Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Georgia: Approval of Revisions to the Georgia State Implementation Plan

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR PART 52

[GA-34-1-9805; FRL-6318-3]

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Georgia:

Approval of Revisions to the Georgia State Implementation Plan

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final conditional interim approval.

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SUMMARY: EPA is granting final conditional interim approval of the

State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of

Georgia through the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) on

November 15, 1993, and amended on June 17, 1996, which included the 15

percent Rate-of-Progress Plan (15 percent plan). EPA is granting final

conditional interim approval because achievement of the 15 percent

reduction in emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is dependent

upon implementation of the enhanced inspection and maintenance (I/M)

plan and the condition pertaining to the implementation of a low Reid

Vapor Pressure (RVP) program of 7.0 psi. Full approval of Georgia's 15

percent plan will be granted after EPA reviews the State's

demonstration that the enhanced I/M program actually achieved the

emission reductions claimed as required by the National Highway Act,

approves the Georgia enhanced I/M plan, and approves the low RVP

program or other program that meets the same emission reduction

requirements. In a Federal Register notice published on January 29,

1999, (64 FR 4568) EPA granted final interim approval to Georgia's I/M

program. Full approval of the individual measures that comprise the 15

percent plan, except for the low RVP program, is being granted in this

action. Additionally, EPA is approving Georgia's 1990 Baseline

Emissions Inventory.

DATES: This final rule is effective May 26, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the documents relative to this action are

available for public inspection during normal business hours at the

following locations. The interested persons wanting to examine these

documents should make an appointment with the appropriate office at

least 24 hours before the visiting day.

Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center (Air Docket 6102), U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC

20460.

Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4 Air Planning Branch, 61

Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-3104.

Air Protection Branch, Georgia Environmental Protection Division,

Georgia Department of Natural Resources, 4244 International Parkway,

Suite 120, Atlanta, Georgia 30354.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott M. Martin, Regulatory Planning

Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides & Toxics Management

Division, Region 4 Environmental Protection Agency, 61 Forsyth Street,

SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-3104. The telephone number is 404-562-9036.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Clean Air Act Requirements for Serious Nonattainment Areas

The Atlanta area was classified as a serious ozone nonattainment

area on November 6, 1991. The nonattainment area consists of the

following thirteen counties: Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dekalb,

Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnet, Henry, Paulding, and

Rockdale.

Section 182(b) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires that each state

in which all or part of a serious nonattainment area is located submit,

by November 15, 1992, an inventory of actual emissions from all

sources, as described in section 172(c)(3) and 182(a)(1), in accordance

with guidance provided by the Administrator. This inventory is for

calendar year 1990 and is designated the baseline year inventory. The

inventory must include both anthropogenic and biogenic sources of

volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NOX),

and carbon monoxide (CO), and must address actual emissions of these

pollutants in the nonattainment area during the peak ozone season. The

inventory must include all point and area sources, as well as all

highway and non-highway mobile sources.

In addition, section 182(b)(1)(A) of the CAA requires ozone

nonattainment areas classified as moderate and above to develop plans

to reduce VOC emissions by 15 percent from the 1990 baseline. The plans

were to be submitted by November 15, 1993, and the reductions were

required to be achieved within six years of enactment or November 15,

1996. The CAA also set limitations on the creditability of certain

types of reductions. Specifically, a state cannot take credit for

reductions achieved by Federal Motor Vehicle Control Program (FMVCP)

measures promulgated prior to 1990, or for reductions resulting from

requirements to lower the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) of gasoline

promulgated prior to 1990 or required under section 211(h) of the CAA,

which restricts gasoline RVP. Furthermore, the CAA does not allow

credit for corrections to vehicle I/M programs or corrections to

Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) rules as these programs

were required prior to 1990.

Proposed Action on Submittal

The State of Georgia submitted the 15 percent plan SIP revision for

the Atlanta nonattainment area on November 15, 1993, and amended it on

June 17, 1996.

[[Page 20187]]

On September 12, 1997, EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking

(NPR) in the Federal Register proposing conditional interim approval

(62 FR 48027). EPA's rationale for granting conditional approval and

the details of the November 15, 1993, submittal are contained in the

September 12, 1997, NPR and the accompanying technical support document

and will not be restated here. EPA received no comments on the NPR.

Further information regarding Georgia's I/M program can be found in a

Federal Register notice published on January 29, 1999 (64 FR 4568).

