Document ID: EPA-R05-OAR-2015-0075-0003
Agency: epa
Document Type: Rule
Title: Direct Final Approval of the Sheboygan County, WI, 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area Reasonable Further Progress Plan
Posted Date: 2015-07-06T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 128 (Monday, July 6, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 38400-38403]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-16396]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R05-OAR-2015-0075; FRL-9929-73-Region 5]

Approval of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Sheboygan County, 
Wisconsin 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area; Reasonable Further Progress 
Plan

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving an 
Early Progress Plan and motor vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) for 
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxides of nitrogen 
(NOX) for Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. Wisconsin submitted 
an Early Progress Plan for Sheboygan County on January 16, 2015. This 
submittal was developed to establish MVEBs for the Sheboygan 8-hour 
ozone nonattainment area. This approval of the Early Progress Plan for 
the Sheboygan 8-hour ozone area is based on EPA's determination that 
Wisconsin has demonstrated that the State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
revision containing these MVEBs, when considered with the emissions 
from all sources, shows some progress toward attainment from the 2011 
base year through a 2015 target year.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective September 4, 2015, 
unless EPA receives adverse comments by August 5, 2015. If adverse 
comments are received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the 
direct final rule in the Federal Register informing the public that the 
rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2015-0075, by one of the following methods:
    1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    2. Email: blakley.pamela@epa.gov.
    3. Fax: (312) 692-2450.
    4. Mail: Pamela Blakley, Chief, Control Strategies Section, Air 
Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West 
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
    5. Hand Delivery: Pamela Blakley, Chief, Control Strategies 
Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. Such 
deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information. The Regional Office official hours of business are 
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding Federal 
holidays.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-
2015-0075. 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 whose disclosure 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 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 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

[[Page 38401]]

submit an electronic comment, 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 EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, 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 docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Environmental Protection 
Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson 
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility is open from 8:30 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. 
We recommend that you telephone Michael Leslie, Environmental Engineer, 
at (312) 353-6680 before visiting the Region 5 office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Leslie, Environmental 
Engineer, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 
Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 353-6680, leslie.michael@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information 
section is arranged as follows:

I. What is the background for this action?
II. What are the criteria for Early Progress Plans?
III. What is EPA's analysis of the request?
IV. What are the MVEBs for the Sheboygan County 8-hour ozone area?
V. What action is EPA taking?
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What is the background for this action?

    EPA's final rule designating nonattainment areas and associated 
classifications for the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards (NAAQS) was published in the Federal Register on May 21, 2012 
(77 FR 30088). Sheboygan County was designated as marginal 
nonattainment. The Sheboygan County 8-hour ozone area had been 
previously designated nonattainment for the 1-hour ozone standard and 
had 1-hour MVEBs for NOX and VOC established in the 
Wisconsin 1-hour maintenance plan SIP. The 1-hour MVEBs are the only 
approved MVEBs for Sheboygan County and were based on EPA's MOBILE6.2 
emissions model. Consequently, the transportation partners in the 
Sheboygan area have to use the 1-hour MVEB test to demonstrate 
transportation conformity for the 8-hour ozone standard until new MVEBs 
are approved or found adequate, as required by the transportation 
conformity rule at 40 CFR 93.109(c)(2)(i). Wisconsin submitted this 
plan to establish new MVEBs developed with EPA's current MOVES2014 
model.

