[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 66 (Wednesday, April 8, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 15864-15865]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-7683]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R02-OAR-2008-0479; FRL-8775-5]


Determination of Attainment of the One-Hour Ozone Standard for 
the Southern New Jersey Portion of the Philadelphia Metropolitan 
Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is determining that the one-hour ozone nonattainment area 
in Southern New Jersey, that is, the New Jersey portion of the 
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton, PA-NJ-DE-MD area, attained the one-
hour ozone standard, is not subject to the imposition of penalty fees 
under section 185 of the Clean Air Act and does not need to implement 
contingency measures. Areas that EPA classified as severe ozone 
nonattainment areas for the one-hour National Ambient Air Quality 
Standard and did not attain the Standard by the applicable attainment 
date of November 15, 2005 may be subject to these penalty fees. 
However, since the air quality in the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton 
area attained the ozone standard as of November 15, 2005, this area 
will not need to implement this fee program. This is not a 
redesignation of atttainment for this area, only a fulfillment of a 
Clean Air Act obligation to determine if an area attained the ozone 
standard by its applicable attainment date.

DATES: Effective Date: This rule is effective on May 8, 2009.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R02-OAR-2008-0479. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the http://www.regulations.gov Web site. 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 
through http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air Programs 
Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2, 290 Broadway, 
25th Floor, New York, New York 10007-1866. To make your visit as 
productive as possible, 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 legal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert F. Kelly, Air Programs Branch, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2, 290 Broadway, 25th Floor, 
New York, New York 10007-1866, telephone number (212) 637-4249, fax 
number (212) 637-3901, e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    EPA has determined that the New Jersey portion of the Philadelphia-
Wilmington-Trenton, PA-NJ-DE-MD one-hour ozone nonattainment area (the 
``Philadelphia metropolitan'' nonattainment area) attained the one-hour 
ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) by its attainment 
date, November 15, 2005. (The Philadelphia metropolitan nonattainment 
area consists of the following counties: Cecil County, Maryland; Kent 
and New Castle Counties in Delaware; Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, 
Gloucester, Mercer, and Salem Counties in New Jersey; and, Bucks, 
Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in 
Pennsylvania.) As a result, EPA finds that this area is not subject to 
the imposition of the section 185 penalty fees and does not need to 
implement contingency measures. In a separate final rule at 73 FR 
43360, EPA's Region 3 office found that the balance of the Philadelphia 
metropolitan nonattainment area attained the one-hour ozone NAAQS by 
its applicable attainment date and is not subject to the imposition of 
section 185 penalty fees. Other specific requirements of the 
determination and the rationale for EPA's proposed action are explained 
in the Proposed Rulemaking published on July 23, 2008 (73 FR 42727). 
The proposal was based on three years of complete, quality-assured 
ambient air quality monitoring data for 2003 through 2005 ozone 
seasons. This determination of attainment is not a redesignation to 
attainment for this area. Persons seeking more information on this 
action should access EPA's docket for this action at http://www.regulations.gov, docket number EPA-R02-OAR-2008-0479. EPA received 
no comments on the proposed action.

II. Final Action

    Based upon EPA's review of the air quality data for the 3-year 
period 2003 to 2005, EPA has determined that the New Jersey portion of 
the Philadelphia metropolitan area has attained the 1-hour ozone NAAQS 
by the applicable attainment date of November 15, 2005. EPA also has 
determined that this area is not subject to the imposition of the 
section 185 penalty fees. In addition, because the area has attained 
the one-hour ozone NAAQS by the applicable attainment date, the area is 
not subject to the requirement to implement contingency measures for 
failure to attain the one-hour ozone NAAQS by its attainment date. 
Since the area has met its attainment deadline, even if the area 
subsequently lapses into nonattainment, it would not be required to 
implement the contingency measures for failure to attain the one-hour 
ozone NAAQS by its attainment date.

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    This final action determines that an area has attained a 
previously-established NAAQS based on an objective review of measured 
air quality data. Accordingly, this action merely affirms that state 
actions are 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

[[Page 15865]]

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 New Jersey's State Implementation Plans are 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 June 8, 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 dioxide, Ozone, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: February 12, 2009.
George Pavlou,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 2.

0
Part 52, 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 FF--New Jersey

0
2. Section 52.1582 is amended by adding new paragraph (l) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.1582   Control strategy and regulations: Ozone.

* * * * *
    (l) Attainment determination. EPA has determined that the 
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton severe 1-hour ozone nonattainment area 
attained the 1-hour ozone NAAQS by the applicable attainment date of 
November 15, 2005. In New Jersey, this area includes the counties of 
Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester, Mercer, and Salem. EPA also 
has determined that the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton severe 1-hour 
ozone nonattainment area is not subject to the imposition of the 
section 185 penalty fees. In addition, the requirements of section 
172(c)(9) (contingency measures) do not apply to the area.

 [FR Doc. E9-7683 Filed 4-7-09; 8:45 am]
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