Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; State of Louisiana; Approval of the Maintenance Plans for the Parishes of Beauregard, Grant, Lafayette, Lafourche, and St. Mary; Redesignation of these Ozone Nonattainment Areas to Attainment

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

[LA-24-1-7026a; FRL-5270-2]

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation

of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; State of Louisiana;

Approval of the Maintenance Plans for the Parishes of Beauregard,

Grant, Lafayette, Lafourche, and St. Mary; Redesignation of these Ozone

Nonattainment Areas to Attainment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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

SUMMARY: On March 27, 1995, December 12, 1994, October 21, 1994,

November 18, 1994, and November 23, 1994, the State of Louisiana

submitted revised maintenance plans and requests to redesignate the

ozone nonattainment areas of Beauregard, Grant, Lafayette, Lafourche,

and St. Mary Parishes to attainment. These maintenance plans and

redesignation requests were initially submitted to the EPA during the

Summer of 1993. Although the EPA deemed these initial submittals

complete, certain approvability issues existed. The State of Louisiana

addressed these approvability issues and has revised its submissions.

Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), nonattainment areas may be redesignated

to attainment if sufficient data are available to warrant the

redesignation and the area meets the other CAA redesignation

requirements. In this action, EPA is approving Louisiana's

redesignation requests because they meet the maintenance plan and

redesignation requirements set forth in the CAA and EPA is approving

the 1990 base year emissions inventory. The approved maintenance plans

will become a federally enforceable part of the State Implementation

Plan (SIP) for Louisiana.

DATES: This final rule is effective on October 17, 1995, unless notice

is received by September 18, 1995 that someone wishes to submit adverse

or critical comments. If the effective date is delayed, timely notice

will be published in the Federal Register (FR).

ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to Thomas H. Diggs, Chief, Air

Planning Section (6T-AP), U.S. EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas,

Texas 75202-2733. Copies of the State's petition and other information

relevant to this action are available for inspection during normal

hours at the following locations:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, Air Programs Branch

(6T-A), 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733.

Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center, U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW., Washington, DC 20460.

Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Air Quality,

P.O. Box 82135, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70884-2135.

Anyone wishing to review this petition at the U.S. EPA office is

asked to contact the person below to schedule an appointment 24 hours

in advance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Mick Cote, Planning Section (6T-

AP), Air Programs Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region

6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, telephone (214) 665-

7219.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The CAA as amended in 1977 required areas that were designated

nonattainment based on a failure to meet the ozone national ambient air

quality standard (NAAQS) to develop SIPs with sufficient control

measures to expeditiously attain and maintain the standard. The areas

of Beauregard, Grant, Lafayette, Lafourche, and St. Mary Parishes,

Louisiana were designated under section 107 of the 1977 CAA as

nonattainment with respect to the ozone NAAQS on September 11, 1978 (40

CFR 81.319). In accordance with section 110 of the 1977 CAA, the State

of Louisiana submitted an ozone SIP as required by part D on December

10, 1979. EPA fully approved this ozone SIP on October 29, 1981 (46 FR

53412). The most recent revision to the ozone SIP occurred on May 5,

1994, when the EPA approved a SIP revision for the State of Louisiana

to correct certain enforceability deficiencies in their volatile

organic compound (VOC) rules (59 FR 23164). For purposes of

[[Page 43021]]

redesignations, the State of Louisiana has an approved ozone SIP.

On November 15, 1990, the CAA Amendments of 1990 were enacted

(Public Law 101-549, 104 Stat. 2399, codified at 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q).

The ozone nonattainment designation for each of these areas continued

by operation of law according to section 107(d)(1)(C)(i) of the CAA, as

amended in 1990 (See 56 FR 56694, November 6, 1991). Since the State

had not yet collected the required three years of ambient air quality

data necessary to petition for redesignation to attainment in the areas

of Beauregard, Grant, Lafourche, and St. Mary Parishes, each of these

areas was designated as unclassifiable-incomplete data for ozone.

