[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 25 (Thursday, February 6, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 5555-5559]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-2998]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

[LA-38-1-7322; FRL-5683-5]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation 
of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; State of Louisiana; 
Approval of the Maintenance Plan for Calcasieu Parish; Redesignation of 
Calcasieu Parish to Attainment for Ozone

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This document announces the Regional Administrator's decision 
to propose approval of a request from the State of Louisiana to 
redesignate Calcasieu Parish to attainment for ozone. On December 20, 
1995, the State of Louisiana submitted a maintenance plan and request 
to redesignate the Calcasieu Parish marginal ozone nonattainment area 
to attainment. Under the Clean Air Act (the Act), nonattainment areas 
may be redesignated to attainment if sufficient data are available to 
warrant the redesignation and the area meets the other Act 
redesignation requirements. In this action, EPA is proposing approval 
of Louisiana's redesignation request and maintenance plan because they 
meet requirements set forth in the Act. The EPA is also proposing 
approval of the 1993 base year emissions inventory for Calcasieu 
Parish. If approved, the maintenance plan and emissions inventory will 
become a federally enforceable part of the State Implementation Plan 
(SIP) for Louisiana.

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule must be postmarked by March 10, 
1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to Thomas H. Diggs, Chief, Air 
Planning Section (6PD-L), EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 
75202-2733. Copies of the State's submittal and other information 
relevant to this action are available for inspection during normal 
hours at the following locations:

Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, Air Planning Section (6PD-
L), 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733.
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Air Quality, 
7290 Bluebonnet Boulevard, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70810.

    Anyone wishing to review this proposal at the Region 6 EPA office 
is asked to contact the person below to schedule an appointment 24 
hours in advance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lt. Mick Cote, Air Planning Section 
(6PD-L), EPA Region 6, telephone (214) 665-7219.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Clean Air Act, as amended in 1977, required areas that were 
designated nonattainment based on a failure to meet the ozone National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to develop SIPs with sufficient 
control measures to expeditiously attain and maintain the standard. 
Calcasieu Parish was designated under section 107 of the 1977 Clean Air 
Act as nonattainment with respect to the ozone NAAQS on September 11, 
1978. For purposes of redesignations, the State of Louisiana has an 
approved ozone SIP for Calcasieu Parish.
    The LDEQ has collected ambient monitoring data since 1992 that show 
no violations of the ozone NAAQS of 0.12 parts per million. The LDEQ 
has developed a maintenance plan for Calcasieu Parish, and solicited 
public comment. Subsequently, LDEQ submitted a request, through the 
Governor's office, to redesignate this parish to attainment with 
respect to the ozone NAAQS. This maintenance plan and redesignation 
request for Calcasieu Parish was submitted to EPA on December 20, 1995.

II. Analysis of State Submittal

A. Evaluation Criteria

    The Act revised section 107(d)(3)(E) to provide five specific 
requirements that an area must meet in order to be redesignated from 
nonattainment to attainment: (1) The area must have attained the 
applicable NAAQS; (2) the area must meet all applicable requirements 
under section 110 and part D of the Act; (3) the area must have a fully 
approved SIP under section 110(k) of the Act; (4) the air quality 
improvement must be permanent and enforceable; and, (5) the area must 
have a fully approved maintenance plan pursuant to section 175A of the 
Act. Section 107(d)(3)(D) of the Act allows a Governor to initiate the 
redesignation process for an area to apply for attainment status.
(1) Attainment of the NAAQS for Ozone
    Attainment of the ozone NAAQS is determined based on the expected 
number of exceedances in a calendar year. The method for determining

[[Page 5556]]

