42 U.S.C. § 7474 — Area redesignation

(a) Authority of States to redesignate areas: Except as subsection (c) says otherwise, a state can redesignate areas as class I if it wants. But certain areas can only be redesignated as class I or class II - never class III: (1) areas bigger than 10,000 acres that are national monuments, national primitive areas, national preserves, national recreation areas, national wild and scenic rivers, national wildlife refuges, or national lakeshores/seashores; and (2) national parks or national wilderness areas established after August 7, 1977, that are bigger than 10,000 acres. The boundaries of these areas follow any changes that happened after August 7, 1977, or that happen after November 15, 1990. Any other area - except one covered by (1) or (2) above, or one that is class I under section 7472(a)'s first sentence - can be redesignated by the state as class III, but only if: (A) the governor specifically approves the redesignation after consulting the legislature (or following whatever state law requires), and local governments representing most of the affected residents pass legislation agreeing to it; (B) the redesignation will not cause pollution in another area to exceed that area's allowed limits; and (C) the redesignation otherwise follows the rest of this part's requirements. Requirement (A) does not apply when Indian tribes redesignate their own land. (b) Notice and hearing: (1)(A) Before any redesignation, the state must give public notice and hold hearings in the area being redesignated and in any area the change might affect. Before the hearing, the state must prepare and make public a study of the redesignation's health, environmental, economic, social, and energy effects, and the people deciding on the redesignation must review that study. (B) If the area being redesignated includes federal land, the state must first notify the federal land manager in writing and give them up to 60 days to discuss the planned redesignation and submit written comments. If the state redesignates an area despite comments from a federal land manager, it must publish a list of where the redesignation conflicts with those recommendations, and explain why it redesignated anyway. (C) Within six months of August 7, 1977, the Administrator must issue regulations making sure that - as much as practical - before any public hearing on a redesignation, the public can inspect specific plans for any new or modified major polluting facility that could only be built if the area became class III. (2) The Administrator can reject a redesignation only after notice and a public hearing, and only if the redesignation did not follow the required procedures, or conflicts with section 7472(a) or subsection (a) of this section. If the Administrator rejects it, the area's classification goes back to whatever it was before the attempted change. (c) Indian reservations: Land inside a federally recognized Indian tribe's reservation can only be redesignated by that tribe's own governing body, which must still follow subsection (e) if there is a dispute. (d) Review of national monuments, primitive areas, and national preserves: The Federal Land Manager must review all national monuments, primitive areas, and national preserves and recommend which ones should become class I, where air quality matters most. The Federal Land Manager must report these recommendations, with supporting analysis, to Congress and affected states within one year of August 7, 1977, after consulting with the states. (e) Resolution of disputes between states and Indian tribes: If a state disagrees with a tribe's redesignation (or a tribe disagrees with a state's), or if a proposed new major polluting facility would push pollution in another state or tribal reservation above what this part allows, the governor or tribal leader can ask the Administrator to help negotiate a resolution. If asked, the Administrator must recommend a solution that protects the affected land's air quality. If the parties still cannot agree, the Administrator decides, and that decision - or any agreement reached another way - becomes part of the area's official air quality plan and is enforceable. When resolving these disputes, the Administrator must consider whether the land involved is big enough for effective air quality management, or has special air-quality-related value.