[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 203 (Thursday, October 21, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 61766-61768]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-23584]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

[MD160-3113; FRL-7821-1]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Maryland; Redesignation of Kent and Queen Anne's Counties Ozone 
Nonattainment Area to Attainment and Approval of the Area's Maintenance 
Plan

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: EPA is approving a redesignation request and a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the State of Maryland. The SIP 
revision establishes a maintenance plan for Kent and Queen Anne's 
Counties that provides requirements for continued attainment of the 
one-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for the 
next 10 years. EPA is approving the revision to the Maryland SIP in 
accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

EFFECTIVE DATE: This final rule is effective on November 22, 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

[[Page 61767]]

Information Center, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1301 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Room B108, Washington, DC 20460; and Maryland 
Department of the Environment, 1800 Washington Boulevard, Suite 705, 
Baltimore, Maryland 21230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rose Quinto, (215) 814-2182, or by e-
mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On August 2, 2004 (69 FR 46124), EPA published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NPR) for the State of Maryland. The NPR proposed approval 
of Maryland's redesignation request and a SIP revision that establishes 
a maintenance plan for the Kent and Queen Anne's Counties that provides 
requirements for continued attainment for the one-hour ozone NAAQS for 
the next 10 years. The formal SIP revision was submitted by the 
Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) on February 9, 2004. Other 
specific requirements of Maryland's redesignation request, SIP revision 
for the maintenance plan, 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. However, an erratum was found on 
page 46127 of the NPR, where the motor vehicle emissions budget (MVEB) 
for NOX was in error for the period from 2002 until 2014. 
The correct MVEB for NOX is 7.7 tons per day (tpd) instead 
of 2.92 tpd NOX (refer to Tables 1 and 2 in the NPR).

II. Final Action

    EPA is approving the ozone maintenance plan for Kent and Queen 
Anne's Counties in Maryland submitted on February 9, 2004, because it 
meets the requirements of section 175A. In addition, EPA is 
redesignating Kent and Queen Anne's Counties to ozone attainment 
because EPA has determined that the provisions of section 107(d)(3)(E) 
of the CAA for redesignation have been met. Kent and Queen Anne's 
Counties nonattainment area is subject to the CAA's requirements for 
marginal ozone nonattainment areas until and unless it is redesignated 
to attainment.

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 
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 December 20, 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 pertaining to Maryland's redesignation request and 
maintenance plan for Kent and Queen Anne's counties, 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, Ozone, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

40 CFR Part 81

    Air pollution control, National parks, Wilderness areas.


[[Page 61768]]


    Dated: September 20, 2004.
Thomas C. Voltaggio,
Acting Deputy 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 V--Maryland

0
2. Section 52.1070 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(187) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.1070  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (187) The Ozone Redesignation and Maintenance Plan for Kent and 
Queen Anne's Counties nonattainment area submitted on February 4, 2004 
by the Maryland Department of the Environment:
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    (A) A letter dated February 9, 2004 from the Maryland Department of 
the Environment transmitting Maryland's State Implementation Plan 
pertaining to the redesignation request for the Kent and Queen Anne's 
Counties Ozone Nonattainment Area.
    (B) SIP Revision 03-15, Redesignation Request for Kent and Queen 
Anne's Counties Ozone Nonattainment Area, February 4, 2004.
    (ii) Additional Material--Remainder of the State submittals 
pertaining to the revisions listed in paragraph (c)(187)(i) of this 
section.

PART 81--[AMENDED]

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

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

0
2. Section 81.321 is amended by revising the ozone table entry for Kent 
and Queen Anne's Counties to read as follows:


Sec.  81.321  Maryland.

* * * * *

                                        Maryland--Ozone (1-Hour Standard)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                         Designation                           Classification
         Designated area         -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             Date \1\                       Type             Date \1\     Type
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Kent County and Queen Anne's
 County Area
Kent County.....................  October 21, 2004..............  Attainment..............
Queen Anne's County.............  October 21, 2004..............  Attainment..............
 
                                                 * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ This date is October 18, 2000, unless otherwise noted.

* * * * *
[FR Doc. 04-23584 Filed 10-20-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P