[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 142 (Friday, July 24, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 39747-39752]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-19838]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

[CA-189-0078(a); FRL-6127-1]


Approval and Promulgation of State Implementation Plans and 
Redesignation of the South Coast Air Basin in California to Attainment 
for Nitrogen Dioxide

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action on attainment and 
maintenance plans and a request submitted by the California Air 
Resources Board (CARB) to redesignate the South Coast Air Basin (South 
Coast) from nonattainment to attainment for the National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Nitrogen Dioxide (NO<INF>2</INF>). Under 
the Clean Air Act (CAA), designations can be revised if sufficient data 
are available to warrant such revisions. In this action, EPA is 
approving the attainment and maintenance plans as revisions to the 
California State Implementation Plan (SIP), and EPA is also approving 
the State's request to redesignate the South Coast to attainment 
because the plans and request meet the requirements set forth in the 
CAA.
    EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because the 
Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment 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 and grant 
the redesignation request should relevant adverse comments be filed.

DATES: This rule is effective September 22, 1998 unless the Agency 
receives relevant adverse comments to the rulemaking by August 24, 
1998. If adverse comment is received, EPA 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: Comments should be addressed to the EPA contact below. The 
rulemaking docket for this notice may be inspected and copied at the 
following location during normal business hours. A reasonable fee may 
be charged for copying parts of the docket.
    Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9, Air Division, Air 
Planning Office (AIR-2), 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-
3901.
    Copies of the SIP materials are also available for inspection at 
the addresses listed below:

California Air Resources Board, 2020 L Street, Sacramento, CA 92123-
1095
South Coast Air Quality Management District, 21865 E. Copley Drive, 
Diamond Bar, CA 91765-4182

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dave Jesson, Air Planning Office (AIR-
2), Air Division, U.S. EPA, Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street, San 
Francisco, CA 94105-3901. Telephone: (415) 744-1288.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Clean Air Act Requirements

    Under section 109 of the CAA, EPA established primary and secondary 
NAAQS for NO<INF>2</INF> in 1971, and slightly revised the NAAQS in 
1985.<SUP>1</SUP> The level of both the primary and secondary NAAQS is 
0.053 parts per million (ppm), or 100 micrograms per cubic meter, 
annual arithmetic mean concentration. The standards are attained when 
the annual arithmetic mean concentration in a calendar year is less 
than or equal to 0.053 ppm, based upon hourly data that are at least 
75% complete.<SUP>2</SUP>
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    \1\ See 34 FR 8186, April 30, 1971, and 50 FR 25544, June 19, 
1985, codified at 40 CFR 50.11. Nitrogen dioxide is a light brown 
gas that can irritate the lungs and lower resistance to respiratory 
infections such as influenza. The principal sources of nitrogen 
oxides are high-temperature combustion processes, such as those 
occurring in motor vehicles and power plants.
    \2\ EPA's monitoring requirements for NO<INF>2</INF> are 
codified at 40 CFR 50, Appendix F. In determining whether an 
NO<INF>2</INF> nonattainment area has attained the NAAQS, EPA 
considers not only the most recent four quarters of monitored 
ambient air quality data available, but also the previous four 
quarters of monitoring data ``to assure that the current indication 
of attainment was not the result of a single year's data reflecting 
unrepresentative meteorological conditions.'' 43 FR 8962 (March 3, 
1978).
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    The Federal CAA was substantially amended in 1990 to establish new 
planning requirements and attainment deadlines for the NAAQS. Under 
section 107(d)(1)(C) of the amended Act, an area designated 
nonattainment prior to enactment of the 1990 amendments (as was the 
South Coast Air Basin) was designated nonattainment by operation of 
law.<SUP>3</SUP> Under section 191 of the Act, an NO<INF>2</INF> area 
designated nonattainment under section 107(d) was required to submit to 
EPA within 18 months of the

