Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 73 / Tuesday, April 16, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 22425 

Name of non-regulatory SIP revision Applicable geographic area 

State 

submittal 

date 

EPA approval date Additional 

explanation 

* * * * * * * 

2002 Base Year Emissions Inventory for 

the 1997 fine particulate matter (PM2.5) 

standard.

West Virginia portion of the SteubenvilleWeirton, OH–WV 1997 PM2.5 nonattainment area.6/24/09 4/16/13 [Insert page 

number where the 

document begins].

52.2531(e). 

■ 3. Section 52.2531 is amended by 

adding paragraph (e) to read as follows: 

§ 52.2531 Base year emissions inventory. 

* * * * * 

(e) EPA approves as a revision to the 

West Virginia State Implementation 

Plan the 2002 base year emissions 

inventory for the West Virginia portion 

of the Steubenville-Weirton, OH-WV 

fine particulate matter (PM2.5) 

nonattainment area submitted by the 

West Virginia Department of 

Environmental Protection on June 24, 

2009. The 2002 base year emissions 

inventory includes emissions estimates 

that cover the general source categories 

of point sources, non-road mobile 

sources, area sources, on-road mobile 

sources, and biogenic sources. The 

pollutants that comprise the inventory 

are nitrogen oxides (NOX), volatile 

organic compounds (VOCs), PM2.5, 

coarse particles (PM10), ammonia (NH3), 

and sulfur dioxide (SO2). 

[FR Doc. 2013–08835 Filed 4–15–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 81 

[EPA–R09–OAR–2013–0104; FRL–9802–6] 

Designation of Areas for Air Quality 

Planning Purposes; State of Nevada; 

Total Suspended Particulate 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final 

action to delete certain area 

designations for total suspended 

particulate within the State of Nevada 

because the designations are no longer 

necessary. These designations relate to 

the attainment or unclassifiable areas for 

total suspended particulate in Clark 

County as well as the following 

nonattainment areas for total suspended 

particulate elsewhere within the State of 

Nevada: Carson Desert, Winnemucca 

Segment, Lower Reese Valley, Fernley 

Area, Mason Valley, and Clovers Area. 

EPA is taking this action under the 

Clean Air Act. 

DATES: This rule is effective on June 17, 

2013, unless EPA receives adverse 

comment by May 16, 2013. If adverse 

comments are received, EPA will 

publish a timely withdrawal of the 

direct final rule in the Federal Register 

informing the public that the rule will 

not take effect. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, 

identified by docket number EPA–R09– 

OAR–2013–0104, by one of the 

following methods: 

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 

instructions for submitting comments. 

2. Email: oconnor.karina@epa.gov. 

3. Mail or deliver: Karina O’Connor 

(AIR–2), 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 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 

www.regulations.gov or email. 

www.regulations.gov is an ‘‘anonymous 

access’’ system, and EPA will not know 

your identity or contact information 

unless you provide it in the body of 

your comment. If you send email 

directly to EPA, your email address will 

be automatically captured and included 

as part of the public comment. 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. 

Docket: The index to the docket for 

this action is available electronically at 

www.regulations.gov and in hard copy 

at EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, 

San Francisco, California. While all 

documents in the docket are listed in 

the index, some information may be 

publicly available only at the hard copy 

location (e.g., copyrighted material), and 

some may not be publicly available in 

either location (e.g., CBI). To inspect the 

hard copy materials, please schedule an 

appointment during normal business 

hours with the contact listed in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 

below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karina O’Connor, EPA Region IX, (775) 

434–8176, oconnor.karina@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document, ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us’’ 

and ‘‘our’’ refer to EPA. 

