Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 4 / Monday, January 7, 2008 / Proposed Rules 1175 

state rule implementing a Federal 

standard. 

In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA’s 

role is to approve state choices, 

provided that they meet the criteria of 

the Act. In this context, in the absence 

of a prior existing requirement for the 

State to use voluntary consensus 

standards (VCS), EPA has no authority 

to disapprove a SIP submission for 

failure to use VCS. It would thus be 

inconsistent with applicable law for 

EPA, when it reviews a SIP submission, 

to use VCS in place of a SIP submission 

that otherwise satisfies the provisions of 

the Act. Redesignation is an action that 

affects the status of a geographical area 

and does not impose any new 

requirements on sources. 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. As required by 

section 3 of Executive Order 12988 (61 

FR 4729, February 7, 1996), in issuing 

this proposed rule, EPA has taken the 

necessary steps to eliminate drafting 

errors and ambiguity, minimize 

potential litigation, and provide a clear 

legal standard for affected conduct. EPA 

has complied with Executive Order 

12630 (53 FR 8859, March 15, 1988) by 

examining the takings implications of 

the rule in accordance with the 

‘‘Attorney General’s Supplemental 

Guidelines for the Evaluation of Risk 

and Avoidance of Unanticipated 

Takings’’ issued under the executive 

order. 

This rule, proposing to approve the 

redesignation of the Allentown Area to 

attainment for the 8-hour ozone 

NAAQS, the associated maintenance 

plan, the 2002 base-year inventory, and 

the MVEBs identified in the 

maintenance plan, does not impose an 

information collection burden under the 

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction 

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

List of Subjects 

40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Nitrogen oxides, 

Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Volatile organic 

compounds. 

40 CFR Part 81 

Air pollution control, National parks, 

Wilderness areas. 

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

Dated: December 18, 2007. 

Donald S. Welsh, 

Regional Administrator, Region III. 

[FR Doc. E8–27 Filed 1–4–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Parts 52 and 81 

[EPA–R09–OAR–2007–0561; FRL–8513–6] 

Approval and Promulgation of 

Implementation Plans and Designation 

of Areas for Air Quality Planning 

Purposes; Nevada; Wintertime 

Oxygenated Gasoline Rule; Vehicle 

Inspection and Maintenance Program; 

Redesignation of Truckee Meadows to 

Attainment for the Carbon Monoxide 

Standard 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve 

certain submittals by the State of 

Nevada of revisions to the Nevada state 

implementation plan that are intended 

to provide for attainment and 

maintenance of the carbon monoxide 

national ambient air quality standard in 

the Truckee Meadows nonattainment 

area located within Washoe County, 

Nevada. These revisions include a local 

wintertime oxygenated gasoline rule, a 

‘‘basic’’ vehicle inspection and 

maintenance program (including a 

performance standard evaluation), 

current statutory provisions and State 

rules governing mobile sources, a 

maintenance plan and related motor 

vehicle emissions budgets. EPA is also 

proposing to approve Nevada’s request 

to redesignate the Truckee Meadows 

carbon monoxide nonattainment area to 

attainment. Lastly, EPA is proposing to 

rescind a provision previously approved 

in error related to inspection and 

maintenance of vehicles operated on 

Federal installations. EPA proposes 

these actions pursuant to those 

provisions of the Clean Air Act that 

obligate the Agency to take action on 

submittals of revisions to state 

implementation plans and requests for 

redesignation. This proposed action is 

intended to make certain State and local 

measures and commitments related to 

attainment and maintenance of the 

carbon monoxide standard in Truckee 

Meadows federally enforceable as part 

of the Nevada state implementation 

plan. 

DATE: Any comments on this proposal 

must arrive by February 6, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, 

identified by docket number EPA–R09–

OAR–2007–0561, by one of the 

following methods: 

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

2. E-mail: kaplan.eleanor@epa.gov. 

3. Mail or deliver: Eleanor Kaplan 

(AIR–2), U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, 

San Francisco, CA 94105–3901. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to 

Docket ID No. EPA–R09–OAR–2007–

0561. 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 that EPA will not know your 

identity or contact information unless 

you provide it in the body of your 

comment. If you send e-mail 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 the 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 or 

viruses. 

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 

information, such as copyrighted 

material, will be publicly available only 

in hard copy form. Publicly available 

docket materials are available either 

electronically in http:// 

www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 

the Office of Air Planning, 

Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA), Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, 

San Francisco, California. To inspect the 

hard copy materials, please schedule an 

appointment during normal business 

hours with the contact listed in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with PROPOSALS
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1The statutory provisions and rules submitted by 

NDEP on May 11, 2007 represent a comprehensive 

update to the regulatory portion of the State’s 

mobile source SIP (excluding the rules establishing 

fuels specifications, alternative fuels programs for 

government vehicles, and local rules related to 

mobile sources), including the regulatory portion of 

the State’s Truckee Meadows I/M SIP, which was 

last approved in 1984 (49 FR 44208, November 5, 

1984), and the regulatory portion of the State’s Las 

Vegas Valley I/M SIP, which was last approved in 

2004 (69 FR 56351, September 21, 2004). The 

current submitted versions of the I/M-related 

statutory provisions and rules are not significantly 

different than the corresponding versions of the 

statutory provisions and rules approved in 2004 for 

the State’s Las Vegas I/M program, and are 

consistent with the underlying assumptions used to 

develop the Las Vegas Valley 2005 CO Plan, which 

was approved by EPA on August 7, 2006 (71 FR 

44587). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Eleanor Kaplan, EPA Region IX, (415) 

947–4147, kaplan.eleanor@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document, the terms 

‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ and ‘‘our’’ refer to EPA. 

This supplementary information is 

organized as follows: 

Table of Contents 

I. Summary of Today’s Proposed Action 

II. Nature, Sources, and Health Effects of 

Carbon Monoxide 

III. Introduction to Truckee Meadows, 

Washoe County, Nevada 

IV. History of Carbon Monoxide Planning in 

Truckee Meadows 

V. Nevada’s Procedures for Adoption of these 

SIP Revisions 

VI. Washoe County’s Wintertime Oxygenated 

Fuel Requirements 

VII. Nevada’s Motor Vehicle Inspection and 

Maintenance (I/M) Program in Truckee 

Meadows 

A. Background Information 

B. Evaluation of the State’s I/M Program in 

Truckee Meadows 

VIII. Clean Air Act Requirements for 

Redesignation to Attainment 

IX. Evaluation of the State’s Redesignation 

Request for Truckee Meadows 

A. The Area Must Have Attained the 

Applicable NAAQS. 

B. The Area Must Have a Fully Approved 

SIP Under Section 110(k) of the CAA. 

C. The Area Must Show the Improvement 

in Air Quality Is Due to Permanent and 

Enforceable Emissions Reductions. 

D. The Area Must Have Met All Applicable 

Requirements Under Section 110 and 

Part D. 

1. Section 110 Requirements 

2. Part D Requirements 

E. The Area Must Have a Fully Approved 

Maintenance Plan Under CAA Section 

175A. 

1. Attainment Inventory 

2. Maintenance Demonstration 

3. Monitoring Network 

4. Verification of Continued Attainment 

5. Contingency Plan 

6. Subsequent Maintenance Plan Revisions 

7. Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets 

8. Conclusion 

X. Proposed Action and Request for 

Comment 

XI. Administrative Requirements 

I. Summary of Today’s Proposed Action 

Under section 110(k)(3) of the Clean 

Air Act, as amended in 1990 (CAA or 

‘‘Act’’), EPA is proposing to approve 

certain submittals of revisions to the 

Nevada state implementation plan (SIP) 

by the Nevada Division of 

Environmental Protection (NDEP). 

These revisions are intended to provide 

for attainment and maintenance of the 

carbon monoxide (CO) national ambient 

air quality standards (NAAQS) in the 

Truckee Meadows nonattainment area 

located within Washoe County, Nevada. 

The specific SIP revision submittals that 

we are proposing to approve are listed 

in the following table: 

Plan, plan element or rule Adoption date(s) State of Nevada submittal date(s) 

Washoe County District Board of Health Regulations Governing Air Quality Management, 

section 040.095 (‘‘Oxygen content of motor 

vehicle fuel’’).

Originally adopted on Dec. 21, 1988 and 

amended on Apr. 18, 1990; amended on 

Sept. 23, 1992; amended on Sept. 22, 2005.

Submitted on Apr. 14, 1991; resubmitted as 

amended on Nov. 13, 1992; re-submitted as 

amended on Nov. 4, 2005. 

State Implementation Plan for a Basic Program 

for the Inspection and Maintenance of Motor 

Vehicles for the Truckee Meadows Planning 

Area, Nevada (June 1994).

Regulations adopted at various times by the 

State Environmental Commission and Department of Motor Vehicles but superseded 

by SIP revision submittal dated May 11, 

2007, as listed below.

June 3, 1994. 

Basic I/M Performance Standard Evaluation ..... Sept. 28, 2006 .................................................. Nov. 2, 2006. 

Nevada Mobile Source SIP, Update of the Regulatory Element (May 11, 2007).Regulations adopted at various times by State 

Environmental Commission and Department 

of Motor Vehicles.

May 11, 2007. 

Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan 

for the Truckee Meadows Carbon Monoxide 

Non-Attainment Area (September 2005).

Sept. 22, 2005 .................................................. Nov. 4, 2005. 

Specifically, we are proposing to 

approve NDEP’s SIP revision submittal 

dated November 4, 2005 of the 

wintertime oxygenated gasoline rule as 

amended on September 22, 2005 by the 

Washoe County District Board of Health 

(‘‘District’’) and codified as District 

Regulations Governing Air Quality 

Management section 040.095 (‘‘District 

rule 040.095’’). We are also proposing to 

approve the SIP revision submittal 

dated June 3, 1994 of the State 

Implementation Plan for a Basic 

Program for the Inspection and 

Maintenance of Motor Vehicles for the 

Truckee Meadows Planning Area, 

Nevada (June 1994) (‘‘Basic I/M SIP’’). 

In connection with the basic vehicle 

inspection and maintenance (I/M) 

program in Truckee Meadows, we are 

proposing to approve two subsequent 

SIP revision submittals: A ‘‘basic’’ I/M 

performance standard evaluation 

(‘‘Basic I/M Performance Standard 

Evaluation’’) submitted on November 2, 

2006 and the Nevada Mobile Source 

SIP, Update of the Regulatory Element 

(May 11, 2007) (‘‘Mobile Source SIP 

Update’’) submitted on May 11, 2007. 

NDEP’s Mobile Source SIP Update 

contains current I/M-related statutory 

provisions, regulations, and updated 

exhaust gas analyzer specifications.1 In 

so doing, we find that the above 

submittals fulfill the applicable 

requirements under section 110 and part 

D (of title I) of the Act. 

In connection with our proposed 

approval of the State’s Basic I/M SIP, as 

supplemented and amended in 

submittals dated November 2, 2006 and 

May 11, 2007, we are taking no action 

on submitted rule NAC 445B.595(2), 

which extends the State’s I/M 

requirements to motor vehicles operated 

on Federal installations located within 

I/M areas because the Federal 

government has not waived sovereign 

immunity in the context of vehicle I/M 

programs. Furthermore, we are 

proposing, under CAA section 110(k)(6), 

to rescind our previous, and erroneous, 

approval of NAC 445B.595(2) into the 

Nevada SIP in 2004, also on the grounds 

of sovereign immunity. 

Lastly, we are proposing to approve 

NDEP’s SIP revision submittal (dated 

November 4, 2005) of the Redesignation 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with PROPOSALS
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2The Truckee Meadows CO Maintenance Plan 

relies upon three principal State or local control 

measures: The District’s wintertime oxygenated 

gasoline rule, the State’s vehicle inspection and 

maintenance (I/M) program, and the District’s 

residential wood combustion rule. We are 

proposing to approve the first and second of the 

three measures in this document. We approved the 

third measure (the residential wood combustion 

rule) in a separate document earlier this year. See 

72 FR 33397 (June 18, 2007). We will not finalize 

the proposed approval of the redesignation request 

until we take final action approving the oxygenated 

gasoline rule and the I/M program. Also, for reasons 

set forth in this document, we find that we need 

not fully approve either the County’s nonattainment 

new source review rules or the County’s 

transportation conformity rules as a pre-condition 

to redesignation of Truckee Meadows to attainment 

for the CO NAAQS. 

Request and Maintenance Plan for the 

Truckee Meadows Carbon Monoxide 

Non-Attainment Area (September 2005) 

(‘‘Truckee Meadows CO Maintenance 

Plan’’), adopted by the District on 

September 22, 2005, and to approve 

NDEP’s request for redesignation of the 

Truckee Meadows CO nonattainment 

area to attainment. In connection with 

our proposed approval of the Truckee 

Meadows CO Maintenance Plan, we are 

approving certain commitments by the 

District, contingency provisions, and CO 

motor vehicle emissions budgets for 

years 2010 and 2016 for the purposes of 

transportation conformity. In so doing, 

we find that the Truckee Meadows CO 

Maintenance Plan meets the 

requirements for maintenance plans 

under section 175A of the Act. In 

connection with our proposed approval 

of NDEP’s redesignation request, we 

find that the State has fulfilled the 

criteria for redesignation of the Truckee 

Meadows CO nonattainment area from 

nonattainment to attainment as set forth 

in section 107(d)(3)(E).2

II. Nature, Sources, and Health Effects 

of Carbon Monoxide 

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless 

and odorless gas, formed when carbon 

in fuel is not burned completely. It is a 

component of motor vehicle exhaust, 

which contributes about 60 percent of 

all CO emissions nationwide. Nonroad 

vehicles account for the remaining CO 

emissions from transportation sources. 

High concentrations of CO generally 

occur in areas with heavy traffic 

congestion. Peak CO concentrations 

typically occur during the colder 

months of the year when CO automotive 

emissions are greater and nighttime 

inversion conditions (where air 

pollutants are trapped near the ground 

beneath a layer of warm air) are more 

frequent. 

CO enters the bloodstream through 

the lungs and reduces oxygen delivery 

to the body’s organs and tissues. The 

health threat from levels of CO 

sometimes found in the ambient air is 

most serious for those who suffer from 

cardiovascular disease, such as angina 

pectoris. At much higher levels of 

exposure not commonly found in 

ambient air, CO can be poisonous, and 

even healthy individuals may be 

affected. Visual impairment, reduced 

work capacity, reduced manual 

dexterity, poor learning ability, and 

difficulty in performing complex tasks 

are all associated with exposure to 

elevated CO levels. 

III. Introduction to Truckee Meadows, 

Washoe County, Nevada 

Truckee Meadows lies in the far 

southern portion of Washoe County. 

Washoe County lies in the northwestern 

portion of the State of Nevada and is 

bordered by the State of California to the 

west and the State of Oregon to the 

north. Within the State of Nevada, the 

counties of Humboldt, Pershing, 

Churchill, Lyon, and Storey and the city 

of Carson City bound Washoe County to 

the east and south. Located at an 

average elevation of 4,500 feet above sea 

level, Truckee Meadows lies in the rain 

shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountain 

range located to the west. The 

boundaries of Truckee Meadows are 

defined as equal to the State’s 

hydrographic area #87, and encompass 

a land area of approximately 200 square 

miles. It is surrounded by mountain 

ranges, which can lead to persistent 

wintertime temperature inversions 

where a layer of cold air is trapped in 

the valley. Warmer air above the 

inversion acts as a lid, containing and 

concentrating air pollutants emitted at 

ground-level. 

Truckee Meadows has experienced 

rapid growth in population, with an 

increase in population from 

approximately 138,000 in 1977 to 

approximately 359,000 in 2002, an 

increase of 160 percent over that 25-year 

period. The two major cities are Reno 

and Sparks. 

Air quality planning and monitoring 

in Truckee Meadows is the 

responsibility of the District, which 

administers air quality programs in 

Washoe County through the District 

Health Department’s Air Quality 

Management Division (‘‘District 

AQMD’’). The State Environmental 

Commission and the Nevada 

Department of Motor Vehicles are 

responsible for the motor vehicle I/M 

program in Truckee Meadows. 

IV. History of Carbon Monoxide 

Planning in Truckee Meadows 

On April 30, 1971 (36 FR 8186), 

pursuant to section 109 of the Clean Air 

Act, as amended in 1970, EPA 

promulgated NAAQS for six criteria 

pollutants, including CO. EPA set the 

NAAQS for CO at 35 parts per million 

(ppm), one-hour average, and 9 ppm, 

eight-hour average. The CO NAAQS 

remain the same today. 

Under section 110 of the Clean Air 

Amendments of 1970, States were 

required to adopt and submit plans that 

provide for implementation, 

maintenance, and enforcement of the 

NAAQS. These original plans, generally 

submitted and approved in the early 

1970’s, are referred to as state 

implementation plans (SIPs). 

Incremental changes to SIPs that a State 

submits, such as new or amended rules, 

attainment plans, and maintenance 

plans, are referred to as ‘‘SIP revisions.’’

Generally, SIPs were to provide for 

attainment of the NAAQS within three 

years of EPA approval of the plan. 

However, many parts of the country did 

not attain the NAAQS within the 

statutory period. In response, Congress 

amended the Act in 1977 to establish a 

new approach, based on area 

designations, for attaining the NAAQS, 

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

under paragraph 107(d)(2) of the Act as 

amended in 1977, EPA promulgated 

attainment status designations for all 

States. EPA designated Truckee 

Meadows (with boundaries defined by 

reference to State hydrographic area 

#87) as a nonattainment area for the CO 

NAAQS. See 43 FR 8962, at 9013 

(March 3, 1978). 

