[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 7, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12453-12459]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-5347]



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


ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

[TX-53-1-6843a; FRL-5163-5]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation 
of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; State of Texas; Approval of 
the Maintenance Plan for Victoria County and Redesignation of the 
Victoria County Ozone Nonattainment Area to Attainment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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

SUMMARY: On July 27, 1994 the State of Texas submitted a maintenance 
plan and a request to redesignate the Victoria County, Texas ozone 
nonattainment area to attainment. Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), 
nonattainment areas may be redesignated to attainment if sufficient 
data are available to warrant the redesignation and the area meets the 
other CAA redesignation requirements. In this action, EPA is approving 
Texas' redesignation request because it meets the maintenance plan and 
redesignation [[Page 12454]] requirements set forth in the CAA and EPA 
is approving the 1992 base year emissions inventory. The approved 
maintenance plan will become a federally enforceable part of the State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) for Victoria County, Texas.

DATES: This final rule is effective on May 8, 1995, unless notice is 
received by April 6, 1995 that someone wishes to submit adverse or 
critical comments. If the effective date is delayed, timely notice will 
be published in the Federal Register (FR).

ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to Guy R. Donaldson, Acting Chief, 
Air Planning Section (6T-AP), U.S. EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, 
Dallas, Texas 75202-2733. Copies of the State's petition and other 
information relevant to this action are available for inspection during 
normal hours at the following locations:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, Air Programs Branch 
(6T-A), 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733.
Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 401 M Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460.
Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, Office of Air Quality, 
12124 Park 35 Circle, P.O. Box 13087, Austin, Texas 78711-3087.

    Anyone wishing to review this petition at the U.S. EPA office is 
asked to contact the person below to schedule an appointment 24 hours 
in advance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Mick Cote, Planning Section (6T-
AP), Air Programs Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 
6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, telephone (214) 665-
7219.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The CAA, as amended in 1977 required areas that were designated 
nonattainment based on a failure to meet the ozone national ambient air 
quality standard (NAAQS) to develop SIPs with sufficient control 
measures to expeditiously attain and maintain the standard. Victoria 
County, Texas was designated under section 107 of the 1977 CAA as 
nonattainment with respect to the ozone NAAQS on March 3, 1978 (40 CFR 
81.344). In accordance with section 110 of the 1977 CAA, the State of 
Texas submitted an ozone SIP as required by part D on April 13, 1979. 
EPA fully approved this ozone SIP on March 25, 1980 (45 FR 19244), and 
August 13, 1984 (49 FR 32190).
    On November 15, 1990, the CAA Amendments of 1990 were enacted 
(Public Law 101-549, 104 Stat. 2399, codified at 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q). 
The ozone nonattainment designation for Victoria County continued by 
operation of law according to section 107(d)(1)(C)(i) of the CAA, as 
amended in 1990 (See 56 FR 56694, November 6, 1991). Since the State 
had not yet collected the required three years of ambient air quality 
data necessary to petition for redesignation to attainment, the 
nonattainment area was further designated as nonclassifiable-incomplete 
data for ozone.
    The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) more 
recently has collected ambient monitoring data that show no violations 
of the ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) of .12 parts 
per million. The State developed a maintenance plan for Victoria 
County, and solicited public comment during a public hearing on July 7, 
1994. Accordingly, on July 27, 1994, Texas requested redesignation of 
the area to attainment with respect to the ozone NAAQS and submitted an 
ozone maintenance SIP for Victoria County. Please see the TSD for the 
detailed air quality monitoring data.

Evaluation Criteria

    The 1990 Amendments revised section 107(d)(3)(E) to provide five 
specific requirements that an area must meet in order to be 
redesignated from nonattainment to attainment: (1) The area must have 
attained the applicable NAAQS; (2) the area must meet all applicable 
requirements under section 110 and part D of the CAA; (3) the area must 
have a fully approved SIP under section 110(k) of the CAA; (4) the air 
quality improvement must be permanent and enforceable; and, (5) the 
area must have a fully approved maintenance plan pursuant to section 
175A of the CAA. Section 107(d)(3)(D) allows a Governor to initiate the 
redesignation process for an area to apply for attainment status. 
Please see EPA's Technical Support Document (TSD) for a detailed 
discussion of these requirements.

