[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 113 (Wednesday, June 14, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 27122-27125]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-12210]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R06-OAR-2015-0833; FRL-9962-48-Region 6]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Texas; Clean 
Air Act Requirements for Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance and 
Nonattainment New Source Review

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA or Act), the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Texas for 
the 2008 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). 
The SIP revision being approved pertains to CAA 2008 ozone NAAQS 
requirements for vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) and 
nonattainment new source review (NNSR) in the Dallas/Fort Worth ozone 
nonattainment area (DFW area).

DATES: This rule is effective on September 12, 2017 without further 
notice, unless the EPA receives relevant adverse comment by July 14, 
2017. If the EPA receives such comment, the EPA will publish a timely 
withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that this rule 
will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket No. EPA-R06-OAR-
2015-0833, at http://www.regulations.gov or via email to 
[email protected]. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from 
Regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any comment received to its public 
docket. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, 
video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. The written 
comment is considered the official comment and should include 
discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will generally not 
consider comments or comment contents located outside of the primary 
submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). For 
additional submission methods, please contact Carl Young, 214-665-6645, 
[email protected]. For the full EPA public comment policy, information 
about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making 
effective comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
    Docket: The index to the docket for this action is available 
electronically at www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at EPA Region 6, 
1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas. While all documents in the 
docket are listed in the index, some information may be publicly 
available only at the hard copy location (e.g., copyrighted material), 
and some may not be publicly available at either location (e.g., CBI).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Carl Young, 214-665-6645, 
[email protected]. To inspect the hard copy materials, please schedule 
an

[[Page 27123]]

appointment with Mr. Young or Mr. Bill Deese at 214-665-7253.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,'' 
and ``our'' mean the EPA.

I. Background

    In 2008 we revised the 8-hour ozone primary and secondary NAAQS to 
a level of 0.075 parts per million (ppm) to provide increased 
protection of public health and the environment (73 FR 16436, March 27, 
2008). The 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS replaced the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS 
of 0.08 ppm. The DFW area was classified as a ``Moderate'' ozone 
nonattainment area for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS and initially given 
an attainment date of no later than December 31, 2018 (77 FR 30088 and 
77 FR 30160, May 21, 2012). The DFW area consists of Collin, Dallas, 
Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant and Wise 
counties.
    On December 23, 2014, the D.C. Circuit Court issued a decision 
rejecting, among other things, our attainment deadlines for the 2008 
ozone nonattainment areas, finding that we did not have statutory 
authority under the CAA to extend those deadlines to the end of the 
calendar year. NRDC v. EPA, 777 F.3d 456, 464-69 (D.C. Cir. 2014). 
Consistent with the court's decision we modified the attainment 
deadlines for all nonattainment areas for the 2008 ozone NAAQS, and set 
the attainment deadline for all 2008 Moderate ozone nonattainment 
areas, including the DFW area as July 20, 2018 (80 FR 12264, March 6, 
2015).
    On July 10, 2015, Texas submitted a SIP revision for the DFW area 
based on an attainment date of December 31, 2018. Texas further revised 
the SIP to address an attainment date of July 20, 2018 and submitted it 
on August 5, 2016. Copies of the SIP revisions are available at 
www.regulations.gov, Docket number EPA-R06-OAR-2015-0833.
    As a moderate ozone nonattainment area and under the anti-
backsliding requirements of the previous standards, Texas is required 
to implement I/M and NNSR programs. These were also requirements under 
the previous ozone standards. In the August 5, 2016 SIP revision Texas 
discusses these requirements and noted: (1) That the DFW area meets the 
CAA requirements to implement an I/M program and (2) since the Dallas/
Fort Worth 1997 ozone nonattainment area was not redesignated to 
attainment prior to the revocation of the 1979 1-hour ozone NAAQS and 
the 1997 ozone NAAQS, anti-backsliding NNSR requirements for Serious 
areas still apply. Texas also noted that a redesignation substitute 
demonstration was submitted for the 1997 ozone NAAQS to satisfy anti-
backsliding requirements for the revoked NAAQS in the DFW area. Anti-
backsliding requirements ensure air quality in nonattainment areas does 
not get worse after an air quality standard is revoked (81 FR 81276, 
81288, November 17, 2016). The EPA approved Texas SIP (Texas SIP) that 
incorporates by reference the state's regulations can be found at 40 
CFR 52.2270(c).

