[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 209 (Monday, October 30, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 63247-63250]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-18050]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R06-OAR-2005-LA-0003; FRL-8234-8]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Louisiana; 
Transportation Conformity

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action approving a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Louisiana 
on May 13, 2005. This revision serves to incorporate recent changes to 
the Federal conformity rule into the State conformity SIP. We are 
approving this SIP revision in accordance with section 176 and part D 
of the Clean Air Act.

DATES: This rule is effective on December 29, 2006 without further 
notice, unless EPA receives relevant adverse comment by November 29, 
2006. If EPA receives such comment, EPA will publish a timely 
withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that this rule 
will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket No. EPA-R06-OAR-
2005-LA-0003, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     EPA Region 6 ``Contact Us'' Web site: http://epa.gov/
region6/

[[Page 63248]]

r6coment.htm. Please click on ``6PD'' (Multimedia) and select ``Air'' 
before submitting comments.
     E-mail: Mr. Thomas Diggs at [email protected]. Please 
also send a copy by e-mail to the person listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section below.
     Fax: Mr. Thomas Diggs, Chief, Air Planning 
Section (6PD-L), at fax number 214-665-7263.
     Mail: Mr. Thomas Diggs, Chief, Air Planning Section (6PD-
L), Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200, 
Dallas, Texas 75202-2733.
     Hand or Courier Delivery: Mr. Thomas Diggs, Chief, Air 
Planning Section (6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross 
Avenue, Suite 1200, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733. Such deliveries are 
accepted only between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays except 
for legal holidays. Special arrangements should be made for deliveries 
of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Dockt ID No. EPA-R06-OAR-
2005-LA-0003. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be 
included in the public file 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 the 
disclosure of which is restricted by statute. Do not submit information 
that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 
is an ``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 http://www.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 and any form of encryption, and should be 
free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. 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, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in www.regulations.gov 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-cent 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:
    Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Office of 
Environmental Assessment, 602 N. Fifth Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 
70802.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peggy Wade, Air Planning Section (6PD-
L), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 
700, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, telephone (214) 665-7247; fax number 
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

I. What Action Is EPA Taking?
II. What Is the Background for This Action?
III. What Did the State Submit and How Did We Evaluate It?
IV. Final Action
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What Action Is EPA Taking?

    On May 13, 2005, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality 
(LDEQ) submitted revisions to its SIP addressing changes to the 
transportation conformity rule [Louisiana Administrative Code (LAC) 
33:III.1432] which were adopted by the State on March 20, 2005. This 
submission incorporates recent changes in the Federal transportation 
conformity rule into the Louisiana conformity SIP. They are described 
in detail below. EPA is approving these revisions to the Louisiana 
conformity SIP.

II. What Is the Background for This Action?

    The Federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAA) required each 
State to submit a revision to its SIP by November 25, 1994, 
establishing enforceable criteria and procedures for making conformity 
determinations for metropolitan transportation plans (MTP), 
transportation improvement programs (TIP), and projects funded by the 
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) or the Federal Transit 
Administration (FTA). The conformity rule assures that in air quality 
nonattainment or maintenance areas, projected emissions from 
transportation plans and programs stay within the motor vehicle 
emissions ceiling in the applicable attainment demonstration or 
maintenance SIP. The transportation conformity SIP enables the State to 
implement and enforce the Federal transportation conformity 
requirements at the State level per 40 CFR part 51 subpart T and 40 CFR 
part 93 subpart A.
    EPA published final rules regarding conformity requirements on 
November 24, 1993 (58 FR 62188). Since then, EPA has made several 
amendments to the transportation conformity rules: August 7, 1995 (60 
FR 40098), November 14, 1995 (60 FR 57179), August 15, 1997 (62 FR 
43780), April 10, 2000 (65 FR 18911), August 6, 2002 (67 FR 50808), and 
July 1, 2004 (69 FR 40004). A minor correction to the July 1, 2004, 
rulemaking was published on July 20, 2004 (69 FR 43325). The State of 
Louisiana submitted an initial conformity SIP to EPA on November 23, 
1994. This SIP was withdrawn, revised and re-submitted to EPA in 
October of 1998. We approved this SIP on December 29, 1999 (64 FR 
72934), thus addressing the Federal rule amendments promulgated up to 
and including 1997, with the exception of certain provisions of the 
Federal rule that were deemed unlawful by the U.S. Court of Appeals for 
the District of Columbia Circuit (Environmental Defense Fund v. EPA, et 
al., 167 F. 3d 641, DC Cir. 1999). These exceptions are addressed in 
the current SIP submission and are explained below. With the current 
revisions submitted by LDEQ, the State is aligning its rule to the 
Federal conformity rule for all amendments up to and including those 
promulgated on July 20, 2004.
    Specifically, these revisions address the March 2, 1999, ruling, 
mentioned

