[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 30 (Friday, February 13, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 7133-7135]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-3224]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[MD151-3107; FRL-7623-4]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Maryland; The 2005 ROP Plan for the Baltimore Severe 1-Hour Ozone 
Nonattainment Area: Revisions to the Plan's Emissions Inventories and 
Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets to Reflect MOBILE6

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions 
submitted by the State of Maryland. These revisions amend the Baltimore 
severe 1-hour ozone nonattainment area's (the Baltimore area's) rate-
of-progress (ROP) plan for 2005. These revisions update the plan's 
emission inventories and motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) to 
reflect the use of MOBILE6 while continuing to demonstrate that the ROP 
requirement for 2005 will be met. The revisions also amend the 
contingency measures associated with the 2005 ROP plan. These revisions 
are being approved in accordance with the Clean Air Act (the Act).

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 13, 2004.

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; and at the Maryland 
Department of the Environment, 1800 Washington Boulevard, Suite 705, 
Baltimore, Maryland 21230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Martin Kotsch, (215) 814-3335, or by 
e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On December 30, 2003 (68 FR 75191), EPA published a notice of 
proposed rulemaking (NPR) for the State of Maryland. The NPR proposed 
approval of revisions to the Baltimore area's ROP plan for 2005. The 
revisions update the plan's mobile emissions inventories and 2005 MVEBs 
to reflect the use of MOBILE6, an updated model for calculating mobile 
emissions of ozone precursors. The NPR also proposed approval of 
revisions which amend the contingency measures associated with the 
Baltimore area's 2005 ROP plan. These SIP revisions were proposed under 
a procedure called parallel processing, whereby EPA proposes a 
rulemaking action concurrently with a state's procedures for amending 
its SIP. The State's proposed SIP revisions were submitted to EPA on 
November 3, 2003, by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). 
On December 30, 2003 (68 FR 75191), EPA proposed approval of Maryland's 
November 3, 2003, submittal. No comments were received during the 
public comment period on EPA's December 30, 2003, proposal. The MDE 
formally submitted the final SIP revisions on December 23, 2003. That 
final submittal had no substantive changes from the proposed version 
submitted on November 3, 2003. A detailed description of Maryland's 
submittal and EPA's rationale for its proposed approval were presented 
in the December 30, 2003, NPR and will not be restated in their 
entirety here.

II. Summary of SIP Revisions

    Maryland's December 23, 2003, SIP revisions consist of revised 1990 
and 2005 motor vehicle emissions inventories and 2005 MVEBs calculated 
using the MOBILE6 motor vehicle emissions model. Consistent with EPA's 
``Policy Guidance on the Use of MOBILE6 for SIP Development and 
Transportation Conformity,'' MDE has demonstrated that the new levels 
of motor vehicle emissions calculated using MOBILE6 continue to 
demonstrate the required ROP for the Baltimore area by 2005. In 
addition to the revised motor vehicle emissions, MDE reallocated some 
of the contingency measures established in prior SIP revisions to the 
control measures portion of the 2005 ROP plan. EPA guidance allows 
States an additional year to adopt new contingency measures to replace 
those reallocated to the control measures portion of the plan. The 
State of Maryland's December 23, 2003, SIP revision submittal includes 
an enforceable commitment to replace those contingency measures 
reallocated to the control measures portion of the plan and to submit 
an updated plan reflecting these additional contingency measures by 
October 31, 2004.
    The revised mobile inventories and MVEBs being approved for the 
Baltimore area's 2005 ROP Plan are shown in tons per day (tpd) in 
Tables 1 and 2, respectively.

               Table 1.--Motor Vehicle Emissions Inventories in the Baltimore Area's 2005 ROP Plan
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       1990                            2005
               Nonattainment area                ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    VOC  (tpd)      NOX  (tpd)      VOC  (tpd)      NOX  (tpd)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Baltimore.......................................          165.14          228.21            55.3           146.9
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[[Page 7134]]


 Table 2.--Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets in the Baltimore Area's 2005
                                ROP Plan
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   2005 ROP Plan
           Nonattainment area            -------------------------------
                                            VOC  (tpd)      NOX  (tpd)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Baltimore...............................            55.3           144.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    EPA approved new 2005 MOBILE6-based MVEBs for the Baltimore area's 
1-hour ozone attainment demonstration on October 27, 2003 (68 FR 
61106). Those MVEBs became effective on November 26, 2003. The approved 
2005 attainment plan MVEBs budgets are 55.3 tons per day of VOC and 
146.9 tons per day of NOX. The 2005 MVEBs of the 2005 ROP 
plan, as shown above in Table 2, are less than the MVEBs in the 
approved attainment demonstration. These more restrictive MVEBs, 
contained in the ROP plan, will become the applicable MVEBs to be used 
in transportation conformity demonstrations for the year 2005 for the 
Baltimore area.

