[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 9, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 983-984]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00027]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2017-0154; FRL-9972-82-Region 9]


Approval of Nevada Air Plan Revisions, Washoe Oxygenated Fuels 
Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final 
action to approve a revision to the Nevada State Implementation Plan 
(SIP). This revision concerns emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) from 
passenger vehicles. We are approving the suspension of a local rule 
that regulated these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or 
the Act).

DATES: This rule will be effective on February 8, 2018.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2017-0154. 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, e.g., 
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 through https://www.regulations.gov, or please 
contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section for additional availability information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Buss, EPA Region IX, (415) 
947-4152, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and 
``our'' refer to the EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Proposed Action

II. Public Comments and EPA Responses

III. EPA Action

IV. Incorporation by Reference

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Proposed Action

    On August 31, 2017, the EPA proposed to approve an amendment to 
Washoe County District Board of Health (WCDBOH) Regulations Governing 
Air Quality Management Section 040.095, ``Oxygen Content of Motor 
Vehicle Fuel.'' This amendment suspends all requirements of Section 
040.095, which implements Washoe County's oxygenated fuel program.\1\ 
The WCDBOH amended Section 040.095 on October 24, 2013, and submitted 
the amendment to the EPA on March 28, 2014.\2\
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    \1\ Under the Second 10-Year Maintenance Plan for the Truckee 
Meadows 8-Hour Carbon Monoxide Attainment Area, approved by the EPA 
August 30, 2016 (81 FR 59490), the WCDBOH may reinstate Section 
040.095's oxygenated fuel program as a Tier 2 contingency measure in 
the event of a second, non-overlapping exceedance of the 8-hour CO 
standard within Washoe County.
    \2\ 82 FR 41386. The August 31, 2017 proposal misstated the date 
that the WCDBOH amended Section 040.095 as December 24, 2013.
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    We proposed to approve these provisions because we determined that 
they comply with relevant CAA requirements. Our proposed action 
contains more information on the rule and our evaluation.

II. Public Comments and EPA Responses

    The EPA's proposed action provided a 30-day public comment period. 
During this period, we received two comments, which were not specific 
to this action and thus are not addressed here.

III. EPA Action

    No comments were submitted that change our assessment of the rule 
as described in our proposed action. Therefore, as authorized in 
section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA is taking final action to approve 
the suspension of Section 040.095 as a revision to the Washoe County 
portion of the Nevada SIP.

IV. 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 Section 
040.095 described in the amendments to 40 CFR part 52 set forth below. 
Therefore, these materials have been approved by the EPA for inclusion 
in the SIP, have been incorporated by reference by the EPA into that 
plan, are fully federally enforceable under sections 110 and 113 of the 
CAA as of the effective date of the final rulemaking of the EPA's 
approval, and will be incorporated by reference by the Director of the 
Federal Register in the next update to the SIP compilation.\3\ The EPA 
has made, and will continue to make, these documents available through 
www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region IX Office (please contact the 
person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this preamble for more information).
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    \3\ 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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V. 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, the EPA's role is to approve state 
choices, provided they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. 
Accordingly, this action merely proposes to approve 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);
     Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2, 
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted under 
Executive Order 12866;
     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 (Public Law 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 the EPA with the discretionary authority 
to address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or 
environmental effects, using practicable and legally permissible

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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 the 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. The 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 March 12, 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, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

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

    Dated: December 21, 2017.
Alexis Strauss,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.

    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 DD--Nevada

0
2. Section 52.1470 in paragraph (c), Table 7, is amended by revising 
the entry for ``040.095.''to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1470  Identification of plan.

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    (c) * * *

                                 Table 7--EPA-Approved Washoe County Regulations
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                                                         District
       District citation           Title/subject      effective date   EPA approval date  Additional explanation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
040.095........................  Oxygen Content of  10/24/13           [Insert Federal    Previously approved at
                                  Motor Fuel.        (amended).         Register           73 FR 38124
                                                                        citation],.       (7/3/08). Submitted on
                                                                       1/9/18...........   3/28/14. Suspends
                                                                                           local motor fuel
                                                                                           oxygenate
                                                                                           requirement.
 
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[FR Doc. 2018-00027 Filed 1-8-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


