[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 139 (Wednesday, July 21, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43522-43525]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-16568]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

[PA209-4302; FRL-7781-3]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Pennsylvania; Redesignation of the Hazelwood SO2 
Nonattainment and the Monongahela River Valley Unclassifiable Areas to 
Attainment and Approval of the Maintenance Plan

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 include 
a

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regulation change to the allowable sulfur oxide emission limits for 
fuel burning equipment, and a modeled demonstration of attainment of 
the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for sulfur dioxide 
(SO2) in the Hazelwood nonattainment area and the 
Monongahela River Valley unclassifiable area, located in the Allegheny 
Air Basin in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. In addition, EPA is 
redesignating these areas to attainment of the NAAQS for 
SO2, and approving a combined maintenance plan for both 
areas as a SIP revision. These SIP revisions were submitted by the 
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) on behalf 
of the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD). This action is being 
taken in accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: This final rule is effective on August 20, 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, the Air and 
Radiation Docket and Information Center, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room B108, Washington, DC 20460, 
the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Air 
Quality, P.O. Box 8468, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 
17105, and the Allegheny County Health Department, Bureau of 
Environmental Quality, Division of Air Quality, 301 39th Street, 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Wentworth, (215) 814-2034, or by 
e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On April 2, 2004 (69 FR 17374), EPA published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NPR) for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on behalf of the 
ACHD. The NPR proposed approval of a regulation change to the allowable 
sulfur oxide emission limits for fuel burning equipment, and a modeled 
demonstration of attainment of the NAAQS for SO2 in the 
Hazelwood nonattainment area and the Monongahela River Valley 
unclassifiable area, located in the Allegheny Air Basin in Allegheny 
County. In addition the NPR also proposed to redesignate these areas to 
attainment of the NAAQS for SO2, and to approve a combined 
maintenance plan for both areas as a SIP revision. The formal SIP 
revision was submitted by PADEP on behalf of the ACHD on August 15, 
2003. The specific details of the regulatory change to the allowable 
sulfur oxide emission for limits for fuel burning equipment, the 
modeled demonstration of attainment of the NAAQS for SO2 for 
the Hazelwood and Monongahela River Valley areas in Allegheny County, 
and the redesignation and maintenance plan for these areas, as well as 
EPA's rationale for its proposed action were all provided in the April 
2, 2004 NPR and will not be restated here. No comments were submitted 
to EPA on that NPR.

II. Final Action

    EPA is approving SIP revisions submitted on August 15, 2003 by the 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on behalf of the ACHD. These SIP revisions 
include a regulation change to the allowable sulfur oxide emission 
limits for fuel burning equipment, and a modeled demonstration of 
attainment of the NAAQS for SO2 in the Hazelwood 
nonattainment and the Monongahela River Valley unclassifiable areas 
located in the Allegheny Air Basin, in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. 
In addition, EPA is approving the redesignation of these areas to 
attainment of the NAAQS for SO2, and approving a combined 
maintenance plan for both areas as a SIP revision.

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 (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

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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 September 20, 2004. Filing a 
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule, 
which approves a regulation change to the allowable sulfur oxide 
emission limits for fuel burning equipment, a modeled demonstration of 
attainment, and the redesignation and associated maintenance plan for 
the Hazelwood and Monongahela River Valley areas in Allegheny County, 
Pennsylvania, 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, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides.

40 CFR Part 81

    Air pollution control, National parks, Wilderness areas.

    Dated: June 24, 2004.
Donald S. Welsh,
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)(216) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.2020  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (216) Revisions to the Allegheny portion of the Pennsylvania State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted on August 15, 2003 by the 
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection consisting of a 
regulatory change to Article XXI, section 2104.03, Sulfur Oxide 
Emissions, a modeled demonstration of attainment of the national 
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for SO2 in the 
Hazelwood and Monongahela River Valley areas of Allegheny County, and 
the SO2 Maintenance Plan for these areas associated with 
their redesignation to attainment:
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    (A) Letter of August 15, 2003 from the Pennsylvania Department of 
Environmental Protection transmitting a regulatory change to the 
allowable sulfur oxide emission limits for fuel burning equipment, a 
modeled demonstration of attainment, and the maintenance plan for the 
Hazelwood and Monongahela River Valley areas of Allegheny County, 
Pennsylvania.
    (B) Maintenance Plan for Sulfur Dioxide for Southwestern 
Pennsylvania, Parts I through V, and Appendices A and B, dated August 
2001, and effective July 10, 2003.
    (C) Revisions to section 2104.03 of Article XXI, Rules and 
Regulations of the Allegheny County Health, effective July 10, 2003.
    (ii) Additional Material.
    (A) Remainder of the August 15, 2003 State submittal pertaining to 
the revisions listed in paragraph (c)(216)(i) of this section.
    (B) Additional material submitted by the Pennsylvania Department of 
Environmental Protection on February 12, 2004, which consists of minor 
clarifications to the Summary and Responses document from the public 
hearing, and a letter dated February 6, 1992 which was referenced but 
not included in the August 15, 2003 SIP revision submittal.

0
3. Section 52.2033 is amended by adding paragraph (c) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.2033  Control strategy: Sulfur oxides

* * * * *
    (c) EPA approves the attainment demonstration State Implementation 
Plan for the Hazelwood and Monongahela River Valley areas of the 
Allegheny County Air Basin in Allegheny County, submitted by the 
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on August 15, 2003.

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--SO2'' is 
amended by revising the entry for the Allegheny County Air Basin to 
read as follows:


Sec.  81.339  Pennsylvania

                                                Pennsylvania--SO2
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                                                  Does not meet   Does not meet                    Better than
                Designated area                      primary        secondary       Cannot be        national
                                                    standards       standards      classified       standards
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
V. Southwest Pennsylvania Intrastate AQCR:
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
    (B) Allegheny County Air Basin:
        (1) The areas within a two-mile radius   ..............  ..............  ..............               X
         of the Hazelwood monitor..............
        (2) That portion of Allegheny County     ..............  ..............  ..............               X
         within an eight-mile radius of the
         Duquesne Golf Association Club House
         in West Mifflin excluding the
         nonattainment area (1).......
 
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[FR Doc. 04-16568 Filed 7-20-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P