[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 215 (Wednesday, November 7, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 62809-62811]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-21866]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2007-0215; FRL-8493-3]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
West Virginia; 110(a)(1) 8-Hour Ozone Maintenance Plan and Amendments 
to the 1-Hour Ozone Maintenance Plan

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
revisions submitted by West Virginia. These revisions pertain to: the 
maintenance plan prepared by West Virginia to maintain the 8-hour 
national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for ozone in Greenbrier 
County, which is designated attainment for the ozone NAAQS; and two 
amendments to the existing 1-hour ozone maintenance plan, which include 
(a) removal of the obligation to submit a maintenance plan for the 1-
hour NAAQS eight years after approval of the initial 1-hour maintenance 
plan, and (b) removal of the State's obligation to implement 
contingency measures upon a violation of the 1-hour NAAQS. The purpose 
of this proposed approval is to ensure Federal enforceability of the 
state air program plan and to maintain consistency between the State-
adopted plan and the approved SIP. This action is being taken under the 
Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before December 7, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2007-0215, by one of the following methods:
    A. http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    B. E-mail: [email protected].
    C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2007-0215, Marilyn Powers, Acting Branch 
Chief, Air Quality Planning Branch, Mailcode 3AP21, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania 19103.
    D. Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region III address. 
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-
2007-0215. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change, and may be made available online 
at www.regulations.gov, 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 www.regulations.gov or e-mail. 
The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, 
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 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, any form of 
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the electronic 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, 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 www.regulations.gov or 
in hard copy during normal business hours at the Air Protection 
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch 
Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of the State submittal 
are available at the West Virginia Department of Environmental 
Protection, Division of Air Quality, 601 57th Street SE., Charleston, 
West Virginia 25304.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irene Shandruk, (215) 814-2166, or by 
e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 29, 2006, the West Virginia 
Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) submitted a revision to 
its State Implementation Plan (SIP) for

[[Page 62810]]

approval of the section 110(a)(1) 8-hour Ozone Maintenance Plan for 
Greenbrier County, West Virginia, and for concurrent approval of two 
amendments to the existing 1-hour ozone maintenance plan.

I. Background

    Section 110(a)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires, in part, 
that states submit to EPA plans to maintain any NAAQS promulgated by 
EPA. EPA interprets this provision to require that areas that were 
maintenance areas for the 1-hour ozone NAAQS but attainment for the 8-
hour ozone NAAQS submit a plan to demonstrate the continued maintenance 
of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS. EPA established June 15, 2007, three years 
after the effective date of the initial 8-hour ozone designations, as 
the deadline for submission of plans for these areas.
    On May 20, 2005, EPA issued guidance that applies, in part, to 
areas that are designated attainment/unclassifiable for the 8-hour 
ozone standard and that had an approved 1-hour ozone maintenance plan. 
The purpose of the guidance, referred to as section 110(a)(1) guidance, 
is to assist the states in the development of a SIP which addresses the 
maintenance requirements found in section 110(a)(1) of the CAA. There 
are five components of the section 110(a)(1) maintenance plan which 
are: (1) An attainment inventory, which is based on actual typical 
summer day emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxides of 
nitrogen (NOX) for a ten-year period from a base year as 
chosen by the state; (2) a maintenance demonstration which shows how 
the area will remain in compliance with the 8-hour ozone standard for 
10 years after the effective date of designations (June 15, 2004); (3) 
a commitment to continue to operate air quality monitors; (4) a 
contingency plan that will ensure that a violation of the 8-hour ozone 
NAAQS is promptly addressed; and (5) an explanation of how the State 
will track the progress of the maintenance plan.

