Document ID: EPA-R06-OAR-2008-0420-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: TX080.02 Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Texas; Dallas/Fort Worth 1-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area; Determination of Attainment of the 1-Hour Ozone Standard
Posted Date: 2008-07-11T04:00Z

[Federal Register: July 11, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 134)]
[Proposed Rules]               
[Page 39897-39900]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11jy08-11]                         

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Proposed Rules
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.

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[[Page 39897]]

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R06-OAR-2008-0420; FRL-8690-6]

 
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Texas; Dallas/Fort Worth 1-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area; Determination 
of Attainment of the 1-Hour Ozone Standard

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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

SUMMARY: The EPA is proposing to determine that the Dallas/Fort Worth 
(DFW) 1-hour ozone nonattainment area is currently attaining the 1-hour 
ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). This determination 
is based upon certified ambient air monitoring data that show the area 
has monitored attainment of the 1-hour ozone NAAQS for the 2004-2006 
monitoring period. In addition, quality controlled and quality assured 
ozone data for 2007 and 2008 that are available in the EPA Air Quality 
System database, but not yet certified, show this area continues to 
attain the 1-hour ozone NAAQS. If this proposed determination is made 
final, the requirements for this area to submit an attainment 
demonstration or 5% Increment of Progress (IOP) plan, a reasonable 
further progress plan, contingency measures, and other planning State 
Implementation Plans (SIPs) related to attainment of the 1-hour ozone 
NAAQS shall be suspended for so long as the area continues to attain 
the 1-hour ozone NAAQS.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 11, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket No. EPA-R06-OAR-
2008-0420, by one of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     U.S. EPA Region 6 Contact Us Web site: http://epa.gov/
region6/r6coment.htm. Please click on 6PD (Multimedia) and select Air 
before submitting comments.
     E-mail: Mr. Guy Donaldson at donaldson.guy@epa.gov. Please 
also send a copy by email to the person listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section below.
     Fax: Mr. Guy Donaldson, Chief, Air Planning Section (6PD-
L), at fax number 214-665-7263.
     Mail: Mr. Guy Donaldson, Chief, Air Planning Section (6PD-
L), Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200, 
Dallas, Texas 75202-2733.
     Hand or Courier Delivery: Mr. Guy Donaldson, Chief, Air 
Planning Section (6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross 
Avenue, Suite 1200, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733. Such deliveries are 
accepted only between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays except 
for legal holidays. Special arrangements should be made for deliveries 
of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R06-OAR-
2008-0420. The 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 the 
disclosure of which is restricted by statute. Do not submit information 
through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail that you consider to be 
CBI or otherwise protected from disclosure. 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 Planning 
Section (6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, 
Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733. The file will be made available by 
appointment for public inspection in the Region 6 FOIA Review Room 
between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays except for legal 
holidays. Contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT paragraph below to make an appointment. If possible, please 
make the appointment at least two working days in advance of your 
visit. There will be a fee of 15 cents per page for making photocopies 
of documents. On the day of the visit, please check in at the EPA 
Region 6 reception area at 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 
75202-2733.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Carrie Paige, Air Planning Section 
(6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, 
Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, telephone (214) 665-6521, fax 
(214) 665-7263, e-mail address paige.carrie@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,'' 
and ``our'' means EPA. This supplementary information section is 
arranged as follows:

I. What Is the Background for This Action?
II. What Is the Impact of a United States Court of Appeals Decision 
in the South Coast Case Regarding EPA's Phase 1 Ozone Implementation 
Rule on This Proposed Rule?
III. Proposed Determination of Attainment
IV. What Action Is EPA Taking?
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

[[Page 39898]]

