[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 57 (Friday, March 24, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 14815-14816]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-2815]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R01-OAR-2005-ME-0006; A-1-FRL-8048-7]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Maine; 15% and 5% Emission Reduction Plans, Inventories, and 
Transportation Conformity Budgets for the Portland One and Eight Hour 
Ozone Nonattainment Areas

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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

SUMMARY: EPA is approving State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions 
submitted by the State of Maine. These revisions establish a 15% VOC 
emission reduction plan, and revised 1990 base year emissions 
inventory, for the Portland Maine one-hour ozone nonattainment area. 
Additionally, these revisions establish a 5% increment of progress 
emission reduction plan, 2002 base year inventory, and transportation 
conformity budget for the Portland Maine eight-hour ozone nonattainment 
area. The intended effect of this action is to approve these plans as 
revisions to the Maine SIP. This action is being taken under the Clean 
Air Act.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule is effective on April 24, 2006.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R01-OAR-2005-ME-0006. All documents in the 
docket are listed on the www.regulations.gov Web site. 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 
through www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Office of Ecosystem 
Protection, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England 
Regional Office, One Congress Street, Suite 1100, Boston, MA. 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 legal holidays.
    Copies of the documents relevant to this action are also available 
for public inspection during normal business hours, by appointment at 
the Bureau of Air Quality Control, Department of Environmental 
Protection, First Floor of the Tyson Building, Augusta Mental Health 
Institute Complex, Augusta, ME.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob McConnell, Air Quality Planning 
Unit, U.S. EPA Region 1, One Congress Street, Suite 1100-CAQ, Boston, 
MA 02114-2023, telephone number 617-918-1046, fax number 617-918-0046, 
e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 5, 2006 (71 FR 569), EPA 
published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) for the State of Maine. 
The NPR proposed approval of a 15% rate-of-progress (ROP) plan for the 
Portland one-hour ozone nonattainment area, a 5% increment of progress 
emission reduction plan for the Portland 8-hour ozone nonattainment 
area, the associated base year emission inventories developed in 
support of these plans, and transportation conformity budgets for 2007 
established by the 5% increment of progress plan. The formal SIP 
revisions were submitted by Maine on June 9, 13, and 14, 2005.
    The 15% plan demonstrates that between 1990 and 2005, VOC emissions 
declined by 56 tons per summer day (tpsd) in the three southern Maine 
counties that comprise the Portland one-hour nonattainment area. EPA 
approved Maine's 1990 base year inventory for the Portland one-hour 
area on February 28, 1997 (62 FR 9081). With this final rule we are 
approving revisions to Maine's 1990 emissions inventory, as shown in 
Table 1 below.

           Table 1.--Comparison of 1990 VOC Emission Estimates
                                 [tpsd]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Revised
                                                  Originally   1990 VOC
                                                   approved    emissions
                 Source category                   1990 VOC      being
                                                   emissions   approved
                                                                 today
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point Source....................................        9.65        9.65
Area Source.....................................       31.8        33.43
Non-road Mobile.................................        7.4        18.08
On-Road Mobile..................................       49.87       63.31
Biogenic........................................      197.6       197.6
                                                 -----------------------
  Total.........................................      296.32      322.07
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Additionally, the 5% increment of progress plan shows that between 
2002 and 2007, VOC emissions will decline by 14.6 tpsd in the Portland 
eight-hour ozone nonattainment area. We are approving the 2002 base 
year emission inventory that the state of Maine submitted to EPA for 
the Portland Maine 8-hour ozone nonattainment, as shown in Table 2 
below.

  Table 2.--2002 Emission Inventory for the Portland, Maine 8-hour Area
                                 [tpsd]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     2002 VOC   2002 NOX
                  Source category                   emissions  emissions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point Source......................................       3.29      13.08
Area Source.......................................      23.65       1.89
On-road Mobile....................................      30.94      61.20
Off-Road Mobile...................................      16.59      13.23
Com. marine, rail, and aircraft...................       0.45       2.33
                                                   ---------------------
    Total.........................................      74.90      91.70
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The 5% plan's estimate of 2007 on-road motor vehicle emissions will 
establish VOC and NOX transportation conformity budgets for 
the 55 towns within the Portland 8-hour nonattainment area. These 
budgets are 20.115 tons per summer day for VOC, and 39.893 tons per 
summer day for NOX.
    Other specific requirements of these SIP revisions and the 
rationale for EPA's approval are explained in the NPR and will not be 
restated here. No public comments were received on the NPR.
    Final Action: EPA is approving the 15% plan and revisions to the 
1990 base year emissions inventory submitted by the State of Maine for 
the Portland one-hour ozone nonattainment area as revisions to the 
Maine SIP. Additionally, EPA is approving the 5% increment of progress 
plan, 2002 base year inventory, and VOC and NOX 
transportation conformity budgets for the Portland eight-hour ozone 
nonattainment area as revisions to the state's SIP.

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

[[Page 14816]]

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), because it 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. section 801 et seq., as 
added by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 
1996, generally provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency 
promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy 
of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller 
General of the United States. EPA will submit a report containing this 
rule and other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House 
of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States 
prior to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule 
cannot take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal 
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
section 804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by May 23, 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, Nitrogen dioxide, 
Ozone, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: March 15, 2006.
Robert W. Varney,
Regional Administrator, EPA New England.

0
Part 52 of chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 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 U--Maine

0
2. Section 52.1023 is amended by adding paragraphs (e) and (f) to read 
as follows:


Sec.  52.1023  Control Strategy: Ozone.

* * * * *
    (e) Approval. EPA is approving a revision to the State 
Implementation Plan submitted by the Maine Department of Environmental 
Protection on June 9 and 13, 2005. The revision is for purposes of 
satisfying the rate of progress requirements of section 182(b)(1) of 
the Clean Air Act for the Portland Maine one-hour ozone nonattainment 
area.
    (f) Approval. EPA is approving a revision to the State 
Implementation Plan submitted by the Maine Department of Environmental 
Protection on June 9, 13, and 14, 2005. The revision is for purposes of 
satisfying the 5 percent increment of progress requirement of 40 CFR 
51.905(a)(1)(ii)(B) for the Portland Maine eight-hour ozone 
nonattainment area. The revision establishes motor vehicle emissions 
budgets for 2007 of 20.115 tons per summer day (tpsd) of volatile 
organic compound (VOC) and 39.893 tpsd of nitrogen oxide 
(NOX) to be used in transportation conformity in the 
Portland Maine 8-hour ozone nonattainment area.

0
3. Section 52.1036 is amended by revising paragraph (a) and adding 
paragraph (f) to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1036  Emission Inventories.

    (a) The Governor's designee for the State of Maine submitted 1990 
base year emission inventories for the Knox and Lincoln Counties area, 
the Lewiston and Auburn area, the Portland area, and the Hancock and 
Waldo Counties area on July 25, 1995 as a revision to the State 
Implementation Plan (SIP). An amendment to the 1990 base year emission 
inventory for the Portland area was submitted on June 9, 2005. The 1990 
base year emission inventory requirement of section 182(a)(1) of the 
Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990, has been satisfied for these areas.
* * * * *
    (f) The Governor's designee for the State of Maine submitted a 2002 
base year emission inventory for Cumberland, Sagadahoc, and York 
counties, to represent emissions for the Portland 8-hour ozone 
nonattainment area on June 9, 2005, as a revision to the State 
Implementation Plan (SIP). The 2002 base year emission inventory 
requirement of 40 CFR 51.915 has been satisfied for this area.

[FR Doc. 06-2815 Filed 3-23-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P