Lafayette Parish had collected the required three years of ambient air

quality data, but the State likewise had not petitioned the EPA to

redesignate the area to attainment. Lafayette Parish was consequently

designated as unclassifiable-transitional for ozone.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) more

recently has collected ambient monitoring data that show no violations

of the ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) of .12 parts

per million. The State developed maintenance plans for the areas of

Beauregard, Grant, Lafayette, Lafourche, and St. Mary Parishes, and

solicited public comment. Subsequently, the State of Louisiana

submitted requests, through the Governor's office, to redesignate these

areas to attainment with respect to the ozone NAAQS. The initial

redesignation requests for Beauregard, Lafourche, and St. Mary Parishes

were submitted to the EPA on June 14, 1993. The initial redesignation

requests for Grant and Lafayette Parishes were submitted to the EPA on

May 25, 1993. Although these maintenance plans and redesignation

requests were deemed complete, several approvability issues existed.

The State of Louisiana addressed these approvability issues, and

submitted revised maintenance plans and redesignation requests

accordingly. The revised redesignation requests for the areas of

Beauregard, Grant, Lafayette, Lafourche, and St. Mary Parishes were

received on March 27, 1995, December 12, 1994, October 21, 1994,

November 18, 1994, and November 23, 1994, respectively. These revised

redesignation requests were accompanied by ozone maintenance SIPs.

Please see the TSD for the detailed air quality monitoring data.

Evaluation Criteria

The 1990 Amendments revised section 107(d)(3)(E) to provide five

specific requirements that an area must meet in order to be

redesignated from nonattainment to attainment: (1) the area must have

attained the applicable NAAQS; (2) the area must meet all applicable

requirements under section 110 and part D of the CAA; (3) the area must

have a fully approved SIP under section 110(k) of the CAA; (4) the air

quality improvement must be permanent and enforceable; and, (5) the

area must have a fully approved maintenance plan pursuant to section

175A of the CAA. Section 107(d)(3)(D) allows a Governor to initiate the

redesignation process for an area to apply for attainment status.

Please see EPA's Technical Support Document (TSD) for a detailed

discussion of these requirements.

(1) Attainment of the NAAQS for Ozone

Attainment of the ozone NAAQS is determined based on the expected

number of exceedances in a calendar year. The method for determining

attainment of the ozone NAAQS is contained in 40 CFR 50.9 and appendix

H to that section. The simplest method by which expected exceedances

are calculated is by averaging actual exceedances at each monitoring

site over a three year period. An area is in attainment of the standard

if this average results in expected exceedances for each monitoring

site of 1.0 or less per calendar year. When a valid daily maximum

hourly average value is not available for each required monitoring day

during the year, the missing days must be accounted for when estimating

exceedances for the year. Appendix H provides the formula used to

estimate the expected number of exceedances for each year.

The State of Louisiana's request is based on an analysis of

quality-assured ozone air quality data which is relevant to both the

maintenance plans and to the redesignation requests. The data come from

the State and Local Air Monitoring Station network. With the exception

of Grant Parish, the requests are based on ambient air ozone monitoring

data collected for 3 consecutive years from January 1, 1990, through

December 31, 1992. The data clearly show an expected exceedance rate of

less than 1 for all these areas.

The Grant Parish monitor did not collect data from April through

December of 1991 due to poor data capture. Once the data capture

problem was corrected, the monitor collected data continuously through

1992. The resulting data spanned three complete years, from January

1989 through March 1991, and January 1992 through December 1992. EPA

accepted the data as an adequate demonstration that the ozone standard

was attained in Grant Parish. The decision to consider the data

collected as adequate for redesignation purposes was based on several

factors. First, Grant Parish has 3 full years of ozone data over a four

year period. Second, Grant Parish is rural. The area's population is

less than 50,000, and Grant Parish is not adjacent to any urban area.

Third, Grant Parish has no major non-complying volatile organic

compound sources. Finally, there has been only one monitored ozone

concentration near the standard (0.103 ppm in October 1990) during the

4 year monitoring period.

The State did not collect ozone data for Grant Parish in 1993 or

1994. The ozone monitor was reinstalled in January 1995, and will

continue to operate for the duration of the maintenance period. While

the EPA generally requires that an area have the most recent three

years of data for redesignation purposes, we are departing from

established policy in this instance because of the continued downward

trend of measured ozone values in this area, and no significant

increase in the level of emissions in Grant Parish. Additionally,

preliminary ozone data collected from the Grant Parish monitor from

1995 supports this downward trend argument. Please see the TSD for a

detailed discussion of the area's downward trend.

In addition to the demonstration discussed above, EPA required

completion of air network monitoring requirements set forth in 40 CFR

part 58. This included a quality assurance plan revision and a

monitoring network review to determine the adequacy of the ozone

monitoring network. The LDEQ fulfilled these requirements to complete

documentation for the air quality demonstration. The LDEQ has also

committed to continue monitoring in these areas in accordance with 40

CFR part 58.

