[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 105 (Thursday, June 2, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-13456]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: June 2, 1994]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[OAQPS CA38-5-6308; FRL-4890-6]

 

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California 
State Implementation Plan Revision, South Coast Air Quality Management 
District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the California State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) which concern the control of volatile organic 
compound (VOC) emissions from pleasure craft coating operations and set 
general recordkeeping requirements for VOC emissions.
    The intended effect of proposing approval of these rules is to 
regulate emissions of VOCs in accordance with the requirements of the 
Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act). EPA's final action 
on this notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) will incorporate these 
rules into the federally approved SIP. EPA has evaluated each of these 
rules and is proposing to approve them under provisions of the CAA 
regarding EPA action on SIP submittals, SIPs for national primary and 
secondary ambient air quality standards and plan requirements for 
nonattainment areas.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 5, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Daniel A. Meer, Rulemaking 
Section (A-5-3), Air and Toxics Division, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105.
    Copies of the rule revisions and EPA's evaluation report of each 
rule are available for public inspection at EPA's Region 9 office 
during normal business hours. Copies of the submitted rule revisions 
are also available for inspection at the following locations:

South Coast Air Quality Management District, 21865 East Copley 
Drive, Diamond Bar, CA 91765-4182.
California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule 
Evaluation Section, 2020 L Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Stamos (A-5-3), Air and Toxics 
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne 
Street, San Francisco, CA 94105 Telephone: (415) 744-1187.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The rules being proposed for approval into 
the California SIP are: South Coast Air Quality Management District 
(SCAQMD) Rule 1106.1, Pleasure Craft Coating Operations and Rule 109, 
Recordkeeping for Volatile Organic Compound Emissions. These rules were 
submitted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to EPA on 
September 14, 1992.

Background

    On March 3, 1978, EPA promulgated a list of ozone nonattainment 
areas under the provisions of the Clean Air Act, as amended in 1977 
(1977 CAA or pre-amended Act), that included the Los Angeles-South 
Coast Air Basin. 43 FR 8964, 40 CFR 81.305. Because this area was 
unable to meet the statutory attainment date of December 31, 1982, 
California requested under section 172(a)(2), and EPA approved, an 
extension of the attainment date to December 31, 1987. 40 CFR 52.238. 
On May 26, 1988, EPA notified the Governor of California, pursuant to 
section 110(a)(2)(H) of the pre-amended Act, that the SCAQMD's portion 
of the California SIP was inadequate to attain and maintain the ozone 
standard and requested that deficiencies in the existing SIP be 
corrected (EPA's SIP-Call). On November 15, 1990, the Clean Air Act 
Amendments of 1990 were enacted. Pub. L. 101-549, 104 Stat. 2399, 
codified at 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q. In amended section 182(a)(2)(A) of 
the CAA, Congress statutorily adopted the requirement that 
nonattainment areas fix their deficient reasonably available control 
technology (RACT) rules for ozone and established a deadline of May 15, 
1991 for states to submit corrections of those deficiencies.
    Section 182(a)(2)(A) applies to areas designated as nonattainment 
prior to enactment of the amendments and classified as marginal or 
above as of the date of enactment. It requires such areas to adopt and 
correct RACT rules pursuant to pre-amended section 172(b) as 
interpreted in pre-amendment guidance.1 EPA's SIP-Call used that 
guidance to indicate the necessary corrections for specific 
nonattainment areas. The Los Angeles-South Coast Air Basin is 
classified as extreme;2 therefore, this area was subject to the 
RACT fix-up requirement and the May 15, 1991 deadline.
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    \1\ Among other things, the pre-amendment guidance consists of 
those portions of the proposed Post-1987 ozone and carbon monoxide 
policy that concern RACT, 52 FR 45044 (November 24, 1987); ``Issues 
Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations, 
Clarification to Appendix D of November 24, 1987 Federal Register 
Notice'' (Blue Book) (notice of availability was published in the 
Federal Register on May 25, 1988); and the existing control 
technique guidelines (CTGs).
    \2\ The Los Angeles South Coast Air Basin retained its 
designation and was classified by operation of law pursuant to 
sections 107(d) and 181(a) upon the date of enactment of the CAA. 
See 56 FR 56694 (November 6, 1991).
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    The State of California submitted many revised RACT rules for 
incorporation into its SIP on September 14, 1992, including the rules 
being acted on in this document. This document addresses EPA's proposed 
action for SCAQMD Rule 1106.1, Pleasure Craft Coating Operations, and 
for SCAQMD Rule 109, Recordkeeping for Volatile Organic Compound 
Emissions. SCAQMD adopted Rule 1106.1 on May 1, 1992 and Rule 109 on 
March 6, 1992. These submitted rules were found to be complete on 
November 20, 1992 pursuant to EPA's completeness criteria that are set 
forth in 40 CFR Part 51 Appendix V3 and are being proposed for 
approval into the SIP.
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    \3\ EPA adopted the completeness criteria on February 16, 1990 
(55 FR 5830) and, pursuant to section 110(k)(1)(A) of the CAA, 
revised the criteria on August 26, 1991 (56 FR 42216).
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    Rule 1106.1 requires the use of low VOC coatings for marine 
pleasure craft coating operations and coating application methods with 
high transfer efficiencies, and Rule 109 sets out general recordkeeping 
requirements for regulating volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions 
for a variety of source categories. VOCs contribute to the production 
of ground level ozone and smog. The rules were adopted as part of the 
district's efforts to achieve the National Ambient Air Quality Standard 
(NAAQS) for ozone and in response to EPA's SIP-Call and the section 
182(a)(2)(A) CAA requirement. The following is EPA's evaluation and 
proposed action for these rules.

