[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 199 (Monday, October 15, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 62452-62454]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-25022]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2012-0244; FRL-9713-4]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of 
Arizona; Prevention of Air Pollution Emergency Episodes

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision 
submitted by the State of Arizona to address the requirements regarding 
air pollution emergency episodes in Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

DATES: This final rule is effective on November 14, 2012.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action, identified by 
Docket ID Number EPA-R09-OAR-2012-0244. The index to the docket for 
this action is available electronically at http://www.regulations.gov 
and in hard copy at EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, 
California 94105-3901. While all documents in the docket are listed in 
the index, some information may be publicly available only at the hard 
copy location (e.g., copyrighted material), and some may not be 
publicly available in either location (e.g., confidential business 
information). To inspect the hard copy materials, please schedule an 
appointment during normal business hours with the contact listed 
directly below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Buss, Air Planning Office 
(AIR-2), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, (415) 947-
4152, [email protected].

[[Page 62453]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, the terms ``we,'' 
``us,'' and ``our'' refer to EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Final Action
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

    On April 12, 2012 (77 FR 21911), EPA proposed to approve a SIP 
revision submitted by the State of Arizona to address the requirements 
regarding air pollution emergency episodes in CAA section 110(a)(2)(G). 
Section 110(a)(2)(G) requires that each SIP provide for authority 
comparable to that in section 303 of the Act (``Emergency Powers'') and 
adequate contingency plans to implement such authority. EPA proposed to 
approve Arizona's SIP revision as meeting the authority and contingency 
plans for the 1997 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard 
(NAAQS).
    The rationale supporting EPA's action, including the scope of 
infrastructure SIPs in general, is explained in the Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (NPR) and in the technical support document (TSD) for that 
action and will not be restated here. The TSD is available online at 
http://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID number EPA-R09-OAR-2012-0244. No 
public comments were received on the NPR.

II. Final Action

    EPA is approving Arizona's SIP revision as meeting the authority 
and contingency plans for the 1997 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards (NAAQS or standards).
    The Arizona Emergency Episode Plan is substantively identical to 
the CAA section 110(a)(2)(G) rule currently approved into Arizona's SIP 
(R9-3-219, ``Air pollution emergency episodes''), which EPA approved in 
1982 (47 FR 42572, September 28, 1982), with one exception which makes 
it more stringent than the SIP program. We determine that our approval 
of this submittal would comply with CAA section 110(l), because the SIP 
revision would not interfere with the ongoing process for ensuring that 
requirements for reasonable further progress (RFP) and attainment of 
the NAAQS are met, and the submitted SIP revision is more stringent 
than the rule previously approved into the SIP. We also determine that 
our approval of the submittal would comply with CAA section 193, to the 
extent it applies, because the SIP revision would ensure equivalent or 
greater emission reductions of ozone precursors compared to the SIP-
approved rule. Therefore, EPA is removing the superseded Rule R9-3-219 
from the SIP and approving Rule R18-2-220 and the ``Procedures for 
Prevention of Emergency Episodes,'' into the SIP.

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the Clean Air Act, 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 Clean Air Act. 
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 Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent 
with the Clean Air Act; and
     Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to 
address disproportionate human health or environmental effects with 
practical, appropriate, 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.
    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 Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by December 14, 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, Oxides of nitrogen, Ozone, 
Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile 
organic compounds.

    Dated: July 26, 2012.
Jared Blumenfeld,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.

    Part 52, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 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.

[[Page 62454]]

Subpart D--Arizona

0
2. Section 52.120 is amended by adding paragraphs (c)(54)(i)(F) and 
(c)(151) to read as follows:


Sec.  52.120  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (54) * * *
    (i) * * *
* * * * *
    (F) Previously approved on September 28, 1982, in paragraph 
(54)(i)(C), and now deleted without replacement: R9-3-219.
* * * * *
    (151) The following plan revisions were submitted on August 15, 
1994 by the Governor's designee.
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    (A) Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.
    (1) Rule R18-2-220, Air pollution emergency episodes, Department of 
Environmental Quality-Air Pollution Control, amended effective 
September 26, 1990.
    (2) A letter from Eric C. Massey, Director, Air Quality, Arizona 
Department of Environmental Quality, to Jared Blumenfeld, Regional 
Administrator, US EPA, dated August 30, 2012, certifying that the 
attached copy of a document titled ``Procedures for Prevention of 
Emergency Episodes: 1988 Edition'' is a true and correct copy of the 
original and is an official publication of the Arizona Department of 
Environmental Quality.
    (3) ``Procedures for Prevention of Emergency Episodes,'' 1988 
edition, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.
[FR Doc. 2012-25022 Filed 10-12-12; 8:45 am]
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