In sum, EPA believes that the data submitted by the LDEQ provides

an adequate demonstration that the areas of Beauregard, Grant,

Lafayette, Lafourche, and St. Mary Parishes attained the ozone NAAQS.

Moreover, the monitoring data continue to show attainment to date.

If the monitoring data records a violation of the NAAQS before the

direct final action is effective, the direct final approval of the

redesignation will be withdrawn and a proposed disapproval substituted

for the direct

[[Page 43022]]

final approval. Please see the TSD for a detailed discussion of the

monitoring data.

(2) Section 110 Requirements

For purposes of redesignation, to meet the requirement that the SIP

contain all applicable requirements under the CAA, EPA has reviewed the

SIP to ensure that it contains all measures that were due under the CAA

prior to or at the time the State submitted its redesignation request,

as set forth in EPA policy. EPA interprets section 107(d)(3)(E)(v) of

the CAA to mean that, for a redesignation request to be approved, the

State must have met all requirements that applied to the subject area

prior to or at the same time as the submission of a complete

redesignation request. In this case, the dates of submission of a

complete redesignation request are May 25, 1993, for Grant and

Lafayette Parishes, and June 14, 1993, for Beauregard, Lafourche, and

St. Mary Parishes. Requirements of the CAA that come due subsequently

continue to be applicable to the area at later dates (see section

175A(c)) and, if redesignation of any of the areas is disapproved, the

State remains obligated to fulfill those requirements. These

requirements are discussed in the following EPA documents: ``Procedures

for Processing Requests to Redesignate Areas to Attainment,'' John

Calcagni, Director, Air Quality Management Division, September 4, 1992;

``State Implementation Plan (SIP) Actions Submitted in Response to

Clean Air Act (CAA) Deadlines,'' John Calcagni, Director, Air Quality

Management Division, October 28, 1992; and ``State Implementation Plan

(SIP) Requirements for Areas Submitting Requests for Redesignation to

Attainment of the Ozone and Carbon Monoxide (CO) National Ambient Air

Quality Standards (NAAQS) on or after November 15, 1992,'' Michael H.

Shapiro, Acting Assistant Administrator, September 17, 1993.

EPA has analyzed the Louisiana SIP and determined that it is

consistent with the requirements of amended section 110(a)(2). The SIP

contains enforceable emission limitations, requires monitoring,

compiling, and analyzing ambient air quality data, requires

preconstruction review of new major stationary sources and major

modifications to existing ones, provides for adequate funding, staff,

and associated resources necessary to implement its requirements, and

requires stationary source emissions monitoring and reporting.

(3) Part D Requirements

Before the areas of Beauregard, Grant, Lafayette, Lafourche, and

St. Mary Parishes can be redesignated to attainment, the Louisiana SIP

must have fulfilled the applicable requirements of part D of the CAA.

Under part D, an area's classification indicates the requirements to

which it will be subject. Subpart 1 of part D sets forth the basic

nonattainment requirements applicable to all nonattainment areas,

classified as well as nonclassifiable. Subpart 2 of part D establishes

additional requirements for nonattainment areas classified under table

1 of section 181(a)(1). Since the areas of Beauregard, Grant,

Lafayette, Lafourche, and St. Mary Parishes are considered

nonclassifiable, the State is only required to meet the applicable

requirements of subpart 1 of part D--specifically sections 172(c) and

176. As long as EPA did not determine that any of the pertinent section

172(c) requirements were applicable prior to the submission of these

redesignation requests in 1993, none of these requirements are

applicable for purposes of this redesignation action.

Section 176(c) of the CAA requires States to revise their SIPs to

establish criteria and procedures to ensure that Federal actions,

before they are taken, conform to the air quality planning goals in the

applicable State SIP. The requirement to determine conformity applies

to transportation plans, programs and projects developed, funded, or

approved under title 23 U.S.C. or the Federal Transit Act

(``transportation conformity''), as well as to all other Federal

actions (``general conformity'').

Section 176 further provides that the conformity revisions to be

submitted by the States must be consistent with Federal conformity

regulations that the CAA required EPA to promulgate. The EPA

promulgated final transportation conformity regulations on November 24,

1993 (58 FR 62118) and general conformity regulations on November 30,

1993 (58 FR 63214). These conformity rules require that States adopt

both transportation and general conformity provisions in the SIP for

areas designated nonattainment or subject to a maintenance plan

approved under CAA section 175A.

