35866 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 116 / Friday, June 15, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2012–14419 Filed 6–14–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R04–OAR–2010–0969; FRL–9686–9] 

Approval and Promulgation of 

Implementation Plans; Revisions to the 

Georgia State Implementation Plan 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency. 

ACTION: Direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final 

action to approve a State 

Implementation Plan (SIP) revision 

submitted by the State of Georgia, 

through the Department of Natural 

Resources (GA DNR), on November 16, 

2010. This revision consists of 

transportation conformity criteria and 

procedures related to interagency 

consultation and enforceability of 

certain transportation-related control 

measures and mitigation measures. The 

intended effect is to update the 

transportation conformity criteria and 

procedures in the Georgia SIP. This 

action is being taken pursuant to section 

110 of the Clean Air Act. 

DATES: This direct final rule is effective 

August 14, 2012 without further notice, 

unless EPA receives adverse comment 

by July 16, 2012. If EPA receives such 

comments, it will publish a timely 

withdrawal of the direct final rule in the 

Federal Register and inform the public 

that the rule will not take effect. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R04– 

OAR–2010–0969, by one of the 

following methods: 

1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the 

on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

2. Email: 

somerville.amanetta@epa.gov. 

3. Fax: (404) 562–9019. 

4. Mail: ‘‘EPA–R04–OAR–2010– 

0969,’’ Air Quality Modeling and 

Transportation 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: Amanetta 

Somerville, Air Quality Modeling and 

Transportation 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–2010– 

0969.’’ EPA’s policy is that all 

comments received 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 information 

claimed to be Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Do not submit through 

www.regulations.gov or email, 

information that you consider to be CBI 

or otherwise protected. The 

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 email comment directly 

to EPA without going through 

www.regulations.gov, your email 

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 

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 www.regulations.gov or 

in hard copy at the Air Quality 

Modeling and Transportation 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: 

Amanetta Somerville, Air Quality 

Modeling and Transportation 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. 

Somerville’s telephone number is 404– 

562–9025. She can also be reached via 

electronic mail at 

somerville.amanetta@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Transportation Conformity 

II. Background for This Action 

A. Federal Requirements 

B. Atlanta Conformity SIP 

C. Chattanooga Conformity SIP 

D. Macon Conformity SIP 

E. Rome Conformity SIP 

III. State Submittal and EPA Evaluation 

IV. Public Comment and Final Action 

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. Transportation Conformity 

Transportation conformity (hereafter 

referred to as ‘‘conformity’’) is required 

under section 176(c) of the Clean Air 

Act (CAA or Act) to ensure that 

federally supported highway, transit 

projects, and other activities are 

consistent with (‘‘conform to’’) the 

purpose of the SIP. Conformity 

currently applies to areas that are 

designated nonattainment, and to areas 

that have been redesignated to 

attainment after 1990 (maintenance 

areas) with plans developed under 

section 175A of the Act, for the 

following transportation related criteria 

pollutants: Ozone, particulate matter 

(e.g., PM2.5 and PM10), carbon 

monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide. 

Conformity to the purpose of the SIP 

means that transportation activities will 

not cause new air quality violations, 

worsen existing violations, or delay 

timely attainment of the relevant criteria 

pollutants, also known as national 

ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). 

The transportation conformity 

regulation is found in 40 CFR part 93 

and provisions related to conformity 

SIPs are found in 40 CFR 51.390. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 116 / Friday, June 15, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 35867 

1 Donut areas are geographic areas outside a 

metropolitan planning area boundary, but inside 

the boundary of a nonattainment or maintenance 

area that contains any part of a metropolitan area. 

II. Background for This Action 

A. Federal Requirements 

EPA promulgated the Federal 

transportation conformity criteria and 

procedures (‘‘Conformity Rule’’) on 

November 24, 1993 (58 FR 62188). 