The Act, as amended in 1977, 

required States to revise their SIPs by 

January 1979 for all designated 

nonattainment areas. The CO attainment 

plan for Truckee Meadows that was 

developed in the late 1970’s and early 

1980’s relied upon implementation of 

such control measures as a vehicle 

inspection and maintenance (I/M) 

program, road improvements, traffic 

controls, and areawide ride-sharing 

programs to attain the CO NAAQS by 

the statutory deadline of 1982. In 1981, 

we approved most of the elements of the 

CO plan for Truckee Meadows and 

conditionally approved other elements. 

See 46 FR 21758 (April 14, 1981). In 

1982, we revoked the remaining 

conditions resulting in full approval of 

the CO plan. See 47 FR 15790 (April 13, 

1982). 

Truckee Meadows did not attain the 

CO NAAQS by the 1982 attainment 

deadline, and thus, the District revised 

the CO attainment plan and requested 

an extension in the attainment date to 

1987. In 1984, we approved parts of the 

revised CO attainment plan but deferred 

action on certain other parts based on 

our conclusion that the emissions 

reduction credit taken in the revised CO 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with PROPOSALS
1178 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 4 / Monday, January 7, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

3 In the case of the Basic I/M SIP and the May 

11, 2007 SIP submittal of current I/M statutory 

provisions and regulations, NDEP provided 

evidence of reasonable notice and public hearing 

for the various recent amendments to the I/M 

regulations. The submittal of the current I/M-related 

statutory provisions and regulations supersede the 

corresponding provisions and regulations submitted 

in 1994 as part of the Basic I/M SIP. 

plan for one of the principal control 

measures relied upon to show 

attainment, residential wood burning 

control, was not sufficiently 

documented. See 49 FR 31683 (August 

8, 1984). 

Like many other areas of the country, 

Truckee Meadows did not attain the CO 

NAAQS by the 1987 attainment date 

and remained nonattainment at the time 

of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. 

Under section 107(d)(1)(C) of the 1990 

Amended Act, the CO nonattainment 

designation in Truckee Meadows was 

brought forward by operation of law. 

Based on a design value of 9.8 ppm 

(eight-hour average), we further 

classified Truckee Meadows as a 

‘‘moderate’’ CO nonattainment area for 

the CO NAAQS with an attainment date 

of (no later than) December 31, 1995. 

See 56 FR 56694, at 56798 (November 

6, 1991) and CAA section 186(a)(1). A 

review of the data collected in 1994 and 

1995 provided EPA with the basis to 

determine that Truckee Meadows in fact 

attained the CO NAAQS by the 1995 

attainment date. See 70 FR 22803 (May 

3, 2005). 

In addition to extending the deadline 

for attainment of the CO NAAQS, the 

Act, as amended in 1990, also 

established new requirements for CO 

nonattainment areas that vary 

depending upon the severity of the 

problem. The additional requirements 

for ‘‘moderate’’ CO nonattainment areas 

are set forth in sections 172, 176, 187, 

and 211 of the Act, and include such 

elements as updated and periodic 

emission inventories, upgraded vehicle 

I/M programs, conformity requirements, 

and wintertime oxygenated gasoline 

requirements. To address these 

requirements, the District AQMD 

developed new plans and adopted new 

or amended rules, the State revised the 

vehicle I/M program, and NDEP 

submitted the plans, rules and revised 

vehicle I/M program to EPA as revisions 

to the Truckee Meadows portion of the 

Nevada SIP. In today’s action, we are 

proposing to approve a number of 

elements contained in these submittals, 

including the wintertime oxygenated 

gasoline rule and an upgraded vehicle 

I/M program. In a separate action, we 

approved the District’s residential wood 

combustion rule. See 72 FR 33397 (June 

18, 2007). 

Section 107(d)(3)(D) of the Act allows 

a State to request redesignation of an air 

quality planning area. On November 4, 

2005, NDEP submitted such a request 

for the Truckee Meadows CO 

nonattainment area and submitted the 

Truckee Meadows CO Maintenance Plan 

to EPA for approval as a revision to the 

Nevada SIP. The purpose of the Truckee 

Meadows CO Maintenance Plan is to 

provide for maintenance of the CO 

NAAQS in the Truckee Meadows area 

for ten years following redesignation. In 

this action, we are proposing to approve 

the Truckee Meadows CO Maintenance 

Plan and proposing to approve the 

request for redesignation of Truckee 

Meadows from nonattainment to 

attainment for the CO NAAQS. 

V. Nevada’s Procedures for Adoption of 

These SIP Revisions 

Section 110(l) of the Act requires 

States to provide reasonable notice and 

public hearing prior to adoption of SIP 

revisions. In this action, we are 

proposing to approve the following SIP 

revisions: the wintertime oxygenated 

gasoline rule (District rule 040.095), 

submitted on November 4, 2005; the 

Basic I/M SIP submitted on June 3, 

1994, the Basic I/M Performance 

Standard Evaluation submitted on 

November 2, 2006, and current I/Mrelated statutory provisions and 

regulations and updated exhaust gas 

analyzer specifications submitted on 

May 11, 2007; and the Truckee 

Meadows CO Maintenance Plan 

submitted on November 4, 2005. 

Each of the SIP revision submittals 

cited above contains evidence that 

reasonable notice of a public hearing 

was provided to the public (via 

newspaper advertisement) and that a 

public hearing was conducted prior to 

adoption by the District.3 Following 

adoption, the District forwarded these 

SIP revisions to NDEP, the Governor of 

Nevada’s designee for submitting SIP 

revisions and redesignation requests to 

EPA, and NDEP then submitted the SIP 

revisions to EPA for approval. We find 

that each of the SIP revisions cited 

above satisfies the procedural 

requirements of section 110(l) of the Act 

for revising SIPs. 

VI. Washoe County’s Wintertime 

Oxygenated Fuel Requirements 

Under section 211(m) of the Act, as 

amended in 1990, States with CO 

nonattainment areas with design values 

of 9.5 ppm or greater (eight-hour 

average) are required to submit an 

oxygenated gasoline program as a SIP 

revision. The design value for Truckee 

Meadows based on data collected 

during 1988–1989 (and recorded in 

EPA’s Air Quality System database) was 

9.8 ppm, eight-hour average, and thus, 

the State of Nevada is required to 

submit an oxygenated gasoline program 

for the Truckee Meadows area as a SIP 

revision. 

Section 211(m) of the 1990 Amended 

Act also specifies the minimum 

geographic extent for such an 

oxygenated gasoline program (larger of 

the Consolidated Metropolitan 

Statistical Area (CMSA) or MSA if the 

area is not in a CMSA), the minimum 

oxygen content (2.7% by weight), and 

the applicable portion of the year in 

which the program must be 

implemented (as determined by EPA). 

EPA determined that the applicable 

control period for the purposes of an 

oxygenated gasoline program in Truckee 

Meadows area is October 1 through 

January 31. See 57 FR 47853 (October 

20, 1992). EPA labeling requirements for 

oxygenated gasoline are found at 40 CFR 

80.35. 

The District first adopted an 

oxygenated gasoline rule (i.e., District 

rule 040.095 ‘‘Oxygen Content of Motor 

Vehicle Fuel’’) on December 21, 1988, 

and implementation of the rule began in 

December 1989. This rule applied 

throughout Washoe County and 

required a minimum gasoline oxygen 

content of 2% by weight during a 

control period defined as December 1 

through February 15. The District 

modified the oxygenated gasoline rule 

on April 18, 1990 to extend the control 

period to November 1 through the end 

of February. The April 18, 1990 version 

of the District’s oxygenated gasoline rule 

was included in a SIP revision submittal 

from the Governor to EPA dated April 

15, 1991. Meanwhile, five months prior 

to this SIP submittal, the Clean Air Act 

Amendments of 1990 were enacted, and 

the amended Act established new SIP 

requirements, discussed above, for 

oxygenated gasoline rules in CO 

nonattainment areas. 

In response to the new requirements, 

the District again amended the 

oxygenated gasoline rule (on September 

23, 1992) to increase the minimum 

oxygen content requirement to 2.7% 

and to extend the control period to 

October 1 through January 31. NDEP 

submitted this revised rule to EPA as a 

SIP revision on November 13, 1992 

thereby superseding the April 15, 1991 

submittal of the previous version of the 

rule. EPA did not take action on the 

November 13, 1992 submittal of the 

District’s oxygenated gasoline rule. In 

the intervening years, the District has 

twice amended the oxygenated gasoline 

rule: on October 25, 2000, the District 

phased-out use of methyl tertiary butyl 

ether (MTBE) as the oxygenate to meet 

the oxygen content requirement, and on 


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4 In 1979, EPA established a new NAAQS for 

ozone to replace the oxidant standard. In 1981, EPA 

changed the designation for Truckee Meadows from 

nonattainment for oxidant to attainment for ozone. 

See 46 FR 37896 (July 23, 1981). 

5 In 1991, all of Washoe County was designated 

as a ‘‘marginal’’ nonattainment area for the 1-hour 

ozone NAAQS. See 56 FR at 56798 (November 6, 

1991). For most such areas, a corrected and 

upgraded ‘‘basic’’

I/M program was required under CAA section 

182(a)(2)(B); however, the Washoe County 

‘‘marginal’’ ozone nonattainment area was not 

subject to the I/M requirement because the EPAapproved I/M program for Truckee Meadows (at the 

time of designation as a marginal ozone 

nonattainment area) did not include hydrocarbon 

emissions testing (but only CO emissions testing), 

and thus the I/M program was not part of the 

applicable ozone SIP. The State of Nevada deleted 

hydrocarbon emissions testing from the I/M 

program in 1983, and EPA approved the related 

changes in 1984. See 49 FR 6386 (February 21, 

1984) and 49 FR 44208 (November 5, 1984). 

Hydrocarbon emissions testing requirements have 

since been restored to the program and are a part 

of the current I/M program that is the subject of 

today’s proposal. 

September 22, 2005, the District 

clarified labeling requirements 

consistent with related EPA 

requirements at 40 CFR 80.35 and made 

certain other changes to improve 

enforceability. The September 22, 2005 

version of the wintertime oxygenated 

gasoline rule was submitted as a SIP 

revision by NDEP on November 4, 2005, 

thereby superseding the November 13, 

1992 submittal of the rule. 

We have evaluated the State’s 

November 4, 2005 submittal of the 

wintertime oxygenated gasoline rule 

(District rule 040.095) and find that it 

meets the applicable statutory and 

regulatory requirements by establishing 

the necessary minimum oxygen content 

requirement (2.7% by weight) in the 

applicable geographic area (i.e., Reno 

MSA, which consists of Washoe County, 

Nevada) for the appropriate control 

period (October 1 through January 31) 

and also provides for the necessary 

labeling of gasoline dispensers, and for 

recordkeeping, sampling and for 

enforceability. The District AQMD 

enforces the oxygenated gasoline rule by 

obtaining fuel samples from retail 

gasoline distributors, which are then 

analyzed by the State of Nevada, 

Department of Agriculture. Each year, 

the District AQMD publishes a report 

summarizing the results of the 

oxygenated gasoline program for the 

prior year. A review of these annual 

reports reveals near-full compliance 

with the requirements of the rule. 

For the above reasons, we find that 

District rule 040.095 (‘‘Oxygen Content 

of Motor Vehicle Fuel’’), as amended by 

the District on September 22, 2005, and 

submitted by NDEP to EPA on 

November 4, 2005, fulfills the 

requirements of section 211(m) of the 

Act and applicable EPA regulations, 

and, based on that finding, we propose 

approval of the rule as a revision to the 

Nevada SIP. 

VII. Nevada’s Motor Vehicle Inspection 

and Maintenance (I/M) Program in 

Truckee Meadows 

A. Background Information 

As noted in section IV of this 

document, EPA promulgated area 

designations for all states pursuant to 

the Act, as amended in 1977. See 43 FR 

8962 (March 3, 1978). The Truckee 

Meadows area of Nevada was 

designated nonattainment for the 

NAAQS for CO and photochemical 

oxidant.4

During the late 1970’s, the Nevada 

Legislature established the first motor 

vehicle I/M program for Truckee 

Meadows, and the Nevada Department 

of Motor Vehicles (DMV) began to 

implement this initial program in 1978. 

Nevada’s motor vehicle I/M program is 

required in two counties, Washoe and 

Clark. 

Originally, I/M requirements were 

triggered only by a change in vehicle 

ownership, but by 1983, I/M in Truckee 

Meadows had been expanded to apply 

annually upon vehicle registration or 

upon registration renewal. 

Implementation of a mandatory annual 

I/M program in Truckee Meadows was 

not a requirement of the 1977 amended 

Act but was one of the control measures 

selected by Washoe County and the 

State of Nevada to reduce CO emissions 

in that area. 

The 1980’s-era program in Truckee 

Meadows excluded certain types of 

vehicles including, among others, new 

cars, vehicles over 5,000 pounds 

unladen weight, and motorcycles. 

Waivers were allowed in certain cases 

for repairs costing over $100 in labor 

plus parts. For more information on this 

early I/M program in Truckee Meadows 

and related EPA rulemaking actions, see 

44 FR 26763 (May 7, 1979), 45 FR 59334 

(September 9, 1980), 46 FR 21758 (April 

14, 1981), 48 FR 5071 (February 3, 

1983), 49 FR 6386 (February 21, 1984), 

and 49 FR 44208 (November 5, 1984). 

As noted in section IV of this 

document, under the Clean Air Act 

Amendments of 1990, EPA classified 

Truckee Meadows as a ‘‘moderate’’ CO 

nonattainment area based on a design 

value of 9.8 ppm. Under section 187(a) 

of the Act, as amended in 1990, States 

with ‘‘moderate’’ CO nonattainment 

areas (with design values less than 12.7 

ppm) were required to continue 

implementation of existing I/M 

programs and to submit I/M SIP 

revisions to meet the ‘‘basic’’ I/M 

performance standard and other new 

related requirements promulgated by 

EPA subsequent to the 1990 Act 

Amendments. See CAA section 

187(a)(4).5 On January 15, 1993, EPA 

made a finding of failure to submit the 

required ‘‘basic’’ I/M SIP revision for 

Truckee Meadows. On November 15, 

1993, the NDEP submitted a ‘‘basic’’

I/M SIP revision for Truckee Meadows, 

but by letter dated April 13, 1994, EPA 

made a finding of incompleteness for 

the November 15, 1993 SIP revision 

submittal. 

On June 3, 1994, NDEP submitted the 

State Implementation Plan for a Basic 

Program for the Inspection and 

Maintenance of Motor Vehicles for the 

Truckee Meadows Planning Area, 

Nevada (June 1994) (‘‘Basic I/M SIP’’). 

By letter dated January 31, 1995, EPA 

found the Basic I/M SIP to be complete. 

The Basic I/M SIP includes I/M-related 

statutes and rules, as well as various 

other documents to satisfy EPA I/M 

requirements, but does not include the 

required performance standard 

evaluation. 

On November 2, 2006, NDEP 

submitted a SIP revision containing a 

performance standard evaluation of the 

basic I/M program for motor vehicles in 

the Truckee Meadows planning area 

(‘‘Basic I/M Performance Standard 

Evaluation’’) thereby fulfilling a 

requirement not addressed in the Basic 

I/M SIP. The November 2, 2006 SIP 

revision submittal contained the 

performance standard evaluation along 

with motor vehicle emissions modeling 

documentation and evidence of public 

process and adoption by the Washoe 

County District Board of Health on 

September 28, 2006. 

Since the submittal of the Basic I/M 

SIP in 1994, the State of Nevada has 

revised many of the I/M-related 

statutory provisions and regulations and 

has established new specifications for 

exhaust gas analyzers. On May 11, 2007, 

NDEP submitted a SIP revision entitled 

Nevada Mobile Source SIP, Update of 

the Regulatory Element (May 11, 2007) 

(‘‘Mobile Source SIP Update’’), which 

includes current I/M-related statutory 

provisions and regulations as well as 

updated exhaust gas analyzer 

specifications. The current Nevada I/M 

statutory provisions and rules submitted 

by NDEP on May 11, 2007 are as 

follows: 

• Nevada Revised Statutes (2005), 

chapter 365: section 365.060; chapter 

366, section 366.060; chapter 445B, 

sections 445B.210, 445B.700–845 

(excluding NRS 445B.776, 445B.777, 

and 445B.778); chapter 481, sections 


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6As explained below in the subsection entitled 

‘‘Vehicle coverage (40 CFR 51.356), we are taking 

no action on subsection (2) of NAC section 

445B.595. 

7A certified OBD system consists of a computer, 

which performs checks of a number of different 

vehicle systems for malfunctions or deterioration, 

which could result in the vehicle exceeding its 

emissions standards, and a malfunction indicator 

light, which is required to be illuminated when the 

system detects a problem. 

481.019–481.087; chapter 482, sections 

482.029, 482.155–482.290, 482.385, 

482.461, and 482.565; and chapter 484, 

sections 484.101, 484.644 and 484.6441; 

• Nevada Administrative Code 

(NAC), chapter 445B (January 2007 

revision by the Legislative Counsel 

Bureau), sections 445B.400 to 

445B.735.6

The Mobile Source SIP Update 

supersedes the corresponding materials 

included in the Basic I/M SIP submitted 

in 1994 and represents a comprehensive 

update to the regulatory portion of the 

State’s mobile source SIP (excluding the 

rules establishing fuels specifications, 

alternative fuels programs for 

government vehicles, and any local 

rules related to mobile sources), 

including the regulatory portion of the 

Truckee Meadows I/M SIP, which was 

last approved in 1984 (see 49 FR 44208, 

November 5, 1984), and the regulatory 

portion of the Las Vegas Valley I/M SIP, 

which was last approved in 2004 (see 69 

FR 56351, September 21, 2004). 

