[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 210 (Tuesday, November 1, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 65838-65842]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-21528]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[RO4-OAR-2005-TN-0006-200519(a); FRL-7990-3]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Tennessee: 
Nashville Area Second 10-Year Maintenance Plan for the 1-Hour Ozone 
National Ambient Air Quality Standard

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The EPA is approving a revision to the Tennessee State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted in final form on August 10, 2005. 
The SIP revision provides the second 10-year maintenance plan for the 
Nashville (Middle Tennessee) 1-hour ozone maintenance area (Nashville 
Area), which is composed of the following five counties: Davidson, 
Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, and Wilson. The Nashville Area is still 
required to fulfill obligations under the 1-hour ozone national ambient 
air quality standard (NAAQS), because EPA has deferred the effective 
date of the designation for the Nashville Area under the newer 8-hour 
ozone NAAQS due to participation in an Early Action Compact. EPA is 
approving this SIP revision because it satisfies the requirement of the 
Clean Air Act (CAA) for the second 10-year maintenance plan for the 
Nashville Area.
    In addition, in this rulemaking, EPA is providing information on 
its transportation conformity adequacy determination for new motor 
vehicle emission budgets (MVEBs) for the year 2016 that are contained 
in the second 10-year 1-hour ozone maintenance plan for the Nashville 
Area. EPA determined that the 2016 MVEBs are adequate through a 
previous action. EPA is also approving the 2016 MVEBs in this action.

DATES: This direct final rule is effective January 3, 2006, without 
further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by December 1, 
2005. If adverse comment is received, EPA will publish a timely 
withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform 
the public that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Regional Material in 
EDocket (RME) ID No. ``RO4-OAR-2005-TN-0006-200519'' by one of the 
following methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the on-line instruction 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. Fax: (404) 562-9019.
    5. Mail: ``RO4-OAR-2005-TN-0006'' Regulatory Development Section, 
Air Planning Branch, Air Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., 
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960.
    6. Hand Delivery or Courier, Deliver your comments to Anne Marie 
Hoffman, Regulatory Development Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, 
Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 
30303-8960, such deliveries are only accepted during the Regional 
Office's normal hours of operation. The Regional office's official 
hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, excluding 
federal holidays.

[[Page 65839]]

    Instructions: Direct your comments to RME ID No. ``RO4-OAR-2005-TN-
0006.'' 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 website and the federal regulations.gov website 
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 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 material are available either electronically in RME or 
in hard copy at the Regulatory Development Section, Air Planning 
Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., 
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. EPA requests that if at all possible, you 
contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's official 
hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, excluding 
federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anne Marie Hoffman, Regulatory 
Development Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics 
Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 
Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia, 30303-8960, Phone (404) 562-
9074. E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. What Is the Background for This Action?
II. What Is EPA's Analysis of the Nashville Area's Second 10-Year 
Maintenance Plan?
III. What Is EPA's Action on the Nashville Area's Second 10-Year 
Maintenance Plan?
IV. What Is an Adequacy Determination and What Is EPA's Adequacy 
Determination for the Nashville Area's New MVEBs for the Year 2016?
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What Is the Background for This Action?

