Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 2, 1997 / Proposed Rules 63687

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 926

Intergovernmental relations, Surface

mining, Underground mining.

Dated: November 20, 1997.

Richard J. Seibel,

Regional Director, Western Regional

Coordinating Center.

[FR Doc. 97–31579 Filed 12–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–05–M

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[LA35–1–7305b; FRL–5928–3]

Approval and Promulgation of Air

Quality Implementation Plans,

Louisiana; Reasonable Available

Control Technology for Emissions of

Volatile Organic Compounds

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: In this action, the EPA

proposes to conditionally approve in

part, and fully approving in part,

revisions to the Louisiana State

Implementation Plan (SIP). The

revisions incorporate regulations to

control Volatile Organic Compound

emissions from major stationary sources

by means of Reasonable Available

Control Technology. The major

stationary source category controlled by

the conditionally approved regulation is

batch processes. The major stationary

source categories controlled by the fully

approved regulations are Synthetic

Organic Chemical Manufacturing

Industry (SOCMI) reactors, SOCMI

distillation, and industrial cleanup

solvents. The intended effect of these

rules is to reduce VOC emissions into

the ambient air and thereby reduce

ground-level ozone concentrations.

In the Rules and Regulations Section

of this Federal Register, EPA is

approving the State’s SIP revision as a

direct final rule without prior proposal

because the Agency views this as a

noncontroversial revision and

anticipates no adverse comments. The

rationale for the approval is set forth in

the direct final rule. If no adverse

comments are received in response to

this proposed rule, no further activity is

contemplated in relation to this rule. If

EPA receives adverse comments, the

direct final rule will be withdrawn, and

all public comments received during the

30-day comment period set forth below

will be addressed in a subsequent final

rule based on this proposed rule. Any

parties interested in commenting on this

action should do so at this time.

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule

must be received in writing by January

2, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on this

action should be addressed to Mr.

Thomas Diggs, Chief, Air Planning

Section, at the EPA Region 6 Office

listed below. Copies of the documents

relevant to this proposed rule are

available for public inspection during

normal business hours at the following

locations. Anyone wanting to examine

these documents should make an

appointment with the appropriate office

at least two working days in advance.

Environmental Protection Agency,

Region 6, Air Planning Section (6PD–

L), Multimedia Planning and

Permitting Division, 1445 Ross

Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas

75202–2733.

Air Quality Division, Louisiana

Department of Environmental Quality,

7290 Bluebonnet Boulevard, Baton

Rouge, Louisiana 70810.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Eaton R. Weiler, of the EPA Region 6 Air

Planning Section at the above address,

telephone (214) 665–2174.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: See the

information provided in the direct final

action of the same title which is

published in the Rules and Regulations

section of this Federal Register.

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.

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401–7671q.

Dated: November 10, 1997.

Lynda F. Carroll,

Acting Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–31409 Filed 12–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[AK 19–1707; FRL–5923–8]

Clean Air Act Reclassification;

Anchorage, Alaska, Carbon Monoxide

Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmetnal Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: This action proposes to find

that the Municipality of Anchorage,

Alaska, carbon monoxide (CO)

nonattainment area has not attained the

CO national ambient air quality

standards (NAAQS) under the Clean Air

Act (CAA). The CO nonattainment

occurred after Anchorage received a one

year extension from the mandated

attainment date of December 31, 1995

for moderate nonattainment areas to

December 31, 1996. This proposed

finding is based on EPA’s review of

monitored air quality data for

compliance with the CO NAAQS. Final

action on this proposed finding would

result in the Anchorage CO

nonattainment area being reclassified by

operation of law as a serious

nonattainment area. The result of such

a reclassification would be that the State

must submit a new State

implementation plan (SIP) providing for

attainment of the CO NAAQS by no

later than December 31, 2000, the CAA

attainment deadline for serious CO

areas.