(1) Attainment of the NAAQS for Ozone

    Attainment of the ozone NAAQS is determined based on the expected 
number of exceedances in a calendar year. The method for determining 
attainment of the ozone NAAQS is contained in 40 CFR 50.9 and appendix 
H to that section. The simplest method by which expected exceedances 
are calculated is by averaging actual exceedances at each monitoring 
site over a three year period. An area is in attainment of the standard 
if this average results in expected exceedances for each monitoring 
site of 1.0 or less per calendar year. When a valid daily maximum 
hourly average value is not available for each required monitoring day 
during the year, the missing days must be accounted for when estimating 
exceedances for the year. Appendix H provides the formula used to 
estimate the expected number of exceedances for each year.
    The State of Texas' request is based on an analysis of quality-
assured ozone air quality data which is relevant to both the 
maintenance plan and to the redesignation request. The data come from 
the State and Local Air Monitoring Station network. The request is 
based on ambient air ozone monitoring data collected for 36 consecutive 
months from May 3, 1991, through May 2, 1994, encompassing 3 valid 
ozone seasons (1991-1993). The data clearly show an expected exceedance 
rate of zero for the ozone standard.
    Appendix H does not explicitly address the situation where a new 
site collects data for only a portion of the calendar year. However, 
this situation has been addressed in an EPA memorandum, ``Ozone and 
Carbon Monoxide Design Value Calculations,'' William Laxton, Director, 
Technical Support Division, OAQPS, June 18, 1990 (Laxton memo). The 
missing data penalty created by the calculation is designed to 
encourage prompt repair or replacement of monitors, rather than to 
discourage air pollution control agencies from installing new 
monitoring sites in excess of the number required by 40 CFR part 58. 
For this reason, the Laxton memo essentially allows an agency which 
installs a monitoring site to base the estimated exceedance calculation 
for the initial year on the portion of the year following start-up of 
the monitor. Based on the underlying reasoning of the Laxton memo and 
the fact that there were no exceedances at the monitoring site during 
the peak ozone season of May through September for the 3-year 
monitoring period, EPA accepted the data as an adequate demonstration 
that the ozone standard was attained in Victoria County.
    In addition to the demonstration discussed above, EPA required 
completion of air network monitoring requirements set forth in 40 CFR 
part 58. This included a quality assurance plan revision and a 
monitoring network review to determine the adequacy of the ozone 
monitoring network. The TNRCC fulfilled these requirements to complete 
documentation for the air quality demonstration. The TNRCC has also 
[[Page 12455]] committed to continue monitoring in this area in 
accordance with 40 CFR part 58.
    In sum, EPA believes that the data submitted by the TNRCC provides 
an adequate demonstration that Victoria County attained the ozone 
NAAQS. Moreover, the monitoring data continue to show attainment in 
1994 and in 1995 to date.
    If the monitoring data records a violation of the NAAQS before the 
direct final action is effective, the direct final approval of the 
redesignation will be withdrawn and a proposed disapproval substituted 
for the direct final approval.

(2) Section 110 Requirements

    For purposes of redesignation, to meet the requirement that the SIP 
contain all applicable requirements under the CAA, EPA has reviewed the 
SIP to ensure that it contains all measures that were due under the CAA 
prior to or at the time the State submitted its redesignation request, 
as set forth in EPA policy. EPA interprets section 107(d)(3)(E)(v) of 
the CAA to mean that, for a redesignation request to be approved, the 
State must have met all requirements that applied to the subject area 
prior to or at the same time as the submission of a complete 
redesignation request. Requirements of the CAA that come due 
subsequently continue to be applicable to the area at later dates (see 
section 175A(c)) and, if redesignation of any of the areas is 
disapproved, the State remains obligated to fulfill those requirements. 
These requirements are discussed in the following EPA documents: 
``Procedures for Processing Requests to Redesignate Areas to 
Attainment,'' John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality Management Division, 
September 4, 1992, ``State Implementation Plan (SIP) Actions Submitted 
in Response to Clean Air Act (CAA) Deadlines,'' John Calcagni, 
Director, Air Quality Management Division, October 28, 1992, and 
``State Implementation Plan (SIP) Requirements for Areas Submitting 
Requests for Redesignation to Attainment of the Ozone and Carbon 
Monoxide (CO) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) on or 
after November 15, 1992,'' Michael H. Shapiro, Acting Assistant 
Administrator, September 17, 1993.
    EPA has analyzed the SIP and determined that it is consistent with 
the requirements of amended section 110(a)(2). The SIP contains 
enforceable emission limitations, requires monitoring, compiling, and 
analyzing ambient air quality data, requires preconstruction review of 
new major stationary sources and major modifications to existing ones, 
provides for adequate funding, staff, and associated resources 
necessary to implement its requirements, and requires stationary source 
emissions monitoring and reporting.

