[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 25, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12562-12567]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-6643]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R01-OAR-2008-0796 ; A-1-FRL-8785-6]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Rhode Island; Carbon Monoxide Limited Maintenance Plan for Providence, 
RI

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision 
submitted by the State of Rhode Island. This revision establishes a 
limited maintenance plan for the Providence Rhode Island carbon 
monoxide attainment area and addresses the remaining portion of the 
ten-year update to the carbon monoxide maintenance plan. This action is 
being taken in accordance with the Clean Air Act.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective May 26, 2009, unless 
EPA receives adverse comments by April 24, 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 ID Number EPA-
R01-OAR-2008-0796 by one of the following methods:
    1. http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    2. E-mail: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#19786b7776757d377877777c597c6978377e766f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="80e1f2eeefece4aee1eeeee5c0e5f0e1aee7eff6">[email protected]</span></a>.
    3. Mail: ``Docket Identification Number EPA-R01-OAR-2008-0796'', 
Anne Arnold, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England 
Regional Office, One Congress Street, Suite 1100 (mail code CAQ), 
Boston, MA 02114-2023.

[[Page 12563]]

    4. Hand Delivery or Courier. Deliver your comments to: Anne Arnold, 
Manager, Air Quality Planning Unit, Office of Ecosystem Protection, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional Office, 
One Congress Street, 11th floor, (CAQ), Boston, MA 02114-2023. 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 legal holidays.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R01-OAR-
2008-0796. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
http://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 http://www.regulations.gov, or e-mail, information that you consider to be CBI 
or otherwise protected. The http://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 http://www.regulations.gov your e-mail 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 electronic docket are listed in the 
http://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 http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at Office of Ecosystem Protection, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional Office, 
One Congress Street, Suite 1100, Boston, MA. EPA requests that if at 
all possible, you contact the contact 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 legal holidays.
    In addition, copies of the state submittal are also available for 
public inspection during normal business hours, by appointment at the 
State Air Agency; Office of Air Resources, Department of Environmental 
Management, 235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908-5767.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald O. Cooke, Air Quality Planning 
Unit, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional 
Office, One Congress Street, Suite 1100 (CAQ), Boston, MA 02114-2023, 
telephone number (617) 918-1668, fax number (617) 918-0668, e-mail 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#462529292d2368222928272a220623362768212930"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="771418181c1259131819161b133712071659101801">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
    Organization of this document. The following outline is provided to 
aid in locating information in this preamble.

I. Background and Purpose
II. Criteria for Limited Maintenance Plan Designation
    A. EPA Guidance
    B. Demonstration of Maintenance
    C. Emission Inventory
    D. Monitoring Network and Verification of Continued Attainment
III. Contingency
IV. State Commitments
V. Conformity
VI. Final Action
VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background and Purpose

