Document ID: EPA-R10-OAR-2015-0681-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Air Quality State Implementation Plans; Approvals and Promulgations: Idaho; Reclassification as Serious Nonattainment for the 2006 Fine Particulate Matter Standards
Posted Date: 2015-11-09T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 216 (Monday, November 9, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 69172-69173]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-28358]

[[Page 69172]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R10-OAR-2015-0681; FRL-9936-01-Region 10]

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Designation of 
Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; Idaho; Reclassification as 
Serious Nonattainment for the 2006 Fine Particulate Matter Standards

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
reclassify to Serious the Franklin County, Idaho portion of the multi-
state Logan, Utah/Franklin county, Idaho nonattainment area (Logan UT/
ID area) for the 2006 24-hour fine particulate matter 
(PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Our 
proposal is based on the EPA's determination that the Logan, UT/ID area 
cannot practicably attain the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS by the 
applicable Moderate area attainment date of December 31, 2015. Should 
the EPA finalize reclassification of the area to Serious, Idaho will be 
required to submit an updated emissions inventory, Best Available 
Control Measures (BACM)/Best Available Control Technology (BACT), and 
revisions to its Nonattainment New Source Review (NNSR) program within 
18 months. The attainment demonstration and the remaining Serious area 
nonattainment plan elements will be due no later than three years after 
the effective date of the final action or December 31, 2018, whichever 
is earlier. Upon reclassification as Serious, the Logan, UT/ID 
PM2.5 nonattainment area will be required to attain the 
standard as expeditiously as practicable, but no later than December 
31, 2019.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 9, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R10-
OAR-2015-0681, by any of the following methods:
    A. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    B. Mail: Jeff Hunt, EPA Region 10, Office of Air, Waste and Toxics 
(AWT-150), 1200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle WA, 98101
    C. Email: R10-Public_Comments@epa.gov
    D. Hand Delivery: EPA Region 10 Mailroom, 9th Floor, 1200 Sixth 
Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle WA, 98101. Attention: Jeff Hunt, Office of 
Air, Waste and Toxics, AWT--150. Such deliveries are only accepted 
during normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be 
made for deliveries of boxed information
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R10-OAR-
2015-0681. The EPA's policy is that all comments received will be 
included in the public docket without change and may be made available 
online at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information the 
disclosure of which is restricted by statute. Do not submit information 
that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through 
www.regulations.gov or email. The www.regulations.gov Web site is an 
``anonymous access'' system, which means the EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an email comment directly to the EPA without 
going through www.regulations.gov your email address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, the EPA recommends that you include your 
name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with 
any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If the EPA cannot read your comment due 
to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, the 
EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should 
avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be 
free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information 
the disclosure of which is restricted by statute. Certain other 
material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet 
and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly 
available docket materials are available either electronically in 
www.regulations.gov or in hard copy during normal business hours at the 
Office of Air, Waste and Toxics, EPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, 
Seattle WA, 98101.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Hunt at (206) 553-0256, 
hunt.jeff@epa.gov, or by using the above EPA, Region 10 address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document wherever ``we'', 
``us'' or ``our'' are used, it is intended to refer to the EPA.

I. Background

    Under 40 CFR 51.1000, the EPA defines the PM2.5 design 
value, the metric used for determining compliance with the 2006 24-hour 
PM2.5 NAAQS, as the highest three-year average of annual 
98th percentile concentrations calculated for any ambient air quality 
monitor in a nonattainment area. In the case of the multi-state Logan 
UT/ID area, the air quality monitor with the highest design value is 
the Logan, Utah monitor (Air Quality System ID number 490050004) with a 
2012-2014 design value of 45 micrograms per cubic meter ([micro]g/
m\3\). In a companion proposal for the Utah portion of the Logan UT/ID 
nonattainment area (docket number EPA-R08-OAR-2015-0342), EPA Region 8 
shows that it is impracticable for the Logan UT/ID area to attain the 
2006 24-hour NAAQS by the end of 2015. Under CAA section 188, any 
reclassification of a Moderate PM2.5 nonattainment area to 
Serious applies to the entire nonattainment area, with no option for a 
partial reclassification based on political jurisdiction or state 
boundaries. Therefore, EPA Region 10 is proposing to reclassify the 
Franklin County, Idaho portion of the area to Serious at the same time 
that the EPA is proposing to reclassify the Logan, UT portion of the 
area to Serious.
    The EPA Region 8 proposal also explains the conditions under which 
the EPA may grant a series of two one-year extensions of the Moderate 
area attainment date in accordance with CAA section 188(d). If Utah and 
Idaho request an extension of the Moderate area attainment date for the 
Logan, UT/ID area before the EPA finalizes this discretionary 
reclassification, the EPA may decide not to finalize this proposed 
reclassification. If the EPA then acts on the States' extension 
request, the EPA will do so through a separate notice-and-comment 
rulemaking. In this proposed reclassification, we are neither proposing 
nor requesting comment on a potential extension.

II. Proposed Action

    Pursuant to CAA section 188(b)(1), the EPA is proposing to 
reclassify the Franklin County portion of the Logan, UT/ID area as a 
Serious nonattainment area for the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS based on 
the Agency's determination that the area cannot practicably attain by 
the Moderate area attainment date of December 31, 2015. Consistent with 
the EPA Region 8 companion proposal

[[Page 69173]]

under docket number EPA-R08-OAR-2015-0342 for the Logan, Utah portion 
of the area, upon final reclassification as a Serious nonattainment 
area, Idaho will be required to submit, within 18 months after the 
effective date of reclassification, an updated emissions inventory, 
BACM/BACT for emissions sources in the area, and revisions to its NNSR 
program. The attainment demonstration and the remaining Serious area 
nonattainment plan elements will be due no later than three years after 
the effective date of the final action, or December 31, 2018, whichever 
is earlier. Upon reclassification as Serious, the Logan UT/ID area will 
be required to attain the standard as expeditiously as practicable, but 
no later than December 31, 2019.

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a 
SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and 
applicable Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). 
Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, the EPA's role is to approve state 
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. 
Accordingly, this action merely approves state law as meeting Federal 
requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those 
imposed by state law. For that reason, this action:
     is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to 
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders 
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 
2011);
     does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     is certified as not having a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
     does not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     is not subject to the requirements of Section 12(d) of the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) because this action does not involve technical standards; and
     does not provide the EPA with the discretionary authority 
to address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or 
environmental effects, using practicable and legally permissible 
methods, under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
    In addition, this rule does not have tribal implications as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), 
because it will not impose substantial direct costs on tribal 
governments or preempt tribal law. The SIP is not approved to apply in 
Indian reservations in the state or any other area where the EPA or an 
Indian tribe has demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: October 7, 2015.
Dennis J. McLerran,
Regional Administrator, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 2015-28358 Filed 11-6-15; 8:45 am]
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