[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 175 (Monday, September 11, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 47097-47099]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-22132]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 81
[CT-22-1-7078a; A-1-FRL-5271-5]
Clean Air Act Promulgation of Reclassification of PM10
Nonattainment Areas--Connecticut; Approval of 1-Year Extension of
Attainment Date for New Haven
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is fully approving Connecticut's request for a 1-year
extension of the attainment date for the New Haven PM10 nonattainment
area. This action is based on monitored air quality data for the
national ambient air quality standard for PM10 during the years 1992-
94. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act.
DATES: This final rule is effective November 13, 1995, unless notice is
received by October 11, 1995 that adverse or critical comments will be
submitted. If the effective date is delayed, timely notice will be
published in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Susan Studlien, Acting Director,
Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, EPA-New England, JFK
Federal Building (AAA), Boston, MA 02203-2211. Copies of the documents
relevant to this action are available for public inspection by
appointment during normal business hours at the Air, Pesticides and
Toxics Management Division, EPA-New England, One Congress Street, 10th
floor, Boston, MA; Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center, US
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW., (LE-131),
Washington, DC 20460; and the Bureau of Air Management, Department of
Environmental Protection, State Office Building, 79 Elm Street,
Hartford, CT 06106-1630.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew B. Cairns, (617) 565-4982.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Clean Air Act Requirements and EPA Actions Concerning Designation and
Classification
On the date of enactment of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990
(herein after referred to as ``the Act''), PM10 areas meeting the
qualifications of Sec. 107(d)(4)(B) of the Act were designated
nonattainment by operation of law. [See generally, 42 USC section
7407(d)(4)(B).] These areas included all former Group I areas and any
other areas violating the PM10 standards prior to January 1, 1989. On
October 31, 1990 (55 FR 45799), EPA redefined a Group I area for
Connecticut as the City of New Haven; the remainder of the state was
designated as Group III. Subsequently, after enactment of the Act on
November 15, 1990, New Haven was designated moderate nonattainment for
PM10 in 56 FR 11101 (March 15, 1991). All other areas not designated
nonattainment at enactment were designated unclassifiable.
States containing areas which were designated as moderate
nonattainment by operation of law under Sec. 107(d)(4)(B) were required
to develop and submit SIPs to provide for the attainment of the PM10
NAAQS. Under Sec. 189(a)(2), those SIP revisions were to be submitted
within 1 year of enactment of the Act (November 15, 1991). The SIP
revisions were to provide for implementation of reasonable available
control measures/technology (RACM/RACT) by December 10, 1993 and
attainment of the PM10 NAAQS by December 31, 1994.
Reclassification as Serious Nonattainment
EPA has the responsibility, under Secs. 179(c) and 188(b)(2) of the
Act, of determining within 6 months after December 31, 1994 whether
initial moderate PM10 nonattainment areas have attained the NAAQS.
Section 179(c)(1) of the Act provides that these determinations are to
be based upon an area's ``air quality as of the attainment date,'' and
Sec. 188(b)(2) is consistent with this requirement. EPA will make the
determinations of whether an area's air quality is meeting the PM10
NAAQS based upon air quality data gathered at monitoring sites in the
nonattainment area and entered into the Aerometric Information
Retrieval System (AIRS). This data will be reviewed to determine the
area's air quality status in accordance with EPA guidance at 40 CFR
Part 50, Appendix K.
According to Appendix K, attainment of the annual PM10 standard is
achieved when the annual arithmetic mean PM10 concentration is equal to
or less than 50 g/m3. Attainment of the 24-hour standard
is determined by calculating the expected number of exceedances of the
150 g/m3 limit per year. The 24-hour standard is attained
when the expected number of exceedances is 1.0 or less. A total of 3
consecutive years of clean air quality data is generally necessary to
show attainment of the 24-hour and annual standards for PM10. A
complete year of air quality data, as referred to in 40 CFR Part 50,
Appendix K, is comprised of all 4 calendar quarters with each quarter
containing data from at least 75 percent of the scheduled sampling
days.
Under Sec. 188(b)(2) a moderate area shall be reclassified as
serious by operation of law after the statutory attainment date if the
Administrator determines that the area has failed to attain the NAAQS.
