its 
target level calculations using the new 1990 baseline as shown below in 
Table 1. We approve the revisions made by the Commonwealth to its 1990 
baseline emissions.

                                                     Table 1
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                          Description                            VOC Emissions  (tpsd)    NOX Emissions  (tpsd)
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Step 1--Calculate 1990 Base Year Inventory....................                   1223.5                    891.3
Step 2--Develop Rate-of Progress Inventory by subtracting                         816.1                    891.3
 biogenics and non-reactives..................................
Step 3--Develop Adjusted Base Year Inventory by subtracting
 non-creditable FMVCP rdxns:
    1996 target calculation...................................     816.1 - 26.2 = 789.9
    1999 target calculation...................................     816.1 - 41.4 = 774.7     891.3 - 46.3 = 844.9
Step 4--Calculate Required Reduction (15% VOC for 1996 target;
 State will use 7% VOC and 2% NOX for 1996 to 1999 ROP):
    1996 target calculation...................................      15% * 789.9 = 118.5
    1999 target calculation...................................        7% * 774.7 = 54.2        2% * 844.9 = 16.9
Step 5--Calculate Total Expected Reductions (sum of FMVCP
 reductions, required percent reductions, and for VOC in the
 1996 target, 6.3 tpsd in RACT corrections and 7.2 tpsd in I/M
 corrections. The VOC FMVCP between 1996 and 1999 is 15.2
 tpsd):
    1996 target calculation...................................     118.5 + 26.2 + 6.3 +
                                                                            7.2 = 158.1
    1999 target calculation...................................       54.2 + 15.2 = 69.5       16.9 + 46.3 = 63.2
Step 6--Set Target Levels (Target = 1990 ROP inventory - total
 reductions)
    1996 target calculation...................................    816.1 - 158.1 = 658.0
    1999 target calculation...................................     658.0 - 69.5 = 588.5     891.3 - 63.2 = 828.0
Step 7--Projected, Controlled 2001 Emissions..................                    551.9                    774.7
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    The Massachusetts ROP plans demonstrate that the VOC and 
NOX emission reductions from the control strategy will 
achieve sufficient emission reductions to lower 2001 emission levels 
below the target levels calculated for each pollutant.

9. How will Massachusetts achieve these emission reductions?

    The Commonwealth's post-1996 control strategy matches the control 
strategy described in the EPA's July 14, 1997 proposed approval of the 
Massachusetts 15 percent plan, and also includes emission reductions 
from the Commonwealth's NOX RACT and Ozone Transport 
Commission (OTC) NOX Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) rule, 
and emission reductions from federal measures limiting emissions from 
non-road engines promulgated between 1996 and 1999. Reductions from the 
NOX rules and from the federal non-road standards are 
described further below.

NOX RACT

    Massachusetts has adopted a NOX RACT regulation, the 
citation for which is 310 Code of Massachusetts Regulations 7.19. The 
regulation applies to facilities with potential emissions of 50 tons 
per year or greater. Facilities covered by the rule needed to comply by 
May 31, 1995. Massachusetts submitted the rule to EPA on July 15, 1994, 
as a revision to the State's SIP. EPA approved the State's 
NOX RACT rule on September 2, 1999 (64 FR 48095).

OTC NOX MOU Rule

    The DEP submitted a rule entitled ``310 CMR 7.27: NOX 
Allowance Program'' to EPA to meet the requirements of the ozone 
transport commission's NOX MOU. We approved the rule into 
the state's SIP on June 2, 1999 (64 FR 29567). By 2001, the 
Commonwealth's NOX RACT and NOX MOU rules will 
reduce point source emissions by 130 tpsd in the Eastern Massachusetts 
area.

Federal Non-Road Standards

    In the July 3, 1995 Federal Register (60 FR 34581), EPA promulgated 
the first phase of the regulations to control emissions from new non-
road spark-ignition engines. The regulation is found at 40 CFR part 90, 
and is titled,

[[Page 55124]]

``Control of Emissions From Non-road Spark-Ignition Engines.''
    The first phase of the new non-road standards will cause a 
substantial reduction of VOC emissions by 2001. Massachusetts used the 
EPA's Non-road model to estimate the reductions that will accrue by 
2001. Although this is a draft model, it provides a better estimate of 
emissions than the previous emission estimation methodology available 
for this sector. The previous methodology was based on the document, 
``Non-road Engine and Vehicle Emission Study Report'' (Publication nos. 
EPA-21A-2001; EPA460/3-91-002). The sale of reformulated gasoline in 
Massachusetts also reduces non-road emissions. The combined effect of 
reformulated gasoline and the new non-road standards will lower non-
road VOC emissions by 18 tpsd in the Eastern Massachusetts area.

