51604 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 191 / Thursday, October 2, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

revision, published on July 25, 1996.

Several minor regulation citations and

the date of the Governor’s SIP

submission letter were erroneously cited

in the final approval. The EPA is

correcting these citations in this action.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 2, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Eaton R. Weiler, (214) 665–2174

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

On July 25, 1996, EPA published a

final approval of Louisiana’s RACT

Catch-up SIP revision (61 FR 38590).

Several errors in the Incorporation by

Reference (IBR) language were

discovered subsequent to publication.

The revisions to LAC 33:III.2103

included IBR to revise paragraphs G.,

G.1, and G.4. The correct citation should

have been to revise paragraphs G., I, and

I.4. The Waste Gas Disposal regulation

was cited as Section 2215. The correct

cite for Waste Gas Disposal is Section

2115. In addition, Section 2215’s

introductory paragraph, paragraphs H.

and H.5 were unnecessarily adopted.

The April 14, 1993, SIP submission

further amended Section 2115 and

alleviated the need to adopt revisions to

2115 from the December 21, 1992,

submission. Finally, the second of the

two SIP submissions from Louisiana

was submitted to EPA from the

Governor of Louisiana by letter dated

April 14, 1993. The date of this letter

was erroneously stated as April 13,

1993.

II. Administrative Requirements

Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR

51735, October 4, 1993), this action is

not a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’ and

is therefore not subject to review by the

Office of Management and Budget. In

addition, this action does not impose

any enforceable duty or contain any

unfunded mandate as described in the

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

(Pub. L. 104–4), or require prior

consultation with State officials as

specified by Executive Order 12875 (58

FR 58093, October 28, 1993), or involve

special consideration of environmental

justice related issues as required by

Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629,

February 16, 1994).

Because this action is not subject to

notice-and-comment requirements

under the Administrative Procedure Act

or any other statute, it is not subject to

the provisions of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.)

Under 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A) as added

by the Small Business Regulatory

Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, EPA

submitted a report containing this rule

and other required information to the

U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of

Representatives and the Comptroller

General of the General Accounting

Office prior to publication of this rule in

today’s Federal Register. This rule is

not a ‘‘major rule’’ as defined by 5

U.S.C. 804(2).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

Environmental protection, Air

pollution control, Hydrocarbons,

Incorporation by reference, Ozone,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Volatile organic

compounds.

Dated: September 19, 1997.

Jerry Clifford,

Acting Regional Administrator.

Part 52, chapter I, title 40 of the Code

of Federal Regulations is amended as

follows:

PART 52—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation of part 52

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401–7671q.

Subpart T—Louisiana

2. Section 52.970 is amended by

revising paragraphs (c)(64) introductory

text and (c)(64)(i) to read as follows:

§ 52.970 Identification of plan.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(64) Revisions to the Louisiana SIP

addressing VOC RACT catch-up

requirements were submitted by the

Governor of Louisiana by letters dated

December 21, 1992, and April 14, 1993.

(i) Incorporation by reference.

(A) Revisions to LAC, Title 33,

Environmental Quality, Part III. Air;

Chapter 21. Control of Emissions of

Organic Compounds, Subchapter A.

General; section 2103. Storage of

Volatile Organic Compounds,

paragraphs G., I., I.4.; section 2109. Oil/

Water Separation, paragraph B.4.;

Subchapter B. Organic Solvents; section

2123. Organic Solvents, paragraph D.6.;

Subchapter C. Vapor Degreasers; section

2125. Vapor Degreasers, paragraph D.;

Subchapter F. Gasoline Handling;

section 2131. Filling of Gasoline Storage

Vessels, paragraphs D., D.1., D.3., G.;

section 2135. Bulk Gasoline Terminals,

paragraph A.; Subchapter H. Graphic

Arts; section 2143. Graphic Arts

(Printing) by Rotogravure and

Flexographic Processes, paragraph B, as

adopted by LDEQ on October 20, 1992.

(B) Revisions to LAC, Title 33,

Environmental Quality, Part III. Air;

Chapter 21. Control of Emissions of

Organic Compounds, Subchapter A.