[[Page 63249]]

above, by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of 
Columbia. The court's ruling affected provisions of the rule pertaining 
to the funding of MTPs and TIPs; use of motor vehicle emissions budgets 
(MVEB) prior to SIP approval; Federal transportation projects in areas 
without a conforming MTP and TIP; timing of conformity consequences 
following an EPA SIP disapproval; and use of submitted safety margins 
in areas with approved SIPs submitted prior to November 24, 1993.
    More recent changes to the rule are inclusion of criteria and 
procedures for implementing conformity in accordance with the new 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) addressing eight-hour 
ozone and particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or 
equal to 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5). Changes relating to the 
implementation of these new standards are summarized below.
    Changes to 40 CFR 93.101 add new definitions for one-hour ozone 
NAAQS; eight-hour ozone NAAQS; donut areas; isolated rural 
nonattainment and maintenance areas; and limited maintenance plans. 
Other Federal changes in the rule include provision of a one-year grace 
period before conformity is required in newly designated nonattainment 
areas and the addition of PM2.5 to the list of criteria 
pollutants (40 CFR 93.102). Changes to 40 CFR 93.104 were made to amend 
the point by which a conformity determination must be made following a 
State's submission of a control strategy SIP or maintenance SIP for the 
first time. This new provision requires conformity to be determined 
within 18 months of EPA's affirmative finding that the SIP's MVEBs are 
adequate. Changes to the grace period for transportation plan 
requirements in certain ozone and carbon monoxide nonattainment areas 
are made in 40 CFR 93.106. 40 CFR 93.109 has been changed to include 
the applicability of conformity for one-hour ozone nonattainment or 
maintenance areas until EPA revokes the one-hour ozone NAAQS and 
additional language related to conformity requirements for the new 
NAAQS for eight-hour ozone and PM2.5. Changes to 40 CFR 
93.110 clarify that conformity determinations must be based on the 
latest planning assumptions in place at the time a conformity analysis 
begins, rather than at the time of Department of Transportation's 
conformity finding. Some changes to the methodology of hot-spot 
analyses were made at 40 CFR 93.116. The rule revisions also made 
several changes with respect to the MVEB at 40 CFR 93.118 where the 
adequacy process is discussed. Changes to 40 CFR 93.119 concern use of 
interim emissions tests in areas without adequate or approved MVEBs. In 
40 CFR 93.120, the 120-day grace period previously allowed prior to a 
conformity freeze has been deleted so that a freeze will occur 
immediately upon the effective date of a SIP disapproval. EPA amended 
the rule at 40 CFR 93.121 so that regionally significant, non-Federal 
projects may no longer advance during a conformity lapse unless they 
have received all necessary State and local approvals prior to the 
lapse. EPA also made minor revisions to 40 CFR 93.117 and 40 CFR 
93.124-93.126. For a comprehensive guide to all changes in the Federal 
rule, please see the reference document at http://www.epa.gov/otaq/transp/conform/420b04013.pdf or the transportation conformity final 
rule at 69 FR 40004.

III. What Did the State Submit and How Did We Evaluate It?

    With this SIP submission, the State is incorporating by reference 
the changes made to the Federal conformity rule up to and including the 
final rule issued on July 1, 2004 (69 FR 40004), as corrected on July 
20, 2004 (69 FR 43325), with the exception of the requirements of 40 
CFR 93.105. The Federal requirements in 40 CFR 93.105 are addressed in 
the State rule at LAC 33:III.1434 and are not being changed with this 
revision.

IV. Final Action

    EPA is approving the revisions to the Louisiana conformity SIP and 
corresponding amendments to LAC 33:III.14.B, Conformity to State or 
Federal Implementation Plans of Transportation Plans, Programs, and 
Projects Developed, Funded or Approved under Title 23 U.S.C or the 
Federal Transit Act. The EPA is publishing this rule without prior 
proposal because we view this as a noncontroversial amendment and 
anticipate no adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section 
of this Federal Register publication, we are publishing a separate 
document that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revisions 
if relevant adverse comments are received. The rule will be effective 
on December 29, 2006 without further notice unless we receive adverse 
comment by November 29, 2006. If we receive adverse comment we will 
publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the 
public this rule will not take effect. We will address public comments 
in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. We will not 
institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties 
interested in commenting must do so at this time. Please note that if 
we receive adverse comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of 
this rule and if that provision may be severed from the remainder of 
the rule, we may adopt as final those provisions of the rule that are 
not the subject of adverse comment.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has exempted this 
regulatory action from Executive Order 12866, entitled ``Regulatory 
Planning and Review.'' 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, 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

[[Page 63250]]

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.
    In reviewing SIP submissions under the National Technology Transfer 
and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note), 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 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, 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 December 29, 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, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: October 5, 2006.
Lawrence E. Starfield,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 6.

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 T--Louisiana

0
2. In Sec.  52.970, the table in paragraph (c) entitled ``EPA approved 
Louisiana regulations in the Louisiana SIP'' under Chapter 14--
Conformity, Subchapter B, section 1432 is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  52.970  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                             EPA Approved Louisiana Regulations in the Louisiana SIP
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                                                      State approval
         State citation            Title/subject           date        EPA approval date        Explanation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
                                              Chapter 14 Conformity
    Subchapter B--Conformity to State or Federal Implementation Plans of Transportation Plans, Programs, and
            Projects Developed, Funded, or Approved under Title 23 U.S.C. or the Federal Transit Act
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Section 1432...................  Incorporation by   March 20, 2005,    October 30, 2006
                                  Reference.         LR31:640.          [Insert FR page
                                                                        number where
                                                                        document begins].
 
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[FR Doc. E6-18050 Filed 10-27-06; 8:45 am]
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