Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 184 / Thursday, September 24, 2009 / Proposed Rules 48703 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R05–OAR–2009–0512; FRL–8962–1] 

Determination of Attainment, Approval 

and Promulgation of Air Quality 

Implementation Plans; Indiana 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to make a 

determination, under the Clean Air Act 

(CAA), that the Chicago-Gary-Lake 

County, Illinois-Indiana (IL-IN) ozone 

nonattainment area has attained the 

1997 eight-hour ozone National 

Ambient Air Quality Standard 

(NAAQS). This determination is based 

on complete, quality-assured ambient 

air quality monitoring data for the 

period of 2006–2008. Preliminary data 

for 2009 show that the area continues to 

attain the standard. EPA is also 

proposing to approve a request from the 

State of Indiana to exempt sources of 

Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) in Lake and 

Porter Counties from CAA requirements 

for Reasonably Available Control 

Technology (RACT). The State’s NOX

RACT waiver request is based on the 

most recent three years of complete, 

quality-assured ozone monitoring data, 

which demonstrate that additional 

reduction of NOX emissions would not 

contribute to attainment of the 1997 

eight-hour ozone NAAQS in the 

Chicago-Gary-Lake County, IL-IN area. 

This action proposes to approve the 

State’s request for a waiver from the 

NOX RACT requirements for Lake and 

Porter Counties under the CAA. In the 

Final Rules section of this Federal 

Register, EPA is deferring the 

imposition of sanctions for the State’s 

failure to submit required NOX RACT 

regulations based on this proposed 

attainment determination while we 

complete action on the proposed NOX

RACT waiver. This deferral of sanctions 

will continue unless EPA determines 

that the area is no longer attaining the 

1997 eight-hour ozone NAAQS. 

However, if EPA proposes and takes 

final action in the future to redesignate 

the area to attainment, such action will 

permanently stop the sanctions clock. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before October 26, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R05– 

OAR–2009–0512, by one of the 

following methods: 

• http://www.regulations.gov: Follow 

the on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• E-mail: mooney.john@epa.gov. 

• Fax: (312) 692–2551. 

• Mail: John M. Mooney, Chief, 

Criteria Pollutant Section, Air Programs 

Branch, (AR–18J), U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson 

Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. 

• Hand Delivery: John M. Mooney, 

Chief, Criteria Pollutant Section, Air 

Programs Branch, (AR–18J), U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, 77 

West Jackson Boulevard, 18th Floor, 

Chicago, Illinois 60604. Such deliveries 

are only accepted during the Regional 

Office’s normal hours of operation, and 

special arrangements should be made 

for deliveries of boxed information. The 

Regional Office official hours of 

business are Monday through Friday, 

8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding 

Federal holidays. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to 

Docket ID No. EPA–R05–OAR–2009– 

0512. EPA’s policy is that all comments 

received will be included in the public 

docket without change and may be 

made available online at http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided, unless 

the comment includes information 

claimed to be Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Do not submit information that you 

consider to be CBI or otherwise 

protected through http:// 

www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The 

http://www.regulations.gov Web site is 

an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which 

means EPA will not know your identity 

or contact information unless you 

provide it in the body of your comment. 

If you send an e-mail comment directly 

to EPA without going through http:// 

www.regulations.gov, your e-mail 

address will be automatically captured 

and included as part of the comment 

that is placed in the public docket and 

made available on the Internet. If you 

submit an electronic comment, EPA 

recommends that you include your 

name and other contact information in 

the body of your comment and with any 

disk or CD–ROM you submit. If EPA 

cannot read your comment due to 

technical difficulties and cannot contact 

you for clarification, EPA may not be 

able to consider your comment. 

Electronic files should avoid the use of 

special characters, any form of 

encryption, and be free of any defects 

and viruses. For additional instructions 

on submitting comments, go to section 

I of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section of this document. 

Docket: All documents in the docket 

are listed in the http:// 

www.regulations.gov index. Although 

listed in the index, some information is 

not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other 

information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Certain other 

material, such as copyrighted material, 

will be publicly available only in hard 

copy. Publicly available docket 

materials are available either 

electronically in http:// 

www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 

the U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation 

Division, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 

Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility is 

open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, excluding 

Federal holidays. We recommend that 

you telephone Edward Doty at (312) 

886–6057 before visiting the Region 5 

office. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Edward Doty, Environmental Scientist, 

Criteria Pollutant Section, Air Programs 

Branch (AR–18J), Environmental 

Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West 

Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 

60604, (312) 886–6057. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document whenever 

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

EPA. This supplementary information 

section is arranged as follows: 

I. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My 

Comments for EPA? 

