59252 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 186 / Monday, September 26, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 

significant step towards meeting the 

1997 PM2.5 and 8-hour ozone national 

ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), 

among other NAAQS, improving 

visibility in the mountains and other 

scenic vistas, and reducing acid rain. 

The specific approved provisions, 

submitted on August 21, 2009, are 

paragraphs (a) through (e) of Section 1 

of Session Law 2002–4, Senate Bill 1078 

enacted and state effective on June 20, 

2002. This approval does not include 

paragraphs (f) through (j) of Section 1 of 

Senate Bill 1078 nor any of Section 2 of 

Senate Bill 1078. 

[FR Doc. 2011–24513 Filed 9–23–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R03–OAR–2011–0631; FRL–9470–2] 

Approval and Promulgation of Air 

Quality Implementation Plans; 

Maryland; Transportation Conformity 

Regulations 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final 

action to approve revisions to the 

Maryland State Implementation Plan 

(SIP). The revisions establish 

transportation conformity regulations 

for the State of Maryland. EPA is 

approving these revisions in accordance 

with the requirements of the Clean Air 

Act (CAA). 

DATES: This rule is effective on 

November 25, 2011 without further 

notice, unless EPA receives adverse 

written comment by October 26, 2011. 

If EPA receives such comments, it will 

publish a timely withdrawal of the 

direct final rule in the Federal Register 

and inform the public that the rule will 

not take effect. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID Number EPA– 

R03–OAR–2011–0631 by one of the 

following methods: 

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

the on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

B. E-mail: 

fernandez.cristina@epa.gov. 

C. Mail: EPA–R03–OAR–2008–0631, 

Cristina Fernandez, Associate Director, 

Office of Air Planning Programs, 

Mailcode 3AP30, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 

Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

19103. 

D. Hand Delivery: At the previouslylisted EPA Region III address. Such 

deliveries are only accepted during the 

Docket’s normal hours of operation, and 

special arrangements should be made 

for deliveries of boxed information. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to 

Docket ID No. EPA–R03–OAR–2011– 

0631. 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 EPA will not know your identity 

or contact information unless you 

provide it in the body of your comment. 

If you send an e-mail comment 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 your 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 

electronic docket are listed in the 

http://www.regulations.gov index. 

Although listed in the index, some 

information is not publicly available, 

i.e., CBI or other information whose 

disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, is not placed on 

the Internet and 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 

during normal business hours at the Air 

Protection Division, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 

Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

19103. Copies of the State submittal are 

available at the Maryland Department of 

the Environment, 1800 Washington 

Boulevard, Suite 705, Baltimore, 

Maryland 21230. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Martin Kotsch, (215) 814–3335, or by email at kotsch.martin@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document, whenever 

‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean 

EPA. 

I. What is transportation conformity? 

Transportation conformity is required 

under section 176(c) of the CAA to 

ensure that Federally supported 

highway, transit projects, and other 

activities are consistent with (conform 

to) the purpose of the SIP. Conformity 

currently applies to areas that are 

designated nonattainment, and those 

redesignated to attainment after 1990 

(maintenance areas), with plans 

developed under section 175A of the 

CAA for the following transportation 

related criteria pollutants: ozone, 

particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), 

carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrogen 

dioxide (NO2). Conformity, for purposes 

of the SIP, means that transportation 

activities will not cause new air quality 

violations, worsen existing violations, or 

delay timely attainment of the relevant 

national ambient air quality standards 

(NAAQS). The transportation 

conformity regulation is found in 40 

CFR part 93 (‘‘Federal conformity rule’’) 

and provisions related to conformity 

SIPs are found in 40 CFR 51.390. 

II. What is the background for this 

action? 

On August 10, 2005, the Safe, 

Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 

Transportation Equity Act—A Legacy 

for Users (SAFETEA–LU) was signed 

into law. SAFETEA–LU revised certain 

provisions of section 176(c) of the CAA, 

related to transportation conformity. 

Prior to SAFETEA–LU, states were 

required to address all of the Federal 

conformity rule’s provisions in their 

conformity SIPs. After SAFETEA–LU, 

state’s SIPs were required to contain all 

or portions of only the following three 

sections of the Federal conformity rule, 

modified as appropriate to each state’s 

circumstances: 40 CFR 93.105 

(consultation procedures); 40 CFR 

93.122(a)(4)(ii) (written commitments to 

implement certain kinds of control 

measures); and 40 CFR 93.125(c) 

(written commitments to implement 

certain kinds of mitigation measures). 