DATES: Written comments on this

proposal must be received by January 2,

1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comment should be

addressed to Ms. Montel Livingston,

Environmental Protection Agency,

Office of Air Quality (OAQ 107), Docket

AK 17–1705, 1200 6th Avenue, Seattle,

WA 98101. Information supporting this

action is available for inspection during

normal business hours at the following

locations: EPA, Office of Air Quality,

1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington

98101, and the Alaska Department of

Environmental Conservation (ADEC),

410 Willoughby, Suite 105, Juneau,

Alaska 99801–1795.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

John Pavitt, Alaska Air Coordinator,

EPA Alaska Operations Office, 907/271–

3688.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

A. CAA Requirements and EPA Actions

Concerning Designation and

Classification

The CAA Amendments of 1990 were

enacted on November 15, 1990. Under

Section 107(d)(1)(C) of the CAA, each

CO area designated nonattainment prior

to enactment of the 1990 Amendments,

such as the Anchorage area, was

designated nonattainment by operation

of law upon enactment of the 1990

Amendments. Under section 186(a) of

the CAA, 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 nonattainment
63688 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 2, 1997 / Proposed Rules

1The moderate area SIP requirements are set forth

in section 187(a) of the CAA Amendments of 1990

and differ depending on whether the area’s design

value is below or above 12.7 ppm. The Anchorage

area has a design value above 12.7 ppm. 40 CFR

81.302.

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.

areas with a design value between 9.1–

16.4 parts per million (ppm), such as the

Anchorage 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 CO moderate nonattainment

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 NAAQS

as expeditiously as practicable but no

later than December 31, 1995.1

B. Attainment Date Extensions

If the State did not have the two

consecutive clean years of data

necessary to show attainment of the

NAAQS, section 186(a)(4) of the CAA

provides that EPA may approve a one

year attainment date extension if the

State has: (1) 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 CO NAAQS at any

monitoring site in the nonattainment

area in the year preceding 1996, the

extension year.

The Anchorage nonattainment area

had two exceedances in 1994. However,

because the Anchorage nonattainment

area had only one exceedance in 1995,

Anchorage qualified for a one year

attainment date extension to 1996. Two

consecutive years of clean data are

required in order to attain the CO

NAAQS. EPA granted the extension and

the action was published in the Federal

Register on June 28, 1996 (61 FR 33676).

C. Reclassification to a Serious

Nonattainment Area

1. EPA has the responsibility,

pursuant to sections 179(c) and

186(b)(2) of the CAA, of determining

whether the Anchorage 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 notice in

the Federal Register identifying areas

which it determines 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 CAA states that the

attainment determination must be based

upon an area’s ‘‘air quality as of the

attainment date.’’ Consequently, EPA

will determine whether an area’s air

quality has met the CO NAAQS by

December 31, 1995, based upon the

most recent two years of air quality data

entered into the Aerometric Information

Retrieval System (AIRS) data base.

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 recorded in the Anchorage area

in 1994, 1995, and 1996, this notice

addresses only the air quality status of

the Anchorage area with respect to the

8-hour standard. The 8-hour CO

NAAQS requires that not more than one

non-overlapping 8-hour average per year

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 year

constitutes a violation of the CO

NAAQS. Anchorage had two

exceedances of the CO NAAQS in 1994,

one exceedance win 1995 (one

exceedance does not constitute a CO

violation because a violation of the CO

NAAQS means two exceedances of the

8-hour CO NAAQS at a given

monitoring site within the same year),

and three CO exceedances in 1996 (its

non-attainment extension year).

2. SIP Requirements for Serious CO

Areas: CO nonattainment areas

reclassified as serious under section

186(b)(2) of the CAA are required to

submit, within 18 months of the area’s

reclassification, SIP revisions

demonstrating attainment of the CO

NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable

but no later than December 31, 2000.

The serious CO area planning

requirements are set forth in section

187(b) of the CAA. EPA has issued two

general guidance documents related to

the planning requirements for CO SIPs.

