[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 94 (Monday, May 16, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 28181-28187]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-11813]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R06-OAR-2007-0502; FRL-9305-6]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
New Mexico; Sunland Park Section 110(a)(1) Maintenance Plan for the 
1997 8-Hour Ozone Standard

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action approving a revision to the 
New Mexico State Implementation Plan (SIP). The submitted revision 
consists of a maintenance plan for Sunland Park, New Mexico, developed 
to ensure continued attainment of the 1997 8-Hour National Ambient Air 
Quality Standard (NAAQS or standard) through the year 2014. The 
Maintenance Plan meets the requirements of Section 110(a)(1) of the 
Federal Clean Air Act (CAA or Act), EPA's rules, and is consistent with 
EPA's guidance. EPA is approving the revision pursuant to section 110 
of the CAA.

DATES: This rule is effective on July 15, 2011 without further notice, 
unless EPA receives relevant adverse comment by June 15, 2011. If EPA 
receives such comment, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal in the 
Federal Register informing the public that this rule will not take 
effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket No. EPA-R06-OAR-
2007-0502, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the on-line 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 214-665-7263.
     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 except 
for legal holidays. Special arrangements should be made for deliveries 
of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R06-OAR-
2007-0502. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online 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 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 http://

[[Page 28182]]

www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, 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 http://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 at the 
State Air Agency listed below during official business hours by 
appointment:
    New Mexico Environment Department, 1190 St. Francis Dr., Suite 
N4050, Santa Fe, NM 87505.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth W. Boyce, Air Planning Section 
(6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, 
Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, telephone 214-665-7259; 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. Background
II. Analysis of the State's Submittal
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

    Under the 1990 CAA Amendments, the Sunland Park area was designated 
nonattainment for the 1-hour ozone standard on June 12, 1995 and 
classified as ``marginal.'' The Sunland Park area is a portion of Dona 
Ana County, New Mexico, is approximately 42 square miles (sq. mi.) in 
area, and includes the communities of Sunland Park, Santa Teresa, and 
La Union. Sunland Park, La Union, and Santa Teresa are located along 
the border region of New Mexico and are adjacent to El Paso, Texas, and 
Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, or what is commonly referred to as the Paso del 
Norte Airshed. New Mexico submitted all the requirements for a 1-hour 
ozone nonattainment area classified as marginal, and EPA approved them 
into the New Mexico SIP on February 8, 2002. See 67 FR 6152. There are 
no outstanding obligations under the 1-hour ozone NAAQS.
    The Sunland Park area has unique considerations for ozone planning 
due to airshed contributions from Mexico and Texas. Air quality within 
the Paso del Norte Airshed has improved over the last 10 years due to 
cooperative efforts between the State of Texas, the State of New 
Mexico, and Mexico through organizations such as the Paso Del Norte 
Joint Advisory Committee (JAC). Although the area has continued to 
monitor attainment of the 1-hour ozone standard the State chose not to 
submit a request for redesignation before EPA revoked the 1-hour ozone 
NAAQS.\1\
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    \1\ Monitors in Sunland Park continue to reflect attainment of 
the 1-hour ozone NAAQS. The State, however, did not submit a request 
for redesignation of the area to attainment for the 1-hour ozone 
standard and a section 175A maintenance plan. Because the area was 
never redesignated to attainment, the area must continue to meet the 
1-hour ozone marginal area applicable requirements (see 40 CFR 
51.905(a)(3)).
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    In 1997, EPA revised the ozone standard from a 1 hour form to one 
based on an 8 hour average. On April 30, 2004, EPA designated and 
classified areas for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS (69 FR 23858) and 
published the final Phase 1 rule for implementation of the 1997 ozone 
NAAQS (69 FR 23951). The Sunland Park area was designated as 
attainment/unclassifiable for the 1997 8-hour ozone standard on June 
15, 2004 (see 69 FR 23858. The Phase I rule listed requirements for 
areas that were nonattainment for the 1 hour standard and attaining the 
1997 8 hour standard under 51.905(a)(3). New Mexico was required to 
provide a 10 year maintenance plan for this 1997 8-hour ozone 
attainment area under section 110(a)(1) of the Act and the Phase 1 
rule. (40 CFR 51.905(a)(3)(iii)).
    On May 20, 2005, EPA issued guidance regarding how a state might 
fulfill the obligation established by the Act and the Phase 1 rule. 
(Memorandum from Lydia N. Wegman to Air Division Directors, Maintenance 
Plan Guidance Document for Certain 8 hour Ozone Areas Under Section 
110(a)(1) of Clean Air Act, May 20, 2005.
    On May 7, 2007, New Mexico adopted and submitted to EPA a 1997 8-
hour ozone standard maintenance plan for the Sunland Park area. This 
SIP revision satisfies the section 110(a)(1) CAA requirements for a 
plan that provides for implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of 
the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS in the Sunland Park unclassifiable/
attainment area.

