[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 245 (Wednesday, December 22, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 76617-76619]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-27993]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[FRL-7852-2]


Availability of Federally-Enforceable State Implementation Plans 
for All States

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: Section 110(h) of the Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990 (the 
``Act''), requires EPA by November 15, 1995, and every three years 
thereafter, to assemble the requirements of the Federally-enforceable 
State Implementation Plans (SIPs) in each State and to publish notice 
in the Federal Register of the availability of such documents. This 
notice of availability fulfills the three-year requirement of making 
these SIP compilations for each State available to the public.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 22, 2004.

ADDRESSES: You may contact the appropriate EPA Regional Office 
regarding requirements of applicable implementation plans for each 
State in that region. The list below identifies the appropriate 
regional office for each state. The SIP compilations are available for 
public inspection during normal business hours at the appropriate EPA 
Regional Office. If you want to view these documents, you should make 
an appointment with the appropriate EPA office and arrange to review 
the SIP at a mutually agreeable time.
    Region 1: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode 
Island, and Vermont.
    Regional Contact: Donald Cooke (617/918-1668), EPA, Office of 
Ecosystem Protection (CAQ), Suite 1100, One Congress Street, Boston, MA 
02114-2023.
    See also: http://www.epa.gov/region1/topics/air/sips.html.
    Region 2: New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands.
    Regional Contact: Paul Truchan (212/637-3711), EPA, Air Programs 
Branch, 290 Broadway, New York, NY 10007-1866.
    See also: http://www.epa.gov/region02/air/sip/.
    Region 3: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, 
Virginia, and West Virginia.
    Regional Contact: Harold A. Frankford (215/814-2108), EPA, Office 
of Air Programs (3AP20), Air Protection Division, 1650 Arch Street, 
Philadelphia, PA 19103.
    See also: http://yosemite.epa.gov/r3/r3sips.nsf/MidAtlanticSIPs?openform.
    Region 4: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
    Regional Contact: Sean Lakeman (404/562-9043), EPA, Air Planning 
Branch, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, GA 30303.
    See also: http://www.epa.gov/region4/air/sips/.
    Region 5: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and 
Wisconsin.
    Regional Contacts: Jeremiah Hall (312/353-3503), EPA, Air and 
Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60604-3507.
    See also: http://www.epa.gov/ARD-R5/sips/sips.htm.
    Region 6: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
    Regional Contact: Bill Deese (214/665-7253), EPA, Multimedia 
Planning and Permitting Division, Air Planning Section (6PD-L), 1445 
Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, TX 75202-2733.
    See also: http://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6pd/air/sip/sip.htm.
    Region 7: Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.
    Regional Contact: Evelyn VanGoethem (913-551-7659), EPA, Air, RCRA 
and Toxics Division, Air Planning and Development Branch, 901 N. 5th 
Street, Kansas City, KS 66101.
    See also: http://www.epa.gov/region07/programs/artd/air/rules/fedapprv.htm.
    Region 8: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and 
Wyoming.
    Regional Contact: Laurie Ostrand (303/312-6437), EPA, Air and 
Radiation Program, Office of Partnership and Regulatory Assistance, 999 
18th Street, Suite 300, Denver, CO 80202-2466.
    See also: http://www.epa.gov/region8/air/sip.html.
    Region 9: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa, and 
Guam.
    Regional Contact: Julie Rose (415/947-4126), and Cynthia Allen 
(415/947-4120), EPA, Air Division, Rulemaking Office, AIR-4, 75 
Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105.
    See also: http://www.epa.gov/region9/air/sips/.
    Region 10: Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
    Regional Contacts: Donna Deneen (206/553-6706) and Debra Suzuki 
(206) 553-0985), EPA, Office of Air Quality (OAQ 107), 1200 6th Avenue, 
Seattle, WA 98101.
    See also: http://www.epa.gov/r10earth/sips.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald Cooke, Air Quality Unit, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional Office, One 
Congress Street, Suite 1100 (CAQ), Boston, MA 02114-2023, telephone 
number (617) 918-1668, fax number (617) 918-0668, e-mail 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

Availability of SIP Compilations
What Is the Basis for This Document
What Is Being Made Available Under This Document

[[Page 76618]]

What Are the Documents and Materials Associated With the SIP
Background
Relationship of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to 
SIPs
What Is a State Implementation Plan
What Is Federally-Enforceable

