Document ID: EPA-R09-OAR-2008-0728-0003
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2008-11-07T05:00Z

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

	40 CFR Part 52

	[EPA-R09-OAR-2008-0728; FRL-]

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Revisions to the
Nevada State Implementation Plan; Clark County

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

SUMMARY: Under the Clean Air Act, EPA is taking direct final action to
approve a revision to the Clark County portion of the Nevada State
Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision consists of transportation
conformity criteria and procedures related to interagency consultation
and enforceability of certain transportation-related control measures
and mitigation measures. The intended effect is to include the
transportation conformity criteria and procedures in the applicable SIP.

DATES: This rule is effective on [Insert date 60 days from the date of
publication in the Federal Register] without further notice, unless EPA
receives adverse comments by [Insert date 30 days from the date of
publication in the Federal Register]. If we receive such comments, we
will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register to notify the
public that this direct final rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by docket number
EPA-R09-OAR-2008-0728, by one of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal:   HYPERLINK "http://www.regulations.gov" 
www.regulations.gov . Follow the on-line instructions.

E-mail:  HYPERLINK "mailto:vagenas.ginger@epa.gov" 
vagenas.ginger@epa.gov .

Mail or deliver: Ginger Vagenas (AIR-2), U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901. 

Instructions: All comments will be included in the public docket without
change and may be made available online at   HYPERLINK
"http://www.regulations.gov"  www.regulations.gov , including any
personal information provided, unless the comment includes Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Information that you consider CBI or otherwise
protected should be clearly identified as such and should not be
submitted through   HYPERLINK "http://www.regulations.gov" 
www.regulations.gov  or e-mail. The   HYPERLINK
"http://www.regulations.gov"  www.regulations.gov  portal is an
“anonymous access” system, and EPA will not know your identity or
contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment.
If you send e-mail directly to EPA, your e-mail address will be
automatically captured and included as part of the public comment. 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. 

Docket: The index to the docket for this action is available
electronically at   HYPERLINK "http://www.regulations.gov" 
www.regulations.gov  and in hard copy at EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne
Street, San Francisco, California. While all documents in the docket are
listed in the index, some information may be publicly available only at
the hard copy location (e.g., copyrighted material), and some may not be
publicly available in either location (e.g., CBI). To inspect the hard
copy materials, please schedule an appointment during normal business
hours with the contact listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ginger Vagenas, EPA Region IX, (415)
972-3964, vagenas.ginger@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, (we,( (us( and
(our( refer to EPA.

Table of Contents 

I. 	Transportation Conformity

II. 	Background for this Action

III.	State Submittal and EPA Evaluation

IV. 	Public Comment and Final Action

V. 	Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Transportation Conformity

	Transportation conformity is required under section 176(c) of the Clean
Air Act (CAA or Act) to ensure that federally supported highway, transit
projects, and other activities are consistent with (“conform to”)
the purpose of the SIP. Conformity applies to areas that are currently
designated nonattainment, and to areas that have been redesignated to
attainment after 1990 (maintenance areas) with plans developed under
section 175A of the Act, for the following transportation related
criteria pollutants: Ozone, particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), carbon
monoxide (CO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

	Conformity to the purpose of the SIP means that transportation
activities will not cause new air quality violations, worsen existing
violations, or delay timely attainment of the relevant national ambient
air quality standards (NAAQS). The transportation conformity regulation
is found in 40 CFR part 93 and provisions related to conformity SIPs are
found in 40 CFR 51.390.

II. Background for this Action

	EPA promulgated the Federal transportation conformity criteria and
procedures (the conformity rule) on November 24, 1993. See 58 FR 62188.
Among other things, the rule required states to address all provisions
of the conformity rule in their SIPs (“conformity SIPs”). Under 40
CFR 51.390, most sections of the conformity rule were required to be
copied verbatim. States were also required to tailor all or portions of
the following three sections of the conformity rule to meet their
state's individual circumstances: 40 CFR 93.105, which addresses
consultation procedures; 40 CFR 93.122(a)(4)(ii), which addresses
written commitments to control measures that are not included in a
metropolitan planning organization’s (MPO’s) transportation plan and
transportation improvement program that must be obtained prior to a
conformity determination, and the requirement that such commitments,
when they exist, must be fulfilled; and 40 CFR 93.125(c), which
addresses written commitments to mitigation measures that must be
obtained prior to a project-level conformity determination, and the
requirement that project sponsors must comply with such commitments,
when they exist.

