98-25760. Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California State Implementation Plan Revision, South Coast Air Quality Management District  

  • [Federal Register Volume 63, Number 186 (Friday, September 25, 1998)]
    [Proposed Rules]
    [Pages 51325-51329]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 98-25760]
    
    
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    ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
    
    40 CFR Part 52
    
    [CA172-0103; FRL-6169-1]
    
    
    Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California 
    State Implementation Plan Revision, South Coast Air Quality Management 
    District
    
    AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
    
    ACTION: Proposed rule.
    
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    SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve a revision to the California State 
    Implementation Plan (SIP) that concerns the control of criteria 
    pollutants.
        The intended effect of proposing approval of this rule is to 
    regulate emissions of criteria pollutants in accordance with the 
    requirements of the Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act). 
    EPA has evaluated this 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 October 26, 1998.
    
    ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Erica Ruhl, Permits Office,(AIR-
    3), Air Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, 75 
    Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901.
        A copy of the rule 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 are also available for 
    inspection at the following locations:
    
    California Air Resources Board, 2020 L Street, Sacramento, CA 95812
    South Coast Air Quality Management District, 21865 E. Copley Drive, 
    Diamond Bar, CA 91765.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erica Ruhl, Permits Office (AIR-3), 
    Air Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, 75 
    Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901, (415) 744-1171.
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    
    I. Applicability
    
        The rule being proposed for approval into the California SIP is 
    South Coast Air Quality Management District (``SCAQMD'' or ``the 
    District''), Rule 518.2, Federal Alternative Operating Conditions. This 
    rule was adopted on January 12, 1996 and was submitted by the 
    California Air Resources Board to EPA on May 10, 1996. This rule was 
    found to be complete on July 19, 1996 pursuant to EPA's completeness 
    criteria that are set forth in 40 CFR part 51, appendix V 1 
    and is being proposed for approval into the SIP.
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        \1\ 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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    II. Background
    
        California state law includes provisions for the granting of 
    variances from air pollution control requirements. When granted, a 
    variance protects a source from enforcement under California law. 
    Historically, EPA has not recognized variances issued pursuant to state 
    law and has taken the position that such variances do not shield 
    sources from enforcement under federal law. If, however, a variance is 
    submitted to EPA and is found to meet the substantive requirements of 
    the Clean Air Act (CAA) governing SIP revisions, it can be approved as 
    a revision to the SIP, thereby receiving federal recognition. State and 
    federal law have coexisted in this manner for many years.
        The Clean Air Act allows EPA 18 months to act on submitted SIP 
    revisions 2 and often, because of a large backlog, the 
    Agency takes that long to process them. Members of the regulated 
    community have complained that this method for recognizing variances 
    federally is too time consuming and complex. With this rule, The South 
    Coast Air Quality Management District (``South Coast'' or ``the 
    District'') is proposing to make federal recognition of variances more 
    expeditious by using the title V permitting process.
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        \2\ 42 U.S.C. 7410(k), CAA section 110(k).
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        South Coast Rule 518.2 is designed to allow federal recognition of 
    variances through a process that meets the procedural requirements 
    pertaining to SIP revisions as well as the substantive requirements of 
    the Clean Air Act. In a
    
    [[Page 51326]]
    
