Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 113 / Friday, June 12, 1998 / Notices 32205

1The Liberty Borough PM–10 nonattainment area

is comprised of the City of Clairton and the

Boroughs of Glassport, Liberty, Lincoln, and Port

Vue.

provided burden estimates, and any

suggested methods for minimizing

respondent burden, including through

the use of automated collection

techniques to the following addresses.

Please refer to EPA ICR No. 1748.02 and

OMB Control No. 2060–0337 in any

correspondence.

Ms. Sandy Farmer, U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, Office of Policy,

Planning, & Evaluation, Regulatory

Information Division (2137), 401 M

Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460;

and

Office of Information and Regulatory

Affairs, Office of Management and

Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for

EPA, 725 17th Street, NW,

Washington, DC 20503.

Dated: June 8, 1998.

Joseph Retzer,

Director, Regulatory Information Division.

[FR Doc. 98–15742 Filed 6–11–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–6107–3]

Proposed Determination of Attainment

of the Air Quality in the Liberty

Borough, Pennsylvania PM–10

Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed finding of attainment

and withdrawal of previously proposed

finding.

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to find that

air quality in the Liberty Borough,

Pennsylvania moderate nonattainment

area has attained national ambient air

quality standards (NAAQS) for

particulate matter of nominal

aerodynamic diameters smaller than 10

micrometers (PM–10). The Clean Air

Act (the Act) establishes a December 31,

1994 attainment date for moderate PM–

10 nonattainment areas, and requires

EPA to determine the attainment status

of such areas by June 30, 1995. For the

reasons explained herein, this proposed

finding is based on monitored air

quality data for the area during the years

1995–1997. EPA is also withdrawing its

previous September 19, 1995 proposal

to find that the area did not attain the

NAAQS. Elsewhere in the Proposed

Rules section, EPA is also proposing to

approve the Allegheny County Health

Department’s (ACHD’s) attainment

demonstration, submitted to EPA by the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, that

the state implementation plan (SIP)

requirements for the Liberty Borough

area are sufficient to attain and maintain

the NAAQS. In the same document EPA

is also proposing to approve

contingency measures for the area. In

the Final Rules section of today’s

Federal Register, EPA is taking direct

final action to approve a SIP revision

requiring additional control measures at

the USX Clairton coke works. On July

18, 1997, EPA revised the NAAQS for

particulate matter. In this document,

‘‘NAAQS’’ and ‘‘PM–10 NAAQS’’ refer

only to the previously existing NAAQS

that were in effect at the time that the

attainment plan was submitted.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before July 13, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to

Makeba Morris, Chief, Technical

Assessment Branch, Mailcode 3AP22,

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

Region III, 841 Chestnut Building,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107.

Copies of the documents relevant to this

action are available for public

inspection during normal business

hours at the Air, Radiation, and Toxics

Division, U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, Region III, 841 Chestnut

Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

19107 and the Allegheny County Health

Department, Department of Air Quality,

301 39th Street, Pittsburgh,

Pennsylvania 15201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Denis M. Lohman, (215) 566–2192, or by

e-mail at

lohman.denny@epamail.epa.gov. While

requests for information may be made

via e-mail, comments for EPA’s

consideration regarding this proposal

must be submitted in writing to the

address indicated above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

A. Clean Air Act Requirements

Upon enactment of Clean Air Act

Amendments of 1990, PM–10 areas

meeting the criteria of section

107(d)(4)(B) of the Act was designated

nonattainment by operation of law.

Once an area is designated

nonattainment, section 188 of the Act

outlines the process for classification of

the area and establishes the area’s

attainment date. Pursuant to section

188(a), all PM–10 nonattainment areas

were initially classified as moderate by

operation of law upon designation as

nonattainment, and the attainment date

for these areas were December 31, 1994.

These nonattainment designations and

moderate area classifications were

codified in 40 CFR part 81 on November

6, 1991 (56 FR 56694).

States containing areas which were

designated as moderate nonattainment

by operation of law under section

107(d)(4)(B) were to develop and submit

SIPs to provide for the attainment of the

PM–10 NAAQS. Those SIPs were to

include the adoption and

implementation of PM–10 reduction

requirements which constitute

reasonably available control measures,

(RACM), including reasonably available

control technology (RACT). Pursuant to

section 189(a)(2) of the Act, those SIP

revisions were to be submitted to EPA

by November 15, 1991. Section 188(c)(1)

sets December 31, 1994 as the

attainment date, and section 188(b)(2)

requires that EPA determine the

attainment status of the area by June 30,

1995. EPA is guided in these

determinations by 40 CFR 50.6 and 40

CFR part 50, appendix K.