I. What Is the Background for This Action?

    The Clean Air Act (the Act) requires us to establish National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for certain widespread pollutants 
that cause or contribute to air pollution that is reasonably 
anticipated to endanger public health or welfare (sections 108 and 109 
of the Act). In 1979, we promulgated the 1-hour ozone standard of 0.12 
parts per million (ppm) (44 FR 8202, February 8, 1979). For ease of 
communication, many reports of ozone concentrations are given in parts 
per billion (ppb); ppb = ppm x 1000. Thus, 0.12 ppm becomes 120 ppb or 
124 ppb when rounding is considered.
    An area exceeds the 1-hour ozone standard each time an ambient air 
quality monitor records a 1-hour average ozone concentration above 0.12 
ppm in any given day. Only the highest 1-hour ozone concentration at 
the monitor during any 24 hour day is considered when determining the 
number of exceedance days at the monitor. An area violates the ozone 
standard if, over a consecutive 3-year period, more than 3 days of 
exceedances occur at the same monitor. For more information please see 
``National 1-hour primary and secondary air quality standards for 
ozone'' (40 CFR 50.9) and ``Interpretation of the 1-Hour Primary and 
Secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone'' (40 CFR 
50, Appendix H).
    The fourth-highest daily ozone concentration over the 3-year period 
is called the design value (DV). The DV indicates the severity of the 
ozone problem in an area; it is the ozone level around which a state 
designs its control strategy for attaining the ozone standard. A 
monitor's DV is the fourth highest ambient concentration recorded at 
that monitor over the previous 3 years. An area's DV is the highest of 
the design values from the area's monitors.
    The Act, as amended in 1990, required EPA to designate as 
nonattainment any area that was violating the 1-hour ozone standard, 
generally based on air quality monitoring data from the 1987 through 
1989 period (section 107(d)(4) of the Act; 56 FR 56694, November 6, 
1991). The Act further classified these areas, based on their ozone 
DVs, as marginal, moderate, serious, severe, or extreme.
    The control requirements and date by which attainment is to be 
achieved vary with an area's classification. Marginal areas are subject 
to the fewest mandated control requirements and had the earliest 
attainment date, November 15, 1993, while severe and extreme areas are 
subject to more stringent planning requirements and are provided more 
time to attain the standard. The DFW 1-hr ozone nonattainment area was 
initially classified as moderate (56 FR 56694, November 6, 1991) with 
an attainment date of November 15, 1996. Since the area did not attain 
the standard by November 15, 1996, we reclassified the area to serious 
on March 20, 1998 (63 FR 8128). The statutory attainment date for DFW, 
with its reclassification to serious, was November 15, 1999. The DFW 1-
hour ozone nonattainment area contains Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, and 
Denton Counties (40 CFR parts 81.344). As a result of the 
reclassification to serious, the State was required to submit an 
attainment demonstration SIP with an attainment date of November 15, 
1999 and a Rate of Progress (ROP) SIP covering the years from November 
15, 1996 to November 15, 1999. The State submitted those SIPs on March 
19, 1999. The State had previously submitted the moderate area 15% ROP 
plan on August 8, 1996, before the area was reclassified to serious. 
The 15% plan was given a conditional, interim approval.
    Our review showed that the attainment demonstration SIP submitted 
in 1999 did not contain an adequate control strategy or adopted 
measures to implement the strategy and the 1999 Post-1996 ROP SIP did 
not achieve the required 9% reduction in emissions for the time period. 
Therefore, we found both SIPs incomplete and started sanctions and 
Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) clocks effective May 13, 1999.
    A new Post-1996 ROP SIP was submitted October 25, 1999, and was 
found complete on December 16, 1999, since the new plan contained 
additional volatile organic compound (VOC) reductions to meet the 9% 
requirement. The new attainment demonstration SIP was submitted April 
25, 2000, and was found complete on June 23, 2000, because it contained 
a modeled control strategy and adopted regulations to implement the 
strategy. These two completeness findings stopped the sanctions clocks. 
The 2000 SIP also contained a transport determination. Under an EPA 
policy, ``Extension of Attainment Dates for Downwind Transport Areas,'' 
dated July 16, 1998, an area such as DFW could have been granted an 
attainment date extension if it could be shown that the DFW area was 
affected by emissions from an up-wind nonattainment area with a later 
attainment date (e.g., Houston 2007) to a degree that affects the 
downwind area's ability to achieve attainment. This policy was not 
upheld by the Courts. See, Sierra Club v. EPA, 294 F.3rd 155 (D.C. Cir. 
2002), Sierra Club v. EPA, 311 F.3rd 853 (7th Cir. 2002), and Sierra 
Club v. EPA, 314 F.3rd 735 (5th Cir. 2002). EPA proposed approval of 
the 2000 SIP and transport demonstration on January 18, 2001 (66 FR 
4756). However, due to the Courts' ruling EPA could not take final 
action on this SIP.
    EPA published the 8-hour ozone designations and the first phase 
governing certain facets of implementation of the 8-hour ozone standard 
(Phase 1 Rule) on April 30, 2004 (69 FR 23858 and 69 FR 23951, 
respectively). The DFW area was designated as nonattainment for the 8-
hour ozone standard and comprises nine counties: Collin, Dallas, 
Denton, and Tarrant counties (these four constitute the 1-hour ozone 
nonattainment area, hereafter referred to as the four core counties), 
and Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker and Rockwall counties. At the time 
of designation however, the four core counties remained in 
nonattainment for the 1-hour standard and had two outstanding 1-hour 
ozone obligations: (1) The area did not have an approved 1-hour ozone 
attainment demonstration; and (2) the area did not have approved 
reasonably available control technology (RACT) requirements for major 
sources of VOC emissions (VOC RACT).
    The Phase 1 Rule revoked the 1-hour ozone standard (see 69 FR 
23951). The Phase 1 Rule further provided the following three options 
for areas that had not met the 1-hour ozone attainment demonstration 
requirement: (1) Submit a 1-hour attainment demonstration no later than 
1 year after designation; (2) Submit a Reasonable Further Progress 
(RFP) plan for the 8-hour NAAQS, no later than 1 year following 
designations for the 8-hour NAAQS, providing a 5% increment of 
emissions reduction from the area's 2002 emissions inventory (EI); or 
(3) Submit an early 8-hour ozone attainment demonstration SIP that 
ensures that the first segment of RFP is achieved early (See 40 CFR 
51.905(a)(ii)). Texas selected option 2, to submit the RFP plan 
providing a 5% increment of emissions reduction from the area's 2002 
EI. This increment of emissions reduction is called the 5% Increment of 
Progress (IOP) plan. Texas submitted the 5% IOP plan for DFW, but EPA 
has not taken final action on the plan.
    The Phase 1 Rule also provided that 1-hour ozone nonattainment 
areas are required to adopt and implement ``applicable requirements'' 
according to the area's classification under the 1-hour ozone standard 
for anti-backsliding

