Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 5, 1996 / Proposed Rules 28541

and Budget (OMB) has exempted this

regulatory action from E.O. 12866

review.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

Environmental protection, Air

pollution control, Intergovernmental

relations, and Particulate matter.

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401–7671q.

Dated: May 24, 1996.

Jane S. Moore,

Acting Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 96–14120 Filed 6–4–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

40 CFR Part 52 and 81

[WI70–1–7296; FRL–5510–6]

Approval and Promulgation of

Implementation Plans and Designation

of Areas for Air Quality Planning

Purposes: Wisconsin

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The EPA is proposing to

approve the Wisconsin Department of

Natural Resources (WDNR) request to

redesignate Walworth County to

attainment for ozone. In addition, EPA

is proposing to approve the associated

maintenance plan as a revision to the

Wisconsin State Implementation Plan

(SIP).

DATES: Comments on this proposed

action must be received by July 5, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be addressed to: Carlton T. Nash, Chief,

Regulation Development Section, Air

Toxics and Radiation Branch (AR–18J),

United States Environmental Protection

Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson

Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.

Copies of the State’s submittal and

EPA’s analysis (Technical Support

Document) are available for inspection

at the following location: United States

Environmental Protection Agency,

Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77

West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago,

Illinois 60604. (It is recommended that

you telephone Randy Robinson at (312)

353–6713 before visiting the Region 5

Office.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Randy Robinson at (312) 353–6713.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

In accordance with requirements of

the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990

(ACT), Walworth County was

designated as a marginal ozone

nonattainment area on November 6,

1991, (56 FR 56850). The nonattainment

designation was based on air quality

monitored violations of the ozone

National Ambient Air Quality Standards

(NAAQS).

Recent air quality data shows that

Walworth County is not in violation of

the ozone NAAQS. Therefore, the area

is eligible for redesignation to

attainment based on a minimum of 3

years of ‘‘clean’’ air quality data, as

required in the Act. On December 15,

1995, the WDNR submitted a request for

redesignation to attainment and a

maintenance plan for ozone for

Walworth County. The remainder of this

notice will discuss the regulatory

requirements for redesignation to

attainment, the details of the Wisconsin

submittal, and EPA’s rulemaking action.

II. Redesignation Review Criteria

The Act provide the requirements for

redesignating a nonattainment area to

attainment. Specifically, Section

107(d)(3)(E) provides for redesignation

if: (i) The Administrator determines that

the area has attained the NAAQS; (ii)

The Administrator has fully approved

the applicable implementation plan for

the area under section 110(k); (iii) The

Administrator determines that the

improvement in air quality is due to

permanent and enforceable reductions

in emissions resulting from

implementation of the applicable

implementation plan and applicable

Federal air pollutant control regulations

and other permanent and enforceable

reductions; (iv) The Administrator has

fully approved a maintenance plan for

the area as meeting the requirements of

Section 175(A); and (v) The State

containing such area has met all

requirements applicable to the area

under Section 110 and Part D.

The EPA provided guidance on

redesignation in the General Preamble

for the Implementation of Title I of the

Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990

(General Preamble), 57 FR 13498 (April

16, 1992), supplemented at 57 FR 18070

(April 28, 1992). Three key memoranda

provide further guidance with respect to

Section 107(d)(3)(E) of the Act. The first,

dated September 4, 1992, was issued by

John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality

Management Division, Subject:

Procedures for Processing Requests to

Redesignate Areas to Attainment

(Calcagni Memorandum). The second,

dated September 17, 1993, was issued

by Michael Shapiro, Acting Assistant

Administrator for Air and Radiation,

Subject: State Implementation Plan (SIP)

Requirements for Area Submitting

Requests for Redesignation to

Attainment of the Ozone and Carbon

Monoxide (CO) NAAQS on or after

November 15, 1992, (Shapiro

Memorandum). The third, dated

October 14, 1994, was issued by Mary

Nichols, Assistant Administrator for Air

and Radiation, Subject: Part D New

Source Review Requirements for Areas

Requesting Redesignation to Attainment

(Nichols Memorandum).

Analysis of State Submittal

A. The Area must have attained the

Ozone National Ambient Air Quality

Standard

For ozone, an area may be considered

attaining the NAAQS if there are no

violations, as determined in accordance

with 40 CFR § 50.9, based on 3

complete, consecutive calendar years of

quality assured monitoring data. The

data that are used should be the product

of ambient monitoring that is

representative of the area believed to

have the highest concentration. A

violation of the NAAQS occurs when

the annual average number of expected

daily exceedances is equal to or greater

than 1 at any site under consideration.

A daily exceedance occurs when the

maximum hourly ozone concentration

during a given day exceeds 0.124 parts

per million (ppm). The data should be

collected and quality-assured in

accordance with 40 CFR Part 58, and

recorded in the Aerometric Information

Retrieval System (AIRS).

Walworth County contains one ozone

monitor, located in Lake Geneva,

Wisconsin. To demonstrate monitored

attainment with the standard, the

WDNR submitted ozone monitoring data

for the April 15 through October 15

ozone season for 1992, 1993, and 1994.

MONITORED OZONE CONCENTRATIONS

[Parts per billion]

County Year 1st High 2nd High 3rd High 4th High

Walworth ....................................................................................................................... 1992 120 101 97 96

1993 107 93 91 89
28542 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 5, 1996 / Proposed Rules

MONITORED OZONE CONCENTRATIONS—Continued

[Parts per billion]

County Year 1st High 2nd High 3rd High 4th High

1994 98 94 91 84

The annual average expected

exceedance for this 3-year time period is

0.0. No violations were recorded during

this 3-year time period. Additionally, no

exceedances were recorded during the

1995 ozone monitoring season. This

data has been quality assured and is

recorded in AIRS.

B. The Area Must Have a Fully

Approved State Implementation Plan

(SIP) Under Section 110(k); and the

Area Must Have Met All Applicable

Requirements Under Section 110 and

Part D

In November 1991, Walworth County

was designated marginal nonattainment

for ozone based on monitored ozone

violations occurring in 1988. As a result

of this designation, the WDNR was

required to submit a revised SIP that

meets the requirements of the Act and

demonstrates attainment with the ozone

standards.

Section 110: General Requirements for

Implementation Plans. Section 110(a)(2)

of the Act lists the elements to be

included in each SIP after adoption by

the State and reasonable notice and

public hearing. The elements include,

but are not limited to, provisions for

establishment and operation of

appropriate devices, methods, systems,

and procedures necessary to monitor

ambient air quality; implementation of a

permit program, provisions for Part C

Prevention of Significant Deterioration

(PSD) and D New Source Review (NSR)

permit programs, criteria for stationary

source emission control measures,

monitoring, and reporting, provisions

for modeling, and provisions for public

and local agency participation. For

purposes of redesignation, the Walworth

County SIP was reviewed to ensure that

all requirements under the amended Act

were satisfied. The EPA has determined

that the Walworth County SIP is

consistent with the requirements of

Section 110 of the Act.

Part D: General Provisions for

Nonattainment Areas. Before Walworth

County may be redesignated as

attainment, it must have fulfilled the

applicable requirements of Part D.

Under Part D, an area’s classification

determines the requirements to which it

is subject. Subpart 1 of Part D sets forth

the basic nonattainment requirements

applicable to all nonattainment areas.

Subpart 2 of Part D establishes

additional requirements for ozone

nonattainment areas classified under

table 1 of Section 181(a). As described

in the General Preamble, specific

requirements of Subpart 2 may override

Subpart 1’s general provisions (57 FR

13501 (April 16, 1992)). Walworth

County was classified as a marginal

nonattainment area. Therefore, in order

to be redesignated, the State must meet

the applicable requirements of Subpart

1 of Part D—specifically Sections 172

and 176, as well as the applicable

requirements of Subpart 2 of Part D.

Section 172 Requirements. The State

redesignation request for Walworth

County has satisfied all of the relevant

submittal requirements under Section

172 necessary for the area to be

redesignated to attainment.

The reasonable further progress (RFP)

requirement under Section 172(c)(2) is

defined as progress that must be made

toward attainment. This requirement is

not relevant because Walworth County

has already demonstrated monitored

attainment of the ozone NAAQS

(General Preamble, 57 FR 13564).

Section 172(c)(3) requires submission

and approval of a comprehensive,

accurate, and current inventory of actual

emissions. The requirement was

superseded by the inventory

requirement in Section 182(a)(1). The

WDNR submitted such an inventory on

November 15, 1992. It was approved on

June 15, 1994 (59 FR 30702).

Section 172(c)(5) requires permits for

the construction and operation of new

and modified major stationary sources

anywhere in the nonattainment area.

