[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 184 (Wednesday, September 23, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 50764-50766]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-25328]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[CA 206-0095a; FRL-6164-6]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California
State Implementation Plan Revision, San Diego County 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 Diego County Air Pollution Control District
(SDCAPCD) for nine source categories that emit volatile organic
compounds (VOC). The SDCAPCD has certified that major sources in these
source categories are not present in the District and this information
is being added to the federally approved State Implementation Plan
(SIP). 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 rule is effective on November 23, 1998 without further
notice, unless EPA receives adverse comments by October 23, 1998. If
EPA receives such comment, it will publish a timely withdrawal in the
Federal Register informing the public that this rule will not take
effect.
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be mailed to Andrew Steckel, Rulemaking
Office, Air Division, (AIR-4) at the address 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, SW, Washington, DC 20460
California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule
Evaluation Section, 2020 ``L'' Street, Sacramento, CA 95812
San Diego County Air Pollution Control District, 9150 Chesapeake Drive,
San Diego, CA 92123-1096
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 nine negative declarations for VOC source
categories from the SDCAPCD: (1) Synthetic organic chemical
manufacturing (SOCMI)--distillation, (2) SOCMI--reactors, (3) wood
furniture, (4) plastic parts coatings (business machines), (5) plastic
parts coatings (other), (6) offset lithography, (7) industrial
wastewater, (8) autobody refinishing, and (9) volatile organic liquid
storage. These negative declarations were submitted by the California
Air Resources Board (CARB) to EPA on February 25, 1998.
II. 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 Act or pre-amended Act), that included the SDCAPCD within the San
Diego Area (SDA). 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.
[[Page 50765]]
(40 CFR 52.222). On May 26, 1988, EPA notified the Governor of
California, pursuant to section 110(a)(2)(H) of the 1977 Act, that the
above district'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(b)(2) of the CAA, Congress statutorily
adopted the requirement that States must develop reasonably available
control technology (RACT) rules for VOC sources ``covered by a Control
Techniques Guideline (CTG) document issued by the Administrator between
November 15, 1990 and the date of attainment.'' On April 28, 1992, in
the Federal Register, EPA published a CTG document which indicated
EPA's intention to issue CTGs for eleven source categories and EPA's
requirement to prepare CTGs for two additional source categories within
the same time frame. This CTG document established time tables for the
submittal of a list of applicable sources and the submittal of RACT
rules for those major sources for which EPA had not issued a CTG
document by November 15, 1993. The CTG specified that states were
required to submit RACT rules by November 15, 1994 for those categories
for which EPA had not issued a CTG document by November 15, 1993.
Section 182(b)(2) applies to areas designated as nonattainment
prior to enactment of the amendments and classified as moderate or
above as of the date of enactment. The SDA is classified as serious;
1 therefore, SDA was subject to the post-enactment CTG
requirement and the November 15, 1994 deadline. For source categories
not represented within the portions of the SDA designated nonattainment
for ozone, EPA requires the submission of a negative declaration
certifying that major sources are not present.
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\1\ San Diego Area 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). The San Diego Area was reclassified from severe
to serious on January 19, 1995. See 60 FR 3771.
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The SDCAPCD negative declarations were adopted on October 22, 1997
and submitted by the State of California on February 25, 1998. The
SDCAPCD negative declarations were found to be complete on April 7,
1998 pursuant to EPA's completeness criteria that are set forth in 40
CFR Part 51, Appendix V 2 and 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 SDCAPCD
negative declarations for the following VOC categories: (1) Synthetic
organic chemical manufacturing (SOCMI)--distillation, (2) SOCMI--
reactors, (3) wood furniture, (4) plastic parts coatings (business
machines), (5) plastic parts coatings (other), (6) offset lithography,
(7) industrial wastewater, (8) autobody refinishing, and (9) volatile
organic liquid storage. The submitted negative declarations represent
nine of the thirteen source categories listed in EPA's CTG document.
3 Of the nine submitted negative declarations, SDCAPCD has
approved SIP regulations for minor sources in five source categories:
wood furniture, plastic parts coating (other), offset lithography,
autobody refinishing, and volatile organic liquid storage.
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\3\ SDCAPCD has submitted RACT rules for three other major
source categories: Aerospace, SOCMI Batch Processing, and
Shipbuilding. The fourth category, Clean Up Solvents, is represented
in each separate Reasonably Available Control Technology rule in the
SDCAPCD SIP.
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The submitted negative declarations certify that there are no major
VOC sources in these source categories located inside the SDCAPCD. VOCs
contribute to the production of ground level ozone and smog. These
negative declarations were adopted as part of SDCAPCD's effort to meet
the requirements of section 182(b)(2) of the CAA.
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).
An analysis of SDCAPCD's emission inventory revealed that there are
no major sources of VOC emissions from: SOCMI--distillation, SOCMI--
reactors, wood furniture, plastic parts coatings (business machines),
plastic parts coatings (other), offset lithography, industrial
wastewater, autobody refinishing, and volatile organic liquid storage.
SDCAPCD's review of their permit files also indicated that major
sources in these source categories do not exist in the SDCAPCD. In a
document adopted on October 22, 1997, SDCAPCD certified that SDCAPCD
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.
SDCAPCD's negative declarations for the VOC sources listed above 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 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, the EPA is publishing a separate document
that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision should
adverse comments be filed. This action will be effective November 23,
1998, without further notice unless the Agency receives adverse
comments by October 23, 1998.
If the EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish a timely
withdrawal in the Federal Register 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 on this rule. Any
parties interested in commenting on this rule should do so at this
time. If no such comments are received, the public is advised that this
rule will be effective on November 23, 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 Executive Order (E.O.) 12866, entitled
``Regulatory Planning and 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
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) generally requires an agency
to conduct a regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule subject to
notice and comment rulemaking requirements unless the agency certifies
that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
[[Page 50766]]
Small entities include small businesses, small not-for-profit
enterprises, and small governmental jurisdictions. This final rule will
not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities
because 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 create any new requirements, I certify
that this action will not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities. Moreover, due to the nature of
the Federal-State relationship under the Clean Air Act, preparation of
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 accompany any proposed or
final rule that includes a Federal mandate that may result in estimated
annual 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 annual 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
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 Comptroller General
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 November 23, 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,
Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: September 8, 1998.
Felicia Marcus,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
Subpart F of 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 52.222 is being amended by adding paragraph (a)(5) to
read as follows:
Sec. 52.222 Negative declarations.
(a) * * *
(5) San Diego County Air Pollution Control District. (i) Synthetic
organic chemical manufacturing (distillation), synthetic organic
chemical manufacturing (reactors), wood furniture, plastic parts
coatings (business machines), plastic parts coatings (other), offset
lithography, industrial wastewater, autobody refinishing, and volatile
organic liquid storage were submitted on February 25, 1998 and adopted
on October 22, 1997.
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[FR Doc. 98-25328 Filed 9-22-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
