Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Diesel-Powered Motor Vehicle Idling Act

W.C. Early
Federal Register
August 1, 2011

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 147 (Monday, August 1, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 45741-45742]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-19275]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2011-0471; FRL-9446-1]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Pennsylvania; Diesel-Powered Motor Vehicle Idling Act

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA proposes to approve the State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
revision submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the purpose 
of incorporating the Commonwealth's Diesel-Powered Motor Vehicle Idling 
Act (Act 124 of 2008, or simply Act 124) into the Pennsylvania SIP. Act 
124, passed by the Pennsylvania General Assembly and signed into state 
law by Governor Rendell in October 2008 (and effective at the state 
level in February 2009), reduces the allowable time that heavy-duty, 
commercial highway diesel vehicles of over 10,000 pounds gross vehicle 
weight can idle their main propulsion engines. The law restricts idling 
of these commercial diesel vehicles (mostly heavy trucks and buses) to 
a period of 5 minutes per continuous 60 minute period (with certain 
allowable exemptions and exclusions). Act 124 applies statewide in the 
Commonwealth, and is estimated by Pennsylvania to significantly reduce 
emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOX), volatile organic 
compounds (VOCs), and fine particulate matter (PM). While idle time 
emissions limits are not mandatory under the Clean Air Act (CAA), 
incorporation of Act 124 into the SIP does strengthen the SIP, makes 
the state

[[Page 45742]]

law federally enforceable by EPA, and allows the Commonwealth to take 
credit for emissions benefits from the rule as part of future 
Pennsylvania SIP revisions to demonstrate compliance with CAA National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). This action is being taken under 
the CAA.
    In the Final Rules section of this Federal Register, EPA is 
approving the Commonwealth's SIP submittal as a direct final rule 
without prior proposal because EPA views this as a noncontroversial 
submittal and anticipates no adverse comments. A detailed rationale for 
the approval is set forth in the direct final rule. If no adverse 
comments are received in response to this action, no further activity 
is contemplated. If EPA receives adverse comments, the direct final 
rule will be withdrawn and all public comments received will be 
addressed in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. EPA 
will not institute a second comment period. Any parties interested in 
commenting on this action should do so at this time.

DATES: Comments must be received in writing by August 31, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2011-0471 by one of the following methods:
    A. http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    B. E-mail: fernandez.cristina@epa.gov
    C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2011-0471, Cristina Fernandez, Associate 
Director, Office of Air Program Planning, Mailcode 3AP30, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
    D. Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region III address. 
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-
2011-0471. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change, and may be made available online 
at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 
is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without 
going through http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the 
http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be 
publicly available only in hard copy form.
    Publicly available docket materials are available either 
electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy during 
normal business hours at the Air Protection Division, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of the State submittal are 
available at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, 
Bureau of Air Quality Control, P.O. Box 8468, 400 Market Street, 
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Rehn, (215) 814-2176, or by e-
mail at rehn.brian@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For further information, please see the 
information provided in the direct final action, with the same title, 
that is located in the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of this 
Federal Register publication.

    Dated: July 18, 2011.
W.C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2011-19275 Filed 7-29-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P