[[Page 39899]]

purposes (see 40 CFR Sec.  51.905(a)(i)). On May 26, 2005, we 
determined that an area's 1-hour designation and classification as of 
June 15, 2004 would dictate what 1-hour obligations remain as 
``applicable requirements'' under the Phase 1 Rule (70 FR 30592). The 
DFW 1-hour nonattainment area was still classified as serious on June 
15, 2004, so the 1-hour ozone standard requirements applicable to the 
four core counties are those that apply to nonattainment areas 
classified as serious. An outstanding ``applicable requirement'' for 
the four core counties is the VOC RACT. We proposed to approve RACT for 
all major sources of VOCs in the 1-hour DFW nonattainment area on 
January 18, 2001 (66 FR 4756) and received no comments. In a separate 
rulemaking, we are re-proposing to approve RACT for all major sources 
of VOCs in the 1-hour DFW nonattainment area.
    Apart from the attainment demonstration and RACT, the DFW area has 
satisfied all other serious area applicable requirements under the 1-
hour ozone standard. See the area's Clean Fuels Fleet Program (February 
7, 2001 at 66 FR 9203); the area's post 1996 Rate of Progress (ROP) 
plan and associated motor vehicle emission budgets (MVEBs) (March 28, 
2005 at 70 FR 15592); and the area's 15% ROP plan and associated MVEBs 
(April 12, 2005 at 70 FR 18993). For a complete list, see the Texas SIP 
map at http://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6pd/air/sip/sip.htm.

II. What Is the Impact of a United States Court of Appeals Decision in 
the South Coast Case Regarding EPA's Phase 1 Ozone Implementation Rule 
on This Proposed Rule?

    On December 22, 2006, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of 
Columbia Circuit vacated the Phase 1 Rule. 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. With 
respect to the challenges to the anti-backsliding provisions of the 
rule, the Court vacated three provisions that would have allowed States 
to remove from the SIP or not to adopt three 1-hour obligations once 
the 1-hour standard was revoked to transition to the implementation of 
the 8-hour ozone standard: (1) Nonattainment area 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 that fail to attain the 1-hour standard by 
the 1-hour attainment date; and (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. The Court clarified 
that 1-hour conformity determinations are not required for anti-
backsliding purposes.
    The provisions in 40 CFR 51.905(a)-(c) concerning anti-backsliding 
remain in effect and areas must continue to meet those requirements. 
However, the three provisions noted above, which are specified in 40 
CFR 51.905(e), were vacated by the Court. As a result, States must 
continue to meet the obligations for 1-hour NSR; 1-hour contingency 
measures; and, for severe and extreme areas, the obligations related to 
a section 185 fee program. Currently, EPA is developing several 
proposed rules to address the Court's vacatur and remand with respect 
to these three requirements. We address below how the obligations for 
DFW will be met, specifically, the 1-hour obligations under EPA's anti-
backsliding rule (as interpreted by the Court), and the obligation 
under 40 CFR 51.905(a)(ii)(B) that applies to DFW because DFW did not 
have a fully approved attainment SIP for the 1-hour NAAQS at the time 
of its designation under the 8-hour NAAQS, will be met.

III. Proposed Determination of Attainment

    EPA is proposing to find that the DFW 1-hour ozone nonattainment 
area is currently in attainment of the 1-hour standard based on the 
most recent 3 years of quality-assured air quality data. Certified 
ambient air monitoring data show that the area has monitored attainment 
of the 1-hour ozone NAAQS for the 2004-2006 monitoring period. Quality 
controlled and quality assured ozone data for 2007 and 2008 that are 
available in the EPA Air Quality System database (AQS), but not yet 
certified, show this area continues to attain the 1-hour ozone NAAQS. 
In addition, as of June 30, 2008, data available in AQS and on the 
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Web site at http://
www.tceq.state.tx.us/cgi-bin/compliance/monops/ozone_exceedance.pl 
show no exceedances of the 1-hour standard for the DFW area in 2008. 
Consistent with 40 CFR 50, Appendix H, Table 1 contains the 1-hour 
ozone data for the DFW 1-hour ozone nonattainment area monitors that 
show that the area is currently attaining the 1-hour ozone NAAQS.

                                         Table 1.--1-Hour Ozone Data for the DFW 1-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Design value (ppb)       Actual and estimated number of exceedances \a\        3-year exceedance
                                                 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------          average
                      Site                                                                                                     -------------------------
                                                   2004-2006    2005-2007       2004         2005         2006         2007      2004-2006    2005-2007
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Denton County Airport (48-121-0034).............          118          118            0            0            0            1            0         0.33
Nuestra (48-113-0075)...........................          117           16            0            0            0            0            0            0
Hinton (48-113-0069)............................          114          114            0            0            0            0            0            0
Executive (48-113-0087).........................          111          110            1            0            0            0         0.33            0
Keller (48-439-2003)............................          115          117            0            2            0            1         0.67         1.00
Meacham (48-439-1002)...........................          117          118            0            2            0            1         0.67         1.00
Arlington (48-439-3011).........................          113          113            0            0            0            0            0            0
Eagle Mt. Lake (48-439-0075)....................          124          124            1            2            0            1         1.00         1.00
Grapevine (48-439-3009).........................          112          111            1            0            0            0         0.33            0
Frisco (48-085-0005)............................          113          111            0            0            0            0            0            0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ The actual and estimated number of exceedances were equal in all cases.