Table of Contents 

I. Statutory and Regulatory Background 

II. EPA’s Evaluation of the Effect of Deleting 

Certain TSP Area Designations 

A. General Considerations 

B. Deletion of TSP Attainment or 

Unclassifiable Area Designations in 

Clark County 

C. Deletion of TSP Nonattainment Area 

Designations for Carson Desert, 

Winnemucca Segment, Lower Reese 

Valley, Fernley Area, Mason Valley, and 

Clovers Area 

III. Final Action and Request for Comment 

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. Statutory and Regulatory Background 

On April 30, 1971 (36 FR 8186), 

pursuant to section 109 of the Clean Air 

Act (‘‘Act’’ or CAA), as amended in 

1970, EPA promulgated the original 

National Ambient Air Quality Standards 

(NAAQS) for the ‘‘criteria’’ pollutants, 

which included carbon monoxide, 

hydrocarbons, nitrogen dioxide, 

photochemical oxidant, sulfur dioxide, 

and particulate matter. The original 

NAAQS for particulate matter was 

defined in terms of a reference method 

that called for measuring particulate 

matter up to a nominal size of 25 to 45 

micrometers or microns. This fraction of 

total ambient particulate matter is 

referred to as ‘‘total suspended 

particulate’’ or TSP. Within nine 

months thereafter, each State was 

required under section 110 of the 1970 

amended Act to adopt and submit to 

EPA a plan, referred to as a State 

Implementation Plan (SIP), which 

provides for the implementation, 

maintenance, and enforcement of the 

NAAQS within each State. The State of 

Nevada submitted its SIP on January 28, 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with RULES
22426 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 73 / Tuesday, April 16, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

1972, and EPA approved Nevada’s 

original SIP submittal later that year. 

See 37 FR 10842 (May 31, 1972). 

Generally, SIPs were to provide for 

attainment of the NAAQS within three 

years after EPA approval of the plan. 

However, many areas of the country did 

not attain the NAAQS within the 

statutory period. In response, Congress 

amended the Act in 1977 to establish a 

new approach, based on area 

designations, for attaining the NAAQS. 

Under section 107(d) of the 1977 

amended Act, States were to make 

recommendations for all areas within 

their borders as attainment, 

nonattainment, or unclassifiable for 

each of the NAAQS, including TSP, and 

EPA was to designate areas based on 

those recommendations, as modified if 

appropriate. For Nevada, the State 

recommended, and EPA approved, the 

use of hydrographic areas as the 

geographic basis for designating air 

quality planning areas. See 67 FR 12474 

(March 19, 2002). For the TSP NAAQS, 

EPA designated the following areas in 

Nevada as ‘‘nonattainment’’: Las Vegas 

Valley [hydrographic area (HA) #212], 

Carson Desert (HA #101), Winnemucca 

Segment (HA #70), Lower Reese Valley 

(HA #59), Gabbs Valley (HA #122), 

Fernley Area (HA #76), Truckee 

Meadows (HA #87), Mason Valley (HA 

#108), and Clovers Area (HA #64). See 

43 FR 8962, at 9012 (March 3, 1978). 

EPA designated all other areas in 

Nevada as attainment or unclassifiable 

for the TSP NAAQS. The area 

designations for air quality planning 

purposes in Nevada under the Clean Air 

Act are codified at 40 CFR 81.329. 

Since the establishment of the original 

designations in 1978, EPA has taken 

three actions directly related to the 

Nevada TSP designations. In 1980, we 

redesignated Gabbs Valley (HA #122) 

from nonattainment to unclassifiable for 

the TSP NAAQS. See 45 FR 35327 (May 

27, 1980). Later that same year, we 

approved a request from the State of 

Nevada to reduce the size of the Carson 

Desert TSP nonattainment area (HA 

#101) thereby creating a new 

unclassifiable TSP area known as 

Packard Valley (HA #101A). See 45 FR 

46807 (July 11, 1980). In 2002, we 

deleted certain attainment and 

unclassifiable area designations for TSP. 

See 67 FR 68769 (November 13, 2002). 

The Clean Air Act, as amended in 

1977, required States to revise their SIPs 

by January 1979 for all designated 

nonattainment areas. The various local 

entities and the State of Nevada 

responded by developing and 

submitting attainment plans for the TSP 

nonattainment areas, and in 1981, EPA 

approved these plans on condition that 

the State submit, within a prescribed 

period of time, revisions to correct 

certain deficiencies. See 46 FR 21758 

(April 14, 1981). In 1982, we found that 

the State had submitted the required 

revisions correcting the identified 

deficiencies, and we revoked the 

conditions placed on our approval of 

the TSP plans. See 47 FR 15790 (April 

13, 1982). 

