Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 2383 

low-income populations because it does 

not affect the level of protection 

provided to human health or the 

environment. This action, in 

conjunction with other existing 

programs, would not relax the control 

measures on sources regulated by the 

final action and therefore would not 

cause emissions increases from these 

sources. 

K. Congressional Review Act 

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 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. 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). This rule 

will be effective February 17, 2009. 

L. Judicial Review 

Under CAA section 307(b), judicial 

review of this final action is available 

only by filing a petition for review in 

the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District 

of Columbia Circuit on or before March 

16, 2009. Under CAA section 

307(d)(7)(B), only those objections to the 

final rule that were raised with 

specificity during the period of public 

comment may be raised during judicial 

review. Moreover, under CAA section 

307(b)(2), the requirements established 

by this final rule may not be challenged 

separately in any civil or criminal 

proceedings brough by EPA to enforce 

these requirements. 

VI. Statutory Authority 

The statutory authority for this action 

is provided by sections 307(d)(7)(B), 

101, 111, 114, 116, and 301 of the CAA 

as amended (42 U.S.C. 7401, 7411, 7414, 

7416, and 7601). This notice is also 

subject to section 307(d) of the CAA (42 

U.S.C. 7407(d)). 

List of Subjects 

40 CFR Part 51 

Environmental protection, 

Administrative practice and procedure, 

Air pollution control, Baseline 

emissions, Intergovernmental relations, 

Netting, Aggregation, Major 

modifications, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, 

Administrative practice and procedure, 

Air pollution control, Baseline 

emissions, Intergovernmental relations, 

Netting, Aggregation, Major 

modifications, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: January 12, 2009. 

Stephen L. Johnson, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. E9–815 Filed 1–14–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R06–OAR–2007–1153; FRL–8762–4] 

Approval and Promulgation of Air 

Quality Implementation Plans; 

Arkansas; Emissions Inventory for the 

Crittenden County Ozone NonAttainment Area; Emissions 

Statements 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is approving a revision to 

the Arkansas State Implementation Plan 

(SIP) to meet the Emissions Inventory 

and Emissions Statements requirements 

of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the 

Crittenden County ozone nonattainment 

area. EPA is approving the SIP revision 

because it satisfies the Emissions 

Inventory and Emissions Statements 

requirements for 8-hour ozone 

nonattainment areas. EPA is approving 

the revision pursuant to section 110 of 

the CAA. 

DATES: This direct final rule will be 

effective March 16, 2009 without further 

notice unless EPA receives adverse 

comments by February 17, 2009. If 

adverse comments are received, EPA 

will publish a timely withdrawal of the 

direct final rule in the Federal Register 

informing the public that the rule will 

not take effect. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket No. EPA–R06– 

OAR–2007–1153, by one of the 

following methods: 

• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

• Follow the online instructions for 

submitting comments. 

• EPA Region 6 ‘‘Contact Us’’ Web 

site: http://epa.gov/region6/ 

r6coment.htm. Please click on ‘‘6PD 

(Multimedia)’’ and select ‘‘Air’’ before 

submitting comments. 

• E-mail: Mr. Guy Donaldson at 

donaldson.guy@epa.gov. Please also 

send a copy by e-mail to the person 

listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section below. 

• Fax: Mr. Guy Donaldson, Chief, Air 

Planning Section (6PD–L), at fax 

number 214–665–7242. 

• Mail: Mr. Guy Donaldson, Chief, 

Air Planning Section (6PD–L), 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 

Ross Avenue, Suite 1200, Dallas, Texas 

75202–2733. 

• Hand or Courier Delivery: Mr. Guy 

Donaldson, Chief, Air Planning Section 

(6PD–L), Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200, 

Dallas, Texas 75202–2733. Such 

deliveries are accepted only between the 

hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays, 

and not on legal holidays. Special 

arrangements should be made for 

deliveries of boxed information. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to 

Docket No. EPA–R06–OAR–2007–1153. 

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 information that you 

consider to be CBI or otherwise 

protected through www.regulations.gov 

or e-mail. 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 e-mail 

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. 

Docket: All documents in the docket 

are listed in the www.regulations.gov 

index. Although listed in the index, 

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2384 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

1The Emissions Statement portion of the revision 

is a statewide rule applying to all counties in 

Arkansas. 

2EPA issued a revised 8-hour ozone standard on 

March 27, 2008 (73 FR 16436). The designation and 

implementation process for that standard is just 

starting and does not affect EPA’s action here. 