[[Page 39748]]

designation a plan meeting the requirements of Part D of the Act. Under 
section 192 of the Act, such plans were required to provide for 
attainment of the NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable but no later 
than 5 years from the date of designation. In addition, Section 172 of 
the Act contains general requirements applicable to SIPs for 
nonattainment areas.
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    \3\ By the date of enactment of the 1990 amendments, the South 
Coast was the only remaining area in the country designated as 
nonattainment for NO<INF>2</INF>. For a description of the 
boundaries of the South Coast Air Basin (also known as the Los 
Angeles-South Coast Air Basin Area), see 40 CFR 81.305. The 
nonattainment area includes all of Orange County and the non-desert 
portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties.
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    The most fundamental of the CAA provisions for NO<INF>2</INF> 
nonattainment areas is the requirement that the State submit a SIP 
demonstrating attainment of the NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable 
but no later than the applicable CAA deadline. Such a demonstration 
must provide enforceable measures to achieve emission reductions each 
year leading to emissions at or below the level predicted to result in 
attainment of the NAAQS throughout the nonattainment area.
    EPA has issued a ``General Preamble'' describing the Agency's 
preliminary views on how EPA intends to act on SIPs submitted under 
Title I of the Act. See generally 57 FR 13498 (April 16, 1992) and 57 
FR 18070 (April 28, 1992). The reader should refer to the General 
Preamble for a more detailed discussion of EPA's preliminary 
interpretations of Title I requirements. In this rulemaking action, EPA 
is applying these policies to the South Coast NO<INF>2</INF> SIP 
submittal, taking into consideration the specific factual issues 
presented.
    Section 107(d)(3)(E) of the 1990 CAA Amendments provides five 
specific requirements that an area must meet in order to be 
redesignated from nonattainment to attainment.
    1. The area must have attained the applicable NAAQS;
    2. The area must have a fully approved SIP under section 110 of 
CAA;
    3. The air quality improvement must be permanent and enforceable;
    4. The area must have a fully approved maintenance plan pursuant to 
section 175A of the CAA; and
    5. The area must meet all applicable requirements under section 110 
and Part D of the CAA.

II. Description of SIP Submittal

    On February 5, 1997, CARB submitted as a revision to the California 
SIP the 1997 Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP) for the South Coast Air 
Basin (SCAB), Antelope Valley, and Coachella Valley, adopted by the 
South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) on November 15, 
1996. This submittal, which included a revised South Coast 
NO<INF>2</INF> attainment plan and a maintenance plan, was found to be 
complete on April 1, 1997, with respect to portions of the AQMP 
relating to NO<INF>2</INF> SIP requirements.<SUP>4</SUP> The 1997 
NO<INF>2</INF> plan supersedes all prior submittals.<SUP>5</SUP> This 
submittal was supplemented by documentation providing information to 
substantiate the redesignation request. The additional documentation 
was submitted on March 4, 1998, and determined to be complete on May 5, 
1998.
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    \4\ EPA adopted the completeness criteria on February 16, 1990 
(55 FR 5830) and, pursuant to section 110(k)(1)(A) of the CAA, 
revised the criteria on August 26, 1991 (56 FR 42216).
    \5\ The initial NO<INF>2</INF> SIP for the South Coast was 
adopted on April 3, 1992, and submitted on May 15,1992. EPA did not 
act on this plan since significant revisions to the emissions 
inventory and control strategy were already in progress. The plan 
was revised as part of a 1994 AQMP update, which was adopted on 
September 9, 1994, and submitted on November 15, 1994. A revision to 
the 1994 AQMP was adopted on April 12, 1996, and submitted on July 
10, 1996. On January 8, 1997, EPA approved the portions of the 1994 
AQMP (as revised in 1996) relating to ozone, including the 
commitments to adopt additional measures to reduce emissions of 
volatile organic compounds (VOC) and oxides of nitrogen 
(NO<INF>X</INF>).
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    This 1997 NO<INF>2</INF> plan provides, among other things, a 
demonstration of attainment of the NO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS, updated 
historic and projected emission inventories, amended contingency 
measures, and corrected air quality modeling analyses using the revised 
inventories.

