[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 154 (Tuesday, August 11, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 42719-42721]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-21353]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[CA 191-0088a; FRL-6138-6]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California
State Implementation Plan Revision; Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution
Control District
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve a revision to the
California State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revision concerns a
rule from the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District
(MBUAPCD) which controls emissions of oxides of nitrogen
(NOX) and sulfur compounds. This approval action will
incorporate this rule into the Federally approved SIP. The intended
effect of approving this rule is to regulate emissions of
NOX and SO2 in accordance with the requirements
of the Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act). Thus, EPA is
finalizing the approval of this revision into the California SIP under
provisions of the CAA regarding EPA action on SIP submittals, and SIPs
for national primary and secondary ambient air quality standards.
DATES: This rule is effective on October 13, 1998 without further
notice, unless EPA receives relevant adverse comments by September 10,
1998. If EPA receives such comment, then it will publish a timely
withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that this rule
will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted to Andrew Steckel at the Region
IX office listed below. Copies of the rule revision and EPA's
evaluation report of the rule are available for public inspection at
EPA's Region IX office during normal business hours. Copies of the
submitted rule revisions are also available for inspection at the
following locations:
Environmental Protection Agency, Air Docket (6102), 401 ``M'' Street,
S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460
California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule
Evaluation Section, 2020 ``L'' Street, Sacramento, CA 95812.
Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District, Rule Development,
24580 Silver Cloud Ct., Monterey, CA 93940-6536.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stanley Tong, Rulemaking Office (AIR-
4), Air Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, 75
Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901, Telephone: (415) 744-
1191.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Applicability
This document addresses EPA's direct final action to approve
Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District (MBUAPCD) Rule 404,
Sulfur Compounds and Nitrogen Oxides, into the California SIP. This
rule was adopted by MBUAPCD on October 16, 1996. It was submitted by
the California
[[Page 42720]]
Air Resources Board (CARB) to EPA on March 3, 1997.
II. Background
On November 15, 1990, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAA or
the Act) were enacted. Pub. L. 101-549, 104 Stat. 2399, codified at 42
U.S.C. 7401-7671q. 40 CFR part 91.305 provides the attainment status
designations for air districts in California. MBUAPCD is listed as
being in attainment for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards
(NAAQS) for ozone, NO2, and SO2; therefore
stationary sources in the air district are not subject to the
Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) requirements of section
182(b)(2).
On October 16, 1996 MBUAPCD adopted Rule 404, Sulfur Compounds and
Nitrogen Oxides. On March 3, 1997, the State of California submitted
this rule to EPA. This submitted rule was found to be complete on
August 12, 1997 pursuant to EPA's completeness criteria that are set
forth in 40 CFR Part 51 Appendix V1 and is being finalized
for approval into the SIP. By today's document, EPA is taking direct
final action to approve this submittal. This final action will
incorporate this rule into the Federally approved SIP.
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\1\ EPA adopted the completeness criteria on February 16, 1990
(55 FR 5824) 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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NOX emissions contribute to the production of ground
level ozone and smog. The combustion of fuels containing sulfur
compounds leads to the production of SO2. MBUAPCD Rule 404
provides emission limits for oxides of nitrogen and sulfur compounds.
The following is EPA's evaluation and final action for these rules.
III. EPA Evaluation and Action
In determining the approvability of a NOX and
SO2 rule, EPA must evaluate the rule for consistency with
the requirements of the CAA and EPA regulations, as found in section
110 and 40 CFR part 51 (Requirements for Preparation, Adoption and
Submittal of Implementation Plans) respectively. The EPA interpretation
of these requirements, which forms the basis for this action, appears
in various EPA policy guidance documents. Among these provisions is the
requirement that a NOX rule must, at a minimum, provide for
the implementation of RACT for stationary sources of NOX
emissions in areas designated as nonattainment for ozone. Since MBUAPCD
is in attainment for ozone, RACT requirements do not apply.
While MBUAPCD is in attainment with the NO2,
SO2 and ozone NAAQS, many of the general SIP regulations
regarding enforceability, for example, are still appropriate for the
rule. In determining the approvability of this rule, EPA also evaluated
it in light of the ``SO2 Guideline Document'', EPA-452/R-94-
008.
On May 31, 1972 EPA approved into the SIP a version of Rule 404--
paragraphs (b) and (c), Sulfur Content and Oxides of Nitrogen, that had
been adopted by San Benito APCD and Monterey-Santa Cruz Unified APCD.
On October 27, 1977 EPA approved into the SIP Rule 404 paragraph (c),
Sulfur Content and Oxides of Nitrogen that has been adopted by MBUAPCD.
MBUAPCD submitted Rule 404, Sulfur Content and Oxides of Nitrogen,
includes the following significant changes from the current SIP:
Consolidates NOX emission limits under MBUAPCD
that were previously listed separately for Monterey-Santa Cruz Air
Pollution Control District (APCD) and San Benito County APCD
Adds a section on applicability.
Adds a section on definitions.
Adds a section on recordkeeping.
Adds a section on test methods.
Clarifies, through an exemptions section, that a source
subject to Best Available Control Technology (BACT) would not be
subject to the general emission limits contained in Rule 404.
A more detailed discussion can be found in the Technical Support
Document (TSD) for Rule 404, dated July 17, 1998.
EPA has evaluated the submitted rule and has determined that it is
consistent with the CAA, EPA regulations and EPA policy. Therefore,
MBUAPCD Rule 404, Sulfur Compounds and Oxides of Nitrogen, is being
approved under section 110(k)(3) of the CAA as meeting the requirements
of section 110(a), section 182(f) and the NOX Supplement to
the General Preamble.
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.
EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because the
Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no
adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this
Federal Register publication, EPA is publishing a separate document
that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision should
relevant adverse comments be filed. This rule will be effective October
13, 1998 without further notice unless the Agency receives relevant
adverse comments by September 10, 1998.
If the EPA received such comments, then EPA will publish a document
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will
not take effect. All public comments received will then be addressed in
a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. The EPA will not
institute a second comment period. 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 rule will be effective on
October 13, 1998 and no further action will be taken on the proposed
rule.
IV. Administrative Requirements
A. Executive Orders 12866 and 13045
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has exempted this
regulatory action from E.O. 12866 review.
The final rule is not subject to E.O. 13045, entitled ``Protection
of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks,'' because
it is not an ``economically significant'' action under E.O. 12866.
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).
[[Page 42721]]
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 October 13, 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).)
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Hydrocarbons,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen
dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile
organic compound, sulfur oxides.
Note: 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: July 28, 1998.
Sally Seymour,
Acting 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 paragraph (c)(244)(i)(A)(2)
to read as follows:
Sec. 52.220 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(244) * * *
(i) * * *
(A) * * *
(2) Rule 404, adopted on October 16, 1996.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 98-21353 Filed 8-10-98; 8:45 am]
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