[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 162 (Tuesday, August 21, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 50378-50381]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-20393]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2010-0153(a); FRL-9717-5]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Tennessee; 
Knoxville; Fine Particulate Matter 2002 Base Year Emissions Inventory

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve the 1997 annual 
fine particulate matter (PM2.5) 2002 base year emissions 
inventory portion of the State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision 
submitted by the State of Tennessee on April 4, 2008. The emissions 
inventory is part of Tennessee's April 4, 2008, attainment 
demonstration SIP revision that was submitted to meet the section 
172(c) Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) requirements related to the Knoxville 
nonattainment area for the 1997 annual PM2.5 national 
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), hereafter referred to as ``the 
Knoxville Area'' or ``Area.'' The Knoxville nonattainment area is 
comprised of Anderson, Blount, Knox and Loudon Counties in their 
entireties and a portion of Roane County that includes the Tennessee 
Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant. This action is being taken 
pursuant to section 110 of the CAA.

DATES: This direct final rule is effective on October 22, 2012 without 
further notice, unless EPA receives relevant adverse comment by 
September 20, 2012. 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 ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2010-0153, by one of the following methods:

[[Page 50379]]

    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-2010-0153,'' 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-
2010-0153. 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: 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 State's Submittal
III. Final 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 Knoxville Area was 
designated nonattainment for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. 
See 40 CFR 81.343.
    Designation of an area as nonattainment starts the process for a 
state to develop and submit to EPA a SIP revision under title I, part D 
of the CAA. This SIP revision 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 
revision to EPA. For the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS, these 
submittals were due April 5, 2008. See 40 CFR 51.1002(a).
    On April 4, 2008, Tennessee 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 
Knoxville Area. Subsequently, on June 6, 2012 (77 FR 33360), EPA 
proposed that the Knoxville Area has attained the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS. The proposed determination of attainment is 
based upon quality-assured and certified ambient air monitoring data 
for the 2009-2011 period showing that the Area has monitored attainment 
of the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA did not receive any 
comments on the proposed determination and published the final 
determination on August 2, 2012 (77 FR 45954). In accordance with the 
final determination of attainment, 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 are suspended, so long as the Area continues 
to attain the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. See 40 CFR 
51.1004(c).
    EPA notes that a final determination of attainment would not 
suspend the emissions inventory requirement found in CAA section 
172(c)(3), which requires submission and approval of a comprehensive, 
accurate, and current inventory of actual emissions. In today's action, 
EPA is approving the emissions inventory portion of the attainment 
demonstration SIP revision submitted by Tennessee on April 4, 2008, as 
required by section 172(c)(3).

II. Analysis of the State's Submittal

    As discussed above, section 172(c)(3) of the CAA requires 
nonattainment areas to submit a comprehensive, accurate and current 
inventory of actual emissions from all sources of the relevant 
pollutant or pollutants in such areas. Tennessee selected 2002 as the 
base year for the emissions inventory per 40 CFR 51.1008(b). Emissions 
contained in Tennessee's April 4, 2008, SIP revision cover the general 
source categories of point sources, non-road mobile sources, area 
sources, and on-

[[Page 50380]]

road mobile sources of direct and precursor emissions of 
PM2.5. The precursor emissions included in the 2002 
Knoxville Area emissions inventory include nitrogen oxides 
(NOX) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). A detailed 
discussion of the emissions inventory development can be found in 
Appendix H of the Tennessee submittal. The table below provides a 
summary of the annual 2002 emissions of NOX, SO2 
and direct PM2.5 included in the Tennessee submittal.

