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Federal Register/Vol. 70, No. 13/Friday, January 21, 2005/Proposed Rules

relationship or the distribution of power

and responsibilities established in the

Clean Air Act. This proposed 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.

This proposed rule does not involve

establishment of technical standards,

and 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

proposed rule does not impose an information collection burden under the

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction

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

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

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 81

Environmental protection, Air

pollution control, National parks,

Wilderness areas.

Dated: January 7, 2005.

Laura Yoshii,

Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.

[FR Doc. 05-1118 Filed 1-19-05; 8:45 am]

-BILLING CODE 6560-50-P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[FRL-7862-5]

Determination of Attainment by the

Applicable Attainment Date for the

Carbon Monoxide National Ambient Air

Quality Standard Within the Las Vegas

Valley Nonattainment Area, Clark

County, NV; Determination Regarding

Applicability of Certain Clean Air Act

Requirements

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to find that -

the Las Vegas Valley nonattainment area

in the State of Nevada has attained the

National Ambient Air Quality Standard

for carbon monoxide by the applicable

December 31, 2000 attainment date.

Based on this proposal, EPA also

proposes to determine that the Clean Air

Act's requirements for contingency

provisions will no longer apply to the

area.

DATES: Written comments on this

proposal must be received by February

22, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

addressed to the EPA contact below.

You may inspect and copy the

rulemaking docket for this notice at the

following location during normal

business hours. We may charge you a

reasonable fee for copying parts of the

docket. Steven Barhite, Chief,

Environmental Protection Agency,

Region IX, Air Division, Air Planning

Office (AIR-2), 75 Hawthorne Street,

San Francisco, CA94105-3901.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Karina O'Connor, Air Planning Office

(AIR-2), Air Division, U.S. EPA, Region

IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco,

CA 9.4105-3901. Telephone: (775) 833-

1276. E-mail: oconnor.karina@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Throughout this document, "we," "us"

and "our" refer to EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Attainment Finding

A. Background

1. Which NAAQS is considered in today's

proposed finding?

2. What is the designation and

classification of this CO nonattainment

area?

3. How do we make attainment

determinations?

B. Basis for EPA's Proposed Attainment

Finding

1. What is the statutory basis for this

proposed finding?

2. How did we determine that Las Vegas

Valley has attained the CO NAAQS by

the applicable attainment date?

II. Applicability of Clean Air Act

Contingency Provisions

A. Background

B. Effect of a Finding of Attainment by Applicable Attainment Date on CAA

Contingency Measure Requirement

Ill. EPA's Proposed Action

IV. Request for Public Comment

V. Administrative Requirements

I. Attainment Finding

A. Background

1. Which NAAQS Is Considered in

Today's Proposed Finding?

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless,

odorless gas emitted in combustion

processes. In most areas where elevated

CO levels are found, CO comes

primarily from tailpipe emissions of

cars and trucks. Exposure to elevated

CO levels is associated with impairment

of visual perception, work capacity,

manual dexterity, and learning ability,

and with illness and death for those

who already suffer from cardiovascular

disease, particularly angina or

peripheral vascular disease.

On April 30, 1971 (see 36 FR 8186),

pursuant to section 109 of the Clean Air

Act (CAA or "Act"), as amended in

1970, we promulgated the original

National Ambient Air Quality Standards

(NAAQS) for several pervasive air

pollutants, including CO. NAAQS

represent concentration levels the

attainment and maintenance of which,

allowing for an adequate margin of

safety, EPA has determined to be

requisite to protect public health

("primary" NAAQS) and welfare

("secondary" NAAQS). The primary

(i.e., health-based) NAAQS for CO is 9

parts per million (ppm) averaged over

an 8-hour period, and 35 ppm averaged

over 1 hour, neither to be exceeded

more than once per year. In our 1971

rulemaking, we established identical

primary and secondary NAAQS for CO

but later revoked the secondary

(welfare) NAAQS for CO. See 50 FR

37484 (September 13, 1985).

2. What Is the Designation and

Classification of This CO

Nonattainment Area?

