[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 204 (Friday, October 21, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 72714-72716]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-25296]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R10-OAR-2013-0004; FRL-9954-32-Region 10]
Partial Approval and Partial Disapproval of Attainment Plan for
Oakridge, Oregon PM2.5 Nonattainment Area
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: On December 12, 2012, the Oregon Department of Environmental
Quality (ODEQ) submitted, on behalf of the Governor of Oregon, a State
Implementation Plan (SIP) submission to address violations of the
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter
with an aerodynamic diameter of less than or equal to a nominal 2.5
micrometers (PM2.5) for the Oakridge PM2.5
nonattainment area (2012 SIP submission). The Lane Regional Air
Protection Agency (LRAPA), in coordination with the ODEQ, developed the
2012 SIP submission for purposes of attaining the 2006 24-hour
PM2.5 NAAQS. On February 22, 2016, the ODEQ withdrew certain
provisions of the 2012 SIP submission (2016 SIP withdrawal). The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has evaluated whether the
remaining portions of the 2012 SIP submission meet the applicable Clean
Air Act (CAA) requirements. Based on this evaluation, the EPA is
finalizing partial approval and partial disapproval of the remaining
portions of the 2012 SIP submission.
DATES: This final rule is effective November 21, 2016.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID No. EPA-R10-OAR-2013-0004. All documents in the docket are
listed on the http://www.regulations.gov Web site. Although listed in
the index, some information is not publicly available, i.e.,
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information the
disclosure of which 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 http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air Planning Unit, Office of
Air and Waste, EPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, WA, 98101.
The EPA requests that, if at all possible, you contact the individual
listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to view the hard
copy of the docket. You may view the hard copy of the docket Monday
through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christi Duboiski at (360) 753-9081,
[email protected] or by using the above EPA, Region 10 address.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Background Information
II. Final Action
III. Consequences of a Disapproved SIP
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Orders Review
I. Background Information
On July 28, 2016, the EPA proposed to partially approve and
partially disapprove the attainment plan submitted by the ODEQ on
December 12, 2012 (81 FR 49592). An explanation of the CAA attainment
planning requirements, a detailed analysis of the submittal, and the
EPA's reasons for proposing partial approval and partial disapproval
were provided in the notice of proposed rulemaking, and will not be
restated here. The public comment period for the proposed rule ended on
August 29, 2016. The EPA received no comments on the proposal.
II. Final Action
The EPA is finalizing approval of the following elements of the
2012 SIP submission:
Description of the Oakridge PM2.5 nonattainment
area and listing of the area as nonattainment, and
The base year 2008 emission inventory submitted to meet
the CAA section 172(c)(3) requirement for emissions inventories.
The EPA is finalizing disapproval of the following elements of the
2012 SIP submission:
The attainment year emission inventory submitted to meet
the CAA section 172(c)(3) requirement for emissions inventories,
the reasonably available control measures (RACM),
including reasonably available control technology (RACT), submitted to
meet the CAA sections 172(c)(1) and 189(a)(1)(C) requirements for
control measures for moderate nonattainment areas,
the attainment demonstration submitted to meet the CAA
section 189(a)(1)(B) requirement for a demonstration that the plan will
provide for attainment by the applicable attainment date,
the motor vehicle emissions budget (MVEB) submitted to
meet CAA section 176 requirement for transportation conformity,
the demonstration of reasonable further progress (RFP) and
quantitative milestones submitted to meet section 172(c)(2) and 189(c)
requirements for RFP and quantitative milestones, and
the contingency measures submitted to meet the section
172(c)(9) requirement for the implementation of measures to be
undertaken, without further action by the state or EPA, if the area
fails to make RFP or attain the NAAQS by the applicable attainment
date.
III. Consequences of a Disapproved SIP
This section explains the consequences of a disapproved SIP
submission required under the CAA. The Act provides for the imposition
of sanctions and the promulgation of a federal implementation plan
(FIP) if a state fails to submit, and the EPA approve, a plan revision
that corrects the deficiencies identified by the EPA in its
disapproval.
