[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 127 (Tuesday, July 5, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-16219]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: July 5, 1994]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[OAQPS #CA21-6-6291; FRL-5007-1]

 

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California

State Implementation Plan Revision; Ventura County Air Pollution 
Control District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the California State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) for ozone. The revisions concern the control 
of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from electric utilities and stack 
monitoring requirements for making compliance determinations in Ventura 
County. The intended effect of proposing approval of these rules is to 
regulate emissions of NOx 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 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 actions on SIP submittals, SIPs for national primary and 
secondary ambient air quality standards, and plan requirements for 
nonattainment areas.

COMMENTS: Comments on this proposed action must be received in writing 
on or before August 4, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Daniel A. Meer, Chief, Stationary 
Source Rulemaking (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 revision and EPA's evaluation report of each 
rule are available for public inspection at EPA's Region IX office 
during normal business hours. Copies of the submitted rule revisions 
are also available for inspection at the following locations:

Stationary Source Rulemaking Section (A-5-3), Air and Toxics Division, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, 
San Francisco, CA 94105.
California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule 
Evaluation Section, 2020 ``L'' Street, Sacramento, CA 95812.
Ventura County Air Pollution Control District, Rule Development 
Section, 702 County Square Drive, Ventura, CA 93003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wendy Colombo, Stationary Source 
Rulemaking, (A-5-3), Air and Toxics Division, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 
94105 Telephone: (415) 744-1202.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background:

    On November 15, 1990, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAA) 
were enacted. Pub. L. 101-549, 104 Stat. 2399, codified at 42 U.S.C. 
7401-7671q. The air quality planning requirements for the reduction of 
NOX emissions through reasonably available control technology 
(RACT) are set out in section 182(f) of the CAA. On November 25, 1992, 
EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking entitled ``State 
Implementation Plans; Nitrogen Oxides Supplement to the General 
Preamble; Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 Implementation of Title I; 
Proposed Rule,'' (the NOX Supplement) which describes the 
requirements of section 182(f). The November 25, 1992, notice should be 
referred to for further information on the NOX requirements and is 
incorporated into this document by reference.
    Section 182(f) of the Clean Air Act requires States to apply the 
same requirements to major stationary sources of NOX (``major'' as 
defined in section 302 and sections 182(c), (d), and (e)) as are 
applied to major stationary sources of volatile organic compounds 
(VOCs), in moderate or above ozone nonattainment areas. Ventura County 
is classified as a severe nonattainment area for ozone,1 therefore 
subject to the RACT requirements of section 182(b)(2), cited above.
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    \1\Ventura County was designated nonattainment and classified by 
operation of law pursuant to sections 107(d) and 181(a) upon the 
date of enactment of the CAA. See 55 FR 56694 (November 6, 1991).
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    Section 182(b)(2) requires submittal of RACT rules for major 
stationary sources of VOC emissions (not covered by a pre-enactment 
control technologies guidelines (CTG) document or a post-enactment CTG 
document) by November 15, 1992. There were no NOX CTGs issued 
before enactment and EPA has not issued a CTG document for any NOX 
sources since enactment of the CAA. The RACT rules covering NOX 
sources and submitted as SIP revisions are expected to require final 
installation of the actual NOX controls by May 31, 1995 for those 
sources where installation by that date is practicable.
    This document addresses EPA's proposed action for Ventura County 
Air Pollution Control District (VCAPCD), Rule 59, Electrical Power 
Generating Equipment--Oxides of Nitrogen Emissions and Rule 103, Stack 
Monitoring. Rule 59 and Rule 103 were respectively adopted by VCAPCD on 
September 15, 1992 and June 4, 1991. The California Air Resources Board 
(CARB) submitted these revisions to EPA on November 18, 1993 and 
October 25, 1991, respectively. The submissions were found to be 
complete on December 23, 1993 (Rule 59) and December 18, 1991 (Rule 
103), pursuant to EPA's completeness criteria that are set forth in 40 
CFR Part 51 Appendix V,2 and are being proposed for approval into 
the SIP.
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    \2\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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    NOX emissions contribute to the production of ground level 
ozone and smog. Rule 59 limits nitrogen oxide emissions from utility 
boilers in Ventura County, while Rule 103 specifies stack monitoring 
requirements. The rules were adopted as part of Ventura County's 
efforts to achieve the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) 
for ozone and in response to the CAA requirements cited above. The 
following is EPA's evaluation and proposed action for these rules.

