Document ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0841-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Rule
Title: Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Extension of the Reformulated Gasoline Program to the East St. Louis, Illinois Ozone Nonattainment Area
Posted Date: 2006-12-27T05:00Z

[Federal Register: December 27, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 248)]
[Rules and Regulations]               
[Page 77615-77620]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27de06-13]                         

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 80

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0841; FRL-8261-9]

 
Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Extension of the 
Reformulated Gasoline Program to the East St. Louis, Illinois Ozone 
Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Under section 211(k)(6) of the Clean Air Act, the 
Administrator of EPA shall require the sale of reformulated gasoline 
(RFG) in an ozone nonattainment area classified as marginal, moderate, 
serious or severe upon the application of the Governor of the state in 
which the nonattainment area is located. In this direct final action, 
EPA is today extending the Act's prohibition against the sale of 
conventional gasoline (i.e., gasoline that is not RFG) to the Illinois 
portion of the St. Louis, Missouri-Illinois 8-hour ozone nonattainment 
area hereafter referred to as the East St. Louis nonattainment area. 
The RFG requirements will apply to refiners and all other persons in 
the fuel distribution system other than retailers and wholesale 
purchaser-consumers on May 1, 2007. For retailers and wholesale 
purchaser-consumers, the requirements of today's rule will apply on 
June 1, 2007. As of the June 1, 2007 implementation date, this area 
will be treated as a covered area for all purposes of the federal RFG 
program.

DATES: This final rule is effective on May 1, 2007 without further 
notice, unless EPA receives adverse comments by January 26, 2007. If 
adverse comments are received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of 
the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform the public 
that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-

[[Page 77616]]

OAR-2006-0841, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 

instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Air Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, 
Mailcode: 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, 
Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0841. Comments may also be e-
mailed to a-and-r-docket@epamail.epa.gov. In addition, please mail a 
copy of your comments on the information collection provisions to the 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB), Attn: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th St. NW., Washington, 
DC 20503.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2006-0841. 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 http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://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 e-mail comment directly to 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, 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 http://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 http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air Docket, EPA/

DC, EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., 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.

    Note: The EPA Docket Center suffered damage due to flooding 
during the last week of June 2006. The Docket Center is continuing 
to operate. However, during the cleanup, there will be temporary 
changes to Docket Center telephone numbers, addresses, and hours of 
operation for people who wish to make hand deliveries or visit the 
Public Reading Room to view documents. Consult EPA's Federal 
Register notice at 71 FR 38147 (July 5, 2006) or the EPA Web site at 
http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm for current information on 

docket operations, locations and telephone numbers. The Docket 
Center's mailing address for U.S. mail and the procedure for 
submitting comments to http://www.regulations.gov are not affected 

by the flooding and will remain the same.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kurt Gustafson, Transportation and 
Regional Programs Division (Mail Code 6406J), Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone 
number: 202-343-9219; fax number: 202-343-2800; e-mail address: 
gustafson.kurt@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

General Information

Does This Action Apply to Me?

    This action may affect you if you produce, distribute, or sell 
gasoline for use in the East St. Louis ozone nonattainment area.
    The table below gives some examples of entities that may have to 
comply with the regulations. However, since these are only examples, 
you should carefully examine these and other existing regulations in 40 
CFR part 80. If you have any questions, please contact the person 
listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section above.
    Regulated entities: Entities potentially regulated by this action 
are those which produce, supply or distribute motor gasoline. Regulated 
categories and entities include:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          Examples of
                                   NAICS    SIC codes     potentially
            Category             codes \a\     \b\         regulated
                                                            entities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industry.......................     324110       2911  Petroleum
                                                        Refiners.
Industry.......................     422710       5171  Gasoline
                                                        Marketers and
                                                        Distributors.
                                    422720       5172  .................
Industry.......................     484220       4212  Gasoline
                                                        Carriers.
                                    484230       4213  .................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
\b\ Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system code.