    In 1989, Rhode Island submitted a request to EPA to redesignate 
Providence to attainment status for carbon monoxide (CO). Since the EPA 
had not yet approved that request when the Clean Air Act Amendments of 
1990 (CAAA) were enacted, Rhode Island submitted a revised 
redesignation request to EPA in 1991 that addressed additional 
requirements in the CAAA. The initial ten-year maintenance plan relied 
on emissions reductions from the Federal Motor Vehicle Emission Control 
Program (FMVECP) and from the Prevention of Significant Deterioration 
(PSD) program, which replaced the New Source Review (NSR) program when 
the redesignation became effective. The maintenance plan also stated 
that, if the carbon monoxide National Ambient Air Quality Standard 
(NAAQS) was violated in the ten year period covered by the plan, the 
State would submit a plan to correct the violation within 18 months of 
the violation. On September 5, 1991, the EPA published a Final Rule in 
the Federal Register that redesignated Providence to attainment status 
for CO (56 FR 43872).
    Section 175A of the CAAA requires redesignated areas to submit a 
second ten-year maintenance plan to the EPA eight years after the first 
plan is approved. The second plan must demonstrate that compliance with 
the NAAQS will continue during the ten year period following the 
expiration of the first maintenance plan. In the case of Rhode Island, 
the second ten-year maintenance plan was scheduled to be submitted in 
1999 and would cover the years 2001 through 2011. Rhode Island did not 
submit a second ten-year maintenance plan at that time; however the 
emissions control programs established in the first ten-year 
maintenance plan continued to be in effect. Monitored levels of carbon 
monoxide in the Providence attainment area continued to be well below 
the 8-hour NAAQS standard of 9.0 parts per million (ppm), and have 
stayed on a downward trend. The 1-hour CO NAAQS of 32 parts per million 
was never exceeded in the State of Rhode Island.
    In June 2007, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management 
(RI DEM) requested permission to discontinue monitoring for CO at the 
Dorrance Street site in Providence. This request was prompted by 
amendments to EPA's monitoring requirements (Final Rule: Revisions to 
Ambient Air Monitoring Regulations; October 17, 2006; 71 FR 61236), 
which removed minimum requirements for CO monitoring for determining 
compliance with NAAQS. The amended EPA regulation continued to require 
the operation of CO monitors at Type II stations in the Photochemical 
Assessment Monitoring Sites (PAMS) network. Rhode Island has operated a 
year round CO monitor at its Type II PAMS site in East Providence since 
1998.
    In its request to remove the Dorrance Street CO monitor, RI DEM 
stated that the monitor no longer served a useful purpose because the 
CO NAAQS had not been exceeded for 20 years and was extremely unlikely 
to be exceeded in the future, since monitored levels were considerably 
below the NAAQS and continued to trend downward and the emissions 
control programs that had resulted in this decrease remained in

[[Page 12564]]

place. Moreover, this site was no longer useful for predicting the 
State's daily Air Quality Index (AQI), which serves to warn the public 
about impending poor air quality, because all CO measurements recorded 
since 2001 had been in the ``good'' category of the AQI.
    In an October 24, 2007 letter from Michael Kenyon, Director of the 
Office of Environmental Measurement and Evaluation, EPA Region I 
approved the termination of the Dorrance Street site ``subject to the 
revision of the Providence carbon monoxide maintenance plan being 
approved by EPA.'' At issue was the fact that the original maintenance 
plan relied on the levels measured by the Dorrance Street monitor to 
track continued attainment of the CO NAAQS. EPA advised that, if CO 
monitoring at that site were discontinued, Rhode Island would need to 
revise its CO maintenance plan to provide another mechanism to track 
continued attainment until the end of the second ten-year maintenance 
period (September 2011) and to identify levels that would trigger the 
need for additional action. RI DEM agreed to revise its plan and 
discontinued CO monitoring at the Dorrance Street site at the end of 
June 2007.
    On September 22, 2008, the State of Rhode Island submitted a formal 
revision to its State Implementation Plan (SIP) for a Limited 
Maintenance Plan for the Providence Rhode Island Carbon Monoxide 
Maintenance Area. The SIP revision consists of a second follow-on ten-
year carbon monoxide maintenance plan for the Providence carbon 
monoxide attainment area to address the remainder of the maintenance 
plan period (period 2001 to 2011), and a request for a limited carbon 
monoxide maintenance plan designation. The SIP revision also includes 
the State's commitment to year round carbon monoxide monitoring at the 
East Providence Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Station (PAMS) 
site.

II. Criteria for Limited Maintenance Plan Designation

A. EPA Guidance

    In November 1994, EPA issued guidance regarding a limited 
maintenance plan option for nonclassifiable ozone nonattainment 
areas.\1\ In October 1995, EPA issued further guidance that extended 
that option to nonclassifiable carbon monoxide nonattainment areas.\2\ 
To qualify for the limited maintenance option, an area's 8-hour average 
CO design value at the time of redesignation must be at or below 7.65 
ppm (85% of the NAAQS).
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    \1\ Memorandum ``Limited Maintenance Plan Option for 
Nonclassifiable Ozone Nonattainment Areas'' from Sally L. Shaver, 
Director, EPA Air Quality Strategies and Standards Division, to 
Regional Air Directors, November 16, 1994.
    \2\ Memorandum ``Limited Maintenance Plan Option for 
Nonclassifiable CO Nonattainment Areas'' from Joseph W. Paisie, 
Group Leader, EPA Integrated Policy and Strategies Group, to Air 
Branch Chiefs, October 6, 1995.
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    Unlike full maintenance plans, limited maintenance plans are not 
required to include a projection of emissions over the maintenance 
period, because, according to EPA's 1995 guidance, ``the continued 
applicability of prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) 
requirements, any control measures already in the SIP, and Federal 
measures (such as the Federal Motor Vehicle Emission Control Program) 
should provide adequate assurance of maintenance for those areas.''
    Moreover, the establishment of emissions budgets for conformity 
purposes is not required as part of limited maintenance plans. 
According to the 1995 guidance, ``it is unreasonable to expect that 
such an area will experience so much growth * * * that a violation of 
the CO NAAQS would result.'' Therefore, budgets for transportation and 
general conformity determinations are not required for areas with 
approved limited maintenance plans.

