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[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 115 (Wednesday, June 15, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 34935-34937]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-14812]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2011-0414-201134; FRL-9319-1]

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and 
Designations of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; Kentucky and 
Indiana; Louisville; Determination of Attainment by Applicable 
Attainment Date for the 1997 Annual Fine Particulate Standards

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to determine pursuant to the Clean Air Act 
(CAA), that the bi-state Louisville, Kentucky-Indiana, fine particulate 
(PM2.5) nonattainment area (hereafter referred to as ``the 
Louisville Area'' or ``the Area'') has attained the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) by its 
applicable attainment date of April 5, 2010. The determination of 
attainment was previously made by EPA on March 9, 2011, based on 
quality-assured and certified monitoring data for the 2007-2009 
monitoring period. EPA is now proposing to find that the Louisville 
Area attained the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS by its applicable 
attainment date. EPA is proposing this action because it is consistent 
with the CAA and its implementing regulations.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 15, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2011-0414, by one of the following methods:
    1. http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    2. E-mail: benjamin.lynorae@epa.gov.
    3. Fax: (404) 562-9019.
    4. Mail: EPA-R04-OAR-2011-0414, Regulatory Development Section, Air 
Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., 
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960.
    5. Hand Delivery or Courier: Ms. Lynorae Benjamin, Chief, 
Regulatory Development Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides 
and Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Such 
deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office's normal hours 
of operation. The Regional Office's official hours of business are 
Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, excluding Federal holidays.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R04-OAR-
2011-0414. 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 through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail, information that you consider to be CBI 
or otherwise protected. 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. For additional information about EPA's public 
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    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 at the Regulatory Development 
Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management 
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth 
Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. EPA requests that if at all 
possible, you contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's 
official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, 
excluding Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: In Region 4, Sara Waterson or Joel 
Huey, Regulatory Development Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, 
Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 
30303-8960. Ms. Waterson may be reached by telephone at (404) 562-9061 
or via electronic mail at waterson.sara@epa.gov. Mr. Huey may be 
reached by telephone at (404) 562-9104. Mr. Huey can also be reached 
via electronic mail at huey.joel@epa.gov. In Region 5, John Summerhays, 
Attainment Planning and Maintenance Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-
18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson 
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. The telephone number is (312) 886-
6067. Mr. Summerhays can also be reached via electronic mail at 
summerhays.john@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. What action is EPA taking?
II. What is the background for this action?
III. What is the air quality in the Louisville Area for the 1997 
annual PM2.5 NAAQS for the 2007-2009 monitoring period?
IV. What is the proposed action, and what is the effect of this 
action?
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What action is EPA taking?

    Based on EPA's review of the quality-assured and certified 
monitoring data for 2007-2009, and in accordance with section 179(c)(1) 
of the CAA and EPA's regulations, EPA proposes to determine that the 
Louisville Area has attained the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS by 
the applicable attainment date of April 5, 2010. The Louisville Area is 
comprised of Jefferson County in Kentucky, and Clark, Floyd and a 
portion of Jefferson Counties in Indiana.
    On March 9, 2011, EPA published a final rulemaking making a 
determination of attainment to suspend the requirements for the 
Louisville Area to submit an attainment demonstration and associated 
reasonably available control measures (RACM), a reasonable further 
progress (RFP) plan, contingency

[[Page 34936]]

measures, and other planning State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions 
related to attainment of the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS so long 
as the Area continues to attain the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS. 
See 76 FR 12860. Today's proposed action merely makes a determination 
that the Louisville Area has attained the 1997 annual PM2.5 
NAAQS by its applicable attainment date. This action is not a re-
proposal of the attainment determination to suspend the requirements 
for the Louisville Area to submit an attainment demonstration and 
associated RACM, a RFP plan, contingency measures, and other planning 
SIP revisions related to attainment of the standard. More information 
regarding the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS and the Area's 
attainment of that NAAQS is available at 76 FR 12860 (March 9, 2011).