attainment of the ozone NAAQS is contained in 40 CFR 50.9 and appendix 
H to that section. The simplest method by which expected exceedances 
are calculated is by averaging actual exceedances at each monitoring 
site over a three year period. An area is in attainment of the standard 
if this average results in expected exceedances for each monitoring 
site of 1.0 or less per calendar year. When a valid daily maximum 
hourly average value is not available for each required monitoring day 
during the year, the missing days must be accounted for when estimating 
exceedances for the year. Appendix H provides the formula used to 
estimate the expected number of exceedances for each year.
    The State of Louisiana's request is based on an analysis of 
quality-assured ozone air quality data which is relevant to both the 
maintenance plan and to the redesignation request. The data come from 
the State and Local Air Monitoring Station network. This request is 
based on ambient air ozone monitoring data collected from four ozone 
monitoring stations for more than 3 consecutive years in the area. 
Ozone data has been collected since 1981 at the Westlake monitoring 
site, since 1984 at the Carlyss site, and since 1991 at the Vinton and 
LeBleu sites. The data clearly show an expected exceedance rate of less 
than 1 since 1992. Please see the technical support document (TSD) for 
the detailed air quality monitoring data.
    In addition to the demonstration discussed above, EPA required 
completion of air network monitoring requirements set forth in 40 CFR 
part 58. This included a quality assurance plan revision and a 
monitoring network review to determine the adequacy of the ozone 
monitoring network. The LDEQ fulfilled these requirements to complete 
documentation for the air quality demonstration. The LDEQ has also 
committed to continue monitoring in Calcasieu Parish in accordance with 
40 CFR part 58.
    In summary, EPA believes that the data submitted by the LDEQ 
provides an adequate demonstration that Calcasieu Parish attained the 
ozone NAAQS. Moreover, the monitoring data continue to show attainment 
to date.
    If the State's monitoring data demonstrates a valid violation of 
the NAAQS before the final action is effective, approval of the 
redesignation will be withdrawn and a proposed disapproval substituted 
for the final approval.
(2) Section 110 Requirements
    For purposes of redesignation, to meet the requirement that the SIP 
contain all applicable requirements under the Act, EPA has reviewed the 
SIP to ensure that it contains all measures that were due under the Act 
prior to or at the time the State submitted its redesignation request, 
as set forth in EPA policy. The EPA interprets section 107(d)(3)(E)(v) 
of the Act to mean that, for a redesignation request to be approved, 
the State must have met all requirements that applied to the subject 
area prior to or at the same time as the submission of a complete 
redesignation request. In this case, the date of submission of a 
complete redesignation request is December 20, 1995.
    Requirements of the Act that come due subsequently continue to be 
applicable to the area at later dates (see section 175A of the Act) 
and, if redesignation of any of the areas is disapproved, the State 
remains obligated to fulfill those requirements. These requirements are 
discussed in the following EPA documents: ``Procedures for Processing 
Requests to Redesignate Areas to Attainment,'' John Calcagni, Director, 
Air Quality Management Division, September 4, 1992; ``State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) Actions Submitted in Response to Clean Air 
Act (CAA) Deadlines,'' John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality Management 
Division, October 28, 1992; and ``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,'' Michael H. 
Shapiro, Acting Assistant Administrator, September 17, 1993.
    The EPA has analyzed the Louisiana SIP and determined that it is 
consistent with the requirements of amended section 110(a)(2) of the 
Act. The SIP contains enforceable emission limitations; requires 
monitoring, compiling, and analyzing ambient air quality data; requires 
preconstruction review of new major stationary sources and major 
modifications to existing ones; provides for adequate funding, staff, 
and associated resources necessary to implement its requirements; and 
requires stationary source emissions monitoring and reporting. For 
purposes of redesignation, the Calcasieu SIP was reviewed to ensure 
that all requirements of section 110(a)(2) of the Act, containing 
general SIP elements, were satisfied. As noted above, EPA believes the 
SIP satisfies all of those requirements.
(3) Part D Requirements
    Before Calcasieu Parish can be redesignated to attainment, the 
Louisiana SIP must have fulfilled the applicable requirements of part D 
of the Act. Under part D, an area's classification indicates the 
requirements to which it will be subject. Subpart 1 of part D sets 
forth the basic nonattainment requirements applicable to all 
nonattainment areas, classified as well as nonclassifiable. Subpart 2 
of part D establishes additional requirements for nonattainment areas 
classified under table 1 of section 181(a)(1) of the Act.
(a) Subpart 1 of Part D--Section 172(c) Plan Provisions
    Under section 172(b) of the Act, the Administrator established that 
States containing nonattainment areas shall submit a plan or plan 
revision meeting the applicable requirements of section 172(c) of the 
Act no later than three years after an area is designated as 
nonattainment, i.e., unless EPA establishes an earlier date. Calcasieu 
Parish had an attainment date of November 15, 1993. Due to technical 
problems with the Vinton monitoring site in 1993, EPA deferred making 
an attainment determination for Calcasieu Parish until the monitoring 
issue was resolved. The monitoring issue was recently resolved to EPA's 
satisfaction, and EPA agrees with the State that Calcasieu Parish has 
attained the ozone standard.
    The EPA has determined that the Act's section 172(c)(2) reasonable 
further progress requirement is not applicable to Calcasieu Parish; 
likewise, the section 172(c)(9) contingency measures and additional 
section 172(c)(1) non-RACT reasonable available control measures beyond 
what may already be required in the SIP are not necessary, since 
section 182(a) of the Act specifically excludes marginal areas from 
these requirements.
    The Act's section 172(c)(3) emissions inventory requirement has 
been met by the prior submission and approval of the 1990 base year 
inventory required under subpart 2 of part D, section 182(a)(1) of the 
Act.
    As for the Act's section 172(c)(5) NSR requirement, EPA has 
determined that areas being redesignated need not comply with the NSR 
requirement prior to redesignation provided that the area demonstrates 
maintenance of the standard without part D NSR in effect. The 
maintenance plan proposed for approval with this notice does 
demonstrate maintenance of the ozone standard without NSR. See 
memorandum from Mary Nichols,

