[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 171 (Tuesday, September 6, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52956-52960]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-17537]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[Docket ID : R10-OAR-2005-OR-0001; FRL-7964-7]


Approval and Promulgation of State Implementation Plans: Oregon; 
Portland Carbon Monoxide Second 10-Year Maintenance Plan

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The EPA proposes to approve the second 10-year maintenance 
plan for carbon monoxide (CO) for the Portland, Oregon CO Attainment 
Area. Specifically, in this action EPA

[[Page 52957]]

proposes to approve the following: Oregon's demonstration that the 
Portland CO Attainment Area will maintain air quality standards for CO 
through the year 2017; a revised CO motor vehicle emissions budget for 
transportation conformity purposes using the MOBILE6.2 emissions model 
and latest growth and planning assumptions; and revised state 
implementation plan (SIP) control strategies and contingency measures.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 6, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. R10-OAR-
2005-OR-0001, 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://www.epa.gov/edocket. EDOCKET, EPA's 
electronic public docket and comment system, is EPA's preferred method 
for receiving comments. Follow the on-line instructions for submitting 
comments.
    3. Mail: Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air, Waste and 
Toxics, Attn: Connie Robinson, Mail code: AWT-107, 1200 Sixth Avenue, 
Seattle, WA 98101.
    4. Hand Delivery: Environmental Protection Agency Region 10, Attn: 
Connie Robinson (AWT-107), 1200 Sixth Ave., Seattle, WA 98101, 9th 
floor. Such deliveries are only accepted during EPA's normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. R10-OAR-2005-
OR-0001. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in 
the public docket without change, 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 regulations.gov or e-
mail. The EPA EDOCKET 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 EDOCKET or regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured 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. For additional information about EPA's public 
docket visit EDOCKET on line or see the Federal Register of May 31, 
2002 (67 FR 38102). For additional instructions on submitting comments, 
go to Section I. General Information of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section of this document.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the EDOCKET index 
at http://www.epa.gov/edocket. Although listed in the index, some 
information may not be publicly available, such as 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 
EDOCKET or in hard copy at EPA Region 10, Office of Air, Waste, and 
Toxics, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 
p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. Please contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to 
schedule your inspection.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Connie Robinson, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 10, Office of Air, Waste, and Toxics, AWT-
107, 1200 Sixth Ave., Seattle, WA 98101; phone: (206) 553-1086; fax 
number: (206) 553-0110; e-mail address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. General Information
II. What Is the Purpose of This Proposed Rulemaking?
III. What Is the Background for This Action?
IV. What Is the Status of Current CO Levels in the Portland Area and 
How Do They Compare With the Federal Standards?
V. How Have the Public and Stakeholders Been Involved in This 
Rulemaking Process?
VI. What Are the Sources and Magnitude of CO Emitted in the Portland 
Maintenance Area?
VII. How Does the State Demonstrate Maintenance of the CO Standard 
for the Second 10-Year Period?
VIII. What Control Measures Are Being Proposed for This Second 10-
Year Plan?
IX. What Contingency Measures Are Considered, in Case of the 
Monitored Exceedance or Violation of the Federal Standard?
X. How Does this Action Affect Transportation Conformity?
XI. In Conclusion, How Would This EPA Approval Affect the General 
Public and Citizens of the Portland Area?
XII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. General Information

A. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
RME, regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all of the 
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or 
CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as 
CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the 
specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one 
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as 
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information 
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. 
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with 
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
    2. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
    i. Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other identifying 
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
    ii. Follow directions--The Agency may ask you to respond to 
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a CFR part or 
section number.
    iii. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and 
substitute language for your requested changes.
    iv. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information 
and/or data that you used.
    v. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you 
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
    vi. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.
    vii. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of 
profanity or personal threats.
    viii. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.

