Document ID: EPA-R03-OAR-2014-0268-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Rule
Title: Air Quality State Implementation Plans; Approval and Promulgation: Pennsylvania; Update of the Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets for the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Maintenance Area
Posted Date: 2014-05-16T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 95 (Friday, May 16, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 28435-28439]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-10695]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2014-0268; FRL-9910-48-Region-3]

Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Pennsylvania; Update of the Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets for the 
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 1997 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air 
Quality Standard Maintenance Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct 
final action to approve revisions to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's 
(Pennsylvania) State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revisions consist 
of an update to the Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets (MVEBs) for 
nitrogen oxides (NOX) for the 1997 8-Hour Ozone National 
Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) SIP for the Allentown-Bethlehem-
Easton 1997 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS Maintenance Area (Allentown Maintenance 
Area). The SIP revision also includes an updated point source inventory 
for NOX. This rulemaking action approves the updated MVEBs 
and thereby makes them available for transportation conformity 
purposes. EPA is approving these revisions to the MVEBs and point 
source inventory in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air 
Act (CAA).

DATES: This rule is effective on July 15, 2014 without further notice, 
unless EPA receives adverse written comment by June 16, 2014. If EPA 
receives such comments, it 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 Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2014-0268 by one of the following methods:
    A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    B. Email: fernandez.cristina@epa.gov.
    C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2014-0268, Cristina Fernandez, Associate 
Director, Office of Air Program Planning, Mailcode 3AP30, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
    D. Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region III address. 
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-R03-OAR-
2014-0268. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change, and may be made available online 
at 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 www.regulations.gov or email. The 
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 email comment 
directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov, your email 
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 electronic docket are listed in the 
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 www.regulations.gov or 
in hard copy during normal business hours at the Air Protection 
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch 
Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.

[[Page 28436]]

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: Asrah Khadr, (215) 814-2071, or by 
email at khadr.asrah@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On March 7, 2014, Pennsylvania submitted a formal revision to its 
SIP. The SIP revision consists of updated MVEBs for NOX for 
the 1997 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS. The SIP revision also includes an updated 
point source inventory for NOX.
    On July 18, 1997 (62 FR 38856), EPA established the 1997 8-Hour 
Ozone NAAQS. On April 30, 2004 (69 FR 23858), Lehigh, Northampton, and 
Carbon Counties were designated as nonattainment for the 1997 8-Hour 
Ozone NAAQS as a part of the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Nonattainment 
Area. On June 26, 2007, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental 
Protection (PADEP) submitted a request for redesignation and a SIP 
revision which consisted of a maintenance plan, a 2002 base year 
inventory and MVEBs for transportation conformity purposes. On March 2, 
2008 (73 FR 11557), EPA approved the SIP revision as well as the 
redesignation request made by PADEP; therefore the Allentown-Bethlehem-
Easton Nonattainment Area was redesignated as an attainment area.
    The currently SIP-approved MVEBs for the Allentown Maintenance Area 
were developed using the Highway Mobile Source Emission Factor Model 
(MOBILE6.2). On March 2, 2010 (75 FR 9411), EPA published a notice of 
availability for the Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator (MOVES2010) 
model for use in developing MVEBs for SIPs and for conducting 
transportation conformity analyses. EPA commenced a two year grace 
period after which time the MOVES2010 model would have to be used for 
transportation conformity purposes. The two year grace period was 
scheduled to end on March 2, 2012. On February 27, 2012 (77 FR 11394), 
EPA published a final rule extending the grace period for one more year 
to March 2, 2013 to ensure adequate time for affected parties to have 
the capacity to use the MOVES model to develop or update the applicable 
MVEBs in SIPs and to conduct conformity analyses. On September 8, 2010, 
EPA released MOVES2010a, which is a minor update to MOVES2010 and which 
is used by Pennsylvania in this SIP revision.

