ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 81 

[EPA-R04-OAR-2007-0958-201005(c) ; FRL- ) 

Determination of Nonattainment and Reclassification of the Atlanta, Georgia, 8-Hour Ozone 

Nonattainment Area; Correction 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule ; correcting amendment. 

SUMIVIARY: On March 6, 2008, EPA published a document reclassifying the Atlanta, Georgia, 

area from marginal to moderate for the 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area by operation of 

law. This action clarifies a portion of the preamble language in the aforementioned Federal 

Register notice . 

DATES: This action is effective [Insert date of publication in the Federal Register] . 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the documentation used in the action being corrected are available for 

inspection during normal business hours at the following location: U.S . Environmental 

Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta, Georgia, 30303-8960. The 

Regional Office's official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4 :30, excluding 

federal holidays . 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms . Stacy Harder, Regulatory Development 

Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S . 

Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-

8960. Ms. Harder can be reached at 404-562-9042, or via electronic mail at 

harder.stacy@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

This action corrects preamble language for a designation that appears in Georgia's 

Attainment Designation Status section at 40 CFR part 81 .311 . The reclassification of the Atlanta 

Area from marginal to moderate for the 1997 8-hour ozone standard, was approved by EPA on 

March 6, 2008 (73 FR 12013). However, EPA inadvertently excluded Hall County from the list 

of counties included in the Atlanta, Georgia, 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area in the 

preamble portion of the rulemaking. Also, EPA inadvertently included Pickens County in the list 

of counties included in the Atlanta, Georgia, 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area, in the 

preamble portion of the rulemaking. Additionally, EPA is clarifying that "Bartow" and 

"Spalding" Counties were inadvertently misspelled as "Barton" and "Spaulding" Counties on 

page 12014. Therefore, EPA is correcting this inadvertent error by clarifying that the first 

sentence, in the second paragraph, in the first column, of page 12014 (Supplementary 

Information, Section 1) should read: "The Atlanta Area is located in Northern Georgia and 

consists of Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, 

Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Spalding and 

Walton Counties ." The regulatory portion of the notice, found at 40 CFR part 81 .311, is correct 

as written in the March 6, 2008, rulemaking. 
EPA has determined that today's action falls under the "good cause" exemption in 

section 553(b)(3)(B) of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) which, upon finding "good 

cause," authorizes agencies to dispense with public participation where public notice and 

comment procedures are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest . Public 

notice and comment for this action are unnecessary because today's action to clarify the list of 

counties included in the Atlanta 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area, in the narrative portion 

of the rulemaking, has no substantive impact on EPA's March 6, 2008, approval of this 

regulation. In addition, EPA can identify no particular reason why the public would be 

interested in being notified of the correction of this omission, or in having the opportunity to 

comment on the correction prior to this action being finalized, since this correction action does 

not change the meaning of EPA's analysis or action to reclassify the Atlanta 1997 8-hour ozone 

nonattainment area from marginal to moderate. 

EPA also finds that there is good cause under APA section 553(d)(3) for this correction 

to become effective on the date of publication of this action . Section 553(d)(3) of the APA 

allows an effective date less than 30 days after publication "as otherwise provided by the agency 

for good cause found and published with the rule ." 5 U.S .C. 553(d)(3). The purpose of the 30-

day waiting period prescribed in APA section 553(d)(3) is to give affected parties a reasonable 

time to adjust their behavior and prepare before the final rule takes effect . Today's rule, 

however, does not create any new regulatory requirements such that affected parties would need 

time to prepare before the rule takes effect . Rather, today's rule merely corrects an inadvertent 

error in the preamble portion of a prior rule by clarifying the list of counties included in the 1997 

8-hour ozone nonattainment area, which EPA approved on March 6, 2008 . For these reasons, 
EPA finds good cause under APA section 553(d)(3) for this correction to become effective on 

the date of publication of this action . 

Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this action is not a 

"significant regulatory action" and therefore is not subject to review by the Office of 

Management and Budget. For this reason, this action is also not subject to Executive Order 

13211, "Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, 

or Use" (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001). This action merely corrects an inadvertent error of 

omission in the preamble of a prior rule by identifying the list of counties included in the Atlanta 

1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area in a regulation which EPA approved on March 6, 2008, 

and imposes no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. Accordingly, the 

Administrator certifies that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) . Because 

this rule merely corrects an inadvertent error in the preamble of a prior rule, and does not impose 

any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by state law, it does not contain any 

unfunded mandate or significantly or uniquely affect small governments, as described in the 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-4) . 

This rule also does not have tribal implications because it will not have a substantial 

direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal Government 

and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal 

Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 

9, 2000). This rule also does not have Federalism implications because it does not have 

4 
substantial direct effects on the states, on the relationship between the national government and 

the states, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of 

government, as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999). This rule 

merely corrects an inadvertent error of omission in the preamble of a prior rule by identifying the 

list of counties included in the Atlanta 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area in a regulation 

which EPA approved on March 6, 2008, and does not alter the relationship or the distribution of 

power and responsibilities established in the Clean Air Act. This rule also is not subject to 

Executive Order 13045 "Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety ` 

Risks" (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not economically significant. In addition, 

this rule does not involve technical standards, thus the requirements of section 12(d) of the 

National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S .C. 272 note) do not apply. 

This rule also does not impose an information collection burden under the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S .C. 3501 et seq.) . 

The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S .C. section 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 rule 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 Re ig ster . 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 . section 804(2) . 
Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), petitions for judicial review of this 

action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by 

[FEDERAL REGISTER OFFICE: insert date 60 days from date of publication of this document 

in the Federal Register] . 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 CAA section 307(b)(2)). 

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

Dated- FEB 2 3 2010 j; 

Feb 23, 2010 Beve'r"ly H . 

Acting Regional Administrator, 

Region 4.