18298 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 76 / Wednesday, April 22, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

under 39 U.S.C. 3403–06 and 

International Mail Manual 270. 

* * * * * 

Stanley F. Mires, 

Chief Counsel, Legislative. 

[FR Doc. E9–9158 Filed 4–21–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7710–12–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R06–OAR–2007–0528; FRL–8895–3] 

Approval and Promulgation of Air 

Quality Implementation Plans; Texas; 

Reasonable Further Progress Plan, 

Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets, and 

2002 Base Year Emissions Inventory; 

Houston-Galveston-Brazoria 1997 

8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is approving a revision to 

the Texas State Implementation Plan 

(SIP) to meet the Reasonable Further 

Progress (RFP) and Emissions Inventory 

requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) 

for the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria 

(HGB) moderate 1997 8-hour ozone 

nonattainment area. EPA is also 

approving the RFP motor vehicle 

emissions budgets (MVEBs) associated 

with the revision. EPA is approving the 

SIP revision because it satisfies the RFP 

and Emissions Inventory requirements 

for 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment 

areas classified as moderate and 

demonstrates the required progress in 

reducing ozone precursors. EPA is 

approving the revision pursuant to 

section 110 and part D of the CAA and 

EPA’s regulations. 

DATES: This direct final rule will be 

effective June 22, 2009 without further 

notice unless EPA receives relevant 

adverse comments by May 22, 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–2007–0528, 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 214–665–7263. 

• 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, 

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–2007–0528. 

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 during official 

business hours, by appointment, at the 

Texas Commission on Environmental 

Quality, Office of Air Quality, 12124 

Park 35 Circle, Austin, Texas 78753. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Emad Shahin, Air Planning Section 

(6PD–L), Environmental Protection 

Agency, Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, 

Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 75202–2733, 

telephone 214–665–6717; fax number 

214–665–7263; e-mail address 

shahin.emad@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 

Texas SIP, submitted to meet the 

Emissions Inventory and RFP 

requirements of the CAA for the HGB 

moderate 1997 8-hour ozone 

nonattainment area. The revision was 

adopted by the State of Texas on May 

23, 2007 and submitted to EPA on May 

30, 2007. We are approving the 2002 

Base Year Emissions Inventory, the 15% 

RFP plan, and the RFP 2008 MVEBs. 

The RFP plan demonstrates that oxides 

of nitrogen (NOX) emissions will be 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 76 / Wednesday, April 22, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 18299 

1We reclassified the HGB nonattainment area too 

severe on October 1, 2008 (73 FR 56983). As a result 

of the reclassification, a revised RFP SIP is required 

in addition to the RFP SIP that we are acting on 

today. 

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. 

3Reasonable further progress regulations are at 40 

CFR 51.910, and emissions inventory regulations 

are at 40 CFR 51.915. 

reduced at least 15 percent for the 

period of 2002 through 2008. The 

volatile organic compound (VOC) MVEB 

is 86.77 tons per day (tpd), and the NOX

emissions budget is 186.13 tpd. We are 

approving the SIP revision because it 

satisfies the Emissions Inventory and 

RFP requirements for 1997 8-hour ozone 

nonattainment areas classified as 

moderate, and demonstrates the 

necessary further progress in reducing 

ozone precursors.1 We are approving the 

MVEBs included in this plan because 

these levels of motor vehicle emissions 

have been shown to be consistent with 

meeting the RFP requirements. We are 

approving the revision pursuant to 

section 110 and part D of the CAA and 

EPA’s regulations. 

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 June 22, 

2009 without further notice unless we 

receive relevant adverse comment by 

May 22, 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. VOC and NOX are 

known as ‘‘ozone precursors’’, as VOCs 

react with NOX, oxygen, and sunlight to 

form ozone. The CAA requires that areas 

not meeting the NAAQS for ozone 

demonstrate RFP in reducing emissions 

of ozone precursors. 