[[Page 5557]]

Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation, dated October 14, 1994, 
entitled ``Part D New Source Review (part D NSR) Requirements for Areas 
Requesting Redesignation to Attainment''. The rationale for this view 
is described fully in that memorandum, and is based on EPA's authority 
to establish de minimis exceptions to statutory requirements. See, 
Alabama Power Co. v. Costle, 636 F. 2d 323, 360-61 (D.C. Cir. 1979).
    Section 176 of the Act requires States to revise their SIP's to 
establish criteria and procedures to ensure that Federal actions, 
before they are taken, conform to the air quality planning goals in the 
applicable State SIP. The requirement to determine conformity applies 
to transportation plans, programs and projects developed, funded, or 
approved under title 23 U.S.C. or the Federal Transit Act 
(``transportation conformity''), as well as to all other Federal 
actions (``general conformity'').
    Section 176 of the Act further provides that the conformity 
revisions to be submitted by the States must be consistent with Federal 
conformity regulations that the Act required EPA to promulgate. 
Congress provided for the State revisions to be submitted one year 
after the date for promulgation of final EPA conformity regulations. 
When that date passed without such promulgation, EPA's General Preamble 
for the implementation of title I of the Act informed the State that 
its conformity regulations would establish a submittal date. See 57 FR 
13498, 13557 (April 16, 1992). The EPA promulgated final transportation 
conformity regulations on November 24, 1993 (58 FR 62118) and general 
conformity regulations on November 30, 1993 (58 FR 63214). These 
conformity rules require that States adopt both transportation and 
general conformity provisions in the SIP for areas designated 
nonattainment or subject to a maintenance plan approved under section 
175A of the Act.
    Pursuant to 40 CFR 51.396 of the transportation conformity rule and 
40 CFR 51.851 of the general conformity rule, the State of Louisiana 
was required to submit a SIP revision containing transportation 
conformity criteria and procedures consistent with those established in 
the Federal rule by November 25, 1994. Similarly, Louisiana was 
required to submit a SIP revision containing general conformity 
criteria and procedures consistent with those established in the 
Federal rule by December 1, 1994.
    Louisiana submitted both its transportation and general conformity 
rules to EPA on November 10, 1994. Although this redesignation request 
was submitted to EPA after the due dates for the SIP revisions for 
transportation conformity (58 FR 62188) and general conformity (58 FR 
63214) rules, EPA believes it is reasonable to interpret the conformity 
requirements as not being applicable requirements for purposes of 
evaluating the redesignation request under section 107(d) of the Act. 
The rationale for this is based on a combination of two factors.
    First, the requirement to submit SIP revisions to comply with the 
conformity provisions of the Act continues to apply to areas after 
redesignation to attainment. Therefore, the State remains obligated to 
adopt the transportation and general conformity rules even after 
redesignation and would risk sanctions for failure to do so. While 
redesignation of an area to attainment enables the area to avoid 
further compliance with most requirements of section 110 and part D of 
the Act, since those requirements are linked to the nonattainment 
status of an area, the conformity requirements apply to both 
nonattainment and maintenance areas. Second, EPA's federal conformity 
rules require the performance of conformity analyses in the absence of 
state-adopted rules. Therefore, a delay in adopting State rules does 
not relieve an area from the obligation to implement conformity 
requirements.
    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 adopted, EPA 
believes it is reasonable to view these requirements as not being 
applicable requirements for purposes of evaluating a redesignation 
request.
    Therefore, EPA has modified its national policy regarding the 
interpretation of the provisions of section 107(d)(3)(E) of the Act 
concerning the applicable requirements for purposes of reviewing an 
ozone redesignation request. This modified policy is discussed in a 
memorandum entitled ``Reasonable Further Progress; Attainment 
Demonstration, and Related Requirements for Ozone Nonattainment Areas 
Meeting the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard'', John S. 
Seitz, Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS), 
dated May 10, 1995. Under this new policy, for the reasons just 
discussed, EPA believes that the ozone redesignation request for 
Calcasieu Parish may be approved notwithstanding the lack of approved 
state transportation and general conformity rules.
(b) Subpart 2 of Part D--Section 182(a) Requirements
    The Act was amended on November 15, 1990, Public Law 101-549, 104 
Stat. 2399, codified at 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q. The EPA was required to 
classify ozone nonattainment areas according to the severity of their 
problem. The EPA has analyzed the SIP and determined that it is 
consistent with the requirements of amended section 182 of the Act. 
Below is a summary of how the area has met the requirements of section 
182(a) of the Act.
    The Act required an inventory of all actual emissions from all 
sources, as described in section 172(c)(3) of the Act by November 15, 
1992. On November 16, 1992, LDEQ submitted an emission inventory for 
Calcasieu Parish. The EPA approved this 1990 base year inventory on 
March 15, 1995. To be redesignated, all SIP revisions required by 
section 182(a)(2)(A) and 182(b)(2) of the Act concerning RACT 
requirements must have been submitted to EPA and fully approved. 
Louisiana has met all RACT requirements. Section 182(a)(3) of the Act 
required a SIP submission by November 15, 1992, to require stationary 
sources of NOX and VOCs to provide statements of actual emissions. 
Louisiana submitted an annual emissions statement SIP revision on March 
3, 1993. This revision was approved in the Federal Register on January 
6, 1995.
(3) Fully Approved SIP Under Section 110(k) of the Act
    Based on the approval of provisions under the pre-amended Act and 
EPA's prior approval of SIP revisions under the Act, EPA has determined 
that Calcasieu Parish has a fully approved SIP under section 110(k)of 
the Act, which also meets the applicable requirements of section 110 
and part D of the Act as discussed above.
(4) Improvement in Air Quality Due to Permanent and Enforceable 
Measures
    The EPA approved the Louisiana SIP control strategy for Calcasieu 
Parish, satisfied that the rules and the emission reductions achieved 
as a result of those rules were enforceable. The control measures to 
which the emission reductions are attributed are VOC RACT regulations, 
the Federal Motor Vehicle Control Program (FMVCP), and lower Reid Vapor 
Pressure (RVP). In addition, the State permits program, the Prevention 
of Significant Deterioration permits program, and the Federal Operating 
Permits program will help counteract future emissions growth.
    In association with its emission inventory discussed below, the 
State of

