[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 28 (Thursday, February 12, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7027-7029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-3051]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 50 and 51
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0956; FRL-8772-8]
RIN-2060-AO63
Proposed Rule To Implement the 1997 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient
Air Quality Standard: Revision on Subpart 1 Area Reclassification and
Anti-Backsliding Provisions Under Former 1-Hour Ozone Standard;
Proposed Deletion of Obsolete 1-Hour Ozone Standard Provision
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
[[Page 7028]]
ACTION: Notice of public hearing and extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: The EPA is announcing a public hearing to be held for the
proposed rule ``Proposed Rule to Implement the 1997 8-Hour Ozone
National Ambient Air Quality Standard: Revision on Subpart 1 Area
Reclassification and Anti-Backsliding Provisions Under Former 1-Hour
Ozone Standard; Proposed Deletion of Obsolete 1-Hour Ozone Standard
Provision'' which published in the Federal Register on January 16,
2009. The hearing will be held in Washington, DC, on Monday, March 2,
2009.
EPA is also announcing an extension of the public comment period on
our proposed rule. EPA is extending the comment period that originally
ends on February 17, 2009. The extended comment period will close on
April 1, 2009.
In this notice of proposed rulemaking, EPA proposed to revise the
rule for implementing the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air
quality standard (NAAQS) for several of the limited portions of the
rule vacated by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia. The proposal addresses the classification system for the
subset of initial 8-hour ozone nonattainment areas that the
implementation rule originally covered under Clean Air Act (CAA) title
I, part D, subpart 1. The proposal also addresses how 1-hour ozone
contingency measures that apply for failure to attain or make
reasonable progress toward attainment of the 1-hour standard should
apply under the anti-backsliding provisions of the implementation rule.
In addition, the proposal removes language relating to the vacated
provisions of the rule that provided exemptions from the requirements
of nonattainment new source review (NSR) and CAA section 185 penalty
fees under the 1-hour standard. The public hearing will provide
interested parties the opportunity to present data, views, or arguments
concerning these proposed changes.
DATES: Public Hearing. The public hearing will be held on March 2,
2009.
Comments. Comments must be received on or before April 1, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Public Hearing. The hearing will be held at U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, EPA East, Room 1153, 1200 Pennsylvania
Avenue, Washington, DC 20004. The public hearing will start at 10 a.m.
and end at 3 p.m. Because this hearing is being held at U.S. government
facilities, everyone planning to attend the hearing should be prepared
to show valid picture identification to the security staff in order to
gain access to the meeting room. In addition, you will need to obtain a
property pass for any personal belongings you bring with you. Upon
leaving the building, you will be required to return this property pass
to the security desk. No large signs will be allowed in the building,
cameras may only be used inside the classroom and outside of the
building and demonstrations will not be allowed on Federal property for
security reasons.
Comments. Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2007-0956, by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: [email protected].
Fax: (202) 566-9744
Mail: Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center,
Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0956, Environmental Protection
Agency, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. Mail Code:
2822T. Please include two copies if possible.
Hand Delivery: Air and Radiation Docket and Information
Center, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0956, Environmental
Protection Agency in the EPA Headquarters Library, Room Number 3334 in
the EPA West Building, located at 1301 Constitution Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC. The EPA/DC Public Reading Room hours of operation will
be 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), Monday through
Friday, Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2007-0956. The EPA's policy is that all comments received will be
included in the public docket without change and may be made available
on-line at http://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 http://www.regulations.gov, or e-mail. The http://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 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, any form of encryption, and be free of
any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public
docket, visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in http://www.regulations.gov. 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 http://www.regulations.gov or in
hard copy at the EPA Docket Center (Air Docket), EPA West, Room 3334,
1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is
open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding
legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is
(202) 566-1744.
The EPA Web site for the rulemaking, which includes the proposal
and information about the public hearing, can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/ozone/o3imp8hr/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you would like to speak at the
public hearing, please contact Ms. Pamela Long, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, OAQPS, Air Quality Planning Division, (C504-03),
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone (919) 541-0641, fax number
(919) 541-5509, e-mail address [email protected] no later than February
27, 2009. If you have any questions on the public hearing, please
contact Ms. Long at the above number.
Questions concerning the January 16, 2009, proposed rule should be
addressed to Mr. John Silvasi, U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning
and Standards, Air Quality Policy Division, (C539-01), Research
Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone number (919) 541-5666, e-mail at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The January 16, 2009, notice of proposed
rulemaking proposes to revise the rule
[[Page 7029]]
for implementing the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS for several of the limited
portions of the rule vacated by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia. The proposal addresses the classification
system for the subset of initial 8-hour ozone nonattainment areas that
the implementation rule originally covered under CAA title I, part D,
subpart 1. The proposal also addresses how 1-hour ozone contingency
measures that apply for failure to attain or make reasonable progress
toward attainment of the 1-hour standard should apply under the anti-
backsliding provisions of the implementation rule. In addition, the
proposal removes language relating to the vacated provisions of the
rule that provided exemptions from the requirements of nonattainment
NSR and CAA section 185 penalty fees under the 1-hour standard.
Public Hearing: The proposal for which EPA is holding the public
hearing was published in the Federal Register on January 16, 2009, (74
FR 2936) and is available at: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/ozone/o3imp8hr/ and also in the docket identified below. The public hearing
will provide interested parties the opportunity to present data, views,
or arguments concerning the proposal. The EPA may ask clarifying
questions during the oral presentations, but will not respond to the
presentations at that time. Written statements and supporting
information submitted during the comment period will be considered with
the same weight as any oral comments and supporting information
presented at the public hearing. Written comments on the proposed rule
must be postmarked by April 1, 2009, which is the extended closing date
for the comment period.
Commenters should notify Ms. Long if they will need specific
equipment, or if there are other special needs related to providing
comments at the hearing. The EPA will provide equipment for commenters
to show overhead slides or make computerized slide presentations if we
receive special requests in advance. Oral testimony will be limited to
5 minutes for each commenter. The EPA encourages commenters to provide
EPA with a copy of their oral testimony electronically (via e-mail or
CD) or in hard copy form.
The hearing schedule, including lists of speakers, will be posted
on EPA's Web site http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/o3imp8hr/. Verbatim
transcripts of the hearing and written statements will be included in
the docket for the rulemaking.
How Can I Get Copies of This Document and Other Related Information?
The EPA has established a docket for the proposed rule ``Proposed
Rule to Implement the 1997 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality
Standard: Revision on Subpart 1 Area Reclassification and Anti-
Backsliding Provisions Under Former 1-Hour Ozone Standard; Proposed
Deletion of Obsolete 1-Hour Ozone Standard Provision'' under Docket ID
No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0956 (available at http://www.regulations.gov).
As stated previously, the proposed rule was published in the
Federal Register on January 16, 2009 (74 FR 2936) and is available at
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/ozone/o3imp8hr/ and in the above-cited
docket.
Dated: February 5, 2009.
Mary E. Henigin,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. E9-3051 Filed 2-11-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P