EPA Evaluation and Proposed Action

    In determining the approvability of a VOC rule, EPA must evaluate 
the rule for consistency with the requirements of the CAA and EPA 
regulations, as found in section 110 and part D of the CAA and 40 CFR 
part 51 (Requirements for Preparation, Adoption, and Submittal of 
Implementation Plans). The EPA interpretation of these requirements, 
which forms the basis for today's action, appears in the various EPA 
policy guidance documents listed in footnote 1. Among those provisions 
is the requirement that a VOC rule must, at a minimum, provide for the 
implementation of RACT for stationary sources of VOC emissions. This 
requirement was carried forth from the pre-amended Act.
    For the purpose of assisting state and local agencies in developing 
RACT rules, EPA prepared a series of Control Technique Guideline (CTG) 
documents. The CTGs are based on the underlying requirements of the Act 
and specify the presumptive norms for what is RACT for specific source 
categories. Under the CAA, Congress ratified EPA's use of these 
documents, as well as other Agency policy, for requiring States to 
``fix-up'' their RACT rules. See section 182(a)(2)(A). Rule 1106.1 
controls emissions from a source category for which EPA has not issued 
a CTG and Rule 109 is a general recordkeeping rule and therefore does 
not have a corresponding CTG. Further interpretations of EPA policy are 
found in the Blue Book, referred to in footnote 1. In general, these 
guidance documents have been set forth to ensure that VOC rules are 
fully enforceable and strengthen or maintain the SIP.
    SCAQMD's submitted Rule 109, includes the following significant 
changes from the current SIP:
     Adds a definition for Exempt Compounds,
     Removes Executive Officer Discretion from sections (c)(2) 
and (c)(3) as prescribed in the Technical Support Document (TSD) (dated 
January 15, 1992), and
     Adds EPA-approved test methods.
    SCAQMD Rule 1106.1 is a new rule which was adopted to regulate 
emissions for the coating of marine pleasure craft.
    EPA has evaluated the submitted rules and has determined that they 
are consistent with the CAA, EPA regulations, and EPA policy. 
Therefore, SCAQMD Rule 1106.1 and Rule 109 are being proposed for 
approval under section 110(k)(3) of the CAA as meeting the requirements 
of section 110(a) and Part D.
    Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or 
allowing or establishing a precedent for any future request for 
revision to any state implementation plan. Each request for revision to 
the state implementation plan shall be considered separately in light 
of specific technical, economic, and environmental factors and in 
relation to relevant statutory and regulatory requirements.

Regulatory Process

    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. Section 600 et. 
seq., 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, 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 sections 110 and 301 and subchapter I, part D 
of the CAA 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, it does not 
have a significant impact on any small entities affected. Moreover, due 
to the nature of the federal-state relationship under the CAA, 
preparation of a regulatory flexibility analysis would constitute 
Federal inquiry into the economic reasonableness of state action. The 
CAA forbids 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 3 action by the Regional 
Administrator under the procedures published in the Federal Register on 
January 19, 1989 (54 FR 2214-2225), as revised by an October 4, 1993, 
memorandum from Michael H. Shapiro, Acting Assistant Administrator for 
Air and Radiation. A future notice will inform the general public of 
these tables. On January 6, 1989, the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) waived Table 2 and Table 3 SIP revisions (54 FR 222) from the 
requirements of Section 3 of Executive Order 12291 for 2 years. The EPA 
has submitted a request for a permanent waiver for Table 2 and Table 3 
SIP revisions. The OMB has agreed to continue the temporary waiver 
until such time as it rules on EPA's request. This request continues in 
effect under Executive Order 12866 which superseded Executive Order 
12291 on September 30, 1993.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Hydrocarbons, 
Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

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

    Dated: May 18, 1994.
Felicia Marcus,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-13456 Filed 6-1-94; 8:45 am]
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