[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 217 (Wednesday, November 9, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 78722-78724]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-27057]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R06-OAR-2016-0329; FRL-9954-36-Region 6]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans: Texas; 
Approval of Substitution for Transportation Control Measures

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule; notice of administrative change.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making an 
administrative change to update the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 
to reflect a change made to the Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
on May 31, 2016, as a result of EPA's concurrence on a substitute 
transportation control measure (TCM) for the Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW) 
portion of the Texas SIP. On August 16, 2016, the State of Texas, 
through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), submitted 
a revision to the Texas SIP requesting that EPA update its SIP to 
reflect a substitution of a TCM. The substitution was made pursuant to 
the TCM substitution provisions contained in the Clean Air Act (CAA). 
EPA concurred on this substitution on May 31, 2016. In this 
administrative action, EPA is updating the non-regulatory provisions of 
the Texas SIP to reflect the substitution. In summary, the substitution 
was a replacement of a High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lane TCM within the 
DFW 8-hour ozone nonattainment area with traffic signalization 
projects. EPA has determined that this action falls under the ``good 
cause'' exemption in the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) which, 
upon finding ``good cause,'' authorizes an agency to make an action 
effective immediately, thereby avoiding the 30-day delayed effective 
date otherwise provided for in the APA.

DATES: This action is effective November 9, 2016.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. EPA-R06-OAR-2016-0329. 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, e.g., 
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 http://www.regulations.gov or 
in hard copy at the EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, 
Texas 75202-2733.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Riley, 214-665-8542, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 31, 2016, EPA issued a concurrence 
letter to TCEQ stating that the substitution of the DFW area US67/IH-
35E HOV Lane TCM with traffic signalization project TCMs met the CAA 
section 176(c)(8) requirements for substituting TCMs in an area's 
approved SIP. See also EPA's Guidance for Implementing the CAA section 
176(c)(8) Transportation Control Measure Substitution and Addition 
Provision contained in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users which was signed into law 
on August 10, 2005, dated January 2009. The DFW area US67/IH-35E HOV 
Lane TCM was originally approved into the SIP on September 27, 2005 (70 
FR 56374).\1\ The

[[Page 78723]]

TCM was also included for applicable NOX and VOC benefits in 
the May 2007 DFW 1997 8-hour Ozone Attainment Demonstration SIP 
Revision, which was conditionally approved by EPA on January 14, 2009 
(74 FR 1903).
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    \1\ EPA's May 31, 2016 concurrence letter to TCEQ provided an 
incorrect SIP citation for EPA approval of the US67/IH-35E HOV Lane 
TCM. September 27, 2005 (70 FR 56374) is the correct SIP citation.
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    As a part of the concurrence process, the public was provided an 
opportunity to comment on the proposed TCM substitution. Public notice 
and comment was provided by the DFW metropolitan planning organization, 
the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), during a 
Regional Transportation Council meeting held on May 12, 2016. Public 
notice for this meeting was published in 20 DFW area newspapers and 
circulars.
    Through this concurrence process, EPA determined that the 
requirements of CAA section 176(c)(8) were met, including the 
requirement that the substitute measures achieve equivalent or greater 
emission reductions than the control measure to be replaced. Upon EPA's 
concurrence, the HOV Lane substitution took effect as a matter of 
federal law. A copy of EPA's concurrence letter is included in the 
Docket for this action. This letter can be accessed at 
www.regulations.gov using Docket ID No. EPA-R06-OAR-2014-0871. In 
accordance with the requirements for TCM substitution, on August 16, 
2016, TCEQ submitted a request for EPA to update the DFW portion of the 
Texas SIP to reflect EPA's previous approval of the TCM substitution of 
the HOV Lane with the traffic signalization project TCMs in its SIP 
(the subject of this administrative change). Today, EPA is taking 
administrative action to update the non-regulatory provisions of the 
Texas SIP in 40 CFR 52.2270(e) to reflect EPA's concurrence on the 
substitution of a TCM for the conversion of the US67/IH-35E HOV Lane to 
traffic signalization projects:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Applicable       State submittal
    Name of nonregulatory SIP          geographic or      date/effective
            provision               nonattainment area         date
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DFW nine-county area US67/IH-35E   Dallas-Fort Worth...       8/16/2016
 HOV Lane TCM to traffic
 signalization TCMs. Affected
 counties are Dallas, Tarrant,
 Collin, Denton, Parker, Johnson,
 Ellis, Kaufman, Rockwall.
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    Under section 553 of the APA, an agency may find good cause where 
procedures are ``impractical, unnecessary, or contrary to the public 
interest.'' The substitution was made through the process included in 
CAA section 176(c)(8). Effective immediately, today's action codifies 
provisions which are already in effect. The public had an opportunity 
to comment on this substitution during the public comment period prior 
to approval of the substitution. Immediate notice of this action in the 
Federal Register benefits the public by providing the updated Texas SIP 
Compilation and ``Identification of Plan'' portion of the Federal 
Register.

Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General Requirements

    Under Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 
13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011), this administrative action is not 
a ``significant regulatory action'' and is therefore not subject to 
review by the Office of Management and Budget. This action is not 
subject to Executive Order 13211, ``Actions Concerning Regulations That 
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 
28355, May 22, 2001) because it is not a significant regulatory action 
under Executive Order 12866. Because the Agency has made a ``good 
cause'' finding that this action is not subject to notice-and-comment 
requirements under the APA or any other statute as indicated in the 
Supplementary Information section above, it is not subject to the 
regulatory flexibility provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 
U.S.C. 601 et seq.), or to sections 202 and 205 of the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4). In addition, this 
action does not significantly or uniquely affect small governments or 
impose a significant intergovernmental mandate, as described in 
sections 203 and 204 of UMRA.
    This administrative action also does not have a substantial direct 
effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the 
federal government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power 
and responsibilities between the federal government and Indian tribes, 
as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), 
nor will it have substantial direct effects on the states, on the 
relationship between the national government and the states, or on the 
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of 
government, as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 
10, 1999).
    This administrative action also is not subject to Executive Order 
13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not economically 
significant. This administrative action does not involve technical 
standards; thus the requirements of section 12(d) of the National 
Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do 
not apply. The administrative action also does not involve special 
consideration of environmental justice related issues as required by 
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). This 
administrative action does not impose an information collection burden 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General

    The Congressional Review Act (CRA) (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. Section 808 allows the issuing agency to 
make a rule effective sooner than otherwise provided by the CRA if the 
agency makes a good cause finding that notice and public procedure is 
impracticable, unnecessary or contrary to the public interest. Today's 
administrative action simply codifies a provision which is already in 
effect as a matter of law in Federal and approved state programs. 5 
U.S.C. 808(2). These announced actions were effective upon EPA's 
concurrence. 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 this action in the Federal Register. This update to 
Texas' SIP Compilation is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
804(2).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by

[[Page 78724]]

reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: October 27, 2016.
Samuel Coleman,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 6.

    40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--[APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS]

0
1. The authority for citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Subpart SS--Texas

0
2. In Sec.  52.2270(e), the table titled ``EPA Approved Nonregulatory 
Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures in the Texas SIP'' is amended 
by adding an entry at the end of the table to read as follows:


Sec.  52.2270  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                                  EPA Approved Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures in the Texas SIP
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                                    Applicable geographic       State
       Name of SIP provision          or  nonattainment       submittal/              EPA approval date                           Comments
                                             area          effective  date
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                                                                      * * * * * * *
DFW nine-county area US67/IH-35E    Dallas-Fort Worth:          8/16/2016   11/9/2016 [Insert Federal Register     .....................................
 HOV Lane TCM to traffic             Dallas, Tarrant,                        citation].
 signalization TCMs.                 Collin, Denton,
                                     Parker, Johnson,
                                     Ellis, Kaufman and
                                     Rockwall Counties.
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[FR Doc. 2016-27057 Filed 11-8-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P