27034 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 16, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

is consistent with statutory

requirements. Section 203 requires EPA

to establish a plan for informing and

advising any small governments that

may be significantly or uniquely

impacted by the rule.

EPA has determined that the approval

action promulgated does not include a

Federal mandate that may result in

estimated annual costs of $100 million

or more to either state, local, or tribal

governments in the aggregate, or to the

private sector. This Federal action

allows New Hampshire to implement

equivalent alternative requirements to

replace pre-existing requirements under

Federal law, and imposes no new

requirements. Accordingly, no

additional costs to state, local, or tribal

governments, or to the private sector,

result from this action.

F. Submission to Congress and the

Comptroller General

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. This rule is not a

‘‘major’’ rule as defined by 5 U.S.C.

804(2).

G. National Technology Transfer and

Advancement Act

Section 12(d) of the National

Technology Transfer and Advancement

Act of 1995 (‘‘NTTAA’’), Public Law No.

104–113, § 12(d) (15 U.S.C. 272 note)

directs EPA to use voluntary consensus

standards in its regulatory activities

unless to do so would be inconsistent

with applicable law or otherwise

impractical. Voluntary consensus

standards are technical standards (e.g.,

materials specifications, test methods,

sampling procedures, and business

practices) that are developed or adopted

by voluntary consensus standards

bodies. The NTTAA directs EPA to

provide Congress, through OMB,

explanations when the Agency decides

not to use available and applicable

voluntary consensus standards. This

action does not involve technical

standards. Therefore, EPA did not

consider the use of any voluntary

consensus standards.

H. Petitions for Judicial Review

Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean

Air Act, petitions for judicial review of

this action must be filed in the United

States Court of Appeals for the

appropriate circuit by July 16, 2001.

Filing a petition for reconsideration by

the Administrator of this final rule does

not affect the finality of this rule for the

purposes of judicial review nor does it

extend the time within which a petition

for judicial review may be filed, and

shall not postpone the effectiveness of

such rule or action. This action may not

be challenged later in proceedings to

enforce its requirements (see section

307(b)(2)).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 63

Administrative practice and

procedure, Air pollution control,

Hazardous substances,

Intergovernmental relations, Reporting

and recordkeeping requirements.

Authority: This action is issued under the

authority of section 112 of the Clean Air Act,

as amended, 42 U.S.C. 7412.

Dated: May 2, 2001.

Ira W. Leighton,

Acting Regional Administrator, EPA—New

England.

Title 40, chapter I, part 63 of the Code

of Federal Regulations is amended as

follows:

PART 63—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for part 63

continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart E—Approval of State

Programs and Delegation of Federal

Authorities

2. Section 63.99 is amended by

adding paragraphs (a)(29)(i)and

(a)(29)(ii) to read as follows:

§ 63.99 Delegated Federal Authorities

(a) * * *

(29) New Hampshire.

(i) [Reserved]

(ii) New Hampshire Department of

Environmental Services (NH DES) may

implement and enforce alternative

requirements in the form of title V

permit terms and conditions for

Groveton Paper Board Inc. of Groveton,

NH and Pulp & Paper of America, LLC

of Berlin, NH for subpart S—National

Emission Standards for Hazardous Air

Pollutants from the Pulp and Paper

Industry and subpart MM—National

Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air

Pollutants for Chemical Recovery

Combustion Sources at Kraft, Soda,

Sulfite and Stand-Alone Semi-chemical

Pulp Mills. This action is contingent

upon NH DES including, in title V

permits, terms and conditions that are

no less stringent than the Federal

standard and have been approved by

EPA. In addition, the requirement

applicable to the source remains the

Federal section 112 requirement until

EPA has approved the alternative permit

terms and conditions and the final title

V permit is issued.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 01–12039 Filed 5–15–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[WV057–6016; FRL–6979–8]

Determination of Attainment of the

NAAQS for PM–10 in the Weirton, West

Virginia Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

SUMMARY: EPA has determined that the

Weirton, West Virginia PM–10 Moderate

nonattainment area (comprised of the

City of Weirton) attained the National

Ambient Air Quality Standards

(NAAQS) for Particulate Matter with an

aerodynamic diameter less than or equal

to a nominal 10 micrometers (PM–10)

by its applicable December 31, 2000

attainment date. This determination is

based upon monitored air quality data

for the PM–10 NAAQS during the years

1998–2000. This determination of

attainment does not redesignate the

Weirton area to attainment for PM–10.

The Clean Air Act requires that for an

area to be redesignated, five criteria

must be satisfied including the

submittal of a maintenance plan as a

State Implementation Plan (SIP)

revision.

DATES: This rule is effective on July 2,

2001 without further notice, unless EPA

receives adverse written comment by

June 15, 2001. If EPA receives such

comments, it will publish a timely

withdrawal of the direct final rule in the

Federal Register and inform the public

that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be mailed to David Arnold, Chief, Air

Quality Planning and Information

Services Branch, EPA Region III, 3AP21,

1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA

19103. Copies of the documents relevant

to this action are available for public

inspection during normal business

hours at the Air Protection Division,

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 16, 2001 / Rules and Regulations 27035

EPA Region III, 1650 Arch Street,

Philadelphia, PA 19103.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ruth E. Knapp, (215) 814–2191, at the

EPA Region III address above, or by email at knapp.ruth@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Background

II. Basis for EPA’s Action

III. EPA’s Final Action

IV. Administrative Requirements

I. Background

A. Designation and Classification of

PM–10 Nonattainment Areas

On the date of enactment of the 1990

Clean Air Act Amendments (Act), PM–

10 areas meeting the qualifications of

section 107(d)(4)(B) of the Act were

designated nonattainment by operation

of law (see generally, 42 U.S.C.

7407(d)(4)(B)). These areas included all

former Group I areas identified in 52 FR

29383 (August 7, 1987) and further

clarified in 55 FR 45799 (October 31,

1990), and any other areas violating the

PM–10 standards prior to January 1,

1989 (many of these areas were

identified by footnote 4 in the October

31, 1990 Federal Register document ). A

Federal Register document announcing

the areas designated nonattainment for

PM–10 upon enactment of the Act was

published in 56 FR 11101 (March 15,

1991). A subsequent Federal Register

document correcting some of these areas

was published on August 8, 1991 (56 FR

37654). These nonattainment

designations and moderate area

classifications were codified in 40 CFR

part 81 in a Federal Register document

published on November 6, 1991 (56 FR

56694). All other areas in the nation not

designated nonattainment at enactment

were designated unclassifiable (see

section 107(d)(4)(B)(iii) of the Act). Most

of the ‘‘Additional’’ PM–10

nonattainment areas including the

Weirton, West Virginia area were

subsequently designated in a Federal

Register document published on

December 21, 1993 (58 FR 67334).

Pursuant to the Act, these areas have an

attainment date of December 31, 2000.

B. Finding of Attainment

Once an area is designated

nonattainment, section 188 of the Act

outlines the process for classification of

the area and establishes the area’s

attainment date. Pursuant to section

188(a), all PM–10 nonattainment areas

are initially classified as moderate by

operation of law upon designation as

nonattainment.

EPA has the responsibility, pursuant

to sections 179(c) and 188(b)(2) of the

Act, of determining within 6 months of

the applicable attainment date whether

PM–10 nonattainment areas have

attained the NAAQS. Section 179(c)(1)

of the Act provides that these

determinations are to be based upon an

area’s ‘‘air quality as of the attainment

date’’ and section 188(b)(2) is consistent

with this requirement. EPA will make

the determinations as to whether an

area’s air quality is meeting the PM–10

NAAQS based upon air quality data

gathered at monitoring sites in the

nonattainment area and entered into the

Aerometric Information Retrieval

System (AIRS). This data will be

reviewed to determine the area’s air

quality status in accordance with EPA

guidance at 40 CFR part 50, appendix K.

Pursuant to appendix K, attainment of

the annual PM–10 standard is achieved

when the annual arithmetic mean PM–

10 concentration is equal to or less than

50 μg/m3. Attainment of the 24-hour

standard is determined by calculating

the expected number of exceedances of

the 150 μg/m3 limit per year. The 24-

hour standard is attained when the

expected number of exceedances is 1.0

or less. A total of 3 consecutive years of

clean air quality data is generally

necessary to show attainment of the 24-

hour and annual standards for PM–10.

A complete year of air quality data, as

referred to in 40 CFR part 50, appendix

K, is comprised of all 4 calendar

quarters with each quarter containing

data from at least 75 percent of the

scheduled sampling days.

II. Basis for EPA’s Action

The Weirton, West Virginia area

contains four monitoring sites and each

site has a continuous monitor which is

scheduled to sample PM–10 every day.

In addition, one of the monitoring sites

has a co-located monitor which samples

on a 1 in 6 day sampling schedule.

During the years 1998 through 2000,

none of the monitoring sites recorded

any exceedances of the 24-hour PM–10

standard. The maximum 24-hour

concentration was 130 μg/m3 which

occurred in 1998. Lower concentrations

occurred in more recent years. The

maximum annual concentration was

35.2 μg/m3 which also occurred in 1998.

These maximum concentrations are

below the 24-hour standard of 150 μg/

m3 and the annual standard of 50 μg/m3

respectively. Therefore, zero expected

exceedances of the 24-hour standard

were predicted and no violations of the

annual standard as defined in appendix

K occurred during 1998–2000. During

most calendar quarters, data collection

was over 90% of the scheduled samples

and the lowest percentage of quarterly

observations from any monitor was

85%. Therefore, sufficient data was

obtained in order to make a

determination of attainment.

Although the Weirton area has

attained the PM–10 NAAQS, it will

continue to carry the designation of

nonattainment and the classification of

moderate in 40 CFR part 81. The area

may be redesignated to attainment

under section 107(d)(3), if five criteria

are met including the submittal of a

maintenance plan as a SIP revision. A

request to redesignate an area to

attainment must be made by a State to

EPA. EPA must review the request and

required maintenance plan and follow

rulemaking procedures to approve or

disapprove it.

EPA is publishing this document

without prior proposal because the

Agency views this determination of

attainment based upon monitored air

quality data as a noncontroversial

amendment and anticipates no adverse

comment. However, in the ‘‘Proposed

Rules’’ section of today’s Federal

Register, EPA is publishing a separate

document that will serve as the proposal

to determine that the Weirton, West

Virginia area achieved attainment by its

attainment date of December 31, 2000 if

adverse comments are filed. This

document will be effective on July 2,

2001 without further notice unless EPA

receives adverse comment by June 15,

2001. If EPA receives adverse comment,

EPA will publish a timely withdrawal in

the Federal Register informing the

public that the determination will not

take effect. EPA will address all public

comments in a subsequent final notice

based on the proposed rule. EPA will

not institute a second comment period

on this action. Any parties interested in

commenting must do so at this time.

III. EPA’s Final Action

EPA is making the determination that

the Weirton PM–10 nonattainment area

achieved attainment by its applicable

attainment date of December 31, 2000.

This area will continue to carry the

designation of nonattainment and

classification of moderate under 40 CFR

part 81, until the State of West Virginia

submits a redesignation request and

maintenance plan, and that request and

maintenance plan are approved by EPA.

This area is eligible to be redesignated

to attainment under section 107(d)(3) of

the Act, if the five criteria of that section

are met.

IV. Administrative Requirements

A. General Requirements

Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR

51735, October 4, 1993), this action is

not a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’ and

27036 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 16, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

therefore is not subject to review by the

Office of Management and Budget. This

action merely approves state law as

meeting federal requirements and

imposes no additional requirements

beyond those imposed by state law.

Accordingly, the Administrator certifies

that this rule will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities under the

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601

et seq.). Because this rule approves preexisting requirements under state law

and does not impose any additional

enforceable duty beyond that required

by state law, it does not contain any

unfunded mandate or significantly or

uniquely affect small governments, as

described in the Unfunded Mandates

Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 104–4).

