[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 105 (Thursday, June 2, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-13456]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: June 2, 1994]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[OAQPS CA38-5-6308; FRL-4890-6]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California
State Implementation Plan Revision, South Coast Air Quality Management
District
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the California State
Implementation Plan (SIP) which concern the control of volatile organic
compound (VOC) emissions from pleasure craft coating operations and set
general recordkeeping requirements for VOC emissions.
The intended effect of proposing approval of these rules is to
regulate emissions of VOCs in accordance with the requirements of the
Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act). EPA's final action
on this notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) will incorporate these
rules into the federally approved SIP. EPA has evaluated each of these
rules and is proposing to approve them 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.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 5, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Daniel A. Meer, Rulemaking
Section (A-5-3), Air and Toxics Division, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105.
Copies of the rule revisions and EPA's evaluation report of each
rule are available for public inspection at EPA's Region 9 office
during normal business hours. Copies of the submitted rule revisions
are also available for inspection at the following locations:
South Coast Air Quality Management District, 21865 East Copley
Drive, Diamond Bar, CA 91765-4182.
California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule
Evaluation Section, 2020 L Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Stamos (A-5-3), Air and Toxics
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne
Street, San Francisco, CA 94105 Telephone: (415) 744-1187.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The rules being proposed for approval into
the California SIP are: South Coast Air Quality Management District
(SCAQMD) Rule 1106.1, Pleasure Craft Coating Operations and Rule 109,
Recordkeeping for Volatile Organic Compound Emissions. These rules were
submitted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to EPA on
September 14, 1992.
Background
On March 3, 1978, EPA promulgated a list of ozone nonattainment
areas under the provisions of the Clean Air Act, as amended in 1977
(1977 CAA or pre-amended Act), that included the Los Angeles-South
Coast Air Basin. 43 FR 8964, 40 CFR 81.305. Because this area was
unable to meet the statutory attainment date of December 31, 1982,
California requested under section 172(a)(2), and EPA approved, an
extension of the attainment date to December 31, 1987. 40 CFR 52.238.
On May 26, 1988, EPA notified the Governor of California, pursuant to
section 110(a)(2)(H) of the pre-amended Act, that the SCAQMD's portion
of the California SIP was inadequate to attain and maintain the ozone
standard and requested that deficiencies in the existing SIP be
corrected (EPA's SIP-Call). On November 15, 1990, the Clean Air Act
Amendments of 1990 were enacted. Pub. L. 101-549, 104 Stat. 2399,
codified at 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q. In amended section 182(a)(2)(A) of
the CAA, Congress statutorily adopted the requirement that
nonattainment areas fix their deficient reasonably available control
technology (RACT) rules for ozone and established a deadline of May 15,
1991 for states to submit corrections of those deficiencies.
Section 182(a)(2)(A) applies to areas designated as nonattainment
prior to enactment of the amendments and classified as marginal or
above as of the date of enactment. It requires such areas to adopt and
correct RACT rules pursuant to pre-amended section 172(b) as
interpreted in pre-amendment guidance.1 EPA's SIP-Call used that
guidance to indicate the necessary corrections for specific
nonattainment areas. The Los Angeles-South Coast Air Basin is
classified as extreme;2 therefore, this area was subject to the
RACT fix-up requirement and the May 15, 1991 deadline.
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\1\ Among other things, the pre-amendment guidance consists of
those portions of the proposed Post-1987 ozone and carbon monoxide
policy that concern RACT, 52 FR 45044 (November 24, 1987); ``Issues
Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations,
Clarification to Appendix D of November 24, 1987 Federal Register
Notice'' (Blue Book) (notice of availability was published in the
Federal Register on May 25, 1988); and the existing control
technique guidelines (CTGs).
\2\ The Los Angeles South Coast Air Basin retained its
designation and was classified by operation of law pursuant to
sections 107(d) and 181(a) upon the date of enactment of the CAA.
See 56 FR 56694 (November 6, 1991).
