[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 117 (Thursday, June 18, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 33314-33316]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-16247]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[OH116-1; FRL-6112-8]


Approval and Promulgation of Maintenance Plan Revisions; Ohio

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is 
proposing to approve an April 27, 1998, request from Ohio, for State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) maintenance plan revision for the Dayton-
Springfield (Montgomery, Clark, Greene and Miami Counties) ozone 
maintenance area. The revision would remove the air quality triggers 
from the area's contingency plan. The contingency plans were included 
in the areas' maintenance plan to correct violations of the one hour 
ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS), which has been 
proposed to be revoked for this area.

DATES: Written comments on this proposal must be received on or before 
July 20, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the documents relevant to this action are 
available for inspection during normal business hours at the following 
location: Regulation Development Section, Air Programs Branch, (AR-
18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson 
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
    Please contact Scott Hamilton at (312) 353-4775 before visiting the 
Region 5 office.
    Written comments should be sent to: J. Elmer Bortzer, Chief, 
Regulation Development Section, Air Programs Branch, (AR-18J), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 
Chicago, Illinois 60604.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Hamilton, Environmental 
Scientist, Regulation Development Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-
18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson 
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 353-4775.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Attainment Areas in Ohio

    Since the initial Clean Air Act (CAA) attainment status 
designations were made, the Dayton area has attained the one hour ozone 
standard and has been redesignated to attainment status for ozone. As a 
requirement to being redesignated to attainment status, the

[[Page 33315]]

area developed a maintenance plan. The purpose of the maintenance plan 
is to assure maintenance of the one hour ozone NAAQS for at least ten 
years.
    The maintennce plan included contingency provisions. The purpose of 
the contingency provisions are to identify and correct any violation of 
the one hour ozone NAAQS in a timely fashion. Triggers are included in 
the contingency provisions to identify the need to implement measures 
and correct air quality problems until such time as a revised 
maintenance or attainment plan could be developed to address the level 
of the air quality problem. Triggering events in the contingency plans 
could be linked to ozone air quality and/or an emission level of ozone 
precursors.
    Dayton's maintenance plan was finalized by EPA and published in the 
Federal Register on May 5, 1995 (60 FR 22289).

II. One Hour Ozone Standard Revocation

    On July 18, 1997, EPA finalized a revision to the NAAQS for ozone 
which changed the standard from 0.12 parts per million (ppm) averaged 
over one hour, to 0.08 ppm, averaged over eight hours. The EPA is 
revoking the one hour standard in separate rulemakings based on an 
area's attainment of the one hour ozone standard. The first round of 
revocations will be for areas attaining the one hour standard based on 
quality assured air monitoring data for the years 1994-1996. The second 
round of one hour ozone standard revocations will be for areas 
attaining the one hour standard based on quality assured air monitoring 
data for the years 1995-1997. After these two rulemakings are 
finalized, EPA intends to publish rulemakings on an annual basis 
revoking the one hour ozone standard for additional areas that come 
into attainment of the one hour standard.
    On May 18, 1998, EPA published a proposed rule (63 FR 27247) in the 
Federal Register proposing to revoke the one hour ozone standard in 
areas attaining the one hour standard based on quality assured air 
monitoring data for the years 1995-1997. In that proposal, EPA proposed 
to revoke the one hour ozone standard in the Dayton, Ohio ozone 
maintenance area.
    On July 16, 1997, President Clinton issued a directive to 
Administrator Browner on implementation of the new ozone standard, as 
well as the current one hour ozone standard (62 FR 38421). In that 
directive the President laid out a plan on how the new ozone and 
particulate matter standards, as well as the current one hour standard, 
are to be implemented. A December 29, 1997, memorandum entitled 
``Guidance for Implementing the 1-Hour and Pre-Existing PM10 NAAQS,'' 
signed by Richard D. Wilson, EPA's Acting Assistant Administrator for 
Air and Radiation, reflected that directive. The purpose of the 
guidance reflected in the memorandum is to ensure that the momentum 
gained by States to attain the one hour ozone NAAQS was not lost when 
moving toward implementing the eight hour ozone NAAQS.
    The guidance document explains that maintenance plans will remain 
in effect for areas where the one hour standard is revoked; however, 
those maintenance plans may be revised to withdraw certain contingency 
measure provisions that have not been triggered or implemented prior to 
EPA's determination of attainment and revocation. Where the contingency 
measure is linked to the one hour ozone standard or air quality ozone 
concentrations, the measures may be removed from the maintenance plan. 
Measures linked to non-air quality elements, such as emissions 
increases or vehicle miles traveled, may be removed if the State 
demonstrates that removing the measure will not affect an area's 
ability to attain the eight hour ozone standard.
    In other words, after the one hour standard is revoked for an area, 
EPA believes it is permissible to withdraw contingency measures 
designed to correct violations of that standard. Since such measures 
were designed to address future violations of a standard that no longer 
exists, it is no longer necessary to retain them. Furthermore, EPA 
believes that future attainment and maintenance planning efforts should 
be directed toward attaining the eight hour ozone NAAQS. As part of the 
implementation of the eight hour ozone standard, the State's ozone air 
quality will be evaluated and eight hour attainment and nonattainment 
designations will be made.

