[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 76 (Monday, April 21, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 19373-19375]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-9619]



[[Page 19373]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[LA-56-1-7491a; FRL-7485-6]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Louisiana: 
Revision to the Ozone Maintenance Plans for Beauregard, St. Mary, 
Lafayette, and Grant Parishes and the New Orleans Consolidated 
Metropolitan Statistical Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The EPA is taking direct final action to approve a revision to 
the Louisiana SIP for Beauregard, St. Mary, Lafayette, and Grant 
Parishes and the New Orleans Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area 
(CMSA) ozone maintenance areas, submitted by the State of Louisiana on 
December 4, 2000. The revision involves changes to the approved 
contingency plans. This rulemaking action is being taken under sections 
110, 301 and part D of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: This rule is effective on June 20, 2003 without further notice, 
unless we receive adverse comment by May 21, 2003. If we receive such 
comment, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register 
informing the public that this rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed to Mr. Thomas H. Diggs, 
Chief, Air Planning Section (6PD-L), at the EPA Region 6 Office listed 
below. Copies of documents relevant to this action are available for 
public inspection during normal business hours at the following 
locations. Anyone wanting to examine these documents should make an 
appointment with the appropriate office at least two working days in 
advance.
    Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, Air Planning Section 
(6PD-L), 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733.
    Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Air Quality 
Division, 7290 Bluebonnet Boulevard, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70810.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joe Kordzi, at (214) 665-7186.

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

Table of Contents

I. What is the background on this action?
II. What features are in the current contingency plans for these 
areas?
III. What are the State's changes to these contingency plans?
IV. What is the rulemaking action?
V. Why is this a ``Final Action?''
VI. What regulatory assessment requirements apply for this action?

I. What Is the Background on This Action?

    The CAA, as amended in 1977, required areas that were designated 
nonattainment based on a failure to meet the ozone National Ambient Air 
Quality Standard (NAAQS) to develop SIPs with sufficient control 
measures to expeditiously attain and maintain the standard. Beauregard, 
St. Mary, Lafayette, and Grant Parishes and the New Orleans CMSA were 
designated under section 107 of the 1977 CAA as nonattainment with 
respect to the ozone NAAQS on September 11, 1978 (40 CFR 81.319). As 
required by part D and section 110 of the 1977 CAA, the State of 
Louisiana submitted an ozone SIP. The EPA fully approved this ozone SIP 
on October 29, 1981 (46 FR 53412).
    On November 15, 1990, the CAA Amendments of 1990 were enacted (Pub. 
L. 101-549, 104 Stat. 2399, codified at 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q). The 
ozone nonattainment designation for these areas continued by operation 
of law according to section 107(d)(1)(C)(i) of the CAA, as amended in 
1990 (56 FR 56694, November 6, 1991). For Beauregard, St. Mary, 
Lafayette, and Grant Parishes, the State had not yet collected the 
required three years of ambient air quality data necessary to petition 
for redesignation to attainment, so these Parishes were classified as 
unclassifiable-incomplete data for ozone. For the New Orleans CMSA, the 
State collected the required three years of ambient air quality data 
necessary to petition for redesignation to attainment, and these data 
demonstrated that the ozone standard had not been violated, so the New 
Orleans CMSA was designated as transitional for ozone. The Louisiana 
Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) then collected more than 3 
years of ambient monitoring data that showed no violations of the one-
hour ozone NAAQS of 0.12 parts per million. A violation of the ozone 
standard occurs if data show four or more exceedances during a 
consecutive 3-year period.
    On April 23, 1993, Louisiana requested the redesignation to NAAQS 
ozone attainment for the New Orleans CMSA. On May 25, 1993, the State 
requested redesignation for Grant and Lafayette Parishes; and on June 
14, 1993, for Beauregard and St. Mary Parishes. These requests were 
accompanied by an ozone maintenance SIP. Certain approvability issues 
were raised, and the State submitted revised redesignation requests and 
maintenance plans. All areas were redesignated to attainment on October 
17, 1995, except for the New Orleans CMSA which was redesignated on 
December 1, 1995.\1\
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    \1\ For detailed information concerning the ozone redesignation 
and SIP approval process and the applicable Federal guidance, please 
see 60 FR 472280 September 12, 1995. This action concerned the 
approval of the maintenance plan for St. James Parish and its 
redesignation to attainment for ozone.
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    The technical evaluation that follows includes a review of the 
revised contingency plan. We have also reviewed LDEQ's approach to 
ensure that this action is consistent with actions taken elsewhere in 
the nation.

II. What Features Are in the Current Contingency Plans for These Areas?

    The approved contingency plans for Beauregard, St. Mary, Lafayette, 
and Grant Parishes and the New Orleans CMSA, include measures to be 
adopted and implemented if future air quality conditions warrant such 
action. The State intended to review any future ozone exceedance to 
determine whether the episode was due to local emissions. If the ozone 
exceedance was a result of local conditions, then the contingency 
measure corresponding to that particular exceedance would be triggered, 
and the State would begin the rulemaking process to adopt the triggered 
measure into the State's regulations. Through this action, the LDEQ now 
revises its contingency plans for Beauregard, St. Mary, Lafayette, and 
Grant Parishes and the New Orleans CMSA to make them consistent with 
contingency plans elsewhere in the State and the Nation.

