Document ID: EPA-R03-OAR-2006-0840-0009
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2007-07-06T04:00Z

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

	40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

	[EPA-R03-OAR-2006-0840; FRL-         ]

	Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Pennsylvania; Redesignation of the Lancaster 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment
Area to Attainment and Approval of the Area’s Maintenance Plan and
2002 Base-Year Inventory

AGENCY:  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:  Final rule.

SUMMARY:  EPA is approving a redesignation request and State
Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania.  The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
(PADEP) is requesting that the Lancaster nonattainment area
(“Lancaster Area” or “Area”) be redesignated as attainment for
the 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS).  In
conjunction with its redesignation request, the PADEP submitted SIP
revisions consisting of a maintenance plan for the Lancaster Area that
provides for continued attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS for at least
10 years after redesignation.  EPA is approving the 8-hour maintenance
plan.  PADEP also submitted a 2002 base-year inventory for the Lancaster
Area which EPA is approving.  In addition, EPA is approving the adequacy
determination for the motor vehicle emission budgets (MVEBs) that are
identified in the Lancaster Area maintenance plan for purposes of
transportation conformity, and is approving those MVEBs.  EPA is
approving the redesignation request, and the maintenance plan, and the
2002 base-year emissions inventory as revisions to the Pennsylvania SIP
in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).   

EFFECTIVE DATE:  This final rule is effective on [insert date of
publication] pursuant to the authority of 5 USC 553(d)(1).



ADDRESSES:  EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
Number EPA-R03-OAR-2006-0840.  All documents in the docket are listed in
the www.regulations.gov website.  Although listed in the electronic
docket, some information is not publicly available, i.e., confidential
business information (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 through www.regulations.gov or in hard
copy for public inspection during normal business hours at the Air
Protection Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III,
1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.  Copies of the State
submittal are available at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection, Bureau of Air Quality Control, P.O. Box 8468, 400 Market
Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105.

 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Ellen Wentworth (215) 814-2034, or by
e-

mail at   HYPERLINK "mailto:wentworth.ellen@epa.gov" 
wentworth.ellen@epa.gov .

  

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  

I.  Background	

On May 15, 2007 (72 FR 27265), EPA published a notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPR) for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  The NPR proposed
approval of Pennsylvania’s redesignation request, a SIP revision that
establishes a maintenance plan for the Lancaster Area that provides for
continued attainment of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS for at least 10 years
after redesignation, and a 2002 base-year emissions inventory.  The
formal SIP revisions were submitted by PADEP on September 20, 2006, and
supplemented on November 8, 2006.  Other specific requirements of
Pennsylvania’s redesignation request and SIP revision for the
maintenance plan, and the rationale for EPA’s proposed actions are
explained in the NPR and will not be restated here.  No public comments
were received on the NPR.

On December 22, 2006, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit vacated EPA’s Phase 1 Implementation Rule for the
8-hour Ozone Standard. (69 FR 23951, April 30, 2004).  South Coast Air
Quality Management Dist. v. EPA, 472 F.3d 882 (D.C.Cir. 2006).  On June
8, 2007, in South Coast Air Quality Management Dist. v. EPA, Docket No.
04-1201, in response to several petitions for rehearing, the D.C.
Circuit clarified that the Phase 1 Rule was vacated only with regard to
those parts of the rule that had been successfully challenged. 
Therefore, the Phase 1 Rule provisions related to classifications for
areas currently classified under subpart 2 of Title I, part D of the Act
as 8-hour nonattainment areas, the 8-hour attainment dates, and the
timing for emissions reductions needed for attainment of the 8-hour
ozone NAAQS remain effective.  The June 8 decision left intact the
Court’s rejection of EPA’s reasons for implementing the 8-hour
standard in certain nonattainment areas under subpart 1 in lieu of
subpart 2.  By limiting the vacatur, the Court let stand EPA’s
revocation of the 1-hour standard and those anti-backsliding provisions
of the Phase 1 Rule that had not been successfully challenged.  The June
8 decision reaffirmed the December 22, 2006 decision that EPA had
improperly failed to retain four measures required for 1-hour
nonattainment areas under the anti-backsliding provisions of the
regulations:  (1) nonattainment area nonattainment New Source Review
(NSR) requirements based on an area’s 1-hour nonattainment
classification; (2) Section 185 penalty fees for 1-hour severe or
extreme nonattainment areas; (3) measures to be implemented pursuant to
section 172(c)(9) or 182(c)(9) of the Act, on the contingency of an area
not making reasonable further progress toward attainment of the 1-hour
NAAQS, or for failure to attain that NAAQS; and (4) certain
transportation conformity requirements for certain types of Federal
actions.  The June 8 decision clarified that the Court’s reference to
conformity requirements was limited to requiring the continued use of
1-hour motor vehicle emissions budgets until 8-hour budgets were
available for 8-hour conformity determinations.

