[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 24 (Thursday, February 5, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 6455-6458]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02071]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2013-0772; FRL-9922-42-Region 4]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; North 
Carolina; Inspection and Maintenance Program Updates

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final 
action to approve State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted 
by the State of North Carolina, through the North Carolina Department 
of Environment and Natural Resources (NC DENR) on January 31, 2008, May 
24, 2010, October 11, 2013, and February 11, 2014, pertaining to state 
rule changes to the North Carolina Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) 
program. Specifically, these SIP revisions update the North Carolina I/
M program as well as repeal one rule that is included in the federally-
approved SIP. In this final rulemaking, EPA is also responding to 
comments received on the proposed approval.

DATES: This rule will be effective March 9, 2015.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2013-0772. 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., Confidential 
Business Information 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 Air Regulatory Management Section, (formerly the Regulatory 
Development Section), Air Planning and Implementation Branch, (formerly 
the Air Planning Branch), Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management 
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth 
Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. EPA requests that if at all 
possible, you contact the person 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 to 4:30 
excluding federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nacosta Ward, Air Regulatory 
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air, 
Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 
30303-8960. Ms. Ward can be reached by telephone at (404) 562-9140 and 
via electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 6456]]

I. This Action

    EPA is taking final action to approve SIP revisions submitted on 
January 31, 2008, May 24, 2010, October 11, 2013, and February 11, 
2014, related to changes to North Carolina's I/M regulations. On 
November 20, 2014, EPA published a direct final rulemaking to approve 
these changes into the SIP and published an accompanying proposed 
approval to the direct final rule in the event that EPA received 
adverse comment and withdrew the direct final rulemaking. See 79 FR 
69051. In the direct final rule, EPA stated that if adverse comments 
were received by December 22, 2014, the rule would be withdrawn and not 
take effect, the proposed rule would remain in effect, and an 
additional public comment period would not be instituted.
    On December 17, 2014, and December 19, 2014, EPA received comments 
identified with the docket number for the aforementioned rulemaking 
actions. EPA withdrew the direct final rule on January 20, 2015 (80 FR 
2612) and is now taking final action to approve the SIP revisions 
identified above. EPA has reviewed the changes included in these 
revisions and has determined that they are consistent with federal 
regulations and the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

II. Background

    The North Carolina I/M program began in 1982 in Mecklenburg County 
utilizing a ``tail-pipe'' emissions test. From 1986 through 1991 the 
program expanded to include eight additional counties (Wake, Forsyth, 
Guilford, Durham, Gaston, Cabarrus, Orange and Union County). In 1999, 
the North Carolina General Assembly passed legislation to expand the 
coverage area for the I/M program in order to gain additional emission 
reductions to achieve the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air 
quality standards in the State. This legislation expanded the I/M 
program from nine counties to 48 counties by adding several counties 
approximately every six months from July 1, 2003, to July 1, 2006. The 
I/M program in the expanded coverage area used on-board diagnostic 
(OBD) rather than tail-pipe testing. On August 7, 2002, North Carolina 
submitted a SIP revision to amend the I/M regulations included in the 
SIP at that time to, among other things, expand the counties subject to 
the I/M program as discussed above, require OBD in the subject counties 
for all model year (MY) 1996 and newer light duty gasoline vehicles, 
and terminate the tail-pipe testing program on January 1, 2006, for the 
nine counties subject to continued tail-pipe testing of MY 1995 and 
older vehicles.
    EPA approved these changes to North Carolina's I/M program into the 
SIP on October 30, 2002. See 67 FR 66056. Since that time, North 
Carolina has submitted additional changes to its program, which EPA is 
now acting upon. Specifically, North Carolina submitted SIP revisions 
related to the State's I/M program on January 31, 2008, May 24, 2010, 
October 11, 2013, and February 11, 2014. EPA's response to comments 
received on EPA's November 20, 2014, rulemaking is provided in Section 
III of this rulemaking. EPA's detailed analysis of these SIP revisions 
is provided in EPA's direct final rulemaking published on November 20, 
2014, and incorporated herein by reference. See 79 FR 69051.

