Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Texas; Memorandum of Agreement Between Texas Council on Environmental Quality and the North Central Texas Council of Governments Providing Emissions Offsets to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

[Federal Register: October 29, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 209)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 63066-63069]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29oc04-17]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[R06-OAR-2004-TX-0002; FRL-7830-8]

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Texas;
Memorandum of Agreement Between Texas Council on Environmental Quality
and the North Central Texas Council of Governments Providing Emissions
Offsets to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport

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

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action approving a State
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on February 23, 2004. This revision
concerns the Dallas/Fort Worth ozone nonattainment area. Specifically,
EPA is approving incorporation of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)
between the TCEQ and the North Central Texas Council of Governments
(NCTCOG) into the SIP. This MOA commits the NCTCOG to provide the
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport with emissions offsets in the
amount of 0.18 tons per day (tpd) of nitrogen oxides (NO_X)
and 0.04 tpd of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in 2007 and to adjust
the modeled 2015 on-road emission estimates to reflect an increase of
1.17 tpd of NO_X and 0.26 tpd of VOCs, which must be
accommodated in future transportation conformity determinations. This
action is necessary in order for the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) to address requirements under the general conformity regulations.

DATES: This rule is effective on December 28, 2004 without further
notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by November 29, 2004. If
EPA receives such comment, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal in the
Federal Register informing the public that this rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Regional Materials in
EDocket (RME) ID No. R06-OAR-2004-TX-0002, by one of the following methods:
? Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
? Agency Web site: http://docket.epa.gov/rmepub/. Regional
Materials in EDocket (RME), EPA's electronic public docket and comment
system, is EPA's preferred method for receiving comments. Once in the
system, select ``quick search,'' then key in the appropriate RME Docket
identification number. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
? EPA Region 6 ``Contact Us'' Web site: http://epa.gov/region6/
r6comment.htm. Please click on ``6PD'' (Multimedia) and select
``Air'' before submitting comments.
? E-mail: Mr. Thomas Diggs at diggs.thomas@epa.gov. Please
also send a copy by email to the person listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section below.
? Fax: Mr. Thomas Diggs, Chief, Air Planning Section (6PD-
L), at fax number (214) 665-7263.
? Mail: Mr. Thomas Diggs, Chief, Air Planning Section (6PD-
L), Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200,
Dallas, Texas 75202-2733.
? Hand or Courier Delivery: Mr. Thomas Diggs, Chief, Air
Planning Section (6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross
Avenue, Suite 1200, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733. Such deliveries are
accepted only between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays except
for legal holidays. Special arrangements should be made for deliveries
of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to RME ID No. R06-OAR-2004-TX-
0002. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in
the public file without change and may be made available online at
http://docket.epa.gov/rmepub/, including any personal information
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information the
disclosure of which is restricted by statute. Do not submit information
through Regional Materials in EDocket (RME), regulations.gov or e-mail
if you believe that it is CBI or otherwise protected from disclosure.
The EPA RME Web site and the federal regulations.gov website are
``anonymous access'' systems, 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 RME or regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is
placed in the public file 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 and any form of encryption, and should be
free of any defects or viruses.
Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the
Regional Materials in EDocket (RME) index at http://docket.epa.gov/
rmepub/. 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 materials relevant to this
rulemaking are available either electronically in RME or in the
official file, which is available at the Air Planning Section (6PD-L),
Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas,
Texas 75202-2733. The file will be made available by appointment for
public inspection in the Region 6 FOIA Review Room between the hours of
8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays except for legal

[[Page 63067]]

holidays. Contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT paragraph below or Mr. Bill Deese at (214) 665-7253 to make an
appointment. If possible, please make the appointment at least two
working days in advance of your visit. There will be a 15 cent per page
fee for making photocopies of documents. On the day of the visit,
please check in at the EPA Region 6 reception area at 1445 Ross Avenue,
Suite 700, Dallas, Texas.
The State submittal is also available for public inspection at the
State Air Agency listed below during official business hours by
appointment:
Texas Commission on Environmental Quailty, Office of Air Quality,
12124 Park 35 Circle, Austin, Texas 78753.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peggy Wade, Air Planning Section (6PD-
L), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite
700, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, telephone (214) 665-7247; fax number
(214) 665-7263; e-mail address wade.peggy@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, whenever ``we,''
``us'' or ``our'' is used, we mean the EPA.

Outline

I. What Action is EPA Taking?
II. Why Was this SIP Revision Submitted?
III. What is the Effect of this Action?
IV. Final Action
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What Action Is EPA Taking?

On January 14, 2004, the TCEQ adopted a Memorandum of Agreement
(MOA) between the Commission and the NCTCOG's Regional Transportation
Council (RTC). At the same time, TCEQ adopted a revision to the Texas
SIP to incorporate this MOA into it. This MOA commits the RTC to
provide the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport with emissions
offsets in the amount of 0.18 tpd of NO_X and 0.04 tpd of
VOCs in 2007 and to adjust the modeled 2015 on-road mobile source
emissions estimates by an increase of 1.17 tpd and 0.26 tpd of
NO_X and VOCs, respectively, in future transportation
conformity demonstrations.
EPA is taking direct final action to approve the incorporation of
this MOA into the DFW SIP.