Among other things, the rule required 

states to address all provisions of the 

conformity rule in their SIPs frequently 

referred to as ‘‘conformity SIPs.’’ Under 

40 CFR 51.390, most sections of the 

conformity rule were required to be 

copied verbatim. States were also 

required to tailor all or portions of the 

following three sections of the 

conformity rule to meet their state’s 

individual circumstances: 40 CFR 

93.105, which addresses consultation 

procedures; 40 CFR 93.122(a)(4)(ii), 

which addresses written commitments 

to control measures that are not 

included in a metropolitan planning 

organization’s (MPO’s) transportation 

plan and transportation improvement 

program that must be obtained prior to 

a conformity determination, and the 

requirement that such commitments, 

when they exist, must be fulfilled; and 

40 CFR 93.125(c), which addresses 

written commitments to mitigation 

measures that must be obtained prior to 

a project-level conformity 

determination, and the requirement that 

project sponsors must comply with such 

commitments, when they exist. 

On August 10, 2005, the ‘‘Safe, 

Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 

Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for 

Users’’ (SAFETEA–LU) was signed into 

law. SAFETEA–LU revised section 

176(c) of the CAA transportation 

conformity provisions. One of the 

changes streamlines the requirements 

for conformity SIPs. Under SAFETEA– 

LU, states are required to address and 

tailor only three sections of the rule in 

their conformity SIPs: 40 CFR 93.105, 40 

CFR 93.122(a)(4)(ii), and, 40 CFR 

93.125(c), described above. In general, 

states are no longer required to submit 

conformity SIP revisions that address 

the other sections of the conformity 

rule. These changes took effect on 

August 10, 2005, when SAFETEA–LU 

was signed into law. 

B. Atlanta Conformity SIP 

Effective June 15, 2004, EPA 

designated 20 whole counties in the 

Atlanta area, as nonattainment for the 

1997 8-hour ozone standard. The 

counties include Barrow, Bartow, 

Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, 

Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, 

Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, 

Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Spalding, 

and Walton counties. Effective April 5, 

2005, EPA designated 20 whole 

counties, and a portion of two counties 

in the Atlanta area, as nonattainment for 

the 1997 Annual PM2.5 standard. The 

whole counties include Barrow, Bartow, 

Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, 

Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, 

Forysth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, 

Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Spalding, 

and Walton counties; the partial 

counties include Heard and Putnam 

counties. The current designation status 

of both the Atlanta 1997 8-hour ozone 

and 1997 Annual PM2.5 areas is 

nonattainment. 

There are two MPOs that are 

responsible for transportation planning 

for areas within the Atlanta 

nonattainment areas. The Atlanta 

Regional Commission (ARC) is the MPO 

for most of the Atlanta 1997 8-hour 

ozone and 1997 Annual PM2.5

nonattainment areas. ARC’s planning 

boundary includes the whole counties 

of Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, 

DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, 

Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding and 

Rockdale counties; and portions of 

Barrow, Bartow, Newton, Spalding and 

Walton counties in the Atlanta, Georgia 

area. Gainesville-Hall MPO (GHMPO) is 

the other MPO for the Atlanta 1997 

8-hour ozone and 1997 Annual PM2.5

nonattainment areas. GHMPO’s 

planning boundary includes Hall 

County. Walton County and the portions 

of Barrow, Bartow, Heard, Newton, 

Putnam, Spalding counties are 

considered ‘‘donut’’ 1 areas for the 

purposes of implementing 

transportation conformity in this area. 

Per the Transportation Conformity Rule, 

the MPO’s conformity determination is 

not complete without a regional analysis 

that considers the projects in the MPO 

area(s) as well as the donut areas that 

are within the nonattainment/ 

maintenance area. For the purposes of 

implementing 1997 8-hour ozone and 

1997 Annual PM2.5 conformity, ARC 

serves as the lead agency for the 

preparation, consultation, and 

distribution of the conformity 

determinations. 

Previously Georgia had established 

transportation conformity SIP for the 

Atlanta area. On September 27, 2002, 

EPA approved the Atlanta area’s SIP 

revision which incorporated by 

reference 40 CFR 93 Subpart A, 67 FR 

60869, and customized 40 CFR 93.105, 

93.122(a)(4)(ii), and 93.125(c) for all of 

the MPOs in the entire state. 

Specifically, the Atlanta area 

established a Memorandum of 

Agreement (MOA) for implementing the 

conformity Criteria and Consultation 

Procedure. The new conformity SIP (the 

subject of this rule making) has removed 

any incorporation by reference and has 

converted the MOA to a State Rule to be 

consistent with the SAFETEA–LU 

revisions to the CAA (Pub. L. 109–59) 

and subsequent regulations published 

on January 24, 2008 (73 FR 4420). 