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 and classifications for the 

revised 1997 8-hour ozone standard (69 

FR 23936). HGB was classified as a 

moderate nonattainment area under the 

1997 8-hour ozone standard on June 15, 

2004. The HGB 1997 8-hour 

nonattainment area consists of Brazoria, 

Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, 

Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller 

counties. On November 29, 2005 (70 FR 

71612), as revised on June 8, 2007 (72 

FR 31727), EPA published the Phase 2 

final rule for implementation of the 8- 

hour standard that addressed, among 

other things, the RFP control and 

planning obligations as they apply to 

areas designated nonattainment for the 

1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. In the 

Phase 1 Rule, RFP was defined in 

§ 51.900(p) as meaning for the purposes 

of the 1997 8-hour NAAQS, the progress 

reductions required under sections 

172(c)(2), 182(b)(1), 182(c)(2)(B) and 

182(c)(2)(C) of the CAA. In section 

51.900(q), rate of progress (ROP), was 

defined as meaning for purposes of the 

1-hour NAAQS, the progress reductions 

required under sections 172(c)(2), 

182(b)(1), 182(c)(2)(B), and 182(c)(2)(C) 

of the CAA (see 69 FR 23997). 

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. The 

decision held that EPA must retain the 

following 1-hour ozone NAAQS 

measures: 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 HGB area, 

to submit a reasonable further progress 

plan for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. 

Litigation on the Phase 2 Rule is 

pending before the DC Circuit Court of 

Appeals. 

Section 182 of the CAA and EPA’s 

1997 8-hour ozone regulations 3 require 

a state, for each 1997 8-hour ozone 

nonattainment area that is classified as 

moderate, to submit an emissions 

inventory and a RFP plan to show how 

the state will reduce emissions of ozone 

precursors. The HGB moderate 1997 8- 

hour ozone nonattainment area has a 

maximum attainment date of June 15, 

2010, that is beyond five years after 

designation. In addition, the HGB area 

has an approved 15% VOC Rate of 

Progress plan under the 1-hour ozone 

standard (November 14, 2001, 66 FR 

57160). (Rate of Progress refers to 

reasonable further progress for the 1- 

hour ozone standard.) For a moderate 

area with an attainment date of more 

than five years after designation, the 

RFP plan must obtain a 15% reduction 

in ozone precursor emissions for the 

first six years after the baseline year 

(2002 through 2008). 

Pursuant to CAA section 172(c)(9), 

RFP plans must include contingency 

measures that will take effect without 

further action by the state or EPA, 

which includes additional controls that 

would be implemented if the area fails 

to reach the RFP milestones. While the 

CAA does not specify the type of 

measures or quantity of emissions 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with RULES
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reductions required, EPA provided 

guidance interpreting the CAA that 

implementation of these contingency 

measures would provide additional 

emissions reductions of up to 3% of the 

adjusted base year inventory (or a lesser 

percentage that will make up the 

identified shortfall) in the year 

following the RFP milestone year. For 

more information on contingency 

measures, please, see the April 16, 1992 

General Preamble (57 FR 13498, 13510) 

and the November 29, 2005 Phase 2 8- 

hour ozone standard implementation 

rule (70 FR 71612, 71650). RFP plans 

must also include MVEBs, which are the 

allowable on-road mobile emissions an 

area can produce and continue to 

demonstrate RFP. 

On May 23, 2007 Texas adopted as a 

SIP revision the RFP plan for the HGB 

area and submitted it to us on May 30, 

2007. The plan documents a 15% NOX

emission reduction in the HGB 

nonattainment area for the period 

between 2002 and 2008, and includes a 

2002 baseline emissions inventory, 

MVEBs for 2008, and contingency 

measures. On June 15, 2007, we 

received a request from Governor Perry 

seeking voluntary reclassification of the 

HGB area. The Governor requested that 

we reclassify the HGB area from a 

moderate nonattainment area to a severe 

nonattainment area under the 8-hour 

ozone standard. We reclassified the area 

to severe on October 1, 2008 (73 FR 

56983). Reclassification of the area to 

severe will require Texas to develop and 

submit a revised RFP SIP. For an area 

classified as severe, the required 

emissions reductions for VOC and/or 

NOX are 18% for the six-year period 

following the baseline emissions 

inventory year (2002), and an average of 

3% per year for all remaining three-year 

periods after the first six-year period out 

to the area’s attainment date (40 CFR 

51.910(a)(1)(B)). The reclassification to 

severe set a new attainment date as 

expeditiously as practicable, but no later 

than June 15, 2019. Therefore, the 

revised RFP plan will have to address 

the years post 2008. Today’s action 

addresses the plan for moderate ozone 

nonattainment area requirements for the 

years 2002 to 2008. 