    nutshell, the rule temporarily modifies the applicable requirement 
    through the title V permit revision process rather than through the 
    source-specific SIP revision process. The rule accomplishes this by 
    establishing a mechanism for the creation of alternative operating 
    conditions (AOCs), a means by which to offset any emissions in excess 
    of the otherwise applicable requirements that would result, and 
    provisions for EPA and public review and EPA veto of proposed AOCs.
        The rule restricts the issuance of AOCs to circumstances where the 
    following conditions exist/have been met:
         due to conditions beyond the reasonable control of the 
    petitioner, requiring compliance would result in either an arbitrary or 
    unreasonable taking of property or the practical closing and 
    elimination of a lawful business;
         the closing or taking would be without a corresponding 
    benefit in reducing air contaminants;
         the petitioner for the Alternative Operating Condition has 
    given consideration to curtailing operations of the source in lieu of 
    obtaining an Alternative Operating Condition;
         during the period the Alternative Operating Condition is 
    in effect, the petitioner will reduce excess emissions to the maximum 
    extent feasible;
         during the period the Alternative Operating Condition is 
    in effect, the petitioner will monitor or otherwise quantify emission 
    levels from the source and report these emission levels to the District 
    pursuant to a schedule established by the District;
         the Alternative Operating Condition will not result in 
    noncompliance with the requirements of any NSPS, NESHAP or other 
    standard promulgated by the U.S. EPA under Sections 111 or 112 of the 
    Clean Air Act, or any standard or requirement promulgated by the U.S. 
    EPA under Titles IV or VI of the Clean Air Act, or any requirement 
    contained in a permit issued by the U.S. EPA; and
         any emissions resulting from the Alternative Operating 
    Condition will not, in conjunction with emissions resulting from all 
    other Alternative Operating Conditions established by the Hearing Board 
    and in effect at the time, cause an exceedance of the monthly or annual 
    SIP allowance established in the rule.
        In addition, the rule requires that the Alternative Operating 
    Condition include enforceable alternative emission limits, operational 
    requirements that result in the source being operated in a manner that 
    reduces emissions to the maximum extent feasible, and/or monitoring, 
    record keeping, and reporting provisions that, to the extent feasible, 
    meet or are as stringent as the otherwise applicable requirement.
        If EPA believes that the proposed AOC does not meet applicable 
    requirements, including the requirements of Rule 518.2, it may object. 
    Any AOC will be ineffective if it is not revised to meet EPA's 
    objection unless EPA issues a written rescission of its objection. If 
    EPA does not object, or if EPA's objections are resolved, the AOC 
    constitutes a revision to the source's title V permit and a temporary 
    modification to the applicable requirement.
    
    III. EPA Evaluation and Proposed Action
    
        In determining the approvability of this rule, EPA must evaluate 
    the rule for consistency with the requirements of the CAA and EPA 
    regulations, as found in sections 110, 182, and 193 of the CAA and 40 
    CFR part 51 (Requirements for Preparation, Adoption, and Submittal of 
    Implementation Plans).
    
