Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 73 / Wednesday, April 16, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 18523

concerning SIPs on such grounds.

Union Electric Co. v. EPA., 427 U.S.

246, 256–66 (1976); 42 U.S.C.

7410(a)(2).

C. Unfunded Mandates

Under Section 202 of the Unfunded

Mandates Reform Act of 1995, signed

into law on March 22, 1995, USEPA

must undertake various actions in

association with any proposed or final

rule that includes a Federal mandate

that may result in estimated costs to

state, local, or tribal governments in the

aggregate; or to the private sector, of

$100 million or more. This Federal

action approves pre-existing

requirements under state or local law,

and imposes no new requirements.

Accordingly, no additional costs to

state, local, or tribal governments, or the

private sector, result from this action.

D. Submission to Congress and the

General Accounting Office

Under 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A) as added

by the Small Business Regulatory

Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, EPA

submitted a report containing this rule

and other required information to the

U.S. Senate, the House of

Representatives and the Comptroller

General of the General Accounting

Office prior to publication of the rule in

today’s Federal Register. This rule is

not a major rule as defined by 5 U.S.C.

804(2).

E. Petitions for Judicial Review

Under section 307(b)(1) of the Act,

petitions for judicial review of this

action must be filed in the United States

Court of Appeals for the appropriate

circuit by June 16, 1997. 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, Incorporation by

reference, Intergovernmental relations,

National parks, Particulate matter,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Wilderness areas.

Dated: March 28, 1997.

Valdas V. Adamkus,

Regional Administrator.

For the reasons stated in the

preamble, part 52, 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. 7401–7671q.

Subpart P—Indiana

2. Section 52.770 is amended by

adding paragraph (c)(119) to read as

follows:

§ 52.770 Identification of plan.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(119) Approval—On October 2, 1996,

the State of Indiana submitted a State

Implementation Plan revision request to

eliminate references to total suspended

particulates (TSP) while maintaining the

existing opacity requirements. The SIP

revision became effective July 19, 1996.

The SIP revision request satisfies all

applicable requirements of the Clean Air

Act.

(i) Incorporation by reference. 326

Indiana Administrative Code 5–1:

Opacity Limitations, Section 1:

Applicability of Rule, Section 2: Visible

emission limitations. Adopted by the

Indiana Air Pollution Control Board

April 3, 1996. Filed with the Secretary

of State June 19, 1996. Published at the

Indiana Register, Volume 19, Number

11, August 1, 1996 (19 IR 3049).

Effective July 19, 1996.

PART 81—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for part 81

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401–7671q.

Subpart C—[Amended]

2. Section 81.315 is amended by

removing the table entitled ‘‘IndianaTSP’’.

[FR Doc. 97–9794 Filed 4–15–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 58

[001–7201a; A–1–FRL–5808–7]

Ambient Air Quality Surveillance;

Connecticut/Maine/Massachusetts/

New Hampshire/Rhode Island/

Vermont; Modification of the Ozone

Monitoring Season

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

SUMMARY: This final rule contains

revisions to 40 CFR part 58, Appendix

D, the Ozone Monitoring Season By

State Table in Section 2.5. EPA’s

approval of these revisions will change

the ozone monitoring season for

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,

New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and

Vermont to April 1–September 30.

DATES: This action will become effective

June 16, 1997, unless EPA receives

adverse or critical comments by May 16,

1997. If the effective date is delayed,

timely notice will be published in the

Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to

Don Porteous, Acting Director, Office of

Environmental Measurement &

Evaluation, U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, Region I, 60

Westview Street, Lexington, MA 02173.

Copies of the documents and data

relevant to this action are available for

public inspection during normal

business hours, by appointment at the

Office of Environmental Measurement &

Evaluation Division, U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency,

Region I, 60 Westview Street, Lexington,

MA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mary Jane Cuzzupe, U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, Region I, Office of

Environmental Measurement &

Evaluation, Ecosystem Assessment, 60

Westview Street, Lexington, MA 02173.

Telephone (617) 860–4383.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

During 1993 and 1994, three New

England states submitted proposals to

EPA Region 1 to shorten their ozone

seasons. In order to maintain a

consistent ozone season throughout the

Region, EPA Region 1 made the decision

to process all of the requests together as

one package. All of the states were

notified of this decision. On February 7,

1995 (after numerous discussions with

the states, and not wanting to delay

processing these requests), EPA Region

1 sent formal requests to NH, VT and RI

asking them if they were interested in

submitting proposals to shorten their

ozone seasons. As a result, the states

submitted their proposals to the Region.

