Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 145 / Monday, July 29, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 45457 

1This action does not address the two elements 

of the transport SIP provision (in CAA section 

110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II)) regarding interference with 

measures required to prevent significant 

deterioration of air quality or to protect visibility in 

another state. We will act on these elements in a 

separate rulemaking. 

64.008, Veterans Domiciliary Care; 

64.009, Veterans Medical Care Benefits; 

64.010, Veterans Nursing Home Care; 

64.011, Veterans Dental Care; 64.012, 

Veterans Prescription Service; and 

64.022, Veterans Home Based Primary 

Care. 

Signing Authority 

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or 

designee, approved this document and 

authorized the undersigned to sign and 

submit the document to the Office of the 

Federal Register for publication 

electronically as an official document of 

the Department of Veterans Affairs. Jose 

D. Riojas, Interim Chief of Staff, 

Department of Veterans Affairs, 

approved this document on June 26, 

2013, for publication. 

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 1 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Archives and records, 

Cemeteries, Claims, Courts, Crime, 

Flags, Freedom of information, 

Government contracts, Government 

employees, Government property, 

Infants and children, Inventions and 

patents, Parking, Penalties, Privacy, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Seals and insignia, 

Security measures, Wages. 

Dated: July 23, 2013. 

Robert C. McFetridge, 

Director, Regulation Policy and Management, 

Office of the General Counsel, Department 

of Veterans Affairs. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the Department of Veterans 

Affairs amends 38 CFR part 1 as follows: 

PART 1—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 1 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501(a), and as noted 

in specific sections. 

■ 2. Amend § 1.577 by: 

■ a. Removing paragraph (d). 

■ b. Redesignating paragraphs (e) 

through (g) as new paragraphs (d) 

through (f), respectively. 

■ c. In newly designated paragraph 

(e)(3), in the ‘‘Activity and Fees’’ table, 

removing ‘‘(f)(1)’’ and adding, in its 

place, ‘‘(e)(1)’’. 

[FR Doc. 2013–18057 Filed 7–26–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R08–OAR–2012–0348; FRL–9839–8] 

Approval and Promulgation of State 

Implementation Plans; State of North 

Dakota; Interstate Transport of 

Pollution for the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is approving portions of 

a State Implementation Plan (SIP) 

submission from the State of North 

Dakota which demonstrates that its SIP 

meets certain interstate transport 

requirements of the Clean Air Act 

(‘‘Act’’ or ‘‘CAA’’) for the 2006 fine 

particulate matter (‘‘PM2.5’’) National 

Ambient Air Quality Standards 

(‘‘NAAQS’’). Specifically, EPA is 

approving the portion of the North 

Dakota SIP submission that addresses 

the CAA requirement prohibiting 

emissions from North Dakota sources 

from significantly contributing to 

nonattainment of the 2006 PM2.5

NAAQS in any other state or interfering 

with maintenance of the 2006 PM2.5

NAAQS by any other state. 

DATES: Effective Date: This final rule is 

effective August 28, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket ID 

No. EPA–R08–OAR–2012–0348. All 

documents in the docket are listed on 

the www.regulations.gov Web site. 

Although listed in the index, some 

information is not publicly available, 

e.g., 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 at 

the Air Program, Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA), Region 8, 

1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver, Colorado 

80202–1129. EPA requests that if at all 

possible, you contact the individual 

listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section to view the hard copy 

of the docket. You may view the hard 

copy of the docket Monday through 

Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., excluding 

Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Adam Clark, Air Program, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, 

Region 8, Mailcode 8P–AR, 1595 

Wynkoop, Denver, Colorado 80202– 

1129, (303) 312–7104, 

clark.adam@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Definitions 

For the purpose of this document, we 

are giving meaning to certain words or 

initials as follows: 

(i) The words or initials Act or CAA 

mean or refer to the Clean Air Act. 

(ii) The words EPA, we, us or our 

mean or refer to the United States 

Environmental Protection Agency. 

(iii) The initials NAAQS mean or refer 

to National Ambient Air Quality 

Standards. 

(iv) The initials SIP mean or refer to 

State Implementation Plan. 

(v) The initials NDDH mean or refer 

to the North Dakota Department of 

Health. 

(vi) The words North Dakota and 

State mean the State of North Dakota. 

Table of Contents 

I. Background 

II. Response to Comments 

III. Final Action 

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. Background 

On October 17, 2006 EPA 

promulgated a new NAAQS for PM2.5, 

revising the level of the 24-hour PM2.5

standard to 35 mg/m3 and retaining the 

level of the annual PM2.5 standard at 15 

mg/m3. (71 FR 61144). By statute, SIPs 

meeting the ‘‘infrastructure’’ 

requirements of CAA sections 110(a)(1) 

and (2) are to be submitted by states 

within three years after promulgation of 

a new or revised standard. Among the 

infrastructure requirements of section 

110(a)(2) are the ‘‘interstate transport’’ 

requirements of section 110(a)(2)(D). 

CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) identifies 

four distinct elements related to the 

evaluation of impacts of interstate 

transport of air pollutants. In this action 

for the state of North Dakota, EPA is 

addressing the first two elements of 

section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) with respect to 

the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS.1 The first 

element of section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) 

requires that each SIP for a new or 

revised NAAQS contain adequate 

provisions to prohibit any source or 

other type of emissions activity within 

the state from emitting air pollutants 

that will ‘‘contribute significantly to 

nonattainment’’ of the NAAQS in 

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45458 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 145 / Monday, July 29, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

2NDDH’s submission, dated August 12, 2010, is 

included in the docket for this action. 

another state. The second element of 

CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) requires that 

each SIP for a new or revised NAAQS 

contain adequate provisions to prohibit 

any source or other type of emissions 

activity in the state from emitting 

pollutants that will ‘‘interfere with 

maintenance’’ of the applicable NAAQS 

in any other state. 

On August 12, 2010, the North Dakota 

Department of Health (NDDH) provided 

a submission to EPA certifying that 

North Dakota’s SIP is adequate to 

implement the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS for 

all the ‘‘infrastructure’’ requirements of 

CAA section 110(a)(2). This submission 

included a transport analysis to support 

the conclusion that North Dakota’s SIP 

meets the requirements of CAA section 

110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) for this NAAQS.2

On May 13, 2013 (78 FR 27888), EPA 

proposed to approve the 

110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) portion of NDDH’s 

August 12, 2010 submission. As 

described in detail in that notice, we 

based our proposed approval on 

modeling performed for the Cross State 

Air Pollution Rule (August 8, 2011, 76 

FR 48208). Using the results of that 

modeling, we determined that emissions 

from North Dakota do not significantly 

contribute to nonattainment or interfere 

with maintenance of the 2006 PM2.5

NAAQS in any other state. As a result, 

we proposed to conclude that North 

Dakota’s existing SIP is adequate to 

address the requirements of CAA 

section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) for the 2006 

PM2.5 NAAQS, and that additional 

control measures in North Dakota are 

not necessary for this purpose. 

II. Response to Comments 

EPA did not receive any comments on 

the May 13, 2013 proposal. 

III. Final Action 

EPA is approving the 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) 

portion of North Dakota’s August 12, 

2010 SIP submission. For reasons 

described in the proposal for this action, 

we conclude that the existing SIP is 

adequate to address the requirements of 

CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) for the 

2006 PM2.5 NAAQS. 

IV. 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, EPA’s role is to approve 

state choices, provided that they meet 

the criteria of the Clean Air Act. 

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 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 Clean Air Act; 

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. 

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). 

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 September 27, 

2013. 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, Incorporation by 

reference, Intergovernmental relations, 

Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate 

matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Volatile Organic 

Compounds. 

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

Dated: July 12, 2013. 

Shaun L. McGrath, 

Regional Administrator, Region 8. 

40 CFR part 52 is amended to read as 

follows: 

PART 52—APPROVAL AND 

PROMULGATION OF 

IMPLEMENTATION PLANS 

■ 1. The authority citation for Part 52 

continues to read as follows: 

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

Subpart JJ—North Dakota 

2. Section 52.1833 is amended by 

designating existing paragraph as (a) 

and adding paragraph (b) to read as 

follows: 

§ 52.1833 Section 110(a)(2) infrastructure 

requirements. 

* * * * * 

(b) On August 12, 2010, Tom 

Bachman, Senior Environmental 

Engineer, North Dakota Department of 

Health, submitted a completeness 

criteria checklist which provides the 

State of North Dakota’s SIP provisions 

which meet the requirements of CAA 

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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 145 / Monday, July 29, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 45459 

Section 110(a)(1) and (2). The following 

element is approved for the 2006 PM2.5

NAAQS: (D)(i)(I). 

[FR Doc. 2013–18038 Filed 7–26–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION 

20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 

[Docket No. SSA–2013–0006] 

RIN 0960–AH56 

Extension of Sunset Date for Attorney 

Advisor Program 

AGENCY: Social Security Administration. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are extending for 2 years 

our rule authorizing attorney advisors to 

conduct certain prehearing procedures 

and to issue fully favorable decisions. 

The current rule will expire on August 

9, 2013. In this final rule, we are 

extending the sunset date to August 7, 

2015. We are making no other 

substantive changes. 

