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[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 109 (Wednesday, June 5, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 28541-28545]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-14118]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
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.

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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 Sec. 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

[[Page 28542]]

                                                                                                                
                                                                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

[[Page 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).

[[Page 28544]]

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 its 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

[[Page 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     60 days after violation     
     analyze violation to EPA for approval.  measurement.               
    Submit completed analysis, public       14 months after violation   
     notice and comment material to EPA      measurement.               
     for approval.                                                      
    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
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