Document ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0572-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: EPA Responses to State and Tribal 2010 NO2 Designation Recommendations: Notice of Availability and Public Comment Period
Posted Date: 2011-07-07T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 130 (Thursday, July 7, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 39798-39800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-17060]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0572; FRL-9430-4]

EPA Responses to State and Tribal 2010 NO2 Designation 

Recommendations: Notice of Availability and Public Comment Period

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability and public comment period.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the EPA has posted its responses 

to state and tribal designation recommendations for the 2010 Primary 

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) National Ambient Air Quality Standard 

(NAAQS) on its Internet website. The EPA invites public comments on its 

responses during the 30-day comment period specified in the

[[Page 39799]]

DATES section. The EPA sent responses directly to the states and tribes 

on June 29, 2011, and plans to make final designations determinations 

for the 2010 Primary NO2 NAAQS by October 31, 2011.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 8, 2011. Please 

refer to SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional information on the 

comment period.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. OAR-2011-

0572 by one of the following methods:

     http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line 

instructions for submitting comments.

     E-mail: a-and-r-docket@epa.gov. Attention Docket ID No. 

EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0572.

     Fax: 202-566-9744. Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-

2011-0572.

     Mail: Air Docket, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-

0572, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code: 6102T, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.

     Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, 1301 Constitution 

Avenue, NW., Room 3334, Washington, DC. Such deliveries are only 

accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and special 

arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.

    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-

2011-0572. 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 http://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 

regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://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 http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail 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 is unable to read your 

comment and cannot contact you for clarification due to technical 

difficulties, 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. For additional 

information about the EPA's public docket, visit the EPA Docket Center 

homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. For additional 

instructions on submitting comments, go to Section II of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 

information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information 

whose disclosure 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 http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the EPA Docket Center, EPA West, 

Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. The Public 

Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public 

Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the Air 

Docket is (202) 566-1742.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions concerning this 

action, please contact Doug Solomon, U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality 

Planning and Standards, Air Quality Planning Division, C539-04, 

Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone (919) 541-4132, e-mail at 

solomon.douglas@epa.gov. For questions regarding the EPA Region 1, 

please contact Donald Dahl, U.S. EPA, telephone (617) 918-1657, e-mail 

at dahl.donald@epa.gov. For questions regarding the EPA Region 2, 

please contact Raymond Werner, U.S. EPA, telephone (212) 637-3706, e-

mail at werner.raymond@epa.gov. For questions regarding the EPA Region 

3, please contact Gregory Becoat, U.S. EPA, telephone (215) 814-2036, 

e-mail at becoat.gregory@epa.gov. For questions regarding the EPA 

Region 4, please contact Steve Scofield, U.S. EPA, telephone (404) 562-

9034, e-mail at scofield.steve@epa.gov. For questions regarding the EPA 

Region 5, please contact Gilberto Alvarez, U.S. EPA, telephone (312) 

886-6143, e-mail at alvarez.gilberto@epa.gov. For questions regarding 

the EPA Region 6, please contact Alan Shar, U.S. EPA, telephone (214) 

665-6691, e-mail at shar.alan@epa.gov. For questions regarding the EPA 

Region 7, please contact Elizabeth Kramer, U.S. EPA, telephone (913) 

551-7186, email at kramer.elizabeth@epa.gov. For questions regarding 

the EPA Region 8, please contact Crystal Freeman, U.S. EPA, telephone 

(303) 312-6602, e-mail at freeman.crystal@epa.gov. For questions 

regarding the EPA Region 9, please contact Frances Wicher, U.S. EPA, 

telephone (415) 972-3957, e-mail at wicher.frances@epa.gov. For 

questions regarding the EPA Region 10, please contact Claudia Vaupel, 

U.S. EPA, telephone (206) 553-6121, e-mail at vaupel.claudia@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Purpose

    The purpose of this notice is to solicit public comments from 

interested parties other than states and tribes on the EPA's recent 

responses to the state and tribal designation recommendations for the 

2010 Primary NO2 NAAQS. The Clean Air Act (CAA) section 

107(d) provides a process for designations that involves 

recommendations by states and tribes to the EPA and responses from the 

EPA to those parties, prior to the EPA promulgating final designations 

and boundaries. The EPA is not required under CAA section 107(d) to 

seek public comment during the designation process, but is electing to 

do so for the 2010 Primary NO2 NAAQS in order to gather 

additional information for EPA to consider before making final 

designations. The EPA invites public comment on its responses to states 

and tribes during the 30-day comment period provided in this notice. 