B. Regulatory Activity to Date

On January 6, 1994, the Pennsylvania

Department of Environmental Protection

(PADEP) submitted an attainment plan

to EPA, produced by the Allegheny

County Health Department (ACHD), for

the Liberty Borough PM–10

nonattainment area.1 The purpose of

this revision to the Pennsylvania SIP is

to fulfill the requirements under section

189 of the Act for a regulatory plan to

attain the PM–10 NAAQS and to submit

a demonstration (including air quality

modeling) that the plan is sufficient to

attain this goal. These ‘‘Part D’’

requirements are described in more

detail in the technical support

document (TSD) to this rulemaking. On

April 11, 1995, EPA proposed to fully

approve the January 1994 attainment

plan submittal, as well as two SIP

revisions that the County had submitted

previously (see 60 FR 18385). After EPA

proposed to approve the County’s

demonstration, the County reported that

the PM–10 NAAQS had been exceeded

twice in March of 1995. These

exceedances brought the adequacy of

the County’s attainment plan into doubt,

and, though EPA took final action to

approve the regulatory portion of the

attainment plan (61 FR 29664), EPA

took no action on the modeled

attainment demonstration at that time.

Pursuant to its obligations under

section 188(b)(2), on September 19,

1995, EPA proposed to find that the

Liberty Borough moderate

nonattainment area did not attain the

NAAQS (60 FR 48439). This proposal

was based on the available air quality

data at the time, which showed that the

number of expected exceedances of the
32206 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 113 / Friday, June 12, 1998 / Notices

2See 62 FR 38652.

daily NAAQS (i.e., the number of

exceedances per years expected when

missing data and/or trends are taken

into account) exceeded the NAAQS

criterion of 1.0 expected exceedances

per year. EPA based its attainment

determination on air quality data

monitored in the nonattainment area

from 1992 to 1994, the three most recent

calendar years of data available at the

time of proposal. In addition, two

exceedances already monitored in 1995

reflected full implementation of the

attainment SIP.

C. The GASP Lawsuit

On February 21, 1996, the Group

Against Smog and Pollution (GASP), a

citizen environmental advocacy group,

sued EPA in order to compel EPA action

on a number of planning activities

regarding the Liberty Borough area. The

Settlement Agreement reached on this

suit requires, among other things, that

EPA determine the attainment status of

the Liberty Borough area by March 31,

1998, in light of air quality data

collected from 1995 through 1997. The

TSD prepared for this rulemaking

provides a more detailed summary of

the Settlement Agreement’s provisions.

Copies of the TSD are available upon

request from the EPA Regional Office

listed in the ADDRESSES section of this

document.

D. Revisions to the PM NAAQS

On July 18, 1997, EPA revised the

NAAQS for particulate matter.2

Currently, both the pre-existing and

revised NAAQS are in effect in the

Liberty Borough area. In this document,

‘‘NAAQS’’ and ‘‘PM–10 NAAQS’’ refer

to the previously existing NAAQS that

were in effect at the time and for which

the Liberty Borough area was classified

as moderate nonattainment on

November 6, 1991.

II. Rationale for Today’s Proposed

Action

Air quality has improved in the

Liberty Borough nonattainment area

since 1995, when EPA proposed to find

that the area did not attain the PM–10

NAAQS by the December 31, 1994

attainment date. (See Table 1, below)

Pursuant to the Settlement Agreement,

EPA has waited until three years of air

quality data which reflect full

implementation of the County’s

attainment SIP were available. The data,

which were collected by a monitoring

network that meets the requirements of

40 CFR part 58, show that the air quality

of the area has attained the NAAQS. The

number of expected exceedances per

year are 0.67, which is less than the 1.0

allowed by the NAAQS. Although one

monitoring station was out of service

during part of the first quarter of 1995,

ACHD has credibly determined that it is

unlikely that any exceedances of the

NAAQS were missed. More detail is

provided in the TSD, referenced above.

TABLE 1.—EXCEEDANCES OF THE 24-

HOUR PM–10 NAAQS MEASURED

IN LIBERTY BOROUGH PM–10 NONATTAINMENT AREA 1992–1997 (μg/

m3)

Date Lincoln

Hi-Vol

Lincoln

TEOM Liberty

1992–1994

1/28/92 ........ .............. .............. 175

12/15/92 ...... 186 .............. ..............

5/10/93 ........ 167 .............. ..............

11/23/93 ...... 223 195 ..............

2/19/94 ........ 163 .............. ..............

3/7/94 .......... 157 .............. ..............

1995–1997

3/12/95 ........ 193 .............. 188

3/13/95 ........ 209 193 ..............

1996 ............ No exceedances.

1997 ............ Do.

The 24-hour PM–10 National Ambient Air

Quality Standard is 150 μg/m3.