II. EPA's Evaluation

A. CAA Requirements for I/M in the DFW Area

    I/M refers to the inspection and maintenance programs for in-use 
vehicles required under the CAA. The applicable requirements for ozone 
nonattainment areas that are required to adopt I/M programs are 
described in CAA sections 182(a)(2)(B), 182(b)(4), 182(c)(3), and 
184(b)(1)(A) and further defined in 40 CFR 51.350 (``Applicability'') 
of the I/M rule (40 CFR part 51, subpart S). Under these cumulative 
requirements, Moderate ozone nonattainment areas in urbanized areas 
with 1990 Census populations of 200,000 or more are required to adopt 
basic I/M programs, while Serious and higher classified ozone 
nonattainment areas outside of the northeast Ozone Transport Region 
with 1980 Census-defined urbanized populations of 200,000 or more are 
required to adopt enhanced I/M programs (40 CFR 51.350(a)(2) and (4)).
    Previously, we revoked (1) the 1979 1-hour ozone NAAQS (69 FR 
23951, April 30, 2004 and 70 FR 44470, August 3, 2005) and (2) the 1997 
8-hour ozone NAAQS (80 FR 12264, March 6, 2015). Because the DFW area 
was classified as Serious nonattainment for these revoked ozone NAAQS, 
an enhanced I/M program is required in the DFW area for anti-
backsliding purposes (40 CFR 51.1100(o)). Ozone classifications can be 
found in CAA section 181 and 40 CFR 51.1103. The Serious classification 
is one classification higher than the Moderate classification.
    The Texas SIP includes 30 TAC Section 114.2 (Inspection and 
Maintenance Definitions) and 30 TAC Section 114.50 (Vehicle Emissions 
Inspection Requirements) except for 30 TAC Section 114.50(b)(2). In a 
2001 final rule, we did not approve 30 TAC Section 114.50(b)(2) as part 
of the Texas SIP as (1) it placed an additional reporting burden upon 
commanders at Federal facilities regarding affected Federal vehicles 
that is not imposed upon any other affected non-federal vehicle and (2) 
additional reporting requirement is not an essential element for an 
approvable I/M program, since affected Federal vehicles are also 
subject to the same reporting requirements as other affected non-
federal vehicles (66 FR 57261, 57262, November 14, 2001).
    Under these provisions Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, 
Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall and Tarrant counties are included in an 
enhanced I/M program. An enhanced program is required for anti-
backsliding purposes since these counties were classified as Serious 
nonattainment for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS (75 FR 79302, December 
20, 2010). The program requires that gasoline powered light-duty 
vehicles, and light and heavy-duty trucks between two and twenty-four 
years old, that are registered or required to be registered in the I/M 
program area, including fleets, are subject to annual inspection and 
testing. Wise County is not required to be included in the I/M program 
as it is not included in the urbanized area. See www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/reference/ua/1990uas.pdf and www.census.gov/population/metro/files/lists/historical/90mfips.txt. Therefore, since the provisions in 
the Texas SIP already include the CAA I/M requirements for the DFW 
area, we are approving this portion of the SIP revisions.

B. CAA Requirements for NNSR in the DFW Area

    The applicable NNSR requirements for the various ozone 
nonattainment classifications are described in CAA section 182 and 
further defined in 40 CFR part 51, subpart I (Review of New Sources and 
Modifications). Under these requirements new major sources or major 
modifications at existing sources in an ozone nonattainment area must 
comply with the lowest achievable emission rate and obtain sufficient 
emission offsets. The emission offset ratio required for Moderate ozone 
nonattainment areas is 1.15 to 1 (CAA section 182(b)(5)).
    The Texas SIP includes 30 TAC Section 116.12 (Nonattainment and 
Prevention of Significant Deterioration Review Definitions) and 30 TAC 
Section 116.150 (New Major Source or Major Modification in Ozone 
Nonattainment Area). These provisions require new major sources or 
major modifications at existing sources in the DFW area to comply with 
the lowest achievable emission rate and obtain emission offsets at the 
Moderate classification ratio of 1.15 to 1. Therefore, since the 
provisions in the Texas SIP already include the CAA NNSR requirements

[[Page 27124]]

for ozone nonattainment areas classified as Moderate, we are approving 
this portion of the SIP revision.
    We note that at the time of the SIP revisions, except for Wise 
County, the Serious area NNSR permitting requirements for the 1997 8-
hour ozone NAAQS applied for the DFW area to meet anti-backsliding 
requirements. Moderate area NNSR permitting requirements applied to 
Wise County. In November 2016, we approved a redesignation substitute 
for the DFW area, which addressed both the 1-hour and 1997 ozone 
standards. This action found that the area was meeting these standards 
and was expected to continue to meet these standards. Based on this 
finding, EPA, as part of the redesignation substitute, removed the 
Serious area NNSR requirement so that only Moderate area NNSR 
requirements apply to the DFW area (81 FR 78688, November 8, 2016).

III. Final Action

    We are approving revisions to the Texas SIP submitted on August 5, 
2016, that pertain to 2008 ozone NAAQS requirements for vehicle I/M and 
NNSR for the DFW area. As discussed above, the Texas SIP includes 
provisions to implement these Moderate area ozone nonattainment 
requirements.
    The EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because we 
view this as a non-controversial amendment and anticipate no adverse 
comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal 
Register publication, we are publishing a separate document that will 
serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision if relevant adverse 
comments are received. This rule will be effective on September 12, 
2017 without further notice unless we receive relevant adverse comment 
by July 14, 2017. If we receive relevant adverse comments, we will 
publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the 
public that the rule will not take effect. We will address all public 
comments in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. We will 
not institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties 
interested in commenting must do so now. Please note that if we receive 
relevant adverse comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of this 
rule and if that provision may be severed from the remainder of the 
rule, we may adopt as final those provisions of the rule that are not 
the subject of an adverse comment.

IV. 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, 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 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. The EPA will submit a report containing this rule 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 August 14, 2017. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect 
the finality of this rule 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).)
    Samuel Coleman was designated the Acting Regional Administrator on 
June 1, 2017 through the order of succession outlined in Regional Order 
R6-1110.13, a copy of which is included in the docket for this action.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: June 1, 2017.
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 citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

[[Page 27125]]

Subpart SS--Texas

0
2. In Sec.  52.2270(e), the second table titled ``EPA Approved 
Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures in the Texas is 
amended by adding an entry at the end for ``Vehicle Inspection and 
Maintenance and Nonattainment New Source Review Requirements for the 
2008 Ozone NAAQS'' 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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                                                       State
                                     Applicable      approval/
     Name of SIP provision       geographic or non-  submittal   EPA approval date            Comments
                                  attainment area       date
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Vehicle Inspection and           Dallas-Fort           7/6/2016  6/14/2017,         ............................
 Maintenance and Nonattainment    Worth, TX.                      [Insert Federal
 New Source Review Requirements                                   Register
 for the 2008 Ozone NAAQS.                                        citation].
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[FR Doc. 2017-12210 Filed 6-13-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P