[Federal Register: May 13, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 92)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 25548-25550]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13my03-34]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 71
[FRL-7497-5]
Revisions to Federal Operating Permits Program Fee Payment
Deadlines for California Agricultural Sources
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to amend the Federal Operating Permits
Program under title V of the Clean Air Act (Act) to extend the date by
which State-exempt major agricultural sources in California must pay
fees and to allow their permit applications to be considered complete
even though fees may not have been paid on or before the date that
applications are due. This action would allow EPA to process the
applications and issue permits while the Agency computes a fee amount
based on the cost of administering the permits program for these
sources. The proposed amendments would extend the due date for
submitting operating permit fees to EPA until May 14, 2004, for
agricultural sources that are major sources subject to title V but are
not being permitted by 35 local air districts in the State of
California. In the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of today's Federal
Register, we are issuing the amendments as a direct final rule, without
prior proposal, because we view the revisions as noncontroversial and
anticipate no significant adverse comments. We have explained our
reasons for this approval in the preamble to the direct final rule. If
we receive no adverse comment, we will not take further action on this
proposed rule. If we receive adverse comment, we will withdraw the
direct final rule and it will not take effect. We will address all
public comments in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule.
We will not institute a second comment period on this action. Any
parties interested in commenting must do so at this time.
DATES: Written comments must be received by June 12, 2003.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by mail to EPA Docket Center (Air
Docket), U.S. EPA West (MD-6102T), Room B-108, 1200 Pennsylvania
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC, 20460, Attention Docket ID No. OAR-2003-
0047.
Comments may also be submitted electronically, by facsimile, or
through hand delivery/courier. Follow the detailed instructions as
provided in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, contact Ms.
Candace Carraway, U.S. EPA, Information Transfer and Program
Implementation Division, C304-04, Research Triangle Park, North
Carolina 27711, telephone number (919) 541-3189, facsimile number (919)
541-5509, electronic mail address: carraway.candace@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,'' or
``our'' means EPA.
This document concerns revisions to Federal Operating Permits
Program fee payment deadlines for California agricultural sources. For
further information, please see the information provided in the direct
final action that is located in the ``Rules and Regulations'' section
of this Federal Register publication.
Regulated Entities
Categories and entities potentially affected by this action include
agricultural sources that are major sources subject to title V but are
not being permitted by any of the following 35 local air districts in
the State of California: Amador County Air Pollution Control District
(APCD), Antelope Valley APCD, Bay Area Air Quality Management District
(AQMD), Butte County AQMD, Calaveras County APCD, Colusa County APCD,
El Dorado County APCD, Feather River AQMD, Glenn County APCD, Great
Basin Unified APCD, Imperial County APCD, Kern County APCD, Lake County
AQMD, Lassen County APCD, Mariposa County APCD, Mendocino County APCD,
Modoc County APCD, Mojave Desert AQMD, Monterey Bay Unified APCD, North
Coast Unified AQMD, Northern Sierra AQMD, Northern Sonoma County APCD,
Placer County APCD, Sacramento Metro AQMD, San Diego County APCD, San
Joaquin Valley Unified APCD, San Luis Obispo County APCD, Santa Barbara
County APCD, Shasta County APCD, Siskiyou County APCD, South Coast
AQMD, Tehama County APCD, Tuolumne County APCD, Ventura County APCD,
and Yolo-Solano AQMD.
Docket
The EPA has established an official public docket for this action
under Docket ID No. OAR-2003-0047. The official public docket consists
of the documents specifically referenced in this action, any public
comments received, and other information related to this action.
Although a part of the official docket, the public docket does not
include confidential business information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. The official public docket
is the collection of materials that is available for public viewing at
the Air Docket in the EPA Docket Center, (EPA/DC) EPA West, Room B102,
1301 Constitution Ave, NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center
Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public
Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the Air
Docket is (202) 566-1742.
Electronic Access
You may access this Federal Register document electronically
through the EPA Internet under the ``Federal Register'' listings at
http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/.
An electronic version of the public docket is available through
EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, EPA Dockets. You may
use EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/
[[Page 25549]]
to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the
contents of the official public docket, and to access those documents
in the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the
system, select ``search,'' then key in the appropriate docket
identification number.
Certain types of information will not be placed in the EPA Dockets.
Information claimed as CBI and other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute, which is not included in the official public
docket, will not be available for public viewing in EPA's electronic
public docket. The EPA's policy is that copyrighted material will not
be placed in EPA's electronic public docket but will be available only
in printed, paper form in the official public docket. Although not all
docket materials may be available electronically, you may still access
any of the publicly available docket materials through the docket
facility identified above.
For public commenters, it is important to note that EPA's policy is
that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper,
will be made available for public viewing in EPA's electronic public
docket as EPA receives them and without change unless the comment
contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a comment
containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that
material in the version of the comment that is placed in EPA's
electronic public docket. The entire printed comment, including the
copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket.
Public comments submitted on computer disks that are mailed or
delivered to the docket will be transferred to EPA's electronic public
docket. Public comments that are mailed or delivered to the Docket will
be scanned and placed in EPA's electronic public docket. Where
practical, physical objects will be photographed and the photograph
will be placed in EPA's electronic public docket along with a brief
description written by the docket staff.