The NAAQS is attained at any location

when the expected number of exceedances

per year is ≤ to 1.0.

The Lincoln station reported incomplete data

for the first quarter of 1995.

The Lincoln Hi-Vol was discontinued during

the second quarter of 1996.

III. Proposed Action

EPA is proposing to find, pursuant to

section 188(b)(2), that the Liberty

Borough moderate nonattainment area

has attained the NAAQS for PM–10.

EPA is withdrawing its September 1995

proposal to find that the area did not

attain the NAAQS.

Nothing in this proposal should be

construed as permitting or allowing or

establishing a precedent for any future

request for revision to any SIP. Each

request for revision to a SIP shall be

considered separately in light of specific

technical, economic and environmental

factors and in relation to relevant

statutory and regulatory authority.

IV. Administrative Requirements

A. Executive Order 12866

The Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) has exempted this regulatory

action from E.O. 12866 review.

B. Executive Order 13045

The proposed rule is not subject to

E.O. 13045, entitled ‘‘Protection of

Children from Environmental Health

Risks and Safety Risks,’’ because it is

not an ‘‘economically significant’’ action

under E.O. 12866.

C. Regulatory Flexibility 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.

Determinations of attainment under

the Clean Air Act do not impose any

new requirements on small entities.

Therefore, EPA certifies that this

determination does not have a

significant impact on a substantial

number of small entities.

D. 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 private sector, of $100

million or more. Under section 205,

EPA must select the most cost-effective

and least burdensome alternative that

achieves the objectives of the rule and

is consistent with statutory

requirements. Section 203 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 approval action

being proposed 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 pre-existing requirements

under State or local law, and imposes

no new requirements. Accordingly, no

additional costs to State, local, or tribal

governments, or to the private sector,

result from this action.

The Regional Administrator’s final

decision to find that the Liberty

Borough area attained or did not attain

the NAAQS will be based on sections

179(c) and 188(b)(2) of the Clean Air

Act, as amended, and EPA regulations

in 40 CFR part 50.

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 113 / Friday, June 12, 1998 / Notices 32207

Dated: May 28, 1998.

W. Michael McCabe,

Regional Administrator, Region III.

[FR Doc. 98–15583 Filed 6–11–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[ER–FRL–5492–5]

Environmental Impact Statements;

Notice of Availability

Responsible Agency: Office of Federal

Activities, General Information (202)

564–7167 or (202) 564–7153. Weekly

receipt of Environmental Impact

Statements Filed June 1, 1998 Through

June 5, 1998 Pursuant to 40 CFR 1506.9.

EIS No. 980208, Draft EIS, AFS, AK, Sea

Level Harvest Timber Sale,

Implemention, Tongass National

Forest, Ketchikan Ranger District, U.S.

Coast Guard Permit, NPDES Permit

and COE Section 10 and 404 Permit,

Revillagigedo (Revilla) Island/

Cleveland Peninsula, AK, Due:

August 7, 1998, Contact: Peter Griffin

(907) 228–4131.

EIS No. 980209, Final EIS, FHW, CA, I–

805 Nobel Drive Interchange and

Extension Project, Improvements,

between Nobel Drive and Miramar

Road/LaJolla Village Drive and the

extension of Nobel Drive from

Shoreline Drive to Miramar Road, in

the City of San Diego, San Diego

County, CA, Due: July 13, 1998,

Contact: G. Glenn Clinton (916) 498–

5037.

EIS No. 980210, Final EIS, JUS, CA,

Service Processing Center (SPC) for

Detainees, Construction and

Operation, Possible Sites, Stockton

and Tracy Sites, San Joaquin

Counties, CA, Due: July 13, 1998,

Contact: William A. Kopitz (202) 307–

1877.

EIS No. 980211, Final EIS, AFS, CA,

Payen, Pass Creek and English Range

Allotments, Grazing Land

Management Plan, Implementation,

Tahoe National Forest, Sierraville

Ranger District, Sierra and Nevada

Counties, CA, Due: July 13, 1998,

Contact: Fred Kent (530) 994–3401.

EIS No. 980212, Final Supplement,

AFS, OR, Summit Fire Recovery

Forest Restoration Project,

Implementation, Malheur National

Forest, Long Creek Ranger District,

Grant County, OR, Due: July 13, 1998,

Contact: Michael Hutchins (541) 575–

3000.

EIS No. 980213, Final EIS, BOP, DC,

District of Columbia, Department of

Corrections (DCDC), Felony Inmate

Population, Implementation,

Contracting Private Correctional

Facilities for Housing of Inmate

Population, United States Capitol,

City of Washington, D.C., Due: July

13, 1990, Contact: David D. Dorworth

(202) 514–6470.

