[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 38 (Thursday, February 26, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 8822-8824]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-1969]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[PA 210-4302; FRL-7616-6]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Pennsylvania; Revisions To Update the 1-Hour Ozone Maintenance Plan for 
the Reading Area (Berks County)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions 
submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. These revisions amend 
Pennsylvania's ten-year plan to maintain the 1-hour ozone national 
ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) in the Reading area (Berks 
County). The maintenance plan is being amended to revise the attainment 
year inventories and motor vehicle emission budgets using MOBILE6. The 
contingency measures portion of the plan is also being amended. The 
intended effect of this action is to approve SIP revisions that will 
better enable the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to continue to maintain 
attainment of the 1-hour NAAQS for ozone in the Reading area. This 
action is being taken under the Clean Air Act.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This final rule is effective on March 29, 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 the 
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Air 
Quality Control, PO Box 8468, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania 17105.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

[[Page 8823]]

I. Background

    On November 19, 2003 (68 FR 65234), EPA published a notice of 
proposed rulemaking (NPR) for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 
pertaining to revisions to the ten-year plan to maintain the 1-hour 
ozone national NAAQS in the Reading area Berks County. In that NPR, EPA 
proposed approval of revisions to the attainment year inventories and 
the 2004 and 2007 motor vehicle emission budgets (MVEBs) using MOBILE6. 
The MOBILE6 model is an updated version of the MOBILE model used for 
calculating mobile emissions of ozone precursors. In that same NPR 
published on November 19, 2003, EPA also proposed approval of revisions 
to the contingency measures portion of the maintenance plan. EPA 
proposed approval of these SIP revisions 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 October 14, 
2003 by the Pennsylvania Department of the Environmental Protection 
(PADEP). On November 19, 2003, EPA proposed approval of Pennsylvania's 
October 14, 2003 submittal. No comments were submitted during the 
public comment period on EPA's November 19, 2004 proposal. The PADEP 
formally submitted the final SIP revision on December 9, 2003. That 
final submittal had no substantive changes from the proposed version 
submitted to EPA on October 14, 2003. A detailed description of both 
Pennsylvania's submittal and EPA's rationale for its proposed approval 
were provided in the November 19, 2003 NPR and, therefore, are only 
briefly summarized here.

II. Summary of the SIP Revisions to the Reading Area Maintenance Plan

A. Revisions to the Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets (MVEBs)

    For the Reading area maintenance plan, the MVEBs are the projected 
on-road mobile source components of the 2004 and 2007 maintenance 
inventories. These budgets were developed using the latest planning 
assumptions, including 2002 vehicle registration data, vehicle miles 
traveled, speeds, fleet mix, and SIP control measures. Because PADEP's 
December 9, 2003 submittal satisfies the conditions outlined in EPA's 
MOBILE6 Policy guidance, and demonstrates that the new levels of motor 
vehicle emissions calculated using MOBILE6 continue to support 
maintenance of the 1-hour ozone NAAQS, EPA is approving these budgets. 
The revised mobile inventories and emissions budgets being approved for 
the Reading area are shown below in Tables 1 and 2 respectively.

   Table 1.--MOBILE6-Based Motor Vehicle Emissions Inventories for the
                              Reading Area
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               1992 Attainment year
            Maintenance area             -------------------------------
                                            VOC  (tpd)      NOX  (tpd)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading.................................           27.25           35.57
(Berks County)
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                   Table 2.--MOBILE6-Based MVEBs in the Maintenance Plan for the Reading Area
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               2004                            2007
                Maintenance Area                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    VOC  (tpd)      NOX  (tpd)      VOC  (tpd)      NOX  (tpd)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading Area                                               17.02           28.99           13.81           23.06
(Berks County)..................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. Revisions to the Contingency Measures

    In the original maintenance plan for the Reading area, the 
Commonwealth's motor vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) program 
was identified as a contingency measure. The December 9, 2003 SIP 
revision moves the I&M program from the contingency measures portion of 
the plan and makes it part of the maintenance strategy. Improved rule 
effectiveness will remain as a contingency measure in the maintenance 
plan.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving Pennsylvania's December 9, 2003 SIP revisions. 
These revisions amend the Reading area's maintenance plan for the 1-
hour NAAQS to update the attainment year motor vehicle emissions 
inventory and the 2004 and 2007 MVEBs using MOBILE6. The revisions also 
amend the contingency measures portion of the maintenance plan.
    In accordance with the parallel processing procedures, EPA has 
evaluated Pennsylvania's final SIP revisions submitted on December 9, 
2003 and finds that no substantial changes were made from the proposed 
SIP revisions submitted on October 14, 2003. The revised plan for the 
Reading area continues to demonstrate maintenance of the 1-hour NAAQS 
for ozone.

IV. 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

[[Page 8824]]

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.).

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 26, 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 maintenance plan for the Reading area which amend its contingency 
measures and revise the attainment year motor vehicle emissions 
inventory and 2004 and 2007 MVEBs using 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, Incorporation by 
reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: January 22, 2004.
Judith Katz,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.

0
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 NN--Pennsylvania

0
2. Section 52.2020 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(222) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.2020  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (222) Revisions to Pennsylvania's 1-hour ozone maintenance plan for 
the Reading area to amend the contingency measures and to revise the 
attainment year mobile emissions inventories and the 2004 and 2007 
motor vehicle emission budgets to reflect the use of MOBILE6. These 
revisions were submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's 
Department of Environmental Protection to EPA on December 9, 2003.
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    (A) Letter of December 9, 2003 from the Secretary of the 
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection transmitting 
revisions to Pennsylvania's 1-hour ozone maintenance plan for the 
Reading area.
    (B) Document entitled ``Revision to the State Implementation Plan 
for the Reading Area (Berks County).'' This document, dated November 
2003, establishes the following:
    (1) Revisions to the Reading area's 1-hour ozone maintenance plan, 
establishing revised motor vehicle emissions budgets of 17.02 tons/day 
of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and 28.99 tons/day of oxides of 
nitrogen (NOX) for 2004; and motor vehicle emissions budgets 
of 13.81 tons/day of VOC and 23.06 tons/day of NOX for 2007.
    (2) Revision to the Reading area's 1-hour ozone maintenance plan 
which moves the Inspection and Maintenance program from the contingency 
measures portion of the plan and to make it part of the maintenance 
strategy.
    (ii) Additional Material.--Remainder of the State submittal 
pertaining to the revisions listed in paragraph (c)(222)(i) of this 
section.

[FR Doc. 04-1969 Filed 2-25-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P