III. EPA Review of the SIP Submittal

A. Attainment Plan

1. Procedural Requirements
    Both the SCAQMD and CARB have satisfied applicable statutory and 
regulatory requirements for reasonable public notice and hearing prior 
to adoption of the plan. The SCAQMD conducted numerous public workshops 
and public hearings prior to the adoption hearing on November 15, 1996, 
at which the 1997 AQMP was adopted by the Governing Board of the SCAQMD 
(Resolution No. 96-23). On January 23, 1997, the Governing Board of 
CARB adopted the plan (Resolution No. 97-1). The plan was submitted to 
EPA by Michael P. Kenny, Executive Officer of CARB, on February 5, 
1997. The SIP submittal includes proof of publication for notices of 
SCAQMD and CARB public hearings, as evidence that all hearings were 
properly noticed.
    Supplemental information from the SCAQMD and a formal redesignation 
request by the State (Executive Order G-125-231) were formally 
submitted to EPA by Michael P. Kenny on March 4, 1998. The supplemental 
information was submitted pursuant to the resolutions by the Governing 
Boards of SCAQMD and CARB in adopting the 1997 AQMP.
    Therefore, EPA proposes to approve the NO<INF>2</INF> plan as 
meeting the procedural requirements of section 110(a)(1) of the CAA.
2. Emissions Inventory
    Appendix III of the 1997 AQMP includes planning emission 
inventories for NO<INF>X</INF> for the historical years 1987, 1990, and 
1993. The plan also includes future year inventories through the year 
2010, both with and without planned controls. The inventories detail 
emissions from all stationary and mobile source categories.
    EPA emissions inventory guidance allows approval of California's 
motor vehicle emissions factors in place of the corresponding federal 
emissions factors.<SUP>6</SUP> The motor vehicle emissions factors used 
in the plan were generated by the CARB EMFAC7G and BURDEN7G program. 
The gridded inventory for motor vehicles was then produced using an 
updated Caltrans Direct Travel Impact Model (DTIM2) to combine EMFAC7G 
data with transportation modeling performed by the Southern California 
Association of Governments (SCAG). SCAG also provided the socioeconomic 
data used in the plan.
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    \6\ EPA's general guidance for preparing emission inventories is 
referenced in Appendix B to the General Preamble (57 FR 18070, April 
28, 1992).
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    The baseline emissions inventory meets CAA requirements in that it 
is comprehensive, accurate, and current. EPA approves the emissions 
inventory portion of the plan as meeting the requirements of section 
172(c)(3) of the CAA.
3. Attainment Demonstration
    The 1990 CAA Amendments required the South Coast to demonstrate 
attainment no later than November 15, 1995.<SUP>7</SUP> The 
demonstration must show that emissions will be (or have been) reduced 
to levels at which the NO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS will not be exceeded. This 
means that the SIP must show that the annual arithmetic mean of 
NO<INF>2</INF> ambient concentrations will not exceed 0.053 ppm at any 
location within the nonattainment area.
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    \7\ The South Coast area was designated nonattainment for 
NO<INF>2</INF> before the date of enactment of the 1990 amendments, 
but the area lacked a fully approved SIP for NO<INF>2</INF>. 
Consequently, the area was subject to the provisions of CAA section 
191(b), which required submittal of an attainment plan within 18 
months of enactment of the 1990 amendments (or May 15, 1992), and 
section 192(b), which required attainment within 5 years after the 
date of enactment of the amendments (or November 15, 1995).
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    The peak annual arithmetic mean concentrations for all monitoring 
stations in the South Coast have been

[[Page 39749]]