As noted above, EPA first

promulgated the NAAQS in 1971, and

within 9 months thereafter, each State

was required under section 110 of the

Act to adopt and submit to EPA a plan

that provides for the implementation,

maintenance, and enforcement of the

NAAQS within each State. These plans

are referred to as "State implementation

plans" or "SIPs." Generally, SIPs were

to provide for attainment of the NAAQS

within 3 years after EPA approval of the

plan. However, many areas of the

country did not attain the NAAQS

within the statutory period. In response,

Congress amended the Act iii 1977 to

establish a new approach, based on area

designations, for attaining the NAAQS,

and on March 3, 1978 (see 43 FR 8962),

we promulgated attainment status

designations for all areas within each of

the States. In this 1978 rulemaking, we

designated Las Vegas Valley (i.e., State

hydrographic area #212), which is a

subarea within Clark County, as a "nonattainment" area for the CO

NAAQS.

The Clean Air Act, as amended in

1977, required States to revise their SIPs

by preparing, adopting and submitting

attainment plans (for EPA approval) that

set forth a strategy-to achieve the

NAAQS in designated nonattainment

areas. The original statutory deadline for

attainment was 1982. EPA conditionally

approved the initial CO attainment plan

for Las Vegas Valley into the Nevada SIP

in 1981. See 46 FR 21758 (April 14,

1981.). EPA removed the conditions on

the CO plan in 1982. See 47 FR 15790

(April 13, 1982). Updated attainment

plans were required for areas, like Las

Vegas Valley, that did not achieve the

original 1982 deadline. EPA approved

an updated plan for CO in Las Vegas

Valley into the Nevada SIP in 1984. See

49 FR 44208 (November 5, 1984).

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Notwithstanding our approval of the

updated CO attainment plan that was

intended to provide for attainment in

the valley by the end of 1987, the CO

NAAQS was not actually attained by the

end of that year in Las Vegas Valley, nor

was it attained in many other areas of

the country. In 1988, EPA notified the

Governors of the various States in which

areas had failed to attain the CO

NAAQS that their SIPs were inadequate

and that their SIPs must be revised

("SIP call"). See 53 FR 34500

(September 7, 1988). The SP call

involved a two-phase approach. The

first phase called for the States to fix

deficiencies in their existing plans and

to implement any measures already

adopted but not yet implemented. The

second phase, which called for

development of a new attainment plan,

awaited Congressional amendments to

the Clean Air Act that were anticipated

to occur in 1990. See 55 FR 30873 (July

30, 1990).

As anticipated, the Act was

substantially amended in 1990 to

establish new planning requirements

and attainment deadlines for the

NAAQS. Under section 107(d)(1)(C) of

the Act, areas designated nonattainment

at the time of enactment of the 1990 Act

Amendments, including Las Vegas

Valley, were designated nonattainment

by operation of law. Under section

186(a) of the Act, each CO area

designated nonattainment under section

107(d) was also classified by operation

of law as either moderate or serious,

depending on the severity of the area's

air quality problem. CO areas with

design values between 9.1 and 16.4

parts per million (ppm), such as the Las

Vegas Valley area, were classified as

moderate. See 56 FR 56694 (November

6, 1991). (The design value for Las

Vegas Valley for initial classification

purposes was 14.4 ppm, which was

based on monitoring data from the late

1980's.)

Section 172 of the 1990 Act

Amendments contains general

requirements applicable to SIP revisions

for nonattainment areas, and sections

186 and 187 set out additional air

quality planning requirements for CO

nonattairiment areas. The most

fundamental of these provisions is the

requirement that CO nonattainment

areas with design values greater than

12.7 ppm submit a SIP revision

demonstrating attainment of the

NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable

but no later than the deadline applicable

to the area's classification: December 31,

1995, for moderate areas. See CAA

sections 186(a)(1) and 187(a)(7).

Las Vegas Valley failed to reach

attainment by December 31, 1995, but,

under section 186(a)(4) of the Act, the

State of Nevada requested, and EPA

granted, a one-year extension of the

attainment date, i.e., to December 31,

1996. See 61 FR 57331 (November 6,

1996). However, in the first quarter of

1996, three exceedances of the CO

standard were recorded at the East

Charleston monitoring station in Las

Vegas, and thus, the State was unable to

show attainment of the standard by

December 31, 1996 and could not

qualify for an additional one-year

extension under section 186(a)(4) of the

Act.

