[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 125 (Monday, June 30, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 38631-38633]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-172]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[NC-85-200241(a); FRL-7395-7]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans, State of North 
Carolina: Approval of Miscellaneous Revisions to the Mecklenburg County 
Air Pollution Control Ordinance

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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

SUMMARY: On September 24, 1997, The North Carolina Department of 
Environment and Natural resources submitted revisions to the 
Mecklenburg County Air Pollution Control Ordinance (MCAPCO). These 
revisions include the additions and/or modifications of new 
requirements for permits under MCAPCO Section 1.5200 Air Quality 
Permits. In Addition, the MCAPCO Sections 1.5300 Enforcement; 
Variances; Judicial Review and 1.5600 Transportation Facility 
Procedures are being revised. These revisions of the Mecklenburg County 
Air Pollution Control Ordinance are necessary to remain consistent with 
EPA requirements.

DATES: This direct final rule is effective August 29, 2003 without 
further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by July 30, 2003. 
If adverse comment is received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of 
the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform the public 
that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: All comments should be addressed to: Randy Terry at the EPA, 
Region 4 Air Planning Branch, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 
30303.
    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. Randy Terry, 404/562-
9032.
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, 512 
North Salisbury Street, Raleigh, North Carolina 27604.
Mecklenburg County Department of Environmental Protection 700 North 
Tryon Street, Charlotte, North Carolina 28202-2236.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Randy B. Terry, Regulatory Development 
Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management 
Division, Region 4, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 61 Forsyth 
Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The telephone number is (404) 
562-9032. Mr. Terry can also be reached via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 24, 1997, the State of North 
Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources submitted 
revisions to amend or adopt multiple sections in the Mecklenburg County 
Air Pollution Control Ordinance. These amendments address Air Quality 
Permits, Enforcement; Variances; Judicial Review, and Transportation 
Facility Procedures. A detailed explanation of each major amendment is 
detailed below:

Section 1.5200 Air Quality Permits

    MCAPCO Section 1.5213 Action on Application; Issuance of Permit has 
been revised to incorporate the addition of language governing public 
notice and a thirty day comment period prior to permit issuance, permit 
applicant's right to administrative hearing, public hearing, stringency 
of permits and enforceability of permit requirements.
    MCAPCO Section 1.5215 Application Processing Schedule has been 
adopted to set forth the schedule for processing permit applications, 
modifications, and renewals.
    MCAPCO Section 1.5231 Permit Fees has been revised to modify the 
definitions of ``Actual Emissions,'' ``Burning Approval Inspection,'' 
``Non-attainment Pollutant facility,'' ``NSPS facility,'' ``Process 
ID,'' ``SIP facility,'' ``SB (select B),'' ``Synthetic minor 
facility,'' and ``Truck Tank Decal.'' These definitions were modified 
to be consistent with EPA requirements.
    MCAPCO Section 1.5232 Issuance, Revocation, and Enforcement of 
Permits has been modified to indicate the type of factors the Director 
shall consider during his annual review of permits to determine if a 
permit modification is required.

Section 1.5300 Enforcement; Variances; Judicial Review

    MCAPCO Section 1.5305 Variances has been modified to clarify the 
process for submitting a State approved variance to the EPA for 
inclusion into the federally approved SIP.
    MCAPCO Section 1.5306 Hearings has been modified to include a 
subsection that covers the cancellation of an appeal hearing.

Section 1.5600 Transportation Facility Procedures

    MCAPCO Section 1.5604 Public Participation has been adopted to list 
in detail the requirements of the Director with respect to public 
participation including public notice and public hearings.
    MCAPCO Section 1.5607 Application Processing Schedule has been 
adopted to list the schedule of requirements for processing 
applications for transportation facility permits.

Final Action

    EPA is approving the aforementioned changes to the SIP because the 
revisions are consistent with Clean Air Act and EPA regulatory 
requirements. The EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal 
because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal 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 adverse comments be filed. This rule will be effective August 
29, 2003 without further notice unless the Agency receives adverse 
comments by July 30, 2003.
    If the EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish a document 
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will 
not take effect. All public comments received will then be addressed in 
a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. The EPA will not 
institute a second comment period. Parties interested in commenting 
should

[[Page 38632]]

do so at this time. If no such comments are received, the public is 
advised that this rule will be effective on August 29, 2003 and no 
further action will be taken on the proposed rule. Please note that if 
we receive adverse comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of 
this rule and if that provision may be severed from the remainder of 
the rule, we may adopt as final those provisions of the rule that are 
not the subject of an adverse comment.

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 (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. 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 August 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, Carbon monoxide, 
Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: September 20, 2002.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
    40 CFR part 52 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 II--North Carolina

0
2. Section 52.1770(c), Table 3 is amended to read as follows:
0
a. Under Section 1.5100 by adding in numerical order new entry for 
``1.5111'';
0
b. Under Section 1.5200 by adding in numerical order new entries for 
``1.5212,'' ``1.5213,'' ``1.5214,'' ``1.5215,'' ``1.5231,'' and 
``1.5232;'' and
0
c. Under Article 1.000 by adding in numerical order new entries for 
``Section 1.5300'' and ``Section 1.5600.''


Sec.  52.1770  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c). * * *

                                                  Table 3.--EPA Approved Mecklenburg County Regulations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                     State         EPA
              State citation                                   Title/subject                       effective     approval            Explanation
                                                                                                      date         date
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Article 1.000 Permitting Provisions For Air Pollution Sources,Rules and Operating Regulations for Acid Rain Sources, Title V and ToxicAir Pollutants
                                                  Section 1.5100 General Provisions and Administrations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                                      * * * * * * *
1.5111...................................  General Recordkeeping, Reporting and Monitoring           07/01/96     06/30/03
                                            Requirements.

[[Page 38633]]

 
                                                                      * * * * * * *
------------------------------------------
                                                           Section 1.5200 Air Quality Permits
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                                      * * * * * * *
1.5212...................................  Applications.........................................     07/01/96     06/30/03
1.5213...................................  Action on Application; Issuance of Permit............     07/01/96     06/30/03
1.5214...................................  Commencement of Operation............................     07/01/96     06/30/03
1.5215...................................  Application Processing Schedule......................     07/01/96     06/30/03
1.5231...................................  Permit Fees..........................................     07/01/96     06/30/03
1.5232...................................  Issuance, Revocation, and Enforcement of Permits.....     07/01/96     06/30/03
------------------------------------------
                                                 Section 1.5300 Enforcement; Variances; Judicial Review
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.5305...................................  Variances............................................     07/01/96     06/30/03
1.5306...................................  Hearings.............................................     07/01/96     06/30/03
------------------------------------------
                                                    Section 1.5600 Transportation Facility Procedures
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.5604...................................  Public Participation.................................     07/01/96     06/30/03
1.5607...................................  Application Processing Schedule......................     07/01/96     06/30/03
 
                                                                      * * * * * * *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *
[FR Doc. 03-172 Filed 6-27-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P