B. Evaluation of the State’s I/M Program 

in Truckee Meadows 

This subsection summarizes the 

applicable requirements of EPA’s I/M 

requirements found in 40 CFR part 51, 

subpart S (‘‘Inspection/Maintenance 

Program Requirements’’), which is 

referred to herein as the ‘‘Federal I/M 

rule,’’ and discusses whether the 

elements of the State’s ‘‘basic’’ vehicle 

I/M program for Truckee Meadows as 

contained in SIP revisions submitted on 

June 3, 1994, November 2, 2006, and 

May 11, 2007 comply with Federal 

requirements. 

Applicability (40 CFR 51.350) 

Under the Federal I/M rule, any area 

classified as marginal ozone 

nonattainment or moderate CO 

nonattainment with a design value of 

12.7 parts per million (ppm) or less 

shall continue operating I/M programs 

that were part of an approved SIP as of 

November 15, 1990, and shall update 

those programs an necessary to meet the 

basic I/M program requirements as set 

forth in part 51, subpart S. See 40 CFR 

51.350(a)(3). This requirement applies 

to Truckee Meadows because the CO 

SIP for Truckee Meadows, as of 

November 15, 1990, included an I/M 

program and because, under the Act as 

amended in 1990, the Truckee Meadows 

CO nonattainment area was classified as 

‘‘moderate’’ (with a design value of 12.7 

ppm or less). 

I/M programs are nominally required 

to cover at least the entire urbanized 

area, based on the 1990 census. See 40 

CFR 51.350(b)(2). The State’s legal 

authority necessary to establish program 

boundaries is contained in Nevada 

Revised Statutes (NRS) 445B.770. The 

applicable area for the basic I/M 

program is the urbanized area within 

‘‘Truckee Meadows,’’ which is defined 

by reference to the State’s hydrographic 

area #87. Under Nevada Administrative 

Code (NAC) 445B.594, the State’s basic 

I/M program applies within all of 

Washoe County, except for residents 

that live outside of the urbanized area 

and are serviced by one of the following 

post offices: (1) Crystal Bay, (2) Empire; 

(3) Incline Village, (4) Nixon, (5) 

Sutcliffe, or (6) Wadsworth. This is 

acceptable. 

The Federal I/M rule requires a State 

I/M program to remain in operation 

even if the area is redesignated to 

attainment until the State submits and 

EPA approves a SIP revision which 

convincingly demonstrates that the area 

can maintain the relevant standard 

without benefit of the emission 

reductions attributable to the I/M 

program. See 40 CFR 51.350(c). The 

statutory authority for the ‘‘basic’’ I/M 

program in Truckee Meadows contains 

no automatic sunset provision and thus 

is consistent with EPA requirements. 

Basic I/M Performance Standard (40 

CFR 51.352) 

‘‘Basic’’ I/M programs must be 

designed and implemented to meet or 

exceed a minimum performance 

standard, which is expressed as 

emission levels achieved from highway 

mobile sources as a result of the 

program. Areas are required to meet the 

performance standard for the pollutants 

which cause them to be subject to I/M 

requirements. The performance 

standard is based on the model I/M 

program inputs and local 

characteristics, such as vehicle mix and 

local fuel controls, and emission levels 

and emission reduction benefits must be 

calculated using the most recent version 

of EPA’s mobile source emission factor 

model (MOBILE). 

The Federal model ‘‘basic’’ I/M 

program has the following 

characteristics: (1) Network type 

(centralized testing); (2) Start date (for 

areas with existing I/M programs, 1983); 

(3) Test frequency (annual testing); (4) 

Model year coverage (testing of model 

year (MY) 1968 and later vehicles); (5) 

Vehicle type coverage (light-duty 

vehicles (excluding trucks)); (6) Exhaust 

emission test type (idle test); (7) 

Emission standards (no weaker than 

specified in 40 CFR part 85, subpart W); 

(8) Emission control device inspections 

(none); (9) Stringency (a 20% emission 

test failure rate among pre-1981 model 

year vehicles); (10) Waiver rate (0% 

waiver rate); (11) Compliance rate (a 

100% compliance rate); and (12) 

Evaluation date (1996 for CO 

nonattainment areas). Also, the basic 

I/M performance standard includes 

inspection of all 1996 and later lightduty vehicles equipped with certified 

on-board diagnostic (OBD) systems,7

and repair of malfunctions or system 

deterioration identified by or affecting 

OBD systems. 

The Nevada basic I/M program within 

Truckee Meadows has the following 

characteristics: (1) Network type 

(decentralized, test-and-repair); (2) Start 

date (1983); (3) Test frequency (annual 

testing); (4) Model year coverage (testing 

of MY 1968 and later vehicles); (5) 

Vehicle type coverage [light-duty (i.e., 

less than 8,500 pounds gross vehicle 

weight rating (GVWR)) vehicles (both 

gasoline- and diesel-powered) and 

heavy-duty gasoline-powered vehicles]; 

(6) Exhaust emission test type (‘‘twospeed idle’’ test (i.e, at 2,500 revolutions 

per minute (rpm) and at idle) for lightduty gasoline-powered vehicles from 

1968 through 1995 and heavy-duty 

gasoline-powered vehicles 1968 and 

newer; 1968 and newer light-duty 

diesel-powered vehicles are inspected 

for exhaust opacity on a dynamometer 

(i.e., steady state using load mode)); (7) 

Emission standards (based on those 

specified in 40 CFR part 85, subpart W); 

(8) Emission control device inspections 

(for 1968 and newer vehicles, a gas cap 

check; for gasoline-powered vehicles 

newer than 1980, the anti-tampering 

program (ATP) checks for air pump 

disablement, catalyst removal, fuel inlet 

restrictor disablement, exhaust gas 

recirculation (EGR) system disablement, 

evaporative system disablement, and 

positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) 

system disablement; for diesel-powered 

vehicles, visual tampering inspection is 

based on manufacturer’s specifications); 

(9) Stringency (21% based on 1996 

data); (10) Waiver rate (4% for pre-1981 

and 3% for 1981 and newer based on 

1996 data); (11) Compliance rate (96%); 

and (12) Evaluation date (year 1996). 

The State’s basic I/M program includes 

inspection of all 1996 and newer lightduty gasoline-powered vehicles 

equipped with certified on-board 

diagnostic (OBD) systems. Repair of 


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8Under the Nevada I/M program, light-duty 

diesel-powered motor vehicles registered in the 

applicable portions of Washoe County and Clark 

County are also subject to annual inspections, 

which include a tampering inspection and an 

opacity test. 

malfunctions or system deterioration is 

identified for emission compliance 

through the OBD system. 

As noted above, the Basic I/M SIP 

submitted in 1994 does not include a 

performance standard evaluation, but 

NDEP submitted the required evaluation 

(referred to herein as the ‘‘Basic I/M 

Performance Standard Evaluation’’) to 

EPA for approval on November 2, 2006. 

District AQMD prepared this evaluation 

using the latest available version of 

MOBILE (MOBILE6.2.03). District 

AQMD used the various inputs for 

EPA’s ‘‘basic’’ model program and the 

State’s basic I/M program for Truckee 

Meadows as described above to estimate 

the composite CO emission rate in year 

1996 of the vehicle fleet in Truckee 

Meadows under three scenarios: (1) no 

I/M program, (2) EPA’s basic model 

program, and (3) the State’s basic I/M 

program for Truckee Meadows. District 

AQMD assumed 50% effectiveness for 

the State’s basic I/M program in Truckee 

Meadows to account for the 

decentralized, test-and-repair nature of 

the I/M program. 

A comparison of the MOBILE6.2.03- 

based CO emissions rates for these three 

scenarios shows that EPA’s basic model 

program would have reduced composite 

CO emissions by 8.9% (relative to the 

no I/M scenario) and that the State’s 

basic I/M program for Truckee Meadows 

reduced the emissions rate by 9.5% 

(once again, relative to the no I/M 

scenario). We find that District AQMD 

used the appropriate model and 

reasonable methods and assumptions in 

developing the CO emission rates for the 

performance standard evaluation. Based 

on this finding and because the results 

of the evaluation show that State’s basic 

I/M program achieves equivalent or 

greater reductions in the CO emissions 

rate as compared to EPA’s basic model 

program, we find that the State’s basic 

I/M program in Truckee Meadows meets 

the performance standard requirement 

under 40 CFR 51.352. 

Network Type and Program Evaluation 

(40 CFR 51.353) 

State law provides for a decentralized 

(i.e., privately-owned but licensed by 

the State), test-and-repair network for 

1968 and newer gasoline-powered autos 

and trucks.8 The network includes 

different types of test-and-repair 

stations. State law differentiates 

between two types of test-and-repair 

stations: (1) Test stations that are 

allowed to do only specific types of 

repairs (such as oil changes, 

replacement of oil or air filters, and 

servicing of the fuel injection system) 

but are generally not allowed to perform 

repairs that affect exhaust emissions and 

(2) test stations that are allowed to do 

more extensive repairs. The former are 

referred to as ‘‘authorized inspection 

stations’’ and the latter are referred to as 

‘‘authorized stations.’’ NAC sections 

445B.460 through 445B.480 specify 

requirements for facilities to obtain 

licenses as authorized test stations or 

authorized stations. For the purposes of 

the performance standard evaluation, 

Washoe County assumed 50% 

effectiveness for the program based on 

the decentralized, test-and-repair nature 

of the network. The 50% effectiveness 

value is the default value in MOBILE for 

such networks and is acceptable. We 

find that the State’s I/M testing network 

for Truckee Meadows is adequately 

described in the State’s I/M submittals, 

that the State has sufficient legal 

authority to enforce the requirements 

that must be met for stations to obtain 

and retain licenses as authorized 

inspection stations or as authorized 

stations, and that the network has been 

adequately modeled for performance 

standard purposes, and thus the 

requirements of 40 CFR 51.353 are 

satisfied. 

We note that the program evaluation 

required under 40 CFR 51.353(c) applies 

to ‘‘enhanced’’ I/M programs, and 

because Truckee Meadows is subject 

only to the ‘‘basic’’ I/M program 

requirements, the program evaluation 

requirement under 40 CFR 51.353(c) 

does not apply. 

Adequate Tools and Resources (40 CFR 

51.354) 

The Federal I/M rule requires the state 

to demonstrate that there is adequate 

funding of the program functions 

including quality assurance, data 

analysis and reporting, the holding of 

hearings and adjudication of cases. The 

state must also demonstrate that 

sufficient personnel have been 

employed to effectively carry out the 

duties related to the program and that 

equipment necessary to achieve the 

objectives of the program have been 

acquired. 

Nevada law establishes annual fees to 

cover costs associated with 

implementation, administration and 

operation of the I/M program. See NRS 

445B.830. The fees must be paid to the 

DMV and accounted for in the pollution 

control account, which is created in the 

Nevada general fund. The 1994 Truckee 

Meadows I/M SIP notes that the basic 

I/M program in Truckee Meadows is an 

update to existing program whose 

funding has long been established. To 

illustrate how the funds paid to DMV 

are allocated to provide for employee 

salaries, the Basic I/M SIP includes a 

copy of the budget for the program, as 

approved by the 67th Session of the 

Nevada Legislature and the Governor, 

showing provisions for personnel 

sufficient to meet the oversight 

requirements of the program for fiscal 

year 1994. See appendix #3 of the Basic 

I/M SIP. EPA believes the State’s I/M 

program plan for tools and resources is 

acceptable. 

Test Frequency and Convenience (40 

CFR 51.355) 

The performance standards for I/M 

programs assume an annual test 

frequency, but under the Federal I/M 

rule, other schedules may be approved 

if the required emission targets are 

achieved. Also, under the Federal I/M 

rule, the SIP must include the legal 

authority necessary to implement and 

enforce the test frequency requirement 

and explain how the test frequency will 

be integrated with the enforcement 

process. 

Nevada’s motor vehicle I/M program 

is registration-enforced in the two 

affected counties (i.e., Washoe and 

Clark) and is tracked by continuing 

annual vehicle registration. Under NRS 

482.206, vehicle registration must be 

renewed annually, and under NAC 

445B.594, persons who are registering or 

reregistering their vehicle in Truckee 

Meadows (except for new vehicles) 

must provide evidence of compliance 

(with the emission inspection) as part of 

the annual registration process. New 

vehicles are exempt from testing until 

the third registration cycle. See NAC 

445B.592. 

The DMV has authority under NRS 

445B.798 to require proof of compliance 

with the emission standards after a 

vehicle has been cited for needing 

mechanical repair or for a smoking 

vehicle. Nevada law thereby provides 

for out-of-cycle emission testing for 

high-emitting vehicles. Under NRS 

482.461, cancellation of registration can 

result if the vehicle failing a test 

conducted under NRS 445B.798 has not 

been repaired as required. 

On May 11, 2007, NDEP submitted all 

of the current versions of the statutory 

provisions and rules cited above for 

approval into the Nevada SIP. EPA 

believes these elements meet the 

requirements of the Federal I/M rule. 

Vehicle Coverage (40 CFR 51.356) 

The Federal model ‘‘basic’’ I/M 

program against which State programs 

are compared assumes coverage of all 


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1968 and newer model year (MY) ‘‘lightduty’’ vehicles (i.e., up to 8,500 pounds 

GVWR) and includes vehicles operating 

on all fuel types. The Federal ‘‘basic’’ I/ 

M program does not assume coverage of 

light-duty trucks. Other levels of 

coverage may be approved if the 

necessary emission reductions are 

achieved. 

Under Nevada’s basic I/M program, 

the term ‘‘light-duty motor vehicles’’

refers to passenger cars and trucks up to 

8,500 pounds GVWR; ‘‘heavy-duty 

motor vehicles’’ refers to vehicles of 

8,500 pounds GVWR or more. Nevada’s 

basic I/M program is more inclusive 

than required under the Federal I/M 

rule in some ways and less inclusive in 

others. For instance, the program is 

more inclusive in that, as mentioned 

above, it requires all 1968 and newer 

heavy-duty gasoline-powered vehicles 

to be tested annually in addition to 

light-duty gasoline-powered vehicles. 

On the other hand, Nevada’s basic I/M 

program provides certain exemptions 

not included in the model program, 

such as the exemption for new vehicles, 

which are not emissions-tested until the 

third registration cycle (but still must be 

registered or re-registered). Other minor 

exemptions are set forth in NAC 

445B.592 (such as motorcycles and 

motor vehicles permanently converted 

from gasoline to propane, compressed 

natural gas, methane or butane as a 

fuel). The Basic I/M Performance 

Standard Evaluation submitted by NDEP 

as a SIP revision on November 2, 2006 

takes these exemptions into account. 

Under the Nevada program, light-duty 

diesel-powered vehicles, 1968 and 

newer, are also subject to annual 

registration requirements and certain 

emissions-related requirements but are 

not subject to the emissions testing 

procedures that apply to gasolinepowered vehicles. In addition, the 

emissions evaluation for the State’s I/M 

program takes no specific credit for 

inspection and maintenance of dieselpowered vehicles. 

EPA believes that Nevada’s ‘‘basic’’

I/M program adequately identifies and 

accounts for the vehicles covered by the 

program and thereby meets the 

requirements of the Federal I/M rule 

under 40 CFR 51.356. 

The Federal I/M rule requires that 

vehicles operated on Federal 

installations located within an I/M 

program area be tested regardless of 

whether the vehicles are registered in 

the state or local I/M area. See 40 CFR 

51.356(a)(4). However, we are not 

requiring states to implement 40 CFR 

51.356(a)(4) at this time. The 

Department of Justice has recommended 

to EPA that this Federal regulation be 

revised since it appears to grant states 

authority to regulate Federal 

installations in circumstances where the 

Federal government has not waived 

sovereign immunity. It would not be 

appropriate to require compliance with 

this regulation if it is not 

constitutionally authorized. EPA will be 

revising this provision in the future and 

will review state I/M SIPs with respect 

to this issue when this new rule is final. 

Therefore, for these reasons, EPA is 

neither approving nor disapproving the 

specific requirements which apply to 

Federal facilities at this time. 

Specifically, we are taking no action on 

submitted rule NAC 445B.595(2), which 

extends the State’s I/M requirements to 

motor vehicles operated on Federal 

installations located within I/M areas. 

We are also proposing under CAA 

section 110(k)(6), which authorizes EPA 

to correct errors in SIP actions, to 

rescind our previous approval of NAC 

445B.595(2) into the Nevada SIP on 

grounds of sovereign immunity. We 

approved NAC 445B.595(2) as part of 

our 2004 approval of the State of 

Nevada’s I/M program for Las Vegas and 

Boulder City. 

Test Procedures and Standards (40 CFR 

51.357) 

The Federal I/M rule requires that 

states establish written test procedures 

and pass/fail standards to be followed 

for each model year and vehicle type 

included in the program. The required 

test procedures are specified in 40 CFR 

51.357(a). The Federal I/M rule also 

requires that beginning January 1, 2002, 

inspection of the OBD systems on MY 

1996 and newer light-duty vehicles 

shall be conducted according to the 

procedure described in 40 CFR 85.2222, 

at a minimum. See 40 CFR 

51.357(a)(12). The required test 

standards are specified in 40 CFR 

51.357(b). 

