[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 160 (Friday, August 19, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 48647-48650]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16487]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[R06-OAR-2005-TX-0021; FRL-7956-3]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of 
Texas; Control of Air Pollution From Motor Vehicles, Mobile Source 
Incentive Programs

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The EPA is approving a revision to the Texas State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) to incorporate the Texas Emission Reduction 
Plan (TERP) into the Texas SIP. The TERP is utilized in each of the 
nonattainment areas and near nonattainment areas in the State to 
achieve reductions in the emissions of oxides of nitrogen from on-road 
and non-road mobile sources. This action will allow the State to 
capture credit from those reductions and use them in attainment 
demonstrations for these areas.

DATES: This rule is effective on September 19, 2005.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Regional 
Materials in EDocket (RME) Docket ID No. R06-OAR-2005-TX-0021. All 
documents in the docket are listed in the 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, the disclosure of which 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 cents 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 Quality, Office of Air 
Quality, 12124 Park 35 Circle, Austin, Texas 78753.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 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 (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

What Action Are We Taking?
What Is the Background for This Action?
What Do These Rules Require?
What Are Oxides of Nitrogen?
What Areas in Texas Will This Action Affect?
Why Are We Approving This Submittal?
What Comments Did We Receive?
Final Rule
Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

What Action Are We Taking?

    We are approving this revision to the SIP as meeting the 
requirements of the economic incentive program guidance. For a more 
complete description of our review, please see the technical support 
document for this action and our Federal Register notice of proposed 
approval dated May 12, 2005 (70 FR 25008).
    We are approving rules that implement the TERP legislation. On 
March 9, 2005, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality submitted 
to

[[Page 48648]]

EPA the Texas Emission Reduction Plan (TERP) at 30 TAC, Chapter 114, 
Subchapter K, Mobile Source Incentive Programs, as a revision to the 
SIP. This legislation created an economic incentive program to 
accelerate the introduction of lower emitting mobile source 
technologies in nonattainment and near nonattainment areas of Texas. 
The State adopted these rules on August 22, 2001.
    We are also approving revisions to the above mentioned rules which 
the State adopted on January 28, 2004, and submitted to EPA on March 3, 
2004.

What Is the Background for This Action?

    In 2001, the Texas Legislature enacted Senate Bill 5 which 
established the TERP. The TERP includes a grant program designed to 
accelerate the early introduction and use of lower emitting diesel 
technologies in the nonattainment and near nonattainment areas of 
Texas; a grant program to fund improved energy efficiency in buildings; 
purchase and lease incentives to encourage the introduction of cleaner 
light duty vehicles into the Texas fleet; and funding for research and 
development programs focused on new air pollution reduction 
technologies. This legislation also establishes a state-wide incentive 
program for the purchase or lease of new on-road diesel vehicles and 
light-duty motor vehicles that meet more stringent emission standards 
than those required by any federal requirements. The incentives 
eligible for on-road diesel vehicles are for the incremental cost to 
purchase the cleaner vehicle. The incentive for eligible light duty 
vehicles are a specified dollar amount. Each of the incentives is 
structured upon the specific emission standard to which the vehicle is 
certified.
    In 2003, Texas House Bill 1365 amended surcharges and fees which 
fund TERP, along with the eligibility criteria. The 2003 adoption adds 
three counties to the list where eligible projects may be funded and 
will include for the future any other county located within an area of 
Texas designated as an ozone nonattainment area under the Federal Clean 
Air Act. The amendment also provides for the new methods for 
streamlining the grant process for small business. The 2003 legislation 
expected to provide approximately $120 million dollars per year for 
funding those programs through September 2008.

What Do These Rules Require?

