[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 172 (Thursday, September 7, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 42233-42235]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18873]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R01-OAR-2013-0089; A-1-FRL-9967-28-Region 1]


Air Plan Approval; Maine; New Motor Vehicle Emission Standards

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Maine on 
August 18, 2015. This SIP revision includes Maine's revised regulation 
for new motor vehicle emission standards. Maine has updated its rule to 
be consistent with various updates made to California's low emission 
vehicle (LEV) program. Maine has adopted these revisions to reduce 
emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides 
(NOX) in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air 
Act (CAA), as well as to reduce greenhouse gases. The intended effect 
of this action is to approve Maine's August 15, 2015 SIP revision. This 
action is being taken in accordance with the Clean Air Act.

DATES: This rule is effective on October 10, 2017.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R01-OAR-2013-0089. 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., 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 at http://www.regulations.gov or at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 
New England Regional Office, Office of Ecosystem Protection, Air 
Quality Planning Unit, 5 Post Office Square--Suite 100, Boston, MA. EPA 
requests that if at all possible, you contact the contact listed in the 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to schedule your inspection. 
The Regional Office's official hours of business are

[[Page 42234]]

Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding legal 
holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Rackauskas, Air Quality Planning 
Unit, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional 
Office, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 100 (Mail Code: OEP05-2), Boston, 
MA 02109-3912, telephone number (617) 918-1628, fax number (617) 918-
0628, email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Background and Purpose
II. Final Action
III. Incorporation by Reference
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background and Purpose

    On June 23, 2017 (82 FR 28611), EPA published a Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (NPR) for the State of Maine. The NPR proposed approval of 
Maine's Chapter 127, ``New Motor Vehicle Emission Standards.'' The 
regulation establishes motor vehicle emission standards for new 
gasoline powered passenger cars, light-duty trucks, medium-duty 
vehicles, as well as for heavy-duty diesel vehicles. The regulation 
also requires that vehicles display an environmental performance label, 
and that aftermarket catalytic converters be certified to the 
California Air Resources Board (CARB) standards. Maine has worked to 
ensure that their program is identical to California's, as required by 
the CAA. The formal SIP revision was submitted by Maine on August 18, 
2015.
    A detailed discussion of Maine's August 18, 2015 SIP revision and 
EPA's rationale for proposing approval of the SIP revision were 
provided in the NPR and will not be restated in this notice. EPA 
received several comments in support of approving Maine's SIP revision 
in response to the NPR. No adverse comments were received.

II. Final Action

    EPA is approving Maine's August 18, 2015 SIP revision. 
Specifically, EPA is approving Maine's revised Chapter 127, ``New Motor 
Vehicle Emission Standards,'' and incorporating it into the Maine SIP. 
EPA is approving this SIP revision because it meets all applicable 
requirements of the Clean Air Act and relevant EPA guidance, and it 
will not interfere with attainment or maintenance of the ozone NAAQS.

III. 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 State 
of Maine's revised Chapter 127 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 through http://www.regulations.gov.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the Clean Air Act, 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 Clean Air Act. 
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 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 Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by November 6, 2017. 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, Lead, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.


[[Page 42235]]


    Dated: August 10, 2017.
Deborah A. Szaro,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA New England.

    Part 52 of chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
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 U--Maine

0
2. In Sec.  52.1020, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by revising 
the entry for ``Chapter 127 and Appendix A'' to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1020   Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                         EPA-Approved Maine Regulations
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                                                          State       EPA approval date
         State citation             Title/subject    effective date   and citation \1\         Explanations
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Chapter 127 and Appendix A.....  New Motor Vehicle        5/19/2015  9/7/2017 [Insert    Includes LEV II GHG and
                                  Emission                            Federal Register    ZEV provisions, and
                                  Standards.                          citation].          Advanced Clean Cars
                                                                                          program (LEV III,
                                                                                          updated GHG and ZEV
                                                                                          standards).
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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\1\ In order to determine the EPA effective date for a specific provision listed in this table, consult the
  Federal Register notice cited in this column for the particular provision.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 2017-18873 Filed 9-6-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P