The WDNR submitted information on

nonattainment area new source review

rules on November 15, 1992. The rules

were approved by EPA on January 18,

1995 (60 FR 3538 ). The State’s

Prevention of Significant Deterioration

(PSD) program will become effective in

Walworth County upon redesignation to

attainment. The State was delegated the

PSD program on November 4, 1987.

Section 176 Conformity

Requirements. Section 176 of the Clean

Air Act requires States to revise their

SIPs to establish criteria and procedures

to ensure that, before they are taken,

Federal actions 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 revision to

be submitted by the States must be

consistent with Federal conformity

regulations that the Act required the

EPA to promulgate. Congress provided

for the State revisions to be submitted

1 year after the date of promulgation of

final EPA conformity regulations.

The EPA promulgated final

transportation conformity regulations on

November 24, 1993, (58 FR 62188) and

general conformity regulations on

November 30, 1993, (58 FR 63214).

Pursuant to Section 51.396 of the

transportation conformity rule and

Section 51.851 of the general conformity

rule, the State of Wisconsin submitted a

SIP revision containing transportation

and general conformity criteria and

procedures on November 23, 1994, and

November 30, 1994, respectively. The

EPA has not yet approved these rules as

part of the SIP.

The EPA believes it is reasonable to

interpret the conformity requirements as

not being applicable requirements for

purposes of evaluating the redesignation

request under Section 107(d). The

rationale for this is based on a

combination of two factors. First, the

requirement to submit SIP revisions to

comply with the conformity provisions

of the Act continues to apply to areas

after redesignation to attainment, since

such areas would be subject to a Section

175A maintenance plan. Second, EPA’s

Federal conformity rules require the

performance of conformity analyses in

the absence of federally approved State

rules. Therefore, because areas are

subject to the conformity requirements

regardless of whether they are

redesignated to attainment and must

implement conformity under Federal

rules if State rules are not yet approved,

the EPA believes it is reasonable to view

these requirements as not being

applicable requirements for purposes of

evaluation of a redesignation request.

Consequently, the ozone redesignation

request for the Walworth County area

may be approved notwithstanding the

lack of fully approved State
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 5, 1996 / Proposed Rules 28543

transportation and general conformity

rules. This policy was also exercised in

the Tampa, Florida ozone redesignation

finalized on December 7, 1995 (60 FR

62748).

Subpart 2 Section 182 Requirements.

Walworth County is classified marginal

nonattainment; therefore, Part D,

Subpart 2, Section 182(a) requirements

apply. In accordance with guidance

presented in the Shapiro memorandum,

the requirements which came due prior

to the submission of the request to

redesignate the Walworth County area

must be fully approved into the SIP

before the request to redesignate the

area to attainment can be approved.

Those requirements are discussed

below:

Section 182(a)(1) 1990 Base Year

Inventory. The 1990 base year emission

inventory was due on November 15,

1992. It was submitted to EPA on

November 15, 1992, and approved by

EPA on June 15, 1994, (59 FR 30702).

Section 182(a)(3)(B) Emission

Statements. The emission statements

SIP was due on November 15, 1992. It

was submitted to the EPA on November

15, 1992, and approved by EPA on

December 6, 1993 (58 FR 64155).

Section 182(a)(2)(A) RACT

Corrections. The WDNR submitted

information regarding RACT corrections

on November 15, 1992. The EPA

approved the RACT corrections on

August 15, 1994 (59 FR 41709).

Section 182(a)(4) 1.1 to 1.0 Offset.

Section 182(a)(4) requires all major new

sources or modifications in a marginal

nonattainment area to achieve offsetting

reductions of VOCs at a ratio of at least

1.1 to 1.0 as part of New Source Review

(NSR). The Mary Nichols memorandum

states that areas being redesignated need

not comply with the requirement that an

NSR program be approved prior to

redesignation if the State can

demonstrate maintenance of the

standard without the NSR restrictions.

The State has demonstrated that

maintenance can be maintained without

NSR offsets in effect. Therefore, this

requirement is not applicable. Upon

redesignation to attainment, the sources

will become subject to PSD

requirements and offsets will no longer

apply. Emissions will continue to be

tracked every 3 years.

Section 182(f) NOX Requirement.