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. Texas 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. Texas has 

developed a 2002 base year emissions 

inventory for the HGB nonattainment 

area. The 2002 base year emissions 

inventory includes all point, area, nonroad mobile, and on-road mobile source 

emissions. EPA reviewed the emission 

inventory and determined that it is 

approvable because it was developed in 

accordance with EPA guidance on 

emission inventory preparation. Table 1 

lists the 2002 base year emissions 

inventory for the HGB area. For more 

detail on how emissions inventories 

were estimated, see the TSD. 

TABLE 1—HGB 2002 RFP BASE

YEAR EMISSIONS INVENTORY

2002 Base year inventory 

(tons/day) 

Source type NOX VOC 

Point .................. 339.48 297.12 

Area .................. 40.15 219.51 

On-road Mobile 283.20 114.30 

Non-road Mobile 167.74 112.37 

Total ........... 830.57 743.30 

B. Adjusted Base Year Inventory and 

2008 RFP Target Levels 

The 2002 base year emissions 

inventory referenced above is the 

starting point for calculating RFP. Next, 

CAA section 182(b)(2)(C) explains that 

the baseline from which emission 

reductions are calculated should be 

determined as outlined pursuant to 

section 182(b)(1)(B). Section 

182(b)(1)(B) and 40 CFR 51.910 require 

that the base year inventory must be 

adjusted to exclude certain emissions 

specified in section 182(b)(1)(D). This 

requires that the baseline exclude 

emission reductions due to Federal 

Motor Vehicle Control Programs 

(FMVCP) promulgated by the 

Administrator by January 1, 1990, and 

emission reductions due to the 

regulation of Reid Vapor Pressure 

promulgated by the Administrator prior 

to the enactment of the Clean Air Act 

Amendments of 1990. These measures 

are not creditable. 

The result (after the adjustment) is the 

‘‘adjusted base year inventory.’’ The 

required RFP 15% reduction is 

calculated by multiplying the adjusted 

base year inventory by 0.15. This figure 

is subtracted from the adjusted base year 

inventory, resulting in the target level of 

emissions for the milestone year (2008). 

Table 2 features a summary of the 

adjusted base year inventory (row c), 

required 15% reductions (row d), and 

2008 target level of emissions (row e), as 

described above. Texas relied on 

reductions of NOX emissions to 

demonstrate RFP. 

TABLE 2—CALCULATION OF HGB REQUIRED NOX TARGET LEVEL OF

EMISSIONS

Description NOX

(tons/day) 

a. 2002 Emission Inventory .. 830.57 

b. Non-creditable Reductions, 2002–2008 .............. 42.20 

c. 2002 Adjusted to 2008 

(a¥b) ................................ 788.37 

d. 15% Reductions (c × 0.15) 118.26 

e. 2008 Target (c¥d) ........... 670.11 

C. The 2008 Projected Emissions 

Inventories and How the Total Required 

15% Reductions Are Achieved 

Next, section 182(b)(1)(A) requires 

that states need to provide sufficient 

control measures in their RFP plans to 

offset any emissions growth. To do this 

the state must estimate the amount of 

growth that will occur between 2002 

and the end of 2008. The state uses 

population and economic forecasts to 

estimate how emissions will change in 

the future. Generally, Texas followed 

our standard guidelines in estimating 

the growth in emissions. EPA’s MOBILE 

6.2.03 model was used to develop the 

2008 on-road inventory. For more detail 

on how emissions growth was 

estimated, see the TSD. Texas terms the 

projections of growth as the RFP 2008 

Uncontrolled Inventories. 

