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[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 7 (Wednesday, January 11, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 2719-2722]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-699]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 81

[ID-A-94-64; FRL-5137-6]

Designation of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; State of 
Idaho

AGENCY: United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990, EPA is 
authorized to promulgate redesignation of areas as nonattainment for 
the PM-10 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 
or equal to a nominal ten micrometers) National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards (NAAQS). In a prior action, EPA proposed to redesignate as 
nonattainment for PM-10 a portion of Kootenai County consisting of the 
City of Coeur d'Alene. In today's action, EPA is requesting public 
comment on a proposal to expand the proposed nonattainment boundary and 
redesignate a larger portion of Kootenai County, Idaho, from 
unclassifiable to nonattainment for PM-10. EPA is proposing that the 
portion of Kootenai County outside the exterior boundary of the Coeur 
d'Alene Indian Reservation be designated nonattainment and classified 
moderate for PM-10. Monitored violations of the PM-10 NAAQS have been 
recorded at monitoring sites in Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls, Idaho.

DATES: All written comments on this proposal should be submitted by 
March 13, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed to: Montel Livingston, 
SIP Manager, U.S. EPA, Air Programs Development Section (AT-082), 1200 
Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101.
    Information supporting this rulemaking action can be found in 
Public Docket ID-A-94-64 at U.S. EPA, Air Programs Development Section, 
1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101. The docket may be 
inspected from 8 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. on weekdays, except for legal 
holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Body, Environmental Protection 
Agency (ATD-082), Air and Radiation Branch, 1200 6th Avenue, Seattle, 
Washington 98101, 206/553-0782.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General

    EPA is authorized to initiate redesignation of areas as 
nonattainment for PM-10 pursuant to section 107(d)(3) of the Act \1\ on 
the basis of air quality data, planning and control considerations or 
any other air quality related considerations the Administrator deems 
appropriate. A nonattainment area is defined as any area that does not 
meet, or any area with sources that significantly contribute to ambient 
air quality in a nearby area that does not meet, the National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) (see section 107(d)(1)(A)(i) of the 
Act).\2\ Thus, in determining the appropriate boundary for a 
nonattainment area, EPA considers not only the areas where the 
violations occurred but also nearby areas which contain sources that 
could significantly contribute to such violations.
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    \1\ References herein are to the Clean Air Act, as amended by 
the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, Pub. L. 101-549, 104 Stat. 
2399 (``the Act''). The Act is codified, as amended, at the U.S. 
Code in 42 U.S.C. 7401, et seq.
    \2\ EPA has construed the definition of nonattainment area to 
require some material or significant contribution in a nearby area. 
The Agency believes it is reasonable to conclude that something 
greater than a molecular impact is required.
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    In the absence of technical information identifying particular 
sources contributing to violations of the NAAQS, EPA policy for PM-10 
is to use political boundaries associated with the area where the 
monitored violations occurred and in which it is reasonably expected 
that sources contributing to the violations are located (see, for 
example, 57 FR 43846 at 43848 (Sept. 22, 1992)). PM-10 nonattainment 
boundaries are generally presumed to be, as appropriate, the county, 
township or other municipal subdivision in which the ambient 
particulate matter monitors recording the PM-10 violations are located. 
EPA has presumed that this would include both the areas in violation of 
the PM-10 NAAQS and areas containing sources that significantly 
contribute to the violations. Moreover, EPA tends to consider and 
propose more expansive nonattainment area political boundaries to 
ensure that sources contributing to the nonattainment problem are 
considered in the State's technical evaluation and analysis of the 
area's air quality problem. However, a boundary other than a county 
perimeter or other municipal boundary may be more appropriate. Affected 
States and Tribes may submit information demonstrating that, consistent 
with section 107(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, a boundary other than a county 
perimeter or other municipal boundary is more appropriate. Additional 
guidance on this issue is provided in the PM-10 State Implementation 
Plan (SIP) Development Guideline (EPA-450/2-86-001).
    On September 22, 1992, after notice to the State of Idaho, EPA 
proposed that the City of Coeur d'Alene be redesignated nonattainment 
for PM-10 based on monitored violations of the PM-10 NAAQS, at the 
Lakes Middle School monitoring site, located within the Coeur d'Alene 
city limits (see 57 FR 43846). Before EPA took final action on that 
proposal, the State notified EPA that additional violations of the PM-
10 NAAQS had been recorded in the neighboring City of Post Falls and 
requested that the boundary of the nonattainment area be expanded. In 
today's action, EPA is proposing to redesignate the entire County of 
Kootenai, except for that portion located within the exterior boundary 
of the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation, as nonattainment for PM-10.

