Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, South Coast Air Quality Management District

Federal Register, Volume 80 Issue 71 (Tuesday, April 14, 2015)

Federal Register Volume 80, Number 71 (Tuesday, April 14, 2015)

Proposed Rules

Pages 19931-19932

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

FR Doc No: 2015-08469

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

EPA-R09-OAR-2014-0841; FRL-9926-17-Region 9

Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, South Coast Air Quality Management District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD or District) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from Large Confined Animal Facilities (LCAFs). We are proposing to approve a local rule to regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.

DATES: Any comments must arrive by May 14, 2015.

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

2014-0841, 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. 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) 972-

   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. EPA Recommendations to Further Improve the Rule(s)

      4. Public Comment and Proposed Action

   3. Incorporation by Reference

   4. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

   1. The State's Submittal

      1. What rule did the State submit?

         Table 1 lists the rule addressed by this proposal with the dates that it was adopted by the local air agency and submitted by the California Air Resources Board.

         Table 1--Submitted Rule

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         Local agency Rule No. Rule title Adopted Submitted

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         SCAQMD............................... 223 Emission Reduction 06/02/06 03/17/09

         Permits for Large

         Confined Animal

         Facilities.

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         On April 20, 2009, EPA determined that the submittal for SCAQMD Rule 223 met 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 223 in the SIP, and the District has not adopted earlier versions of this rule.

      3. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?

         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. Rule 223 establishes permitting requirements for LCAFs and establishes a menu of management practice options that LCAF owner/operators must select from and implement. The rule requirements apply to large operations above specified size thresholds, including dairies with at least 1,000 milking cows and poultry facilities with at least 650,000 birds. The rule requires these operations to apply for and obtain an SCAQMD permit that includes a mitigation plan with measures as listed in an appendix to the rule.

         EPA's technical support document (TSD) has more information about this rule.

         Page 19932

   2. EPA's Evaluation and Action

      1. How is EPA evaluating the rule?

      Generally, SIP rules must be enforceable (see CAA section 110(a)(2)), must not interfere with applicable requirements concerning attainment and reasonable further progress or other CAA requirements (see CAA section 110(l)), and must not modify certain SIP control requirements in nonattainment areas without ensuring equivalent or greater emissions reductions (see CAA section 193).

      The Los Angeles-South Coast air basin is an ozone nonattainment area classified as extreme for the 1-hour ozone, 1997 8-hour ozone, and 2008 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS).

      Guidance and policy documents that we use to evaluate enforceability and revision/relaxation requirements for the applicable criteria pollutants include the following:

1. ``Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations,'' EPA, May 25, 1988 (the Bluebook, revised January 11, 1990).

2. ``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 and SIP relaxations. It contains clear thresholds and control requirements, and it strengthens the SIP by adding new controls for LCAFs.

      The TSD has more information on our evaluation.

   3. EPA Recommendations To Further Improve the Rule(s)

      In our TSD we identify additional control options that may be reasonably available for implementation in the Los Angeles-South Coast area (see ``Additional Recommendations'') and that we recommend for the next time the local agency modifies the rule.

   4. Public Comment and Proposed 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 will accept comments from the public on this proposal until May 14, 2015. Unless we receive convincing new information during the comment period, we intend to publish a final approval action that will incorporate this rule into the federally enforceable SIP.

      3. Incorporation by Reference

         In this rule, the EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA rule regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is proposing to incorporate by reference South Coast Air Quality Management District Rule 223--

         Emission Reduction Permits for Large Confined Animal Facilities, as listed in Table 1 of this notice. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these documents generally available electronically through www.regulations.gov and/or in hard copy at the appropriate EPA office (see the ADDRESSES section of this preamble for more information).

      4. 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 proposed action merely proposes to approve State law as meeting Federal requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by State law. For that reason, this proposed 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 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 proposed action 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.

         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.

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

         Dated: March 30, 2015.

         Jared Blumenfeld,

         Regional Administrator, Region IX.

         FR Doc. 2015-08469 Filed 4-13-15; 8:45 am

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