Subsequently, on October 2, 1997, we

published a final rule that found that

the Las Vegas Valley CO nonattainment

area did not attain the CO NAAQS by

the applicable attainment date and that

reclassified the area from "moderate" to "serious" nonattainment under section

186(b)(2) of the Act. See 62 FR 51604

(October 2, 1997). Areas reclassified as

serious are given more time to develop

a new attainment plan and a new

attainment date but are subject to

additional requirements beyond those

that are required in moderate

nonattainment areas. For Las Vegas

Valley, the effect of the reclassification

to "serious" was to allow Nevada 18

months from the effective date of the

reclassification to submit a new plan

demonstrating attainment of the-CO

NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable

but no later than December 31, 2000, the

CAA attainment -date for serious CO

nonattainment areas. In 2000, the State of Nevada

submitted a new plan that revises the

CO attainment strategy and that

provides a demonstration of attainment,

based on modeling techniques, by the

new attainment deadline, i.e., December

31, 2000. In January 2003, EPA

proposed to approve the various plan

elements contained in this latest CO

plan, including the modeled attainment

demonstration. See 68-FR 4141 (January

28, 2003). In September 2004, we

finalized our approval of all of the plan

elements except for the contingency

provisions. See 69 FR 56351 (September

21, 2004).

3. How Do We Make Attainment

Determinations?

Section 179(c)(1) of the Act provides

that attainment determinations are to be

based on the "area's air quality -as of the

attainment date," and section 186(b)(2)

of the Act is consistent with this

requirement but adds that CO air quality

is to be documented for attainment

determination purposes in terms of

"design values". EPA makes the

determination as to whether an area's

air quality is meeting the CO NAAQS

based upon air quality data gathered at

CO monitoring sites in the

nonattainment area which have been

entered into the Air Quality System

(AQS) database, formerly known as the

Aerometric Information Retrieval

System (AIRS). This data is reviewed to

determine the area's air quality status in

accordance with 40 CFR 50.8, EPA

policy guidance as stated in a

memorandum from William G. Laxton,

Director Technical Support Division,

entitled "Ozone and Carbon Monoxide

Design Value Calculations," dated June

18, 1990, and in EPA's "General

Preamble for the Implementation of

Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments

of 1990" (see 57 FR 13498, at 13535,

April 16, 1992).

The 8-hour and 1-hour CO design

values are used to determine attainment

of CO areas, and the design values are

determined by reviewing 8 quarters of

data, or a total of 2 complete calendar

years of data for an area. The 8-hour

design.value is computed by first

finding the maximum and second

maximum (non-overlapping) 8-hour

values at each monitoring site for each

year of the two calendar years prior to

and including the attainment date. Then

the higher of the two "second high"

values is used as the design value for

the monitoring site, and the highest

design value among the various CO

monitoring sites represents the CO

design value for the area. The CO NAAQS requires that not

more than one 8-hour average per year

can equal or exceed 9.5 ppm (values

below 9.5 are rounded down to 9 and

are not considered exceedances). If an

area has a design value that is equal to

or greater than 9.5 ppm, this means that

there was a monitoring site where the

second highest (non-overlapping) 8-

hour average was measured to be equal

to or greater than 9.5 ppm in at least 1

of the 2 years being reviewed to

determine attainment for the area. This

indicates that there were at least two

values above the NAAQS during 1 year

at that site and thus the NAAQS for CO

was not met. Conversely, an eight-hour

design value of less than 9.5 ppm

indicates that the area has attained the

CO NAAQS. The one-hour CO design

value is computed in the same manner.

B. Basis for EPA's Proposed Attainment

Finding

1. What Is the Statutory Basis for This

Proposed Finding?

Pursuant to sections 179(c)(1) and

186(b)(2) of the Act, we have the

responsibility of determining within six

months of the applicable attainment

date whether, based on the area's design

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value as of the attainment date, the CO

nonattainment hrea attained the NAAQS

by that date. As a CO nonattainment

area that was reclassified as "serious"

under 186(b)(2)(A) of the Act, Las Vegas

Valley was required under section 186

of the Act to attain the CO NAAQS no

later than December 31, 2000. Therefore,

our obligation, under sections 179(c)(1)

and 186(b)(2) of the Act, is to determine

whether the Las Vegas Valley attained

the CO NAAQS based on the area's

design value as of December 31, 2000.

2. How Did We Determine That Las

Vegas Valley Has Attained the CO

NAAQS by the Applicable Attainment

Date?

