Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 6 / Tuesday, January 10, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 1411 

within this zone, during periods of 

enforcement, is prohibited unless 

authorized by Captain of the Port 

(COTP) Sector Northern New England. 

(3) A speed limit of five (5) knots will 

be in effect within the regulated area. 

All vessels must proceed through the 

area with caution and operate in such a 

manner as to produce no wake. 

(4) Vessels must comply with all 

directions given to them by the COTP 

Sector Northern New England or his onscene representative. The ‘‘on-scene 

representative’’ of the COTP is any 

Coast Guard commissioned, warrant or 

petty officer who has been designated 

by the COTP to act on the COTP’s 

behalf. The on-scene representative may 

be on a Coast Guard vessel; New 

Hampshire State Police, Maine State 

Police, or other designated craft; or may 

be on shore and will communicate with 

vessels via VHF–FM radio or loudhailer. 

Members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary 

may be present to inform vessel 

operators of this regulation. 

(5) Upon being hailed by a U.S. Coast 

Guard vessel by siren, radio, flashing 

light or other means, the operator of the 

vessel must proceed as directed. 

(6) All other relevant regulations, 

including but not limited to the Rules of 

the Road (33 CFR Subchapter E, Inland 

Navigational Rules) remain in effect 

within the regulated area and should be 

strictly followed at all times. 

(c) Enforcement. This regulated 

navigation area is enforceable 24 hours 

a day from December 22, 2011 until 

December 31, 2013. 

(1) Notice of suspension of 

enforcement: If enforcement is 

suspended, the COTP will cause a 

notice of the suspension of enforcement 

by all appropriate means to be given the 

widest publicity among the affected 

segments of the public. Such means of 

notification may include, but are not 

limited to, Broadcast Notice to Mariners 

and Local Notice to Mariners. Such 

notification will include the date and 

time that enforcement is suspended as 

well as the date and time that 

enforcement will resume. 

(2) Violations of this regulated 

navigation area may be reported to the 

COTP Sector Northern New England, at 

(207) 767–0303 or on VHF–Channel 16. 

Dated: December 22, 2011. 

D.A. Neptun, 

Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, 

First Coast Guard District. 

[FR Doc. 2012–175 Filed 1–9–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R03–OAR–2011–0801; FRL–9616–6] 

Approval and Promulgation of Air 

Quality Implementation Plans; District 

of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and 

West Virginia; Determinations of 

Attainment of the 1997 Fine Particle 

Standard for the Metropolitan 

Washington, DC-MD-VA and 

Martinsburg-Hagerstown, WV-MD 

Nonattainment Areas 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is making determinations 

that the Metropolitan Washington, 

District of Columbia-Maryland-Virginia 

(DC-MD-VA) fine particle (PM2.5) 

nonattainment area and the 

Martinsburg-Hagerstown, West VirginiaMaryland (WV-MD) PM2.5

nonattainment area (hereafter referred to 

as ‘‘Areas’’) have attained the 1997 

annual PM2.5 National Ambient Air 

Quality Standard (NAAQS) by their 

applicable attainment date of April 5, 

2010. These determinations are based 

upon complete, quality-assured, and 

certified ambient air monitoring data for 

the 2007–2009 monitoring period. EPA 

is finding these Areas to be in 

attainment, in accordance with the 

requirements of the Clean Air Act 

(CAA). 

DATES: Effective Date: This final rule is 

effective on February 9, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket ID 

Number EPA–R03–OAR–2011–0801. All 

documents in the docket are listed in 

the www.regulations.gov Web site. 

Although listed in the electronic docket, 

some information is not publicly 

available, i.e., confidential business 

information (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 either electronically through 

www.regulations.gov or in hard copy for 

public inspection during normal 

business hours at the Air Protection 

Division, U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Irene Shandruk, (215) 814–2166, or by 

email at shandruk.irene@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document, whenever 

‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean 

EPA. 

I. Background 

On July 18, 1997 (62 FR 36852), EPA 

established a health-based PM2.5

NAAQS at 15.0 micrograms per cubic 

meter (mg/m3) based on a 3-year average 

of annual mean PM2.5 concentrations 

(hereafter referred to as ‘‘the annual 

PM2.5 NAAQS’’ or ‘‘the annual 

standard’’). At that time, EPA also 

established a 24-hour standard of 65 

mg/m3 (the ‘‘1997 24-hour standard’’). 