III. Final Action

    EPA is taking final action to approve the SIP revisions submitted 
by the State of Maryland on December 23, 2003. These revisions amend 
the 1990 and 2005 motor vehicle emissions inventories and 2005 MVEBs of 
the 2005 ROP plan for the Baltimore severe 1-hour ozone nonattainment 
area to reflect the use of MOBILE6. The revisions submitted on December 
23, 2003, also amend the contingency measures associated with the 2005 
ROP plan. These revisions include an enforceable commitment to replace 
those contingency measures reallocated to the control measures portion 
of the plan and to submit these additional contingency measures by 
October 31, 2004.
    These SIP revisions were proposed under a procedure called parallel 
processing, whereby EPA proposes a rulemaking action concurrently with 
a state's procedures for amending its SIP. The State's proposed SIP 
revisions were submitted to EPA on November 3, 2003, by the Maryland 
Department of the Environment (MDE). On December 30, 2003 (68 FR 
75191), EPA proposed approval of Maryland's November 3, 2003, 
submittal. No comments were received during the public comment period 
on EPA's December 30, 2003, proposal. The MDE formally submitted the 
final SIP revisions on December 23, 2003. EPA has evaluated Maryland's 
final SIP revisions submitted on December 23, 2003, and finds that no 
substantive changes were made from the proposed SIP revisions submitted 
on November 3, 2003.

IV. Good Cause for the Final Rule To Be Effective Upon Publication

    This action shall be effective on publication pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 
553(d)(1). On February 4, 2004, the current Transportation Improvement 
Program (TIP) for the Baltimore ozone nonattainment area lapsed. This 
lapse means that the Baltimore ozone nonattainment area is subject to 
restrictions for the Federal funding of certain transportation projects 
until and unless a new TIP is approved. A new TIP has been developed 
which includes the required analyses to demonstrate conformity with the 
new MOBILE6-based motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) that are the 
subject of this final action. However, these MOBILE6-based MVEBs must 
be effective before that new TIP can be formally reviewed by EPA and 
approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). EPA, therefore, 
finds good cause to make this final rule approving the new MOBILE6-
based MVEBs effective upon publication to minimize the period of time 
the Baltimore ozone nonattainment area is under a transportation 
conformity lapse.

V. 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 (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.).

[[Page 7135]]

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 April 13, 2004. 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 to approve SIP revisions to the 1-hour 
ozone ROP plan for the Baltimore area which revise the 1990 and 2005 
motor vehicle emissions inventories and 2005 motor vehicle emissions 
budgets to reflect the use of MOBILE6 may not be challenged later in 
proceedings to enforce their requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Nitrogen dioxide, 
Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic 
compounds.

    Dated: February 6, 2004.
Richard J. Kampf,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.

0
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

0
1. The citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart V--Maryland

0
2. Section 52.1076 is amended by adding paragraph (n) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 52.1076  Control strategy plans for attainment and rate-of-
progress plan: ozone.

* * * * *
    (n) EPA approves revisions to the Maryland State Implementation 
Plan for Post-1996 Rate of Progress (ROP) Plans for the Baltimore 
severe 1-hour ozone nonattainment area. These revisions were submitted 
by the Secretary of the Maryland Department of the Environment on 
December 23, 2003 and consist of the following:
    (1) Revisions to the base year 1990 emissions inventory which 
reflect the use of the MOBILE6 motor vehicle emissions model. These 
revisions establish motor vehicle emissions inventories for 1990 of 
165.14 tons per day of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and 228.21 tons 
per day of oxides of nitrogen (NOX).
    (2) Revisions to the year 2005 motor vehicle emissions budgets 
(MVEBs) for transportation conformity purposes, reflecting the use of 
the MOBILE6 motor vehicle emissions model. These revisions establish a 
motor vehicle emissions budget of 55 tons per day of volatile organic 
compounds (VOC) and 144.5 tons per day of oxides of nitrogen 
(NOX). EPA approved new 2005 MOBILE6-based MVEBs for the 
Baltimore area's 1-hour ozone attainment demonstration on October 27, 
2003 (68 FR 61106). Those MVEBs became effective on November 26, 2003. 
The approved 2005 attainment plan MVEBs budgets are 55.3 tons per day 
of VOC and 146.9 tons per day of NOX. The MVEBs of the 2005 
ROP plan are less than the MVEBs in the approved attainment 
demonstration. These more restrictive MVEBs, contained in the ROP plan, 
are the applicable MVEBs to be used in transportation conformity 
demonstrations for the year 2005 for the Baltimore area.
    (3) Revisions to the 2005 ROP plan to reallocate some of the 
contingency measures established in prior SIP revisions to the control 
measures portion of the plan. EPA guidance allows states an additional 
year to adopt new contingency measures to replace those reallocated to 
the control measures portion of the plan. The State of Maryland's 
December 23, 2003 SIP revision submittal includes an enforceable 
commitment to replace those contingency measures reallocated to the 
control measures portion of the 2005 ROP plan and to submit these 
additional contingency measures by October 31, 2004.

[FR Doc. 04-3224 Filed 2-12-04; 8:45 am]
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