III. What Are the State's Changes to These Contingency Plans?

    The revision to the ozone SIP for Beauregard, St. Mary, Lafayette, 
and Grant Parishes and the New Orleans CMSA consists of a change to the 
contingency plan triggering event. Currently, a second or third 
exceedance of the one-hour ozone standard results in a triggering 
event. This revision to the SIP would change the triggering event to be 
an actual violation of the one-hour ozone standard, which occurs upon 
the fourth exceedance in any consecutive three-year period. Also, this 
revision to the SIP clarifies the narrative portion of the contingency 
plan, which discusses the State's procedures for evaluation of whether 
a triggering event has occurred.
    Section 175A of the CAA requires that an ozone maintenance plan 
include contingency provisions as necessary, to promptly correct any 
violation of the

[[Page 19374]]

one-hour ozone standard that occurs after redesignation of the area to 
attainment. The existing contingency plans for Beauregard, St. Mary, 
Lafayette, and Grant Parishes and the New Orleans Consolidated 
Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) include measures to be adopted 
prior to a recorded violation of the one-hour ozone standard. This 
approach identified VOC offsets and applicable Reasonably Available 
Control Technology (RACT) regulations to be adopted, based on two and 
three recorded ozone exceedances, respectively.
    The existing contingency plan requires a review of the exceedance 
to determine whether the cause is due to local emissions. If the source 
of the exceedance is local, then appropriate measures are identified 
for implementation.
    The LDEQ has revised its existing contingency plan to base the 
triggering event on a localized violation of the one-hour ozone 
standard (four exceedances in a consecutive three-year period). 
Additionally, the revised contingency plan identifies a menu of one or 
more contingency measures to be adopted if a future violation is 
recorded and determined to be due to local conditions. The menu 
includes:
    1. Limiting VOC emissions from the filling of gasoline storage 
vessels;
    2. Limiting VOC emissions from graphic arts for rotogravure and 
flexographic processes;
    3. Limiting VOC emissions for synthetic organic chemical 
manufacturing industry reactor processes and distillation operations;
    4. Limiting VOC emissions from batch processing;
    5. Limiting VOC emission from cleanup solvent processing;
    6. Limiting VOC emissions from industrial wastewater; and/or,
    7. Implementing a 1.1 to 1 offset ratio for permits.
    If, within 120 days after the recorded violation, it is determined 
that the recorded violation is due to local conditions, the Secretary 
of the LDEQ then has six months to select an appropriate measure, and 
an additional 20 months for implementation of that contingency measure 
to be completed. The selected contingency measure, therefore, will be 
implemented within 30 months of the recorded violation.

IV. What Is the Rulemaking Action?

    The EPA has reviewed the SIP submittal for consistency with the 
Act, applicable EPA regulations and EPA policy. The contingency 
measures and the schedule for implementation described above satisfy 
the requirements of section 175A(d) of the Act, and EPA is approving 
this December 4, 2000, SIP submittal to revise the ozone maintenance 
plan for Beauregard, St. Mary, Lafayette, and Grant Parishes and the 
New Orleans CMSA under sections 110(k)(3), 301(a), and part D of the 
Act.

V. Why Is This a ``Final Action?''

    We are publishing this rule without prior proposal because we view 
this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipate no adverse comment. 
However, in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of today's Federal Register 
publication, we are publishing a separate document that will serve as 
the proposal to approve the revisions to the contingency plans if 
adverse comments are received. This rule will be effective on June 20, 
2003 without further notice unless we receive adverse comment by May 
21, 2003. If EPA receives adverse comment, we will publish a timely 
withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule 
will not take effect. We will address all public comments in a 
subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. We will not institute 
a second comment period on this action. Any parties interested in 
commenting must do so at this time.

VI. What Regulatory Assessment Requirements Apply for This Action?

    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. 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.

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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 June 20, 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, Hydrocarbons, 
Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: April 10, 2003.
Richard E. Greene,
Regional Administrator, Region 6.

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 T--Louisiana

0
2. Section 52.975 is amended by adding paragraph (g) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.975  Redesignations and maintenance plans; ozone.

* * * * *
    (g) Approval.--The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality 
(LDEQ) submitted to the EPA a request on December 4, 2000, to revise 
the Louisiana SIP for Beauregard, St. Mary, Lafayette, and Grant 
Parishes and the New Orleans Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area 
ozone maintenance area. The revision involves changes to the approved 
contingency plans. The contingency measures and the schedule for 
implementation satisfy the requirements of section 175A(d) of the Act. 
The EPA therefore approved this request on June 20, 2003.

[FR Doc. 03-9619 Filed 4-18-03; 8:45 am]
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