II. What Is the Background for This Action? 

III. State Petition 

IV. EPA Analysis of the Petition 

A. Has the Chicago-Gary-Lake County, ILIN Area Attained the 1997 Eight-Hour 

Ozone NAAQS? 

B. EPA Analysis of the State’s NOX RACT 

Waiver Petition 

V. Sanctions 

VI. What Are the Environmental Effects of 

This Action? 

VII. EPA’s Proposed Action 

VIII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. What Should I Consider as I Prepare 

My Comments for EPA? 

When submitting comments, 

remember to: 

1. Identify the rulemaking by docket 

number and other identifying 

information (subject heading, Federal 

Register date and page number). 

2. Follow directions—EPA may ask 

you to respond to specific questions or 

organize comments by referencing a 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 

or section number. 

3. Explain why you agree or disagree; 

suggest alternatives and substitute 

language for your requested changes. 

4. Describe any assumptions and 

provide any technical information and/ 

or data you used. 

5. If you estimate potential costs or 

burdens, explain how you arrived at 

your estimate in sufficient detail to 

allow for it to be reproduced. 


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1Although the Chiwaukee Prairie monitoring site 

is outside of the Chicago-Gary-Lake County, IL-IN 

ozone nonattainment area, it is very near the 

Illinois-Wisconsin border and is considered to be a 

peak ozone impact site for VOC and NOX emissions 

originating in the Chicago-Gary-Lake County, IL-IN 

ozone nonattainment area. The fact that the 

Chiwaukee Prairie ozone monitoring site is the 

ozone design value site for the Chicago-Gary-Lake 

County, IL-IN eight-hour ozone nonattainment area 

is documented in an enclosure to a December 3, 

2003 letter from Thomas V. Skinner, Regional 

Administrator, Region 5, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency to Honorable Rod R. Blagojevich, 

Governor, State of Illinois. 

6. Provide specific examples to 

illustrate your concerns, and suggest 

alternatives. 

7. Explain your views as clearly as 

possible, avoiding the use of profanity 

or personal threats. 

8. Make sure to submit your 

comments by the comment period 

deadline identified in the proposed rule. 

II. What Is the Background for This 

Action? 

EPA has determined that ground-level 

ozone (O3) is detrimental to human 

health. On July 18, 1997 (62 FR 38856), 

EPA promulgated an eight-hour ozone 

NAAQS of 0.08 parts per million parts 

of air (0.08 ppm). This standard is 

violated in an area when any ozone 

monitor in the area (or in its downwind 

environs) records eight-hour ozone 

concentrations with a three-year average 

of the annual fourth-highest daily 

maximum eight-hour ozone 

concentrations equaling or exceeding 85 

parts per billion parts of air (ppb). 

Section 107 of the CAA required EPA 

to designate as nonattainment any area 

that violated the 1997 eight-hour ozone 

standard. The Federal Register notice 

promulgating the eight-hour ozone 

designations and classifications was 

published on April 30, 2004 (69 FR 

23857). In that EPA rulemaking, the 

Chicago-Gary-Lake County, IL-IN area, 

which contains Lake and Porter 

Counties, Indiana, was designated as a 

nonattainment area for the 1997 eighthour ozone standard, and the 

designation became effective on June 15, 

2004. 

Ground-level ozone is not generally 

emitted directly by sources. Rather, 

emitted NOX and Volatile Organic 

Compounds (VOC) react in the presence 

of sunlight to form ground-level ozone 

as a secondary compound, along with 

other secondary compounds. NOX and 

VOC are referred to as ‘‘ozone 

precursors.’’ Reduction of peak groundlevel ozone concentrations is achieved 

through controlling VOC and NOX

emissions. 

The CAA, title 1, part D contains two 

sets of provisions—subparts 1 and 2— 

that address planning and emission 

control requirements for ozone 

nonattainment areas. Subpart 1 contains 

general, less prescriptive requirements 

for all nonattainment areas of any 

pollutant governed by a NAAQS. 