In 1987, EPA revised the NAAQS for 

particulate matter, eliminating TSP as 

the indicator for the NAAQS and 

replacing it with the ‘‘PM10’’ indicator. 

See 52 FR 24634 (July 1, 1987). PM10

refers to particles with an aerodynamic 

diameter less than or equal to a nominal 

10 microns. We indicated in the 

preamble to our regulations 

implementing the then-new PM10

NAAQS that we would consider 

deletion of TSP area designations once 

EPA had reviewed and approved 

revised SIPs that include control 

strategies for the PM10 NAAQS and once 

EPA had promulgated PM10 increments 

for the prevention of significant 

deterioration (PSD) program. See 52 FR 

24672, at 24682 (July 1, 1987). 

Under our regulations for 

implementing the revised particulate 

matter NAAQS (i.e., the PM10 NAAQS), 

EPA did not designate areas as 

nonattainment, attainment, or 

unclassifiable but categorized areas into 

three groups, referred to as Group I, 

Group II, or Group III. Group I areas 

were those that had a probability of not 

attaining the PM10 NAAQS (based on 

existing TSP data) of at least 90%. 

Group I areas were required to submit 

SIP revisions that contain full PM10

control strategies including a 

demonstration of attainment. See 52 FR 

24672, at 24681 (July 1, 1987). We 

identified the Las Vegas (HA #212) and 

Reno (HA #87, known as ‘‘Truckee 

Meadows’’) planning areas as Group I 

areas. See 52 FR 29383 (August 7, 1987) 

and 55 FR 45799 (October 31, 1990). 

Group II areas were those that had a 

probability of not attaining the PM10

NAAQS of between 20% and 95% based 

on available TSP data. Group II areas 

were not required to submit SIP 

revisions that contained full PM10

control strategies but were required to 

submit SIP revisions that included 

enforceable commitments to gather 

PM10 ambient data, analyze and verify 

the ambient PM10 data and report any 

PM10 exceedances to EPA, and to revise 

the SIP if the exceedances constitute 

violations of the PM10 NAAQS. We 

identified the Battle Mountain area as a 

Group II area. See 52 FR 29383 (August 

7, 1987). The Battle Mountain area is 

located in north-central Nevada and 

includes Lower Reese River Valley and 

Clovers Area as well as Boulder Flat to 

the east. In 1990, EPA approved the 

‘‘committal SIP’’ for PM10 for the Battle 

Mountain area. See 55 FR 18110 (May 

1, 1990). 

Group III areas were those that had a 

probability of not attaining the PM10

NAAQS of less than 20%. For Group III 

areas, EPA presumed that the existing 

SIP that had been developed to address 

the TSP NAAQS would be adequate to 

demonstrate attainment and 

maintenance of the PM10 NAAQS. All 

areas of Nevada, i.e., other than Las 

Vegas, Reno, and Battle Mountain, as 

discussed above, were categorized as 

Group III. 

The Clean Air Act was significantly 

amended in 1990. Under the 1990 

amended Act, Congress replaced the 

PM10 regulatory approach established by 

EPA in 1987 with the area designation 

concept and designated former ‘‘Group 

I’’ areas and certain other areas as 

nonattainment areas for PM10 by 

operation of law. See section 

107(d)(4)(B) of the Act. All other areas 

were designated unclassifiable for PM10

by operation of law. As former ‘‘Group 

I’’ areas, the Las Vegas and Reno 

planning areas were designated as 

nonattainment areas for PM10 by 

operation of law. See 56 FR 11101 

(March 15, 1991). The rest of the State 

of Nevada, including the former Group 

II area, Battle Mountain, was designated 

as unclassifiable for PM10. See 57 FR 

56762 (November 30, 1992). 

The 1990 Act amendments also 

provided for the continued transition 

from TSP to PM10. Specifically, section 

107(d)(4)(B) states in relevant part: 

‘‘Any designation for particulate matter 

(measured in terms of total suspended 

particulates) that the Administrator 

promulgated pursuant to this subsection 

(as in effect immediately before 

November 15, 1990) shall remain in 

effect for purposes of implementing the 

maximum allowable increases in 

concentrations of particulate matter 

(measured in terms of total suspended 

particulates) pursuant to section 163(b) 

of this title, until the Administrator 

determines that such designation is no 

longer necessary for that purpose.’’ 