	On August 10, 2005, the “Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users” (SAFETEA-LU) was signed
into law. SAFETEA-LU revised section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act's
transportation conformity provisions. One of the changes streamlines the
requirements for conformity SIPs. Under SAFETEA-LU, states are required
to address and tailor only three sections of the conformity rule in
their conformity SIPs: 40 CFR 93.105, 40 CFR 93.122(a)(4)(ii), and, 40
CFR 93.125(c), described above. In general, states are no longer
required to submit conformity SIP revisions that address the other
sections of the conformity rule. These changes took effect on August 10,
2005, when SAFETEA-LU was signed into law.

III. State Submittal and EPA Evaluation

EPA has designated portions of Clark County, Nevada, as nonattainment
for the carbon monoxide, 8-hour ozone, and respirable particulate matter
(PM10) national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). See 40 CFR
81.329. Thus, a “conformity SIP” for the portions of Clark County so
designated must be prepared, adopted, and submitted to EPA to comply
with the CAA, as amended by SAFETEA-LU. 

In response to these requirements, on April 1, 2008, the Nevada Division
of Environmental Protection (NDEP) submitted the Clark County
Transportation Conformity Plan (TCP) to EPA for approval as a revision
to the Clark County portion of the Nevada SIP. The Clark County Board of
County Commissioners adopted the Clark County TCP on January 15, 2008.
Appendix A of the Clark County TCP documents public notice and hearing
for this SIP revision in compliance with CAA section 110(l) and 40 CFR
51.102. On July 3, 2008, this submittal was found to meet the
completeness criteria in 40 CFR Part 51 Appendix V, which must be met
before formal EPA review.  There is no previous version of the Clark
County TCP in the SIP. 

Upon EPA approval, the Federal transportation conformity regulations
will apply, except for those sections addressed by the current
submittal, i.e., the requirements under 40 CFR 93.122(a)(4)(ii) and
93.125(c) for enforceability of control measures and mitigation
measures, and under 40 CFR 93.105 for interagency consultation. 

We have reviewed the Clark County TCP to assure consistency with the
Clean Air Act as amended by SAFETEA-LU and EPA regulations (40 CFR part
93 and 40 CFR 51.390) governing state procedures for transportation
conformity and interagency consultation and have concluded that the plan
is approvable. Details of our review are set forth in a technical
support document (TSD), which has been included in the docket for this
action. Specifically, in our TSD, we identify how the submitted
procedures satisfy our requirements under 40 CFR 93.105 for interagency
consultation with respect to the development of transportation plans and
programs, SIPs, and conformity determinations, the resolution of
conflicts, and the provision of adequate public consultation, and our
requirements under 40 CFR 93.122(a)(4)(ii) and 93.125(c) for
enforceability of control measures and mitigation measures. EPA approval
of this SIP revision is consistent with Federal law and regulations, and
will obviate the need for SIP revisions that would have otherwise been
triggered by changes to the underlying Federal regulations.

IV. Public Comment and Final Action 

As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, and for the reasons set
forth above, EPA is fully approving the Clark County Transportation
Conformity Plan, submitted on April 1, 2008, as a revision to the Clark
County portion of the Nevada SIP. We do not think anyone will object to
this approval, so we are finalizing it without proposing it in advance.
However, in the Proposed Rules section of this Federal Register, we are
simultaneously proposing approval of the same submitted plan. If we
receive adverse comments by [Insert date 30 days from date of
publication in the Federal Register], we will publish a timely
withdrawal in the Federal Register to notify the public that the direct
final approval will not take effect and we will address the comments in
a subsequent final action based on the proposal. If we do not receive
timely adverse comments, the direct final approval will be effective
without further notice on [Insert date 60 days from date of publication
in the Federal Register]. This will incorporate the Clark County TCP
into the federally enforceable SIP.

V.  Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

Under the Clean Air Act, 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, EPA’s role is to approve state choices,
provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. 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 (Public Law 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
Clean Air Act; 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.

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 [FEDERAL REGISTER OFFICE: insert
date 60 days from date of publication of this document in the Federal
Register]. Filing a petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of
this final rule does not affect the finality of this 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, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic compounds. 

9-28-2008

________________			__S/B____________________

Dated:					Wayne Nastri,

						Regional Administrator,

Region IX.



Chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations is amended as follows:

PART 52 [AMENDED]

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

follows:

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

Subpart DD - Nevada

2. Section 52.1470 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(72) to read as
follows: 

(52.1470 Identification of plan.

*		*		*		*		*

(c) * * *

(72) The following plan revision was submitted on April 1, 2008 by the
Governor’s designee.

(i) Incorporation by reference.

(A) Clark County Department of Air Quality and Environmental Management.

(1) Clark County Transportation Conformity Plan (January 2008), adopted
by the Clark County Board of County Commissioners on January 15, 2008.

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