[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 236 (Friday, December 9, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 73183-73186]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-23808]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[R08-OAR-2005-SD-0002; FRL-8005-1]


Designation of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; State of 
South Dakota; Approval of Redesignation Request

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve a September 30, 2005 request from 
the designee of the Governor of South Dakota to redesignate the ``Rapid 
City Area'' under section 107 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) from 
unclassifiable to attainment for PM-10. EPA is proposing to approve the 
redesignation request because the State has adequately demonstrated 
that the ``Rapid City Area'' is in attainment of the PM-10 National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and has committed to the 
continuation of fugitive dust controls that should help ensure that the 
area continues to attain the PM-10 NAAQS. The requirements that will 
apply in the ``Rapid City Area'' will not change as a result of this 
action because, for the purposes of the requirements of the CAA, 
unclassifiable and attainment areas are treated the same. This action 
is being taken under section 107 of the Clean Air Act.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 9, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. R08-OAR-
2005-SD-0002, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     Agency Web site: http://docket.epa.gov/rmepub/index.jsp. 
Regional Materials in EDOCKET (RME), EPA's electronic public docket and 
comment system for regional actions, is EPA's preferred method for 
receiving comments. Follow the on-line instructions for submitting 
comments.
     E-mail: [email protected] and [email protected].
     Fax: (303) 312-6064 (please alert the individual listed in 
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT if you are faxing comments).
     Mail: Richard R. Long, Director, Air and Radiation 
Program, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 8, Mailcode 8P-
AR, 999 18th Street, Suite 200, Denver, Colorado 80202-2466.
     Hand Delivery: Richard R. Long, Director, Air and 
Radiation Program,

[[Page 73184]]

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 8, Mailcode 8P-AR, 999 
18th Street, Suite 200, Denver, Colorado 80202-2466. Such deliveries 
are only accepted Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:55 p.m., excluding 
Federal holidays. Special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. R08-OAR-2005-
SD-0002. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in 
the public docket without change and may be made available at http://docket.epa.gov/rmepub/index.jsp, 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 EDOCKET, 
regulations.gov, or e-mail. The EPA's Regional Materials in EDOCKET and 
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 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. For additional 
information about EPA's public docket visit EDOCKET online 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 Regional 
Materials in EDOCKET index at http://docket.epa.gov/rmepub/index.jsp. 
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 Regional Materials in EDOCKET or in 
hard copy at the Air and Radiation Program, Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA), Region 8, 999 18th Street, Suite 200, Denver, Colorado 
80202-2466. EPA requests that if at all possible, you contact the 
individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to 
view the hard copy of the docket. You may view the hard copy of the 
docket Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., excluding Federal 
holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurel Dygowski, EPA Region 8, 999 
18th Street, Suite 200, MS 8P-AR, Denver, CO 80202, (303) 312-6144, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. General Information
II. Background
III. Evaluation of State Submittal
IV. Proposed Action
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

Definitions

    For the purpose of this document, we are giving meaning to certain 
words or initials as follows:
    (i) The words or initials Act or CAA mean or refer to the Clean Air 
Act, unless the context indicates otherwise.
    (ii) The words EPA, we, us or our mean or refer to the United 
States Environmental Protection Agency.
    (iii) The initials SIP mean or refer to State Implementation Plan.
    (iv) The words State or South Dakota mean the State of South 
Dakota, unless the context indicates otherwise.

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 
Regional Materials in EDOCKET, 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:
    a. Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other identifying 
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
    b. Follow directions--The agency may ask you to respond to specific 
questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
    c. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and 
substitute language for your requested changes.
    d. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information 
and/or data that you used.
    e. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you 
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
    f. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.
    g. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of 
profanity or personal threats.
    h. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period deadline 
identified.