General; section 2115. Waste Gas

Disposal, introductory paragraph,

paragraphs H., H.1., H.1.a through

H.1.d, H.2, H.2.a, H.2.b, H.3, L., as

adopted by LDEQ on March 20, 1993.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 97–26181 Filed 10–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–U

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[NV029–0003A; FRL–5900–1]

Clean Air Act Reclassification; NevadaClark County Nonattainment Area;

Carbon Monoxide

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: In this document EPA is

making a final finding that the Clark

County, Nevada carbon monoxide (CO)

nonattainment area has not attained the

CO national ambient air quality

standard (NAAQS) under the Clean Air

Act (CAA) after having received a one

year extension from the mandated

attainment date of December 31, 1995

for moderate nonattainment areas to

December 31, 1996. This finding is

based on EPA’s review of monitored air

quality data for compliance with the CO

NAAQS. As a result of this finding, the

Clark County, Nevada nonattainment

area is reclassified as a serious CO

nonattainment area by operation of law.

The intended effect of the

reclassification is to allow the State 18

months from the effective date of this

action to submit a new State

Implementation Plan (SIP)

demonstrating attainment of the CO

NAAQS as expeditiously as practical

but no later than December 31, 2000, the

CAA attainment date for serious areas.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This action is effective

on November 3, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Larry Biland, AIR–2, Air Division, U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency,

Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street, San

Francisco, California 94105, (415) 744–

1227.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

A. CAA Requirements and EPA Actions

Concerning Designation and

Classifications

The Clean Air Act Amendments of

1990 (CAA) were enacted on November

15, 1990. Under section 107(d)(1)(C) of

the CAA, each carbon monoxide (CO)
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 191 / Thursday, October 2, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 51605

1The moderate area SIP requirements are set forth

in section 187(a) of the Act and differ depending

on whether the area’s design value is below or

above 12.7 ppm. The Clark County area has a design

value below 12.7 ppm. 40 CFR 81.303.

2See generally memorandum from Sally L.

Shaver, Director, Air Quality Strategies and

Standards Division, EPA, to Regional Air Office

Directors, entitled ‘‘Criteria for Granting Attainment

Date Extensions, Making Attainment

Determinations, and Determinations of Failure to

Attain the NAAQS for Moderate CO Nonattainment

Areas,’’ October 23, 1995 (Shaver memorandum).

3See memorandum from William G. Laxton,

Director Technical Support Division, entitled

‘‘Ozone and Carbon Monoxide Design Value

Calculations’’, June 18, 1990. See also Shaver

memorandum.

area designated nonattainment prior to

enactment of the 1990 Amendments,

such as the Clark County area, was

designated nonattainment by operation

of law upon enactment of the 1990

Amendments. Under section 186(a) of

the Act, each CO area designated

nonattainment under section 107(d) was

also classified by operation of law as

either ‘‘moderate’’ or ‘‘serious’’

depending on the severity of the area’s

air quality problem. CO areas with

design values between 9.1 and 16.4

parts per million (ppm), such as the

Clark County area, were classified as

moderate. These nonattainment

designations and classifications were

codified in 40 CFR part 81. See 56 FR

56694 (November 6, 1991).

States containing areas that were

classified as moderate nonattainment by

operation of law under section 107(d)

were required to submit State

implementation plans (SIPs) designed to

attain the CO national ambient air

quality standard (NAAQS) as

expeditiously as practicable but no later

than December 31, 1995.1

B. Attainment Date Extensions

If a state does not have the two

consecutive years of clean data

necessary to show attainment of the

NAAQS, it may apply, under section

186(a)(4) of the CAA, for a one year

attainment date extension. EPA may, in

its discretion, grant such an extension if:

(1) The state has complied with the

requirements and commitments

pertaining to the applicable

implementation plan for the area; and

(2) the area has measured no more than

one exceedance of the CO NAAQS at

any monitoring site in the

nonattainment area in the year

preceding the extension year. Under

section 186(a)(4), EPA may grant up to

two such extensions if these conditions

have been met. EPA has granted Clark

County one extension to December 31,

1996. (61 FR 575407, Wednesday, Nov.

6, 1996).

C. Effect of Reclassification

CO nonattainment areas reclassified

as serious are required to submit, within

18 months of the area’s reclassification,

SIP revisions providing for attainment

of the CO NAAQS as expeditiously as

practicable but no later than December

31, 2000. In addition, the State must

submit a SIP revision that includes: (1)

A forecast of vehicle miles traveled

(VMT) for each year before the

attainment year and provisions for

annual updates of these forecasts; (2)

adopted contingency measures; and (3)

adopted transportation control measures

and strategies to offset any growth in CO

emissions from growth in VMT or

number of vehicle trips. See CAA

sections 187(a)(7), 187(a)(2)(A),

187(a)(3), 187(b)(2), and 187(b)(1).

