[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 25 (Thursday, February 6, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 5555-5559]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-2998]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81
[LA-38-1-7322; FRL-5683-5]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation
of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; State of Louisiana;
Approval of the Maintenance Plan for Calcasieu Parish; Redesignation of
Calcasieu Parish to Attainment for Ozone
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: This document announces the Regional Administrator's decision
to propose approval of a request from the State of Louisiana to
redesignate Calcasieu Parish to attainment for ozone. On December 20,
1995, the State of Louisiana submitted a maintenance plan and request
to redesignate the Calcasieu Parish marginal ozone nonattainment area
to attainment. Under the Clean Air Act (the Act), nonattainment areas
may be redesignated to attainment if sufficient data are available to
warrant the redesignation and the area meets the other Act
redesignation requirements. In this action, EPA is proposing approval
of Louisiana's redesignation request and maintenance plan because they
meet requirements set forth in the Act. The EPA is also proposing
approval of the 1993 base year emissions inventory for Calcasieu
Parish. If approved, the maintenance plan and emissions inventory will
become a federally enforceable part of the State Implementation Plan
(SIP) for Louisiana.
DATES: Comments on this proposed rule must be postmarked by March 10,
1997.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to Thomas H. Diggs, Chief, Air
Planning Section (6PD-L), EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas
75202-2733. Copies of the State's submittal and other information
relevant to this action are available for inspection during normal
hours at the following locations:
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, Air Planning Section (6PD-
L), 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733.
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Air Quality,
7290 Bluebonnet Boulevard, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70810.
Anyone wishing to review this proposal at the Region 6 EPA office
is asked to contact the person below to schedule an appointment 24
hours in advance.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lt. Mick Cote, Air Planning Section
(6PD-L), EPA Region 6, telephone (214) 665-7219.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Clean Air Act, as amended in 1977, required areas that were
designated nonattainment based on a failure to meet the ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to develop SIPs with sufficient
control measures to expeditiously attain and maintain the standard.
Calcasieu Parish was designated under section 107 of the 1977 Clean Air
Act as nonattainment with respect to the ozone NAAQS on September 11,
1978. For purposes of redesignations, the State of Louisiana has an
approved ozone SIP for Calcasieu Parish.
The LDEQ has collected ambient monitoring data since 1992 that show
no violations of the ozone NAAQS of 0.12 parts per million. The LDEQ
has developed a maintenance plan for Calcasieu Parish, and solicited
public comment. Subsequently, LDEQ submitted a request, through the
Governor's office, to redesignate this parish to attainment with
respect to the ozone NAAQS. This maintenance plan and redesignation
request for Calcasieu Parish was submitted to EPA on December 20, 1995.
II. Analysis of State Submittal
A. Evaluation Criteria
The Act revised section 107(d)(3)(E) to provide five specific
requirements that an area must meet in order to be redesignated from
nonattainment to attainment: (1) The area must have attained the
applicable NAAQS; (2) the area must meet all applicable requirements
under section 110 and part D of the Act; (3) the area must have a fully
approved SIP under section 110(k) of the Act; (4) the air quality
improvement must be permanent and enforceable; and, (5) the area must
have a fully approved maintenance plan pursuant to section 175A of the
Act. Section 107(d)(3)(D) of the Act allows a Governor to initiate the
redesignation process for an area to apply for attainment status.
(1) Attainment of the NAAQS for Ozone
Attainment of the ozone NAAQS is determined based on the expected
number of exceedances in a calendar year. The method for determining
[[Page 5556]]
attainment of the ozone NAAQS is contained in 40 CFR 50.9 and appendix
H to that section. The simplest method by which expected exceedances
are calculated is by averaging actual exceedances at each monitoring
site over a three year period. An area is in attainment of the standard
if this average results in expected exceedances for each monitoring
site of 1.0 or less per calendar year. When a valid daily maximum
hourly average value is not available for each required monitoring day
during the year, the missing days must be accounted for when estimating
exceedances for the year. Appendix H provides the formula used to
estimate the expected number of exceedances for each year.
The State of Louisiana's request is based on an analysis of
quality-assured ozone air quality data which is relevant to both the
maintenance plan and to the redesignation request. The data come from
the State and Local Air Monitoring Station network. This request is
based on ambient air ozone monitoring data collected from four ozone
monitoring stations for more than 3 consecutive years in the area.
