[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 46 (Monday, March 10, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 13254-13256]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04948]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R01-OAR-2012-0661; A-1-FRL-9906-76-Region 1]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
New Hampshire; Manchester and Nashua Carbon Monoxide Limited 
Maintenance Plans

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of New 
Hampshire. This SIP revision establishes carbon monoxide (CO) limited 
maintenance plans for the City of Manchester, New Hampshire and the 
City of Nashua, New Hampshire. As part of its limited maintenance plan, 
New Hampshire will continue year-round CO monitoring at the Londonderry 
Moose Hill station in Londonderry, New Hampshire with triggers to 
reestablish CO monitoring sites in Manchester and Nashua if elevated CO 
levels are recorded in Londonderry. Future carbon monoxide 
transportation conformity evaluations for Manchester and Nashua will, 
for the length of their limited maintenance plans, be considered to 
satisfy the regional emissions analysis and ``budget test'' 
requirements. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act.

DATES: This rule is effective on April 9, 2014.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R01-OAR-2012-0661. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the www.regulations.gov Web site. 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 through 
www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Office of Ecosystem 
Protection, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England 
Regional Office, Office of Ecosystem Protection, Air Quality Planning 
Unit, 5 Post Office Square--Suite 100, Boston, MA. EPA requests that if 
at all possible, you contact the contact 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 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding legal holidays.
    Copies of the documents relevant to this action are also available 
for public inspection during normal business hours, by appointment at 
the State Air Agency; Air Resources Division, Department of 
Environmental Services, 6 Hazen Drive, P.O. Box 95, Concord, NH 03302-
0095.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald O. Cooke, Air Quality Planning 
Unit, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional 
Office, Office of Ecosystem Protection, Air Quality Planning Unit, 5 
Post Office Square--Suite 100, (Mail code OEP05-2), Boston, MA 02109--
3912, telephone number (617) 918-1668, fax number (617) 918-0668, email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
    Organization of this document. The following outline is provided to 
aid in locating information in this preamble.

I. Background and Purpose
II. State Commitments
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background and Purpose

    On December 24, 2013 (78 FR 77632), EPA published a Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) for the State of New Hampshire, proposing 
approval of a SIP revision submitted on August 1, 2012. Specifically, 
EPA proposed to approve conversion of the Manchester and Nashua current 
carbon monoxide maintenance plans to a limited maintenance plan for the 
remainder of the City of Manchester, and the City of Nashua, New 
Hampshire CO maintenance plans which terminate on January 29, 2021.
    EPA also proposed to approve replacement of the CO air quality 
monitoring in Manchester with carbon monoxide monitoring at the 
Londonderry Moose Hill station in Londonderry, New Hampshire with 
triggers to reestablish CO monitoring sites in Manchester and Nashua if 
elevated CO levels are recorded in Londonderry.
    Other specific requirements of the limited maintenance plans for 
the City of Manchester, New Hampshire and the City of Nashua, New 
Hampshire, year-

[[Page 13255]]

round CO monitoring at the Londonderry Moose Hill station in 
Londonderry, New Hampshire, and the rationale for EPA's approval action 
are explained in the NPR and will not be restated here. No public 
comments were received on the NPR.

II. State Commitments

    New Hampshire will monitor CO levels using the Londonderry Moose 
Hill station and emissions inventories. Because New Hampshire is 
discontinuing monitoring CO in Manchester, it has adopted a more 
stringent contingency threshold or ``trigger'' than indicated in the 
previously submitted and EPA-approved May 30, 2007 maintenance plan SIP 
revision. See September 10, 2007; 72 FR 51564. In the event the second 
highest CO concentration in any calendar year monitored in Londonderry 
reaches 50 percent of the Federal 1-hour or 8-hour NAAQS for CO, New 
Hampshire will, as committed to in the August 1, 2012 SIP revision, 
within six months of recording such concentrations, reestablish the CO 
monitoring site in Manchester consistent with EPA siting criteria, and 
resume analyzing and reporting those data. If the reestablished 
Manchester CO monitor measures a violation of the either the Federal 1-
hour or 8-hour NAAQS for CO, contingency measures will be implemented 
in Manchester and Nashua. Contingency measures in Nashua would cease 
once a reestablished CO monitor in Nashua shows that the area is in 
attainment of the CO standard.
    If the Manchester or Nashua CO attainment areas monitor CO 
concentrations at or above the limited maintenance eligibility criteria 
or 7.65 parts per million, then that maintenance area would no longer 
qualify for a limited maintenance plan and would revert to a full 
maintenance plan. In this event, the limited maintenance plan would 
remain applicable for conformity purposes only until the full 
maintenance plan is submitted and EPA has found its motor vehicle 
emissions budgets adequate for conformity purposes or EPA approves the 
full maintenance plan SIP revision. Any required new conformity 
determinations could not be made until there is an adequate budget or 
approved full maintenance plan. At that time, regional emissions 
analyses would resume as a transportation conformity criteria.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving conversion of the Manchester and Nashua current 
carbon monoxide maintenance plans to a limited maintenance plan for the 
remainder of the City of Manchester, and the City of Nashua, New 
Hampshire CO maintenance plans which terminate on January 29, 2021.
    EPA is also approving replacement of the CO air quality monitoring 
in Manchester with carbon monoxide monitoring at the Londonderry Moose 
Hill station in Londonderry, New Hampshire with triggers to reestablish 
CO monitoring sites in Manchester and Nashua if elevated CO levels are 
recorded in Londonderry.

IV. 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. 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 May 9, 2014. 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, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

H. Curtis Spalding
Regional Administrator, EPA New England.

    Part 52 of chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
is amended as follows:

[[Page 13256]]

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 EE--New Hampshire

0
2. Section 52.1528 is amended by adding paragraph (e) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.1528  Control strategy: Carbon monoxide.

* * * * *
    (e) Approval--On August 1, 2012, the New Hampshire Department of 
Environmental Services submitted modifications to the Manchester and 
Nashua maintenance plans approved in paragraph (b) and (c) respectively 
of this section. The Manchester and Nashua current carbon monoxide 
maintenance plans are both converted to limited maintenance plans for 
the remainder of their second-ten year maintenance periods which 
terminate on January 29, 2021. Future carbon monoxide transportation 
conformity evaluations for Manchester and Nashua will for the length of 
their limited maintenance plans be considered to satisfy the regional 
emissions analysis and ``budget test'' requirements. In addition, New 
Hampshire will no longer conduct CO monitoring in Manchester, New 
Hampshire as addressed in paragraph (d) of this section. The Manchester 
monitoring site is replaced with the Londonderry Moose Hill station in 
Londonderry, New Hampshire with triggers to reestablish CO monitoring 
sites in Manchester and Nashua if elevated CO levels are recorded in 
Londonderry.

[FR Doc. 2014-04948 Filed 3-7-14; 8:45 am]
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