[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 75 (Friday, April 18, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 19316-19318]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-9478]



[[Page 19315]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Part V





Environmental Protection Agency





-----------------------------------------------------------------------



40 CFR Part 52



Approval and Promulgation of State Implementation Plans: California; 
Final Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 75 / Friday, April 18, 2003 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 19316]]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[CA-274-0371; FRL-7473-3]


Approval and Promulgation of State Implementation Plans; 
California--South Coast

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: EPA is taking final action to approve state implementation 
plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of California to provide 
for attainment of the particulate matter (PM-10) national ambient air 
quality standards (NAAQS) in the Los Angeles-South Coast Air Basin Area 
and to establish emissions budgets for purposes of transportation 
conformity. EPA is also granting the State's request for an extension 
of the PM-10 attainment deadline to December 31, 2006.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule is effective on May 19, 2003.

ADDRESSES: You can inspect copies of the docket for this action during 
normal business hours at EPA's Region IX office. You can inspect copies 
of the submitted SIP materials at the following locations:

U.S. EPA, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901.
California Air Resources Board, 1001 I Street, Sacramento, California, 
95812.
South Coast Air Quality Management District, 21865 E. Copley Drive, 
Diamond Bar, California, 91765-0932.

Most of the plan materials are also electronically available at: http://www.aqmd.gov/aqmp/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dave Jesson, EPA Region IX, (415) 972-
3957, or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,'' 
and ``our'' refer to EPA.

I. Proposed Action

    On December 17, 2002 (67 FR 77212), we proposed to approve the 
serious area PM-10 SIP submittals by California for the South Coast Air 
Basin (or ``South Coast''), including the motor vehicle emissions 
budgets, and to grant the State's request that we extend the attainment 
date from December 31, 2001 to December 31, 2006, in accordance with 
Clean Air Act (CAA) section 188(e).
    Our proposed approval was based on the following SIP submittals by 
the State of California:
    (1) That portion of the 1994 Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP, or 
``1994 plan''), adopted by the South Coast Air Quality Management 
District (SCAQMD) on September 9, 1994, and submitted by the California 
Air Resources Board (CARB) on November 15, 1994, that addresses the CAA 
provisions on control measures and best available control measure 
(BACM);
    (2) the 1997 AQMP (``1997 plan'') adopted by the SCAQMD on November 
15, 1996, and submitted by CARB on February 5, 1997, addressing the CAA 
provisions for emissions inventories, control measures and BACM, 
reasonable further progress, contingency measures, attainment 
demonstration, motor vehicle emissions budgets, and attainment date 
extension;
    (3) the 1998 amendment to the 1997 plan (``1998 amendment''), 
adopted by the SCAQMD on April 10, 1998, and submitted by CARB on April 
22, 1998, establishing motor vehicle emission budgets;
    (4) the 1999 amendment to the 1997 plan (``1999 amendment''), 
adopted by the SCAQMD on December 10, 1999, and submitted by CARB on 
February 4, 2000, addressing the CAA provisions for control measures 
and BACM; and
    (5) the 2002 status report adopted by SCAQMD on June 7, 2002, and 
submitted by CARB on November 18, 2002, addressing the CAA provisions 
for control measures and BACM, reasonable further progress, and motor 
vehicle emissions budgets for purposes of transportation conformity.
    The proposal contains detailed information on these SIP submittals 
and our evaluation of the submittals against applicable CAA provisions 
and EPA policies relating to serious area PM-10 SIPs.

II. Public Comments

    We received one public comment from an individual asking that EPA 
specify the statutes relied upon to grant an extension of time to 
attain the NAAQS. The commenter further asked EPA to take a second look 
at policies to extend attainment dates if adequate legal authority does 
not exist.
    As discussed in our proposed rule (67 FR 77217), CAA section 188(e) 
allows states to apply for up to a 5-year extension of the PM-10 
serious area attainment deadline of December 31, 2001. CAA section 
188(e) provides us with explicit authority to grant the extension if 
the state makes a showing that: (1) The plan for the area includes the 
most stringent measures that are included in the SIP of any state or 
are achieved in practice in any state, and can feasibly be implemented 
in the area, (2) the state complied with all requirements and 
commitments pertaining to the area in the implementation plan for the 
area, and (3) attainment by 2001 would be impracticable. In the 
proposed action, we show how the State's submittals satisfy each of 
these criteria. The commenter provided no evidence that the 
prerequisites to approval of the extension had not been satisfied. We 
continue to conclude that the State has met the applicable statutory 
provisions and we are therefore finalizing our attainment date 
extension.
    Under our policy for reviewing the adequacy of motor vehicle 
emissions budget submissions, these budgets were posted on our 
transportation conformity Web site (http://www.epa.gov/oms/traq) for 
public comment. We received no comments on the budgets.

III. EPA Action

    In this document, we are finalizing the following actions on the 
PM-10 SIP submittals for the South Coast. For each action, we indicate 
the page on which the element is discussed in our proposal.
    (1) Approval of the baseline and projected emissions inventories of 
the 1997 plan (Appendix III and Appendix V, Chapter 2) under CAA 
section 172(c)(3)--67 FR 77214-5.
    (2) Approval of the control measures in the 1997 plan (Chapter 4, 
Appendix IV-A), 1999 amendment (Appendix B), and 2002 status report 
(Attachment D), under CAA section 110(k)(3) as meeting the provisions 
of CAA sections 110(a), 188(e), and 189(b)(1)(B)--67 FR 77215 (Table 
1).
    (3) Approval of the contingency measures in the 1997 plan (Appendix 
IV-A), under CAA section 110(k)(3) as meeting the provisions of CAA 
section 172(c)(9)--67 FR 77216.
    (4) Approval of the reasonable further progress provisions of the 
1997 plan (Chapters 4 and 6; Appendix III; Appendix V, Chapter 2) and 
2002 status report under CAA section 189(c)--67 FR 77216-7 (Table 2).
    (5) Approval of the demonstration of attainment in the 1997 plan 
(Chapter 5, Appendix V) under CAA section 189(b)(1)(A)--67 FR 77217.
    (6) Approval of the attainment deadline extension to December 31, 
2006 in the 1997 plan (Chapters 5 and 6; Appendix V, Chapter 2), under 
CAA section 188(e)--67 FR 77217-8.
    (7) Approval of the motor vehicle emission budgets for purposes of 
transportation conformity for 2003, 2006, 2010, and 2020, under CAA 
section 176(c)(2)(A)--67 FR 77218-9 (Table 3). As proposed, we are 
limiting

[[Page 19317]]

this approval to last only until the effective date of our adequacy 
findings for new replacement budgets. For further discussion of the 
rationale for, and effect of, this limitation, please see our recent 
promulgation of a limitation on motor vehicle emission budgets 
associated with various California SIPs, at 67 FR 69139 (November 15, 
2002).

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    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). 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. section 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. 
section 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 June 17, 2003. 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, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Particulate matter, Reporting 
and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: February 27, 2003.
Alexis Strauss,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.

0
Part 52, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is 
amended as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart F--California

0
2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding paragraphs (c)(247)(i)(A)(4), 
(c)(272)(i)(A)(2), and (c)(309)to read as follows:


Sec.  52.220  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (247) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (A) * * *
    (4) Baseline and projected emissions inventories, SCAQMD commitment 
to adopt and implement control measures, reasonable further progress, 
contingency measures, attainment demonstration, PM-10 attainment date 
extension request to December 31, 2006, as contained in the South Coast 
1997 Air Quality Management Plan, with respect to PM-10.
* * * * *
    (272) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (A) * * *
    (2) SCAQMD commitment to adopt and implement control measures, as 
contained in the 1999 Amendment to the South Coast Air Quality 
Management Plan, with respect to PM-10.
* * * * *
    (309) New and amended plan for the following agency was submitted 
on November 18, 2002, by the Governor's designee.
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    (A) South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD).
    (1) SCAQMD commitment to adopt and implement control measures, and 
reasonable further progress, as contained in the Implementation Status 
of the PM-10 Portion of the 1997 AQMP and PM-10 Emissions Budgets for 
Transportation Conformity use (2002 status report) adopted by SCAQMD on 
June 7, 2002.
* * * * *

0
3. Section 52.244 is amended by adding paragraph (e) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.244  Motor vehicle emissions budgets.

* * * * *

[[Page 19318]]

    (e) Approval of the motor vehicle emissions budgets for the 
following PM-10 reasonable further progress and attainment SIPs will 
apply for transportation conformity purposes only until new budgets 
based on updated planning data and models have been submitted and EPA 
has found the budgets to be adequate for conformity purposes.
    (1) South Coast, approved April 18, 2003.

[FR Doc. 03-9478 Filed 4-17-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P