    In 1996, based on measured air quality data, the Nashville Area was 
able to demonstrate attainment with the 1-hour ozone National Ambient 
Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) due to numerous control measures 
implemented in the Nashville Area. As a result of the measured air 
quality data, Tennessee petitioned EPA for redesignation. In 1996, EPA 
redesignated the Nashville Area to attainment based on the measured air 
quality data and a 10-year maintenance plan submitted for the Nashville 
Area. The air quality maintenance plan is a requirement of the 1990 CAA 
amendments for nonattainment areas that come into compliance with the 
NAAQS to assure their continued maintenance of that standard. Eight 
years after redesignation to attainment, section 175A(b) of the CAA 
requires the state to submit a revised maintenance plan which 
demonstrates that attainment will continue to be maintained for the ten 
years following the initial ten-year period (this is known as the 
second 10-year plan). The second 10-year plan updates the original 10-
year 1-hour ozone maintenance plan for the next 10-year period. The 
maintenance plan sets out the steps the area would take to maintain 
attainment with the 1-hour ozone NAAQS. Tennessee was required to 
submit the second 10-year plan for the Nashville Area demonstrating 
that it would continue to attain the 1-hour ozone NAAQS through 2016.
    The Nashville Area is still required to fulfill requirements under 
the 1-hour ozone NAAQS due to its participation in an Early Action 
Compact (EAC). The effective date of the revocation of the 1-hour ozone 
NAAQS is one year after the effective date of the designations for the 
8-hour ozone standard as explained in EPA's April 30, 2004, final rule 
(69 FR 23951). For areas participating in an EAC, the effective date 
for designations for the 8-hour ozone NAAQS was deferred until December 
31, 2006, in a final action published by EPA on August 29, 2005 (70 FR 
50988). Therefore, the 1-hour ozone NAAQS is not yet revoked for the 
Nashville Area and other areas participating in an EAC, because the 
effective date for designations for the 8-hour ozone NAAQS in EAC areas 
has been deferred. For more information, please see EPA's Web site on 
EACs at: http://www.epa.gov/air/eac/index.html.
    The original 10-year maintenance plan for the Nashville Area 
established MVEBs for the year 2006. The 2006 MVEBs are 53.17 tons per 
day (tpd) for volatile organic compounds (VOC) and 96.60 tpd for 
nitrogen oxides (NOX). These MVEBs are currently being used 
by the transportation partners to demonstrate transportation 
conformity. Additionally, through this rulemaking, EPA is providing 
information on the status of its transportation conformity adequacy 
determination for new MVEBs for the year 2016 that are contained in the 
second 10-year plan for the Nashville Area. The adequacy comment period 
for the 2016 MVEBs began on June 9, 2005, with EPA's posting of the 
availability of this submittal on EPA's Adequacy Web site (at http://www.epa.gov/otaq/transp/conform/adequacy.htm). The adequacy comment 
period for these MVEBs closed on July 11, 2005. No request for, or 
adverse comments on this submittal were received during EPA's adequacy 
comment period. EPA determined that the 2016 MVEBs are adequate through 
a separate action on September 16, 2005, (70 FR 2005). Please see 
section IV of this rulemaking for further explanation of this process.

II. What Is EPA's Analysis of the Nashville Area's Second 10-Year 
Maintenance Plan?

    On August 10, 2005, the State of Tennessee, through the Tennessee 
Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), submitted a SIP 
revision to EPA that provided for the second 10-year plan for the 
Nashville Area as required by section 175A(b) of the CAA. This second 
10-year plan for the Nashville Area includes a new ozone precursor 
emission inventory for 2002 for the Nashville Area which reflects 
emission controls applicable for

[[Page 65840]]

the Nashville Area, and actual and projected emissions for 2002, 2006, 
2009, 2012 and 2016. The SIP revision also establishes new MVEBs for 
2016 for the Nashville Area.
    The emission reduction measures for ozone precursor emissions 
implemented in the Nashville Area from 1996 to 2006, and measures that 
are projected to occur between 2006 and 2016, are accounted for in the 
2002 emission inventory and projected emissions estimates. The 
following two tables provide emissions data and projections, calculated 
using MOBILE6.2, for the ozone precursors, VOC and NOX.

