[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 42 (Thursday, March 4, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9781-9782]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-4533]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[EPA-R04-OAR-2007-0958-201005(c); FRL-9122-1]


Determination of Nonattainment and Reclassification of the 
Atlanta, Georgia, 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area; Correction

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule; correcting amendment.

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SUMMARY: On March 6, 2008, EPA published a document reclassifying the 
Atlanta, Georgia, area from marginal to moderate for the 1997 8-hour 
ozone nonattainment area by operation of law. This action clarifies a 
portion of the preamble language in the aforementioned Federal Register 
notice.

DATES: This action is effective March 4, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the documentation used in the action being 
corrected are available for inspection during normal business hours at 
the following location: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 
61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The Regional 
Office's official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 
4:30, excluding Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Stacy Harder, Regulatory 
Development Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics 
Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 
Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Ms. Harder can be 
reached at 404-562-9042, or via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This action corrects preamble language for a 
designation that appears in Georgia's Attainment Designation Status 
section at 40 CFR part 81.311. The reclassification of the Atlanta Area 
from marginal to moderate for the 1997 8-hour ozone standard, was 
approved by EPA on March 6, 2008 (73 FR 12013). However, EPA 
inadvertently excluded Hall County from the list of counties included 
in the Atlanta, Georgia, 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area in the 
preamble portion of the rulemaking. Also, EPA inadvertently included 
Pickens County in the list of counties included in the Atlanta, 
Georgia, 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area, in the preamble portion 
of the rulemaking. Additionally, EPA is clarifying that ``Bartow'' and 
``Spalding'' Counties were inadvertently misspelled as ``Barton'' and 
``Spaulding'' Counties on page 12014. Therefore, EPA is correcting this 
inadvertent error by clarifying that the first sentence, in the second 
paragraph, in the first column, of page 12014 (SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION, Section I) should read: ``The Atlanta Area is located in 
Northern Georgia and consists of Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, 
Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, 
Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Spalding and Walton 
Counties.'' The regulatory portion of the notice, found at 40 CFR 
81.311, is correct as written in the March 6, 2008, rulemaking.
    EPA has determined that today's action falls under the ``good 
cause'' exemption in section 553(b)(3)(B) of the Administrative 
Procedure Act (APA) which, upon finding ``good cause,'' authorizes 
agencies to dispense with public participation where public notice and 
comment procedures are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the 
public interest. Public notice and comment for this action are 
unnecessary because today's action to clarify the list of counties 
included in the Atlanta 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area, in the 
narrative portion of the rulemaking, has no substantive impact on EPA's 
March 6, 2008, approval of this regulation. In addition, EPA can 
identify no particular reason why the public would be interested in 
being notified of the correction of this omission, or in having the 
opportunity to comment on the correction prior to this action being 
finalized, since this correction action does not change the meaning of 
EPA's analysis or action to reclassify the Atlanta 1997 8-hour ozone 
nonattainment area from marginal to moderate.
    EPA also finds that there is good cause under APA section 553(d)(3) 
for this correction to become effective on the date of publication of 
this action. Section 553(d)(3) of the APA allows an effective date less 
than 30 days after publication ``as otherwise provided by the agency 
for good cause found and published with the rule.'' 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). 
The purpose of the 30-day waiting period prescribed in APA section 
553(d)(3) is to give affected parties a reasonable time to adjust their 
behavior and prepare before the final rule takes effect. Today's rule, 
however, does not create any new regulatory requirements such that 
affected parties would need time to prepare before the rule takes 
effect. Rather, today's rule merely corrects an inadvertent error in 
the preamble portion of a prior rule by clarifying the list of counties 
included in the 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area, which EPA 
approved on March 6, 2008. For these reasons, EPA finds good cause 
under APA section 553(d)(3) for this correction to become effective on 
the date of publication of this action.

Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not 
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. For

[[Page 9782]]

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 corrects an inadvertent error of omission in the preamble of a 
prior rule by identifying the list of counties included in the Atlanta 
1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area in a regulation which EPA approved 
on March 6, 2008, and imposes no additional requirements beyond those 
imposed by state law. Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that 
this 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 merely corrects an inadvertent error in 
the preamble of a prior rule, 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 
(Pub. L. 104-4).
    This rule also does not have tribal implications because it will 
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). This rule also does not have Federalism 
implications because it does not 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). This rule merely corrects an inadvertent 
error of omission in the preamble of a prior rule by identifying the 
list of counties included in the Atlanta 1997 8-hour ozone 
nonattainment area in a regulation which EPA approved on March 6, 2008, 
and does not alter the relationship or the distribution of power and 
responsibilities established in the Clean Air Act. This rule also is 
not subject to Executive Order 13045 ``Protection of Children from 
Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks'' (62 FR 19885, April 23, 
1997), because it is not economically significant. In addition, this 
rule does not involve technical standards, 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. This rule also does not 
impose an information collection burden under the provisions of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. section 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 
rule 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. 
section 804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by May 3, 2010. Filing a 
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule 
does not affect the finality of this rule 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 CAA section 307(b)(2).)

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

    Dated: February 23, 2010.
Beverly H. Banister,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2010-4533 Filed 3-3-10; 8:45 am]
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