(3) Additional Section 110 and Part D Requirements

    The TNRCC submitted a SIP revision entitled ``Revisions to Texas 
Regulation V and the General Rules to Meet Reasonably Available Control 
Technology Requirements'' (Texas RACT Catch-up and Victoria County Fix-
up). This SIP revision contains certain recordkeeping and monitoring 
requirements necessary for Victoria County to have a fully-approved SIP 
under section 110. The EPA is approving the Texas RACT Catch-up and 
Victoria County Fix-up SIP revisions together in a separate action 
concurrent with this Victoria County redesignation request. The Texas 
RACT Catch-up and Victoria County Fix-up direct final approval notice 
is located in the final rules section of this Federal Register. If 
adverse or critical comments are received on the Texas RACT Catch-up 
and Victoria County Fix-up action, the notice will be converted from a 
direct final action to a proposal and those comments addressed in a 
subsequent final action. In such a case, the Victoria County 
redesignation direct final action will be converted to a proposal as 
well. As discussed earlier in this document, all of the SIP 
requirements must be met by the TNRCC and approved by EPA into the SIP 
prior to or concurrent with final action on the redesignation request.
    Before Victoria County can be redesignated to attainment, it also 
must have fulfilled the applicable requirements of part D of the CAA. 
Under part D, an area's classification indicates the requirements to 
which it will be subject. Subpart 1 of part D sets forth the basic 
nonattainment requirements applicable to all nonattainment areas, 
classified as well as nonclassifiable. Subpart 2 of part D establishes 
additional requirements for nonattainment areas classified under table 
1 of section 181(a)(1). Since Victoria County is considered 
nonclassifiable, the State is only required to meet the applicable 
requirements of subpart 1 of part D--specifically sections 172(c) and 
176.
    Section 172(c)(1) requires the implementation of all reasonably 
available control technology (RACT) as expeditiously as possible. The 
State of Texas has adopted VOC RACT rules under the following general 
categories: General Volatile Organic Compound Sources, Volatile Organic 
Compound Transfer Operations, Petroleum Refining and Petrochemical 
Processes, Solvent-Using Processes, Miscellaneous Industrial Sources, 
Consumer-Related Sources, and Administrative Provisions. Incomplete/no 
data areas such as Victoria County must correct any RACT deficiencies 
regarding the enforceability of existing rules in order to be 
redesignated to attainment. To this end, certain monitoring, 
recordkeeping, and reporting requirements are being revised to improve 
the enforceability of RACT in Victoria County in the concurrent action 
discussed above. With the approval of these revisions the requirements 
of section 172(c)(1) are fully met for Victoria County.
    Section 172(c)(2) lists requirements for a demonstration of 
reasonable further progress (RFP). An RFP demonstration assumes a long 
nonattainment period or a large amount of reductions required to attain 
the standard. Because Victoria County is already in attainment, EPA 
considers Federal measures, such as the Federal Motor Vehicle Control 
Program and Reid Vapor Pressure requirement, sufficient to meet the RFP 
requirement. See the General Preamble for the Implementation of Title I 
(57 FR 13498, 13525-26, 13564).
    Section 172(c)(3) requires an emissions inventory as part of an 
area's attainment demonstration. The emissions inventory requirement 
has been met by the submission and approval with this action of the 
1992 inventory for Victoria County.
    Section 172(c)(9) requires that contingency measures be developed 
should an area fail to meet the reasonable further progress 
requirement. As explained in the General Preamble (57 FR 13525), EPA 
believed it not appropriate to apply this requirement to incomplete/no 
data areas such as Victoria County. Moreover, since Victoria County has 
met the RFP requirement, and has demonstrated attainment through air 
monitoring data, the contingency measures requirement of section 
172(c)(9) no longer applies (57 FR 13564). Thus, the State is not 
required to submit section 172(c)(9) contingency measures for Victoria 
County to be redesignated.
    Section 172(c)(5) requires the development of a New Source Review 
(NSR) Program. Although Texas has had an NSR program, revisions 
required by the 1990 Act have not been approved by EPA. Texas, 
therefore, does not currently have a fully approved NSR program. 
However, in an October 14, 1994 memo from Mary D. Nichols, Assistant 
Administrator for Air and [[Page 12456]] Radiation, entitled ``Part D 
New Source Review (part D NSR) Requirements for Areas Redesignating to 
Attainment'' (NSR memo), EPA amended one aspect of the redesignation 
guidance by removing the requirement that an area have an approved NSR 