EPA’s basic I/M performance standard 

assumes testing in idle mode, but 

Nevada’s I/M program requires subject 

vehicles to pass the more demanding 

‘‘two-speed idle’’ test (i.e., exhaust 

emissions are tested in idle mode and at 

2,500 rpm). In this instance, the subject 

vehicles include all gasoline-powered 

motor vehicles (except motorcycles, and 

other exempt categories), i.e., light-duty 

gasoline-powered vehicles MY 1968 

through MY 1995, and heavy-duty 

gasoline-powered vehicles MY 1968 and 

newer. See NAC 445B.580. Generally, 

the procedures require use of an 

approved exhaust gas analyzer and 

compliance with the emissions 

standards set forth in NAC 445B.596 

(unless a waiver is granted). All lightduty gasoline-powered vehicles MY 

1996 and newer are subject to OBD 

systems checks. See NAC 445B.5805. 

The State’s procedures for the twospeed idle test and the OBD system 

check are consistent with EPA 

requirements. Testing procedures and 

standards for light-duty diesel-powered 

vehicles are found in NAC 445B.587 

through 445B.589. 

EPA’s basic I/M performance standard 

assumes exhaust emission testing 

standards as specified in 40 CFR part 

85, subpart W. Consistent with those 

standards, the State I/M program 

establishes, for those vehicles that are 

subject to emissions testing, maximum 

exhaust emissions for MY 1981 and 

newer of 1.2% for CO and 220 ppm for 

hydrocarbons (HC). For older light-duty 

gasoline-powered vehicles (MY 1968 

through 1980), maximum CO (%) and 

HC (ppm) standards range from 4.0%–

2.0% and 800 ppm–500 ppm, 

respectively. The standards for heavyduty gasoline-powered vehicles MY 

1981 and newer are 3.5% for CO and 

1,000 ppm for HC; for older heavy-duty 

gasoline-powered vehicles (MY 1968 

through 1980), maximum CO (%) and 

HC (ppm) range from 7.0%–4.0% and 

1,400 ppm–1,000 ppm, respectively. See 

NAC 445B.596. In the event of an 

emission failure of any kind, all 

components are retested after repairs. 

The Federal basic I/M performance 

standard does not assume that 

inspections are made of the emission 

control devices as part of the I/M 

program. Under the Nevada I/M 

program, however, such inspections are 

required. Specifically, inspectors 

perform visual checks for smoke from 

the exhaust system and for blowby gases 

from the crankcase. See NAC 445B.580. 

Also, inspectors visually inspect all 

vehicles to determine the presence of a 

properly installed gas cap. For lightduty gasoline-powered vehicles MY 

1981 through MY 1995 (and MY 1996 

and newer heavy-duty gasoline-powered 

vehicles), inspectors also check for the 

presence of an exhaust gas recirculation 

valve, catalytic converter, air injection 

system and fuel inlet restricter, and 

whether this equipment appears to be 

operating in accordance with the 

specifications of the manufacturer of the 

vehicle. See NAC 445B.580. For MY 

1996 and newer light-duty gasolinepowered vehicles, inspection stations 

administer OBD systems checks (see 

NAC 445B.5805) that substitute for the 

visual inspections that are part of the 

program for earlier models. If a vehicle 

has missing or malfunctioning 

emissions control equipment, Nevada’s 

required I/M test will result in a failed 

vehicle notification. Under NAC 

445B.582 and 445B.589, necessary 


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repairs must be completed before a 

second test can be performed. 

We conclude that the State’s test 

procedures and standards meet the 

corresponding Federal I/M rule 

requirements. 

Test Equipment (40 CFR 51.358) 

The Federal I/M rule requires 

computerized test systems for 

performing any measurement on subject 

vehicles, and the SIP is to include 

written technical specifications for all 

test equipment used in the program. 

In 1994, when the Basic I/M SIP was 

submitted, the State’s exhaust gas 

analyzer was the Nevada 94 analyzer, 

and the Basic I/M SIP included the 

written specifications for that analyzer. 

Since then, the State has replaced the 

Nevada 94 analyzer with the NV2000 

analyzer and submitted the related 

written specifications to EPA in a SIP 

submittal dated January 30, 2002. The 

January 30, 2002 SIP submittal was 

made in connection with our review of 

the I/M program in Las Vegas and 

Boulder City, but we note that the same 

analyzer (i.e., NV2000) is required for 

use in both the Las Vegas/Boulder City 

area and in the Truckee Meadows area. 

On May 11, 2007, NDEP submitted 

another I/M-related SIP revision that 

included, among other items, written 

specifications for a change in NV2000 as 

previously submitted to make emissions 

testing possible on motor vehicles 

containing a certified OBD system 

which uses controller area network 

communication. 

NV2000 emission testing equipment 

has been used to inspect gasolinepowered vehicles since April 2001. 

NV2000 analyzers carry California 

Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR 97) 

certification. Two-speed idle and OBD 

inspection procedures can be performed 

with NV2000 analyzers. The NV2000 

emission analyzer has remained in the 

same configuration as when first 

implemented in April 2001 with one 

exception. In late 2004, a revised OBD 

scan hardware capable of 

communication with controller area 

network systems was approved as an 

option. Emissions stations were 

required to update their NV2000 

emission analyzers to include the 

revised OBD scan hardware by 

September 2006. 

NV2000 test equipment features 

include: Concentration measurements of 

CO, HC, carbon dioxide (CO2) and 

oxygen (O2); engine RPM; leak checks; 

anti-tampering checks; automatic test 

data recording; and lock-out measures. 

The test begins with a check of the 

vehicle’s registration and for any recall 

notices for that model vehicle. Adoption 

or use of alternate test equipment, test 

procedures or alternate methods 

requires prior approval by EPA. The 

exhaust gas analyzer specifications 

describe all the necessary components 

of the emission analysis process, test 

equipment and all necessary EPA 

requirements under 40 CFR 51.358. We 

found NV2000 to be acceptable in 

connection with our approval of 

Nevada’s I/M program for Las Vegas and 

Boulder City (see 69 FR 56351 

(September 21, 2004)) and believe that 

NV2000, as updated in NDEP’s 

submittal dated May 11, 2007, is equally 

acceptable for the purposes of the basic 

I/M program in Truckee Meadows. 

Quality Control (40 CFR 51.359) 

The Federal I/M rule requires state 

programs to include measures to ensure 

emission testing equipment is calibrated 

and maintained properly. See 40 CFR 

51.359. SIPs are to include a description 

of quality control and recordkeeping 

procedures and the procedure manual, 

rule, ordinance or law describing and 

establishing the quality control 

procedures and requirements. See 40 

CFR 51.359(f). The specifications for 

Nevada’s NV2000 analyzer include 

several quality control elements. Only 

State-certified analyzers may be used for 

emission testing purposes under the I/ 

M program, and to qualify for 

certification, manufacturers of analyzers 

must demonstrate that their model 

complies with all NV2000 

specifications. NV2000 specifications 

were submitted by NDEP as part of its 

January 30, 2002 SIP submittal to EPA 

and approved as a SIP revision on 

September 21, 2004 (69 FR 56351). 

NDEP submitted revisions to NV2000 on 

May 11, 2007. NV2000 requires that 

analyzers be designed to perform 

automatic two-point gas calibrations for 

HC, CO and carbon dioxide; ambient air 

zero and span check tests; and 

measurements of oxygen using ambient 

air. The specifications call for automatic 

gas calibration to be conducted every 72 

hours as activated by the analyzer’s 

internal clock. In addition, to meet 

NV2000 specifications, an analyzer 

must be designed with a system capable 

of requiring an automatic leak check of 

the vacuum side of the analyzer 

activated by the internal clock every 24 

hours. 

The NV2000 analyzer also includes a 

number of automated controls to ensure 

that the system is tamper-resistant. The 

inspection certificates are stored 

automatically by the exhaust gas 

emission analyzer. The analyzers 

provide security capable of preventing 

any unauthorized modifications to the 

software or test data. The performance 

of licensed test and repair stations on 

repairing vehicles for retest is 

monitored. Emission certificates are 

counterfeit-resistant. Overt and covert 

audits are used to help verify the 

security of documents and emission test 

information. The Nevada DMV collects 

and inspects records from licensed test 

stations to detect discrepancies in 

testing and/or repairs. EPA believes the 

State’s submitted basic I/M program for 

Truckee Meadows meets the quality 

control requirements of 40 CFR 51.359 

and is acceptable. 

Waivers and Compliance via Diagnostic 

Inspection (40 CFR 51.360) 

Under the Federal I/M rule, state I/M 

programs may allow the issuance of a 

waiver, which is a form of compliance 

with the program requirements that 

allows a motorist to comply without 

meeting the applicable test standards, as 

long as certain prescribed criteria are 

met. See 40 CFR 51.360. For ‘‘basic’’ I/ 

M programs, state I/M programs must 

require motorists to make an 

expenditure of at least $75 for pre-1981 

vehicles and $200 for 1981 and newer 

vehicles to qualify for a waiver, but 

allows motorists to wait to repair a 

failed vehicle for the period of one test 

cycle for ‘‘economic hardship.’’ See 40 

CFR 51.360(a)(9). 

The State of Nevada has adopted 

procedures for issuing waivers after an 

emission test failure (see NAC 

445B.590). First of all, only Nevada 

DMV may grant a waiver under the 

emissions standards tests. Second, for 

the basic I/M program in Truckee 

Meadows, the Nevada program requires 

a minimum expenditure of at least $200 

at an authorized station on repair parts 

(other than a catalytic converter, fuel 

inlet restrictor or air injection system) or 

on labor to qualify for a waiver. See 

NAC 445B.590(2)(a). Such labor costs 

cannot include emission testing if the 

repairs evidenced by the receipt were 

directly related to the deficiency in 

emissions. If the vehicle is repaired by 

the owner, the waiver application must 

include receipts or other evidence that 

at least $200 has been spent on parts 

(other than a catalytic converter, fuel 

inlet restrictor or air injection system). 

No allowance is permitted for labor on 

vehicles repaired by the owner. Also, a 

vehicle that qualifies for repairs under 

a warranty is not eligible for a waiver. 

The performance standard evaluation 

provided by the State in the Basic I/M 

Performance Standard Evaluation SIP 

submittal dated November 2, 2006 

reflects the actual waiver rate that 

occurred during the first quarter of 

1996: 4.2% for pre-1981 vehicles and 

3.3% of 1981 and newer vehicles. We 


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find that Nevada’s submitted basic I/M 

program for Truckee Meadows meets 

the requirements for issuing waivers 

under such programs under 40 CFR 

51.360 and adequately accounts for 

waivers in the performance standard 

evaluation for the program. 

Motorist Compliance Enforcement (40 

CFR 51.361) 

The Federal I/M rule requires the use 

of registration denial to ensure 

compliance with the requirements of the 

I/M program. However, the Federal I/M 

rule allows programs in ‘‘basic’’ I/M 

areas to use an alternative enforcement 

mechanism if the State demonstrates 

that the alternative will be as effective 

as registration denial. 

The Nevada program includes a 

registration denial enforcement 

program. See NRS 445B.815 AND NRS 

482.280. New residents to Nevada must 

register their motor vehicles within 60 

days of becoming a resident. See NRS 

482.385. Vehicle owners that do not 

renew vehicle registrations, and 

continue to drive an unregistered 

vehicle in the state, are subject to 

enforcement action by any law 

enforcement officer in the state. Local 

governments are responsible for 

establishing policies for the mandatory 

fines of all traffic violations including 

failure to comply with registration 

requirements. 

Persons purchasing vehicles from 

used-car dealers must have the vehicle 

tested and obtain evidence of 

compliance from the dealers prior to 

sale (NRS 445B.800). All persons 

purchasing vehicles from individuals 

must have the vehicle tested and have 

a passing certificate of compliance to 

obtain registration. If a vehicle is not 

registered, it is unlawful to be operated 

on public highways, and NRS 445B.840 

prohibits possession of unauthorized 

evidence of compliance or the making, 

issuance, or use of any imitation or 

counterfeit evidence of compliance. 

Government fleets (any number of 

vehicles) and private fleets (consisting 

of 25 or more vehicles) can certify their 

vehicles in their own licensed fleet 

facility (see NAC 445B.461 and NAC 

445B.478). I/M inspection facilities for 

fleets must also meet the requirements 

applicable to a licensed test station 

except for bonds and signs. Evidence of 

I/M compliance for vehicles serviced by 

a covered fleet must be submitted 

annually to Nevada DMV. 

Emission control compliance is tied to 

vehicle registration or re-registration. 

Registration tags are color-coded with 

the date imprinted to make it easily 

visible to local, county or State law 

enforcement personnel. EPA believes 

the submitted basic I/M program for 

Truckee Meadows meets the 

requirements under the Federal rule 

related to motorist compliance 

enforcement and is acceptable. 

Motorist Compliance Enforcement 

Program Oversight (40 CFR 51.362) 

The Federal I/M rule requires the 

State to audit the enforcement program 

on a regular basis and to follow effective 

program management practices, 

including adjustments to improve 

operation when necessary. A quality 

assurance program must be 

implemented to ensure effective overall 

performance of the enforcement system. 

Under Nevada’s program, compliance 

is monitored using computer records of 

vehicle registration through the Nevada 

DMV, in conjunction with the State, 

local and county law enforcement 

agencies. Denial of vehicle registration 

or re-registration is the main tool for 

compliance. The DMV issues and 

supplies all emission control 

documents. The DMV tracks all 

certificates of inspection issued, 

received, returned or voided by the 

individual licensed test stations. 

Licensed test stations are required to 

provide the DMV with a report on all 

control documents received, issued, or 

voided (see NAC 445B.472 and 

445B.473). 

The DMV is required to develop 

procedures for personnel engaged in 

I/M document management and 

processing. Periodic audits of test 

records and registration files for 

renewals must be performed. 

Evaluations of all personnel are 

conducted on a regular basis in 

accordance with the State Personnel 

Manual. 

Emission test files are required to be 

updated periodically at the DMV. 

Procedures have been developed for 

inquiry into the host computer for 

specific vehicles, stations, and general 

program reporting. Information on 

complaints, waivers issued, and recall 

information is included in the data files. 

NV2000 specifications require 

automatic functions for such items as 

the following: Pass/fail determinations 

on all measurements; a record of all test 

data and vehicle data to the central 

computer; electronic calibration and 

system integrity checks; and lockouts 

for specified quality control. 

The State has developed written 

procedures for all field auditors and 

personnel directly involved in the 

enforcement of the I/M program. The 

procedures include: Methods for 

performing covert and overt audits, 

preparation of enforcement documents, 

methods for operation of I/M test 

equipment, public relation materials 

and other applicable information. EPA 

believes the submitted basic I/M 

program for Truckee Meadows meets 

the requirements under the Federal rule 

related to oversight of the motorist 

compliance enforcement program and is 

acceptable. 

Quality Assurance (40 CFR 51.363) 

The Federal I/M rule requires an 

ongoing quality assurance program to 

discover, correct, and prevent fraud, 

waste, and abuse and to determine 

whether procedures are being followed 

and are adequate, if equipment is 

measuring accurately, and if other 

problems may exist, which would 

impede program performance. The 

procedures must also be periodically 

evaluated to assess their effectiveness 

and relevance in achieving program 

goals. See 40 CFR 51.363. 

The specifications for the NV2000 

analyzer incorporate quality assurance 

procedures. Among its various software 

requirements, NV2000 provides the 

capability for generating station and 

inspector evaluation reports. NV2000 

also provides for different types of 

reports generated for State audit 

purposes, such as a station performance 

report and details regarding analyzer 

maintenance. Each licensed test station 

must maintain records and have them 

available for collection for DMV 

evaluation (see NAC 445B.472). 

The State’s rules for inspecting test 

stations and inspectors are set forth in 

NAC 445B.7015–445B.7045. Nevada 

DMV conducts annual audits of test 

stations and may determine that 

additional inspections are necessary 

based on circumstances such as 

abnormal rates of failure of motor 

vehicles on exhaust emissions tests or 

receipt of complaints against stations or 

inspectors. In addition, a minimum of 

once every calendar month, DMV 

performs an audit of all exhaust gas 

analyzers located at a test station, and 

once every calendar quarter, DMV’s 

audit includes an evaluation of the 

accuracy of the analyzers using 

specialty gas specifically designed for 

that purpose. See NAC 445B.472. 

DMV has developed written standard 

operating procedures for quality 

assurance that were included as 

appendix 6 of the Basic I/M SIP 

submitted in 1994. These procedures 

cover such subjects as covert audits and 

use of covert vehicles. Nevada DMV 

auditors receive formal training in the 

use of analyzers, basics of air pollution 

control, basic engine repair, State 

administrative procedures, quality 

assurance practices, covert procedures 

and program rules and regulations. EPA 


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believes the State’s submitted basic I/M 

program for Truckee Meadows meets 

the requirements under the Federal rule 

related to quality assurance and is 

acceptable. 

Enforcement Against Contractors, 

Stations and Inspectors (40 CFR 51.364) 

The Federal I/M rule requires the 

establishment of minimum penalties for 

violations of program rules and 

procedures which can be imposed 

against licensed stations or contractors, 

and inspectors. Procedures for actions 

against stations and inspectors are 

provided for in NAC sections 445B.463 

and 445B.476 (stations) and sections 

445B.489 and 445B.491 (inspectors). 

