

[Federal Register: November 21, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 224)]
[Rules and Regulations]               
[Page 67308-67311]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21no06-10]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R06-OAR-2006-0390; FRL-8244-6]

 
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Louisiana; Baton Rouge Ozone Nonattainment Area Vehicle Miles Traveled 
Offset Analysis

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: In this direct final action, the EPA is approving the Baton 
Rouge Ozone Nonattainment Area Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Offset 
Analysis. The Baton Rouge area became subject to this requirement upon 
its reclassification from serious to severe 1-hour ozone nonattainment. 
The State has satisfied the VMT Offset requirement by its demonstration 
that motor vehicle emissions from increases in VMT or number of vehicle 
trips within the Baton Rouge five county ozone nonattainment area will 
not rise above an established ceiling through 2005. This action is 
being taken under sections 110 and 182 of the Federal Clean Air Act, as 
amended (the Act).

DATES: This direct final rule is effective on January 22, 2007 without 
further notice, unless EPA receives relevant adverse comment by 
December 21, 2006. If EPA receives such comment, EPA will publish a 
timely withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that 
this rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R06-
OAR-2006-0390, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 

Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     U.S. EPA Region 6 ``Contact Us'' Web site: http://epa.gov/region6/r6coment.htm.
 Please click on ``6PD'' (Multimedia) and select 

``Air'' before submitting comments.
     E-mail: Mr. Thomas Diggs at diggs.thomas@epa.gov. Please 
also cc the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section below.
     Fax: Mr. Thomas Diggs, Chief, Air Planning Section (6PD-
L), at fax number 214-665-7263.
     Mail: Mr. Thomas Diggs, Chief, Air Planning Section (6PD-
L), Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200, 
Dallas, Texas 75202-2733.
     Hand or Courier Delivery: Mr. Thomas Diggs, Chief, Air 
Planning Section (6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross 
Avenue, Suite 1200, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733. Such deliveries are 
accepted only between the hours of 8am and 4pm weekdays except for 
legal holidays. Special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R06-OAR-
2006-0390. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 

unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to 
be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. 

The http://www.regulations.gov website is an ``anonymous access'' system, 

which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information 
unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-
mail comment directly to EPA without going through http://www.regulations.gov 

your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part 
of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available 
on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends 
that you include your name and other contact information in the body of 
your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read 
your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic 
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of 
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the 
http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 

information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air Planning Section 

(6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, 
Dallas, Texas 75202-2733. The file will be made available by 
appointment for public inspection in the Region 6 FOIA Review Room 
between the hours of 8:30am and 4:30pm weekdays except for legal 
holidays. Contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT paragraph below or Mr. Bill Deese at (214) 665-7253 to make an 
appointment. If possible, please make the appointment at least two 
working days in advance of your visit. There will be a 15 cent per page 
fee for making photocopies of documents. On the day of the visit, 
please check in at the EPA Region 6 reception area at 1445 Ross Avenue, 
Suite 700, Dallas, Texas.
    The State submittal is also available for public inspection at the 
State Air Agency listed below during official business hours by 
appointment:
    Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, 602 N. Fifth Street, 
Baton Rouge, LA 70802.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mrs. Sandra Rennie at (214) 665-7367, 
Air Planning Section (6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 
6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, fax number 
214-665-7263; e-mail address rennie.sandra@epa.gov.

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

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Analysis of VMT Plan
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

What Is a VMT SIP?

    Section 182(d)(1)(A) of the Act requires states containing ozone 
nonattainment areas classified as severe, pursuant to section 181(a) of 
the Act, to adopt transportation control strategies and TCMs to offset 
increases in emissions resulting from growth in VMT or numbers of 
vehicle trips and to obtain reductions in motor vehicle emissions as 
necessary (in combination

[[Page 67309]]

with other emission reduction requirements) to comply with the Act's 
Reasonable Further Progress milestones (section 182(b)(1) and 
(c)(2)(B)) and attainment demonstration requirements (section 
182(c)(2)(A)). Our interpretation of section 182(d)(1)(A) is discussed 
in the April 16, 1992, General Preamble to Title I of the Act (57 FR 
13498, the General Preamble). Section 182(d)(1)(A) of the Act requires 
that states submit the VMT Offset SIP by November 15, 1992, for any 
severe and above ozone nonattainment area. The VMT Offset SIP became a 
requirement for the Baton Rouge area due to EPA's reclassification of 
the area from serious to severe on April 24, 2003 (68 FR 20077).

How Is the VMT Offset Requirement Satisfied?

