[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 114 (Monday, June 15, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 32621-32623]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-15844]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[CA181-0069; FRL-6110-2]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California
State Implementation Plan Revision, South Coast Air Quality Management
District
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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[[Page 32622]]
SUMMARY: EPA is finalizing the approval of revisions to the California
State Implementation Plan (SIP) proposed in the Federal Register on
November 8, 1996. The revisions concern rules from the South Coast Air
Quality Management District. This approval action will incorporate
these rules into the federally approved SIP. The intended effect of
approving these rules is to regulate emissions of oxides of nitrogen
(NOX)and sulfur (SOX) in accordance with the
requirements of the Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).
The rules concern the control of NOX and SOX
emissions from facilities in the South Coast Air Quality Management
District (SCAQMD) with four or more tons of NOX or
SOX emissions per year from permitted equipment. The subject
facilities, in order to meet annual emission reduction requirements,
will participate in an economic incentive program (EIP) in order to
reduce emissions at a significantly lower cost. Thus, EPA is finalizing
the approval of these revisions into the California SIP under
provisions of the CAA regarding EPA action on SIP submittals, SIPs for
national primary and secondary ambient air quality standards and plan
requirements for nonattainment areas.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This action is effective on July 15, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the rule revisions and EPA's evaluation report for
each rule are available for public inspection at EPA's Region IX office
during normal business hours. Copies of the submitted rule revisions
are available for inspection at the following locations:
Rulemaking Office (AIR-4), Air Division, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
Environmental Protection Agency, Air Docket (6102), 401 ``M'' Street,
SW, Washington, D.C. 20460
California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule
Evaluation Section, 2020 ``L'' Street, Sacramento, CA 95812
South Coast Air Quality Management District, 21865 East Copley Drive,
Diamond Bar, CA 91765
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Steckel, Rulemaking Office
(AIR-4), Air Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9,
75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, Telephone: (415) 744-
1185.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Applicability
The rules being approved into the California SIP include the
following rules from the South Coast Air Quality Management District
(SCAQMD): Rule 2000, ``General''; Rule 2001, ``Applicability''; Rule
2002, ``Allocations for Oxides of Nitrogen (NOX) and Oxides
of Sulfur (SOX) Emissions''; Rule 2004, ``Requirements'';
Rule 2005 ``New Source Review for Reclaim''; Rule 2006 ``Permits'';
Rule 2007 ``Trading Requirements''; Rule 2011 ``Requirements for
Monitoring, Reporting, and Recordkeeping for Oxides of Sulfur
(SOX) Emissions''; Rule 2011--Appendix A, ``Protocol for
Monitoring, Reporting, and Recordkeeping for Oxides of Sulfur
(SOX) Emissions''; Rule 2012 ``Requirements for Monitoring,
Reporting, and Recordkeeping for Oxides of Nitrogen (NOX)
Emissions''; Rule 2012--Appendix A, ``Protocol for Monitoring,
Reporting, and Recordkeeping for Oxides of Nitrogen (NOX)
Emissions'' and Rule 2015 ``Backstop Provisions.'' These rules were
submitted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to EPA on August
28, 1996. These rules were adopted by the SCAQMD on December 7, 1995
(Rules 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, and 2015) and
May 10, 1996 (Rule 2005).
This Federal Register action for the South Coast Air Quality
Management District excludes the Los Angeles County portion of the
Southeast Desert Air Quality Management Area, otherwise known as the
Antelope Valley Region in Los Angeles County, which is now under the
jurisdiction of the Antelope Valley Air Pollution Control District as
of July 1, 1997. 1
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\1\ The State has recently changed the names and boundaries of
the air basins located within the Southeast Desert Modified AQMA.
Pursuant to State regulation the Coachella-San Jacinto Planning Area
is now part of the Salton Sea Air Basin (17 Cal. Code. Reg. section
60114); the Victor Valley/Barstow region in San Bernardino County
and Antelope Valley Region in Los Angeles County is a part of the
Mojave Desert Air Basin (17 Cal. Code. Reg. section 60109). In
addition, in 1996 the California Legislature established a new local
air agency, the Antelope Valley Air Pollution Control District, to
have the responsibility for local air pollution planning and
measures in the Antelope Valley Region (California Health & Safety
Code Sec. 40106).
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II. Background
On November 8, 1996 in 61 FR 57834, EPA proposed to approve the
SCAQMD rules listed in the applicability section of this document.
These rules are part of the South Coast Air Quality Management
District's Regulation Twenty, the NOX and SOX
Regional Clean Air Incentives Market (RECLAIM). Revisions to Regulation
Twenty were adopted by the South Coast Air Quality Management District
to address all of the deficiencies which EPA identified as necessary to
be addressed to fully approve the program. These rules were adopted as
part of South Coast Air Quality Management District's efforts to
achieve the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone
and in response to section 182(f) NOX RACT requirements of
the Clean Air Act (CAA). A detailed discussion of the background for
each of the above rules and nonattainment areas is provided in the
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) cited above.
