[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 102 (Friday, May 26, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 27889-27891]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-12927]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[DC15-1-6358; FRL-5178-7]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
District of Columbia--Emission Statement Program
AGENCY: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision
submitted by the District of Columbia. This revision consists of an
emission statement program for stationary sources which emit volatile
organic compounds (VOCs) and/or nitrogen oxides (NOX) at or above
specified actual emission threshold levels. The intended effect of this
action is to approve a regulation for annual reporting of actual
emissions by sources that emit VOC and/or NOX within the District
in accordance with section 182(a)(3)(b) of the 1990 Clean Air Act
Amendments (CAAA). This action is being taken under section 110 of the
Clean Air Act.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This action will become effective July 25, 1995 unless
notice is received on or before June 26, 1995 that adverse or critical
comments will be submitted. If the effective date is delayed, timely
notice will be published in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Thomas J. Maslany, Director, Air,
Radiation, and Toxics Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region III, 841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19107.
Copies of the documents relevant to this action are available for
public inspection during normal business hours at the Air, Radiation,
and Toxics Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III,
841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107; the Air and Radiation
Docket and Information Center, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
401 M Street. SW, Washington, DC 20460; and the Environmental
Regulation Administration, District of Columbia Department of Consumer
and Regulatory Affairs, 2100 Martin Luther King Ave, S.E., Washington,
DC 20020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Enid A. Gerena, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Air, Radiation, and Toxics Division, 841 Chestnut
Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107, (215) 597-8239.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 22, 1993, the District of
Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) submitted
a formal revision to its SIP. One of those revisions is the District's
Emission Statement program which requires owners of stationary sources
that emit VOCs and/or NOX, above specified actual emission
applicability thresholds, to submit annual statements certifying
emissions. This notice only addresses the District's Emission Statement
SIP submittal. The other revisions submitted on October 22, 1993 are
the subjects of separate rulemaking notices.
I. Background
The air quality planning and State Implementation Plan (SIP)
requirements for ozone nonattainment and transport areas are set out in
subparts I and II of Part D of Title I of the Clean Air Act, as amended
by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. EPA published a ``General
Preamble'' describing EPA's preliminary views on how it intends to
review SIP's and SIP revisions submitted under Title I of the CAA,
including those State submittals for ozone transport areas within the
States {see 57 FR 13498 (April 16, 1992) [''SIP: General Preamble for
the Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of
1990''], 57 FR 18070 (April 28, 1992) [''Appendices to the General
Preamble''], and 57 FR 55620 (November 25, 1992) [''SIP: NOX
Supplement to the General Preamble'']}.
EPA also issued a draft guidance document describing the
requirements for the emission statement programs discussed in this
action, entitled ``Guidance on the Implementation of an Emission
Statement Program'' (July, 1992). The Agency is also conducting a
rulemaking process to modify title 40, part 51 of the CFR to reflect
the requirements of the emission statement program.
Section 182 of the Act sets out a graduated control program for
ozone nonattainment areas. Section 182(a) sets out requirements
applicable in marginal ozone nonattainment areas, which are also made
applicable by section 182 (b), (c), (d), and (e) to all other ozone
nonattainment areas. Among the requirements in section 182(a) is a
program for stationary sources to prepare and submit to the State each
year emission statements certifying their actual emissions of VOCs and
NOX. This section of the Act provides that the States or in this
case the District, are to submit a revision to their SIPs by November
15, 1992 establishing this emission statement program. [[Page 27890]]
If a source emits either VOCs or NOX at or above the
designated minimum reporting level, the other pollutant should be
included in the emission statement, even if it is emitted at levels
below the specified cutoffs.
States or the District may waive, with EPA approval, the
requirement for an emission statement for classes or categories of
sources with less than 25 tons per year of actual plant-wide NOX
or VOC emissions in nonattainment areas if the class or category is
included in the base year and periodic inventories and emissions are
calculated using emissions factors established by EPA (such as those
found in EPA publication AP-42) or other methods acceptable to EPA.
Emissions from stationary sources that emit less than 25 tons per year
of VOC and NOX are included in the District of Columbia's 1990
base year emission inventory and must also be included in the periodic
emission inventories.
At minimum, the emission statement data should include:
--Certification of data accuracy;
--Source identification information;
--Operating schedule;
--Emissions information (to include annual and typical ozone season day
emissions);
--Control equipment information; and
--Process data.
EPA developed emission statements data elements to be consistent
with other source and State reporting requirements. This consistency is
essential to assist States (or the District) with quality assurance for
emission estimates and to facilitate consolidation of all EPA reporting
requirements.
II. EPA's Evaluation of the District's Submittal
A. Procedural Background
The District of Columbia held a public hearing on October 27, 1992,
for the purpose of soliciting public comment on proposed regulatory
revisions concerning emission statements for stationary sources. The
regulatory revisions were adopted on July 16, 1993, submitted to EPA on
October 22, 1993 as a revision to the SIP, and became effective in the
District on September 30, 1993.
B. Components of the District's Emission Statement Program
There are several key and specific components of an acceptable
emission statement program. Specifically, the District must submit a
revision to its SIP which consists of an emission statement program
which meets the minimum requirements for reporting by the sources and
the State (or the District). For the emission statement program to be
approvable, the District's SIP revision must include, at a minimum,
definitions and provisions for applicability, compliance, and specific
source reporting requirements and reporting forms.
The District's revision consists of amendments to D.C. ACT 10-56
District of Columbia Air Pollution Control Act of 1984. These
amendments revise Section 20 DCMR 199, Definitions and add Section 20
DCMR 500.7, Emission Statements.
