[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 61 (Friday, March 29, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 11884-11885]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-06014]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R01-OAR-2016-0168; FRL-9991-34-Region 1]


Air Plan Approval; Connecticut; Motor Vehicle Inspection and 
Maintenance Program Certification

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the 
motor vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) program certifications 
contained within State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by 
the State of Connecticut. The SIP revisions are for the Greater 
Connecticut and the Connecticut portion of the New York-Northern New 
Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT moderate ozone nonattainment areas under 
the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). The 
intended effect of this action is to approve Connecticut's motor 
vehicle I/M program certifications. This action is being taken in 
accordance with the Clean Air Act.

DATES: This rule is effective on April 29, 2019.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R01-OAR-2016-0168. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the https://www.regulations.gov website. 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 https://www.regulations.gov or at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 
Region 1 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 Monday through 
Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding legal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Hubbard, Air Quality Unit, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Region 1, 5 Post Office 
Square--Suite 100 (Mail Code OEP05-2, Boston, MA 02109-3912; (617) 918-
1614; [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. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background and Purpose

    On February 1, 2019 (84 FR 1015), EPA published a Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the State of Connecticut. The NPRM 
proposed approval of the motor vehicle I/M program certifications for 
the Greater Connecticut and the Connecticut portion of the New York-
Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT moderate ozone nonattainment 
areas. Formal SIP revisions were submitted by the State of Connecticut 
on January 17, 2017, and August 8, 2017, in part to meet the 
requirements for moderate nonattainment areas under the 2008 NAAQS. 
Other specific requirements of Connecticut's SIP revisions for the 2008 
ozone NAAQS were listed in the NPRM and were addressed in separate 
actions. The rationale for EPA's proposed action on the State's I/M 
certifications is explained in the NPRM and will not be restated here. 
No public comments were received on the NPRM.

II. Final Action

    EPA is approving the motor vehicle I/M program certifications as a 
revision to the Connecticut SIP for the Greater Connecticut and the 
Connecticut portion of the New York-Northern New Jerse-Long Island, NY-
NJ-CT moderate ozone nonattainment areas.

III. 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,

[[Page 11885]]

October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
     This action is not an Executive Order 13771 regulatory 
action because this action is not significant under Executive Order 
12866;
     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 May 28, 2019. 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.

    Dated: March 25, 2019.
Deborah Szaro,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1.

    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 H--Connecticut

0
2. Section 52.377 is amended by revising paragraph (t) to read as 
follows:


 Sec.  52.377   Control strategy: Ozone.

* * * * *
    (t) Approval. Revisions to the State Implementation Plan submitted 
by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection on 
January 17, 2017, September 5, 2017, and August 8, 2017, to meet, in 
part, requirements of the 2008 ozone NAAQS. These revisions satisfy the 
rate of progress requirement of section 182(b) through 2017, the motor 
vehicle inspection and maintenance requirements of section 182(b), the 
contingency measure requirements of section 182(c)(9), the emission 
statement requirements of section 182(a)(3)(B), and the reasonably 
available control measure requirement of section 172(c)(1) for the 
Connecticut portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, 
NY-NJ-CT area, and the Greater Connecticut moderate ozone nonattainment 
areas. The January 17, 2017 revision establishes motor vehicle 
emissions budgets for 2017 of 15.9 tons per day of VOC and 22.2 tons 
per day of NOX to be used in transportation conformity in 
the Greater Connecticut moderate ozone nonattainment area. The August 
8, 2017 revision establishes motor vehicle emissions budgets for 2017 
of 17.6 tons per day of VOC and 24.6 tons per day of NOX to 
be used in transportation conformity in the Connecticut portion of the 
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT moderate ozone 
nonattainment area.

[FR Doc. 2019-06014 Filed 3-28-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P