

[Federal Register: December 17, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 241)]
[Rules and Regulations]               
[Page 71245-71247]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17de07-13]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R07-OAR-2007-1128; FRL-8507-1]

 
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Nebraska; 
Interstate Transport of Pollution

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is revising the Nebraska State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
for the purpose of approving the Nebraska Department of Environmental 
Quality's (NDEQ) actions to address the ``good neighbor'' provisions of 
the Clean Air Act Section 110(a)(2)(D)(i). These provisions require 
each state to submit a SIP that prohibits emissions that adversely 
affect another State's air quality through interstate transport. NDEQ 
has adequately addressed the four distinct elements related to the 
impact of interstate transport of air pollutants. These include 
prohibiting significant contribution to downwind nonattainment of the 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), interference with 
maintenance of the NAAQS, interference with plans in another state to 
prevent significant deterioration of air quality, and efforts of other 
states to protect visibility. The requirements for public notification 
were also met by NDEQ.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective February 15, 2008, 
without further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by January 
16, 2008. If adverse comment is received, EPA will publish a timely 
withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register informing 
the public that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R07-
OAR-2007-1128, by one of the following methods:
    1. http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 

submitting comments.
    2. E-mail: jay.michael@epa.gov.
    3. Mail: Michael Jay, Environmental Protection Agency, Air Planning 
and Development Branch, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, Kansas 
66101.
    4. Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver your comments to Michael Jay, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch, 
901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66101.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R07-OAR-
2007-1128. 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 through http://www.regulations.gov
 or e-mail information that you consider to be CBI 

or otherwise protected. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 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 electronic docket are listed in the 
http://www.regulations.gov index. 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 either electronically in http://www.regulations.gov
 or in hard copy at the Environmental Protection 

Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch, 901 North 5th Street, 
Kansas City, Kansas 66101. The Regional Office's official hours of 
business are Monday through Friday, 8 to 4:30 excluding Federal 
holidays. The interested persons wanting to examine these documents 
should make an appointment with the office at least 24 hours in 
advance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Jay at (913) 551-7460, or by 
e-mail at jay.michael@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This section provides 
additional information by addressing the following questions:

What is being addressed in this document?
What action is EPA taking?

What is being addressed in this document?

    EPA is revising the SIP for the purpose of approving the NDEQ's 
actions to address the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) section 
110(a)(2)(D)(i). This section requires each state to submit a SIP that 
prohibits emissions that could adversely affect another state. The SIP 
must prevent sources in the state from emitting pollutants in amounts 
which will: (1) Contribute significantly to downwind nonattainment of 
the NAAQS, (2) interfere with maintenance of the NAAQS, (3) interfere 
with provisions to prevent significant deterioration of air quality, 
and (4) interfere with efforts to protect visibility.
    EPA issued guidance on August 15, 2006, relating to SIP submissions 
to meet the requirements of section 110(a)(2)(D)(i). As discussed 
below, Nebraska's analysis of its SIP with respect to the statutory 
requirements is consistent with the guidance.
    The NDEQ has addressed the first two of these elements by 
submitting a technical demonstration supporting the conclusion that 
emissions from

[[Page 71246]]