Section 166(f) of the 1990 amended 

Act authorizes EPA to replace the TSP 

increments with PM10 increments, and 

in 1993, EPA promulgated the PM10

increments and revised the PSD 

regulations accordingly. See 58 FR 

31622 (June 3, 1993). In our June 1993 

final rule, we indicated that the 

replacement of the TSP increments with 

PM10 increments negates the need for 

the TSP attainment or unclassifiable 

area designations to be retained. We also 

indicated that we would delete such 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 73 / Tuesday, April 16, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 22427 

1 In June 1992, the State of Nevada requested that 

we reclassify the eight existing TSP nonattainment 

areas in Nevada to ‘‘unclassifiable’’ status. See letter 

from L.H. Dodgion, Administrator, NDEP, to Daniel 

W. McGovern, Regional Administrator, EPA Region 

IX, dated June 15, 1992. We believe that deletion 

of the TSP nonattainment designations for the six 

areas addressed in this action is administratively 

more efficient than redesignation of the six areas to 

unclassifiable. We will consider deletion of the two 

TSP area designations that will remain after our 

action today, i.e., the TSP designations for Las 

Vegas (HA #212, Las Vegas Valley) and Reno (HA 

#87, Truckee Meadows), in future rulemakings. 

TSP designations in 40 CFR part 81 

upon the occurrence of, among other 

circumstances, EPA’s approval of a 

State’s or local agency’s revised PSD 

program containing the PM10

increments. See 58 FR 31622, at 31635 

(June 3, 1993). 

In November 2002, we deleted the 

TSP attainment or unclassifiable area 

designations throughout the State of 

Nevada, except for those in Clark 

County. See 67 FR 68769 (November 13, 

2002). In our November 2002 final rule, 

we did not delete any nonattainment 

area designations for the TSP NAAQS. 

In today’s action, we are deleting all of 

the remaining TSP attainment or 

unclassifiable area designations in the 

State of Nevada and are deleting all of 

the TSP nonattainment area 

designations except for the Las Vegas 

planning area (i.e., HA #212, Las Vegas 

Valley) and the Reno planning area (i.e., 

HA #87, Truckee Meadows).1

II. EPA’s Evaluation of the Effect of 

Deleting Certain TSP Area Designations 

A. General Considerations 

Consistent with section 107(d)(4)(B), 

we have considered the continued 

necessity for retaining the remaining 

TSP area designations in Nevada, and as 

discussed in more detail in the 

following subsections, we have decided 

that the TSP attainment or 

unclassifiable area designations we 

specifically retained in our November 

2002 final rule and the TSP 

nonattainment designations for Carson 

Desert (HA #101), Winnemucca 

Segment (HA #70), Lower Reese Valley 

(HA #59), Fernley Area (HA #76), 

Mason Valley (HA #108), and Clovers 

Area (HA #64), are no longer necessary. 

As a result, we are deleting them from 

the TSP table in 40 CFR 81.329. 

To evaluate whether the TSP area 

designations should be retained or can 

be deleted, we have relied upon the 

final rule implementing the PM10

NAAQS (see 52 FR 24634, July 1, 1987), 

a policy memorandum on TSP 

redesignations (see memo dated May 20, 

1992 from Joseph W. Paisie, Acting 

Chief, SO2/Particulate Matter Programs 

Branch, EPA Office of Air Quality 

Planning and Standards, to Chief, Air 

Branch, Regions I–X, entitled ‘‘TSP 

Redesignation Request’’), and our 

proposed and final rules establishing 

maximum allowable increases in 

concentrations (also known as 

‘‘increments’’) for PM10 (see the 

proposed rule at 54 FR 41218, October 

5, 1989, and the final rule at 58 FR 

31622, June 3, 1993). 

