[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 32 (Friday, February 15, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11122-11124]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-03594]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2012-0954; FRL-9781-8]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Pennsylvania; Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets for the Pennsylvania 
Counties in the Philadelphia-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE 1997 Fine Particulate 
Matter Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
revision submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania). 
This proposed revision consists of an update to the SIP-approved Motor 
Vehicle Emissions Budgets (MVEBs) for the Pennsylvania counties in the 
Philadelphia-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE 1997 fine particulate matter 
(PM2.5) Nonattainment Area (hereafter referred to as the 
Philadelphia Area) to reflect the use of the most recent version of the 
Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator model (MOVES). Those counties are: 
Philadelphia, Montgomery, Delaware, Chester, and Bucks Counties. This 
rulemaking proposes to approve the MVEBs and thereby make them 
available for transportation conformity purposes. EPA determined on May 
16, 2012 that the Philadelphia Area attained the 1997 PM2.5 
National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) by the applicable 
attainment date. Approval of this SIP revision will not interfere with 
the Philadelphia Area's ability to continue to attain the 1997 
PM2.5 NAAQS. This action is being taken under section 110 of 
the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before March 18, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2012-0954 by one of the following methods:
    A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    B. Email: [email protected].
    C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2012-0954, Cristina Fernandez, Associate 
Director, Office of Air Program Planning, Mailcode 3AP30, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
    D. Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region III address. 
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-
2012-0954. 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 information that you consider to 
be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or email. 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.
    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 during normal business hours at the Air Protection 
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch 
Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of the State submittal 
are available at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental 
Protection, Bureau of Air Quality Control, P.O. Box 8468, 400 Market 
Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Asrah Khadr, (215) 814-2071, or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA determined on May 16, 2012 (77 FR 28782) 
that the Philadelphia Area attained the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS by 
the applicable attainment date, April 5, 2010. On November 6, 2012, the 
Pennsylvania DEP submitted a draft SIP revision to update the SIP-
approved MVEBs for the Philadelphia Area to reflect the use of the most 
recent version of the MOVES model. On January 29, 2013, Pennsylvania 
DEP submitted its formal, final SIP revision to update the SIP-approved 
MVEBs for the Philadelphia Area.

I. Background

    The currently SIP-approved MVEBs for the Philadelphia Area were 
developed using the Highway Mobile Source Emission Factor Model 
(MOBILE6.2). On March 2, 2010 (75 FR 9411), EPA published a notice of 
availability for the MOVES2010 model for use in developing MVEBs for 
SIPs and for conducting transportation conformity analyses. EPA 
commenced a two year grace period after which time the MOVES2010 model 
would have to be used for transportation conformity purposes. The two 
year grace period was scheduled to end on March 2, 2012. On February 
27, 2012 (77 FR 11394), EPA published a final rule extending the grace 
period for one more year to March 2, 2013 to ensure adequate time

[[Page 11123]]

for affected parties to have the capacity to use the MOVES model to 
develop or update the applicable MVEBs in SIPs and to conduct 
conformity analyses. On September 8, 2010, EPA released MOVES2010a, 
which is a minor update to MOVES2010 (hereafter referred to as the 
MOVES model), and which is used by Pennsylvania in this SIP revision.
    By requesting that EPA approve its SIP revision to update the SIP-
approved MVEBs of the Philadelphia Area to reflect the use of the MOVES 
model, Pennsylvania DEP is seeking to ensure that the applicable SIP-
approved MVEBs are MOVES-based for use in transportation conformity 
analyses. The transportation conformity rules can be found in 40 CFR 
93, Subpart A. One of the requirements for transportation conformity is 
that any transportation plan, transportation improvement program (TIP) 
or transportation project not already part of a conforming TIP must 
conform to the MVEBs in the applicable SIP. In order for the MVEBs in a 
SIP to be used to determine conformity of a TIP or a transportation 
project, the MVEBs must be deemed adequate and/or approved as a SIP 
revision. The requirements for adequacy are set forth in 40 CFR 
93.118(e)(4)(i)-(vi). EPA is proposing to approve the updated MVEBs of 
the Philadelphia Area as a SIP revision because EPA has thoroughly 
reviewed the SIP revision and determined that those MVEBs meet the 
adequacy requirements and have been correctly re-calculated to reflect 
the use of the MOVES model. Upon final SIP approval, the updated MVEBs 
will become the applicable MVEBs for use in performing transportation 
conformity analyses.

