Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; Enhanced Motor Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance Program

Federal RegisterAug 31, 1994

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[PA38-1-6649; FRL-5062-6]

Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; Enhanced Motor Vehicle Inspection and

Maintenance Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is conditionally approving a State Implementation Plan

(SIP) revision submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This

revision establishes and requires the implementation of an enhanced

motor vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) program in the counties

of Allegheny, Beaver, Berks, Blair, Bucks, Cambria, Centre, Chester,

Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lebanon,

Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, Mercer, Montgomery, Northampton,

Philadelphia, Washington, Westmoreland and York. The intended effect of

this action is to conditionally approve the Pennsylvania enhanced motor

vehicle I/M program. This action is being taken under Section 110 of

the Clean Air Act.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule will become effective on September 30, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the documents relevant to this action are

available for public inspection during normal business hours at the

Air, Radiation, and Toxics Division, U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, Region III, 841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

19107; and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources,

Bureau of Air Quality Control, P.O. Box 8468, 400 Market Street,

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mrs. Kelly L. Bunker, (215) 597-4554.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 30, 1994 (59 FR 33709), EPA

published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) for the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania. The NPR proposed conditional approval of an enhanced I/M

program based upon certain contingencies. The formal SIP revision was

submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on November 5, 1993.

Specific requirements of the Pennsylvania enhanced I/M program and

the rationale for EPA's proposed actions are explained in the NPR and

will not be restated here. No adverse public comments were received on

the NPR.

Final Action

EPA is conditionally approving the enhanced I/M program as a

revision to the Pennsylvania SIP based on certain contingencies. The

conditions for approvability are as follows:

(1) By December 31, 1994 a notice must be published in the

Pennsylvania Bulletin by the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department

of Transportation (PADOT) which certifies that the enhanced I/M program

is required in order to comply with federal law, certifies the

geographic areas which are subject to the enhanced I/M program (the

geographic coverage must be identical to that listed in Appendix A-1 of

the November 5, 1993 SIP submittal), and certifies the commencement

date of the enhanced I/M program. This notice must be submitted to EPA

as an amendment to the SIP by December 31, 1994;

(2) By December 31, 1994 the Commonwealth must submit to EPA as a

SIP amendment, the amendments to the Pennsylvania I/M regulation, 67 Pa

Code Sec. 178.202-205, which require EPA approval prior to

implementation of any alternate purge test procedure and incorporate

the transient emission standards for Tier 1 vehicles, the Phase 2

standards for all vehicle types and model years, and the transient and

evaporative purge test procedures found in the final version of the EPA

document entitled ``High-Tech I/M Test Procedures, Emission Standards,

Quality Control Requirements, and Equipment Specifications'', EPA-AA-

EPSD-IM-93-1, April 1994,

(3) Within one year from September 30, 1994, the Commonwealth must

submit the PADOT procedures manual for motorist compliance enforcement

program oversight as an amendment to the SIP and

(4) Within one year from September 30, 1994, the Commonwealth must

submit the PADOT procedures manual for quality assurance as an

amendment to the SIP.

The contingencies for approvability are as follows:

(1) If penalties are assessed against the contractor under the

Contractor Responsibility Program in lieu of the penalties in 67 Pa

Code Sec. 178.602(b) of the Pennsylvania I/M regulation, the penalties

must be equal to or more stringent than those in the Commonwealth's I/M

regulation and

(2) The present contractor or any future contractors for the

Pennsylvania I/M program may not have any business interest in a

vehicle repair facility anywhere in the continental United States.

Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or

allowing or establishing a precedent for any future request for

revision to any state implementation plan. Each request for revision to

the state implementation plan shall be considered separately in light

of specific technical, economic, and environmental factors and in

relation to relevant statutory and regulatory requirements.

This action makes final the action proposed at 59 FR 33709. As

noted elsewhere in this notice, EPA received no adverse public comment

on the proposed action. As a direct result, the Regional Administrator

has reclassified this action from a Table 1 to a Table 3 under the

processing procedures established at 54 FR 2214, January 19, 1989.

This action has been classified as a Table 3 action for signature

by the Regional Administrator under the procedures published in the

Federal Register on January 19, 1989 (54 FR 2214-2225), as revised by

an October 4, 1993 memorandum from Michael H. Shapiro, Acting Assistant

Administrator for Air and Radiation. The OMB has exempted this

regulatory action from E.O. 12866 review.

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 October 31, 1994. Filing a

petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule

for the Pennsylvania enhanced I/M SIP revision does not affect the

finality of this rule 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,

Hydrocarbons, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations,

Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: August 24, 1994.

Stanley L. Laskowski,

Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.

40 CFR part 52, subpart NN of chapter I, title 40 is amended as

follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

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

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.

Subpart NN--Pennsylvania

2. Section 52.2026 is added to read as follows:

Sec. 52.2026 Conditional approval.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's November 5, 1993 SIP submittal

for an enhanced motor vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) program

is conditionally approved based on certain contingencies.

(a) The conditions for approvability are as follows: (1) By

December 31, 1994 a notice must be published in the Pennsylvania

Bulletin by the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of

Transportation (PADOT) which certifies that the enhanced I/M program is

required in order to comply with federal law, certifies the geographic

areas which are subject to the enhanced I/M program (the geographic

coverage must be identical to that listed in Appendix A-1 of the

November 5, 1993 SIP submittal), and certifies the commencement date of

the enhanced I/M program. This notice must be submitted to EPA as an

amendment to the SIP by December 31, 1994.

(2) By December 31, 1994 the Commonwealth must revise and submit to

EPA as a SIP amendment, the amendments to the Pennsylvania I/M

regulation, 67 Pa Code Sec. 178.202-205, which require EPA approval

prior to implementation of any alternate purge test procedure and

incorporate the transient emission standards for Tier 1 vehicles, the

Phase 2 standards for all vehicle types and model years, and the

transient and evaporative purge test procedures found in the final

version of the EPA document entitled ``High-Tech I/M Test Procedures,

Emission Standards, Quality Control Requirements, and Equipment

Specifications'', EPA-AA-EPSD-IM-93-1, April 1994.