States are no longer required to submit 

conformity SIP revisions that address 

the other sections of the Federal 

conformity rule. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 186 / Monday, September 26, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 59253 

III. What did the state submit and how 

did we evaluate it? 

On September 17, 2010, the Maryland 

Department of the Environment 

submitted a revision to its SIP, Revision 

#10–07 to EPA for transportation 

conformity amendments adopted on 

June 30, 2008. The SIP revision 

included regulations .01 through .09 

under COMAR 26.11.26 (Conformity). 

We reviewed the submittals to assure 

consistency with the February 14, 2006, 

‘‘Interim Guidance for Implementing the 

Transportation Conformity provisions in 

SAFETEA–LU.’’ The guidance 

document can be found at http:// 

epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/ 

policy.htm. The guidance document 

states that each state is only required to 

address and tailor the afore-mentioned 

three sections of the Federal Conformity 

Rule to be included in their state 

conformity SIPs. EPA’s review of 

Maryland’s SIP revision indicates that it 

is consistent with EPA’s guidance in 

that it includes the three 

aforementioned regulatory elements 

specified by SAFETEA–LU. Consistent 

with the EPA Conformity Rule at 40 

CFR 93.105 (consultation procedures), 

COMAR 26.11.26.02, COMAR 

26.11.26.04, and COMAR 26.11.26.05 

identify the appropriate agencies, 

procedures, and allocation of 

responsibilities. In addition, COMAR 

26.11.26.07 provides for appropriate 

public consultation/public involvement 

consistent with 40 CFR 93.105. With 

respect to the requirements of 40 CFR 

93.122(a)(4)(ii) and 40 CFR 93.125(c), 

the SIP specifies that written 

commitments to implement control 

measures and mitigation measures for 

meeting these requirements will be 

provided as needed. 

IV. Final Action 

EPA is approving the Maryland SIP 

revisions for transportation conformity, 

which were submitted on September 17, 

2010. EPA is publishing this rule 

without prior proposal because EPA 

views this as a noncontroversial 

amendment and anticipates no adverse 

comment. However, in the Proposed 

Rules section of today’s Federal 

Register, EPA is publishing a separate 

document that will serve as the proposal 

to approve the SIP revision if adverse 

comments are filed. This rule will be 

effective on November 25, 2011 without 

further notice unless EPA receives 

adverse comment by October 26, 2011. 

If EPA receives adverse comment, EPA 

will publish a timely withdrawal in the 

Federal Register informing the public 

that the rule will not take effect. EPA 

will address all public comments in a 

subsequent final rule based on the 

proposed rule. EPA will not institute a 

second comment period on this action. 

Any parties interested in commenting 

must do so at this time. Please note that 

if EPA receives adverse comment on an 

amendment, paragraph, or section of 

this rule and if that provision may be 

severed from the remainder of the rule, 

EPA may adopt as final those provisions 

of the rule that are not the subject of an 

adverse comment. 

V. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

A. General Requirements 

Under the CAA, the Administrator is 

required to approve a SIP submission 

that complies with the provisions of the 

CAA and applicable Federal regulations. 

42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). 

Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, 

EPA’s role is to approve state choices, 

provided that they meet the criteria of 

the CAA. Accordingly, this action 

merely approves state law as meeting 

Federal requirements and does not 

impose additional requirements beyond 

those imposed by state law. For that 

reason, this action: 

• Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ subject to review by the Office 

of Management and Budget under 

Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993); 

• Does not impose an information 

collection burden under the provisions 

of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.); 

• Is certified as not having a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities 

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

• 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); 

• Does not have Federalism 

implications as specified in Executive 

Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 

1999); 

• Is not an economically significant 

regulatory action based on health or 

safety risks subject to Executive Order 

13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997); 

• Is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 

28355, May 22, 2001); 

• Is not subject to requirements of 

Section 12(d) of the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because 

application of those requirements would 

be inconsistent with the CAA; and 

• Does not provide EPA with the 

discretionary authority to address, as 

appropriate, disproportionate human 

health or environmental effects, using 

practicable and legally permissible 

methods, under Executive Order 12898 

(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). 

In addition, this rule does not have 

tribal implications as specified by 

Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, 

November 9, 2000), because the SIP is 

not approved to apply in Indian country 

located in the state, and EPA notes that 

it will not impose substantial direct 

costs on tribal governments or preempt 

tribal law. 

B. Submission to Congress and the 

Comptroller General 

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. EPA will submit a 

report containing this action and other 

required information to the U.S. Senate, 

the U.S. 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). 

