Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of Missouri; Transportation Conformity

[Federal Register: October 18, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 201)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 59014-59017]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18oc07-9]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R07-OAR-2007-0912; FRL-8483-3]

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of
Missouri; Transportation Conformity

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve a revision to the
Kansas City and St. Louis portions of the Missouri State Implementation
Plan (SIP). This revision consists of transportation conformity
criteria and procedures related to interagency consultation and
enforceability of certain transportation-related control measures and
mitigation measures.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective December 17, 2007,
without further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by November
19, 2007. 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-2007-0912, by one of the following methods:
1. http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for
submitting comments.
2. E-mail: hamilton.heather@epa.gov.
3. Mail: Heather Hamilton, 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 Heather
Hamilton, 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-
2007-0912. 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

[[Page 59015]]

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 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 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: Heather Hamilton at (913) 551-7039, or
by e-mail at hamilton.heather@epa.gov.

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

I. Transportation Conformity
II. Background for This Action
III. State Submittal and EPA Evaluation
IV. Public Comment and Final Action
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Transportation Conformity

Transportation conformity is required under section 176(c) of the
Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) to ensure that Federally supported highway,
transit projects, and other activities are consistent with (``conform
to'') the purpose of the SIP. Conformity currently applies to areas
that are designated nonattainment and to areas that have been
redesignated to attainment after 1990 (maintenance areas) with plans
developed under section 175A of the CAA for the following
transportation related criteria pollutants: Ozone, particulate matter
(PM_2.5 and PM₁₀), carbon monoxide (CO), and
nitrogen dioxide (NO₂).
Conformity to the purpose of the SIP means that transportation
activities will not cause new air quality violations, worsen existing
violations, or delay timely attainment of the relevant national ambient
air quality standards (NAAQS). The transportation conformity regulation
is found in 40 CFR part 93 and provisions related to conformity SIPs
are found in 40 CFR 51.390.

II. Background for This Action

EPA promulgated the Federal transportation conformity criteria and
procedures (the conformity rule) on November 24, 1993. Among other
things, the rule required states to address all provisions of the
conformity rule in their SIPs (conformity SIPs). Under 40 CFR 51.390,
most sections of the conformity rule were required to be copied
verbatim. States were also required to tailor all or portions of the
following three sections of the conformity rule to meet their state's
individual circumstances: 40 CFR 93.105, which addresses consultation
procedures; 40 CFR 93.122(a)(4)(ii), which addresses written
commitments to control measures that are not included in a metropolitan
planning organization's (MPO's) transportation plan and transportation
improvement program that must be obtained prior to a conformity
determination, and the requirement that such commitments, when they
exist, must be fulfilled; and 40 CFR 93.125(c), which addresses written
commitments to mitigation measures that must be obtained prior to a
project-level conformity determination, and the requirement that
project sponsors must comply with such commitments, when they exist.
On August 10, 2005, the ``Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users'' (SAFETEA-LU) was signed
into law. SAFETEA-LU revised section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act's
transportation conformity provisions. One of the changes streamlines
the requirements for conformity SIPs. Under SAFETEA-LU, states are
required to address and tailor only three sections of the conformity
rule in their conformity SIPs: 40 CFR 93.105, 40 CFR 93.122(a)(4)(ii),
and, 40 CFR 93.125(c), described above. In general, states are no
longer required to submit conformity SIP revisions that address the
other sections of the conformity rule. These changes took effect on
August 10, 2005, when SAFETEA-LU was signed into law.

III. State Submittal and EPA Evaluation

The SIP revisions submitted to EPA on July 27, 2007, consist of the
Kansas City and St. Louis Transportation Conformity Requirements (10
Code of State Regulations (CSR) 10-2.390, and 10 CSR 10-5.480,
respectively). These rules replace the previous revision effective on
December 30, 2005.
The Kansas City conformity rule will apply only if the area is
designated or redesignated to nonattainment. The Kansas City area was
previously a maintenance area for the 1-hour ozone standard. When the
1-hour ozone standard was revoked, conformity was no longer required.
The area is currently designated attainment for the 8-hour ozone standard.
The revisions to the Kansas City and St. Louis conformity rules
were updated to be consistent with the transportation conformity-
related provisions of SAFETEA-LU as previously described in this
document. Revisions were made to definitions, interagency consultation
procedures (including processes, roles and responsibilities,
consultation opportunities, recordkeeping and conflict resolution), and
the requirements to fulfill commitments to control measures and
mitigation measures.
The submittal documents public notice and hearing for this SIP
revision in compliance with CAA section 110(l) and 40 CFR 51.102.
We have reviewed the submittal to assure consistency with the
current Clean Air Act, as amended by SAFETEA-LU, and EPA regulations
(40 CFR part 93 and 40 CFR 51.390) governing state procedures for
transportation conformity and interagency consultation and have
concluded that the submittal is approvable. Details of our review are
set forth in a technical support document, which has been included in
the docket for this action.

IV. Public Comment and Final Action

Under section 110(k) of the Act, and for the reasons set forth
above, EPA is taking action to approve the Kansas City area and St.
Louis area transportation

[[Page 59016]]

conformity requirements as revisions to the Missouri SIP.
We do not expect objection to this approval, so we are finalizing
it without proposing it in advance. However, in the Proposed Rules
section of this Federal Register, we are simultaneously proposing
approval of the same submittal. If we receive adverse comments by
November 19, 2007, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal
Register to notify the public that the direct final approval will not
take effect and we will address the comments in a subsequent final
action based on the proposal. If we do not receive timely adverse
comments, the direct final approval will be effective without further
notice on December 17, 2007. This will incorporate these transportation
conformity procedures into the federally-enforceable SIP and thereby
replace the previous versions. 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.

V. 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
(59 FR 22951, 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 state law
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 approves a state rule
implementing a Federal standard.
In reviewing SIP 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 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 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 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 CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by December 17, 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: October 5, 2007.
William Rice,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7.

• Chapter I, Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as
follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

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

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

Subpart AA--Missouri

• 2. In Sec. 52.1320 the table in paragraph (c) is amended by revising
the entries for 10-2.390 under Chapter 2 and 10-5.480 under Chapter 5
to read as follows:

Sec. 52.1320 Identification of plan.

* * * * *
(c) * * *

[[Page 59017]]

EPA-Approved Missouri Regulations
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State
Missouri citation Title effective EPA approval date Explanation
date
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Missouri Department of Natural Resources Chapter 2--Air Quality Standards and Air Pollution Control Regulations
for the Kansas City Metropolitan Area
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* * * * * * *
10-2.390............................ Kansas City Area 7/30/07 10/18/07 [insert FR ..............
Transportation page number where the
Conformity document begins].
Requirements.

* * * * * * *
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Chapter 5--Air Quality Standards and Air Pollution Control Regulations for the St. Louis Metropolitan Area 10
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * * * *
10-5.480............................ St. Louis Area 7/30/07 10/18/07 [insert FR ..............
Transportation page number where the
Conformity document begins].
Requirements.

* * * * * * *
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[FR Doc. E7-20375 Filed 10-17-07; 8:45 am]
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