[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 195 (Friday, October 7, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 69679-69685]
[FR Doc No: 2016-24205]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R06-OAR-2015-0425; FRL-9952-27-Region 6]

Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Texas; Control of Air Pollution From Motor Vehicles, Vehicle Inspection
and Maintenance

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving
revisions to the Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revisions
to the SIP were submitted in 2015. These revisions are related to the
implementation of the state's motor vehicle emissions Inspection and
Maintenance (I/M) Program. The EPA is approving these revisions
pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: This rule will be effective on December 6, 2016 without further
notice unless EPA receives relevant adverse comments by November 7,
2016. If EPA receives such comments, EPA will publish a timely
withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule
will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket No. EPA-R06-OAR-
2015-0425, at http://www.regulations.gov or via email to
<EMAIL_ADDRESS>Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from
Regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any comment received to its public
docket. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio,
video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. The written
comment is considered the official comment and should include
discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will generally not
consider comments or comment contents located outside of the primary
submission (i.e. on the Web, cloud, or other file sharing system). For
additional submission methods, please contact John Walser, 214-665-
7128<EMAIL_ADDRESS>For the full EPA public comment policy,
information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance
on making effective comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index and in hard copy at EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross
Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas. While all documents in the docket are
listed in the index, some information may be publicly available only at
the hard copy location (e.g., copyrighted material), and some may not
be publicly available at either location (e.g., CBI).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. John Walser (6PD-L), (214) 665-
7128<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,''
and ``our'' means EPA.

I. Background

A. What is a SIP?

    Section 110 of the CAA requires states to develop air pollution
regulations and control strategies to ensure that air quality meets the
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) established by EPA. The
NAAQS are established under section 109 of the CAA and currently
address six criteria pollutants: Carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide,
ozone, lead, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide. A SIP is a set of
air pollution regulations, control strategies, other means or
techniques, and technical analyses developed by the state, to ensure
that air quality in the state meets the NAAQS. It is required by
section 110 and other provisions of the CAA. A SIP protects air quality
primarily by addressing air pollution at its point of origin. SIPs can
be extensive, containing state regulations or other enforceable
documents, and supporting information such as city and county
ordinances, monitoring networks, and modeling demonstrations. Each
state must submit any SIP revision to EPA for approval and
incorporation into the federally-enforceable SIP.
    The Texas SIP includes a variety of control strategies, including
the regulations that outline requirements for the motor vehicle I/M
program for applicable areas of the state.

B. What is vehicle inspection and maintenance?

    The 1990 CAA required ozone nonattainment areas classified moderate
and higher to have vehicle inspection and maintenance programs to
ensure that emission controls on vehicles are properly maintained. CAA
sections 182 (b)(4); (c)(3). The Texas motor vehicle I/M program, which
is referred to as the Texas Motorist Choice (TMC) Program, was approved
by EPA in the Federal Register on November 14, 2001 (66 FR 57261).\1\
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    \1\ Previous actions taken toward full approval of the TMC
Program include: a proposed conditional interim approval on October
3, 1996 (61 FR 51651); an interim final conditional approval on July
11, 1997 (62 FR 37138); a direct final action on April 23, 1999 (64
FR 19910) to remove the conditions; and a final action to approve
various revisions on July 25, 2014 (79 FR 43264).
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    The State's TMC Program requires that gasoline powered light-duty
vehicles, and light and heavy-duty trucks between two and twenty-four
years old, that are registered or required to be registered in the I/M
program area, including fleets, are subject to annual

inspection and testing. Vehicles in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton,
Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, and Rockwall counties in the DFW area,
and Harris, Galveston, Brazoria, Fort Bend, and Montgomery in the HGB
nonattainment area that are 1995 and older are subject to an ASM-2
tailpipe test. Vehicles in those counties that are 1996 and newer
receive the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) test in place of the tailpipe
test.
    El Paso, Travis and Williamson County I/M programs are similar and
require, in conjunction with the annual safety inspection, for all I/M
program vehicles (gasoline powered vehicles from 2 through 24 years
old) the administration of the two-speed idle tailpipe test if they are
model year 1995 or older, or an OBD test if they are model year 1996 or
newer.\2\ Vehicles in all program areas are also currently subject to a
gas cap pressure check and an anti-tampering inspection as part of the
statewide annual safety inspection.
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    \2\ Travis and Williamson counties were added as part of an
Early Action Compact (EAC) for the Austin area. The EAC was a
program to encourage permanent proactive measures to prevent
nonattainment area designations under the 1997 ozone standard.
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C. What is the low income vehicle repair assistance, retrofit, and
accelerated vehicle retirement program (LIRAP)?

    The LIRAP is a voluntary program that any county participating in
the Texas I/M program may elect to implement to enhance the objectives
of the Texas I/M program. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
(TCEQ) adopted the LIRAP rules on March 27, 2002 at 27 Tex. Reg. 3194.
The LIRAP provides funding to assist eligible vehicle owners with
emissions-related repairs, retrofits, or the option to retire the
vehicle. The LIRAP is funded through a portion of the emissions
inspection fee. Vehicle owners who have failed a recent emissions test
and who meet the low-income criteria may be eligible. The LIRAP also
provides funding for local projects targeted at improving air quality
in the counties implementing the LIRAP.
    Although the LIRAP is not required by the CAA, certain provisions
relating to the program fees have been approved into the Texas SIP to
allow for full implementation of the State's I/M program.\3\ These
provisions strengthen the SIP.
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    \3\ Please see 70 FR 45542, dated August 8, 2005.
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II. Overview of the June 9 and 11, 2015 State Submittals

A. June 9, 2015 Submittal

    On June 9, 2015, the TCEQ submitted SIP revisions to EPA that
amended rules related to the implementation of the state's motor
vehicle emission I/M program. These revisions are related to replacing
the duel windshield sticker system for vehicle inspection and
registration with a single vehicle registration insignia sticker and
modifying the method used to collect the state portion of the vehicle
safety and emissions inspection fee, in addition to minor non-
programmatic updates to rule language to correct outdated references
and for general clarity.\4\
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    \4\ House Bill (HB) 2305 was passed during the 83rd legislative
session (2013). This bill eliminated the inspection sticker
resulting in a single-sticker system and makes vehicle registration
dependent on obtaining a passing vehicle inspection.
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    DPS implemented the changes on March 1, 2015 in all program areas.
At present the program areas are: Dallas-Fort Worth area (DFW),
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria area (HGB), El Paso area, and the Austin
area.

B. June 11, 2015 Submittal

    On June 11, 2015, the TCEQ submitted SIP revisions to EPA that
amended rules related to the LIRAP. TCEQ amended the state regulations
to incorporate a new procedure for counties to opt out of LIRAP and to
be released from program obligations, including remittance of the fee
to fund the LIRAP. At the time the LIRAP was established, the rules did
not specify such a procedure. The revisions define counties
participating in, in the process of opting out, and not participating
in the LIRAP, and details the fees associated with each county
category. It also makes other minor non-programmatic updates to rule
language for clarity.
    The June 11, 2015 revisions to the SIP change the fee and
definitions sections of the LIRAP portion of the I/M rules. These
revisions are approvable into the SIP as components of the State's fee
structure to implement it's I/M program.

III. Plan Requirements and Our Evaluation

    The revisions we are approving address 30 TAC 114, Control of Air
Pollution from Motor Vehicles, Subchapter A: Definitions; and
Subchapter C, Low Income Vehicle Repair Assistance, Retrofit, and
Accelerated Vehicle Retirement Program, Division 1: Vehicle Inspection
and Maintenance; and Division 3: Early Action Compact Counties. We have
prepared a Technical Support Document (TSD) for this action which
details our evaluation. Our TSD may be accessed on-line at http://www.regulations.gov, Docket No. EPA-R06-OAR-2015-0425.
    To determine the approvability of these I/M revisions, we must
determine whether these revisions comply with our Federal I/M
requirements at 40 CFR part 51, subpart S, and 40 CFR 85.2222 (Federal
I/M Rules) and CAA section182 regarding I/M program requirements.