Availability of SIP Compilations

    This notice identifies the appropriate EPA Regional Offices to 
which you may address questions of SIP availability and SIP 
requirements. In response to the 110(h) requirement following the 1990 
Clean Air Act Amendments, the first notice of availability was 
published in the Federal Register on November 1, 1995 at 60 FR 55459. 
The second notice of availability was published in the Federal Register 
on November 18, 1998 at 63 FR 63986. The third notice of availability 
was published in the Federal Register on November 20, 2001 at 66 FR 
58070. This is the fourth notice of availability of the compilations of 
Federally-enforceable state implementation plans for each state.
    In addition, information on the content of EPA-approved SIPs is 
available on the Internet through the EPA Regional Web sites. Regional 
Web site addresses for Regional information are provided in the 
regional contacts list above.

What Is the Basis for This Document

    Section 110(h)(1) of the Clean Air Act mandates that not later than 
5 years after the date of enactment of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 
1990, and every three years thereafter, the Administrator shall 
assemble and publish a comprehensive document for each State setting 
forth all requirements of the applicable implementation plan for such 
State and shall publish notice in the Federal Register of the 
availability of such documents.
    Section 110(h) recognizes the fluidity of a given State SIP. The 
SIP is a living document which can be revised by the State with EPA 
approval as necessary to address the unique air pollution problems in 
the State. Therefore, EPA from time to time must take action on SIP 
revisions containing new and/or revised regulations. On May 31, 1972 
(37 FR 10842), EPA approved, with certain exceptions, the initial SIPs 
for 50 states, four territories and the District of Columbia. [Note: 
EPA approved an additional SIP-- for the Northern Mariana Islands --on 
November 10, 1986 (51 FR 40799)]. Since 1972, each State and territory 
has submitted numerous SIP revisions, either on their own initiative, 
or because they were required to as a result of various amendments to 
the Clean Air Act. This notice of availability informs the public that 
the SIP compilation has been updated to include the most recent 
requirements approved into the SIP. These approved requirements are 
Federally-enforceable.

What Is Being Made Available Under This Document

    The federally-enforceable SIP is indeed a complex document, 
containing both many regulatory requirements and non-regulatory items 
such as plans and inventories. Regulatory requirements include State-
adopted rules and regulations, source-specific requirements reflected 
in consent orders, and in some cases, provisions in the enabling 
statutes. Following the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, the first 
section 110(h) SIP compilation availability notice was published on 
November 1, 1995 (61 FR 55459). At that time EPA announced that the SIP 
compilations, comprised of the regulatory portion of each State SIP, 
were available at the EPA Regional Office serving that particular 
State. In general, the compilations made available in 1995 did not 
include the source-specific requirements or other documents and 
materials associated with the SIP. With the second notice of 
availability in 1998, the source-specific requirements and the ``non-
regulatory'' documents [e.g., attainment plans, rate of progress plans, 
emission inventories, transportation control measures, statutes 
demonstrating legal authority, monitoring networks, etc.] were made 
available and will remain available for public inspection at the 
respective regional office listed in the ADDRESSES section above. If 
you want to view these documents, please make an appointment with the 
appropriate EPA Regional Office and arrange for a mutually agreeable 
time.

What Are the Documents and Materials Associated With the SIP

    EPA-approved non-regulatory control measures, include control 
strategies (such as transportation control measures, local ordinances, 
state statutes, and emission inventories, or may include regulations 
provided on other sections of the State-specific subpart of part 52), 
which have been submitted for inclusion in the SIP by the state. These 
control measures must have gone through state rulemaking process and 
the public was given an opportunity to participate in the rulemaking. 
EPA also took rulemaking action on these control measures and those 
which have been EPA-approved or conditionally approved are listed along 
with any limitations on their approval, if any. Examples of EPA-
approved documents and materials associated with the SIP include, but 
are not limited to, the following subject matter: SIP Narratives; 
PM10 Plans; CO Plans; Ozone Plans; Maintenance plans; 
Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) SIP's; Emissions Inventories; 
Monitoring Networks; State Statutes submitted for the purposes of 
demonstrating legal authority; Part D plans; Attainment demonstrations; 
Transportation control measures (TCM's); Committal measures; 
Contingency Measures; Non-regulatory & Non-TCM Control Measures; 15% 
Rate of Progress Plans; Emergency episode plans; Visibility plans. As 
stated above the ``non-regulatory'' documents are available for public 
inspection at the appropriate EPA Regional Office.