Subpart 2 contains more specific 

requirements for certain ozone 

nonattainment areas and applies to 

ozone nonattainment areas classified 

under section 181 of the CAA. The 

Chicago-Gary-Lake County, IL-IN area is 

classified as a moderate nonattainment 

area for the 1997 eight-hour ozone 

standard. 

The subpart 2 ozone plan 

requirements under the CAA with 

respect to control of VOC and NOX

emissions depend on the ozone 

nonattainment classification of an area. 

The air quality planning requirements 

for the reduction of NOX emissions are 

set forth in section 182(f) of the CAA. 

Section 182(f) requires States with areas 

designated nonattainment for ozone and 

classified as moderate and above to 

adopt and implement the same level of 

NOX emission controls for major 

stationary sources as apply to major 

stationary sources of VOC emissions. 

Section 182(f) also provides that these 

NOX emission reduction requirements 

do not apply to an area outside of an 

ozone transport region if EPA 

determines that additional reductions of 

NOX emissions would not contribute to 

attainment of the ozone standard in the 

area. Section 182(f)(1)(A). In areas 

where the ozone standard is attained, as 

demonstrated by complete, qualityassured air quality data, without the 

implementation of the additional 

section 182(f) NOX emission controls, it 

is clear that the additional NOX

emission reductions required by section 

182(f) did not contribute to attainment 

of the ozone standard. 

On March 17, 2008, EPA notified 

Thomas W. Easterly, Commissioner, 

Indiana Department of Environmental 

Management (IDEM), that EPA had 

determined that the State of Indiana had 

failed to submit a NOX RACT State 

Implementation Plan (SIP) revision for 

Lake and Porter Counties (the Indiana 

portion of the Chicago-Gary-Lake 

County, IL-IN ozone nonattainment area 

for the 1997 eight-hour ozone standard). 

EPA formalized this finding in the 

Federal Register on March 24, 2008 (73 

FR 15416), and that action commenced 

the sanctions process outlined by 

section 179 of the CAA and 40 CFR 

52.31. See 59 FR 39832, August 4, 1994. 

Under this process, the new source twoto-one (2:1) emissions offset sanction 

would take effect in Lake and Porter 

Counties on September 24, 2009. The 

sanctions clock would run and any 

imposed sanctions would remain in 

effect until either a NOX RACT SIP 

revision is submitted to EPA by the 

State of Indiana and is affirmatively 

determined complete by EPA or a NOX

control exemption (waiver) under 

section 182(f) is granted by EPA. In the 

Final Rules section of today’s Federal 

Register, EPA has published an interim 

final rule to defer sanctions for Lake and 

Porter Counties based on our proposed 

determination that the Counties are 

attaining the 1997 eight-hour ozone 

NAAQS and that the NOX RACT waiver 

request is approvable. 

The criteria established for 

determining the applicability of section 

182(f) NOX emission controls and the 

evaluation of section 182(f) NOX

emission control waiver requests are set 

forth in a January 14, 2005, EPA policy 

memorandum, ‘‘Guidance on Limiting 

Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) Requirements 

Related to 8-Hour Ozone 

Implementation,’’ from Stephen D. Page, 

Director, Office of Air Quality Planning 

and Standards. 

III. State Petition 

On June 5, 2009, IDEM submitted a 

request for the redesignation of Lake 

and Porter Counties to attainment of the 

1997 eight-hour ozone standard. As part 

of this ozone redesignation request, 

IDEM also requested an exemption from 

NOX RACT requirements for Lake and 

Porter Counties under section 182(f) of 

the CAA based on the monitoring of 

ozone, which showed attainment of the 

1997 eight-hour ozone standard in the 

Chicago-Gary-Lake County, IL-IN ozone 

nonattainment area and at the 

Chiwaukee Prairie monitoring site in 

Kenosha County, Wisconsin monitoring 

site.1 The NOX exemption request is 

based on ozone air quality monitoring 

data for the period of 2006–2008, which 

demonstrate that the 1997 eight-hour 

ozone NAAQS has been attained in the 

area without additional reductions of 

NOX emissions. 

IV. EPA Analysis of the Petition 

A. Has the Chicago-Gary-Lake County, 

IL-IN Area Attained the 1997 Eight-Hour 

Ozone NAAQS? 