    A. CAA Requirements Governing Approval of 518.2
    
        The Clean Air Act includes several provisions that apply to the 
    approval of rules, such as Rule 518.2, that would revise the SIP by 
    relaxing existing requirements. These provisions are discussed below.
    1. States' revisions to SIPs require reasonable notice and public 
    hearing
        Congress adopted section 110(l) as part of the 1990 CAA Amendments. 
    Entitled ``Plan Revisions,'' it provides that States may adopt 
    revisions to an implementation plan after reasonable notice and public 
    hearing.
    2. Revisions to State Implementation Plans must be submitted to EPA for 
    review
        CAA section 110(a)(3)(C) states that when a State or the 
    Administrator grants an exemption under certain limited 
    circumstances,3 neither the State nor the Administrator need 
    revise a SIP if the plan would have met the requirements of the Act 
    absent such exemptions. This section suggests that when a State or the 
    Administrator grants an exemption that does not fall under one of the 
    specified categories, the applicable implementation plan may require 
    revision. Since a variance would almost never fall under one of the 
    listed categories, the State must submit a plan revision for the 
    Administrator's approval in order for it to be effective as a matter of 
    federal law.
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        \3\ These circumstances include:
         42 U.S.C. 7418: Control of pollution from Federal 
    facilities. This provision permits the President to exempt any 
    emission source of any department, agency, or instrumentality in the 
    executive branch if he determines it to be in the paramount interest 
    of the U.S. to do so.
         42 U.S.C. 7413(d): Administrative assessment of civil 
    penalties. This exemption provides that when the Administrator has 
    made a finding that a person violated a SIP, EPA need not 
    concurrently insist on a SIP revision.
         42 U.S.C. 7410(f), (g): National or regional energy 
    emergencies. Both of these subsections create limited authority to 
    exempt sources from compliance with SIPs for limited time-periods, 
    provided they meet specified requirements (e.g. severe national or 
    regional energy emergency).
         42 U.S.C. 7419: Primary nonferrous smelter orders. This 
    section applies only to primary nonferrous smelters in existence on 
    August 7, 1977.
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        Section 110(i) confirms the above interpretation of section 
    110(a)(3)(C). It states that with certain exceptions, including a plan 
    revision under subsection (a)(3), neither the State nor the EPA 
    Administrator may take any action, such as an order, suspension, or 
    plan revision, that modifies any requirement of the applicable 
    implementation plan with respect to any stationary source.
        A number of courts, including the Supreme Court, have held that 
    both the State and the Agency must approve plan revisions in order for 
    them to be held valid under the Act.4 The Supreme Court has 
    also said that the Agency needs to review proposed SIP revisions to 
    assure that variances granted are consistent with the Act's requirement 
    that the national standards be attained as expeditiously as practicable 
    and maintained thereafter.5
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        \4\ See, e.g., Train v. NRDC, 421 U.S. 60 (1975); Illinois v. 
    Commonwealth Edison Co., 490 F. Supp. 1145 (1980); California Tahoe 
    Regional Planning Agency v. Sahara Tahoe Corp., 504 F. Supp. 753, 
    768 (1980).
        \5\ Train at 91.
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    3. EPA cannot approve proposed revisions if they would cause the SIP to 
    fail to ensure attainment or maintenance of the NAAQS or any other 
    requirement included in the Act
        Under section 110(l), the Administrator is not to approve a 
    revision of a plan ``if the revision would interfere with any 
    applicable requirement concerning attainment and reasonable further 
    progress, or any other applicable requirement of [the Act].'' Thus this 
    provision serves to assure that the State, in seeking a revision to its 
    SIP, does not impair its compliance with the statutory mandates 
    applicable to the SIP.
        a. Attainment and Maintenance of the NAAQS. In General: Under 
    section 110(l) EPA must conform with the overarching general 
    requirement that it may not approve a revision to the SIP
    
    [[Page 51327]]
    
    that would cause the SIP to fail to ensure attainment or maintenance of 
    the NAAQS.
        Post 1990 Non-RACT Rules: For non-RACT, post-1990 rules, section 
    110(l), in conjunction with section 110(a)(3)(C), requires EPA to 
    assure that the emissions resulting from the relaxation of rule 
    requirements will not interfere with attainment or reasonable further 
    progress before it can approve this type of revision.
        b. Other Requirements Included in the Act--Post 1990 RACT Rules. 
    Section 172, which provides general rules for all nonattainment areas, 
    requires nonattainment areas to adopt a number of measures, including 
    rules requiring sources to apply reasonably available control 
    technology (RACT).6 Sections 182(a)(2)(A) and (b)(2) amplify 
    this requirement for ozone nonattainment areas. The former section 
    requires areas designated as nonattainment just prior to the 1990 
    Amendments to submit rules imposing RACT on certain existing sources of 
    volatile organic compounds (VOC). The latter section requires all 
    moderate and above nonattainment areas to impose similar control 
    measures. The purpose of these requirements was essentially to insure 
    that major sources of VOC and NOx use control measures that 
    amount to RACT.
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        \6\ Congress has not defined RACT in the CAA, but has apparently 
    adopted EPA's definition of RACT as articulated in a memorandum from 
    Roger Strelow, Assistant Administrator for Air and Waste Management, 
    to Regional Administrators, Regions I-X, on ``Guidance for 
    Determining Acceptability of SIP Regulations in Non-attainment 
    Areas,'' section 1.a (December 9, 1976). EPA defined RACT as: ``the 
    lowest emission limitation that a particular source is capable of 
    meeting by the application of control technology that is reasonably 
    available considering technological and economic feasibility.'' RACT 
    for a particular source is to be determined on a case-by-case basis, 
    considering the technological and economic circumstances of the 
    individual source.'' 44 FR 53762 (1979).
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        RACT requirements are especially relevant because they represent a 
    significant class of requirements that nonattainment areas must adopt 
    regardless of the other measures they have enacted as part of their 
    plans to achieve attainment. Accordingly, section 110(l) appears to 
    limit a State's ability to adopt revisions that would ``interfere'' 
    with the mandate created by these provisions.
        For a variance to a RACT rule put into effect after November 15, 
    1990, section 110(l) dictates that in the aggregate, the overall level 
    of reductions that were to be achieved through the imposition of RACT 
    may not be diminished.
    4. The modification of any control requirement in effect before 
    November 15, 1990 in an area which is a nonattainment area for any air 
    pollutant is prohibited, unless the modification insures equivalent or 
    greater emission reductions of such air pollutants
        CAA section 193, also known as the General Savings Clause, 
    preserves the validity of regulations, standards, rules, notices, 
    orders, and guidance in effect before November 15, 1990. Moreover, it 
    prohibits the modification of any control requirement in effect before 
    November 15, 1990 in an area which is a nonattainment area for any air 
    pollutant, unless the modification insures equivalent or greater 
    emission reductions of such air pollutants. In nonattainment areas, 
    section 193 provides that EPA may not approve a variance submitted as a 
    revision to a control requirement in effect prior to November 1990 
    unless the submitted revision ensures equivalent or greater emission 
    reductions.
    5. EPA may permit a relaxation of standards or a limited exemption from 
    compliance with regulations where the effects of the relaxation or 
    exemption are insignificant and may be deemed de minimis
        The D.C. Circuit held that the granting of certain exemptions may 
    be a permissible exercise of agency power to overlook circumstances 
    that in context may be considered de minimis. This ability constitutes 
    not a right to depart from the statute, but rather a tool to be used in 
    implementing the legislative design. Alabama Power Co. v. Costle, 636 
    F. 2d 323, 360 (1979). Further, the Court held that:
    
