[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 58 (Friday, March 25, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-7056]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: March 25, 1994]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52

[LA-9-1-5734; FRL-4840-4]

 

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Louisiana 
Stage II Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The EPA is taking action to approve the Louisiana Stage II 
State Implementation Plan (SIP), which includes a SIP Supplement dated 
November 15, 1992, and State regulations (title 33, chapter 21. Control 
of Emission of Organic Compounds, section 2132. Stage II Vapor Recovery 
Systems for Control of Vehicle Refueling Emissions at Gasoline 
Dispensing Facilities, and section 6523. Fee Schedule Listing), as a 
revision to the Louisiana SIP for ozone. On November 10, 1992, 
Louisiana submitted a SIP revision request to the EPA to satisfy the 
requirement of section 182(b)(3) of the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) 
of 1990. This SIP revision requires owners and operators of gasoline 
dispensing facilities to install and operate Stage II vapor recovery 
equipment in the Louisiana ozone nonattainment areas classified as 
moderate or worse. This revision applies to the Louisiana parishes of 
Ascension, East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Iberville, Livingston, 
and Pointe Coupee.

DATES: This final rule will be effective May 24, 1994, unless notice is 
received by April 25, 1994, that adverse or critical comments will be 
submitted. If the effective date is delayed, timely notice will be 
published in the Federal Register (FR).

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to James F. Davis at USEPA, Region 6 
(6T-AP), 1445 Ross Avenue, suite 1200, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733. The 
State submittal and the technical support document (TSD) are available 
for public review at the above address and at the Louisiana Department 
of Environmental Quality, H.B. Garlock Building, 7290 Bluebonnet, Baton 
Rouge, Louisiana 70810. Interested persons wanting to examine these 
documents should make an appointment with the appropriate office at 
least 24 hours before the visiting day.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James F. Davis at (214) 655-7584. A 
copy of today's revision to the Louisiana SIP is also available for 
inspection at: Air Docket 6102, US Environmental Protection Agency, 401 
M Street, SW., Washington, DC 20460.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under section 182(b)(3) of the CAAA, the EPA 
was required to issue guidance as to the effectiveness of Stage II 
systems. The EPA issued technical guidance in November 1991 and 
enforcement guidance in December 1991 to meet this requirement.1 
In addition, on April 16, 1992, the EPA published the ``General 
Preamble for the Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Act 
Amendments of 1990'' (General Preamble) (57 FR 13498). The guidance 
documents and the General Preamble interpret the Stage II statutory 
requirement and indicate what the EPA believes a State submittal needs 
to include to meet that requirement.
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    \1\These two documents are entitled ``Technical Guidance--Stage 
II Vapor Recovery Systems for Control of Vehicle Refueling Emissions 
at Gasoline Dispensing Facilities'' (EPA-450/3-91-022) and 
``Enforcement Guidance for Stage II Vehicle Refueling Control 
Programs.''
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    The EPA has designated the Baton Rouge and Lake Charles areas as 
ozone nonattainment in the State of Louisiana. The Baton Rouge 
nonattainment area is classified as serious and contains the following 
six parishes: Ascension, East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Iberville, 
Livingston, and Pointe Coupee. The Lake Charles ozone nonattainment 
area is classified as marginal and therefore is not required to 
implement a Stage II program. The designations for ozone were published 
in the FR on November 6, 1991, and November 30, 1992, and have been 
codified in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). See 56 FR 56694 
(November 6, 1991) and 57 FR 56762 (November 30, 1992), codified at 40 
CFR 81.300 through 81.437. Under section 182(b)(3) of the CAAA, 
Louisiana was required to submit Stage II vapor recovery rules for the 
Baton Rouge nonattainment area by November 15, 1992. On November 10, 
1992, Governor Edwin W. Edwards submitted to the EPA, Stage II vapor 
recovery rules and a SIP Supplement dated November 15, 1992, which were 
adopted by the State on November 10, 1992, and were published in the 
Louisiana Register on November 20, 1992. By today's action, the EPA is 
approving this submittal. The EPA has reviewed the State submittal 
against the statutory requirements and for consistency with EPA 
guidance. A summary of the EPA's analysis is provided below. In 
addition, a more detailed analysis of the State submittal is contained 
in a TSD, dated September 24, 1993, which is available from the EPA 
Region 6 Office, listed above.