C. Petitions for Judicial Review 

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 November 25, 2011. Filing a 

petition for reconsideration by the 

Administrator of this final rule does not 

affect the finality of this action 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. Parties with 

objections to this direct final rule are 

encouraged to file a comment in 

response to the parallel notice of 

proposed rulemaking for this action 

published in the proposed rules section 

of today’s Federal Register, rather than 

file an immediate petition for judicial 

review of this direct final rule, so that 

EPA can withdraw this direct final rule 

and address the comment in the 

proposed rulemaking. This action to 

approve the Maryland transportation 

conformity regulation may not be 

challenged later in proceedings to 

enforce its requirements. (See, section 

307(b)(2)). 


bjneal on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
59254 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 186 / Monday, September 26, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 

Incorporation by reference, 

Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen 

dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Volatile organic 

compounds. 

Dated: August 29, 2011. 

W. C. Early, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region III. 

40 CFR part 52 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 V Maryland 

■ 2. In § 52.1070, the table in paragraph 

(c) is amended by revising the entries 

for COMAR 26.11.26.01 and 

26.11.26.03, and adding new entries for 

COMAR 26.11.26.02, 26.11.26.04, 

26.11.26.05, 26.11.26.06, 26.11.26.07, 

26.11.26.08, and 26.11.26.09 in 

numercal order. The amendments read 

as follows: 

§ 52.1070 Identification of plan. 

* * * * * 

(c)* * * 

EPA-APPROVED REGULATIONS IN THE MARYLAND SIP 

Code of Maryland 

administrative regulations (COMAR) 

citation 

Title/subject 

State 

effective 

date 

EPA approval date 

Additional 

explanation/citation at 

40 CFR 52.1100 

*******

26.11.26 ............... Conformity 

26.11.26.01 .......... Purpose ............................................... 6/30/08 9/26/11 [Insert page number where 

the document begins].

New Regulation. 

26.11.26.02 .......... Definitions ........................................... 6/30/08 9/26/11 [Insert page number where 

the document begins.

Definitions added for transportation conformity; definitions for general conformity were approved at 

(c)(136). 

26.11.26.03 .......... Transportation Conformity .................. 6/30/08 9/26/11 [Insert page number where 

the document begins].

New Regulation. 

26.11.26.04 .......... Transportation Conformity—Consultation in General.6/30/08 9/26/11 [Insert page number where 

the document begins].

New Regulation. 

26.11.26.05 .......... Transportation Conformity—Interagency Consultation Requirements.6/30/08 9/26/11 [Insert page number where 

the document begins].

New Regulation. 

26.11.26.06 .......... Transportation Conformity—Dispute 

Resolution.

6/30/08 9/26/11 [Insert page number where 

the document begins].

New Regulation. 

26.11.26.07 .......... Transportation Conformity—Public 

Consultation Procedures.

6/30/08 9/26/11] [Insert page number where 

the document begins].

New Regulation. 

26.11.26.08 .......... Transportation Conformity—Interagency Consultation.6/30/08 9/26/11 [Insert page number where 

the document begins].

New Regulation. 

26.11.26.09 .......... General Conformity ............................. 6/30/08 9/26/11 [Insert page number where 

the document begins].

Formerly SIP regulation 

26.11.26.03. 

*******

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2011–24526 Filed 9–23–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R09–OAR–2011–0789; FRL–9471–2] 

Interim Final Determination To Stay 

and Defer Sanctions, San Joaquin 

Valley Unified Air Pollution Control 

District 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Interim final rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is making an interim 

final determination to stay the 

imposition of offset sanctions and to 

defer the imposition of highway 

sanctions based on a proposed approval 

of revisions to the San Joaquin Valley 

Unified Air Pollution Control District 

(SJVUAPCD) portion of the California 

State Implementation Plan (SIP) 

published on September 14, 2011. 76 FR 

56706. The revisions concern 

SJVUAPCD Rule 4570. 

DATES: This interim final determination 

is effective on September 26, 2011. 

However, comments will be accepted 

until October 26, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, 

identified by docket number EPA–R09– 

OAR–2011–0789, by one of the 

following methods: 

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

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

on-line instructions. 

2. E-mail: steckel.andrew@epa.gov. 

3. Mail or deliver: Andrew Steckel 

(Air-4), U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, 

San Francisco, CA 94105–3901. 

Instructions: All comments 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 

Confidential Business Information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Information that 

you consider CBI or otherwise protected 

should be clearly identified as such and 

should not be submitted through 

http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. 

http://www.regulations.gov is an 

‘‘anonymous access’’ system, and EPA 

will not know your identity or contact 

information unless you provide it in the 


bjneal on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES