[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 13, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 1591-1593]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-357]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R10-OAR-2007-0110; FRL-8760-8]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Washington; 
Interstate Transport of Pollution

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving the action of the Washington State Department 
of Ecology (Ecology) to address the provisions of Clean Air Act (CAA) 
section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) for the 8-hour ozone and PM2.5 National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) requires 
each state to submit a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision that 
prohibits emissions that adversely affect another state's air quality 
through interstate transport. EPA received no comments on its proposal 
to approve Ecology's SIP revision addressing these provisions. 
Therefore, EPA is finalizing its proposed approval of this revision for 
the State of Washington. Because EPA received adverse comments on its 
proposal to approve the SIP revision from the Idaho Department of 
Environmental Quality (IDEQ), EPA is not taking final action on the 
proposed approval for the State of Idaho at this time and will address 
those comments and take final action on IDEQ's submittal at a later 
date.

DATES: This action is effective on February 12, 2009.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket Identification No. EPA-R10-OAR-2007-0110. All documents in the 
docket are listed on the http://www.regulations.gov Web site. Although 
listed in the index, some information may not be publicly available, 
i.e., Confidential Business Information 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

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electronically through http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 
EPA Region 10, Office of Air, Waste, and Toxics (AWT-107), 1200 Sixth 
Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101. The EPA requests that 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: Donna Deneen, (206) 553-6706, or by e-
mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. Information is organized as 
follows:

Table of Contents

I. What Is the Background of This Rulemaking?
II. What Comments Did We Receive on the Proposed Action?
III. What Is Our Final Action?
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What Is the Background of This Rulemaking?

    On June 26, 2007, EPA published a direct final rule to approve the 
actions of IDEQ and Ecology to address the requirements of Clean Air 
Act section 110(a)(2)(D)(i). 72 FR 35015. This Clean Air Act section 
requires each state to submit a SIP that prohibits emissions that could 
adversely affect another state, addressing four key elements. The SIP 
must prevent sources in the state from emitting pollutants in amounts 
which will: (1) Contribute significantly to nonattainment of the NAAQS 
in another state, (2) interfere with maintenance of the NAAQS by 
another state, (3) interfere with plans in another state to prevent 
significant deterioration of air quality, or (4) interfere with efforts 
of another state to protect visibility.

II. What Comments Did We Receive on the Proposed Action?

    We stated in the direct final rule that if EPA received adverse 
comment, we would publish a timely withdrawal of the direct final rule. 
We received adverse comments on the Idaho portion of the direct final 
rule, and, therefore, we withdrew our direct final rule it its 
entirety. 72 FR 46157 (August 17, 2007). In a parallel notice of 
proposed rulemaking, also published on June 26, 2007, we stated that if 
we received adverse comments we would address all public comments in a 
subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. 72 FR 35022. We 
received no comments on our proposal to approve Ecology's SIP revision 
addressing section 110(a)(2)(D)(i). Therefore, we are finalizing our 
proposed approval of this revision for the State of Washington. Because 
we received adverse comments on our proposal to approve the SIP 
revision from IDEQ, we are not taking final action on the proposed 
approval for the State of Idaho at this time and will address those 
comments and take final action on IDEQ's submittal at a later date.

III. What Is Our Final Action?

    We are finalizing our approval of Ecology's action to address the 
requirements of Clean Air Act section 110(a)(2)(D)(i). We made a minor 
change in the organization of the regulatory language contained in the 
proposal to be consistent with how the regulatory language is organized 
for similar actions. See, e.g., 73 FR 60955 (October 15, 2008) and 73 
FR 75600 (December 12, 2008). We are not taking final action at this 
time to approve IDEQ's action to address CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i).

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a 
SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and 
applicable Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). 
Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state 
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. 
Accordingly, this action merely approves state law as meeting Federal 
requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those 
imposed by state law. For that reason, this action:
     Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to 
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Is certified as not having a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     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);
     Does not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     Is not subject to requirements of section 12(d) of the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent 
with the Clean Air Act; and
     Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to 
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental 
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under 
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).

In addition, this rule does not have tribal implications as specified 
by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because the 
SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in the state, 
and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct costs on 
tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
    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 action 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 March 16, 2009. Filing a 
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule 
does not affect the finality of this action 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).)

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List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 
Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur 
oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: December 31, 2008.
Elin D. Miller,
Regional Administrator, Region 10.

0
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 WW--Washington

0
2. Section 52.2499 is added to read as follows:


Sec.  52.2499  Interstate Transport for the 1997 8-hour ozone and PM2.5 
NAAQS.

    On January 17, 2007, the Washington State Department of Ecology 
submitted a SIP revision to meet the requirements of Clean Air Act 
section 110(a)(2)(D)(i). EPA is approving this submittal.

[FR Doc. E9-357 Filed 1-12-09; 8:45 am]
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