Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes: Wallula, WA, Area

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION:

Final rule.

SUMMARY:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is taking final action to approve a PM₁₀ State Implementation Plan (SIP) maintenance plan revision for the Wallula, Washington nonattainment area and to redesignate the area from nonattainment to attainment. PM₁₀ air pollution is suspended particulate matter with a nominal diameter less than or equal to a nominal ten micromenters. We are approving the maintenance plan revision and redesignation request because the State has adequately demonstrated that the control measures being implemented in the Wallula area will result in maintenance of the PM₁₀ National Ambient Air Quality Standards and that all other requirements of the Clean Air Act for redesignation to attainment have been met.

DATES:

Effective September 26, 2005.

ADDRESSES:

Copies of the State's request and other supporting information used in developing this action are available for inspection during normal business hours at the following locations: EPA, Office of Air, Waste, and Toxics (AWT-107), 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101. Interested persons wanting to examine these documents should make an appointment with the appropriate office at least 24 hours before the visiting day. A reasonable fee may be charged for copies.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Donna Deneen, Office of Air, Waste, and Toxics (AWT-107), EPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington, 98101, (206) 553-6706.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. What Is the Background of This Rulemaking?

II. What Comments Did We Receive on the Proposed Action?

III. What Is Our Final Action?

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What Is the Background of This Rulemaking?

On July 1, 2005, we proposed to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) maintenance plan revision and redesignation request, dated March 29, 2005, from the Director of the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) for the Wallula PM-10 nonattainment area. 70 FR 38073. We proposed our approval based on the State's demonstration that the control measures being implemented in the Wallula area would result in maintenance of the PM₁₀ National Ambient Air Quality Standards and that all other Clean Air Act requirements for redesignation to attainment have been met. See the proposed action for a full description of how the maintenance plan and redesignation request meet Clean Air Act requirements.

II. What Comments Did We Receive on the Proposed Action?

EPA provided a 30-day review and comment period on the proposal published in the Federal Register on July 1, 2005 (70 FR 38073). We received no comments on our proposed rulemaking.

III. What Is Our Final Action?

We are taking final action to approve the Wallula PM₁₀ maintenance plan and redesignate the Wallula nonattainment area to attainment for PM₁₀.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this action is not a “significant regulatory action” and therefore is not subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. For this reason, this action is also not subject to Executive Order 13211, “Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use” (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001). This action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and imposes no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because this rule approves pre-existing requirements under state law and does not impose any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by state law, it does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4).

This rule also does not have tribal implications because it will not have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000). This action also does not have Federalism implications because it does not have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government, as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999). This action merely approves a state rule implementing a Federal standard, and does not alter the relationship or the distribution of power and responsibilities established in the Clean Air Act. This rule also is not subject to Executive Order 13045 “Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks” (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not economically significant.

In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. In this context, in the absence of a prior existing requirement for the State to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority to disapprove a SIP submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a SIP submission, to use VCS in place of a SIP submission that otherwise satisfies the provisions of the Clean Air Act. Thus, the requirements of section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply. This rule does not impose an information collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

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. A major rule cannot take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register. This action is not a “major rule” as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

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 25, 2005. 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

40 CFR Part 52

• Environmental protection
• Air pollution control
• Particulate matter
• Intergovernmental relations
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements

40 CFR Part 81

• Environmental protection
• Air pollution control
• National parks
• Wilderness areas

Parts 52 and 81, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 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 et seq.

Subpart WW—Washington

2. Section 52.2475(e)(2)(ii) is revised to read as follows:

PART 81—[AMENDED]

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

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

2. In § 81.348, the table entitled “Washington—PM-10” is amended by revising the entry for “Walla Walla and Benton Counties, Wallula” to read as follows: