[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 27 (Thursday, February 10, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7070-7071]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-2610]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[R07-OAR-2005-MO-0002; FRL-7871-3]


Air Quality Redesignation for the 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient 
Air Quality Standard; for Some Counties in the States of Kansas and 
Missouri

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: On April 15, 2004, we, the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) announced designations under the 8-hour ozone National 
Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). That action designated several 
counties in the Kansas City area as unclassifiable. The counties in the 
Kansas City area included in the designation were Johnson, Linn, Miami 
and Wyandotte Counties in Kansas and Cass, Clay, Jackson and Platte 
Counties in Missouri. This document proposes to redesignate the above 
counties to attainment. We are soliciting comments on this proposed 
action.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 14, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Regional Material in 
EDocket (RME) ID Number R07-OAR-2005-MO-0002, by one of the following 
methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
    2. Agency Web site: http://docket.epa.gov/rmepub/. RME, EPA's 
electronic public docket and comment system, is EPA's preferred method 
for receiving comments. Once in the system, select ``quick search,'' 
then key in the appropriate RME Docket identification number. Follow 
the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
    3. E-mail: [email protected].
    4. Mail: Leland Daniels, Environmental Protection Agency, Air 
Planning and Development Branch, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, 
Kansas 66101.
    5. Hand Delivery or Courier. Deliver your comments to: Leland 
Daniels, Environmental Protection Agency, Air Planning and Development 
Branch, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66101.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to RME ID Number R07-OAR-2005-
MO-0002. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in 
the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
http://docket.epa.gov/rmepub, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through RME, regulations.gov, 
or e-mail. The EPA RME Web site and the Federal regulations.gov Web 
site are ``anonymous access'' systems, which means EPA will not know 
your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body 
of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without 
going through RME or regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the 
RME index at http://docket.epa.gov/rmepub/. Although listed in the 
index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other 
material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet 
and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly 
available docket materials are available either electronically in RME 
or in hard copy at the Environmental Protection Agency, Air Planning 
and Development Branch, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, Kansas. EPA 
requests that you contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section to schedule your inspection. The interested 
persons wanting to examine these documents should make an appointment 
with the office at least 24 hours in advance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Leland Daniels at (913) 551-7651, or 
by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This section provides 
additional information by addressing the following questions:

    What is the background for this action?
    What are the statutory requirements for designations and 
redesignations and what are EPA's regulatory requirements and policy 
regarding redesignations?
    What new information is available regarding air quality in 
Kansas City?
    What about Kansas City's air quality in the future?
    What action is EPA taking in regard to the designation of the 
Kansas City area?

What Is the Background for This Action?

    On April 15, 2004, the Administrator of the EPA signed a final rule 
(69 FR 23858; April 30, 2004) announcing designations under the 8-hour 
ozone NAAQS. That action designated several counties in the Kansas City 
area as unclassifiable and provided that the designation was effective 
on June 15, 2004.
    The Kansas City area designation was based on review of ozone data 
from 2001 through 2003. The counties in the Kansas City area designated 
as

[[Page 7071]]

unclassifiable are Johnson, Linn, Miami and Wyandotte Counties in 
Kansas and Cass, Clay, Jackson and Platte Counties in Missouri. In that 
action, we stated that we would review all available information and 
make an attainment or nonattainment decision after reviewing the 2004 
ozone data.

What Are the Statutory Requirements for Designations and Redesignations 
and What Are EPA's Regulatory Requirements and Policy Regarding 
Redesignations?

    Section 107(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) sets forth the criteria 
and process for designations and redesignations. An explanation of 
statutory requirements for the 8-hour ozone designations that became 
effective on June 15, 2004, and the actions EPA took to meet those 
requirements can be found in the final rule that established the 
designations (69 FR 23858; April 30, 2004). In Section 107(d)(3), the 
CAA addresses redesignations and provides that the Administrator or the 
Governor of a state may initiate the redesignation process. One of the 
bases for redesignation under that section is air quality data.
    To determine whether an area is attaining the 8-hour ozone NAAQS, 
we consider the most recent three consecutive years of data in 
accordance with 40 CFR part 50, appendix I. For the purpose of this 
rulemaking, we reviewed the ozone data from 2002 through 2004.

What New Information Is Available Regarding Air Quality in Kansas City?

    The state of Missouri submitted a letter dated December 21, 2004, 
regarding air quality in Kansas City. The letter certified that the 8-
hour ozone data collected during the 2004 ozone season is correct, 
complete and appropriate for regulatory use. The letter also requested 
that EPA redesignate the Kansas City area from unclassifiable to 
attainment. Similarly, the state of Kansas submitted letters of 
November 18, 2004, and January 10, 2005, certifying the accuracy of the 
ozone data and requesting redesignation from unclassifiable to 
attainment. The counties included in the redesignation request include 
Johnson, Linn, Miami and Wyandotte Counties in Kansas and Cass, Clay, 
Jackson and Platte Counties in Missouri.
    Consistent with 40 CFR part 50, appendix I, section 2.3, paragraph 
(d)(1), the 8-hour ozone standard is met if the three year average 
value of the annual fourth highest daily maximum (the design value) is 
0.084 parts per million (ppm) or less. For the 2002-2004 time period, 
the design value for Kansas City is 0.082 ppm, indicating that the 8-
hour ozone NAAQS has been attained.

What About Kansas City's Air Quality in the Future?

    EPA's rule for implementing the 8-hour ozone standard calls for 
communities that were maintenance areas for the 1-hour ozone standard 
and are attainment areas for the 8-hour ozone standard to put in place 
a plan to maintain the 8-hour ozone standard for a ten-year period, no 
later than three years after designation. Thus both Kansas and Missouri 
are required to develop a plan to maintain the 8-hour ozone standard in 
the Kansas City area.

What Action Is EPA Taking in Regard to the Designation of the Kansas 
City Area?

    Based upon regulatory requirements in 40 CFR part 50, appendix I 
and the 8-hour ozone air quality data for the 2002 through 2004 time 
period, we are proposing to redesignate Johnson, Linn, Miami and 
Wyandotte Counties in Kansas and Cass, Clay, Jackson and Platte 
Counties in Missouri to attainment for the 8-hour ozone standard.
    We are soliciting comments on this proposed action. Final 
rulemaking will occur after consideration of any comments.

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 designates an area for planning purposes based on air quality, 
and does not establish any new regulations. 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.). The redesignation is 
an action which affects the status of a geographic area but does not 
impose any new requirements on governmental entities or sources. 
Therefore because it does not impose any additional enforceable duty, 
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 redesignation 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 establishes the attainment status, and does not alter the 
relationship or the distribution of power and responsibilities 
established in the CAA. 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 state redesignation requests, EPA's role is to approve 
state choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. 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 redesignation request for failure to use VCS. It would 
thus be inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a 
state recommendation, to use VCS in place of a state request that 
otherwise satisfies the provisions of the CAA. 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.).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National park, 
Wilderness area.

    Dated: January 26, 2005.
James B. Gulliford,
Regional Administrator, Region 7.
[FR Doc. 05-2610 Filed 2-9-05; 8:45 am]
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