Ozone data has been collected since 1981 at the Westlake monitoring
site, since 1984 at the Carlyss site, and since 1991 at the Vinton and
LeBleu sites. The data clearly show an expected exceedance rate of less
than 1 since 1992. Please see the technical support document (TSD) for
the detailed air quality monitoring data.
In addition to the demonstration discussed above, EPA required
completion of air network monitoring requirements set forth in 40 CFR
part 58. This included a quality assurance plan revision and a
monitoring network review to determine the adequacy of the ozone
monitoring network. The LDEQ fulfilled these requirements to complete
documentation for the air quality demonstration. The LDEQ has also
committed to continue monitoring in Calcasieu Parish in accordance with
40 CFR part 58.
In summary, EPA believes that the data submitted by the LDEQ
provides an adequate demonstration that Calcasieu Parish attained the
ozone NAAQS. Moreover, the monitoring data continue to show attainment
to date.
If the State's monitoring data demonstrates a valid violation of
the NAAQS before the final action is effective, approval of the
redesignation will be withdrawn and a proposed disapproval substituted
for the final approval.
(2) Section 110 Requirements
For purposes of redesignation, to meet the requirement that the SIP
contain all applicable requirements under the Act, EPA has reviewed the
SIP to ensure that it contains all measures that were due under the Act
prior to or at the time the State submitted its redesignation request,
as set forth in EPA policy. The EPA interprets section 107(d)(3)(E)(v)
of the Act to mean that, for a redesignation request to be approved,
the State must have met all requirements that applied to the subject
area prior to or at the same time as the submission of a complete
redesignation request. In this case, the date of submission of a
complete redesignation request is December 20, 1995.
Requirements of the Act that come due subsequently continue to be
applicable to the area at later dates (see section 175A of the Act)
and, if redesignation of any of the areas is disapproved, the State
remains obligated to fulfill those requirements. These requirements are
discussed in the following EPA documents: ``Procedures for Processing
Requests to Redesignate Areas to Attainment,'' John Calcagni, Director,
Air Quality Management Division, September 4, 1992; ``State
Implementation Plan (SIP) Actions Submitted in Response to Clean Air
Act (CAA) Deadlines,'' John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality Management
Division, October 28, 1992; and ``State Implementation Plan (SIP)
Requirements for Areas Submitting Requests for Redesignation to
Attainment of the Ozone and Carbon Monoxide (CO) National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS) on or after November 15, 1992,'' Michael H.
Shapiro, Acting Assistant Administrator, September 17, 1993.
The EPA has analyzed the Louisiana SIP and determined that it is
consistent with the requirements of amended section 110(a)(2) of the
Act. The SIP contains enforceable emission limitations; requires
monitoring, compiling, and analyzing ambient air quality data; requires
preconstruction review of new major stationary sources and major
modifications to existing ones; provides for adequate funding, staff,
and associated resources necessary to implement its requirements; and
requires stationary source emissions monitoring and reporting. For
purposes of redesignation, the Calcasieu SIP was reviewed to ensure
that all requirements of section 110(a)(2) of the Act, containing
general SIP elements, were satisfied. As noted above, EPA believes the
SIP satisfies all of those requirements.
(3) Part D Requirements
Before Calcasieu Parish can be redesignated to attainment, the
Louisiana SIP must have fulfilled the applicable requirements of part D
of the Act. Under part D, an area's classification indicates the
requirements to which it will be subject. Subpart 1 of part D sets
forth the basic nonattainment requirements applicable to all
nonattainment areas, classified as well as nonclassifiable. Subpart 2
of part D establishes additional requirements for nonattainment areas
classified under table 1 of section 181(a)(1) of the Act.
(a) Subpart 1 of Part D--Section 172(c) Plan Provisions
Under section 172(b) of the Act, the Administrator established that
States containing nonattainment areas shall submit a plan or plan
revision meeting the applicable requirements of section 172(c) of the
Act no later than three years after an area is designated as
nonattainment, i.e., unless EPA establishes an earlier date. Calcasieu
Parish had an attainment date of November 15, 1993. Due to technical
problems with the Vinton monitoring site in 1993, EPA deferred making
an attainment determination for Calcasieu Parish until the monitoring
issue was resolved. The monitoring issue was recently resolved to EPA's
satisfaction, and EPA agrees with the State that Calcasieu Parish has
attained the ozone standard.
The EPA has determined that the Act's section 172(c)(2) reasonable
further progress requirement is not applicable to Calcasieu Parish;
likewise, the section 172(c)(9) contingency measures and additional
section 172(c)(1) non-RACT reasonable available control measures beyond
what may already be required in the SIP are not necessary, since
section 182(a) of the Act specifically excludes marginal areas from
these requirements.
The Act's section 172(c)(3) emissions inventory requirement has
been met by the prior submission and approval of the 1990 base year
inventory required under subpart 2 of part D, section 182(a)(1) of the
Act.
As for the Act's section 172(c)(5) NSR requirement, EPA has
determined that areas being redesignated need not comply with the NSR
requirement prior to redesignation provided that the area demonstrates
maintenance of the standard without part D NSR in effect. The
maintenance plan proposed for approval with this notice does
demonstrate maintenance of the ozone standard without NSR. See
memorandum from Mary Nichols,
[[Page 5557]]
Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation, dated October 14, 1994,
entitled ``Part D New Source Review (part D NSR) Requirements for Areas
Requesting Redesignation to Attainment''. The rationale for this view
is described fully in that memorandum, and is based on EPA's authority
to establish de minimis exceptions to statutory requirements. See,
Alabama Power Co. v. Costle, 636 F. 2d 323, 360-61 (D.C. Cir. 1979).
Section 176 of the Act requires States to revise their SIP's to
establish criteria and procedures to ensure that Federal actions,
before they are taken, conform to the air quality planning goals in the
applicable State SIP. The requirement to determine conformity applies
to transportation plans, programs and projects developed, funded, or
approved under title 23 U.S.C. or the Federal Transit Act
(``transportation conformity''), as well as to all other Federal
actions (``general conformity'').
Section 176 of the Act further provides that the conformity
revisions to be submitted by the States must be consistent with Federal
conformity regulations that the Act required EPA to promulgate.
Congress provided for the State revisions to be submitted one year
after the date for promulgation of final EPA conformity regulations.
When that date passed without such promulgation, EPA's General Preamble
for the implementation of title I of the Act informed the State that
its conformity regulations would establish a submittal date. See 57 FR
13498, 13557 (April 16, 1992). The EPA promulgated final transportation
conformity regulations on November 24, 1993 (58 FR 62118) and general
conformity regulations on November 30, 1993 (58 FR 63214). These
conformity rules require that States adopt both transportation and
general conformity provisions in the SIP for areas designated
nonattainment or subject to a maintenance plan approved under section
175A of the Act.
Pursuant to 40 CFR 51.396 of the transportation conformity rule and
40 CFR 51.851 of the general conformity rule, the State of Louisiana
was required to submit a SIP revision containing transportation
conformity criteria and procedures consistent with those established in
the Federal rule by November 25, 1994. Similarly, Louisiana was
required to submit a SIP revision containing general conformity
criteria and procedures consistent with those established in the
Federal rule by December 1, 1994.
Louisiana submitted both its transportation and general conformity
rules to EPA on November 10, 1994. Although this redesignation request
was submitted to EPA after the due dates for the SIP revisions for
transportation conformity (58 FR 62188) and general conformity (58 FR
63214) rules, EPA believes it is reasonable to interpret the conformity
requirements as not being applicable requirements for purposes of
evaluating the redesignation request under section 107(d) of the Act.
The rationale for this is based on a combination of two factors.
First, the requirement to submit SIP revisions to comply with the
conformity provisions of the Act continues to apply to areas after
redesignation to attainment. Therefore, the State remains obligated to
adopt the transportation and general conformity rules even after
redesignation and would risk sanctions for failure to do so. While
redesignation of an area to attainment enables the area to avoid
further compliance with most requirements of section 110 and part D of
the Act, since those requirements are linked to the nonattainment
status of an area, the conformity requirements apply to both
nonattainment and maintenance areas. Second, EPA's federal conformity
rules require the performance of conformity analyses in the absence of
state-adopted rules. Therefore, a delay in adopting State rules does
not relieve an area from the obligation to implement conformity
requirements.
Because areas are subject to the conformity requirements regardless
of whether they are redesignated to attainment and must implement
conformity under Federal rules if State rules are not yet adopted, EPA
believes it is reasonable to view these requirements as not being
applicable requirements for purposes of evaluating a redesignation
request.
