[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 10 (Thursday, January 15, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 2383-2387]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-618]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R06-OAR-2007-1153; FRL-8762-4]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Arkansas; Emissions Inventory for the Crittenden County Ozone Non-
Attainment Area; Emissions Statements

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a 
revision to the Arkansas State Implementation Plan (SIP) to meet the 
Emissions Inventory and Emissions Statements requirements of the Clean 
Air Act (CAA) for the Crittenden County ozone nonattainment area. EPA 
is approving the SIP revision because it satisfies the Emissions 
Inventory and Emissions Statements requirements for 8-hour ozone 
nonattainment areas. EPA is approving the revision pursuant to section 
110 of the CAA.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective March 16, 2009 without 
further notice unless EPA receives adverse comments by February 17, 
2009. If adverse comments are received, EPA will publish a timely 
withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register informing 
the public that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket No. EPA-R06-OAR-
2007-1153, by one of the following methods:
     Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
     Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     EPA Region 6 ``Contact Us'' Web site: http://epa.gov/region6/r6coment.htm. Please click on ``6PD (Multimedia)'' and select 
``Air'' before submitting comments.
     E-mail: Mr. Guy Donaldson 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. Guy Donaldson, Chief, Air Planning Section (6PD-
L), at fax number 214-665-7242.
     Mail: Mr. Guy Donaldson, Chief, Air Planning Section (6PD-
L), Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200, 
Dallas, Texas 75202-2733.
     Hand or Courier Delivery: Mr. Guy Donaldson, 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, and not 
on legal holidays. Special arrangements should be made for deliveries 
of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket No. EPA-R06-OAR-2007-
1153. 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 docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index,

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some information is not publicly available, e.g., 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 during 
official business hours, by appointment, at the Arkansas Department of 
Environmental Quality, 5301 Northshore Drive, North Little Rock, AR 
72118-5317.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dylan Van Dyne, Air Planning Section 
(6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, 
Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, telephone 214-665-7113; fax number 
214-665-7263; e-mail address [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, whenever ``we'', 
``us'', or ``our'' is used, we mean the EPA.

Outline

I. What Action is EPA Taking?
II. What is a SIP?
III. What is the Background for this Action?
IV. What is EPA's Evaluation of the Revision?
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What Action Is EPA Taking?

    We are approving a revision to the Arkansas SIP, submitted to meet 
the Emissions Inventory and Emissions Statement requirements of the CAA 
for the Crittenden County 8-hour ozone non-attainment area.\1\ The 
revision was adopted by the State of Arkansas on June 22, 2007, became 
effective July 15, 2007, and was submitted to EPA on November 19, 2007. 
We are approving the Emissions Inventory for Crittenden County because 
it satisfies the Emissions Inventory requirements for 8-hour ozone 
nonattainment areas classified as marginal or above. We are approving 
the revisions to the Arkansas Regulations requiring Emissions 
certification as meeting Emissions Statement requirements of the CAA. 
We are approving the revision pursuant to section 110 of the CAA.
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    \1\ The Emissions Statement portion of the revision is a 
statewide rule applying to all counties in Arkansas.
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    EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because we view 
this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipate no relevant 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 revision if relevant adverse 
comments are received. This rule will be effective on March 16, 2009 
without further notice unless we receive relevant adverse comment by 
February 17, 2009. If we receive relevant adverse comments, we will 
publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the 
public that the rule will not take effect. We will address all 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 now. 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 
an adverse comment.

II. What Is a SIP?

    Section 110 of the CAA requires states to develop air pollution 
regulations and control strategies to ensure that air quality meets the 
national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) established by EPA. 
NAAQS are established under section 109 of the CAA and currently 
address six criteria pollutants: Carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, 
ozone, lead, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide.
    A SIP is a set of air pollution regulations, control strategies, 
other means or techniques, and technical analyses developed by the 
state, to ensure that the state meets the NAAQS. It is required by 
section 110 and other provisions of the CAA. A SIP protects air quality 
primarily by addressing air pollution at its point of origin. A SIP can 
be extensive, containing state regulations or other enforceable 
documents, and supporting information such as emissions inventories, 
monitoring networks, and modeling demonstrations. Each state must 
submit regulations and control strategies to EPA for approval and 
incorporation into the federally-enforceable SIP.