Under Sec. 188(b)(2)(B) of the Act, the EPA must publish a notice in
the Federal Register identifying those areas which failed to attain the
standard and must be reclassified as serious by operation of law.
Application for a 1-year Extension of the Attainment Date
If the State does not have the necessary number of consecutive
clean years of data to show attainment of the NAAQS, a State may apply
for an extension of the attainment date. Pursuant to Sec. 188(d) of the
Act, a State may apply for and EPA may grant a 1-year extension of the
attainment date if the State has: (1) complied with the requirements
and commitments pertaining to the applicable implementation plan for
the area, and (2) the area has measured no more than 1 exceedance of
the 24-hour PM10 standard in the year preceding the extension year, and
the annual mean concentration of PM10 in the area for such year is less
than or equal to the standard. If the State does not have the requisite
number of years of clean air quality data to show attainment and does
not apply or does not qualify for an attainment date extension, the
area will be reclassified as serious by operation of law.
Section 188(d) of the Act provides that the Administrator ``may''
extend
[[Page 47098]]
the attainment date for areas that meet the minimum requirements
specified above. The provision does not dictate or compel that EPA
grant extensions to such areas. In exercising this discretionary
authority for PM10 nonattainment areas, EPA will examine the air
quality planning progress made in the moderate area. EPA will be
disinclined to grant an attainment date extension unless a State has,
in substantial part, addressed its moderate PM10 planning obligations
for the area. In order to determine whether the State has substantially
met these planning requirements the EPA will review the States
application for the attainment date extension to determine whether the
State has: (1) Adopted and substantially implemented control measures
submitted to address the requirement for implementing RACM/RACT in the
moderate nonattainment area; and (2) that reasonable further progress
is being met for the area. RFP for PM10 nonattainment areas is
determined to be linear emissions reductions made on an annual basis
which will provide progress toward the eventual attainment of the NAAQS
in the area.
If an extension is granted, at the end of the extension year, EPA
will again determine whether the area has attained the PM10 NAAQS. If
the State still does not have 3 consecutive years of clean air quality
data, it may apply for a second 1-year extension of the attainment
date. In order to qualify for the second 1-year extension of the
attainment date, the State must satisfy the same requirements listed
above for the first extension. In addition, EPA will consider the
State's PM10 planning progress for the area in a manner similar to its
evaluation of the first extension request. However, EPA may grant no
more than two 1-year extensions of the attainment date to a single
nonattainment area. [See Sec. 188(d) of the Act].
Summary of Connecticut's Extension Request
On March 31, 1995, the Connecticut Department of Environmental
Protection (Connecticut DEP) submitted a request for a 1-year extension
of the attainment date for the New Haven initial moderate PM10
nonattainment area.
EPA's Air Quality Strategies and Standards Division (AQSSD) has
prepared a guidance titled ``Criteria for Granting 1-Year Nonattainment
Area Attainment Dates, Making Attainment Determinations, and Reporting
on Quantitative Milestones'' (November 14, 1994 memorandum from AQSSD
Director Sally Shaver) which outlines how to assess the adequacy of
requests for a 1-year extension of the attainment date. The rationale
for EPA's approval action are detailed in the Technical Support
Document (TSD), dated June 13, 1995. In summary, Connecticut has
fulfilled the specific elements of that guidance as follows:
A. Connecticut is implementing the EPA-approved PM10 SIP.
B. New Haven has monitored no more than 1 exceedance during 1994,
the year preceding the extension year.1
\1\A review of the PM10 air quality data for New Haven shows air
quality monitors for this area monitored 4 exceedances of the 24-
hour PM10 NAAQS during the 3-year period from 1992 to 1994. All
exceedances occurred in 1993 at the Yankee Gas monitor site (AIRS
Site ID 09-009-0021). The area did not have any exceedances of the
PM10 NAAQS in 1994.
