[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 158 (Friday, August 15, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43645-43647]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-21694]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[CA 128-0043; FRL-5875-9]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California
State Implementation Plan Revision, San Joaquin Valley 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 on revisions to the
California State Implementation Plan. The revisions concern negative
declarations from the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control
District (SJVUAPCD) for five source categories that emit oxides of
nitrogen (NOX): Nitric and Adipic Acid Manufacturing Plants,
Cement Manufacturing Plants, Asphalt Batch Plants, Iron and Steel
Manufacturing Plants, and Driers. The SJVUAPCD has certified that these
source categories are not present in the District and this information
is being added to the federally approved State Implementation Plan. The
intended effect of approving these negative declarations is to meet the
requirements of the Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).
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.
DATES: This action is effective on October 14, 1997 unless adverse or
critical comments are received by September 15, 1997. If the effective
date is delayed, a timely notice will be published in the Federal
Register.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted to Julie Rose at the Region IX
office listed below. Copies of the submitted negative declarations are
available for public inspection at EPA's Region IX office and also at
the following locations during normal business hours.
Rulemaking Office (AIR-4), Air Division, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
Air Docket (6102), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 ``M''
Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460
California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule
Evaluation Section, 2020 ``L'' Street, Sacramento, CA 92123-1095
San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District, 1999
Tuolumne Street, Fresno, CA 93721
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie A. Rose, Rulemaking Office (AIR-
4), Air Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 75 Hawthorne
Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, Telephone: (415) 744-1184.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Applicability
The revisions being approved as additional information for the
California SIP include five negative declarations from the SJVUAPCD
regarding the following source categories: (1) Nitric and Adipic Acid
Manufacturing Plants, (2) Cement Manufacturing Plants, (3) Asphalt
Batch Plants, (4) Iron and Steel Manufacturing Plants, and (5) Driers.
These negative declarations were submitted by the California Air
Resources Board (CARB) to EPA on October 17, 1994.
II. Background
On November 15, 1990, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAA)
were enacted. Public Law 101-549, 104 Stat.
[[Page 43646]]
2399, codified at 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q. The air quality planning
requirements for the reduction of NOx emissions through
reasonably available control technology (RACT) are set out in section
182(f) of the CAA. On November 25, 1992, EPA published a proposed
rulemaking entitled ``State Implementation Plans; Nitrogen Oxides
Supplement to the General Preamble; Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990
Implementation of Title I; Proposed Rule,'' (the NOx
Supplement) which describes the requirements of section 182(f). The
NOx Supplement should be referred to for further information
on the NOx requirements and is incorporated into this
document by reference. Section 182(f) of the Clean Air Act requires
states to apply the same requirements to major stationary sources of
NOx (''major'' as defined in section 302 and section 182
(c), (d), and (e)) as are applied to major stationary sources of
volatile organic compounds (VOCs), in moderate or above ozone
nonattainment areas. The San Joaquin Valley Air Basin (SJVAB) is
classified as a serious nonattainment area for ozone.1 The
SJVAB area is subject to the RACT requirements of section 182(b)(2),
cited above.
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\1\ The San Joaquin Valley Air Basin 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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Section 182(b)(2) requires submittal of RACT rules for major
stationary sources of VOC emissions (not covered by a pre-enactment
control technique guidelines (CTG) document or a post-enactment CTG
document) by November 15, 1992. There were no NOx CTGs
issued before enactment and EPA has not issued a CTG document for any
NOx category since enactment of the CAA. EPA has issued
guidance documents in the form of Alternative Control Techniques for
nine NOx source categories: (1) Nitric and Adipic Acid
Manufacturing Plants, (2) Stationary Combustion Gas Turbines, (3)
Process Heaters, (4) Stationary Internal Combustion Engines, (5)
Utility Boilers, (6) Cement Manufacturing, (7) Glass Manufacturing, (8)
Iron and Steel Plants, and (9) Industrial, Commercial, and
Institutional Boilers.
The five negative declarations were adopted on September 14, 1994
and submitted by the State of California on October 17, 1994. The
submitted negative declarations were found to be complete on December
1, 1994 pursuant to EPA's completeness criteria that are set forth in
40 CFR part 51 Appendix V.2 These negative declarations are
being finalized for approval into the SIP as additional information.
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\2\ 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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This document addresses EPA's direct final action for the SJVUAPCD
negative declarations for: (1) Nitric and Adipic Acid Manufacturing
Plants, (2) Cement Manufacturing Plants, (3) Asphalt Batch Plants, and
(4) Iron and Steel Manufacturing Plants, and (5) Driers. The submitted
negative declarations certify that there are no NOx sources
in these source categories located inside SJVUAPCD. Therefore, the
determination being evaluated is that there is no need to have RACT
rules in the SIP for these source categories at this time.
III. EPA Evaluation and Action
In determining the approvability of a negative declaration, EPA
must evaluate the declarations for consistency with the requirements of
the CAA and EPA regulations, as found in section 110 of the CAA and 40
CFR part 51 (Requirements for Preparation, Adoption, and Submittal of
Implementation Plans).
In a Resolution dated September 14, 1994, the SJVUAPCD Board
affirmed that the SJVUAPCD does not have any major stationary sources
in these source categories located within the federal ozone
nonattainment planning area.
EPA has evaluated these negative declarations and has determined
that they are consistent with the CAA, EPA regulations, and EPA policy.
SJVUAPCD's negative declarations for Nitric and Adipic Acid
Manufacturing Plants, Cement Manufacturing Plants, Asphalt Batch
Plants, Iron and Steel Manufacturing Plants, and Driers are being
approved under section 110(k)(3) of the CAA as meeting the requirements
of section 110(a) and Part D.
EPA is publishing this document without prior proposal because the
Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no
adverse comments. However, in a separate document in this Federal
Register publication, the EPA is proposing to approve the SIP revision
should adverse or critical comments be filed. This action will be
effective October 14, 1997, unless, by September 15, 1997, adverse or
critical comments are received.
If the EPA receives such comments, this action will be withdrawn
before the effective date by publishing a subsequent document that will
withdraw the final action. All public comments received will then be
addressed in a subsequent final rule based on this action serving as a
proposed rule. The EPA will not institute a second comment period on
this action. 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 action will be effective October 14, 1997.
Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or
allowing or establishing a precedent for any future 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.
IV. 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
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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
Under 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A) as added by the Small Business
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, EPA submitted 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
General Accounting Office prior to publication of the rule in today's
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 14, 1997. 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,
Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: August 1, 1997.
Felicia Marcus,
Regional Administrator.
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. 7401-7671q.
Subpart F--California
2. Section 52.222 is being amended by adding paragraph (b)(2) to
read as follows:
Sec. 52.222 Negative declarations.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(2) San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District.
(i) Nitric and Adipic Acid Manufacturing Plants, Cement
Manufacturing Plants, Asphalt Batch Plants, Iron and Steel
Manufacturing Plants, and Driers were submitted on October 17, 1994 and
adopted on September 14, 1994.
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[FR Doc. 97-21694 Filed 8-14-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