0.0507 ppm in 1992, 0.0499 ppm in 1993, 0.0499 ppm in 1994, 0.0464 ppm 
in 1995, 0.0461 ppm in 1996, and 0.043 ppm in 1997. Thus, the South 
Coast has not exceeded the NO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS since 1991 at any of 
the 24 monitoring locations in the air basin.
    The South Coast monitoring network is reviewed annually by CARB and 
EPA, and has been determined to be generally reflective of air quality 
throughout the air basin. Periodic CARB and EPA reviews also confirm 
that the data collected has met applicable Federal standards for 
quality assurance.
    As discussed below in the description of the maintenance plan 
provisions, the SCAQMD has also performed modeling for key locations in 
the air basin to show that future NO<INF>2</INF> concentrations will 
remain below the NAAQS, taking credit for only those controls that were 
already fully adopted in regulatory form by September 30, 1996. This 
modeling shows a continuing decline in NO<INF>2</INF> concentrations 
throughout the air basin.
    EPA approves the attainment demonstration portion of the plan as 
meeting the requirements of sections 192(b) of the CAA, since it 
demonstrates that the area attained the NAAQS before the applicable 
deadline of November 15, 1995.
4. Additional Attainment Plan Requirements
    Section 172(c)(1) requires that plans provide for the 
implementation of all reasonably available control measures (RACMs) as 
expeditiously as practicable, including the adoption of reasonably 
available control technology (RACT). In numerous prior actions, EPA has 
approved NO<INF>X</INF> RACT regulations for the SCAQMD. The SCAQMD's 
extensive NO<INF>X</INF> regulations are generally recognized as among 
the most stringent and comprehensive in the nation. Therefore, EPA 
approves the NO<INF>2</INF> plan with respect to the RACM requirement 
of section 172(c)(1).
    Section 172(c)(2) of the CAA requires that nonattainment area plans 
require reasonable further progress (RFP), which section 171(1) defines 
as ``annual incremental reductions in emissions of the relevant air 
pollutant as are required * * * for the purpose of ensuring attainment 
* * * by the applicable date.'' The emissions inventory data included 
in the 1997 AQMP and supplement show significant annual declines in 
NO<INF>X</INF> emissions from 1990 through the present. These 
reductions, derived from SCAQMD stationary and area source controls and 
CARB mobile source controls, were sufficient to prevent violations of 
the NO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS after 1991, several years before the statutory 
attainment deadline of 1995. Therefore, EPA approves the plan as 
meeting the RFP requirements of section 172(c)(2).
    CAA sections 172(c)(4) and (5) require that nonattainment plans 
quantify emissions from major new or modified stationary sources, and 
include a permit program for these sources that meets the requirements 
of section 173. The 1997 plan's emissions inventory includes 
projections of emissions from new sources. EPA has previously approved 
the South Coast's permit program (Regulation XIII) as meeting the 
requirements of the CAA and EPA's New Source Review regulations. See 61 
FR 64291 (December 4, 1996). Therefore, EPA approves the plan as 
meeting the new source requirements of sections 172(c)(4) and (5) of 
the CAA.
    CAA section 172(c)(9) requires that nonattainment plans include 
contingency measures to take effect if the area fails to meet RFP or to 
attain by the applicable deadline. Since the area attained the 
NO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS before its deadline, this requirement is no longer 
germane. In Section III.B., below, EPA addresses the contingency 
measure requirement for the NO<INF>2</INF> maintenance plan.

B. Maintenance Plan and Redesignation

1. Attainment of the NAAQS
    The supplemental information submitted on March 4, 1998, includes 
Attachment A, which presents a table displaying NO<INF>2</INF> annual 
arithmetic average values for all South Coast monitors for the period 
1976 through 1996. This table indicates that the last year with an 
NO<INF>2</INF> violation was 1991, when the Pomona site had a 0.0550 
ppm value, slightly above the 0.053 ppm NAAQS. During the most recent 
year shown in the submittal (1996), only 5 of 23 stations had values 
above 0.0400 ppm. The peak value, at the East San Fernando Valley site, 
was 0.0461 ppm, approximately 15% below the NAAQS. Data for 1997 
entered in EPA's Aerometric Information Retrieval System (AIRS) show 
that air quality has improved further, with a peak concentration of 
0.043 ppm for the year, almost 20% below the NAAQS. The docket for this 
rulemaking includes the SCAQMD data summary and the AIRs data for 1997.
    The South Coast more than meets applicable EPA redesignation 
requirements for NO<INF>2</INF>, since the area has reached and then 
sustained attainment by having had no exceedances of the NAAQS for 6 
complete, consecutive calendar years.
2. Approval of the Applicable Implementation Plan
    As set forth in Section III.A. above, this criterion for 
redesignation is satisfied because the NO<INF>2</INF> plan for the 
South Coast is fully approved.
3. Improvement in Air Quality Due to Permanent and Enforceable Measures
    Redesignation to attainment requires that the improvements in air 
quality must be shown to have occurred because of enforceable controls, 
rather than as a result of temporary economic conditions or favorable 
meteorology. The South Coast NO<INF>X</INF> emissions inventory shows 
increases in activity levels for most of the significant categories 
(including motor vehicle use) during the years with no NO<INF>2</INF> 
violations. This shows that the reductions in NO<INF>X</INF> emissions 
are not due to an economic recession, but are associated with the 
impact of permanent and enforceable CARB controls on mobile source 
emissions and SCAQMD regulations on stationary and area sources. Fleet 
turnover and progressively more stringent CARB requirements for future 
year vehicles and engines are expected to sustain this continuing 
decline in areawide NO<INF>X</INF> emissions, despite projected growth. 
Therefore, this redesignation criterion is met.
4. Fully Approved Maintenance Plan
    Section 175A of the CAA requires States to submit maintenance plans 
for areas eligible for redesignation to attainment. The maintenance 
plan must include four elements: an emissions inventory, a 
demonstration that the NAAQS will be maintained for at least 10 years 
from the date of redesignation, contingency measures, and a commitment 
to submit a revised maintenance SIP eight years after the area is 
redesignated to attainment.
    a. Emissions inventory. As discussed above, the 1997 plan includes 
baseline inventory data for 1987, 1990, and 1993, and thus covers the 
period associated with attaining the NAAQS, as required for maintenance 
plans.<SUP>8</SUP>
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    \8\ See, for example, the General Preamble at 57 FR 13563 (April 
16, 1992).
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    As discussed above in Section II, the emission inventories meet 
applicable inventory requirements and EPA also approves the inventory 
portions of the plan under section 175A.
    b. Demonstration of maintenance. For the maintenance demonstration, 
the plan must either demonstrate that the future year inventory will 
not exceed the inventory that existed at the time of the request for 
redesignation, or include a modeling analysis showing that the