program prior to the area requesting redesignation to attainment. The 
NSR memo explained that EPA now believes that a de minimis exception to 
the requirement of section 107(d)(3)(E) for an approved part D NSR 
program is justifiable in certain cases where the adoption and full 
approval of a part D NSR program as a prerequisite to redesignation 
would not be of significant environmental value. Once an area has been 
redesignated to attainment, a part D NSR program must be replaced by 
the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program. Victoria 
County's maintenance plan demonstrates maintenance without the use of 
the NSR program; therefore, EPA does not require the part D NSR program 
to be approved prior to approval of this redesignation request. Please 
see the TSD for a copy of the NSR memo.
    Section 176(c) of the CAA requires States to revise their SIPs to 
establish criteria and procedures to ensure that Federal actions, 
before they are taken, conform to the air quality planning goals in the 
applicable State SIP. The requirement to determine conformity applies 
to transportation plans, programs and projects developed, funded, or 
approved under title 23 U.S.C. or the Federal Transit Act 
(``transportation conformity''), as well as to all other Federal 
actions (``general conformity'').
    Section 176 further provides that the conformity revisions to be 
submitted by the States must be consistent with Federal conformity 
regulations that the CAA required EPA to promulgate. Congress provided 
for the State revisions to be submitted one year after the date for 
promulgation of final EPA conformity regulations. When that date passed 
without such promulgation, EPA's General Preamble for the 
implementation of title I informed the State that its conformity 
regulations would establish a submittal date (see 57 FR 13498, 13557 
(April 16, 1992)). The EPA promulgated final transportation conformity 
regulations on November 24, 1993 (58 FR 62118) and general conformity 
regulations on November 30, 1993 (58 FR 63214). These conformity rules 
require that States adopt both transportation and general conformity 
provisions in the SIP for areas designated nonattainment or subject to 
a maintenance plan approved under CAA section 175A.
    Pursuant to 40 CFR 51.396 of the transportation conformity rule and 
40 CFR 51.851 of the general conformity rule, the State of Texas was 
required to submit a SIP revision containing transportation conformity 
criteria and procedures consistent with those established in the 
Federal rule by November 25, 1994. Similarly, Texas was required to 
submit a SIP revision containing general conformity criteria and 
procedures consistent with those established in the Federal rule by 
December 1, 1994. Texas submitted its transportation conformity rules 
to EPA on November 6, 1994. The State's general conformity rules were 
submitted to EPA on November 22, 1994. As these requirements did not 
come due until after the submission date of the redesignation request, 
these conformity rule submissions need not be approved prior to taking 
action on this redesignation request.
    The EPA recently published additional guidance on maintenance plans 
and their applicability to conformity issues in a memorandum entitled 
``Limited Maintenance Plan Option for Nonclassifiable Ozone 
Nonattainment Areas,'' (limited maintenance plan memo) from Sally L. 
Shaver, Director, Air Quality Strategies & Standards Division, on 
November 16, 1994. This limited maintenance plan memo discusses 
maintenance requirements for certain areas petitioning for 
redesignation to attainment. Nonclassifiable ozone nonattainment areas 
with design values less than 85% of the exceedance level of the ozone 
standard are no longer required to project emissions over the 
maintenance period.
    The Federal transportation conformity rule (58 FR 62188) and the 
Federal general conformity rule (58 FR 63214) apply to areas operating 
under maintenance plans. Under either rule, one means by which a 
maintenance area can demonstrate conformity for Federal projects is to 
indicate that expected emissions from planned actions are consistent 
with the emissions budget for the area. Based on guidance discussed in 
the limited maintenance plan memo, emissions inventories in areas that 
qualify for the limited maintenance plan approach are not required to 
be projected over the life of the maintenance plan. EPA feels it is 
unreasonable to expect that such an area will experience so much growth 
in that period that a violation of the NAAQS would occur. Emissions 
budgets in limited maintenance plan areas would be treated as 
essentially not constraining emissions growth, and would not need to be 
capped for the maintenance period. In these cases, Federal projects 
subject to conformity determinations could be considered to satisfy the 
``budget test'' of the Federal conformity rules.