Nebraska do not significantly contribute to downwind nonattainment or 
interfere with maintenance of the NAAQS in another state. For 
PM2.5, the state has relied upon existing EPA Clean Air 
Interstate Rule (CAIR) modeling that determined impacts from the state 
do not meet or exceed the 0.2 [mu]g/m\3\ average annual threshold that 
EPA established to determine significant impact on another state in the 
projection year 2010. The state indicated that in EPA's CAIR modeling, 
Nebraska's maximum downwind contribution to average annual 
nonattainment was 0.07 [mu]g/m\3\ (70 FR 25247). The state has relied 
on this result to demonstrate that emissions from the state do not 
contribute significantly to downwind nonattainment of the annual 
PM2.5 standard.
    For 8-hour ozone, the state was unable to rely on EPA CAIR modeling 
to determine the state's impact on projected 8-hour ozone nonattainment 
in downwind states. The EPA CAIR 8-hour ozone modeling domain did not 
include the entire state. As a result, impacts from the state were not 
provided in the analysis. Therefore, the state has provided additional 
analysis, as part of the technical demonstration, to support a 
determination that the state does not contribute significantly to 
projected downwind 8-hour ozone nonattainment and maintenance in the 
year 2010.
    The State's additional analysis includes a modeling demonstration 
that supports this conclusion. The modeling demonstration relies on the 
source apportionment technique, consistent with the technical analysis 
in support of CAIR, to evaluate the State's contribution to nearby 
downwind metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and nearby counties. 
These areas include Chicago and additional counties in Wisconsin along 
Lake Michigan, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Denver.
    The determination of significance in the State's analysis was based 
upon three contribution factors as determined in CAIR:
     The magnitude of the contribution;
     The frequency of the contribution; and
     The relative amount of contribution.
    The source apportionment modeling analysis yielded consistent 
results showing Nebraska does not contribute significantly to downwind 
8-hour ozone nonattainment in any of the receptor counties analyzed. 
For example, Nebraska's contribution to total nonattainment in Chicago 
is 0.36%, with a contribution average of 0.3 ppb, and a 1.74% relative 
contribution during exceedance periods. By EPA's own metrics, these 
impacts are considered to be small and infrequent. Moreover, not a 
single metric of the three contribution factors was found to be above 
the significance threshold established by EPA for any of the downwind 
counties. (See Technical Support Document for the Final Clean Air 
Interstate Rule--Air Quality Modeling). Based on this information 
provided by the State, EPA believes the State has sufficiently 
demonstrated that emissions from the State do not significantly 
contribute to downwind nonattainment or interfere with maintenance of 
the NAAQs. Additional supporting information on Nebraska's modeling 
demonstration can be found in its technical support document provided 
in the docket.
    The third element NDEQ addressed was prevention of significant 
deterioration (PSD). For 8-hour ozone, the state has met the obligation 
by confirming that major sources in the state are currently subject to 
PSD programs that implement the 8-hour ozone standard. For 
PM2.5, the state has confirmed that the state's PSD program 
is being implemented in accordance with EPA's interim guidance calling 
for the use of PM10 as a surrogate for PM2.5 for 
the purposes of PSD review. Once PM2.5 guidance is finalized 
by EPA, NDEQ commits to transitioning from use of the interim 
PM2.5 guidance to the final PM2.5 implementation 
guidance after approval of the PM2.5 SIP revision. EPA 
proposed regulations to establish this guidance on September 21, 2007 
(72 FR 54112).
    It should be noted that Nebraska is currently designated with 
attainment for both the 8-hour ozone and PM2.5 National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards.
    At this time, it is not possible for NDEQ to accurately determine 
whether there is interference with measures in another state's SIP 
designed to protect visibility, which is the fourth element that was 
addressed. Technical projects relating to visibility degradation are 
under development. Nebraska will be in a more advantageous position to 
address the visibility projection requirements once the initial 
regional haze SIP has been developed.
    A public hearing with regard to this action was held by the state. 
No comments were received.
    With this action, the non-regulatory text in 40 CFR 52.1420(e) is 
revised to reflect that NDEQ addressed the elements of the CAA section 
110(a)(2)(D)(i) submittal.

What action is EPA taking?

    EPA is approving this revision submitted by Nebraska and is 
revising 40 CFR 52.1420(e) to reflect that the NDEQ has adequately 
addressed the required elements of the CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) SIP. 
Please note that if EPA receives adverse comments on part of this rule, 
and if that part can be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may 
adopt as final those parts of the rule that are not the subject of an 
adverse comment.

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 action 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 action 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 action 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

[[Page 71247]]

CAA. This action 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 approves a state rule 
implementing a Federal standard.
    In reviewing state submissions, EPA's role is to approve state 
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. 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 state submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be 
inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a state 
submission, to use VCS in place of a state submission that otherwise 
satisfies the provisions of the CAA. 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 action 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 CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by February 15, 2008. 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, 
Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur 
oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: November 29, 2007.
William Rice,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7.

0
Chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 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 CC--Nebraska

0
2. In Sec.  52.1420(e) the table is amended by adding an entry in 
numerical order to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1420  Identification of Plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                                 EPA-Approved Nebraska Nonregulatory Provisions
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                                  Applicable
  Name of nonregulatory SIP      geographic or        State        EPA approval
          provision              nonattainment   submittal date        date                 Explanation
                                     area
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                                                  * * * * * * *
(23) CAA 110(a)(2)(D)(i) SIP-- Statewide.......         5/18/07  12/17/07 [insert
 Interstate Transport.                                            FR page number
                                                                  where the
                                                                  document
                                                                  begins].
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[FR Doc. E7-24231 Filed 12-14-07; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