                                                          Table 1.--Nashville 1-Hour Ozone Area
                                              [Emission inventory and projected VOC emissions (2002-2016)]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                           Safety margin
                                                               Area          Non-road         On-road          Point           Total       based on 2002
                                                                              mobile          mobile                                         emissions
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2002....................................................           80.63           27.53           51.21           19.97          179.34             n/a
2006....................................................           85.56           24.01           37.28           13.05          159.90           19.44
2009....................................................           89.03           20.30           31.03           14.02          154.38           24.96
2012....................................................           92.75           18.45           24.91           15.09          151.20           28.14
2016....................................................           98.87           16.77           19.18           17.02          151.84           27.50
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                                          Table 2.--Nashville 1-Hour Ozone Area
                                              [Emission inventory and projected NOX emissions (2002-2016)]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                           Safety margin
                                                               Area          Non-road         On-road          Point           Total       based on 2002
                                                                              mobile          mobile                                         emissions
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2002....................................................           21.13           47.85          136.00           53.29          258.27             n/a
2006....................................................           23.48           44.74           97.89           61.01          227.11           31.15
2009....................................................           24.45           41.18           77.65           61.57          204.85           53.42
2012....................................................           25.69           37.71           56.02           64.21          183.63           74.64
2016....................................................           26.53           32.97           36.01           65.21          160.72           97.55
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The attainment level of emissions is the level of emissions during 
one of the years in which the area met the NAAQS. The Nashville Area 
attained the 1-hour ozone NAAQS based on air quality data for the 2000-
2002 time period. Therefore, in this SIP revision, the emissions from 
the year 2002 are used to calculate a new attainment emissions level 
for the Nashville Area. The emissions from point, area, nonroad, and 
mobile sources in 2002 equal 179.34 tpd of VOC for the entire Nashville 
Area. Projected VOC emissions to the year 2016 equal 151.84 tpd of VOC.
    The safety margin is the difference between the attainment level of 
emissions (from all sources) and the projected level of emissions (from 
all sources) in the maintenance plan. The safety margin is for the 
entire Nashville Area and is not sub-allocated by county. The safety 
margin credit, or a portion thereof, can be allocated to the 
transportation sector, however, the total emission level must stay 
below the attainment level. The safety margin for VOC is the difference 
between these amounts or, in this case, 27.50 tpd for 2016. By this 
same method, 97.55 tpd (258.27 tpd less 160.72 tpd) is the safety 
margin for NOX for 2016. The emissions are projected to 
maintain the Nashville Area's air quality consistent with the NAAQS.
    Maintenance plans and other control strategy SIPs create MVEBs for 
criteria pollutants and/or their precursors to address pollution from 
cars and trucks. The MVEB is the portion of the total allowable 
emissions that is allocated to highway and transit vehicle use and 
emissions. The MVEB serves as a ceiling on emissions from an area's 
planned transportation system. In this SIP revision, the Nashville Area 
used MOBILE6.2 to establish MVEBs for VOC and NOX for the 
year 2016. In a previous action on September 16, 2005, (70 FR 54738) 
EPA determined that the new 2016 MVEBs are adequate for the Nashville 
Area. These MVEBs are listed in Tables 3.1 and 3.2.

                                Table 3.1.--2016 MVEB With Safety Margin Included
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                  2016 estimated
                                                    2016 safety    10% of safety  on-road mobile  2016 MVEB with
                                                      margin          margin         emissions     safety margin
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOC.............................................           27.50            2.75           19.18           21.93
NOX.............................................           97.54            9.75           36.01           45.76
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The MVEBs presented in Table 3.2 are directly reflective of the 
combined onroad (or ``highway'') emissions for the Nashville Area for 
VOC and NOX, plus allocation from the available safety 
margin. In summary, the MVEBs for the Nashville Area that the 
transportation partners must use are provided in the table below.

                     Table 3.2.--2006 and 2016 MVEBs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          2006     2016
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOC...................................................    53.17    21.93
NOX...................................................    96.60    45.76
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 65841]]

III. What Is EPA's Action on the Nashville Area's Second 10-Year 
Maintenance Plan?

    EPA is approving Tennessee's SIP revision pertaining to the 
Nashville Area's second 10-year plan, including the new 2016 MVEBs for 
VOC and NOX.

IV. What Is an Adequacy Determination and What Is EPA's Adequacy 
Determination for the Nashville Area's New MVEB for the Year 2016?