EPA Evaluation and Proposed Action

    In determining the approvability of a NOX 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 interpretations of these requirements, 
which form the basis for this action, appear in the NOX Supplement 
and various other EPA policy guidance documents.3 Among these 
provisions is the requirement that a NOX rule must, at a minimum, 
provide for the implementation of RACT for stationary sources of 
NOX emissions.
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    \3\ 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).
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    For the purposes of assisting state and local agencies in 
developing NOX RACT rules, EPA prepared the NOX Supplement to 
the General Preamble, cited above (57 FR 55620). In the NOX 
Supplement, EPA provides guidance on how RACT should be determined for 
major stationary sources of NOX emissions. While most of the 
guidance issued by EPA on what constitutes RACT for stationary sources 
has been directed towards application for VOC sources, much of the 
guidance is also applicable to RACT for stationary sources of NOX 
(see section 4.5 of the NOX Supplement). In addition, pursuant to 
section 183(c), EPA is issuing alternative control techniques documents 
(ACTs), that identify alternative controls for all categories of 
stationary sources of NOX. The ACT documents will provide 
information on control technology for stationary sources that emit or 
have the potential to emit 25 tons per year or more of NOX. 
However, the ACTs will not establish a presumptive norm for what is 
considered RACT for stationary sources of NOX. In general, the 
guidance documents cited above, as well as other relevant and 
applicable guidance documents, have been issued by EPA to ensure that 
submitted NOX RACT rules are fully enforceable and strengthen or 
maintain the SIP.
    The current SIP-approved version of Rule 59, Electrical Power 
Generating Equipment--Oxides of Nitrogen Emissions, has four parts: 
``A'' regarding emission limits; ``B'' regarding applicability; ``D'' 
regarding definitions (approved on June 6, 1980); and ``C'' regarding 
exceedance provisions (approved into the SIP on April 11, 1983). The 
significant changes in the September 15, 1992 version involve more 
stringent emission limits, fuel oil provisions, natural gas curtailment 
issues, 24-hour rolling average compliance determinations, start-up 
exemptions, and increments of progress provisions. In addition, new 
recordkeeping requirements, test methods, and definitions have been 
included.
    Specifically, the rule limits NOX emissions from boilers rated 
less than 2150 million British Thermal Units (MMBtu) to 0.20 pounds per 
megawatt-hour (lb/MW-hr) produced, and limits NOX emissions from 
units greater than or equal to 2150 MMBtu to 0.10lb/MW-hr. Final 
compliance with these limits is required by June 4, 1996 and June 4, 
1994, respectively. Interim NOX limits are required for units 
burning natural gas as well as fuel oil. However, operation on any 
amount of fuel oil as of April 1, 1993 is prohibited except during 
system tests or a force majeure natural gas curtailment. Compliance 
with the hourly emission limits is determined using a 24-hour rolling 
average in which the 24 hourly measurements immediately preceding the 
current hour are used to calculate the average for that hour. Emissions 
and power production are required to be continuously monitored pursuant 
to Rule 103. For implementation by 1995, all the limits specified in 
Rule 59 are more stringent than RACT except for the pre-1996 limits 
established for units less than 2150MMBtu/hr. The pre-1996 limits for 
these units, however, meet RACT. Although all limits post-1996 are more 
stringent than the NOX RACT limits for utility boilers specified 
in the NOX Supplement, all additional reductions obtained beyond 
those attributable to RACT are assumed necessary for VCAPCD's 
attainment planning purposes.
    A more detailed discussion of the sources controlled, the controls 
required, and the analysis of how these controls meet RACT can be found 
in the Technical Support Document (TSD) for Rule 59 and Rule 103, dated 
June 1994.
    Rule 103, Stack Monitoring was originally adopted by VCAPCD on 
November 22, 1977. A revised version was approved into the SIP on 
October 16, 1985. The rule adopted on June 4, 1991 requires all large 
boilers, regardless of their use rate, to be monitored.
    EPA has evaluated the submitted rules and has determined that they 
are consistent with the CAA, EPA regulations and EPA policy. Therefore, 
both VCAPCD Rule 59, Electrical Power Generating Equipment--Oxides of 
Nitrogen Emissions and VCAPCD Rule 103, Stack Monitoring 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. 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 sections 603 and 
604. Alternatively, EPA may certify that the rule will not have a 
significant economic 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 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 affected small entities. 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. section 7410 
(a)(2).
    This action has been classified as a Table 2 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.
    OMB has exempted this action from E.O. 12866 review.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Hydrocarbons, 
Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: June 20, 1994.
John Wise,
Acting Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-16219 Filed 7-1-94; 8:45 am]
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