Section 182(f) establishes NOX

requirements for ozone nonattainment

areas. However, it provides that these

requirements do not apply to an area if

the Administrator determines that NOX

reductions would not contribute to

attainment. On July 13, 1994, WDNR

submitted, along with the other Lake

Michigan area states (i.e., Illinois,

Indiana, and Michigan), a Section 182(f)

NOX petition to be relieved of the

Section 182(f) NOX requirements based

on urban airshed modeling. The

modeling demonstrated that NOX

reductions would not contribute to

attainment of the NAAQS for ozone in

the modeled area, which includes

Walworth County. The EPA approved

the petition on January 26, 1996 (61 FR

2428).

C. The Improvement in Air Quality

Must Be Due to Permanent and

Enforceable Reductions in Emissions

Resulting From the SIP, Federal

Measures and Other Permanent and

Enforceable Reductions

The State must be able to reasonably

attribute the improvement in air quality

to emission reductions which are

permanent and enforceable. To satisfy

this requirement, the State should

estimate the percent reduction from the

year that it used to determine the design

value for designation and classification,

to the attainment year (Calcagni

Memorandum). These reductions may

be achieved from Federal measures and

control measures that have been

adopted and implemented by the State.

Emission rates, production capacities

and other information should be used in

the estimation. Sources should be

assumed to operate at permitted or

historic peak levels unless evidence is

presented that such an assumption is

unrealistic.

The WDNR submittal documents

reductions in VOC and NOX emissions

from 1988 (the design year) to 1993 (the

attainment year). Those reductions are

shown in the tables below.

Sector 1988 1990 1993

VOC Emissions (Tons per day):

Point .............................................................................................................................................. 1.48 1.51 1.55

Area ............................................................................................................................................... 7.53 7.58 7.63

Mobile ............................................................................................................................................ 13.87 12.14 9.59

Totals ..................................................................................................................................... 22.88 21.23 18.77

% Change from 1988 (design year) ............................................................................................. .................... ¥7.17 ¥17.9

Sector 1988 1990 1993

NOX Emissions (Tons per day):

Point .............................................................................................................................................. 0.53 0.54 0.55

Area ............................................................................................................................................... 0.77 0.79 0.73

Mobile ............................................................................................................................................ 12.07 11.89 11.60

Totals ..................................................................................................................................... 13.37 13.22 12.88

% Change from 1988 (design year) ............................................................................................. .................... ¥1.1 ¥3.7

The tables show that VOC and NOX

emissions decreased 4.1 and 0.49 tons

per day, respectively from 1988 to 1993.

The 1988 emissions in the above Tables

were back casted from 1990 base year

emissions, according to variables such

as population growth, economic growth,

and vehicle miles traveled. Although

Walworth County experienced

economic and population growth during

the years 1988 to 1993, county-wide

VOC and NOX decreased during that

time period. The majority of the

reductions are due to lower highway

motor vehicle emissions. These

reductions are directly attributable to

the implementation of the Federal

Motor Vehicle Control Program

(FMVCP).
28544 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 5, 1996 / Proposed Rules

D. The Area Must Have a Fully

Approved Maintenance Plan Meeting

the Requirements of Section 175A

Section 175A of the CAA defines

requirements for maintenance plans.

The maintenance plan is a SIP revision

which provides for maintenance of the

relevant NAAQS in the area for at least

10 years after redesignation. There are

five core provisions which the

maintenance plan should address: the

attainment inventory, maintenance

demonstration, monitoring network,

verification of continued attainment,

and a contingency plan. The attainment

inventory should identify the level of

emissions in the area which is sufficient

to attain the ozone NAAQS and should

include the emissions during the time

period associated with the monitoring

data showing attainment. Maintenance

is demonstrated by showing that future

emissions will not exceed the level of

the attainment inventory. The

maintenance plan must also provide for

continued operation of an appropriate

air quality monitoring network to verify

attainment status of the area. The plan

must indicate how the State will track

the progress of the maintenance plan.

Finally, the maintenance plan must

include contingency measures which

would promptly correct any violation of

the ozone NAAQS that occurs after

redesignation of the area to attainment.

Attainment Inventory. The Walworth

County submittal contained inventories

of 1990 actual VOC and NOX emissions

from stationary, area, and mobile

sources. This is the most accurate,

comprehensive emission inventory

available for the area. The 1990

emission inventory was projected to

1993 to provide an emissions inventory

representative of attainment conditions

based upon the lack of a monitored

ozone violation for the years 1992–1994.

Maintenance Demonstration. The

Walworth County submittal shows

projected VOC and NOX emissions from

the 1993 attainment inventory to 2007.