Texas then estimates the projected 

emission reductions from the control 

measures in place between 2002 and the 

end of 2008 and applies these to the 

RFP 2008 Uncontrolled Inventories; the 

results are the RFP 2008 Controlled 

Inventories. The total amount of NOX

emissions in the RFP 2008 Controlled 

Inventories must be equal to or less than 

the 2008 target inventories (listed at row 

e in Table 2 above). The RFP plan relies 

on a number of state and federal control 

measures intended to reduce NOX

emissions. The control measures 

address emissions from point, area, 

mobile non-road, and mobile on-road 

sources. 

The majority of point source NOX

reductions are from the mass emissions 

cap and trade (MECT) program for 

utility boilers, turbines, duct burners, 

heaters and furnaces, IC engines, and 

industrial boilers. The HGB area did not 

rely upon any area source controls for 

NOX reductions. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 76 / Wednesday, April 22, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 18301 

Non-road emission reductions are 

from federal controls on non-road 

engines. The mobile non-road emission 

reductions were estimated using the 

NONROAD 2005 model, with 

customized data files to reflect 

emissions generated by non-road mobile 

equipment in Texas. Emissions from 

locomotives, aircraft and support 

equipment, and commercial marine 

vessels were calculated outside of the 

NONROAD 2005 model using EPA 

approved methodologies. EPA finds that 

Texas’ projected emissions and 

emission reductions for these three nonroad mobile sources are acceptable. 

Reductions in mobile on-road 

emissions resulted from the post-1990 

FMVCP, reformulated gasoline, Texas’ 

inspection and maintenance program, 

and the Texas low emission diesel 

program. Each of the State measures 

relied upon in this plan have been 

approved in separate actions. See the 

TSD for more details. 

As a result, for NOX the target level 

of emissions is 670.11 tpd, and the 2008 

projected emissions inventory (after RFP 

reductions are applied) is 553.96 tpd. 

Since all reductions are accomplished 

with NOX reductions, there is no VOC 

reduction requirement for the area. As 

illustrated in Table 3, the 2008 

projection inventory after RFP 

reductions is less than the target level of 

emissions. Therefore, the control 

measures included in the 2008 projected 

emissions are adequate to meet the 15% 

RFP requirement. 

TABLE 3—SUMMARY OF RFP 

DEMONSTRATION FOR HGB 

Inventory NOX

(tons/day) 

2008 Target ................................ 670.11. 

2008 Uncontrolled Emissions ..... 1026.63. 

2008 RFP Emission Reductions 472.67. 

2008 Projected Emissions after 

RFP Reductions.

553.96. 

RFP Met? ................................... Yes. 

D. The Reasonable Further Progress 

Plan Includes Acceptable RFP 

Contingency Measures 

The 1997 8-hour ozone RFP plan for 

a moderate nonattainment area must 

include contingency measures, which 

are additional controls to be 

implemented if the area fails to make 

reasonable further progress. 

Contingency measures are intended to 

achieve reductions over and beyond 

those relied on in the RFP 

demonstration and could include 

federal and state measures already 

scheduled for implementation. The 

CAA does not preclude a state from 

implementing such measures before 

they are triggered. EPA interprets the 

CAA to require sufficient contingency 

measures in the RFP submittal, so that 

upon implementation of such measures, 

additional emission reductions of up to 

3% of the adjusted base year inventory 

(or a lesser percentage that will make up 

the identified shortfall) would be 

achieved between the milestone year of 

2008 and the next calendar year, i.e., 

2009. 

Texas used federal and state measures 

currently being implemented to meet 

the contingency measure requirement 

for the HGB RFP SIP. These measures, 

which are the same measures used for 

RFP, provide reductions that are in 

excess of those needed for RFP. As 

shown in Table 4, the excess reductions 

are greater than 3% of the adjusted base 

year inventory. Therefore these 

reductions are sufficient as contingency 

measures. 