II. Summary of SIP Revision

    This SIP revision includes an update to the MVEBs for 
NOX for the years 2009 (interim year) and 2018 (maintenance 
year) that were produced using the MOVES2010a model. This SIP revision 
also includes an update to the point source inventory for 
NOX. The MVEBs, as well as the point source inventory, were 
not updated for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), therefore providing 
information about VOCs in the tables below is not applicable (N/A). A 
comparison between the previous point source inventory and the updated 
point source inventory is provided in ``Table 1, Summary of Point 
Source Inventory in tpd.'' The previously approved MVEBs were produced 
using the Mobile Source Emission Factor Model (MOBILE6.2). A summary of 
the updated MOVES-based emissions and previously approved MOBILE6.2-
based emissions for the years 2004, 2009, and 2018 is provided in 
``Table 2. Summary of Motor Vehicle Emissions in tpd.'' Even though 
there is an emissions increase in the MOVES-based MVEBs, the increase 
is not due to an increase in emissions from mobile sources. The 
increase is due to the fact that the MOVES model provides more accurate 
emissions estimates than MOBILE6.2, rather than growth that had not 
been anticipated in the maintenance plan. Also, part of the update of 
the MVEBs is the addition of a 2 ton per day (tpd) safety margin for 
NOX. The MVEBs that will be utilized for transportation 
conformity purposes and include the safety margins are presented in 
``Table 3. Updated MVEBs in tpd.'' These safety margins were added 
because emissions in the interim (2009) and maintenance (2018) years 
are significantly less than the attainment year emissions, which is the 
year that the Allentown Maintenance Area attained the standard. 
Additionally, Table 3 presents the portion of the MVEBs allotted to 
each metropolitan planning organization (MPO). In the case of the 
Allentown Maintenance Area, there are two MPOs involved in 
transportation planning for the counties that are a part of the 
maintenance area. The Lehigh Valley MPO serves Lehigh and Northampton 
Counties while the Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance (NEPA) MPO serves 
Carbon County. A detailed summary of EPA's review and rationale for 
proposing to approve this SIP revision may be found in the Technical 
Support Documents (TSDs) prepared in support of this proposed 
rulemaking action and are available on line at http://www.regulations.gov, Docket number EPA-R03-OAR-2014-0628.

                                Table 1--Summary of Point Source Inventory in tpd
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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       Current
                                                                       Updated
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year........................................................         2009         2018         2009         2018
NOX.........................................................         58.3         66.6         27.0         26.1
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                               Table 2--Summary of Motor Vehicle Emissions in tpd
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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Model                                             MOBILE6.2
                                                  MOVES2010a
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Year..............................         2004         2009         2018         2004         2009         2018
VOCs..............................        30.54        22.80        13.28          N/A          N/A          N/A
NOX...............................        48.33        33.89        14.44        59.38        44.08        21.95
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                                       Table 3--MVEBs for Each MPO in tpd
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MPO                                                               Lehigh Valley MPO
                                                                      NEPA MPO
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Year........................................................         2009         2018         2009         2018
VOCs........................................................      20.6482      12.4328       3.4372        2.263

[[Page 28437]]

 
NOX.........................................................      39.1787      20.4058       6.8977        3.541
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III. Final Action

    EPA is approving Pennsylvania's SIP revision request from March 7, 
2014 to update the MVEBs for the Allentown Maintenance Area to reflect 
the use of the MOVES model. EPA is also proposing to approve the update 
to the point source inventory. EPA is approving this SIP revision 
because it will allow the Allentown Maintenance Area to continue to be 
in attainment of the 1997 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS, and our in depth review 
of the SIP revision leads EPA to conclude that the updated MVEBs meet 
the adequacy requirements set forth in 40 CFR 93.118(e)(4)(i)-(vi), and 
the updated MVEBs have been correctly calculated to reflect the use of 
the MOVES model. As a result of EPA's approval, these updated MVEBs 
will be both adequate and SIP-approved for purposes of transportation 
conformity. EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because 
EPA views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no 
adverse comment. However, in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of today's 
Federal Register, EPA is publishing a separate document that will serve 
as the proposal to approve the SIP revision if adverse comments are 
filed. This rule will be effective on July 15, 2014 without further 
notice unless EPA receives adverse comment by June 16, 2014. If EPA 
receives adverse comment, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal in the 
Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take 
effect. EPA 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 action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so 
at this time. Please note that if EPA receives adverse comment on an 
amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that provision may 
be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt as final those 
provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General Requirements

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA and applicable 
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in 
reviewing SIP submissions, 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 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 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 the SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in 
the state, and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct 
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.

