
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 249 (Friday, December 28, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 76415-76417]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-31064]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2012-0174; FRL-9764-4]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
West Virginia; Redesignation of the West Virginia Portion of the 
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 1997 Annual Fine Particulate Matter 
Nonattainment Area to Attainment and Approval of the Associated 
Maintenance Plan

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a redesignation request and State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of West 
Virginia. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection 
(WVDEP) requested that the West Virginia portion of the Huntington-
Ashland, WV-KY-OH fine particulate matter (PM2.5) 
nonattainment area (``Huntington-Ashland Area'' or ``Area'') be 
redesignated as attainment for the 1997 annual PM2.5 
national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). In this rulemaking 
action, EPA is approving the 1997 annual PM2.5 redesignation 
request for the West Virginia portion of the Area. EPA is also 
approving the maintenance plan SIP revision that the State submitted in 
conjunction with its redesignation request. The maintenance plan 
provides for continued attainment of the 1997 annual PM2.5 
NAAQS for 10 years after redesignation of the West Virginia portion of 
the Area. The maintenance plan includes an insignificance determination 
for the onroad motor vehicle contribution of PM2.5, nitrogen 
oxides (NOX), and sulfur dioxide (SO2) for the 
West Virginia portion of the Area for purposes of transportation 
conformity. EPA is approving West Virginia's insignificance 
determination for transportation conformity. EPA is also finding that 
the Area continues to attain the standard. This rulemaking action 
approving the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS redesignation request, 
maintenance plan, and insignificance determination for transportation 
conformity for the West Virginia portion of the Area is based on EPA's 
determination that the Area has met the criteria for redesignation to 
attainment specified in the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: This final rule is effective on December 28, 2012.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID 
Number EPA-R03-OAR-2012-0174. All documents in the docket are listed in 
the www.regulations.gov Web site. Although listed in the electronic 
docket, some information is not publicly available, i.e., confidential 
business information (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 either electronically through www.regulations.gov or in hard 
copy for public inspection during normal business hours at the Air 
Protection Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 
1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of the State 
submittal are available at the West Virginia Department of 
Environmental Protection, Division of Air Quality, 601 57th Street SE., 
Charleston, West Virginia 25304.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rose Quinto, (215) 814-2182, or by 
email at quinto.rose@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The Huntington-Ashland Area is composed of Cabell and Wayne 
Counties and the Graham Tax District in Mason County in West Virginia 
(West Virginia portion of the Area); Boyd County and a portion of 
Lawrence County in Kentucky; and Lawrence and Scioto Counties and 
portions of Adams and Gallia Counties in Ohio. On November 15, 2012 (77 
FR 68076), EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) for the 
State of West Virginia. Pursuant to sections 107(d)(3) and 175A of the 
CAA, the NPR proposed approval of West Virginia's redesignation 
request, a SIP revision that establishes a maintenance plan for the 
West Virginia portion of the Area that provides for continued 
attainment of the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS for at least 10 
years after redesignation, and the insignificance determination for 
transportation conformity for the West Virginia portion of the Area. 
The formal SIP revision was submitted by WVDEP on June 30, 2011. In a 
separate action, EPA approved the base year emissions inventory on 
December 11, 2012 (77 FR 73544) meeting the requirements of section 
172(c)(3) of the CAA. Other specific details of West Virginia's 
redesignation request, the associated maintenance plan SIP revision and 
insignificance determination, and the rationales for EPA's proposed 
actions are explained in the NPR and will not be restated here. No 
public comments were received on the NPR.

II. Final Action

    EPA is approving the redesignation request, maintenance plan, and 
insignificance determination for transportation conformity for the West 
Virginia portion of the Area that was submitted by WVDEP on June 30, 
2011 because the requirements for approval have been satisfied. EPA has 
evaluated West Virginia's redesignation request, and determined that it 
meets the redesignation criteria set forth in section 107(d)(3)(E) of 
the CAA. Approval of this redesignation request will change the legal 
designation of the West Virginia portion of the Area from nonattainment 
to attainment for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA is 
approving the associated maintenance plan for the West Virginia portion 
of the Area, submitted on June 30, 2011, as a revision to the West 
Virginia SIP because it meets the requirements of section 175A of the 
CAA. EPA is also approving the transportation conformity insignificance 
determination submitted by West Virginia for this Area in conjunction 
with its redesignation request.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(d), EPA finds there is good cause 
for this action to become effective immediately upon publication. A 
delayed effective date is unnecessary due to the nature of a 
redesignation to attainment, which eliminates CAA obligations that 
would otherwise apply. The immediate effective date for this action is 
authorized under both 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1), which provides that 
rulemaking actions may become effective less than 30 days after 
publication if the rule ``grants or recognizes an exemption or relieves 
a restriction,'' and section 553(d)(3), which allows an effective date 
less than 30 days after publication ``as otherwise provided by the 
agency for good cause found and published with the rule.'' The purpose 
of the 30-day waiting period prescribed in section 553(d) is to give 
affected parties a reasonable time to adjust their behavior and prepare 
before the final rule takes effect. Today's rule, however, does not 
create any new regulatory requirements such that

[[Page 76416]]

affected parties would need time to prepare before the rule takes 
effect. Rather, today's rule relieves West Virginia of the obligation 
to comply with nonattainment-related planning requirements for this 
PM2.5 Area pursuant to Part D of the CAA. For these reasons, 
EPA finds good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d) for this action to become 
effective on the date of publication of this notice.

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General Requirements

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA 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 CAA. 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 Order 
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
     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 CAA; 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, this rule does not have tribal implications as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), 
because the SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in 
the state, and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct 
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.

B. 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 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).

C. Petitions for Judicial Review

    Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by February 26, 2013. 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 approving the redesignation request, maintenance 
plan, and transportation conformity insignificance determination for 
the West Virginia portion of the Area 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, Incorporation by 
reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Particulate matter, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

40 CFR Part 81

    Air pollution control, National parks, Wilderness areas.

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

    Dated: December 18, 2012.
W.C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.

0
40 CFR parts 52 and 81 are amended as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

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

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

Subpart XX--West Virginia

0
2. In Sec.  52.2520, the table in paragraph (e) is amended by adding an 
entry for the 1997 annual PM2.5 Maintenance Plan, West 
Virginia portion of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Area at the end of 
the table to read as follows:


Sec.  52.2520  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

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                                                        State
   Name of non-regulatory SIP        Applicable       submittal    EPA approval date    Additional  explanation
            revision               geographic area       date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
1997 annual PM2.5 Maintenance    Cabell and Wayne        6/30/11  12/28/12 [Insert
 Plan for Huntington-Ashland WV-  Counties, and the                page number where
 KY-OH Area.                      Graham Tax                       the document
                                  District in Mason                begins].
                                  County.
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[[Page 76417]]

PART 81--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority citation for Part 81 continues to read as follows:

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


0
2. Section 81.349 is amended by revising the PM2.5 (Annual 
NAAQS) table entry for the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Area to read as 
follows:


Sec.  81.349  West Virginia

* * * * *

                   West Virginia--PM2.5 (Annual NAAQS)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             Designation \a\
        Designated area         ----------------------------------------
                                   Date \1\              Type
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                              * * * * * * *
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH
Cabell County..................     12/28/12  Attainment.
Mason County (part)............     12/28/12  Attainment.
    Graham Tax District........
Wayne County...................     12/28/12  Attainment.
 
                              * * * * * * *
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\a\ Includes Indian County located in each county or area, except
  otherwise specified.
\1\ This date is 90 days after January 5, 2005, unless otherwise noted.

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[FR Doc. 2012-31064 Filed 12-27-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