II. Analysis of the State's Submittal

    In this action, EPA is approving the State's maintenance plan for 
the 1997 ozone NAAQS for the area of Sunland Park because EPA finds 
that the New Mexico submittal meets the requirements of section 
110(a)(1) of the CAA, EPA's rule, and is consistent with EPA's 
guidance. As required, the plan provides for continued attainment and 
maintenance of the 1997 ozone NAAQS in the area for 10 years from the 
effective date of the area's designation as unclassifiable/attainment 
for the 1997 ozone NAAQS, and includes components illustrating how the 
area will continue in attainment of the 1997 ozone NAAQS and 
contingency measures. Our analysis of the State's submission is 
discussed below.
    Section 110(a)(1) of the CAA does not explicitly state what is 
required for a maintenance plan, so the guidance suggested using CAA 
section 175A, which states the requirements for a maintenance plan, as 
a guide for states to use in developing their maintenance plans. The 
required components of a Maintenance Plan under CAA Section 175A 
include:
    1. Attainment Inventory;
    2. Maintenance Demonstration;
    3. Monitoring Network;
    4. Verification of Continued Attainment; and
    5. Contingency Plan

1. Attainment Inventory

    The New Mexico Environmental Department (NMED) developed 
comprehensive inventories of VOC, CO, and NOX emissions from 
area, stationary, and mobile sources using a base year of 2002 to 
demonstrate maintenance of the 1997 8-hour ozone standard for Sunland 
Park. The year 2002 is an appropriate year for the NMED to base 
attainment level emissions because States may select any one of the 
three years on which the 8-hour attainment designation for the 1997 
ozone NAAQS was based (2001, 2002, and 2003). The State's submittal 
contains the detailed inventory data and summaries by source category. 
Using the 2002 inventory as a base year reflects one of the years used 
for calculating the air quality design values on which the 8-hour ozone 
designation decisions were based. It also is one of

[[Page 28183]]

the years in the 2002-2004 time period used to establish the baseline 
visibility levels for the regional haze program.
    A practical reason for selecting 2002 as the base year emission 
inventory is that Section 110(a)(2)(B) of the CAA and the Consolidated 
Emissions Reporting Rule (67 FR 39602, June 10, 2002) require States to 
submit emissions inventories for all criteria pollutants and their 
precursors every three years, on a schedule that includes the emissions 
year 2002.
    For stationary point sources in Sunland Park, the NMED provided 
estimates for each commercial or industrial operation that emits 100 
ton/year or greater of NOX and VOC. These data are quality 
assured by the State before submission to national emission inventory. 
There are only two major point sources: El Paso Electric and Foamex. 
For area sources (sources too numerous to inventory individually) NMED 
used EPA emissions factors to estimate emissions based on surrogates 
such as population. For non-road and on-road mobile sources, the State 
obtained the data through EPA's 2002 NEI. Mobile sources emissions were 
estimated using the data in EPA's 2002 NEI using EPA's MOBILE6 motor 
vehicle emissions factor computer model. This information was provided 
down to the county level in each state. Using population projections 
for the Sunland Park area and Dona Ana County, the State estimated the 
on-road and non-road mobile emissions for Sunland Park for the 
projection year 2014.
    Table 1 below lists emissions data (area, point, mobile, and 
biogenic) for the base year of 2002 for the ozone precursors 
NOX, CO, and VOC. Please see the Technical Support Document 
(TSD) for additional emission inventory data.