C. Chattanooga Conformity SIP 

Effective April 5, 2005, EPA 

designated Hamilton County in 

Tennessee, Walker and Catoosa 

Counties in Georgia, and a portion of 

Jackson County, Alabama in the tri-state 

Chattanooga area, as nonattainment for 

the 1997 Annual PM2.5 standard. The 

current designation status of the 

Chattanooga 1997 Annual PM2.5 area is 

nonattainment. 

The Chattanooga-Hamilton County, 

North Georgia Transportation Planning 

Organization (CHNGTPO) is the MPO 

for most of the tri-state Chattanooga, 

TN-GA, 1997 Annual PM2.5 area. 

CHCNGTPO’s planning boundary 

includes Portions of Walker and Catoosa 

Counties in Georgia and Hamilton 

County in Tennessee; Portions of 

Walker and Catoosa Counties in 

Georgia; and a portion of Jackson 

County, Alabama. The portion of 

Jackson County, Alabama that is within 

the Chattanooga 1997 Annual PM2.5 area 

is not within the CHCNGTPO planning 

boundary and thus is considered a 

‘‘donut’’ area for the purposes of 

implementing transportation conformity 

in this area. Per the Transportation 

Conformity Rule, the MPO’s conformity 

determination is not complete without a 

regional analysis that considers the 

projects in the MPO area as well as the 

donut areas that are within the 

nonattainment/maintenance area. For 

the purposes of implementing 1997 

Annual PM2.5 conformity, CHCNGTPO 

serves as the lead agency for the 

preparation, consultation, and 

distribution of the conformity 

determinations. 

Walker and Catoosa Counties in 

Georgia which are a part of the 

Chattanooga area do not have a previous 

conformity SIP. The states of Tennessee 

and Alabama will establish conformity 

procedures for the counties that make 

up the Tennessee and Alabama portion 

of the Chattanooga nonattainment area 

in their individual conformity SIPs. The 

SIP revision at issue now includes the 

conformity procedures for Walker and 

Catoosa Counties as part of the 1997 

Annual PM2.5 Chattanooga 

nonattainment area. 


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35868 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 116 / Friday, June 15, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

D. Macon Conformity SIP 

Effective June 15, 2004, EPA 

designated Bibb County and a portion of 

Monroe County in the Macon, Georgia 

area as nonattainment for the 1997 8- 

hour ozone standard. Effective April 5, 

2005, EPA designated Bibb County and 

a portion of Monroe County in the 

Macon, Georgia area as nonattainment 

for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 standard. The 

current designation status of the Macon 

1997 8-hour ozone and 1997 Annual 

PM2.5 areas are nonattainment for PM2.5

and attainment (with a maintenance 

plan) for 1997 8-hour ozone (72 FR 

53432, September 19, 2007). 

The Macon Area Transportation 

Study (MATS) is the MPO for most of 

the Macon 1997 8-hour ozone and 1997 

Annual PM2.5 nonattainment area. The 

MATS planning boundary includes all 

of Bibb County. The portion of Monroe 

County that is included in the Macon 

1997 8-hour ozone and 1997 Annual 

PM2.5 nonattainment areas is not within 

the MATS planning boundary, and thus 

is considered a ‘‘donut’’ area for the 

purposes of implementing 

transportation conformity in this area. 

The donut area of Monroe County 

entered into an agreement with the 

Georgia Department of Transportation 

(DOT) that will allow the Georgia DOT 

to represent them. Per the transportation 

conformity regulations, the MPO’s 

conformity determination is not 

complete without a regional analysis 

that considers the transportation 

projects in the MPO area as well as the 

donut areas that are within the 

nonattainment area. For the purposes of 

implementing 1997 8-hour ozone and 

1997 Annual PM2.5 conformity, MATS 

serves as the lead agency for the 

preparation, consultation and 

distribution of the conformity 

determination. 

Bibb County and the portion of 

Monroe County, Georgia which are a 

part of the Macon area do not have a 

previous conformity SIP. The SIP 

revision at issue now includes the 

conformity procedures for both the 

entire county of Bibb and the portion of 

Monroe County, Georgia, for the Macon 

area. 