II. What are the criteria for Early Progress Plans?

    EPA allows for the establishment of MVEBs for the 8-hour ozone 
standard prior to a state submitting its first required 8-hour ozone 
SIP that would include new MVEBs. Although voluntary, these ``early'' 
MVEBs must be established through a plan that meets all the 
requirements of a SIP submittal. This plan is known as the ``Early 
Progress Plan.'' Specifically and in reference to Early Progress Plans, 
the preamble of the July 1, 2004, final transportation conformity rule 
(see, 69 FR 40019) reads as follows:
    ``The first 8-hour ozone SIP could be a control strategy SIP 
required by the Clean Air Act (e.g., rate-of-progress SIP or attainment 
demonstration) or a maintenance plan. However, 8-hour ozone 
nonattainment areas `are free to establish, through the SIP process, a 
motor vehicle emissions budget or budgets that addresses the new NAAQS 
in advance of a complete SIP attainment demonstration. That is, a state 
could submit a motor vehicle emission budget that does not demonstrate 
attainment but is consistent with projections and commitments to 
control measures and achieves some progress toward attainment' (August 
15, 1997, 62 FR 43799). A SIP submitted earlier than otherwise required 
can demonstrate a significant level of emissions reductions from 
current level of emissions, instead of a specific percentage required 
by the Clean Air Act for moderate and above ozone areas.''
    The Early Progress Plan must demonstrate that the SIP revision 
containing the MVEBs, when considered with emissions from all sources, 
and when projected from the base year to a future year, shows some 
progress toward attainment. EPA has previously indicated that a 5 
percent to 10 percent reduction in emissions from all sources could 
represent a significant level of emissions reductions from current 
levels (69 FR 40019). This allowance is provided so that areas have an 
opportunity to use the budget test to demonstrate conformity as opposed 
to the interim conformity tests (i.e., 2002 baseline test and/or action 
versus baseline test). The budget test with an adequate or approved SIP 
budget is generally more protective of air quality and provides a more 
relevant basis for conformity determinations than the interim emissions 
test. (69 FR 40026).
    It should also be noted that the Early Progress Plan is not a 
required plan and does not substitute for required submissions such as 
an attainment demonstration or rate-of-progress plan, if such plans 
become required for the Sheboygan 8-hour ozone area.

III. What is EPA's analysis of the request?

    On January 16, 2015, the State submitted to EPA an Early Progress 
Plan for the sole purpose of establishing MVEBs for the Sheboygan 8-
hour ozone area. The submittal utilizes a base year of 2011, and a 
projected year 2015 to establish NOX and VOC MVEBs. The 
planning assumptions used to develop the MVEBs were discussed and 
agreed to by the Sheboygan interagency consultation group, which 
consists of the transportation and air quality partners in the 
Sheboygan 8-hour ozone nonattainment area. Tables 1 and 2 below show 
the differences by source categories between the 2011 base year and 
2015 forecast year. The NOX and VOC emissions in tons per 
day (tpd) within the Sheboygan nonattainment area are expected to 
decrease significantly, 28.6 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively, 
between 2011 and 2015. These emission trends demonstrate that progress 
will be made towards attainment of the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS.

                 Table 1--Sheboygan County NOX Emissions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          2011     2015
                        Source                            NOX      NOX
                                                         (tpd)    (tpd)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point.................................................    10.22     6.15
Area..................................................     1.32     1.33
On-road Mobile........................................     5.41     4.44
                                                       -----------------
Non-Road Mobile.......................................     3.61     2.76
                                                       -----------------
    Total.............................................    20.56    14.68
                                                       -----------------
Total Percent Reduction...............................        28.6%
------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 38402]]

                 Table 2--Sheboygan County VOC Emissions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           2011    2015
                       VOC Source                           VOC     VOC
                                                           (tpd)   (tpd)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point...................................................    2.63    2.63
Area....................................................    6.43    6.34
On-road Mobile..........................................    2.44    1.97
                                                         ---------------
Non-Road Mobile.........................................    3.03    2.76
                                                         ---------------
    Total...............................................   14.53   13.27
                                                         ---------------
Total Percent Reduction.................................       8.7%
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    EPA found these MVEBs adequate for transportation conformity 
purposes in an earlier action (80 FR 17428). As of April 16, 2015, the 
effective date of EPA's adequacy finding for these MVEBs, conformity 
determinations in Sheboygan County must meet the budget test using 
these 8-hour MVEBs, instead of the 1-hour ozone MVEBs. Please note that 
this adequacy finding does not relate to the merits of the SIP 
submittal, nor does it indicate whether the submittal meets the 
requirements for approval. This EPA rulemaking action takes formal 
action on the Early Progress Plan SIP revision.