                                        Table 1--Summary of All Source Categories for Sunland Park, Baseline 2002
                                                        [TPY = tons per year, TPD = ton per day]
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                                                                             NOX                           CO                            VOC
                        Source category                        -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     TPY            TPD            TPY            TPD            TPY            TPD
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Area..........................................................          30.40         0.0896         157.94          0.586         193.73          0.553
Point.........................................................       1,085.7          3.044          192.38          0.552          94.19          0.331
Mobile........................................................         829.63         2.27         6,040.64         16.55          530.14          1.45
Biogenic......................................................           5.74         0.015          n/a           n/a             528.08          1.44
                                                               -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Emissions...........................................       1,951.47         5.41         6,390.96         17.68        1,342.04          3.74
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The procedures used by the NMED for development of the emissions 
inventory are described in the NMED's submitted 8-Hour Ozone 
Maintenance Plan for the Sunland Park area, pages 8-49. The emissions 
inventory process includes quality assurance procedures to verify that 
data have been reviewed and examined for their source or origin, 
methods of compilation, accuracy, occurrence of errors, and clarity. 
This is to assure a good product and that such procedures can easily be 
applied to future inventories. EPA's Emission Inventory Improvement 
Program was used as a guide in developing the 2002 emission inventory 
for the Sunland Park Nonattainment area.
    EPA has reviewed the State's methodologies, modeling data, and 
performance, etc. in developing the 2002 base year emissions and finds 
that New Mexico has developed the 2002 emissions inventory 
appropriately to identify the level of ozone-forming emissions in 
Sunland Park that was consistent with attainment of the NAAQS in 2002.
    Projections for 2014 were developed by NMED using a University of 
New Mexico, Bureau of Business and Economic Research study which 
projected a population growth of 3.2%/year. Based on this study, the 
State projected all of the emission categories would grow at 3.2%/year. 
Table 2 shows the projected VOC, NOX, and CO emissions 
inventory data for the Sunland Park area for the year 2014.

                                     Table 2--Summary of All Source Categories for Sunland Park, Projected for 2014
                                                        [TPY = tons per year, TPD = tons per day]
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                                                                             NOX                           CO                            VOC
                        Source category                        -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     TPY            TPD            TPY            TPD            TPY            TPD
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Area..........................................................          42.07          0.115         218.59          0.598         262.44          0.719
Point.........................................................       1,502.6           4.12          266.25          0.729         130.36          0.357
Mobile........................................................       1,147.96          3.14        8,360.24         22.90          733.71          2.010
Biogenic......................................................           7.94          0.015         n/a           n/a             730.86          2.002
                                                               -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Emissions...........................................       2,700.57          7.39        8,445.08         24.27        1,857.37          5.088
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2. Maintenance Demonstration

    The primary purpose of a maintenance plan is to demonstrate how an 
area will continue to remain in compliance with the 1997 ozone standard 
for the 10 year period following the effective date of designation as 
unclassifiable/attainment. The end projection year is 10 years from the 
effective date of the attainment designation for the 1997 ozone NAAQS, 
which for Sunland Park was June 15, 2004. Therefore, the plan must 
demonstrate attainment through 2014. As discussed in section (1) 
Attainment Inventory above, New Mexico has identified the level of 
ozone-forming emissions in Sunland Park that was consistent with 
attainment of the NAAQS for ozone in 2002. New Mexico has projected 
VOC, NOX, and CO \2\ emissions for the year