II. Background

    The State of South Dakota has two areas designated under section 
107 of the Act for PM-10 in 40 CFR 81.342, both of which are designated 
as unclassifiable: the ``Rapid City Area'' and the ``Rest of State'' 
(see 60 FR 55800, November 3, 1995, for the initial promulgation of PM-
10 table in 40 CFR 81.342). EPA designated these areas as 
unclassifiable, rather than attainment, to be consistent with section 
107(d)(4)(B) of the Act, which states that any area not initially 
designated as nonattainment for PM-10 shall be designated 
unclassifiable. Both ``unclassifiable'' and ``attainment'' areas have 
the same status relative to the applicable requirements of the Act. 
However, States do have the option of requesting redesignation of such 
areas from unclassifiable to attainment for PM-10, if certain criteria 
are met. Generally, EPA will look for the following elements to 
redesignate an area from unclassifiable to attainment for PM-10:
    A. A request from the Governor (or his/her designee) to redesignate 
an area from unclassifiable to attainment for PM-10 pursuant to section 
107(d)(3)(D) of the Act;
    B. Verification of three consecutive years of PM-10 data for the 
area showing attainment; and

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    C. Some assurance that the State will continue to implement any 
control measures in place that have helped the area attain or maintain 
the PM-10 NAAQS.

III. Evaluation of State's Submittal

    On September 30, 2005, the designee of the Governor of South Dakota 
submitted a request pursuant to section 107(d)(3)(D) of the CAA for the 
``Rapid City Area'' to be redesignated from unclassifiable to 
attainment for PM-10. The State's letter indicates that the ambient air 
monitoring network, local and state regulations to control fugitive 
dust, and high wind advisory system to alert the public already in 
place in Rapid City will be maintained.
    As stated in section II.B above, in order to be redesignated, an 
area must have three consecutive years of PM-10 data showing 
attainment. The State of South Dakota has maintained an appropriate 
PM10 monitoring network. To demonstrate attainment, the PM-10 
monitoring data at each site must show that the expected 3-year annual 
arithmetic mean did not exceed 50 micrograms per cubic meter and the 
expected number of 24-hour days with PM-10 concentrations greater than 
150 micrograms per cubic meter does not exceed more than one day per 
year. The expected 3-year annual arithmetic mean and 24-hour 
concentrations are calculated using Appendix K of 40 CFR, part 50. 
Appendix K of 40 CFR, part 50 requires that three consecutive years of 
complete data be used to demonstrate compliance. A complete year of 
data is based on a valid data capture efficiency of 75 percent of the 
scheduled sampling days in each of the calendar quarters used in the 
three year period. Sampling data from the air monitoring sites 
operating in 2002, 2003, and 2004 are being used to demonstrate that 
Rapid City should be redesignated from unclassifiable to attainment. 
The monitoring sites in Rapid City that operated during all three years 
are the Library (Air Quality System (AQS)  46-103-1001), 
National Guard (AQS  46-103-0013), and Black Hawk (AQS 
 46-0093-0001) sites. In addition, data from the most recent 
maximum concentration sites, the Fire Station, AQS  46-103-
0019, and the Credit Union, AQS  46-103-0020, are being used 
to support the redesignation even though complete data was not 
collected in 2003. The Fire Station site operated from 2000 until April 
2003 when the building where the monitor was located was torn down, and 
the Fire Station site was replaced by the Credit Union site. The Credit 
Union site is located 30 meters east of the Fire Station site and began 
operating in October 2003. Currently, the Credit Union is the high PM-
10 concentration site for the western Rapid City area. As a result of 
having to move the high PM-10 concentration site, the State was unable 
to collect a full year of data in 2003. During 2003, the State was only 
able to collect PM-10 concentration data from January through April at 
the Fire Station site and October through December at the Credit Union 
site. Although this created a gap in the PM-10 concentrations for the 
high concentration site in Rapid City, EPA is using the data from these 
sites to support the redesignation because the data that was collected 
during 2002-2004 shows levels less than the NAAQS.
    The only high concentration measurements were tied to high wind 
alert events. Under relevant EPA regulations and policies, these data 
are not used in determining attainment. As explained in greater detail 
below, South Dakota has developed and implemented a Natural Events 
Action Plan (NEAP) to help address anthropogenic emissions during high 
wind events. EPA's review of the relevant data indicates that the 
``Rapid City Area'' is attaining both the 24-hour and annual PM-10 
NAAQS.
    As stated in section II.C above, we generally want to know that the 
State will continue to implement existing control measures that have 
helped the area attain or maintain the NAAQS. The State of South Dakota 
has an approved State Implementation Plan (SIP), which includes Article 
74:36 of the Administrative Rules of South Dakota, to help ensure that 
the PM-10 NAAQS will be maintained. First, the State has a minor source 
construction and operating permit program in ARSD 74:36:04 and a major 
source permit program in ARSD 74:36:05. These regulations allow the 
State to issue a permit for a new source to construct or operate only 
when it has been shown that the new source will not prevent or 
interfere with attainment or maintenance of the NAAQS. Further, the 
State has been delegated authority to implement the Federal prevention 
of significant deterioration (PSD) permitting program in 40 CFR 52.21, 
which includes, among other things, the requirement that new and 
modified major stationary sources comply with the PM-10 increments and 
apply best available control technology (BACT). Thus, the State's 
permitting requirements should ensure that new growth in stationary 
source emissions does not impact attainment or maintenance of the PM-10 
NAAQS in the ``Rapid City Area''.
    In addition to the permitting requirements, the State has specific 
regulations that control the emissions of particulate matter, including 
PM-10, in ARSD 74:36:06, 74:36:07, 74:36:15, 74:36:17, and 74:36:18. 
These include particulate emission limits for fuel-burning units, 
process industry units, incinerators, and wood waste burners; a 20% 
opacity limit that generally applies to all sources; open burning 
requirements; fugitive dust emission controls for street sanding and 
deicing; and fugitive dust emission controls from construction and 
continuous operations on State owned property. EPA believes these 
existing State regulations, which have been approved by EPA as part of 
the SIP, will help to ensure that the ``Rapid City Area'' maintains the 
PM-10 NAAQS.
    The State has also developed a NEAP for Rapid City to address PM-10 
exceedances that are natural events resulting from high winds and 
periods of prolonged drought. In July of 1998, the State developed and 
finalized a NEAP in accordance with EPA's 1996 Natural Events Policy 
(NEP), submitted it to EPA, and received EPA approval on the plan. In 
accordance with the NEP, the State also submitted a five-year review of 
their NEAP to EPA, and EPA approved the review on August 4, 2005. The 
NEAP contains control measures to minimize fugitive dust emissions 
during high wind events and also contains procedures for public 
notification when high wind events are occurring so members of the 
public can take extra precautions to protect themselves. The NEAP will 
remain in effect after redesignation to attainment. Finally, the State 
of South Dakota commits to maintain an appropriate PM10 monitoring 
network. This network will include a maximum concentration site, and 
data from the network will be submitted to EPA's Air Quality System 
database on a quarterly basis.
    Based on the foregoing, EPA believes it is appropriate to approve 
the State's request to redesignate the ``Rapid City Area'' from 
unclassifiable to attainment for PM-10. Based on monitoring data, EPA 
will be aware if the attainment status of this area changes in the 
future and triggers the need for additional PM-10 controls as required 
by the Act.

