Document ID: EPA-R08-OAR-2017-0753-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Air Quality State Implementation Plans; Approvals and Promulgations: Colorado; Revisions to the Transportation Conformity Consultation Process
Posted Date: 2018-02-01T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 22 (Thursday, February 1, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 4614-4617]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-01853]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R08-0AR-2017-0753; FRL-9973-45-Region 8]

Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
State of Colorado; Revisions to the Transportation Conformity 
Consultation Process

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by 
Colorado on May 16, 2017. The May 16, 2017 SIP revision addresses minor 
changes and typographical corrections to the transportation conformity 
requirements of Colorado's Regulation Number 10 ``Criteria for Analysis 
of Conformity.'' These actions are being taken under section 110 of the 
Clean Air Act.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before March 5, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R08-
OAR-2017-0753 at https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from www.regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any 
comment received to the public docket. Do not submit electronically any 
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) 
or other information, the disclosure of which is restricted by statute. 
Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a 
written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment 
and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA 
will generally not consider comments or comment contents located 
outside of the primary submission (i.e., on the web,

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cloud, or other file sharing system). For additional submission 
methods, the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or 
multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective 
comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Russ, Air Program, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8, Mailcode 8P-AR, 1595 Wynkoop 
Street, Denver, Colorado 80202-1129, (303) 312-6479, or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

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

    a. Submitting CBI. Do not submit CBI to the EPA through 
www.regulations.gov or email. 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.
    b. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
    1. Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other identifying 
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
    2. 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.
    3. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and 
substitute language for your requested changes.
    4. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information 
and/or data that you used.
    5. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you 
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
    6. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.
    7. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of 
profanity or personal threats.
    8. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period deadline 
identified.

II. Background

    The EPA is proposing approval of minor revisions to Colorado's 
Regulation Number 10 which is entitled ``Criteria for Analysis of 
Conformity'' (hereafter, ``Regulation No. 10''). We note the most 
recent prior SIP revisions to Regulation No. 10, that we approved, 
occurred on March 4, 2014 (79 FR 12079).
    The purpose of Regulation No. 10 is to address the transportation 
conformity SIP requirements of section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act 
(CAA) and 40 CFR 51.390(b). In addition, Regulation No. 10 also 
addresses the following transportation conformity SIP element 
requirements; 40 CFR 93.105 which formalizes the consultation 
procedures; 40 CFR 93.122(a)(4)(ii) which addresses written commitments 
to control measures that are not included in a Metropolitan Planning 
Organization's (MPOs) transportation plan and transportation 
improvement program that must be obtained prior to a conformity 
determination; and 40 CFR 93.125(c) which addresses written commitments 
to mitigation measures that must be obtained prior to a project-level 
conformity determination.\1\
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    \1\ A conformity SIP includes a state's specific criteria and 
procedures for certain aspects of the transportation conformity 
process consistent with the federal conformity rule. A conformity 
SIP does not contain motor vehicle emissions budgets, emissions 
inventories, air quality demonstrations, or control measures. See 
EPA's Guidance for Developing Transportation Conformity State 
Implementation Plans (SIPs) for further background: https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi/P1002W5B.PDF?Dockey=P1002W5B.PDF.
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III. What was the State's process to submit a SIP revision to the EPA?

    Section 110(k) of the CAA addresses our actions on submissions of 
revisions to a SIP. The CAA requires states to observe certain 
procedural requirements in developing SIP revisions for submittal to 
the EPA. Section 110(a)(2) of the CAA requires that each SIP revision 
be adopted after reasonable notice and public hearing. This must occur 
prior to the revision being submitted by a state.
    For the May 16, 2017 revisions to Regulation No. 10, the Colorado 
Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) held a public hearing for those 
revisions on February 18, 2016. There were no public comments. The AQCC 
adopted the revisions to Regulation No. 10 directly after the hearing. 
This SIP revision became state effective on March 30, 2016 and was 
submitted by Dr. Larry Wolk, Executive Director of the Colorado 
Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), and on behalf of 
the Governor, to the EPA on May 16, 2017.
    We have evaluated the State's May 16, 2017 submittal for Regulation 
No. 10 and have determined that the State met the requirements for 
reasonable notice and public hearing under section 110(a)(2) of the 
CAA. By operation of law under section 110(k)(1)(B) of the CAA, the 
State's May 16, 2017 submittal was deemed complete by the EPA on 
November 25, 2017.