Finally, upon the effective date of this

reclassification, contingency measures

in the moderate area plan for the Clark

County, Nevada nonattainment area

must be implemented.

D. Proposed Finding of Failure to Attain

On June 26, 1997 EPA proposed to

find that the Clark County, Nevada

carbon monoxide (CO) nonattainment

area had failed to attain the CO NAAQS

by the applicable attainment date. 62 FR

34419. This proposed finding was based

on CO monitoring data collected at the

East Charleston monitoring site during

the years 1995 and 1996. These data

demonstrate violations of the CO

NAAQS in 1996. For the specific data

considered by EPA in making this

proposed finding, see 62 FR 34419.

E. Reclassification to a Serious

Nonattainment Area

EPA has the responsibility, pursuant

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

CAA, of determining, within six months

of the applicable attainment date,

whether the Clark County area has

attained the CO NAAQS. Under section

186(b)(2)(A), if EPA finds that the area

has not attained the CO NAAQS, it is

reclassified as serious by operation of

law. Pursuant to section 186(b)(2)(B) of

the Act, EPA must publish a document

in the Federal Register identifying areas

which failed to attain the standard and

therefore must be reclassified as serious

by operation of law.

EPA makes attainment determinations

for CO nonattainment areas based upon

whether an area has two years (or eight

consecutive quarters) of clean air quality

data.2 Section 179(c)(1) of the Act states

that the attainment determination must

be based upon an area’s ‘‘air quality as

of the attainment date.’’ Consequently,

where an area has received an

extension, EPA will determine whether

an area’s air quality has met the CO

NAAQS by the required date, or in the

case of Clark County by the extended

date of December 31, 1996, based upon

the most recent two years of air quality

data.

EPA determines a CO nonattainment

area’s air quality status in accordance

with 40 CFR 50.8 and EPA policy.3 EPA

has promulgated two NAAQS for CO: an

8-hour average concentration and a 1-

hour average concentration. Because

there were no violations of the 1-hour

standard in the Clark County area, this

document addresses only the air quality

status of the Clark County area with

respect to the 8-hour standard. The 8-

hour CO NAAQS requires that not more

than one non-overlapping 8-hour

average in any consecutive two-year

period per monitoring site can exceed

9.0 ppm (values below 9.5 are rounded

down to 9.0 and they are not considered

exceedances). The second exceedance of

the 8-hour CO NAAQS at a given

monitoring site within the same twoyear period constitutes a violation of the

CO NAAQS.

II. Response to Comments on Proposed

Finding

During the public comment period on

EPA’s proposed finding, EPA received

no comments.

III. Today’s Action

EPA is today taking final action to

find that the Clark County CO

nonattainment area did not attain the

CO NAAQS by December 31, 1996, the

CAA attainment date for moderate CO

nonattainment areas. As a result of this

finding, the Clark County CO

nonattainment area is reclassified by

operation of law as a serious CO

nonattainment area as of the effective

date of this document. This finding is

based upon air quality data showing

exceedances of the CO NAAQS during

1995 and 1996, resulting in two

violations in 1996.

IV. Executive Order (EO) 12866

Under E.O. 12866, 58 FR 51735

(October 4, 1993), EPA is required to

determine whether regulatory actions

are significant and therefore should be

subject to OMB review, economic

analysis, and the requirements of the

Executive Order. The Executive Order

defines a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’

as one that is likely to result in a rule

that may meet at least one of the four

criteria identified in section 3(f),

including, under paragraph (1), that the

rule may ‘‘have an annual effect on the

economy of $100 million or more or

adversely affect, in a material way, the
51606 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 191 / Thursday, October 2, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

economy, a sector of the economy,

productivity, competition, jobs, the

environment, public health or safety, or

State, local, or tribal governments or

communities’’.

The Agency has determined that the

finding of failure to attain finalized

today would result in none of the effects

identified in section 3(f). Under section

186(b)(2) of the CAA, findings of failure

to attain and reclassification of

nonattainment areas are based upon air

quality considerations and must occur

by operation of law in light of certain air

quality conditions. They do not, in and

of themselves, impose any new

requirements on any sectors of the

economy. In addition, because the

statutory requirements are clearly

defined with respect to the differently

classified areas, and because those

requirements are automatically triggered

by classifications that, in turn, are

triggered by air quality values, findings

of failure to attain and reclassification

cannot be said to impose a materially

adverse impact on State, local, or tribal

governments or communities.