The Act's Provisions for Sanctions
Once the EPA finalizes disapproval of a required SIP submission,
such as an attainment plan submission, or a portion thereof, CAA
section 179(a) provides for the imposition of sanctions, unless the
deficiency is corrected within 18 months of the final rulemaking of
disapproval. The first sanction would apply 18 months after the EPA
disapproves the SIP submission, or portion thereof. Under the EPA's
sanctions regulations at 40 CFR 52.31, the first sanction imposed would
be 2:1 offsets for sources subject to the new source review
requirements under section 173 of the CAA. If the state has still
failed to submit a SIP submission to correct the identified
deficiencies for which the EPA proposes full or conditional approval 6
months after the first sanction is imposed, the second sanction will
apply. The second sanction is a prohibition on the approval or funding
certain highway projects.\1\
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\1\ On April 1, 1996 the US Department of Transportation
published a notice in the Federal Register describing the criteria
to be used to determine which highway projects can be funded or
approved during the time that the highway sanction is imposed in an
area. (See 61 FR 14363)
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[[Page 72715]]
Federal Implementation Plan Provisions That Apply if a State Fails To
Submit an Approvable Plan
In addition to sanctions, once the EPA finds that a state failed to
submit the required SIP revision, or finalizes disapproval of the
required SIP revision or a portion thereof, the EPA must promulgate a
FIP no later than two years from the date of the finding--if the
deficiency has not been corrected within that time period.
Ramifications Regarding Conformity
One consequence of the EPA's action finalizing disapproval of a
control strategy SIP submission is a conformity freeze.\2\ If the EPA
finalizes disapproval of the attainment demonstration SIP without a
protective finding, a conformity freeze will be in place as of the
effective date of the disapproval (40 CFR 93.120(a)(2)).\3\ The
Oakridge PM2.5 nonattainment area is an isolated rural area
as defined in the transportation conformity rule (40 CFR 93.101). As
such, it does not have a metropolitan planning organization (MPO), and
there is no long range transportation plan or TIP that would be subject
to a freeze. However, the freeze does mean that no projects in the
Oakridge PM2.5 nonattainment area may be found to conform
until another attainment demonstration SIP is submitted, and the motor
vehicle emissions budgets are found adequate, or the attainment
demonstration is approved.
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\2\ Control strategy SIP revisions as defined in the
transportation conformity rules include reasonable further progress
plans and attainment demonstrations (40 CFR 93.101).
\3\ The EPA would give a protective finding if the submitted
control strategy SIP contains adopted control measures, or written
commitments to adopt enforceable control measures, that fully
satisfy the emissions reductions requirements relevant to the
statutory provision for which the implementation plan revision was
submitted, such as reasonable further progress or attainment (40 CFR
93.101 and 93.120(a)(2) and (3)). The submitted attainment plan for
the Oakridge NAA does not contain all necessary controls to attain
the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS and therefore is not
eligible for a protective finding.
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IV. Incorporation by Reference
In this rule, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR
51.5, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the
regulations described in the amendments to 40 CFR part 52 set forth
below. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these documents
generally available electronically through http://www.regulations.gov
and/or in hard copy at the appropriate EPA office (see the ADDRESSES
section of this preamble for more information).
V. Statutory and Executive Orders Review
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, the 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 Clean Air Act; and
does not provide the 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).
The SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian reservation land or
in any other area where the 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 it 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. The 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 December 20, 2016. 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) of the CAA).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: October 6, 2016.
Dennis J. McLerran,
Regional Administrator, Region 10.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, 40 CFR part 52 is amended
as follows:
PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
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1. The authority citation for Part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
[[Page 72716]]
Subpart MM--Oregon
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2. In 52.1970 (c), amend Table 4--EPA Approved Lane Regional Air
Protection Agency (LRAPA) Rules for Oregon by:
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A. Revising the heading for Title 29; and
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B. Revising entries 29-0010 and 29-0030.
The revisions read as follows:
Sec. 52.1970 Identification of plan.
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(c) * * *
Table 4--EPA Approved Lane Regional Air Protection Agency (LRAPA) Rules for Oregon
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State
LRAPA citation Title/subject effective date EPA approval date Explanations
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Title 29--Designation of Air Quality Areas
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29-0010................. Definitions........... 10/18/2012 10/21/2016, [Insert Except 1-5, 7-9, and
Federal Register 11-15.
citation].
29-0030................. Designation of 10/18/2012 10/21/2016, [Insert
Nonattainment Areas. Federal Register
citation].
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[FR Doc. 2016-25296 Filed 10-20-16; 8:45 am]
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