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### ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECfION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 52 [EPA-R04-0AR-2009-0043-201024; FRL- ] Approval andPromulgation ofAir Quality Implementation 

### Plans; North Carolina and South Carolina; Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, 

### North CaroUna-South Carolina; Notice of

. Completeness Determination for the Purpose ofStopping Sanctions Clock
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

### ACTION: Notice ofLetterto Governor Regarding Completeness andStopping ofSanctions Clock. 

### SUMMARY: EPA is now giving notice ofan action that EPA has already taken to fl;Ild two State bnplementationPlan (SIP) revisions complete and stop sanctions clocks associated with the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill North Carolina. South Carolina 1997 8-hourozone nonattainment
area (hereafterreferred to as the "bi-state Charlotte Area"). Pursuantto the Clean AirAct (CAA) and its implementing regulations, EPA has made an affumative detennination of completeness for the attainmentdemonstrations submitted by the States ofNorth Carolina and South Carolina the bi-state Charlotte Area. On May 27,2010, letters announcing this detennination were sent to the Governors ofNorth Carolina and South Carolina, effectively stopping the sanctions clock started onMay 8, 2009, by a fmding offailure to submit the attainment demonstrations. Today's notice is simply an announcement ofa determination that EPA has already made.



### ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket Identification No. EPA-R04-0AR-2009-0043. All documents in the docket are listed on the www.regulations.gov Web site. Although listed in the index, some information is notpublicly available, i.e.,Confidential Business Information or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available only'in hardcopy fonn. Publicly available docket materials are available eitherelectronically through www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Regulatory Development Section, AirPlanning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, u.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4,61 Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. EPA requests that ifat all possible, you contactthe person listed in the 

### FOR FURTHERINFORMATION CONTACT section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's officiall:tours ofbusiness are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, excluding federal holidays.



### FORFURTHERINFORMATION CONTACT: Nacosta C. Ward, Regulatory Development Section, AirPlanning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxies Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region4,61 Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303- 8960. The telephone number is (404) 562-9140. Ms. Ward can also be reached via electronic mail at ward.nacosta@epa.gov.



### SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Effective June 15,2004, the bi-state Charlotte Area was designated nonattainment for the

. .' . 8-hourozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) with a moderate classification. The bi-state Charlotte Area

## IS comprised ofCabarrus, Gaston, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Union and a portion ofIredell (Davidson and Coddle CreekTownships) Counties in North Carolina; and a portion ofYork County, South Carolina. Forthe 1997 8-hourozone NAAQS,

2states were required to submit an attainment demonstration, reasonable further progress plan, and reasonable available control technology submittals (for areas classified as moderate or above) by June 15,2007. EPA received the required submittals from North Carolina onJune 15, 2007, and South Carolinaon August 31, 2007. On December 19, 2008, and December22, 2008, the States ofNorth Carolina and South Carolina, respectively, submitted letters to EPA withdrawing their attainment demonstrations for the bi-state Charlotte Area. On May 8, 2009, EPA published a fmding offailure to submit fmal rulemaking for North Carolina and South Carolinafor these required SIPs
.. 74 FR 21550. On November 12, 2009, and April 5, 2010, North Carolina submitted all components of the North Carolina attainment demonstration SIP for North Carolina's portion ofthe bi-state Charlotte Area. On November 13,2009, andApril 29, 2010, South Carolina submitted all components ofthe attainment demonstration SIP for South Carolina's portion ofthe bi-state Charlotte Area. EPA has done a completeness review, in accordance with Section 2.0 "Criteria" ofAppendix V of40 CFR 51-Criteriafor Determining the Completeness ofPlan Submissions, to ensure that the States have submitted all ofthe required information for the SIP submissions. As explained in the letters sentby EPA to the Governors ofNorth and South Carolina, on May 27, 20101
, EPA has determined that the States have corrected the deficiency identified 

### in EPA's promulgatedfmding offailure to submit the required attainmentdemonstration SIPs for the bi-state Charlotte Area. Specifically, EPA has determined thatboth North Carolina and South Carolina have submitted complete SIP submittals for the bi-state Charlotte Areato meet the CAA requirement for attainmentdemonstrations for moderate nonattainment areas under the 1997 8-hourozone NAAQS. EPA will make a determination on the approvability ofthese

I In the May 27, 2010, letters, EPA inadvertently identified incorrect submittal dates for North Carolinaand South Carolina's SIP submissions. On June 18,2010, EPA sent letters to North Carolina and South Carolina to correctthe dates ofthe SIP submissions. 3·" ' 

### .. attainment demonstration SIPs for the bi-state Charlotte Area in a separate action. Today's announcement only relates to a completeness detenninationfor the attainment demonstration SIPs for the bi-state Charlotte Area, and is separate from EPA's detennination ofapprovability ofthese attainmentdemonstrations. Today's action is simply anotice ofa determination that EPA already made through correspondence with the Governors ofNorth and South Carolina.

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

. Dated: 

# 0' I. 

### II \ 0

# II~& A. STANLEY MEI BURG Actmg Regional Administrator, Region4.



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