See, 40 CFR 50.7. On January 5, 2005 

(70 FR 944), EPA published its air 

quality designations and classifications 

for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS based upon 

air quality monitoring data from those 

monitors for calendar years 2001–2003. 

These designations became effective on 

April 5, 2005. The Metropolitan 

Washington, DC-MD-VA and the 

Martinsburg-Hagerstown, WV-MD 

nonattainment areas were designated 

nonattainment for the 1997 PM2.5

NAAQS during this designations 

process. See, 40 CFR part 81.309 (the 

District), 40 CFR 81.321 (Maryland), 40 

CFR 81.347 (Virginia), and 40 CFR 

81.349 (West Virginia). The 

Metropolitan Washington, DC–MD–VA 

1997 annual PM2.5 nonattainment area 

consists of the District of Columbia (the 

District), a Northern Virginia portion 

(Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and 

Prince William Counties and the cities 

of Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax, 

Manassas, and Manassas Park), and 

Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and 

Prince George’s Counties in Maryland. 

The Martinsburg-Hagerstown, WV-MD 

1997 annual PM2.5 nonattainment area 

consists of Washington County in 

Maryland and Berkley County in West 

Virginia. 

EPA previously made clean data 

determinations related to the 1997 

annual PM2.5 NAAQS for each of these 

Areas pursuant to 40 CFR 51.1004(c). 

Determinations were made for the 

Metropolitan Washington Area, DC-MDVA on January 12, 2009 (74 FR 1146) 

and for the Martinsburg-Hagerstown, 

WV-MD Area on November 20, 2009 (74 

FR 60199). These clean data 

determinations remain in effect. 

Under CAA section 179(c), EPA is 

required to make a determination that a 

nonattainment area has attained by its 

applicable attainment date, and publish 

that determination in the Federal 

Register. The determination of 

attainment is not equivalent to a 

redesignation, and the state must still 

meet the statutory requirements for 


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1412 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 6 / Tuesday, January 10, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

redesignation in order for the Areas to 

be redesignated to attainment. 

Complete, quality-assured, and 

certified PM2.5 air quality monitoring 

data, recorded in the EPA Air Quality 

System (AQS) database for 2007–2009, 

show that the Metropolitan Washington, 

DC-MD-VA and the MartinsburgHagerstown, WV-MD nonattainment 

areas attained the 1997 annual PM2.5

NAAQS by their applicable attainment 

date. 

On November 4, 2011 (76 FR 68378), 

EPA published a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPR) for the District of 

Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and West 

Virginia. The NPR proposed to 

determine that the Metropolitan 

Washington, DC-MD-VA and the 

Martinsburg-Hagerstown, WV-MD 

nonattainment areas have attained the 

1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS by the 

applicable attainment date of April 5, 

2010. The proposal is based upon 

complete, quality-assured, and certified 

ambient air monitoring data for the 

2007–2009 monitoring period and EPA’s 

determinations are in accordance with 

EPA’s PM2.5 Implementation Rule of 

April 25, 2007 (72 FR 20664). No 

comments were submitted on the NPR. 

II. What is EPA’s analysis of the 

relevant air quality data? 

EPA has reviewed the ambient air 

monitoring data for PM2.5, consistent 

with the requirements contained in 40 

CFR part 50 and recorded in the data in 

the EPA AQS database for the 

Metropolitan Washington, DC-MD-VA 

and the Martinsburg-Hagerstown, WVMD nonattainment areas for the 

monitoring period from 2007–2009. On 

the basis of that review, EPA is 

determining that the Areas attained the 

1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS by the 

applicable April 5, 2010 attainment 

date. 

Under EPA regulations at 40 CFR 

50.7, the annual primary and secondary 

PM2.5 standards are met when the 

annual arithmetic mean concentrations, 

as determined in accordance with 40 

CFR part 50, appendix N, is less than or 

equal to 15.0 mg/m3, at all relevant 

monitoring sites. The values calculated 

in accordance with 40 CFR part 50, 

appendix N, are referred to as design 

values, and these values are used to 

determine if an area is attaining the 

PM2.5 NAAQS. According to the PM2.5

implementation rule, the attainment 

date for these Areas is April 5, 2010 and 

the monitoring data from 2007–2009 is 

used to determine if the Areas attained 

by April 5, 2010. 