    TERP includes a number of voluntary incentive and assistance 
programs designed to help improve the air quality in Texas. The 
programs included in TERP are as follows: the On-Road Diesel Vehicle 
Purchase or Lease Incentive Program, the Light-Duty Motor Vehicle 
Purchase or Lease Incentive Program, and the Diesel Emission Reduction 
Incentive Grant Program for On-Road and Non-Road Vehicles (``Incentive 
Grant Program''). It is the Incentive Grant Program that is before us 
as a SIP revision.
    The rules approved today specify the individuals and businesses 
that may apply for grants under TERP and that all applicants are 
subject to the criteria listed in Texas Emission Reduction Plan: 
Guidance for Emissions Reduction Incentive Grants Program (RG-388). 
Eligible projects include multiple variations of leasing or purchasing, 
retrofitting, repowering, or other NOX reducing technologies 
for on-road and off-road diesel powered engines. The rule requires that 
any project funded by a grant must operate no less than 75% of the 
vehicle miles traveled or hours of operations over the following five 
years in a nonattainment or near nonattainment county.
    The plan also requires that a project, excluding infrastructure 
projects, must meet a minimum cost-effectiveness not to exceed $13,000 
per ton of NOX emissions. Except in extreme circumstances, 
the emissions reductions gained by any project funded through a TERP 
grant may not be used for credit under any State or Federal emission 
reduction credit averaging, banking or trading program. The program 
allows TERP reductions to be credited toward the NOX cap and 
trade program in Houston but only in the unlikely event that the 
industrial source's compliance cost exceeds $75,000/ton. In that case, 
the source would be able to deposit $75,000/ton into the TERP account 
where the money would be used to achieve more cost effective mobile 
source reductions.

What Are Oxides of Nitrogen?

    Nitrogen oxides (NOX) belong to the group of criteria 
air pollutants. NOX results from burning fuels, including 
gasoline and coal. Nitrogen oxides react with volatile organic 
compounds (VOC's) to form ozone or smog. NOX is also a major 
component of acid rain.

What Areas in Texas Will This Action Affect?

    The approval of TERP will provide potential emission reductions in 
the following counties: Bastrop, Bexar, Brazoria, Caldwell, Chambers, 
Collin, Comal, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Ellis, Fort Bend, Galveston, 
Gregg, Guadalupe, Harris, Hardin, Harrison, Hayes, Henderson, Hood, 
Hunt, Jefferson, Johnson, Kaufman, Liberty, Montgomery, Nueces, Orange, 
Parker, Rockwall, Rusk, San Patricio, Smith, Tarrant, Travis, Upshur, 
Victoria, Waller, Williamson, Wilson, and any other county located 
within an area of Texas designated as nonattaiment for ground-level 
ozone.

Why Are We Approving This Submittal?

    TERP is a measure relied upon in the State Implementation Plans for 
all of the Early Action Compact areas, as well as the Houston/Galveston 
Attainment Demonstration, and the Dallas/Fort Worth 5% Increment of 
Progress Plan. We will be taking action on the amount of emission 
reductions projected for the TERP program when we take action on these 
plan revisions. These reductions will assist an area to either attain 
or maintain the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone.
    Diesel engines are targeted due to their relatively high 
NOX emissions and their long operational life which makes 
the introduction of newer cleaner engines into a fleet a long term 
process with normal turnover. The TERP will offset the incremental cost 
of projects that can reduce oxides of nitrogen emissions from heavy 
duty diesel trucks and construction equipment in nonattainment areas. 
This is an incentive to owners and operators to upgrade their fleets at 
an expedited rate. The upgrade of these fleets will reduce the amount 
of NOX emissions to the atmosphere. This approval will add 
TERP as a new program to the Texas SIP. TERP will not cause an increase 
in the criteria pollutants or their precursors since old fleets will be 
replaced with new fleets, thereby reducing emissions. As such, the 
State's revisions meet and comply with the requirements of section 
110(l) of the Clean Air Act. We are approving these revisions to the 
Texas SIP because they will contribute to the attainment of the ozone 
standard, and therefore strengthen the SIP.

What Comments Did We Receive?

    We proposed approval of this revision to the Texas SIP on May 12, 
2005 (70 FR 25008). We received no comments on this proposed approval.

Final Action

    We are granting final approval of the TERP as a revision to the SIP 
because it meets the requirements of an economic incentive program.