EIS No. 980214, Final EIS, FHW, PA, US

222 Corridor Design Location Study,

Improvements from Breingsville to

the I–78 Interchange, Funding, Lower

and Upper Macungie Township,

Lehigh County, PA, Due: July 13,

1998, Contact: Ronald W. Carmichael

(717) 221–3461.

EIS No. 980215, Draft EIS, USA, AZ,

Fort Huachuca Real Property Master

Planning, Approval of Land Use and

Real Estate Investment Strategies,

Cochise County, AZ, Due: July 27,

1998, Contact: Gregory Brewer (703)

693–4583.

EIS No. 980216, Final EIS, COE, CA,

Yuba River Basin Investigation Study,

Flood Protection, Also Portions of the

Feather River Basin below Oroville

Dam, City of Maryville Yuba County,

CA, Due: July 13, 1998, Contact: Jack

Rinck (916) 557–6715.

EIS No. 980217, Draft EIS, DOC, PR, VI,

Corals and Reef Associated Plants and

Invertebrates, Fishery Management

Plan, Amendment I Marine

Conservation District (MCD),

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ),

Puerto Islands and U.S. Virgin

Islands, PR and VI, Due: July 27, 1998,

Contact: Andrew J. Kemmerer (813)

570–5305.

EIS No. 980218, Draft EIS, COE, AK,

Beaufort Sea Oil and Gas

Development Northstar Project,

Implementation, NPDES Permit, Sea

Island, Alaskan Beaufort Sea, Offshore

Marine Environment and Onshore

Northslope of Alaskan Coastal Plain,

AK, Due: July 27, 1998, Contact: Ms.

Terry Carpenter (907) 753–2712.

EIS No. 980219, Final EIS, AFS, MT,

Bighorn Sheep Range and China Basin

Salvage Project, Wildlife Habitat

Enhancement Activities and

Watershed Restoration Activities,

Kootenai National Forest, Libby

Ranger District, Lincoln County, MT,

Due: July 13, 1998, Contact: Kirsten

Kaiser (406) 293–7773.

EIS No. 980220, Legislative Draft EIS,

USN, NV, Fallon Naval Air Station,

Renewal of the B–20 Land

Withdrawal, City of Fallon, Churchill

County, NV, Due: August 3, 1998,

Contact: Sam Dennis (650) 244–3007.

EIS No. 980221, Draft EIS, USA, IN,

Newport Chemical Depot,

Construction and Operation, Pilot

Testing of Neutralization/

Supercritical Water Oxidation of VX

Agent, Vermillion County, IN, Due:

July 27, 1998, Contact: Matt Hurlburt

(410) 612–7207.

EIS No. 980222, Draft EIS, GSA, NY,

Governors Island Disposition of

Surplus Federal Real Property,

Implementation, Upper New York

Bay, NY, Due: July 27, 1998, Contact:

Peter A. Sneed (212) 264–3581.

EIS No. 980223, Draft EIS, NPS, MT,

Interagency Bison Management Plan

for State of Montana and Yellowstone

National Park, Implementation,

Maintain a wild, Free Ranging

Population, Address the risk of

Brucellosis Transmission, Park and

Gallatin Counties, MT, Due: October

1, 1998, Contact: Sarah Bransom (303)

969–2310.

EIS No. 980224, Final EIS, COE, GA,

Brunswick Harbor Deepening Federal

Navigation Project, Improvements,

Brunswick, Glynn County, GA, Due:

July 13, 1998, Contact: William G.

Bailey (912) 652–5781.

Dated: June 9, 1998.

Ken Mittelholtz,

Environmental Specialist, NEPA Compliance

Division, Office of Federal Activities.

[FR Doc. 98–15758 Filed 6–11–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–U

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[ER–FRL–5492–6]

Environmental Impact Statements and

Regulations; Availability of EPA

Comments

Availability of EPA comments

prepared May 25, 1998 Through May

29, 1998 pursuant to the Environmental

Review Process (ERP), under Section

309 of the Clean Air Act and Section

102(2)(c) of the National Environmental

Policy Act as amended. Requests for

copies of EPA comments can be directed

to the Office of Federal Activities at

(202) 564–7167.

An explanation of the ratings assigned

to draft environmental impact

statements (EISs) was published in FR

dated April 10, 1998 (63 FR 17856).

Draft EISs

ERP No. D–MMS–G02007–TX Rating

LO, Western Planning Area, Proposed

Western Gulf of Mexico 1997–2002 (5-

Year Program) Outer Continental Shelf

Oil and Gas Sales 171, 174, 177 and 180,

Lease Offering, Offshore Marine

Environmental and Coastal Counties/

Parishes of Texas and Louisiana.

Summary: EPA had no objections to

the selection of the preferred alternative.

EPA encourages MMS to continue the

practice of applying those stipulations