II. Background for PM-10

    On July 1, 1987, EPA revised the NAAQS for particulate matter (52 
FR 24643), by replacing total suspended particulate as the indicator 
for particulate matter with a new indicator called PM-10 that includes 
only those particles with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 
a nominal 10 micrometers. At the same time, EPA set forth regulations 
for implementing the revised particulate matter standards and announced 
EPA's SIP development policy elaborating PM-10 control strategies 
necessary to assure attainment and maintenance of the PM-10 NAAQS (see 
generally 52 FR 24672). EPA adopted a PM-10 SIP development policy 
dividing all areas of the country into three categories based upon 
their likelihood of violating the revised NAAQS: (1) Areas with a 
strong likelihood of violating the PM-10 NAAQS and requiring 
substantial SIP adjustment were placed in Group I; (2) areas that might 
well have been attaining the PM-10 NAAQS and whose existing SIP's most 
likely needed less adjustment were placed in Group II; (3) areas with a 
strong likelihood of attaining the PM-10 NAAQS and, therefore, needing 
adjustments only to the preconstruction review program and monitoring 
network were placed in Group III (52 FR at 24679-24682).
    Pursuant to sections 107(d)(4)(B) and 188(a) of the Clean Air Act, 
as amended in 1990, areas previously identified as Group I (55 FR 45799 
(Oct. 31, 1990)) and other areas which had monitored violations of the 
PM-10 NAAQS prior to January 1, 1989 were designated nonattainment and 
classified as moderate for PM-10 by operation of law on November 15, 
1990. Formal codification in 40 CFR Part 81 (1992) of these areas was 
announced in a Federal Register notice dated November 6, 1991 (56 FR 
56694) and supplemented on November, 30, 1992 (57 FR 56762). All other 
areas of the country, including Kootenai County, were designated 
unclassifiable for PM-10 by operation of law on November 15, 1990 (see 
section 107(d)(4)(B)(iii) of the Act).

