Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Connecticut;
Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets for 2005 and 2007 using MOBILE6.2 for
the Connecticut Portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island
Nonattainment Area and for 2007 for the Greater Connecticut
Nonattainment Area
[Federal Register: February 4, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 23)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 5286-5289]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04fe04-17]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[CT-057-7216g; A-1-FRL-7617-8]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Connecticut;
Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets for 2005 and 2007 using MOBILE6.2 for
the Connecticut Portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island
Nonattainment Area and for 2007 for the Greater Connecticut
Nonattainment Area
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The EPA is approving a revision to the Connecticut State
Implementation Plan (SIP) for the attainment and maintenance of the
one-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ground level
ozone submitted by the State of Connecticut. The intended effect of
this action is to approve Connecticut's 2005 and 2007 motor vehicle
emissions budgets recalculated using MOBILE6.2 for the Connecticut
portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island nonattainment
area and to approve Connecticut's 2007 motor vehicle emissions budgets
for the Greater Connecticut nonattainment area also recalculated using
MOBILE6.2. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule is effective on February 4, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the documents relevant to this action are
available for public inspection during normal business hours, by
appointment at the Office of Ecosystem Protection, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional Office, One Congress
Street, 11th floor, Boston, MA 02114-2023; and the Bureau of Air
Management, Department of Environmental Protection, State Office
Building, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106-1630.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald O. Cooke, Air Quality Unit,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional Office,
One Congress Street, Suite 1100 (CAQ), Boston, MA 02114-2023, (617)
918-1668, cooke.donald@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The following table of contents describes the format for the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section:
I. What Action Is EPA Taking Today?
II. What Comments Did EPA Receive in Response to Its Proposal?
A. Background information
B. Comments Received and EPA's Response
III. What Is EPA's Conclusion?
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What Action Is EPA Taking Today?
On June 17, 2003, the Connecticut Department of Environmental
Protection (CTDEP) submitted an amendment to the Connecticut State
Implementation Plan (SIP) containing 2005 and 2007 motor vehicle
emissions budgets recalculated using the MOBILE6.2 model for the
Connecticut portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island
nonattainment area and 2007 motor vehicle emissions budgets for the
Greater Connecticut nonattainment area. This SIP revision fulfills the
commitment made by the CTDEP in its February 8, 2000 SIP submittal to
revise the transportation conformity budgets using EPA's MOBILE6
emissions model.\1\ In addition, this SIP revision demonstrates that
the new levels of motor vehicle emissions calculated using MOBILE6.2
continue to support achievement of the rate of progress requirements
and projected attainment of the one-hour ozone NAAQS for the
Connecticut portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island
nonattainment area and the Greater Connecticut nonattainment area.
Connecticut held a public hearing on its proposed SIP revision on May
27, 2003. Today's action approves these budgets.
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\1\ Document titled ``Addenda to the Ozone Attainment
Demonstrations for the Southwest Connecticut Severe Ozone
Nonattainment Area and Greater Connecticut Serious Ozone
Nonattainment Area,'' February 8, 2000.
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The specific 2005 and 2007 motor vehicle emission budgets that EPA
is approving in today's rulemaking are identified below in Table 1. The
rationale for EPA's action are explained in the notice of direct final
rulemaking (68 FR 70484) published in the Federal Register on December
18, 2003, and will not be restated here.
II. What Comments Did EPA Receive in Response to Its Proposal?
A. Background Information
On December 18, 2003, the EPA announced in proposed and direct
final rules published in the Federal Register (68 FR 70437 and 68 FR
70484, respectively) approval of Connecticut's SIP revision for its
2005 and 2007 motor vehicle emissions budgets using MOBILE6.2 for the
Connecticut portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island
nonattainment area and 2007 budgets for the Greater
[[Page 5287]]
Connecticut nonattainment area, which are the subject of today's final
rulemaking.
