[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 176 (Thursday, September 11, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53515-53517]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-23265]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

[PA189-4300; FRL-7556-4]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Pennsylvania; Redesignation of the Liberty Borough PM10 
Nonattainment Area to Attainment and Approval of the Associated 
Maintenance Plan

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a request for Pennsylvania to redesignate the 
Liberty Borough area of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (the Liberty 
Borough area) from nonattainment to attainment for the national ambient 
air quality standard (NAAQS) for particulate matter with an aerodynamic 
diameter less than or equal to a nominal 10 microns (PM10). 
EPA is also approving a maintenance plan for the Liberty Borough area. 
Both the redesignation request and maintenance plan were submitted by 
the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) on 
behalf of the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD). Approval of 
the maintenance plan, as a revision to the Pennsylvania State 
Implementation Plan (SIP), puts a plan in place for maintaining the 
PM10 standard for the next ten years in the Liberty Borough 
area. This action is being taken in accordance with the Clean Air Act 
(CAA).

EFFECTIVE DATE: This final rule is effective on October 14, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the documents relevant to this action are 
available for public inspection during normal business hours at the Air 
Protection Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 
1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103; the Air and 
Radiation Docket and Information Center, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room B108, Washington, DC 20460; 
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Air 
Quality, P.O. Box 8468, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 
17105; and Allegheny County Health Department, Bureau of Environmental 
Quality, Division of Air Quality, 301 39th Street, Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania 15201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ruth Knapp, (215) 814-2191, or by e-
mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On July 18, 2003 (68 FR 42657), EPA published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NPR) for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The NPR proposed 
to redesignate the Liberty Borough area of Allegheny County, 
Pennsylvania (the Liberty Borough area) from nonattainment to 
attainment for the national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for 
particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a 
nominal 10 microns (PM10) and also proposed approval of a 
maintenance plan for the Liberty Borough area as a SIP Revision. The 
formal SIP revision along with the redesignation request was submitted 
by PADEP on behalf of the ACHD on October 28, 2002. Other specific 
requirements of this action pertaining to the redesignation of the 
Liberty Borough area to attainment for the PM10 NAAQS and 
approval of the maintenance plan as a SIP revision, and the rationale 
for EPA's proposed action are explained in the NPR and will not be 
restated here. No public comments were received on the NPR.

II. Final Action

    EPA is redesignating the Liberty Borough area of Allegheny County, 
Pennsylvania from nonattainment to attainment for the national ambient 
air quality standard (NAAQS) for particulate matter with an aerodynamic 
diameter less than or equal to a nominal 10 microns (PM10) 
and is also approving a maintenance plan for the Liberty Borough area 
as a SIP Revision to the Pennsylvania SIP.

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General 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

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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.).

B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General

    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. This rule is not a 
``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

C. Petitions for Judicial Review

    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 November 10, 2003. Filing a 
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule 
which redesignates the Liberty Borough area to attainment for 
PM10 and approves a maintenance plan for the Liberty Borough 
area 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

40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Particulate matter, Reporting 
and recordkeeping requirements,

40 CFR Part 81

    Air pollution control, National parks, Wilderness areas.

    Dated: September 2, 2003.
James W. Newsom,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.

0
40 CFR parts 52 and 81 are 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 NN--Pennsylvania


0
2. Section 52.2020 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(215) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.2020  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (215) The PM10 Redesignation and Maintenance Plan for 
the Liberty Borough area of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania 
nonattainment area submitted on October 28, 2002 by the Pennsylvania 
Department of Environmental Protection:
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    (A) Letter of October 28, 2002 from the Pennsylvania Department of 
Environmental Protection transmitting the redesignation request and 
maintenance plan for the PM10 nonattainment area in the 
Liberty Borough area of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
    (B) Maintenance Plan for the Liberty Borough PM10 
nonattainment area consisting of Part IV, ``Maintenance Plan--
Redesignation Criterion 4''; Part I, ``Attainment of the Standard--
Redesignation Criterion I,'' Section B, Figure 3a--''Countywide Network 
of PM10 Monitors, (Current)'', Section C ``Modeled 
Attainment''; Part VI ``Documentation of Administrative Procedures,'' 
Section F ``Certification of Approval and Adoption''; Appendix B : 
``Attainment Inventory''; Appendix C: ``Mon-Fayette Expressway 
Alignment''; Appendix D: ``Employment Forecasts''; Appendix E: ``Census 
and Population Forecasts,'' dated October 4, 2002 and effective 
September 14, 2002.
    (ii) Additional material.
    (A) Remainder of the October 28, 2002 State submittal(s) pertaining 
to the revisions listed in paragraph (c)(215)(i) of this section.
    (B) Additional material submitted by the State on June 20, 2003 
which consisted of minor corrections to the PM10 ambient air 
quality data included in the redesignation request.

PART 81--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority citation for Part 81 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart C--Section 107 Attainment Status Designations

0
2. In Sec.  81.339, the table for ``Pennsylvania--PM-10'' is amended by 
revising the entry for Allegheny County to read as follows:


Sec.  81.339  Pennsylvania.

* * * * *

                                                                   Pennsylvania--PM-10
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                                                                Designation                                           Classification
             Designated area             ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              Date                        Type                        Date                        Type
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Allegheny County:
    The area including Liberty, Lincoln,     10/14/03  Attainment...............................
     Port Vue, and Glassport Boroughs
     and the City of Clairton.
 

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[FR Doc. 03-23265 Filed 9-10-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P