IV. What are the MVEBs for the Sheboygan 8-hour ozone area?

    Through this rulemaking, EPA is approving the 2015 regional MVEBs 
for NOX and VOC for the Sheboygan 8-hour ozone area. EPA has 
determined that the MVEBs contained in the Early Progress Plan SIP 
revision are consistent with emission reductions from all sources 
within the nonattainment area and are showing progress toward 
attainment.
    The 2015 MVEBs in tpd for VOCs and NOX for the Sheboygan 
County, Wisconsin area are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           2015    2015
                          Area                             NOX     VOCs
                                                          (tpd)    (tpd)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sheboygan County.......................................    4.435   1.972
------------------------------------------------------------------------

V. What action is EPA taking?

    EPA is approving Sheboygan's Early Progress Plan, including the 
2015 MVEBs for NOX and VOC. The Early Progress Plan 
demonstrates progress towards attainment of the 2008 ozone NAAQS for 
the Sheboygan nonattainment area. The NOX and VOC emissions 
reductions from 2011 to 2015 for Sheboygan County nonattainment areas 
were 28.6 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively. These emission 
reductions were based on control measures that are permanent and 
enforceable and will continue to improve air quality in the region, 
thus demonstrating that the MVEBs are showing progress toward 
attainment.
    EPA issues this direct final rulemaking in response to Wisconsin's 
January 16, 2015 submittal of an Early Progress Plan. This revision is 
a voluntary SIP revision for the sole purpose of establishing MVEBs for 
the purpose of implementing transportation conformity in the Sheboygan 
8-hour ozone area.
    We are publishing this action without prior proposal because we 
view this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipate no adverse 
comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal 
Register publication, we are publishing a separate document that will 
serve as the proposal to approve the State plan if relevant adverse 
written comments are filed. This rule will be effective September 4, 
2015 without further notice unless we receive relevant adverse written 
comments by August 5, 2015. If we receive such comments, we will 
withdraw this action before the effective date by publishing a 
subsequent document that will withdraw the final action. All public 
comments received will then be addressed in a subsequent final rule 
based on the proposed action. EPA will not institute a second comment 
period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do 
so at this time. Please note that if EPA receives adverse comment on an 
amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that provision may 
be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt as final those 
provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment. 
If we do not receive any comments, this action will be effective 
September 4, 2015.

VI. 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 Clean Air Act 
and applicable Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). 
Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, 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 requirements of Section 12(d) of the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent 
with the Clean Air Act; and
     Does not provide 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, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian 
reservation land or in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has 
demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian 
country, the rule does not have tribal implications and will not impose 
substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally 
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating 
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, 
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the 
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this action and 
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior 
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot 
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal 
Register.

[[Page 38403]]

This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by September 4, 2015. Filing a 
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule 
does not affect the finality of this action for the purposes of 
judicial review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for 
judicial review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness 
of such rule or action. Parties with objections to this direct final 
rule are encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel 
notice of proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed 
rules section of this Federal Register, rather than file an immediate 
petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can 
withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed 
rulemaking. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to 
enforce its requirements. (See CAA section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Oxides of nitrogen, Ozone, 
Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: June 19, 2015.
Susan Hedman,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.

    40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

0
2. Section 52.2585 is amended by adding paragraph (cc) to read as 
follows:

Sec.  52.2585  Control strategy: Ozone.

* * * * *
    (cc) Approval--On January 16, 2015, the State of Wisconsin 
submitted a revision to its State Implementation Plan for Sheboygan 
County, Wisconsin. The submittal established new Motor Vehicle 
Emissions Budgets (MVEB) for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) and 
Oxides of Nitrogen (NOX) for the year 2015. The MVEBs for 
Sheboygan County are now: 1.972 tons per day of VOC emissions and 4.435 
tons per day of NOX emissions for the year 2015.

[FR Doc. 2015-16396 Filed 7-2-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P