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, 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 Air Planning Section (6PD–L), 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 

Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 

75202–2733. The file will be made 

available by appointment for public 

inspection in the Region 6 FOIA Review 

Room between the hours of 8:30 a.m. 

and 4:30 p.m. weekdays except for legal 

holidays. Contact the person listed in 

the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

paragraph below or Mr. Bill Deese at 

214–665–7253 to make an appointment. 

If possible, please make the 

appointment at least two working days 

in advance of your visit. There will be 

a 15 cent per page fee for making 

photocopies of documents. On the day 

of the visit, please check in at the EPA 

Region 6 reception area at 1445 Ross 

Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas. 

The State submittal is also available 

for public inspection during official 

business hours, by appointment, at the 

Arkansas Department of Environmental 

Quality, 5301 Northshore Drive, North 

Little Rock, AR 72118–5317. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Dylan Van Dyne, Air Planning Section 

(6PD–L), Environmental Protection 

Agency, Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, 

Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 75202–2733, 

telephone 214–665–7113; fax number 

214–665–7263; e-mail address 

vandyne.dylan@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document, whenever 

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

the EPA. 

Outline 

I. What Action is EPA Taking? 

II. What is a SIP? 

III. What is the Background for this Action? 

IV. What is EPA’s Evaluation of the Revision? 

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. What Action Is EPA Taking? 

We are approving a revision to the 

Arkansas SIP, submitted to meet the 

Emissions Inventory and Emissions 

Statement requirements of the CAA for 

the Crittenden County 8-hour ozone 

non-attainment area.1 The revision was 

adopted by the State of Arkansas on 

June 22, 2007, became effective July 15, 

2007, and was submitted to EPA on 

November 19, 2007. We are approving 

the Emissions Inventory for Crittenden 

County because it satisfies the 

Emissions Inventory requirements for 8- 

hour ozone nonattainment areas 

classified as marginal or above. We are 

approving the revisions to the Arkansas 

Regulations requiring Emissions 

certification as meeting Emissions 

Statement requirements of the CAA. We 

are approving the revision pursuant to 

section 110 of the CAA. 

EPA is publishing this rule without 

prior proposal because we view this as 

a noncontroversial amendment and 

anticipate no relevant adverse 

comments. However, in the proposed 

rules section of this Federal Register 

publication, we are publishing a 

separate document that will serve as the 

proposal to approve the SIP revision if 

relevant adverse comments are received. 

This rule will be effective on March 16, 

2009 without further notice unless we 

receive relevant adverse comment by 

February 17, 2009. If we receive relevant 

adverse comments, we will publish a 

timely withdrawal in the Federal 

Register informing the public that the 

rule will not take effect. We will address 

all public comments in a subsequent 

final rule based on the proposed rule. 

We will not institute a second comment 

period on this action. Any parties 

interested in commenting must do so 

now. Please note that if we receive 

adverse comment on an amendment, 

paragraph, or section of this rule and if 

that provision may be severed from the 

remainder of the rule, we may adopt as 

final those provisions of the rule that are 

not the subject of an adverse comment. 

II. What Is a SIP? 

Section 110 of the CAA requires states 

to develop air pollution regulations and 

control strategies to ensure that air 

quality meets the national ambient air 

quality standards (NAAQS) established 

by EPA. NAAQS are established under 

section 109 of the CAA and currently 

address six criteria pollutants: Carbon 

monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, 

lead, particulate matter, and sulfur 

dioxide. 

A SIP is a set of air pollution 

regulations, control strategies, other 

means or techniques, and technical 

analyses developed by the state, to 

ensure that the state meets the NAAQS. 

It is required by section 110 and other 

provisions of the CAA. A SIP protects 

air quality primarily by addressing air 

pollution at its point of origin. A SIP 

can be extensive, containing state 

regulations or other enforceable 

documents, and supporting information 

such as emissions inventories, 

monitoring networks, and modeling 

demonstrations. Each state must submit 

regulations and control strategies to EPA 

for approval and incorporation into the 

federally-enforceable SIP. 

III. What Is the Background for This 

Action? 

Inhaling even low levels of ozone, a 

key component of urban smog, can 

trigger a variety of health problems 

including chest pains, coughing, nausea, 

throat irritation, and congestion. It can 

also worsen bronchitis and asthma, and 

reduce lung capacity. Volatile organic 

compounds (VOC) and oxides of 

nitrogen (NOX) are known as ‘‘ozone 

precursors’’, as VOCs react with NOX, 

oxygen, and sunlight to form ozone. 