III. Today's Action

    As stated above, EPA is authorized to initiate redesignation of 
areas from unclassifiable to nonattainment for PM-10 pursuant to 
section 107(d)(3) of the Act on the basis of air quality data, planning 
and control considerations or any other air quality related 
considerations the Administrator deems appropriate. Pursuant to section 
107(d)(3), EPA is today proposing to redesignate the entire County of 
Kootenai, except for that portion located within the exterior 
boundaries of the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation, as nonattainment 
for PM-10.
    On January 31, 1991, EPA notified the State of Idaho pursuant to 
Section 107(d)(3) of the Act that Kootenai County (City of Coeur 
d'Alene) appeared to be violating the PM-10 NAAQS and requested the 
State to submit a proposed designation and boundary description for 
this area. On March 6, 1991, the State notified EPA that the City of 
Coeur d'Alene had measured violations of the PM-10 NAAQS and requested 
that the area within the city limits of Coeur d'Alene be redesignated 
nonattainment. EPA notified the public on April 22, 1991 of the 
reported violations and the letter from the state (see 56 FR 16274) and 
proposed to redesignate the City of Coeur d'Alene as nonattainment for 
PM-10 on September 22, 1992 (see 57 FR 43846). EPA requested public 
comment on all aspects of that proposal ``including the appropriateness 
of the proposed designations and the scope of the proposed boundaries'' 
(see 57 FR at 43853).
    In September and October of 1992, additional violations of the PM-
10 NAAQS were recorded at a second air quality monitoring site in the 
City of Post Falls, approximately six miles west of the Coeur d'Alene 
monitoring site. During the public comment period on EPA's proposal to 
redesignate the City of Coeur d'Alene as nonattainment, the State of 
Idaho commented that the September and October 1992 violations had 
occurred and requested that the boundary of the proposed nonattainment 
area be expanded to include the entire County of Kootenai. The State 
also requested that, in light of this new information, EPA provide 
further opportunity for public comment on the boundary of the proposed 
nonattainment area.
    Based on the information provided by the State of Idaho and 
available air monitoring data, EPA is proposing that the entire County 
of Kootenai, except for that portion located within the exterior 
boundaries of the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation, be redesignated 
nonattainment for PM-10. Two monitored 24-hour PM-10 concentrations 
above the level of the NAAQS were recorded in 1989 and 1990 at the 
Lakes Middle School monitoring site, located within the city limits of 
Coeur d'Alene, resulting in expected exceedences of 7.5 and 2.04, 
respectively (refer to 40 CFR Part 50, Appendix K on procedures to 
calculate expected exceedences). There have been no reported 24-hour 
PM-10 concentrations above the level of the NAAQS within the City of 
Coeur d'Alene since 1990. Three monitored 24-hour PM-10 concentrations 
above the NAAQS were recorded at the Post Falls monitoring site during 
1992, resulting in expected exceedences of 20 (see 40 CFR Part 50, 
Appendix K). There have been no reported 24-hour PM-10 concentrations 
above the level of the NAAQS since 1992. There have been no reported 
violations of the annual PM-10 standard in Kootenai County.
    EPA is requesting public comment on its proposal to expand the 
nonattainment area to ensure that the views of all those interested in 
the proposed redesignation be considered.\3\ The table below indicates 
how EPA is proposing to revise the PM-10 designation for a portion of 
Kootenai County, Idaho, in 40 CFR 81.313 from unclassifiable to 
nonattainment.

[[Page 2720]]

    \3\ Several comments in addition to the comment from the State 
of Idaho were received in response to EPA's September 22, 1992 
proposal to redesignate the City of Coeur d'Alene nonattainment. The 
thrust of these comments is that there was no air quality problem in 
the City of Coeur d'Alene and that the area should not be 
redesignated. EPA's preliminary response to these comments is that 
ava

[[Page 2721]]

ilable monitoring data, summarized in this notice and contained in 
the public docket, reveals PM-10 NAAQS violations in the area and 
supports the redesignation of the City of Coeur d'Alene and an 
expansion of the nonattainment area to include the rest of Kootenai 
County, excluding the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation. However, EPA 
will give full consideration to the comments submitted on EPA's 
September 22, 1992, proposal, as well as any additional comments 
submitted by these or other commenters, before taking final action 
on this proposal.