Section 20 DCMR 199, Definitions, has been revised by adding the
definitions of the following terms:
Annual process rate; Certifying individual; Control efficiency;
Control equipment identification code; Emission factor; Emission
statement; Estimated emission method code; Oxides of nitrogen; Percent
annual throughput; Plant; Point; Process rate; Standard industrial
classification code; Typical ozone season day; and Volatile organic
compounds.
Section 20 DCMR 500.7, Emission Statements, requires that a person
who owns or operates any installation, source, or premises located in
areas designated by the CAA as marginal, moderate, serious, severe or
extreme ozone nonattainment area to report the levels of emissions from
the sources emitting 25 tons per year (TPY) or more of VOCs and
NOX, in order to track emission reductions necessary to attain the
ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Section 20 DCMR
500.7, Emission Statements, also requires that a certifying official
for each facility provide the District with a statement reporting
emissions by April 15 of each year, beginning with April 15, 1993, for
the emissions discharged during the previous calendar year. Section 20
DCMR 500.7, Emission Statements, also defines specific requirements for
the content of these annual emission statements.
C. Enforceability
The District of Columbia has provisions in its SIP which ensure
that the emission statement requirements of Section 182(a)(3)(B) and
Sections 184(b)(2) and 182(f) of the CAA as required by D.C. ACT 10-56,
sections 20 DCMR 199, and section 20 DCMR 500.7 are adequately
enforced. Once EPA completes the rulemaking process approving the
District's Emission Statement program as part of the SIP, it will be
federally enforceable.
EPA has determined that the submittal made by the District of
Columbia satisfies the relevant requirements of the CAA and EPA's
guidance document, ``Guidance on the Implementation of an Emission
Statement Program'' (July 1992). EPA's detailed review of the
District's Emission Statement Program is contained in a Technical
Support Document (TSD) which is available, upon request, from the EPA
Regional Office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this action.
EPA is approving this SIP revision without prior proposal because
the Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates
no adverse comments. However, in a separate document in this Federal
Register publication, EPA is proposing to approve the SIP revision
should adverse or critical comments be filed. This action will be
effective July 25, 1995 unless, within 30 days of publication, adverse
or critical comments are received.
If EPA receives such comments, this action will be withdrawn before
the effective date by publishing a subsequent notice that will withdraw
the final action. All public comments received will then be addressed
in a subsequent final rule based on this action serving as a proposed
rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period on this action.
Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at
this time. If no such comments are received, the public is advised that
this action will be effective on July 25, 1995.
III. Final Action
EPA is approving revisions to the District of Columbia SIP to
include an Emission Statement Program. These revisions consist of
amendments to D.C. ACT 10-56 District of Columbia Air Pollution Control
Act by revising section 20 DCMR 199, Definitions, and the addition of
section 20 DCMR 500.7, Emission Statements.
Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or
allowing or establishing a precedent for any future request for
revision of any SIP. Each request for revision to the SIP shall be
considered separately in light of specific technical, economic, and
environmental factors and in relation to relevant statutory and
regulatory requirements.
Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 600 et. seq., EPA
must prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis assessing the impact of
any proposed or final rule on small entities. 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604.
Alternatively, EPA may certify that the rule will not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
Small entities include small businesses, small not-for-
[[Page 27891]] profit enterprises, and government entities with
jurisdiction over populations of less than 50,000.
SIP approvals under section 110 and subchapter I, Part D of the Act
do not create any new requirements, but simply approve requirements
that the State is already imposing. Therefore, because the Federal SIP-
approval does not impose any new requirements, the Administrator
certifies that it does not have a significant impact on small entities.
Moreover, due to the nature of the federal-state relationship under the
CAA, preparation of a regulatory flexibility analysis would constitute
federal inquiry into the economic reasonableness of state or District
action. The CAA forbids EPA to base its actions concerning SIPs on such
grounds. Union Electric Co. v. U.S. E.P.A. , 427 U.S. 246, 256-66
(S.Ct. 1976); 42 U.S.C. section 7410 (a)(2).
This action has been classified as a Table 2 action for signature
by the Regional Administrator under the procedures published in the
Federal Register on January 19, 1989 (54 FR 2214-2225) as revised by an
October 4, 1993 memorandum from Michael H. Shapiro, Acting Assistant
Administrator for Air and Radiation. The OMB has exempted this
regulatory action from E.O. 12866 review. 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 July 25, 1995. 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 approving the District of Columbia Emission Statement
SIP submittal 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, Hydrocarbons,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Oxides of
nitrogen, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, volatile
organic compounds.
Dated: January 25, 1995.
Peter H. Kostmayer,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
40 CFR part 52, subpart J of chapter I, title 40 is amended as
follows:
PART 52--[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for Part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.
Subpart J--District of Columbia
2. Section 52.470 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(32) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.470 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(32) Revisions to the District of Columbia Regulations State
Implementation Plan submitted on October 22, 1993 by the Government of
the District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.
(i) Incorporation by reference.
(A) Letter of October 22, 1993 from the Government of the District
of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs transmitting
a revised regulation which require owners of stationary sources to
submit emission statements annually.
(B) D.C. ACT 10-56 amendments to District of Columbia Air Pollution
Control Act of 1984, Section 20 DCMR 199, specifically the addition of
new definitions, and the addition of Section 20 DCMR 500.7. Effective
on September 30, 1993.
[FR Doc. 95-12927 Filed 5-25-95; 8:45 am]
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