    This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a 
guide for readers regarding entities likely to be regulated by this 
action. This table lists the types of entities that EPA is now aware 
could potentially be regulated by this action. Other types of entities 
not listed in the table could also be regulated. To determine whether 
your business is regulated by this action, you should carefully examine 
the list of areas covered by the reformulated gasoline program in 
Section 80.70 of title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations. If you 
have questions regarding the applicability of this action to a 
particular entity, consult the person listed in the preceding FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

Additional Information

    Under section 211(k)(6) of the Clean Air Act, as amended (the Act), 
the Administrator of EPA shall require the sale of reformulated 
gasoline in an ozone nonattainment area classified as marginal, 
moderate, serious, or severe upon the application of the Governor of 
the state in which the nonattainment area is located. This final action 
extends the prohibition set forth in section 211(k)(5) against the sale 
of conventional (i.e., non-reformulated) gasoline to the East St. 
Louis, Illinois moderate ozone nonattainment area

[[Page 77617]]

(Jersey, Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair Counties).
    The Agency is adopting May 1, 2007, as the implementation date of 
the prohibition described herein for all persons other than retailers 
and wholesale purchaser-consumers (i.e., refiners, importers, and 
distributors). For retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers, EPA is 
adopting June 1, 2007 as the implementation of the prohibition 
described. As of the implementation date for retailers and wholesale 
purchaser-consumers, the East St. Louis ozone nonattainment area will 
be a covered area for all purposes in the federal RFG program.

Outline of This Preamble

I. Background
    Opt-in Provision/Process
II. The Governor's Request
III. Final Action
IV. Environmental Impact
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
    A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review
    B. Paperwork Reduction Act
    C. Regulatory Flexibility Act
    D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
    E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
    F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With 
Indian Tribal Governments
    G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From 
Environmental Health & Safety Risks
    H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Effect 
Energy Supply
    I. National Technology Transfer Advancement Act
    J. Statutory Authority
    K. Congressional Review Act

I. Background

Opt-in Provision/Process

    As part of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, Congress added a 
new subsection (k) to section 211 of the Act. Subsection (k) prohibits 
the sale of conventional gasoline (i.e., gasoline that EPA has not 
certified as reformulated) in certain ozone nonattainment areas 
beginning January 1, 1995. Section 211(k)(10)(D) defines the areas 
covered by the reformulated gasoline (RFG) program as the nine ozone 
nonattainment areas having a 1980 population in excess of 250,000 and 
having the highest ozone design values during the period 1987 through 
1989.\1\ In addition, under section 211(k)(10)(D), any area 
reclassified as a severe ozone nonattainment area under section 181(b) 
is also included in the RFG program. EPA first published final 
regulations for the RFG program on February 16, 1994. See 59 FR 7716.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Applying these criteria, EPA has determined the nine covered 
areas to be the metropolitan areas including Los Angeles, Houston, 
New York City, Baltimore, Chicago, San Diego, Philadelphia, Hartford 
and Milwaukee.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Certain other ozone nonattainment areas may be included in the 
program at the request of the Governor of the state in which the area 
is located. Section 211(k)(6)(A) provides that upon the application of 
a Governor, EPA shall apply the prohibition against selling 
conventional gasoline in ``any area in the State classified under 
subpart 2 of Part D of Title I as a marginal, moderate, serious or 
severe'' ozone nonattainment area. Subparagraph 211(k)(6)(A) further 
provides that EPA is to apply the prohibition as of the date the 
Administrator ``deems appropriate, not later than January 1, 1995, or 1 
year after such application is received, whichever is later.'' In some 
cases the effective date may be extended for such an area as provided 
in section 211(k)(6)(B) based on a determination by EPA that there is 
``insufficient domestic capacity to produce'' RFG. EPA is to publish a 
Governor's application in the Federal Register.

II. The Governor's Request

    EPA received an application July 10, 2006 from the Honorable Rod R. 
Blagojevich, Governor of the State of Illinois, for the East St. Louis 
ozone nonattainment area to be included in the reformulated gasoline 
program. The Governor's letter is set out in full below.

July 10, 2006.

Mr. Stephen L. Johnson,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW., Washington, 
DC 20460.

    Dear Administrator Johnson: Pursuant to Section 211(k)(6) of the 
Clean Air Act (CAA), I hereby formally request the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to extend the requirement for 
the sale of Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) to the Illinois portion of 
the St. Louis ozone non-attainment area. The pertinent Illinois 
counties include Jersey, Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair. I request 
that the RFG program be implemented beginning January 1, 2007.
    Implementation of the RFG program in the Metro-East St. Louis 
RFG area will provide additional volatile organic compound emission 
reductions, which will assist the region in attaining the 8-hour 
ozone standard by 2010. The required use of RFG, which is currently 
in use in St. Louis Missouri, will also replace the summertime low 
volatility gasoline requirement in the Metro-East area, removing the 
need for a ``boutique'' fuel and simplifying gasoline supply in the 
region.
    Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to 
the successful implementation of the RFG program in the Metro-East 
area and to the attainment of the national air quality standards in 
the St. Louis region. If you have any questions regarding this 
request, please contact Mr. Douglas P. Scott, Director of the 
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency at 217 782-3397.