DATES: This final rule is effective July 

29, 2013. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Susan Swansiger, Social Security 

Administration, 5107 Leesburg Pike, 

Falls Church, VA 22041–3260, 703– 

605–8500 for information about this 

final rule. For information on eligibility 

or filing for benefits, call our national 

toll-free number, 1–800–772–1213 or 

TTY 1–800–325–0778, or visit our 

Internet site, Social Security Online, at 

http://www.socialsecurity.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background of the Attorney Advisor 

Program 

On August 9, 2007, we issued an 

interim final rule permitting some 

attorney advisors to conduct certain 

prehearing procedures and issue 

decisions that are fully favorable when 

the documentary record warrants. 72 FR 

44763. We instituted this practice to 

provide more timely service to the 

increasing number of applicants for 

Social Security disability benefits and 

Supplemental Security Income 

payments based on disability. We 

considered the public comments we 

received on the interim final rule and, 

on March 3, 2008, we issued the rule 

without change as a final rule. 73 FR 

11349. Under this rule, some attorney 

advisors may develop claims and, in 

appropriate cases, issue fully favorable 

decisions before a hearing. 

We originally intended the attorney 

advisor program to be only a temporary 

modification to our procedures. 

Therefore, we included in sections 

404.942(g) and 416.1442(g) of the 

interim final rule a provision that the 

program would end on August 10, 2009, 

unless we decided to either terminate 

the rule earlier or extend it beyond that 

date by publication of a final rule in the 

Federal Register. On July 13, 2009, we 

published a final rule that extended the 

sunset date of the program until August 

10, 2011. 74 FR 33327. We then 

published another extension on April 4, 

2011, which extended the sunset date of 

the program until August 9, 2013. 76 FR 

18383. 

Explanation of Extension 

When we published the final rules 

reinstating the attorney advisor program 

in 2008, we discussed a variety of 

concerns about the program and we 

stated our intent to closely monitor it 

and to make changes to the program if 

it did not meet our expectations. 73 FR 

11349, 11350, 11351, and 11352. 

As we explained in the final rule in 

2008, the number of requests for 

hearings has increased significantly in 

recent years, and based on this trend, 

we anticipate that higher levels of 

request for hearings will continue. The 

attorney advisor program has proven to 

be an invaluable tool in our efforts to 

reduce the backlog of pending hearing 

requests. 

Accordingly, we have decided to 

extend the attorney advisor rule for 

another 2 years, until August 7, 2015. 

As before, we are reserving the authority 

to end the program earlier or to extend 

it by publishing a final rule in the 

Federal Register. 

Regulatory Procedures 

Justification for Issuing Final Rule 

Without Notice and Comment 

We follow the Administrative 

Procedure Act (APA) rulemaking 

procedures specified in 5 U.S.C. 553 

when developing regulations. Section 

702(a)(5) of the Social Security Act, 42 

U.S.C. 902(a)(5). The APA provides 

exceptions to its notice and public 

comment procedures when an agency 

finds there is good cause for dispensing 

with such procedures because they are 

impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary 

to the public interest. We have 

determined that good cause exists for 

dispensing with the notice and public 

comment procedures for this rule. 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B). Good cause exists 

because this final rule only extends the 

sunset date of an existing rule. It makes 

no substantive changes to the rule. The 

current regulations expressly provide 

that we may extend or terminate this 

rule. Therefore, we have determined 

that opportunity for prior comment is 

unnecessary, and we are issuing this 

rule as a final rule. 

Executive Order 12866 as 

Supplemented by Executive Order 

13563 

We consulted with the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) and 

determined that this final rule does not 

meet the criteria for a significant 

regulatory action under Executive Order 

12866, as supplemented by Executive 

Order 13563. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

We certify that this final rule will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities 

because it affects individuals only. 

Therefore, the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act, as amended, does not require us to 

prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This final rule does not create any 

new or affect any existing collections 

and, therefore, does not require OMB 

approval under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Nos. 96.001, Social Security— 

Disability Insurance; 96.002, Social 

Security—Retirement Insurance; 96.004, 

Social Security—Survivors Insurance; 

96.006, Supplemental Security Income.) 

List of Subjects 

20 CFR Part 404 

Administrative practice and 

procedure; Blind; Disability benefits; 

Old-age, Survivors and Disability 

Insurance; Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements; Social security. 

20 CFR Part 416 

Administrative practice and 

procedure; Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements; Supplemental Security 

Income (SSI). 

Dated: July 22, 2013. 

Carolyn W. Colvin, 

Acting Commissioner of Social Security. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, we are revising subpart J of 

part 404 and subpart N of part 416 of 

title 20 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations as set forth below: 

PART 404—FEDERAL OLD–AGE, 

SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY 

INSURANCE (1950– ) 

Subpart J—[Amended]. 

■ 1. The authority citation for subpart J 

of part 404 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Secs. 201(j), 204(f), 205(a)–(b), 

(d)–(h), and (j), 221, 223(i), 225, and 702(a)(5) 

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