All six New England States have now

submitted proposals to EPA Region 1 to

shorten their ozone seasons. The current

ozone season for EPA Region 1 is April

1—October 31. The dates of the state’s

request and their proposals are

summarized below:
18524 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 73 / Wednesday, April 16, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

State Date of letter Proposal

CT .................. 9/1/93 Apr.–Sept.

ME ................. 11/10/93 May–Sept.

MA ................. 6/28/94 May–Sept.

VT .................. 2/15/95 May–Sept.

RI ................... 2/28/95 Apr.–Sept.

NH .................. 6/14/95 May–Sept.

II. Review

The current ozone monitoring season

for all of the New England states is April

1—October 31, and is specified in 40

CFR Part 58, appendix D. In order to

determine whether or not the ozone

seasons could be modified for the New

England states, the ozone monitoring

data for all six states was reviewed in

accordance with the Guideline on

Modification to Monitoring Seasons for

Ozone, Technical Support Division,

Office of Air Quality Planning and

Standards, March 1990. The guidance

document states that ‘‘the potential for

ozone exceedances can be determined

using a variety of procedures. The first

and most reliable is the use of historical

ozone monitoring data. A review of

historical ozone data for this purpose

must be based on 5 years of most recent

data, in order to ensure that both

favorable and unfavorable

meteorological conditions are

represented.’’

The most recent six years of ambient

ozone monitoring data (1990–1995) for

all of the New England states were

reviewed (AIRS AMP350 Raw Data

Listing and AIRS AMP355 Standards

Reports). The review of the data

demonstrates:

(a) That there were no exceedances of

the ozone National Ambient Air Quality

Standard (NAAQS) in October; and

(b) That no concentrations above

0.100 ppm were recorded in October.

Therefore the test of five years of data

without any concentrations above the

recommended value of 0.100 ppm has

been satisfied. The primary data is

available for public review as part of the

administrative record at the Office of

Environmental Measurement and

Evaluation, U.S. EPA—Region I (See the

ADDRESSES section above for the exact

location).

Unfortunately this is not the case for

the month of April. There were two

exceedances of the NAAQS, as well as

several values reported above the

recommended 0.100 ppm value for each

of the Region I states except for

Vermont. The only two years in which

no values greater than 0.100 ppm were

reported in any of the Region I states

were 1992 and 1993.

Although the data for Vermont does

satisfy the criteria for April, the

guidance states that the ‘‘ozone season

designations should not result in a

patchwork quilt on either a State or

national basis.’’ As a result, EPA Region

1 decided to maintain one common

ozone season for all six New England

states and modify the season

consistently. The modification will

change the ozone season from April 1–

October 31 to April 1–September 30.

This action will be beneficial for the

states as they will be able to save

monitoring resources by not being

required to measure ozone in the month

of October.

It is important to note that shortening

the ozone season will affect the

calculation of expected exceedances (40

CFR part 50, appendix H) for all of New

England. If there are any missing days

of data within the new ozone season, a

higher calculated number of expected

exceedances will be produced in future

retrievals of the ambient air quality

monitoring data as compared to the

number of expected exceedances that

would have been calculated within the

old ozone season. The following

example serves to clarify this point.

There are 183 days in the new ozone

season and 214 days in the old ozone

season. If there were 10 missing days of

data, the multiplication factor for

determining the number of expected

exceedances would be calculated as

follows: 10/183 = 0.054 in the new

ozone season or 10/214 = 0.046 in the

old ozone season. Although unlikely,

the small increase in the number of

expected exceedances in the new ozone

season could have a significant impact

on when marginal non-attainment areas

can be designated as attainment areas.

III. Final Action

After reviewing the most recent six

years of ozone monitoring data for CT,

ME, MA, VT, RI and NH, EPA Region

1 concluded that the ozone data meets

the guidelines recommended for

shortening the ozone season from April

1—September 30. Based on the above

conclusion, EPA is revising CT, ME,

MA, VT, RI and NH’s ozone monitoring

season in 40 CFR part 58, appendix D,

Section 2.5 to April 1—September 30 of

each year for all monitor types in AIRS.