Pursuant to 40 CFR 51.396 of the transportation conformity rule and

40 CFR 51.851 of the general conformity rule, the State of Louisiana

was required to submit a SIP revision containing transportation

conformity criteria and procedures consistent with those established in

the Federal rule by November 25, 1994. Similarly, Louisiana was

required to submit a SIP revision containing general conformity

criteria and procedures consistent with those established in the

Federal rule by December 1, 1994. Louisiana submitted both its

transportation and general conformity rules to EPA on November 10,

1994. As these requirements did not come due until after the original

submission date of these redesignation requests, these conformity rule

submissions need not be approved prior to taking action on these

redesignation requests.

The EPA recently published additional guidance on maintenance plans

and their applicability to conformity issues in a memorandum entitled

``Limited Maintenance Plan Option for Nonclassifiable Ozone

Nonattainment Areas,'' (limited maintenance plan memo) from Sally L.

Shaver, Director, Air Quality Strategies & Standards Division, on

November 16, 1994. This limited maintenance plan memo discusses

maintenance requirements for certain areas petitioning for

redesignation to attainment. Nonclassifiable ozone nonattainment areas

with design values less than 85% of the exceedance level of the ozone

standard are no longer required to project emissions over the

maintenance period.

The Federal transportation conformity rule (58 FR 62188) and the

Federal general conformity rule (58 FR 63214) apply to areas operating

under maintenance plans. Under either rule, one means by which a

maintenance area can demonstrate conformity for Federal projects is to

indicate that expected emissions from planned actions are consistent

with the emissions budget for the area. Based on guidance discussed in

the limited maintenance plan memo, emissions inventories in areas that

qualify for the limited maintenance plan approach are not required to

be projected over the life of the maintenance plan. EPA feels it is

unreasonable to expect that such an area will experience so much growth

in that period that a violation of the NAAQS would occur. Emissions

budgets in limited maintenance plan areas would be treated as

essentially not constraining emissions growth, and would not need to be

capped for the maintenance period. In these cases, Federal projects

subject to conformity determinations could be considered to satisfy the

``budget test'' of the Federal conformity rules.

(4) Fully Approved SIP

The EPA finds that the State of Louisiana has a fully approved SIP

for the areas of Beauregard, Grant,

[[Page 43023]]

Lafayette, Lafourche, and St. Mary Parishes.

(5) Permanent and Enforceable Measures

Under the CAA, EPA approved Louisiana's SIP control strategy for

the areas of Beauregard, Grant, Lafayette, Lafourche, and St. Mary

Parishes, satisfied that the rules and the emission reductions achieved

as a result of those rules were enforceable. Several Federal and

Statewide rules are in place which have significantly improved the

ambient air quality in these areas. Existing Federal programs, such as

the Federal Motor Vehicle Control Program and the Reid Vapor Pressure

(RVP) limit of 7.8 pounds per square inch for gasoline, will not be

lifted upon redesignation. These programs will counteract emissions

growth as the areas experience economic growth over the life of their

maintenance plans.

The State adopted VOC rules such as oil/water separation;

degreasing and solvent clean-up processes; surface coating rules for

large appliances, furniture, coils, paper, fabric, vinyl, cans,

miscellaneous metal parts and products, and factory surface coating of

flat wood paneling; solvent-using rules for graphic arts; and

miscellaneous industrial source rules such as for cutback asphalt. The

applicable reasonably available control technology (RACT) rules will

also remain in place in the areas of Beauregard, Grant, Lafayette,

Lafourche, and St. Mary Parishes. In addition, the State permits

program, the PSD permits program, and the Federal Operating Permits

program will help counteract emissions growth.

The EPA finds that the combination of existing EPA-approved SIP and

Federal measures ensure the permanence and enforceability of reductions

in ambient ozone levels that have allowed the area to attain the NAAQS.