III. Review of the State Submittal

    In a letter from Donald R. Schregardus, Director, Ohio 
Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) received by EPA on April 27, 
1998, OEPA officially requested that all air quality triggers be 
deleted from the maintenance plans for the areas in Ohio now attaining 
the one hour ozone standard and where EPA has proposed to revoke the 
one hour standard. On May 18, 1998, EPA proposed to revoke the one hour 
ozone standard in the Dayton area. Therefore, in this Federal Register 
document, EPA is proposing to delete the air quality trigger in the 
Dayton area's maintenance plan. In a previous Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking, EPA proposed the deletion of air quality triggers in 
maintenance plans for other Ohio areas (where the one hour standard was 
proposed to be revoked) (see 63 FR 27895).
    The OEPA has officially announced a public hearing on this matter 
to be held on June 1, 1998.
    EPA believes that Ohio's request is consistent with the December 
29, 1997 guidance document and the July 16, 1997 Presidential 
Directive, and that the request is approvable.
    This revision approval is being proposed under a procedure called 
parallel processing, whereby EPA proposes rulemaking action 
concurrently with the State's procedures for amending its regulations. 
If the proposed revision is substantially changed, EPA will evaluate 
those changes and may publish another notice of proposed rulemaking. If 
no substantial changes are made other than any consistent with this 
document, the EPA will publish a final rulemaking on the revisions. The 
final rulemaking action by EPA on Ohio's request to revise the 
maintenance plan to remove the air quality trigger will occur only 
after the one hour ozone standard has been revoked in final and Ohio's 
public hearing documentation is submitted to the EPA.

IV. EPA Proposed Action

    The EPA is proposing to approve the requested revision to the 
Dayton area's maintenance plan. The EPA is parallel processing this 
request concurrent with State proceedings on the affected provision. 
Written comments must be received by EPA on or by July 20, 1998.

V. Administrative Requirements

A. Executive Order 12866

    The Office of Management and Budget has exempted this regulatory 
action from Executive Order 12866 review.

B. Executive Order 13045

    The proposed rule is not subject to Executive Order 13045, titled 
``Protection of Children's Health from Environmental Health Risks and 
Safety Risks,'' because it is not an ``economically significant'' 
action under Executive Order 12866.

C. Future Requests

    Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting, allowing 
or establishing a precedent for any future request for revision to any 
SIP. Each request for revision to the SIP shall be considered 
separately in light of specific technical, economic, and environmental

[[Page 33316]]

factors and in relation to relevant statutory and regulatory 
requirements.

D. Regulatory Flexibility

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) generally requires an agency 
to conduct a regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule subject to 
notice and comment rulemaking requirements unless the agency certifies 
that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. Small entities include small 
businesses, small not-for-profit enterprises, and government entities 
with jurisdiction. This proposed rule will not have a significant 
impact on a substantial number of small entities because SIP approvals 
under section 110 and subchapter I, part D of the Clean Air Act do not 
create any new requirements but simply approve requirements that the 
State is already imposing. Therefore, because the Federal SIP approval 
does not create any new requirements, I certify that this action will 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. Moreover, due to the nature of the Federal-State relationship 
under the Clean Air Act, preparation of a flexibility analysis would 
constitute Federal inquiry into the economic reasonableness of the 
State action. The Clean Air Act forbids EPA to base its actions 
concerning SIPs on such grounds. Union Electric Co. v. U.S. EPA., 427 
U.S. 246, 256-66 (1976) 42 U.S.C. 7410(a)(2).

E. Unfunded Mandates

    Under Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, 
signed into law on March 22, 1995, EPA must undertake various actions 
in association with 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. 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 the private 
sector, result from this action.

F. Audit Privilege and Immunity Law

    Nothing in this action should be construed as making any 
determination or expressing any position regarding Ohio's audit 
privilege and immunity law (sections 3745.70--3745.73 of the Ohio 
Revised Code). EPA will be reviewing the effect of the Ohio audit 
privilege and immunity law on various Ohio environmental programs, 
including those under the Clean Air Act, and taking appropriate 
action(s), if any, after thorough analysis and opportunity for Ohio to 
state and explain its views and positions on the issues raised by the 
law. The action taken herein does not express or imply any viewpoint on 
the question of whether there are legal deficiencies in this or any 
Ohio Clean Air Act program resulting from the effect of the audit 
privilege and immunity law. As a consequence of the review process, the 
regulations subject to the action taken herein may be disapproved, 
federal approval for the Clean Air Act program under which they are 
implemented may be withdrawn, or other appropriate action may be taken, 
as necessary.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Hydrocarbons, 
Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone.

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

    Dated: June 2, 1998.
David A. Ullrich,
Acting Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 98-16247 Filed 6-17-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P