Violations and penalties are set forth in 

NRS section 445B.835 and 445B.845 

and NAC sections 445B.7045 and 

445B.727. Stations and inspectors are 

regulated by Nevada DMV with respect 

to license denials, suspension, 

reinstatements, temporary suspensions, 

revoked licenses, required bonds, 

reapplications, and hearings for 

reapplication [NAC sections 445B.463 

through 445B.468 (stations) and sections 

445B.489 through 445B.493 

(inspectors)]. EPA believes the State’s 

submitted basic I/M program for 

Truckee Meadows meets the 

requirements for enforcement against 

licensed stations or contractors, and 

inspectors in the Federal rule and is 

acceptable. 

Data Collection (40 CFR 51.365) 

An effective I/M program requires 

accurate data collection in order to 

manage, evaluate and enforce the 

program requirements. The Nevada I/M 

program contains data gathering 

provisions that meet all of the criteria of 

the EPA regulations. Vehicle test data 

storage and retrieval methods are 

enumerated. Test results are expressed 

as either pass or fail. Information related 

to the calibration check must be stored 

automatically by each analysis. EPA 

believes the State’s submitted basic I/M 

program for Truckee Meadows meets 

the requirements for data collection in 

the Federal rule and is acceptable. 

Data Analysis and Reporting (40 CFR 

51.366) 

Data analysis and reporting are 

required to monitor and evaluate the 

program by the State and EPA and must 

provide information regarding the types 

of program activities performed and 

their final outcomes, including 

summary statistics and effectiveness 

evaluations of the enforcement 

mechanism, the quality assurance 

system, the quality control program, and 

the testing element. The Federal I/M 

rule requires four annual reports to be 

submitted to EPA: A test data report, a 

quality assurance report, a quality 

control report, and an enforcement 

report. In addition, on a biennial basis, 

the States must submit a report that 

addresses programmatic changes, such 

as funding or personnel changes and 

new regulations, and problems 

identified in the program and steps 

taken to correct those problems. 

Nevada DMV is responsible, in 

cooperation with NDEP, for data 

analysis and reporting. The State of 

Nevada has consistently submitted the 

reports on time (by July of each year), 

and the reports contain the required 

information. Nevada’s annual data 

analysis and reporting includes: The 

number of vehicles tested by MY; pass/ 

fail data; basic statistics on the quality 

assurance program for the previous year 

that include the number of inspection 

stations operating through the year; 

overt and covert audit information; 

quality control reporting that includes 

the number of scheduled station audits 

that were conducted and the number of 

analyzers that failed a calibration audit; 

enforcement-related information 

including the motorist compliance level 

and the number of waivers granted; and 

a description of any changes made to 

the I/M program. The most recent report 

covers calendar year 2006. 

EPA believes that the State’s 

submitted basic I/M program for 

Truckee Meadows meets the 

requirements for data analysis and 

reporting in the Federal rule and is 

acceptable. 

Inspector Training and Licensing or 

Certification (40 CFR 51.367) 

The Federal I/M rule requires all 

inspectors to receive formal training and 

be licensed or certified to conduct 

inspections. NAC sections 445B.485 

through 445B.502 set forth the 

procedures for the required training and 

licensing of inspectors. Nevada DMV’s 

requirements for an approved inspector 

include a verified training program for 

‘‘class 1’’ and ‘‘class 2’’ inspectors 

(including a course approved by DMV), 

a written and practical testing program, 

and a separate certification process. All 

trainees are required to pass a 

comprehensive hands-on and written 

examination which requires inspectors 

to demonstrate an understanding of 

Nevada’s regulations, test procedures, 

equipment usage, quality control 

procedures and safety and health issues. 

Certified repair technicians must 

comply with the training and licensing 

requirements of ‘‘class 2’’ inspectors in 

order to perform service on vehicle 

exhaust emission components. All test 

stations must employ approved 

inspectors of the appropriate class and 

rating. Nevada DMV provides the 

appropriate inspector training and 

licensing to meet the requirements 

listed in 40 CFR 51.367. EPA believes 

that the State’s submitted basic I/M 

program for Truckee Meadows meets 

the requirements for inspector training 

and licensing or certification in the 

Federal rule and is acceptable. 

Public Information and Consumer 

Protection (40 CFR 51.368) 

The Federal I/M rule requires that an 

I/M program include a plan for 

informing the public on an ongoing 

basis throughout the life of the I/M 

program of: Local air quality problems, 

the requirements of Federal and State 

law, and the impact of motor vehicles to 

local air quality problems. The 

educational program should also 

include information on: The need for 

and benefits of an inspection program, 

how to maintain a vehicle in a lowemission condition, how to find a 

qualified repair technician, and the 

requirements of the I/M program. In 

addition, the program must describe 

procedures and mechanisms to protect 

the public from fraud and abuse by 

inspectors, mechanics, and others 

involved in the I/M program. 

Pursuant to NRS 445B.785 and NAC 

445B.471, Nevada DMV issues a 

pamphlet for the purpose of providing 

the general public with a description of 

the methods of, and reasons for, the I/ 

M program. NDEP included such a 

pamphlet in appendix 8 of the Basic I/ 

M SIP submitted in 1994. In addition, 

Nevada DMV operates a Web site 

(http://www.dmvnv.com/emission.htm) 

that describes the emissions testing 

program. Nevada DMV has developed a 

public relations program to disseminate 

information to the public through the 

local offices of the DMV and civic 

events throughout the year. Information 

is made available to the motorist, whose 

vehicle fails the test, regarding repair 

facilities. The consumer is protected 

through covert audits, regular 

inspections and public reports of 

improprieties. EPA believes the State’s 

submitted basic I/M program for 

Truckee Meadows meets the 

requirements for public information and 

consumer protection in the Federal rule 

and is acceptable. 

Improving Repair Effectiveness (40 CFR 

51.369) 

I/M program goals are achieved 

through effective repairs of vehicles 

which have failed the initial test. Under 

the Federal I/M rule, the State must 

provide the repair industry with 


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information and assistance on vehicle 

inspection, diagnosis and repair. Also, 

the State I/M program must provide 

feedback, including statistical and 

qualitative information to individual 

repair facilities on a regular basis 

regarding their success in repairing 

failed vehicles. Lastly, the State must 

assess the availability of adequate repair 

technician training in the I/M area and 

if such training is not currently 

available, shall ensure training is made 

available to all interested persons in the 

community either through private or 

public facilities. 

Nevada DMV provides technical 

assistance to the repair industry by 

requiring the manufacturer of NV2000 

exhaust gas analyzers to train all 

approved inspectors at the time of 

installation in the proper use, 

maintenance and operation of the 

analyzer and to provide on-site service 

calls to address specific issues or 

problems. See NAC 445B.5075. To 

provide Nevada DMV with the basis to 

evaluate the success in repairing failed 

vehicles, each authorized station is 

required to maintain, and have available 

for collection, records of all repairs at 

the request of Nevada DMV. See NAC 

445B.472. Lastly, Nevada DMV’s 

inspector regulations (NAC 445B.485 

through 445B.502) require specific 

training and licensing of ‘‘class 2’’

inspectors, who are then approved as 

repair technicians. The training and 

certifying of mechanics is under the 

auspices of the DMV in cooperation 

with the Community College System. 

We find that the State’s I/M program 

for repair technician training meets the 

requirements of 40 CFR 51.369 thereby 

justifying the technician training credit 

taken in the Basic I/M Performance 

Standard Evaluation SIP submitted on 

November 2, 2006. 

Compliance With Recall Notices (40 

CFR 51.370) 

States are required to establish a 

method to ensure that vehicles subject 

to ‘‘enhanced’’ I/M and that are 

included in either a voluntary emissions 

recall as defined at 40 CFR 85.1902(d), 

or in a remedial plan determination 

made pursuant to section 207(c) of the 

Act, receive the required repairs. 

‘‘Basic’’ I/M programs, such as the one 

required for Truckee Meadows, are not 

subject to this requirement. 

On-Road Testing (40 CFR 51.371) 

On-road testing is required in areas 

subject to ‘‘enhanced’’ I/M requirements 

but is an option for areas subject to 

‘‘basic’’ I/M. Because Truckee Meadows 

is subject to the ‘‘basic’’ I/M 

requirements, no on-road testing is 

required in that area, and none is being 

conducted. 

State Implementation Plan Submission 

(40 CFR 51.372) 

The Federal I/M rule requires State I/ 

M SIP submittals to address the 

following elements: (1) Schedule of 

implementation of the program 

including interim milestones leading to 

mandatory testing; (2) an analysis of 

emission level targets for the program 

showing that the program meets the 

performance standard; (3) a description 

of the geographic coverage of the 

program; (4) a detailed discussion of 

each of the required design elements; (5) 

legal authority requiring or allowing 

implementation of the I/M program; (6) 

legal authority for I/M program 

operation until such time as it is no 

longer necessary; (7) implementing 

regulations, interagency agreements, 

and memorandum of understanding; 

and (8) evidence of adequate funding 

and resources to implement all aspects 

of the program. 

The State of Nevada has implemented 

a mandatory I/M program in Truckee 

Meadows since 1983. The changes that 

the State adopted to meet EPA’s ‘‘basic’’

I/M program requirements were 

implemented in 1994. For MY 1996 and 

newer light-duty gasoline-powered 

vehicles, mandatory OBD system checks 

replaced the previous two-speed idle 

test beginning in 2002. 

All of the required SIP I/M elements 

listed above were included in the Basic 

I/M SIP submitted by NDEP on June 3, 

1994 except for the performance 

standard evaluation, which was 

contained in the Basic I/M Performance 

Standard Evaluation SIP submitted on 

November 2, 2006. Also, since 1994, the 

State has updated certain elements of 

the Basic I/M SIP, including the legal 

authority for the program, the 

implementing regulations, and the 

specifications for the approved exhaust 

gas analyzer. On May 11, 2007, NDEP 

submitted a third related SIP revision 

entitled Nevada Mobile Source SIP: 

Update of the Regulatory Element (May 

11, 2007)(‘‘Mobile Source SIP Update’’), 

which includes a complete set of 

current I/M-related statutory provisions 

and implementing rules as well as the 

changes to the specifications for the 

NV2000 exhaust gas analyzer made 

since approval of NV2000 as part of 

Nevada’s I/M program in Las Vegas and 

Boulder City in 2004. Thus, NDEP has 

submitted all of the required I/M 

elements. We note also that Nevada’s I/ 

M program does not undergo a sunset 

review, and thereby has the legal 

authority to operate until such time as 

it is no longer necessary. 

Implementation Deadlines (40 CFR 

51.373) 

The Federal I/M rule requires I/M 

programs to be implemented as 

expeditiously as practicable. 

Decentralized ‘‘basic’’ I/M programs 

were required to be fully implemented 

by January 1, 1994. On-board diagnostic 

system checks must be implemented in 

all ‘‘basic’’ I/M areas by January 1, 2002. 

Nevada’s ‘‘basic’’ I/M program was 

implemented in 1994, and Nevada’s 

requirements for OBD checks were 

implemented in 2002. This is 

acceptable. 

Conclusion 

Based on our review of the various 

elements of the program as discussed 

above, we propose to approve the basic 

I/M program for Truckee Meadows as 

meeting all applicable requirements 

under the CAA and our implementing 

regulations under 40 CFR part 51, 

including the requirement that the basic 

program meets the ‘‘basic’’ performance 

standard applicable to ‘‘moderate’’ CO 

nonattainment areas with design values 

less than 12.7 ppm. 

VIII. Clean Air Act Requirements for 

Redesignation to Attainment 

The CAA establishes the requirements 

for redesignating a nonattainment area 

to attainment. Specifically, section 

107(d)(3)(E) allows for redesignation 

provided that the following criteria are 

met: (1) EPA determines that the area 

has attained the applicable NAAQS; (2) 

EPA has fully approved the applicable 

implementation plan for the area under 

section 110(k); (3) EPA determines that 

the improvement in air quality is due to 

permanent and enforceable reductions 

in emissions resulting from 

implementation of the applicable SIP, 

applicable Federal air pollution control 

regulations, and other permanent and 

enforceable reductions; (4) EPA has 

fully approved a maintenance plan for 

the area as meeting the requirements of 

CAA section 175A; and (5) the State 

containing such area has met all 

requirements applicable to the area 

under section 110 and part D of the 

CAA. 

EPA provided guidance on 

redesignations in the form of a General 

Preamble for the Implementation of 

Title I of the CAA Amendments of 1990 

published in the Federal Register on 

April 16, 1992 (57 FR 13498), as 

supplemented on April 28, 1992 (57 FR 

18070). Other relevant EPA guidance 

documents include: 

• ‘‘Contingency Measures for Ozone 

and Carbon Monoxide (CO) 

Redesignations,’’ Memorandum from 


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G.T. Helms, Chief, Ozone/Carbon 

Monoxide Programs Branch, Office of 

Air Quality Planning and Standards 

(OAQPS), June 1, 1992 (Helms memo); 

• ‘‘Procedures for Processing 

Requests to Redesignate Areas to 

Attainment,’’ Memorandum from John 

Calcagni, Director, Air Quality 

Management Division, OAQPS, 

September 4, 1992 (Calcagni memo 

1992a); 

• ‘‘Public Hearing Requirements for 

1990 Base-Year Emissions Inventories 

for Ozone and Carbon Monoxide 

Nonattainment Areas,’’ Memorandum 

from John Calcagni, Director, Air 

Quality Management Division, OAQPS, 

September 29, 1992 (Calcagni memo 

1992b); 

• ‘‘State Implementation Plan (SIP) 

Actions Submitted in Response to Clean 

Air Act (ACT) Deadlines,’’

Memorandum from John Calcagni, 

Director, Air Quality Management 

Division, OAQPS, October 28, 1992 

(Calcagni memo 1992c); 

• ‘‘State Implementation Plan (SIP) 

Requirements for Areas Submitting 

Requests for Redesignation to 

Attainment of the Ozone and Carbon 

Monoxide (CO) National Ambient Air 

Quality Standards (NAAQS) On or After 

November 15, 1992,’’ Memorandum 

from Michael H. Shapiro, Acting 

Assistant Administrator for Air and 

Radiation, September 17, 1993 (Shapiro 

memo); 

• ‘‘Use of Actual Emissions in 

Maintenance Demonstrations for Ozone 

and Carbon Monoxide (CO) 

Nonattainment Areas,’’ Memorandum 

from D. Kent Berry, Acting Director, Air 

Quality Management Division, OAQPS, 

November 30, 1993 (Berry memo); 

• ‘‘Part D New Source Review (part D 

NSR) Requirements for Areas 

Requesting Redesignation to 

Attainment,’’ Memorandum from Mary 

D. Nichols, Assistant Administrator for 

Air and Radiation, October 14, 1994 

(Nichols memo). 

For the reasons set forth below in 

section IX of this document, we propose 

to approve NDEP’s request for 

redesignation of the Truckee Meadows 

nonattainment area to attainment for the 

CO NAAQS based on our conclusion 

that all of the criteria under CAA 

section 107(d)(3)(E) have been satisfied. 

IX. Evaluation of the State’s 

Redesignation Request for Truckee 

Meadows 

A. The Area Must Have Attained the 

Applicable NAAQS 

Section 107(d)(3)(E)(i) of the CAA 

states that for an area to be redesignated 

to attainment EPA must determine that 

the area has attained the applicable 

NAAQS. In this case, the applicable 

NAAQS is the CO NAAQS. 

On May 3, 2005 (70 FR 22803), we 

determined that the Truckee Meadows 

‘‘moderate’’ CO nonattainment area 

attained the CO NAAQS by the 

applicable attainment date (1995) and 

had continued to attain the standard 

since that time. As part of that 

determination, we reviewed the ambient 

CO monitoring network operated by the 

District AQMD and found that it meets 

or exceeds our requirements. See 70 FR 

3170 (January 21, 2005). For a 

description of District AQMD’s ambient 

CO monitoring network in Truckee 

Meadows and our requirements for such 

networks, please see our January 21, 

2005 proposed CO attainment finding 

(70 FR 3170). 

We based our May 3, 2005 

determination of attainment on ambient 

monitoring data through year 2004. For 

the purposes of this proposed rule, we 

have reviewed the most recent data 

input to our Air Quality System (AQS) 

database and have found that no 

exceedances of the CO NAAQS have 

been recorded in the 2005–2006 period. 

(The highest 8-hour CO concentrations 

were less than 50% of the NAAQS at all 

of the stations over the 2005–2006 

period.) Thus, based on the attainment 

finding and positive assessment of the 

District AQMD ambient CO monitoring 

network that we made in May 2005 and 

our current review of the most recent 

data in AQS, we find that Truckee 

Meadows has attained the CO NAAQS 

thereby satisfying the criterion for 

redesignation set forth in section 

107(d)(3)(E)(i). 

B. The Area Must Have a Fully 

Approved SIP Under Section 110(k) of 

the CAA 

Section 107(d)(3)(E)(ii) precludes 

redesignation of a nonattainment area to 

attainment until EPA has fully approved 

the applicable implementation plan for 

the area under section 110(k). Pursuant 

to the CAA amendments of 1977, the 

State of Nevada submitted a CO plan for 

the Truckee Meadows nonattainment 

area. In 1981, we approved in part, and 

conditionally approved in part, the 

submitted CO plan, and in 1982, we 

found that the conditions imposed on 

approval of certain elements of the CO 

plan for Truckee Meadows had been 

fulfilled. In 1984, we approved revisions 

to many of the elements contained in 

the CO plan for Truckee Meadows, and 

deferred action on other elements. We 

proposed disapproval of a subsequent 

CO plan for Truckee Meadows in 1987, 

but we consider the plan elements for 

which we deferred action or proposed 

disapproval in the 1980’s to be 

superseded by the SIP revision 

submittals made pursuant to the 1990 

Clean Air Act Amendments. 

With respect to post-1990 SIP 

submittals, upon final approval of the 

required plan elements proposed for 

approval herein (wintertime oxygenated 

gasoline rule and ‘‘basic’’ I/M program), 

we will have fully approved the 

applicable implementation plan for the 

Truckee Meadows CO nonattainment 

area, and thereby satisfied this criterion 

for redesignation. 

C. The Area Must Show the 

Improvement in Air Quality Is Due to 

Permanent and Enforceable Emissions 

Reductions 

Section 107(d)(3)(E)(iii) precludes 

redesignation of a nonattainment area to 

attainment unless EPA determines that 

the improvement in air quality is due to 

permanent and enforceable reductions 

in emissions resulting from 

implementation of the applicable SIP 

and applicable Federal air pollution 

control regulations and other permanent 

and enforceable regulations. If EPA 

makes such a determination, then the 

criterion is satisfied. 

The improvement in CO air quality in 

the Truckee Meadows area is due to the 

Federal Motor Vehicle Control Program 

(40 CFR part 86), the local wintertime 

oxygenated gasoline rule, the State’s 

‘‘basic’’ vehicle I/M program, and the 

local residential wood combustion rule. 

The Federal Motor Vehicle Control 

Program has contributed to improved air 

quality through the gradual, continued 

turnover and replacement of older 

vehicle models with newer models 

manufactured to meet increasingly 

stringent Federal tailpipe emissions 

standards. The emissions reductions 

from the Federal Motor Vehicle Control 

Program are reflected in the emissions 

inventories and maintenance 

demonstration discussed later in this 

document through the use of EPA’s 

MOBILE emission factor model for onroad motor vehicles. The Truckee 

Meadows CO Maintenance Plan 

provides estimates of the emissions 

reductions associated with the State and 

local measures in years 2002, 2010 and 

2016 (see page 7 of the Truckee 

Meadows CO Maintenance Plan). Based 

on those estimates, the three State and 

local control measures together reduced 

CO emissions that would otherwise 

have occurred in Truckee Meadows by 

approximately 20 percent in 2002. 

With respect to permanence and 

enforceability, we are proposing 

approval of the wintertime oxygenated 

gasoline rule and the ‘‘basic’’ vehicle 

I/M program in this action, and upon 


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9 ‘‘General Preamble for the Implementation of 

Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990’’

(57 FR 13498, April 16, 1992, as supplemented 57 

FR 18070, April 28, 1992). 

their final approval, the local 

wintertime oxygenated gasoline rule 

and basic I/M program will become 

federally enforceable as part of the 

Nevada SIP. (The wintertime 

oxygenated gasoline rule and basic I/M 

program are already enforceable by the 

District and State, respectively.) Upon 

the effective date of our approval of the 

residential wood combustion rule, it 

became federally enforceable. None of 

these measures include sunset clauses, 

and thus, upon approval by EPA, the 

measures will become permanent 

features of the Nevada SIP until such 

time as the State submits, and EPA 

approves, future SIP revisions that 

amend or delete them. 

With respect to the connection 

between the emissions reductions and 

the improvement in air quality, the 

Truckee Meadows CO Maintenance Plan 

provides a demonstration that the air 

quality improvement in Truckee 

Meadows, that has resulted in 

attainment of the CO NAAQS by 1995 

and continued attainment since then, is 

due to emission reductions from 

implementation of the control measures 

discussed above and is not the result of 

a local economic downturn or unusual 

or extreme weather patterns. See pages 

6 through 11 of the Truckee Meadows 

CO Maintenance Plan. 

Thus, we find that the improvement 

in CO air quality in Truckee Meadows 

is the result of permanent and 

enforceable emissions reductions from a 

combination of the Federal Motor 

Vehicle Control Program and certain 

State and local measures. As such, the 

criterion for redesignation set forth at 

CAA section 107(d)(3)(E)(iii) is satisfied. 

D. The Area Must Have Met All 

Applicable Requirements Under Section 

110 and Part D 

Section 107(d)(3)(E)(v) requires a 

State to have met all requirements 

applicable to a nonattainment area 

under section 110 and part D of the Act 

as a prerequisite to redesignation of that 

nonattainment area to attainment. 

1. Section 110 Requirements 

Section 110(a)(2) sets forth the general 

elements that a SIP must contain in 

order to be fully approved. Although 

section 110(a)(2) was amended in 1990, 

a number of the requirements did not 

change in substance, and therefore, EPA 

believes that the pre-amendment EPAapproved SIP met these requirements in 

Truckee Meadows with respect to CO. 

As to those requirements that were 

amended, (see 57 FR 27936 and 27939, 

June 23, 1992), many are duplicative of 

other requirements of the Act. EPA has 

analyzed the SIP and determined that it 

is consistent with the requirements of 

amended section 110(a)(2). The Truckee 

Meadows portion of the Nevada SIP 

contains enforceable emission 

limitations; requires monitoring, 

compiling and analyzing of ambient air 

quality data; requires preconstruction 

review of new or modified stationary 

sources; provides for adequate funding, 

staff, and associated resources necessary 

to implement its requirements; and 

provides the necessary assurances that 

the State maintains responsibility for 

ensuring that the CAA requirements are 

satisfied in the event that the District is 

unable to meet its CAA obligations. 

2. Part D Requirements 

The requirements that apply under 

part D of title I of the Act to ‘‘moderate’’

CO nonattainment areas are set forth in 

sections 172, 176, 187, and 211. The 

CAA, as amended in 1990, distinguishes 

between moderate CO nonattainment 

areas with design values of 12.7 ppm 

(eight-hour average) or less and those 

with design values greater than 12.7 

ppm at the time of initial classification. 

Truckee Meadows had a design value of 

9.8 ppm at the time of initial 

classification and thus is subject to 

those specific requirements that apply 

to ‘‘moderate’’ CO nonattainment areas 

with a design value of 12.7 ppm or less 

and is not subject to the additional 

requirements of ‘‘moderate’’ CO 

nonattainment areas with design values 

greater than 12.7 ppm. We have issued 

guidance in a General Preamble 9

describing how we will review SIPs and 

SIP revisions submitted under title I of 

the Act, including those containing 

moderate CO nonattainment area SIP 

provisions. 

Reasonably Available Control 

Measures / Reasonably Available 

Control Technology (RACM/RACT). 

Section 172(c)(1) of the Act requires 

States to submit a SIP revision for 

nonattainment areas that provide for the 

implementation of all reasonably 

available control measures (RACM) as 

expeditiously as practicable (including 

such reductions in emissions from 

existing sources in the area as may be 

obtained through the adoption, at a 

minimum, of reasonably available 

control technology (RACT)) and shall 

provide for attainment of the NAAQS. 

RACM is a more general term that can 

refer to stationary, area or mobile 

sources while RACT is a term that refers 

to stationary sources. 

Attainment of the CO NAAQS in 

Truckee Meadows relies upon three 

State or local control measures: The 

State’s I/M program, Washoe County’s 

rule establishing a wintertime 

oxygenated fuel requirement and 

Washoe County’s rule establishing 

requirements for residential wood 

combustion. We are proposing to 

approve the State’s I/M program for 

Truckee Meadows as well as the 

District’s rule establishing a wintertime 

oxygenated fuel requirement as part of 

this action (see sections VI and VII of 

this document). In a separate action, we 

approved the District’s rule governing 

residential wood combustion. See 72 FR 

33397 (June 18, 2007). Because the area 

has attained the CO NAAQS, no 

additional measures need be submitted 

to fulfill the RACM/RACT requirement 

of CAA section 172(c)(1) in the Truckee 

Meadows CO nonattainment area. 

Reasonable Further Progress (RFP). 

Section 172(c)(2) of the Act requires 

States to submit a SIP revision for 

nonattainment areas that provide for 

reasonable further progress (RFP). 

Reasonable further progress is defined 

in CAA section 171(1) as 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. 

EPA interprets the Act such that the 

requirements for RFP do not apply in 

evaluating a request for redesignation to 

attainment since, at a minimum, the air 

quality data for the area must show that 

the area has already attained. Showing 

that the State will make RFP towards 

attainment will, therefore, have no 

meaning at that point. See 57 FR 13498, 

at 13564 (April 16, 1992). See also our 

September 4, 1992 memorandum from 

John Calcagni, entitled ‘‘Procedures for 

Processing Requests to Redesignate 

Areas to Attainment’’ (Calcagni memo), 

p. 6. Based on our finding above that 

Truckee Meadows has attained the CO 

NAAQS, we find that the requirements 

for RFP do not apply for the purposes 

of our evaluation of the State’s request 

to redesignate the area to attainment. 

Emissions Inventory. Sections 

172(c)(3) and 187(a)(1) of the Act 

require States to submit a 

comprehensive, accurate, current 

inventory of actual CO emissions for 

year 1990 from all sources within the 

nonattainment area. The inventory is to 

address actual CO emissions during the 

peak CO season for the area, and all 

stationary (generally referring to larger 

stationary source or ‘‘point’’ sources), 

area (generally referring to smaller 


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10See letter from Julia Barrow, Chief, Air Quality 

Section, Air Division, EPA-Region IX, to Jack 

Sheen, Air Pollution Control Officer, District 

AQMD, dated February 21, 1992. 

11We are also not taking specific action on 

NDEP’s submittal of the 2002 periodic inventory 

update. However, because the 2002 inventory was 

used as the base year inventory in the Truckee 

Meadows CO Maintenance Plan, we are relying on 

the technical documentation submitted with the 

2002 periodic inventory update in our evaluation of 

the Truckee Meadows CO Maintenance Plan. See 

section IX.E.1 of this document. 

12The source categories with sources potentially 

subject to LAER and offsets include stationary 

source fuel combustion and waste disposal, 

treatment and recovery. 

stationary and fugitive (non-smokestack) 

sources), and mobile (on-road, nonroad, 

locomotive and aircraft) sources are to 

be included in the compilation. Under 

sections 172(c)(3) and 187(a)(5) of the 

Act, States are required to submit, no 

later than September 30, 1995, and no 

later than the end of each 3-year period 

thereafter, until redesignation, an 

updated inventory of CO emitted within 

CO nonattainment areas. 

On November 13, 1992, NDEP 

submitted a revision to the Truckee 

Meadows portion of the Nevada SIP that 

contained a number of items, including 

the 1990 Base Year CO Inventory. The 

1990 Base Year CO Inventory was the 

responsibility of and complied by the 

staff of the District AQMD. In the 

process of developing this base year 

inventory, the District AQMD submitted 

an Inventory Preparation Plan (IPP), 

which was officially accepted and 

approved by EPA.10 In 1993, the District 

AQMD revised the 1990 Base Year CO 

Inventory to reflect, among other things, 

an update of EPA’s on-road motor 

vehicle emission factor model (MOBILE) 

and updated EPA methods for 

calculating emissions from nonroad 

mobile sources. NDEP submitted the 

revised inventory (‘‘Revised 1990 Base 

Year CO Inventory’’) to EPA on June 3, 

1994 as appendix 4 to NDEP’s ‘‘basic’’

vehicle I/M SIP revision submittal for 

Truckee Meadows. 

On January 19, 1996; April 14, 1999; 

February 5, 2002; and February 3, 2005, 

NDEP submitted SIP revisions that 

contained updates of the CO emissions 

inventories for Truckee Meadows for 

years 1993, 1996, 1999, and 2002, 

respectively, as required under CAA 

sections 172(c)(3) and 187(a)(5). Each 

successive inventory update reflects the 

changes in activity levels within each of 

the various source categories, the effects 

of on-going emissions control programs 

such as the Federal Motor Vehicle 

Control Program and the District’s 

residential wood combustion program, 

as well as the updates to methods and 

emissions factors used to develop 

emissions inventories, such as updates 

to EPA’s ‘‘MOBILE’’ emission factor 

model. 

We interpret the Act such that the 

emission inventory requirements of 

section 172(a)(3), 187(a)(1), and 

187(a)(5) are satisfied by the inventory 

requirements of the maintenance plan. 

See 57 FR 13498, at 13564 (April 16, 

1992). Thus, our proposed approval of 

the submitted maintenance plan and 

related base year (2002) CO emission 

inventory satisfies the requirements of 

section 172(a)(3), 187(a)(1), and 

187(a)(5) for the purposes of 

redesignation of Truckee Meadows to 

attainment for the CO NAAQS. See 

section IX.E.1 herein for details 

concerning the base year (2002) CO 

emission inventory. We plan no further 

action on the previously submitted CO 

inventories for years 1990, 1993, 1996, 

and 1999.11

Permits for New and Modified Major 

Stationary Sources 

Under section 172(c)(5), the CAA 

requires States to submit SIP revisions 

that establish certain requirements for 

new or modified stationary sources in 

nonattainment areas, including 

provisions to ensure that major new 

sources or major modifications of 

existing sources of nonattainment 

pollutants incorporate the highest level 

of control, referred to as the Lowest 

Achievable Emission Rate (LAER), and 

that increases in emissions from such 

stationary sources are offset so as to 

provide for reasonable further progress 

towards attainment in the 

nonattainment area. The process for 

reviewing permit applications and 

issuing permits for new or modified 

stationary sources of air pollution is 

referred to as ‘‘New Source Review’’

(NSR). With respect to nonattainment 

pollutants in nonattainment areas, this 

process is referred to as ‘‘nonattainment 

NSR.’’

Under the Clean Air Act Amendments 

of 1977, States with designated 

nonattainment areas were required to 

amend their NSR rules to impose LAER 

and offsets requirements on new major 

sources and major modifications of 

nonattainment pollutants in 

nonattainment areas. Under the 1977 

Act Amendments, we designated 

Truckee Meadows as a CO 

nonattainment area. In Washoe County, 

the District AQMD administers the NSR 

program for all stationary sources except 

for certain fossil-fueled power plants 

that are subject under State law to NDEP 

jurisdiction. 

To address the nonattainment NSR 

requirements flowing from the 1977 Act 

Amendments, the District amended its 

NSR rules; NDEP submitted them to 

EPA on July 24, 1979 as a revision to the 

Truckee Meadows portion of the Nevada 

SIP; and we approved them on April 14, 

1981. See 21758 (April 14, 1981). In that 

same April 1981 final rule, we also 

approved NDEP’s revised nonattainment 

NSR rules. Under these EPA-approved 

rules, LAER and offsets have been 

requirements for any new major sources 

or major modifications of CO in the 

Truckee Meadows nonattainment area. 

The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments 

retained the core nonattainment NSR 

elements of LAER and offsets but added 

additional requirements, and in 

response, the District again revised its 

NSR rules, and NDEP submitted the 

revised rules to EPA on April 7, 1994. 

We have not taken action on the April 

7, 1994 NSR SIP submittal. 

We have determined, however, that 

areas being redesignated from 

nonattainment to attainment do not 

need to comply with the requirement 

that an NSR program be approved prior 

to redesignation provided that the area 

demonstrates maintenance of the 

standard without nonattainment NSR in 

effect. The rationale for this 

determination is described in the 

Nichols memo cited in section VIII of 

this document. 

The Truckee Meadows CO 

Maintenance Plan anticipates an 

increase in CO emissions that is 

proportional to expected growth in 

population in the Truckee Meadows 

area from the types of sources 

potentially subject to LAER and 

offsets 12 rather than assuming that any 

increases in CO from such sources 

would be offset. See pages 18–20 in the 

Truckee Meadows CO Maintenance 

Plan. Thus, we find that the 

maintenance demonstration for the 

Truckee Meadows CO nonattainment 

area does not rely on nonattainment 

NSR, and the State need not have a 

fully-approved nonattainment NSR 

program for Truckee Meadows prior to 

approval of the CO redesignation 

request. 

Prevention of Significant 

Deterioration (PSD) is the NSR program 

that applies to new major sources or 

major modifications of attainment 

pollutants and is the replacement 

program for nonattainment NSR after 

redesignation to attainment, and part of 

the obligation under PSD is for a new 

source to review increment 

consumption and maintenance of the air 

quality standards. The PSD program 

requires stationary sources to undergo 

preconstruction review before facilities 


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13RFP 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. 

14On August 10, 2005, the Safe, Accountable, 

Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A 

Legacy for Users (SAFETEA–LU) was enacted, and 

among its provisions, this law amended section 

176(c) of the CAA to reduce the content 

requirements for transportation conformity SIPs. 

Under SAFETEA–LU, with respect to transportation 

conformity, States are required only to develop 

criteria and procedures for interagency consultation 

and enforcement (and enforceability) of 

commitments for certain control measures and 

mitigation measures. In response to SAFETEA–LU, 

NDEP is now free to request that EPA approve only 

the three provisions that are required to be included 

in transportation conformity SIPs and that EPA take 

no action on the remainder of the transportation 

conformity portion of the July 31, 1995 SIP 

submission; however, other options are available as 

well. See 72 FR 24472, at 24484–24485 (May 2, 

2007). 

are constructed or modified, and to 

apply Best Available Control 

Technology (BACT). The PSD program 

will apply to any major source or major 

modification of CO emissions wishing 

to locate in the Truckee Meadows area 

once the area is redesignated to 

attainment. EPA currently administers 

the PSD program in Washoe County 

except for certain types of sources for 

which EPA has delegated PSD authority 

to NDEP. See 68 FR 19371 (April 21, 

2003) and 70 FR 52837 (September 8, 

2003). 

Contingency Provisions. Section 

172(c)(9) of the Act requires a State to 

submit contingency measures that will 

be implemented if an area fails to make 

reasonable further progress 13 (RFP) or 

fails to attain by the applicable 

attainment date. 

On October 20, 1993, the District 

adopted a request to the Nevada State 

Environmental Commission to require 

and implement an ‘‘enhanced’’ vehicle 

I/M program in Truckee Meadows, upon 

the occurrence of future CO NAAQS 

exceedances, as the contingency 

measure intended to fulfill the 

requirement of CAA section 172(c)(9). 

NDEP included this contingency 

measure as appendix 7 to the State’s 

‘‘basic’’ vehicle I/M program for the 

Truckee Meadows area and submitted 

the ‘‘basic’’ vehicle I/M program for the 

Truckee Meadows to EPA in a SIP 

revision submittal dated June 3, 1994. 

As noted above, the section 172(c)(9) 

requirement for contingency measures 

are directed at ensuring RFP and 

attainment by the applicable date. We 

interpret the Act such that this 

requirement no longer applies when an 

area has attained the standard and is 

eligible for redesignation. See 57 FR 

13498, at 13564 (April 16, 1992). See 

also Calcagni memo 1992a, at page 6. 

Furthermore, we note that CAA section 

175A for maintenance plans provides 

specific requirements for contingency 

measures that effectively supersede the 

requirements of section 172(c)(9) for 

these areas. 

Therefore, based on our finding above 

that Truckee Meadows has attained the 

CO NAAQS, we find that the 

requirement for contingency measures 

under section 172(c)(9) does not apply 

for the purposes of our evaluation of the 

State’s request for redesignation, and we 

consider the contingency provisions 

submitted as part of the Truckee 

Meadows CO Maintenance Plan to 

supersede the contingency measure 

submitted on June 3, 1994 and plan no 

further action on the latter measure. 

Section 176 Requirements. Under 

section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act 

Amendments of 1990, States were 

required to establish criteria and 

procedures to ensure that Federally 

supported or funded projects conform to 

the air quality planning goals in the 

applicable SIP. Section 176(c) further 

provided that State conformity 

provisions be consistent with Federal 

conformity regulations that the CAA 

required EPA to promulgate. EPA’s 

conformity regulations are codified at 40 

CFR part 93, subparts A (‘‘transportation 

conformity’’) and B (‘‘general 

conformity’’). ‘‘Transportation 

conformity’’ applies to transportation 

plans, programs, and projects 

developed, funded, and approved under 

title 23 U.S.C. or the Federal Transit 

Act, and ‘‘general conformity’’ applies 

to all other Federally-supported or 

funded projects. SIP revisions intended 

to address the conformity requirements 

are referred to herein as ‘‘conformity 

SIPs.’’

To address the statutory and 

regulatory requirements related to 

transportation and general conformity, 

on July 31, 1995, NDEP submitted the 

conformity procedures and criteria that 

had been adopted by the District on 

December 14, 1994 and by the Truckee 

Meadows Regional Planning Governing 

Board on February 9, 1995. We have not 

taken action on the July 31, 1995 SIP 

revision submittal.14

EPA believes it is reasonable to 

interpret the conformity requirements as 

not applicable for purposes of 

evaluating a redesignation request under 

section 107(d)(3)(E). The rationale for 

this is based on a combination of two 

factors. First, the requirement to submit 

a conformity SIP continues to apply to 

areas after redesignation to attainment, 

since such areas would be subject to a 

section 175A maintenance plan. See 

CAA section 176(c)(5)(B). Second, the 

EPA’s conformity rules require the 

performance of conformity analyses in 

the absence of Federally-approved State 

rules. See 40 CFR 51.390(b) and 

51.851(b). Therefore, because areas are 

subject to the conformity requirements 

regardless of whether they are 

redesignated to attainment and must 

implement conformity under Federal 

rules if State rules are not yet approved, 

EPA believes it is reasonable to view 

these requirements as not applicable for 

purposes of evaluating a redesignation 

request. See Wall v. EPA, 265 F.3d 426, 

439 (6th Cir. 2001) upholding this 

interpretation. 

For the reasons stated above, EPA 

believes the approval of conformity 

rules into the State’s SIP is not a 

prerequisite for redesignation and thus, 

our inaction on NDEP’s July 31, 1995 

submittal is no obstacle to redesignation 

of Truckee Meadows to attainment for 

the CO NAAQS. Federal transportation 

and general conformity rules will 

continue to apply with respect to CO 

emissions associated with 

transportation plans, programs, and 

projects as well as other Federallysupported or funded projects within 

Truckee Meadows. 

Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance 

Program. Under section 187(a)(4), the 

CAA requires States with moderate CO 

nonattainment areas to submit a SIP 

revision that provides for a new or 

amended vehicle I/M program that 

meets applicable Federal I/M 

requirements, including the ‘‘basic’’ I/M 

performance standard. As described in 

section VII of this document, we are 

proposing to approve the State’s ‘‘basic’’

I/M program for Truckee Meadows, and 

if we finalize this action as proposed, 

the vehicle I/M requirement for Truckee 

Meadows under CAA section 187(a)(4) 

will be fulfilled. 

Oxygenated Gasoline Program. Under 

section 211(m), the CAA requires States 

with CO nonattainment areas with 

design values of 9.5 ppm or greater 

(based on 1988–1989 data) to submit a 

SIP revision that provides for an 

oxygenated gasoline program. As 

described in section VI of this 

document, we are proposing to approve 

the District’s wintertime oxygenated 

gasoline rule, and if we finalize this 

action as proposed, the fuel requirement 

under CAA section 211(m) will be 

fulfilled. 

Conclusion with respect to Section 

110 and Part D Requirements. Based on 

our evaluation of the various SIP 

requirements and submittals discussed 

above, we conclude that upon our final 

approval of the SIP submittals evaluated 

in this action, the State will have met all 


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section 110 and part D requirements 

that apply to the Truckee Meadows 

moderate CO nonattainment area and 

thereby satisfied the criterion for 

redesignation under CAA section 

107(d)(3)(E)(v). 

E. The Area Must Have a Fully 

Approved Maintenance Plan Under 

CAA Section 175A 

Section 107(d)(3)(E)(iv) of the CAA 

requires, as a pre-condition to being 

redesignated to attainment, that EPA has 

fully approved a maintenance plan for 

the area as meeting the requirements of 

section 175A of the Act. Section 175A 

sets forth the elements of a maintenance 

plan for areas seeking redesignation 

from nonattainment to attainment. We 

interpret this section of the Act to 

require, in general, the following core 

elements: Attainment inventory, 

maintenance demonstration, monitoring 

network, verification of continued 

attainment, and contingency plan. See 

Calcagni memo 1992a. 

The purpose of a maintenance plan is 

to provide for the maintenance of the 

applicable NAAQS for at least 10 years 

after redesignation. Eight years after 

redesignation, the State must submit a 

revised maintenance plan which 

demonstrates continued maintenance of 

the applicable NAAQS for an additional 

10 years following the initial ten-year 

maintenance period. To address the 

possibility of future NAAQS violations, 

the maintenance plan must contain 

contingency measures, with a schedule 

for implementation adequate to assure 

prompt correction of any air quality 

problems. The Redesignation Request 

and Maintenance Plan for the Truckee 

Meadows Carbon Monoxide NonAttainment Area (September 2005) 

(‘‘Truckee Meadows CO Maintenance 

Plan’’), which was prepared by the 

District AQMD and adopted by the 

District Board of Health, addresses these 

core elements, and our evaluation of 

these elements follows. 

1. Attainment Inventory 

The plan must contain an attainment 

year emissions inventory to identify a 

level of emissions in the area which is 

sufficient to attain the CO NAAQS. This 

inventory is to be consistent with EPA’s 

most recent guidance on emissions 

inventories for nonattainment areas 

available at the time and should 

represent emissions during the time 

period associated with the monitoring 

data showing attainment. The inventory 

should also be based on actual ‘‘CO 

season data’’ (i.e., wintertime) emissions 

for the attainment year. 

The District’s Truckee Meadows CO 

Maintenance Plan presents CO 

emissions estimates and projections for 

years 2002, 2010, and 2016. We find 

year 2002 to be an acceptable year for 

the baseline year because it represents a 

year in which the Truckee Meadows 

was in attainment of the CO NAAQS. 

See 70 FR 22803 (May 3, 2005). Based 

on monitoring data collected during 

2002, the design value for CO in 

Truckee Meadows in the attainment 

year was 4.4 ppm, eight-hour average, 

which is well below the NAAQS of 9 

ppm. The baseline (2002) inventory in 

the maintenance plan is not 

documented in detail in the Truckee 

Meadows CO Maintenance Plan itself 

but is so documented in a separate SIP 

submittal of the same date as the 

Truckee Meadows CO Maintenance Plan 

(November 4, 2005) of the 2002 CO 

periodic inventory update. 

As shown in table 1 below, the 

baseline inventory (2002) covers 

stationary area sources (including 

stationary source fuel combustion; 

waste disposal, treatment, & recovery; 

residential wood combustion; and 

miscellaneous area sources (such as 

wildfires, structure fires, and prescribed 

burning)), nonroad mobile sources 

(including aircraft, nonroad gasoline 

and diesel vehicles, and railroads), and 

on-road mobile sources (i.e., cars, 

trucks, and motorcycles) and reflects 

activity profiles and temperatures 

characteristic of the CO season (i.e., 

Winter). On-road estimates were made 

based on EPA’s MOBILE6 (high altitude) 

emission factors, vehicle I/M and antitampering programs, the oxygenated 

gasoline requirement, Regional 

Transportation Commission (RTC) 

transportation activity estimates (VMT, 

vehicle speeds, etc.), and demographic 

data provided by the planning 

departments for Washoe County, the 

City of Reno, and the City of Sparks. 

Nonroad mobile source emissions (not 

including aircraft or locomotives) were 

estimated using EPA’s NONROAD 

emissions model. The baseline 

emissions estimates reflect the basic 

control measures relied upon for 

attainment and maintenance of the CO 

NAAQS in Truckee Meadows: The 

Federal Motor Vehicle Control Program, 

The District’s oxygenated gasoline 

requirement, the State’s vehicle I/M 

program for motor vehicles, and the 

District’s residential wood combustion 

program. 

TABLE 1.—CARBON MONOXIDE EMISSIONS INVENTORY, TRUCKEE MEADOWS, 2002, 2010, AND 2016 

[Pounds per typical CO season day] 

Source 2002 2010 2016 

Stationary Source Fuel Combustion ............................................................................................ 2,920 3,321 3,619 

Waste Disposal, Treatment & Recovery ..................................................................................... 18 20 22 

Residential Wood Combustion .................................................................................................... 31,918 35,344 35,344 

Miscellaneous Area Sources ....................................................................................................... 613 697 760 

Aircraft .......................................................................................................................................... 4,175 4,748 5,175 

Nonroad Gasoline Vehicles ......................................................................................................... 68,578 68,712 77,226 

Nonroad Diesel Vehicles ............................................................................................................. 1,645 1,834 1,873 

Railroads ...................................................................................................................................... 155 176 192 

On-road Vehicles (without safety margin) ................................................................................... 335,508 263,938 236,754 

Subtotal (excluding safety margins) ..................................................................................... 445,530 378,790 360,965 

Safety Margin (assigned to on-road vehicles) ............................................................................. N/A 66,740 84,565 

Total (including safety margin) ...................................................................................... 445,530 445,530 445,530 

Source: District AQMD, Truckee Meadows CO Maintenance Plan, pages 20 and 21. 

The baseline inventory estimates that 

on-road motor vehicles accounted for 

approximately 75%, residential wood 

combustion accounted for 

approximately 7%, and nonroad mobile 

sources (including locomotives and 


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aircraft) accounted for approximately 

17% of the daily (wintertime) CO 

emissions within Truckee Meadows in 

2002. 

The methodologies used by the 

District AQMD to prepare the baseline 

(2002) CO inventory, as described in the 

appendices to the 2002 CO periodic 

inventory update SIP submittal (dated 

November 4, 2005), are acceptable, and 

we find the baseline CO inventory for 

Truckee Meadows to be reasonably 

comprehensive and accurate. 

2. Maintenance Demonstration 

A State may generally demonstrate 

maintenance of the NAAQS by either 

showing that future emissions of a 

pollutant or its precursors will not 

exceed the level of the attainment 

inventory, or by modeling to show that 

the future mix of sources and emissions 

rates will not cause a violation of the 

NAAQS. In either case, to satisfy the 

demonstration requirement, the State 

should project emissions for at least 10 

years beyond redesignation. 

Table 1, above, summarizes the 

baseline (2002) CO emissions estimates 

and future year (2010 and 2016) 

projections from the Truckee Meadows 

CO Maintenance Plan. The Truckee 

Meadows CO Maintenance Plan projects 

future year inventories (2010 and 2016) 

by adjusting the 2002 baseline inventory 

to account for changes in population, 

vehicle miles traveled (VMT), and the 

underlying composite emissions factors 

for such sources as motor vehicles and 

nonroad mobile sources (using such 

emissions models as MOBILE6 and 

NONROAD, consistent with the baseline 

(2002) inventory). The population 

projections used in developing the 

future year emissions projections are 

consistent with those that were adopted 

by the Truckee Meadows Regional 

Planning Commission for use in 

developing the Truckee Meadows 

Regional Plan. The vehicle activity 

assumptions used for the emissions 

projections are consistent with those 

developed and used by the local 

Metropolitan Planning Organization 

(MPO), the Regional Transportation 

Commission of Washoe County. 

The projections for 2010 and 2016 

reflect the control measures relied upon 

for attainment and maintenance of the 

CO NAAQS in Truckee Meadows, 

including the Federal Motor Vehicle 

Control Program, the District’s 

oxygenated gasoline program, the State’s 

vehicle I/M program, and the District’s 

residential woodburning combustion 

program. 

Based on the inventory estimates, CO 

emissions in Truckee Meadows are 

expected to decrease significantly 

between 2002 and 2016, despite a 

projected 24% increase in population 

and 38% increase in VMT over that 

period, primarily due to decreases from 

the on-road motor vehicle category 

associated with increasingly stringent 

EPA exhaust standards for new cars and 

trucks and the gradual turnover from 

older more polluting, to newer cleaner 

burning, vehicles. The District AQMD 

has also established safety margins for 

years 2010 and 2016 and assigned the 

safety margins to the on-road motor 

vehicle source category. Based on our 

review of the emissions projections, we 

find that the methods used to make the 

future year projections are acceptable. 

Assuming redesignation of Truckee 

Meadows for CO early in 2008, the plan 

does not quite project emissions for 10 

years beyond redesignation, but given 

how close the out-year in the 

maintenance plan (2016) is to a 10-year 

horizon year (2018), the low design 

value (4.4 ppm) of Truckee Meadows in 

the attainment year (2002), the flat trend 

in CO emissions documented by the 

maintenance plan (even assuming use of 

the safety margin), and the expected 

continuation of all of the measures that 

brought the area to attainment, we find 

that the plan adequately demonstrates 

maintenance of the CO NAAQS for the 

initial maintenance period (i.e., first 10 

years after redesignation). 

3. Monitoring Network 

Continued ambient monitoring of an 

area is required over the maintenance 

period. In the Truckee Meadows CO 

Maintenance Plan (see page 22 of the 

plan), the District AQMD indicates its 

intention to continue to operate an air 

quality monitoring network consistent 

with 40 CFR part 58 to verify the 

attainment status. The Truckee 

Meadows CO Maintenance Plan also 

states that, in addition, Washoe 

County’s CO monitoring network will be 

reviewed annually pursuant to 40 CFR 

58.20(d) to ensure the network meets 

the monitoring objectives defined in 40 

CFR part 58, appendix D. 

4. Verification of Continued Attainment 

The District AQMD and NDEP have 

the legal authority to implement and 

enforce the requirements of the Truckee 

Meadows CO Maintenance Plan. This 

includes the authority to adopt, 

implement and enforce any emission 

control contingency measures 

determined to be necessary to correct 

CO NAAQS violations. As noted above, 

to implement the Truckee Meadows CO 

Maintenance Plan, the District AQMD 

will continue to monitor CO levels in 

Truckee Meadows. To track progress on 

the plan, the District AQMD has also 

committed to continue preparing (and 

submitting to EPA) CO emission 

inventory updates on a triennial 

schedule (see page 23 of the Truckee 

Meadows CO Maintenance Plan). The 

District AQMD also intends to continue 

residential wood combustion surveys on 

a triennial basis to monitor changes in 

the types and number of woodburning 

devices operating, and the amount of 

wood being burned, in Truckee 

Meadows and thereby maintain up-todate information on this important CO 

source category. 

5. Contingency Plan 

Section 175A(d) of the Act requires 

that maintenance plans include 

contingency provisions, as necessary, to 

promptly correct any violations of the 

NAAQS that occur after redesignation of 

the area. Under section 175A(d), 

contingency measures identified in the 

contingency plan do not have to be fully 

adopted at the time of redesignation. 

However, the contingency plan is 

considered to be an enforceable part of 

the SIP and should ensure that the 

contingency measures are adopted 

expeditiously once they are triggered by 

a specified event. The maintenance plan 

should clearly identify the measures to 

be adopted, a schedule and procedure 

for adoption and implementation, and a 

specific timeline for action by the State. 

As a necessary part of the plan, the State 

should also identify specific indicators 

or triggers, which will be used to 

determine when the contingency 

measures need to be implemented. 

The Truckee Meadows CO 

Maintenance Plan includes a 

contingency plan consisting of two tiers. 