In the proposed conditional interim approval notice for the 15

percent plan, it was stated that EPA would grant conditional approval

of the RVP program. Section 211(c)(4)(C) of the CAA allows

nonattainment areas to implement a more stringent RVP standard if the

State can satisfy the requirements of this section. The State must

demonstrate that the RVP program is necessary to achieve the National

Ambient Air Quality Standards. In addition to this requirement, the

State must demonstrate that there are no other measures available that

are practicable and reasonable, and can be implemented by the needed

timeframe. The EPD has committed in a September 29, 1997, letter to

submit the necessary documentation that will support the need for a

fuel waiver under Section 211(c)(4)(C) of the CAA. For this reason, EPA

is granting final conditional interim approval of Georgia's 15 percent

plan.

Final Action

EPA is granting final conditional interim approval of the State of

Georgia's 15 percent plan contingent upon final full approval of the I/

M plan and granting of a waiver and approving the RVP program or other

plan that provides equivalent emission reductions. The proposed

conditional interim approval was published in the Federal Register on

September 12, 1997 (62 FR 48027) and no comments were received. EPA is

approving Georgia's 1990 Baseline Emissions Inventory for the Atlanta

nonattainment area as discussed in the NPR which was published on

September 12, 1997 (62 FR 48027). The EPA also approves the rule

revisions discussed in the NPR which was published on September 12,

1997 (62 FR 48027) to 391-3-1-.01(llll) ``Volatile Organic Compound'';

391-3-1-.01(mmmm) ``Hazardous Air Pollutant''; 391-3-1-.02(2)(ii) VOC

Emissions from Surface Coating of Miscellaneous Metal Parts and

Products; 391-3-1-.02(rr) Gasoline Dispensing Facility--Stage I; 391-3-

1-.02(zz) Gasoline Dispensing Facilities--Stage II; 391-3-1-.02(2)(aaa)

Consumer and Commercial Products; 391-3-1-.02(5) Open Burning; 391-3-

1-.02(2)(ff) Solvent Metal Cleaning; 391-3-1-.02(7) Prevention of

Significant Deterioration; 391-3-1-.03 Permits.

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.

Administrative Requirements

A. Executive Order 12866

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has exempted this

regulatory action from Executive Order (E.O.) 12866, entitled

``Regulatory Planning and Review.''

B. Executive Order 12875

Under Executive Order 12875, EPA may not issue a regulation that is

not required by statute and that creates a mandate upon a State, local

or tribal government, unless the Federal government provides the funds

necessary to pay the direct compliance costs incurred by those

governments, or EPA consults with those governments. If EPA complies by

consulting, Executive Order 12875 requires EPA to provide to the Office

of Management and Budget a description of the extent of EPA's prior

consultation with representatives of affected State, local and tribal

governments, the nature of their concerns, copies of any written

communications from the governments, and a statement supporting the

need to issue the regulation. In addition, Executive Order 12875

requires EPA to develop an effective process permitting elected

officials and other representatives of State, local and tribal

governments ``to provide meaningful and timely input in the development

of regulatory proposals containing significant unfunded mandates.''

Today's rule does not create a mandate on State, local or tribal

governments. The rule does not impose any enforceable duties on these

entities.

C. Executive Order 13084

Under Executive Order 13084, EPA may not issue a regulation that is

not required by statute, that significantly or uniquely affects the

communities of Indian tribal governments, and that imposes substantial

direct compliance costs on those communities, unless the Federal

government provides the funds necessary to pay the direct compliance

costs incurred by the tribal governments, or EPA consults with those

governments. If EPA complies by consulting, Executive Order 13084

requires EPA to provide to the Office of Management and Budget, in a

separately identified section of the preamble to the rule, a

description of the extent of EPA's prior consultation with

representatives of affected tribal governments, a summary of the nature

of their concerns, and a statement supporting the need to issue the

regulation. In addition, Executive Order 13084 requires EPA to develop

an effective process permitting elected officials and other

representatives of Indian tribal governments ``to provide meaningful

and timely input in the development of regulatory policies on matters

that significantly or uniquely affect their communities.''

Today's rule does not significantly or uniquely affect the

communities of Indian tribal governments. Accordingly, the requirements

of section 3(b) of Executive Order 13084 do not apply to this rule.

D. Executive Order 13045

Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety

Risks (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), applies to any rule that: (1) is

determined to be ``economically significant'' as defined under E.O.

12866, and (2) concerns an environmental health or safety risk that EPA

has reason to believe may have a disproportionate effect on children.

If the regulatory action meets both criteria, the Agency must evaluate

the environmental health or safety effects of the planned rule on

children, and explain why the planned regulation is preferable to other

potentially effective and reasonably feasible alternatives considered

by the Agency.

This rule is not subject to E.O. 13045 because it does not involve

decisions intended to mitigate environmental health or safety risks.

E. Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) generally requires an agency

to conduct a regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule subject to

notice and comment rulemaking requirements unless the agency certifies

that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities. Small entities include small

businesses, small not-for-profit enterprises, and small governmental

jurisdictions. This

[[Page 20188]]

final rule will not have a significant impact on a substantial number

of small entities because SIP approvals under section 110 and

subchapter I, part D of the Clean Air Act do not create any new

requirements but simply approve requirements that the State is already

imposing. Therefore, because the Federal SIP approval does not create

any new requirements, I certify that this action will not have a

significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

Moreover, due to the nature of the Federal-State relationship under the

Clean Air Act, preparation of flexibility analysis would constitute

Federal inquiry into the economic reasonableness of state action. The

Clean Air Act forbids EPA to base its actions concerning SIPs on such

grounds. Union Electric Co., v. U.S. EPA, 427 U.S. 246, 255-66 (1976);

42 U.S.C. 7410(a)(2).

G. Unfunded Mandates

Under Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

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

must prepare a budgetary impact statement to accompany any proposed or

final rule that includes a Federal mandate that may result in estimated

annual costs to State, local, or tribal governments in the aggregate;

or to private sector, of $100 million or more. Under Section 205, EPA

must select the most cost-effective and least burdensome alternative

that achieves the objectives of the rule and is consistent with

statutory requirements. Section 203 requires EPA to establish a plan

for informing and advising any small governments that may be

significantly or uniquely impacted by the rule.

EPA has determined that the approval action promulgated does not

include a Federal mandate that may result in estimated annual costs of

$100 million or more to either State, local, or tribal governments in

the aggregate, or to the private sector. This Federal action approves

pre-existing requirements under State or local law, and imposes no new

requirements. Accordingly, no additional costs to State, local, or

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

H. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General

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 rule 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. This rule is not a

``major'' rule as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

I. Petitions for Judicial 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 June 25, 1999. Filing a

petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule

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, Incorporation by

reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,

Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: March 16, 1999.

Michael V. Peyton,

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.

Part 52 of chapter I, title 40, 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 L--Georgia

2. Section 52.569 is added to read as follows:

Sec. 52.569 Identification of plan--conditional approval.

EPA is conditionally approving Rule 391-3-1-.02(2)(bbb) Gasoline

Marketing-Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) of the Georgia SIP contingent upon

the State submitting documentation supporting the need for a 7.0 psi

RVP program within one year of the subject conditional interim

approval.

2. Section 52.570, is amended by adding paragraph (c)(41) to read

as follows:

Sec. 52.570 Identification of plan.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(41) Revisions to Chapters 391-3-1-.01, 391-3-1-.02, and 391-3-

1-.03 of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Rules for Air

Quality Control, adopted on May 29, 1996, October 27, 1993, and August

23, 1995.

(i) Incorporation by reference.

(A) Rules of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources,

Environmental Protection Division, Chapter 391-3-1, Air Quality

Control, adopted on May 29, 1996:

(1) 391-3-1-.01(llll).

(2) 391-3-1-.01(mmmm).

(3) 391-3-1-.02(2)(ff)4.

(4) 391-3-1-.02(2)(ff)5.

(5) 391-3-1-.02(7).

(6) 391-3-1-.03(6).

(7) 391-3-1-.03(6)(b)11.

(8) 391-3-1-.03(6)(b)13.

(9) 391-3-1-.03(6)(c).

(10) 391-3-1-.03(6)(g).

(11) 391-3-1-.03(6)(h).

(B) Rules of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources,

Environmental Protection Division, Chapter 391-3-1, Air Quality

Control, adopted October 27, 1993:

(1) 391-3-1-.02(2)(aaa).

(2) 391-3-1-.02(5)(a)3.

(3) 391-3-1-.02(5)(a)13.

(4) 391-3-1-.02(5)(b).

(C) Rules of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources,

Environmental Protection Division, Chapter 391-3-1, Air Quality

Control, adopted August 23, 1995:

(1) 391-3-1-.02(2)(ii)6.

(2) 391-3-1-.02(2)(rr)1.

(3) 391-3-1-.02(2)(rr)3(vii).

(4) 391-3-1-.02(2)(rr)6.

(5) 391-3-1-.02(2)(zz)3.

(6) 391-3-1-.02(2)(zz)7.

(7) 391-3-1-.02(2)(zz)8.

(8) 391-3-1-.02(2)(zz)9.

(9) 391-3-1-.02(2)(zz)10.

(10) 391-3-1-.02(2)(zz)11.

(11) 391-3-1-.02(2)(zz)13.

(12) 391-3-1-.02(2)(zz)20.

(13) 391-3-1-.02(2)(aaa)4.

(ii) Other material. None.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 99-10235 Filed 4-23-99; 8:45 am]

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