[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 183 (Monday, September 22, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 55008-55010]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-24002]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[AZ-094-FOAa; FRL-7561-5]


Determination of Attainment for the Carbon Monoxide National 
Ambient Air Quality Standard for the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, Arizona

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to find that the Phoenix 
metropolitan nonattainment area in Arizona has attained the National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for carbon monoxide (CO) by its 
Clean Air Act deadline of December 31, 2000. The Phoenix area has had 
no qualifying exceedances of the CO standard since 1996, and has six 
years of clean air quality data.

DATES: This rule is effective on November 21, 2003 unless EPA receives 
adverse comments by October 22, 2003. If EPA receives adverse comments, 
we will publish a timely withdrawal of the rule in the Federal Register 
and inform the public that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed or emailed to Wienke Tax, Office 
of Air Planning (AIR-2), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 
9, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901, 
[email protected]. We prefer electronic comments.
    You can inspect copies of EPA's Federal Register document and TSD 
at our Region IX office during normal business hours (see address 
above). Due to increased security, we suggest that you call at least 24 
hours prior to visiting the Regional Office so that we can make 
arrangements to have someone meet you. The Federal Register notice and 
TSD are also available as electronic files on EPA's Region 9 Web Page 
at http://www.epa.gov/region09/air.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wienke Tax, Office of Air Planning, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street 
(AIR-2), San Francisco, California 94105-3901. Phone: (520) 622-1622, 
email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Elsewhere in this Federal Register, we are 
proposing approval and soliciting written comment on this action. 
Throughout this document, the words ``we,'' ``us,'' or ``our'' mean 
U.S. EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Background
    A. Designation and Classification of CO Nonattainment Areas.
    B. How Does EPA Make Attainment Determinations?
    C. What is the Attainment Date for the Phoenix Metropolitan CO 
Nonattainment Area?
II. Basis for EPA's Action
III. EPA's Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Review

[[Page 55009]]

I. Background

A. Designation and Classification of CO Nonattainment Areas

    The Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of 1990 authorized EPA to 
designate areas across the country as nonattainment, and to classify 
these areas according to the severity of the air pollution problem. 
Pursuant to section 107(d) of the CAAA, following enactment on November 
15, 1990, States were requested to submit lists, within 120 days, which 
designated all areas of the country as either attainment, 
nonattainment, or unclassifiable for CO. The EPA was required to 
promulgate these lists of areas no later than 240 days following 
enactment of the CAAA (see 56 FR 56694, (November 6, 1991)).
    On enactment of the CAAA, a new classification structure was 
created for CO nonattainment areas, pursuant to section 186 of the 
CAAA, which included both a moderate and a serious area classification. 
Under this classification structure, moderate areas with a design value 
of 9.1-16.4 ppm, were expected to attain the CO NAAQS as expeditiously 
as practicable, but no later than December 31, 1995. CO nonattainment 
areas designated as serious, with a design value of 16.5 ppm and above, 
were expected to attain the CO NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable, 
but no later than December 31, 2000.
    States containing areas classified as either moderate or serious 
for CO had the responsibility of developing and submitting to EPA State 
Implementation Plans (SIPs) which addressed the nonattainment air 
quality problems in those areas. The air quality planning requirements 
for moderate and serious CO nonattainment areas are addressed in 
sections 186-187 respectively of the CAAA, which pertain to the 
classification of CO nonattainment areas as well as to the requirements 
for the submittal of both moderate and serious area SIPs. The EPA 
issued general guidance concerning the requirements for SIP submittals, 
which included requirements for CO nonattainment area SIPs, pursuant to 
Title I of the CAAA (See generally, 57 FR 13498 (April 16, 1992), and 
57 FR 18070 (April 28, 1992)).
    The EPA has the responsibility for determining whether a 
nonattainment area has attained the CO NAAQS by the applicable 
attainment date.\1\
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    \1\ See sections 172(C), 179(c) and 186(b)(2) of the CAAA.
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B. How Does EPA Make Attainment Determinations?

