[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 8, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 6591-6593]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-1995]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

[WA-04-006; FRL-7866-4]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation 
of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes: Washington; Yakima PM-10 
Nonattainment Area Limited Maintenance Plan

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is taking 
final action to approve the Limited Maintenance Plan (LMP) for Yakima 
PM-10 nonattainment area (Yakima NAA) in the State of Washington and 
grant a request by the State to redesignate the Yakima NAA to 
attainment for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for 
particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a 
nominal 10 micrometers (PM-10). In a concurrent notice of final 
rulemaking published today, EPA is correcting the boundary of the 
Yakima NAA to exclude a small portion that lies within the exterior 
boundary of the Yakama Indian Reservation. The State Implementation 
Plan (SIP) that we are approving with this action does not extend to 
lands which are within the boundaries of the Yakama Indian Reservation.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule is effective March 10, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the State's request and other supporting 
information used in developing this action are available for inspection 
during normal business hours at the following locations: EPA, Office of 
Air, Waste and Toxics (OAWT-107), 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, 
Washington 98101. Interested persons wanting to examine these documents 
should make an appointment with the appropriate office at least 24 
hours before the visiting day. A reasonable fee may be charged for 
copies.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gina Bonifacino, Office of Air Quality 
(OAWT-107), EPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 
98101, (206) 553-2970.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, wherever ``we,'' 
``us'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. Information is organized as 
follows:

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Public Comments
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

    Under the authority of the Federal Clean Air Act (Clean Air Act or 
the Act) EPA is taking final action to approve the Limited Maintenance 
Plan (LMP) for the Yakima County PM-10 Nonattainment Area (Yakima NAA) 
in the State of Washington and to redesignate the area to attainment 
for PM-10. The action to redesignate the Yakima NAA to attainment is 
based on valid monitoring data and analysis of ambient air quality made 
in the demonstration that accompanies the LMP. EPA believes the area 
will continue to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS 
or standards) for PM-10 for at least 10 years beyond this 
redesignation, as required by the Act. In addition, EPA believes that 
the area will continue to meet the Limited Maintenance Plan design 
value criteria outlined in the LMP policy \1\. A detailed description 
of our proposed action to approve the Yakima NAA LMP and redesignation 
request was published in a proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register 
on November 29, 2004. See 69 FR 69342.
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    \1\ August 9, 2001 memo from Lydia Wegman, Director, Air Quality 
Standards and Strategies Division, entitled ``Limited Maintenance 
Plan Option for Moderate PM-10 Nonattainment Areas.''
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II. Public Comments

    EPA provided a 30-day review and comment period and solicited 
comments on our proposal published in the November 29, 2004, Federal 
Register. See 69 FR 69342. No comments were received for the proposed 
rulemaking. EPA is now taking final action on the SIP revision 
consistent with the published proposal.

III. Final Action

    EPA is taking final action to approve the Yakima County PM-10 
Limited Maintenance Plan and to redesignate the Yakima County 
nonattainment area to attainment for PM-10. Washington has demonstrated 
compliance with the requirements of section 107(d)(3)(E) based on 
information provided by the Washington Department of Ecology and 
contained in the Washington SIP and Yakima NAA PM-10 Limited 
Maintenance Plan.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    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

[[Page 6592]]

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.).
    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. A major rule cannot 
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal 
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
804(2).
    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 March 10, 2005. 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 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, Intergovernmental 
relations, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

40 CFR Part 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks, 
Wilderness areas.

    Dated: January 21, 2005.
Ronald A. Kreizenbeck,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 10.

0
Parts 52 and 81, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
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 WW--Washington

0
2. In Sec.  52.2475 is amended by adding paragraph (e) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.2475  Approval of plans.

    (e) Particulate matter.
    (1) Yakima.
    (i) EPA approves as a revision to the Washington State 
Implementation Plan, the Yakima County PM-10 Nonattainment Area Limited 
Maintenance Plan adopted by the Yakima Regional Clean Air Authority on 
June 9, 2004, and adopted and submitted by the Washington Department of 
Ecology on July 8, 2004.
    (ii) [Reserved]
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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. In Sec.  81.348, the table entitled ``Washington --PM-10'' is 
amended by revising the entry for ``Yakima County'' to read as follows:


Sec.  81.348  Washington.

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                                                                    Washington--PM-10
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                                                             Designation                                             Classification
           Designated area           -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  Date                         Type                         Date                         Type
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                                                                      * * * * * * *
Yakima County The area bounded on     March 10, 2005.............  Attainment.................
 the south by a line from UTM
 coordinate 694000mW, 5157000mN,
 west to 681000mW, 5157000mN, thence
 north along a line to coordinate
 681000mN, 5172000mN, thence east to
 694000mW, 5172000mN, thence south
 to the beginning coordinate
 694000mW, 5157000mN, excluding the
 area within the exterior boundary
 of the Yakama Indian Reservation.
 
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[FR Doc. 05-1995 Filed 2-7-05; 8:45 am]
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