80 FR 29968 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio; Removal of General Conformity Regulations

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 100 (May 26, 2015)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the removal of general conformity regulations from the Ohio state implementation plan (SIP) under the Clean Air Act (CAA). These regulations are no longer necessary since the establishment of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users transportation act (transportation act) removed the requirement for states to maintain general conformity regulations.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 100 (Tuesday, May 26, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 29968-29970]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-12363]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R05-OAR-2014-0659; FRL-9927-98-Region-5]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Ohio; Removal of General Conformity Regulations

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the 
removal of general conformity regulations from the Ohio state 
implementation plan (SIP) under the Clean Air Act (CAA). These 
regulations are no longer necessary since the establishment of the 
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A 
Legacy for Users transportation act (transportation act) removed the 
requirement for states to maintain general conformity regulations.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective July 27, 2015, unless 
EPA receives adverse comments by June 25, 2015. If adverse comments are 
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-R05-
OAR-2014-0659, by one of the following methods:
    1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    2. Email: [email protected].
    3. Fax: (312) 692-2450.
    4. Mail: Pamela Blakley, Chief, Control Strategies Section, Air 
Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West 
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
    5. Hand Delivery: Pamela Blakley, Chief, Control Strategies 
Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. Such 
deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information. The Regional Office official hours of business are 
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding Federal 
holidays.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-
2014-0659. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
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 www.regulations.gov or email. The 
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 email comment 
directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov your email 
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 
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 www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Environmental Protection 
Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson 
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility is open from 8:30 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. 
We recommend that you telephone Anthony Maietta, Environmental 
Protection Specialist, at (312) 353-8777 before visiting the Region 5 
office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony Maietta, Environmental 
Protection Specialist, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch 
(AR-18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson 
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 353-8777, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information 
section is arranged as follows:

I. What is the background for this action?
II. What is EPA's analysis of the state's submittal?
III. What action is EPA taking?
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What is the background for this action?

    On March 11, 1996, EPA approved the general conformity rules in 
chapter 3745-102 of the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) into the Ohio 
SIP (61 FR 9646). General conformity is a requirement of section 176(c) 
of the CAA to ensure that no Federally supported actions outside of 
highway and transit projects interfere with the purpose of the approved 
SIP, i.e. the SIP's protection of the National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards. General conformity requirements currently apply to the 
following criteria pollutants: Ozone, particulate matter,

[[Page 29969]]

carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide. The general conformity 
regulation is found in 40 CFR part 93, subpart B and provisions related 
to general conformity SIPs are found in 40 CFR 51.851.
    On August 10, 2005, the transportation act was signed into law, and 
among other things, it amended the CAA to eliminate the requirement for 
states to adopt and submit general conformity SIPs. On April 5, 2010 
(75 FR 17254), EPA updated the general conformity SIP regulations to be 
consistent with the transportation act by eliminating the Federal 
regulatory requirement for states to adopt and submit general 
conformity SIPs. See 40 CFR 51.851. On July 21, 2014, the Ohio 
Environmental Protection Agency submitted a request to remove the 
general conformity regulations from the Ohio SIP.

II. What is EPA's analysis of the state's submittal?

    We have reviewed Ohio's submittal to ensure consistency with the 
current CAA, as amended by the transportation act, and EPA regulations 
governing state procedures for general conformity (40 CFR 51.851). 
Specifically, 40 CFR 51.851(a) was changed to indicate that states 
``may'', not ``must'' submit to EPA a general conformity SIP because, 
as 40 CFR 51.851(b) indicates, Federal agencies shall use the 
provisions of 40 CFR part 93, subpart B in addition to any existing 
applicable state or tribal requirements to review the conformity of 
Federal actions in nonattainment or maintenance areas. Ohio's removal 
of general conformity rules from its SIP meets the requirements set 
forth in section 110(l) of the CAA with respect to adoption and 
submission of SIP revisions. 40 CFR part 93, subpart B continues to 
subject certain Federal actions to general conformity requirements 
without the need for identical state rules and SIPs. Therefore, 
repealing the state rule will not impact continuity of the general 
conformity program in Ohio, and consequently meets the requirements of 
section 110(l). Ohio's request to remove the general conformity 
regulations from the Ohio SIP is approvable.

III. What action is EPA taking?

    EPA is approving the removal of the general conformity regulations 
in OAC chapter 3745-102 from the Ohio SIP. We are publishing this 
action 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 state plan if relevant adverse written comments are filed. 
This rule will be effective July 27, 2015 without further notice unless 
we receive relevant adverse written comments by June 25, 2015. If we 
receive such comments, we will withdraw this action before the 
effective date by publishing a subsequent document that will withdraw 
the final action. All public comments received will then be addressed 
in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed action. EPA will not 
institute a second comment period. Any parties interested in commenting 
on this action should do so at this time. Please note that if EPA 
receives adverse comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of this 
rule and if that provision may be severed from the remainder of the 
rule, EPA may adopt as final those provisions of the rule that are not 
the subject of an adverse comment. If we do not receive any comments, 
this action will be effective July 27, 2015.

VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews.

    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 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 (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 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, 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 CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by July 27, 2015. 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. Parties with objections to this direct final rule are 
encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel notice of 
proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules 
section of today's Federal Register,

[[Page 29970]]

rather than file an immediate petition for judicial review of this 
direct final rule, so that EPA can withdraw this direct final rule and 
address the comment in the proposed rulemaking. 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, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: May 13, 2015.
Susan Hedman,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.

    40 CFR part 52 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.


Sec.  52.1870  [Amended]

0
2. Section 52.1870 is amended by removing and reserving paragraph 
(c)(107).

[FR Doc. 2015-12363 Filed 5-22-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P