A. The June 9, 2015 Submittal

    The June 9, 2015 SIP narrative discusses how the Program meets the
above requirements, and we agree with the State's analysis. See 38 Tex.
Reg. 7068; 7074-75. Further explanation of our analysis of the adequacy
of this submission with respect to I/M requirements can be found in the
TSD for this action.
    On June 9, 2015, the State adopted revisions to 30 TAC Chapter 114,
Control of Air Pollution from Motor Vehicles, Subchapter A,
Definitions, Sections 114.1 and 114.2; and Subchapter B: Motor Vehicle
Anti-Tampering Requirements, Section 114.21,\5\ and Subchapter C,
Division 1: Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance, Sections 114.50-114.53,
and Subchapter C, Division 3: Early Action Compact Counties, Sections
114.82-114.84, and 114.87, and corresponding revisions to the SIP. The
SIP revisions contain a revised narrative, rules, and supporting
documentation as outlined in the requirements of the Federal I/M rules.
The SIP revisions will modify the administrative aspects of the
existing Texas I/M program in order to implement Texas House Bill 2305,
which replaces the current dual inspection and registration sticker
system with a single sticker registration sticker and modifies the
method used to collect the state's portion of the vehicle emissions
inspections fee. Registrations for non-compliant vehicles would be
denied under the single sticker system as under the dual sticker
system. 38 Tex. Reg. 7068. We find that the single sticker system is
approvable because this change to Texas's I/M program does not affect
the program's compliance with any federal requirements for I/M.
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    \5\ Please see the discussion later in this rulemaking regarding
Section 114.21.
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    The I/M rules require the TCEQ to implement the I/M program in
conjunction with the Texas DPS. The I/M rules also authorize the
collection of the state's portion of the vehicle emissions inspection
fee by the DPS at

the time that vehicle emissions inspection station owners purchase
safety and emissions inspection windshield stickers.
    30 TAC Chapter 114 Sections 114.1 and 114.2 identify and define the
terms used in the State's I/M regulations. Section 114.1(4) is revised
to add the phrase ``Beginning on the single sticker transition date as
defined in this section, the safety inspection certificates will no
longer be used'' for clarity regarding the single-sticker program.
Section 114.1(5) is added to define first vehicle registration. There
is no federal definition of the term ``first vehicle registration'';
but this definition does not conflict with any federal requirement.
Sections 114.1(6)--(21) are renumbered to account for the new
subsections and contain other non-substantive changes.
    Section 114.1(15), is modified to add new text as follows: ``Single
sticker transition date--The transition date of the single sticker
system is the later of March 1, 2015 or the date that the Texas
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and the Texas DPS concurrently
implement the single sticker system required by the Texas
Transportation Code, Section 502.047.'' \6\ This text ensures that the
terminology ``Single sticker transition date'' is well-defined and
consistent with the Texas Transportation Code and with federal
requirements, as applicable. Additionally, Section 114.1(19) and (20)
are modified to add new text that define vehicle registration and
vehicle registration insignia sticker terminology.
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    \6\ DPS implemented the revisions on March 1, 2015.
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    Section 114.2(1)(A) and (B) are modified to clarify the definitions
of accelerated simulation mode (ASM-2) phases, specifically the 50/15
and 25/25 modes. For example, the 25/25 mode tests the vehicle at 25
mile per hour (mph) using 25 percent of the vehicle available
horsepower. Section 114.2(12)--Testing Cycle is revised to define the
annual testing cycle under the single-sticker program and add the
phrase ``or beginning on the single sticker transition date, the annual
cycle commencing with the first vehicle registration expiration date
for which a motor vehicle is subject to a vehicle emissions
inspection''. Also, revisions to 114.2(14)--Uncommon Part and addition
of 114.2(14)(A)-(C) add additional clarity exceeding remaining time
prior to expiration of the safety inspection certificate and the
vehicle registration.
    These revisions to Sections 114.1 and 114.2 modify the I/M
definitions as needed to implement the single-sticker program or are
ministerial and add clarification. We therefore find that they are
approvable.
    Section 114.21--Anti-tampering Exemptions is also revised. However,
at the request of TCEQ,\7\ we are not taking action on Section 114.21,
Anti-tampering Exemptions at this time.\8\ We do not need to act on
this section to approve the remaining revisions to the I/M program in
the June 9 and June 11, 2015 submittals because the Anti-tampering
program is not part of the currently approved SIP. Therefore, the
revisions to Section 114.21 are separable, meaning that the action we
are taking will not result in the approved SIP being more stringent
than the State anticipated. See Bethlehem Steel Corp. v. Gorsuch, 742
F. 2d 1028 (7th Cir. 1984); Indiana and Michigan Elec. Co., v. EPA, 733
F. 2d 489 (7th Cir. 1984).
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    \7\ Email from TCEQ dated July 18, 2016 requesting EPA postpone
review of Section 114.21 at this time. This document is contained in
the docket for this rulemaking.
    \8\ Section 110(k)(3) of the CAA provides the EPA the authority
to approve a SIP submittal in part.
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    The SIP submittal contains revisions to Subchapter C, Division 1:
Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance. Specifically, Section 114.50--
Vehicle Emissions Inspection Requirements, includes numerous revisions
to Section 114.50(a)(1)-(4), (b)(1)-(6), (c) and (d)(1)-(6) \9\ and
makes non-substantive changes to other provisions in this section. The
revisions implement the single-sticker program, and add rule clarity.
Revisions to Section 114.50(d)(2) add the following text: ``Beginning
on the single sticker transition date, no person may allow or
participate in the preparation, duplication, sale, distribution, or
false, counterfeit, or stolen vehicle registration insignia stickers,
VIRs, VRFs,\10\ vehicle emissions repair documentation, or other
documents that may be used to circumvent applicable vehicle emissions
I/M requirements and to commit an offense specified in Texas
Transportation Code, Sec.  548.603.'' These revisions define rule
prohibitions, including activities that are fraudulent. As a result,
these revisions strengthen the rule and are approvable.
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    \9\ Please see our TSD for a more detailed listing/discussion of
these revisions.
    \10\ VIRs--Vehicle Inspection Reports; VRFs--Vehicle Repair
Forms.
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    The submittal contains revisions to Section114.53 (a), (a)(1)-(3),
(b)-(d), and (d)(1)-(3) that would exempt emission inspection stations
from being required to remit the state's portion of the vehicle
emissions inspection fees to the DPS effective March 1, 2015. The
revisions also would lower the maximum inspection fee collected by the
emissions inspection stations in the DFW, HGB, El Paso and Austin I/M
program areas. Effective March 1, 2015, the maximum inspection fee
would be lowered by the amount of the state's portion of the vehicle
emissions inspection fee that would be collected by the DMV or county
tax assessor-collector at the time of registration. Specifically,
revisions to Section 114.53--Inspection and Maintenance Fees clarify
the fees that must be paid, and timing for an emissions inspection of a
vehicle at an inspection station. For example, Section 114.53(a)(2)
clarifies the timing of when an emission inspection station required to
conduct an emission test may collect fees and the amount. Beginning on
the single sticker transition date in the DFW and extended DFW program
areas, any emissions inspection station required to conduct an
emissions test in accordance with Section 114.50(a)(1)(A) or (B) and
(2)(A) or (B) of this title must collect a fee not to exceed $24.50 for
each ASM-2 test and $18.50 for each OBD test. Section 114.53 also
further defines the timing and fees for each program area in Texas
(i.e., El Paso County and the HGB areas) subject to emissions
inspection. New Section 114.53(d)(1)-(3) defines the process, beginning
on the single-sticker transition date, for vehicle owners to remit the
vehicle emissions inspection fee as part of the annual vehicle
registration fee collected by the Texas DMV. These changes to the rule
add clarity and further refine the single-sticker program requirements.
The revisions are approvable and consistent with federal law.
    Revisions to Section 114.82--Control Requirements include
renumbering and the addition of the following text in Section
114.82(a)(2): ``Beginning on the single sticker transition date, all
applicable air pollution emission control-related requirements included
in the annual vehicle safety inspection requirements administered by
DPS as evidenced by a current valid registration insignia sticker
affixed to the vehicle windshield or a current valid VIR [vehicle
inspection report], or other form of proof authorized by the DPS.''
Also, Section 114.84--Prohibitions includes revisions prohibiting the
circumvention of the vehicle emissions I/M requirements and procedures
contained in the Austin Area Early Action Compact Ozone SIP. These
revisions strengthen the rule, are consistent with the Texas SIP, and
are approvable.

