[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 108 (Monday, June 6, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 32321-32323]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-13878]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2011-0379; FRL-9314-4]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Pennsylvania; Revision to the Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) 
Program--Quality Assurance Protocol for the Safety Inspection Program 
in Non-I/M Counties

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the 
Pennsylvania State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revision consists of 
a change by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to the quality assurance 
program for its motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program (I/M 
program). Specifically, the Commonwealth is amending a provision of its 
prior SIP-approved I/M program to change the duration of the timing of 
quality assurance audits performed by the Pennsylvania Department of 
Transportation (PENNDOT) as part of their program oversight. The 
amendment allows for these audits to be conducted within five days of 
vehicle inspection, instead of the two-day window allowed under the 
prior approved SIP. This SIP revision affects forty-two counties in 
Pennsylvania where visual emissions equipment inspections are performed 
as part of the Commonwealth's annual vehicle safety inspection program 
(i.e., non-I/M counties). It does not affect the twenty-five counties 
where separate enhanced I/M emissions inspections are performed in 
addition to the annual safety inspection program (i.e., I/M counties). 
This SIP revision applies to PENNDOT staff overseeing stations that 
conduct safety inspections in non-I/M program counties. It does not 
impact motorists subject to the program or stations that perform 
emissions inspections. EPA is approving this amendment to 
Pennsylvania's approved I/M SIP in accordance with the requirements of 
the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: This rule is effective on August 5, 2011 without further notice, 
unless EPA receives adverse written comment by July 6, 2011. If EPA 
receives such comments, it will publish a timely withdrawal of the 
direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform the public that 
the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2011-0379 by one of the following methods:
    A. http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    B. E-mail: [email protected].
    C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2011-0379, Cristina Fernandez, Associate 
Director, Office of Air Program Planning, Mailcode 3AP30, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
    D. Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region III address. 
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-
2011-0379. 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 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.
    Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the 
http://www.regulations.gov index. 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 during normal business hours at the 
Air Protection Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 
III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
    Copies of the State submittal are available at the Pennsylvania 
Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Air Quality Control, 
P.O. Box 8468, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Rehn, (215) 814-2176, or by e-
mail at [email protected].

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

I. Background

    On May 22, 2009, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania submitted a 
formal revision to its SIP. That SIP revision, which is the subject of 
this action, consists of an amendment to the enhanced motor vehicle 
emission inspection program SIP submitted by Pennsylvania on December 
1, 2003 and approved as part of the Commonwealth's SIP on October 6, 
2005 (70 FR 58313). This SIP revision amends Pennsylvania's quality 
assurance program, which applies to PENNDOT staff that oversee the 
anti-tampering visual inspection performed as part of the annual safety 
inspection program in the forty-two Pennsylvania

[[Page 32322]]

counties (where separate enhanced I/M inspection is not required).

