[Federal Register: October 14, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 198)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 59121-59123]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14oc03-22]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[CA 253-0405a; FRL-7567-2]
Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, El Dorado
County Air Pollution Control District and Santa Barbara 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 to approve revisions to the
El Dorado County Air Pollution Control District (EDCAPCD) and Santa
Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (SBCAPCD) portions of the
California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern
nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions from biomass boilers and from
large water heaters and small boilers. We are approving local rules
that regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act as amended
in 1990 (CAA or the Act).
DATES: This rule is effective on December 15, 2003 without further
notice, unless EPA receives adverse comments by November 13, 2003. If
we receive such comments, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the
Federal Register to notify the public that this rule will not take
effect.
ADDRESSES: Mail or e-mail comments to Andy Steckel, Rulemaking Office
Chief (AIR-4), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105; steckel.andrew@epa.gov.
You can inspect copies of the submitted SIP revisions and EPA's
technical support documents (TSDs) at our Region IX office during
normal business hours. You may also see copies of the submitted SIP
revisions at the following locations:
Environmental Protection Agency, Air Docket (6102), Ariel Rios
Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington DC 20460.
California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule
Evaluation Section, 1001 ``I'' Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.
El Dorado County Air Pollution Control District, 2850 Fairlane
Court, Building C, Placerville, CA 95667.
Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District, 26 Castilian
Drive, Suite B-23, Goleta, CA 93117.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Al Petersen, Rulemaking Office (AIR-
4), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX; (415) 947-4118.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and
``our'' refer to EPA.
Table of Contents
I. The State's Submittal
A. What Rules Did the State Submit?
B. Are There Other Versions of These Rules?
C. What Are the Purposes of the Submitted Rule and Rule
Revisions?
II. EPA's Evaluation and Action
A. How is EPA Evaluating the Rules?
B. Do the Rules Meet the Evaluation Criteria?
C. Public Comment and Final Action
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. The State's Submittal
A. What Rules Did the State Submit?
Table 1 lists the rules we are approving with the date that they
were adopted by the local air agency and submitted by the California
Air Resources Board (CARB).
Table 1.--Submitted Rules
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Rule
Local agency number Rule title Adopted or amended Submitted
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EDCAPCD................................. 232 Biomass Boilers..................................... Amended 09/25/01.................. 11/09/01
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SBCAPCD................................. 360 Emissions of Oxides of Nitrogen from Large Water Adopted 10/17/02.................. 01/21/03
Heaters and Small Boilers.
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On January 15, 2002 and February 7, 2003, respectively, these
submittals were found to meet the completeness criteria in 40 CFR part
51, appendix V, which must be met before formal EPA review.
B. Are There Other Versions of These Rules?
EPA proposed a limited approval and limited disapproval on May 5,
1999 (64 FR 24117) of Rule 232, Biomass Boilers (adopted on October 18,
1994, submitted on October 20, 1994). The proposed action was not
finalized, but the deficiency cited concerning the lack of a compliance
schedule is addressed in this current direct final action. The EDCAPCD
also amended the October 18, 1994 version on January 23, 2001 and CARB
submitted it to us on May 23, 2001. No action was taken on this
submittal. While we can act on only the most recent submittal, we
reviewed the information in this previous submittal.
[[Page 59122]]
C. What Are the Purposes of the Submitted Rule and Rule Revisions?
NOX helps produce ground-level ozone, smog and
particulate matter, which harm human health and the environment.
Section 110(a) of the CAA requires states to submit regulations that
control NOX emissions.
The purpose of the revisions to EDCAPCD Rule 232 is to remedy a
deficiency in the October 18, 1994 version of the rule.
The purpose of submitted SBCAPCD Rule 360 is to regulate
NOX emissions from large water heaters and small boilers.
II. EPA's Evaluation and Action
A. How Is EPA Evaluating the Rules?
Generally, SIP rules must be enforceable (see section 110(a) of the
CAA), must require Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for
major sources of NOX in ozone nonattainment areas (see
section 182(f)) and must not relax existing requirements (see sections
110(l) and 193). The EDCAPCD regulates a severe ozone nonattainment
area. See 40 CFR part 81. Rule 232 must fulfill the requirements of
RACT. The SBCAPCD regulates an ozone maintenance attainment area. Rule
360 must fulfill the requirements of RACT.