(6) Fully Approved Maintenance Plan Under Section 175A

In today's document, EPA is approving the State's maintenance plans

for the areas of Beauregard, Grant, Lafayette, Lafourche, and St. Mary

Parishes because EPA finds that the LDEQ's submittal meets the

requirements of section 175A. Thus, these areas will have fully

approved maintenance plans in accordance with section 175A as of the

effective date of this redesignation. Section 175A of the CAA sets

forth the elements of a maintenance plan for areas seeking

redesignation from nonattainment to attainment. The plan must

demonstrate continued attainment of the applicable NAAQS for at least

ten years after the Administrator approves a redesignation to

attainment. Eight years after the redesignation, the State must submit

a revised maintenance plan which demonstrates that attainment will

continue to be maintained for the ten years following the initial ten-

year period. To provide for the possibility of future NAAQS violations,

the maintenance plan must contain contingency measures, with a schedule

for implementation, adequate to assure prompt correction of any air

quality problems. Each of the section 175A plan requirements is

discussed below.

Demonstration of Maintenance

The requirements for an area to redesignate to attainment are

discussed in the memorandum entitled ``Procedures for Processing

Requests to Redesignate Areas to Attainment,'' John Calcagni, Director,

Air Quality Management Division, September 4, 1992 (Calcagni memo). One

aspect of a complete maintenance demonstration discussed in the

Calcagni memo is the requirement to develop an emission inventory from

one of the three years during which the area has demonstrated

attainment. This inventory should include VOCs, and oxides of nitrogen

(NOX) from the area in tons per day measurements. In addition to

the Calcagni memo, more recent guidance on the redesignation of certain

nonattainment areas to attainment is provided in the limited

maintenance plan memo.

Attainment Inventory

The LDEQ adopted comprehensive inventories of VOC, NOX, and CO

emissions from area, stationary, and mobile sources using 1990 as the

base year to demonstrate maintenance of the ozone NAAQS. EPA has

determined that 1990 is an appropriate year on which to base attainment

level emissions because EPA policy allows States to select any one of

the three years in the attainment period as the attainment year

inventory. The State's submittals contain the detailed inventory data

and summaries by source category.

The LDEQ provided the stationary source estimates for each company

meeting the emissions criteria by requiring the submission of complete

emission inventory questionnaires which had been designed to obtain

site-specific data. The LDEQ generated area source emissions for each

source category based on EPA's ``Procedures for the Preparation of

Emissions Inventories for Precursors of Carbon Monoxide and Ozone,

Volume I'', and the

EPA document entitled ``Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission

Factors''. The non-road mobile source inventory was developed using

methodology recommended in EPA's ``Procedures for Emission Inventory

Preparation. Volume IV: Mobile Sources''. Data were provided regarding

an EPA-sponsored study entitled ``Nonroad Engine Emission Inventories

for CO and Ozone Nonattainment Boundaries.'' On-road emissions of VOC,

NOX, and CO were calculated on a county-wide basis using EPA's

MOBILE5a computer model.

In the limited maintenance plan memo, EPA set forth new guidance on

maintenance plan requirements for certain ozone nonattainment areas.

The limited maintenance plan memo identified criteria through which

certain nonclassifiable ozone nonattainment areas could choose to

submit less rigorous maintenance plans. As mentioned earlier, the

method for calculating design values is presented in the June 18, 1990

memorandum, ``Ozone and Carbon Monoxide Design Value Calculations,''

from William G. Laxton, former Director of the Office of Air Quality

Planning and Standards Technical Support Division. Nonclassifiable

ozone nonattainment areas whose design values are calculated at or

below 0.106 parts per million (ppm) at the time of redesignation, are

no longer required to project emissions over the maintenance period.

The 0.106 ppm represents 85% of the ozone exceedance level of 0.125

ppm. As explained in the November 16, 1994 limited maintenance plan

memo, the EPA believes if an area begins the maintenance period at or

below 85% of the ozone exceedance level of the NAAQS, the existing

Federal and SIP control measures, along with the PSD program, will be

adequate to assure maintenance of the ozone NAAQS in the area. The

areas of Beauregard, Grant, Lafayette, Lafourche, and St. Mary Parishes

have calculated design values of 0.106, 0.090, 0.102, 0.096, and 0.085

ppm, respectively. In light of this, and the lack of any recent history

of violations of the ozone NAAQS, EPA believes that it is reasonable to

conclude that the combination of the RACT measures in the SIP, the

Federal Motor Vehicle Control Program, the RVP limit of 7.8 pounds per

square inch, and the applicability of preconstruction review in

accordance with the prevention of significant deterioration (PSD)

requirements of part C of Title I, provides adequate assurance that the

ozone NAAQS will be maintained. Thus, the EPA believes these areas

[[Page 43024]]

qualify for the limited maintenance plan approach.