[[Page 28184]]

2014 in Sunland Park, and also discusses emissions projections for the 
Paso del Norte airshed.
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    \2\ Carbon Monoxide has low reactivity and leads to little ozone 
formation so it is generally not tracked in determining whether 
maintenance is expected. New Mexico has provided estimates of CO 
emission growth, which are included here, but CO estimates will not 
be included in the remainder of the discussion.
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    Generally, maintenance is demonstrated when emissions in the 
projection year remain less than or equal to the emissions during the 
attainment period. The projections provided by New Mexico, however, 
actually show an increase in emissions. For 2014, the VOC and 
NOX emissions are projected to increase by 1.35 tons per day 
and 1.98 tons per day, respectively. EPA has reviewed these growth 
estimates and New Mexico only used one methodology to calculate the 
growth for all the source categories. The use of this particular 
methodology has resulted in extremely conservative emissions growth 
calculations. We believe this methodology significantly overstates the 
growth in emissions and if it had been properly calculated, there would 
be no projected growth in emissions in Sunland Park.
    In projecting future emissions, New Mexico's use of projected 
population as a surrogate for estimating the rate of emissions growth 
results in a significant overestimate of emissions growth. Using 
population as a surrogate does not take into account the significant 
reductions that will occur due to fleet turnover in both on-road and 
off-road categories. The best way to calculate these emissions would be 
to use EPA's mobile emission factor model and the non-road emissions 
model along with projections of vehicle miles traveled. We examined the 
base and projected El Paso emissions contained in the Texas maintenance 
plan for the El Paso area, which EPA approved on January 15, 2009, at 
74 FR 2387. To make a more reasonable estimation of emissions growth 
for the mobile source category, we looked at the emissions projections 
for El Paso performed using the MOBILE model for on-road emissions and 
NonRoad model for off-road emissions. In El Paso, mobile NOX 
emissions were projected to decrease by 54% percent and mobile VOC 
emissions are projected to decrease by 47%. We applied these figures 
proportionally to the Sunland Park area. In addition, it is not clear 
why NMED projected growth in biogenic VOC emissions. These are 
generally held constant in projections; there is no scientific basis 
for projecting an increase. As shown in Tables 3 and 4, if these more 
reasonable assumptions about NOX and VOC emissions growth 
for the mobile source category and the biogenic emissions are made for 
Sunland Park then the emissions actually would be expected to decline 
slightly. Further, emissions growth is more closely correlated to 
economic growth in particular industrial sectors (the area source 
category) than population growth. We did not apply the El Paso economic 
growth factors to the Sunland Park area and calculate a revised 
emissions growth for this area source category.

                     Table 3--Summary of Projected NOX Emissions for Sunland Park, Adjusted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                        2014
                          Source category                               2002 TPD         2014        (adjusted)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Area...............................................................         0.0896          0.115           .115
Point..............................................................         3.044           4.12           4.12
Mobile.............................................................         2.27            3.14           1.04
Biogenic...........................................................         0.015           0.015           .015
                                                                    --------------------------------------------
    Total Emissions................................................         5.41            7.39           5.29
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                               Table 4--VOC Projections for Sunland Park, Adjusted
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                                                                                                        2014
                          Source category                               2002 TPD       2014 TPD      (adjusted)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Area...............................................................          0.553          0.719          0.719
Point..............................................................          0.331          0.357          0.357
Mobile.............................................................          1.45           2.010          0.77
Biogenic...........................................................          1.44           2.002          1.44
                                                                    --------------------------------------------
    Total Emissions................................................          3.74           5.088          3.59
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    EPA recognizes that the estimates in Tables 4 and 5 are rough 
approximations, analogized from the information specific for the El 
Paso area, and we would not normally rely on these methods for emission 
projections. In this case, however, because of the overestimate of the 
projected growth in emissions in the Sunland Park area for the year of 
2014, we believe that the use of these El Paso analogy methods by EPA 
serves the purpose to illustrate the Sunland Park area will continue in 
attainment through 2014.
    We also believe that these El Paso analogy methods are adequate in 
this instance because emissions in Sunland Park represent only a small 
percentage of the emissions in the Paso Del Norte airshed. As 
demonstrated in Table 5 below, sources in the Sunland Park area were 
contributing a small percentage (approximately 1.6%) of the CO, 
NOX, and VOC emissions in the airshed for the base year of 
2002. An over whelming majority of the emissions contributing to ground 
level ozone in the airshed are from the City of El Paso and Ciudad 
Juarez.