On December 20, 2003, EPA received an electronic comment on the
direct final rule. EPA had indicated in its December 18, 2003 direct
final rule that if EPA received adverse comments, it would withdraw the
direct final rule. Consequently, elsewhere in today's Federal Register,
EPA is publishing a separate withdrawal document to inform the public
that EPA received an adverse comment and that the direct final rule
will not take effect. EPA did not receive any other comments. EPA is
addressing the adverse comment in today's final rule based upon the
proposed action published on December 18, 2003.
B. Comments Received and EPA's Response
The sole comment EPA received on our action is as follows:
``[C]onnecticut Motor Vehicle Emissions
[T]hese emissions pollute the air for New Jersey as well, so
standards must be set exceptionally high. NJ already has air pollution
of immense degradation. We must set higher standards so that our air is
cleaned. Standards should be set higher than those proposed. People in
this area are being injured and killed by the air pollution we
presently have.''
The State of Connecticut previously established the appropriate
levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides
(NOX) emission necessary from stationary sources, area
sources and mobile sources (mobile sources includes emissions from on-
road/highway motor vehicles) to attain the one-hour National Ambient
Air Quality Standard for Ozone. These levels were documented and
supported in detail in Connecticut's Ozone Attainment Demonstrations
which EPA approved on January 3, 2001 (Greater Connecticut serious
ozone nonattainment area, 66 FR 634) and December 11, 2001 (Connecticut
portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island severe ozone
nonattainment area, 66 FR 63921). EPA's current action to approve
Connecticut's revised 2005 and 2007 motor vehicle emission budgets was
limited to approval of a change in the modeling of these previously
established motor vehicle emission budgets, and EPA concluded that even
with the new MOBILE6 emission levels, the two areas would still attain
in a timely fashion. Issues related to the appropriate level of the
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQSs) to protect human health
and the environment, or to the emission levels selected by Connecticut
to attain the one-hour ozone NAAQS are beyond the scope of this
rulemaking.
III. What Is EPA's Conclusion?
EPA is approving Connecticut's revision submitted on June 17, 2003
containing 2005 and 2007 motor vehicle emissions budgets using
MOBILE6.2 for the Connecticut portion of the New York-Northern New
Jersey-Long Island nonattainment area and 2007 budgets for the Greater
Connecticut nonattainment area.
Table 1 contains Connecticut's revised budgets that EPA is
approving today. These budgets were developed using the latest planning
assumptions, including 2000 vehicle registration data, VMT, speeds,
fleet mix, and SIP control measures. For the Connecticut portion of the
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island nonattainment area, EPA is
approving budgets for 2005 and 2007, and for the Greater Connecticut
nonattainment area EPA is approving budgets for 2007.
Table 1.--MOBILE6.2 Transportation Conformity Budgets
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Connecticut portion of the New Greater Connecticut
York-Northern New Jersey-Long ------------------------------
Island nonattainment area
Year -------------------------------- VOC (tons/ NOX (tons/
VOC (tons/ NOX (tons/ day) day)
day) day)
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2005.... 19.5 36.8 NA NA
2007.... 16.4 29.7 51.9 98.4
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EPA has determined that today's rule falls under the ``good cause''
exemption in section 553(d)(3) of the Administrative Procedures Act
(APA) which, upon finding ``good cause,'' allows an agency to make a
rule effective immediately (thereby avoiding the 30-day delayed
effective date otherwise provided for in the APA). EPA has concluded
that it is not necessary to delay the effectiveness of this rule for 30
days because the entities that will be directly affected by these new
budgets have had ample notice of our action and wish to use the new
budgets as soon as possible. The state and Federal Departments of
Transportation (DOTs) use these budgets to determine whether their
transportation improvement programs conform with the planning
assumptions in the state's implementation plan. The DOTs will be most
immediately affected by EPA's approval of these new budgets and their
transportation planning obligations are directly impacted by changes in
these budgets. EPA and the Connecticut DEP have been consulting
extensively with the DOTs about these budget changes. The DOTs are not
only ready to use these new budgets without waiting 30 days, they are
eager to use them as soon as possible to avoid delays in the
transportation planning process. Therefore, since the entities that are
most directly impacted by this approval are ready to use the new
budgets and prefer to use them immediately, EPA is making this rule
effective immediately. This rule will be effective February 4, 2004.