TABLE 4—RFP CONTINGENCY MEASURE DEMONSTRATION FOR HGB 

RFP SIP 

Description NOX

(tons/day) 

a. Adjusted Base Year Inventory 

(from Table 2).

788.37. 

b. 3% Needed for Contingency 

(a × 0.03).

23.65. 

c. Excess Reductions Used for 

Contingency.

47.25. 

d. Contingency Met? .................. Yes. 

E. The RFP Milestone 2008 MVEBs Are 

Approvable 

The 1997 8-hour ozone RFP plan must 

include MVEBs for transportation 

conformity purposes. The MVEB is the 

mechanism to determine if the future 

transportation plans conform to the SIP. 

Conformity to a SIP means that 

transportation activities will not 

produce new air quality violations, 

worsen existing violations, delay 

reaching reasonable further progress 

milestones, or delay timely attainment 

of the NAAQS. A MVEB is the 

maximum amount of emissions allowed 

in the SIP for on-road motor vehicles. 

The MVEB establishes an emissions 

ceiling for the regional transportation 

network. The HGB RFP SIP contains 

VOC and NOX MVEBs for the RFP 

milestone year 2008. The emissions 

budget for VOC is 86.77 tpd, and the 

NOx emissions budget is 186.13 tpd. 

On-road emissions must be shown in 

future transportation plans to be less 

than the MVEBs for 2008 and 

subsequent years. The VOC and NOX

RFP emissions budgets are acceptable: 

when added to the other components of 

the 2008 emissions inventory (including 

non-road, stationary source, and area 

source emissions), the total level of 

emissions is below the 2008 RFP 

emissions target level. We found the 

RFP MVEBs (also termed transportation 

conformity budgets) adequate, and on 

June 28, 2007, the availability of these 

budgets was posted on our Web site for 

the purpose of soliciting public 

comments. The comment period closed 

on July 30, 2007, and we received no 

comments. On March 21, 2008, we 

published the Notice of Adequacy 

Determination for these RFP MVEBs (73 

FR 15152). Once determined adequate, 

these RFP budgets must be used in 

future HGB transportation conformity 

determinations. The adequacy 

determination represents a preliminary 

finding by EPA of the acceptability of 

the MVEBs. Today, we are finding the 

MVEBs are fully consistent with RFP, 

and the RFP plan is fully approvable, as 

it sets the allowable on-road mobile 

emissions the HGB area can produce 

and continue to demonstrate RFP. 

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 

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); 


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18302 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 76 / Wednesday, April 22, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

• 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 June 22, 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: April 10, 2009. 

Lawrence E. Starfield, 

Acting 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 SS—Texas 

■ 2. The second table in § 52.2270(e) 

entitled ‘‘EPA Approved Nonregulatory 

Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory 

Measures in the Texas SIP’’ is amended 

by adding two new entries to the end of 

the table for ‘‘Approval of the 1997 8- 

hour Ozone 15% Reasonable Further 

Progress Plan, and 2008 RFP Motor 

Vehicle Emission Budgets’’ and ‘‘2002 

Base Year Emissions Inventory’’, for the 

Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX area. 

The additions read as follows: 

§ 52.2270 Identification of plan. 

* * * * * 

(e) * * * 

EPA-APPROVED NONREGULATORY PROVISIONS AND

QUASI-REGULATORY MEASURES IN THE TEXAS SIP 

Name of SIP provision Applicable geographic 

or nonattainment area 

State 

submittal/ 

effective date 

EPA approval date Comments 

* * * * * * * 

Approval of the 1997 8-hour Ozone 15% Reasonable Further Progress Plan, and 2008 RFP 

Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets.

Houston-GalvestonBrazoria, TX.05/23/07 04/22/09 [Insert FR 

page number where 

document begins].

2002 Base Year Emissions Inventory .................. Houston-GalvestonBrazoria, TX.05/23/07 04/22/09 [Insert FR 

page number where 

document begins].

[FR Doc. E9–9216 Filed 4–21–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 


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