 Sincerely,

Rod R. Blagojevich,
Governor.

cc: USEPA, Region V.

III. Final Action

    The RFG program includes seasonal requirements. Summertime RFG must 
meet certain VOC control requirements to reduce emissions of volatile 
organic compounds (VOCs), an ozone precursor. Under the RFG program, 
there are two compliance dates for VOC-controlled RFG. At the refinery 
level, and all other points in the distribution system other than the 
retail level, compliance with RFG VOC-control requirements is required 
from May 1 to September 15. At the retail level (service stations and 
wholesale purchaser-consumers), compliance is required from June 1 to 
September 15. See 40 CFR 80.78 (a)(1)(v). Pipeline requirements and 
demands for RFG from the supply industry drive refineries to establish 
their own internal compliance date earlier than May so that they can 
then assure that terminals are capable of meeting the RFG VOC-control 
requirements by May 1.
    Based on our evaluation of the appropriate lead time and start 
date(s) and pursuant to the Governor's letter and the provisions of 
section 211(k)(6), EPA is today adopting regulations that apply the 
prohibitions of subsection 211(k)(5) to the East St. Louis, Illinois 
ozone nonattainment area as of May 1, 2007, for all persons other than 
retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers. This date applies to the 
refinery level and all other points in the distribution system other 
than the retail level. For retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers, 
EPA is adopting regulations that apply the prohibitions of subsection 
211(k)(5) to the East St. Louis, Illinois ozone nonattainment area on 
June 1, 2007. As of the June 1, 2007 implementation date, this area 
will be treated as a covered area for all purposes of the federal RFG 
program.
    The application of the prohibition of section 211(k)(5) to the East 
St. Louis ozone nonattainment area could take effect no later than July 
10, 2007, under section 211(k)(6)(A), which stipulates that the 
effective program date must be no ``later than January 1, 1995 or 1 
year after [the Governor's] application is received, whichever is 
later.'' The Governor of Illinois asked that EPA establish January 1, 
2007, as the RFG implementation date.
    EPA believes the implementation dates adopted today achieve a 
reasonable balance between requiring the earliest possible start dates 
to achieve air quality benefits in East St.

[[Page 77618]]

Louis and providing adequate lead time for industry to prepare for 
program implementation. These dates are consistent with the State's 
request that EPA require RFG to be sold in the East St. Louis area in 
advance of the beginning of the high ozone season, which begins June 1. 
These dates will provide environmental benefits by allowing East St. 
Louis to achieve VOC reduction benefits for the 2007 VOC control 
season.
    EPA has concluded, based on its analysis of available information, 
that the refining and distribution industry's capacity to supply 
federal RFG to East St. Louis this summer exceeds the estimated demand. 
EPA has also concluded that the implementation dates adopted today 
provide adequate lead time to industry to set up storage and sales 
agreements to ensure supply of RFG to the East St. Louis ozone 
nonattainment area. If adverse comment is received and this direct 
final rule is withdrawn, EPA will finalize the companion proposal also 
published in today's Federal Register. That proposal also includes a 
May 1, 2007, implementation date for parties other than retailers and 
wholesale purchaser-consumers, and a June 1, 2007 implementation date 
for retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers.
    Although section 211(k)(6) provides EPA some discretion to 
establish the effective date for the application of RFG requirements in 
marginal, moderate, serious or severe ozone nonattainment areas subject 
to a Governor's petition, and allows EPA to consider whether there is 
sufficient domestic capacity to produce RFG in establishing the 
effective date for such requirements, EPA does not have discretion to 
deny a Governor's request. Therefore, the scope of this action is 
limited to setting an effective date for East St. Louis' opt-in to the 
RFG program, and not to decide whether St. Louis should in fact opt in. 
EPA considers that July 10, 2007 would be the latest possible effective 
date, since EPA expects there to be sufficient domestic capacity to 
produce RFG and therefore has no current reason to extend the effective 
date beyond one year after July 10, 2006 under section 211(k)(6)(B). 
Selection of the May 1/June 1 effective date coincides with the start 
of the summer RFG VOC control period and is the only practical date 
available for consideration. EPA does not have the authority to extend 
the date beyond July 10, 2007 absent supply issues and there is no 
justifiable reason to select a date between June 1 and July 10, 2007. 
For this reason we view this as a noncontroversial amendment, 
anticipate no adverse comment, and are publishing this action as a 
direct final rule without prior proposal. However, in the ``Proposed 
Rules'' section of this Federal Register publication, we are publishing 
a separate document that will serve as the proposal for a rule 
amendment should adverse comments be filed. That proposal also includes 
effective dates of May 1, 2007 and June 1, 2007. This direct final rule 
will be effective May 1, 2007 without further notice unless the Agency 
receives adverse comments by January 26, 2007.
    If EPA receives adverse comments, we will publish in the Federal 
Register a timely withdrawal of the direct final rule informing the 
public that the rule will not take effect. We will address all public 
comments in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. EPA 
will not institute a second comment period on this rule. Any parties 
interested in commenting on this rule should do so at this time.