(3) Fully Approved SIP

    The EPA finds that, upon approval of the Texas RACT Catch-up and 
Victoria County Fix-up SIP revisions, the State of Texas will have a 
fully approved SIP for Victoria County.

(4) Permanent and Enforceable Measures

    Under the CAA, EPA approved Texas' SIP control strategy for the 
Victoria County nonattainment area, satisfied that the rules and the 
emission reductions achieved as a result of those rules were 
enforceable. Several Federal and Statewide rules are in place which 
have significantly improved the ambient air quality in Victoria County. 
Existing Federal programs, such as the Federal Motor Vehicle Control 
Program and the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) limit of 7.8 pounds per 
square inch for gasoline in Victoria County, will not be lifted upon 
redesignation. These programs will counteract emissions growth as the 
county experiences economic growth over the life of the maintenance 
plan.
    The State adopted VOC rules such as degreasing and solvent clean-up 
processes; surface coating rules for large appliances, furniture, 
coils, paper, fabric, vinyl, cans, miscellaneous metal parts and 
products, and factory surface coating of flat wood paneling; solvent-
using rules for graphic arts, and miscellaneous industrial source rules 
such as for cutback asphalt. The applicable RACT rules will also remain 
in place in Victoria County. In addition, the State permits program, 
the PSD permits program, and the Federal Operating Permits program will 
help counteract emissions growth.
    The EPA finds that the combination of existing EPA-approved SIP and 
Federal measures ensure the permanence and enforceability of reductions 
in ambient ozone levels that have allowed the area to attain the NAAQS.

(5) Fully Approved Maintenance Plan Under Section 175A

    In today's document, EPA is approving the State's maintenance plan 
for Victoria County because EPA finds that the TNRCC's submittal meets 
the requirements of section 175A. Thus, the Victoria County 
nonattainment area will have a fully approved maintenance plan in 
accordance with section 175A as of the effective date of this 
redesignation. Section 175A of the CAA sets forth the elements of a 
maintenance plan for [[Page 12457]] areas seeking redesignation from 
nonattainment to attainment. The plan must demonstrate continued 
attainment of the applicable NAAQS for at least ten years after the 
Administrator approves a redesignation to attainment. Eight years after 
the redesignation, the State must submit a revised maintenance plan 
which demonstrates that attainment will continue to be maintained for 
the ten years following the initial ten-year period. To provide for the 
possibility of future NAAQS violations, the maintenance plan must 
contain contingency measures, with a schedule for implementation, 
adequate to assure prompt correction of any air quality problems. Each 
of the section 175A plan requirements is discussed below.

Demonstration of Maintenance

    The requirements for an area to redesignate to attainment are 
discussed in the memorandum entitled ``Procedures for Processing 
Requests to Redesignate Areas to Attainment,'' John Calcagni, Director, 
Air Quality Management Division, September 4, 1992 (Calcagni memo). One 
aspect of a complete maintenance demonstration discussed in the 
Calcagni memo is the requirement to develop an emission inventory from 
one of the three years during which the area has demonstrated 
attainment. This inventory should include volatile organic compounds 
(VOC), oxides of nitrogen (NO<INF>X), and CO emissions from the area in 
tons per day measurements. In addition to the Calcagni memo, more 
recent guidance on the redesignation of certain nonattainment areas to 
attainment is provided in the limited maintenance plan memo.