[[Page 28185]]



                                                                          Table 5--Emissions in Paso del Norte Airshed
                                                                                      [TPY = tons per year]
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                                                                                Ciudad Juarez TPY                        El Paso County TPY                         Sunland Park TPY
                              Source                               -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                         VOC           NOX           CO            VOC           NOX           CO            VOC           NOX           CO
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mobile............................................................      20,208        25,590       155,583         9,939        17,122       148,277          530            830         6,040
Area..............................................................      68,085        14,082        52,393         8,640           872         5,993          190             30           158
Point.............................................................       2,308        18,133        13,821           861          4223         1,704           94          1,086            94
                                                                   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.........................................................      90,601        57,805       221,797        19,440        22,217       155,974          810          1,946         6,292
                                                                   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Percentage....................................................          81.7          70.5          57.7          17.5          27.1          40.6           .73           2.4           1.6
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* The emissions data for Ciudad Juarez comes from, The 1999 Mexico NEI: Six Border States and are based on the inventory data for the State of Chihuahua. This is the only complete emission
  inventory data currently available for this area.
** The emissions data for El Paso comes from the, El Paso County 8-Hour Ozone Maintenance Plan and the El Paso Redesignation to Attainment for Carbon Monoxide and Maintenance Plan, both
  submitted to EPA by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in January of 2006.

    Since such a small percentage of emissions to the airshed are 
contributed by Sunland Park, we feel it is reasonable to rely upon the 
El Paso analogy methods to demonstrate that the attainment level 
emissions in Sunland Park will be maintained.
    As discussed previously, we examined the base and projected El Paso 
emissions contained in the Texas maintenance plan for the El Paso area, 
which EPA approved on January 15, 2009, at 74 FR 2387. Table 6 below, 
shows emissions data for the base year of 2002 for the ozone precursors 
NOX, and VOC for both Sunland Park and the El Paso areas. 
Table 7 shows the projected emissions data for the year of 2014 for 
both areas (Sunland Park table is not adjusted). Table 8 shows the 
change between 2002 and 2014 in emissions data for both areas (Sunland 
Park table is not adjusted). Please see the Technical Support Document 
(TSD) for additional emission inventory data.

 Table 6--Sunland Park and El Paso (U.S. Portion of the Paso Del Norte Airshed) VOC, and NOX Baseline Emissions
                                                 Inventory, 2002
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                   2002 Sunland
                        Emissions source                           Park tons per   2002 El Paso     2002 Total
                                                                        day        tons per day    tons per day
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total VOC.......................................................            3.74           52.44           56.18
Total NOX.......................................................            5.41           60.87           66.28
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Table 7--Sunland Park and El Paso (U.S. Portion of the Paso Del Norte Airshed) VOC, and NOX Projected Emissions,
                                                      2014
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                   2014 Sunland
                        Emissions source                           Park tons per   2014 El Paso     2014 Total
                                                                        day        tons per day    tons per day
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total VOC.......................................................            5.09           44.61           49.70
Total NOX.......................................................            7.39           36.89           44.28
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


