[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 42 (Friday, March 1, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 8009-8012]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-4832]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52

[MD3-1-7132, MD25-2-6170; FRL-5432-5]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Maryland; Major VOC Source RACT and Minor VOC Source Requirements

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing conditional approval of State Implementation 
Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of Maryland. These 
revisions pertain to Maryland's major source volatile organic compound 
(VOC) reasonably available control technology (RACT) regulation and 
minor VOC source requirements. The RACT regulation applies to major VOC 
sources that are not covered by Maryland's category specific VOC RACT 
regulations. The minor source requirements apply to smaller VOC sources 
that are not covered by RACT regulations. EPA is proposing approval of 
these SIP revisions on the condition that the State of Maryland 
certifies that it has determined and imposed RACT for all the major VOC 
sources covered by the VOC RACT regulation, and has submitted those 
enforceable RACT determinations to EPA as SIP revisions. That 
certification must be made by the Maryland Department of the 
Environment by no later than one year from the date EPA promulgates 
final conditional approval of this SIP revision. If the State fails to 
do so, that final conditional approval will convert to a disapproval. 
This action is being taken in accordance with the SIP submittal and 
revision provisions of the Act.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 1, 1996.


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ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Marcia L. Spink, Associate 
Director, Air, Radiation, and Toxics Division, Mailcode 3AT00, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 841 Chestnut Building, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107. Copies of the documents relevant to 
this action are available for public inspection during normal business 
hours at the Air, Radiation, and Toxics Division, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region III, 841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania 19107; and the Maryland Department of the Environment, 
2500 Broening Highway, Baltimore, Maryland, 21224.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maria A. Pino, (215) 597-9337, at the 
EPA Region III office, or via e-mail at [email protected]. 
While information may be requested via e-mail, comments must be 
submitted in writing to the above Region III address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 5, 1991, the State of Maryland 
formally submitted amendments to its air quality regulations to EPA as 
a SIP revision. Among the amendments submitted were revisions to COMAR 
26.11.06.06, Maryland's minor VOC source requirements. Also included in 
Maryland's April 5, 1991 SIP revision request was the addition of COMAR 
26.11.19.02G, which requires RACT for major sources of VOC that are not 
covered by Maryland's category specific VOC RACT regulations. 
Throughout the remainder of this notice, COMAR 26.11.19.02G shall be 
termed Maryland's generic major source VOC RACT regulation. All other 
amendments submitted to EPA in Maryland's April 5, 1991 SIP revision 
request have been approved into Maryland's SIP through separate 
rulemaking actions. (See 58 FR 63085, 59 FR 60908 and 60 FR 2018.) This 
rulemaking action only pertains to the portion of Maryland's April 5, 
1991 submittal related to the addition of COMAR 26.11.19.02G, 
Maryland's generic major VOC source RACT regulation, and revisions to 
COMAR 26.11.06.06, Maryland's minor VOC source requirements.
    On June 8, 1993, the Maryland Department of the Environment again 
submitted amendments to its air quality regulations to EPA as a SIP 
revision. The June 8, 1993 submittal establishes statewide 
applicability for Maryland's major VOC source generic RACT regulation 
and category specific VOC RACT regulations, lowers the applicability 
threshold for VOC RACT regulations, expands the geographic 
applicability of Maryland's minor VOC source requirements, and corrects 
deficiencies in Maryland's Stage I Vapor Recovery regulation. This 
rulemaking action pertains only to the amendments contained in 
Maryland's June 8, 1993 submittal related to its generic major VOC 
source RACT regulation and its minor VOC source regulations, COMAR 
26.11.19.02G and COMAR 26.11.06.06, respectively. All other regulations 
contained in the June 8, 1993 submittal were the subject of a separate 
rulemaking action. (See 60 FR 2018.)
    As required by 40 CFR 51.102, the State of Maryland has certified 
that public hearings with regard to these proposed revisions were held 
in Maryland on October 11, 1990 in Annapolis, Maryland and on November 
17, 18, and 20, 1992 in Frederick, Centreville, and Columbia, 
respectively. EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues discussed 
in this document or on other relevant matters. These comments will be 
considered before taking final action. Interested parties may 
participate in the federal rulemaking procedure by submitting written 
comments to the EPA Regional office listed in the ADDRESSES section of 
this document.

I. Background

    To comply with the RACT provisions of the Act, Maryland was 
required to expand its RACT regulations to apply statewide. It had to 
adopt all RACT regulations for all VOC sources for which EPA has 
published a Control Techniques Guideline (CTG) and all major non-CTG 
VOC sources (so-called generic VOC sources) with the potential to emit 
 25 TPY in Cecil County and the Baltimore nonattainment area 
and  50 TPY in the remainder of the State. These major non-
CTG sources are subject to Maryland's generic VOC RACT regulation.