[[Page 5558]]

Louisiana has demonstrated that actual enforceable emission reductions 
are responsible for the air quality improvement and that the VOC 
emissions in the base year are not artificially low due to local 
economic downturn. The EPA finds that the combination of existing EPA-
approved state and federal measures contribute to the permanence and 
enforceability of reduction in ambient ozone levels that have allowed 
the area to attain the NAAQS.
(5) Fully Approved Maintenance Plan Under Section 175A of the Act
    Section 175A of the Act sets forth the elements of a maintenance 
plan for areas seeking redesignation from nonattainment to attainment. 
The plan must demonstrate continued attainment of the applicable NAAQS 
for at least ten years after the Administrator approves a redesignation 
to attainment. Eight years after the redesignation, the State must 
submit a revised maintenance plan which demonstrates attainment for the 
ten years following the initial ten-year period. To provide for 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. In 
this document EPA is proposing approval of the maintenance plan for 
Calcasieu Parish because EPA finds that Louisiana's submittal meets the 
requirements of section 175A of the Act.
    On December 20, 1995, the State of Louisiana submitted 
comprehensive inventories of VOCs, NOx, and CO emissions from Calcasieu 
Parish. The inventories include area, stationary, and mobile sources 
using 1993 as the base year for calculations to demonstrate 
maintenance. The 1993 inventory is considered representative of 
attainment conditions because the NAAQS was not violated during 1993 
and was one of the three years upon which the attainment demonstration 
was based. The EPA is proposing approval of the 1993 base year 
inventory in this document.
    The State submittal contains the detailed inventory data and 
summaries by source category. Growth Projections were derived from the 
Bureau of Economic Analysis Factors, and were used to generate the 
growth projections for the emissions inventory. These factors were 
applied to the 1993 inventory to reflect the expected emission levels 
through 2010.
    The following table is a summary of the revised average peak ozone 
season weekday VOC, NO<INF>X, and CO emissions for the major 
anthropogenic source categories for the 1993 attainment year inventory.