The projections show that the level of

emissions established for the attainment

year inventory will not be exceeded

over the 10-year maintenance period.

The following tables list the VOC, and

NOX emissions for the base year, interim

year and the final year.

Sector 1993 attain 1996 proj. 2007 proj.

Summary of VOC Emissions (tons/day):

Area ................................................................................................................................................... 7.62 7.37 7.37

Point .................................................................................................................................................. 1.55 1.60 1.79

Mobile ................................................................................................................................................ 9.59 9.39 8.00

Totals ......................................................................................................................................... 18.77 18.36 17.16

% Change from 1993 ........................................................................................................................ .................... ¥2.18 ¥8.58

Summary of NOX Emissions (tons/day):

Area ................................................................................................................................................... 0.73 0.73 0.66

Point .................................................................................................................................................. 0.55 0.57 0.64

Mobile ................................................................................................................................................ 11.60 11.39 10.19

Totals ......................................................................................................................................... 12.88 12.68 11.48

% Change from 1993 ........................................................................................................................ .................... ¥1.60 ¥10.87

Emission Projections. All emission

projections were made from emissions

calculated for WDNR’s 1990 base year

inventory. The 1990 base year inventory

reflects tons per typical summer day

emissions as well as an 80 percent rule

effectiveness assumption. Projections

were generally based on the following

equation: Proj. Emissions = 1990

Emissions*Proj. Factor*(1–(Cont.

Efficiency)*(RE)*(RP)) where RE = rule

effectiveness (default = 80 percent) and

RP = rule penetration.

Projections of stationary source

emissions through the year 2007 were

developed based primarily on economic

growth projection factors. The annual

growth factors were derived from this

data and those growth factors were used

to determine future year inventories.

The area source emissions were

projected using a variety of growth

factors such as population growth,

gasoline market, vehicle miles traveled,

farmland, etc. To project future year

mobile VOC emissions, a VMT growth

rate of 2.7 percent was used for the

period between 1988 and 1999. The

VMT growth rate for 2000 to 2007 drops

to 2.2 percent. These estimates were

provided by the Southeastern Wisconsin

Regional Planning Commission. The

MOBILE5a model was run to produce

emission factors for the years 1988,

1990, 1993, 1996, and 2007.

Monitoring Network. There is

currently one monitor measuring ozone

in Walworth County. The WDNR has

committed to continue operating and

maintaining it—s ozone monitor in

Walworth County for the 10 year

maintenance period to verify the

attainment status of the area.

Contingency Plan. The contingency

plan for Walworth County contains

three major components: attainment

tracking, contingency measures, and a

mechanism that triggers the

implementation of the contingency

measures. In a SIP revision submittal

dated April 12, 1996, the State revised

the section of the redesignation request

pertaining to the triggering and

implementation of the contingency

plan. As discussed below, the revisions

incorporate EPA review and approval,

and public review and comment

procedures into the contingency plan

methodology.

The WDNR will the track the progress

of the maintenance plan for Walworth

County by generating VOC and NOX

emissions inventories for point, area,

and mobile sources for the years 1996,

1999, 2002, 2005, and 2007.

The contingency measures to be

considered for implementation are Stage

II vapor recovery and non-CTG RACT

measures. Selection of the contingency

measures will take place in the event

the ozone NAAQS is violated and if an

EPA approved analysis shows that

emission sources within Walworth

County caused the violation. This

analysis is being conducted because the

State has maintained that the level of

ozone in Walworth County is due to

ozone and ozone precursors being

transported from upwind urbanized

areas such as the greater Chicago area.

Both the sudy protocol and the

completed analysis will be submitted to

EPA for approval. The completed

analysis will be subject to public

comment. If the analysis shows the

violation not to be attributable to
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 5, 1996 / Proposed Rules 28545

transport from other areas, contingency measures will be implemented

according to the following schedule:

Activity Completion time

Violation of the ozone NAAQS:

Verify violation and submit plan to analyze violation to EPA for approval ................ 60 days after violation measurement.

Submit completed analysis, public notice and comment material to EPA for approval.14 months after violation measurement.

Implement Stage II vapor recovery ............................................................................ 24 months after violation.

Non-CTG RACT measures ......................................................................................... 24 months after violation.

The Walworth County submittal

adequately addresses the five basic

components which comprise a

maintenance plan (attainment

inventory, maintenance demonstration,

monitoring network, verification of

continued attainment, and a

contingency plan) and, therefore,

satisfies the maintenance plan

requirement in Section 107(d)(3)(E)(iv).

