[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 169 (Friday, August 30, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 55726-55728]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-22087]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[KS 162-1162a; FRL-7270-4]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of 
Kansas

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 state of Kansas. This revision updates the state's air 
monitoring surveillance plan to include the particulate matter 
provisions EPA added to the Federal requirements in 1997. Approval of 
the state's submittal will ensure that it is consistent and current 
with the Federal requirements.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective October 29, 2002, 
unless EPA receives adverse comments by September 30, 2002. If adverse 
comments are received, EPA 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 Kim Johnson, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch, 901 North 5th 
Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66101.
    Copies of documents relative to this action are available for 
public inspection during normal business hours at the above-listed 
Region 7 location. The interested persons wanting to examine these 
documents should make an appointment with the office at least 24 hours 
in advance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim Johnson at (913) 551-7975.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This section provides 
additional information by addressing the following questions:

What is a SIP?
What is the Federal approval process for a SIP?
What does Federal approval of a state regulation mean to me?
What is being addressed in this document?
Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?
What action is EPA taking?

What Is a SIP?

    Section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires states to develop 
air pollution regulations and control strategies to ensure that state 
air quality meets the national ambient air quality standards 
established by EPA. These ambient standards are established under 
section 109 of the CAA, and they currently address six criteria 
pollutants. These pollutants are: carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, 
ozone, lead, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide.
    Each state must submit these regulations and control strategies to 
us for approval and incorporation into the Federally-enforceable SIP.
    Each Federally-approved SIP protects air quality primarily by 
addressing air pollution at its point of origin. These SIPs can be 
extensive, containing state regulations or other enforceable documents 
and supporting information

[[Page 55727]]

such as emission inventories, monitoring networks, and modeling 
demonstrations.

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 control strategies consistent with state and Federal requirements. 
This process generally includes a public notice, public hearing, public 
comment period, and a formal adoption by a state-authorized rulemaking 
body.
    Once a state rule, regulation, or control strategy is adopted, the 
state 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 adverse comments are 
received, they must be addressed prior to any final Federal action by 
us.
    All state regulations and supporting information approved by EPA 
under section 110 of the CAA are incorporated into the Federally-
approved SIP. Records of such SIP actions are maintained in the Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) at Title 40, Part 52, entitled ``Approval and 
Promulgation of Implementation Plans.'' The actual state regulations 
which are approved are not reproduced in their entirety in the CFR 
outright but are ``incorporated by reference,'' which means that we 
have approved a given state regulation with a specific effective date.

What Does Federal Approval of a State Regulation Mean to Me?

    Enforcement of the state regulation before and after it is 
incorporated into the Federally-approved SIP is primarily a state 
responsibility. However, after the regulation is Federally approved, we 
are authorized to take enforcement action against violators. Citizens 
are also offered legal recourse to address violations as described in 
section 304 of the CAA.

What Is Being Addressed in This Document?

    Section 110(a)(2)(C) of the CAA requires SIPs to contain provisions 
for ambient air quality monitoring and data reporting. The CAA also 
requires, in section 319, that EPA establish monitoring criteria to be 
followed uniformly across the nation and that a national monitoring 
network be established. The EPA promulgated regulations to implement 
section 319 on May 10, 1979. This rulemaking established part 58 of 
Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, entitled ``Ambient Air 
Quality Surveillance.'' Section 58.20 establishes requirements for 
state ambient air quality monitoring networks.
    On July 18, 1997 (62 FR 38763), we updated the provisions of 40 CFR 
58.20 at the same time as we adopted new national ambient air quality 
standards (NAAQS) for ozone and particulate matter. In order to 
maintain consistency with the Federal requirements, Kansas subsequently 
revised its Section E--Monitoring Plan to address these revisions. This 
update has been submitted to us for approval as a revision to the 
Kansas SIP.
    The state's submittal incorporates the provisions which were added 
in 1997. This includes Sec. 58.20(f) pertaining to PM10 and 
PM2.5 monitoring network descriptions, and Sec. 58.20(g) 
pertaining to maintaining a list of all PM2.5 monitoring 
locations including State and Local Air Monitoring Stations (SLAMS), 
National Air Monitoring Stations (NAMS), Photochemical Assessment 
Monitoring Stations (PAMS), and population-oriented Special Purpose 
Monitors (SPMs) that are included in the state's PM monitoring network 
description. Incorporation of these provisions into the state's 
monitoring plan makes it consistent with the Federal monitoring 
requirements.

Have the Requirements for Approval of a SIP Revision Been Met?

    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 the technical 
support document which is part of this document, the revision meets the 
substantive SIP requirements of the CAA, including section 110 and 
implementing regulations.

What Action Is EPA Taking?

    We are processing this action as a final action because the 
revisions make routine changes to the existing rules which are 
noncontroversial. Therefore, we do not anticipate any adverse comments. 
Please note that if EPA receives adverse comment on part of this rule 
and if that part can be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may 
adopt as final those parts of the rule that are not the subject of an 
adverse comment.
    Final Action: We are approving a revision to the Kansas SIP which 
updates its ambient air monitoring plan.

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 CAA. 
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 CAA. 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

[[Page 55728]]

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 CAA. 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 CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by October 29, 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, Lead, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.


    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 R--Kansas

    2. In Sec. 52.870 the table in paragraph (e) is amended by adding 
an entry at the end of the table.
    The addition reads as follows:


Sec. 52.870  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                                  EPA Approved Kansas Nonregulatory Provisions
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                                      Applicable geographic       State
Name of nonregulatory SIP provision   or nonattainment area  submittal date     EPA approval date      Comments
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*                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *
                                                        *
Air monitoring plan................  Statewide.............         1/16/02  August 30, 2002 [FR
                                                                              cite].
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    Dated: August 12, 2002.
William A. Spratlin,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7.
[FR Doc. 02-22087 Filed 8-29-02; 8:45 am]
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