[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 230 (Monday, December 1, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 71061-71065]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-28299]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R01-OAR-2013-0786; A-1-FRL-9918-26-Region-1]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Massachusetts; Transit System Improvements
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the
State of Massachusetts on November 6, 2013. This proposal, if
finalized, would remove the design of the Red Line/Blue Line Connector
as a requirement in the Massachusetts SIP, without substitution or
replacement, and would implement administrative changes that lengthen
the existing public process by fifteen days and replace references to
the Executive Office of Transportation (EOT) with references to the
Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). This action is
being taken under the Clean Air Act.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before December 31,
2014.
[[Page 71062]]
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R01-OAR-2013-0786 by one of the following methods:
1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
2. Email: [email protected].
3. Fax: (617) 918-0047.
4. Mail: ``Docket Identification Number EPA-R01-OAR-2013-0786,''
Anne Arnold, 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.
5. Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver your comments to: Anne Arnold,
Manager, 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. Such deliveries are only
accepted during the Regional Office's normal hours of operation. The
Regional Office's official hours of business are Monday through Friday,
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding legal holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R01-OAR-
2013-0786. 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 through www.regulations.gov, or
email, information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected.
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 at 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.
In addition, copies of the state submittal are also available for
public inspection during normal business hours, by appointment at the
State Air Agency; Air and Climate Division, Department of Environmental
Protection, One Winter Street, 8th Floor, Boston, MA 02108.
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
II. Massachusetts' 2013 SIP Revision Submittal
A. Deletion of the Design of the Red Line/Blue Line Connector
B. Administrative Changes
III. Proposed Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
On December 9, 1991, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental
Protection (MassDEP) submitted a revision to its SIP for Transit System
Improvements and HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) Lanes in the Metropolitan
Boston Air Pollution Control District. This SIP revision committed the
Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation and Construction (MA
EOTC) to pursue implementation, monitoring, and enforcement of transit
system improvements and HOV lanes that were identified as
transportation and air quality mitigation measures in a 1990 Final
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Central Artery/
Third Harbor Tunnel (CA/THT) project. EPA determined five of the
proposed transportation control measures (TCMs) were necessary to help
achieve an air quality benefit from the CA/THT. This 1991 SIP revision
included the following two new regulations: 310 Code of Massachusetts
Regulations (CMR) 7.36, ``Transit System Improvements;'' and 310 CMR
7.37, ``High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes.''
This initial transit system improvement and high occupancy vehicle
lanes SIP revision was approved by EPA on October 4, 1994 (59 FR 50495)
and required the Transit System Improvement Projects in Table 1 to be
completed and available for public use by the dates specified below:
Table 1--Commitment to Transit System Improvement Projects in 310 CMR 7.36
[State effective date December 6, 1991]
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Projects must be completed and available for public use by: Transit system improvement projects
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December 31, 1992............................................ --Lynn Central Square Station and Parking Garage,
--North Station high platforms and high tracks,
--Lynn Transit Station Bus Terminal.
December 31, 1994............................................ --South Station Bus Terminal,
[[Page 71063]]
--South Station Track Number 12,
--Ipswich Commuter Rail Line extension to
Newburyport.
December 31, 1996............................................ --Old Colony Commuter Rail Line Extension,
--Framingham Commuter Rail Line Extension to
Worcester,
--10,000 Park and Ride and Commuter Rail parking
spaces outside of the Boston core.
December 31, 1997............................................ --Green Line Arborway Restoration.
December 31, 1998............................................ --Blue Line platform lengthening and
modernization.
December 31, 1999............................................ --10,000 Park and Ride and Commuter Rail Station
Parking spaces outside of the Boston core in
addition to those completed by December 31,
1996.
December 31, 2001............................................ --South Boston Piers Electric Bus Service.
December 31, 2011............................................ --Green Line extension to Ball Square/Tufts
University,
--Blue Line Connection from Bowdoin Station to
the Red Line at Charles Station.
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On December 13, 2006, the MassDEP submitted a revision to its SIP
amending its Transit System Improvements Regulation. The revision
consisted of MassDEP's final amendments to 310 CMR 7.36, ``Transit
System Improvements,'' with a state effective date of December 1, 2006.