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       Designated area             Designation date            Designation type              Classification date               Classification type      
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Kootenai County (part)--The   Proposing.................  Nonattainment.............  Proposing.......................  Moderate.                       
 County of Kootenai                                                                                                                                     
 excluding that portion                                                                                                                                 
 located within the exterior                                                                                                                            
 boundary of the Coeur                                                                                                                                  
 d'Alene Indian Reservation.                                                                                                                            
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    EPA proposes that the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation be excluded 
from the nonattainment area because EPA currently has no evidence 
suggesting that air quality on the Reservation is in violation of the 
PM-10 NAAQS or that sources on the Reservation significantly contribute 
to PM-10 violations in nearby areas. Further, EPA's policy, which 
generally presumes PM-10 nonattainment boundaries to be concurrent with 
political boundaries, would weigh against including the Reservation as 
part of the Kootenai County nonattainment area or establishing the 
Reservation as its own nonattainment area in the absence of evidence 
that there is an air quality problem on the Reservation or that sources 
on the Reservation contribute significantly to violations on nearby 
State lands. Thus, EPA proposes, for purposes of this action, that the 
area of Kootenai County over which the State has regulatory authority 
govern the determination of political boundaries for the nonattainment 
area.\4\ EPA specifically requests the State of Idaho, the Coeur 
d'Alene Tribe and the public to comment on the exclusion of the area 
within the exterior boundaries of the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation 
from the nonattainment area.
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    \4\ Under Federal and EPA Indian policy, EPA treats Federally-
recognized Indian tribes as sovereign authorities with the 
independent authority for Reservation affairs and not as political 
subdivisions of States. See April 29, 1994 Presidential Memorandum, 
``Government-to-Government Relations with Native American Tribal 
Governments,'' 59 FR 22,951 (May 4, 1994); ``EPA Policy for the 
Administration of Environmental Programs on Indian Reservations'' at 
p. 2 (November 8, 1984), reaffirmed by Administrator Carol M. 
Browner in a Memorandum issued on March 14, 1994; and 54 FR 43956 
(Aug. 25, 1994) (``Indian Tribes: Air Quality Planning and 
Management''). Before EPA will recognize a State's attempt to 
regulate sources within the exterior boundaries of a reservation for 
purposes of a Clean Air Act program, the State must affirmatively 
establish that it has the legal authority to regulate such sources. 
See, e.g., 42 U.S.C. Sec. 7410(a)(2)(E)(i) (each implementation plan 
must provide necessary assurances that the State will have adequate 
authority under State law to carry out such implementation plan); 42 
U.S.C. Sec. 7661a(b)(5) (State must demonstrate that it has adequate 
authority to issue and enforce permits for all sources required to 
have a permit under Title V); see also Washington Department of 
Ecology v. EPA, 752 F.2d 1467, 1472 (9th Cir. 1985) (upholding EPA's 
finding that the State offered no independent authority for claiming 
jurisdiction over Tribal lands and affirming EPA's associated 
disapproval of that portion of the State RCRA program covering 
Tribal lands).
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    EPA notes that the State of Idaho and local governments in Kootenai 
County have made a joint commitment to develop and implement control 
measures for area sources of PM-10 in Kootenai County, such as 
agricultural field burning, open burning, residential woodburning and 
winter road sanding, beginning in September 1994 and no later than June 
1995, regardless of EPA's final action on this proposed redesignation. 
EPA encourages the State to adopt any such control measures and submit 
them to EPA as part of the State Implementation Plan so that if they 
are federally approved, they will be federally enforceable. EPA will 
closely monitor the State's progress in curtailing PM-10 emissions and 
will consider such progress, any relevant submittals from the State and 
any federally-enforceable controls on PM-10 emissions in taking final 
action on this proposed redesignation.
    The technical information supporting the redesignation request and 
the boundary selection are available for public review at the address 
indicated at the beginning of this notice.