                              Summary of Emission Projections for Calcasieu Parish                              
                                                [In Tons Per Day]                                               
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                                                              1993       1995       2000       2005       2010  
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Point Source CO..........................................      27.35      26.93      26.80      26.22      25.79
Point Source VOC.........................................      35.87      35.18      35.30      34.42      33.54
Point Source NO<INF>X.........................................     106.96     104.94     103.81     102.41     101.05
Area Source CO...........................................       0.54       0.54       0.55       0.55       0.55
Area Source VOC..........................................       6.94       7.00       7.04       7.03       7.01
Area Source NO<INF>X..........................................       0.45       0.46       0.46       0.46       0.46
Nonroad CO...............................................      58.14      58.97      58.97      58.92      59.53
Nonroad VOC..............................................       9.81       9.95       9.95       9.94       9.91
Nonroad NO<INF>X..............................................      38.05      38.59      38.59      38.56      38.43
Onroad CO................................................      89.82      85.51      70.60      63.85      67.19
Onroad VOC...............................................       9.22       8.77       7.96       7.78       8.21
Onroad NO<INF>X...............................................      17.93      17.72      16.31      15.67      16.53
Total CO.................................................     175.85     171.95     156.92     149.54     153.06
Total VOC................................................      61.84      60.90      60.25      59.17      58.67
Total NO<INF>X................................................     163.39     161.71     159.17     157.10     156.47
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    Continued attainment of the ozone NAAQS in Calcasieu Parish will 
depend, in part, on the Federal and State control measures discussed 
previously. However, the ambient air monitoring network will remain 
active during the maintenance period. These data will be quality 
assured and submitted to the Aerometric Information and Retrieval 
System (AIRS) on a monthly basis. A monitored violation of the ozone 
NAAQS will provide the basis for triggering measures contained in the 
contingency plans. Additionally, as discussed above, during year 8 of 
the maintenance period, the LDEQ is required to submit a revised plan 
to provide for maintenance of the ozone standard in Pointe Coupee for 
the next ten years.
    Section 175A of the Act requires that a maintenance plan include 
contingency provisions, as necessary, to promptly correct any violation 
of the NAAQS that occurs after redesignation of the area to attainment. 
The contingency plan should clearly identify the measures to be 
adopted, a schedule and procedure for adoption and implementation, and 
a specific time limit for action by the State. The State should also 
identify specific triggers which will be used to determine when the 
measures need to be implemented.
    The LDEQ has selected new Control Techniques Guidelines or 
Alternative Control Technology rule implementation and NO<INF>X RACT as 
contingency measures in Calcasieu Parish. If at any time during the 
maintenance period Calcasieu Parish records a violation of the ozone 
NAAQS, LDEQ will evaluate the source(s) of that violation and 
promulgate either VOC or NO<INF>X RACT rules for the appropriate source 
category. The LDEQ will adopt rules within 9 months of the violation, 
and affected sources must be in compliance with the these rules within 
2 years of the violation. These contingency measures and schedules for 
implementation satisfy the requirements of section 175A(d) of the Act.
    In accordance with section 175A(b) of the Act, the State has agreed 
to submit a revised maintenance SIP eight years after the area is 
redesignated to attainment. Such revised SIP will provide for 
maintenance for an additional ten years.

III. Interim Implementation Policy (IIP) Impact

    On December 13, 1996, EPA published proposed revisions to the ozone 
and particulate matter NAAQS. Also on December 13, 1996, EPA published 
its proposed policy regarding