        Unless Congress has been extraordinarily rigid, there is likely 
    a basis or an implication of de minimis authority to provide 
    exemption when the burdens of regulation yield a gain of trivial or 
    no value. That implied authority is not available for a situation 
    where the regulatory function does provide benefits, in the sense of 
    furthering the regulatory objectives, but the agency concludes that 
    the acknowledged benefits are exceeded by the costs. For such a 
    situation any implied authority to make cost-benefit decisions must 
    be based on a fair reading of the specific statute, its aims and 
    legislative history'' Alabama Power Co. v. Costle, 636 F. 2d at 360-
    61 (D.C. Cir 1979).
    
        Thus, according to the de minimis rule laid out in Alabama Power, 
    the EPA may excuse unavoidable excess emissions where these are 
    insignificant in light of total permissible emissions and where the 
    applicable statutory provisions are not extraordinarily rigid.
    
    B. EPA Evaluation of Rule 518.2
    
        Given the CAA provisions described above, federal recognition of 
    state-issued variances can be problematic. First, procedurally, a 
    variance cannot be federally recognized unless it is submitted as a 
    revision. Section 110(a)(3)(C), 110(i), Train, and the other cases 
    discussed above impose this requirement in order to obligate the Agency 
    to enforce its mandate of ensuring that States are attaining or 
    maintaining the NAAQS. Second, the Act's substantive requirements limit 
    EPA's ability to approve variances.
        In determining the approvability of this rule, EPA has evaluated 
    the rule for consistency with the requirements of the CAA and EPA 
    regulations, as found in sections 110, 172, 182, and 193 of the CAA and 
    40 CFR part 51 (Requirements for Preparation, Adoption, and Submittal 
    of Implementation Plans).
    1. States' revisions to SIPs require reasonable notice and public 
    hearing.
        The District's rule adoption procedures and EPA's process for SIP 
    action on rules provide opportunity for public comment on Rule 518.2, 
    which sets out the process and criteria for establishing AOCs. In 
    addition, Rule 518.2 meets the CAA section 110(l) requirements for 
    reasonable notice and public hearing by subjecting each alternative 
    operating condition to EPA and public review for 45 days.
    2. Revisions to State Implementation Plans must be submitted to EPA for 
    review
        To meet the requirements of section 110(i), Rule 518.2 substitutes 
    the Title V permit modification process for the source-specific SIP 
    revision process. In effect, Rule 518.2 would be a SIP rule that allows 
    the local district board to set temporary alternative requirements in 
    accordance with the criteria spelled out in the rule. The State then 
    submits the alternative limit to EPA as a proposed Title V permit 
    modification, which by statute EPA has 45 days to review with the 
    option of vetoing it if the modification does not meet applicable 
    requirements. Using this procedural tool, EPA is able to meet the 
    requirements of section 110(i) because all of the changes occur within 
    the context of a rule that has already been approved into the SIP and 
    each alternative operating condition will be submitted to EPA for 
    review.
    