Table 1 shows the PM2.5 design values 

for each monitor in the Metropolitan 

Washington, DC–MD–VA and the 

Martinsburg-Hagerstown, WV–MD 

nonattainment areas, respectively, for 

the years 2007–2009. All 2007–2009 

design values are below 15.0 mg/m3, and 

all monitors meet the data completeness 

requirements. Therefore, the 

Metropolitan Washington, DC-MD-VA 

and the Martinsburg-Hagerstown, WVMD nonattainment areas attained the 

1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS by their 

attainment date. 

TABLE 1—1997 ANNUAL PM2.5 DESIGN VALUES FOR THE METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON, DC-MD-VA AND MARTINSBURGHAGERSTOWN, WV-MD AREAS * 

State County Monitor ID 

2007 

Annual 

mean 

2008 

Annual 

mean 

2009 

Annual 

mean 

Certified 

design 

value 

2007–2009 

(μg/m3) 

Metropolitan Washington, DC-VA-MD 

DC District of Columbia ....................................................................................... 110010041 13.6 12.0 10.5 12.0 

District of Columbia ....................................................................................... 110010042 13.7 12.3 10.1 12.1 

District of Columbia ....................................................................................... 110010043 13.0 11.6 10.2 11.6 

VA Alexandria ...................................................................................................... No monitor 

Arlington ......................................................................................................... 510130020 13.8 12.0 10.1 11.9 

Fairfax ............................................................................................................ 510590030 12.5 11.1 9.8 11.1 

Farifax County ............................................................................................... 510591005 13.3 11.2 9.5 11.3 

Fairfax ............................................................................................................ 510595001 13.5 11.8 9.7 11.7 

Falls Church ................................................................................................... No monitor 

Loudon ........................................................................................................... 511071005 12.8 11.5 9.2 11.2 

Manassas ....................................................................................................... No monitor 

Manassas Park .............................................................................................. No monitor 

MD Charles ........................................................................................................... No monitor

Frederick ........................................................................................................ No monitor 

Montgomery ................................................................................................... 240313001 11.7 10.8 9.4 10.7 

Prince Georges .............................................................................................. 240330025 14.1 12.4 10.7 12.4 

Prince Georges .............................................................................................. 240330030 11.8 10.9 8.7 10.5 

Prince Georges .............................................................................................. 240338003 12.4 11.2 8.8 10.8 

Martinsburg-Hagerstown, WV-MD 

WV Berkley ........................................................................................................... 240430009 12.9 11.8 9.7 11.5 

MD Washington .................................................................................................... 540030003 15.6 14.2 12.1 14.0 

* The data presented in Table 1 are available at http://www.epa.gov/air/airtrends/values.html. 

III. Final Action 

EPA is finalizing the determinations 

that the Metropolitan Washington, DCMD-VA and the MartinsburgHagerstown, WV-MD nonattainment 

areas have attained the 1997 annual 

PM2.5 standard by the applicable 

attainment date (April 5, 2010). These 

actions meet the requirement pursuant 

to section 179(c) of the CAA for EPA to 

make a determination as to whether the 

Areas attained the standard by the 

applicable attainment date of April 5, 

2010. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 6 / Tuesday, January 10, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 1413 

Finalizing these actions does not 

constitute a redesignation of the Areas 

to attainment of the 1997 annual PM2.5

NAAQS under section 107(d)(3) of the 

CAA. Further, finalizing these 

determinations does not involve 

approving maintenance plans for the 

Areas as required under section 175A of 

the CAA, nor does it find that the Areas 

have met all other requirements for 

redesignation. The designation status of 

the Metropolitan Washington, DC-MDVA and the Martinsburg-Hagerstown, 

WV-MD areas remains nonattainment 

for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS until 

such time as EPA determines that the 

Areas meet the CAA requirements for 

redesignation to attainment and EPA 

acts to redesignate the Metropolitan 

Washington, DC-MD-VA and the 

Martinsburg-Hagerstown, WV-MD 

nonattainment areas. 

IV. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

A. General Requirements 

This action merely makes attainment 

determinations based on air quality data 

and does not impose any additional 

requirements. For that reason, this 

action: 

• Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ subject to review by the Office 

of Management and Budget under 

Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993); 

• 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 CAA; 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, this rule does not have 

tribal implications as specified by 

Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, 

November 9, 2000), because the SIP is 

not approved to apply in Indian country 

located in the state, and EPA notes that 

it will not impose substantial direct 

costs on tribal governments or preempt 

tribal law. 

