[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 4 (Monday, January 7, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 894-896]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-31732]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2012-0960; FRL-9766-4]


Interim Final Determination To Stay Sanctions, Imperial County 
Air Pollution Control District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Interim final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is making an interim final determination to stay 
imposition of sanctions based on a proposed approval of revisions to 
the Imperial County Air Pollution Control District (ICAPCD) portion of 
the California State Implementation Plan (SIP) published elsewhere in 
this Federal Register. The revisions concern local rules that regulate 
inhalable particulate matter (PM10) emissions from sources 
of fugitive dust such as unpaved roads and disturbed soils in open and 
agricultural areas in Imperial County.

DATES: This interim final determination is effective on January 7, 
2013. However, comments will be accepted until February 6, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by docket number EPA-R09-OAR-
2012-0960, by one of the following methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-
line instructions.
    2. Email: [email protected].
    3. Mail or deliver: Andrew Steckel (Air-4), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 
94105-3901.
    Instructions: All comments 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 Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Information that you 
consider CBI or otherwise protected should be clearly identified as 
such and should not be submitted through www.regulations.gov or email. 
www.regulations.gov is an ``anonymous access'' system, and EPA will not 
know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the 
body of

[[Page 895]]

your comment. If you send email directly to EPA, your email address 
will be automatically captured and included as part of the public 
comment. 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.
    Docket: Generally, documents in the docket for this action are 
available electronically at www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at EPA 
Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California. While all 
documents in the docket are listed at www.regulations.gov, some 
information may be publicly available only at the hard copy location 
(e.g., copyrighted material, large maps), and some may not be publicly 
available in either location (e.g., CBI). To inspect the hard copy 
materials, please schedule an appointment during normal business hours 
with the contact listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Vineyard, EPA Region IX, 
(415) 947-4125, [email protected].

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

I. Background

    On July 8, 2010 (75 FR 39366), we published a limited approval and 
limited disapproval of the following rules listed in Table 1, as 
adopted locally on November 9, 2005 and submitted by the State on June 
16, 2006.

                                                     Table 1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Local agency                 Rule No.             Rule title               Adopted     Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ICAPCD...................................        800  General Requirements for             11/08/05     06/16/06
                                                       Controls of Fine Particulate
                                                       Matter.
ICAPCD...................................        804  Open Areas......................     11/08/05     06/16/06
ICAPCD...................................        805  Paved & Unpaved Roads...........     11/08/05     06/16/06
ICAPCD...................................        806  Conservation Management              11/08/05     06/16/06
                                                       Practices.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We based our limited disapproval action on certain deficiencies in 
the submittal. This disapproval action started a sanctions clock for 
imposition of offset sanctions 18 months after August 9, 2010 and 
highway sanctions 6 months later, pursuant to section 179 of the Clean 
Air Act (CAA) and our regulations at 40 CFR 52.31. As such, offset 
sanctions began on February 9, 2012 and highway sanctions began on 
August 9, 2012.
    On October 16, 2012, ICAPCD adopted revisions to Rules 800, 804, 
805, and 806 that were intended to correct the deficiencies identified 
in our limited disapproval action. On November 7, 2012, the State 
submitted these revisions to EPA. In the Proposed Rules section of 
today's Federal Register, we have proposed approval of this submittal 
because we believe it corrects the deficiencies identified in our July 
8, 2010 disapproval action. Based on today's proposed approval, we are 
taking this final rulemaking action, effective on publication, to stay 
imposition of sanctions that were triggered by our July 8, 2010 limited 
disapproval.
    EPA is providing the public with an opportunity to comment on this 
stay of sanctions. If comments are submitted that change our assessment 
described in this final determination and the proposed full approval of 
revised ICAPCD Rules 800, 804, 805, and 806, we intend to take 
subsequent final action to reimpose sanctions pursuant to 40 CFR 
51.31(d). If no comments are submitted that change our assessment, then 
all sanctions and sanction clocks will be permanently terminated on the 
effective date of a final rule approval.

II. EPA Action

    We are making an interim final determination to stay CAA section 
179 sanctions associated with ICAPCD Rules 800, 804, 805, and 806 based 
on our concurrent proposal to approve the State's SIP revision as 
correcting deficiencies that initiated sanctions.
    Because EPA has preliminarily determined that the State has 
corrected the deficiencies identified in EPA's limited disapproval 
action, relief from sanctions should be provided as quickly as 
possible. Therefore, EPA is invoking the good cause exception under the 
Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in not providing an opportunity for 
comment before this action takes effect (5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)). However, 
by this action EPA is providing the public with a chance to comment on 
EPA's determination after the effective date, and EPA will consider any 
comments received in determining whether to reverse such action.
    EPA believes that notice-and-comment rulemaking before the 
effective date of this action is impracticable and contrary to the 
public interest. EPA has reviewed the State's submittal and, through 
its proposed action, is indicating that it is more likely than not that 
the State has corrected the deficiencies that started the sanctions 
clocks. Therefore, it is not in the public interest to keep applied 
sanctions in place when the State has most likely done all it can to 
correct the deficiencies that triggered the sanctions clocks. Moreover, 
it would be impracticable to go through notice-and-comment rulemaking 
on a finding that the State has corrected the deficiencies prior to the 
rulemaking approving the State's submittal. Therefore, EPA believes 
that it is necessary to use the interim final rulemaking process to 
stay sanctions while EPA completes its rulemaking process on the 
approvability of the State's submittal. Moreover, with respect to the 
effective date of this action, EPA is invoking the good cause exception 
to the 30-day notice requirement of the APA because the purpose of this 
notice is to relieve a restriction (5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1)).

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    This action stays Federal sanctions and imposes no additional 
requirements.
    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not 
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget.
    This action is not subject to Executive Order 13211, ``Actions 
Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 
Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001) because it is not a 
significant regulatory action.
    The administrator certifies that this action will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
    This rule 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).
    This rule does not have tribal implications because it will not 
have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the 
relationship

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between the Federal government and Indian tribes, or on the 
distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal 
government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 
FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
    This action does not have Federalism implications because it does 
not have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship 
between the national government and the States, or on the distribution 
of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government, 
as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999).
    This rule is not subject to Executive Order 13045, ``Protection of 
Children From Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks'' (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not economically significant.
    The requirements of section 12(d) of the National Technology 
Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272) do not apply to 
this rule because it imposes no standards.
    This rule does not impose an information collection burden under 
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.).
    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 to Congress and the Comptroller 
General. However, section 808 provides that any rule for which the 
issuing agency for good cause finds that notice and public procedure 
thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public 
interest, shall take effect at such time as the agency promulgating the 
rule determines. 5 U.S.C. 808(2). EPA has made such a good cause 
finding, including the reasons therefore, and established an effective 
date of January 7, 2013. EPA will submit a report containing this rule 
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 rule 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 March 8, 2013. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect 
the finality of this rule for the purpose of judicial review nor does 
it extend the time within which 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 regulations, Ozone, Particulate matter, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: December 17, 2012.
Jared Blumenfeld,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2012-31732 Filed 1-4-13; 8:45 am]
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