 Table 8--Sunland Park and El Paso (U.S. Portion of the Paso Del Norte Airshed) VOC, and NOX Emissions Inventory
                                     Baseline (2002) and Projections (2014)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                         2002 Sunland Park  2014 Sunland Park
                    Emissions source                      and El Paso tons   and El Paso tons   Change tons per
                                                              per day            per day        day (percentage)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total VOC..............................................              56.18              49.61     -7.02 (-12.5%)
Total NOX..............................................              66.28              44.28    -22.00 (-33.2%)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Table 8 shows that overall emissions of VOC and NOX on 
the U.S. portion of the air basin are declining substantially for the 
10-year period despite the fact those emissions are projected by New 
Mexico to grow slightly in the Sunland Park area. As discussed 
previously, EPA believes New Mexico's estimates for growth for all the 
source categories but point sources were over estimated and this over 
estimation leads to a conclusion that the emissions in Sunland Park are 
expected to increase. On the other hand, we believe emissions in 
Sunland Park would be expected to decrease, if assumptions that are 
more reasonable were made. The fact that the combined emissions in El 
Paso and Sunland Park are projected to decline adds further support 
that the area will continue to maintain the standard. Therefore, we 
believe Sunland Park is expected to maintain attainment of the 1997 8-
hour ozone standard during the period of the maintenance plan. Please 
see the Technical Support Document (TSD) for more information on EPA's 
review and evaluation of the States 2014 projected emissions 
inventories.

3. Monitoring Network

    The State of New Mexico has committed in its maintenance plan to 
continue operation of an appropriate

[[Page 28186]]

ozone monitoring network and to work with EPA in compliance with 40 CFR 
part 58 with regard to the continued adequacy of such a network, if 
additional monitoring is needed, and when monitoring can be 
discontinued. Table 9 below, contains information on the current ozone 
monitoring network in the Sunland Park nonattainment area.

                       Table 9--Monitoring Stations in the Sunland Park Nonattainment Area
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Name                    AIRS monitor ID     County site ID           Monitoring  period
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunland Park, NM.......................        35-013-0017               0071  1989-Present.
Desert View, NM........................        35-013-0021               0021  1996-Present.
Santa Teresa, NM.......................        35-013-0022               0022  1996-Present.
La Union, NM...........................        35-013-0008               0008  1974-Present.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Area was meeting the 1997 8-hour Standard during the 2002-2004 
time period when we did designations with a design value of 77 ppb. The 
area continues to meet the 1997 8-hour standard with the most recent 
design value for 2008-2010 being 70 ppb. The area also has met the 
revoked 1-hour standard since 1998 with the most recent 1-hour design 
value of being 97 ppb.

4. Verification of Continued Attainment

    To guarantee that attainment will be continued in the future, the 
State commits in the maintenance plan to track the progress of the 
maintenance plan by providing the EPA with an interim emissions 
inventory report for point, area, mobile and biogenic emissions of VOCs 
and CO in the Sunland Park area. In addition, New Mexico commits to 
verify the 8-hour ozone status through appropriate ambient air quality 
monitoring, and to quality assure air quality monitoring data according 
to federal requirements. New Mexico further demonstrates that it has 
the legal authority to implement and enforce all air quality measures 
needed to attain and maintain the 8-hour ozone NAAQS.