              2002 Annual Emissions for the Knoxville Area
                             [Tons per year]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Point sources
                    County                    --------------------------
                                                 NOX      SO2     PM2.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anderson.....................................   17,253   44,692    2,075
Blount.......................................      387    4,264    1,684
Knox.........................................    2,183    1,303      471
Loudon.......................................    2,309    4,221      412
Roane *......................................   25,679   77,571    3,217
                                              --------------------------
                                                    Non-road sources
                                              --------------------------
Anderson.....................................    1,128       69       55
Blount.......................................    1,301      127      115
Knox.........................................    4,845      425      312
Loudon.......................................    1,231      111       62
Roane *......................................       17        2        1
                                              --------------------------
                                                      Area sources
                                              --------------------------
Anderson.....................................      252      271      501
Blount.......................................      164       59      718
Knox.........................................      175       39      445
Loudon.......................................       57       18      334
Roane *......................................        2        2        5
                                              --------------------------
                                                     Mobile sources
                                              --------------------------
Anderson.....................................    3,267      111       46
Blount.......................................    2,720      119       41
Knox.........................................   19,059      682      284
Loudon.......................................    4,273      120       60
Roane *......................................      235       11        3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Nonattainment portion of Roane County only.

    The 172(c)(3) emissions inventory was 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, nonroad mobile, area, and on-road mobile). This inventory 
often forms the basis of data that are updated with more recent 
information and data that also are used in the attainment demonstration 
modeling inventory. Such was the case in the development of the 2002 
base year emissions inventory that was submitted in Tennessee's 
attainment demonstration SIP for the Knoxville Area. The 2002 base year 
emissions inventory was based on data developed with the Visibility 
Improvement State and Tribal Association of the Southeast (VISTAS) 
contractors and submitted by the VISTAS states (i.e., Alabama, Florida, 
Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, 
Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia) to the EPA 2002 National 
Emissions Inventory. Several iterations of the VISTAS 2002 inventories 
were developed through the VISTAS project for the different emission 
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 
revision. The VISTAS and Tennessee emissions inventory data were 
developed according to current EPA emissions inventory guidance titled 
``Emissions Inventory Guidance for Implementation of Ozone and 
Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)'' 
(August 2005) and ``Clean Air Fine Particle Implementation Rule'' (72 
FR 20586, April 25, 2007) and a quality assurance project plan that was 
developed through VISTAS and approved by EPA. EPA 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 the 2002 base year emissions inventory from 
Tennessee and determined that it is adequate for the purposes of 
meeting section 172(c)(3) emissions inventory requirement. Further, EPA 
has determined that the emissions were developed consistent with the 
CAA, implementing regulations and EPA guidance for emissions 
inventories.

III. Final Action

    EPA is taking direct final action to approve the 2002 base year 
emissions inventory portion of the attainment demonstration SIP 
revision submitted by the State of Tennessee on April 4, 2008. EPA 
determined that this action is consistent with section 110 of the CAA.
    EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because the 
Agency views this as a non-controversial revision and anticipates no 
adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this 
Federal Register publication, EPA is publishing a separate document 
that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision should 
adverse comment be filed. This rule will be effective on October 22, 
2012 without further notice unless the Agency receives adverse comment 
by September 20, 2012. If EPA receives such comments, then EPA will 
publish a document withdrawing the final rule and informing the public 
that the rule will not take effect. All public comments received will 
then be addressed 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. If no 
such comments are received, the public is advised this rule will be 
effective on October 22, 2012 and no further action will be taken on 
the proposed rule.

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 
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 (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

[[Page 50381]]

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 final 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.
    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 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).
    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 October 22, 2012. 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. 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, Nitrogen dioxide, Particulate 
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides.

    Dated: August 7, 2012.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    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 RR--Tennessee

0
2. Section 52.2220(e) is amended by adding a new entry for ``Knoxville; 
1997 Annual Fine Particulate Matter 2002 Base Year Emissions 
Inventory'' at the end of the table to read as follows:


Sec.  52.2220  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                                EPA-Approved Tennessee Non-Regulatory Provisions
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                                        Applicable
    Name of non-regulatory SIP        geographic or          State       EPA approval date       Explanation
            provision               nonattainment area  effective date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Knoxville; 1997 Annual Fine        Anderson, Blount,        04/04/2008  08/21/2012 [Insert
 Particulate Matter 2002 Base       Knox, and Loudon                     citation of
 Year Emissions Inventory.          Counties, and the                    publication].
                                    portion of Roane
                                    County that falls
                                    within the census
                                    block that
                                    includes the
                                    Tennessee Valley
                                    Authority's
                                    Kingston Fossil
                                    Plant.
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[FR Doc. 2012-20393 Filed 8-20-12; 8:45 am]
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