Air quality implementation plans; approval and promulgation; various States: California,

[Federal Register: October 14, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 198)]

[Rules and Regulations]

[Page 60962-60964]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr14oc04-8]

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[CA 307-0464a; FRL-7818-6]

Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District (SJVUAPCD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from glass coating operations. We are approving a local rule that regulates these emission sources under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).

DATES: This rule is effective on December 13, 2004, without further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comments by November 15, 2004. 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: Send comments to Andy Steckel, Rulemaking Office Chief (AIR- 4), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne

http://www.regulations.gov.

You can inspect copies of the submitted SIP revision, EPA's technical support document (TSD), and other materials relevant to this action at our Region IX office during normal business hours by appointment. You may also see copies of the submitted SIP revision by appointment at the following locations:

Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Room B-102, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., (Mail Code 6102T), Washington, DC 20460.

[[Page 60963]]

California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule Evaluation Section, 1001 ``I'' Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. San Joaquin Valley APCD, 1990 E. Gettysburg, Fresno, CA 93726.

A copy of the rule may also be available via the Internet at http://www.arb.ca.gov/drdb/drdbltxt.htm. Please be advised that this is not

an EPA website and may not contain the same version of the rule that was submitted to EPA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Francisco D[oacute][ntilde]ez, EPA Region IX, (415) 972-3956, Donez.Francisco@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 revisions? II. EPA's Evaluation and Action

    4. How is EPA evaluating the rule?

    5. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?

    6. EPA recommendations to further improve the rule

    7. Public comment and final action III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

  2. 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 local air agency and submitted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

      Table 1.--Submitted Rule

      Local agency

      Rule number

      Rule title

      Adopted

      Submitted

      SJVUAPCD..................................

      4610 Glass Coating Operations....................................

      04/17/03

      06/03/04

      On June 30, 2004, this rule submittal was found 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?

      We approved a version of Rule 4610 into the SIP on September 16, 2003 (see 68 FR 54167). The SJVUAPCD adopted revisions to the SIP- approved version on April 17, 2003 and CARB submitted them to us on June 3, 2004.

    3. What Is the Purpose of the Submitted Rule Revisions?

      VOCs help produce ground-level ozone and smog, which harm human health and the environment. Section 110(a) of the CAA requires states to submit regulations that control VOC emissions. The submitted rule revisions delay by six months the implementation date for additional VOC emission reductions for mirror backing operations. This delay is to allow time for the single mirror coating operation in the district to implement a powder coating line to substitute for its previous high-VOC coating operation. Powder coat application reduces VOC emissions for the coating process from 63 tons per year to essentially zero. The TSD has more information about this rule.

  3. 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), must require Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for major sources in nonattainment areas (see section 182(b)(2)), and must not relax existing requirements (see sections 110(l) and 193). The San Joaquin Valley Unified APCD regulates an ozone nonattainment area (see 40 CFR part 81), so Rule 4610 must fulfill RACT.

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

      1. Portions of the proposed post-1987 ozone and carbon monoxide policy that concern RACT, 52 FR 45044, November 24, 1987.

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

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

    2. Does the Rule Meet the Evaluation Criteria?

      We believe this rule is consistent with the relevant policy and guidance regarding enforceability, RACT, and SIP relaxations. The submitted rule makes a minor revision to the SIP-approved Rule 4610, which EPA determined to fulfill RACT. See 68 FR 54167 (September 16, 2003) and the associated TSD. The submitted rule's emission limits are consistent with other California air district rules regulating glass coating operations. The rule contains adequate record keeping and test methods provisions for monitoring the compliance of regulated facilities. The submitted rule grants a six month extension for the implementation of additional VOC emission reductions for mirror backing operations, but this short compliance delay does not interfere with RACT or with relevant attainment or reasonable further progress (RFP) requirements. The TSD has more information on our evaluation.

    3. EPA Recommendations to Further Improve the Rules

      EPA has no recommended changes for future revisions of Rule 4610.

    4. 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 November 15, 2004, 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 December 13, 2004. This will incorporate this rule into the federally enforceable SIP.

  4. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. For this reason, this action is also not subject to Executive Order 13211, ``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001). This action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and imposes no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. Accordingly, the

    [[Page 60964]]

    Administrator certifies that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because this rule approves pre-existing requirements under state law and does not impose any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by state law, it does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4).

    This rule also does not have tribal implications because it will not have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000). This action also does not have Federalism implications because it does not have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government, as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999). This action merely approves a state rule implementing a Federal standard, and does not alter the relationship or the distribution of power and responsibilities established in the Clean Air Act. This rule also is not subject to Executive Order 13045 ``Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks'' (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not economically significant.

    In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. In this context, in the absence of a prior existing requirement for the State to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority to disapprove a SIP submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a SIP submission, to use VCS in place of a SIP submission that otherwise satisfies the provisions of the Clean Air Act. Thus, the requirements of section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply. This rule does not impose an information collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United States. EPA will submit a report containing this rule and other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by December 13, 2004. Filing a petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect the finality of this rule for the purposes of judicial review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or action. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)

    List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: September 10, 2004. Laura Yoshii, Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.

    0 Part 52, Chapter I, Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as follows:

    PART 52--[AMENDED]

    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)(331) to read as follows:

    Sec. 52.220 Identification of plan.

    * * * * *

    (c) * * *

    (331) New and amended regulations for the following APCDs were submitted on June 3, 2004, by the Governor's designee.

    (i) Incorporation by reference.

    (A) San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District.

    (1) Rule 4610 amended on April 17, 2003. * * * * *

    [FR Doc. 04-22956 Filed 10-13-04; 8:45 am]

    BILLING CODE 6560-50-P

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT