[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 43 (Wednesday, March 5, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 10001-10002]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-5416]
[[Page 10001]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[MO-018-1018; FRL-5698-7]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of
Missouri
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed notice of failure to attain the National Ambient Air
Quality Standard (NAAQS) for lead in the vicinity of the Doe Run
Company's primary lead smelter in Herculaneum, Missouri.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act), the EPA has
notified the state of Missouri that the Doe Run-Herculaneum
nonattainment area failed to attain the NAAQS for lead (Pb) by June 30,
1995, as required under the provisions of the Act and the Missouri
State Implementation Plan (SIP). This notification is based on the
EPA's review of monitored air quality data for compliance with the
NAAQS for lead. This notice is issued pursuant to the EPA's obligations
under sections 179(c) (1) and (2) of the CAA, which require the EPA to
make a determination of an area's attainment status following an
applicable attainment date, and publish a notice in the Federal
Register indicating that such a determination has been made. If EPA
finalizes this notice, then pursuant to section 179(d)(1) of the CAA,
Missouri would be required to submit a SIP revision, meeting the
applicable provisions of the Act. This SIP revision would be required
within one year of publication of the finding in the Federal Register.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 4, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Royan W. Teter, Environmental
Protection Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch, 726 Minnesota
Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas 66101.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Royan W. Teter at (913) 551-7609.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On June 3, 1986, the EPA issued a call for a revision to the
Missouri SIP in response to violations of the NAAQS for lead near the
Doe Run primary lead smelter in Herculaneum, Missouri (Doe Run-
Herculaneum). The state submitted a SIP revision on September 6, 1990,
with additional materials submitted on May 8, 1991. The 1990 SIP
established February 1, 1993, as the attainment date for the
Herculaneum area.
The CAA was amended on November 15, 1990. Sections 107(d) (1) and
(5) of the Act, as amended, provide for areas to be designated as
nonattainment with respect to the NAAQS. Upon promulgation of the
nonattainment designation, a state must prepare a revision to the SIP
in accordance with the requirements of section 172 of the CAA, showing
how the area will be brought into attainment. The EPA promulgated a
nonattainment designation for the area in the vicinity of Doe Run-
Herculaneum under the authority granted by the CAA. The designation was
published on November 6, 1991 (56 FR 56694), and became effective on
January 6, 1992.
As a result of the EPA's promulgation of the nonattainment
designation, the Part D requirements of the CAA became applicable to
the Missouri SIP revision for Doe Run-Herculaneum. The EPA granted
limited approval for Missouri's 1990 SIP revision on March 6, 1992 (57
FR 8076). The EPA did not give full approval because the state was
required to submit a supplemental SIP revision meeting the applicable
Part D requirements.
The state of Missouri initially submitted a SIP revision addressing
the applicable Part D requirements of the CAA on July 2, 1993. The
submission also provided for additional control measures in response to
unanticipated emissions after the control measures were implemented
under the 1990 SIP revision. These emissions resulted in violations of
the lead NAAQS after the 1990 SIP revision attainment date of February
1, 1993. Upon review, the EPA determined that additional revisions were
necessary. Missouri submitted these revisions in March and November
1994.
The final result was a SIP that established June 30, 1995, as the
attainment date for the area and satisfied the Part D requirements of
the CAA. The revised plan also contained a control strategy to address
the violations of the NAAQS which occurred upon implementation of the
control measures in the 1990 SIP revision. Dispersion modeling
indicated that the subsequent control measures would result in
attainment of the NAAQS for lead.
II. Proposed Action
A. Determination of Attainment Status
By today's action, the EPA provides notice that the Herculaneum,
Missouri, nonattainment area failed to attain the NAAQS for lead by
June 30, 1995, as required by the approved SIP. This determination is
based upon air quality data showing violations of the lead NAAQS during
1995 and 1996.
Since June 30, 1995 (second quarter 1995), a total of eight
violations of the lead standard (1.5 g/m \3\ quarterly
arithmetic mean) have been measured at multiple monitoring sites in
Herculaneum, Missouri. The data are as follows:
Lead Ambient Air Quality Data--Vicinity of the Doe Run Primary Smelter, Calendar Quarterly Values (Micrograms of Lead Per Cubic Meter of Air (g/
m\3\)), Hi-Vol Monitor Locations
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H Golf H Div. H Broad
Date S Dunklin H Dunklin course 29- H North 29- H Ursaline H Rutz 29- manager 29- Street 29-
29-099-0014 29-099-0005 099-0008 099-0009 29-099-0010 099-0011 099-0013 099-0015
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1995:
3rd............................................. 1.4 1.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 1.0 1.2 4.1
4th............................................. 1.9 1.7 0.4 0.8 0.1 1.6 1.3 6.3
1996:
1st......................................... 2.3 1.9 0.3 0.4 0.1 1.4 .8 2.3
2nd......................................... 1.6 1.2 0.5 0.1 0.2 2.4 0.8 5.7
3rd......................................... 0.8 0.6 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.7 0.5 4.0
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Notes:\1\ (S) = State monitor, (H) = Herculaneum monitor.\2\ Italics Quarterly Air Quality Values exceed the National Ambient Air Quality Standard
(NAAQS) for lead; the NAAQS for lead is 1.5 g/m \3\ and is the arithmetic mean of a series of daily (24-hour) values from hi-vol monitors
measuring particulate matter, within a three-month (calendar quarter) period.
[[Page 10002]]
Attainment of the lead standard is based upon regulations found in
40 CFR 50.12. The lead national primary and secondary air quality
standards are 1.5 micrograms per cubic meter, maximum arithmetic mean
averaged over a calendar quarter. The data indicate that four monitors
in the Herculaneum area continue to measure violations of the NAAQS for
lead in spite of the state's efforts.
Under section 179(c)(1) of the CAA, the EPA has the responsibility
for determining whether a nonattainment area has attained the lead
NAAQS. The EPA must make an attainment determination as expeditiously
as practicable, but no later than six months after the attainment date
for the area. The Act also requires the EPA to publish a notice of its
findings in the Federal Register.
In the case where the area fails to attain the NAAQS by the
applicable attainment date, the EPA policy (Shaver 1995) specifies that
the EPA will notify the affected state(s) by letter and Federal
Register notice of the EPA's findings. The EPA notified Missouri of its
finding on August 27, 1996.
B. Implementation of Contingency Measures
Upon receipt of notification, affected states are required to
implement specific contingency measures previously identified in the
approved SIP. These measures were identified and submitted under
section 172(c)(9) of the CAA. These measures are to be undertaken
without further action on the part of the state or the EPA. In general,
the EPA expects all actions needed to effect full implementation of the
contingency measures to occur with 60 days of notification. On December
10, 1996, the EPA received written notification from the Missouri
Department of Natural Resources that all contingency measures in the
approved SIP have been implemented.
C. Call for Revision of Missouri's SIP
In accordance with section 179(d) of the CAA, upon publication of
the EPA's notice indicating an area has failed to attain, states must
within one year submit a SIP revision meeting all of the requirements
of sections 110 and 172 of the Act and any additional measures as may
be reasonably prescribed, including all measures that can be feasibly
implemented in light of technological achievability, costs, and other
factors. With this document, the EPA gives notice that it has notified
the Governor of Missouri that the Herculaneum, Missouri, area has
failed to attain the NAAQS for lead. This notice requests public
comment on this determination.
Retention of the area's nonattainment status under section 107(d)
of the Act does not impose any new requirements on small entities.
Retention of the nonattainment designation is an action that affects
the status of a geographical area and does not impose any regulatory
requirements on sources. To the extent that the area must adopt new
regulations, based on its nonattainment status, the EPA will review the
effect of those actions on small entities at the time the state submits
those regulations. The Administrator certifies that retention of the
area's nonattainment status will not affect a substantial number of
small entities.
III. Administrative Requirements
A. Executive Order (EO) 12866
Under E.O. 12866, 58 FR 51735 (October 4, 1993), the EPA is
required to determine whether regulatory actions are significant and
therefore should be subject to the Office of Management and Budget
review, economic analysis, and the requirements of the Executive Order.
The Executive Order defines a ``significant regulatory action'' as one
that is likely to result in a rule that may meet at least one of the
four criteria identified in section 3(f), including, under paragraph
(1), that the rule may ``have an annual effect on the economy of $100
million or more or adversely affect, in a material way, the economy, a
sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the
environment, public health or safety, or State, local, or tribal
governments or communities.''
The Agency has determined that today's finding of failure to attain
results in none of the effects identified in section 3(f). Under
section 179(c) of the CAA, findings of failure to attain for
nonattainment areas are based upon air quality considerations, in light
of certain air quality conditions. They do not, in and of themselves,
impose any new requirements on any sectors of the economy.
B. Regulatory Flexibility
Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., the EPA
must prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis assessing the impact of
any proposed or final rule on small entities (5 U.S.C. 603 and 604).
Alternatively, the EPA may certify that the rule will not have a
significant economic 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.
As discussed in section III of this notice, findings of failure to
attain for nonattainment areas under section 179(c) of the CAA do not
in and of themselves create any new requirements. Therefore, I certify
that today's proposed action does not have a significant impact on
small entities.
C. Unfunded Mandates
Under sections 202, 203 and 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
of 1995 (Unfunded Mandates Act), signed into law on March 22, 1995, the
EPA must assess whether various actions undertaken in association with
proposed or final regulations include a Federal mandate that may result
in estimated costs of $100 million or more to the private sector, or to
state, local, or tribal governments in the aggregate.
The EPA believes, as discussed above, that the proposed finding of
failure to attain for the Herculaneum, Missouri, lead nonattainment
area is a factual determination based upon air quality considerations
and does not impose any Federal intergovernmental mandate, as defined
in section 101 of the Unfunded Mandates Act.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks,
Wilderness areas, Lead.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.
Dated: February 18, 1997.
Dennis Grams,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 97-5416 Filed 3-4-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
