[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 196 (Wednesday, October 9, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 54035-54037]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-21701]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R07-OAR-2019-0339; FRL-10000-76-Region 7]


Air Plan Approval; Missouri; Revocation of Kansas City Area 
Transportation Conformity Requirements Plans

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final 
action to approve a revision to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) for 
the State of Missouri. This final action will amend the SIP to remove 
the transportation conformity rule for the Kansas City Area--Clay, 
Platte and Jackson Counties.

DATES: This final rule is effective on November 8, 2019.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. EPA-R07-OAR-2019-0339. 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 through https://www.regulations.gov or please contact the person identified in the FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section for additional information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jed D. Wolkins, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 7 Office, Air Quality Planning Branch, 11201 
Renner Boulevard, Lenexa, Kansas 66219 at (913) 551-7588, or by email 
at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' and 
``our'' refer to EPA.

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Table of Contents

I. What is being addressed in this document?
II. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?
III. The EPA's response to comments
IV. What action is the EPA taking?
V. Incorporation by reference
VI. Statutory and executive order reviews

I. What is being addressed in this document?

    The EPA is approving the removal of 10 CSR 10-2.390 Kansas City 
Area Transportation Conformity Requirements from the Missouri State 
Implementation Plan (SIP). Missouri submitted the SIP revision on 
January 14, 2019. Pursuant to the code of Federal regulations at 40 CFR 
93.102 (b) transportation conformity must be conducted in all 
nonattainment and maintenance areas and States must adopt State Plans 
to conduct transportation conformity. The Kansas City Area--Clay, 
Jackson, and Platte Counties--was designated nonattainment for the 1979 
one-hour (1-hr) ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) (43 
FR 8962, March 3, 1978). On July 23, 1992, the Kansas City Area was 
redesignated as attainment of the 1979 1-hr NAAQS and its first 10-year 
maintenance plan was approved (57 FR 27939, June 23, 1992). Pursuant to 
CAA section 175A, the first 10-year maintenance period began on July 
23, 1992, the effective date of the redesignation approval. The second 
maintenance period plan was effective February 12, 2004 (69 FR 1921, 
January 13, 2004). On April 30, 2004, EPA revoked the 1-hr standard (69 
FR 23951, April 30, 2004). Upon the effective date of the revocation, 
both the second 10-year maintenance period and the requirement for 
transportation conformity in the Kansas City Area ended. Pursuant to 40 
CFR 51.905(e)(3), because the Kansas City Area is in attainment for all 
NAAQS, the Kansas City Area Transportation Conformity Requirements are 
no longer required. If in the future, the Kansas City Area was 
determined to be nonattainment with a standard requiring conformity, 
the State would have to develop new transportation conformity 
requirements. Furthermore, the Kansas City Area Transportation 
Conformity Requirements are not relied on in any other maintenance or 
attainment plan. The proposed rule did not include this detail of the 
history of the 1-hr standard however, we have included it here for 
completeness. This additional history supports EPA's final action.

II. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?

    The state submission has met the public notice requirements for SIP 
submissions in accordance with 40 CFR 51.102. The submission also 
satisfied the completeness criteria of 40 CFR part 51, appendix V. The 
submission also satisfied the completeness criteria of 40 CFR part 51, 
appendix V. The state provided public notice from May 15, 2018 to 
August 2, 2018 and received no comments on this rule. In addition, the 
revision meets the substantive SIP requirements of the CAA, including 
section 110 and implementing regulations.

III. The EPA's Response to Comments

    The public comment period on the EPA's proposed rule opened July 9, 
2019, the date of its publication in the Federal Register, and closed 
on August 8, 2019. During this period, the EPA received two comments. 
One comment was in support of the action and the other was adverse. The 
EPA is providing response to the adverse comment. Both comments can be 
found in the docket to this rulemaking.
    Comment 1: One commenter supported the action.
    Response 1: Because this comment is in support of the action, no 
response is necessary.
    Comment 2: One commenter suggested EPA review a variety of Missouri 
State Implementation Plans for reliance on the Kansas City Area 
Transportation Conformity Requirements.
    Response 2: We believe the commenter's reference to ``50 CFR 
52.1320'' is a typographical error and should instead reference 40 CFR 
part 52. EPA has reviewed the Missouri plans listed in the comment. 
Only two of those plans relied on the Kansas City Area transportation 
conformity requirements. The plans are listed at 40 CFR 52.1320(e)(46) 
Maintenance Plan for the 1-hour ozone standard in the Missouri portion 
of the Kansas City maintenance area for the second ten-year period; and 
40 CFR 52.1320(e)(50) Revision to Maintenance Plan for the 1-hour ozone 
standard in the Missouri portion of the Kansas City maintenance area 
for the second ten-year period. Both regulatory citations relate to the 
Maintenance Plan for the 1-hr ozone standard in the Missouri portion of 
the Kansas City maintenance area for the second ten-year period, and 
that period has ended. (69 FR 1921, January 13, 2004, and 71 FR 36210, 
June 26, 2006). The Kansas City Area transportation conformity 
requirements are not relied on in any other maintenance or attainment 
plan. As discussed above and in the proposed action for this 
rulemaking, Kansas City Area transportation conformity requirements are 
no longer required because the Kansas City Area is in attainment for 
all NAAQS.

IV. What action is the EPA taking?

    The EPA is taking final action to amend the Missouri SIP to remove 
the transportation conformity rule for the Kansas City Area.

V. Incorporation by Reference

    In this document, the EPA is amending regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. As described in the amendments to 40 CFR 
part 52 set forth below, the EPA is removing provisions of the EPA-
Approved Missouri Regulations from the Missouri State Implementation 
Plan, which is incorporated by reference in accordance with the 
requirements of 1 CFR part 51.

VI. 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, 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);
     Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2, 
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted 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);

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     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 the National Technology 
Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTA) because this rulemaking does not 
involve technical standards; 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).
    In addition, 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 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 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 December 9, 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: September 30, 2019.
James Gulliford,
Regional Administrator, Region 7.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the EPA amends 40 CFR part 
52 as set forth below:

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 AA--Missouri


Sec.  52.1320  [Amended]

0
2. In Sec.  52.1320, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by removing 
the entry for ``10-2.390'' under the heading ``Chapter 2--Air Quality 
Standards and Air Pollution Control Regulations for the Kansas City 
Metropolitan Area''.

[FR Doc. 2019-21701 Filed 10-8-19; 8:45 am]
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