II. What Is the Purpose of This Proposed Rulemaking?

    The purpose of this proposed rulemaking is to solicit comment on 
the

[[Page 52958]]

State of Oregon's plan to replace the existing CO maintenance plan for 
the Portland area in Oregon with a second 10-year maintenance plan to 
demonstrate continued maintenance of the CO ambient air quality 
standard through 2017.
    The State of Oregon presented a trend analysis of the historical CO 
monitored data for the Portland area demonstrating that since the 
Portland area was redesignated to attainment, CO concentrations have 
fallen steadily. That trend reflects a national pattern of new vehicles 
producing considerably reduced amounts of CO. Implementation of new 
national control measures including tighter standards for motor vehicle 
tailpipe emissions and cleaner fuel will result in significant 
improvements of air quality for the next 10-year period. EPA agrees 
with Oregon's analysis and proposes to approve the second 10-year 
maintenance plan through this rulemaking and notice in the Federal 
Register.
    Federal transportation conformity regulations require that 
transportation agencies use the latest EPA mobile source emissions 
model for conformity determinations. EPA officially released a new 
version of motor vehicle emissions model (MOBILE6) on January 29, 2002. 
All SIPs that are adopted after that date must use the new model to 
estimate motor vehicle emissions. The release of MOBILE6 also began a 
24-month grace period for conformity. All conformity determinations 
that are initiated after January 29, 2004 must use a MOBILE6 model. The 
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) used MOBILE6.2 to 
estimate CO emissions for the Portland area for the next 10-year 
maintenance period through 2017 and conducted a technical analysis with 
MOBILE6.2 that showed new motor vehicle emissions will not cause or 
contribute to violations of the air quality standards. EPA agrees with 
this analysis and proposes to approve revised motor vehicle emissions 
budgets for conformity determinations.
    The State of Oregon took this rulemaking opportunity to change 
several of the emission control strategies and contingency measures. 
EPA finds these changes acceptable and proposes to approve them in this 
rulemaking.

III. What Is the Background for This Action?

    In a March 15, 1991 letter to the EPA Region 10 Administrator, the 
Governor of Oregon recommended the Portland area be designated as 
nonattainment for CO as required by section 107(d)(1)(A) of the Clean 
Air Act (the ``Act''). The area was designated by EPA as nonattainment 
for CO and classified as ``moderate'' with a design value less than or 
equal to 12.7 parts per million (ppm) under the provisions outlined in 
sections 186 and 187 of the Act.
    The State of Oregon, following the requirements of the Act, 
prepared and submitted revisions to the Oregon SIP that first included 
an attainment plan, and then developed a plan to demonstrate 
maintenance of the standard for a 10-year period beyond the statutory 
attainment date. EPA published approval of a redesignation request to 
attainment and the first 10-year maintenance plan on September 2, 1997.
    The first 10-year CO maintenance plan included a commitment for 
periodic review of the plan and submission of the second 10-year 
maintenance plan to EPA during the last two years of the first 10-year 
maintenance period. The planning effort included detailed technical 
analyses such as preparation of base and future year emissions 
inventories, review of control measures for CO, etc. The results of 
this planning effort provide the basis of today's proposed approval by 
EPA.

IV. What Is the Status of Current CO Levels in the Portland Area and 
How Do They Compare With the Federal Standards?

    The national 8-hour CO ambient standard is attained when the daily 
average 8-hour CO concentration of 9.0 ppm is exceeded no more than one 
time in a calendar year for two consecutive years. Since the 
redesignation of the Portland area to attainment for CO on October 2, 
1997, the second highest concentration in a calendar year measured by 
the approved monitoring network was 7.3 ppm, which is less than 9.0 
ppm.

V. How Have the Public and Stakeholders Been Involved in This 
Rulemaking Process?

    ODEQ met directly with a variety of stakeholder groups, including 
representative of the petroleum and ethanol industries, the Oregon 
Environmental Council and with other state agencies to seek input on 
the CO maintenance plan. Those state agencies included the Oregon 
Department of Energy, Agriculture, and Economic and Community 
Development. Notices were published in the newspaper and public 
hearings were conducted by ODEQ. ODEQ responded to all comments and the 
Environmental Quality Commission adopted the revisions to the SIP under 
OAR 340-200-0040 on December 10, 2004, effective December 25, 2004.