III. Response to Comments

    On December 19, 2014, EPA received comments on the proposed SIP 
revisions from an anonymous commenter and withdrew the direct final 
rule. EPA also received comments from the United States Department of 
Defense (DOD) on December 17, 2014. These comments are addressed below.
    Comment: EPA received a comment from DOD expressing concern 
regarding the language in 15A North Carolina Administrative Code (NCAC) 
02D.1002(a)(3) applying the I/M program to federal facilities. DOD 
believes that EPA should rescind its prior approval of section 
.1002(a)(3) into the SIP, disapprove North Carolina's ``proposed 
revisions thereto,'' and identify section .1002(a)(3) ``as no longer 
approved as part of the SIP.''
    Response: These comments are not relevant to this rulemaking 
because EPA approved 15A NCAC 02D.1002(a)(3) into the SIP in 1995 (60 
FR 28720 (June 2, 1995)) and North Carolina did not propose any 
substantive changes to section .1002(a)(3) as part of its January 31, 
2008, May 24, 2010, October 11, 2013, and February 11, 2014 SIP 
submissions. The changes to 15A NCAC 02D.1002(a)(3) are merely 
typographical due to a reorganization of section .1002 and do not 
impact its scope or effect any substantive change in the regulations.
    Comment: EPA received a comment from an anonymous commenter who 
does not believe that EPA can approve the state implementation plan 
(SIP) revisions because ``North Carolina used the wrong modeling 
approach when determining whether the proposed revisions to the 
inspection program negatively affect the attainment and maintenance of 
the NAAQS.'' The Commenter contends that North Carolina used MOVES 
modeling inputs that did not consider the removal of the State's 
tailpipe emissions testing program and that the modeling approach is 
therefore inconsistent with EPA's guidance on performance standard 
modeling and the use of MOVES to model changes to states' I/M programs. 
According to the Commenter, proper modeling would show that ``simply 
expanding the required model years that are subject to inspection would 
not have gained the necessary emission reductions required to offset 
the loss of reductions from dropping tailpipe testing.'' The Commenter 
also believes that ``expanding the [I/M] program to the rest of the 
state cannot be included as a way to offset the reductions from the 
tailpipe testing'' and that North Carolina ``must show that for each 
nonattainment/maintenance area, (1) dropping the tailpipe test still 
meets the applicable performance standard, and (2) the emission 
reductions provided in the past by the tailpipe test are offset by some 
other way since expanding the model years of new vehicles has typically 
not provided the requisite emissions reductions as tailpipe testing for 
older (more polluting) vehicles has done.''
    Response: EPA disagrees with the Commenter. North Carolina's 
January 31, 2008 SIP submission asks EPA to remove the State's 
regulation governing tailpipe testing, 15A NCAC 02D.1004, from the SIP. 
As the State noted in its 2008 submission, 15A NCAC 02D.1004 is 
obsolete because the tailpipe testing requirements of that rule expired 
on January 1, 2006, pursuant to subsection .1004(e). EPA approved the 
addition of 15A NCAC 02D.1004(e) into the SIP in 2002. See 67 FR 66056 
(Oct. 30, 2002). Therefore, the SIP revision only eliminates 
inoperative regulatory text and does not ``drop'' tailpipe testing. The 
tailpipe testing requirement expired in 2006 pursuant to the terms of 
the regulation which EPA approved in 2002. Therefore, this comment is 
not relevant to the SIP revisions EPA is acting on today.
    The removal of 15A NCAC 02D.1004 from the SIP will not interfere 
with any applicable requirement concerning attainment or any other 
applicable requirement of the CAA because its removal has no impact on 
emissions. Tailpipe testing ended in North Carolina on January 1, 2006, 
and 15 NCAC 02D.1004(e) had already been approved into the SIP at the 
time of the State's 2008 submission. Therefore, no modeling or other 
technical analysis is required to satisfy CAA Section 110(l). Moreover, 
the Commenter's claim that North Carolina used an inappropriate

[[Page 6457]]

application of MOVES to demonstrate that the revisions to the I/M 
program will not interfere with any applicable requirement concerning 
attainment is based solely on the fact that the modeling did not 
consider removal of the tailpipe emissions testing provision. As 
explained above, the tailpipe emissions testing program expired 
pursuant to a previously-approved SIP revision, and therefore is not at 
issue in today's action.

IV. Final Action

    EPA is approving North Carolina's January 31, 2008, May 24, 2010, 
October 11, 2013, and February 11, 2014, SIP revisions pertaining to 
state rule changes to the State's I/M program. EPA has determined that 
these SIP revisions are approvable because they are consistent with 
section 110 of the CAA.

V. 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 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 Orders 12866 (58 
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
     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 CAA; 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, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian 
reservation land or in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has 
demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian 
country, the rule does not have tribal implications and will not impose 
substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
    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 CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by April 6, 2015. 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, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: January 26, 2015.
V. Anne Heard,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    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 II--North Carolina

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2. In Sec.  52.1770:

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a. Table 1, in paragraph (c) is amended by revising the entries for 
``Sect .1002,'' ``Sect .1003,'' ``Sect .1004,'' and ``Sect .1005''; and
0
b. In paragraph (e), the table is amended by adding a new entry ``Non-
Interference Demonstration for the North Carolina Inspection and 
Maintenance Program'' at the end of the table.
    The revisions and addition read as follows:


Sec.  52.1770  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                                    Table 1--EPA Approved North Carolina Regulations
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                                                                             State
        State citation                      Title/subject               effective date           EPA approval date                   Explanation
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                                                    Subchapter 2D Air Pollution Control Requirements
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                                                                       * * * * * *
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[[Page 6458]]

 
                                                 Section .1000 Motor Vehicle Emissions Control Standard
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                                                                       * * * * * *
Sect .1002...................  Applicability..........................        1/1/2014  2/5/2015..........................
                                                                                        [Insert Federal Register citation
                                                                                         ].
Sect .1003...................  Definitions............................        2/1/2014  2/5/2015..........................
                                                                                        [Insert Federal Register citation]
Sect .1004...................  Tailpipe Emission Standards for CO and        7/11/2007  2/5/2015..........................  Repealed.
                                HC.                                                     [Insert Federal Register citation]
Sect .1005...................  On-Board Diagnostic Standards..........        1/1/2014  2/5/2015..........................
                                                                                        [Insert Federal Register citation]
 
                                                                       * * * * * *
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* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                                                  EPA Approved North Carolina Non-Regulatory Provisions
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                                                                         EPA approval
               Provision                      State effective date           date            Federal Register citation               Explanation
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                                                                       * * * * * *
Non-Interference Demonstration for the   10/11/2013...................        2/5/2015  [Insert Federal Register citation]
 North Carolina Inspection and
 Maintenance Program.
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[FR Doc. 2015-02071 Filed 2-4-15; 8:45 am]
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