EPA is publishing this action without

prior proposal because the Agency

views this as a noncontroversial

amendment and anticipates no adverse

comments. However, in a separate

document in this Federal Register

publication, EPA is proposing to

approve the changes to the ozone

monitoring seasons for the six New

England states should adverse or critical

comments be filed. This action will be

effective June 16, 1997 unless adverse or

critical comments are received by May

16, 1997.

If the EPA receives such comments,

this action will be withdrawn before the

effective date by publishing a

subsequent document that will

withdraw the final action. All public

comments received will then be

addressed in a subsequent final rule

based on this action serving as a

proposed rule. The EPA will not

institute a second comment period on

this action. Any parties interested in

commenting on this action should do so

at this time. If no such comments are

received, the public is advised that this

action will be effective on June 16, 1997.

IV. Administrative Requirements

A. Executive Order 12866

Under Executive Order 12866, (58 FR

51735 (October 4, 1993)) the Agency

must determine whether the regulatory

action is ‘‘significant’’ and therefore

subject to the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) review and the

requirements of the Executive Order. It

has been determined that this rule is not

a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’ under

the terms of E.O. 12866 and is therefore

not subject to OMB review.

B. Regulatory Flexiblity Act

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act,

5 U.S.C. 600 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

impact on a substantial number of small

entities. Small entities include small

businesses, small not-for-profit

enterprises, and government entities

with jurisdiction over populations of

less than 50,000.

This action does not create any new

requirements. Therefore, I certify that it

does not have a significant impact on

small entities.

C. Unfunded Mandates

Under Section 202 of the Unfunded

Mandates Reform Act of 1995

(‘‘Unfunded Mandates Act’’), signed

into law on March 22, 1995, EPA must

prepare a budgetary impact statement to

accompany any proposed or final rule

that includes a Federal mandate that

may result in estimated costs to State,

local, or tribal governments in the

aggregate; or to the private sector, of

$100 million or more. Under Section

205, EPA must select the most costeffective and least burdensome

alternative that achieves the objectives

of the rule and is consistent with

statutory requirements. Section 203
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 73 / Wednesday, April 16, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 18525

requires EPA to establish a plan for

informing and advising any small

governments that may be significantly

or uniquely impacted by the rule.

EPA has determined that the

approved action promulgated does not

include a Federal mandate that may

result in estimated costs of $100 million

or more to either State, local, or tribal

governments in the aggregate, or to the

private sector.

This Federal action approves preexisting requirements under State or

local law, and imposes no new Federal

requirements. Accordingly, no

additional costs to State, local, or tribal

governments, or to the private sector,

result from this action.

D. Submission to Congress and the

General Accounting Office

Under 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A) as added

by the Small Business Regulatory

Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, EPA

submitted 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 General Accounting

Office prior to publication of the rule in

today’s Federal Register. This rule is

not a ‘‘major rule’’ as defined by 5

U.S.C. 804(2).

E. Petitions for Judicial Review

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 16, 1997.

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).) EPA encourages interested

parties to comment in response to the

proposed rule rather than petition for

judicial review, unless the objection

arises after the comment period allowed

for in the proposal.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 58

Environmental protection, Air

pollution control, Hydrocarbons,

Intergovernmental relations, Ozone,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

Dated: March 24, 1997.

John P. DeVillars,

Regional Administrator, Region I.

Part 58 of chapter I, title 40 of the

Code of Federal Regulations is amended

as follows:

PART 58—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for part 58

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7410, 7601(a), 7613,

7619.

2. Part 58, Appendix D, section 2.5,

the table is amended by revising the

entries for Connecticut, Maine,

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode

Island and Vermont to read as follows:

Appendix D—Network Design for State

and Local Air Monitoring Stations

(SLAMS) and National Air Monitoring

Stations (NAMS) and Photochemical

Assessment Monitoring Station (PAMS)

* * * * *

2.5 Ozone (O3) Design Criteria for

SLAMS

* * * * *

OZONE MONITORING SEASON BY STATE

State Begin month End month

* * * * * * *

Connecticut ................................................................................................................................................................ April .................. September.

* * * * * * *

Maine ......................................................................................................................................................................... April .................. September.

* * * * * * *

Massachusetts ........................................................................................................................................................... April .................. September.

* * * * * * *

New Hampshire ......................................................................................................................................................... April .................. September.

* * * * * * *

Rhode Island ............................................................................................................................................................. April .................. September.

* * * * * * *

Vermont ..................................................................................................................................................................... April .................. September.

* * * * * * *

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 97–9864 Filed 4–15–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P