[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 6, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 17321-17323]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-6853]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[R06-OAR-2005-TX-0020; FRL-7895-9]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Texas; Low-Emission Diesel Fuel Compliance Date

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final approval.

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SUMMARY: The EPA is granting final approval to a revision to the Texas 
Low Emission Diesel (TXLED) fuel program State Implementation Plan 
(SIP) that applies in 110 counties in the eastern and central parts of 
Texas. Under section 553(d)(1) of the Administrative Procedure Act, EPA 
is making this action effective upon publication because it relieves a 
restriction.

DATES: This rule is effective April 6, 2005.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Regional 
Material in EDocket (RME) Docket ID No. R06-OAR-2005-TX-0020. All 
documents in the docket are listed in the Regional Material in EDocket 
(RME) index at http://docket.epa.gov/rmepub/, once in the system, 
select ``quick search,'' then key in the appropriate RME Docket 
identification number. 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 Air Planning Section (6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 
Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733. The file will be made 
available by appointment for public inspection in the Region 6 FOIA 
Review Room between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays 
except for legal holidays. Contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT paragraph below or Mr. Bill Deese at (214) 665-7253 
to make an appointment. If possible, please make the appointment at 
least two working days in advance of your visit. There will be a 15 
cent per page fee for making photocopies of documents. On the day of 
the visit, please check in at the EPA Region 6 reception area at 1445 
Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas.
    The State submittal is also available for public inspection at the 
State Air Agency listed below during official business hours by 
appointment: Texas Commission on Environmental Quailty, Office of Air 
Quality, 12124 Park 35 Circle, Austin, Texas 78753.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sandra Rennie, Air Planning Section 
(6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, 
Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, telephone (214) 665-7367; fax 
number 214-665-7263; e-mail address [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document wherever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean the EPA.

Outline

I. What Action Is EPA Taking?
II. What Is the Background for This Action?
III. What Comments Were Received During the Public Comment Period, 
February 24, 2005, to March 28, 2005?
IV. Final Action
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What Action Is EPA Taking?

    Today we are approving the compliance date changes found in the 
March 9, 2005, TXLED SIP revision submitted by the State of Texas. We 
are approving the phased schedule for compliance which extends the 
compliance date from April 1, 2005 to October 1, 2005 for producers and 
importers, from April 1, 2005 to November 15, 2005 for bulk plant 
distribution facilities, and from April 1, 2005 to January 1, 2006 for 
retail fuel dispensing outlets, wholesale bulk purshaser/consumer 
facilities, and all other affected persons.

II. What Is the Background for This Action?

    We approved the original TXLED rule on November 14, 2001, (66 FR 
57196) as part of the Texas SIP and also found that it was relied upon 
for demonstrating attainment in the Houston-Galveston Attainment 
Demonstration SIP. On December 15, 2004, the Texas Commission on 
Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Commissioners proposed to revise the TXLED 
rule. Among other revisions, the commission proposed to extend the 
compliance date from April 1, 2005 to October 1, 2005. The commission 
proposed this extension because of concern about product availability 
by the current compliance date. On February 16, 2005 the Executive 
Director of the TCEQ submitted a letter to EPA requesting parallel 
processing of the compliance date portion of the SIP revision for 
TXLED.
    On February 24, 2005, we proposed approval, through parallel 
processing, of a revision to the SIP that would change the compliance 
date for TXLED fuel from April 1, 2005, to October 1, 2005, consistent 
with a proposed revision to the state rule that the state had noticed 
for public hearing. In addition, we proposed approval and requested 
comments on a refinement to the State's proposed revision that the 
state had subsequently indicated that it was considering. The 
refinement would extend the compliance date from April 1, 2005 to 
October 1, 2005 for producers and importers, from April 1, 2005 to 
November 15, 2005 for bulk plant distribution facilities, and from 
April 1, 2005 to January 1, 2006 for retail fuel dispensing outlets, 
wholesale bulk purchaser/consumer facilities, and all other affected 
persons.
    The commission adopted revisions to the TXLED SIP on March 9, 2005. 
The revision was submitted to EPA on March 23, 2005. The submitted 
revision is consistent with our proposal. It

[[Page 17322]]

extends the compliance date from April 1, 2005 to October 1, 2005 for 
producers and importers, from April 1, 2005 to November 15, 2005 for 
bulk plant distribution facilities, and from April 1, 2005 to January 
1, 2006 for retail fuel dispensing outlets, wholesale bulk purchaser/
consumer facilities, and all other affected persons.

III. What Comments Were Received During the Public Comment Period, 
February 24, 2005, to March 28, 2005?

    We received comments in support of this rulemaking from ExxonMobil 
Refining and Supply, and Shell Oil Products, US. No adverse comments 
were received.

IV. Final Action

    We are granting final approval to the compliance date change in the 
TXLED SIP revision. The compliance dates approved are October 1, 2005 
for producers and importers, November 15, 2005 for bulk plant 
distribution facilities, and January 1, 2006 for retail fuel dispensing 
outlets, wholesale bulk purchaser/consumer facilities, and all other 
affected persons.
    Section 553(d) of the Administrative Procedure Act generally 
provides that rules may not take effect earlier than 30 days after they 
are published in the Federal Register. However, section 553(d)(1) 
allows a rule to take effect earlier if it relieves a restriction. We 
are making this action effective upon publication because it relieves a 
restriction.

V. 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 and because this action will not have a significant, adverse 
effect on the supply, distribution, or use of energy, 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 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 under the National Technology Transfer 
and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note), 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. section 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. 
section 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 June 6, 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 in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon Monoxide, 
Hydrocarbons, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, 
Lead, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: March 31, 2005.
Lawrence E. Starfield,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 6.


0
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7402 et seq.

Subpart SS--Texas

0
2. The table in Sec.  52.2270(c) entitled ``EPA Approved Regulations in 
the Texas SIP'' is amended under chapter 114, subchapter H, Division 
2--Low Emission Diesel, section 114.319 to read as follows:


Sec.  52.2270  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

[[Page 17323]]



                                                        EPA Approved Regulations in the Texas SIP
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                                                                   State
                                                                 approval/
           State citation                  Title/subject         submittal             EPA approval date                         Explanation
                                                                   date
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                                            Chapter 114 (Reg 4)--Control of Air Pollution From Motor Vehicles
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                                                            Subchapter H--Low Emission Fuels
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                                                                      * * * * * * *
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                                                             Division 2--Low Emission Diesel
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                                                                      * * * * * * *
 Section 114.319....................  Affected Counties and       03/09/05   04/06/05 and Federal Register page
                                       Compliance Dates.                      number].
 
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[FR Doc. 05-6853 Filed 4-5-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P