For the reasons set forth in the proposal, EPA does not believe that the
Court’s rulings alter any requirements relevant to this redesignation
action so as to preclude redesignation, and do not prevent EPA from
finalizing this redesignation.  EPA believes that the Court’s December
22, 2006 and June 8, 2007 decisions impose no impediment to moving
forward with the redesignation of this Area to attainment, because even
in light of the Court’s decisions, redesignation is appropriate under
the relevant redesignation provisions of the Act and longstanding
policies regarding redesignation requests.

With respect to the 8-hour standard, the Lancaster Area is classified
under subpart 2.  The June 8, 2007 opinion clarifies that the Court did
not vacate the Phase 1 Rule’s provisions with respect to
classifications for areas under subpart 2.  The Court’s decision
therefore upholds EPA’s classifications for those areas classified
under subpart 2 for the 8-hour ozone standard.

In its proposal, EPA proposed to find that the Area had satisfied the
requirements under the 1-hour standard whether the 1-hour standard was
deemed to be reinstated or whether the Court’s decision on the
petition for rehearing was modified to require something less than
compliance with all applicable 1-hour requirements.  Because EPA
proposed to find that the Area satisfied the requirements under either
scenario, EPA is proceeding to finalize the redesignation and to
conclude that the Area met the requirements under the 1-hour standard
applicable for purposes of redesignation under the 8-hour standard. 
These include the provisions of EPA’s anti-backsliding rules, as well
as the additional anti-backsliding provisions identified by the court in
its rulings.  In its June 8, 2007 decision the Court limited its vacatur
so as to uphold those provisions of the anti-backsliding requirements
that were not successfully challenged.  Therefore, EPA finds that the
Area has met the anti-backsliding requirements, see 40 CFR 51.900 et
seq; 70 FR 30592, 30604 (May 26, 2005), which apply by virtue of the
Area’s classification for the 1-hour ozone NAAQS, as well as the four
additional anti-backsliding provisions identified by the Court, or
alternatively, that such requirements are not applicable for purposes of
redesignation.  In addition, with respect to the requirement for
transportation conformity under the 1-hour standard, the Court in its
June 8 decision clarified that for those areas with 1-hour MVEBs,
anti-backsliding requires only that those 1-hour budgets must be used
for 8-hour conformity determinations until replaced by 8-hour budgets. 
To meet this requirement, conformity determinations in such areas must
comply with the applicable requirements of EPA’s conformity
regulations at 40 CFR part 93.

II.  Final Action

EPA is approving the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s redesignation
request, maintenance plan, and the 2002 base-year emissions inventory
because the requirements for approval have been satisfied.  EPA has
evaluated Pennsylvania’s redesignation request that was submitted on
September 20, 2006, and determined that it meets the redesignation
criteria set forth in section 107(d)(3)(E) of the CAA.  EPA believes
that the redesignation request and monitoring data demonstrate that the
Lancaster Area has attained the 8-hour ozone standard.  The final
approval of this redesignation request will change the designation of
the Lancaster Area from nonattainment to attainment for the 8-hour ozone
standard.  EPA is approving the maintenance plan for the Lancaster Area
submitted on September 20, 2006 as a revision to the Pennsylvania SIP. 
EPA is also approving the MVEBs submitted by PADEP in conjunction with
its redesignation request.  In addition, EPA is approving the 2002
base-year emissions inventory submitted by PADEP on September 20, 2006,
and supplemented on November 8, 2006 as a revision to the Pennsylvania
SIP.  In this final rulemaking, EPA is notifying the public that we have
found that the MVEBs for NOx and VOCs in the Lancaster Area for the
8-hour ozone maintenance plan are adequate and approved for conformity
purposes.  As a result of our finding, the Lancaster Area must use the
MVEBs from the submitted 8-hour ozone maintenance plan for future
conformity determinations.  The adequate and approved MVEBs are provided
in the following table:

Adequate and Approved Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets in Tons Per Day
(TPD)

Budget Year	NOx	VOC

2009	22.3	14.3

2018	9.0	7.8

The Lancaster Area is subject to the CAA’s requirements for marginal
nonattainment areas until and unless it is redesignated to attainment.

III.  Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

General Requirements

Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this action
is not a "significant regulatory action" and therefore is not subject to
review by the Office of Management and Budget.  For this reason, this
action is also not subject to Executive Order 13211, "Actions Concerning
Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or
Use" (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001).  This action merely approves state law
as meeting Federal requirements and imposes no additional requirements
beyond those imposed by state law.  Accordingly, the Administrator
certifies that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).  Because this rule approves pre-existing
requirements under state law and does not impose any additional
enforceable duty beyond that required by state law, it does not contain
any unfunded mandate or significantly or uniquely affect small
governments, as described in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
(Public Law 104-4).  This rule also does not have tribal implications
because it will not have a substantial direct effect on one or more
Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal Government and
Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities
between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, as specified by
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).  This action also
does not have Federalism implications because it does not have
substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between
the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power
and responsibilities among the various levels of government, as
specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999).  This
action merely approves a state rule implementing a Federal requirement,
and does not alter the relationship or the distribution of power and
responsibilities established in the Clean Air Act.  This rule also is
not subject to Executive Order 13045 (Protection of Children from
Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks( (62 FR 19885, April 23,
1997), because it approves a state rule implementing a Federal standard.

In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA(s role is to approve state choices,
provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act.  In this
context, in the absence of a prior existing requirement for the State to
use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority to
disapprove a SIP submission for failure to use VCS.  It would thus be
inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a SIP
submission, to use VCS in place of a SIP submission that otherwise
satisfies the provisions of the Clean Air Act.  Thus, the requirements
of section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act
of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply.  This rule does not impose an
information collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

B.   Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General

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 rule 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.  This rule is not a
(major rule( as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

C.  Petitions for Judicial Review

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 [insert date 60 days from date of
publication of this document in the Federal Register].  Filing a
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule
does not affect the finality of this rule 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. 

This action, approving the redesignation of the Lancaster Area to
attainment for the 8-hour ozone NAAQS, the associated maintenance plan,
the 2002 base-year emissions inventory, and the MVEBs identified in the
maintenance plan, may not be challenged later in proceedings to enforce
its requirements.  (See section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects 

40 CFR Part 52

Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Nitrogen dioxide,
Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements,Volatile organic
compounds.

40 CFR Part 81

Air Pollution Control, National Parks, Wilderness Areas.

                                                                        
                                  /s/

____June 25, 2007                                                     
_______________________________

Dated:                            				Donald S. Welsh,                  
              								Regional Administrator,

                                  					Region III.



40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

Part 52 – [AMENDED]

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

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

Subpart NN-Pennsylvania

2.  In §52.2020, the table in paragraph (e)(1) is amended by adding an
entry for the 8-hour Ozone  Maintenance Plan and the 2002 Base Year
Emissions Inventory for the Lancaster, Pennsylvania Area at the end of
the table to read as follows:

§ 52.2020	Identification of plan.

*	*	*	*	*

(e) ***

     (1) * * *

Name of non-regulatory SIP revision	Applicable

Geographic area	State submittal

Date	EPA approval

date	Additional

explanation

*           *               *            *               *           *  
          *

8-Hour Ozone Maintenance Plan and 2002 Base Year Emissions Inventory
Lancaster Area (Lancaster County)	9/20/06

11/08/06	[Insert Federal Register publication date] [Insert page number
where the document begins]

	

PART 81- [AMENDED]

The authority citation for Part 81 continues to read as follows:  

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

In §81.339, the table entitled “Pennsylvania- Ozone (8-Hour
Standard)” is amended by revising the entry for the Lancaster, PA Area
to read as follows:

§81.339                    Pennsylvania

*          *          *          *          *

Pennsylvania – Ozone (8-Hour Standard)

Designated Area	Designationa	Category/Classification

	Date1	Type	Date1	Type

*           *           *           *           *           *          
*

Lancaster, PA:

Lancaster County	[Insert date of publication]	Attainment

*           *           *           *           *           *          
*

aIncludes Indian County located in each county or area, except otherwise
noted.

1This date is June 15, 2004, unless otherwise noted.

*           *           *           *           *

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