Therefore, EPA has modified its national policy regarding the
interpretation of the provisions of section 107(d)(3)(E) of the Act
concerning the applicable requirements for purposes of reviewing an
ozone redesignation request. This modified policy is discussed in a
memorandum entitled ``Reasonable Further Progress; Attainment
Demonstration, and Related Requirements for Ozone Nonattainment Areas
Meeting the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard'', John S.
Seitz, Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS),
dated May 10, 1995. Under this new policy, for the reasons just
discussed, EPA believes that the ozone redesignation request for
Calcasieu Parish may be approved notwithstanding the lack of approved
state transportation and general conformity rules.
(b) Subpart 2 of Part D--Section 182(a) Requirements
The Act was amended on November 15, 1990, Public Law 101-549, 104
Stat. 2399, codified at 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q. The EPA was required to
classify ozone nonattainment areas according to the severity of their
problem. The EPA has analyzed the SIP and determined that it is
consistent with the requirements of amended section 182 of the Act.
Below is a summary of how the area has met the requirements of section
182(a) of the Act.
The Act required an inventory of all actual emissions from all
sources, as described in section 172(c)(3) of the Act by November 15,
1992. On November 16, 1992, LDEQ submitted an emission inventory for
Calcasieu Parish. The EPA approved this 1990 base year inventory on
March 15, 1995. To be redesignated, all SIP revisions required by
section 182(a)(2)(A) and 182(b)(2) of the Act concerning RACT
requirements must have been submitted to EPA and fully approved.
Louisiana has met all RACT requirements. Section 182(a)(3) of the Act
required a SIP submission by November 15, 1992, to require stationary
sources of NOX and VOCs to provide statements of actual emissions.
Louisiana submitted an annual emissions statement SIP revision on March
3, 1993. This revision was approved in the Federal Register on January
6, 1995.
(3) Fully Approved SIP Under Section 110(k) of the Act
Based on the approval of provisions under the pre-amended Act and
EPA's prior approval of SIP revisions under the Act, EPA has determined
that Calcasieu Parish has a fully approved SIP under section 110(k)of
the Act, which also meets the applicable requirements of section 110
and part D of the Act as discussed above.
(4) Improvement in Air Quality Due to Permanent and Enforceable
Measures
The EPA approved the Louisiana SIP control strategy for Calcasieu
Parish, satisfied that the rules and the emission reductions achieved
as a result of those rules were enforceable. The control measures to
which the emission reductions are attributed are VOC RACT regulations,
the Federal Motor Vehicle Control Program (FMVCP), and lower Reid Vapor
Pressure (RVP). In addition, the State permits program, the Prevention
of Significant Deterioration permits program, and the Federal Operating
Permits program will help counteract future emissions growth.
In association with its emission inventory discussed below, the
State of
[[Page 5558]]
Louisiana has demonstrated that actual enforceable emission reductions
are responsible for the air quality improvement and that the VOC
emissions in the base year are not artificially low due to local
economic downturn. The EPA finds that the combination of existing EPA-
approved state and federal measures contribute to the permanence and
enforceability of reduction in ambient ozone levels that have allowed
the area to attain the NAAQS.
(5) Fully Approved Maintenance Plan Under Section 175A of the Act
Section 175A of the Act sets forth the elements of a maintenance
plan for areas seeking redesignation from nonattainment to attainment.
The plan must demonstrate continued attainment of the applicable NAAQS
for at least ten years after the Administrator approves a redesignation
to attainment. Eight years after the redesignation, the State must
submit a revised maintenance plan which demonstrates attainment for the
ten years following the initial ten-year period. To provide for the
possibility of future NAAQS violations, the maintenance plan must
contain contingency measures, with a schedule for implementation,
adequate to assure prompt correction of any air quality problems. In
this document EPA is proposing approval of the maintenance plan for
Calcasieu Parish because EPA finds that Louisiana's submittal meets the
requirements of section 175A of the Act.
On December 20, 1995, the State of Louisiana submitted
comprehensive inventories of VOCs, NOx, and CO emissions from Calcasieu
Parish. The inventories include area, stationary, and mobile sources
using 1993 as the base year for calculations to demonstrate
maintenance. The 1993 inventory is considered representative of
attainment conditions because the NAAQS was not violated during 1993
and was one of the three years upon which the attainment demonstration
was based. The EPA is proposing approval of the 1993 base year
inventory in this document.