An area may be considered to be 

attaining the 1997 eight-hour ozone 

standard if there are no violations of the 

standard, as determined in accordance 

with 40 CFR 50.10 and appendix I, 

based on the most recent three 

complete, consecutive calendar years of 

quality-assured air quality monitoring 

data at all ozone monitoring sites in the 

area and in its nearby downwind 

environs. To attain this standard, the 

average of the annual fourth-high daily 


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2The worst-case monitoring site-specific ozone 

design value in the area and in its downwind 

environs. 

3For an individual ozone monitoring site, the 

ozone design value is the three-year average of the 

annual fourth-highest daily maximum eight-hour 

ozone concentrations. For any given area, the area’s 

ozone design value is the worst-case site-specific 

ozone design value for all ozone monitoring sites 

in the area. 

maximum eight-hour average ozone 

concentrations measured and recorded 

at each monitoring site (the monitoring 

site’s ozone design value) over the most 

recent three-year period must not 

exceed the ozone standard. Based on an 

ozone data rounding convention 

described in 40 CFR 50, appendix I, the 

eight-hour ozone standard is attained if 

the area’s ozone design value 2 is 0.084 

ppm or less. The data must be collected 

and quality-assured in accordance with 

40 CFR 58, and must be recorded in 

EPA’s Air Quality System (AQS). The 

ozone monitors generally should have 

remained at the same locations for the 

duration of the monitoring period 

required to demonstrate attainment (for 

three years or more). The data 

supporting attainment of the standard 

must be complete in accordance with 40 

CFR 50, appendix I. 

As part of the June 5, 2009, ozone 

redesignation request, IDEM 

summarized the annual fourth-high 

eight-hour ozone concentrations and the 

three-year eight-hour ozone design 

values for the period of 2003–2008 for 

all ozone monitoring sites in Lake and 

Porter Counties and in the ChicagoGary-Lake County, IL-IN ozone 

nonattainment area. This summary also 

includes ozone concentration data for 

the Chiwaukee Prairie monitoring site in 

Wisconsin. IDEM notes that the 2006– 

2008 ozone design values for all 

monitoring sites are below the 0.084 

ppm ozone attainment level. We have 

reviewed the data and agree that the 

ozone monitoring data for the 

monitoring sites in the nonattainment 

area and for the Chiwaukee Prairie, 

Wisconsin monitoring site show 

attainment of the 1997 eight-hour ozone 

standard. The worst-case 2006–2008 

ozone design 3 for the Chicago-GaryLake County, IL-IN area is found at the 

Chiwaukee Prairie monitoring site, with 

a value of 0.078 ppm, below the 0.08 

ppm eight-hour ozone standard level. 

See Table 1 below. 

Table 1 summarizes the annual 

fourth-high daily maximum eight-hour 

ozone concentrations and three-year 

(2006–2008) averages of the annual 

fourth-high daily maximum eight-hour 

ozone concentrations for all ozone 

monitoring sites in the Chicago-GaryLake County, IL-IN area and for the 

Chiwaukee Prairie monitoring site. The 

2006–2008 monitoring data cover the 

most recent three years of quality 

assured ozone monitoring data for this 

area. These representative peak ozone 

concentrations are based on 2006–2008 

ozone data that have been quality 

assured and certified by the States of 

Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. 

TABLE 1—ANNUAL FOURTH-HIGH DAILY MAXIMUM EIGHT-HOUR OZONE CONCENTRATIONS IN PARTS PER MILLION (PPM) 

AND THREE-YEAR AVERAGES

Monitoring site 2006 2007 2008 Three-year 

average 

Indiana Monitoring Sites 

Gary ................................................................................................................. 0.073 0.085 0.062 0.073 

Hammond ........................................................................................................ 0.075 0.077 0.068 0.073 

Ogden Dunes ................................................................................................... 0.070 0.084 0.069 0.074 

Valparaiso ........................................................................................................ 0.071 0.080 0.061 0.070 

Whiting ............................................................................................................. 0.081 0.088 0.062 0.077 

Illinois Monitoring Sites 

Alsip ................................................................................................................. 0.078 0.085 0.066 0.076 

Chicago-Cheltenham ....................................................................................... 0.075 0.082 0.066 0.074 

Chicago-Adams ............................................................................................... 0.073 0.084 0.058 0.071 

Chicago-Ellis Avenue ....................................................................................... 0.070 0.079 0.063 0.070 

Chicago-Ohio Street ........................................................................................ 0.065 0.075 0.063 0.067 