In the revised rule, three of the SIP-required projects, the Green Line
Arborway Restoration, the Blue Line Connection from Bowdoin Station to
the Red Line at Charles Station, and the Green Line extension to Ball
Square/Tufts University, were replaced by the Fairmount Line commuter
rail improvements project (construction to be completed and opened to
full public use by December 31, 2011), 1,000 new park and ride parking
spaces serving Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)
transit and commuter rail in the Metropolitan Boston Area (construction
to be completed and opened to full public use by December 31, 2011),
final design of the connection from the Blue Line at Government Center
to the Red Line at Charles Station (final design before December 31,
2011, but no commitment to its construction), and an enhanced Green
Line transit extension to Medford Hillside with a spur to Union Square
(construction to be completed and opened to full public use by December
31, 2014).
On June 1, 2007, MassDEP supplemented its December 13, 2006 SIP
revision with Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation's
(EOT's) amended air quality modeling analysis report (``Description of
Modeling Assumptions and Analysis Methodology for the State
Implementation Plan Transit Commitment Projects Current and Proposed
Substitutions,'' dated March 15, 2007) and a letter determining that
EOT had met the requirements of 310 CMR 7.36(8), Determination of Air
Quality Emissions Reductions, including a determination that the
Fairmount Line improvements, 1,000 new park-and-ride parking spaces,
and the Green Line extension to Medford Hillside with a spur to Union
Square would achieve at least 110% of the emissions reductions that
would have been achieved had the Arborway Restoration, Red Line/Blue
Line Connector, and Green Line extension to Ball Square been
constructed. EOT held a public comment period on the modeling analysis
report for a 45-day period commencing on January 2, 2007. EOT then
amended the report based on comments received and commenced an
additional two-week public comment period on March 21, 2007, following
posting in the Massachusetts' ``Environmental Monitor.'' MassDEP also
submitted EOT's responses to public comments received as part of the
supplemental materials.
On November 5, 2007 (72 FR 62422), EPA published a Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' December 13,
2006 SIP revision as amended by the June 1, 2007 supplement. [See EPA
Docket number EPA-R01-OAR-2006-1018 at www.regulations.gov]. In
evaluating the proposed replacement/substitution transit projects for
the Green Line Arborway Restoration, the Red Line/Blue Line Connector,
and the Green Line extension to Ball Square/Tufts University (see Table
2), EPA ensured that the substitution provisions in 310 CMR 7.36(5),
Substitute Transit System Improvement Projects, which were adopted into
the Massachusetts SIP, were satisfied and followed the ``Interim
Guidance for Implementing the Transportation Conformity Provisions in
the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A
Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU),'' (EPA420-B-06-901, February 2006). As
Massachusetts' TCM substitution mechanisms were approved into the SIP
prior to SAFETEA-LU's enactment, Massachusetts must continue to use its
SIP-approved TCM substitution mechanisms in addition to the new
SAFETEA-LU statutory provision, as applicable, to make substitutions.
Table 2--Replacement Transit System Improvement Projects in 310 CMR 7.36
[State effective date December 1, 2006]
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Transit system improvement projects to replace
the Green Line Arborway Restoration, the Blue
Projects must be completed and available for public use by: Line Connection from Bowdoin Station to the Red
Line at Charles Station, and the Green Line
extension to Ball Square/Tufts University:
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December 31, 2011............................................ --Fairmont Line commuter rail improvements
project.
December 31, 2011............................................ --1000 new park and ride parking spaces serving
MBTA transit and commuter rail in the
Metropolitan Boston Area.
December 31, 2011............................................ --Final design of the connection from the Blue
Line at Government Center to the Red Line at
Charles Station. [Final design but no commitment
to its construction].
December 31, 2014............................................ --Enhanced Green Line transit extension to
Medford Hillside with a spur to Union Square.
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[[Page 71064]]
On July 31, 2008 (73 FR 44654), EPA approved Massachusetts'
amendments to Transit System Improvements Regulation, 310 CMR 7.36, and
Definitions Regulation, 310 CMR 7.00 (with a state effective date of
December 1, 2006), as a revision to the Massachusetts SIP. This
revision changed completion dates of delayed transit projects, provided
interim deadlines for projects, maintained requirements for interim
emission reduction offsets in the event a project becomes delayed,
modified the project substitution process, revised the list of required
transit projects, and expanded public participation in, and oversight
of, the projects. The intended effect of this action was to substitute
specific transit projects and 1,000 park and ride spaces to replace
certain transit projects previously approved into the SIP and to
approve modifications to the delay and substitution procedures for
transit projects.