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C. Connecticut has demonstrated that RACT/RACM, embodied in 7
consent orders, have been adopted and submitted in the form of a SIP
revision and are being implemented for New Haven. Furthermore, real
emissions reductions have been achieved.2
\2\Section 189(c) requires that Part D SIPs include quantitative
milestones to document RFP towards attainment. Every 3 years until
EPA redesignates an area to attainment, States must report on
whether milestones have been met. Connecticut's SIP commits CT DEP
to submit quantitative milestone and RFP reports to EPA every 3
years. For initial moderate PM10 nonattainment areas, the emissions
reductions made between SIP submittal and the attainment date will
satisfy the first quantitative milestone. (See General Preamble 57
FR 13539.) Since EPA believes it is reasonable to key the first
milestone to the SIP revision containing control measures which will
result in emission reductions and since the PM10 attainment date was
less than 3 years from the actual submittal date of CT DEP's SIP
revision, CT DEP submitted--and EPA is accepting--the emissions
reductions associated with the New Haven PM10 Attainment Plan SIP
revision (submitted to EPA on March 22, 1994) as meeting RFP and the
first quantitative milestone for New Haven. (See TSD dated March 27,
1995.)
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Connecticut's extension request states that indeed the area
recorded no exceedances of the PM10 NAAQS in 1994, and is complying
with the applicable state implementation plan. For further details
regarding Connecticut's extension request and how it meets EPA's
requirements, the reader should refer to the TSD dated June 13, 1995.
Final Action
EPA is approving an extension of the PM10 attainment date for New
Haven, Connecticut to December 31, 1995.
EPA is publishing this action without prior proposal because the
Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no
adverse comments. However, in a separate document in this Federal
Register publication, EPA is proposing to approve the SIP revision
should adverse or critical comments be filed. This action will be
effective November 13, 1995 unless adverse or critical comments are
received by October 11, 1995.
If the EPA receives such comments, this action will be withdrawn
before the effective date by simultaneously publishing a subsequent
notice that will withdraw the final action. All public comments
received will then be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on
this action serving as a proposed rule. The EPA will not institute a
second comment period on this action. Any parties interested in
commenting on this action should do so at this time. If no such
comments are received, the public is advised that this action will be
effective on November 13, 1995.
Under Executive Order 12866, 58 FR 51735 (October 4, 1993) EPA is
required to determine whether regulatory actions are significant and
therefore should be subject to OMB 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 the attainment date extension
proposed today would result in none of the effects identified in
section 3(f). Attainment date extensions under Sec. 188(d) of the Act
do not impose any new requirements on any sectors of the economy; nor
do they result in a materially adverse impact on State, local, or
tribal governments or communities.
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. 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.
Under Secs. 202, 203, and 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
of 1995 (``Unfunded Mandates Act''), signed into law on March 22, 1995,
EPA must assess whether various actions undertaken in association with
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proposed or final regulations that 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.
EPA has determined, as discussed earlier, that the finding that is
the subject of this final action of failure to attain and grant a 1-
year extension does not impose any federal intergovernment mandate, as
defined in section 101 of the Unfunded Mandates Act. A finding that an
area has failed to attain and should be granted a 1-year extension of
the attainment date consists of factual determinations based upon air
quality considerations and the area's compliance with certain prior
requirements. Accordingly, no additional costs to State, local, or
tribal governments, or to the private sector result from this action.
This action also will not impose a 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.
Extensions of attainment dates under Sec. 188(d) 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 CAA, preparation of
a regulatory flexibility analysis would constitute federal inquiry into
the economic reasonableness of state action. The CAA forbids EPA to
base its actions concerning SIPs on such grounds. Union Electric Co. v.
USEPA, 427 US 246, 256-66 (S.Ct. 1976); 42 USC Sec. 7410 (a)(2).
This action has been classified as a Table 3 action by the Regional
Administrator under the procedures published in the Federal Register on
January 19, 1989 (54 FR 2214-2225), as revised by an October 4, 1993,
memorandum from Michael H. Shapiro, Acting Assistant Administrator for
Air and Radiation. A future notice will inform the general public of
these tables. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has exempted
this action from review under Executive Order 12866.
Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or
allowing or establishing a precedent for any future request for
revision to any state implementation plan. Each request for revision to
the state implementation plan shall be considered separately in light
of specific technical, economic, and environmental factors and in
relation to relevant statutory and regulatory requirements.
Under Sec. 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 13, 1995. 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 Sec. 307(b)(2).]
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 81
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
Note: Incorporation by reference of the State Implementation
Plan for the State of Connecticut was approved by the Director of
the Federal Register on July 1, 1982.
Dated: July 10, 1995.
John P. DeVillars,
Regional Administrator, EPA-New England.
[FR Doc. 95-22132 Filed 9-8-95; 8:45 am]
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