The following are tables of the revised average peak ozone season

weekday VOC and NOX emissions for the major anthropogenic source

categories for the 1990 attainment year inventory.

Beauregard Parish

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

1990

Emissions source tons per

day

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

Point Source CO............................................... 60.20

Point Source VOC.............................................. 9.19

Point Source NOX.............................................. 12.00

Area Source CO................................................ 0.28

Area Source VOC............................................... 1.66

Area Source NOX............................................... 0.11

Nonroad CO.................................................... 8.62

Nonroad VOC................................................... 1.93

Nonroad NOX................................................... 3.72

Onroad CO..................................................... 19.6

Onroad VOC.................................................... 2.69

Onroad NOX.................................................... 3.23

---------

Total CO................................................ 88.70

---------

Total VOC............................................... 15.47

---------

Total NOX............................................... 19.05

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

Grant Parish

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

1990

Emissions source tons

per day

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

Point Source CO................................................ 0.53

Point Source VOC............................................... 0.28

Point Source NOX............................................... 3.03

Area Source CO................................................. 0.14

Area Source VOC................................................ 3.31

Area Source NOX................................................ 0.05

Nonroad CO..................................................... 5.49

Nonroad VOC.................................................... 1.26

Nonroad NOX.................................................... 3.21

Onroad CO...................................................... 28.00

Onroad VOC..................................................... 3.59

Onroad NOX..................................................... 3.81

--------

Total CO................................................. 34.15

--------

Total VOC................................................ 8.44

--------

Total NOX................................................ 10.11

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

Lafayette Parish

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

1990 tons

Emissions source per day

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

Point Source CO.............................................. 0.44

Point Source VOC............................................. 0.25

Point Source NOX............................................. 5.35

Area Source CO............................................... 1.19

Area Source VOC.............................................. 7.47

Area Source NOX.............................................. 0.52

Nonroad CO................................................... 56.97

Nonroad VOC.................................................. 9.61

Nonroad NOX.................................................. 37.28

Onroad CO.................................................... 123.46

Onroad VOC................................................... 14.98

Onroad NOX................................................... 17.10

----------

Total CO............................................... 182.05

----------

Total VOC.............................................. 32.31

----------

Total NOX.............................................. 60.25

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

Lafourche Parish

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

1990

Emissions source tons per

day

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

Point Source CO............................................... 1.33

Point Source VOC.............................................. 5.56

Point Source NOX.............................................. 9.56

Area Source CO................................................ 0.45

Area Source VOC............................................... 3.89

Area Source NOX............................................... 0.43

Nonroad CO.................................................... 16.68

Nonroad VOC................................................... 3.57

Nonroad NOX................................................... 1.44

Onroad CO..................................................... 63.08

Onroad VOC.................................................... 8.31

Onroad NOX.................................................... 10.17

---------

Total CO................................................ 81.54

---------

Total VOC............................................... 21.33

---------

Total NOX............................................... 21.6

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

St. Mary Parish

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

1990 tons

Emissions source per day

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

Point Source CO.............................................. 684.55

Point Source VOC............................................. 24.79

Point Source NOX............................................. 31.57

Area Source CO............................................... 0.49

Area Source VOC.............................................. 2.99

Area Source NOX.............................................. 0.22

Nonroad CO................................................... 13.85

Nonroad VOC.................................................. 2.62

Nonroad NOX.................................................. 3.18

Onroad CO.................................................... 32.44

Onroad VOC................................................... 4.31

Onroad NOX................................................... 5.61

----------

Total CO............................................... 731.33

----------

Total VOC.............................................. 34.71

----------

Total NOX.............................................. 40.58

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

The attainment inventories submitted by the LDEQ for these areas

meet the redesignation requirements as discussed in the Calcagni memo

and limited maintenance plan memo. Therefore, the EPA is today

approving the emissions inventory component of the maintenance plans

for the areas of Beauregard, Grant, Lafayette, Lafourche, and St. Mary

Parishes.

Continued Attainment

Continued attainment of the ozone NAAQS in the areas of Beauregard,

Grant, Lafayette, Lafourche, and St. Mary Parishes will depend, in

part, on the Federal and State control measures discussed previously.

However, the ambient air monitoring sites will remain active at their

present locations during the maintenance period. These data will be

quality assured and submitted to the Aerometric Information and

Retrieval System (AIRS) on a monthly basis. As discussed in the limited

maintenance plan memo, certain monitored ozone levels will provide the

basis for triggering measures contained in the contingency plan.

