[Federal Register: May 20, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 98)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 29074-29076]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20my04-16]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[CA 151-0449a; FRL-7660-6]
Revisions to the California and Nevada State Implementation
Plans, Ventura County Air Pollution Control District and Clark County
Department of Air Quality Management
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
Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (VCAPCD) portion of the
California State Implementation Plan (SIP) and the Clark County
Department of Air Quality Management (CCDAQM) portion of the Nevada
SIP. Under authority of the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or
the Act), we are approving local rules that address Acid Deposition and
the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
DATES: This rule is effective on July 19, 2004, without further notice,
unless EPA receives adverse comments by June 21, 2004. If we receive
such comments, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal
Register to notify the public that this direct final rule will not take
effect.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Andy Steckel, Rulemaking Office Chief (AIR-
4), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne
http://www.regulations.gov.
You can inspect copies of the submitted SIP revisions, EPA's
technical support documents (TSDs), and public comments at our Region
IX office during normal business hours by appointment. You may also see
copies of the submitted SIP revisions by appointment at the following
locations:
Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Room B-102, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., (Mail
Code 6102T), Washington, DC 20460
California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule
Evaluation Section, 1001 ``I'' Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Ventura County Air Pollution Control District, 669 County Square
Drive, Ventura, CA 93003-5417
Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Division of
Environmental Protection, 333 W. Nye Lane, Room 138, Carson City, NV
89706
Clark County Department of Air Quality Management, 500 S. Grand
Central Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89155-5210
Copies of the VCAPCD and CCDAQM rules may also be available via the
Internet at the following sites respectively, http://www.arb.ca.gov/drdb/drdbltxt.htm and http://www.accessclarkcounty.com/air_quality/
ty.com/air_quality/
not contain the same versions of the rules that were submitted to EPA.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie A. Rose, EPA Region IX, (415)
947-4126, rose.julie@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and
``our'' refer to EPA.
Table of Contents
I. The States' Submittals
A. What Rules Did the States Submit?
B. Are There Other Versions of These Rules?
C. What Is the Purpose of the Submitted rules?
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 States' Submittal
A. What Rules Did the States Submit?
Table 1 lists the rules we are approving with the dates that they
were adopted by the local air agencies and submitted by the California
Air Resources Board (CARB) and the Nevada Department of Conservation
and Natural Resources (NDCNR), respectively.
Table 1.--Submitted Rules
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rule/section
Local agency Rule/section title Adopted Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VCAPCD................................ 34 Acid Deposition Control. 03/14/95 05/24/95
CCDAQM................................ 11 Ambient Air Quality 10/07/03 10/23/03
Standards.
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On July 24, 1995, VCAPCD Rule 34 was found to meet the completeness
criteria in 40 CFR part 51, appendix V, which must be met before formal
EPA review. CCDAQM Section 11 was found to meet the completeness
criteria on November 18, 2003.
B. Are There Other Versions of These Rules?
There are no previous versions of VCAPCD Rule 34 in the California
SIP. We approved a version of CCDAQM Section 11 into the Nevada SIP on
August 27, 1981. The CCDAQM adopted a revision to the SIP-approved
version on October 7, 2003 and the NDCNR submitted the revision to EPA
on October 23, 2003.
C. What Is the Purpose of the Submitted Rules?
Section 110(a) of the CAA requires states to submit regulations
that control volatile organic compounds, oxides of nitrogen,
particulate matter, sulfur dioxide and other air pollutants which harm
human health and the environment. These rules were developed as part of
the local agencies' programs to control these pollutants.
VCAPCD Rule 34 adopts the CAA Title IV, Acid Rain Program by
reference. The Acid Deposition Control program is designed to reduce
the effects of acid rain through the reduction of sulfur dioxide
(SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions. Rule 34
accepts delegation of the federal program which is currently being
implemented as part of the District's Federal Operating Permit Program.
There are no Phase I facilities in Ventura County. There are two
sources that qualify as Phase II sources in Ventura County: boilers at
the Ormond Beach and Mandalay Generating Stations operated by Southern
California Edison Company.
CCDAQM Section 11 lists the National Ambient Air Quality Standards
and the State Ambient Air Quality Standards. Section 11 has been
revised to include the new 8-hour ozone standard and the particulate
matter 2.5 microns (PM-2.5) standard. The standard for ozone is 0.08
parts per million averaged during an 8-hour
[[Page 29075]]
period. The standard for PM-2.5 is based on an annual arithmetic mean
of 15 micrograms per cubic meter and a 24-hour standard of 65
micrograms per cubic meter.
The TSDs have more information about these rules.
II. EPA's Evaluation and Action
A. How Is EPA Evaluating the Rules?
VCAPCD Rule 34 adopts the Federal Acid Deposition Control program
by reference and CCDAQM Section 11 adopts the National Ambient Air
Quality Standards into their regulations. These new rules support
emission controls found in other sections of the local agencies'
requirements. In combination with the other requirements, these rules
must be enforceable (see section 110(a) of the Act) and must not relax
existing requirements (see sections 110(l) and 193). EPA policy that we
used to help evaluate enforceability requirements consistently includes
the Bluebook (``Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints,
Deficiencies, and Deviations,'' EPA, May 25, 1988) and the Little
Bluebook (``Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule
Deficiencies,'' EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001).
B. Do the Rules Meet the Evaluation Criteria?
We believe these rules are consistent with the relevant policy and
guidance regarding enforceability and SIP relaxations. The TSDs have
more information on our evaluation.
C. Public Comment and Final Action
As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, EPA is fully
approving the submitted rules because we believe they fulfill all
relevant requirements. We do not think anyone will object to this
approval, so we are finalizing it 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 June 21, 2004, 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 July 19, 2004. This will incorporate these
rules into the federally enforceable SIP.
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 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 July 19, 2004. 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, Ozone, Particulate matter,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides.
Dated: April 27, 2004.
Wayne Nastri,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
0
Part 52, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is
amended as follows:
[[Page 29076]]
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 paragraph (c)(220)(i)(E) to read
as follows:
Sec. 52.220 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(220) * * *
(i) * * *
(E) Ventura County Air Pollution Control District.
(1) Rule 34 adopted on March 14, 1995.
* * * * *
Subpart DD--Nevada
0
3. Section 52.1470 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(46) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.1470 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(46) The following regulations were submitted on October 23, 2003,
by the Governor's designee.
(i) Incorporation by reference.
(A) Clark County Department of Air Quality Management.
(1) Section 11 adopted on October 7, 2003.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 04-11335 Filed 5-19-04; 8:45 am]
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