The State submittal contains the detailed inventory data and
summaries by source category. Growth Projections were derived from the
Bureau of Economic Analysis Factors, and were used to generate the
growth projections for the emissions inventory. These factors were
applied to the 1993 inventory to reflect the expected emission levels
through 2010.
The following table is a summary of the revised average peak ozone
season weekday VOC, NOX, and CO emissions for the major
anthropogenic source categories for the 1993 attainment year inventory.
Summary of Emission Projections for Calcasieu Parish
[In Tons Per Day]
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1993 1995 2000 2005 2010
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Point Source CO.......................................... 27.35 26.93 26.80 26.22 25.79
Point Source VOC......................................... 35.87 35.18 35.30 34.42 33.54
Point Source NOX......................................... 106.96 104.94 103.81 102.41 101.05
Area Source CO........................................... 0.54 0.54 0.55 0.55 0.55
Area Source VOC.......................................... 6.94 7.00 7.04 7.03 7.01
Area Source NOX.......................................... 0.45 0.46 0.46 0.46 0.46
Nonroad CO............................................... 58.14 58.97 58.97 58.92 59.53
Nonroad VOC.............................................. 9.81 9.95 9.95 9.94 9.91
Nonroad NOX.............................................. 38.05 38.59 38.59 38.56 38.43
Onroad CO................................................ 89.82 85.51 70.60 63.85 67.19
Onroad VOC............................................... 9.22 8.77 7.96 7.78 8.21
Onroad NOX............................................... 17.93 17.72 16.31 15.67 16.53
Total CO................................................. 175.85 171.95 156.92 149.54 153.06
Total VOC................................................ 61.84 60.90 60.25 59.17 58.67
Total NOX................................................ 163.39 161.71 159.17 157.10 156.47
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Continued attainment of the ozone NAAQS in Calcasieu Parish will
depend, in part, on the Federal and State control measures discussed
previously. However, the ambient air monitoring network will remain
active during the maintenance period. These data will be quality
assured and submitted to the Aerometric Information and Retrieval
System (AIRS) on a monthly basis. A monitored violation of the ozone
NAAQS will provide the basis for triggering measures contained in the
contingency plans. Additionally, as discussed above, during year 8 of
the maintenance period, the LDEQ is required to submit a revised plan
to provide for maintenance of the ozone standard in Pointe Coupee for
the next ten years.
Section 175A of the Act requires that a maintenance plan include
contingency provisions, as necessary, to promptly correct any violation
of the NAAQS that occurs after redesignation of the area to attainment.
The contingency plan should clearly identify the measures to be
adopted, a schedule and procedure for adoption and implementation, and
a specific time limit for action by the State. The State should also
identify specific triggers which will be used to determine when the
measures need to be implemented.
The LDEQ has selected new Control Techniques Guidelines or
Alternative Control Technology rule implementation and NOX RACT as
contingency measures in Calcasieu Parish. If at any time during the
maintenance period Calcasieu Parish records a violation of the ozone
NAAQS, LDEQ will evaluate the source(s) of that violation and
promulgate either VOC or NOX RACT rules for the appropriate source
category. The LDEQ will adopt rules within 9 months of the violation,
and affected sources must be in compliance with the these rules within
2 years of the violation. These contingency measures and schedules for
implementation satisfy the requirements of section 175A(d) of the Act.
In accordance with section 175A(b) of the Act, the State has agreed
to submit a revised maintenance SIP eight years after the area is
redesignated to attainment. Such revised SIP will provide for
maintenance for an additional ten years.
III. Interim Implementation Policy (IIP) Impact
On December 13, 1996, EPA published proposed revisions to the ozone
and particulate matter NAAQS. Also on December 13, 1996, EPA published
its proposed policy regarding
[[Page 5559]]
the interim implementation requirements for ozone and particulate
matter during the time period following any promulgation of a revised
ozone or particulate matter NAAQS (61 FR 65751). This IIP includes
proposed policy regarding ozone redesignation actions submitted to and
approved by EPA prior to promulgation of a new ozone standard, as well
as those submitted prior to and approved by EPA after the promulgation
date of a new or revised ozone standard.