As additional background, we provide

a brief description in the following

paragraphs of the Las Vegas Valley CO

nonattainment area and CO monitoring

network before discussing the

monitoring data that provide the basis

for determining the design value and

attainment of the CO.NAAQS.

Characteristics of Nonattainment

Area: The population of the Las Vegas

Valley nonattainment area (State

hydrographic area #212) is

approximately 1.4 million residents.

The valley, located in southern Nevada,

lies entirely within Clark County and

includes the cities of Las Vegas, North

Las Vegas, and Henderson. The

remainder of the nonattainment area

includes unincorporated areas of Clark

County. The nonattainment area,

approximately 1,500 square miles, is

bounded by the Spring Mountains to the

west, the Pintwater, Desert, Sheep, and

Las Vegas Mountains to the north, and

Frenchman Mountain to the east. The

McCullough Range and Big Spring

Range close the area to the south.

Valley drainage flows to the south,

toward the McCullough and Big Spring

Ranges, then easterly through the Las

Vegas Wash to Lake Mead. Las Vegas

Valley's climate, at the edge of the

Mojave Desert, is very dry and warm.

Average annual precipitation is 4.2

inches. Temperatures through a year can

range from daily maximums in July of

104 degrees Fahrenheit to average daily

minimums in January of 33 degrees

Fahrenheit. Climatic conditions, and

Las Vegas' location in a broad valley,

result in calm wind conditions during

the winter. These low winds combine

with temperature inversions and

nighttime downslope drainage of air"

back into the valley, preventing effective

dispersion of air pollutants.

CO Monitoring Network: EPA has

established ambient air quality

monitoring requirements and standards

for State and Local Air Monitoring.

Stations (SLAMS) and for National Air

Monitoring Stations (NAMS). These

requirements and standards provide for

operating schedules, data quality

assurance, and for the design and siting

of CO samplers.

The Clark County Health District

began monitoring CO in Las Vegas

Valley in the early 1970's and operated

continuous CO monitors at two

locations (East Charleston and Casino

Center Blvd.) by the mid-1970's. Since

then, the CO ambient monitoring

network in Las Vegas Valley has

evolved into a system of 15 monitoring

sites. All of these stations are operated

by the Clark County Department of Air

Quality and Environmental

Management (DAQEM), which is the

local agency now responsible for the

ambient air monitoring (and other

regulatory) functions that had been

conducted (i.e., until mid-2001) by the

Clark County Health District. Currently,

for CO, DAQEM operates 7 SLAMS

sites, 4 NAMS sites, and 4 special

.purpose monitoring sites. Each of these

air quality monitoring stations uses a

Dasibi CO Analyzer which employs the

Gas Filter Correlation technique. The

monitoring schedule for CO is

continuous. Most of the CO monitoring

sites are sited at the neighborhood scale

with an objective of assessing

population exposure. The South Las

Vegas Boulevard station, located near an

intersection with high traffic density, is

designated as microscale.

In August 2001, EPA conducted a

technical systems audit on DAQEM's

ambient air monitoring program to

assess its compliance with established

regulations governing the collection,

analysis, validation, and reporting of

ambient air quality data. In our February

2002 report containing the findings of

this audit, we concluded that, despite

various program defixiencies, the data

was suitable for use in regulatory

decisions in light of substantial

compliance with many of the quality

control activities required by EPA

regulations. Thus, we conclude that the

CO data is appropriate for use in

determining whether the Las Vegas

Valley has attained the CO NAAQS. Our

February 2002 audit report is included

in the docket for this rulemaking.

CO Monitoring Data: The following

table summarizes the CO data collected

at the various CO monitoring stations in

Las Vegas Valley in 1999 and 2000 and

included in AQS.