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future mix of emissions, assuming existing SIP controls, will not cause 
violations of the NAAQS.
    The 1997 NO<INF>2</INF> plan projects baseline emissions to 2010. 
The table below, labeled ``South Coast NO<INF>X</INF> Emissions,'' 
shows the decline in NO<INF>X</INF> emissions from 1993 through 2010, 
assuming no new control measures. Projections are made for Pomona 
because that area has generally experienced the highest measured annual 
NO<INF>2</INF> concentrations in the air basin.

South Coast NO<INF>X Emissions in tons per winter day for the South Coast Air
                        Basin and the Pomona Area                       
                   [1997 AQMP, Appendix V, Table 1-1]                   
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        Year                            SCAB     Pomona 
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1993................................................     1284       36.7
2000................................................      960       28.0
2010................................................      759       21.9
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    The SCAQMD also employed a linear rollback modeling approach, 
assuming that ambient concentrations are directly proportional to 
emissions in adjacent areas. The analysis used NO<INF>2</INF>/
NO<INF>X</INF> ratios averaged over the period 1992-4 for each site. 
The results of this modeling analysis show annual average 
NO<INF>2</INF> concentrations for a 2010 baseline scenario, assuming 
reductions only from existing regulations. At the peak site (Pomona), 
the projected concentration is approximately 0.030 ppm, more than 45% 
below the NAAQS.
    c. Contingency measures. Maintenance plans for attainment areas 
must include contingency provisions, or extra measures beyond those 
needed for attainment, to offset any unexpected increase in emissions 
and ensure that the standard is maintained (175(A)(d)). Typically, 
contingency measures are held in reserve and implemented only if an 
area violates the standard in the future. However, the California SIP 
already includes fully adopted regulations which will generate (as 
shown above) reductions in NO<INF>X</INF> emissions in future years 
that will provide an ample margin of safety to ensure maintenance of 
the standard and to provide adequate additional reductions to cover the 
contingency requirements. These regulations include the California 
motor vehicle and fuels program, California and Federal requirements 
for nonroad vehicles and engines, and SCAQMD ``declining cap'' 
regulations for stationary sources: Rule 1135--Emissions of Oxides of 
Nitrogen from Electric Power Generating Systems, and Regulation XX--
Regional Clean Air Incentives Market (RECLAIM). In addition, in acting 
on the 1994 ozone SIP for the South Coast, EPA has approved and made 
federally enforceable commitments by SCAQMD and CARB to adopt further 
stationary and mobile source controls on NO<INF>X</INF> emissions. 
These controls are scheduled to achieve more than 150 tons per day in 
reductions of NO<INF>X</INF> emissions in the South Coast by the year 
2010.<SUP>9</SUP> Therefore, EPA approves the contingency measure 
provisions under section 175A, based on the regulations and enforceable 
commitments that have already been incorporated into the SIP.
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    \9\ See 62 FR 1150-1187 (January 8, 1997), EPA's final approval 
of the California ozone SIPs, which lists the federally approved 
CARB and SCAQMD measures, along with both the VOC and NO<INF>X</INF> 
reductions associated with the measures for each ozone milestone 
year through 2010 (1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, and 2010).
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    d. Subsequent maintenance plan revisions. In accordance with 
section 175A(b) of the CAA, the State has agreed to submit a revised 
maintenance SIP eight years after the area is redesignated to 
attainment. Such revised SIP will provide for maintenance for an 
additional ten years. In California, nonattainment areas must update 
their plans every 3 years to meet State law requirements, so even more 
frequent updates to the maintenance plan are expected.
    e. Approval of the maintenance plan and redesignation request. EPA 
approves under section 110(k)(3) of the CAA the South Coast 
NO<INF>2</INF> maintenance plan as meeting the requirements of sections 
110 and 175A of the CAA. Since all of the CAA section 107(d)(3)(E) 
redesignation requirements have been met, EPA grants the request of the 
State to redesignate the South Coast Air Basin to attainment for the 
NO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS.