EPA found that the transit measures in the December 1, 2006 Revised
Transit System Improvements Regulation remained directionally sound and
that all substitution projects identified in the Regulation would
collectively contribute to achieving the national ambient air quality
standard for ozone and maintaining the carbon monoxide standard,
thereby satisfying requirements set forth in section 110(l) of the
Clean Air Act.
II. Massachusetts' 2013 SIP Revision Submittal
Massachusetts Air Pollution Control regulation 310 CMR 7.36,
``Transit System Improvements'' (effective December 1, 2006), is
currently incorporated-by-reference into the SIP. The Commonwealth's
November 6, 2013 SIP submittal requests that EPA approve the
replacement of this regulation in the SIP by an amended 310 CMR 7.36,
``Transit System Improvements'' (effective October 25, 2013). The
amended regulation: (1) Deletes the SIP requirement to design the Red
Line/Blue Line Connector from the Blue Line at Government Center to the
Red Line at Charles Station; (2) lengthens by fifteen days the time
within which MassDEP must hold a public meeting to take public comment
on MassDOT's annual update and status report; and (3) replaces
references to Executive Office of Transportation and EOT with
Massachusetts Department of Transportation and MassDOT, respectively.
These three amendments are addressed in more detail below.
EPA's role in this proposed action is to approve state choices,
provided they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. An adequate SIP
revision is one that meets the Clean Air Act requirement under section
110(l) that a SIP revision must not interfere with attainment and
maintenance of national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) or any
other applicable requirement of the Act. The Commonwealth has
flexibility to revise SIP-approved TCMs, provided the revisions are
consistent with attaining and maintaining compliance with the NAAQS.
A. Deletion of the Design of the Red Line/Blue Line Connector
The first amendment deletes the requirement that MassDOT complete
the final design of the Red Line/Blue Line Connector from the Blue Line
at Government Center to the Red Line at Charles Station by December 31,
2011. Although 310 CMR 7.36(2)(i), as adopted in 2006, required MassDOT
to complete the final design of the Red Line/Blue Line Connector, the
regulation did not require that the project be constructed. MassDOT
took a number of steps to advance the Red Line/Blue Line Connector
design, including, but not limited to, allocating resources to advance
the conceptual design, completing a Draft Environmental Impact Report,
and forming and meeting with a working group. MassDOT has estimated
that $50 million would be needed to complete the final design, far
exceeding the $29 million last identified in the Boston Metropolitan
Planning Organization (MPO) 2009 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP).
MassDOT has determined that allocating additional and scarce
transportation funding to the final design of the project is not
justified. Therefore, in July 2011, MassDOT requested that MassDEP
remove the Red Line/Blue Line Connector design from the regulation and
the SIP.
SAFETEA-LU, which was signed into law on August 10, 2005, revised a
number of aspects of the Clean Air Act's section 176(c) transportation
conformity provisions. In addition to amendments to the transportation
conformity provisions, SAFETEA-LU also added a provision to section
176(c) to allow states to substitute or add TCMs into approved SIPs
without the standard SIP revision process. This allowed a streamlined
process for substituting and adding TCMs to an approved SIP. Where a
substitution is not proposed, however, a TCM may only be removed from
an applicable SIP through a standard SIP revision. Such a SIP revision
must be shown to meet Clean Air Act section 110(l) requirements (e.g.,
the area would have to show that removal of the TCM would not interfere
with any applicable requirement concerning attainment and reasonable
further progress, or any other applicable Clean Air Act requirement).
Since the Massachusetts SIP revision is for the removal of a SIP
requirement without replacement or substitution, EPA believes the
provisions of 310 CMR 7.36(5), Substitute Transit System Improvement
Projects, and EPA's Guidance for Implementing the Clean Air Act Section
176(c)(8) Transportation Control Measure Substitution and Addition
Provision do not apply.\1\ Most importantly, as the previously approved
SIP requirement is for design only, removing this requirement from the
SIP will not affect the total emission reductions achieved from the
projects included in the Massachusetts Transit System Improvements
Regulation and would not interfere with any applicable requirement
concerning attainment and reasonable further progress, or any other
applicable Clean Air Act requirement, thereby satisfying the
requirements set forth in section 110(l) of the Clean Air Act.
Therefore, EPA is proposing to approve this amendment.
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\1\ The guidance is available at http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/policy/420b09002.pdf.