EPA promulgated, on July 18, 1997, a 

revised 8-hour ozone standard of 0.08 

parts per million (ppm), which is more 

protective than the previous 1-hour 

ozone standard (62 FR 38855).2 On 

April 30, 2004 EPA published 

designations for the 1997 standard 8- 

hour ozone standard (69 FR 23858). 

Crittenden County, Arkansas and 

Memphis, Tennessee were designated as 

an ozone nonattainment area; and the 

area was classified as a moderate 

nonattainment area under subpart 2 

with an attainment date of no later than 

June 15, 2010. On July 15, 2004, 

pursuant to section 181(a)(4) of the 

CAA, the States of Tennessee and 

Arkansas submitted a petition to EPA 

Regions 4 and 6, requesting a downward 

reclassification of the area ‘‘moderate’’ 

to ‘‘marginal’’ for the 8-hour ozone 

standard. The petition was approved by 

EPA on September 22, 2004 (69 FR 

56697). As a result of the downward 

classification, the new attainment date 

for the area was set at no later than June 

15, 2007 (73 FR 15087). The 1997 ozone 

standard was not attained by this date, 

so the area was reclassified back to 

‘‘moderate’’ on March 28, 2008, with a 

new attainment date of no later than 

June 15, 2010 (73 FR 16547). 

Sections 172(c)(3) and 182(a)(1) of the 

Clean Air Act (CAA) and EPA’s 8-hour 

ozone regulation (40 CFR 51.915) 

require submission of an emissions 

inventory for each 8-hour ozone nonattainment area. An emissions inventory 

is an estimation of actual emissions of 

air pollutants in an area. The emissions 

inventory for an ozone nonattainment 

area contains nitrogen oxide (NOX), 

volatile organic compound (VOC), and 

carbon monoxide (CO) emissions as 

these pollutants are precursors to ozone 

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 2385 

formation. In this case, the emissions 

inventory is for the year 2002. 

CAA section 182(a)(3)(B) calls for the 

SIP to require that owners or operators 

of each stationary source of NOX and 

VOC in an ozone non-attainment area 

submit an annual emissions statement. 

The emissions statement must show the 

actual emissions of NOX or VOC and 

contain a certification that the 

information contained in the statement 

is accurate to the best knowledge of the 

individual certifying the statement. 

On December 22, 2006, the U.S. Court 

of Appeals for the District of Columbia 

Circuit vacated EPA’s Phase 1 Rule in 

South Coast Air Quality Management 

Dist. v. EPA, 472 F.3d 882 (DC Cir. 

2006). On June 8, 2007, in response to 

several petitions for rehearing, the court 

modified the scope of vacatur of the 

Phase 1 Rule. See 489 F.3d 1245 (DC 

Cir. 2007), cert. denied, 128 S.Ct. 1065 

(2008). The court vacated those portions 

of the Phase 1 Rule that provide for 

regulation of the 1997 8-hour ozone 

NAAQS in some nonattainment areas 

under Subpart 1 in lieu of Subpart 2 and 

that allowed areas to revise their SIPs to 

no longer require certain programs as 

they applied for purposes of the 1-hour 

NAAQS; new source review, section 185 

penalties, and contingency plans for 

failure to meet RFP and attainment 

milestones. The decision does not affect 

the requirements for areas classified 

under subpart 2, such as the Crittenden 

area, to submit a base year emission 

inventory for the 1997 8-hour ozone 

NAAQS. Litigation on the Phase 2 Rule 

is pending before the D.C. Circuit Court 

of Appeals. 

On November 19, 2007, ADEQ 

submitted both the 2002 base year 

emission inventory for the Crittenden 

County 8-hour ozone non-attainment 

area and the certification statement 

requirement that was added to the 

Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology 

Commission’s Regulation Number 19 

(Regulations of the Arkansas Plan of 

Implementation for Air Pollution 

Control). These regulations require each 

emission inventory is to be 

accompanied by a certifying statement 

attesting that the information contained 

in the inventory is true and accurate to 

the best knowledge of the certifying 

official. 

IV. What Is EPA’s Evaluation of the 

Revision? 

EPA has reviewed the revision for 

consistency with the requirements of 

EPA regulations. A summary of EPA’s 

analysis is provided below. For a full 

discussion of our evaluation, please see 

our TSD. 