Chicago-Lawndale ........................................................................................... 0.075 0.080 0.066 0.074 

Chicago-Hurlbut Street .................................................................................... 0.077 0.079 0.063 0.073 

Lemont ............................................................................................................. 0.070 0.085 0.071 0.075 

Cicero ............................................................................................................... 0.060 0.068 0.060 0.062 

Northbrook ....................................................................................................... 0.068 0.076 0.063 0.069 

Evanston .......................................................................................................... 0.072 0.080 0.058 0.070 

Lisle .................................................................................................................. 0.062 0.072 0.057 0.063 

Elgin ................................................................................................................. 0.062 0.075 0.061 0.066 

Waukegan ........................................................................................................ 0.071 0.081 0.061 0.071 

Illinois Beach State Park ................................................................................. 0.068 0.080 0.067 0.071 

Cary ................................................................................................................. 0.057 0.074 0.063 0.064 

Essex Road ..................................................................................................... 0.068 0.071 0.057 0.065 

Wisconsin Monitoring Site 

Chiwaukee Prairie ............................................................................................ 0.079 0.085 0.069 0.078 

Review of the 2006–2008 ozone 

concentrations and ozone design values 

summarized in Table 1 shows that all of 

the ozone monitoring sites for the 

Chicago-Gary-Lake County, IL-IN area, 

plus the Chiwaukee Prairie monitoring 

site in Wisconsin, were attaining the 

1997 eight-hour ozone standard during 

this period. Therefore, based on the 

most recent three years of quality 

assured ozone monitoring data, the 1997 

eight-hour ozone standard has been 


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4Quality-assured ozone data for 2009 are 

generally only available through June in EPA’s Air 

Quality System for Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, 

providing an incomplete picture of the peak ozone 

concentrations for all high ozone months in 2009. 

Nonetheless, these data, coupled with draft data 

used to support ozone action alerts, indicate that no 

violations of the 1997 eight-hour ozone NAAQS 

have been monitored to date in this area in 2009. 

attained in this area. Preliminary data 

for 2009 4 indicate that the area 

continues to attain the standard. Based 

on these ozone monitoring data, EPA is 

proposing here to determine that the 

Chicago-Gary-Lake County, IL-IN ozone 

nonattainment area has attained the 

1997 eight-hour ozone standard. 

B. EPA Analysis of the State’s NOX

RACT Waiver Petition 

EPA’s 2005 guidance document, 

‘‘Guidance on Limiting Nitrogen Oxides 

(NOx) Requirements Related to 8-Hour 

Ozone Implementation,’’ sets forth the 

criteria for demonstrating that further 

NOX emission reductions in an ozone 

nonattainment area will not contribute 

to ozone attainment. The guidance 

provides that three consecutive years of 

monitoring data documenting ozone 

levels attaining the ozone NAAQS in 

areas in which a State has not 

implemented certain NOX emission 

controls (see discussion below) is 

adequate to demonstrate that the 

additional NOX emission reductions 

will not aid in achieving attainment of 

the ozone NAAQS. As described in the 

guidance document, approval of the 

NOX emission control exemption is 

granted by EPA on a contingent basis. 

The NOX emission control exemption 

continues only as long as the State(s) 

continues to monitor attainment of the 

ozone NAAQS. If, prior to redesignation 

of the area to attainment of the ozone 

NAAQS, the area violates the 1997 

eight-hour ozone NAAQS, as defined at 

40 CFR 50.10 and appendix I, EPA will 

undertake rulemaking to withdraw the 

NOX RACT emission control exemption 

for the area. Upon issuance of a final 

action withdrawing the NOX RACT 

emission control exemption, the area 

would once again be subject to the NOX

emission control requirements under 

section 182(f) of the CAA. 

As noted above, IDEM documented 

the annual fourth-highest daily 

maximum eight-hour ozone 

concentrations during the period of 

2006–2008 for all ozone monitors in the 

Chicago-Gary-Lake County, IL-IN ozone 

nonattainment area and for the 

Chiwaukee Prairie monitoring site in 

Kenosha County, Wisconsin in the June 

5, 2009, submittal. These data 

demonstrate that the 1997 eight-hour 

ozone NAAQS has been attained in the 

Chicago-Gary-Lake County, IL-IN ozone 

nonattainment area. 

