Congressional Action Rescinding California Federal Implementation Plans; Cancellation of Public Hearing

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[CA105-5-6895; FRL-5280-7]

Congressional Action Rescinding California Federal Implementation

Plans; Cancellation of Public Hearing

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Congressional action; rescission of Federal

implementation plans; cancellation of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: In response to recently enacted legislation, EPA is announcing

[[Page 43469]]

the rescission of the Federal implementation plans (FIPs), including

the regulations issued on February 14, 1995, but not published in the

Federal Register. EPA is also cancelling a public hearing regarding

certain of the FIP control measures, which had been scheduled for June

21, 1995, in Diamond Bar, California.

The FIPs, including the regulations, were issued to attain, by the

applicable statutory deadlines, the national ambient air quality

standards (NAAQS) for ozone in the Sacramento and Ventura nonattainment

areas, and to attain the NAAQS for ozone and carbon monoxide (CO) in

the South Coast nonattainment area.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julia Barrow (415) 744-2434, at the

Office of Federal Planning (A-1-2), Air and Toxics Division, U.S. EPA,

Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California, 94105-3901.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In this document, EPA is announcing the

rescission of the California FIPs, including the regulations, issued on

February 14, 1995, but not published in the Federal Register. The FIPs

were prepared in response to court orders requiring EPA to promulgate

plans and control measures sufficient to attain the ozone NAAQS in

Sacramento and Ventura and the ozone and CO NAAQS in the South Coast

(Los Angeles) area of California.

On April 10, 1995, legislation was enacted relating to the FIPs

(Public Law 104-6, Defense Supplemental Appropriation, H.R. 889).

Chapter VII of Title II of this legislation includes the following

section:

The Congress finds that the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act

(Public Law 101-549) superseded prior requirements of the Clean Air

Act regarding the demonstration of attainment of national ambient

air quality standards for the South Coast, Ventura, and Sacramento

areas of California and thus eliminated the obligation of the

Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate a

Federal implementation plan under section 110(e) (sic) of the Clean

Air Act for those areas. Upon the enactment of this Act, any Federal

implementation plan that has been promulgated by the Administrator

of the Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Air Act for

the South Coast, Ventura, or Sacramento areas of California pursuant

to a court order or settlement shall be rescinded and shall have no

further force and effect.

EPA believes that this section of the legislation effectively

rescinded and voided the FIP attainment demonstrations and FIP

regulations (proposed at 59 FR 23263-23605, May 5, 1994, and issued on

February 14, 1995, as 40 CFR 52 Subpart GGG), by operation of law upon

enactment. However, to the extent that Congress may have intended EPA

to act pursuant to the legislation, EPA hereby announces that it has

withdrawn the FIP notice of final rulemaking, including the FIP

regulations in their entirety (40 CFR 52.2950 to 52.2975, 40 CFR

52.3002, and 40 CFR part 52, subpart GGG, appendixes A and B).

In its final FIP notice, EPA combined action promulgating the FIP

with action on certain California state implementation plan (SIP)

provisions. In light of the Congressional action voiding the FIP, EPA

has had to recast the SIP rulemaking to separate it from the FIP. In

the Proposed Rules and Final Rules sections of this issue of the

Federal Register, EPA reissues proposed and final actions on California

SIP provisions which were also issued on February 14, 1995, in

association with the FIP action.

Dated: August 14, 1995.

Carol M. Browner,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 95-20599 Filed 8-18-95; 8:45 am]

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