    At various times under the CAA, states are required to submit 
control strategy SIP revisions and maintenance plans for ozone areas. 
These control strategy SIP submittals (e.g., reasonable further 
progress SIP submittals and attainment demonstration SIP submittals) 
and maintenance plans create MVEBs for criteria pollutants and/or their 
precursors to address pollution from cars and trucks. Per 40 CFR part 
93, a MVEB is established for the last year of the maintenance plan. 
The MVEB is the portion of the total allowable emissions in the 
maintenance plan that is allocated to highway and transit vehicle use 
and emissions. The MVEB serves as a ceiling on emissions from an area's 
planned transportation system. The MVEB concept is further explained in 
the preamble to the November 24, 1993, transportation conformity rule 
(58 FR 62188). The preamble also describes how to establish and revise 
MVEBs in the SIP.
    Under section 176(c) of the CAA, new transportation projects, such 
as the construction of new highways, must ``conform'' to (e.g. be 
consistent with) the part of the State's air quality plan that 
addresses pollution from cars and trucks. ``Conformity'' to the SIP 
means that transportation activities will not cause new air quality 
violations, worsen existing violations, or delay timely attainment of 
the NAAQS. Under the transportation conformity rule, at 40 CFR part 93, 
projected emissions from transportation plans and programs must be 
equal to or less than MVEBs for the area. If a transportation plan does 
not ``conform,'' most new projects that would expand the capacity of 
roadways cannot go forward. Regulations at 40 CFR part 93 set forth EPA 
policy, criteria and procedures for demonstrating and assuring 
conformity of such transportation activities to a SIP.
    Until MVEBs in a SIP submittal are approved by EPA, they cannot be 
used for transportation conformity purposes unless EPA makes an 
affirmative finding that MVEBs contained therein are ``adequate.'' Once 
EPA affirmatively finds the submitted MVEBs adequate for transportation 
conformity purposes, those MVEBs can be used by the State and Federal 
agencies in determining whether proposed transportation projects 
``conform'' to the SIP even though the approval of the SIP revision 
containing those MVEBs has not yet been finalized. EPA's substantive 
criteria for determining ``adequacy'' of MVEBs in submitted SIPs are 
set out in EPA's Transportation Conformity Rule at 40 CFR 93.118(e)(4).
    In a letter dated August 16, 2005, to Barry Stephens, Director of 
the Air Pollution Control Division of TDEC, EPA informed the State of 
its intention to find the new 2016 MVEBs adequate for transportation 
conformity purposes. Subsequently, in a Final Federal Register notice 
dated September 16, 2005, (70 FR 54738) EPA found the Nashville Area's 
2016 MVEBs adequate. These MVEBs meet the adequacy criteria contained 
in the Transportation Conformity Rule. Both the 2006 and 2016 MVEBs for 
the Nashville Area are currently being used for transportation 
conformity determinations. For transportation plan analysis years that 
involve the year 2015 or before, the applicable budget for the purposes 
of conducting transportation conformity analysis will be the 2006 MVEBs 
for VOC of 53.17 tpd and for NOX of 96.60 tpd for the 
Nashville Area. For transportation plan analysis years that involve the 
year 2016 or beyond, the applicable budget for the purposes of 
conducting transportation conformity analysis will be the 2016 MVEB for 
VOC of 19.18 tpd and for NOX of 36.01 tpd for the Nashville 
Area.

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, 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 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,

[[Page 65842]]

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 January 3, 2006. 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, Intergovernmental 
relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: October 17, 2005.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.

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. 7401 et seq.

Subpart RR--Tennessee

0
2. Section 52.2220(e) is amended by adding a new entry at the end of 
the table for ``Nashville 1-Hour Ozone Second 10-Year Maintenance 
Plan'' to read as follows:


Sec.  52.2220  Identification of plan.

    (e) * * *

                                                    EPA Approved Tennessee Non-Regulatory Provisions
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         Applicable
     Name of nonregulatory SIP          geographic or     State effective date           EPA approval date                       Explanation
             provision               nonattainment area
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                                      * * * * * * *
Nashville 1-Hour Ozone Second 10-   Nashville...........  August 10, 2005.....  November 1, 2005 [Insert first page  ...................................
 Year Maintenance Plan.                                                          of publication].
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[FR Doc. 05-21528 Filed 10-31-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P