    Section 114.87--Inspection and Maintenance Fees, Subsection (a), is
revised to include text that states: ``In Travis and Williamson
counties beginning on the single sticker transition date, any emissions
inspection station required to conduct an emissions test in accordance
with Section 114.80 of this title must collect a fee not to exceed
$11.50 for each on-board diagnostic and two-speed idle test.'' Section
114.87(d) is revised as follows: ``Effective on the single sticker
transition date as defined in Section 114.1 of this title in Travis and
Williamson counties, vehicle owners shall remit $4.50 for motor
vehicles subject to vehicle emissions inspections to the Texas
Department of Motor Vehicles or county tax assessor-collector at the
time of the annual vehicle registration as part of the vehicle emission
inspection fee.'' These revisions define the fees applicable in the
Austin Area Early Action Compact area under the single-sticker program,
are consistent with the Texas SIP, and are approvable.

B. The June 11, 2015 Submittal

    The June 11, 2015 SIP narrative discusses how the LIRAP meets the
above requirements, and we agree with the State's analysis. Further
explanation of our analysis of the adequacy of this submission with
respect to I/M requirements can be found in the TSD for this action.
The TCEQ had already finalized the revisions in the June 9, 2015 SIP
submittal to EPA described in Section III.A of this document, prior to
finalizing the revisions in the June 11, 2015 SIP submittal to EPA.
Thus, the revisions in the June 11, 2015 submittal to EPA already
included the changes that we described in Section III.A, and use that
language as a starting point.
    On June 11, 2015, the State adopted revisions to 30 TAC Chapter
114, Control of Air Pollution from Motor Vehicles, Subchapter A,
Definitions, Section 114.2; Subchapter C, Division 1: Vehicle
Inspection and Maintenance, Section 114.53; and Subchapter C, Division
3: Early Action Compact Counties, Sections 114.87, and corresponding
revisions to the SIP. The SIP revisions contain a revised narrative,
rules, and supporting documentation as outlined in the requirements of
the Federal I/M rules.\11\
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    \11\ The TCEQ published the notice of the proposed revisions to
the SIP for the June 11, 2015 submittal on December 5, 2014 (39 Tex.
Reg. 9468) and published the final revision on May 15, 2015 (40 Tex.
Reg. 2670), finalizing the proposal without revision. In that
rulemaking, Texas adopted amendments to other sections that are not
submitted as revisions to the SIP.
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    Section 114.2 identifies and defines the terms used in Subchapter A
for the I/M program. In Section 114.2, LIRAP, the acronym for the Low
Income Vehicle Repair Assistance, Retrofit, and Accelerated Vehicle
Retirement Program, is replaced with the full program title to be
consistent with the title of the referenced subchapter and Texas
Register requirements. In Section 114.2 (12) ``Related'' is changed to
``Relating.'' The revisions to Section 114.2 are ministerial, and/or
add clarification and are approvable.
    Section 114.53 details Inspection and Maintenance Fees in
nonattainment areas. In Section 114.53(d) ``as specified by the
following requirements:'' is deleted and a period is added after
``state''; and in Section 114.53(d)(1) ``the following requirements
apply'' is added after ``El Paso County,'' and the rest of the
paragraph is deleted. These changes are ministerial, add clarification,
are necessary for the additions to Section 114.53 described below, and
are therefore approvable.
    The submittal contains additional substantive changes to Section
114.53, Inspection and Maintenance Fees, that are later mirrored in
Section 114.87. Section 114.53(d)(1), (2), and (3) are amended to more
fully describe the LIRAP fee as it relates to the vehicle I/M programs
in El Paso County and the DFW and HGB area counties. Subparagraphs are
added to these subsections to explain remittance of I/M fees, including
the LIRAP fee, for the following categories of counties: A county
participating in the LIRAP, a participating county that is in the
process of opting out of the LIRAP, and a county that is not
participating in the LIRAP and is not subject to the LIRAP fee.
    The submittal deletes language from Section 114.53(d)(1) regarding
the I/M fees for El Paso County in the event that it passed a
resolution to participate in the LIRAP, and replaced it with ``(1) In
El Paso County, the following requirements apply.'', and added new
Sections 114.53(d)(1)(A), (B), and (C) which detail the I/M fees for El
Paso County for the three LIRAP county categories outlined above.
    The submittal deletes language from Section 114.53(d)(2) regarding
the I/M fees for DFW and the extended DFW program areas and replaced it
with ``(2) In the Dallas-Fort Worth and the extended Dallas-Fort Worth
program areas, the following requirements apply.'' and added new
Sections 114.53(d)(2)(A), (B), and (C) which detail the I/M fees for
the DFW and the extended DFW program areas for the three county
categories outlined above.
    The submittal deletes language from Section 114.53(d)(3) regarding
the I/M fees for the HGB program area and replaced it with ``(2) In the
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria program area, the following requirements
apply.'' and added new sections 114.53(d)(3)(A), (B), and (C) which
detail the I/M fees for HGB program area for the three county
categories outlined above.
    Section 114.87 details I/M fees in Early Action Compact (EAC)
areas. The submittal amends Section 114.87 to apply the same changes
for nonattainment counties adopted in Section 114.53 to early action
compact counties. Section 114.87(d)(1)(2) and (3) explains remittance
of I/M fees, including the LIRAP fee, in a county participating in the
LIRAP, a participating county that is in the process of opting out of
the LIRAP, and a county that is not participating in the LIRAP and not
subject to the LIRAP fee.
    Section 114.87(d)(1) includes the description of state LIRAP fees
vehicle owners pay during vehicle registration in participating EAC
counties. Section 114.87(d)(2) describes the state fees vehicle owners
pay during vehicle registration in participating EAC counties that are
in the process of opting out of the LIRAP, and includes the LIRAP fee
until the effective LIRAP fee termination date, after which state fees
do not include the LIRAP fee. Section 114.87(d)(3) describes the state
fees vehicle owners pay during vehicle registration in non-
participating EAC counties, which does not include the LIRAP fee.
    As stated previously, the LIRAP is not required by the CAA, but
certain provisions relating to the program and program fees have been
approved into the Texas SIP to allow for full implementation of the
State's I/M program and strengthen the SIP. The changes in the
submittal to Sections 114.53 and 114.87 provide further delineation and
clarification regarding which parts of the fees are for LIRAP. We find
the more detailed breakdown of the LIRAP fees in counties
participating, in the process of opting out, and not participating in
the LIRAP, approvable because they do not conflict with any federal
requirement, and the LIRAP is voluntary.

C. Section 110(l)

    Section 110(l) of the Act provides that a SIP revision must be
adopted by a State after reasonable notice and public hearing.
Additionally, section 110(l) states that the EPA cannot approve a SIP
revision if that revision would interfere with any applicable
requirement regarding attainment, reasonable further

progress (RFP) or any other applicable requirement established in the
CAA. Our evaluation of the submittals found that the SIP revisions were
adopted by the State after reasonable notice and public hearing, and
that approval of the revisions would not interfere with any CAA
requirement. The revisions related to the single vehicle registration
insignia sticker implement legislative changes that may improve the
enforcement and compliance aspects of the vehicle emissions inspection
and maintenance program. These changes replace the sticker-based
enforcement strategy with the preferred registration denial enforcement
strategy, which improves the overall effectiveness of the program. This
denial enforcement strategy has been in effect for more than one year
now. These revisions do not interfere with applicable requirements
concerning attainment and reasonable further progress or any other
applicable requirement in the CAA.
    The revisions that create the new opt-out process for the LIRAP do
not interfere with any applicable requirement in the CAA, because the
LIRAP is not relied upon to meet any required component of the current
SIP. Those counties that continue to participate in the LIRAP
contribute to air quality improvements with the related LIRAP emission
reductions. Even though fewer counties may be participating in the
LIRAP due to the opt-out process, the revisions do enhance the current
SIP by providing for additional rule clarification.

IV. Final Action

    Pursuant to Sections 110 and 182 of the Act, EPA is approving,
through a direct final action, revisions to the Texas SIP that were
submitted on June 9, 2015 and June 11, 2015. We are approving revisions
to the following sections within Chapter 114 of 30 TAC: 114.1, 114.2,
114.50, 114.53, 114.82-84, and 114.87. We evaluated the state's
submittals and determined that they meet the applicable requirements of
the CAA. Also, in accordance with CAA section 110(l), the revisions
will not interfere with attainment of the NAAQS, reasonable further
progress, or any other applicable requirement of the CAA.
    EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because we view
these as non-controversial amendments 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 relevant adverse
comments are received. This rule will be effective on December 6, 2016
without further notice unless we receive relevant adverse comments by
November 7, 2016. If we receive relevant adverse comments, we will
publish a timely withdrawal of this direct final rulemaking in the
Federal Register informing the public that the direct final 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 comments 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. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, we are finalizing regulatory text that includes
incorporation by reference. In accordance with the requirements of 1
CFR 51.5, we are finalizing the incorporation by reference of the
revisions to the Texas regulations as described in the Final Action
section above. We have made, and will continue to make, these documents
generally available electronically through www.regulations.gov and/or
in hard copy at the EPA Region 6 office.

VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP
submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and applicable
federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices,
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this
action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and
does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state
law. For that reason, this action:
     Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21,
2011);
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Is certified as not having a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     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);
     Does not have federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     Is not subject to requirements of section 12(d) of the
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent
with the CAA; and
     Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).

In addition, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian reservation
land or in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has demonstrated
that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian country, the
rule does not have tribal implications as specified by Executive Order
13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
    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 6, 2016. 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)).
    Samuel Coleman was designated the Acting Regional Administrator on
September 30, 2016, through the order of succession outlined in
Regional Order R6-1110.1, a copy of which is included in the docket for
this action.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen
dioxides, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur Dioxide, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: September 30, 2016.
Samuel Coleman,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 6.

    40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart SS--Texas

0
2. In Sec.  52.2270:
0
a. In paragraph (c), the table entitled ``EPA Approved Regulations in
the Texas SIP'' is amended by revising entries for Sections 114.1,
114.2, 114.50, 114.53, 114.82, 114.83, 114.84, and 114.87.
0
b. In paragraph (e), the second table entitled ``EPA Approved
Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures in the Texas
SIP'' is amended by revising the entry for ``Vehicle Inspection and
Maintenance'' and adding an entry at the end of the table for the
``Austin Early Action Compact area Vehicle Inspection and
Maintenance.''
    The revisions read as follows:

Sec.  52.2270   Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                                        EPA Approved Regulations in the Texas SIP
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           State approval/
          State citation                Title/subject         submittal               EPA approval date                         Explanation
                                                                date
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                                      * * * * * * *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Chapter 114 (Reg 4)--Control of Air Pollution from Motor Vehicles
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Subchapter A--Definitions
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 114.1.....................  Definitions..........       2/12/2014  10/7/2016, [Insert Federal Register
                                                                            citation]
Section 114.2.....................  Inspection and              4/29/2015  10/7/2016, [Insert Federal Register
                                     Maintenance                            citation]
                                     Definitions.

                                                                      * * * * * * *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Subchapter C--Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance; Low Income Vehicle Repair Assistance, Retrofit, and Accelerated Vehicle Retirement Program; and Early
                                                                 Action Compact Counties
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Division 1: Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
114.50............................  Vehicle Emissions           2/12/2014  10/7/2016, [Insert Federal Register
                                     Inspection                             citation]
                                     Requirements.

                                                                      * * * * * * *
114.53............................  Inspection and              4/29/2015  10/7/2016, [Insert Federal Register
                                     Maintenance Fees.                      citation]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Division 3: Early Action Compact Counties
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                                      * * * * * * *
114.82............................  Control Requirements.       2/12/2014  10/7/2016, [Insert Federal Register
                                                                            citation]
114.83............................  Waivers and                 2/12/2014  10/7/2016, [Insert Federal Register
                                     Extensions.                            citation]
114.84............................  Prohibitions.........       2/12/2014  10/7/2016, [Insert Federal Register
                                                                            citation]

                                                                      * * * * * * *
114.87............................  Inspection and              4/29/2015  10/7/2016, [Insert Federal Register
                                     Maintenance Fees.                      citation]

                                                                      * * * * * * *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

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

                                                                      * * * * * * *
Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance  Dallas-Fort Worth, El       6/11/2015  10/7/2016, [Insert Federal Register
                                     Paso County and                        citation]
                                     Houston-Galveston-
                                     Brazoria.

                                                                      * * * * * * *
Austin Early Action Compact area    Travis and Williamson       6/11/2015  10/7/2016, [Insert Federal Register
 Vehicle Inspection and              Counties.                              citation]
 Maintenance.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2016-24205 Filed 10-6-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


                              Claire Baffaut, PhD

Affiliation: Research Hydrologist at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Cropping System and Water Quality Research Unit in Columbia, Missouri

Expertise: Hydrology, water quantity and water quality

Education: PhD in Civil Engineering, Department of Hydraulics and Systems, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana; MS in Environment Sciences, Medical and Scientific University of Grenoble, France; BS in Hydraulic Engineering, National Hydraulics Engineering School of Grenoble, France

Experience Summary: Dr. Claire Baffaut is a Research Hydrologist with 25 years of teaching and research on understanding and modeling the biophysical and anthropogenic factors that influence the movement and quality of water from crop fields to water bodies and groundwater. Dr. Baffaut is on the editorial board for the Natural Resources and Environment Section of the Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE, 2007-2019); the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (2013-2019) and the International Soil and Water Conservation Research (2018-2019). She has served as invited technical editor for several other journals (Water, Journal of Environmental Quality, Journal of the American Water Resources Association, Catena).

Panel Experience: Dr. Baffaut has previously participated in several peer review panels such as the USDA-Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) panel for the CSREES 406 Integrated Water Quality Program (2007). She has previously served as an ad-hoc reviewer for the United States Civilian Research & Development Foundation (CRDF) Program (2001); USDA National Research Initiative (NRI) Competitive Grants Program (2004), USDA Small and Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program (2009 and 2010), USDA Hatch Funds individual proposal (2014), Research Manitoba Program (2014), and the Austrian Science Fund (2015).

                            Veronica Berrocal, PhD

Affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Statistics, University of California, Irvine, California

Expertise: Statistical methods for environmental exposure assessment (e.g., characterize environmental exposure) and effect of environmental exposure on health

Education: PhD in Statistics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; MSc in Statistics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan; Degree of Etudes Approfondis (DEA) en Mathematiques, Universite' "Joseph Fourier", Grenoble now part of Universite' Grenoble Alpes, France; Laurea in Mathematics, University "La Sapienza", Roma, Italy

Experience Summary: Dr. Veronica Berrocal is an Associate Professor of Statistics at the University of California (UC), Irvine. She joined the Department of Statistics at UC Irvine in the Fall 2019, after having been on the faculty at the University of Michigan in the Department of Biostatistics (first as Assistant Professor, thereafter as Associate Professor; 2010-2019). Dr. Berrocal's research focuses on the development of statistical methods to characterize individuals' exposure to environmental risk factors (e.g., air pollution, weather, climate, built environment, etc.) and in estimating the effect of environmental exposure on health. Because of her research accomplishment in spatial and environmental statistics, Dr. Berrocal received the Early Investigator award from the Section on Statistics and the Environment of the American Statistical Association in 2015. Dr. Berrocal served and is currently serving as Associate Editor for: (i), the Journal of the American Statistical Association (2016-2018), the flagship journal for the American Statistical Association (2016-2018); (ii) the Journal for Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Statistics (2011-2018); (iii) Bayesian Analysis (2018-present). She is currently also a statistical reviewer for JAMA Network Open (2018-present) and Lancet Psychiatry (2019-present).

Panel Experience: Dr. Berrocal has served as an ad-hoc member on the US EPA Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Scientific Advisory Panel three times (2014; 2015; 2017). She has served as an external peer reviewer for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) on the "Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI)" (2016), and on "Significant Impact Levels (SILs) for ozone and fine particle pollution" (2016). Besides these experiences, Dr. Berrocal has served as member on panels reviewing grant applications to National Institutes of Health (NIH) (ad-hoc member of the Biostatistical Methods and Research Design (BMRD) study section, 2017); to National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) for superfund centers (2016); the Health Effects Institute (2018); National Science Foundation (NSF) (2019) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (2019).

                              Terry Councell, MS

Affiliation: Coordinator, Total Diet Study, United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA), College Park, Maryland

Expertise: Chemistry; hydrogeology

Education: MS in Environmental Science and Policy, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland; BS in Geology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia

Experience Summary: Terry Councell is a veteran federal employee with 28 years of service in the civil service. He currently is working as Coordinator for the Total Diet Study at the US FDA where he has worked for the past 6 years. He previously worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from 2002-2014 with the Agricultural Marketing Service's Pesticide Data Program as the Project Officer for the water monitoring project. Terry's work previously focused on the pesticides in municipal water systems and private residential wells. Mr. Councell's work also included drawing samples from surface water resources from municipal systems in raw in-take water as well as treated water ready for distribution analysis for over 200 pesticide residues at part-per-trillion levels. These same samples were also tested for pharmaceutical and personal care products. From 1991-2002, Mr. Councell worked with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as a hydrologist in the Branch of Regional Research, Eastern Region. His work at USGS centered around calculation of recharge rates in the Southern High Plains, diffusion, dispersion, and transport of solutes and contaminants.

Panel Experience: Mr. Councell previously served as a Representative to the US FDA's Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (2015-2016).  He also served on the Electronic Working Group (EWG) as Acting Chair at the 2016 meeting in Beijing China.  He also chaired the EWG working group in 2015 writing the "Guidelines on Performance Criteria for Methods of Analysis for the Determination of Pesticide Residues in Food and Feed"  CXG -90-2017.

                              Timothy Green, PhD

Affiliation: Research Agricultural Engineer/Hydrologist at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Fort Collins, Colorado

Expertise: Hydrology; soil physics; watershed modeling; spatial variability and scaling; terrain analysis; sensor technology; climate change and groundwater

Education: PhD and MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hydrology and Environmental Fluid Mechanics, Stanford University, Stanford, California. BS in Civil Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

Experience Summary: Dr. Timothy Green is a Research Scientist with over 25 years of experience, including appointments with the United States Geological Service (USGS) Water Resources Division (1992-1994); Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Australia Land & Water (1998); USDA Agricultural Research Service (1999-present), and Faculty Affiliate with Colorado State University (1998-present). He is a Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) (2011) and the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) (2012). He previously served as Chair of the Soil Physics & Hydrology division of the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) (2012); chaired two awards committees for SSSA (2009, 2011), and chaired/organized multiple symposia and special sessions at scientific meetings for the American Geophysical Union, ASA and SSSA (1992-present). Dr. Green has served on editorial boards of the Vadose Zone Journal (2002-2005, 2011-present), Soil Science Society of America Journal (2012-2017), Water (2009-2018), Scientific Reports, Nature Publishing Group (2012-2016), Environmental Modelling & Software (2013-present), and AgriEngineering (2018-present), as well as Guest Editor of 4 special issues. Dr. Green's primary interests include spatial measurement and scaling of soil, water, agrochemicals and landscape properties, agricultural watershed modeling, simulation of groundwater recharge, and assessment of hydrologic impacts of potential climate change. He co-led international efforts in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) project Groundwater Resources Assessment under Pressures of Humanity and Climate Change (GRAPHIC, 2004-2013).

Panel Experience: Dr. Green has served as peer reviewer for 47 refereed journals (1995-present). He was an invited panel member for the Soil Moisture Technology Sensing Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii (2007), ad-hoc reviewer of USDA Office of Scientific Quality Review (OSQR) for an ARS National Program Project Plan (2001), expert reviewer of a Department of Energy (DOE) report to the U.S. Congress entitled: "Evaluation of Technical Impact on the Yucca Mountain Project Technical Basis Resulting from Issues Raised by Emails of Former Project Participants" (2006), subject matter expert for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Workshop on Future and Emerging Issues for Private Wells in Baltimore, Maryland (2015), and expert reviewer for the "Paddock to Reef" environmental modeling program to assess potential impacts on the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia (2019). He has been invited to peer-review multiple grants and reports for National Science Foundation, USDA-CSREES, BARD, NASA, and USGS (1995-2018).

                               Ian Kennedy, PhD

Affiliation: Senior Evaluation Officer, Health Canada, Pest Management Regulatory Agency, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Expertise: Regulatory water modelling and environmental fate of pesticides

Education: PhD Soil Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York; MS Soil Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York; BS Physics, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, California

Experience Summary: Dr. Ian Kennedy is a Senior Evaluation Officer with Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA). He has 25 years of experience in computer modeling of pesticides in surface water and groundwater and 20 years of experience using such models for pesticide regulation in the United States and Canada. He also works on the development of modeling techniques for calculating potential concentrations of pesticides in drinking water, including the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) in environmental modelling. His interests are in improving environmental modeling within the constraints of available data and regulatory precedent.

Panel Experience: Dr. Kennedy has previously served on the Environmental Protection Agency's Scientific Advisory Panel in the Review of Two-dimensional Exposure Rainfall-Runoff Assessment (TERRA) Watershed  Model and its Use in the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Ecological Risk Assessment for Antimicrobial Uses of Copper in 2011.

                              Rebecca Klaper, PhD Affiliation: Professor, School of Freshwater Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Expertise: Chemical engineering; ecotoxicology; genomics Education: PhD in Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia; MS in Entomology, Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia. Experience Summary: Dr. Rebecca Klaper is a Professor at the School of Freshwater Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the Director of the Great Lakes Genomics Center. Dr. Klaper received her MS in Entomology in 1995 and her Ph.D. in Ecology in 2000 from the Institute of Ecology University of Georgia examining the impacts of chemicals on the population dynamics of insects. Dr. Klaper currently studies the potential impact of emerging contaminants, such as nanoparticles, pharmaceuticals, personal care products and pesticides on aquatic life and how we may design these chemicals to be sustainable and have the least environmental impact. She published some of the first studies on the impacts of nanomaterials on aquatic organisms, describing differences in toxicity among nanomaterials, discussing the possible impacts of surfactants on nanomaterial toxicology. Dr. Klaper is now one of the lead Principle Investigator's for the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology, a distributed Center of eight universities to evaluate the mechanisms by which nanomaterials may cause toxicity and investigate the potential for principles to use in the design process of these chemicals. Dr. Klaper received an American Association for the Advancement of Science-Science and Technology Policy Fellowship where she worked in the National Center for Environmental Assessment at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) evaluating the potential use of genomic technologies in risk assessment. She is also on the editorial board of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry as well as the American Chemical Society (ACS) journal Chemical Research in Toxicology. Her current research focuses on (1) determining the presence of contaminants in freshwater systems; (2) the impacts of low level chronic exposures of these chemicals to fish and invertebrates in freshwater systems; (3) evaluating the ability of contaminant removal technologies to remove biological impacts of chemicals; (4) methods to quickly assess the potential impacts of a chemical, including genomic technologies; and (5) alternative options for minimizing the impacts of emerging contaminants including chemical redesign and Green Chemistry, altering use and distribution, and evaluating prescription levels for pharmaceuticals. Dr. Klaper's goal is to conduct basic and applied research to inform policy decisions involving freshwater resources. Panel Experience: Dr. Klaper has served on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the US EPA's Chemical Safety for Sustainability/Human Health Risk Assessment Subcommittee (2014). She has also served on the National Academy of Sciences Panel to Develop a Research Strategy for Environmental, Health, and Safety Aspects of Engineered Nanomaterials (2009-2013). Dr. Klaper previously served as a charter panel member of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel (2016-2019).                                Andrew Miglino, PhD

Affiliation: Physical Scientist, United States Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA), Center for Veterinary Drugs, Rockville, Maryland Expertise: Sorption of chemicals to soil and sediment, environmental fate property (e.g., adsorption coefficients, dissipation, degradation) studies, modeling terrestrial and aquatic fate of chemicals Education: PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware; MS and BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Manhattan College, Bronx, New York Experience Summary: Dr. Andrew Miglino is a Physical Scientist for the U.S. FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine. He has 5 years of experience evaluating the potential for animal drugs to significantly affect the human environment. His primary research interests are in environmental fate modeling. Specifically, Dr. Miglino develops and implements simple and advanced computational modeling to determine the distribution and loss of chemicals in the environment. For the past 3years (2017-2019), Dr. Miglino has served as a Lead for Risk Assessment subgroup to the FDA-wide Modeling and Simulation Working Group.

Panel Experience: Dr. Miglino previously served as an ad hoc reviewer for portions of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidance Document 23 for Aquatic Toxicity Testing of Difficult Substances and Mixtures (2018).

                               Lisa Nowell, PhD

Affiliation: Research Chemist, United States Geological Survey, Sacramento, California Expertise: Environmental chemistry; surface water quality; fate and transport of organic contaminants; pesticide mixtures; aquatic life and human health benchmarks for pesticides; sediment contaminants and toxicity; empirical models to predict pesticide occurrence; pesticide toxicity index; ecotoxicology Education: PhD in Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry, University of California, Davis, Davis, California; MS in Ecology, University of California, Davis, Davis, California  Experience Summary: Dr. Lisa Nowell is a Research Chemist with the USGS National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA), working with a multidisciplinary team on regional multi-stressor studies of U.S. streams (2013-present). As a founding member of NAWQA's Pesticide Synthesis project (1991-2013), Dr. Nowell conducted national- and regional-scale assessment of pesticides, and modeled pesticide concentrations in water, sediment and fish. She has worked to develop tools (Health-Based Screening Levels, Pesticide Toxicity Index, and benchmarks in water and sediment) for interpreting pesticide monitoring data. She previously worked for the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (1988-1991) on environmental assessment of FDA-regulated chemicals, conducted post-doctoral research on contaminant oxidation at Eidgenössische Anstalt für Wasserversorgung, Abwasserreinigung und Gewässerschutz (EAWAG) (1986-1987), and was an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow in environmental science/engineering at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) (1985). Dr. Nowell is an Associate Editor of Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal (2014-present) and Science Advisor for the California Delta Regional Monitoring Program (2018-present). Dr. Nowell has periodically served as reviewer for AAAS Symposium proposals (2013-2019). Dr. Nowell has reviewed a Deepwater Horizon report (2011) for the interagency Operational Science Advisory Team on oil-related contaminant data and effects. She was a member of the National Target Analyte Strategy work group for U.S. Geological Survey (2010-2013). She has served on multiple USGS workgroups, chairs the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Meetings Committee (2017-present), and was Director and Treasurer of SETAC's Northern California chapter (2013-2016). Dr. Nowell previously served on the Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal Editorial Board (2011-2014). She has reviewed sediment quality criteria for the State of California (2013). Her research interests include pesticide mixtures, modeling pesticide occurrence, and evaluating effects of contaminants in rivers and streams.

Panel Experience: Dr. Nowell served on the USGS Research Grade Evaluation Panel on Biogeochemistry (2017).

                              Thomas Potter, PhD

Affiliation: President and Principal Scientist Innovative Systems for Education and Environmental Technology, Valdosta, Georgia

Expertise: Pesticide chemistry, risk and exposure assessment, environmental fate modeling, pesticide analysis, and water quality

Education: PhD in Environmental Chemistry, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts; MS in Soil Chemistry, Cornell University-Ithaca, Ithaca, New York; BS in Chemistry, University of Maine-Orono, Maine

Experience Summary: Dr. Thomas Potter has more than 39 years of experience as a researcher, research manager, teacher, and scientific consultant. This includes 19+ years (1998-2017) with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) Southeast Watershed Laboratory where he led a multidisciplinary team evaluating how conservation practices and agronomic management control the fate and transport of pesticides and other agrochemicals at field, farm, and watershed scales. Currently (2017-present) he is the Principal Scientist and President of Innovative Systems for Education and Environmental Technology (ISET), a consulting group focusing on environmental chemistry, risk assessment, simulation modeling, and on-line education. Dr. Potter was a graduate faculty member (1992-98) at the University of Massachusetts (UMASS) and held adjunct faculty appointments in the UMASS School of Public Health and Entomology Departments. During his career he has authored more than 110 journal publications, book chapters, and government reports and edited 2 books. His research interests include human and ecological risk assessment of pesticides, and their fate and transport modeling and environmental analysis.

Panel Experience: Dr. Potter served as an ad hoc member on 12 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Science Advisory Panels (1999-2015). His most recent panel service has included: A set of scientific issues being considered by the US EPA regarding development of a spatial aquatic model (SAM) for pesticide risk assessment (2015); A Set of Scientific Issues Being Considered by the US EPA Regarding Integrated Endocrine Bioactivity and Exposure-Based Prioritization and Screening (2014); A Set of Scientific Issues Being Considered by the US EPA Regarding New High Throughput Methods to Estimate Chemical Exposure (2014); A Set of Scientific Issues Being Considered by the US EPA Regarding the Pollinator Risk Assessment Framework (2012); A Set of Scientific Issues Being Considered by the US EPA Regarding the Two-Dimensional Exposure Rainfall-Runoff Assessment (TERRA) Watershed Model and its Use in the FIFRA Ecological Risk Assessment for Antimicrobial Uses of Copper (2011). Dr. Potter was also a US EPA Administrator appointed member and served on the US EPA Endocrine Disruptor Methods Validation Subcommittee for the years of 2001-2003.                              Kenneth Portier, PhD

Affiliation: Consulting Biostatistician, Athens, Georgia (formerly of the National Cancer Society)

Expertise: Statistical applications in agriculture, natural resources, environmental sciences and environmental health. More recently providing administrative and statistical support on design and analysis of cross-sectional and longitudinal sample surveys, program evaluations, models of cancer mortality and incidence, text mining and Geographical Information System (GIS) in cancer program planning. Specific expertise in statistical aspects of environmental sampling, toxicology, program evaluation, and geographical information systems

Education: PhD in Biostatistics and MS in Statistics, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; BS in Mathematics, Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, Louisiana

Experience Summary: Dr. Ken Portier has served as Vice President (2015-2017), Managing Director (2010-2015), Director of Statistics (2006-2010), Statistics and Evaluation Center, Intramural Research Department, American Cancer Society (ACS), Atlanta, Georgia. Affiliate Professor of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Emory University (2006-2017). Assistant Research Scientist (1979-1981), Assistant Professor (1981-1986), Associate Professor (1986-2006), Experiment Station Statistician (1979-2006), Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and College of Agriculture, University of Florida, Gainesville. Courtesy faculty (2001-present), Center for Environmental and Human Toxicology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville.

Dr. Portier's research interests include statistical issues in environmental and human health risk assessment, applied statistical methods, multivariate data analysis, data and text mining, GIS applications in environmental and public health, use of technology in the learning of statistics, survey methodology including data imputation.

Panel Experience: Dr. Portier has participated in over 60 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel meetings (1999 to 2013) and five EPA Science Advisory Board Review Panels (2012 to 2015). In addition, Dr. Portier served on expert and advisory panels for the National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS); National Toxicology Program (NTP), and the World Health Organization Food and Agriculture Organization (WHO/FAO). Other panels Dr. Portier has served on include: NIH/NIEHS; Breast Cancer & Environmental Research Coordinating Committee (2010-2012); World Health Organization, Expert Panel, Toxicological and Health Aspects of Bisphenol A (2010); American Statistical Association, Section on Risk (2010); NTP/NIEHS/NIH Board of Scientific Counselors (2007-2009, Chair (2009); NTP/NIEHS/NIH, Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction, Expert Panel (2003 and 2008); Biometric Society (ENAR & WNAR) representative to the Ag and Life Sciences Committee of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (2005-2007). Dr. Portier previously served as Chair for the Chemical Safety Advisory Committee (CSAC) reviewing the Draft Risk Assessment for Work Plan Chemical 1-Bromopropane (2016). Dr. Portier is currently the Chair of the TSCA Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals.

                            John Rodgers, Jr., PhD

Affiliation: Professor of Aquatic Toxicology and Ecotoxicology at Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina

Expertise: Research on fate and effects of chemicals (including pesticides and complex mixtures) in aquatic ecosystems and exposure modifying factors influencing extant risks, and ecological risk assessment

Education: PhD in Aquatic Ecology and Ecotoxicology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia; MS in Botany and Plant Ecology, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina; BS in Botany, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina

Experience Summary: Dr. John Rodgers is a Professor of Aquatic Toxicology and Ecotoxicology at Clemson University and Director of the Ecotoxicology Program in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation. In his career of more than 40 years, he served as President of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (2002) and more recently as President of the Aquatic Plant Management Society (2018). He also served on a variety of committees for those scientific organizations (1984-present). His research interests currently are focused on algaecides and herbicides in water resources and relative risks associated with their use for noxious and invasive species. Dr. Rodgers has served on the editorial board and as editor of several scientific journals (e.g. Editorial Board of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry [1981- 1983]; Associate Editor, Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health Part B: Critical Reviews (1999-2006).

Panel Experience: Dr. Rodgers was engaged in peer review of the Research Program for Environmental Systems Branch of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1981). He led a peer review of research programs of the Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island; EPA Research Laboratory (1984) and research programs of the Gulf Breeze, Florida; EPA Research Laboratory (1987). He participated as a peer reviewer for the EPA, Framework for Ecological Assessment, Risk Assessment Forum (1992). He was a participant on the Science Advisory Panel (SAP) for the EPA/ SETAC Whole Effluent Toxicity Testing Committee (1998-2004). He was a Consulting Environmental Toxicologist to the EPA, SAP on Problem Formulation and Risk Assessment (2012). In addition, he served as Chair of the Science Advisory Panel for the California Environmental Protection Agency  -  Aquatic Pesticides Committee (2002-2004). Dr. Rodgers has also served on several federal, state and foundation review panels and committees (1978-present).

                                James Sadd, PhD

Affiliation: Professor of Environmental Science, Department of Geology and Environmental Science, Occidental College, Los Angeles, California

Expertise: Geographic Information Systems (GIS), spatial analysis and spatial statistics, quantitative analysis and statistical testing, use of remote sensing geospatial data

Education: MS in Geology, University of Texas, Austin; PhD in Geology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina; Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Marine Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina

Experience Summary: Dr. James Sadd is currently Professor of Environmental Science at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California, with 30 years of experience in teaching and quantitative analytical research using GIS and other geospatial tools. His research focuses on quantitative evaluation of urban environmental problems using spatial analysis and statistical modelling with particular focus on the geography of risk, hazard or exposure, and vulnerability with an emphasis on air and water pollution, climate change impacts, and industrial processes in the context of environmental justice and equity. He co-developed the Environmental Justice Screening Method for the California Environmental Protection Agency's Air Resources Board, which is used as a research and policy analysis tool by that agency to screen for cumulative exposure and risk levels, as well as individual and community vulnerability metrics, for air and water quality, and climate change impacts.

Panel Experience: Dr. Sadd's experience in an advisory capacity to Federal agencies includes service as an independent advisor to the United States Environmental Protection Agency during the development phase of several of their environmental justice and cumulative impacts screening approaches, including Environmental Justice Strategic Enforcement Assessment Tool (EJSEAT), Census Track Ranking Tool for Environmental Justice (CenRank), EJSCREEN, Conference of Professional Operators for Response Towing (C-PORT). He also served as a review panel member of the EPA's Science Advisory Board for Risk and Technology Review (RTR) Methods Review Panel (2017), and also the EPA Science Advisory Board's Technical Guidance for Assessing Environmental Justice in Regulatory Analysis (2013-2014).

                                                                       Xuyang Zhang, PhD

Affiliation: Senior Environmental Scientist (Specialist), California Department of Pesticide Regulation, Environmental Monitoring Branch, Sacramento, California

Expertise: Environmental exposure scientist; environmental risk assessor; aquatic modeler; Geographic Information System (GIS) specialist

Education: PhD in Ecology, University of California at Davis, Davis, California

Experience Summary: Dr. Xuyang Zhang is a Senior Environmental Scientist with 15 years of experience in modeling transport and fate of pesticides in water. She has extensive knowledge and experience in environmental exposure and risk assessment pertain to pesticides. She has over 10 years of experience in managing and analyzing environmental monitoring data using GIS and statistics.  Dr. Zhang is a reviewer for many international journals such as Environmental Science & Technology (2010); Environmental Pollution (2014, 2019); The Science of Total Environments (2015); Journal of Environmental Quality (2010, 2011, 2013); Environmental Modelling & Software (2010); Environmental Modeling and Assessment (2010); Journal of American Water Resources Association (2010, 2011), and the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) (2011).