VI. What Are the Sources and Magnitude of CO Emitted in the Portland 
Maintenance Area?

    An emissions inventory was prepared for the Portland area for the 
base year of 1999. The year 1999 was selected for the inventory because 
that year reflected the highest ambient CO concentrations in Portland's 
recent history and therefore represented a conservative base for 
demonstrating future compliance with the CO NAAQS. The emissions 
inventory is a list, by source, of the air contaminants directly 
emitted into the Portland CO Area's air. The data in the emissions 
inventory is based on calculations and is developed using emission 
factors, which is a method for converting source activity levels into 
an estimate of emissions contributions for those sources. Because 
violations of the CO NAAQS are most like to occur on winter weekdays, 
the inventory prepared reflects a ``design day'' with ambient 
temperatures, traffic volumes and other emission source activity levels 
of a typical winter weekday in 1999.
    In addition to the base year 1999 inventory, emission forecasts 
were prepared for 2005, 2010 and 2017. These projected inventories were 
prepared in accordance with EPA guidance. The projections in Table 1 
below show that total calculated CO emissions, are not expected to 
exceed the level of the 1999 base year inventory during the second 10-
year maintenance plan period.

            Table 1.--1999 Base Year Actual Emissions and *2005, *2010 and *2017 Projected Emissions
                                             [Pounds CO/winter day]
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                Emissions                       1999              *2005             *2010             *2017
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Point Source............................           106,590            67,401            71,085            76,241
Area Source.............................           809,454           872,852           925,684           999,648

[[Page 52959]]

 
Non-Road Mobile.........................           372,098           530,435           619,753           690,469
On-Road Mobile..........................         1,525,114         1,226,323           975,074           834,301
                                         -------------------
    Total...............................         2,813,256         2,697,011         2,591,596        2,600,659
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* Without oxy fuel program and without enhanced Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) testing.


    The large decrease in point source emissions between 1999 and 2005 
is the result of permanent closure of a large aluminum company. The 
emissions inventory predicts substantial future reductions in CO 
emissions, largely as a result of a decrease in on-road emissions, 
which are expected to continue to decline as older motor vehicles are 
replaced by newer vehicles that meet Federal Tier II emission standards 
and operate on low sulfur fuels.

VII. How Does the State Demonstrate Maintenance of the CO Standard for 
the Second 10-Year Period?

    The current, EPA-approved first 10-year CO maintenance plan used a 
rollforward approach to demonstrate maintenance of the CO standard. A 
review and update of this methodology to a probabilistic rollback 
approach using more recent monitored air quality and projected 
emissions data was conducted to demonstrate continued maintenance of 
the CO standard for a second 10-year period. The probabilistic analysis 
showed that the CO standard was maintained on all three permanent 
monitoring sites in 1999 with at least 99% probability. The 
probabilistic rollback approach demonstrated regional, long-term 
maintenance by demonstrating that maintenance at the monitoring site 
with the highest design value (82nd and Division) will be maintained 
for a second 10-year period with the same level of assurance.

VIII. What Control Measures Are Being Proposed for This Second 10-Year 
Plan?

    The second 10-year plan changes the I/M program requirement for CO 
from the current Enhanced I/M program to a basic I/M program for CO. 
Moderate CO Attainment areas were only required to implement a basic I/
M program. This is a change to the CO SIP only. The Ozone Maintenance 
Plan continues to require the Enhanced I/M Program. ODEQ will consider 
vehicles that meet the enhanced test requirement as also meeting the 
basic test requirement. If the Ozone Plan is changed to a basic I/M 
program, it will already be approved for CO.
    The Oxygenated Fuel Program remains a control measure in the 
Portland CO maintenance area until October 31, 2007 when it will be 
discontinued. It will then become a contingency measure in the second 
10-year maintenance plan as required by 175A(d).
    Best Available Control Technology (BACT) continues to be required. 
The plan also continues to offer an industrial Growth Allowance that 
may be used by new or expanding sources instead of securing emission 
offsets.
    The Transportation Control Measures (TCMs) in this plan replace the 
TCMs specified in the first Portland Area CO Maintenance Plan. The 
emission reduction benefits of these TCMs are included in the emission 
projections on which the Portland Area CO Maintenance Plan is based. 
The revised TCMS are:
    Transit Service Increase: Region transit service revenue hours 
(weighted by capacity) shall be increased 1.0% per year. The increase 
shall be assessed on the basis of a 5-year rolling average of actual 
hours for assessments conducted between 2006 and 2017.
    Bicycle Paths: Jurisdictions and government agencies shall program 
a minimum of 28 miles of bikeways or trails within the Portland 
metropolitan area between the years 2006 through 2017.
    Pedestrian Paths: Jurisdictions and government agencies shall 
program at least nine miles of pedestrian paths in mixed use centers 
between the years 2006 through 2017.
    Oregon has a TCM substitution policy under which identified TCMs 
may be substituted in whole, or in part, with other TCMs providing 
equivalent emission reductions. See 62 FR 4621, September 2, 1997. 
Appendix D9-2 of the second 10-year maintenance plan identifies the 
requirements for TCM substitutions.