II. Why Was This SIP Revision Submitted?

The Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFWIA) notified the
TCEQ and EPA of upcoming aviation projects which would trigger the need
for a general conformity determination by the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA). These projects include construction of a new
terminal (Terminal F), addition of a new cargo complex, improvement of
airport parking, changes to current operating restrictions of existing
terminal facilities, and other related projects included in the DFW
Airport Master Plan.
The DFW area is a nonattainment area for the air pollutant ozone,
and is operating under a State Implementation Plan (SIP) to control the
emissions of NO_X and VOCs, which are ozone precursor
pollutants. Under the Federal (40 CFR part 51) and Texas (30 TAC
101.30) general conformity rules, certain types of Federal actions
require a determination as to whether the total emissions from the
action conform with the applicable SIP, unless the resultant emissions
are expected to be below the de minimis levels identified in the Clean
Air Act (40 CFR 51.853(b)(1)). The de minimis level for the DFW one-
hour nonattainment area is 50 tons per year. The applicable SIP, in
this case, is the 15% ROP SIP conditionally approved by EPA on November
10, 1998 (63 FR 62943).
Based on submitted estimates of direct and indirect NO_X
and VOC emissions resulting from these projects, emissions are expected
to exceed the de minimis level of 50 tons per year during some of the
project years. During the one-hour attainment year of 2007, only
NO_X estimates exceed this level (0.18 NO_X tpd or
65.7 NO_X tpy), but in the peak operation year of 2015 both
precursor pollutants are expected to exceed the de minimis level (1.16
NO_X tpd and 0.26 tpd VOC). As a result a general conformity
determination by the FAA is required. The conformity regulations
provide several options to meet this requirement. One option is to
establish enforceable measures which offset the expected emissions from
the project.
The DFWIA worked with the Regional Transportation Council in 2002
to identify emission reduction measures to be used to offset the
emissions associated with these airport expansion projects. On December
12, 2002, the RTC resolved to implement emission reduction measures to
provide offsets for use by the DFWIA to meet general conformity
requirements for the year 2007. At a minimum, these measures will
offset the 0.18 tpd of NO_X and 0.04 tpd of VOCs that are
expected to be generated in 2007 by the Terminal F projects. In
addition, the RTC resolved to provide emission reductions in the amount
of 1.17 tpd of NO_X and 0.26 tpd of VOCs for the year 2015.
This will be accomplished by incorporating these expected emissions
into the Metropolitan Transportation Plan for the year 2015, for which
the total estimated emissions cannot exceed the emissions cap set by
the motor vehicle emissions budget for that year. These emission
reduction commitments are intended to assist the FAA in making a
general conformity determination for the planned airport expansion
projects associated with construction of Terminal F. (Note that
although the conformity analysis will be conducted for 2007, the
reductions that are the source of the offsets will be continuing in
nature over the relevant time period and will not be relied on for
other purposes or for other years. Details on the emission reduction
measures are available in the Technical Support Document associated
with this action.)

III. What Is the Effect of This Action?

EPA intends to take direct final action approving this SIP revision
providing emission reduction offsets for 2007 and a commitment that the
NCTCOG will account for expected project emissions in 2015 as part of
its Metropolitan Transportation Plan. These emission reduction
commitments will assist the FAA in making a conformity determination
for certain projects included in the DFW Airport Master Plan.
The general conformity rules require these measures to be
enforceable under both state and Federal law (40 CFR 51.860(g)). Upon
the effective date of our action, these measures will be federally
enforceable. The MOA between TCEQ and the RTC was adopted by the state
on January 14, 2004 and was incorporated in the State Implementation
Plan for the DFW ozone nonattainment area on that same day. Thus, these
measures are already enforceable by state law.

IV. Final Action

EPA is approving the revision to the DFW ozone SIP providing
emission reduction offsets to DFW International Airport for the year
2007 and a commitment that the NCTCOG will account for expected
emissions from certain improvement projects planned for DFWIA in 2015
as part of its Metropolitan Transportation Plan.
We have evaluated the State's submittal and have determined that it
meets the applicable requirements of the Clean Air Act and EPA
conformity regulations, and is consistent with EPA policy. Therefore,
we are approving the request of TCEQ to revise the SIP for the DFW
ozone nonattainment area to incorporate this MOA between TCEQ and the
Regional Transportation

[[Page 63068]]

Council of the North Central Texas Council of Governments.
EPA is publishing this rule 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 SIP revision if adverse comments
are received. This rule will be effective on December 28, 2004 without
further notice unless we receive adverse comment by November 29, 2004.
If we receive adverse comments, we will publish a timely withdrawal in
the Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take
effect. We will address all public comments in a subsequent final rule
based on the proposed rule. We will not institute a second comment
period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so
now. Please note that if we receive adverse comment on an amendment,
paragraph, or section of this rule and if that provision may be severed
from the remainder of the rule, we 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 (Public Law 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). This action 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. 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 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 December 28, 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, Intergovernmental
relations, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

Dated: October 19, 2004.
Richard E. Greene,
Regional Administrator, Region 6.

? 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 SS--Texas

? 2. In Sec. 52.2270, the table in paragraph (e) entitled ``EPA approved
nonregulatory provisions and quasi-regulatory measures'' is amended by
adding one new entry to the end of the table to read as follows:

Sec. 52.2270 Identification of plan.

* * * * *
(e) * * *

[[Page 63069]]

EPA Approved Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures in the Texas SIP
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Applicable geographic
Name of SIP provision or nonattaintment State approval/ EPA approval Comments
area submittal date date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * * * *
-----------------------------------
Memorandum of Agreement between Dallas-Fort Worth.... 01/14/04 10/29/04 .....................
Texas Council on Environmental
Quality and the North Central
Texas Council of Governments
Providing Emissions Offsets to
Dallas Forth Worth International
Airport.
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[FR Doc. 04-24127 Filed 10-28-04; 8:45 am]
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Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Texas; Memorandum of Agreement Between Texas Council on Environmental Quality and the North Central Texas Council of Governments Providing Emissions Offsets to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport

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