[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 208 (Thursday, October 26, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 64145-64148]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-27144]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[MO 110-1110; FRL-6889-8]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of 
Missouri

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving an amendment to the Missouri State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) pertaining to a new statewide visible 
emissions rule, and the rescission of four, old area specific visible 
emission rules. The new statewide rule consolidates the requirements of 
the four old area specific rules. The effect of this approval is to 
ensure Federal enforceability of the state air program rules and to 
maintain consistency between the state-adopted rules and the approved 
SIP.

DATES: This rule is effective on December 26, 2000 without further 
notice, unless EPA receives adverse written comment by November 27, 
2000. If EPA receives such comments, it will publish a timely 
withdrawal of the

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direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform the public that 
the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Written comments must be submitted to Wayne Kaiser, Air 
Planning and Development Branch, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, 
Kansas 66101.
    Copies of documents relative to this action are available for 
public inspection during normal business hours at the above listed 
Region 7 location. The interested persons wanting to examine these 
documents should make an appointment with the office at least 24 hours 
in advance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wayne Kaiser at (913) 551-7603.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we, us, 
or our'' is used, we mean EPA. This section provides additional 
information by addressing the following questions:

What Is a SIP?
What Is the Federal Approval Process for a SIP?
What Does Federal Approval of a State Regulation Mean to Me?
What Is Being Addressed in This Action?
Have the Requirements for Approval of a SIP Revision Been Met?
What Action Is EPA Taking?

What Is a SIP?

    Section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires states to develop 
air pollution regulations and control strategies to ensure that state 
air quality meets the national ambient air quality standards 
established by EPA. These ambient standards are established under 
section 109 of the CAA, and they currently address six criteria 
pollutants. These pollutants are: Carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, 
ozone, lead, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide.
    Each state must submit these regulations and control strategies to 
EPA for approval and incorporation into the Federally enforceable SIP.
    Each Federally approved SIP protects air quality primarily by 
addressing air pollution at its point of origin. These SIPs can be 
extensive, containing state regulations or other enforceable documents 
and supporting information such as emission inventories, monitoring 
networks, and modeling demonstrations.

What Is the Federal Approval Process for a SIP?

    In order for state regulations to be incorporated into the 
Federally enforceable SIP, states must formally adopt the regulations 
and control strategies consistent with state and Federal requirements. 
This process generally includes a public notice, public hearing, public 
comment period, and a formal adoption by a state-authorized rulemaking 
body.
    Once a state rule, regulation, or control strategy is adopted, the 
state submits it to us for inclusion into the SIP. We must provide 
public notice and seek additional public comment regarding the proposed 
Federal action on the state submission. If adverse comments are 
received, they must be addressed prior to any final Federal action by 
us.
    All state regulations and supporting information approved by EPA 
under section 110 of the CAA are incorporated into the Federally 
approved SIP. Records of such SIP actions are maintained in the Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) at Title 40, part 52, entitled ``Approval and 
Promulgation of Implementation Plans.'' The actual state regulations 
which are approved are not reproduced in their entirety in the CFR 
outright but are ``incorporated by reference,'' which means that we 
have approved a given state regulation with a specific effective date.

What Does Federal Approval of a State Regulation Mean to Me?

    Enforcement of the state regulation before and after it is 
incorporated into the Federally approved SIP is primarily a state 
responsibility. However, after the regulation is Federally approved, we 
are authorized to take enforcement action against violators. Citizens 
are also offered legal recourse to address violations as described in 
section 304 of the CAA.

What Is Being Addressed in This Document?