Attainment Inventory

    The TNRCC adopted comprehensive inventories of VOC, NO<INF>X, and 
CO emissions from area, stationary, and mobile sources using 1992 as 
the base year to demonstrate maintenance of the ozone NAAQS. EPA has 
determined that 1992 is an appropriate year on which to base attainment 
level emissions because EPA policy allows States to select any one of 
the three years in the attainment period as the attainment year 
inventory. The State submittal contains the detailed inventory data and 
summaries by source category.
    The TNRCC provided the stationary source estimates for each company 
meeting the emissions criteria by requiring the submission of complete 
emission inventory questionnaires which had been designed to obtain 
site-specific data. The TNRCC generated area source emissions for each 
source category based on EPA's ``Procedures for the Preparation of 
Emissions Inventories for Precursors of Carbon Monoxide and Ozone, 
Volume I'', and the EPA document entitled ``Compilation of Air 
Pollutant Emission Factors''. The non-road mobile source inventory was 
developed using methodology recommended in EPA's ``Procedures for 
Emission Inventory Preparation. Volume IV: Mobile Sources''. Additional 
data was provided with reference to an EPA-sponsored study entitled 
``Nonroad Engine Emission Inventories for CO and Ozone Nonattainment 
Boundaries.'' On-road emissions of VOC, NO<INF>X, and CO were 
calculated on a county-wide basis using EPA's MOBILE5a computer model. 
The biogenic emissions were calculated using the EPA software package 
entitled PC-BEIS. This package yields results in U.S. short tons per 
day (daily emissions only).
    In the limited maintenance plan memo, EPA set forth new guidance on 
maintenance plan requirements for certain ozone nonattainment areas. 
The limited maintenance plan memo identified criteria through which 
certain nonclassifiable ozone nonattainment areas could choose to 
submit less rigorous maintenance plans. As mentioned earlier, the 
method for calculating design values is presented in the June 18, 1990 
memorandum, ``Ozone and Carbon Monoxide Design Value Calculations,'' 
from William G. Laxton, former Director of the Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards Technical Support Division. Nonclassifiable 
ozone nonattainment areas whose design values are calculated at or 
below 0.106 parts per million (ppm) at the time of redesignation, are 
no longer required to project emissions over the maintenance period. 
The 0.106 ppm represents 85% of the ozone exceedance level of 0.125 
ppm. As explained in the November 16, 1994 limited maintenance plan 
memo, the EPA believes if an area begins the maintenance period at or 
below 85% of the ozone exceedance level of the NAAQS, the existing 
Federal and SIP control measures, along with the PSD program, will be 
adequate to assure maintenance of the ozone NAAQS in the area. Victoria 
County has a calculated design value of 0.100 ppm. In light of that, 
and the lack of any recent history of violations of the ozone NAAQS, 
EPA believes that it is reasonable to conclude that the combination of 
the RACT measures in the SIP, the Federal Motor Vehicle Control 
Program, the RVP limit of 7.8 pounds per square inch, and the 
applicability of preconstruction review in accordance with the PSD 
requirements of part C of Title I, provides adequate assurance that the 
ozone NAAQS will be maintained. Thus, the EPA believes Victoria County 
qualifies for the limited maintenance plan approach.
    The following is a table of the revised average peak ozone season 
weekday VOC and NO<INF>X emissions for the biogenic and major 
anthropogenic source categories for the 1992 attainment year inventory.

                        Summary of VOC Emissions                        
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Tons per    Tons 
                   Source category                       year    per day
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point Sources.......................................    2180.10     5.97
Area Sources........................................    1940.41     6.04
Non-Road Mobile Sources.............................     962.24     3.55
On-Road Mobile Sources*.............................  .........     4.44
Biogenic Sources*...................................  .........    26.32
                                                     -------------------
      Total*........................................  .........    46.32
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Tons per year calculations were not submitted for these categories.    


                        Summary of NO<INF>X Emissions                        
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      Tons per     Tons 
                  Source category                       year     per day
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point Sources.....................................     13339.91    36.55
Area Sources......................................       206.73     0.35
Non-Road Mobile Sources...........................       985.47     3.31
On-Road Mobile Sources*...........................  ...........     8.01
Biogenic Sources*.................................  ...........  .......
                                                   ---------------------
    Total*........................................  ...........    48.22
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Tons per year calculations were not submitted for these categories.    

    The attainment inventory submitted by TNRCC for Victoria County 
meets the redesignation requirements as discussed in the Calcagni memo 
and limited maintenance plan memo. Therefore, the EPA is today 
approving the emissions inventory component of the maintenance plan for 
Victoria County.

Continued Attainment

    Continued attainment of the ozone NAAQS in Victoria County will 
depend, in part, on the Federal and State control measures discussed 
previously. However, the ambient air monitoring site will remain active 
at its present location during the entire length of the maintenance 
period. This data will be quality assured and submitted to the 
Aerometric Information and Retrieval System (AIRS) on a monthly basis. 
As [[Page 12458]] discussed in the limited maintenance plan memo, 
certain monitored ozone levels will provide the basis for triggering 
measures contained in the contingency plan. Additionally, as discussed 
above, during year 8 of the maintenance period, TNRCC is required to 
submit a revised plan to provide for maintenance of the ozone standard 
in Victoria County for the next ten years.