    The EPA General Preamble (57 FR 13498, 13521-13523, April 16, 1992) 
explains how to demonstrate that the VMT requirement is satisfied. 
Sufficient measures must be adopted so projected motor vehicle volatile 
organic compound (VOC) emissions will stay beneath a ceiling level 
established through modeling of mandated transportation-related 
controls. When growth in VMT and vehicle trips would otherwise cause a 
motor vehicle emissions upturn, this upturn must be prevented by TCMs. 
If projected total motor vehicle emissions during the ozone season in 
one year are not higher than during the previous ozone season due to 
the control measures in the SIP, the VMT Offset requirement is 
satisfied. In order to make these projections, curves of vehicle 
emissions were modeled using mandated measures, along with VMT (please 
refer to Charts 1 and 2 in the Technical Support Document). Charts 1 
and 2 each show significant declines in VOC emissions from on-road 
mobile sources during the 15-year period graphed for the offset 
analysis. The charts profile the effects of several factors that are 
affecting emissions simultaneously, including but not limited to: (a) 
The ``fleet turnover'' effect derived from implementation of Federal 
motor vehicle control program (National Low Emission Vehicle and Tier 
2/low sulfur gasoline); (b) the nonattainment area's low enhanced 
vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) program, and; (c) either the 
sale and use of reformulated gasoline (Chart 1 only), or the continued 
sale and use of convention gasoline (Chart 2 only).\1\ Also 
contributing to the decline in emissions growth is the fact that 
inventoried and projected VMT data has actually decreased slightly 
during the 1996-2005 time period by approximately two (2) percent.
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    \1\ The use of Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) in the Baton Rouge 
nonattainment area was suspended in July 2004 by the U.S. Court of 
Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the Court transferred the case 
and motion to stay to the D.C. Circuit. This offset analysis 
includes analyses of both RFG and conventional gas fuels scenarios.
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II. Analysis of VMT Plan

What Does Louisiana's Demonstration Show?

    The March 22, 2005, VMT Offset Analysis SIP submittal includes a 
projection of the mobile source emissions and a VMT projection for 
Baton Rouge through 2005, the date by which the Baton Rouge area was to 
attain the 1-hour NAAQS for ozone. It contains a modeled scenario that 
includes the effects of reductions from the following mandated 
programs: federal motor vehicle control programs (Tier 2/Low Sulfur 
Gasoline Program Credits and National Low Emission Vehicle Credits), a 
low enhanced vehicle I/M program, and either reformulated gasoline or 
Federal 7.8 Reid Vapor Pressure gasoline (Charts 1 and 2, 
respectively).

Results of Analysis

    The modeled curves satisfy the VMT Offset requirement as discussed 
in the General Preamble. Modeling at no time shows the emission 
estimates meeting or exceeding the lowest point in 2005. The VOC curves 
in these instances show that no true ceiling is established in this 
demonstration because there is no upward turn of the VOC curve to 
identify the lowest point. Because the curves do not turn upward, no 
TCMs are necessary to offset emissions from growth in VMT. Because 
there is no upturn in VOCs and no ceiling under which VOC emissions 
must remain, then no TCMs are required to keep emissions below any 
ceiling.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving Louisiana's VMT Offset Analysis SIP submitted by 
the State on March 22, 2005. The VMT Offset requirement is satisfied 
because projected total motor vehicle emissions during the ozone season 
in one year are not higher than during the ozone season the year before 
due to the control measures in the SIP. We determined that Louisiana 
has adequately demonstrated that emissions from growth in VMT and 
number of vehicle trips will not rise above an established ceiling 
during the required timeframe.
    EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because we view 
this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipate no adverse 
comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal 
Register publication, we are publishing a separate document that will 
serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision if adverse comments 
are received. This rule will be effective on January 22, 2007 without 
further notice unless we receive relevant adverse comment by December 
21, 2006. If we receive adverse comments, we will publish a timely 
withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule 
will not take effect. We will address all public comments in a 
subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. We will not institute 
a second comment period on this action. Any parties interested in 
commenting must do so at this time. Please note that if we receive 
adverse comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and 
if that provision may be severed from the remainder of the rule, we may 
adopt as final those provisions of the rule that are not the subject of 
an adverse comment.

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

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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 January 22, 2007. 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, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile 
organic compounds.

    Dated: November 9, 2006.
Richard E. Greene,
Regional Administrator, Region 6.

0
40 CFR part 52 is 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 T--Louisiana

0
2. The table in Sec.  52.970(e) entitled, ``EPA Approved Louisiana 
Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures,'' is amended by 
adding to the end of the table a new entry for ``Baton Rouge Ozone 
Nonattainment Area Vehicle Miles Traveled Offset Analysis'' to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.970  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                  EPA Approved Louisiana Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures
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                                    Applicable geographic       State
       Name of SIP provision          or  nonattainment      Submittal/     EPA  approval       Explanation
                                             area          effective date       date
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Vehicle Miles Traveled Offset       Baton Rouge                  03/22/05        11/21/06  [Insert FR page
 Analysis.                           Nonattainment Area.                                    number where
                                                                                            document begins].
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[FR Doc. E6-19641 Filed 11-20-06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
