[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 190 (Thursday, October 1, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59052-59055]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-24889]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2015-0455; FRL-9934-81-Region 3]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Delaware; 2011 Base Year Inventories for the 2008 8-Hour Ozone National 
Ambient Air Quality Standard for New Castle and Sussex Counties

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct 
final action to approve the 2011 base year inventories for the 2008 8-
hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for New Castle 
and Sussex Counties, submitted by the State of Delaware. The emission 
inventories were submitted to meet the nonattainment requirements for 
the marginal ozone nonattainment areas for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. 
EPA is approving the 2011 base year emissions inventories for the 2008 
8-hour ozone NAAQS for New Castle and Sussex Counties, Delaware, in 
accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: This rule is effective on November 30, 2015 without further 
notice, unless EPA receives adverse written comment by November 2, 
2015. If EPA receives such comments, it will publish a timely 
withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform 
the public that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2015-0455 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-2015-0455, 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-
2015-0455. 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 Delaware Department of Natural Resources and 
Environmental Control, 89 Kings Highway, P.O. Box 1401, Dover, Delaware 
19903.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maria A. Pino, (215) 814-2181, or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Ground-level ozone is formed when nitrogen oxides (NOX) 
and volatile organic compounds (VOC) react in the presence of sunlight. 
Referred to as ozone precursors, these two pollutants are emitted by 
many types of pollution sources, including on- and off-road motor 
vehicles and engines, power plants and industrial facilities, and area 
wide sources, such as consumer products and lawn and garden equipment. 
Scientific evidence indicates that adverse public health effects occur 
following a person's exposure to ozone, particularly children and 
adults with lung disease. Breathing air containing ozone can reduce 
lung function and inflame airways, which can increase respiratory 
symptoms and aggravate asthma or other lung diseases. As a consequence 
of this scientific evidence, EPA promulgated the 0.12 part per million 
(ppm) 1-hour ozone NAAQS. See 44 FR 8202 (February 8, 1979).
    On July 18, 1997 (62 FR 38855), EPA promulgated a revised ozone 
NAAQS of 0.08 ppm, averaged over eight hours. This standard was 
determined to be more protective of public health than the previous 
1979 1-hour ozone standard. In 2008, EPA revised the 8-hour ozone NAAQS 
from 0.08 to 0.075 ppm. See 73 FR 16436 (March 27, 2008). On May 21, 
2012 (77 FR 30088), New Castle and Sussex Counties were designated as 
marginal nonattainment for the more stringent 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. 
New Castle County is part of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City 
nonattainment area for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. Sussex County is 
designated as the Seaford nonattainment area for the 2008 8-hour ozone 
NAAQS. Under section 172(c)(3) of the CAA, Delaware is required to 
submit comprehensive, accurate, and current inventories of actual 
emissions from all sources of the relevant pollutants in its marginal 
nonattainment areas, i.e., New Castle and Sussex Counties.

II. Summary of SIP Revision

    Under CAA section 172(c)(3), states are required to submit a 
comprehensive, accurate, current accounting of actual emissions from 
all sources (point, nonpoint, nonroad, and onroad) in the nonattainment 
area. CAA section 182(a)(1) requires that areas designated as 
nonattainment and classified as marginal are to submit an inventory of

[[Page 59053]]

all sources of ozone precursors no later than 2 years after the 
effective date of designation. This ``base year'' inventory contains 
actual annual emissions and typical ozone season day emissions for the 
ozone season of May through September for NOX, VOC, and 
carbon monoxide (CO).
    On April 23, 2015, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and 
Environment Control (DE DNREC) submitted its 2011 base year inventories 
for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS for its marginal nonattainment areas of 
New Castle and Sussex Counties. The 2011 base year inventories include 
emissions estimates that cover the general source categories of 
stationary point sources, stationary nonpoint sources, nonroad mobile 
sources and onroad mobile sources. The pollutants that comprise the 
inventory are NOX, VOCs, and CO.
    Tables 1 and 2 summarize the 2011 VOC, NOX and CO 
emission inventory by source sector for New Castle and Sussex Counties. 
Annual emissions are given in tons per year (tpy), and summer weekday 
emissions are given in tons per day (tpd).