Based on the above references, we 

believe that the relevant considerations 

for evaluating whether the necessity of 

retaining the TSP area designations 

depend upon the status of a given area 

with respect to TSP and PM10. For areas 

that are attainment or unclassifiable for 

TSP and also unclassifiable for PM10, we 

generally find that the TSP designations 

are no longer necessary and can be 

deleted when EPA (1) approves a State’s 

revised PSD program containing the 

PM10 increments, (2) promulgates the 

PM10 increments into a State’s SIP 

where the State chooses not to adopt the 

increments on their own, or (3) 

approves a State’s request for delegation 

of PSD responsibility under 40 CFR 

section 52.21(u). See 58 FR 31622, at 

31635 (June 3, 1993). 

For areas that are nonattainment for 

TSP but unclassifiable for PM10, an 

additional consideration is whether 

deletion of the TSP designations would 

automatically relax any emissions 

limitations, control measures or 

programs approved into the SIP. If such 

a relaxation would occur automatically 

with deletion of the TSP area 

designations, then we will not delete the 

designations until we are satisfied that 

the resulting SIP relaxation would not 

interfere with any applicable 

requirement concerning attainment, 

reasonable further progress (RFP), or 

maintenance of the NAAQS or any other 

requirement of the Clean Air Act in the 

affected areas. See section 110(l) of the 

Act. 

B. Deletion of TSP Attainment or 

Unclassifiable Area Designations in 

Clark County 

This subsection addresses the 28 TSP 

attainment or unclassifiable areas that 

are located either partially or entirely 

within the Clark County, Nevada. These 

28 areas are designated as unclassifiable 

for PM10. 

In our November 2002 final rule 

deleting certain TSP attainment or 

unclassifiable area designations in 

Nevada, we indicated that we would 

delete the TSP attainment or 

unclassifiable area designations 

partially or entirely located in Clark 

County once we approve revisions to 

the Clark County pre-construction 

stationary source permit program 

(referred to as ‘‘new source review’’) 

that implement the PM10 increments. 

See 67 FR 68769, at 68776 (November 

13, 2002). (In Clark County, the agency 

responsible for the stationary source 

control program is the Clark County 

Department of Air Quality and 

Environmental Management.) In 

September 2004, we approved such 

revisions as part of our approval of 

comprehensive revisions to the Clark 

County new source review program. See 

69 FR 54006 (September 7, 2004). Thus, 

we now find that the 28 TSP attainment 

or unclassifiable area designations 

either partially or entirely located 

within Clark County are no longer 

necessary and can be deleted. These 

areas include the Colorado River Valley 

(HA #213) and 27 other hydrographic 

areas included within the shorthand 

term, ‘‘rest of county,’’ in the ‘‘NevadaTSP’’ table in 40 CFR 81.329. 

C. Deletion of TSP Nonattainment Area 

Designations for Carson Desert, 

Winnemucca Segment, Lower Reese 

Valley, Fernley Area, Mason Valley, and 

Clovers Area 

This subsection addresses the 

deletion of the TSP nonattainment 

designations for Carson Desert (HA 

#101), Winnemucca Segment (HA #70), 

Lower Reese Valley (HA #59), Fernley 

Area (HA #76), Mason Valley (HA 

#108), and Clovers Area (HA #64). 

These six TSP nonattainment areas are 

designated as unclassifiable for PM10. 

With respect to protection of the PM10

increments, the TSP nonattainment 

designations are no longer necessary in 

these six areas because they are 

designated as unclassifiable for PM10, 

and as such, have been subject to the 

PM10 increments established in our 

1993 final rule as of the effective date 

of that rule, i.e., June 3, 1994, through 

EPA’s PSD pre-construction permit 

program promulgated at 40 CFR 52.21. 

See 40 CFR 52.1485(b) and note that 

these six areas lie outside of Clark 

County. 

To ensure that deletion of the TSP 

nonattainment designations for these six 

areas would not result in any automatic 

relaxations in SIP emissions limitations, 

control measures or programs that 

would be interfere with attainment, RFP 

or maintenance of the NAAQS 

(including PM10) or any other 

requirement of the Act, we reviewed the 

applicable portions of the SIP, with 

particular focus on the TSP control 

strategy attainment plans that were 

approved for these TSP nonattainment 

areas. These plans include the Carson 

Desert Air Quality Implementation Plan 

(AQIP), the Winnemucca Segment 

AQIP, the Lander County Air Quality 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with RULES
22428 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 73 / Tuesday, April 16, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

Improvement Plan (which covers both 

the Lower Reese Valley and Clovers 

areas), and the Mason Valley and 

Fernley Area AQIP. 