B. Demonstration of Maintenance

    For areas such as Providence Rhode Island that utilize EPA's 
limited maintenance plan approach, the maintenance demonstration is 
considered to be satisfied for ``not classified'' areas if the 
monitoring data show the design value is at or below 7.65 ppm, or 85 
percent of the level of the 8-hour carbon monoxide CO NAAQS. The design 
value must be based on the 8 consecutive quarters of data. For such 
areas, there is no requirement to project emissions of air quality over 
the maintenance period. EPA believes if the area begins the maintenance 
period at, or below, 85% of the CO 8 hour NAAQS, the applicability of 
Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) requirements, the control 
measures already in the SIP, and Federal measures, should provide 
adequate assurance of maintenance over the initial 10-year maintenance 
period. In addition, the design value for the area must continue to be 
at or below 7.65 ppm until the time of final EPA action on the 
redesignation. At the time of redesignation, in 1991, Providence's 8-
hour CO design value was 7.4 ppm, and had been below 7.65 since 1989. 
The design value has continued to decline as shown in Table 1. The 
design value for 2006, the last full year that the Providence monitor 
operated, was 2.5 ppm (as compared to the NAAQS of 9.0 ppm). Therefore, 
Providence demonstrates maintenance and is clearly eligible for the 
limited maintenance plan option.

   Table 1--8-Hour Carbon Monoxide Design Values for Providence Rhode
                                 Island
   [8-Hour carbon monoxide design values for Providence Rhode Island]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Design value
                          Year                                 (ppm)
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1991....................................................             7.4
1998....................................................             4.7
1999....................................................             3.9
2000....................................................             3.5
2001....................................................             3.8
2002....................................................             2.7
2003....................................................             2.3
2004....................................................             2.5
2005....................................................             2.5
2006....................................................             2.5
2007....................................................             2.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------

C. Emission Inventory

    An annual carbon monoxide emission inventory was prepared for both 
Rhode Island Statewide and Providence County for the year 2002, a year 
in which attainment was monitored in the Providence Rhode Island carbon 
monoxide attainment area, and the 8-hour carbon monoxide design value 
was 2.7 parts per million. Please see Table 2. below:

[[Page 12565]]



Table 2--Statewide and Providence County Rhode Island 2002 Annual Carbon
                           Monoxide Emissions
         [2002 carbon monoxide annual emissions (tons per year)]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Rhode Island
                                     statewide carbon  Providence county
              Source                     monoxide       carbon monoxide
                                        emissions          emissions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stationary point..................              1,742              1,663
Stationary nonpoint...............             10,535              4,875
Non-road mobile...................             68,804             30,501
On-road mobile....................            188,312            109,794
                                   -------------------------------------
    Total Anthropogenic (man-made)            269,393            146,833
                                   -------------------------------------
Biogenic..........................              1,925                554
                                   =====================================
        Total.....................            271,318            147,387
------------------------------------------------------------------------

D. Monitoring Network and Verification of Continued Attainment

    In the limited maintenance plan, Rhode Island Department of 
Environmental Management commits to maintain a continuous CO monitor at 
the East Providence PAMS site and re-establish a CO monitoring site 
meeting EPA specifications in downtown Providence should (1) the East 
Providence 8-hour CO design value increase to five parts per million; 
or (2) total calendar year CO emissions in Providence County from all 
anthropogenic sources exceed 190,883 tons per year (a value 30% higher 
than the total anthropogenic emissions in the 2002 inventory); or (3) 
average motor vehicle CO emissions measured by the remote sensing 
program in any year between 2008 and 2011 exceed 0.39%, which is three 
times the 2006 value.