    [[Page 51328]]
    
    3. EPA cannot approve proposed revisions if they would cause the SIP to 
    fail to ensure attainment or maintenance of the NAAQS
        Rule 518.2 was also designed to meet the requirements of sections 
    110(l) and 110(a)(3)(C) through the development of an emissions bank. 
    South Coast demonstrated to EPA that when it created its base-year 
    inventory, it used actual emission estimates from its sources, some of 
    which were excess. Further, South Coast showed that its plan to achieve 
    attainment, required under sections 110 and 182 of the Act, took these 
    emissions into account. South Coast then argued that as long as the 
    emissions from variances do not exceed the amount of ``excess 
    emissions'' already included in the inventory, the requirements of 
    section 110(l) should be satisfied. Accordingly, South Coast went on to 
    quantify the amount of emissions included in the base-year inventory 
    from excess emissions, and then created annual and monthly caps within 
    Rule 518.2 equivalent to that inventory quantification. This approach 
    satisfies section 110(a)(3)(C) because as long as the cap is not 
    exceeded, no variance (or ``alternative operating condition or AOC,'' 
    as denominated in Rule 518.2) would cause a deviation from South 
    Coast's plan for attainment.
    4. EPA cannot approve proposed revisions if they would cause the SIP to 
    fail to ensure attainment or maintenance of * * * any other requirement 
    included in the Act
        For variances sought from post-1990 RACT standards, EPA must ensure 
    that the AOC meets the non-interference requirement of section 110(l). 
    That is, in the aggregate, the overall level of reductions that were to 
    be achieved through the imposition of RACT may not be diminished. This 
    indicates that in ordinary circumstances, if RACT standards are to be 
    relaxed, the equivalent emissions reductions must be obtained from 
    other sources subject to RACT rules.
        As stated above, unless Congress has been extraordinarily rigid, 
    EPA has an implied de minimis authority to provide exemption when the 
    burdens of regulation yield but a trivial gain. Alabama Power, 636 F. 
    2d at 360. While Congress intended EPA to ensure that nonattainment 
    plans provide for the implementation of RACT, it left the definition of 
    RACT to EPA's discretion. The legislative history for the 1990 Clean 
    Air Act Amendments associated with section 172 reveals that while 
    Congress discussed adding a stringent definition of RACT to the 
    Act,7 the version it ultimately adopted did not define RACT. 
    Accordingly, EPA concludes that Congress has given it considerable 
    flexibility in implementing the RACT program. Therefore, as long as 
    Rule 518.2 does not significantly affect the reductions to be obtained 
    from the aggregation of all RACT rules, Rule 518.2 passes, with respect 
    to RACT, the non-interference requirement of Section 110(l). Turning to 
    the rule, for all pollutants under 518.2, both the annual and monthly 
    caps established by 518.2 equal less than one-tenth of one percent of 
    the total stationary source emissions inventory. Since EPA anticipates 
    that excess emissions from RACT rules will be a subset of the total 
    excess emissions covered by the program, EPA believes that ``RACT'' 
    excess emissions are essentially de minimis and do not significantly 
    impact the reductions expected from RACT in the aggregate.
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        \7\ See Report No. 100-231, Committee on Environment and Public 
    Works (100th. Cong., 1st. Sess., 1987).
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    5. The modification of any control requirement in effect before 
    November 15, 1990 in an area which is a nonattainment area for any air 
    pollutant is prohibited, unless the modification ensures equivalent or 
    greater emission reductions of such air pollutants
        For variances sought from standards adopted prior to 1990, EPA must 
    ensure that the AOC meets the CAA section 193 requirement that the 
    modification of any control requirement in effect before November 15, 
    1990 in an area which is a nonattainment area for any air pollutant, 
    must ensure equivalent or greater emission reductions of such air 
    pollutants. In other words, in nonattainment areas, section 193 
    provides that EPA may not approve a variance submitted as a revision to 
    a control requirement in effect prior to November 1990 unless the 
    submitted revision ensures equivalent or greater emission reductions. 
    Offsetting excess emissions from variances with the Rule 518.2 bank 
    does not insure equivalent emission reductions because that bank is 
    ``funded'' with excess emissions included in the inventory rather than 
    from real reductions.
        Under the de minimis rule that the D.C. Circuit established in 
    Alabama Power, unless Congress has been extraordinarily rigid, EPA may 
    provide an exemption for minimal increases in emissions. Congress 
    adopted rigid language when it enacted section 193. It stated: ``No 
    control requirement in effect * * * before November 15, 1990 in any 
    area which is a nonattainment area for any air pollutant may be 
    modified after November 15, 1990, in any manner unless the modification 
    insures equivalent or greater emission reductions of such air 
    pollutant.'' 42 U.S.C. 193 (emphasis added). Thus, Congress appears to 
    have left EPA with little or no discretion to permit the modification 
    of any pre-1990 control requirement, unless the modification ensures at 
    least equivalent, if not greater, reductions of such air pollutant.
        A review of the legislative history associated with Section 193 
    supports the interpretation that Congress was being quite rigid when it 
    enacted this provision. In spite of all the other requirements designed 
    to bring the South Coast into attainment, Congress still enacted 
    section 193. The Report on the House Energy and Commerce Committee on 
    the 1990 Amendments noted that the ``anti-backsliding language'' in 
    section 193:
    
        [P]rohibits the relaxation of control requirements currently in 
    effect, or required to be adopted. * * * Although many nonattainment 
    areas are allotted additional years before they must attain ambient 
    air quality standards under these amendments, all areas must 
    continue to use pollution control measures already in place or 
    scheduled to be put in place, as well as those additional measures 
    required under this Act, in order to assure attainment as 
    expeditiously as practical.
    
        Because of Congress's evident intent not to allow relaxation of 
    section 193 rules, it is possible that 518.2 would violate the 
    requirements of section 193. However, EPA believes that the inclusion 
    of pre-1990 rules in Rule 518.2 is justified because the variance bank 
    in the rule is so small that any excused excess emissions would 
    essentially be insignificant such that in effect, no relaxation has 
    occurred. However, given the de minimis rule of Alabama Power, and that 
    the language of 193 appears to be ``rigid,'' EPA is soliciting comment 
    on this issue.
        EPA has evaluated the submitted rule and has determined that it is 
    consistent with the CAA, EPA regulations, and EPA policy. Therefore, 
    South Coast Rule 518.2, Federal Alternative Operating Conditions 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
    
    [[Page 51329]]
    
    relation to relevant statutory and regulatory requirements.
    
    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 proposed 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).
    
    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 proposed 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.
    
    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: September 17, 1998.
    
    David P. Howekamp,
    Regional Administrator, Region 9.
    [FR Doc. 98-25760 Filed 9-24-98; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 6560-50-U
    
    
    

Document Information

Published:
09/25/1998
Department:
Environmental Protection Agency
Entry Type:
Proposed Rule
Action:
Proposed rule.
Document Number:
98-25760
Dates:
Comments must be received on or before October 26, 1998.
Pages:
51325-51329 (5 pages)
Docket Numbers:
CA172-0103, FRL-6169-1
PDF File:
98-25760.pdf
CFR: (1)
40 CFR 52