[[Page 5559]]

the interim implementation requirements for ozone and particulate 
matter during the time period following any promulgation of a revised 
ozone or particulate matter NAAQS (61 FR 65751). This IIP includes 
proposed policy regarding ozone redesignation actions submitted to and 
approved by EPA prior to promulgation of a new ozone standard, as well 
as those submitted prior to and approved by EPA after the promulgation 
date of a new or revised ozone standard.
    Complete redesignation requests, submitted and approved by EPA 
prior to the promulgation date of the new or revised ozone standard, 
will be allowed to redesignate to attainment based on the maintenance 
plan's ability to demonstrate attainment of the current 1-hour standard 
and compliance with existing redesignation criteria. Any redesignation 
requests submitted prior to promulgation, which are not acted upon by 
EPA prior to that promulgation date, must then also include a 
maintenance plan which demonstrates attainment of both the current 1-
hour standard and the new or revised ozone standard to be considered 
for redesignation.
    As discussed previously, the Calcasieu Parish redesignation request 
demonstrates attainment under the current 1-hour ozone standard. Since 
the EPA plans to approve this request prior to the promulgation date of 
the new or revised ozone standard, The Calcasieu Parish redesignation 
request meets the proposed IIP.

IV. Proposed Action

    The EPA has evaluated the State's redesignation request for 
Calcasieu Parish for consistency with the Act, EPA regulations, and EPA 
policy. The EPA believes that the redesignation request and monitoring 
data demonstrate that this area has attained the ozone standard. In 
addition, EPA has determined that the redesignation request meets the 
requirements and policy set forth in the General Preamble and policy 
memorandum discussed in this notice for area redesignations, and today 
is proposing approval of Louisiana's redesignation request for 
Calcasieu Parish.
    Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or 
allowing or establishing a precedent for any future request for 
revision to any SIP. Each request for revision to the SIP shall be 
considered separately in light of specific technical, economic, and 
environmental factors and in relation to relevant statutory and 
regulatory requirements.

IV. Administrative Requirements

A. Executive Order (E.O.) 12866

    This action has been classified for signature by the Regional 
Administrator under the procedures published in the Federal Register on 
January 19, 1989 (54 FR 2214-2225), as revised by a July 10, 1995, 
memorandum from Mary Nichols, Assistant Administrator for Air and 
Radiation. The Office of Management and Budget has exempted this 
regulatory action from E.O. 12866 review.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 600 et seq., EPA 
must prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis assessing the impact of 
any proposed or final rule on small entities. See 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604. 
Alternatively, EPA may certify that the rule will not have a 
significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. Small 
entities include small businesses, small not-for-profit enterprises, 
and government entities with jurisdiction over populations of less than 
50,000.
    The SIP approvals under section 110 and subchapter I, part D of the 
Act do not create any new requirements but simply approve requirements 
that the State is already imposing. Therefore, because the Federal SIP 
approval does not impose any new requirements, I certify that it does 
not have a significant impact on any small entities affected. Moreover, 
due to the nature of the Federal-State relationship under the Act, 
preparation of a flexibility analysis would constitute Federal inquiry 
into the economic reasonableness of State action. The Act forbids EPA 
to base its actions concerning SIPs on such grounds. See Union Electric 
Co. v. U.S. EPA, 427 U.S. 246, 255-66 (1976); 42 U.S.C. 7410(a)(2).

C. Unfunded Mandates

    Under section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, 
signed into law on March 22, 1995, EPA must prepare a budgetary impact 
statement to accompany any proposed or final rule that includes a 
Federal mandate that may result in estimated costs to State, local, or 
tribal governments in the aggregate; or to private sector, of $100 
million or more. Under section 205, EPA must select the most cost-
effective and least burdensome alternative that achieves the objectives 
of the rule and is consistent with statutory requirements. Section 203 
requires EPA to establish a plan for informing and advising any small 
governments that may be significantly or uniquely impacted by the rule.
    The EPA has determined that the proposed approval action will not 
include a Federal mandate that may result in estimated costs of $100 
million or more to either State, local, or tribal governments in the 
aggregate, or to the private sector. This Federal action proposes 
approval of preexisting requirements under State or local law, and 
imposes no new Federal requirements. Accordingly, no additional costs 
to State, local, or tribal governments, or to the private sector, 
result from this action.

D. 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 this proposed 
approval in today's Federal Register. This proposal is not a ``major 
rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

E. Petitions for Judicial Review

    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Act, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by April 7, 1997. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect 
the finality of this rule for the purposes of judicial review nor does 
it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may be 
filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or action. 
This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its 
requirements. See section 307(b)(2) of the Act.

List of Subjects

40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Hydrocarbons, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental regulations, Ozone, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

40 CFR Part 81

    Air Pollution control, Designation of areas for air quality 
planning purposes.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.

    Dated: January 24, 1997.
Jerry Clifford,
Acting Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 97-2998 Filed 2-5-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P