[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 104 (Friday, May 30, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 32382-32384]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-13417]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[KY 147-200329; FRL-7505-3]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans, Kentucky: 
Approval of Revisions to Maintenance Plan for Northern Kentucky

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a revision to the state implementation plan 
(SIP) of the Commonwealth of Kentucky to

[[Page 32383]]

revise the motor vehicle emission budgets (MVEBs) for the Northern 
Kentucky 1-hour ozone maintenance area for the year 2010. The Northern 
Kentucky maintenance area, a subset of the Cincinnati-Hamilton 
maintenance area, includes the three Kentucky counties of Boone, 
Campbell and Kenton. The Commonwealth's submittal also clearly 
identifies that the Ohio portion and the Kentucky portion of the 
Cincinnati-Hamilton maintenance area will have subarea budgets for the 
purposes of implementing transportation conformity.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule will be effective June 30, 2003.

ADDRESSES: All comments should be addressed to: Michele Notarianni; Air 
Planning Branch; Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division; U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency Region 4; 61 Forsyth Street, SW., 
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. ((404) 562-9031 (phone) or 
[email protected] (e-mail).)
    Copies of the State submittal(s) are available at the following 
addresses for inspection during normal business hours:

Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, Air Planning Branch, 61 
Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. (Michele Notarianni, 
(404) 562-9031, [email protected]).
Commonwealth of Kentucky, Division for Air Quality, 803 Schenkel Lane, 
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601-1403. ((502) 573-3382).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michele Notarianni, Air Planning 
Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, Region 4, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, 
Georgia 30303-8960. ((404) 562-9031 (phone) or 
[email protected] (e-mail).)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On February 6, 2003, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, through the 
Department of Air Quality, submitted a request for parallel processing 
of a revision to the Kentucky SIP to replace the MVEBs for the Northern 
Kentucky Maintenance area for 2010. The revision to the MVEBs is 
allowable because of an available safety margin for volatile organic 
compounds and nitrogen oxides for the Northern Kentucky portion of the 
maintenance area. The Commonwealth also identifies subarea budgets for 
the Ohio portion and the Kentucky portion of the Cincinnati-Hamilton 
maintenance area for the purposes of implementing transportation 
conformity. This revision was in response to a request from the Ohio, 
Kentucky, Indiana Regional Council of Governments for revised MVEBs. 
Ohio will make a similar request for subarea budgets for this area in 
an upcoming revision to the Cincinnati-Hamilton maintenance plan.
    The Commonwealth's comment period for this action closed March 26, 
2003. The Commonwealth held a public meeting on March 26, 2003, to 
receive final comments on this requested action. With the exception of 
a request from EPA for a clarification to be provided in the final 
submittal, the Commonwealth did not receive any comments. On May 15, 
2003, EPA received the final SIP revision request from the Commonwealth 
for final review and approval. As mentioned previously, EPA processed 
this request on a parallel track to the Commonwealth. On March 19, 
2003, (68 FR 13249) EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) 
to approve the Commonwealth's SIP revision. That NPR provides a 
detailed description of this action and EPA's rationale for proposed 
approval. The public comment period for this action ended on April 19, 
2003. No comments, adverse or otherwise, were received on EPA's 
proposal.

II. Final Action

    EPA is approving the Commonwealth's SIP revision because it meets 
all of the requirements of section 110 of the Clean Air Act. 
Additionally, this SIP revision meets the applicable requirements of 
the Transportation Conformity Rule.

III. 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. 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

[[Page 32384]]

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 July 29, 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, Intergovernmental 
relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: May 20, 2003.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.


0
Part 52 of 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 S--Kentucky

0
2. Section 52.920(e) is amended by adding in numerical order a new 
entry for ``Appendix 24'' to read as follows:


Sec.  52.920  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                                 EPA-Approved Kentucky Nonregulatory Provisions
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                                                      State          EPA
           Appendix               Title/subject     effective     approval          Federal Register notice
                                                      date          date
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                                                  * * * * * * *
24............................  Northern             05/02/03      05/30/03   [68 FR 32384].
                                 Kentucky
                                 Maintenance
                                 Plan revisions.
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[FR Doc. 03-13417 Filed 5-29-03; 8:45 am]
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