[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 32 (Tuesday, February 18, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9097-9100]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-03434]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R06-OAR-2010-1055; FRL-9906-65-Region 6]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
New Mexico; Transportation Conformity and General Conformity 
Requirements for Bernalillo County

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct 
final action approving State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions 
submitted by the Governor of New Mexico on November 18, 2010, May 24, 
2011 and October 11, 2012 on behalf of the Albuquerque-Bernalillo 
County Air Quality Control Board (AQCB). These revisions serve to 
incorporate recent changes to the Federal Transportation Conformity and 
General Conformity rules into the state conformity SIP for Bernalillo 
County. EPA is approving these revisions in accordance with the 
requirements of the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: This rule is effective on April 21, 2014 without further notice, 
unless EPA receives relevant adverse comment by March 20, 2014. 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 No. EPA-R06-OAR-
2010-1055, by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions.
     Email: Michelle Peace at [email protected].
     Mail or delivery: Mr. Guy Donaldson, Chief, Air Planning 
Section (6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, 
Suite 1200, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R06-OAR-
2010-1055. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information the 
disclosure of which is restricted by statute. Do not submit information 
through http://www.regulations.gov or email, if you believe that it is 
CBI or otherwise protected from disclosure. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which 
means that 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 http://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 along with any disk or CD-ROM 
submitted. 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 and any form of encryption and should 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: The index to the docket for this action is available 
electronically at www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at EPA Region 6, 
1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas. 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 at either location (e.g., CBI). 
To inspect the hard copy materials, please schedule an appointment with 
the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT paragraph 
below or Mr. Bill Deese at 214-665-7253.
    The State submittal is also available for public inspection at the 
State Air Agency listed below during official business hours by 
appointment:
    City of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department, Air Quality 
Division, Office of Air Quality, One Civic Plaza Northwest, 
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87103.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Peace, telephone (214) 665-
7430, email [email protected]. Environmental Protection Agency, 
Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, fax 
number 214-665-7263.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, whenever ``we'' 
``us'' or ``our'' is used, we mean the EPA.

Outline

I. What is transportation conformity?
II. What is general conformity?
III. What is the background for this action?
IV. What did the state submit and how did we evaluate it?
V. Final Action
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What is transportation conformity?

    Transportation conformity is required under section 176(c) of the 
Clean Air Act to ensure that Federally supported highway and transit 
projects are consistent with (conform to) the purpose of the approved 
SIP. Conformity currently applies to areas that are designated 
nonattainment, and those areas redesignated to attainment after 1990 
(maintenance areas), with plans developed under section 175A of the 
Clean Air Act for the following transportation related criteria 
pollutants: Ozone, particulate matter (PM2.5 and 
PM10), carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrogen dioxide 
(NO2). Conformity with the purpose of the SIP means that 
transportation activities will not cause new air quality violations, 
worsen existing violations, or delay timely attainment of the relevant 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The Federal 
transportation

[[Page 9098]]

conformity regulations are found in 40 CFR part 93 and provisions 
related to conformity SIPs are found in 40 CFR 51.390.

II. What is general conformity?

    General conformity is also required under section 176(c) of the 
Clean Air Act to ensure that all other Federally supported actions 
outside of highway and transit projects are consistent with the purpose 
of the approved SIP. General conformity requirements currently apply to 
the following criteria pollutants: Ozone, particulate matter 
(PM2.5 and PM10), carbon monoxide (CO), and 
nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and 
Lead. The Federal general conformity regulations are found in 40 CFR 
part 93 and provisions related to general conformity SIPs are found in 
40 CFR 51.851.