II. Summary of the SIP Revision

    On November 6, 2012, Pennsylvania DEP submitted to EPA a draft SIP 
revision which updates the Philadelphia Area's MVEBs to reflect the use 
of the MOVES model. On January 29, 2013, Pennsylvania DEP submitted its 
formal, final SIP revision to update the Philadelphia Area's MVEBs to 
reflect the use of the MOVES model. The MVEBs are for PM2.5 
and nitrogen oxides (NOX). The attainment demonstration 
documented that NOX is the only significant precursor from 
on-road sources to the formation of PM2.5 in the 
Philadelphia Area. The MVEBs were previously developed using MOBILE6.2 
for the year 2009. The previously developed MVEBs for PM2.5 
and NOX for the Philadelphia Area were approved as part of 
EPA's approval of Pennsylvania's 1997 PM2.5 attainment plan 
on August 28, 2012 (77 FR 51930). A summary of the updated MOVES-based 
MVEBs and previously approved MOBILE6.2-based MVEBs for 2009 is 
provided in Table 1: Summary of MVEBs; the emissions for each pollutant 
are provided in tons per year (tpy). Also presented in Table 1 is a 
comparison between the 2002 base year inventory, which was produced by 
MOBILE6.2 and updated with MOVES, and the 2009 MVEBs. Even though there 
is an emissions increase in the MOVES-based MVEBs, the increase is not 
due to an increase in emissions from mobile sources. The increase is 
due to the fact that the MOVES model provides more accurate emissions 
estimates than MOBILE6.2 rather than growth that had not been 
anticipated in the attainment demonstration or changes to any control 
measures. Even though the MVEBs as calculated using MOVES result in a 
higher estimate of emissions, the MVEBs are consistent with 
requirements for attainment in the Philadelphia Area. This is because 
EPA determined on May 16, 2012 (77 FR 28782) that the Philadelphia Area 
attained the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS by the applicable attainment 
date and the area continues to attain the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. 
The design values for the years 2007-2009, 2008-2010, and 2009-2011 
respectively are as follows: 13.7 micrograms per cubic meter ([micro]g/
m\3\), 13.8 [micro]g/m\3\, and 13.7 [micro]g/m\3\. All of the design 
values are below the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS which is 15 [micro]g/
m\3\. Also, preliminary 2012 data show that the Philadelphia Area 
continues to attain the standard. Therefore, this update to the SIP-
approved MVEBs to reflect the use of the MOVES model does not interfere 
with the Philadelphia Area's ability to continue to be in attainment of 
the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. A detailed summary of EPA's review and 
rationale for proposing to approve this SIP revision may be found in 
the Technical Support Document (TSD) prepared in support of this 
proposed approval and is available on line at http://www.regulations.gov, Docket number EPA-R03-OAR-2012-0954.

                                            Table 1--Summary of MVEBs
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                  Model                                MOBILE6.2
                                                      MOVES2010a
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Year....................................        2002              2009              2002              2009
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PM2.5 (tpy).............................            1032.8             699.1          2,904.60           1,907.5
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NOX (tpy)...............................          63,475.9          36,317.7         90,879.00          57,218.3
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III. Proposed Action

    EPA is proposing to approve Pennsylvania DEP's SIP revision request 
from January 29, 2013 to update the SIP-approved MVEBs in the 
Philadelphia Area to reflect the use of the MOVES model. EPA is 
proposing approval because this SIP revision will allow the 
Philadelphia Area to continue to be in attainment of the 1997 
PM2.5 NAAQS, and our in depth review of the SIP revision 
leads EPA to conclude that the updated MVEBs meet the adequacy 
requirements set forth in 40 CFR 93.118(e)(4)(i)-(vi), and the updated 
MVEBs have been correctly calculated to reflect the use of the MOVES 
model. Upon final approval, these updated MVEBs will be both adequate 
and SIP-approved for purposes of transportation conformity.
    EPA issued conformity regulations to implement the 1997 
PM2.5 NAAQS in July 2004 and May 2005. See 69 FR 40004 (July 
1, 2004) and 70 FR 24280 (May 6, 2005). Those actions were not part of 
the final rule recently remanded to EPA by the Court of Appeals for the 
District of Columbia in NRDC v. EPA, No. 08-1250 (January 4, 2013), in 
which the Court remanded to EPA the implementation rule for the 
PM2.5 NAAQS because it concluded that EPA must implement 
that NAAQS pursuant to the PM-specific implementation provisions of 
Subpart 4 of Part D of Title I of the CAA, rather than solely under the 
general provisions of Subpart 1. That decision does not affect EPA's 
proposed approval of the Philadelphia Area MVEBs. First, as noted 
above, EPA's conformity rule implementing the 1997 PM2.5 
NAAQS was a separate action from the overall PM2.5 
implementation rule addressed by the Court and was not considered or 
disturbed by the decision. Therefore, the conformity regulations were 
not at issue

[[Page 11124]]

in NRDC v. EPA.\1\ In addition, the Philadelphia Area is currently 
attaining the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS and EPA has approved 
Pennsylvania DEP's attainment demonstration for the Philadelphia Area, 
and the revised MVEBs simply update the budget calculations using 
MOVES, as explained above. EPA is soliciting public comments on the 
issues discussed in this document. These comments will be considered 
before taking final action.
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    \1\ The 2004 rulemaking action addressed most of the 
transportation conformity requirements that apply in 
PM2.5 nonattainment and maintenance areas. The 2005 
conformity rule included provisions addressing treatment of 
PM2.5 precursors in MVEBs. See 40 CFR 93.102(b)(2). While 
none of these provisions were challenged in the NRDC case, EPA also 
notes that the court declined to address challenges to EPA's 
presumptions regarding PM2.5 precursors in the 
PM2.5 implementation rule. NRDC v. EPA, slip op. at 18 n. 
10.
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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 proposes to approve 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 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, 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 concerning Pennsylvania's January 
29, 2013 request to update the applicable MVEBs of the Philadelphia 
Area 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.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Particulate matter.

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

    Dated: February 7, 2013.
W. C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2013-03594 Filed 2-14-13; 8:45 am]
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