IV. EPA's Evaluation of the State's May 16, 2017 Submittal

    The EPA has reviewed the revisions to Regulation No. 10 that were 
submitted by the State on May 16, 2017 and we are proposing to approve 
these revisions. We reviewed the State's submittal to assure 
consistency with the transportation conformity requirements in 40 CFR 
51.390(b), that establish the requirements for conformity consultation 
SIPs and to the transportation conformity requirements in 40 CFR 
93.105, 93.122(a)(4)(ii) and 93.125(c).2 3 We also consulted 
our document ``Guidance for Developing Transportation Conformity State 
Implementation Plans (SIPs),'' EPA-420-B-09-001, dated January 2009.\4\
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    \2\ ``40 CFR 93 Transportation Conformity Rule PM2.5 
and PM10 Amendments; Final Rule,'' March 24, 2010, 75 FR 
14260.
    \3\ ``40 CFR 93 Transportation Conformity Rule Restructuring 
Amendments; Final Rule,'' March 14, 2012, 77 FR 14979.
    \4\ See: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/transconf/policy/420b09001.pdf
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    Our review regarding the revisions to Regulation No. 10 included 
the following:
    (a) The Title to Regulation No. 10. The revisions to the title 
included typographic changes to the title such as capitalization, use 
of lower case letters to remove capitalization of particular words and 
inclusion of a sentence regarding the editor's notes at the end of the 
regulation. Except for the addition of the sentence regarding the 
editor's notes, we otherwise note that only typographic changes were 
performed and no words or terms were added or deleted.
    (b) Section II. ``Definitions.'' The EPA has reviewed and finds 
acceptable the revisions and clarifications that the state made to the 
definition of ``Routine Conformity Determination.'' These revisions to 
Regulation No. 10 were designed to streamline the transportation 
conformity process by allowing the CDPHE to provide concurrence for a 
wider range of routine

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transportation conformity determinations without the need for a public 
hearing before the AQCC. This change to the routine conformity 
determination definition will reduce the burden on the AQCC, the CDPHE 
and transportation MPOs while continuing to ensure that air quality 
transportation conformity requirements are met. In addition, we note 
that the changes also include the provision that notwithstanding this 
general definition, the CDPHE or the AQCC may, at its discretion, 
request that any transportation conformity determination be reviewed by 
the AQCC. The EPA notes that such a review may also include a public 
hearing before the AQCC.
    (c) Typographical corrections were made to the following sections: 
Section II, definition of Review Team; Section III, subsections 
III.A.2, III.A.3, III.B.1.a, III.C.1.b.(2), III.C.1.g and III.F.3.
    (d) Section VI. ``Statements of Basis, Specific Statutory 
Authority, and Purpose.'' The EPA notes that the changes to this 
section VI in the State's regulation merely provide information for the 
State regarding the SIP revision and are not necessary for an 
approvable Transportation Conformity Consultation SIP element whose 
purpose is to meet the requirements of CAA section 176(c)(4)(E) and 40 
CFR 51.390. Therefore, the EPA is not taking any action on this 
section.

V. Summary of the EPA's Proposed Action

    For the reasons discussed in section IV above, and under CAA 
section 110(k)(3), the EPA is proposing to approve the Regulation No. 
10 revisions to Section II to the definition of ``Routine Conformity 
Determination.'' In addition, we are proposing approval of the 
typographic corrections to the Regulation No. 10 title, to Section II 
and to the Section III subsections III.A.2, III.A.3, III.B.1.a, 
III.C.1.b.(2), III.C.1.g and III.F.3.
    The EPA notes that revisions were also made to Colorado's 
Regulation No. 10, section VI ``Statements of Basis, Specific Statutory 
Authority, and Purpose''; however, the EPA is not taking any action on 
the revisions to this section. The revisions to section VI are only 
informational in nature for the State and do not require federal 
approval into the SIP.

VI. Consideration of Section 110(1) of the Clean Air Act

    Under section 110(l) of the CAA, the EPA cannot approve a SIP 
revision if the revision would interfere with any applicable 
requirements concerning attainment and Reasonable Further Progress 
toward attainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards 
(NAAQS), or any other applicable requirement of the CAA. The EPA 
proposes to determine that the portions of Regulation No. 10 that we 
are acting on are consistent with the applicable requirements of the 
CAA. Furthermore, these portions do not relax any previously approved 
SIP provision; thus they do not otherwise interfere with attainment and 
maintenance of the NAAQS. In addition, section 110(l) of the CAA 
requires that each revision to an implementation plan submitted by a 
state shall be adopted by the state after reasonable notice and 
opportunity for public hearing. On February 18, 2016, the AQCC held a 
public hearing and the AQCC adopted the revisions to Regulation No. 10 
directly after the hearing. This SIP revision became state effective on 
March 30, 2016. Therefore, the CAA section 110(l) requirements are 
satisfied.

VII. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, the EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA rule 
regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance 
with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is proposing to incorporate by 
reference the approval of portions of Regulation No. 10 as submitted by 
the State of Colorado and as discussed above in section IV of this 
preamble. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials 
generally available through www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region 8 
Office (please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this preamble for more information).

VIII. 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 proposed 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);
     Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2, 
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted under 
Executive Order 12866;
     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).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, and Volatile Organic Compounds.

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

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    Dated: January 24, 2018.
Debra H. Thomas,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 8.
[FR Doc. 2018-01853 Filed 1-31-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P