III. Contingency

    EPA concurs with RI DEM that specific contingency measures are not 
needed at the present, since current CO levels are so far below the 
NAAQS and emissions from mobile sources, the dominant source of CO in 
the State and in Providence County, are decreasing as the percentage of 
vehicles subject to tighter Federal Motor Vehicle Emission Control 
Program (FMVECP) standards increase in the State. However, if 
monitoring for CO in downtown Providence is triggered, based on the 
criteria specified below, in ``State Commitments,'' RI DEM will develop 
contingency measures that will go into effect if a violation of the 
NAAQS occurs without further action by the State.

IV. State Commitments

    EPA's guidance for limited maintenance plans also requires states 
to include several commitments as part of the SIP revision. To fulfill 
those requirements, Rhode Island's September 22, 2008 SIP submittal 
includes the following commitments:
    <bullet> RI DEM will maintain a continuous CO monitor at the East 
Providence PAMS site to verify continued compliance with the CO NAAQS 
in the CO maintenance area;
    <bullet> Should the East Providence 8-hour CO design value increase 
to five parts per million, RI DEM will re-establish a CO Monitoring 
site meeting EPA specifications in downtown Providence within six 
months;
    <bullet> Should total calendar year CO emissions in Providence 
County from all anthropogenic sources exceed 190,883 tons per year (a 
value 30% higher than the total anthropogenic emissions in the 2002 
inventory) RI DEM will re-establish a CO Monitoring site meeting EPA 
specifications in downtown Providence within six months;
    <bullet> Should average motor vehicle CO emissions measured by the 
remote sensing program in any year between 2008 and 2011 exceed 0.39%, 
which is three times the 2006 value, RI DEM will re-establish a CO 
Monitoring site meeting EPA specifications in downtown Providence 
within six months;
    <bullet> Should the design value in the Providence maintenance area 
exceed 7.65 ppm, RI DEM will coordinate with EPA to: Verify the 
validity of the data; evaluate whether the data should be excluded 
based on an ``exceptional event''; and, if warranted based on the data 
review, develop a full maintenance plan for the affected maintenance 
areas; and,
    <bullet> RI DEM will continue to ensure that project-level CO 
evaluations of transportation projects (i.e., project-level conformity, 
as described in 40 CFR 93.116) in the Providence CO attainment area are 
conducted through the end of the second ten-year maintenance period.

V. Conformity

    Section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) defines transportation 
conformity as conformity to the state implementation plan's purpose of 
eliminating or reducing the severity and number of violations of the 
NAAQS and achieving expeditious attainment of such standards. The CAA 
further defines transportation conformity to mean that no Federal 
transportation activity will: (1) Cause or contribute to any new 
violation of any standard in any area; (2) increase the frequency or 
severity of any existing violation of any standard in any area; or (3) 
delay timely attainment of any standard or any required interim 
emission reductions or other milestones in any area. The Federal 
Transportation Conformity Rule, 40 CFR part 93, subpart A, sets forth 
the criteria and procedures for demonstrating and assuring conformity 
of transportation plans, programs and projects which are developed, 
funded or approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation, and by 
metropolitan planning organizations or other recipients of funds under 
title 23 U.S.C. or the Federal Transit Laws (49 U.S.C. 53). The 
transportation conformity rule applies within all nonattainment and 
maintenance areas. As prescribed by the transportation conformity rule, 
once an area has an applicable state implementation plan with motor 
vehicle emissions budgets, the expected emissions from planned 
transportation activities must be consistent with (``conform to'') such 
established budgets for that area.
    In the case of the Providence Rhode Island CO limited maintenance 
plan area, however, the emissions budgets may be treated as essentially 
not constraining for the length of the second maintenance period as 
long as the area continues to meet the limited maintenance criteria, 
because there is

