Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Placer County Air Pollution Control District

Federal Register, Volume 79 Issue 128 (Thursday, July 3, 2014)

Federal Register Volume 79, Number 128 (Thursday, July 3, 2014)

Rules and Regulations

Pages 37956-37958

From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office www.gpo.gov

FR Doc No: 2014-15565

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

EPA-R09-OAR-2014-0269; FRL-9910-99-Region 9

Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Placer County Air Pollution Control District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve a revision to the Placer County portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns the necessary procedures to create emission reduction credits from the reduction of volatile organic compound (VOC), oxides of nitrogen (NOX), oxides of sulfur (SOX), particulate matter (PM), and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions due to the permanent curtailment of burning rice straw.

We are approving a local rule that provides administrative procedures for creating emissions reduction credits, consistent with Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act) requirements.

DATES: This rule is effective on September 2, 2014 without further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comments by August 4, 2014. If we receive such comments, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register to notify the public that this direct final rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by docket number EPA-R09-OAR-

2014-0269, by one of the following methods:

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-

   line instructions.

2. Email: steckel.andrew@epa.gov.

3. Mail or Deliver: Andrew Steckel (Air-4), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901.

   Instructions: All comments will be included in the public docket without change and may be made available online at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Information that you consider CBI or otherwise protected should be clearly identified as such and should not be submitted through www.regulations.gov or email. www.regulations.gov is an ``anonymous access'' system, and EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send email directly to EPA, your email address will be automatically captured and included as part of the public comment. 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: Generally, documents in the docket for this action are available electronically at www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California 94105-3901. While all documents in the docket are listed at www.regulations.gov, some information may be publicly available only at the hard copy location (e.g., copyrighted material, large maps), and some may not be publicly available in either location (e.g., CBI). To inspect the hard copy materials, please schedule an appointment during normal business hours with the contact listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

   FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Levin, EPA Region IX, (415) 942-

   3848, levin.nancy@epa.gov.

   SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to EPA.

   Table of Contents

   1. The State's Submittal

      1. What rule did the State submit?

      2. Are there other versions of this rule?

      3. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?

   2. EPA's Evaluation and Action

      1. How is EPA evaluating the rule?

      2. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?

      3. Public Comment and Final Action

   3. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

   1. The State's Submittal

      1. What rule did the State submit?

         Table 1 lists the rule we are approving with the dates that it was adopted by the Placer County Air Pollution Control District (PCAPCD) and submitted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

         Page 37957

         Table 1--Submitted Rule

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         Local agency Rule No. Rule title Adopted Submitted

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         PCAPCD.............................. 516 Rice Straw Emission 02-19-2009 04-06-2009

         Reduction Credits.

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         On May 13, 2009, the submittal for PCAPCD Rule 516 was deemed by operation of law to meet the completeness criteria in 40 CFR Part 51 Appendix V, which must be met before formal EPA review.

      2. Are there other versions of this rule?

         There are no previous versions of Rule 516 in the SIP.

      3. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?

         Historically, the practice of rice growing included burning the field stubble or straw following harvest to kill weeds and insects and prepare the field for next year's plantings. The purpose of Rule 516 is to provide procedures to quantify, certify, and issue emission reduction credits (ERCs) that have resulted from the permanent curtailment of rice straw burning in the PCAPCD. Approval of Rule 516 into the SIP would allow these ERCs to be used as offsets under PCAPCD's New Source Review (NSR) rule. EPA's technical support document (TSD) has more information about this rule.

   2. EPA's Evaluation and Action

      1. How is EPA evaluating the rule?

      Generally, SIP rules must be enforceable (see section 110(a) of the Act), and must not relax existing requirements (see sections 110(l) and 193). In addition, a rule of this type that generates emission reduction credits for use as offsets in the NSR program must meet the NSR requirement for valid offsets (see section 173(c)) and should meet the criteria set forth in EPA's guidance concerning economic incentive programs.

      Guidance and policy documents that we use to evaluate enforceability and other requirements consistently include the following:

1. ``State Implementation Plans; General Preamble for the Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990,'' 57 FR 13498 (April 16, 1992); 57 FR 18070 (April 28, 1992).

2. State Implementation Plans; Nitrogen Oxides Supplement to the General Preamble; Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 Implementation of Title I; Proposed Rule,'' (the NOx Supplement), 57 FR 55620, November 25, 1992.

3. ``Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations,'' EPA, May 25, 1988 (the Bluebook).

4. ``Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule Deficiencies,'' EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001 (the Little Bluebook).

5. New Source Review--Section 173(c) of the CAA and 40 CFR part 51, appendix S, ``Emission Offset Interpretative Ruling'' require certain sources to obtain emission reductions to offset increased emissions from new projects.

6. ``Improving Air Quality with Economic Incentive Programs,'' EPA-

   452/R-01-001, January 2001.

7. ``State Implementation Plans for Serious PM-10 Nonattainment Areas, and Attainment Date Waivers for PM-10 Nonattainment Areas Generally; Addendum to the General Preamble for the Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990,'' 59 FR 41998 (August 16, 1994).

8. ``PM-10 Guideline Document,'' EPA 452/R-93-008, April 1993.

9. ``Fugitive Dust Background Document and Technical Information Document for Best Available Control Measures,'' EPA 450/2-92-004, September 1992.

   2. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?

      We believe this rule is consistent with the relevant policy and guidance regarding enforceability and economic incentive programs; and ensures that the emission reductions are real, surplus, quantifiable, enforceable, and permanent. This rule includes detailed emissions quantification protocols and enforceable procedures which provide the necessary assurance that the emission reduction credits issued will meet the criteria for valid NSR offsets. The TSD has more information on our evaluation.

   3. Public Comment and Final Action

      As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, EPA is fully approving the submitted rule because we believe it fulfills all relevant requirements. We do not think anyone will object to this approval, so we are finalizing it without proposing it in advance. However, in the Proposed Rules section of this Federal Register, we are simultaneously proposing approval of the same submitted rule. If we receive adverse comments by August 4, 2014, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register to notify the public that the direct final approval will not take effect and we will address the comments in a subsequent final action based on the proposal. If we do not receive timely adverse comments, the direct final approval will be effective without further notice on September 2, 2014. This will incorporate the rule into the federally enforceable SIP.

      Please note that if EPA receives adverse comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that provision may be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt as final those provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment.

      3. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

      Under the Clean Air Act, 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 Clean Air Act. 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 Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);

      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

      Page 37958

      Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent with the Clean Air Act; and

      Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to address disproportionate human health or environmental effects with practical, appropriate, and legally permissible methods under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).

      In addition, this rule does not have tribal implications as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because the SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in the State, and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.

      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 action and other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

      Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by September 2, 2014. Filing a petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect the finality of this action 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. Parties with objections to this direct final rule are encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel notice of proposed rulemaking for this action published in the Proposed Rules section of today's Federal Register, rather than file an immediate petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed rulemaking. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its requirements (see section 307(b)(2)).

      List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

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

      Dated: April 25, 2014.

      Jared Blumenfeld,

      Regional Administrator, Region IX.

      Part 52, Chapter I, Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 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 F--California

   0

2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(366)(i)(D) to read as follows:

   Sec. 52.220 Identification of plan.

   * * * * *

   (c) * * *

   (366) * * *

   (i) * * *

   (D) Placer County Air Pollution Control District.

   (1) Rule 516, ``Rice Straw Emission Reduction Credits,'' adopted on February 19, 2009.

   * * * * *

   FR Doc. 2014-15565 Filed 7-2-14; 8:45 am

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