These four plans (which cover the six 

areas) were submitted by the State of 

Nevada to EPA on December 29, 1978. 

We also reviewed the materials that the 

State of Nevada submitted to EPA to 

supplement these plans, including the 

paving schedules as submitted on July 

24, 1979 for the city of Fallon (Carson 

Desert), the city of Winnemucca 

(Winnemucca Segment), and the cities 

of Fernley and Yerington (Mason Valley 

and Fernley areas); a resolution adopted 

by Lander County (Lower Reese Valley 

and Clovers areas) as submitted on July 

24, 1979; and the State’s nonattainment 

new source review rule (Article 13.1.3) 

as submitted on March 17, 1980. We 

approved all four plans, as 

supplemented, on April 14, 1981 (at 46 

FR 21758), on condition that the State 

identify and commit the monetary and 

manpower resources necessary for 

implementation of these plans. The 

State identified the necessary resources 

in a letter submitted to EPA on October 

21, 1981. This letter provided the basis 

on April 13, 1982 (at 47 FR 15790) for 

EPA to revoke the condition placed on 

full approval of the four TSP plans. 

A review of these four plans, as 

supplemented and approved, reveals 

that the TSP problems in these areas 

were caused by similar types of sources 

and that attainment of the TSP NAAQS 

(projected for 1982) relied upon a 

similar mix of control measures. While 

the relative proportions of the various 

source categories vary somewhat among 

the four areas, the emissions inventories 

prepared for these plans indicate that 

the principal sources of TSP in these 

areas are fugitive sources, such as travel 

over unpaved roads and construction 

activities, and industrial processing 

activities. As such, the control strategies 

set forth in all of the plans rely on local 

dust ordinances, completion of local 

road paving projects, and regulation of 

emissions from industrial processing 

activities. 

Among the local dust ordinances 

referred to in these four plans, only one, 

the Lander County Dust Ordinance 

(LC8–78), was submitted and approved 

by EPA as a revision to the Nevada SIP. 

None of the provisions in the Lander 

County Dust Ordinance are contingent 

upon the continuation of a TSP 

nonattainment designation, and thus 

deletion of the designation would not 

automatically relax any of the dust 

control requirements set forth therein. 

Likewise, none of the road paving 

project commitments in the TSP 

nonattainment areas is contingent upon 

the continuation of the TSP 

nonattainment designations, and by 

their own terms, all of these projects 

were to have been completed 20+ years 

ago. 

With respect to industrial sources, the 

TSP plans rely upon the Nevada 

Division of Environmental Protection 

(NDEP) to implement and enforce rules 

adopted by the State Environmental 

Commission (SEC) that establish 

emissions limitations on existing 

sources (referred to as ‘‘prohibitory’’ 

rules) and that establish preconstruction permitting requirements 

for new or modified stationary sources 

(referred to as ‘‘new source review’’). 

NDEP is the agency directly responsible 

for regulation of stationary sources of air 

pollution throughout the State of 

Nevada with the exception of Clark and 

Washoe counties and is the applicable 

air quality agency in the six TSP 

nonattainment areas addressed in this 

action. The air pollution control rules 

administered by NDEP were originally 

codified as ‘‘Articles’’ of the State of 

Nevada Air Quality Regulations 

(NAQR), but the original SIP rules have 

largely been superseded by 

subsequently submitted (and approved) 

rules that have been codified in chapter 

445, then later, in chapter 445B, of the 

Nevada Administrative Code (NAC). 

