[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 102 (Friday, May 25, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 31262-31265]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-12799]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2012-0336; FRL-3675-6 ]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Kentucky; 
Louisville; Fine Particulate Matter 2002 Base Year Emissions Inventory

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve the fine particulate matter 
(PM2.5) 2002 base year emissions inventory, portion of the 
State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Commonwealth 
of Kentucky on December 3, 2008. The emissions inventory is part of the 
Kentucky's December 3, 2008, SIP revision that was submitted to meet 
the nonattainment requirements related to the Commonwealth's portion of 
the bi-state Louisville, KY-IN nonattainment area for the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). The 
bi-state Louisville, KY-IN nonattainment area is comprised of Clark and 
Floyd Counties in Indiana, in their entireties; the Madison Township 
portion of Jefferson County, Indiana; and Bullitt and Jefferson 
Counties in Kentucky, in their entireties. This proposed action only 
relates to the Kentucky portion (i.e., Bullitt and Jefferson Counties) 
of this Area. EPA will consider action on the emissions inventory for 
the Indiana portion of this Area in a separate action. This action is 
being taken pursuant to section 110 of the Clean Air Act.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 25, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2012-0336, 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-2012-0336,'' 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: 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-
2012-0336. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be

[[Page 31263]]

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: Richard Wong, 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. The telephone number is (404) 
562-8726. Mr. Wong can be reached via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background
II. Analysis of the Commonwealth's Submittal
III. Proposed Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

    On July 18, 1997 (62 FR 36852), EPA established an annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS at 15.0 micrograms per cubic meter based on a 3-
year average of annual mean PM2.5 concentrations. On January 
5, 2005 (70 FR 944), EPA published its air quality designations and 
classifications for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS based upon 
air quality monitoring data for calendar years 2001-2003. These 
designations became effective on April 5, 2005. The bi-state Louisville 
Area (which is comprised of Clark and Floyd Counties in Indiana, in 
their entireties; the Madison Township portion of Jefferson County, 
Indiana; and Bullitt and Jefferson Counties in Kentucky in their 
entireties) was designated nonattainment for the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS. See 40 CFR 81.318 for Kentucky and 40 CFR 
81.315 for Indiana.
    Designation of an area as nonattainment starts the process for a 
state to develop and submit to EPA a SIP under title I, part D of the 
Clean Air Act (CAA or Act). This SIP must include, among other 
elements, a demonstration of how the NAAQS will be attained in the 
nonattainment area as expeditiously as practicable, but no later than 
the date required by the CAA. Under CAA section 172(b), a state has up 
to three years after an area's designation as nonattainment to submit 
its SIP to EPA. For the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS, these SIPs were 
due April 5, 2008. See 40 CFR 51.1002(a).
    On December 3, 2008, Kentucky submitted an attainment demonstration 
and associated reasonably available control measures (RACM), a 
reasonable further progress (RFP) plan, contingency measures, a 2002 
base year emissions inventory and other planning SIP revisions related 
to attainment of the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS in the 
Commonwealth's portion of the bi-state Louisville Area. Subsequently, 
on March 9, 2011 (76 FR 12860), EPA determined that the bi-state 
Louisville Area attained the 1997 annual average PM2.5 
NAAQS. The determination of attainment was based upon complete, 
quality-assured and certified ambient air monitoring data for the 2007-
2009 period, showing that the Area had monitored attainment of the 1997 
annual PM2.5 NAAQS. The requirements for the Area to submit 
an attainment demonstration and associated RACM, RFP plan, contingency 
measures, and other planning SIP revisions related to attainment of the 
standard were suspended as a result of the determination of attainment, 
so long as the Area continues to attain the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS. See 40 CFR 51.1004(c).
    On September 30, 2011, Kentucky withdrew the nonattainment 
submissions (everything with the exception of the 2002 base year 
emissions inventory) for its portion of the bi-state Louisville Area as 
allowed by 40 CFR 51.1004(c). EPA notes that the determination of 
attainment did not suspend the emissions inventory requirement found in 
CAA section 172(c)(3), and as such, Kentucky did not withdraw this 
portion of its December 3, 2008, SIP revision. Section 172(c)(3) of the 
CAA requires submission and approval of a comprehensive, accurate, and 
current inventory of actual emissions. EPA is now proposing to approve 
the emissions inventory portion of the SIP revision submitted by the 
Commonwealth of Kentucky on December 3, 2008, as required by section 
172(c)(3).