Additionally, as discussed above, during year 8 of the maintenance

period, the LDEQ is required to submit a revised plan to provide for

maintenance of the ozone standard in these areas for the next ten

years.

Contingency Plan

Section 175A of the CAA requires that a maintenance plan include

contingency provisions, as necessary, to promptly correct any violation

of the NAAQS that occurs after redesignation of the area to attainment.

The contingency plan should clearly identify the measures to be

adopted, a schedule and procedure for adoption and implementation, and

a specific time limit for action by the State. The State should also

identify specific triggers which will be used to determine when the

measures need to be implemented.

The LDEQ has selected VOC offsets and new Control Techniques

Guidelines (CTG) or Alternative Control Technology (ACT) rule

implementation as its contingency measures. At any time during the

maintenance period, if the areas of Beauregard, Grant, Lafayette,

Lafourche, and St. Mary Parishes record a second exceedance of the

ozone NAAQS within any consecutive three-year period, the LDEQ will

promulgate a rule change to implement VOC offsets in the applicable

parish. This rule will be submitted to EPA within 9 months of the

second exceedance. Implementation will occur immediately upon

verification of a third exceedance of the ozone standard in any

consecutive 3 year period.

Should Beauregard, Grant, Lafayette, Lafourche, or St. Mary

Parishes experience a third exceedance of the ozone standard during any

consecutive 3 year period, the LDEQ will promulgate a rule revision to

place new CTG and ACT VOC rules (where applicable) in the affected

parish. These rules will be submitted to the EPA within 9 months

[[Page 43025]]

of the third exceedance. Implementation will occur immediately upon

verification that a violation of the ozone standard has occurred. These

contingency measures and schedules for implementation satisfy the

requirements of section 175A(d).

Final Action

The EPA has evaluated the State's redesignation request for the

areas of Beauregard, Grant, Lafayette, Lafourche, and St. Mary

Parishes, Louisiana, for consistency with the CAA, EPA regulations, and

EPA policy. The EPA believes that the redesignation requests and

monitoring data demonstrate that these areas have attained the ozone

standard. In addition, the EPA has determined that the redesignation

requests meet the requirements and policy set forth in the General

Preamble and policy memorandum discussed in this notice for area

redesignations, and today is approving Louisiana's redesignation

request for the areas of Beauregard, Grant, Lafayette, Lafourche, and

St. Mary Parishes.

The EPA is publishing this action without prior proposal because

the EPA views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no

adverse comments. However, in a separate document published elsewhere

in this Federal Register, the EPA is proposing to approve the SIP

revision should adverse or critical comments be filed. This action will

be effective October 17, 1995, unless adverse or critical comments are

received by September 18, 1995. If the EPA receives such comments, this

action will be withdrawn before the effective date by publishing a

subsequent document that will withdraw the final action. All public

comments received will then be addressed in a subsequent final rule

based on this action serving as a proposed rule. The EPA will not

institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties

interested in commenting on this action should do so at this time. If

no such comments are received on this action, the public is advised

that this action will be effective October 17, 1995.

The EPA has reviewed these redesignation requests for conformance

with the provisions of the CAA and has determined that this action

conforms to those requirements.

Regulatory Process

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 600 et seq., the EPA

must prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis assessing the impact of

any proposed or final rule on small entities (5 U.S.C. 603 and 604).

Alternatively, under 5 U.S.C. 605(b), the EPA may certify that the rule

will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small

entities (see 46 FR 8709). Small entities include small businesses,

small not-for-profit enterprises, and governmental entities with

jurisdiction over populations of less than 50,000.

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 October 17, 1995. Filing a petition for

reconsideration of this final rule by the Administrator does not affect

the finality of this rule for purposes of judicial review; nor does it

extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may be

filed, or postpone the effectiveness of this rule. This action may not

be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its requirements (see

section 307(b)(2)).

Nothing in this action shall be construed as permitting, allowing,

or establishing a precedent for any future request for a revision to

any SIP. Each request for revision to the SIP shall be considered

separately in light of specific technical, economic, and environmental

factors and in relation to relevant statutory and regulatory

requirements.

