[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 6, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9438-9440]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-04488]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R01-OAR-2017-0590; FRL-9974- 96--Region 1]


Air Plan Approval; Massachusetts; Logan Airport Parking Freeze

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts. This SIP revision increases the total number of 
commercial parking spaces allowed in the Logan Airport Parking Freeze 
area by 5,000 parking spaces. The intended effect of this action is to 
reduce carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxide (NOX) 
emissions by reducing the increased vehicle miles traveled (VMT) 
resulting from insufficient available parking at Logan Airport. This 
action is being taken under the Clean Air Act.

DATES: This rule is effective on April 5, 2018.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R01-OAR-2017-0590. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed 
in the index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or 
other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain 
other material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the 
internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. 
Publicly available docket materials are available at https://www.regulations.gov or at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 
New England Regional Office, Office of Ecosystem Protection, Air 
Quality Planning Unit, 5 Post Office Square--Suite 100, Boston, MA. EPA 
requests that if at all possible, you contact the contact listed in the 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to schedule your inspection. 
The Regional Office's official hours of business are Monday through 
Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding legal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anne McWilliams, Air Quality Planning 
Unit, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional 
Office, 5 Post Office Square--Suite 100, (Mail code OEP05-2), Boston, 
MA 02109-3912, tel. (617) 918-1697, email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Background and Purpose
II. Final Action
III. Incorporation by Reference
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background and Purpose

    On December 5, 2017 (83 FR 57415), EPA published a Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The 
NPRM proposed approval of revisions to 310 Code of Massachusetts 
Regulations (CMR) 7.30 Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport)/Logan 
Airport Parking Freeze. The formal SIP revision was submitted by 
Massachusetts on July 13, 2017.
    The revised 310 CMR 7.30 increases the total number of commercial 
spaces in the Logan Parking Freeze area by 5,000 spaces to a total of 
26,088. In the event that the remaining 702 park-and-fly spaces in the 
East Boston Parking Freeze cap were converted to commercial spaces at 
Logan Airport in the future, the maximum total number of spaces 
permitted would be 26,790.
    In addition, the revision requires Massport to complete the 
following studies within 24 months of June 30, 2017: (1) Potential 
improvements to high occupancy vehicle access to Logan Airport; (2) a 
cost and pricing assessment for different modes of transportation to 
and from Logan Airport in order to generate revenue for the promotion 
of high-occupancy

[[Page 9439]]

vehicle (HOV) use by airport travelers and visitors; and (3) the 
feasibility and effectiveness of potential operational measures to 
reduce non-HOV pick-up/drop-off modes of transportation to Logan 
Airport.
    Finally, the revision allows Massport to satisfy its annual 
reporting requirements through its submission of annual Environmental 
Data Reports or similar airport-wide documents under the Massachusetts 
Environmental Policy Act (MEPA).
    The rationale for EPA's proposed action is explained in the NPR and 
will not be restated here. EPA received comments from the Conservation 
Law Foundation (CLF) in support of the NPRM after the close of the 
comment period, and they have been included in the docket for this 
action. Initially, CLF opposed the addition of 5,000 commercial parking 
spaces. However, with the development of a binding agreement between 
CLF and Massport, CLF now supports this SIP revision due to the agreed 
upon addition of substantial transportation mitigation measures and 
increased HOV targets. The only comment received during the public 
comment period was not germane or specific to this rulemaking, and did 
not state how or why the rule should be changed. Therefore, no 
additional response to the comment will be provided here.

II. Final Action

    EPA is approving revised 310 CMR 7.30 Massport/Logan Airport 
Parking Freeze as a revision to the Massachusetts SIP.

III. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of 310 CMR 
7.30 Massport/Logan Airport Parking Freeze described in the amendments 
to 40 CFR part 52 set forth below. The EPA has made, and will continue 
to make, these documents generally available through https://www.regulations.gov.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a 
SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and 
applicable Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). 
Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state 
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. 
Accordingly, this action merely approves state law as meeting Federal 
requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those 
imposed by state law. For that reason, this action:
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to review 
by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders 12866 (58 
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Is certified as not having a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     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);
     Does not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent 
with the Clean Air Act; and
     Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to 
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental 
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under 
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
    In addition, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian 
reservation land or in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has 
demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian 
country, the rule does not have tribal implications and will not impose 
substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
    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 action 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 May 7, 2018. Filing a 
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule 
does not affect the finality of this action 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, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Regional haze, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: February 26, 2018.
Alexandra Dapolito Dunn,
 Regional Administrator, EPA New England.

    Part 52 of chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
is amended as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart W--Massachusetts

0
2. In Sec.  52.1120, in paragraph (c), amend the table by revising the 
entry ``310 CMR 7.30'' to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1120   Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

[[Page 9440]]



                                     EPA Approved Massachusetts Regulations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      State        EPA approval date
      State citation           Title/subject     effective date           \1\                 Explanations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
310 CMR 7.30.............  Massport/Logan             6/30/2017  3/6/2018............  Revises the existing
                            Airport Parking                      [Insert Federal        commercial parking
                            Freeze.                               Register citation].   freeze limits and
                                                                                        requires the
                                                                                        Massachusetts Port
                                                                                        Authority to complete
                                                                                        several studies to
                                                                                        evaluate ways to further
                                                                                        support alternative
                                                                                        transit options.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ To determine the EPA effective date for a specific provision listed in this table, consult the Federal
  Register notice cited in this column for the particular provision.

* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2018-04488 Filed 3-5-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