Contingency Plan

    Section 175A of the CAA requires that a maintenance plan include 
contingency provisions, as necessary, to promptly correct any violation 
of the NAAQS that occurs after redesignation of the area to attainment. 
The contingency plan should clearly identify the measures to be 
adopted, a schedule and procedure for adoption and implementation, and 
a specific time limit for action by the State. The State should also 
identify specific triggers which will be used to determine when the 
measures need to be implemented.
    The TNRCC has selected Stage I vapor control as its contingency 
measure. At any time during the maintenance period, if the Victoria 
County air quality monitor records a third exceedance of the ozone 
NAAQS within any consecutive three-year period (a level below the 
NAAQS), the TNRCC will promulgate a rule change to implement Stage I 
gasoline controls in Victoria County. This rule will be submitted to 
EPA within 6 months of the third exceedance. The compliance date for 
applicable sources in Victoria County will be 6 months after TNRCC 
adopts the rule change. This contingency measure and schedule satisfies 
the requirements of section 175A(d).
    In addition, the State has adopted several voluntary measures that, 
although not enforceable and therefore not contingency measures that 
could satisfy section 175A, are expected to contribute to the 
maintenance of air quality. The triggers for the voluntary measures, 
with the exception of the emissions projection measure, are at ozone 
levels below the standard, to allow the State to take early action to 
address a possible violation of the NAAQS before it occurs. The 
following trigger levels would activate measures: The ozone design 
value equals or exceeds 85% of the exceedance level of the ozone NAAQS, 
or 0.106 ppm; or the monitor shows one to four exceedances of the ozone 
NAAQS during any consecutive three-year period.
    If the design value of Victoria County exceeds .106 ppm at any time 
during the maintenance period, Victoria County officials will establish 
a voluntary ozone advisory program. The TNRCC will coordinate the 
dissemination of information to the county with respect to ozone 
advisory predictions, voluntary compliance measures on ozone advisory 
days, and public notification. The ozone advisory program will be 
functional within 6 months of notification by the TNRCC that the ozone 
design value for Victoria County has reached the trigger level.
    If the monitor records an exceedance of the ozone NAAQS, Victoria 
County officials will establish a formal ozone advisory program. This 
formal program will be staffed sufficiently to operate the program on a 
daily basis during the peak ozone season (May 1-September 30). The 
formal program will be staffed and functional within 6 months of 
notification by TNRCC that the trigger level has been reached.
    If the monitor records a second exceedance of the ozone NAAQS 
during any consecutive three-year period, the newly-formed ozone 
advisory board will institute a voluntary program with area industry to 
reschedule, revise, or curtail activities for the ozone advisory days. 
This program will be developed and available for use within 30 days 
after notification by the TNRCC that this contingency measure will be 
required.
    If Victoria County should violate the ozone NAAQS (4 exceedances 
during any consecutive three-year period) during the maintenance 
period, the TNRCC will require an additional voluntary measure to be 
implemented within one year of a violation of the ozone NAAQS. A 
complete description of these voluntary measures and their triggers can 
be found in the State's submittal. Although these voluntary measures do 
not qualify as contingency measures under section 175A, EPA is hereby 
approving them under section 110 for whatever strengthening effect they 
may have on the SIP.

Final Action

    The EPA has evaluated the State's redesignation request for 
Victoria County, Texas, for consistency with the CAA, EPA regulations, 
and EPA policy. The EPA believes that, with the concurrent approval of 
the Texas RACT Catch-up and Victoria County Fix-up submission, the 
redesignation request and monitoring data demonstrate that Victoria 
County, Texas, has attained the ozone standard. In addition, the EPA 
has determined that, with the concurrent approval of the Texas RACT 
Catch-up and Victoria County Fix-up submission, the redesignation 
request meets the requirements and policy set forth in the General 
Preamble and policy memorandum discussed in this notice for area 
redesignations, and today is approving Texas' redesignation request for 
Victoria County.
    The EPA is publishing this action without prior proposal because 
the EPA views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no 
adverse comments. However, in a separate document in this Federal 
Register publication, the EPA is proposing to approve the SIP revision 
should adverse or critical comments be filed. This action will be 
effective May 8, 1995, unless adverse or critical comments are received 
by April 6, 1995. If the EPA receives such comments, this action will 
be withdrawn before the effective date by publishing a subsequent 
document that will withdraw the final action. All public comments 
received will then be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on 
this action serving as a proposed rule. The EPA will not institute a 
second comment period on this action. Any parties interested in 
commenting on this action should do so at this time. If no such 
comments are received on this action or the Texas RACT Catch-up and 
Victoria County Fix-up action, the public is advised that this action 
will be effective May 8, 1995. Similarly, if adverse or critical 
comments are received on the Texas RACT Catch-up and Victoria County 
Fix-up action, the notice on that action will be converted to a 
proposal and those comments addressed in a subsequent final action. In 
such a case, the Victoria County redesignation direct final action will 
be converted to a proposal as well.
    The EPA has reviewed this redesignation request for conformance 
with the provisions of the CAA and has determined that this action 
conforms to those requirements.