SIP approvals under section 110 and subchapter I, part D of the CAA

do not create any new requirements, but simply approve requirements

that the State is already imposing. Therefore, because the Federal SIP-

approval does not impose any new requirements, I certify that it does

not have a significant impact on small entities. Moreover, due to the

nature of the Federal-State relationship under the CAA, preparation of

a regulatory flexibility analysis would constitute Federal inquiry into

the economic reasonableness of State action. The CAA forbids EPA from

basing its actions concerning SIPs on such grounds. Union Electric Co.

v. U.S. E.P.A., 427 U.S. 246, 256-66 (S.Ct. 1976); 42 U.S.C. section

7410(a)(2). The Office of Management and Budget has exempted this

action from review under Executive Order 12866.

Unfunded Mandates

Under sections 202, 203, and 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform

Act of 1995 (``Unfunded Mandates Act''), signed into law on March 22,

1995, EPA must undertake various actions in association with proposed

or final rules that include a Federal mandate that may result in

estimated costs of $100 million or more to the private sector, or to

State, local, or tribal governments in the aggregate.

Through submission of this SIP or plan revision approved in this

action, the State and any affected local or tribal governments have

elected to adopt the program provided for under section 175A of the

Clean Air Act. The rules and commitments approved in this action may

bind State, local and tribal governments to perform certain actions and

also require the private sector to perform certain duties. To the

extent that the rules and commitments being approved by this action

will impose or lead to the imposition of any mandate upon the State,

local, or tribal governments, either as the owner or operator of a

source or as a regulator, or would impose or lead to the imposition of

any mandate upon the private sector, EPA's action will impose no new

requirements; such sources are already subject to these requirements

under State law. Accordingly, no additional costs to State, local, or

tribal governments, or to the private sector, result from this action.

Therefore, EPA has determined that this final action does not include a

mandate that may result in estimated costs of $100 million or more to

State, local, or tribal governments in the aggregate or to the private

sector.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Area designations,

Hydrocarbons, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental

regulations, National parks, Reporting and recordkeeping, Ozone,

Volatile organic compounds, Wilderness areas.

Dated: July 21, 1995.

A. Stanley Meiburg,

Acting Regional Administrator (6A).

40 CFR parts 52 and 81 are 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 T--Louisiana

2. Section 52.975 is added to read as follows:

Sec. 52.975 Redesignations and maintenance plans; ozone.

Approval. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ)

submitted redesignation requests and maintenance plans for the areas of

Beauregard, Lafourche, and St. Mary Parishes on June 14, 1993.

Redesignation requests and maintenance plans were submitted for the

areas of Grant and Lafayette on May 25, 1993. The EPA deemed these

[[Page 43026]]

requests complete on September 10, 1993. Several approvability issues

existed, however. The LDEQ addressed these approvability issues in

supplemental ozone redesignation requests and revised maintenance

plans. These supplemental submittals were received for the areas of

Beauregard, Grant, Lafayette, Lafourche, and St. Mary Parishes on March

27, 1995, December 12, 1994, October 21, 1994, November 18, 1994, and

November 23, 1994, respectively. The redesignation requests and

maintenance plans meet the redesignation requirements in section

107(d)(3)(E) of the Act as amended in 1990. The redesignations meet the

Federal requirements of section 182(a)(1) of the Clean Air Act as a

revision to the Louisiana ozone State Implementation Plan for these

areas. The EPA therefore approved the request for redesignation to

attainment with respect to ozone for the areas of Beauregard, Grant,

Lafayette, Lafourche, and St. Mary Parishes on October 17, 1995.

PART 81--[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7871q.

2. In Sec. 81.319, the attainment status designation table for

ozone is amended by revising the entries for Beauregard, Grant,

Lafayette, Lafourche, and St. Mary Parishes under ``Designated Area''

to read as follows:

Sec. 81.319 Louisiana.

* * * * *

Louisiana--Ozone

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

Designation Classification

Designated area ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date \1\ Type Date \1\ Type

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

* * * * * *

*

Beauregard Parish.......... Oct. 17, 1995............. Attainment..........

* * * * * *

*

Grant Parish............... Oct. 17, 1995............. Attainment..........

* * * * * *

*

Lafayette Parish........... Oct. 17, 1995............. Attainment..........

* * * * * *

*

Lafourche Parish........... Oct. 17, 1995............. Attainment..........

* * * * * *

*

St. Mary Parish............ Oct. 17, 1995............. Attainment..........

* * * * * *

*

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

\1\ This date is November 15, 1990, unless otherwise noted.

[FR Doc. 95-20193 Filed 8-17-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P