    Section 179(c)(1) of the CAAA provides that attainment 
determinations are to be based upon an area's ``air quality as of the 
attainment date'', and section 186(b)(2) is consistent with this 
requirement. EPA makes the determination as to whether an area's air 
quality is meeting the CO NAAQS based upon air quality data gathered at 
CO monitoring sites in the nonattainment area. This air quality data is 
entered into the Aerometric Information Retrieval System (AIRS). This 
data is reviewed to determine the area's air quality status in 
accordance with EPA regulations at 40 CFR 50.8, and in accordance with 
EPA policy and guidance.\2\
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    \2\ The relevant guidance is in a memorandum from William G. 
Laxton, Director Technical Support Division, entitled ``Ozone and 
Carbon Monoxide Design Value Calculations,'' dated June 18, 1990.
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    Attainment of the CO NAAQS requires that not more than one 8-hour 
average per year can exceed 9.0 ppm (values below 9.5 are rounded down 
to 9.0 and are not considered exceedances). CO attainment is evaluated 
and determined by reviewing 8 quarters of data, or a total of 2 
complete calendar years of data for an area. If an area's design value 
is greater than 9.0 ppm, this means that a monitoring site in the area 
has recorded more than one value above the level of the NAAQS and 
therefore the area has not attained the CO NAAQS.
    The 8-hour CO design value is used to determine attainment of CO 
areas. The design value for an area is determined by first finding the 
design value at each CO monitoring site in the area. The highest of 
these individual site design values then becomes the design value for 
the area. To determine the design value for a site we look at the 
highest and second highest (non-overlapping) 8-hour values for the most 
recent two years prior to the attainment date (in this case 1999 and 
2000). The highest of the two second high values is used as the design 
value for the monitoring site.

C. What Is the Attainment Date for the Phoenix Metropolitan CO 
Nonattainment Area?

    Phoenix was originally classified as a moderate CO nonattainment 
area, with an attainment date no later than December 31, 1995. On May 
10, 1996, EPA made a finding that Phoenix did not attain the CO NAAQS 
by the December 31, 1995 attainment date for the moderate nonattainment 
area. This finding was based on EPA's review of monitored air quality 
data for compliance with the CO NAAQS. As a result of this finding, the 
Phoenix CO nonattainment area was reclassified as a serious CO 
nonattainment area (See 61 FR 39343, July 29, 1996), and its attainment 
date was extended to December 31, 2000. Phoenix has not had an 
exceedance of the CO NAAQS since 1996, and therefore has more than 
enough years of clean data for EPA to make an attainment finding.

II. Basis for EPA's Action

    Arizona has 13 CO monitoring sites in the Phoenix CO nonattainment 
area. The air quality data in AIRS for these monitors show that, for 
the 2-year period from 1999 through 2000, there were no violations of 
the 8-hour CO standard. The monitoring site with the highest 8-hour 
design value during this 2-year period was at the Grand Ave. and 27th 
Ave. which had a design value of 8.1 ppm. Based on this information, 
EPA has determined that the area attained the CO NAAQS standard as of 
the attainment date of December 31, 2000.
    This finding of attainment should not be confused with a 
redesignation to attainment under CAAA section 107(d). Arizona has 
recently submitted a redesignation request and a maintenance plan as 
required under section 175A(a) of the CAAA, which EPA intends to act on 
in the near future. The area will remain a serious CO nonattainment 
area with the planning requirements that apply to serious CO 
nonattainment areas until such time that EPA acts on the redesignation 
request and maintenance plan.

III. EPA's Action

    By today's action, EPA is making the determination that the Phoenix 
serious CO nonattainment area did attain the CO NAAQS by the attainment 
date of December 31, 2000 based on no exceedances since 1996. As 
explained above, the Phoenix nonattainment area remains classified a 
serious CO nonattainment area, and today's action does not redesignate 
the Phoenix nonattainment area to attainment.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Review

    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

[[Page 55010]]

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 November 21, 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 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks, 
Wilderness areas.

    Dated: September 9, 2003.
Wayne Nastri,
Regional Administrator, Region 9.
[FR Doc. 03-24002 Filed 9-18-03; 12:01 pm]
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