IX. What Contingency Measures Are Considered, in Case of the Monitored 
Exceedance or Violation of the Federal Standard?

    The maintenance plan is to contain contingency measures to ensure 
that the State will promptly correct any violation of the standard that 
occurs during the maintenance period. The contingency measures in the 
second 10-year maintenance plan for the Portland area are based on risk 
of violation and actual violation.
    If monitored CO levels at any monitoring site register a second 
high concentration equaling or exceeding 8.1 ppm during a calendar 
year, ODEQ will form a planning group to evaluate the implementation of 
additional emission strategies. Additional strategies to be considered 
include, but are not limited to: Increased parking pricing in the 
Central City, increased funding for transit, value pricing on major 
roadways that increase vehicle travel capacity, a trip reduction 
program, modified regional parking ratios, and accelerated 
implementation of bicycle and pedestrian networks.
    If the Portland area violates the NAAQS for CO, the following 
contingency measures will automatically be implemented. New Source 
Review requirements will be changed. The requirement to install Best 
Available Control Technology will be replaced with Lowest Achievable 
Emissions Rate technology. The downtown parking lid will be reinstated 
if the violation occurs in the downtown area formerly subject to the 
parking lid requirement. If the violation occurs in 2007 or later, the 
Oxygenated Fuel Program will be reinstated.

X. How Does This Action Affect Transportation Conformity?

    Under Section 176(c) of the Act, transportation plans, programs, 
and projects in nonattainment or maintenance areas that are funded or 
approved under the Federal Transit Act, must conform to the applicable 
SIP. In short, a transportation plan is deemed to conform to the 
applicable SIP if the emissions resulting from

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implementation of that transportation plan are less than or equal to 
the motor vehicle emission level established in the SIP for the 
maintenance year and other analysis years.
    In this maintenance plan, procedures for estimating motor vehicle 
emissions are well documented. The regional motor vehicle emissions 
calculated by MOBILE6.2 were used in the probabilistic rollback method 
to compute a threshold level of regional emissions inventory that would 
provide maintenance of the CO standard with 99% certainty and 
confidence through the second 10-year maintenance period. The computed 
attainment threshold of regional motor vehicle emissions can be used to 
assess the long term attainment prospects. The total on-road motor 
vehicle CO emissions in the Portland area for 2005, 2010 and 2017 are 
shown in Table 2.

 Table 2.--Portland Maintenance Area CO Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets
                         [Pounds per winter day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Year                   2005          2010          2017
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Budget........................    1,238,575     1,033,578     1,181,341
------------------------------------------------------------------------


    For the purpose of demonstrating transportation conformity in the 
timeframe of the area's transportation plan for all years beyond 2017, 
motor vehicle emissions must be less than or equal to the maintenance 
plan's motor vehicle emissions budget for 2017.

XI. In Conclusion, How Would This EPA Approval Affect the General 
Public and Citizens of the Portland Area?

    This action proposes to approve measures adopted by ODEQ to ensure 
maintenance of the Federal air quality standards for CO in the Portland 
area for a second 10-year period and protect the health and welfare of 
the area citizens from adverse effects of degraded air quality levels.

XII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
proposed 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 
proposed action merely proposes to approve state law as meeting Federal 
requirements and imposes no additional requirements beyond those 
imposed by state law. Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that 
this proposed 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 proposes to approve 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 proposed 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 
merely proposes to approve 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 
proposed 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 proposed 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 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: August 23, 2005.
Julie M. Hagensen,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region 10.
[FR Doc. 05-17537 Filed 9-2-05; 8:45 am]
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