Thus, we reviewed the relevant State 

prohibitory rules approved by EPA as 

revisions to the Nevada SIP. These rules 

include NAC 445B.22017 (‘‘Visible 

emissions: Maximum opacity; 

determination and monitoring of 

opacity’’), NAC 445B.22067 (‘‘Open 

burning’’), NAC 445B.2207 (‘‘Incinerator 

burning’’), NAQR Article 7.2.5.1 

(source-specific particulate matter limits 

for Milchem Incorporated near Battle 

Mountain), NAC 445.730 (‘‘Colemanite 

flotation processing plants’’), NAC 

445B.2203 (‘‘Emissions of particulate 

matter: Fuel-burning equipment’’), NAC 

445B.22033 (‘‘Emissions of particulate 

matter: Sources not otherwise limited’’), 

NAC 445B.22037 (‘‘Emissions of 

particulate matter: Fugitive dust’’), 

NAQR article 16.3.3.2 and 16.3.3.3 

(opacity standards for portland cement 

plants), NAC 445.808 (source-specific 

particulate and opacity limits for certain 

barite processing facilities), and NAC 

445.816 (source-specific particulate and 

opacity limits for certain precious metal 

ore processing facilities). None of the 

provisions in these various rules are 

contingent upon continuation of the 

TSP nonattainment designations and 

thus deletion of the TSP designations 

would not automatically relax any 

standard. 

Lastly, we reviewed the relevant EPAapproved new source review rules (i.e., 

pre-construction permitting rules for 

new or modified stationary sources), in 

particular NAQR Article 13, section 

13.1.3, which we approved in 1981 (see 

46 FR 21758, April 14, 1981). We note 

that the specific requirements of 

paragraph (2) of section 13.1.3, 

including a control technology 

requirement for the lowest achievable 

emission rate (LAER) and the provision 

for offsets, apply to certain new point 

sources (those for which an 

Environmental Evaluation (EE) must be 

prepared) in ‘‘any designated 

nonattainment area’’ for ‘‘each 

nonattainment pollutant.’’ 

The term ‘‘nonattainment area’’ is 

defined in the Nevada SIP (see NAC 

445B.112) and may well continue to 

apply to TSP designations that remain 

in 40 CFR 81.329. However, the term 

‘‘nonattainment pollutant’’ is not 

defined in the Nevada SIP but can be 

assumed to relate to the pollutants for 

which ambient air quality standards are 

established because area designations, 

such as the designation of 

‘‘nonattainment,’’ follow from the 

establishment of such standards for a 

given air pollutant. Such pollutants are 

often referred to as ‘‘criteria air 

pollutants.’’ The Nevada SIP lists 

criteria air pollutants and associated 

ambient air quality standards in NAC 

445B.22097 (‘‘Standards of quality for 

ambient air’’), which we approved on 

March 27, 2006 (71 FR 15040). The prior 

SIP rule, NAC 445.843, that was 

replaced by NAC 445B.22097, had listed 

the TSP NAAQS, but NAC 445B.22097 

does not. With respect to particulate 

matter, NAC 445B.22097 lists only one 

pollutant, PM10. Thus, at least since the 

effective date of our March 2006 final 

rule (i.e., April 26, 2006), 

‘‘nonattainment pollutant’’ no longer 

refers to TSP for the purposes of NAQR 

article 13.1.3. Thus, deletion of the six 

TSP nonattainment designations would 

have no effect on new source review in 

those six areas. 

In summary, because the deletion of 

the TSP nonattainment designations for 

the six TSP areas would not 

automatically relax any emissions 

limitation or control measure in the 

Nevada SIP, we find that the TSP 

nonattainment designations are no 

longer necessary and can be deleted. 

Based on the above discussion and 

evaluation, therefore, we are deleting 

Carson Desert (HA #101), Winnemucca 

Segment (HA #70), Lower Reese Valley 

(HA #59), Fernley Area (HA #76), 

Mason Valley (HA #108), and Clovers 

Area (HA #64) from the ‘‘Nevada-TSP’’ 

table in 40 CFR 81.329. 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 73 / Tuesday, April 16, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 22429 

III. Final Action and Request for 

Comment 

For the reasons given above, EPA is 

taking action, under section 107(d)(4)(B) 

of the Clean Air Act, as amended in 

1990, to delete all of the remaining area 

designations for total suspended 

particulate within the State of Nevada 

[except for Las Vegas Valley (HA #121) 

and Truckee Meadows (HA #87)] 

because the designations are no longer 

necessary. To codify this action, the 

chart in 40 CFR 81.329 entitled 

‘‘Nevada-TSP’’ is being modified to 

delete the entries for Colorado River 

Valley and ‘‘Rest of County’’ under 

Clark County as well as the entries for 

Carson Desert, Winnemucca Segment, 

Lower Reese Valley, Fernley Area, 

Mason Valley, and Clovers Area, 

effective June 17, 2013. 