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The State of California submitted many revised RACT rules for
incorporation into its SIP on September 14, 1992, including the rules
being acted on in this document. This document addresses EPA's proposed
action for SCAQMD Rule 1106.1, Pleasure Craft Coating Operations, and
for SCAQMD Rule 109, Recordkeeping for Volatile Organic Compound
Emissions. SCAQMD adopted Rule 1106.1 on May 1, 1992 and Rule 109 on
March 6, 1992. These submitted rules were found to be complete on
November 20, 1992 pursuant to EPA's completeness criteria that are set
forth in 40 CFR Part 51 Appendix V3 and are being proposed for
approval into the SIP.
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\3\ EPA adopted the completeness criteria on February 16, 1990
(55 FR 5830) and, pursuant to section 110(k)(1)(A) of the CAA,
revised the criteria on August 26, 1991 (56 FR 42216).
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Rule 1106.1 requires the use of low VOC coatings for marine
pleasure craft coating operations and coating application methods with
high transfer efficiencies, and Rule 109 sets out general recordkeeping
requirements for regulating volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions
for a variety of source categories. VOCs contribute to the production
of ground level ozone and smog. The rules were adopted as part of the
district's efforts to achieve the National Ambient Air Quality Standard
(NAAQS) for ozone and in response to EPA's SIP-Call and the section
182(a)(2)(A) CAA requirement. The following is EPA's evaluation and
proposed action for these rules.
EPA Evaluation and Proposed Action
In determining the approvability of a VOC rule, EPA must evaluate
the rule for consistency with the requirements of the CAA and EPA
regulations, as found in section 110 and part D of the CAA and 40 CFR
part 51 (Requirements for Preparation, Adoption, and Submittal of
Implementation Plans). The EPA interpretation of these requirements,
which forms the basis for today's action, appears in the various EPA
policy guidance documents listed in footnote 1. Among those provisions
is the requirement that a VOC rule must, at a minimum, provide for the
implementation of RACT for stationary sources of VOC emissions. This
requirement was carried forth from the pre-amended Act.
For the purpose of assisting state and local agencies in developing
RACT rules, EPA prepared a series of Control Technique Guideline (CTG)
documents. The CTGs are based on the underlying requirements of the Act
and specify the presumptive norms for what is RACT for specific source
categories. Under the CAA, Congress ratified EPA's use of these
documents, as well as other Agency policy, for requiring States to
``fix-up'' their RACT rules. See section 182(a)(2)(A). Rule 1106.1
controls emissions from a source category for which EPA has not issued
a CTG and Rule 109 is a general recordkeeping rule and therefore does
not have a corresponding CTG. Further interpretations of EPA policy are
found in the Blue Book, referred to in footnote 1. In general, these
guidance documents have been set forth to ensure that VOC rules are
fully enforceable and strengthen or maintain the SIP.
SCAQMD's submitted Rule 109, includes the following significant
changes from the current SIP:
Adds a definition for Exempt Compounds,
Removes Executive Officer Discretion from sections (c)(2)
and (c)(3) as prescribed in the Technical Support Document (TSD) (dated
January 15, 1992), and
Adds EPA-approved test methods.
SCAQMD Rule 1106.1 is a new rule which was adopted to regulate
emissions for the coating of marine pleasure craft.
EPA has evaluated the submitted rules and has determined that they
are consistent with the CAA, EPA regulations, and EPA policy.
Therefore, SCAQMD Rule 1106.1 and Rule 109 are being proposed for
approval under section 110(k)(3) of the CAA as meeting the requirements
of section 110(a) and Part D.
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
relation to relevant statutory and regulatory requirements.
Regulatory Process
Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. Section 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 sections 110 and 301 and subchapter I, part D
of the CAA 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, 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 regulatory flexibility analysis would constitute
Federal inquiry into the economic reasonableness of state 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. 7410(a)(2).
This action has been classified as a Table 3 action 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. A future notice will inform the general public of
these tables. On January 6, 1989, the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) waived Table 2 and Table 3 SIP revisions (54 FR 222) from the
requirements of Section 3 of Executive Order 12291 for 2 years. The EPA
has submitted a request for a permanent waiver for Table 2 and Table 3
SIP revisions. The OMB has agreed to continue the temporary waiver
until such time as it rules on EPA's request. This request continues in
effect under Executive Order 12866 which superseded Executive Order
12291 on September 30, 1993.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Hydrocarbons,
Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.
Dated: May 18, 1994.
Felicia Marcus,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-13456 Filed 6-1-94; 8:45 am]
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