Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Georgia:
Removal of Douglas County Transportation Control Measure
[Federal Register: November 28, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 228)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 68740-68743]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28no06-5]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2006-0577-200624(a); FRL-8248-9]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Georgia:
Removal of Douglas County Transportation Control Measure
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: On September 19, 2006, the State of Georgia's Department of
Natural Resources (DNR), through the Georgia Environmental Protection
Division (GA EPD), submitted a final State Implementation Plan (SIP)
revision to remove the transportation control measure (TCM) related to
a compressed natural gas (CNG) refueling station/park and ride
transportation center project in Douglas County, Georgia. This TCM was
originally submitted by GA EPD for inclusion into the Atlanta portion
of the Georgia SIP on August 29, 1997. EPA approved this TCM into the
Georgia SIP through direct final rulemaking published in the Federal
Register on June 24, 1998 (effective on August 10, 1998). Subsequently,
the project sponsor determined that the equipment necessary to
implement this project is no longer available, and thus this TCM cannot
be implemented as originally anticipated. No SIP credit was claimed for
this program, nor were emissions benefits ever realized for this TCM
because it was never implemented. Through this rulemaking, EPA is
approving the removal of this TCM from the Atlanta portion of the
Georgia SIP because this SIP revision meets Clean Air Act (CAA)
requirements.
DATES: This direct final rule is effective January 29, 2007 without
further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by December 28,
2006. If adverse comment is received, EPA will publish a timely
withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform
the public that the rule will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
2006-0577, by one of the following methods:
1. http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
2. E-mail: Benjamin.lynorae@epa.gov.
3. Fax: (404) 562-9019.
4. Mail: ``EPA-R04-OAR-2006-0577,'' Air Quality Modeling and
Transportation Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics
Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61
Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960.
5. Hand Delivery or Courier: Lynorae Benjamin, Air Quality Modeling
and Transportation Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and
Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Such
deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office's normal hours
of operation. The Regional Office's official hours of business are
Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, excluding Federal holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. ``EPA-R04-OAR-
2006-0577.'' 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. For additional information about EPA's public
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at
http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
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
[[Page 68741]]
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 Air Quality Modeling and
Transportation Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics
Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61
Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. EPA requests that if
at all possible, you contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section to schedule your inspection. The Regional
Office's official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to
4:30, excluding legal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lynorae Benjamin, Air Quality Modeling
and Transportation Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and
Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The
telephone number is (404) 562-9040. Ms. Benjamin can also be reached
via electronic mail at Benjamin.lynorae@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. What Action Is EPA Taking?
II. What Is the Background for EPA's Action?
III. What Is a TCM?
IV. Why Is EPA Taking This Action?
V. What Is the Effect of EPA's Action?
VI. What Is EPA's Analysis of the Request?
VII. Final Action
VIII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What Action Is EPA Taking?
EPA is approving the removal of the TCM (related to a CNG refueling
station in Douglas County, Georgia) from the Atlanta portion of the
Georgia SIP. This station would have provided a centralized fueling
site for CNG-powered county fleet vehicles, transit vans, and buses for
Douglas County.
II. What Is the Background for EPA's Action?
On August 29, 1997, the State of Georgia's DNR, through the GA EPD,
submitted a SIP revision to include the TCM related to a CNG refueling
station/park and ride transportation center project in Douglas County,
Georgia. EPA evaluated this SIP revision and determined that it met the
criteria for a TCM and all other SIP requirements. Consequently, EPA
approved this TCM into the Atlanta portion of the Georgia SIP through
direct final rulemaking on June 24, 1998, effective August 10, 1998
(see 63 FR 34300). This project has been referenced as DO-AR 211 in the
Atlanta Regional Commission's (ARC) Transportation Improvement Program
(TIP) and Regional Transportation Plan.
Project DO-AR 211 was a planned CNG refueling station that would
have been located at the site of the Douglas County multimodal
transportation center. This station would have provided a centralized
fueling site for CNG-powered county fleet vehicles, transit vans, and
buses. The project experienced delays in implementation that were
addressed through the interagency consultation process. By the time
these issues were fully resolved, production of 12- and 15-passenger
CNG vans was being discontinued by Ford and General Motors; thus,
Douglas County no longer considered the project viable. Project
sponsors were informed through interagency consultation that until (or
unless) the project was removed from the SIP, they needed to continue
to show progress towards implementing the project.
In a letter dated March 28, 2006, from Mr. Tom Worthan of Douglas
County to Mr. Charles ``Chick'' Krautler of ARC, Douglas County
formally notified ARC of their complications for implementing this TCM.
Additionally, this letter requested that ARC initiate the process to
remove this TCM from the SIP. Based on the March 28, 2006, letter, ARC
contacted the GA EPD and requested that a SIP revision be developed,
for submittal to EPA, to remove this TCM from the Atlanta portion of
the Georgia SIP.
III. What Is a TCM?
Pursuant to 40 CFR 93.101 (the Transportation Conformity Rule), a
TCM is ``any measure that is specifically identified and committed to
in the applicable implementation plan (SIP) that is either one of the
types listed in section 108 of the CAA, or any other measure for the
purposes of reducing emissions or concentrations of air pollutants from
transportation sources by reducing vehicle use or changing traffic flow
or congestion conditions.'' Section 108(3) of the CAA provides air
quality planning guidance for the development and implementation of
transportation and other measures necessary to demonstrate and maintain
attainment of the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS).
Section 108(f)(1)(A) of the CAA lists sixteen TCMs for consideration by
states and planning agencies to reduce emissions and maintain the
NAAQS. Programs to reduce motor vehicle emissions consistent with title
II of the CAA are listed in section 108(f)(1)(A)(xii).
TCMs are included in the SIP to help reduce emissions from on-road
mobile sources. If EPA approves a TCM into an area's SIP, the
transportation partners must show as part of the conformity
determination, that these measures are being implemented on schedule
and given priority for Federal funding. SIPs must be revised to remove
any TCMs that the sponsor cannot implement so that failure to implement
them does not prohibit conformity determinations.
IV. Why Is EPA Taking This Action?
EPA is taking this action because the GA EPD's September 19, 2006,
SIP submittal requests that we take this action, and because we believe
that this SIP revision is consistent with the CAA. More explanation is
provided later in this rulemaking in Section VI, entitled ``What is
EPA's Analysis of the Request?''
V. What Is the Effect of EPA's Action?
Upon the effective date of this action, the transportation partners
in the Atlanta area will no longer be required to evaluate the progress
of this TCM for the purposes of implementing the transportation
conformity requirements. The Transportation Conformity Rule (40 CFR
part 93) requires that the status of TCMs be documented as one of the
criteria for an area to successfully demonstrate conformity.
VI. What Is EPA's Analysis of the Request?
EPA has reviewed the SIP submission, provided by the GA EPD on
September 19, 2006, to remove the TCM related to a CNG refueling
station/park and ride transportation center project in Douglas County,
Georgia, and has determined that this SIP revision request is
consistent with the CAA. This SIP revision was prompted by a March 28,
2006, letter, from Mr. Tom Worthan of Douglas County to Mr. Charles
``Chick'' Krautler of ARC, by which Douglas County formally informed
ARC of their complications for implementing this TCM. As a result of
the letter from Douglas County, ARC contacted the GA EPD and requested
that a SIP revision be developed, for submittal to EPA, to remove this
TCM from the Atlanta portion of the Georgia SIP.
This TCM, which is described in detail in Section I of this
rulemaking, could not be implemented as originally envisioned because
of the project sponsor's inability to acquire the necessary equipment.
Although the GA EPD requested on August 1997 that the TCM be approved
in the Georgia SIP, no
[[Page 68742]]
emissions credit was claimed in the SIP for the measure. In fact, the
emissions analysis was reviewed only to determine that no further air
quality degradation would result from the implementation of this TCM.
EPA documented this fact in the rulemaking approving the TCM in the
Georgia SIP (see 63 FR 34300).
Since the project was not implemented, it did not result in
emission reductions, and removing it from the SIP will cause no
degradation of air quality. Thus this revision is consistent with the
CAA, specifically section 110(l) which states the following:
Each revision to an implementation plan submitted by a State
under this Act shall be adopted by such State after reasonable
notice and public hearing. The Administrator shall not approve a
revision of a plan if the revision would interfere with any
applicable requirement concerning attainment and reasonable further
progress (as defined in section 171), or any other applicable
requirement of the Act.
After full analysis of the State's submittal, EPA is approving this SIP
revision because it is consistent with the CAA.
VII. Final Action
Through this rulemaking, EPA is approving the removal of the TCM
(related to a CNG refueling station in Douglas County, Georgia) from
the Atlanta portion of the Georgia SIP. This SIP revision is consistent
with CAA requirements. EPA is publishing this rule without prior
proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal
and anticipates no adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules
section of this Federal Register publication, EPA is publishing a
separate document that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP
revision should adverse comments be filed. This rule will be effective
January 29, 2007 without further notice unless the Agency receives
adverse comments by December 28, 2006.
If the EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish a document
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will
not take effect. All public comments received will then be addressed in
a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. EPA will not
institute a second comment period. Parties interested in commenting
should do so at this time. If no such comments are received, the public
is advised that this rule will be effective on January 29, 2007 and no
further action will be taken on the proposed rule.
VIII. 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 removes a TCM 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 removes a TCM under
state law, 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 and because the
Agency does not have reason to believe that the rule concerns an
environmental health risk or safety risk that may disproportionately
affect children.
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 January 29, 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,
Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic
compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
[[Page 68743]]
Dated: November 13, 2006.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
? 40 CFR part 52 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 L--Georgia
? 2. Section 52.570(e) is amended by adding a entry at the end of the
table for ``Douglas County, GA'' to read as follows:
Sec. 52.570 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
EPA Approved Georgia Nonregulatory Provisions
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State
Name of nonregulatory SIP provision Applicable geographic or submittal date/ EPA approval date
nonattainment area effective date
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* * * * * * *
Alternative Fuel Refueling Station/Park Douglas County, GA........ 09/19/06 11/28/06 [Insert citation
and Ride Transportation Center, Project of publication].
DO-AR-211 is removed.
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[FR Doc. E6-20141 Filed 11-27-06; 8:45 am]
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