B. Submission to Congress and the 

Comptroller General 

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). 

C. Petitions for Judicial Review 

Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, 

petitions for judicial review of this 

action must be filed in the United States 

Court of Appeals for the appropriate 

circuit by March 12, 2012. 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 

pertaining to the determinations of 

attainment for the Metropolitan 

Washington, DC-MD-VA and the 

Martinsburg-Hagerstown, WV-MD PM2.5

nonattainment areas 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, Incorporation by 

reference, Intergovernmental relations, 

Particulate matter, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: December 27, 2011. 

W.C. Early, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region III. 

40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows: 

PART 52—[AMENDED] 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 52 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq. 

Subpart J—District of Columbia 

■ 2. Section 52.475 is added to read as 

follows: 

§ 52.475 Determinations of attainment. 

Based upon EPA’s review of the air 

quality data for the 3-year period 2007 

to 2009, EPA determined that the 

Metropolitan Washington, District of 

Columbia-Maryland-Virginia (DC-MDVA) fine particle (PM2.5) nonattainment 

area attained the 1997 annual PM2.5

National Ambient Air Quality Standard 

(NAAQS) by the applicable attainment 

date of April 5, 2010. Therefore, EPA 

has met the requirement pursuant to 

CAA section 179(c) to determine, based 

on the area’s air quality as of the 

attainment date, whether the area 

attained the standard. EPA also 

determined that the Metropolitan 

Washington, DC-MD-VA nonattainment 

area is not subject to the consequences 

of failing to attain pursuant to section 

179(d). 

Subpart V—Maryland 

■ 2. Section 52.1082 is added to read as 

follows: 

§ 52.1082 Determinations of attainment. 

(a) Based upon EPA’s review of the air 

quality data for the 3-year period 2007 

to 2009, EPA determined that the 

Metropolitan Washington, District of 

Columbia-Maryland-Virginia (DC-MDVA) fine particle (PM2.5) nonattainment 

area attained the 1997 annual PM2.5

National Ambient Air Quality Standard 

(NAAQS) by the applicable attainment 

date of April 5, 2010. Therefore, EPA 

has met the requirement pursuant to 

CAA section 179(c) to determine, based 

on the area’s air quality as of the 

attainment date, whether the area 

attained the standard. EPA also 

determined that the Metropolitan 

Washington, DC-MD-VA nonattainment 

area is not subject to the consequences 

of failing to attain pursuant to section 

179(d). 

(b) Based upon EPA’s review of the air 

quality data for the 3-year period 2007 

to 2009, EPA determined that the 

Martinsburg-Hagerstown, West VirginiaMaryland (WV-MD) fine particle (PM2.5) 


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1414 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 6 / Tuesday, January 10, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

nonattainment area attained the 1997 

annual PM2.5 National Ambient Air 

Quality Standard (NAAQS) by the 

applicable attainment date of April 5, 

2010. Therefore, EPA has met the 

requirement pursuant to CAA section 

179(c) to determine, based on the area’s 

air quality as of the attainment date, 

whether the area attained the standard. 

EPA also determined that the 

Martinsburg-Hagerstown, WV-MD 

nonattainment area is not subject to the 

consequences of failing to attain 

pursuant to section 179(d). 

Subpart VV—Virginia 

■ 4. Section 52.2430 is added to read as 

follows: 

§ 52.2430 Determinations of attainment. 

Based upon EPA’s review of the air 

quality data for the 3-year period 2007 

to 2009, EPA determined that the 

Metropolitan Washington, District of 

Columbia-Maryland-Virginia (DC-MDVA) fine particle (PM2.5) nonattainment 

area attained the 1997 annual PM2.5

National Ambient Air Quality Standard 

(NAAQS) by the applicable attainment 

date of April 5, 2010. Therefore, EPA 

has met the requirement pursuant to 

CAA section 179(c) to determine, based 

on the area’s air quality as of the 

attainment date, whether the area 

attained the standard. EPA also 

determined that the Metropolitan 

Washington, DC-MD-VA PM2.5

nonattainment area is not subject to the 

consequences of failing to attain 

pursuant to section 179(d). 

Subpart XX—West Virginia 

■ 5. Section 52.2527 is amended by 

adding paragraph (e) to read as follows: 

§ 52.2527 Determination of attainment. 