IV. EPA Final Action

    Under CAA section 110(k)(3), EPA approves the South Coast 
NO<INF>2</INF> plan portion of the 1997 AQMP as meeting the 
requirements of CAA sections 110, 172, and 192 with respect to the 
nonattainment plan requirements, and the requirements of CAA sections 
110 and 175A with respect to the maintenance plan requirements. EPA is 
redesignating the South Coast to attainment for NO<INF>2</INF> under 
CAA section 107.
    EPA is taking these actions without prior proposal because the 
Agency views this as noncontroversial and anticipates no adverse 
comments. However, if EPA receives relevant adverse comments by August 
24, 1998, then EPA will publish a document that withdraws the rule and 
informs the public that the rule will not take effect. EPA will then 
address those comments in a final action based upon the proposed rule, 
which appears as a separate document in the proposed rules section of 
this Federal Register publication. EPA will not institute a second 
comment period. Any 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 September 22, 1998, and no further 
action will be taken on the proposed rule.
    Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or 
allowing or establishing a precedent for any future implementation 
plan. Each request for revision to the state implementation plan shall 
be considered separately in light of specific technical, economic, and 
environmental factors and in relation to relevant statutory and 
regulatory requirements.

V. Administrative Requirements

A. Executive Order 12866

    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has exempted this 
regulatory action from E.O. 12866 review.

B. 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 business, small not-for-profit enterprises and 
government entities with jurisdiction over populations of less than 
50,000.
    SIP approvals under sections 110 and subchapter I, part D of the 
CAA, do not create any new requirements, but simply approve 
requirements that the State is already imposing. Therefore, because the 
Federal SIP approval does not impose any new requirements, the 
Administrator certifies that it does not have a significant impact on 
any small entities affected. Moreover, due to the nature of the 
Federal-State relationship under the CAA, preparation of a regulatory 
flexibility analysis would constitute Federal inquiry into the economic 
reasonableness of state action. The CAA forbids EPA to base its actions 
concerning SIP's on such grounds. Union Electric Co. v. U.S.E.P.A., 427 
U.S. 246, 256-66 (S.Ct. 1976); 42 U.S.C. 7410(a)(2).

C. Unfunded Mandates

    Under sections 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

[[Page 39751]]

(``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 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 also determined that this final action does not include a 
mandate that may result in estimated costs of $100 million or more to 
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 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

    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. Sec. 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 
rule 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. This rule is 
not a ``major'' rule as defined by 5 U.S.C. Sec. 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 September 22, 1998. 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).)

F. Executive Order 13045

    The final 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.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Nitrogen dioxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Oxides of 
Nitrogen, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Note: Incorporation by reference of the State Implementation 
Plan for the State of California was approved by the Director of the 
Federal Register on July 1, 1982.
    Dated: July 8, 1998.
Felicia Marcus,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.

    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 et seq.

Subpart F--California

    2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(247)(i)(A)(2) 
to read as follows:


Sec. 52.220  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (247) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (A) * * *
    (2) Nitrogen dioxide attainment plan and maintenance plan, as 
contained in the South Coast 1997 Air Quality Management Plan, adopted 
on November 15, 1996.
* * * * *

PART 81--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:

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

    2. In Sec. 81.305, the table for California--NO<INF>2</INF> is 
amended by revising the entry for ``South Coast Air Basin'' to read as 
follows:


Sec. 81.305  California.

* * * * *

                             California--NO<INF>2                            
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Cannot be    
                                       Does not meet     classified or  
          Designated Area                 primary         better than   
                                         standards          national    
                                                           standards    
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                        
        *                   *                 *                 *       
                *                   *                     *             
South Coast Air Basin..............  ................                 X 
                                                                        
        *                   *                 *                 *       
                *                   *                     *             
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 39752]]

* * * * *
[FR Doc. 98-19838 Filed 7-23-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P