Guidance and policy documents that we used to define specific
enforceability and RACT requirements include the following:
[sbull] Requirements for Preparation, Adoption, and Submittal of
Implementation Plans, U.S. EPA, 40 CFR part 51.
[sbull] Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies,
and Deviations, EPA (May 25, 1988) (the Bluebook).
[sbull] State Implementation Plans; Nitrogen Oxides Supplement to
the General Preamble for the Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air
Act Amendments of 1990 (the ``NOX Supplement to the General
Preamble''), U.S. EPA, 57 FR 55620 (November 25, 1992).
[sbull] Cost-Effective Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) Reasonably Available
Control Technology (RACT), U.S. EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and
Standards (March 16, 1994).
[sbull] Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule
Deficiencies, U.S. EPA Region IX (August 21, 2001) (the Little
Bluebook).
[sbull] Determination of Reasonably Available Control Technology
(RACT) and Best Available Retrofit Control Technology (BARCT) for
Industrial, Institutional, and Commercial Boilers, Steam Generators,
and Process Heaters, California Air Resources Board (CARB) (July 18,
1991).
[sbull] Alternative Control Techniques Document--NOX
Emissions from Utility Boilers, EPA-453/R-94-023 (March 1994).
B. Do the Rules Meet the Evaluation Criteria?
We believe these rules are consistent with the relevant policy and
guidance regarding enforceability, RACT, and SIP relaxations. We also
believe that Rule 232 corrects the previously identified deficiency
regarding the lack of a compliance schedule in the rule. The TSDs have
more information on our evaluation.
C. Public Comment and Final Action
As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the CAA, EPA is fully
approving the submitted rules because we believe they fulfill all
relevant requirements. We do not think anyone will object to this, so
we are finalizing the approval without proposing it in advance.
However, in the Proposed Rules section of this Federal Register, we are
simultaneously proposing approval of the same submitted rules. If we
receive adverse comments by November 13, 2003, we will publish a timely
withdrawal in the Federal Register to notify the public that the direct
final approval will not take effect and we will address the comments in
a subsequent final action based on the proposal. If we do not receive
timely adverse comments, the direct final approval will be effective
without further notice on December 15, 2003. This will incorporate
these rules into the federally-enforceable SIP.
Please note that if EPA receives adverse comment on an amendment,
paragraph, or section of this rule and if that provision may be severed
from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt as final those provisions
of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment.
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. For this
reason, this action is also not subject to Executive Order 13211,
``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy
Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001). This action
merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and imposes
no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law.
Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this rule will not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because
this rule approves pre-existing requirements under state law and does
not impose any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by
state law, it 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).
This rule also does not have tribal implications because it will
not have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on
the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or
on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal
Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65
FR 67249, November 9, 2000). This action also does not have Federalism
implications because it does not have substantial direct effects on the
States, on the relationship between the national government and the
States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the
various levels of government, as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64
FR 43255, August 10, 1999). This action merely approves a state rule
implementing a Federal standard, and does not alter the relationship or
the distribution of power and responsibilities established in the Clean
Air Act. This rule also is not subject to Executive Order 13045
``Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety
Risks'' (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not economically
significant.
In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. In
this context, in the absence of a prior existing requirement for the
State to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority
to disapprove a SIP submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be
inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a SIP
submission, to use VCS in place of a SIP submission that otherwise
satisfies the provisions of the Clean Air Act. Thus, the requirements
of section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply. This rule does not
impose an information collection burden under the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small
[[Page 59123]]
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. 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 December 15, 2003. 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, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen oxides, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: September 3, 2003.
Wayne Nastri,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
0
Part 52, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is
amended as follows:
PART 52--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart F--California
0
2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding paragraphs (c)(296)(i)(A)(2) and
(312)(i)(B) to read as follows:
Sec. 52.220 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(296) * * *
(i) * * *
(A) * * *
(2) Rule 232, adopted on October 18, 1994 and amended on September
25, 2001.
* * * * *
(312) * * *
(i) * * *
(B) Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District.
(1) Rule 360, adopted on October 17, 2002.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 03-25800 Filed 10-10-03; 8:45 am]
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