[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 250 (Thursday, December 29, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 81901-81903]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-33273]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2011-0029-201163; FRL-9613-1]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and 
Designations of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; North Carolina 
and South Carolina; Charlotte; Determination of Attainment by 
Applicable Attainment Date for the 1997 8-Hour Ozone Standards

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to determine pursuant to the Clean Air Act 
(CAA), that the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, North Carolina-South 
Carolina, ozone nonattainment area (hereafter referred to as ``the bi-
state Charlotte Area'' or ``the Area'') has attained the 1997 8-hour 
ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) by its applicable 
attainment date of June 15, 2011. The determination of attainment was 
made by EPA on November 15, 2011, based on quality-assured and 
certified monitoring data for the 2008-2010 monitoring period. EPA is 
now proposing to find that the bi-state Charlotte Area attained the 
1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS by its applicable attainment date. EPA is 
proposing this action because it is consistent with the CAA and its 
implementing regulations.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 30, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2011-0029, by one of the following methods:
    1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    2. Email: [email protected].
    3. Fax: (404) 562-9019.
    4. Mail: EPA-R04-OAR-2011-0029, 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.
    5. Hand Delivery or Courier: Ms. Lynorae Benjamin, Chief, 
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. Such 
deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office's normal hours 
of operation. The Regional Office's official hours of business are 
Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, excluding Federal holidays.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. ``EPA-R04-OAR-
2011-0029.'' EPA's policy is that all comments received will be 
included in the public docket without change and may be made available 
online at 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 through 
www.regulations.gov or email, information that you consider to be CBI 
or otherwise protected. The 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 email comment directly to EPA without 
going through www.regulations.gov, your email 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 electronic docket are listed in the 
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 www.regulations.gov or 
in hard copy at the 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. EPA requests that if at all possible, you 
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 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information regarding this 
attainment determination, contact Mr. Sean Lakeman, 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. Telephone number: 
(404) 562-9043; email address: [email protected]. For information 
regarding 8-hour ozone NAAQS, contact Ms. Jane Spann, Regulatory 
Development Section, at the same address above. Telephone number: (404) 
562-9029; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. What action is EPA taking?
II. What is the background for this action?
III. What is the air quality in the bi-state Charlotte Area for the 
1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS for the 2008-2010 monitoring period?
IV. What is the proposed action and what is the effect of this 
action?
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

[[Page 81902]]

I. What action is EPA taking?

    Based on EPA's review of the quality-assured and certified 
monitoring data for 2008-2010, and in accordance with section 179(c)(1) 
of the CAA and EPA's regulations, EPA proposes to determine that the 
bi-state Charlotte Area has attained the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS by the 
applicable attainment date of June 15, 2011.\1\ The bi-state Charlotte 
Area is comprised of Cabarrus, Gaston, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, 
Union and a portion of Iredell (Davidson and Coddle Creek Townships) 
Counties in North Carolina; a portion of York County in South Carolina; 
and the Catawba Indian Nation Reservation. On November 15, 2011, EPA 
published a final rulemaking making a determination of attainment to 
suspend the requirements for the bi-state Charlotte Area to submit an 
attainment demonstration and associated reasonably available control 
measures (RACM), a reasonable further progress (RFP) plan, contingency 
measures, and other planning State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions 
related to attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS so long as the 
Area continues to attain the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. See 76 FR 70656. 
Today's proposed action merely makes a determination that the bi-state 
Charlotte Area has attained the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS by its 
applicable attainment date. This action is not a re-proposal of the 
attainment determination to suspend the requirements for the bi-state 
Charlotte Area to submit an attainment demonstration and associated 
RACM, a RFP plan, contingency measures, and other planning SIP 
revisions related to attainment of the standard. More information 
regarding the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS and the Area's attainment of that 
NAAQS is available at 76 FR 70656 (November 15, 2011).
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    \1\ Effective June 15, 2004, EPA designated the bi-state 
Charlotte Area as a moderate area under the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. 
Moderate areas for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS had an applicable 
attainment date of June 15, 2010, unless the Area qualified for an 
extension. On May 31, 2011, EPA took final action to extend the 
applicable attainment date for the bi-state Charlotte Area to June 
15, 2011. See 76 FR 31245 for more information.
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II. What is the background for this action?

    As a nonattainment area for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS, the bi-
state Charlotte Area had an applicable attainment date of June 15, 2011 
(based on 2008-2010 monitoring data). Pursuant to section 179(c) of the 
CAA, EPA is required to make a determination on whether the Area 
attained the standard by its applicable attainment date. Specifically, 
section 179(c)(1) of the CAA reads as follows: ``As expeditiously as 
practicable after the applicable attainment date for any nonattainment 
area, but not later than 6 months after such date, the Administrator 
shall determine, based on the area's air quality as of the attainment 
date, whether the area attained the standard by that date.''

III. What is the air quality in the bi-state Charlotte Area for the 
1997 8-Hour ozone NAAQS for the 2008-2010 monitoring period?

    Pursuant to EPA regulation 40 CFR 50.10, the 1997 8-hour ozone 
NAAQS is met when the 3-year average of the annual fourth highest daily 
maximum 8-hour average ambient air quality ozone concentrations, as 
determined in accordance with 40 CFR part 50, Appendix I, is less than 
or equal to 0.08 parts per million (ppm) (i.e., 0.084 ppm when rounding 
is considered) in the subject area.
    EPA reviewed the ambient air monitoring data for the bi-state 
Charlotte Area in accordance with the provisions of 40 CFR part 50, 
Appendix I. All data considered have been quality-assured, certified, 
and recorded in EPA's Air Quality System database. This review 
addresses air quality data collected in the 3-year period from 2008-
2010, which is the period that EPA must consider for areas with an 
applicable attainment date of June 15, 2011.

       Table 1--Design Values for Counties in the Bi-State Charlotte, North and South Carolina Nonattainment Area for the 1997 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS
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                                                                                                                                             2008-2010
                    Location                                   AQS site ID                  2008  (ppm)     2009  (ppm)     2010  (ppm)    Design value
                                                                                                                                               (ppm)
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Lincoln County (NC)............................  1487 Riverview Rd. (37-109-0004).......           0.079           0.065           0.072           0.072
Mecklenburg County (NC)........................  1130 Eastway Dr. (37-119-0041).........           0.085           0.069           0.082           0.078
Mecklenburg County (NC)........................  400 Westinghouse Blvd. (37-119-1005)...           0.073           0.068           0.078           0.073
Mecklenburg County (NC)........................  29 N @ Mecklenburg Cab Co. ( 37-119-              0.093           0.071           0.082           0.082
                                                  1009).
Rowan County (NC)..............................  301 West St & Gold Hill Ave. (37-159-             0.084           0.071           0.077           0.077
                                                  0021).
Rowan County (NC)..............................  925 N Enochville Ave. (37-159-0022)....           0.082           0.073           0.078           0.077
Union County (NC)..............................  701 Charles St. (37-179-0003)..........            0.08           0.067           0.071           0.072
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    As shown above in Table 1, during the 2008-2010 design period, the 
bi-state Charlotte Area met the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. The official 
annual design value for the bi-state Charlotte Area for the 2008-2010 
period is 0.082 ppm. More detailed information on the monitoring data 
for the bi-state Charlotte Area during the 2008-2010 design period is 
provided in EPA's November 15, 2011, final rulemaking to approve the 
clean data determination for the bi-state Charlotte Area for the 1997 
8-hour ozone NAAQS. See 76 FR 70656.

IV. What is the proposed action and what is the effect of this action?

    This action is a proposed determination that the bi-state Charlotte 
Area has attained the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS by its applicable 
attainment date of June 15, 2011, consistent with the CAA section 
179(c)(1). Finalizing this proposed action would not constitute a 
redesignation of the bi-state Charlotte Area to attainment of 1997 8-
hour ozone NAAQS under section 107(d)(3) of the CAA. Further, 
finalizing this proposed action would not involve approving a 
maintenance plan for the bi-state Charlotte Area as required under 
section 175A of the CAA, nor would it

[[Page 81903]]

constitute a determination that the bi-state Charlotte Area has met all 
other requirements for redesignation. Even if EPA finalizes today's 
proposed action, the designation status of the bi-state Charlotte Area 
would remain nonattainment for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS until such 
time as EPA determines that the Area meets the CAA requirements for 
redesignation to attainment and takes action to redesignate the Area.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    This action proposes to make a determination of attainment based on 
air quality, and would not impose additional requirements beyond those 
imposed by state law. For that reason, this proposed 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 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).

Consistent with Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67,249, November 9, 2000) 
and EPA's Policy on Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribes, 
EPA has consulted with Catawba Indian Nation regarding today's proposed 
action.\2\ In a letter dated October 13, 2011, EPA extended the Catawba 
Indian Nation an opportunity to consult with EPA regarding this and 
other actions related to the Charlotte Area. Consultation with the 
Catawba Indian Nation began on October 14, 2011, and ended on October 
31, 2011. The views and concerns raised by the Tribe during 
consultation have been taken into account in this direct final rule. 
EPA notes today's action will not impose substantial direct costs on 
tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
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    \2\ The Catawba Indian Nation Reservation is located within the 
South Carolina portion of the bi-state Charlotte nonattainment area. 
Generally, SIPs do not apply in Indian country throughout the United 
States. However, for purposes of the Catawba Indian Nation 
Reservation in Rock Hill, the South Carolina SIP does apply within 
the Reservation pursuant to the Catawba Indian Claims Settlement 
Act, S.C. Code Ann. 27-16-120 (providing that ``all state and local 
environmental laws and regulations apply to the [Catawba Indian 
Nation] and Reservation and are fully enforceable by all relevant 
state and local agencies and authorities.'')
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List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 
Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur 
oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: December 19, 2011.
Gwendolyn Keyes Fleming,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2011-33273 Filed 12-28-11; 8:45 am]
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