III. What Is the Background for This Action?

    Inhaling even low levels of ozone, a key component of urban smog, 
can trigger a variety of health problems including chest pains, 
coughing, nausea, throat irritation, and congestion. It can also worsen 
bronchitis and asthma, and reduce lung capacity. Volatile organic 
compounds (VOC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOX) are known as 
``ozone precursors'', as VOCs react with NOX, oxygen, and 
sunlight to form ozone.
    EPA promulgated, on July 18, 1997, a revised 8-hour ozone standard 
of 0.08 parts per million (ppm), which is more protective than the 
previous 1-hour ozone standard (62 FR 38855).\2\ On April 30, 2004 EPA 
published designations for the 1997 standard 8-hour ozone standard (69 
FR 23858). Crittenden County, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee were 
designated as an ozone nonattainment area; and the area was classified 
as a moderate nonattainment area under subpart 2 with an attainment 
date of no later than June 15, 2010. On July 15, 2004, pursuant to 
section 181(a)(4) of the CAA, the States of Tennessee and Arkansas 
submitted a petition to EPA Regions 4 and 6, requesting a downward 
reclassification of the area ``moderate'' to ``marginal'' for the 8-
hour ozone standard. The petition was approved by EPA on September 22, 
2004 (69 FR 56697). As a result of the downward classification, the new 
attainment date for the area was set at no later than June 15, 2007 (73 
FR 15087). The 1997 ozone standard was not attained by this date, so 
the area was reclassified back to ``moderate'' on March 28, 2008, with 
a new attainment date of no later than June 15, 2010 (73 FR 16547).
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    \2\ EPA issued a revised 8-hour ozone standard on March 27, 2008 
(73 FR 16436). The designation and implementation process for that 
standard is just starting and does not affect EPA's action here.
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    Sections 172(c)(3) and 182(a)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and 
EPA's 8-hour ozone regulation (40 CFR 51.915) require submission of an 
emissions inventory for each 8-hour ozone non-attainment area. An 
emissions inventory is an estimation of actual emissions of air 
pollutants in an area. The emissions inventory for an ozone 
nonattainment area contains nitrogen oxide (NOX), volatile 
organic compound (VOC), and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions as these 
pollutants are precursors to ozone

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formation. In this case, the emissions inventory is for the year 2002.
    CAA section 182(a)(3)(B) calls for the SIP to require that owners 
or operators of each stationary source of NOX and VOC in an 
ozone non-attainment area submit an annual emissions statement. The 
emissions statement must show the actual emissions of NOX or 
VOC and contain a certification that the information contained in the 
statement is accurate to the best knowledge of the individual 
certifying the statement.
    On December 22, 2006, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of 
Columbia Circuit vacated EPA's Phase 1 Rule in South Coast Air Quality 
Management Dist. v. EPA, 472 F.3d 882 (DC Cir. 2006). On June 8, 2007, 
in response to several petitions for rehearing, the court modified the 
scope of vacatur of the Phase 1 Rule. See 489 F.3d 1245 (DC Cir. 2007), 
cert. denied, 128 S.Ct. 1065 (2008). The court vacated those portions 
of the Phase 1 Rule that provide for regulation of the 1997 8-hour 
ozone NAAQS in some nonattainment areas under Subpart 1 in lieu of 
Subpart 2 and that allowed areas to revise their SIPs to no longer 
require certain programs as they applied for purposes of the 1-hour 
NAAQS; new source review, section 185 penalties, and contingency plans 
for failure to meet RFP and attainment milestones. The decision does 
not affect the requirements for areas classified under subpart 2, such 
as the Crittenden area, to submit a base year emission inventory for 
the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. Litigation on the Phase 2 Rule is pending 
before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
    On November 19, 2007, ADEQ submitted both the 2002 base year 
emission inventory for the Crittenden County 8-hour ozone non-
attainment area and the certification statement requirement that was 
added to the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission's 
Regulation Number 19 (Regulations of the Arkansas Plan of 
Implementation for Air Pollution Control). These regulations require 
each emission inventory is to be accompanied by a certifying statement 
attesting that the information contained in the inventory is true and 
accurate to the best knowledge of the certifying official.