Indiana has not adopted or 

implemented the NOX RACT emission 

controls required for Lake and Porter 

Counties under section 182(f). Based on 

the most recent ozone air quality data 

and the absence of these NOX RACT 

emission controls, IDEM has requested 

exemption from the NOX RACT 

requirements under section 182(f)(1)(A). 

EPA’s review of the ozone monitoring 

data and IDEM’s NOX emission control 

exemption request shows that Indiana 

has complied with the requirements for 

a NOX RACT exemption under section 

182(f) of the CAA consistent with 

guidelines contained in EPA’s January 

14, 2005, guidance document. 

Therefore, EPA proposes to determine 

that the State of Indiana qualifies for an 

exemption from NOX RACT 

requirements for Lake and Porter 

Counties. 

V. Sanctions 

If EPA takes final action approving 

IDEM’s June 5, 2009, NOX RACT 

exemption request, Lake and Porter 

Counties would not be subject to the 

NOX RACT requirement for the duration 

of the emission control exemption. 

Based on our proposed determination 

that the area has attained the 1997 eighthour ozone NAAQS and our proposed 

approval of the NOX RACT waiver 

request, in today’s Federal Register we 

are separately issuing an interim final 

determination that it is more likely than 

not that the State has corrected the 

deficiency. That action will defer the 

imposition of the 2:1 offset sanction that 

would take effect on September 24, 

2009, and defer the imposition of the 

highway funding sanction that would 

take effect six months following 

imposition of the offset sanction. The 

imposition of sanctions will continue to 

be deferred if EPA takes final action 

determining that the area has attained 

the 1997 eight-hour ozone NAAQS and 

approves the NOX RACT waiver. The 

area will not be permanently relieved of 

the possibility of sanctions until such 

time as EPA approves a redesignation 

request for the area. If, prior to 

redesignation of Lake and Porter 

Counties to attainment of the 1997 

eight-hour ozone NAAQS, the NOX

RACT exemption is revoked due to a 

monitored violation of the 1997 eighthour ozone NAAQS anywhere in the 

Chicago-Gary-Lake County, IL-IN area or 

at the Chiwaukee Prairie monitoring 

site, the sanctions clock will restart at 

the point it stopped and the imposition 

of sanctions will no longer be deferred. 

If Lake and Porter Counties are 

redesignated to attainment of the 1997 

eight-hour ozone NAAQS through a 

final rule by the EPA, the NOX RACT 

waiver will become permanent and the 

sanctions clock will permanently stop, 

and any imposed sanctions resulting 

from Indiana’s failure to submit NOX

RACT regulations for Lake and Porter 

Counties would no longer apply. 

VI. What Are the Environmental Effects 

of This Action? 

The section 182(f) NOX RACT 

exemption is based on a finding that 

additional reductions of NOX would not 

contribute to attainment of the 1997 

eight-hour ozone NAAQS in the 

Chicago-Gary-Lake County, IL-IN ozone 

nonattainment area. This area has three 

consecutive years of ozone levels 

attaining the ozone standard even 

though Indiana has not adopted and 

implemented NOX RACT in Lake and 

Porter Counties. 

While EPA is proposing to waive the 

requirements to control NOX emissions 

through NOX RACT in Lake and Porter 

Counties on the basis that NOX emission 

reductions would not contribute to 

attainment of the ozone NAAQS in the 

Chicago-Gary-Lake County, IL-IN area, 

EPA recognizes that there are other 

benefits to controlling NOX emissions. 

These benefits include reducing acid 

deposition, reducing nitrogen 

deposition in sensitive wetlands, 

estuaries, and their watersheds, and 

mitigating ozone transport to downwind 

ozone nonattainment areas. Indiana will 

continue to be required to control NOX

emissions from certain NOX sources 

under other CAA programs, such as the 

Acid Rain program in title IV of the 

CAA, for purposes of achieving these 

environmental benefits. This proposed 

NOX RACT waiver for Lake and Porter 

Counties will not affect other existing 

and pending NOX emission control 

requirements for Lake and Porter 

Counties needed to achieve these 

environmental benefits. 