II. Summary of SIP Revision

    The WVDEP 8-hour ozone maintenance plan addresses the components of 
the section 110(a)(1) 8-hour ozone maintenance plan as outlined in 
EPA's May 20, 2005 guidance. West Virginia has requested approval of 
its 8-hour ozone maintenance plan for Greenbrier County, as well as 
concurrent approval of two amendments to its existing 1-hour ozone 
maintenance plan.
    Emissions Inventory: An emissions inventory is an itemized list of 
emission estimates for sources of air pollution in a given area for a 
specified time period. WVDEP has provided a comprehensive and current 
emissions inventory for NOX and VOCs. WVDEP has chosen to 
use 2002 as the base year from which it will project emissions. The 
maintenance plan also includes an explanation of the methodology used 
for determining the anthropogenic (area and mobile sources) emissions. 
There are no Title V point sources located in Greenbrier County, so a 
2002 point source inventory was not compiled. The inventory is based on 
emissions from a typical ozone season day. The term ``typical'' refers 
to emissions being emitted during a typical weekday during the months 
where ozone concentrations are typically the highest.
    Maintenance Demonstration and Tracking Progress: With regard to 
demonstrating continued maintenance of the 8-hour ozone standard, West 
Virginia projects that the total emissions from Greenbrier County will 
decrease during the ten-year maintenance period. WVDEP has projected 
emissions for 10 years from the effective date of initial designations, 
or 2014. In 2002, the total anthropogenic emissions in Greenbrier 
County were 7.7 tons/ozone season day for VOCs and 7.4 tons/ozone 
season day for NOX. The projected 2014 anthropogenic 
emissions from Greenbrier County are 7.0 tons/ozone season day for VOCs 
and 4.9 tons/ozone season day for NOX. As such, the plan 
demonstrates that, from an emissions projections standpoint, emissions 
are projected to decrease.
    It is important to note that the formation of ozone is dependent on 
a number of variables which cannot be estimated through emissions 
growth and reduction calculations. A few of these variables include 
weather and the transport of ozone precursors from outside the 
maintenance area. In the Section 110(a)(1) maintenance plan, WVDEP had 
indicated that the state will track the progress of the maintenance 
plan by updating the emissions inventory for Greenbrier County 
approximately every three years. The emissions inventory update will 
include point, area, and mobile emissions. Information from these 
future updates will be compared with the projected growth estimates for 
the 2002 base inventory data to track maintenance of the standard.
    Ambient Monitoring: With regard to the ambient air monitoring 
component of the maintenance plan, West Virginia commits to continue 
operating air quality monitoring stations in accordance with 40 CFR 
Part 58 throughout the maintenance period to verify maintenance of the 
8-hour ozone standard, and will submit quality-assured ozone data to 
EPA through the AIRS system.
    Contingency Measures: EPA interprets Section 110(a)(1) of the CAA 
to require that the state develop a contingency plan that will ensure 
that any violation of a NAAQS is promptly corrected. The purposes of 
the contingency measures, as outlined in West Virginia's maintenance 
plan, is to accordingly select and adopt one or more measures outlined 
in the maintenance plan so as to assure continued attainment in the 
event that a violation of the ozone NAAQS is measured. Violation of the 
8-hour ozone standard would trigger one or more of the control measures 
outlined in the plan.
    Approval of two amendments to West Virginia's existing 1-hour 
maintenance plan has also been requested by WVDEP. Section 175A(b) 
requires that maintenance plans be updated. The 1-hour maintenance plan 
for Greenbrier County extends to 2005, but no update has been 
developed. West Virginia identifies the most important reason for this 
being that available resources are being devoted to attainment and 
maintenance of the 8-hour standard since the 8-hour standard is 
considered by the State to be more protective than the former 1-hour 
standard upon which the current maintenance plan is based. As such, 
West Virginia is amending this existing maintenance plan, which is 
codified at 40 CFR 52.2420(e), for the Greenbrier County 1-hour 
maintenance area by removing the State's obligation to submit a 
maintenance plan for the 1-hour NAAQS eight years after approval of the 
initial 1-hour maintenance plan, and is requesting approval of these 
amendments.
    The WVDEP is requesting approval of the section 110(a)(1) 8-hour 
ozone maintenance plan for Greenbrier County, West Virginia as a 
revision to its SIP. This plan demonstrates how the State intends to 
maintain the 8-hour NAAQS for ozone. Additionally, WVDEP requested that 
pursuant to 40 CFR 51.905(e)(1), EPA concurrently approve two 
amendments to the existing 1-hour ozone maintenance plan: (1) Removal 
of the obligation to submit a maintenance plan for the 1-hour NAAQS 8 
years after approval of the initial 1-hour maintenance plan; and (2) 
removal of the State's obligation to implement contingency measures 
upon a violation of the 1-hour NAAQS. West Virginia's SIP submittal 
meets the CAA requirements for SIP submittals.

[[Page 62811]]

III. Proposed Action

    EPA's review of this material indicates that West Virginia has 
addressed the components of a maintenance plan pursuant to EPA's May 
20, 2005 guidance. EPA is proposing to approve the West Virginia SIP 
revision for Greenbrier County, which was submitted on November 29, 
2006. EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues discussed in this 
document. These comments will be considered before taking final action.

IV. 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 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 (Public Law 104-4). This proposed rule also does 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), nor will it 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 proposes to approve a state rule implementing a Federal 
requirement, and does not alter the relationship or the distribution of 
power and responsibilities established in the CAA. This proposed rule 
also is not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 
1997), because it approves a state rule implementing a Federal 
standard.
    In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state 
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. 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 CAA. 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. As required by section 3 of 
Executive Order 12988 (61 FR 4729, February 7, 1996), in issuing this 
proposed rule, EPA has taken the necessary steps to eliminate drafting 
errors and ambiguity, minimize potential litigation, and provide a 
clear legal standard for affected conduct. EPA has complied with 
Executive Order 12630 (53 FR 8859, March 15, 1988) by examining the 
takings implications of the rule in accordance with the ``Attorney 
General's Supplemental Guidelines for the Evaluation of Risk and 
Avoidance of Unanticipated Takings'' issued under the executive order.
    This action proposing approval of the section 110(a)(1) 8-hour 
Ozone Maintenance Plan for Greenbrier County, West Virginia, and for 
concurrent approval of two amendments to the existing 1-hour ozone 
maintenance plan 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, Nitrogen dioxide, 
Ozone, Reporting and Recordkeeping, Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: October 29, 2007.
Donald S. Welsh,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
 [FR Doc. E7-21866 Filed 11-6-07; 8:45 am]
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