10. Why is EPA approving a plan that only covers the eastern part of 
the Commonwealth?

    EPA is only approving ROP plans for the Eastern Massachusetts 
serious area because we previously approved the ROP plans for the 
Western Massachusetts serious area in a final rule published in the 
Federal Register on November 15, 2000 (65 FR 68896).

11. Have these emission reductions improved air quality in 
Massachusetts?

    Ozone levels have decreased in the Eastern Massachusetts area 
during the 1990's, due in part to emission reductions achieved by these 
plans. Pollution control measures implemented by states upwind of 
Massachusetts have also helped ozone levels decline in this area of the 
Commonwealth.

12. Has Massachusetts met its contingency measure obligation?

    Ozone nonattainment areas classified as serious or above must 
submit to the EPA, pursuant to section 182(c)(9) of the Act, 
contingency measures to be implemented if an area misses an ozone SIP 
milestone. The Massachusetts ROP plan demonstrates that surplus 
emission reductions beyond those required to meet ROP requirements 
exist which cover the 3 percent contingency requirement of the Act.

13. Are conformity budgets contained in these plans?

    Section 176(c) of the Act, and 40 CFR 51.452(b) of the federal 
transportation conformity rule require states to establish motor 
vehicle emissions budgets in any control strategy SIP that is submitted 
for attainment and maintenance of the NAAQS. Massachusetts will use 
these budgets to determine whether proposed projects that attract 
traffic will ``conform'' to the emissions assumptions in the SIP.
    Massachusetts' revised ROP plans contain motor vehicle emission 
budgets for the year 2001. However, the Massachusetts DEP submitted an 
ozone attainment demonstration plan to EPA in 1998 that contains mobile 
source emission budgets for Eastern Massachusetts for 2003. Since the 
year 2003 budgets are more restrictive, cover a time frame later than 
the ROP plans (which include the current transportation analyses 
milestone years), and are based on the attainment plan, these 2003 VOC 
and NOX budgets take precedence over motor vehicle emission 
budgets for earlier years. The specific 2003 budgets for the Eastern 
Massachusetts area are 117.1 tpsd for VOC, and 243.3 tpsd for 
NOX.

II. Final Action

    EPA is approving 15 percent and post-1996 rate-of-progress plans 
for the Massachusetts portion of the Boston-Lawrence-Worcester serious 
ozone nonattainment area.
    The EPA is publishing this action without prior proposal because 
the Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates 
no adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this 
Federal Register publication, EPA is publishing a separate document 
that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision should 
relevant adverse comments be filed. This rule will be effective October 
28, 2002 without further notice unless the Agency receives relevant 
adverse comments by September 27, 2002.
    If the EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish a notice 
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will 
not take effect. EPA will then address all public comments in a 
subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. The EPA will not 
institute a second comment period on the proposed rule. Only parties 
interested in commenting on the proposed rule should do so at this 
time. If we receive no such comments, the public is advised that this 
rule will be effective on October 28, 2002 and we will take no further 
action on the proposed rule. Please note that if EPA receives adverse 
comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that 
provision may be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt 
as final those provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an 
adverse comment.

III. 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), 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

[[Page 55125]]

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 October 28, 2002. Interested 
parties should comment in response to the proposed rule rather than 
petition for judicial review, unless the objection arises after the 
comment period allowed for in the proposal. 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, Nitrogen dioxide, 
Ozone, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: August 13, 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 W--Massachusetts

    2. Section 52.1129 is amended by adding paragraph (c) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 52.1129  Control Strategy: Ozone.

* * * * *
    (c) Revisions to the State Implementation Plan submitted by the 
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection on April 10, 2002 
and amended on July 26, 2002. The revisions are for the purpose of 
satisfying the rate of progress requirements of sections 182(b)(1) and 
182(c)(2)(B) of the Clean Air Act for the Massachusetts portion of the 
Boston-Lawrence-Worcester serious ozone nonattainment area.

[FR Doc. 02-21940 Filed 8-27-02; 8:45 am]
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