Applicability

    Under section 182(b)(3) of the CAAA, States were required by 
November 15, 1992, to adopt regulations requiring owners or operators 
of gasoline dispensing systems to install and operate vapor recovery 
equipment at their facilities. The CAAA specifies that these State 
rules must apply to any facility that dispenses more than 10,000 
gallons of gasoline per month or, in the case of an independent small 
business marketer, any facility that dispenses more than 50,000 gallons 
of gasoline per month. Section 324 of the CAAA defines an independent 
small business marketer, which is fully set forth in the TSD. The State 
has adopted the statutory definition of independent small business 
marketer in its regulations.
    The State has adopted a general applicability requirement of 10,000 
gallons per month. The State has also chosen to exempt independent 
small business marketers dispensing under 50,000 gallons per month.
    As more fully discussed in the EPA's Enforcement Guidance and the 
General Preamble (57 FR 13514), the State has provided that the gallons 
of gasoline dispensed per month will be based on the average gasoline 
throughput for the most recent two year period without facility 
shutdown, and calculated monthly. If two year data is not available, 
the calculation is based on the monthly average for the most recent 12 
calendar months (including only those months for which the facility was 
operating). The EPA finds the applicability requirements in the 
Louisiana Stage II rule to be acceptable.

Implementation of Stage II

    The CAAA specifies the time by which certain facilities must comply 
with the State regulation. For facilities that are not owned or 
operated by an independent small business marketer, these times, 
calculated from the time of State adoption of the regulation, are: (1) 
Six months for facilities for which construction began after November 
15, 1990; (2) one year for facilities that dispense at least 100,000 
gallons of gasoline per month; and (3) two years for all other 
facilities. The Louisiana Stage II rule time schedule sets a compliance 
schedule of six months after State rule promulgation, one year after 
State rule promulgation, and two years after State rule promulgation, 
respectively for the above three deadlines. For independent small 
business marketers, section 324(a) of the CAAA provides that the time 
periods may be: (1) 33 percent of the facilities owned by an 
independent small business marketer by the end of the first year after 
the regulations take effect; (2) 66 percent of such facilities by the 
end of the second year; and (3) 100 percent of such facilities after 
the third year. Although Louisiana promulgated its Stage II regulations 
on November 20, 1992, five days after the SIP was required to be 
submitted, the EPA believes it is appropriate to accept the State's 
compliance schedule.
    The EPA is approving the submitted time table for the following 
reasons. First, the CAAA states that the adoption date must be used to 
calculate the compliance schedule for Stage II implementation at 
facilities. In this case, the EPA accepts Louisiana's approach of 
triggering compliance dates from the date when the regulations were 
promulgated. The compliance deadlines triggered by this date begin only 
five days after the time schedule specified by the CAAA. The EPA 
considers an additional five days to be of minimal impact and will have 
no adverse impact on the integrity of the program. Also, the timetable 
initiation date established by the State on November 20, 1992, began 
shortly after adoption of the regulations. Secondly, remedying this 
deficiency by amending the compliance schedule would cause further 
delay in the implementation of Stage II in Louisiana, in that a State 
revision to the Stage II rule could establish a new and later adoption 
date and hence later compliance deadlines. Lastly, the Louisiana rule 
otherwise fulfills the Stage II requirements, and the EPA believes it 
will provide substantial air quality benefits to the regulated area. 
Therefore, the EPA believes it is in the public interest to approve and 
make enforceable this requirement at the earliest time feasible.

Additional Program Requirements

    The State requires that Stage II systems be tested and certified to 
meet a 95 percent emission reduction efficiency. The EPA has indicated 
three acceptable methods of demonstrating a 95 percent emission 
reduction efficiency: (1) A method tested and approved by the 
California Air Resources Board (CARB); (2) a testing program that is 
equivalent to the CARB program, that will be conducted by the Program 
Oversight Agency (POA), or by a third party recognized by the POA, and 
submitted and approved by the EPA for incorporation into the SIP; or 
(3) a system approved by the CARB. The State has chosen to use a system 
approved by the CARB, or an equivalent certification authority approved 
by the administrative authority*. The State regulations define the 
administrative authority* to include both the State Department of 
Environmental Quality and the EPA. Thus, equivalent system 
certification authorities would have to be formally approved by the EPA 
and could be incorporated into the SIP.
    The State requires sources to verify proper installation and 
function of Stage II equipment through use of a liquid blockage test 
and a leak test prior to system operation and every five years or upon 
major modification of a facility's Stage II equipment (i.e., 75 percent 
or more Stage II equipment change).
    With respect to recordkeeping, the State has adopted those items 
recommended in the EPA's guidance and specifies that sources subject to 
Stage II must make the following documents available upon request: (1) 
Application approval records and station operating license; (2) system 
installation and testing results; (3) equipment maintenance and 
compliance records; (4) training certification files; and (5) 
inspection records. In addition, the State has committed in its SIP 
supplement to maintain general station and enforcement files, including 
information such as facility name, address, phone number, owner/
operator names, a State assigned reference number, date of initial 
compliance with the regulations, number of pumps, monthly gasoline 
throughput, and State enforcement actions. The State has also 
established an inspection function consistent with that described in 
the EPA's guidance. The State commits to conducting inspections of 
facilities including a visual inspection of the Stage II equipment and 
of the required records and a functional test of the Stage II 
equipment. According to the Supplement, the State shall inspect each 
facility at least one time per year. Finally, the State has established 
procedures for enforcing violations of the Stage II requirements. Civil 
penalties may be assessed of up to $25,000 per day per violation. The 
EPA finds the State's program for implementation and enforcement of the 
Stage II program to be consistent with the EPA guidelines.