The first is the ‘‘General Preamble for

the Implementation of Title I of the CAA

Amendments of 1990’’ that sets forth

EPA’s preliminary views on how the

Agency intends to act on SIPs submitted

under Title I of the CAA. See generally

57 FR 13498 (April 16, 1992) and 57 FR

18070 (April 28, 1992). The second

general guidance document for CO SIPs

issued by EPA is the ‘‘Technical

Support Document to Aid the States

with the Development of Carbon

Monoxide State Implementation Plans,’’

July 1992. If the Anchorage area is

reclassified to serious, the State would

have to submit a SIP revision to EPA

within 18 months of reclassification

that, in addition to the attainment

demonstration, includes: (1) a forecast

of vehicle miles travelled (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). Upon

reclassification, contingency measures

in the moderate area plan for the

Anchorage area must be implemented.

II. This Action

By today’s action, EPA is proposing to

find that the Anchorage CO

nonattainment area failed to

demonstrate attainment of the CO

NAAQS by December 31, 1996, the CO

attainment extension date. This

proposed finding is based upon air

quality data showing exceedances of the

CO NAAQS during 1996.

Ambient Air Monitoring Data: The

following table lists the monitoring sites

in the Anchorage CO nonattainment

area where the 8-hour CO NAAQS was

exceeded during 1996, based on data

validated by the Alaska Department of

Environmental Conservation and

entered into the AIRS data base.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 2, 1997 / Proposed Rules 63689

ANCHORAGE CARBON MONOXIDE EXCEEDANCES OF THE 8-HOUR STANDARD—1996

Monitoring site

8-hour CO

reading

(PPM)

Date Max 8-hour

reading

Secondmax 8-hour

reading

Number

exceedances

8-hour

standard

Spenard & Benson ......................................................................... 10.1 1/22/96 ............... .................... .................... .....................

9.5 12/27/96 ............. .................... .................... .....................

9.6 12/31/96 ............. .................... .................... .....................

Year—1996 ........ 11.0 9.6 3

Seward Hwy & Benson ................................................................... 10.0 1/22/96 ............... .................... .................... .....................

9.5 12/27/96 ............. .................... .................... .....................

9.5 12/31/96 ............. .................... .................... .....................

Year—1996 ........ 10.8 10.5 3

Because the 1996 exceedances are

valid for use in determining the

attainment status of the Anchorage area,

EPA is proposing to find, based on the

1996 CO violations discussed above,

that the area did not attain the CO

NAAQS by its extension year deadline

of December 31, 1996. If EPA finalizes

this finding, by operation of law

Anchorage will be reclassified a serious

CO nonattainment area.

III. 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

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 proposed 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

government or communities.

IV. Regulatory Flexibility

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 notice,

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 proposed action does not have a

significant impact on small entities.

V. Unfunded Mandates

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

proposed finding of failure to attain and

reclassification of the Anchorage

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.

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: November 12, 1997.

Chuck Clarke,

Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–30242 Filed 12–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Office of Inspector General

42 CFR Part 1001

Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on

the Shared Risk Exception; Meetings

AGENCY: Office of Inspector General

(OIG), HHS.

ACTION: Meeting of Negotiated

Rulemaking Committee.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Federal Advisory Committee Act, this

document announced the dates and

location for the sixth and seventh set of

meetings by the Negotiated Rulemaking

Committee on the Shared Risk

Exception. The purpose of this

committee is to negotiate the

development of an interim final rule

addressing the shared risk exception to

the Federal health care programs’ antikickback provisions, as statutorilymandated by section 216 of the Health

Insurance Portability and

Accountability Act of 1996.

DATES: The next series of meetings will

be held from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on

December 16, 17 and 18, 1997. The

seventh series of meetings will be held

on January 20, 21 and 22, 1998 from

9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Both the December and

January meetings will be held at the

Holiday Inn Capitol, 550 C Street, S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20024.