III. What is the background for this action?

    States adopt transportation conformity SIPs to enable an area to 
implement and enforce the Federal transportation conformity 
requirements per 40 CFR part 51 subpart T and 40 CFR part 93 subpart A. 
The AQCB initially complied with this requirement by submitting a SIP 
to EPA on December 19, 1994; we approved this SIP on November 8, 1995 
(60 FR 56241). Since the November 8, 1995 approval, the Governor of New 
Mexico has submitted a number of revisions to the conformity SIP. The 
most recent of these revisions were submitted on November 18, 2010, and 
October 11, 2012. The November 18, 2010 submittal consists of 
amendments to 20.11.3 NMAC, Transportation Conformity reflecting 
federally promulgated changes that affect PM 2.5 and PM 10 
nonattainment and maintenance areas (75 FR 14260). The October 11, 2012 
Transportation Conformity submittal includes the current transportation 
conformity rule that reflects all transportation conformity rulemakings 
promulgated by EPA as of April 2012, including the Restructuring 
Amendments final rulemaking (77 FR 14979).
    States adopt general conformity SIPs to enable an area to implement 
and enforce the Federal general conformity requirements per 40 CFR part 
51 subpart W and 40 CFR part 93 subpart B. The AQCB initially complied 
with this requirement by submitting a SIP to EPA on October 1, 2002 and 
approved by EPA on December 30, 2004 (69 FR 78314). EPA promulgated 
amendments to the Federal general conformity rule on April 5, 2010 (75 
FR 17254). AQCB's May 24, 2011 revision serves to update Albuquerque's 
regulations found in 20.11.4 NMAC, General Conformity and bring them in 
line with these most recent changes to the Federal general conformity 
rule. Because 40 CFR part 51, subpart W (Sec. Sec.  51.850-51.860) 
essentially duplicates the regulations promulgated at 40 CFR part 93, 
subpart B (Sec. Sec.  93.150-93.160), EPA has deleted all of subpart W 
except for Sec.  51.851. In the revision to Sec.  51.851, EPA requires 
that if a state or tribe submits a General Conformity SIP or TIP that 
it be consistent with the requirements of 40 CFR part 93, subpart B. 
The EPA added paragraph (f) to 40 CFR 51.851 to allow the states and 
tribes to develop their own ``presumed to conform'' list for actions 
covered by their conformity SIPs or TIPs.'' AQCB has not used this 
provision to develop a ``presumed to conform'' list for its conformity 
SIP.

IV. What did the state submit and how did we evaluate it?

    On November 18, 2010 and October 11, 2012, the Governor of New 
Mexico submitted a revision to the Bernalillo County, New Mexico State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) for Transportation Conformity purposes. The 
November 18, 2010 SIP revision consists of language to address the 
April 23, 2010 federal changes to address PM2.5 and 
PM10 nonattainment areas. The October 11, 2012 submittal 
addresses EPA's March 14, 2012 revisions to the Federal rule by 
restructuring two sections of the conformity rule, 20.11.3.109 NMAC (40 
CFR 93.109) and 20.11.3.119 NMAC (40 CFR 93.119), so that the existing 
rule requirements clearly apply to areas designated for future new or 
revised NAAQS.
    On May 24, 2011, The Governor of New Mexico submitted a revision to 
the Bernalillo County SIP for General Conformity purposes. The SIP 
revision consists of language to address the April 5, 2010 federal 
changes to update and streamline the general conformity determination 
process.
    The practice of the AQCB is to incorporate federal language into 
its local rules and customize such rules to meet the standard required 
by the New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) style guidance, rather 
than to incorporate by reference the federal rules. This approach is 
consistent with 40 CFR 51 subparts T and W, which allow a state's 
conformity SIPs to contain criteria and procedures more stringent than 
the federal requirements. EPA reviewed the sections of the NMAC found 
in Tables 1 and 2 for consistency with the Federal Regulations. We 
found that the revised NMAC sections accurately reflect the current 
content of corresponding sections of the Federal transportation and 
general conformity rules they are intended to address, as well as adds 
specific language to further clarify roles and responsibilities in the 
Bernalillo County consultation process. Table 1 highlights the sections 
of NMAC Chapter 20 that were revised to address EPA's March 24, 2010 
federal transportation conformity rulemaking (75 FR 14260). Table 2 
highlights the sections of NMAC Chapter 20 that were revised to address 
EPA's March 14, 2012 federal transportation conformity rulemaking (77 
FR 14979). Table 3 highlights the sections of NMAC Chapter 20 that 
correspond to the revisions to the federal general conformity rules 
which became effective on July 6, 2010. These NMAC revisions are 
reflected in the AQCB's May 24, 2011 submittal.

 Table 1--November 18, 2010 Revisions to NMAC Chapter 20, Transportation
        Conformity, and Corresponding Sections of 40 CFR Part 93
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                       NMAC Ch. 20                           40 CFR 93
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20.11.3.2...............................................          93.102
20.11.3.7...............................................          93.101
20.11.3.103.............................................          93.103
20.11.3.104.............................................          93.104
20.11.3.105.............................................          93.105
20.11.3.106.............................................          93.106
20.11.3.107.............................................          93.107
20.11.3.108.............................................          93.108
20.11.3.109.............................................          93.109
20.11.3.110.............................................          93.110
20.11.3.111.............................................          93.111
20.11.3.112.............................................          93.112
20.11.3.113.............................................          93.113
20.11.3.114.............................................          93.114
20.11.3.115.............................................          93.115
20.11.3.116.............................................          93.116
20.11.3.117.............................................          93.117
20.11.3.118.............................................          93.118
20.11.3.119.............................................          93.119
20.11.3.120.............................................          93.120
20.11.3.121.............................................          93.121
20.11.3.122.............................................          93.122
20.11.3.123.............................................          93.123
20.11.3.124.............................................          93.124
20.11.3.125.............................................          93.125
20.11.3.126.............................................          93.126
20.11.3.127.............................................          93.127
20.11.3.128.............................................          93.128
20.11.3.129.............................................          93.129
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 Table 2--October 11, 2012 Revisions to NMAC Chapter 20, Transportation
        Conformity, and Corresponding Sections of 40 CFR Part 93
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                       NMAC Ch. 20                           40 CFR 93
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20.11.3.7...............................................          93.101
20.11.3.109.............................................          93.109

