FEDERAL REGISTER
Vol. 61, No. 234
Rules and Regulations

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)
40 CFR Part 81
[NE-012-1012a; FRL-5655-6]

Designation of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; State of Nebraska

61 FR 64294

DATE: Wednesday, December 4, 1996
ACTION: Direct final rule.

SUMMARY: This document takes final action to correct a previous action published on November 6, 1991, that designated portions of Omaha, Nebraska, as nonattainment for the lead National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) (see 56 FR 56694). Specifically, this action corrects a mistake made in designating the southern boundary of that nonattainment area.

DATES: This action is effective February 3, 1997 unless by January 3, 1997 adverse or critical comments are received. If the effective date is delayed, timely notice will be published in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Josh Tapp, Environmental Protection Agency, Air Branch, 726 Minnesota Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas 66101. Copies of the documents relevant to this action are available for public inspection during normal business hours at the: Environmental Protection Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch, 726 Minnesota Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas 66101; and the EPA Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center, 401 M Street, SW., Washington, DC 20460.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Josh Tapp at (913) 551-7606.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 24, 1991, the state of Nebraska submitted a letter which contained a recommendation for the EPA to designate a portion of Omaha as nonattainment for the lead NAAQS. In the letter, the state recommended the boundaries based on existing monitoring data. The specific boundaries listed in Nebraska's January 1991 letter are: Fourth Street on the south, Eleventh Street on the west, Avenue H and the Nebraska-Iowa border on the north, and the Missouri River on the east.

On August 27, 1996, the state of Nebraska submitted a letter which notified the EPA that its request in 1991 was not fully accurate. The southern boundary was originally defined based on the fact that data recorded at the monitor located at Fourth Street and Jones Street showed attainment of the lead standard. However, in its 1991 request, Nebraska incorrectly requested that the southern boundary be designated as Fourth Street which actually runs north and south. The August 1996 letter requests that the EPA correct the error by designating the southern boundary as Jones Street which runs east and west. The state supplied a map which clearly delineates the relationship of Fourth Street and Jones Street to the nonattainment area to support its request.

Under section 110(k)(6) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), the EPA may revise a previous designation when it determines that the designation was in error. The EPA has determined that its identification of the southern boundary of the Omaha lead nonattainment area was in error for the reasons stated above.

I. Final Action

Pursuant to section 110(k)(6) of the Clean Air Act, this is a direct final action which redefines the southern boundary of the Omaha lead nonattainment area as Jones Street.

The EPA is publishing this action without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no adverse comments. However, in a separate document in this Federal Register publication, the EPA is proposing to approve the SIP revision should adverse or critical comments be filed. This action is effective February 3, 1997 unless, by January 3, 1997, adverse or critical comments are received.

If the EPA receives such comments, this action will be withdrawn 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 this action serving as a proposed rule. The EPA will not institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at this time. If no such comments are received, the public is advised that this action is effective February 3, 1997.

Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or allowing or establishing a precedent for any future request for revision to any SIP. Each request for revision to the SIP shall be considered separately in light of specific technical, economic, and environmental factors, and in relation to relevant statutory and regulatory requirements.

II. Administrative Requirements

A. Executive Order 12866

This action has been classified as a Table 3 action for signature by the Regional Administrator under the procedures published in the Federal Register on January 19, 1989 (54 FR 2214-2225), as revised by a July 10, 1995, memorandum from Mary Nichols, Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation. The Office of Management and Budget has exempted this regulatory action from E.O. 12866 review.

B. Unfunded Mandates

Under section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 ("Unfunded Mandates Act"), signed into law on March 22, 1995, the EPA must prepare a budgetary impact statement to accompany any proposed or final rule that includes a Federal mandate that may result in estimated costs to state, local, or tribal governments in the aggregate; or to private sector, of $100 million or more. Under section 205, the EPA must select the most cost-effective and least burdensome alternative that achieves the objectives of the rule and is consistent with statutory requirements. Section 203 requires the EPA to establish a plan for informing and advising any small governments that may be significantly or uniquely impacted by the rule.

The EPA has determined that the approval action promulgated does not include a Federal mandate that may result in estimated costs of $100 million or more to either state, local, or tribal governments in the aggregate, or to the private sector. This Federal action approves preexisting requirements under state or local law, and imposes no new Federal requirements. Accordingly, no additional costs to state, local, or tribal governments, or to the private sector, result from this action.

C. Submission to Congress and the General Accounting Office

Under 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A) as added by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, EPA submitted 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 General Accounting Office prior to publication of the rule in today's Federal Register. This rule is not a "major rule" as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

D. Petitions for Judicial Review

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 February 3, 1997. 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 81

Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks, Wilderness areas.

Dated: November 14, 1996.

Dennis Grams, Regional Administrator.

Part 81, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as follows:

PART 81--[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.

Subpart B--Nebraska

2. Section 81.328 is amended by revising the lead table to read as follows:

@ 81.328 -- Nebraska.

* * * * *

                              Nebraska--Lead 

                           Designation      Classification 
Designated area              Date       Type       Date    Type 
Douglas County (part): 
Portion of city of Omaha bounded by:     1/6/92 Nonattainment 
Jones Street on the south, Eleventh 
Street on the west, Avenue H and the 
Nebraska-Iowa border on the north, and 
the Missouri River on the east 
Rest of State Not Designated 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 96-30471 Filed 12-3-96; 8:45 am]

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