    On June 7, 2000, we received a request from the Missouri Department 
of Natural Resources (MDNR) to amend the SIP. The state requested that 
we approve new statewide rule 10 CSR 10-6.220, Restriction of Emission 
of Visible Air Contaminants, and rescind four old area-specific rules 
which it replaced. The four rules to be rescinded, and their area of 
applicability, are:
    <bullet> 10 CSR 10-2.060, Restriction of Emission of Visible Air 
Contaminants--Kansas City Metropolitan Area
    <bullet> 10 CSR 10-3.080, Restriction of Emission of Visible Air 
Contaminants--Outstate Missouri Area
    <bullet> 10 CSR 10-4.060, Restriction of Emission of Visible Air 
Contaminants--Springfield-Greene County Area
    <bullet> 10 CSR 10-5.090, Restriction of Emission of Visible Air 
Contaminants--St. Louis Metropolitan Area
    The applicability and intent of the new rule do not differ from the 
old rules. Certain revisions were made to provide clarification and to 
enhance enforceability, however. For example, a definitions section was 
added with definitions relevant to this rule, obsolete exemptions were 
removed, area specific exemptions were expanded to statewide exemptions 
where appropriate, ``Source operating time'' definition was clarified, 
and non-COMS test methods were specified.
    The benefits of consolidating the four rules into one include: 
Allows fewer rules for Title V compliance; clarifies statewide visible 
emission requirements and exemptions; requires enforcement and 
maintenance of one rule, rather than four; provides consistent 
enforcement throughout the state; avoids confusion interpreting 
specific rule requirements and exemptions in different areas of the 
state; and adds a clarification that sources regulated under the new 
source performance standards (NSPS) are subject to the more stringent 
NSPS requirements.
    A technical support document (TSD) containing additional 
information and background material for this action has been prepared 
and is available from the EPA contact listed above.

Have the Requirements for Approval of a SIP Revision Been Met?

    The state submittal has met the public notice requirements for SIP 
submissions in accordance with 40 CFR 51.102. The submittal also 
satisfied the completeness criteria of 40 CFR part 51, Appendix V. In 
addition, as explained above and in more detail in the TSD which is 
part of this document, the revision meets the substantive SIP 
requirements of the CAA, including section 110 and implementing 
regulations.

What Action Is EPA Taking?

    We are processing this action as a final action because the 
revisions make routine changes to the existing SIP which are 
noncontroversial. Therefore, we do not anticipate any adverse comments.

Conclusion

    We are approving the state's request to amend the SIP by rescinding 
the four SIP approved area specific rules and approving in their place 
an equivalent statewide visible emissions rule.

Administrative Requirements

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not 
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. This action 
merely approves state law as

[[Page 64147]]

meeting Federal requirements and imposes no additional requirements 
beyond those imposed by state law. Accordingly, the Administrator 
certifies that this 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 approves preexisting 
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 
(Public Law 104-4). For the same reason, this rule also does not 
significantly or uniquely affect the communities of tribal governments, 
as specified by Executive Order 13084 (63 FR 27655, May 10, 1998). This 
rule will 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), because it merely approves a State rule implementing a 
Federal standard, and does not alter the relationship or the 
distribution of power and responsibilities established in the CAA. This 
rule also is not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 
23, 1997), because it is not economically significant.
    In reviewing SIP submissions, our role is to approve state choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. In this context, in 
the absence of a prior existing requirement for the state to use 
voluntary consensus standards (VCS), we have 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 CAA. 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 rule, we have 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 does not impose an information 
collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally 
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating 
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, 
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the 
United States. We will submit a report containing this rule and other 
required information to the United States Senate, the United States 
House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United 
States prior to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A 
major rule cannot take effect until 60 days after it is published in 
the Federal Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 
5 U.S.C. 804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by December 26, 2000. 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).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Hydrocarbons, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, 
Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides.

    Dated: October 6, 2000.
William Rice,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7.


    Chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended 
as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart AA--Missouri

    2. In Sec. 52.1320(c) the table is amended by:
    a. Removing the entry under Chapter 2 for 10-2.060;
    b. Removing the entry under Chapter 3 for 10-3.080;
    c. Removing the entry under Chapter 4 for 10-4.060;
    d. Removing the entry under Chapter 5 for 10-5.090; and
    e. Adding in numerical order an entry under Chapter 6 for 10-6.220.
    The addition reads as follows:


Sec. 52.1320  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                       EPA--Approved Missouri Regulations
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                                             State
 Missouri               Title              effective        EPA approval date                Explanation
 citation                                     date
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                                    Missouri Department of Natural Resources
 
*                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *
 
    Chapter 6--Air Quality Standards, Definitions, Sampling and Reference Methods, and Air Pollution Control
                                      Regulations for the State of Missouri
 
*                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *
 
 10-6.220  Restriction of Emission of       11/30/99  [insert date of publication
            Visible Air Contaminants.                  and FR cite].
*                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *
 
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[FR Doc. 00-27144 Filed 10-25-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P