E. The Area Must Have Met All

Applicable Requirements Under Section

110 and Part D

Section 110 and Part D requirements

were discussed under section II B,

above.

III. Proposed Action

The EPA is proposing to approve

WDNR’s December 15, 1995, request for

redesignation to attainment for ozone

and Section 175A maintenance plan for

Walworth County.

Nothing in this action should be

construed as permitting, allowing or

establishing a precedent for any future

request for revision to any SIP. The EPA

shall consider each request for revision

to the SIP in light of specific technical,

economic, and environmental factors

and in relation to relevant statutory and

regulatory requirements.

Ozone SIPs are designed to satisfy the

requirements of Part D of the Act and to

provide for attainment and maintenance

of the ozone NAAQS. This proposed

redesignation should not be interpreted

as authorizing the State to delete, alter,

or rescind any of the VOC or NOX

emission limitations and restrictions

contained in the approved ozone SIP.

Changes to ozone SIP VOC regulations

rendering them less stringent than those

contained in the EPA approved plan

cannot be made unless a revised plan

for attainment and maintenance is

submitted to and approved by EPA.

Unauthorized relaxations, deletions,

and changes could result in both a

finding on nonimplementation [Section

173(b) of the Clean Air Act] and in a SIP

deficiency call made pursuant to

Section 110(a)(2)(H) of the Clean Air

Act.

This action has been classified as a

Table 3 action for signature by the

Regional Administrator under the

procedures published in the Federal

Register on January 19, 1989, (54 FR

2214–2225), as revised by a July 10,

1995, memorandum from Mary Nichols,

Assistant Administrator for Air and

Radiation. The Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) has exempted this

regulatory action from Executive Order

12866 review.

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act,

5 U.S.C. 600 et seq., 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, EPA may certify

that the rule will not have a significant

impact on a substantial number of small

entities. Small entities include small

businesses, small not-for-profit

enterprises, and government entities

with jurisdiction over populations of

less than 50,000.

Section 202 of the Unfunded

Mandates Reform Act of 1995

(‘‘Unfunded Mandates Act’’), 2 U.S.C.

1532, requires that the EPA prepare a

budgetary impact statement before

promulgating a rule that includes a

Federal mandate that may result in

expenditure by State, local, and tribal

governments, in aggregate, or by the

private sector, of $100 million or more

in any 1 year. Section 203, 2 U.S.C.

1533, requires the EPA to establish a

plan for obtaining input from and

informing, educating, and advising any

small governments that may be

significantly or uniquely affected by the

rule.

Under Section 205 of the Unfunded

Mandates Act, 2 U.S.C. 1535, the EPA

must identify and consider a reasonable

number of regulatory alternatives before

promulgating a rule for which a

budgetary impact statement must be

prepared. The EPA must select from

those alternatives the least costly, most

cost-effective, or least burdensome

alternative that achieves the objectives

of the rule, unless the EPA explains why

this alternative is not selected or the

selection of this alternative is

inconsistent with law.

Because this proposed rule is

estimated to result in the expenditure by

State, local, and tribal governments or

the private sector of less then $100

million in any 1 year, the EPA has not

prepared a budgetary impact statement

or specifically addressed the selection of

the least costly, most cost-effective, or

least burdensome alternative. Because

small governments will not be

significantly or uniquely affected by this

rule, the EPA is not required to develop

a plan with regard to small

governments.

SIP approvals under Section 110 and

Subchapter I, Part D, of the Clean Air

Act 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 any small entities affected.

Moreover, due to the nature of the

Federal-State relationship under the

Clean Air Act, preparation of a

regulatory flexibility analysis would

constitute Federal inquiry into the

economic reasonableness of the State

action. The Clean Air Act forbids EPA

to base its actions concerning SIPs on

such grounds. Union Electric Co. v.

EPA, 427 U.S. 246, 256–66 (1976).

List of Subjects

40 CFR Part 52

Environmental protection, Air

pollution control, Hydrocarbons, Motor

vehicle pollution, Nitrogen oxides,

Ozone, Volatile organic compounds.

40 CFR Part 81

Environmental protection, Air

pollution control, National parks,

Wilderness areas.

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401–7671q.

Dated: May 13, 1996.

Valdas V. Adamkus,

Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 96–14118 Filed 6–4–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P