Background

Relationship of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to SIPs

    EPA has established National ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) 
for six criteria pollutants, which are widespread common pollutants 
known to be harmful to human health and welfare. The present criteria 
pollutants are: carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, 
particulate matter, and sulfur oxides. See 40 CFR part 50 for a 
technical description of how the levels of these standards are measured 
and attained. State Implementation Plans provide for implementation, 
maintenance, and enforcement of the NAAQS in each state. Areas within 
each state that are designated nonattainment are subject to additional 
planning and control requirements. Accordingly, different regulations 
or programs in the SIP will apply to different areas. EPA lists the 
designation of each area at 40 CFR part 81.

What Is a State Implementation Plan

    The State Implementation Plan (SIP) is a plan for each State which 
identifies how that State will attain and/or maintain the primary and 
secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) set forth in 
section 109 of the Clean Air Act and 40 Code of Federal Regulations 
50.4 through 50.12 and which includes federally-enforceable 
requirements. Each State is required to have a SIP which contains 
control measures and strategies which demonstrate how each area will 
attain and maintain the NAAQS. These plans are developed through a 
public process, formally adopted by the State, and submitted by the 
Governor's designee to EPA. The Clean Air Act requires EPA to review 
each plan and any plan revisions and to approve the plan or plan

[[Page 76619]]

revisions if consistent with the Clean Air Act.
    SIP requirements applicable to all areas are provided in section 
110. Part D of title I the Clean Air Act specifies additional 
requirements applicable to nonattainment areas. Section 110 and part D 
describe the elements of a SIP and include, among other things, 
emission inventories, a monitoring network, an air quality analysis, 
modeling, attainment demonstrations, enforcement mechanisms, and 
regulations which have been adopted by the State to attain or maintain 
NAAQS. EPA has adopted regulatory requirements which spell out the 
procedures for preparing, adopting and submitting SIP's and SIP 
revisions; that are codified in 40 CFR part 51.
    EPA's action on each State's SIP is promulgated in 40 CFR part 52. 
The first section in the subpart in 40 CFR part 52 for each State is 
generally the ``Identification of plan'' section which provides 
chronological development of the State SIP. Or if the state has 
undergone the new Incorporation by Reference format process (see 62 FR 
27968, May 22, 1997), the identification of plan section identifies the 
State-submitted rules and plan elements which have been Federally 
approved. The goal of the State-by-State SIP compilation is to identify 
those rules under the ``Identification of plan'' section which are 
currently Federally-enforceable. In addition, some of the SIP 
compilations may include control strategies, such as transportation 
control measures, local ordinances, State statutes, and emission 
inventories, or may include regulations provided in other sections of 
the State-specific subpart of part 52. Some of the SIP compilations may 
not identify these other Federally-enforceable elements.
    The contents of a typical SIP fall into three categories: (1) 
State-adopted control measures which consists of either rules/
regulations or source-specific requirements (e.g., orders and consent 
decrees); (2) State-submitted ``non-regulatory'' components (e.g., 
attainment plans, rate of progress plans, emission inventories, 
transportation control measures, statutes demonstrating legal 
authority, monitoring networks, etc.); (3) additional requirements 
promulgated by EPA (in the absence of a commensurate State provision) 
to satisfy a mandatory section 110 or part D (Clean Air Act) 
requirement.

What Is Federally-Enforceable

    Enforcement of the state regulation before and after it is 
incorporated into the Federally-approved SIP is primarily a state 
responsibility. However, after the regulation is Federally approved, 
EPA is authorized to take enforcement action against violators. 
Citizens are also offered legal recourse to address violations as 
described in section 304 of the Clean Air Act.
    You should note that, when States have submitted their most current 
State regulations for inclusion into Federally-enforceable SIPs, EPA 
will begin its review process of submittals as soon as possible. Until 
EPA approves a submittal by rulemaking action, State-submitted 
regulations will be State-enforceable only; therefore, State-
enforceable SIPs may exist which differ from Federally-enforceable 
SIPs. As EPA approves these State-submitted regulations, the regional 
offices will continue to update the SIP compilations to include these 
applicable requirements.

    Dated: December 16, 2004.
Michael O. Leavitt,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 04-27993 Filed 12-21-04; 8:45 am]
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