IV. Proposed Action

    EPA is proposing to approve the State of South Dakota's request for 
redesignation under section 107 of the CAA from unclassifiable to 
attainment for PM-10. EPA is soliciting public comments on this 
proposed action or on other relevant matters. Any comments will be 
considered before we take final action. Interested parties may 
participate in the Federal rulemaking

[[Page 73186]]

procedure by submitting written comments in accordance with the 
instructions outlined earlier in this notice.

V. 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 a redesignation to 
attainment and imposes no additional requirements beyond those imposed 
by state law. Redesignation of an area to attainment under section 107 
of the Clean Air Act is an action that affects the attainment status of 
a geographical area and does not impose any new regulatory requirements 
on sources. 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 a redesignation to 
attainment 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 redesignation to attainment 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.
    Section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer Advancement Act 
(NTTAA) of 1995, Public Law 104-113, section 12(d) (15 U.S.C. 272 note) 
directs EPA to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS) in its 
regulatory activities unless to do so would be inconsistent with 
applicable law or otherwise impracticable. VCS are technical standards 
(e.g., materials specifications, test methods, sampling procedures, and 
business practices) that are developed or adopted by VCS bodies. This 
action does not involve technical standards. Therefore, EPA did not 
consider the use of any VCS. 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 81

    Air pollution control, National parks, Wilderness areas.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: November 28, 2005.
Robert E. Roberts,
Regional Administrator, Region 8.
[FR Doc. 05-23808 Filed 12-8-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P