In addition, EPA notes that an 

approval of this waiver request is solely 

for purposes of the CAA requirements to 

meet the 1997 eight-hour ozone 

NAAQS. The waiver would not apply 

for purposes of the ozone NAAQS 

promulgated in 2008 (March 27, 2008, 

73 FR 16435) or for purposes of any 

future ozone NAAQS EPA may 

promulgate. To the extent section 182(f) 

applies in this area for purposes of the 

2008 or any future ozone NAAQS, the 

State would need to submit a NOX

RACT SIP or would need to demonstrate 

that a waiver is appropriate for purposes 

of that different ozone NAAQS. 


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VII. EPA’s Proposed Action 

Based on complete, quality-assured 

ozone data for 2006–2008, and 

considering 2009 ozone data available to 

date, EPA is proposing to determine that 

the Chicago-Gary-Lake County, IL-IN 

ozone nonattainment area is attaining 

the 1997 eight-hour ozone standard. 

EPA is proposing approval of 

Indiana’s request to exempt Lake and 

Porter Counties from the section 182(f) 

NOX RACT requirement. This proposed 

approval is based on EPA’s review of 

the evidence provided by Indiana that 

the requirements of section 182(f)(1)(A), 

as elaborated upon in EPA’s guidance 

for section 182(f) exemptions, have been 

met for Lake and Porter Counties. In the 

future, if EPA determines that a 

violation of the 1997 eight-hour ozone 

NAAQS has occurred in the ChicagoGary-Lake County, IL-IN area or at the 

Chiwaukee Prairie monitoring site in 

Kenosha County, Wisconsin while Lake 

and Porter Counties are designated as 

nonattainment for the 1997 eight-hour 

ozone NAAQS, EPA will take action to 

revoke the exemption. 

Final approval of Indiana’s NOX

RACT exemption request would 

continue the deferral of the 2:1 new 

source offset sanction and the highway 

funding sanction that would have 

applied based on the finding of failure 

to submit the NOX RACT regulations 

issued by the EPA on March 24, 2009. 

The deferral would remain in place 

contingent upon continued attainment 

of the 1997 eight-hour ozone NAAQS in 

the Chicago-Gary-Lake County, IL-IN 

area. If EPA approves a redesignation 

request for the area for the 1997 eighthour ozone NAAQS, the sanctions clock 

will permanently stop at that time. If 

EPA determines that there is a violation 

of the 1997 eight-hour ozone NAAQS 

while Lake and Porter Counties remain 

designated as nonattainment for the 

1997 eight-hour ozone NAAQS, the NOX

RACT waiver will no longer be 

applicable as of the effective date of any 

such determination by EPA. At that 

time, the sanctions will no longer be 

deferred and the sanctions clock will 

restart at the point at which it stopped. 

EPA will provide notice in the Federal 

Register of any such waiver revocation 

and of the restarting of the sanctions 

clock. 

VIII. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

Under the CAA, the Administrator is 

required to approve a SIP submission 

that complies with the provisions of the 

CAA 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 CAA. 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 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. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Incorporation by 

reference, Intergovernmental relations, 

Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Volatile 

organic compounds. 

Dated: September 16, 2009. 

Bharat Mathur, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5. 

[FR Doc. E9–23042 Filed 9–23–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 0907281181–91191–01] 

RIN 0648–AX93 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Modification to the Gulf of 

Maine/Georges Bank Herring Midwater 

Trawl Gear Authorization Letter 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of 

comment period. 

SUMMARY: NMFS reopens for 6 days the 

comment period on the proposed rule to 

modify the requirements of the Gulf of 

Maine/Georges Bank (GOM/GB) Herring 

Midwater Trawl Gear Letter of 

Authorization (LOA) for midwater trawl 

vessels issued All Areas and/or Areas 2 

and 3 Atlantic herring limited access 

permits fishing in Northeast (NE) 

multispecies Closed Area I (CA I). 

DATES: The deadline for written 

comments on the September 4, 2009 (74 

FR 45798), proposed rule is reopened 

through September 27, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by 0648–AX93, by any one of 

the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-rulemaking portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

• Mail: Paper, disk, or CD-ROM 

comments should be sent to Patricia A. 

Kurkul, Regional Administrator, 

National Marine Fisheries Service, 55 

Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 

01930–2276. Mark the outside of the 

envelope: ‘‘Modification to GOM/GB 

Midwater Trawl LOA.’’ 

• Fax: (978) 281–9135. 

Instructions: All comments received 

are part of the public record and will 

generally be posted to http:// 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All Personal Identifying Information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit confidential business 


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