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B. Administrative Changes
EOT/MassDOT, in consultation with the MBTA, is required to develop
and submit to MassDEP by July 1st of each year a report for each
project required by the Transit System Improvements Regulation [310 CMR
7.36(2)(f) through (j) and any project implemented pursuant to 310 CMR
7.36(4) and (5)] in accordance with the provisions established at 310
CMR 7.36(7)(a) of the Transit System Improvements Regulation's Public
Process Requirements. Following receipt of the report, MassDEP is
required to conduct a public meeting to take public comment on EOT/
MassDOT's update and status report. Because MassDEP is required to
conduct the public meeting within 60 days of its receipt of the report,
there have been conflicts with the Labor Day Holiday and the end of
summer season. Therefore, in the revised regulation submitted on
November 6, 2013, MassDEP lengthened the public meeting deadline to
within 75 days of the receipt of the report to avoid these conflicts.
The additional fifteen days will still result in a timely hearing on
MassDOT's updates and reports, and should enable more stakeholders and
members of the public to participate.
MassDEP shall continue to provide public notice at least 30 days
prior to
[[Page 71065]]
the public meeting and shall also make copies of MassDOT's annual
update and status report available to the public at least 30 days prior
to the public meeting. EPA finds the fifteen day extension acceptable
since it will benefit the public review and comment opportunities and
will not affect emissions or interfere with any applicable requirement
concerning attainment and reasonable further progress or any other
applicable Clean Air Act requirement. Therefore, EPA is proposing to
approve this amendment. If our proposal is finalized, MassDEP will hold
future public meeting on the annual update and status report within
seventy-five days of MassDEP's receipt of the report. See 310 CMR
7.36(7)(b).
In addition, in the revised regulation submitted on November 6,
2013, the terms ``Executive Office of Transportation'' and ``EOT'' have
been replaced with ``Massachusetts Department of Transportation'' and
``MassDOT,'' respectively, to reflect Chapter 25 of the Acts of 2009.
In June 2009, Governor Deval Patrick signed Chapter 25 of the Acts of
2009, ``An Act Modernizing the Transportation Systems of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts,'' (as amended by Chapter 26 of the
``Act''). This transportation reform legislation integrated
transportation agencies and authorities into a new, streamlined
MassDOT, which is a merger of the Executive Office of Transportation
and Public Works (EOT) and its divisions with the Massachusetts
Turnpike Authority (MTA), the Massachusetts Highway Department (MHD),
the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV), the Massachusetts Aeronautics
Commission (MAC), and the Tobin Bridge, currently owned and operated by
the Massachusetts Port Authority (MPA). In addition, the MBTA and
Regional Transit Authorities (RTA) are subject to oversight by the new
organization. The organization also assumed responsibility for many of
the bridges and parkways currently operated by the Department of
Conservation and Recreation (DCR).
EPA is proposing to approve these administrative changes, which do
not interfere with attainment and reasonable further progress or any
other applicable Clean Air Act requirement, and which will, if
finalized, make the SIP consistent with State agency organization.
III. Proposed Action
EPA is proposing to approve Massachusetts' revised 310 CMR 7.36,
``Transit System Improvements,'' submitted on November 6, 2013, as a
revision to the Massachusetts SIP. This revised rule: (1) Deletes the
existing SIP requirement to design the Red Line/Blue Line Connector
from the Blue Line at Government Center to the Red Line at Charles
Station (310 CMR 7.36(2)(i)); (2) lengthens by fifteen days the time
within which MassDEP must hold a public meeting to take public comment
on MassDOT's annual update and status report (310 CMR 7.36(7)(b)); and
(3) replaces references to Executive Office of Transportation and EOT
with references to Massachusetts Department of Transportation and
MassDOT, respectively.
EPA's review of the material submitted on November 6, 2013 to
remove the ``design only'' of the Red Line/Blue Line Connector from the
Massachusetts SIP; add administrative changes to lengthen portions of
the public process under 310 CMR 7.36(2)(i); and update references to
the appropriate State transportation agency, indicates that the
proposed modifications would not interfere with any applicable
requirement concerning attainment and reasonable further progress, or
any other applicable Clean Air Act requirement.
EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues discussed in this
notice or on other relevant matters. These comments will be considered
before taking final action. Interested parties may participate in the
Federal rulemaking procedure by submitting written comments to the EPA
New England Regional Office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this
Federal Register.
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 proposed 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 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 (Public Law 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.
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.
Dated: November 6, 2014.
Deborah A. Szaro,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA New England.
[FR Doc. 2014-28299 Filed 11-28-14; 8:45 am]
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