SUMMARY OF CARBON MONOXIDE AIR QUALITY DATA LAS VEGAS VALLEY, CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA, 1999-2000

2nd highest -8-hour concentration (ppm) 2nd highest 1-hour concentration (ppm)

Monitoring site name and AQS number 1999 2000 Design 1999 2000 Design

value value

Boulder City (32-003-0601) ........................................... 0.6 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.3 1.3

City Center (32-003-0016) ............................................. 5.6 4.8 5.6 8.5 7.2 8.5

Craig Road (32-003-0020) ............................................. 2.7 1.8 2.7 2.9 3.0 3.0

Crestwood (32-003-0562) .............................................. 5.8 5.1 5.8 7.8 6.9 7.8

East Flamingo (32-003-1022) ........................................ 5.2 4.2 5.2 7.5 6.2 7.5

East Sahara (32-003-0539) ............................................ 6.9 5.7 6.9 8.7 7.2 8.7

Health District (32-003-0021) ......................................... 5.1 *ND 5.1 6.8 *ND 6.8

Green Valley (32-003-0298) ........................................... 1.9 1.7 1.9 3.0 2.7 3.0

S. East Valley (32-003-0007) ......................................... 1.7 1.5 1.7 3.3 2.8 3.3

Winterwood (32-003-0538) ............................................. 6.5 4.1 6.5 8.3 6.0 8.3

Paul Meyer (32-003-0043) ............................................. 2.0 1.6 2.0 2.8 3.0 3.0

Pittman (32-003-0107) ................................................... 2.5 2.1 2.5 5.9 4.2 5.9

S. Las Vegas Blvd (32-003-1023) .................................. 4.4 3.7 4.4 6.9 5.6 6.9

Sunrise Acres (32-003-0561) ......................................... 8.2 7.1 8.2 10.2 8.5 10.2

J.D. Smith (32-003-2002) ............................................... 4.4 3.8 4.4 6.7 5.8 6.7

Area Design Value-Sunrise Acres ................................. 8-Hour CO Design Value: 8.2 ppm 1-Hour CO Design Value: 10.2 ppm

Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Database. *ND =No Data.

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As shown in the above table, the

design values are less than 9.5 ppm

(eight-hour average) and 35.5 ppm (onehour average) at all of the sites.

Therefore, we propose to find that the

Las Vegas Valley attained the CO

NAAQS by December 31, 2000, which is

the applicable attainment date for this

nonattainment area under the Act.

A review of data input to AQS

indicates that Las Vegas Valley has

continued to attain the CO NAAQS'

since the end of 2000. The highest 8-

hour and 1-hour CO concentrations

measured at the various monitoring

stations during the 2001 through 2003

period were 7.2 ppm and 8.9 ppm,

respectively (both at the Sunrise Acres

station in 2001), which are well below

the corresponding CO NAAQS of 9 ppm

and 35 ppm, respectively. A "quick

look" report generated using AQS for

the Las Vegas Valley CO monitoring

stations for the 2001 to 2003 period is

included in the docket for this proposed

rule.

II. Applicability of Clean Air Act

Contingency Provisions

A. Background

In our proposal to approve SIP

revisions submitted by the State of

Nevada to provide for attainment of the

CO NAAQS in the Las Vegas Valley

Nonattainment Area (68 FR 4141,

January 28, 2003), we concluded that

the contingency measure requirements

for the area under sections 172(c)(9) and

187(a)(3) of the Act were met by the

implementation of standardized OnBoard Diagnostics systems (OBD II)

testing (as part of the vehicle inspection

and maintenance (I/M) program). See 68

FR at 4157. In that proposal, we also

proposed to disapprove two other

contingency measures (i.e., Lower I/M

Program Cutpoints and On Road Remote

Sensing) that had been submitted as part

of the Las Vegas Valley serious area CO

attainment plan, the Carbon Monoxide

State Implementation Plan, Las Vegas

Valley Nonattainment Area, Clark

County, Nevada (August 2000). See 68

FR at 4157.

In the final rule, we approved the SIP

revisions as we had proposed with the

exception of the contingency provisions.

With respect to the contingency

provisions, we stated that objections

raised by public comments on the

appropriateness of our proposed

approval of OBD II testing as fulfilling

the contingency measure requirements

under sections 172(c)(9) and 187(a)(3) of

the Act (in addition to fulfilling an I/M

requirement) and the fact that Clark

County had yet to provide quantitative

information on the emissions reductions

associated with OBD II testing

consistent with their commitment to do

so had lead us to defer taking final

action on the contingency provisions in

that notice. See 69 FR 56351 (September

21, 2004). We indicated in that final rule

that we would address the contingency

provision requirements for Las Vegas

Valley in a separate rulemaking. This

proposal constitutes that rulemaking.