A. Crittenden County Has an 

Approvable Base Year Emissions 

Inventory 

CAA sections 172(c)(3) and 182(a)(1) 

require an inventory of actual emissions 

from all sources of relevant pollutants in 

the nonattainment area. EPA strongly 

recommended using 2002 as the base 

year emissions inventory. Arkansas has 

developed a 2002 base year inventory 

for the Crittenden County 

nonattainment area. The 2002 base year 

emissions inventory includes all point, 

area, non-road mobile, and on-road 

mobile source emissions in all of 

Crittenden County. EPA has determined 

that the inventory was developed in 

accordance with EPA guidelines, and 

that the revised 2002 base year emission 

inventory is approvable. For more 

information, see the TSD for this 

section. Table 1 lists the emissions 

inventory for the Crittenden County 

area. For more detail on how emissions 

inventories were estimated, see the 

Technical Support Document. 

TABLE 1—BASE YEAR EMISSIONS INVENTORY IN TONS PER DAY (TPD) 

Source category VOC NOX CO 

Point ............................................................................................................................................. 2.21 1.05 0.35 

Non-Point ..................................................................................................................................... 7.66 0.84 61.34 

On-Road ...................................................................................................................................... 5.13 7.61 64.57 

Non-Road ..................................................................................................................................... 2.71 11.99 18.02 

County total .......................................................................................................................... 17.71 21.49 144.28 

B. The Arkansas Emissions Statement 

Regulation Is Approvable 

CAA section 182(a)(3)(B) calls for the 

SIP to require that owners or operators 

of each stationary source of NOX and 

VOC in an ozone non-attainment area 

submit an annual emissions statement. 

The emissions statement must show the 

actual emissions of NOX or VOC and 

contain a certification that the 

information contained in the statement 

is accurate to the best knowledge of the 

individual certifying the statement. 

Arkansas revised Regulation 19, 

Chapter 7 (Sampling, Monitoring, and 

Reporting Requirements), to require 

emissions statements. Regulation 

19.705(D) states, ‘‘Each emission 

inventory is to be accompanied by a 

certifying statement, signed by the 

owner(s) or operator(s) and attesting that 

the information contained in the 

inventory is true and accurate to the 

best knowledge of the certifying official. 

The certification shall include the full 

name, title, signature, date of signature, 

and telephone number of the certifying 

official.’’ This revision is a statewide 

rule, applying to all counties in 

Arkansas, not just Crittenden County. 

By requiring the owner or operator of 

each stationary source to submit annual 

emissions statements of emissions of 

NOX and VOCs, the revision to 

Regulation 19.705 meets the 

requirements of CAA section 

182(a)(3)(B). 

V. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

Under the Clean Air Act, 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 Clean Air Act. 

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 

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2386 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

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 Clean Air Act; 

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 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 March 16, 2009. 

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. 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, Incorporation by 

reference, Intergovernmental relations, 

Nitrogen oxides, Ozone, Volatile organic 

compounds. 

Dated: December 24, 2008. 

Richard E. Greene, 

Regional Administrator, Region 6. 

■ 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 E—Arkansas 

■ 2. Section 52.170 is amended as 

follows: 

■ a. The table in paragraph (c) entitled 

‘‘EPA Approved Regulations in the 

Arkansas SIP’’ is amended by revising 

the entry for Reg. 19.705; 

■ b. Paragraph (e) is amended by adding 

a new table entitled ‘‘EPA Approved 

Nonregulatory Provisions and QuasiRegulatory Measures in the Arkansas 

SIP’’ and an entry for the Crittenden 

County Emissions Inventory. 

The revision and addition reads as 

follows: 

§ 52.170 Identification of plan. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

EPA APPROVED REGULATIONS IN THE ARKANSAS SIP 

State citation Title/subject 

State submittal/effective 

date 

EPA approval date Comments 

* * * * * * * 

Reg. 19.705 ............................ Recordkeeping and Reporting 

Requirements.

6/22/07 1/15/09 [Insert FR page number where document begins].

* * * * * * * 

(e) * * * 

* * * * * 

EPA APPROVED NONREGULATORY PROVISIONS AND QUASI-REGULATORY MEASURES IN THE ARKANSAS SIP 

Name of SIP provision Applicable geographic or nonattainment area 

State approval/submittal date 

EPA approval date Comments 

Emissions Inventory for 

Crittenden County.

Crittenden County .................. 6/22/07 1/15/09 [Insert FR page number where document begins].

