Document ID: EPA-R10-OAR-2012-0760-0009
Agency: epa
Document Type: Rule
Title: Air Quality Implementation Plans; Revisions: Washington; Approval of Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets and Determination of Attainment for Tacoma-Pierce County Nonattainment Area
Posted Date: 2013-09-19T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 182 (Thursday, September 19, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 57503-57505]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22738]

[[Page 57503]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R10-OAR-2012-0760: FRL-9901-02-Region 10]

Revision to the Washington State Implementation Plan; Approval of 
Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets and Determination of Attainment for the 
2006 24-Hour Fine Particulate Standard; Tacoma-Pierce County 
Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The EPA is approving a request submitted by the Washington 
Department of Ecology (Ecology) dated November 28, 2012, to establish 
motor vehicle emission budgets for the Tacoma-Pierce County fine 
particulate matter (PM2.5) nonattainment area to meet 
transportation conformity requirements. Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), 
new transportation plans, programs, and projects, such as the 
construction of new highways, must ``conform'' to (i.e., be consistent 
with) the State Implementation Plan (SIP). The CAA requires federal 
actions in nonattainment and maintenance areas to ``conform to'' the 
goals of the SIP. This means that such actions will not cause or 
contribute to violations of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards 
(NAAQS), worsen the severity of an existing violation, or delay timely 
attainment of any NAAQS or any interim milestone.
    Under the Transportation Conformity Rule, the EPA can approve motor 
vehicle emission budgets based on the most recent year of clean data if 
the EPA approves the request in the rulemaking that determines that the 
area has attained the NAAQS for which the area is designated 
nonattainment. In September 2012, the EPA finalized an attainment 
finding for the Tacoma-Pierce County PM2.5 nonattainment 
area (hereafter referred to as ``Tacoma-Pierce County Area'' or ``the 
area''). This finding, also called a clean data determination, was 
based upon quality-assured, quality-controlled, and certified ambient 
air monitoring data showing that the area had monitored attainment of 
the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS based on the 2009-2011 data available 
in the EPA's Air Quality System. This action updates the previous 
finding of attainment with more recent 2010-2012 data and approves 
motor vehicle emission budgets under the Transportation Conformity 
Rule.

DATES: This final rule is effective on October 21, 2013.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket Identification No. EPA-R10-OAR-2012-0760. All documents in the 
docket are listed on the http://www.regulations.gov Web site. Although 
listed in the index, some information may not be publicly available, 
i.e., Confidential Business Information 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 through http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at EPA Region 10, Office of Air, 
Waste, and Toxics, AWT-107, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 
98101. The EPA requests that you contact the person listed in the FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to schedule your inspection. The 
Regional Office's official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Hunt at (206) 553-0256, 
hunt.jeff@epa.gov, or 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.

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Final Action
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

    On November 28, 2012, Ecology submitted a request for the EPA to 
approve motor vehicle emission budgets for the Tacoma-Pierce County 
area to meet transportation conformity requirements. As described in 40 
CFR 93.109(c)(5) of the Transportation Conformity Rule, the EPA can 
approve motor vehicle emission budgets if the EPA approves the request 
in a rulemaking that determines that the area has attained the NAAQS 
for which the area is designated nonattainment. An explanation of the 
CAA requirements and implementing regulations that are met by this 
action, a detailed explanation of the revision, and the EPA's reasons 
for approving it were provided in the notice of proposed rulemaking on 
July 18, 2013, and will not be restated here. See 78 FR 42905. The 
public comment period for this proposed rule ended on August 19, 2013. 
The EPA did not receive any comments on the proposal.

II. Final Action

    The EPA has determined, based on the most recent three years of 
complete, quality-assured data meeting the requirements of 40 CFR part 
50, appendix N, that the Tacoma-Pierce County area is currently 
attaining the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. As explained in the 
proposal for this action, the EPA has determined that the following 
attainment-related planning requirements are not applicable for so long 
as the area continues to attain the PM2.5 standard: The part 
D, subpart 4 obligations to provide an attainment demonstration 
pursuant to CAA section 189(a)(1)(B), the reasonably available control 
measures (RACM) provisions of CAA section 189(a)(1)(C), the reasonable 
further progress (RFP) provisions of CAA section 189(c), and related 
attainment demonstration, RACM, RFP and contingency measure provisions 
requirements of subpart 1 of CAA section 172. This action does not 
constitute a redesignation to attainment under CAA section 107(d)(3). 
In conjunction with this finding of attainment, the EPA is approving 
the motor vehicle emission budgets shown below in Table 1 below. The 
EPA is approving the motor vehicle emission budgets pursuant to 40 CFR 
93.109(c)(5)(iii), as described in the Transportation Conformity Rule 
and the preamble of the Transportation Conformity Restructuring 
Amendments (77 FR 14982, March 14, 2012).

   Table 1--2011 Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets for the Tacoma-Pierce
         County 2006 Fine Particulate Matter Nonattainment Area
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Emissions
                        Pollutant                           (pounds per
                                                            winter day)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PM2.5...................................................           3,002
NOX.....................................................          71,598
------------------------------------------------------------------------

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, 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 CAA. Accordingly, this 
action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and 
does not impose additional requirements beyond

[[Page 57504]]

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 Order 
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
     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 CAA; 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 country located in the State, except for non-trust land within 
the exterior boundaries of the Puyallup Indian Reservation, also known 
as the 1873 Survey Area. Under the Puyallup Tribe of Indians Settlement 
Act of 1989, 25 U.S.C. 1773, Congress explicitly provided state and 
local agencies in Washington authority over activities on non-trust 
lands within the 1873 Survey Area and the EPA is therefore approving 
this SIP on such lands. Consistent with EPA policy, the EPA nonetheless 
provided a consultation opportunity to the Puyallup Tribe in a letter 
dated December 11, 2012. The EPA did not receive a request for 
consultation.
    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. 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 November 18, 2013. 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. This action may not be challenged later in 
proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2)).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

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

    Dated: September 3, 2013.
Dennis J. McLerran,
Regional Administrator, Region 10.

    40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

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

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

Subpart WW--Washington

0
2. Section 52.2470 is amended:
0
a. In the table in paragraph (e) by adding two new entries 
``Particulate Matter (PM2.5) 2008 Baseline Emissions 
Inventory and SIP Strengthening Rules'' and ``Approval of Motor Vehicle 
Emission Budgets and Determination of Attainment for the 2006 24-Hour 
Fine Particulate Standard'' at the end of the section with the heading 
``Attainment and Maintenance Planning--Particulate Matter''
0
b. In the table in paragraph (e) by removing entry ``Particulate Matter 
(PM2.5) 2008 Baseline Emissions Inventory and SIP 
Strengthening Rules'' and the heading ``Recently Approved Plans''

Sec.  52.2470  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                   State of Washington Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures
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                                        Applicable
      Name of SIP provision           geographic or          State       EPA approval date         Comments
                                    nonattainment area  submittal date
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                                                  * * * * * * *
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                             Attainment and Maintenance Planning--Particulate Matter
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Particulate Matter (PM2.5) 2008    Tacoma, Pierce             11/28/12  5/29/13, 78 FR
 Baseline Emissions Inventory and   County.                              32131.
 SIP Strengthening Rules.

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Approval of Motor Vehicle          Tacoma, Pierce             11/28/12  9/19/13, [Insert
 Emission Budgets and               County.                              page number where
 Determination of Attainment for                                         the document
 the 2006 24-Hour Fine                                                   begins].
 Particulate Standard.
 
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[FR Doc. 2013-22738 Filed 9-18-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P