EPA is publishing this rule without 

prior proposal because we view this as 

a non-controversial action and 

anticipate no adverse comments. 

However, in the Proposed Rules section 

of this Federal Register, we are 

publishing a separate document that 

will serve as a proposal to delete the 

Nevada TSP area designations discussed 

above if relevant adverse comments are 

received. This rule will be effective on 

June 17, 2013 without further notice 

unless we receive adverse comment by 

May 16, 2013. If we receive adverse 

comments, we will publish a timely 

withdrawal in the Federal Register 

informing the public that the rule will 

not take effect. We will address all 

public comments in a subsequent final 

rule based on the proposed rule. We 

will not institute a second comment 

period on this action. Any parties 

interested in commenting must do so 

now. Please note that if we receive 

adverse comment on an amendment, 

paragraph, or section of this rule and if 

that provision may be severed from the 

remainder of the rule, we may adopt as 

final those provisions of the rule that are 

not the subject of an adverse comment. 

IV. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

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. For 

this reason, this action is also not 

subject to Executive Order 13211, 

‘‘Actions Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use’’ (66 FR 28355, May 

22, 2001). This action merely deletes 

certain area designations that had been 

established for air quality planning 

purposes but that are no longer 

necessary and imposes no additional 

requirements. 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 deletes certain area designations 

that had been established for air quality 

planning purposes but that are no longer 

necessary and does not impose any 

additional enforceable duty, it 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). 

This rule also does not have tribal 

implications because it will not have a 

substantial direct effect on one or more 

Indian tribes, on the relationship 

between the Federal Government and 

Indian tribes, or on the distribution of 

power and responsibilities between the 

Federal Government and Indian tribes, 

as specified by Executive Order 13175 

(65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000). This 

action also does not have Federalism 

implications because it does 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). This action merely 

deletes certain area designations that 

had been established for air quality 

planning purposes but that are no longer 

necessary, and does not alter the 

relationship or the distribution of power 

and responsibilities established in the 

Clean Air Act. This rule also is not 

subject to Executive Order 13045 

‘‘Protection of Children from 

Environmental Health Risks and Safety 

Risks’’ (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), 

because it is not economically 

significant as defined in Executive 

Order 12866, and because the Agency 

does not have reason to believe the 

environmental health or safety risks 

addressed by this rule present a 

disproportionate risk to children. 

This rule does not involve 

establishment of technical standards, 

and 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. 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. section 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 rule 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. section 804(2). 

Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean 

Air Act, petitions for judicial review of 

this action must be filed in the United 

States Court of Appeals for the 

appropriate circuit by June 17, 2013. 

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. 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 the 

EPA can withdraw this direct final rule 

and address the comment in the 

proposed rulemaking. 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 81 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, National parks, 

Wilderness areas. 

Dated: April 1, 2013. 

Jared Blumenfeld, 

Regional Administrator, Region IX. 

Part 81, Chapter I, Title 40 of the Code 

of Federal Regulations is amended as 

follows: 

PART 81—DESIGNATION OF AREAS 

FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING 

PURPOSES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 81 

continues to read as follows: 

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


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with RULES
22430 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 73 / Tuesday, April 16, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

Subpart C—Section 107 Attainment 

Status Designations 

■ 2. In § 81.329, the table ‘‘Nevada— 

TSP’’ is revised to read as follows: 

§ 81.329 Nevada. 

NEVADA—TSP 

Designated Area 1

Does not meet 

primary 

standards 

Does not meet 

secondary 

standards 

Cannot be 

classified 

Better than 

national 

standards 

(Township Range): 

Las Vegas Valley (212) (15–24S, 56–64E) .............................................. X 

Truckee Meadows (87) (17–20N, 18–21E) .............................................. X 

1 ‘‘Designated area’’ refers to hydrographic areas identified by number as shown on the State of Nevada Division of Water Resources’ map titled Water Resources and Inter-basin Flows (September 1971). Township and Range is shown for general information purposes only.

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2013–08817 Filed 4–15–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with RULES