V. Regulatory Flexibility Act

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act,

5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., EPA must prepare

a regulatory flexibility analysis

assessing the impact of any proposed or

final rule on small entities. 5 U.S.C. 603

and 604. Alternatively, EPA may certify

that the rule will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities. Small entities

include small businesses, small not-forprofit enterprises, and government

entities with jurisdiction over

populations of less than 50,000.

As discussed in section III of this

document, findings of failure to attain

and reclassification of nonattainment

areas under section 186(b)(2) of the CAA

do not in-and-of-themselves create any

new requirements. Therefore, I certify

that today’s action does not have a

significant impact on small entities.

VI. Unfunded Mandates Act

Under sections 202, 203 and 205 of

the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of

1995 (Unfunded Mandates Act), signed

into law on March 22, 1995, EPA must

assess whether various actions

undertaken in association with

proposed or final regulations include a

Federal mandate that may result in

estimated costs of $100 million or more

to the private sector, or to state, local or

tribal governments in the aggregate. EPA

believes, as discussed above, that the

finding of failure to attain and

reclassification of the Clark County

nonattainment area are factual

determinations based upon air quality

considerations and must occur by

operation of law and, hence, do not

impose any Federal intergovernmental

mandate, as defined in section 101 of

the Unfunded Mandates Act.

VII. Submission to Congress and the

General Accounting Office

Under 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A) as added

by the Small Business Regulatory

Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, EPA

submitted a report containing this rule

and other required information to the

U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of

Representatives and the Comptroller

General of the General Accounting

Office prior to publication of the rule in

today’s Federal Register. This rule is

not a ‘‘major rule’’ as defined by 5

U.S.C. 804(2).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 81

Environmental protection, Air

pollution control, Carbon monoxide,

Intergovernmental relations.

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401–7671q.

Dated: September 18, 1997.

Harry Seraydarian,

Acting Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–26187 Filed 10–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–U

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 258

[F–97–FLXF–FFFFF; FRL–5900–7]

RIN 2050–AE24

Revisions to Criteria for Municipal

Solid Waste Landfills

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Direct final rule; confirmation of

effective date.

SUMMARY: On July 29, 1997, the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

published a direct final rule (62 FR

40708) which established regulations to

implement the Land Disposal Program

Flexibility Act of 1996 (LDPFA). These

regulations provide additional

flexibility to Approved States for any

municipal solid waste landfill (MSWLF)

that receives 20 tons or less of

municipal solid waste per day. The

additional flexibility applies to

alternative frequencies of daily cover,

frequencies of methane monitoring, and

infiltration layers for final cover. As

stated in the preamble to the direct final

rule, provisions contained in the

Revised Criteria for Municipal Solid

Waste Landfills (56 FR 51104; October

9, 1991 and 61 FR 60327; November 27,

1996) provide the additional flexibility

for demonstrating financial assurance

contemplated by Congress in the

LDPFA. The additional flexibility will

allow the owners and operators of small

MSWLFs the opportunity to reduce

their costs of MSWLF operation while

still protecting human health and the

environment. The EPA has not received

an adverse comment objecting to this

rule as written. Therefore, this rule will

go into effect as scheduled.

DATES: The effective date of the direct

final rule published at 62 FR 40708

remains October 27, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

general information, contact the RCRA

Hotline at 800 424–9346 or TDD 800

553–7672 (hearing impaired). In the

Washington, DC, metropolitan area, call

703 412–9810 or TDD 703 412–3323.

For more detailed information on

specific aspects of this rulemaking,

contact Mr. Allen J. Geswein, U. S.

Environmental Protection Agency,

Office of Solid Waste (5306W), 401 M

Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20460, 703

308–7261,

[geswein.allen@epamail.epa.gov].

Elizabeth A. Cotsworth,

Acting Director, Office of Solid Waste.

[FR Doc. 97–25879 Filed 10–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 721

[OPPTS–50625B; FRL–5744–6]

RIN 2070–AB27

Revocation of Significant New Use

Rules for Certain Acrylate Substances

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: EPA is revoking significant

new use rules (SNURs) promulgated

under section 5(a)(2) of the Toxic

Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 95

substances based on new toxicity data.

Based on the new data the Agency no

longer finds that activities not described

in the TSCA section 5(e) consent order

may result in significant changes in

human exposure.

DATES: This rule is effective November

3, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Susan B. Hazen, Director,

Environmental Assistance Division

(7408), Office of Pollution Prevention

and Toxics, Environmental Protection

Agency, Rm. E–543A, 401 M St., SW.,