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 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).

C. Petitions for Judicial Review

    Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by July 15, 2014. 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. Parties with objections to this direct final rule are 
encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel notice of 
proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules 
section of today's Federal Register, rather than file an immediate 
petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can 
withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed 
rulemaking action. This rulemaking action pertaining to the update of 
the MVEBs and point and area source inventories for the Allentown 
Maintenance Area 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, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Volatile organic compounds.

[[Page 28438]]

    Dated: April 25, 2014.
W.C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.

    40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

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

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

Subpart NN--Pennsylvania

0
2. In Sec.  52.2020, the table in paragraph (e)(1) is amended by 
revising the entry for ``8-Hour Ozone Maintenance Plan and 2002 Base 
Year Emissions Inventory for Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Area: Carbon, 
Lehigh and Northampton Counties'' to read as follows:

Sec.  52.2020  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    (1) * * *

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             State
   Name of non- regulatory SIP          Applicable         submittal     EPA approval date        Additional
             revision                 geographic area        date                                explanation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
8-Hour Ozone Maintenance Plan and  Allentown-Bethlehem-      6/26/07   3/4/08 73 FR 11557..  Technical
 2002 Base Year Emissions           Easton Area:                                              correction dated 8/
 Inventory.                         Carbon, Lehigh and                                        9/07 addresses
                                    Northampton                                               omitted emissions
                                    Counties.                                                 inventory
                                                                                              information from 6/
                                                                                              26/07 submittals.
                                                              3/7/14   5/16/14 [Insert page  Revised 2009 and
                                                                        number where the      2018 Motor Vehicle
                                                                        document begins].     Emission Budgets.
                                                                                              Revised 2009 and
                                                                                              2018 point source
                                                                                              inventories. See
                                                                                              sections 52.2043
                                                                                              and 52.2052.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *

0
3. Section 52.2043 is amended by adding paragraph (c) to read as 
follows:

Sec.  52.2043  Control strategy for maintenance plans: Ozone

* * * * *
    (c) As of May 16, 2014, EPA approves the following revised 2009 and 
2018 point source inventory for nitrogen oxides (NOX) for 
the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 1997 8-Hour Ozone Maintenance Area 
submitted by the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of 
Environmental Protection:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Tons per
          Applicable geographic area                Year       day NOX
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 1997 8-Hour Ozone           2009         27.0
 Maintenance Area.............................
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 1997 8-Hour Ozone           2018         26.1
 Maintenance Area.............................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

0
4. Section 52.2052 is amended by adding paragraph (c) to read as 
follows:

Sec.  52.2052  Motor vehicle emissions budgets for Pennsylvania ozone 
areas

* * * * *
    (c) As of May 16, 2014, EPA approves the following revised 2009 and 
2018 Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets (MVEBs) for nitrogen oxides 
(NOX) for the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 1997 8-Hour Ozone 
Maintenance Area submitted by the Secretary of the Pennsylvania 
Department of Environmental Protection:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Tons per
          Applicable geographic area                Year       day NOX
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 1997 8-Hour Ozone           2009        39.18
 Maintenance Area (Lehigh and Northampton
 Counties)....................................
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 1997 8-Hour Ozone           2018        20.41
 Maintenance Area (Lehigh and Northampton
 Counties)....................................
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 1997 8-Hour Ozone           2009         6.90
 Maintenance Area (Carbon County).............
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 1997 8-Hour Ozone           2018         3.54
 Maintenance Area (Carbon County).............
------------------------------------------------------------------------

[FR Doc. 2014-10695 Filed 5-15-14; 8:45 am]
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