[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 76 (Thursday, April 20, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 19701-19702]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-9709]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[CA 144-3-6972a; FRL-5194-1]


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 (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 semiconductor manufacturing.
    The intended effect of proposing approval of this rule 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 May 22, 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 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:

Environmental Protection Agency, Air Docket 6102, ANR 443, 401 ``M'' 
Street, S.W., Washington 20460.
California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule 
Evaluation Section, 2020 ``L'' Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.
South Coast Air Quality Management District, 21865 E. Copley Drive, 
Diamond Bar, CA 91765-4182.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Helen Liu, Rulemaking Section (A-5-3), 
Air and Toxics Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 
IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. Telephone: (415) 744-
1199.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Applicability

    The rule being proposed for approval into the California SIP is the 
South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Rule 1164--
Semiconductor Manufacturing. This rule was submitted by the California 
Air Resources Board (CARB) to EPA on February 24, 1995.

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 Area (South Coast Area). 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 52.222] 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.1 EPA's SIP-Call used 
that guidance to indicate the necessary corrections for specific 
nonattainment [[Page 19702]] areas. The South Coast Area has been 
designated as extreme2; therefore, this area was subject to the 
RACT fix-up requirement and the May 15, 1991 deadline.

    \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 South Coast Area retained its designation of 
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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    The State of California submitted many revised RACT rules for 
incorporation into its SIP on February 24, 1995, including the rule 
being acted on in this document. This document addresses EPA's proposed 
action for SCAQMD Rule 1164. SCAQMD adopted Rule 1164 on January 13, 
1995. This submitted rule was found to be complete on March 10, 1995 
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.

    \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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    SCAQMD Rule 1164 controls the VOC emissions during the operations 
of semiconductor manufacturing. VOCs contribute to the production of 
ground-level ozone and smog. This rule was adopted as part of the 
SCAQMD'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 this rule.

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). EPA has not yet 
developed a CTG to outline control requirements for the semiconductor 
manufacturing source category. Therefore, interpretations of EPA policy 
are found in the Blue Book, referred to in footnote 1, and the Region 
IX/CARB document entitled, Guidance Document for Correcting VOC Rule 
Deficiencies. In general, these guidance documents have been set forth 
to ensure that VOC rules are fully enforceable and strengthen or 
maintain the SIP.
    SCAQMD Rule 1164--Semiconductor Manufacturing includes the 
following significant changes from the current SIP:
     Section (b)(1) includes an appropriate definition for 
approved emission control system which requires the system to have an 
overall efficiency of at least 90 percent.
     Section (b)(14) includes an equation to determine VOC 
composite partial pressure.
     Other definitions were added or altered for clarity.
     Sections (e)(1) and (e)(2) list the test methods for 
determining VOC content of any VOC-containing materials or vapors. 
These methods include EPA Test Method 24, SCAQMD Method 303, SCAQMD 
Method 304, SCAQMD Method 308.
     Section (e)(3) includes test methods for determining the 
efficiency of the emission control systems. These methods include the 
EPA method cited in 55 Federal Register 26865, EPA Test Methods 25, 
25A, 18, ARB 422, or SCAQMD Method 25.1.
     Section (e)(4) ensures that a violation of any requirement 
of this rule established by any one of the specified test methods shall 
constitute a violation of the rule when more than one test method is 
specified for any testing.
    EPA has evaluated the submitted rule and has determined that it is 
consistent with the CAA, EPA regulations, and EPA policy. Therefore, 
SCAQMD Rule 1164 is 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. 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).
    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: April 11, 1995.
Felicia Marcus,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 95-9709 Filed 4-19-95; 8:45 am]
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