E. Rome Conformity SIP 

Effective April 5, 2005, EPA 

designated a portion of Floyd County in 

the Rome-Floyd area as nonattainment 

for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 standard. The 

current designation status of the RomeFloyd County 1997 Annual PM2.5 area is 

nonattainment. The Rome Floyd County 

MPO (RFCMPO) is the MPO for the 

entire Rome-Floyd 1997 Annual PM2.5

area. For the purposes of implementing 

1997 Annual PM2.5 conformity, 

RFCMPO serves as the lead agency for 

the preparation, consultation, and 

distribution of the conformity 

determinations. 

Floyd County, Georgia which is a part 

of the Rome area does not have a 

previous conformity SIP. The SIP 

revision at issue now includes the 

conformity procedures for the entire 

county of Floyd county, Georgia, for the 

Rome area. 

III. State Submittal and EPA Evaluation 

On November 16, 2010, the State of 

Georgia, through GA DNR, submitted 

the State’s transportation conformity 

and consultation interagency rule to 

EPA as a revision to the SIP. On 

February 21, 2011, and again on March 

10, 2011, GA DNR submitted 

supplemental information regarding the 

Georgia transportation conformity rule. 

These three SIP revisions established 

procedures for interagency consultation 

and replaced the Memorandum of 

Agreement submitted by GA DNR and 

approved by EPA on September 27, 

2002 (67 FR 60869). 

The State of Georgia developed its 

consultation rule based on the elements 

contained in 40 CFR 93.105, 

93.122(a)(4)(ii), and 93.125(c). As a first 

step, the State worked with the existing 

transportation planning organization’s 

interagency committee that included 

representatives from the State air quality 

agency, State DOT, Federal Highway 

Administration—Georgia Division, 

Federal Transit Administration, the 

MPOs of the maintenance and 

nonattainment areas of Georgia, and 

EPA. The interagency committee met 

regularly and drafted the consultation 

rules considering elements in 40 CFR 

Part 93.105, 93.122(a)(4)(ii), and 

93.125(c), and integrated the local 

procedures and processes into the rule. 

The consultation process developed in 

this rule is for the State of Georgia. On 

July 6, 2010, GA DNR held a public 

hearing for the transportation 

conformity rulemaking. 

EPA has evaluated this SIP and has 

determined that the State has met the 

requirements of Federal transportation 

conformity rule as described in 40 CFR 

Part 51, Subpart T and 40 CFR Part 93, 

Subpart A. GA DNR has satisfied the 

public participation and comprehensive 

interagency consultation requirement 

during development and adoption of the 

State Rule at the local level. Therefore, 

EPA is approving the rule as a revision 

to the Georgia SIP. EPA’s rule requires 

the states to develop their own 

processes and procedures for 

interagency consultation among the 

federal, state, and local agencies and 

resolution of conflicts meeting the 

criteria in 40 CFR 93.105. The SIP 

revision must include processes and 

procedures to be followed by the MPO, 

state DOT, and U.S. DOT in consulting 

with the state and local air quality 

agencies and EPA before making 

conformity determinations. The 

transportation conformity SIP revision 

must also include processes and 

procedures for the state and local air 

quality agencies and EPA to coordinate 

the development of applicable SIPs with 

MPOs, state DOTs, and U.S. DOT. 

EPA has reviewed the submittal to 

assure consistency with the CAA as 

amended by SAFETEA–LU and EPA 

regulations (40 CFR part 93 and 40 CFR 

51.390) governing state procedures for 

transportation conformity and 

interagency consultation and has 

concluded that the submittal is 

approvable. Details of EPA’s review are 

set forth in a technical support 

document (TSD), which has been 

included in the docket for this action. 

Specifically, in the TSD, EPA identifies 

how the submitted procedures satisfy 

our requirements under 40 CFR 93.105 

for interagency consultation with 

respect to the development of 

transportation plans and programs, SIPs, 

and conformity determinations, the 

resolution of conflicts, and the 

provision of adequate public 

consultation, and our requirements 

under 40 CFR 93.122(a)(4)(ii) and 

93.125(c) for enforceability of control 

measures and mitigation measures. 

