Vol. 80 Thursday, 

No. 127 July 2, 2015 

Part II 

Environmental Protection Agency 

40 CFR Part 80 

Approval of Alabama’s Request To Relax the Federal Reid Vapor Pressure 

Gasoline Volatility Standard for Birmingham, Alabama; Final Rule 


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38284 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 127 / Thursday, July 2, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 80 

[EPA–HQ–OAR–2014–0905; FRL 9929–91– 

OAR] 

RIN 2060–AS58 

Approval of Alabama’s Request To 

Relax the Federal Reid Vapor Pressure 

Gasoline Volatility Standard for 

Birmingham, Alabama 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency. 

ACTION: Withdrawal of direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: Due to the receipt of two 

adverse comments, the Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) is withdrawing 

the May 7, 2015 direct final rule to 

approve the request from Alabama to 

relax the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) 

standard applicable to gasoline 

introduced into commerce from June 1 

to September 15 of each year in 

Jefferson and Shelby counties, Alabama 

(‘‘the Birmingham area’’). The EPA is 

considering these comments and will 

address the comments in a separate 

action. The EPA will not institute a 

second comment period on this action. 

DATES: The direct final rule published at 

80 FR 26191 on May 7, 2015 is 

withdrawn, effective July 2, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Patty Klavon, Office of Transportation 

and Air Quality, Environmental 

Protection Agency, 2000 Traverwood 

Drive, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105; 

telephone number: (734) 214–4476; fax 

number: (734) 214–4052; email address: 

klavon.patty@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 7, 

2015 (80 FR 26191), the EPA published 

a direct final rule to approve a request 

from the state of Alabama to change the 

summertime gasoline RVP standard for 

Jefferson and Shelby counties (‘‘the 

Birmingham area’’) from 7.8 pounds per 

square inch (psi) to 9.0 psi by amending 

the EPA’s regulations at 40 CFR 

80.27(a)(2). In an April 17, 2015 final 

rule, the EPA approved a state 

implementation plan (SIP) revision from 

the state of Alabama which provided a 

technical demonstration that relaxing 

the federal RVP requirement from 7.8 

psi to 9.0 psi for gasoline sold from June 

1 to September 15 of each year in the 

Birmingham area would not interfere 

with maintenance of the national 

ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) 

in the Birmingham area. For more 

information on Alabama’s SIP revision, 

please refer to the April 17, 2015 

rulemaking (80 FR 21170). 

In the May 7, 2015 direct final rule, 

the EPA stated that if adverse comments 

were received by June 8, 2015, the rule 

would be withdrawn and not take effect. 

The EPA received two comments. The 

EPA is treating these comments as 

adverse. Therefore, the EPA is 

withdrawing the direct final rule. The 

EPA will address these comments in a 

separate final action based on the May 

7, 2015 proposed rulemaking (80 FR 

26212). The EPA will not institute a 

second comment period on this action. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 80 

Environmental protection, 

Administrative practice and procedures, 

Air pollution control, Fuel additives, 

Gasoline, Motor vehicle and motor 

vehicle engines, Motor vehicle 

pollution, Penalties, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: June 25, 2015. 

Gina McCarthy, 

Administrator. 

Accordingly, the amendment to 40 

CFR 80.27 which published in the 

Federal Register on May 7, 2015 at 80 

FR 26191 is withdrawn as of July 2, 

2015. 

[FR Doc. 2015–16390 Filed 7–1–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 80 

[EPA–HQ–OAR–2014–0905; FRL 9929–90– 

OAR] 

RIN 2060–AS58 

Approval of Alabama’s Request To 

Relax the Federal Reid Vapor Pressure 

Gasoline Volatility Standard for 

Birmingham, Alabama 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is taking final action to 

approve a request from the state of 

Alabama for the EPA to relax the Reid 

Vapor Pressure (RVP) standard 

applicable to gasoline introduced into 

commerce from June 1 to September 15 

of each year for Jefferson and Shelby 

counties (‘‘the Birmingham area’’). 

Specifically, the EPA is approving 

amendments to the regulations to 

change the RVP standard for the 

Birmingham area from 7.8 pounds per 

square inch (psi) to 9.0 psi for gasoline. 

The EPA has determined that this 

change to the federal RVP regulation is 

consistent with the applicable 

provisions of the Clean Air Act (CAA). 

Additionally, the EPA is responding to 

adverse comments received for this 

action. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on July 

2, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket ID 

No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2014–0905. All 

documents in the docket are listed on 

the www.regulations.gov Web site. 

Although listed in the index, some 

information is not publicly available, 

e.g., 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 electronically through http://

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Patty Klavon, Office of Transportation 

and Air Quality, Environmental 

Protection Agency, 2000 Traverwood 

Drive, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105; 

telephone number: (734) 214–4476; fax 

number: (734) 214–4052; email address: 

klavon.patty@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

contents of this preamble are listed in 

the following outline: 

I. General Information 

II. Action Being Taken 

III. History of the Gasoline Volatility 

Requirement 

IV. The EPA’s Policy Regarding Relaxation of 

Volatility Standards in Ozone 

Nonattainment Areas That Are 

Redesignated as Attainment Areas 

V. Alabama’s Request To Relax the Federal 

RVP Requirement for the Birmingham 

Area 

VI. Response to Comments 

VII. Final Action 

VIII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

IX. Legal Authority and Statutory Provisions 

Effective date. Section 553(d) of the 

Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 

U.S.C. Chapter 5, generally provides 

that rules may not take effect earlier 

than 30 days after they are published in 

the Federal Register. The EPA is issuing 

this final rule under CAA section 

307(d)(1). CAA section 307(d)(1) states: 

‘‘The provisions of section 553 through 

557 . . . of Title 5 shall not, except as 

expressly provided in this subsection, 

apply to actions to which this 

subsection applies.’’ Thus, section 

553(d) of the APA does not apply to this 

rule. The EPA is nevertheless acting 

consistently with the policies 

underlying APA section 553(d) in 

making this rule effective on July 2, 

2015. APA section 553(d) allows an 

effective date less than 30 days after 


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