Proposed Conditional Special Exemption From Requirements of the Clean Air Act for the Territory of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Territory of Guam

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 69

[AD-FRL-5645-2]

Proposed Conditional Special Exemption From Requirements of the

Clean Air Act for the Territory of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of

the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Territory of Guam

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: On September 13, 1995 (60 FR 47515), EPA proposed to grant the

Territory of American Samoa (American Samoa) and the Commonwealth of

the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) a conditional exemption from title

V requirements and to grant the Territory of Guam (Guam) an extension

of time in which to adopt a title V permit program. EPA proposed these

conditional exemptions and this extension under the authority of

section 325 of the Clean Air Act. EPA received comments during the

public comment period requesting that EPA grant a permanent exemption

to Guam. EPA also received a letter on December 18, 1995 from the

Administrator of the Guam Environmental Protection Agency stating that

Guam would develop an alternate local permitting program in exchange

for a permanent exemption. In response to these comments and this

commitment, EPA is proposing to conditionally exempt Guam, as well as

American Samoa and CNMI, from title V of the Clean Air Act.

In a separate part of this Federal Register, EPA is promulgating

this action as a direct final rule without a prior proposal because the

public comments received to date support granting a permanent

exemption. A detailed rationale and conditions for this approval are

set forth in the direct final rule. If no adverse comments are received

in response to this proposed rule, the direct final rule will take

effect on January 13, 1997. If adverse comments are received during the

comment period, EPA will publish timely notice in the Federal Register

withdrawing the direct final rule for Guam, American Samoa and CNMI,

and all public comments will be addressed in a subsequent final rule

based on this proposal. The EPA will not institute an additional

comment period on this action and any parties interested in commenting

should do so at this time.

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule must be received in writing by

December 13, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on this action should be addressed to: Norm

Lovelace, Chief, Office of Pacific Islands and Native American

Programs, US EPA-Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco,

California 94105. Supporting information used to develop the proposed

conditional exemptions, including copies of the petitions, all comments

received, and the response to comments document, are available for

inspection during normal business hours at this location.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Norm Lovelace (telephone 415/744-1599,

fax 415/744-1604), Chief, Office of Pacific Islands and Native American

Programs or Sara Bartholomew (telephone 415/744-1250, fax 415/744-

1076), Operating Permits Section, Air and Toxics Division, at the

address above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For additional information, please see the

direct final rulemaking located in a separate part of this Federal

Register.

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

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 69

Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure,

Air pollution control, Hazardous air pollutants, Intergovernmental

relations, Nitrogen oxides, Operating permits, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur dioxide, Volatile organic compounds.

Dated: October 28, 1996.

Carol M. Browner,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 96-28431 Filed 11-12-96; 8:45 am]

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