II. EPA Evaluation and Proposed Action

    The following is EPA's evaluation and proposed action for the State 
of Maryland. Detailed descriptions of the amendments addressed in this 
document, and EPA's evaluation of the amendments, are contained in the 
technical support document (TSD) prepared for these revisions. Copies 
of the TSD are available from the EPA Regional office listed in the 
ADDRESSES section of this document.
    State Submittal: Maryland's generic major source VOC RACT 
regulation, COMAR 26.11.19.02G, was originally submitted to EPA on 
April 5, 1991 to comply with the RACT Fix-up requirements of section 
182(a)(2) of the Act. COMAR 26.11.19.02G required RACT for sources in 
the Baltimore and the Maryland portion of pre-enactment Washington, DC 
nonattainment areas with the potential to emit  100 TPY of 
VOC and which were not subject to COMAR 26.11.11, 26.11.13, or 
26.11.19.03-.15, Maryland's category-specific VOC RACT regulations.
    Subsequently, Maryland revised its generic major source VOC RACT 
regulation to comply with the RACT Catch-up provisions of section 
182(b)(2) of the Act. The regulation was revised to make it applicable 
statewide and to apply to ``major stationary sources of VOC'' rather 
than to VOC sources that have the potential to emit  100 
TPY. The term ``major stationary source of VOC,'' COMAR 
26.11.19.01B(4), is defined as any stationary source with the potential 
to emit: (a) 25 TPY of VOC or more in the City of Baltimore and Anne 
Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Cecil, Harford, and Howard Counties, and 
(b) 50 TPY in the remainder of the State. Approval of the addition of 
this term to Maryland's SIP was the subject of a separate rulemaking 
action. (See 60 FR 2018.)
    Furthermore, Maryland revised COMAR 26.11.19.02G to require non-CTG 
generic VOC sources to notify Maryland by August 15, 1993 if they are 
major sources subject to RACT. Under Maryland's regulation, these 
sources were required to submit a written RACT proposal and schedule 
for compliance by November 15, 1993. These sources must comply with 
RACT, as determined by Maryland, by no later than May 15, 1995. Upon 
Maryland's approval of a RACT proposal, the regulation requires the 
State to either amend the source's permit to operate to incorporate the 
RACT conditions, adopt a regulation that reflects the RACT requirement, 
or issue an order that includes the RACT requirement. Finally, COMAR 
26.11.19.02G states that Maryland will submit all RACT determinations 
to EPA for approval via the federal rulemaking process for 
incorporation into the SIP.
    Maryland's minor VOC source regulation, COMAR 26.11.06.06, was also 
submitted as part of Maryland's RACT Fix-ups. (See 58 FR 50307.) This 
regulation was applicable in the Baltimore and the Maryland portion of 
the pre-enactment Washington, DC nonattainment areas. This regulation 
exempted sources which were subject to other VOC regulations, including 
RACT as established by Maryland pursuant to COMAR 26.11.19.02G.
    Maryland amended COMAR 26.11.06.06A (Applicability) to expand the 
applicability of COMAR 26.11.06.06C-E (VOC-Water Separators, VOC 
Disposal, and Exceptions) statewide. Additionally, Maryland's 