Comments
You may submit comments electronically, by mail, by facsimile, or
through hand delivery/courier. To ensure proper receipt by EPA,
identify the appropriate docket identification number in the subject
line on the first page of your comment. Please ensure that your
comments are submitted within the specified comment period. Comments
received after the close of the comment period will be marked ``late.''
EPA is not required to consider these late comments.
Electronically
If you submit an electronic comment as prescribed below, EPA
recommends that you include your name, mailing address, and an e-mail
address or other contact information in the body of your comment. Also
include this contact information on the outside of any disk or CD ROM
you submit and in any cover letter accompanying the disk or CD ROM.
This ensures that you can be identified as the submitter of the comment
and allows EPA to contact you in case EPA cannot read your comment due
to technical difficulties or needs further information on the substance
of your comment. EPA's policy is that EPA will not edit your comment,
and any identifying or contact information provided in the body of a
comment will be included as part of the comment that is placed in the
official public docket and made available in EPA's electronic public
docket. 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.
EPA Dockets
Your use of EPA's electronic public docket to submit comments to
EPA electronically is EPA's preferred method for receiving comments. Go
directly to EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket, and follow the
online instructions for submitting comments. To access EPA's electronic
public docket from the EPA Internet Home Page, select ``Information
Sources,'' ``Dockets,'' and ``EPA Dockets.'' Once in the system, select
``search,'' and then key in Docket ID No. OAR-2003-0047. The system is
an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your
identity, e-mail address, or other contact information unless you
provide it in the body of your comment.
E-mail
Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail) to air-and-r-
docket@epa.gov, Attention Docket ID No. OAR-2003-0047. In contrast to
EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail system is not an
``anonymous access'' system. If you send an e-mail comment directly to
the Docket without going through EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's
e-mail system automatically captures your e-mail address. E-mail
addresses that are automatically captured by EPA's e-mail system are
included as part of the comment that is placed in the official public
docket and made available in EPA's electronic public docket.
Disk or CD ROM
You may submit comments on a disk or CD ROM that you mail to the
mailing address identified in the next paragraph. These electronic
submissions will be accepted in WordPerfect or ASCII file format. Avoid
the use of special characters and any form of encryption.
By Mail
Send your comments to: EPA Docket Center (Air Docket), U.S. EPA
West (MD-6102T), Room B-108, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington,
DC, 20460, Attention Docket ID No. OAR-2003-0047.
By Hand Delivery or Courier
Deliver your comments to: EPA Docket Center (Air Docket), Room B-
108, U.S. EPA West, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460,
Attention Docket ID No. OAR-2003-0047. Such deliveries are only
accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation as identified in
this document.
By Facsimile
Fax your comments to: (202) 566-1741, Attention Docket ID. No. OAR-
2003-0047.
World Wide Web (WWW)
After signature, the final rule will be posted on the policy and
guidance page for newly proposed or final rules of EPA's Technology
Transfer Network (TTN) at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t5.html. For
more information, call the TTN Help line at (919) 541-5384.
What Are the Administrative Requirements for This Action?
Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), as amended by the Small Business
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), 5 U.S.C. 601 et
seq.
The RFA generally requires an agency to prepare a regulatory
flexibility analysis of any rule subject to notice and comment
rulemaking requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act or any
other statute unless the agency certifies that the rule will not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
Small entities include small businesses, small organizations, and small
governmental jurisdictions.
For purposes of assessing the impacts of today's rule on small
entities, small entity is defined as (1) a small business that meets
the Small Business Administration size standards for small
[[Page 25550]]
businesses found in 13 CFR 121.201; (2) a small governmental
jurisdiction that is a government of a city, country, town, school
district or special district with a population of less than 50,000; and
(3) a small organization that is a not-for-profit enterprise which is
independently owned and operated and is not dominant in its field.
After considering the economic impacts of today's proposed rule on
small entities, I certify that this action will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. In
determining whether a rule has significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities, the impact of concern is any
significant adverse economic impact on small entities, since the
primary purpose of the regulatory flexibility analyses is to identify
and address regulatory alternatives ``which minimize any significant
economic impact of the proposed rule on small entities' (5 U.S.C. 603
and 604). Thus, an agency may certify that a rule will not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities
if the rule relieves regulatory burden, or otherwise has a positive
economic effect on all of the small entities subject to the rule. The
amendments in today's proposed rule would merely defer the deadline for
paying permit fees for sources affected by the proposed rule, thereby
giving them more flexibility and reducing the burden on these sources.
We have therefore concluded that today's proposed rule will relieve
regulatory burden for all small entities. We continue to be interested
in the potential impacts of the proposed rule on small entities and
welcome comments on issues related to such impacts.
For information regarding other administrative requirements for
this action, please see the direct final rule action that is located in
the Rules and Regulations section of this Federal Register.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 71
Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure,
Air pollution control, Intergovernmental relations.
Dated: May 7, 2003.
Christine Todd Whitman,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 03-11911 Filed 5-12-03; 8:45 am]
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