5. Contingency Plan

    The section 110(a)(1) maintenance plan includes contingency 
provisions to correct promptly any violation of the 1997 ozone NAAQS 
that occurs in the Sunland Park area. The contingency indicator is 
based upon monitoring data. The triggering mechanism for activation of 
contingency measures is a monitoring violation of the 1997 8-hour ozone 
NAAQS. In the maintenance plan, if contingency measures are triggered, 
New Mexico is committing to implement the measures as expeditiously as 
practicable but no longer than 24 months following the trigger.
    The following contingency measures are identified for 
implementation: The use of public outreach materials, e.g., public 
service announcements, press releases, and informational pamphlets; the 
holding of an open house at the beginning of the ozone season and mid-
way through; and Ozone Action Days, e.g., announcements during weather 
forecasts on the radio and television, advisories on the NMED web site. 
Real time monitoring data is also available on the NMED web site. 
Information on Ozone Action Days will be included in the outreach 
material for the Maintenance area.
    These contingency measures and schedules for implementation satisfy 
EPA's long-standing guidance on the requirements of section 110(a)(1) 
of Continued Attainment. Based on the above, we find that the 
contingency measures provided in the State's Sunland Park 8-hour Ozone 
maintenance plan are sufficient and meet the requirements of section 
110(a)(1) of the CAA.
    EPA has concluded that the maintenance plan adequately addresses 
the five basic components of a maintenance plan: Attainment inventory, 
maintenance demonstration, monitoring network, contingency plan, and 
verification of continued attainment. The maintenance plan SIP revision 
submitted by the State of New Mexico for the Sunland Park area meets 
the requirements of Section 110(a)(1) of the CAA.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving a revision to the New Mexico SIP. The revision is 
a 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS maintenance plan for Sunland Park. Sunland 
Park remains in attainment of the eight-hour ozone standard. The State 
of New Mexico submitted the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS maintenance plan on 
behalf of the NMED for Sunland Park to EPA on May 2, 2007. EPA is 
approving the maintenance plan SIP revision for Sunland Park as meeting 
the requirements of CAA Section 110(a)(1) and EPA's regulations under 
40 CFR 51.905(a)(3) and (4) and being consistent with EPA guidance. We 
have evaluated the State's submittal and have determined that it meets 
the applicable requirements of the Clean Air Act and EPA regulations, 
and is consistent with EPA policy. Therefore, we are approving the 
request of NMED to revise the SIP for the Sunland Park ozone area.
    EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because we view 
this as a non-controversial amendment and anticipate no 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 July 15, 2011 
without further notice unless we receive adverse comment by June 15, 
2011. If we receive 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.

IV. 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 this 
reason and because this action will not have a significant, adverse 
effect on the supply, distribution, or use of energy, 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 approves state 
law as meeting Federal requirements and imposes no additional

[[Page 28187]]

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 
approves pre-existing requirements under state law 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 action 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 action merely approves a state rule 
implementing a Federal standard, and does not alter the relationship or 
the distribution of power and responsibilities established in the CAA. 
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. 
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994) establishes 
federal executive policy on environmental justice. Because this rule 
merely approves a state rule implementing a Federal standard, EPA lacks 
the discretionary authority to modify today's regulatory decision on 
the basis of environmental justice considerations.
    In reviewing SIP submissions under the National Technology Transfer 
and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note), EPA's role is to 
approve state choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. 
In this context, in the absence of a prior existing requirement for the 
State to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority 
to disapprove a SIP submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be 
inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a SIP 
submission, to use VCS in place of a SIP submission that otherwise 
satisfies the provisions of the CAA. Thus, the requirements of section 
12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 
do not apply. This rule 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 CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by July 15, 2011. 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 section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, Nitrogen dioxides, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: May 6, 2011.
Al Armendariz,
Regional Administrator, Region 6.
    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 GG--New Mexico

0
2. In Sec.  52.1620, the second table in paragraph (e) entitled ``EPA 
Approved Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures in the 
New Mexico SIP,'' is amended by adding an entry at the end of the table 
to read as follows:
    (e) * * *

            EPA Approved Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures in the New Mexico SIP
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     Applicable
     Name of SIP provision          geographic or     State submittal/    EPA approval date        Comments
                                 nonattainment area    effective date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Sunland Park 1997 8-Hour Ozone   Sunland Park, NM..            5/7/2007  5/16/2011 [Insert   ...................
 Maintenance Plan.                                                        FR page number
                                                                          where document
                                                                          begins].
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[FR Doc. 2011-11813 Filed 5-13-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P