[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 154 (Thursday, August 11, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-19643]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: August 11, 1994]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[CA 43-3-6270; FRL 5029-8]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California
State Implementation Plan Revision, Santa Barbara County Air Pollution
Control District (SBCAPCD)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).
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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 organic liquid loading facilities.
The intended effect of proposing approval of this rule 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 (NPRM) will incorporate this rule
into the federally approved SIP. EPA has evaluated the rule and is
proposing to approve it 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 September 12, 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 94105-3901.
Please refer to document number CA 37-10-6201 in all correspondence.
Copies of the rule revisions and EPA's evaluation report of the
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:
California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule
Evaluation Section, 2020 ``L'' Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.
Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District, 26 Castilian
Drive, Suite B-23, Goleta, CA 93117.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Duane F. James, Rulemaking Section (A-
5-3), Air and Toxics Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region IX 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105 Telephone: (415)
744-1191.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Applicability
The rule being proposed for approval into the California SIP is
Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District's (SBCAPCD) Rule
346, ``Loading of Organic Cargo Vessels.'' This rule was submitted by
the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to EPA on January 11, 1993.
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 SBCAPCD. 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, 52.222. On May 26, 1988, EPA
notified the Governor of California, pursuant to section 110(a)(2)(H)
of the pre-amended Act, that the above district's portions 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. Public Law 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 Santa Barbara County Area is classified as
moderate;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\SBCAPCD retained its designation of nonattainment and was
classified by operation of law pursuant to sections 107(d) and
181(a) upon the date of enactment of the CAA. See 55 FR 56694
(November 6, 1991).
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The State of California submitted many revised RACT rules for
incorporation into its SIP on January 11, 1993, including the rule
being acted on in this document. This document addresses EPA's proposed
action for SBCAPCD's Rule 346, ``Loading of Organic Cargo Vessels.''
SBCAPCD adopted Rule 346 on October 13, 1992. The submitted rule was
found to be complete on March 26, 1993, pursuant to EPA's completeness
criteria that are set forth in 40 CFR part 51, appendix V3 and is
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 346 requires bottom loading and vapor recovery systems for the
transfer of non-gasoline organic liquids from facilities into cargo
tanks. VOCs contribute to the production of ground level ozone and
smog. The rule was 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
this rule.
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). There is no CTG
applicable to Rule 346. However, the following CTG entitled, ``Control
of Hydrocarbons from Tank Truck Gasoline Loading Terminals (EPA-450/2-
77-026),'' was used only as guidance in evaluating Rule 346. 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.
SBCAPCD's Rule 346, ``Loading of Organic Cargo Vessels,'' is a new
rule which was adopted to require bottom loading and vapor recovery
systems during the transfer of non-gasoline organic liquids from
loading facilities into cargo tanks. In bottom loading, the organic
liquid is transferred to the tank through a fill pipe that is attached
to the bottom of the tank. This arrangement reduces the amount of
organic liquid that is splashed in the tank, which reduces the
formation of organic liquid vapors.
EPA has evaluated the submitted rule and has determined that it is
consistent with the CAA, EPA regulations, and EPA policy. Therefore,
SBCAPCD's Rule 346 is 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. 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 2 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. The OMB has exempted this regulatory action from
Executive Order 12866 review.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Hydrocarbons,
Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic compound.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.
Dated: August 1, 1994.
Nora L. McGee,
Acting Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-19643 Filed 8-10-94; 8:45 am]
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