[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 12 (Thursday, January 19, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 3794-3796]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-1318]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[CA 95-5-6651; FRL-5141-7]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California 
State Implementation Plan Revision, Mojave Desert Air Quality 
Management District and San Bernardino 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), which concern the control of volatile 
organic compound (VOC) emissions from the loading, transfer, and 
storage of organic liquids, including gasoline.
    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 (NPRM) 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 February 21, 1995.

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 94105-3901.
    Copies of the rules 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 rules are also available for 
inspection at the following locations:

California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule 
Evaluation Section, 2020 ``L'' Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.
Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District (formerly San Bernardino 
County APCD), 15428 Civic Drive, Suite 200, Victorville, CA 92392-2383.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Duane F. James, Rulemaking Section (A-
5-3), Air and Toxics Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901, (415) 
744-1191.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Applicability

    The rules being proposed for approval into the California SIP 
include: Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District's (MDAQMD) Rule 
461, ``Gasoline Transfer and Dispensing,'' and Rule 462, ``Organic 
Liquid Loading,'' and San Bernardino County Air Pollution Control 
District's (SBCAPCD) Rule 463, ``Storage of Organic Liquids.'' 
SBCAPCD's Rule 463 was adopted and submitted prior to the district 
being renamed to the MDAQMD. These rules were submitted by the 
California Air Resources Board to EPA on January 11, 1993 (Rule 463) 
and July 13, 1994 (Rules 461 and 462).

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 former SBCAPCD.1 
43 FR 8964; 40 CFR 81.305. Because this area was unable to meet the 
statutory attainment date of December 31, 1982, California requested 

[[Page 3795]]
under section 172(a)(2), and EPA approved, an extension of the 
attainment date to December 31, 1987. 40 CFR 52.238, 52.222. On May 26, 
1988, EPA notified the Governor of California, pursuant to section 
110(a)(2)(H) of the pre-amended Act, that the above district'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.2 EPA's SIP-Call used that guidance to indicate 
the necessary corrections for specific nonattainment areas. The MDAQMD 
is classified as severe;3 therefore, this area was subject to the 
RACT fix-up requirement and the May 15, 1991 deadline.

    \1\ On July 1, 1993, the SBCAPCD was officially renamed as the 
MDAQMD. Rule 463 is still identified with the SBCAPCD for 
completeness.
    \2\ 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 (CTG's).
    \3\ The Mojave Desert Area retained its designation of 
nonattainment and was classified by operation of law pursuant to 
sections 107(d) and 181(a) upon the date of enactment of the CAA 
amendments of 1990. See 55 FR 56694 (November 6, 1991).
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    The State of California submitted many revised RACT rules for 
incorporation into its SIP on January 11, 1993, and July 13, 1994, 
including the rules being acted on in this document. This document 
addresses EPA's proposed action for MDAQMD's Rule 461, ``Gasoline 
Transfer and Dispensing,'' and Rule 462, ``Organic Liquid Loading,'' 
and SBCAPCD's Rule 463, ``Storage of Organic Liquids.'' MDAQMD adopted 
Rules 461 and 462 on May 25, 1994, and SBCAPCD adopted Rule 463 on 
November 2, 1992. These submitted rules were found to be complete on 
March 26, 1993 (Rule 463) and July 22, 1994 (Rules 461 and 462) 
pursuant to EPA's completeness criteria that are set forth in 40 CFR 
part 51 Appendix V4 and are being proposed for approval into the 
SIP.

    \4\ 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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    These three rules work in concert to reduce VOC emissions by 
requiring submerged fill pipes and vapor recovery systems for the 
transfer and storage of organic liquids, including gasoline. 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 2. 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 CTG's 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). The following 
CTG's are applicable to these rules: (1) ``Control of Hydrocarbons from 
Tank Truck Gasoline Loading Terminals (EPA-450/2-77-026),'' (2) 
``Control of Volatile Organic Emissions from Bulk Gasoline Plants (EPA-
450/2-77-035),'' (3) ``Control of Volatile Organic Emissions from 
Storage of Petroleum Liquids in Fixed-Roof Tanks (EPA-450/2-77-036),'' 
(4) ``Control of Volatile Organic Emissions from Petroleum Liquid 
Storage in External Floating Roof Tanks (EPA-450/2-78-047),'' and (5) 
``Control of Volatile Organic Compound Leaks from Gasoline Tank Trucks 
and Vapor Collection Systems (EPA-450/2-78-051).'' Further 
interpretations of EPA policy are found in the Blue Book, referred to 
in footnote 2. In general, these guidance documents have been set forth 
to ensure that VOC rules are fully enforceable and strengthen or 
maintain the SIP. Rules 461, 462, and 463 include the following 
significant changes from the current SIP:

     Applicability sections.
     Test methods for compliance determinations.
     Recordkeeping requirements.
     Exemptions consistent with the CTG's.
     Definitions of terms used in the rules.

    EPA has evaluated the submitted rules and has determined that they 
are consistent with the CAA, EPA regulations, and EPA policy. 
Therefore, MDAQMD's Rule 461, ``Gasoline Transfer and Dispensing,'' and 
Rule 462, ``Organic Liquid Loading,'' and SBCAPCD's Rule 463, ``Storage 
of Organic Liquids,'' 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 

[[Page 3796]]
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).
    The OMB has exempted this action from review under Executive Order 
12866.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

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

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

    Dated: January 6, 1995.
Felicia Marcus,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 95-1318 Filed 1-18-95; 8:45 am]
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