II. Analysis of the Commonwealth's Submittal

    As discussed above, section 172(c)(3) of the CAA requires areas to 
submit a comprehensive, accurate and current inventory of actual 
emissions from all sources of the relevant pollutant or pollutants in 
such area. Kentucky selected 2002 as base year for the emissions 
inventory per 40 CFR 51.1008(b). Emissions contained in Kentucky's 
December 3, 2008, SIP revision cover the general source categories of 
point sources, non-road mobile sources, area sources, on-road mobile 
sources, and biogenic sources. A detailed discussion of the emissions 
inventory development can be found in Appendix H of the Kentucky 
submittal; a summary is provided below.
    The table below provides a summary of the annual 2002 emissions of 
nitrogen oxides (NOX), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and 
PM2.5 included in the Kentucky submittal.

[[Page 31264]]



         Table 1--2002 Annual Emissions for the Louisville Area
                             [Tons per year]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 County                           Point sources
                                        --------------------------------
                                               NOX        SO2      PM2.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bullitt................................        221        391         56
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jefferson..............................     25,915     41,483        830
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 County                          Non-road sources
                                        --------------------------------
                                               NOX        SO2      PM2.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bullitt................................        578         50         44
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jefferson..............................     10,989      1,429        720
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 County                            Area sources
                                        --------------------------------
                                               NOX        SO2      PM2.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bullitt................................         51         93        804
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jefferson..............................        234          0      1,083
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 County                           Mobile sources
                                        --------------------------------
                                               NOX        SO2      PM2.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bullitt................................      2,979         89         43
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jefferson..............................     25,864        917        369
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The 172(c)(3) emissions inventory is developed by the incorporation 
of data from multiple sources. States were required to develop and 
submit to EPA a triennial emissions inventory according to the 
Consolidated Emissions Reporting Rule for all source categories (i.e., 
point, area, nonroad mobile and on-road mobile). This inventory often 
forms the basis of data that are updated with more recent information 
and data that also is used in their attainment demonstration modeling 
inventory. Such was the case in the development of the 2002 emissions 
inventory that was submitted in the Commonwealth's attainment SIP for 
its portion of the bi-state Louisville Area. The 2002 emissions 
inventory was based on data developed with the Visibility Improvement 
State and Tribal Association of the Southeast (VISTAS) contractors and 
submitted by the states to the 2002 National Emissions Inventory. 
Several iterations of the 2002 inventories were developed for the 
different emissions source categories resulting from revisions and 
updates to the data. This resulted in the use of version G2 of the 
updated data to represent the point sources' emissions. Data from many 
databases, studies and models (e.g., Vehicle Miles Traveled, fuel 
programs, the NONROAD 2002 model data for commercial marine vessels, 
locomotives and Clean Air Market Division, etc.) resulted in the 
inventory submitted in this SIP. The data were developed according to 
current EPA emissions inventory guidance ``Emissions Inventory Guidance 
for Implementation of Ozone and Particulate Matter National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards (NAAQS) and Regional Haze Regulations'' (August 2005) 
and a quality assurance project plan that was developed through VISTAS 
and approved by EPA. EPA preliminarily agrees that the process used to 
develop this inventory was adequate to meet the requirements of CAA 
section 172(c)(3) and the implementing regulations.
    EPA has reviewed Kentucky's emissions inventory and has 
preliminarily determined that it is adequate for the purposes of 
meeting section 172(c)(3) emissions inventory requirement. Further, EPA 
has made the preliminary determination that the emissions were 
developed consistent with the CAA, implementing regulations and EPA 
guidance for emission inventories.

III. Proposed Action

    EPA is proposing to approve the 2002 base year emissions inventory 
portion of the SIP revision submitted by the Commonwealth of Kentucky 
on December 3, 2008. EPA has made the preliminary determination that 
this action is consistent with section 110 of the CAA.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the Act 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 
proposed 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 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

[[Page 31265]]

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 F43255, 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 proposed 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 Commonwealth, and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial 
direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

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

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

    Dated: May 11, 2012.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2012-12799 Filed 5-24-12; 8:45 am]
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