[[Page 39900]]

    Pursuant to the interpretation set forth in the May 10, 1995 
memorandum from John S. Seitz, Director, Office of Air Quality Planning 
and Standards, entitled ``Reasonable Further Progress, Attainment 
Demonstration, and Related Requirements for Ozone Nonattainment Areas 
Meeting the Ozone Ambient Air Quality Standard'' (Clean Data Policy), 
EPA is proposing to make a finding of attainment based on current air 
quality. Under this policy, if EPA determines through rulemaking that 
the DFW 1-hour ozone nonattainment area is meeting the 1-hour ozone 
standard, the requirements for the State to submit and have approved an 
attainment demonstration and related components such as reasonably 
available control measures (RACM), an RFP demonstration (including the 
5% IOP plan), and contingency measures for failure to attain or make 
RFP are suspended as long as the area continues to attain the 1-hour 
ozone NAAQS. If the area subsequently violates the ozone NAAQS, EPA 
would initiate notice-and-comment rulemaking to withdraw the 
determination of attainment, which would result in reinstatement of the 
requirement for the State to submit such plans.
    The Tenth, Seventh and Ninth Circuits have upheld EPA rulemakings 
applying the Clean Data Policy. See Sierra Club v. EPA, 99 F. 3d 1551 
(10th Cir. 1996); Sierra Club v. EPA, 375 F.3d 537 (7th Cir. 2004) and 
Our Children's Earth Foundation v. EPA, No. 04-73032 (9th Cir. June 28, 
2005) memorandum opinion.\1\ See also the discussion and rulemakings 
cited in the Phase 2 Rule, 70 FR 71644-71646 (November 29, 2005).
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    \1\ The Clean Data Policy, as it is embodied in 40 CFR 51.918, 
is being challenged in the context of the 8-hour ozone standard in 
the Phase 2 Rule ozone litigation pending in the D.C. Circuit, NRDC 
v. EPA, No. 06-1045 (D.C. Cir.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

IV. What Action Is EPA Taking?

    EPA proposes to find that the DFW 1-hour ozone nonattainment area 
has attained the 1-hour ozone standard. Thus the requirements for 
submitting the attainment demonstration, RFP requirements, or in this 
case a 5% IOP, (40 CFR 51.905(a)), and section 172(c)(9) and section 
182(c)(9) contingency measures are suspended for so long as the area is 
attaining the standard.
    Thus pursuant to our proposed determination of attainment and in 
accordance with our Clean Data Policy, the effect of the finding is 
that the following requirements to submit SIP measures under the 1-hour 
anti-backsliding provisions (40 CFR Section 51.905) are suspended for 
so long as the area continues to attain the 1-hour standard:
    RFP reductions under section 182(c)(2)(B) (for serious and above 
areas)
    Attainment demonstration under section 182(c)(2) (for serious and 
above areas)
    Contingency measures under section 172(c)(9) and section 182(c)(9) 
(for serious and above areas).

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
proposed 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 proposes to make a determination based on air quality data, and 
would, if finalized, result in the suspension of certain Federal 
requirements. 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 proposes to make a determination based on air 
quality data, and would, if finalized, result in the suspension of 
certain Federal requirements, it 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). This proposed 
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 proposed 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), because it 
merely proposes to make a determination based on air quality data and 
would, if finalized, result in the suspension of certain Federal 
requirements, and does not alter the relationship or the distribution 
of power and responsibilities established in the Clean Air Act. This 
proposed 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 proposes to determine that air 
quality in the affected area is meeting Federal standards. 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 because it 
would be inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when determining the 
attainment status of an area, to use voluntary consensus standards in 
place of promulgated air quality standards and monitoring procedures 
that otherwise satisfy the provisions of the Clean Air Act. This 
proposed 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.). Under Executive Order 12898, EPA finds that this rule 
involves a proposed determination of attainment based on air quality 
data and will not have disproportionately high and adverse human health 
or environmental effects on any communities in the area, including 
minority and low-income communities.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxides, Ozone, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: July 1, 2008.
Richard E. Greene,
Regional Administrator, Region 6.
 [FR Doc. E8-15809 Filed 7-10-08; 8:45 am]

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