IV. Implications of Today's Action

    EPA is proposing to redesignate the County of Kootenai, excluding 
the area within the boundaries of the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation, 
from unclassifiable to nonattainment for PM-10. If Kootenai County, or 
a portion thereof, is redesignated nonattainment for PM-10 when EPA 
takes final action on today's proposal, then the area will be 
classified as ``moderate'' by operation of law (see section 188(a) of 
the Act). Areas designated nonattainment are subject to the applicable 
requirements of Part D, Title I of the Act. Within 18 months of the 
redesignation, the State would therefore be required to submit to EPA 
an implementation plan for the nonattainment area containing, among 
other things, the following provisions: (1) Provisions to assure that 
reasonably available control measures (including reasonably available 
control technology) will be implemented within four years of re-
designation, (2) a permit program meeting the requirements of section 
173 of the Act governing the construction and operation of new and 
modified major stationary sources, (3) either a demonstration 
(including air quality modeling) that the plan will provide for 
attainment of the PM-10 NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable, but no 
later than the end of the sixth calendar year after the area's 
designation as nonattainment, or a demonstration that attainment by 
such date is impracticable, (4) quantitative milestones which are to be 
achieved every three years until the area is redesignated attainment 
and which demonstrate reasonable further progress, as defined in 
section 171(1) of the Act, toward timely attainment, and (5) provisions 
to assure that the control requirements applicable to major stationary 
sources of PM-10 also apply to major stationary sources of PM-10 
precursors, unless EPA determines that such sources do not contribute 
significantly to PM-10 levels which exceed the NAAQS in the area (see, 
e.g., sections 188(c), 189(a), 189(c), 189(e) & 172(c) of the Act). EPA 
has issued detailed guidance on the statutory requirements applicable 
to moderate PM-10 nonattainment areas (see 57 FR 13498 (April 16, 1992) 
and 57 FR 18070 (April 28, 1992)).
    If EPA ultimately redesignates any area as nonattainment in taking 
final action on this notice, EPA will establish a date by which the 
State must submit the contingency measures required by section 
172(c)(9) of the Act (see 57 FR 13498 at 13510-12 and 13543-44). 
Section 172(b) provides that such date shall be no later than three 
years from the date of the nonattainment designation. EPA believes that 
18 months provides a reasonable amount of time for the development of 
contingency measures. Thus, if EPA finalizes a nonattainment 
designation for this area, EPA would likely establish a schedule 
requiring that contingency measures be submitted with the other Part D

[[Page 2722]]

requirements described above within 18 months from such designation.

V. Request for Public Comment

    EPA is, by this notice, proposing that the PM-10 designation for 
Kootenai County, excluding the area within the exterior boundaries of 
the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation, be revised from unclassifiable to 
nonattainment. On September 22, 1992, EPA previously provided notice 
and opportunity for public comment on a proposed PM-10 nonattainment 
designation for the City of Coeur d'Alene, which is located within 
Kootenai County (see 57 FR 43846). In response to comments from the 
State of Idaho on that proposal, EPA is now providing an additional 
opportunity for public comment on the expansion of the boundaries to 
include all of Kootenai County, excluding the area within the exterior 
boundaries of the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation. EPA is requesting 
public comment on all aspects of this proposal including the 
appropriateness of the proposed designation and the scope of the 
proposed boundary. Written comments should be submitted to EPA at the 
address identified above by March 13, 1995.

VI. Administrative Review

    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 600 et seq., EPA 
must prepare for proposed rules subject to notice and comment 
rulemaking an initial regulatory flexibility analysis describing the 
impact of the proposed rule on small entities. 5 U.S.C. 603-604. The 
requirement for preparing such analysis is inapplicable, however, if 
the Administrator certifies that the proposed rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
(see 5 U.S.C. 605(b)). Small entities include small businesses, small 
not-for-profit enterprises and government entities with jurisdiction 
over populations of less than 50,000.
    The redesignation proposed in this notice does not impose any new 
requirements on small entities. Redesignation is an action that affects 
the status of a geographical area and does not impose any regulatory 
requirements on sources. To the extent that the State must adopt new 
regulations, based on an area's nonattainment status, EPA will review 
the effect those actions have on small entities at the time the State 
submits those regulations. The Administrator certifies that the 
approval of the redesignation action proposed today will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
    This action has been classified as a Table 2 action by the Regional 
Administrator under the procedures published in the Federal Register on 
January 19, 1989 (54 FR 2214-2225), as revised by an October 4, 1993 
memorandum from Michael H. Shapiro, Acting Assistant Administrator for 
Air and Radiation. The Office of Management and Budget has exempted 
this action from Executive Order 12866 review.

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

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 81

    Air pollution control, National parks, Wilderness areas.

    Dated: December 28, 1994.
Chuck Clarke,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 95-699 Filed 1-10-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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