[[Page 12566]]

no reason to expect that these areas will experience so much growth in 
that period that a violation of the CO NAAQS would result. In other 
words, emissions from on-road transportation sources need not be capped 
for the remainder of the maintenance period because it is unreasonable 
to believe that emissions from such sources would increase to a level 
that would threaten the air quality in this area for the duration of 
this maintenance period. Therefore, for the limited maintenance plan CO 
maintenance area, all Federal actions that require conformity 
determinations under the transportation conformity rule are considered 
to satisfy the regional emissions analysis and ``budget test'' 
requirements in 40 CFR 93.118 of the rule.
    Since limited maintenance plan areas are still maintenance areas, 
however, transportation conformity determinations are still required 
for transportation plans, programs and projects. Specifically, for such 
determinations, transportation plans, transportation improvement 
programs, and projects must still demonstrate that they are fiscally 
constrained (40 CFR part 108) and must meet the criteria for 
consultation and Transportation Control Measure (TCM) implementation in 
the conformity rule (40 CFR 93.112 and 40 CFR 93.113, respectively). In 
addition, projects in limited maintenance areas will still be required 
to meet the criteria for CO hot spot analyses to satisfy ``project 
level'' conformity determinations (40 CFR 93.116 and 40 CFR 93.123) 
which must incorporate the latest planning assumptions and models that 
are available. All aspects of transportation conformity (with the 
exception of satisfying the emission budget test) will still be 
required.
    If the carbon monoxide attainment area monitors carbon monoxide 
concentrations at or above the limited maintenance eligibility 
criteria, or 7.65 parts per million, then that maintenance area would 
no longer qualify for a limited maintenance plan and would revert to a 
full maintenance plan. In this event, the limited maintenance plan 
would remain applicable for conformity purposes only until the full 
maintenance plan is submitted and EPA has found its motor vehicle 
emissions budgets adequate for conformity purposes or EPA approves the 
full maintenance plan SIP revision. At that time regional emissions 
analyses would resume as a transportation conformity criteria.

VI. Final Action

    EPA is approving Rhode Island's September 22, 2008 State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision establishing a limited maintenance 
plan for the Providence Rhode Island carbon monoxide attainment area.
    The EPA is publishing this action 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 should 
relevant adverse comments be filed. This rule will be effective May 26, 
2009 without further notice unless the Agency receives relevant adverse 
comments by April 24, 2009.
    If the EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish a notice 
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. The EPA will not 
institute a second comment period on the proposed rule. All parties 
interested in commenting on the proposed rule should do so at this 
time. If no such comments are received, the public is advised that this 
rule will be effective on May 26, 2009 and no further action will be 
taken on the proposed rule. Please note that if EPA receives adverse 
comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that 
provision may be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt 
as final those provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an 
adverse comment.

VII. 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:
    <bullet> 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);
    <bullet> Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
    <bullet> 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.);
    <bullet> 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);
    <bullet> Does not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
    <bullet> Is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
    <bullet> Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
    <bullet> 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
    <bullet> 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

[[Page 12567]]

appropriate circuit by May 26, 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. 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, Lead, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: March 12, 2009.
Ira W. Leighton,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA New England.

0
Part 52 of chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is 
amended as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart OO--Rhode Island

0
2. Section 52.2089 is added to read as follows:


Sec.  52.2089  Control strategy: carbon monoxide.

    (a) Approval--On September 22, 2008, the Rhode Island Department of 
Environmental Management submitted a request to establish a limited 
maintenance plan for the Providence Rhode Island carbon monoxide 
attainment area for the remainder of the second ten-year maintenance 
plan. The State of Rhode Island has committed to year round carbon 
monoxide monitoring at the East Providence Photochemical Assessment 
Monitoring Station (PAMS) site; re-establishing downtown Providence CO 
monitoring if criteria specified in the Limited Maintenance Plan are 
triggered; and, ensuring that project-level carbon monoxide evaluations 
of transportation projects in the maintenance area are conducted. The 
limited maintenance plan satisfies all applicable requirements of 
section 175A of the Clean Air Act. Approval of a limited maintenance 
plan is conditioned on maintaining levels of ambient carbon monoxide 
levels below the required limited maintenance plan 8-hour carbon 
monoxide design value criterion of 7.65 parts per million. If the 
Limited Maintenance Plan criterion is no longer satisfied, Rhode Island 
must develop a full maintenance plan to meet Clean Air Act 
requirements.
    (b) [Reserved]

 [FR Doc. E9-6643 Filed 3-24-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


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