                                    Table 1--New Castle County 2011 Emissions
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                                                 Annual (tpy)                       Summer Weekday (tpd)
           Source sector           -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        VOC          NOX           CO          VOC          NOX           CO
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Point.............................          819        2,750        3,649         2.97        12.02        12.32
Non-Point.........................        4,882        1,324        3,425        11.39         2.11         2.24
Onroad............................        3,285        7,495       37,489         8.85        20.65        91.58
Nonroad...........................        1,989        3,577       20,688         7.04        11.19        79.33
                                   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.........................       10,975       15,146       65,251        30.25        45.97       185.47
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                                      Table 2--Sussex County 2011 Emissions
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                                                 Annual (tpy)                       Summer Weekday (tpd)
           Source sector           -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        VOC          NOX           CO          VOC          NOX           CO
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Point.............................          815        2,456          442         4.94        12.10         1.60
Non-Point.........................        2,177          478        2,463         5.95         0.86         2.05
Onroad............................        2,974        4,702       28,323         8.86        14.87        78.67
Nonroad...........................        2,558        3,045       16,917         8.47        10.02        60.50
                                   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.........................        8,524       10,681       48,145        28.22        37.85       142.82
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    EPA's guidance for emissions inventory development calls for actual 
emissions to be used in the base year inventory. DE DNREC developed the 
point source data for the 2011 base year inventory using emissions 
directly reported by the facilities. For the 2011 nonpoint source 
emissions, also known as ``area sources,'' DE DNREC estimated emissions 
by multiplying an emission factor by some known indicator of collective 
activity for each source category by county. These emissions are 
typically calculated on an annual basis, because activity data are 
generally only available on an annual basis. DE DNREC converted the 
annual emissions to seasonal emissions.
    DE DNREC has submitted data from EPA's National Emissions Inventory 
(NEI), version 1, for the onroad inventory. The NEI onroad emissions 
inventory was developed using the EPA's highway mobile source emissions 
model, MOVES 2010a. DE DNREC prepared the 2011 nonroad mobile source 
inventory using EPA's NONROAD2008a model, which estimates fuel 
consumption and emissions for all nonroad mobile source categories 
except for aircraft, locomotives, and commercial marine vessels. 
Aircraft emissions were estimated using the Federal Aviation 
Administration's (FAA) Emissions and Dispersion Modeling System (EDMS). 
Locomotive emissions were calculated using company provided fuel 
consumption data. Commercial marine vessel emissions were calculated 
using specific activity and operation data for each vessel. DE DNREC 
reported annual emissions and ozone season day emissions.
    EPA reviewed DE DNREC's 2011 base year emission inventories for New 
Castle and Sussex Counties and determined that the results obtained and 
the procedures and methodologies used are acceptable and approvable. A 
detailed evaluation of Delaware's 2011 base year inventories is 
provided in the Technical Support Document (TSD) EPA prepared for this 
rulemaking action. The TSD can be found at http://www.regulations.gov, 
Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-2015-0455.

III. Final Action

    Pursuant to section 172(c) of the CAA, EPA is approving the 2011 
base year emissions inventories for New Castle and Sussex Counties 
submitted by the State of Delaware for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS as 
revisions to the Delaware's SIP. EPA is publishing this rule without 
prior proposal because EPA views this as a noncontroversial amendment 
and anticipates no adverse comment. However, in the ``Proposed Rules'' 
section of today's Federal Register, EPA is publishing a separate 
document that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision if 
adverse comments are filed. This rule will be effective on November 30, 
2015 without further notice unless EPA receives adverse comment by 
November 2, 2015. If EPA receives adverse comment, EPA will publish a 
timely withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that the 
rule will not take effect. EPA will address all public comments in a 
subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. EPA will not 
institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties 
interested in commenting must do so at this time.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General Requirements

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA and applicable 
Federal regulations.

[[Page 59054]]

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 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 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, 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.

B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General

    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).

C. Petitions for Judicial Review

    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 November 30, 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. Parties with objections to this direct final rule are 
encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel notice of 
proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules 
section of today's Federal Register, rather than file an immediate 
petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can 
withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed 
rulemaking action. This action approving Delaware's 2011 base year 
inventories for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS for New Castle and Sussex 
Counties 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, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile 
organic compounds.

    Dated: September 17, 2015.
Shawn M. Garvin,
Regional Administrator, Region III.

    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 I--Delaware

0
2. In Sec.  52.420, the table in paragraph (e) is amended by adding the 
entry ``2011 Base Year Inventories for the 2008 8-Hour Ozone National 
Ambient Air Quality Standard'' at the end of the table to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.420  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

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   Name of non-regulatory SIP         Applicable        State submittal                           Additional
            revision                geographic area          date          EPA Approval date      explanation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
2011 Base Year Inventories for    New Castle and      April 23, 2015....  October 1, 2015     Sec.   52.423(e).
 the 2008 8-Hour Ozone National    Sussex Counties.                        [Insert Federal
 Ambient Air Quality Standard.                                             Register
                                                                           citation].
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


0
3. Section 52.423 is amended by adding paragraph (e) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.423  Base year emissions inventory.

* * * * *
    (e) EPA approves as a revision to the Delaware State Implementation 
Plan the 2011 base year emissions inventory for New Castle and Sussex 
Counties for the 2008 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality 
standard submitted by the Delaware Department of the Natural Resources 
and Environmental Control on April 23, 2015. The 2011 base year 
emissions inventory includes emissions estimates that cover the general 
source categories of point sources, nonroad mobile sources, area 
sources, onroad mobile sources, and biogenic sources.

[[Page 59055]]

The pollutants that comprise the inventory are nitrogen oxides 
(NOX), volatile organic compounds (VOC), and carbon monoxide 
(CO).

[FR Doc. 2015-24889 Filed 9-30-15; 8:45 am]
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