E9-11915. Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Michigan; Consumer Products Rule

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Direct final rule.

SUMMARY:

EPA is approving a request submitted by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) on October 26, 2007, to revise the Michigan State Implementation Plan (SIP). The State has submitted revisions to two rules in Part 6, “Emission Limitations and Prohibitions-Existing Sources of Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Emissions.” First, the State has revised R 336.1660 by adopting by reference, with some modifications, the Ozone Transport Commission's September 13, 2006, Model Rule (Model Rule). Second, the State has amended R 336.1661 by adopting by reference the Federal definition of “volatile organic compound.”

DATES:

This direct final rule will be effective July 21, 2009, unless EPA receives adverse comments by June 22, 2009. If adverse comments are received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-2007-1134, by one of the following methods:

1. http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.

2. E-mail: [e-mail].

3. Fax: [phone].

4. Mail: John M. Mooney, Chief, Criteria Pollutant Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.

5. Hand Delivery: John M. Mooney, Chief, Criteria Pollutant Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. The Regional Office official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding Federal holidays.

Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-2007-1134. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is an “anonymous access” system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through http://www.regulations.gov your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.

Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. We recommend that you telephone Andy Chang, Environmental Engineer, at [phone] before visiting the Region 5 office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Andy Chang, Environmental Engineer, Criteria Pollutant Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, [phone], [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Throughout this document whenever “we,” “us,” or “our” is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information section is arranged as follows:

I. Background

A. When did the State submit the requested rule revisions to EPA?

B. Did Michigan hold public hearings for each of these rule revisions?

II. What are the revisions that the State is requesting for incorporation into the SIP?

A. Standards for Volatile Organic Compounds Emissions from Consumer Products

B. Definitions for Consumer Products

III. What action is EPA taking?

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

A. When did the State submit the requested rule revisions to EPA?

MDEQ submitted the requested rule revisions on October 26, 2007.

B. Did Michigan hold public hearings for each of these rule revisions?

MDEQ held a hearing on July 19, 2007, and did not receive any adverse comments.

II. What are the revisions that the State is requesting for incorporation into the SIP?

The State has requested that EPA approve revisions to R 336.1660, “Standards for VOC Emissions from Consumer Products,” and R 336.1661, “Definitions for Consumer Products,” into the Michigan SIP. The revisions are described in detail below.

A. Standards for Volatile Organic Compounds Emissions from Consumer Products

MDEQ has requested that EPA approve into the Michigan SIP the revision of Part 6, R 336.1660, into which the State has adopted by reference the provisions in the Ozone Transport Commission's amended “Model Rule for Consumer Products,” dated September 13, 2006, with some modifications. The modifications are related to implementation dates that are updated from the Model Rule and include several other minor changes.

The amended rules include: The addition of 23 product categories to the existing 83 categories in the table of standards in R 336.1660; the addition of sell-through of products; and the addition of requirements for contact adhesives, electronic cleaners, footwear, or leather care products, and general purpose degreasers. Michigan did not adopt the sections of the Model Rule that address variances, violations, and severability. It was not necessary for Michigan to adopt these three specific sections of the Model Rule, as there are Michigan-specific rules that already address these issues. Section 324.5535 of Michigan Act 451 addresses the State's variance requirements, Sections 324.5528 and 324.5531 of Michigan Act 451 address violations, and Section 324.9122 of Michigan Act 451 provides for severability of the State's rules.

B. Definitions for Consumer Products

MDEQ also has requested that EPA approve R 336.1661 into the Michigan SIP which adopts by reference the Federal definition of “volatile organic compound” from 40 CFR 51.100. R 336.1661 contains definitions used exclusively in R 336.1660.

III. What action is EPA taking?

We are approving revisions to the Michigan SIP in two portions of Part 6: (1) To revise R 336.1660, “Standards for VOC Emissions from Consumer Products,” in which Michigan has adopted by reference the amended Ozone Transport Commission's Model Rule with some modifications, and (2) to revise R 336.1661, “Definitions for Consumer Products,” to define “volatile organic compound.” Michigan has adopted the amended Model Rule by reference with three exceptions.

We are publishing this action without prior proposal because we view this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipate no adverse comments. However, in the Proposed Rules section of this Federal Register publication, we are publishing a separate document that will serve as the proposal to approve the State plan if relevant adverse written comments are filed. This rule will be effective July 21, 2009 without further notice unless we receive relevant adverse written comments by June 22, 2009. If we receive such comments, we will withdraw this action 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 the proposed action. The EPA will not institute a second comment period, therefore, any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at this time. If we do not receive any comments, this action will be effective July 21, 2009.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and applicable Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. Accordingly, this action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. For that reason, this action:

• Is not a “significant regulatory action” subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
• Does not impose an information collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
• Is certified as not having a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
• Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
• Does not have Federalism implications as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
• Is not an economically significant regulatory action based on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997);
• Is not a significant regulatory action subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
• Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent with the Clean Air Act; and
• Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).

In addition, this rule does not have tribal implications as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because the SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in the state, and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.

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 action 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. A major rule cannot take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register. This action is not a “major rule” as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

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 July 21, 2009. Filing a petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect the finality of this action 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. Parties with objections to this direct final rule are encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel notice of proposed rulemaking for this action published in the Proposed Rules section of today's Federal Register, rather than file an immediate petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed rulemaking. 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
• Carbon monoxide
• Incorporation by reference
• Intergovernmental relations
• Lead
• Nitrogen dioxide
• Ozone
• Particulate matter
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements
• Sulfur oxides
• Volatile organic compounds

Dated: May 6, 2009.

Walter W. Kovalick, Jr.,

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.

40 CFR part 52 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 X—Michigan

2. In § 52.1170, the table in paragraph (c) entitled “EPA-Approved Michigan Regulations” is amended by revising entries in Part 6 for “R 336.1660” and “R 336.1661” to read as follows:

§ 52.1170

Identification of plan.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

EPA-Approved Michigan Regulations

Michigan citation	Title	State effective date	EPA approval date	Comments
*         *         *         *         *         *         *
Part 6. Emission Limitations and Prohibitions—Existing Sources of Volatile Organic Compound Emissions
*         *         *         *         *         *         *
R 336.1660	Standards for Volatile Organic Compounds Emissions from Consumer Products	October 3, 2007	May 22, 2009 [Insert page number where the document begins]
R 336.1661	Definitions for Consumer Products	October 3, 2007	May 22, 2009 [Insert page number where the document begins]
*         *         *         *         *         *         *

* * * * *