IV. What Is EPA's Evaluation of the Revision?

    EPA has reviewed the revision for consistency with the requirements 
of EPA regulations. A summary of EPA's analysis is provided below. For 
a full discussion of our evaluation, please see our TSD.

A. Crittenden County Has an Approvable Base Year Emissions Inventory

    CAA sections 172(c)(3) and 182(a)(1) require an inventory of actual 
emissions from all sources of relevant pollutants in the nonattainment 
area. EPA strongly recommended using 2002 as the base year emissions 
inventory. Arkansas has developed a 2002 base year inventory for the 
Crittenden County nonattainment area. The 2002 base year emissions 
inventory includes all point, area, non-road mobile, and on-road mobile 
source emissions in all of Crittenden County. EPA has determined that 
the inventory was developed in accordance with EPA guidelines, and that 
the revised 2002 base year emission inventory is approvable. For more 
information, see the TSD for this section. Table 1 lists the emissions 
inventory for the Crittenden County area. For more detail on how 
emissions inventories were estimated, see the Technical Support 
Document.

                          Table 1--Base Year Emissions Inventory in Tons per Day (TPD)
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                         Source category                                VOC             NOX             CO
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Point...........................................................            2.21            1.05            0.35
Non-Point.......................................................            7.66            0.84           61.34
On-Road.........................................................            5.13            7.61           64.57
Non-Road........................................................            2.71           11.99           18.02
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    County total................................................           17.71           21.49          144.28
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B. The Arkansas Emissions Statement Regulation Is Approvable

    CAA section 182(a)(3)(B) calls for the SIP to require that owners 
or operators of each stationary source of NOX and VOC in an 
ozone non-attainment area submit an annual emissions statement. The 
emissions statement must show the actual emissions of NOX or 
VOC and contain a certification that the information contained in the 
statement is accurate to the best knowledge of the individual 
certifying the statement.
    Arkansas revised Regulation 19, Chapter 7 (Sampling, Monitoring, 
and Reporting Requirements), to require emissions statements. 
Regulation 19.705(D) states, ``Each emission inventory is to be 
accompanied by a certifying statement, signed by the owner(s) or 
operator(s) and attesting that the information contained in the 
inventory is true and accurate to the best knowledge of the certifying 
official. The certification shall include the full name, title, 
signature, date of signature, and telephone number of the certifying 
official.'' This revision is a statewide rule, applying to all counties 
in Arkansas, not just Crittenden County.
    By requiring the owner or operator of each stationary source to 
submit annual emissions statements of emissions of NOX and 
VOCs, the revision to Regulation 19.705 meets the requirements of CAA 
section 182(a)(3)(B).

V. 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

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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).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone, 
Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: December 24, 2008.
Richard E. Greene,
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 E--Arkansas

0
2. Section 52.170 is amended as follows:
0
a. The table in paragraph (c) entitled ``EPA Approved Regulations in 
the Arkansas SIP'' is amended by revising the entry for Reg. 19.705;
0
b. Paragraph (e) is amended by adding a new table entitled ``EPA 
Approved Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures in the 
Arkansas SIP'' and an entry for the Crittenden County Emissions 
Inventory.
    The revision and addition reads as follows:


Sec.  52.170  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                  EPA Approved Regulations In the Arkansas SIP
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                                                             State
          State citation              Title/subject       submittal/     EPA approval date         Comments
                                                        effective date
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Reg. 19.705......................  Recordkeeping and           6/22/07  1/15/09 [Insert FR
                                    Reporting                            page number where
                                    Requirements.                        document begins].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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    (e) * * *
* * * * *

             EPA Approved Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures In the Arkansas SIP
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                                        Applicable
      Name of SIP provision         geographic or non-  State approval/  EPA approval date         Comments
                                     attainment area    submittal date
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Emissions Inventory for            Crittenden County..         6/22/07  1/15/09 [Insert FR
 Crittenden County.                                                      page number where
                                                                         document begins].
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[FR Doc. E9-618 Filed 1-14-09; 8:45 am]
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