B. Effect of a Finding of Attainment by

Applicable Attainment Date on CAA

Contingency Measure Requirement

Upon our designation of Las Vegas

Valley as a CO nonattainment area, Las

Vegas Valley became subject to the

contingency provisions set forth in

subpart 1 (of title I of the Act) at section

172(c)(9) and in subpart 3 at section

187(a)(3). For the reasons described

below, we believe that the contingency

provisions under sections 172(c)(9) and

187(a)(3) are no longer required for CO

nonattainment areas that are determined

to have attained the CO NAAQS by the

applicable attainment date.

Section 172(c)(9) requires a State to

submit contingency measures that will

be implemented if an area fails to make "reasonable further progress" (RFP) 1 or

fails to attain by the applicable

attainment date. Thus, the stated

purpose of the contingency measure

requirement is to ensure RFP (the

purpose of which is to ensure

attainment by the applicable attainment

date) and attainment by the applicable

attainment date. If an area has in fact

attained the standard by the applicable

attainment date, the stated purpose of

the contingency measure requirement

will have already been fulfilled.

Consequently, we believe that the

requirement for a State to submit

revisions providing for measures to

meet the contingency provisions of

section 172(c)(9) no longer applies for

an area that we find as having attained

the relevant NAAQS by the applicable

attainment date. We note that we took

this view with respect to the general

contingency measure requirement of

section 172(c)(9) in our "General

Preamble for the Interpretation of Title

I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of

1990" at 57 FR 13498 (April 16, 1992).

In the General Preamble, we stated, inthe context of a discussion of the

requirements applicable to the

evaluation of requests to redesignate

nonattainment areas to attainment, that

I RFP -means "such annual incremental

reductions in emissions of the relevant air pollutant as are required by this part or may reasonably be

required by the Administrator for the purpose of

ensuring attainment of the applicable national

ambient air quality standard by the applicable

date." See section 171(1) of the Act.

the "section 172(c)(9) requirements for

contingency measures * * * no longer

apply when an area has attained the

standard and is eligible for

redesignation." See 57 FR 13498, at

13564 (April 16, 1992). See also

"Procedures for Processing Requests to

Redesignate Areas to Attainment," from

John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality

Management Division, to Regional Air

Division Directors, September 4, 1992

(http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqsozonel

ozonetech/940904.pdfl, at page 6.

Section 187(a)(3) identifies two

circumstances for which contingency

measures must be submitted. First, a

State must submit contingency

measures to be implemented if any

estimate of vehicle miles traveled (VMT)

in the area for any year prior to the

attainment year that is submitted in an

annual report under section 187(a)(2)(A)

("VMT tracking report") exceeds the

number predicted in the most recent

prior forecast. This aspect of section

187(a)(3) supports reasonable further

progress (RFP) by ensuring that the SIP

contains a mechanism to correct for

underprediction in the CO plan of VMT

and related motor vehicle emissions in

years prior to the attainment year, and

thereby serves to help maintain the

overall year-to-year reduction in CO

emissions that is referred to as the RFP

requirement. However, since the

provision applies only to years prior to

the attainment year and that year has

already passed, and the purpose of RFP

itself is fulfilled upon a finding of

attainment by the applicable attainment

date, we find that the additional support

for RFP that would otherwise be

provided through the application of

section 187(a)(3) is no longer required

upon that same finding of attainment by

the applicable attainment date.

Second, under section 187(a)(3) of the

Act, a State must submit contingency

measures to be implemented if the area

fails to attain the national primary

ambient air quality standard for carbon

monoxide by the primary standard

attainment date. This aspect of section.

187(a)(3), i.e., failure to attain the CO

NAAQS by the attainment date,

essentially restates the requirement in

section 172(c)(9) ("* * * measures to be

undertaken if the area * * * fails to

attain the national primary ambient air

quality standard by the attainment date

applicable under this part.") As such,

our interpretation of section 172(c)(9)

described above that a State need no longer submit revisions providing for

measures to meet the contingency

provisions of section 172(c)(9) for areas that we find as having attained the CO

NAAQS by the applicable attainment

date applies equally to the

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correspondipg provision in section

187(a)(3).

Therefore, based on our proposed

finding that Las Vegas Valley has

attained the CO NAAQS by the

applicable attainment date (December

31, 2000), we propose to find that the

contingency requirements under section

172(c)(9) and 187(a)(3) of the Act will

no longer apply for the Las Vegas Valley

CO nonattainment area at such time as

we finalize our proposed attainment

finding.