Regulatory Process

    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 600 et seq., the EPA 
must prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis assessing the impact of 
any proposed or final rule on small entities (5 U.S.C. 603 and 604). 
Alternatively, under 5 U.S.C. 605(b), the EPA may certify that the rule 
will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small 
entities (see 46 FR 8709). Small entities include small businesses, 
small not-for-profit enterprises, and governmental entities with 
jurisdiction over populations of less than 50,000.
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by May 8, 1995. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration of this final rule by the Administrator does not affect 
the finality of this rule for purposes of [[Page 12459]] judicial 
review; nor does it extend the time within which a petition for 
judicial review may be filed, or postpone the effectiveness of this 
rule. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to enforce 
its requirements (see section 307(b)(2)).
    Nothing in this action shall be construed as permitting, allowing, 
or establishing a precedent for any future request for a revision to 
any SIP. Each request for revision to the SIP shall be considered 
separately in light of specific technical, economic, and environmental 
factors and in relation to relevant statutory and regulatory 
requirements.
    SIP approvals under section 110 and subchapter I, part D of the CAA 
do not create any new requirements, but simply approve requirements 
that the State is already imposing. Therefore, because the Federal SIP-
approval does not impose any new requirements. I certify that it does 
not have a significant impact on small entities. Moreover, due to the 
nature of the Federal-State relationship under the CAA, preparation of 
a regulatory flexibility analysis would constitute Federal inquiry into 
the economic reasonableness of State action. The CAA forbids EPA from 
basing its actions concerning SIPs on such grounds. Union Electric Co. 
v. U.S. E.P.A., 427 U.S. 246, 256-66 (S.Ct. 1976); 42 U.S.C. section 
7410(a)(2). The Office of Management and Budget has exempted this 
action from review under Executive Order 12866.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Area designations, 
Hydrocarbons, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental 
regulations, National parks, Reporting and recordkeeping, Ozone, 
Volatile organic compounds, and Wilderness areas.

    Dated: February 22, 1995.
Jane N. Saginaw,
Regional Administrator (6A).

    40 CFR parts 52 and 81 are amended as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

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

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.

Subpart SS--Texas

    2. Section 52.2275 is amended by adding paragraph (e) to read as 
follows:

Sec. 52.2275  Control strategy and regulations: Ozone.

* * * * *
    (e) Approval--The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission 
(TNRCC) submitted an ozone redesignation request and maintenance plan 
on July 27, 1994, requesting that the Victoria County ozone 
nonattainment area be redesignated to attainment for ozone. Both the 
redesignation request and maintenance plan were adopted by TNRCC in 
Commission Order No. 94-29 on July 27, 1994. The redesignation request 
and maintenance plan meet the redesignation requirements in section 
107(d)(3)(E) of the Act as amended in 1990. The redesignation meets the 
Federal requirements of section 182(a)(1) of the Clean Air Act as a 
revision to the Texas Ozone State Implementation Plan for Victoria 
County. The EPA approved the request for redesignation to attainment 
with respect to ozone for Victoria County on May 8, 1995.

PART 81--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7871q.


    2. In Section 81.344, the attainment status designation table for 
ozone is amended by revising the entry for Victoria County under 
``Designated Area'' to read as follows:


Sec. 81.344  Texas.

* * * * *

                              Texas--Ozone                              
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Classification      
                                Designation  ---------------------------
       Designated area              date                          Date  
                                                    Type          type  
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Victoria Area, Victoria        May 8, 1995..  Attainment.               
 County.                                                                
                                                                        
                  *        *        *        *        *                 
------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *
[FR Doc. 95-5347 Filed 3-6-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P