Rulemaking Action

    Since the EPA finds that the State has adopted a Stage II SIP in 
accordance with section 182(b)(3) of the CAAA, as interpreted in the 
EPA's guidance, the EPA is giving notice of its intent to approve the 
submittal as a direct final action meeting the requirements of section 
182(b)(3).
    The EPA is publishing this action without prior proposal because 
the EPA views this as a noncontroversial revision and anticipates no 
adverse comments. This action will become effective May 24, 1994, 
unless by April 25, 1994 notice is received that adverse or critical 
comments will be submitted. If such notice is received, this action 
will be withdrawn before the effective date by publishing two 
subsequent documents. One document will withdraw the final action, and 
another will begin a new rulemaking by announcing a proposal of the 
action and establishing a comment period. If no such comments are 
received, the public is advised that this action will be effective May 
24, 1994.
    Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or 
allowing or establishing a precedent for any future request for 
revision to any SIP. Each request for revision to a SIP shall be 
considered in light of specific technical, economical, and 
environmental factors and in relation to relevant statutory and 
regulatory requirements.

Regulatory Process

    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 600 et seq., the 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, the 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 
CAAA 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, I certify 
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 CAAA, preparation of a regulatory flexibility analysis would 
constitute Federal inquiry into the economic reasonableness of State 
action. The CAAA forbids the EPA to base its actions concerning SIPs on 
such grounds (Union Electric Co. v. U.S. E.P.A., 427 U.S. 246, 256-66 
(S.Ct. 1976); 42 U.S.C. 7410(a)(2)).
    This action has been classified as a table two action by the 
Regional Administrator under the procedures published in the FR on 
January 19, 1989 (54 FR 2214-2225). On January 6, 1989, the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) waived table two and table three SIP 
revisions from the requirements of section three of Executive Order 
12291 for a period of two years (54 FR 2222). The EPA has submitted a 
request for a permanent waiver for table two and table three SIP 
revisions. The OMB has agreed to continue the waiver until such time as 
it rules on the EPA's request. This request is still applicable under 
Executive Order 12866.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Hydrocarbons, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Note--Incorporation by reference of the SIP for the State of 
Louisiana was approved by the Director of the Federal Register on 
July 1, 1982.

    Dated: February 4, 1994.
Jane N. Saginaw,
Regional Administrator.

    40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

    1. The athority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.

Subpart T--Louisiana

    2. Sec. 52.970 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(61) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 52.970  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (61) A revision to the Louisiana SIP to include revisions to LAC, 
Title 33, ``Environmental Quality,'' Part III. Air, Chapter 21, Control 
of Emission of Organic Compounds, Section 2132--Stage II Vapor Recovery 
Systems for Control of Vehicle Refuelling Emissions at Gasoline 
Dispensing Facilities effective November 20, 1992, and submitted by the 
Governor by cover letter dated November 10, 1992.
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    (A) Revisions to LAC, Title 33, ``Environmental Quality,'' Part 
III. Air, Chapter 21, Control of Emission of Organic Compounds, Section 
2132--Stage II Vapor Recovery Systems for Control of Vehicle Refuelling 
Emissions at Gasoline Dispensing Facilities, effective November 20, 
1992; and Chapter 65, Section 6523--Fee Schedule Listing, effective 
November 20, 1992.
    (ii) Additional materials.
    (A) November 15, 1993, narrative plan addressing: legal authority, 
control strategy, compliance schedules, air quality surveillance, 
public notice, determination of regulated universe, Louisiana 
Department of Environmental Quality recordkeeping, facility 
recordkeeping, annual in-use above ground inspections, program 
penalties, training, and benefits.

[FR Doc. 94-7056 Filed 3-24-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P