III. EPA's Proposed Action

EPA proposes to find, pursuant to

sections 179(c)(1) and 186(b)(2) of the

Act, that the Las Vegas Valley "serious"

nonattainment area has attained the

NAAQS for CO by the applicable

attainment date. If finalized as

proposed, our action will relieve the

State of Nevada from the obligation

under section 187(g) of the Act to

prepare and submit a SIP revision

providing for a reduction of CO

emissions within Las Vegas Valley by at

least five percent per year in each year

after approval of the SIP revision until

the CO NAAQS is attained. It should be

noted that this proposed action does not

represent a proposal to redesignate this

area from "nonattainment" to "attainment". Under section

107(d)(3)(E), the Clean Air Act requires

that; for an area to be redesignated from

nonattainment to attainment, five

criteria must be satisfied including the

submittal by the State (and approval by

EPA) of a maintenance plan as a SIP

revision. Therefore, the designation

status of Las Vegas Valley in 40 CFR

part 81 is unaffected by this proposed

action, and Las Vegas Valley will

remain a "serious" nonattainment area

for CO until such time as EPA finds that

the State of Nevada has met the Clean

Air Act requirements for redesignation

to attainment.

Based on our proposed finding of

attainment by the applicable attainment

date, we are also proposing to determine

that the CAA's requirement for the SIP

to provide for CO contingency measures

will no longer apply to Las Vegas

Valley. In this instance, the State

submitted contingency mbasures (as

part of the Las Vegas Valley serious area

CO plan adopted in August 2000), but

we will continue to defer taking any

further action on them under sections

172(c)(9) and 187(a)(3) of the Act in

light of this proposed finding .of

attainment by the applicable attainment

date and resulting determination that

the contingency measure requirement

no longer applies to the area. The State

may elect to withdraw the contingency

measures to lift the obligation dn EPA

under section 110(k) to act on SIP

subgittals within certain time periods.

If we finalize this action as proposed,

then the remaining FIP obligation (i.e.,

relative to contingency measures) that

was triggered 24 months after our finding of Nevada's failure to submit a

serious area CO plan for Las Vegas

Valley (see 64 FR 49084, September 10,

1999) will be permanently lifted.

IV. Request for public Comment

We are soliciting public comment on

all aspects of this proposal. These

comments will be considered before

taking final action. To comment on

today's proposal, you should submit

comments by mail or in person (in

triplicate if possible) to the ADDRESSES

section listed in the front of this

document. Your comments must be

received by February 22, 2005 to be

considered in the final action taken by

EPA.

V. Administrative Requirements

Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR

51735, October 4, 1993), this proposed

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 proposed action merely

proposes to find that an area has

attained a national ambient air quality

standard based on an objective review of

measured air quality data. It also

proposes to determine that certain Clean

Air Act requirements no longer apply so

long as the area continues to attain the

standard. If finalized, it would not

impose any new regulations, mandates,

or additional enforceable duties on any

public, nongovernmental, or private

entity. Accordingly, the Administrator

certifies that this proposed 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

proposed rule does not impose any

additional enforceable duty, it 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).

This proposed 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

action also does not have Federalism

implications because it does not have

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 action merely

proposes to find that an area has

attained a national ambient air quality

standard and is therefore not subject to

certain specific requirements for so long

as the area continues to attain the

standard, and does not alter the

relationship or the distribution of power

and responsibilities establishea in the

Clean Air Act. This proposed 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.

This proposed rule does not involve

establishment of technical standards,

and 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

proposed rule does not impose an

information collection burden under the

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction

Acfof 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.)

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

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 81

Environmental protection, Air

pollution control, National parks,

Wilderness areas.

Dated: January 7, 2005.

Laura Yoshii,

Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.

[FR Doc. 05-1119 Filed 1-19-05; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P

HARRY S. TRUMAN SCHOLARSHIP

FOUNDATION

45 CFR Part 1801

JScholar Accountability Policy

AGENCY: Harry S. Truman Scholarship

Foundation.

ACTION: Notice of projosed rulemaking

SUMMARY: The Truman Scholarship

Foundation [Foundation] proposes to

amend its regulations with respect to

Scholar accountability to the

Foundation for scholarship funds

received. This rule is to clarify existing

Foundation policy.

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