[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 118 (Tuesday, June 21, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-14537]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: June 21, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[MD18-1-5993; FRL-4999-3]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
State of Maryland-Emission Statement Program
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing approval of a State Implementation Plan (SIP)
revision submitted by the State of Maryland. 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. This program applies
throughout the State of Maryland. The SIP revision was submitted by the
State to satisfy the Clean Air Act's requirements for an emission
statement program as part of the ozone SIP for the State of Maryland.
DATES: Comments on this proposed action must be received in writing by
July 21, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Comments must 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 following
locations: Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, Air, Radiation,
and Toxics Division, 841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107; Air
and Radiation Management Administration, Maryland Department of the
Environment, 2500 Broening Highway, Baltimore, Maryland, 21224.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Enid A. Gerena, Environmental
Protection Agency, Air, Radiation, and Toxics Division, 841 Chestnut
Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107, (215) 597-8239.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 13, 1992, the State of
Maryland's Department of the Environment (MDE) submitted a revision to
Maryland's SIP which requires owners of stationary sources that emit
VOCs and/or NOx, above specified actual emission applicability
thresholds, to submit annual statements certifying emissions.
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, (CAAor ``the Act''). EPA
published a ``General Preamble'' describing its 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
document, entitled ``Guidance on the Implementation of an Emission
Statement Program'' (July, 1992). The Agency is also conducting a
rulemaking process to modify 40 CFR part 51 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 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 are to submit a
revision to their SIPs by November 15, 1992 establishing this emission
statement program.
If a source emits either VOC 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.
The States 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
emission factors established by EPA (such as those found in EPA
publication AP-42) or other methods acceptable to EPA.
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 with quality assurance for emission
estimates and to facilitate consolidation of all EPA reporting
requirements.
II. Description of the State Submittal
A. Procedural Background
The State of Maryland held public hearings on September 21
(Frederick), September 22 (Columbia), and September 23, 1992
(Centreville) for the purpose of soliciting public comment on proposed
regulatory revisions concerning emission statements for stationary
sources. Following the public hearings, the regulatory revisions were
adopted by the Secretary of the Environment on November 13, 1992,
submitted to EPA on November 13, 1992 as a revision to the SIP, and
became effective in the State of Maryland on December 7, 1992.
B. Components of Maryland's Emission Statement Program
There are several key and specific components of an acceptable
emission statement program. Specifically, the State 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. For the emission statement program to be approvable, the
state's SIP must include, at a minimum, definitions and provisions for
applicability, compliance, and specific source reporting requirements
and reporting forms.
Maryland's revision consists of amendments to COMAR 26.11.01
General Administrative Procedures. These amendments, revise COMAR
26.11.01.01, Definitions, and add 26.11.01.05-1, Emission Statements.
Section .01, Definitions, has been revised by amending or adding
the definitions of the following terms: Actual emissions; Capture
efficiency; Certifying individual; Control efficiency; Oxides of
nitrogen; Percent seasonal throughput; Standard Industrial
Classification; and Typical ozone season day.
Section .05-1, 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 and attain the ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Because the entire State of
Maryland is in the Northeast Ozone Transport Region, emission statement
reporting provisions also apply to sources in all remaining areas of
the State which emit 100 TPY of NOx or 50 TPY of VOC. Section .05-1,
Emission Statements, requires that a certifying official for each
facility provide the State with a statement reporting emissions by
April 1 of each year, beginning with April 1, 1993, for the emissions
discharged during the previous calendar year. Section .05-1, Emission
Statements, delineates specific requirements for the content of these
annual emission statements, including the use of the reporting form
developed by the MDE.
C. Enforceability
The State of Maryland has provisions in its SIP (MD. Env. Code Ann.
Section 2-609, 2-609.1, 2-610, 2-610.1) 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 COMAR 26.11.01, sections .01 and
.05-1 are adequately enforced. Once EPA completes the rulemaking
process approving the Maryland's Emission Statement program as part of
the SIP, it will be federally enforceable.
EPA has determined that the submittal made by the State of Maryland
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 Maryland'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 document.
III. Proposed Action
EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Maryland SIP to
include an Emission Statement Program consisting of revisions to
regulation COMAR 26.11.01., General Administrative Provisions, to amend
section .01, Definitions, and add section .05-1, Emission Statements.
This revision was submitted to EPA by the State of Maryland on November
13, 1992. The EPA is requesting public comments on all aspects of the
issues discussed in this document. These comments will be considered
before taking final action. Interested parties may participate in the
Federal rulemaking procedure by submitting written comments to the EPA
Regional Office listed in the Addresses section of this document.
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-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 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 to propose approval of Maryland's SIP Emission
Statements Program 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. A future document
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 2222) from the requirements of section 3 of Executive
Order 12291 for a period of two years. The EPA has submitted a request
for a permanent waiver for Table 2 and 3 SIP revisions. The OMB has
agreed to continue the 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.
The Administrator's decision to approve or disapprove Maryland's
SIP Emission Statements revision will be based on whether it meets the
requirements of section 110(a)(2)(A)-(K), and part D of the Clean Air
Act, as amended, and EPA regulations in 40 CFR part 52.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental Protection, Air pollution control, Intergovernmental
relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements,
Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q
Dated: April 15, 1994.
Stanley L. Laskowski,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 94-14537 Filed 6-20-94; 8:45 am]
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