[[Page 8011]]
minor source regulation, COMAR 26.11.06.06B (Control of VOC from 
Installations), was revised to add new requirements for sources located 
in Cecil County and the counties which were added to the Maryland 
portion of the Washington, DC nonattainment area, namely Calvert, 
Charles, and Frederick Counties. Sources in these newly regulated 
areas, Calvert, Cecil, Charles, and Frederick Counties, are required to 
reduce their VOC emissions by 85 percent overall. Finally, COMAR 
26.11.06.06A was revised to exempt sources ``subject to the provisions 
of'' Maryland's generic major source VOC RACT regulation, COMAR 
26.11.19.02G, from the requirements of COMAR 26.11.06.06. Thus, sources 
subject to COMAR 26.11.19.02G, which have not yet had a RACT 
determination approved by Maryland, are not subject to any VOC emission 
standard.
    EPA's Evaluation: Through revisions made to Maryland general VOC 
regulation, COMAR 26.11.06.06, its geographic applicability was 
expanded, resulting in the regulation of sources which were previously 
not regulated. However, other specific amendments to COMAR 26.11.06.06, 
found at 26.11.06.06A, narrowed the applicability of COMAR 26.11.06.06B 
such that certain sources in Maryland's pre-enactment nonattainment 
areas that were previously subject to COMAR 26.11.06.06B are no longer 
covered by any enforceable emissions limit until such time as Maryland 
approves RACT standards for them pursuant to the requirements its 
generic major VOC RACT regulation, COMAR 26.11.19.02G. This results in 
a lapse of coverage for previously regulated non-CTG generic sources 
major VOC sources in the State of Maryland.
    Maryland's generic major source VOC RACT regulation, COMAR 
26.11.19.02G, requires all case-by-case, category-specific or source-
specific RACT requirements to be submitted as SIP revisions to EPA. It 
does not, itself, contain enforceable RACT standards for these major 
non-CTG VOC sources. Because COMAR 26.11.19.02G does not, in and of 
itself, fully satisfy the Act's requirements requiring for RACT on all 
major VOC sources, it is not unconditionally approvable. The Act's 
major source RACT requirements will be fully satisfied only when 
Maryland determines and imposes actual RACT standards on the generic 
sources and submits those RACT determinations to EPA as SIP revisions.
    EPA has evaluated Maryland's generic major source VOC RACT 
regulation and its minor VOC source regulations for consistency with 
the Act and EPA regulations, and has found that they do not fully 
comply with the Act's major source RACT requirements.
    However, in a letter dated February 7, 1996, Maryland affirmed that 
it will submit all RACT determinations for major sources of VOC in the 
state, and will provide a written statement to EPA that, to the best of 
its knowledge, there are no other sources subject to the RACT 
requirement.
    Therefore, EPA is proposing approval of this SIP revision on the 
condition that the Maryland Department of the Environment certifies 
that it has determined and imposed RACT for the major VOC sources 
covered by COMAR 26.11.19.02G, and has submitted those enforceable and 
approvable RACT determinations to EPA as SIP revisions. If the State 
fails to do so, that final conditional approval will convert to a 
disapproval using the mechanism described below.
    Proposed Action: Pursuant to section 110(k)(4) of the Act, EPA is 
proposing to approve, conditionally, the addition of and subsequent 
revisions to COMAR 26.11.19.02G and the revisions to COMAR 26.11.06.06A 
and B submitted by the State of Maryland on April 5, 1991 and June 8, 
1993. In order to receive a full approval for meeting the non-CTG RACT 
requirement, the Maryland Department of the Environment must certify 
that it has determined and imposed approvable RACT standards for its 
major non-CTG VOC sources, pursuant to COMAR 26.11.19.02G, and 
submitted those approvable RACT rules to EPA as SIP revisions. If the 
State submits the case-by-case RACT rules, the conditional approval 
will remain in place until such time as EPA takes final action 
approving or disapproving the case-by-case SIP revisions. When EPA 
determines that Maryland has submitted approvable case-by-case RACT 
determinations for its non-CTG major VOC sources, EPA will convert the 
conditional approval to a full approval. A document will be published 
in the Federal Register announcing that the SIP revision has been fully 
approved. If Maryland fails to submit approvable rules, the EPA 
Regional Administrator will make a finding, by letter, that the 
conditional approval is converted to a disapproval and the clock for 
imposition of sanctions under section 179(a) of the Act will start as 
of the date of the letter. Subsequently, a document will be published 
in the Federal Register announcing that the SIP revision has been 
disapproved.
    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 the SIP shall be 
considered separately in light of specific technical, economic, and 
environmental factors and in relation to relevant statutory and 
regulatory requirements.
    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.
    Conditional approvals of SIP submittals under section 110 and 
subchapter I, part D of the Act 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 Act, preparation of a flexibility 
analysis would constitute Federal inquiry into the economic 
reasonableness of state action. The Clean Air Act forbids EPA to base 
its actions concerning SIPs on such grounds. Union Electric Co. v. U.S. 
EPA, 427 U.S. 246, 255-66 (1976); 42 U.S.C. 7410(a)(2).
    If the conditional approval is converted to a disapproval under 
section 110(k), based on the State's failure to meet the commitment, it 
will not affect any existing state requirements applicable to small 
entities. Federal disapproval of the state submittal does not affect 
its state-enforceability. Moreover, EPA's disapproval of the submittal 
does not impose a new Federal requirement. Therefore, EPA certifies 
that this disapproval action does not have a significant impact on a 
substantial number of small entities because it does not remove 
existing requirements nor does it substitute a new federal requirement.
    Under section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
(``Unfunded Mandates Act''), signed into law on March 22, 1995, EPA 
must prepare a budgetary impact statement to accompany any proposed or 
final that includes a Federal mandate that may result in estimated 
costs to State, local, or tribal governments in the aggregate; or to 
the private sector, of $100 million or more. Under section 205, EPA the 
most cost-effective and least 

[[Page 8012]]
burdensome alternative that achieves the objectives of the rule and is 
consistent with statutory requirements. Section 203 requires EPA to 
establish a plan for informing and advising any small governments that 
may be significantly or uniquely impacted by the rule.
    EPA has determined that the conditional approval action proposed 
does not include a Federal mandate that may result in estimated costs 
of $100 million or more to either State, local, or tribal governments 
in the aggregate, or to the private sector. This Federal action 
proposes to conditionally approve pre-existing requirements under State 
or local law, and imposes no new Federal requirements. Accordingly, no 
additional costs to State, local, or tribal governments, or to the 
private sector, result from this action.
    This action has been classified as a Table 3 action under the SIP 
processing guidelines of the July 10, 1995 memorandum from the 
Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation. Table 3 actions are 
delegated for Regional Administrator decision and signoff. The OMB has 
exempted this regulatory action from E.O. 12866 review.
    The Regional Administrator's decision to approve or disapprove this 
SIP revision, pertaining to Maryland's major source VOC RACT and minor 
VOC source requirements, will be based on whether it meets the 
requirements of section 110(a)(2)(A)-(K), and Part D of the Clean Air 
Act, as amended, and EPA regulations in 40 CFR Part 51.

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: February 16, 1996.
Stanley L. Laskowski,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 96-4832 Filed 2-29-96; 8:45 am]
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