[[Page 9099]]

 
20.11.3.118.............................................          93.118
20.11.3.119.............................................          93.119
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 Table 3--May 24, 2011 Revisions to NMAC Chapter 20, General Conformity,
              and Corresponding Sections of 40 CFR Part 93
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                       NMAC Ch. 20                           40 CFR 93
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20.11.4.2...............................................          93.150
20.11.4.6...............................................          93.100
20.11.4.7...............................................          93.152
20.11.4.9...............................................          93.104
20.11.4.10..............................................          93.105
20.11.4.11..............................................          93.106
20.11.4.153.............................................          93.153
20.11.4.154.............................................          93.154
20.11.4.155.............................................          93.155
20.11.4.156.............................................          93.156
20.11.4.157.............................................          93.157
20.11.4.158.............................................          93.158
20.11.4.159.............................................          93.159
20.11.4.160.............................................          93.160
20.11.4.161.............................................          93.161
20.11.4.162.............................................          93.162
20.11.4.163.............................................          93.163
20.11.4.164.............................................          93.164
20.11.4.165.............................................          93.165
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The complete federal conformity rules of 40 CFR part 93 and the 
complete NMAC Chapter can be found at the following Web sites: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html for the federal rules and http://www.nmcpr.state.nm.us/nmac/index.htm for the local rules.

V. Final Action

    EPA is approving the Bernalillo County SIP revisions for 
Transportation Conformity, which were submitted on November 18, 2010 
and October 11, 2012. AQCB's revisions amend rule 20.11.3 NMAC 
Transportation Conformity by updating it to bring it into compliance 
with the amended Federal transportation conformity rule. EPA is also 
approving AQCB's revision to the Albuquerque SIP submitted to EPA on 
May 24, 2011. AQCB's revision amends rule 20.11.4 NMAC General 
Conformity to update the general conformity rule in its entirety to 
meet state and federal requirements. We have evaluated the State's 
submittals and have determined that they meet the applicable 
requirements of the Clean Air Act and EPA regulations, and are 
consistent with EPA policy.
    EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because we view 
this as a non-controversial amendment and anticipate no adverse 
comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal 
Register publication, we are publishing a separate document that will 
serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision if relevant adverse 
comments are received. This rule will be effective on April 21, 2014 
without further notice unless we receive adverse comment by March 20, 
2014. If we receive adverse comments, we will publish a timely 
withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule 
will not take effect. We will address all public comments in a 
subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. We will not institute 
a second comment period on this action. Any parties interested in 
commenting must do so now. Please note that if we receive adverse 
comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that 
provision may be severed from the remainder of the rule, we may adopt 
as final those provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an 
adverse comment.

VI. 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, 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 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. section 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 
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 action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
section 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 April 21, 2014. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect 
the finality of this rule 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).)

[[Page 9100]]

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 
Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile 
organic compounds.

    Dated: January 28, 2014.
Ron Curry,
Regional Administrator, Region 6.

    40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart GG--New Mexico

0
2. In Sec.  52.1620, the second table in paragraph (c) entitled, ``EPA 
Approved Albuquerque/Bernalillo County, NM Regulations,'' is amended by 
revising the entries for Part 3 (20.11.3 NMAC), Transportation 
Conformity, and Part 4 (20.11.4 NMAC), General Conformity to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.1620  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
* * * * *

                           EPA Approved Albuquerque/Bernalillo County, NM Regulations
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                                                        State approval/
          State citation              Title/subject     effective date   EPA approval date       Explanation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) Title 20--Environment Protection Chapter 11--Albuquerque/Bernalillo County
                                            Air Quality Control Board
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Part 3 ( 20.11.3 NMAC)...........  Transportation       11/18/2010; 10/ 2/18/2014 [Insert
                                    Conformity.                11/2012   FR page number
                                                                         where document
                                                                         begins].
Part 4 (20.11.4 NMAC)............  General Conformity.       5/24/2011  2/18/2014 [Insert    ...................
                                                                         FR page number
                                                                         where document
                                                                         begins].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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[FR Doc. 2014-03434 Filed 2-14-14; 8:45 am]
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