As background to the first tier, we note 

that, under the District’s emergency 

episode plan, now codified as District 

rule 050.001, an exceedance of the 8- 

hour CO NAAQS (i.e. a value exceeding 

9 ppm (eight-hour average), which 

means an actual recording of 9.5 ppm or 

greater due to rounding conventions) at 

any of the monitors located in the 

Truckee Meadows area triggers a Stage 

1 (Alert) Episode. Stage 1 (Alert) 

Episode actions include cessation of 

open burning and use of incinerators 

that are subject to District AQMD 

operating permits, and a request to the 

public to curtail unnecessary motor 

vehicle use through the District’s public 

outreach program. Under certain 

conditions, Stage 1 (Alert) Episode 

actions may also include the suspension 

of the burning of any solid fuel in 

commercial or residential stoves and/or 

fireplaces unless such fuels supply the 

only heat available to the person 

burning it. We approved the current 

version of the District’s emergency 


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episode plan on June 18, 2007 (72 FR 

33397). 

Under tier 1 of the contingency plan, 

the District would initiate a rulemaking 

process to redefine the CO stage 1 (alert) 

episode level from 9 ppm to 9.0 ppm. 

This will have the effect of triggering the 

actions cited above at pre-exceedance 

levels due to the convention of rounding 

all values from 9.1 ppm through 9.4 

ppm down to 9 ppm. In other words, 

under tier 1, the Stage 1 (Alert) Episode 

criteria level for CO will be reduced, as 

a practical matter, from 9.5 ppm to 9.0 

ppm. The plan indicates that the District 

will adopt and implement this 

regulatory change before the next CO 

season following the triggering event. 

Tier 2 will be triggered by a violation 

of the CO NAAQS (i.e., a second nonoverlapping exceedance of the 8-hour 

CO NAAQS in the same calendar year 

from any National Ambient Monitoring 

Station (NAMS), State and Local 

Monitoring Stations (SLAMS), or 

Special Purpose Monitoring (SPM) site 

operated within Washoe County). If 

triggered, under tier 2 of the 

contingency plan, the District AQMD 

will bring to the District Board of Health 

(within 45 days of the tier 2 triggering 

event) a recommendation for regulatory 

action, including a timeline for adoption 

and implementation. The contingency 

plan contains the current list of 

potential CO contingency measures, 

including an increase in the oxygen 

content requirement under the District’s 

wintertime oxygenated gasoline rule, 

and a request to the State Environmental 

Commission to revise certain provisions 

of the vehicle I/M program to achieve 

additional CO emissions reductions in 

Truckee Meadows. The District AQMD 

intends to update this list of potential 

measures on a triennial basis. 

EPA finds that the contingency plan 

provided in the maintenance plan is 

adequate to ensure prompt correction of 

a violation and thereby complies with 

section 175A(d) of the Act. 

6. Subsequent Maintenance Plan 

Revisions 

Section 175A(b) of the CAA requires 

States to submit a subsequent 

maintenance plan revision eight years 

after the original redesignation request 

and maintenance plan have been 

approved by EPA. The subsequent 

revision is to provide for maintenance of 

the air quality standard for an additional 

10 years following the initial ten-year 

maintenance period. Through adoption 

of the Truckee Meadows CO 

Maintenance Plan, the District has 

committed (see page 16 of the Truckee 

Meadows CO Maintenance Plan) to 

prepare, adopt and submit a revised CO 

maintenance plan eight years after 

redesignation to attainment. 

7. Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets 

A maintenance plan must contain 

motor vehicle emissions budgets 

(MVEBs) that, in conjunction with all 

other sources, are consistent with 

maintenance of the applicable NAAQS. 

In this case, an MVEB represents the 

total allowable CO emissions allocated 

to highway and transit vehicle use 

during the maintenance period. The 

rules and requirements governing 

transportation conformity (codified at 

40 CFR part 93, subpart A) require 

certain transportation activities to be 

consistent with the MVEBs contained in 

control strategy or maintenance SIPs (40 

CFR 93.118). The projected emissions 

resulting from the transportation 

activities must be less than or equal to 

the emissions budget levels (40 CFR 

93.118(a)). 

The MVEBs for years 2010 and 2016 

that are contained in the Truckee 

Meadows CO Maintenance Plan were 

developed using emission factors 

generated using EPA’s MOBILE6 model 

but also include a safety margin equal 

to the difference between the projected 

level of overall CO emissions in Truckee 

Meadows in those years and the actual 

CO emissions that were estimated for 

the baseline year (2002). Safety margins 

are allowed under our transportation 

conformity rule so long as such margins 

are explicitly quantified in the 

applicable plan and are shown to be 

consistent with attainment or 

maintenance of the NAAQS (whichever 

is relevant to the particular plan). See 40 

CFR 93.124(a). In this instance, the 

safety margin has been explicitly 

quantified and shown to be consistent 

with continued maintenance of the CO 

NAAQS in Truckee Meadows through 

the applicable maintenance period. See 

section IX.E.2 of this document. 

We found the MVEBs in the Truckee 

Meadows CO Maintenance Plan 

adequate in a letter to Leo M. Drozdoff, 

P.E., Administrator, NDEP, dated 

February 14, 2006. See 71 FR 13386 

(March 15, 2006). The adequacy finding 

on the maintenance plan budgets was 

effective as of March 30, 2006. 

Our adequacy finding is a preliminary 

determination that MVEBs are 

consistent with the purposes of the 

submitted plan (in this case, a 

maintenance plan) and does not 

constitute an approval action, and in 

today’s action, EPA is taking the next 

step by proposing to approve the 

MVEBs in the Truckee Meadows CO 

Maintenance Plan for transportation 

conformity purposes. EPA believes that 

the MVEBs are consistent with the 

control measures identified in the SIP, 

and that the SIP as a whole 

demonstrates maintenance with the CO 

NAAAQS. The 2010 and 2016 motor 

vehicle emissions budgets included in 

the Truckee Meadows Truckee 

Meadows CO Maintenance Plan are 

shown in Table 2 below. 

TABLE 2.—ON-ROAD MOTOR VEHICLE CARBON MONOXIDE EMISSIONS BUDGETS, TRUCKEE MEADOWS, 2010 AND 2016 

[Pounds per typical CO season day] 

2010 2016 

On-Road Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets ....................................................................................................................... 330,678 321,319 

8. Conclusion 

Based on the review presented above 

of the various elements of the submitted 

plan, we propose to approve the 

Truckee Meadows CO Maintenance Plan 

as a revision to the Truckee Meadows 

portion of the Nevada SIP. In so doing, 

we find that the Truckee Meadows CO 

Maintenance Plan, adopted on 

September 22, 2005 by the Washoe 

County District Board of Health and 

submitted by NDEP to EPA on 

November 4, 2005, satisfies the 

requirements of section 175A of the Act. 

Our final approval of the Truckee 

Meadows CO Maintenance Plan would 

satisfy the criterion for redesignation 

under CAA section 107(d)(3)(E)(iv). 

X. Proposed Action and Request for 

Comment 

For the reasons given above, we are 

proposing to approve, under section 

110(k)(3) and part D (of title I) of the 

Act, certain submittals by NDEP of 

revisions to the Nevada SIP that are 

required to provide for attainment of the 

CO NAAQS in the Truckee Meadows 

‘‘moderate’’ CO nonattainment area, to 


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15With respect to this criterion, we will not 

finalize this proposed redesignation until we have 

finalized proposed approvals of the District’s 

wintertime oxygenated gasoline rule and the State’s 

basic I/M program, both of which are addressed 

herein. Also, we find that we need not fully 

approve either the District’s nonattainment new 

source review rules or conformity rules as a precondition to redesignation of Truckee Meadows to 

attainment for the CO NAAQS. 

approve a maintenance plan under 

section 110(k)(3) and 175A of the Act, 

and to approve, under section 107(d)(3) 

of the Act, NDEP’s request to 

redesignate Truckee Meadows to 

attainment for the CO NAAQS. 

First, we are proposing to approve the 

local oxygenated gasoline regulation 

(Rule 040.095 of the Washoe County 

District Board of Health Regulations 

Governing Air Quality Management, as 

amended on September 22, 2005) as 

fulfilling the requirements of section 

211(m) of the CAA. 

Second, we are proposing to approve 

the State of Nevada’s SIP revisions 

containing the ‘‘basic’’ vehicle I/M 

program for Truckee Meadows because 

we find that the program meets all 

applicable requirements under CAA 

section 187(a)(4) and EPA regulations. 

Specifically, we are proposing to 

approve three I/M-related SIP revisions 

submitted by NDEP: 

(i) State Implementation Plan for a 

Basic Program for the Inspection and 

Maintenance of Motor Vehicles for the 

Truckee Meadows Planning Area, 

Nevada (June 1994), submitted on June 

3, 1994; we are excluding the following 

outdated or superseded elements 

included in the June 3, 1994 SIP 

revision: the statutory provisions and 

rules, the exhaust gas analyzer 

specifications, and a contingency 

measure adopted by the Washoe County 

District Board of Health; 

(ii) Basic I/M Performance Standard 

Evaluation for motor vehicles in the 

Truck Meadows planning area, 

submitted on November 2, 2006; and 

(iii) Current Nevada I/M statutory 

provisions and rules and updated 

exhaust gas analyzer (NV2000) 

specifications, submitted by NDEP on 

May 11, 2007. The submitted Nevada 

I/M statutory provisions and regulations 

that are proposed for approval are as 

follows: 

• Nevada Revised Statutes (2005), 

chapter 365: section 365.060; chapter 

366, section 366.060; chapter 445B, 

sections 445B.210, 445B.700–845 

(excluding NRS 445B.776, 445B.777, 

and 445B.778); chapter 481, sections 

481.019–481.087; chapter 482, sections 

482.029, 482.155–482.290, 482.385, 

482.461, and 482.565; and chapter 484, 

sections 484.101, 484.644 and 484.6441; 

• Nevada Administrative Code, 

chapter 445B (January 2007 revision by 

the Legislative Counsel Bureau), 

sections 445B.400 to 445B.735, 

excluding subsection (2) of section 

445B.595. 

The May 11, 2007 SIP revision 

submittal is a comprehensive update of 

the statutory and regulatory portion of 

Nevada’s mobile source SIP (excluding 

the rules establishing fuels 

specifications, alternative fuels 

programs for government vehicles, and 

any local rules related to mobile 

sources) and is an update of the exhaust 

gas analyzer specifications as approved 

in 2004 for the State’s I/M program in 

Las Vegas and Boulder City. 

In connection with the approval of the 

State’s I/M program, we are taking no 

action on submitted rule NAC 

445B.595(2), which extends the State’s 

I/M requirements to motor vehicles 

operated on Federal installations 

located within I/M areas because the 

Federal government has not waived 

sovereign immunity in the context of 

vehicle I/M programs. Furthermore, we 

are proposing, under CAA section 

110(k)(6), to rescind our previous, and 

erroneous, approval of NAC 445B.595(2) 

into the Nevada SIP in 2004, also on the 

grounds of sovereign immunity. 

Third, under section 107(d)(3), we are 

proposing to approve NDEP’s request 

(dated November 4, 2005) to redesignate 

the Truckee Meadows CO 

nonattainment area to attainment. In so 

doing, we find that: 

• The Truckee Meadows 

nonattainment area has attained the CO 

NAAQS; 

• EPA has fully approved the 

applicable SIP for this area under 

section 110(k) of the CAA; 

• The improvement in ambient CO 

conditions in Truckee Meadows is due 

to permanent and enforceable 

reductions in emissions resulting from 

implementation of the applicable SIP 

and applicable Federal air pollutant 

control regulations and other permanent 

and enforceable reductions; 

• The State has met all requirements 

applicable to Truckee Meadows under 

section 110 and part D (of title I) of the 

CAA; 15 and 

• The State has submitted a 

maintenance plan, the Redesignation 

Request and Maintenance Plan for the 

Truckee Meadows Carbon Monoxide 

Non-Attainment Area (September 2005) 

(‘‘Truckee Meadows CO Maintenance 

Plan’’), adopted by the Washoe County 

District Board of Health on September 

22, 2005, and submitted by NDEP to 

EPA on November 4, 2005, for which we 

are proposing approval as a revision to 

the Truckee Meadows portion of the 

Nevada SIP. 

In connection with the Truckee 

Meadows CO Maintenance Plan, we 

find the following plan elements to be 

acceptable: 

• Baseline (2002) emissions inventory 

and future year (2010 and 2016) 

inventory projections; 

• Commitment to continue operating 

an appropriate ambient CO monitoring 

network; 

• Commitment to verify continued 

attainment through ambient monitoring 

and the preparation and submittal of 

periodic inventory updates and surveys 

of residential woodburning; 

• Contingency provisions under CAA 

section 175A(d), specifically, the 

adopted two-tier approach with specific 

triggering events and regulatory 

responses: the first involving a lowering 

of the stage 1 (alert) episode level (tier 

1) by the next CO season and the second 

involving a recommendation and 

timetable for action by the Washoe 

County District Board of Health or the 

State Environmental Commission to 

tighten certain requirements, potentially 

including a higher wintertime gasoline 

oxygen content or higher waiver 

amounts in the State’s vehicle I/M 

program, to promptly correct any 

violation of the CO NAAQS after 

redesignation; 

• Commitment to prepare and submit 

a subsequent CO maintenance plan for 

the Truckee Meadows area eight years 

after redesignation; and 

• CO motor vehicle emissions 

budgets (in terms of pounds per typical 

CO season day) of 330,678 pounds per 

typical CO season day in year 2010 and 

321,319 pounds per typical CO season 

day in year 2016. 

We are soliciting comments on all 

aspects of this proposed SIP and 

redesignation rulemaking action. We 

will consider your comments in 

deciding our final action if your 

comments are received by February 6, 

2008. 

XI. 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 proposed 

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 approve state 

plan revisions as meeting Federal 

requirements and redesignate an area to 

attainment for air quality planning 

purposes and imposes no additional 

requirements beyond those imposed by 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 4 / Monday, January 7, 2008 / Proposed Rules 1195 

state law. 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 rule proposes to 

approve pre-existing requirements 

under state law 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 

(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 

proposed 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 approve state plan revisions 

implementing a Federal standard and to 

redesignate an area to attainment for air 

quality planning purposes 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 as defined in Executive 

Order 12866, and because the Agency 

does not have reason to believe the 

environmental health or safety risks 

addressed by this rule present a 

disproportionate risk to children. 

In reviewing SIP submissions and 

redesignation requests, EPA’s role is to 

approve state choices, provided that 

they meet the criteria of the Clean Air 

Act. In this context, in the absence of a 

prior existing requirement for the State 

to use voluntary consensus standards 

(VCS), EPA has no authority to 

disapprove a SIP submission or 

redesignation request for failure to use 

VCS. It would thus be inconsistent with 

applicable law for EPA, when it reviews 

a SIP submission or redesignation 

request, to use VCS in place of a SIP 

submission that otherwise satisfies the 

provisions of the Clean Air Act. 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.). 

List of Subjects 

40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 

Intergovernmental relations, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements. 

40 CFR Part 81 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, National parks, 

Wilderness areas. 

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

Dated: December 26, 2007. 

Jane Diamond, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX. 

[FR Doc. E7–25636 Filed 1–4–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 76 

[MB Docket No. 07–51; FCC 07–189] 

Exclusive Service Contracts for 

Provision of Video Services in Multiple 

Dwelling Units and Other Real Estate 

Developments 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Further Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking (‘‘Notice’’) solicits 

comment on whether providers of Direct 

Broadcast Satellite (‘‘DBS’’) service and 

Private Cable Operators (‘‘PCOs’’) 

should be allowed to have exclusive 

access to so-called Multiple Dwelling 

Units (‘‘MDUs,’’ such as apartment and 

condominium buildings). Also, the 

Notice considers prohibiting all 

providers of video programming service 

from using exclusive marketing 

arrangements (which allow one MVPD 

to be the preferred video provider in an 

MDU) and bulk billing arrangements 

(which require MDU dwellers to pay for 

a video provider in their rental or 

condominium fees). The intended effect 

of the Notice is to determine whether 

each of these practices benefits or harms 

video consumers in MDUs on the 

whole. 

DATES: Comments for this proceeding 

are due on or before February 6, 2008; 

reply comments are due on or before 

March 7, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by MB Docket No. 07–51, by 

any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Federal Communications 

Commission’s Web Site: http:// 

www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• People With Disabilities: Contact 

the FCC to request reasonable 

accommodations (accessible format 

documents, sign language interpreters, 

CART, etc.) by e-mail: FCC504@fcc.gov 

or phone: 202–418–0530 or TTY: 202–

418–0432. 

For detailed instructions for 

submitting comments and additional 

information on the rulemaking process, 

see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section of this document 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

additional information on this 

proceeding, please contact John W. 

Berresford, (202) 418–1886, or Holly 

Saurer, (202) 418–7283, both of the 

Policy Division, Media Bureau. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Federal 

Communications Commission’s Further 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in MB 

Docket No. 07–51, FCC 07–189, adopted 

October 31, 2007, and released 

November 13, 2007. The full text of this 

document is available for public 

inspection and copying during regular 

business hours in the FCC Reference 

Center, Federal Communications 

Commission, 445 12th Street, SW., CY–

A257, Washington, DC 20554. These 

documents will also be available via 

ECFS (http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/). 

(Documents will be available 

electronically in ASCII, Word 97, and/ 

or Adobe Acrobat.) The complete text 

may be purchased from the 

Commission’s copy contractor, 445 12th 

Street, SW., Room CY–B402, 

Washington, DC 20554. To request this 

document in accessible formats 

(computer diskettes, large print, audio 

recording, and Braille), send an e-mail 

to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the 

Commission’s Consumer and 

Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 

418–0530 (voice), (202) 418–0432 

(TTY). 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with PROPOSALS