IV. Public Comment and Final Action 

For the reasons set forth above, EPA 

is taking action under section 110 of the 

Act to approve the rule implementing 

the conformity criteria and consultation 

procedures revision to the Georgia SIP 

pursuant to the CAA, as a revision to the 

Georgia SIP. As a result of this action, 

Georgia’s previously SIP-approved 

conformity procedures for Georgia (67 

FR 60869, September 27, 2002), will be 

replaced by the procedures submitted to 

EPA on November 16, 2010, for 

approval and adopted by State of 

Georgia on August 25, 2010. This action 

also establishes consultation procedures 

for all counties in Georgia. 

EPA is publishing this rule without 

prior proposal because the Agency 

views this as a noncontroversial 

submittal and anticipates no adverse 

comments. However, in the proposed 

rules section of this Federal Register 

publication, EPA is publishing a 

separate document that will serve as the 

proposal to approve the SIP revision 

should adverse comments be filed. This 

rule will be effective August 14, 2012 

without further notice unless the 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 116 / Friday, June 15, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 35869 

Agency receives adverse comments by 

July 16, 2012. 

If EPA receives such comments, then 

EPA will publish a document 

withdrawing the final rule and 

informing the public that the rule will 

not take effect. All public comments 

received will then be addressed in a 

subsequent final rule based on the 

proposed rule. EPA will not institute a 

second comment period. Parties 

interested in commenting should do so 

at this time. If no such comments are 

received, the public is advised that this 

rule will be effective on August 14, 2012 

and no further action will be taken on 

the proposed rule. 

V. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

Under the CAA, the Administrator is 

required to approve a SIP submission 

that complies with the provisions of the 

Act and applicable Federal regulations. 

42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). 

Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, 

EPA’s role is to approve state choices, 

provided that they meet the criteria of 

the CAA. Accordingly, this action 

merely approves state law as meeting 

federal requirements and does not 

impose additional requirements beyond 

those imposed by state law. For that 

reason, this 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); 

• 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 rule does not have 

tribal implications as specified by 

Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, 

November 9, 2000), because the SIP is 

not approved to apply in Indian country 

located in the state, and EPA notes that 

it will not impose substantial direct 

costs on tribal governments or preempt 

tribal law. 

The Congressional Review Act, 

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. 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 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. 804(2). 

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

petitions for judicial review of this 

action must be filed in the United States 

Court of Appeals for the appropriate 

circuit by August 14, 2012. Filing a 

petition for reconsideration by the 

Administrator of this final rule does not 

affect the finality of this action 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 that 

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 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 

Incorporation by reference, 

Intergovernmental relations, 

Incorporation by reference, Nitrogen 

dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Volatile 

organic compounds. 

Dated: June 1, 2012. 

A. Stanley Meiburg, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4. 

40 CFR part 52 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 et seq. 

Subpart L—Georgia 

■ 2. Section 52.570 is amended: 

■ a. In paragraph (c) by adding a new 

entry in numerical order for ‘‘391–3–1– 

.15’’; 

■ b. In paragraph (e) by removing and 

reserving entry 12 to read as follows: 

§ 52.570 Identification of plan. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

EPA-APPROVED GEORGIA REGULATIONS

State citation Title/subject State effective 

date EPA approval date Explanation 

*******

391–3–1–.15 ..... Georgia Transportation Conformity and Consultation Interagency Rule.

10/6/10 6/15/2012 [Insert citation of publication]. 


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1See, e.g., Whitman v. American Trucking 

Associations, Inc., 531 U.S. 457 (2001). 

* * * * * 

(e) * * * 

EPA-APPROVED GEORGIA NON-REGULATORY PROVISIONS

Name of nonregulatory SIP Provision Applicable geographic or nonattainment area State submittal date/effective date EPA approval date 

*******

12. [Reserved]. 

