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[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 24, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24397-24399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9814]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2012-0136-201162; FRL-9662-8]

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans: Georgia; 
Approval of Substitution for Transportation Control Measures

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule; notice of administrative change.

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SUMMARY: EPA is making an administrative change to update the Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) to reflect a change made to the Georgia State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) on November 5, 2009, as a result of EPA's 
concurrence on a substitute transportation control measure (TCM) for 
the Atlanta portion of the Georgia SIP. On February 5, 2010, the State 
of Georgia, through the Environmental Protection Division (EPD), 
submitted a revision to the Georgia SIP requesting that EPA update its 
SIP to reflect a substitution of a TCM. The substitution was made 
pursuant to the TCM substitution provisions contained in Clean Air Act 
(CAA). EPA concurred on this substitution on November 5, 2009. In this 
administrative action, EPA is updating the non-regulatory provisions of 
the Georgia SIP to reflect the substitution. In summary, the 
substitution that EPA concurred on was a conversion of high occupancy 
vehicle (HOV) lanes to high occupancy toll lanes (HOT). EPA has 
determined that this action falls under the ``good cause'' exemption in 
the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) which, upon finding ``good 
cause,'' authorizes agencies to dispense with public participation 
which allows an agency to make an action effective immediately (thereby 
avoiding the 30-day delayed effective date otherwise provided for in 
the APA).

DATES: This action is effective April 24, 2012.

ADDRESSES: SIP materials which are incorporated by reference into 40 
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 52 are available for inspection 
at the following location: Environmental Protection

[[Page 24398]]

Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW., Atlanta, GA 30303. Publicly 
available materials are available either electronically in 
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: Ms. Dianna B. Smith at the above 
Region 4 address or at (404) 562-9207. Ms. Smith may also be contacted 
via electronic mail at: smith.dianna@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 5, 2009, EPA issued a 
concurrence letter to Georgia stating that the substitution of a HOT 
lane TCM for an existing HOV lane TCM met the CAA section 176(c)(8) 
requirements for substituting TCMs in an area's approved SIP. See also 
EPA's Guidance for Implementing the CAA section 176(c)(8) 
Transportation Control Measure Substitution and Addition Provision 
contained in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation 
Equity Act: A Legacy for Users which was signed into law on August 10, 
2005, dated January 2009. This substitution was an update to TCMs 
previously approved on March 18, 1999, and April 26, 1999. As a part of 
the concurrence process, the public was provided an opportunity to 
comment on proposed TCM substitution. Public notice and comment was 
provided by the Atlanta metropolitan planning organization, Atlanta 
Regional Commission (ARC), during the revision to the transportation 
improvement program to incorporate the HOT lane substitution project. 
The public notice was published in the Daily Report and on the ARC Web 
page at: www.atlantaregional.com. Through this concurrence process, EPA 
determined that the requirements of CAA section 176(c)(8) were met, 
including the requirement that the substitute measures achieve 
equivalent or greater emissions reductions than the control measure to 
be replaced. Upon EPA's concurrence, the HOT lane substitution took 
effect as a matter of federal law. A copy of EPA's concurrence letter 
is included in the Docket for this action. This letter can be accessed 
at www.regulations.gov using Docket ID No. EPA-R04-OAR-2012-0136. In 
accordance with the requirements for TCM substitution, on February 5, 
2010, EPD submitted a request for EPA to update the Atlanta portion of 
the Georgia SIP to reflect EPA's previous approval of the TCM 
substitution of the HOV lane with the HOT lane conversion TCM in its 
SIP (the subject of this administrative change). Today, EPA is taking 
administrative action to update the non-regulatory provisions of the 
Georgia SIP in 40 CFR 52.570(e) to reflect EPA's concurrence on the 
substitution of a TCM for the conversion of HOV lanes to HOT lanes:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Applicable
  Name of nonregulatory SIP       geographic or     State submittal date/
          provision            nonattainment area      effective date
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1. High Occupancy Vehicle     Atlanta Metropolitan  11/15/93 and amended
 (HOV) lane on I-85 from       Area.                 on 6/17/96 and 2/5/
 Chamblee-Tucker Road to                             10.
 State Road 316 High
 Occupancy Toll (HOT) lane
 on I-85 from Chamblee-
 Tucker Road to State Road
 316.
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    EPA has determined that today's action falls under the ``good 
cause'' exemption in the section 553(b)(3)(B) of the APA which, upon 
finding ``good cause,'' authorizes agencies to dispense with public 
participation and section 553(d)(3) which allows an agency to make an 
action effective immediately (thereby avoiding the 30-day delayed 
effective date otherwise provided for in the APA). Today's 
administrative action simply codifies provisions which are already in 
effect as a matter of law in Federal and approved state programs.
    Under section 553 of the APA, an agency may find good cause where 
procedures are ``impractical, unnecessary, or contrary to the public 
interest.'' Public comment for this administrative action is 
``unnecessary'' because the substitution was made through the process 
included in CAA section 176(c)(8) and because the public already had an 
opportunity to comment on this substitution during the public comment 
period prior to approval of the substitution. Immediate notice of this 
action in the Federal Register benefits the public by providing the 
public notice of the updated Georgia SIP Compilation and 
``Identification of Plan'' portion of the Federal Register.

Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General Requirements

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
administrative action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and is 
therefore not subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. 
This action is not subject to Executive Order 13211, ``Actions 
Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 
Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001) because it is not a 
significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866. Because the 
Agency has made a ``good cause'' finding that this action is not 
subject to notice-and-comment requirements under the APA or any other 
statute as indicated in the Supplementary Information section above, it 
is not subject to the regulatory flexibility provisions of the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C 601 et seq.), or to sections 202 
and 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) of 1995 (Pub. L. 
104-4). In addition, this action does not significantly or uniquely 
affect small governments or impose a significant intergovernmental 
mandate, as described in sections 203 and 204 of UMRA.
    This administrative action also does 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), 
nor will it 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 administrative action also is not subject to Executive Order 
13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not economically 
significant. This administrative action does not involve technical 
standards; thus the requirements of section 12(d) of the

[[Page 24399]]

National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) do not apply. The administrative action also does not involve 
special consideration of environmental justice related issues as 
required by Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). This 
administrative action does not impose an information collection burden 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General

    The Congressional Review Act (CRA) (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), as added 
by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, 
generally provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency 
promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy 
of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller 
General of the United States. Section 808 allows the issuing agency to 
make a rule effective sooner than otherwise provided by the CRA if the 
agency makes a good cause finding that notice and public procedure is 
impracticable, unnecessary or contrary to the public interest. Today's 
administrative action simply codifies a provision which is already in 
effect as a matter of law in Federal and approved state programs. 5 
U.S.C. 808(2). These announced actions were effective upon EPA's 
concurrence. EPA will submit a report containing this action and other 
required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior 
to publication of this action in the Federal Register. This update to 
Georgia's SIP Compilation is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 
U.S.C. 804(2).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: March 29, 2012.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    40 CFR part 52, is amended as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority for citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart L--Georgia

0
2. Section 52.570(e), is amended by revising the first entry ``1. High 
Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane on I-85 from Chamblee-Tucker Road to State 
Road 316'' to read as follows:

Sec.  52.570  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                                 EPA-Approved Georgia Non-Regulatory Provisions
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    Name of nonregulatory SIP       Applicable geographic or    State submittal date/
            provision                  nonattainment area          effective date           EPA approval date
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1. High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV)    Atlanta Metropolitan Area  11/15/93 and amended on   3/18/99, 4/26/99 and 11/
 lane on I-85 from Chamblee-                                   6/17/96 and 2/5/10.       5/09.
 Tucker Road to State Road 316.
 High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lane
 on I-85 from Chamblee-Tucker
 Road to State Road 316.
 
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[FR Doc. 2012-9814 Filed 4-23-12; 8:45 am]
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