II. Summary of SIP Revision

    Pennsylvania's approved I/M SIP includes, as a SIP-strengthening 
measure, a program to address emissions from in-use vehicles registered 
in counties in Pennsylvania that are not mandated by the CAA to have an 
emission inspection program. In these forty-two non-I/M counties, 
Pennsylvania requires (as part of its annual vehicle safety inspection) 
a visual check of select vehicle emission components to ensure that the 
components have not been removed or disconnected, and that they are the 
correctly configured components for that particular vehicle (referred 
to hereafter as the anti-tampering program). This SIP-approved anti-
tampering program check applies to the following components (where 
equipped on a new vehicle as part of an EPA-certified configuration): 
Catalytic converter, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve, positive 
crankcase ventilation (PCV) valve, fuel inlet restrictor, air pump, and 
evaporative control system. The non-I/M region affected by this SIP 
revision is comprised of the following counties: Adams, Armstrong, 
Bedford, Bradford, Butler, Cameron, Carbon, Clarion, Clearfield, 
Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Elk, Fayette, Forest, Franklin, Fulton, 
Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana, Jefferson, Juniata, Lawrence, McKean, 
Mifflin, Monroe, Montour, Northumberland, Perry, Pike, Potter, 
Schuylkill, Snyder, Somerset, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, 
Venango, Warren, Wayne, and Wyoming.
    The SIP revision amends a portion of the Commonwealth's quality 
assurance program for safety inspections, as it relates to 
administrative audits of approximately 5,200 safety inspection stations 
in the forty-two non-I/M counties. The quality assurance program 
established a window during which program auditors ascertain whether 
selected vehicles properly passed the required visual emissions 
equipment inspection portion of the state-required, annual vehicle 
safety inspection. After reviewing its procedures, PENNDOT determined 
that increasing the length of time between the safety inspection and 
the allowable time by when PENNDOT inspectors can perform an inspection 
audit from two to five days allows for improved oversight of the visual 
inspection portion of the safety inspection program. This allows the 
Commonwealth to better assure that the visual inspection is being 
properly performed as part of the safety inspection in non-I/M 
counties, ensuring that these emission components are present and have 
not been tampered with, as is required by the CAA. The visual 
inspection bolsters the Commonwealth's SIP by ensuring that vehicles in 
non-I/M counties in the Commonwealth are operated with the required 
emissions components in place. The Commonwealth's SIP revision is 
intended to improve the Commonwealth's ability to oversee the safety 
inspection program in the non- I/M counties to better ensure that the 
visual emissions component inspection is being properly performed by 
safety inspection technicians. This SIP revision is a procedural change 
that does not affect the Commonwealth's prior SIP-approved I/M 
regulations, nor does it affect oversight of the I/M program in the 25 
counties where I/M is performed separately from the state safety 
inspection program.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving Pennsylvania's SIP revision to amend the quality 
assurance program for visual emission component inspection performed as 
part of the Commonwealth's annual safety inspection program in non-I/M 
counties. EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because 
EPA views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no 
adverse comment. However, in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of today's 
Federal Register, EPA is publishing a separate document that will serve 
as the proposal to approve the SIP revision if adverse comments are 
filed. This rule will be effective on August 5, 2011 without further 
notice unless EPA receives adverse comment by July 6, 2011. If EPA 
receives adverse comment, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal in the 
Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take 
effect. EPA will address all public comments in a subsequent final rule 
based on the proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment 
period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so 
at this time.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General Requirements

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA 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 CAA. 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 in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 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 CAA; 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.

B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General

    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

[[Page 32323]]

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).

C. Petitions for Judicial Review

    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 August 5, 2011. 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. Parties with objections to this direct final rule are 
encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel notice of 
proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules 
section of today's Federal Register, rather than file an immediate 
petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can 
withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed 
rulemaking.
    This action to approve Pennsylvania's quality assurance program 
changes for oversight of the safety inspection program in non-I/M 
counties 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, Carbon monoxide, 
Environmental protection, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental 
relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: May 18, 2011.
Shawn M. Garvin,
Regional Administrator, Region III.

    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 NN--Pennsylvania

0
2. In Sec.  52.2020, the table in paragraph (e)(1) is amended by adding 
an entry for Revision of the Quality Assurance Protocol for the Safety 
Inspection Program in Non-I/M Counties at the end of the table to read 
as follows:


Sec.  52.2020  Identification of plan.

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    (e) * * *
    (1) * * *

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                                                                    State
  Name of non-regulatory SIP       Applicable geographic area     submittal     EPA approval       Additional
           revision                                                  date           date           explanation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Revision of the Quality         Non-I/M Program Region,              5/22/09  6/6/11 [Insert    Applicable to
 Assurance Protocol for the      Counties of: Adams, Armstrong,                page number       SIP-approved
 Safety Inspection Program in    Bedford, Bradford, Butler,                    where the         safety
 Non-I/M Counties.               Cameron, Carbon, Clarion,                     document          inspection
                                 Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia,                begins].          program
                                 Crawford, Elk, Fayette,                                         regulation for
                                 Forest, Franklin, Fulton,                                       non-I/M
                                 Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana,                                    counties at
                                 Jefferson, Juniata, Lawrence,                                   Title 67, Part
                                 McKean, Mifflin, Monroe,                                        1, Chapter 175.
                                 Montour, Northumberland,
                                 Perry, Pike, Potter,
                                 Schuylkill, Snyder, Somerset,
                                 Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga,
                                 Union, Venango, Warren, Wayne,
                                 and Wyoming.
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[FR Doc. 2011-13878 Filed 6-3-11; 8:45 am]
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