[[Page 48649]]

Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has exempted this 
regulatory action from Executive Order 12866, ``Regulatory Planning and 
Review.'' (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993). This rule is not a 
``significant energy action'' as defined in Executive Order 13211, 
``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001), because it 
is not likely to have a significant adverse effect on the supply, 
distribution, or use of energy. 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, EPA has determined 
that this rule does not contain a Federal mandate that may result in 
expenditures of $100 million or more for State, local or tribal 
governments in the aggregate, or on the private sector, in any one 
year. Thus, today's rule is not subject to the requirements of sections 
202 and 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) (Pub. L. 
104-4). In addition, EPA has determined that this rule contains no 
regulatory requirements that might significantly or uniquely affect 
small governments in accordance with section 203 of UMRA.
    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, 
``Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments'' (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, 
``Federalism'' (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). EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 as applying only to those 
regulatory actions that are based on health or safety risks, such that 
the analysis required under section 5-501 of the Order has the 
potential to influence the regulation. This rule is not subject to 
Executive Order 13045 because it approves a state program.
    Section 12 of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act 
(NTTAA) of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) requires Federal agencies to 
evaluate existing technical standards when developing a new regulation. 
To comply with NTTAA, EPA must consider and use ``voluntary consensus 
standards'' (VCS) if available and applicable when developing programs 
and policies unless doing so would be inconsistent with applicable law 
or otherwise impractical. In reviewing a SIP submission, EPA has no 
authority under the Clean Air Act, in the absence of a prior existing 
requirement for the State to use VCS, to disapprove a SIP submission 
for failure to use VCS. Thus it would be inconsistent with applicable 
law for EPA to use VCS in place of a SIP submission that otherwise 
satisfies the provisions of the Clean Air Act and further consideration 
of VCS is not required. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), OMB must approve all ``collections of 
information'' by EPA. The PRA defines ``collection of information'' as 
a requirement for ``answers to * * * identical reporting or 
recordkeeping requirements imposed on ten or more persons.'' (44 U.S.C. 
3502(3)(A)). This rule does not impose an information collection burden 
under the provisions of the PRA.
    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. 
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 October 18, 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: August 11, 2005.
Richard E. Greene,
Regional Administrator, Region 6.

0
40 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. 7401 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, immediately following the 
entry for Section 114.517, by adding a new centered heading 
``Subchapter K--Mobile Source Incentive Programs'' followed by centered 
heading ``Division 3: Diesel Emission Reduction Incentive Program for 
On-road and Non-road Vehicles'' followed by entries for Sections 
114.620, 114.621, 114.622, 114.623, 114.626 and 114.629 to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.2270  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

[[Page 48650]]



                                    EPA Approved Regulations in the Texas SIP
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                                                        State approval/
          State citation              Title/subject     submittal date   EPA approval date       Explanation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
                        Chapter 114 (Reg 4)--Control of Air Pollution from Motor Vehicles
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
                                 Subchapter K--Mobile Source Incentive Programs
 
            Division 3: Diesel Emission Reduction Incentive Program for On-road and Non-road Vehicles
Section 114.620..................  Definitions........        01/28/04  08/19/05 [Insert FR  ...................
                                                                         page number where
                                                                         document begins].
Section 114.621..................  Applicability......        01/28/04  08/19/05 [Insert FR  ...................
                                                                         page number where
                                                                         document begins].
Section 114.622..................  Incentive Program          01/28/04  08/19/05 [Insert FR  ...................
                                    Requirements.                        page number where
                                                                         document begins].
Section 114.623..................  Small Business             01/28/04  08/19/05 [Insert FR  ...................
                                    Incentives.                          page number where
                                                                         document begins].
Section 114.626..................  Monitoring,                08/22/01  08/19/05 [Insert FR  ...................
                                    Recordkeeping, and                   page number where
                                    Reporting                            document begins].
                                    Requirements.
Section 114.629..................  Affected Counties          01/28/04  08/19/05 [Insert FR  ...................
                                    and Implementation                   page number where
                                    Schedule.                            document begins].
 
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[FR Doc. 05-16487 Filed 8-18-05; 8:45 am]
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