*******

[FR Doc. 2012–14595 Filed 6–14–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R05–OAR–2007–1179; FRL–9685–7] 

Approval of Air Quality Implementation 

Plans; Wisconsin; Partial Disapproval 

of ‘‘Infrastructure’’ State 

Implementation Plan 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to its authority 

under the Clean Air Act (CAA), EPA is 

taking final action to disapprove two 

narrow portions of submissions made by 

the Wisconsin Department of Natural 

Resources (WDNR) to address the 

section 110(a)(1) and (2) requirements of 

the CAA, often referred to as the 

‘‘infrastructure’’ State Implementation 

Plan (SIP). Specifically, we are 

finalizing the disapproval of portions of 

WDNR’s submissions intended to meet 

certain requirements of section 

110(a)(2)(C) with respect to the 1997 

8-hour ozone National Ambient Air 

Quality Standards (NAAQS) and 1997 

24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. Among other 

conditions, section 110(a)(2)(C) of the 

CAA requires states to correctly address 

oxides of nitrogen (NOX) as a precursor 

to ozone in their respective prevention 

of significant deterioration (PSD) 

programs. EPA is finalizing disapproval 

of a portion of Wisconsin’s submissions 

intended to satisfy this requirement. 

EPA is also finalizing disapproval of a 

portion of Wisconsin’s submissions 

because the SIP currently contains a 

new source review (NSR) exemption for 

fuel changes as major modifications 

where the source was capable of 

accommodating the change before 

January 6, 1975. The proposed rule 

associated with this final action was 

published on April 20, 2012. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on July 

16, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket ID 

No. EPA–R05–OAR–2007–1179. All 

documents in the docket are listed in 

the www.regulations.gov index. 

Although listed in the index, some 

information is not publicly available, 

e.g., Confidential Business Information 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Certain other 

material, such as copyrighted material, 

will be publicly-available only in hard 

copy. Publicly-available docket 

materials are available either 

electronically in www.regulations.gov or 

in hard copy at the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, Region 5, Air and 

Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson 

Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. This 

facility is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 

p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 

Federal holidays. We recommend that 

you telephone Andy Chang at (312) 

886–0258 before visiting the Region 5 

office. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Andy Chang, Environmental Engineer, 

Attainment Planning and Maintenance 

Section, Air Programs Branch (AR–18J), 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 

Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886–0258, 

chang.andy@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document whenever 

‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean 

EPA. This supplementary information 

section is arranged as follows: 

I. What is the background for this action? 

II. What is our response to comments 

received on the proposed rulemaking? 

III. What action is EPA taking? 

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. What is the background for this 

action? 

Under sections 110(a)(1) and (2) of the 

CAA, and implementing EPA guidance, 

states were required to submit either 

revisions to their existing EPA approved 

SIPs necessary to provide for 

implementation, maintenance, and 

enforcement of the 1997 ozone NAAQS 

and the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS, or 

certifications that their existing SIPs for 

ozone and particulate matter already 

met those basic requirements. The 

statute requires that states make these 

submissions within 3 years after the 

promulgation of new or revised 

NAAQS. However, intervening litigation 

over the 1997 ozone NAAQS and the 

1997 PM2.5 NAAQS created uncertainty 

about how states were to proceed.1

Accordingly, both EPA and the states 

were delayed in addressing these basic 

SIP requirements. 

In a consent decree with Earth Justice, 

EPA agreed to make completeness 

findings with respect to these SIP 

submissions. Pursuant to this consent 

decree, EPA published completeness 

findings for all states for the 1997 8- 

hour ozone NAAQS on March 27, 2008, 

and for all states for the 1997 PM2.5

NAAQS on October 22, 2008. 

On October 2, 2007, EPA issued a 

guidance document entitled ‘‘Guidance 

on SIP Elements Required Under 

Sections 110(a)(1) and (2) for the 1997 

8-hour Ozone and PM2.5 National 

Ambient Air Quality Standards,’’ 

making recommendations to states 

concerning these SIP submissions (the 

2007 Guidance). Within the 2007 

Guidance, EPA gave general guidance 

relevant to matters such as the timing 

and content of the submissions. 

Wisconsin made its infrastructure SIP 

submission for the 1997 ozone and 

PM2.5 NAAQS on December 12, 2007. 

The State provided supplemental 

submissions to EPA on January 24, 

2011, and March 28, 2011. 

On April 28, 2011, EPA published its 

proposed action on the Region 5 states’ 

submissions (see 76 FR 23757). Notably, 

we proposed to find that Wisconsin had 

met the requirements of section 

110(a)(2)(C) concerning state PSD 

programs generally, and in particular 

the requirement to include NOX as a 

precursor to ozone (see 76 FR 23757 at 

23760–23761), thereby satisfying the 


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