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
[[Page 5288]]
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 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), because it 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. section 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.
section 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 April 5, 2004. 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, Hydrocarbons,
Intergovernmental relations, Oxides of Nitrogen, Ozone, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: January 28, 2004.
Robert W. Varney,
Regional Administrator, EPA New England.
Part 52 of 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 H--Connecticut
? 2. Section 52.377 is amended by revising paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) to
read as follows:
Sec. 52.377 Control strategy: Ozone.
* * * * * *
(b) Approval--Revisions to the State Implementation Plan submitted
by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection on September
16, 1998, February 8, 2000 and June 17, 2003. The revisions are for the
purpose of satisfying the attainment demonstration requirements of
section 182(c)(2)(A) of the Clean Air Act for the Greater Connecticut
serious ozone nonattainment area. The revision establishes an
attainment date of November 15, 2007 for the Greater Connecticut
serious ozone nonattainment area. Connecticut commits to conduct a mid-
course review to assess modeling and monitoring progress achieved
toward the goal of attainment by 2007, and submit the results to EPA by
December 31, 2004. The June 17, 2003 revision establishes MOBILE6-based
motor vehicle emissions budgets for 2007 of 51.9 tons per day of
volatile organic compounds (VOC) and 98.4 tons per day of nitrogen
oxides (NOX) to be used in transportation conformity in the
Greater Connecticut serious ozone nonattainment area.
(c) Approval--Revisions to the State Implementation Plan submitted
by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection on October
15, 2001 and June 17, 2003. These revisions are for the purpose of
satisfying the rate of progress requirement of section 182(c)(2)(B)
through 2007, and the contingency measure requirements of section
182(c)(9) of the Clean Air Act, for the Connecticut portion of the NY-
NJ-CT severe ozone nonattainment area. The October 15, 2001 revision
establishes motor vehicle emissions budgets for 2002 of 15.20 tons per
day of VOC and 38.39 tons per day of NOX to be used in
transportation conformity in the Connecticut portion of the NY-NJ-CT
severe ozone nonattainment area. The June 17, 2003 revision establishes
motor vehicle emissions budgets for 2005 of 19.5 tons per day of VOC
and 36.8 tons per day of NOX to be used in transportation
conformity in the Connecticut portion of the NY-NJ-CT severe ozone
nonattainment area.
(d) Approval--Revisions to the State Implementation Plan submitted
by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection on September
16, 1998, February 8, 2000, October 15, 2001 and June 17, 2003. The
revisions are for the purpose of satisfying the attainment
demonstration requirements of section 182(c)(2)(A) of the Clean Air Act
for the Connecticut portion of the NY-NJ-CT severe ozone nonattainment
area. The June 17, 2003 revision establishes MOBILE6-based motor
vehicle emissions budgets for 2007 of 16.4 tons per day of VOC and 29.7
tons per day of NOX to be used in transportation conformity
in the Connecticut portion of the NY-NJ-CT severe ozone nonattainment
area. Connecticut commits to adopt and submit by October 31, 2001,
additional necessary regional control measures to offset the emission
reduction shortfall in order to attain the one-hour ozone standard by
November 2007. Connecticut commits to adopt and submit by October 31,
2001, additional necessary intrastate control measures to
[[Page 5289]]
offset the emission reduction shortfall in order to attain the one-hour
ozone standard by November 2007. Connecticut commits to adopt and
submit additional restrictions on VOC emissions from mobile equipment
and repair operations; and requirements to reduce VOC emissions from
certain consumer products. Connecticut also commits to conduct a mid-
course review to assess modeling and monitoring progress achieved
toward the goal of attainment by 2007, and submit the results to EPA by
December 31, 2004.
[FR Doc. 04-2267 Filed 2-3-04; 8:45 am]
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