Panel Experience: N/A


[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 27 (Wednesday, February 10, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7092-7094]
[FR Doc No: 2016-02738]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-1196; FRL-9942-04-OAR]

Recent Postings of Broadly Applicable Alternative Test Methods

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the broadly applicable alternative test
method approval decisions the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

has made under and in support of New Source Performance Standards
(NSPS) and the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants
(NESHAP).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: An electronic copy of each alternative
test method approval document is available at www.epa.gov/ttn/emc/approalt.html. For questions about this notice, contact Ms. Lula H.
Melton, Air Quality Assessment Division, Office of Air Quality Planning
and Standards (E143-02), Environmental Protection Agency, Research
Triangle Park, NC 27711; telephone number:<PHONE_NUMBER>; fax number:
(919) 541-0516; email address<EMAIL_ADDRESS>For technical
questions about individual alternative test method decisions, refer to
the contact person identified in the individual approval document(s).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this notice apply to me?

    This notice will be of interest to entities regulated under 40 Code
of Federal Regulations (CFR) parts 60, 61, and 63, state, local, and
tribal agencies, and the EPA Regional offices responsible for
implementation and enforcement of regulations under 40 CFR parts 60,
61, and 63.

B. How can I get copies of this information?

    You may access copies of the broadly applicable alternative test
method approval documents at www.epa.gov/ttn/emc/approalt.html.

II. Background

    Broadly applicable alternative test method approval decisions made
by the EPA in 2015 under the NSPS, 40 CFR part 60 and the NESHAP, 40
CFR parts 61 and 63 are identified in this notice (see Table 1). Source
owners and operators may voluntarily use these broadly applicable
alternative test methods subject to their specific applicability in
lieu of otherwise specified reference test methods. Use of these
broadly applicable alternative test methods does not change the
applicable emission standards.
    As explained in a previous Federal Register notice published at 72
FR 4257 (January 30, 2007) and located at www.epa.gov/ttn/emc/approalt.html, the EPA Administrator has the authority to approve the
use of alternative test methods to comply with requirements under 40
CFR parts 60, 61, and 63. This authority is found in sections
60.8(b)(3), 61.13(h)(1)(ii), and 63.7(e)(2)(ii). A similar authority is
granted in 40 CFR part 65 under section 65.158(a)(2). In the past, we
have performed thorough technical reviews of numerous source-specific
requests for alternatives and modifications to test methods and
procedures. Based on these reviews, we have often found that these
changes or alternatives would be equally valid and appropriate to apply
to other sources within a particular class, category, or subcategory.
Consequently, we have concluded that, where a method modification or an
alternative method is clearly broadly applicable to a class, category,
or subcategory of sources, it is both more equitable and efficient to
approve its use for all appropriate sources and situations at the same
time.
    It is important to clarify that alternative methods are not
mandatory but permissive. Sources are not required to employ such a
method but may choose to do so in appropriate circumstances. Source
owners or operators should review the specific broadly applicable
alternative method approval decision at www.epa.gov/ttn/emc/approalt.html before electing to employ it. As per section 63.7(f)(5),
by electing to use an alternative method for 40 CFR part 63 standards,
the source owner or operator must continue to use the alternative
method until approved otherwise.
    The criteria for approval and procedures for submission and review
of broadly applicable alternative test methods are outlined at 72 FR
4257 (January 30, 2007). We will continue to announce approvals for
broadly applicable alternative test methods at www.epa.gov/ttn/emc/approalt.html and publish a notice annually that summarizes approvals
for broadly applicable alternative test methods.
    This notice comprises a summary of five such approval documents
posted to our Technology Transfer Network dated between January 1,
2015, and December 31, 2015. The alternative method decision letter/
memo number, the reference method affected, sources allowed to use this
alternative, and the modification or alternative method allowed are
summarized in Table 1 of this notice. Please refer to the complete
copies of these approval documents available at www.epa.gov/ttn/emc/approalt.html, as Table 1 serves only as a brief summary of the broadly
applicable alternative test methods.
    If you are aware of reasons why a particular alternative test
method approval that we issued should not be broadly applicable or that
its use should in some way be limited, we request that you make us
aware of the reasons in writing, and we will revisit the broad
approval. Any objection to a broadly applicable alternative test
method, as well as the resolution of that objection, will be announced
at www.epa.gov/ttn/emc/approalt.html and in the subsequent Federal
Register notice. If we decide to retract a broadly applicable test
method, we would continue to grant case-by-case approvals, as
appropriate, and would (as states, local and tribal agencies and the
EPA Regional offices should) consider the need for an appropriate
transition period for users either to request case-by-case approval or
to transition to an approved method.

    Dated: January 19, 2016.
Stephen D. Page,
Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.

  Table 1--Approved Alternative Test Methods and Modifications to Test Methods Referenced in or Published Under
             Appendices in 40 CFR Parts 60, 61 and 63 Posted Between January 2015 and December 2015.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alternative method decision      As an alternative or
      letter/memo No.           modification to . . .              For . . .                 You may . . .
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ALT-109....................  Method 22-Visual             Sources subject to 40 CFR   Use digital photographs
                              Determination of Fugitive    parts 60, 61, and 63.       for specific
                              Emissions From Material                                  recordkeeping
                              Sources and Smoke                                        requirements.
                              Emissions From Flares.

ALT-110....................  Method 7--Determination of   Sources subject to 40 CFR   Use Method 7E-
                              Nitrogen Oxide Emissions     part 60, subpart G,         Determination of Nitrogen
                              From Stationary Sources.     Standards of Performance    Oxides Emissions from
                                                           for Nitric Acid Plants.     Stationary Sources
                                                                                (Instrumental Analyzer
                                                                                Procedure) in conjunction
                                                                                with the specific
                                                                                application instructions
                                                                                defined in 40 CFR
                                                                                60.73a(b)(4).
ALT-111....................  Method 5-Determination of    Electric utility steam      Use Method 5I to conduct
                              Particulate Matter           generating units meeting    quarterly compliance
                              Emissions From Stationary    the criteria referenced     testing and/or
                              Sources or Method 5B--       in the Agency's approval    certification and ongoing
                              Determination of             letter and subject to 40    QA testing of the
                              Nonsulfuric Acid             CFR part 63, subpart        installed PM CEMS.
                              Particulate Matter           UUUUU; 40 CFR part 60,
                              Emissions From Stationary    subpart D; and 40 CFR
                              Sources.                     part 60, subpart Da.
ALT-112....................  Performance Specification    Stationary sources in       Include measurement path
                              18-Performance               which hydrogen chloride     during calibration drift
                              Specifications and Test      (HCl) is measured           testing according to the
                              Procedures for Hydrogen      continuously to             provisions specified in
                              Chloride Continuous          demonstrate compliance in   the Agency's approval
                              Emission Monitoring          40 CFR part 63, subparts    letter dated September
                              Systems at Stationary        LLL, UUUUU, and DDDDD.      25, 2015.
                              Sources and Procedure 6.
ALT-113....................  Requirements for             Sources subject to 40 CFR   Conduct the initial and
                              performance tests----.       part 60, subpart KKKK,      subsequent performance
                                                           Standards of Performance    tests on turbines at
                                                           for Stationary Combustion   ambient temperatures
                                                           Turbines.                   below 0 [deg]F, provided
                                                                                that you operate the
                                                                                inlet air preheaters such
                                                                                that the turbine inlet
                                                                                air temperature is always
                                                                                maintained above 0
                                                                                [deg]F.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source owners or operators should review the specific broadly applicable alternative method approval letter at
  www.epa.gov/ttn/emc/approalt.html before electing to employ it.

[FR Doc. 2016-02738 Filed 2-9-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P