Complete redesignation requests, submitted and approved by EPA
prior to the promulgation date of the new or revised ozone standard,
will be allowed to redesignate to attainment based on the maintenance
plan's ability to demonstrate attainment of the current 1-hour standard
and compliance with existing redesignation criteria. Any redesignation
requests submitted prior to promulgation, which are not acted upon by
EPA prior to that promulgation date, must then also include a
maintenance plan which demonstrates attainment of both the current 1-
hour standard and the new or revised ozone standard to be considered
for redesignation.
As discussed previously, the Calcasieu Parish redesignation request
demonstrates attainment under the current 1-hour ozone standard. Since
the EPA plans to approve this request prior to the promulgation date of
the new or revised ozone standard, The Calcasieu Parish redesignation
request meets the proposed IIP.
IV. Proposed Action
The EPA has evaluated the State's redesignation request for
Calcasieu Parish for consistency with the Act, EPA regulations, and EPA
policy. The EPA believes that the redesignation request and monitoring
data demonstrate that this area has attained the ozone standard. In
addition, EPA has determined that the redesignation request meets the
requirements and policy set forth in the General Preamble and policy
memorandum discussed in this notice for area redesignations, and today
is proposing approval of Louisiana's redesignation request for
Calcasieu Parish.
Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or
allowing or establishing a precedent for any future request for
revision to any SIP. Each request for revision to the SIP shall be
considered separately in light of specific technical, economic, and
environmental factors and in relation to relevant statutory and
regulatory requirements.
IV. Administrative Requirements
A. Executive Order (E.O.) 12866
This action has been classified for signature by the Regional
Administrator under the procedures published in the Federal Register on
January 19, 1989 (54 FR 2214-2225), as revised by a July 10, 1995,
memorandum from Mary Nichols, Assistant Administrator for Air and
Radiation. The Office of Management and Budget has exempted this
regulatory action from E.O. 12866 review.
B. Regulatory Flexibility Act
Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 600 et seq., EPA
must prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis assessing the impact of
any proposed or final rule on small entities. See 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604.
Alternatively, EPA may certify that the rule will not have a
significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. Small
entities include small businesses, small not-for-profit enterprises,
and government entities with jurisdiction over populations of less than
50,000.
The SIP approvals under section 110 and subchapter I, part D of the
Act do not create any new requirements but simply approve requirements
that the State is already imposing. Therefore, because the Federal SIP
approval does not impose any new requirements, I certify that it does
not have a significant impact on any small entities affected. Moreover,
due to the nature of the Federal-State relationship under the Act,
preparation of a flexibility analysis would constitute Federal inquiry
into the economic reasonableness of State action. The Act forbids EPA
to base its actions concerning SIPs on such grounds. See Union Electric
Co. v. U.S. EPA, 427 U.S. 246, 255-66 (1976); 42 U.S.C. 7410(a)(2).
C. Unfunded Mandates
Under section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995,
signed into law on March 22, 1995, EPA must prepare a budgetary impact
statement to accompany any proposed or final rule that includes a
Federal mandate that may result in estimated costs to State, local, or
tribal governments in the aggregate; or to private sector, of $100
million or more. Under section 205, EPA must select the most cost-
effective and least burdensome alternative that achieves the objectives
of the rule and is consistent with statutory requirements. Section 203
requires EPA to establish a plan for informing and advising any small
governments that may be significantly or uniquely impacted by the rule.
The EPA has determined that the proposed approval action will not
include a Federal mandate that may result in estimated costs of $100
million or more to either State, local, or tribal governments in the
aggregate, or to the private sector. This Federal action proposes
approval of preexisting requirements under State or local law, and
imposes no new Federal requirements. Accordingly, no additional costs
to State, local, or tribal governments, or to the private sector,
result from this action.
D. Submission to Congress and the General Accounting Office
Under 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A) as added by the Small Business
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, EPA submitted 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
General Accounting Office prior to publication of this proposed
approval in today's Federal Register. This proposal is not a ``major
rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
E. Petitions for Judicial Review
Under section 307(b)(1) of the Act, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by April 7, 1997. 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) of the Act.
List of Subjects
40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Hydrocarbons,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental regulations, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
40 CFR Part 81
Air Pollution control, Designation of areas for air quality
planning purposes.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.
Dated: January 24, 1997.
Jerry Clifford,
Acting Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 97-2998 Filed 2-5-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