EPA has evaluated the above rules for consistency with the
requirements of the CAA and EPA regulations and EPA interpretation of
these requirements as expressed in the various EPA policy guidance
documents referenced in the NPRM cited above. EPA has found that the
rules meet the applicable EPA requirements. A detailed discussion of
the rule provisions and evaluations has been provided in the NPRM and
in the technical support document (TSD), dated August, 1996, which is
available at EPA's Region 9 office. This final approval of the August
28, 1996 submittal supersedes the limited disapproval of the March 21,
1994 submittal and removes the possibility of sanctions associated with
the final limited approval/limited disapproval published on November 8,
1996 (see 61 FR 57775). This final approval permanently stops the
sanction clock.
III. Response to Public Comments
A 30-day public comment period was provided in 61 FR 57834. EPA
received no comments.
IV. EPA Action
EPA is finalizing this action to approve the above rules for
inclusion into the California SIP. EPA is approving the submittal under
section 110(k)(3) as meeting the requirements of section 110(a) and
part D of the CAA. This approval action will incorporate these rules
into the federally approved SIP. The intended effect of approving these
rules is to regulate emissions of NOX and SOX in
accordance with the requirements of the CAA.
Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or
allowing or establishing a precedent for any future request for
revision to any state implementation plan. Each request for revision to
the state implementation plan shall be considered separately in light
of specific technical, economic, and environmental factors and in
[[Page 32623]]
relation to relevant statutory and regulatory requirements.
V. Administrative Requirements
A. Executive Order 12866
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has exempted this
regulatory action from E.O. 12866 review.
B. Regulatory Flexibility Act
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 impact on a substantial number of small entities. Small
entities include small businesses, small not-for-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
Clean Air 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
any small entities affected. Moreover, due to the nature of the
Federal-State relationship under the CAA, preparation of a flexibility
analysis would constitute Federal inquiry into the economic
reasonableness of state action. The Clean Air Act forbids EPA to base
its actions concerning SIPs on such grounds. Union Electric Co. v. U.S.
EPA, 427 U.S. 246, 255-66 (1976); 42 U.S.C. 7410(a)(2).
C. Unfunded Mandates
Under section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
(``Unfunded Mandates Act''), signed into law on March 22, 1995, EPA
must prepare a budgetary impact statement to accompany any proposed or
final rule that includes a Federal mandate that may result in estimated
costs to State, local, or tribal governments in the aggregate; or to
private sector, of $100 million or more. Under section 205, EPA must
select the most cost-effective and least burdensome alternative that
achieves the objectives of the rule and is consistent with statutory
requirements. Section 203 requires EPA to establish a plan for
informing and advising any small governments that may be significantly
or uniquely impacted by the rule.
EPA has determined that the approval action promulgated does not
include a Federal mandate that may result in estimated costs of $100
million or more to either State, local, or tribal governments in the
aggregate, or to the private sector. This Federal action approves pre-
existing requirements under State or local law, and imposes no new
Federal requirements. Accordingly, no additional costs to State, local,
or tribal governments, or to the private sector, result from this
action.
D. Submission to Congress and the General Accounting Office
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. This rule is not a
``major'' rule as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
E. Petitions for Judicial 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 August 14, 1998. 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).)
F. Executive Order 13045
Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety
Risks. Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), applies to
any rule that is (1) likely to be ``economically significant'' as
defined under Executive Order 12866, and (2) concerns an environmental
health or safety risk that EPA has reason to believe may have a
disproportionate effect on children. If a regulatory action meets both
criteria, the Agency must evaluate the environmental health or safety
effects of the planned rule on children, and explain why the planned
regulation is preferable to other potentially effective and reasonably
feasible alternatives considered by the Agency.
This rule is not subject to E.O. 13045, ``Protection of Children
from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks'' because this is not
an ``economically significant'' regulatory action as defined by E.O.
12866, and because it does not involve decisions on environmental
health or safety risks.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Hydrocarbons,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Incorporation by reference of the State Implementation Plan for the
State of California was approved by the Director of the Federal
Register on July 1, 1982.
Dated: May 4, 1998.
Felicia Marcus,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
Part 52, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 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 et seq.
Subpart F--California
2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding paragraphs
(c)(240)(i)(A)(2), (3), and (4) to read as follows:
Sec. 52.220 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(240) * * *
(i) * * *
(A) * * *
(2) Rules 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2011--Appendix
A, 2012, 2012--Appendix A, and 2015 adopted on October 15, 1993 and
amended on December 7, 1995.
(3) Rule 2012(j)(3)--Testing Guidelines (Protocol) for Alternative
Nitrogen Oxides Emission Rate Determination at Process Units, dated
March 31, 1994, adopted on December 7, 1995.
(4) Rule 2005 adopted on October 15, 1993 and amended on May 10,
1996.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 98-15844 Filed 6-12-98; 8:45 am]
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