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 2387 

[FR Doc. E9–618 Filed 1–14–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R06–OAR–2006–0357; FRL–8761–4] 

Approval and Promulgation of Air 

Quality Implementation Plans; Texas; 

Approval of the Section 110(a)(1) 

Maintenance Plan for the 1997 8-Hour 

Ozone Standard for El Paso County 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final 

action approving a revision to the Texas 

State Implementation Plan (SIP). The 

revision consists of a maintenance plan 

for El Paso County developed to ensure 

continued attainment of the 1997 8-hour 

ozone National Ambient Air Quality 

Standard (NAAQS) through the year 

2014. The Maintenance Plan meets the 

statutory and regulatory requirements, 

and is consistent with EPA’s guidance. 

EPA is approving the revision pursuant 

to section 110 of the Federal Clean Air 

Act (CAA). 

DATES: This rule is effective on March 

16, 2009 without further notice, unless 

EPA receives relevant adverse comment 

by February 17, 2009. If EPA receives 

such comment, EPA will publish a 

timely withdrawal in the Federal 

Register informing the public that this 

rule will not take effect. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket No. EPA–R06– 

OAR–2006–0357, by one of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• EPA Region 6 ‘‘Contact Us’’ Web 

site: http://epa.gov/region6/ 

r6coment.htm. Please click on ‘‘6PD’’ 

(Multimedia) and select ‘‘Air’’ before 

submitting comments. 

• E-mail: Mr. Guy Donaldson at 

donaldson.guy@epa.gov. Please also 

send a copy by e-mail to the person 

listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section below. 

• Fax: Mr. Guy Donaldson, Chief, Air 

Planning Section (6PD–L), at fax 

number 214–665–7263. 

• Mail: Mr. Guy Donaldson, Chief, 

Air Planning Section (6PD–L), 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 

Ross Avenue, Suite 1200, Dallas, Texas 

75202–2733. 

• Hand or Courier Delivery: Mr. Guy 

Donaldson, Chief, Air Planning Section 

(6PD–L), Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200, 

Dallas, Texas 75202–2733. Such 

deliveries are accepted only between the 

hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays 

except for legal holidays. Special 

arrangements should be made for 

deliveries of boxed information. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to 

Docket ID No. EPA–R06–OAR–2006– 

0357. 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 information that you 

consider to be CBI or otherwise 

protected through www.regulations.gov 

or e-mail. 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 e-mail 

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. 

Docket: 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., CBI 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 Air Planning Section (6PD–L), 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 

Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 

75202–2733. 

The file will be made available by 

appointment for public inspection in 

the Region 6 FOIA Review Room 

between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 

p.m. weekdays except for legal holidays. 

Contact the person listed in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

paragraph below or Mr. Bill Deese at 

214–665–7253 to make an appointment. 

If possible, please make the 

appointment at least two working days 

in advance of your visit. There will be 

a 15 cent per page fee for making 

photocopies of documents. On the day 

of the visit, please check in at the EPA 

Region 6 reception area at 1445 Ross 

Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas. 

The State submittal is also available 

for public inspection at the State Air 

Agency listed below during official 

business hours by appointment: 

Texas Commission on Environmental 

Quality, Office of Air Quality, 12124 

Park 35 Circle, Austin, Texas 78753. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jeffrey Riley, Air Planning Section 

(6PD–L), Environmental Protection 

Agency, Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, 

Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 75202–2733, 

telephone 214–665–8542; fax number 

214–665–7263; e-mail address 

riley.jeffrey@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document, whenever 

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

the EPA. 

Outline 

I. What Is the Action EPA Is Taking? 

II. What Is the Background for This Action? 

III. What Is EPA’s Analysis of the State’s 

Submittal? 

IV. What Preconstruction Permitting Program 

Applies in the Area? 

V. Final Action 

VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. What Is the Action EPA Is Taking? 

EPA is approving a revision to the 

Texas SIP. The revision is a 1997 8-hour 

ozone NAAQS maintenance plan for El 

Paso County. The State of Texas, 

through the Texas Commission on 

Environmental Quality (TCEQ), 

submitted the 1997 8-hour ozone 

NAAQS maintenance plan for El Paso 

County to EPA on January 20, 2006. 

EPA is approving the maintenance plan 

SIP revision for El Paso County as 

meeting the requirements of CAA 

Section 110(a)(1) and EPA’s regulations 

under 40 CFR 51.905(c) and (d) and 

being consistent with EPA guidance. 

The maintenance plan is designed to 

help keep the El Paso area in attainment 

for the 8-hour ozone NAAQS through 

the year 2014. 

II. What Is the Background for This 

Action? 

Under the 1990 CAA Amendments, El 

Paso County continued to be designated 

nonattainment for the 1-hour ozone 

NAAQS by operation of law and was 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with RULES