* * * * * 

(e) Based upon EPA’s review of the air 

quality data for the 3-year period 2007 

to 2009, EPA determined that the 

Martinsburg-Hagerstown, West VirginiaMaryland (WV-MD) fine particle (PM2.5) 

nonattainment area attained the 1997 

annual PM2.5 National Ambient Air 

Quality Standard (NAAQS) by the 

applicable attainment date of April 5, 

2010. Therefore, EPA has met the 

requirement pursuant to CAA section 

179(c) to determine, based on the area’s 

air quality as of the attainment date, 

whether the area attained the standard. 

EPA also determined that the 

Martinsburg-Hagerstown, WV-MD PM2.5

nonattainment area is not subject to the 

consequences of failing to attain 

pursuant to section 179(d). 

[FR Doc. 2012–141 Filed 1–9–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R10–OAR–2010–0917; FRL–9616–4] 

Approval and Promulgation of State 

Implementation Plans: Alaska 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is taking final action to 

approve revisions to the Alaska State 

Implementation Plan (SIP) relating to 

the motor vehicle inspection and 

maintenance program (I/M) for control 

of carbon monoxide (CO) in Anchorage. 

The State of Alaska (the State) 

submitted a September 29, 2010, SIP 

modification that would discontinue the 

I/M program in Anchorage as an active 

control measure in the SIP and shift it 

to a contingency measure. EPA is 

approving the submittal because it 

satisfies the requirements of the Clean 

Air Act (CAA or the Act). 

DATES: This action is effective on 

February 9, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket 

Identification No. EPA–R10–OAR– 

2010–0917. All documents in the docket 

are listed on the http:// 

www.regulations.gov Web site. Although 

listed in the index, some information 

may not be publicly available, i.e., 

Confidential Business Information 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 either 

electronically through http:// 

www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 

EPA Region 10, Office of Air, Waste, 

and Toxics, AWT–107, 1200 Sixth 

Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101. 

EPA requests that you contact the 

person 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 to 4:30, 

excluding Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Claudia Vergnani Vaupel, (206) 553– 

6121, or by email at 

vaupel.claudia@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document whenever 

‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean 

the EPA. Information is organized as 

follows: 

Table of Contents 

I. What is the background for this final 

action? 

II. What is our response to comments 

received on the notice of proposed 

rulemaking? 

III. What action is EPA taking? 

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. What is the background for this final 

action? 

The I/M program is a CO control 

measure in the Anchorage CO 

maintenance plan that was Federally 

approved on June 23, 2004 (69 FR 

34935). The State of Alaska submitted a 

September 29, 2010, SIP modification 

discontinuing the I/M program in 

Anchorage as an active control measure 

in the SIP and shifting it to a 

contingency measure. EPA is approving 

the 2010 submittal because it satisfies 

the requirements of the CAA. 

In accordance with the CAA and EPA 

redesignation guidance, states may 

adjust control strategies in the 

maintenance plan as long as they can 

demonstrate that the revision will not 

interfere with attainment or 

maintenance of the National Ambient 

Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), or any 

other CAA requirements. See CAA 

sections 175A and 110(l). However, 

section 175A(d) of the CAA requires 

that contingency measures in the 

maintenance plan include all measures 

in the SIP for the area before that area 

was redesignated to attainment. 

The SIP revision submitted by Alaska 

included a technical analysis using EPA 

approved models and methods to 

demonstrate that the Anchorage area 

would continue to maintain the CO 

standard without the I/M program in 

place and that the revision would not 

interfere with attainment and 

maintenance of the other NAAQS. The 

submittal also documented that 

Anchorage will retain the legal authority 

necessary to implement the I/M program 

as a contingency measure. 

On September 7, 2011, EPA proposed 

to approve the State’s submittal as 

meeting the requirements of the Act (76 

FR 55325). For a more detailed 

discussion of the background of this 

rulemaking, please see EPA’s notice of 

proposed approval. In this final action, 

EPA is approving the SIP modifications 

to the Anchorage CO maintenance plan 

as originally proposed in EPA’s notice 

of proposed rulemaking. 

II. What is our response to comments 

received on the notice of proposed 

rulemaking? 

The public comment period for EPA’s 

proposal to approve Alaska’s request 

closed on October 7, 2011. EPA received 


wreier-aviles on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with RULES