Due to the statutory timeframe for promulgating designations set out in 

CAA section 107(d), the EPA will not be able to consider any comments 

submitted after August 8, 2011, notwithstanding what may have appeared 

in any state-specific announcements. This notice and opportunity for 

public comment does not affect any rights or obligations of any state, 

tribe or the EPA which might otherwise exist pursuant to CAA section 

107(d).

    Please refer to the ADDRESSES section in this document for specific 

instructions on submitting comments and locating relevant public 

documents.

     In providing comments to the EPA please consider the 

agency's charge under CAA section 107(d). Under this section, the EPA 

is obligated to identify every area as attainment, nonattainment,

[[Page 39800]]

or unclassifiable. Further, in establishing nonattainment area 

boundaries, the agency is required to identify the area that does not 

meet the 2010 Primary NO2 standard and any nearby area that 

is contributing to the area that does not meet that standard. If you 

believe that a specific geographic area that the EPA is proposing to 

identify as a nonattainment area should not be categorized by the 

section 107(d) criteria as nonattainment, or if you believe that a 

specific area not proposed by the EPA to be identified as a 

nonattainment area should in fact be categorized as nonattainment using 

the section 107(d) criteria, please be as specific as possible in 

supporting your belief.

     Describe any assumptions and provide any technical 

information and/or data that you used.

     If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how 

you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 

reproduced.

     Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 

suggest alternatives.

     Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the 

use of profanity or personal threats.

     Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 

deadline identified.

II. Instructions for Submitting Public Comments

A. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for the EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to the EPA 

through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or 

all of the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in 

a disk or CD-ROM that you mail to the EPA, mark the outside of the disk 

or CD-ROM as CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or 

CD-ROM the specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to 

one complete version of the comment that includes information claimed 

as CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information 

claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. 

Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with 

procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2. Send or deliver information 

identified as CBI only to the following address: Roberto Morales, U.S. 

EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Mail Code C404-02, 

Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone (919) 541-0880, e-mail at 

morales.roberto@epa.gov, Attention Docket ID No. OAR-2011-0572.

    2. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments, 

remember to:

     Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other 

identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and 

page number).

     Follow directions. The agency may ask you to respond to 

specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of 

Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.

     Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives 

and substitute language for your requested changes.

III. Background

    The process for designating areas following promulgation of a new 

or revised NAAQS is contained in CAA section 107(d) (42 U.S.C. 7407). 

Following the promulgation of a new or revised standard, each Governor 

or Tribal Leader has an opportunity to recommend air quality 

designations, including the appropriate boundaries for nonattainment 

areas, to the EPA. The EPA considers these recommendations as part of 

its duty to promulgate the formal area designations and boundaries for 

the new or revised standards. By no later than 120 days prior to 

promulgating designations, the EPA is required to notify states or 

tribes of any intended modification to an area designation or boundary 

recommendation that the EPA deems necessary. On or around June 29, 

2011, the EPA notified states and tribes of its intended area 

designations for the 2010 Primary NO2 NAAQS. States and 

tribes now have an opportunity to demonstrate why they believe a 

modification proposed by the EPA may be inappropriate. In these 

responses, the EPA encourages states and tribes to provide comments and 

additional information for consideration by the EPA in finalizing 

designations. The EPA plans to make final designation determinations 

for the 2010 Primary NO2 NAAQS by October 31, 2011.

IV. Internet Web Site for Rulemaking Information

    The EPA has also established a Web site for this rulemaking at 

http://www.epa.gov/no2designations. The Web site includes the EPA's 

state and tribal designation recommendations, as well as the rulemaking 

actions and other related information that the public may find useful.

    Dated: June 29, 2011.

Mary E. Henigin,

Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.

[FR Doc. 2011-17060 Filed 7-6-11; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P