II. What is the background for this action?

    As a nonattainment area for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS, 
the Louisville Area had an applicable attainment date of April 5, 2010 
(based on 2007-2009 monitoring data). Pursuant to section 179(c) of the 
CAA, EPA is required to make a determination on whether the Area 
attained the standard by its applicable attainment date. Specifically, 
section 179(c)(1) of the CAA reads as follows: ``As expeditiously as 
practicable after the applicable attainment date for any nonattainment 
area, but not later than 6 months after such date, the Administrator 
shall determine, based on the area's air quality as of the attainment 
date, whether the area attained the standard by that date.''

III. What is the air quality in the Louisville Area for the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS for the 2007-2009 monitoring period?

    Under EPA regulations at 40 CFR 50.7, the 1997 annual primary and 
secondary PM2.5 standards are met when the annual arithmetic 
mean concentration, as determined in accordance with 40 CFR part 50, 
Appendix N, is less than or equal to 15.0 [mu]g/m\3\ at all relevant 
monitoring sites in the subject area.
    EPA reviewed the ambient air monitoring data for the Louisville 
Area in accordance with the provisions of 40 CFR part 50, Appendix N. 
All data considered have been quality-assured, certified, and recorded 
in EPA's Air Quality System database. This review addresses air quality 
data collected in the 3-year period from 2007-2009. The 3-year period 
from 2007-2009 is the period EPA must consider for areas that had an 
applicable attainment date of April 5, 2010.

                    Table 1--Annual Average Concentrations in the Louisville Area (2007-2009)
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                                                                                                 Annual average
                 Site name                               County                  Site No.        concentration
                                                                                                  ([mu]g/m\3\)
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Jeffersonville.............................  Clark, IN....................        18-019-0006               14.6
New Albany.................................  Floyd, IN....................        18-043-1004               13.1
Shepherdsville.............................  Bullitt, KY..................        21-029-0006               13.0
Wyandotte Park.............................  Jefferson, KY................        21-111-0044               13.5
37th & Southern............................  Jefferson, KY................        21-111-0043               13.4
Watson Elementary..........................  Jefferson, KY................        21-111-0051               13.0
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    As shown above in Table 1, during the 2007-2009 design period, the 
Louisville Area met the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. The 
official annual design value for the Louisville Area for the 2007-2009 
period is 14.6 [mu]g/m\3\. More detailed information on the monitoring 
data for the Louisville Area during the 2007-2009 design period is 
provided in EPA's March 9, 2011, final rulemaking to approve the clean 
data determination for the Louisville Area for the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS. See 76 FR 12860.

IV. What is the proposed action, and what is the effect of this action?

    This action is a proposed determination that the Louisville Area 
has attained the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS by its applicable 
attainment date of April 5, 2010, consistent with the CAA section 
179(c)(1). Finalizing this proposed action would not constitute a 
redesignation of the Louisville Area to attainment of 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS under section 107(d)(3) of the CAA. Further, 
finalizing this proposed action does not involve approving a 
maintenance plan for the Louisville Area as required under section 175A 
of the CAA, nor would it find that the Louisville Area has met all 
other requirements for redesignation. Even if EPA finalizes today's 
proposed action, the designation status of the Louisville Area would 
remain nonattainment for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS until 
such time as EPA determines that the Area meets the CAA requirements 
for redesignation to attainment and takes action to redesignate the 
Area.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    This action proposes to make a determination of attainment based on 
air quality, and would not impose additional requirements beyond those 
imposed by State law. For that reason, this proposed 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 (Pub. L. 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);

[[Page 34937]]

     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 proposed 1997 annual average PM2.5 NAAQS 
data determination for the Louisville Area does not have Tribal 
implications as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, 
November 9, 2000), because the SIPs are not approved to apply in Indian 
country located in the states, and EPA notes that it will not impose 
substantial direct costs on Tribal governments or preempt Tribal law.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Particulate 
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

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

    Dated: May 23, 2011.
Gwendolyn Keyes Fleming,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    Dated: June 3, 2011.
Susan Hedman,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2011-14812 Filed 6-14-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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