IV. Environmental Impact

    The federal RFG program typically results in reductions in ozone-
forming emissions and air toxics. Reductions in ozone precursors are 
environmentally significant because they lead to reductions in ozone 
formation, with the associated improvements in human health and 
welfare. Exposure to ground-level ozone (or smog) can cause respiratory 
problems, chest pain, and coughing and may worsen bronchitis, 
emphysema, and asthma. Animal studies suggest that long-term exposure 
(months to years) to ozone can damage lung tissue and may lead to 
chronic respiratory illness. Reductions in emissions of toxic air 
pollutants are environmentally important because they carry significant 
benefits for human health and welfare primarily by reducing the number 
of cancer cases each year.
    Illinois EPA analyzed the emissions benefits which could be 
achieved by switching from 7.2 RVP fuel to RFG. Using the U.S. EPA's 
MOBILE6a model, Illinois projected that year 2010 motor vehicle VOC 
emissions could be reduced by 5.4 percent and carbon monoxide by 2.2 
percent. The use of RFG in the Metro-East area would also decrease 
benzene emissions by 75 tons per year, which equates to a 44 percent 
reduction from motor vehicles. On a total toxic emissions basis, the 
use of RFG would reduce emissions of the five primary motor vehicle 
related air toxics by 63 tons per year in 2010, a total percentage 
reduction of 23.5 percent.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review

    This action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under the 
terms of Executive Order (EO)12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 
is therefore not subject to review under the EO. EPA notes that the 
economic impacts of the RFG program were assessed in EPA's Regulatory 
Impact Analysis for the 1994 RFG rules. See 59 FR 7810-7811 (February 
16, 1994). In that analysis the production cost of RFG was estimated to 
be 4 to 8 cents more per gallon than conventional gasoline. Since 
conventional gas regulations have evolved since that time to be more 
like RFG and since the State has a low RVP requirement that also more 
closely resembles RFG, EPA expects the costs of RFG in the East St. 
Louis area to be at the low end or lower than this range. Nonetheless, 
using the 4 to 8 cent per gallon estimate, the cost of the program in 
East St. Louis would be significantly lower than the trigger for a 
significant regulatory action.

B. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This action does not impose an information collection burden under 
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. 
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the information 
collection requirements that apply to the RFG/anti-dumping program (see 
59 FR 7716, February 16, 1994), and has assigned OMB control number 
2060-0277 (EPA ICR No. 1951.08).
    Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources 
expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or 
provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time 
needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize 
technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and 
verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and 
disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing ways to 
comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements; 
train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; 
search data sources; complete and review the collection of information; 
and transmit or otherwise disclose the information.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control

[[Page 77619]]

numbers for EPA's regulations in 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR Part 9.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) generally requires an agency 
to prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule subject to 
notice and comment rulemaking requirements under the Administrative 
Procedure Act or any other statute unless the agency certifies that the 
rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities. Small entities include small businesses, 
small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions.
    For purposes of assessing the impacts of today's rule on small 
entities, small entity is defined as: (1) A small business that has not 
more than 1,500 employees (13 CFR 121.201); (2) a small governmental 
jurisdiction that is a government of a city, county, town, school 
district or special district with a population of less than 50,000; and 
(3) a small organization that is any not-for-profit enterprise which is 
independently owned and operated and is not dominant in its field.
    In promulgating the RFG and the related anti-dumping regulations 
for conventional gasoline, the Agency analyzed the impact of the 
regulations on small businesses. The Agency concluded that the 
regulations may possibly have some economic effect on a substantial 
number of small refiners, but that the regulations may not 
significantly affect other small entities, such as gasoline blenders, 
terminal operators, service stations and ethanol blenders. See 59 FR 
7810-7811 (February 16, 1994). As stated in the preamble to the final 
RFG/anti-dumping rule, exempting small refiners from the RFG 
regulations would result in the failure of meeting CAA standards. 59 FR 
7810. However, since most small refiners are located in the mountain 
states or in California, which has its own RFG program, the vast 
majority of small refiners are unaffected by the federal RFG 
requirements (although all refiners of conventional gasoline are 
subject to the anti-dumping requirements). Moreover, all businesses, 
large and small, maintain the option to produce conventional gasoline 
to be sold in areas not obligated by the Act to receive RFG or those 
areas which have not chosen to opt into the RFG program. A complete 
analysis of the effect of the RFG/anti-dumping regulations on small 
businesses is contained in the Regulatory Flexibility Analysis which 
was prepared for the RFG and anti-dumping rulemaking, and can be found 
in the docket for that rulemaking. The docket number is: EPA Air Docket 
A-92-12.
    Today's action will affect only those refiners, importers or 
blenders of gasoline that choose to produce or import RFG for sale in 
the East St. Louis ozone nonattainment area, and gasoline distributors 
and retail stations in those areas. As discussed above, EPA determined 
that, because of their location, the vast majority of small refiners 
would be unaffected by the RFG requirements. For the same reason, most 
small refiners will be unaffected by today's action. Other small 
entities, such as gasoline distributors and retail stations located in 
East St. Louis, which will become a covered area as a result of today's 
action, will be subject to the same requirements as those small 
entities which are located in current RFG covered areas. The Agency did 
not find the RFG regulations to significantly affect these entities. 
Based on this, EPA certifies that this direct final rule would not have 
a significant adverse impact on a substantial number of small entities.

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), Public 
Law 104-4, establishes requirements for Federal agencies to assess the 
effects of their regulatory actions on State, local, and tribal 
governments and the private sector. Under section 202 of the UMRA, EPA 
generally must prepare a written statement, including a cost-benefit 
analysis, for proposed and final rules with ``Federal mandates'' that 
may result in expenditures to State, local, and tribal governments, in 
the aggregate, or to the private sector, of $100 million or more in any 
one year. Before promulgating an EPA rule for which a written statement 
is needed, section 205 of the UMRA generally requires EPA to identify 
and consider a reasonable number of regulatory alternatives and adopt 
the least costly, most cost-effective or least burdensome alternative 
that achieves the objectives of the rule. The provisions of section 205 
do not apply when they are inconsistent with applicable law. Moreover, 
section 205 allows EPA to adopt an alternative other than the least 
costly, most cost-effective or least burdensome alternative if the 
Administrator publishes with the final rule an explanation why that 
alternative was not adopted. Before EPA establishes any regulatory 
requirements that may significantly or uniquely affect small 
governments, including tribal governments, it must have developed under 
section 203 of the UMRA a small government agency plan. The plan must 
provide for notifying potentially affected small governments, enabling 
officials of affected small governments to have meaningful and timely 
input in the development of EPA regulatory proposals with significant 
Federal intergovernmental mandates, and informing, educating, and 
advising small governments on compliance with the regulatory 
requirements.
    EPA has determined that this rule does not contain a Federal 
mandate that may result in expenditures of $100 million or more for 
State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or the private 
sector in any one year. Thus, today's rule is not subject to the 
requirements of sections 202 and 205 of the UMRA. Although EPA does not 
believe that UMRA imposes requirements for this rulemaking, EPA notes 
that the environmental and economic impacts of the RFG program were 
assessed in EPA's Regulatory Impact Analysis for the 1994 RFG rules.

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism

    Executive Order 13132, entitled ``Federalism'' (64 FR 43255, August 
10, 1999), requires EPA to develop an accountable process to ensure 
``meaningful and timely input by State and local officials in the 
development of regulatory policies that have federalism implications.'' 
``Policies that have federalism implications'' is defined in the 
Executive Order to include regulations that 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.''
    This rule does not have federalism implications. It will 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. The rule would only impose 
requirements on certain refiners and other entities in the gasoline 
distribution system, and not on States. The requirements of the rule 
will be enforced by the federal government at the national level. Thus, 
Executive Order 13132 does not apply to this rule.

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian 
Tribal Governments

    Executive Order 13175, entitled ``Consultation and Coordination 
with Indian Tribal Governments'' (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), 
requires EPA to develop an accountable process to ensure ``meaningful 
and timely input by tribal officials in the development of regulatory 
policies that have tribal

[[Page 77620]]

implications.'' This direct final rule does not have tribal 
implications, as specified in Executive Order 13175. Today's direct 
final rule will affect only those refiners, importers or blenders of 
gasoline that choose to produce or import RFG for sale in the East St. 
Louis ozone nonattainment area, and gasoline distributors and retail 
stations in those areas. Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not apply to 
this rule.

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental 
Health & Safety Risks

    Executive Order 13045, entitled Protection of Children from 
Environmental Health and Safety Risks, (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) 
applies to any rule that: (1) As determined to be ``economically 
significant'' as defined under Executive Order 12866, and (2) concerns 
an environmental health or safety risk that EPA has reason to believe 
may have a disproportionate effect on children. If the regulatory 
action meets both criteria, the Agency must evaluate the environmental 
health or safety effects of the planned rule on children, and explain 
why the planned regulation is preferable to other potentially effective 
and reasonably feasible alternatives considered by the Agency.
    EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 as applying only to those 
regulatory actions that are based on health or safety risks, such that 
the analysis required under section 5-501 of the Order has the 
potential to influence the regulation. This rule is not subject to 
Executive Order 13045 because it is not economically significant.

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply

    This rule is not subject to Executive Order 13211, ``Actions 
Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 
Distribution, or Use'' [66 FR 28355 (May 22, 2001)] because it is not a 
significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866.

I. National Technology Transfer Advancement Act

    Section 12(d) of Public Law 104-113, the National Technology 
Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (NTTAA), directs us to use 
voluntary consensus standards in our regulatory activities unless it 
would be inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise impractical. 
Voluntary consensus standards are technical standards (e.g., materials 
specifications, test methods, sampling procedures, and business 
practices) developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standards 
bodies. The NTTAA directs us to provide Congress, through OMB, 
explanations when we decide not to use available and applicable 
voluntary consensus standards. This direct final rulemaking does not 
involve technical standards. Therefore, EPA is not considering the use 
of any voluntary consensus standards.

J. Statutory Authority

    The Statutory authority for the action finalized today is granted 
to EPA by sections 211(c) and (k) and 301 of the Clean Air Act, as 
amended; 42 U.S.C. 7545(c) and (k) and 7601.

K. Congressional Review Act

    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. 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). This rule will be effective May 1, 2007.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 80

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Fuel additives, 
Gasoline, Motor vehicle pollution.

    Dated: December 20, 2006.
Stephen L. Johnson,
Administrator.

0
40 CFR part 80 is amended as follows:

PART 80--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority citation for part 80 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7414, 7545, 7542, and 7601(a).
0
2. Section 80.70 is amended by adding paragraph (k)(2) to read as 
follows:

Sec.  80.70  Covered areas.

* * * * *
    (k) * * *
    (2) The Illinois portion of the St. Louis, MO-IL 8-hour ozone 
nonattainment area is a covered area beginning June 1, 2007. The 
prohibitions of section 211(k)(5) of the Clean Air Act apply to all 
persons other than retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers in the 
Illinois portion of the St. Louis, MO-IL 8-hour ozone nonattainment 
area beginning May 1, 2007. The prohibitions of section 211(k)(5) of 
the Clean Air Act apply to retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers 
in the Illinois portion of the St. Louis, MO-IL 8-hour ozone 
nonattainment area beginning June 1, 2007.
* * * * *
 [FR Doc. E6-22162 Filed 12-26-06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P