This rule also does not have a

substantial direct effect on one or more

Indian tribes, on the relationship

between the Federal Government and

Indian tribes, or on the distribution of

power and responsibilities between the

Federal Government and Indian tribes,

as specified by Executive Order 13175

(65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor

will it have substantial direct effects on

the States, on the relationship between

the national government and the States,

or on the distribution of power and

responsibilities among the various

levels of government, as specified in

Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255,

August 10, 1999) because it merely

approves a state rule implementing a

federal standard, and does not alter the

relationship or the distribution of power

and responsibilities established in the

Clean Air Act. This rule also is not

subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR

19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not

economically significant. In reviewing

SIP submissions, EPA’s role is to

approve state choices, provided that

they meet the criteria of the Clean Air

Act. In this context, in the absence of a

prior existing requirement for the State

to use voluntary consensus standards

(VCS), EPA has no authority to

disapprove a SIP submission for failure

to use VCS. It would thus be

inconsistent with applicable law for

EPA, when it reviews a SIP submission,

to use VCS in place of a SIP submission

that otherwise satisfies the provisions of

the Clean Air Act. Thus, the

requirements of section 12(d) of the

National Technology Transfer and

Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C.

272 note) do not apply. As required by

section 3 of Executive Order 12988 (61

FR 4729, February 7, 1996), in issuing

this rule, EPA has taken the necessary

steps to eliminate drafting errors and

ambiguity, minimize potential litigation,

and provide a clear legal standard for

affected conduct. EPA has complied

with Executive Order 12630 (53 FR

8859, March 15, 1988) by examining the

takings implications of the rule in

accordance with the ‘‘Attorney

General’s Supplemental Guidelines for

the Evaluation of Risk and Avoidance of

Unanticipated Takings’’ issued under

the executive order. This rule does not

impose an information collection

burden under the provisions of the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

B. Submission to Congress and the

Comptroller General

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. This rule is not a

‘‘major rule’’ as defined by 5 U.S.C.

804(2).

C. Petitions for Judicial Review

Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean

Air Act, petitions for judicial review of

this action making a determination that

the Weirton, West Virginia PM–10

nonattainment area has attained the

PM–10 NAAQS by its applicable

attainment date must be filed in the

United States Court of Appeals for the

appropriate circuit by July 16, 2001.

Filing a petition for reconsideration by

the Administrator of this final rule does

not affect the finality of this rule for the

purposes of judicial review nor does it

extend the time within which a petition

for judicial review may be filed, and

shall not postpone the effectiveness of

such rule or action. This action may not

be challenged later in proceedings to

enforce its requirements. (See section

307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 81

Environmental protection, Air

pollution control, Particulate matter,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

Dated: May 1, 2001.

William C. Early,

Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.

[FR Doc. 01–12349 Filed 5–15–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[FRL–6980–7]

Final Effective Date Modification for

the Determination of Nonattainment as

of November 15, 1996, and

Reclassification of the St. Louis Ozone

Nonattainment Area; States of

Missouri and Illinois

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rulemaking; delay of

effective date.

SUMMARY: On March 19, 2001, EPA

published a final rule entitled

‘‘Determination of Nonattainment as of

November 15, 1996, and Reclassification

of the St. Louis Ozone Nonattainment

Area; States of Missouri and Illinois’’

(66 FR 15578). The effective date for the

final rule was May 18, 2001. At the

same time, EPA also published its

proposal to delay the effective date of

the determination and reclassification

until June 29, 2001. The 30-day

comment period on our March 19, 2001,

proposal to extend the effective date has

ended and EPA received no adverse

comments. Today EPA is finalizing the

modification of the effective date of our

March 19, 2001, rule from May 18, 2001,

until June 29, 2001. Section 553(d) of

the Administrative Procedure Act

generally provides that rules may not

take effect earlier than 30 days after they

are published in the Federal Register.

However, if an Agency identifies a good

cause, section 553(d)(3) allows a rule to

take effect earlier, provided that the

Agency publishes its reasoning in the

final rule. EPA is making this action

effective immediately because the

effective date of the underlying

nonattainment determination and

reclassification is imminent, and

delaying the effective date of this action

would negate the purpose of this rule.

In addition, EPA finds good cause for

making this action effective

immediately because it relieves a

restriction that would otherwise go into

effect.

DATES: The effective date of the final

rule amending 40 CFR part 81 published

at 66 FR 15578, March 19, 2001, is

delayed for six weeks, from May 18,

2001, to a new effective date of June 29,

2001. The amendments in this final rule

are effective June 29, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Lynn M. Slugantz, EPA Region 7, (913)

551–7883; or Edward Doty, EPA Region

5, (312) 886–6057.