[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 109 (Tuesday, June 8, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30453-30456]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-14350]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 63

[AD-FRL-6355-4]
RIN 2060-AH47


National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants 
Emissions: Group IV Polymers and Resins

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of compliance.

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SUMMARY: The EPA is proposing to extend certain compliance dates 
contained in National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants 
Emissions: Group IV Polymers and Resins. The revisions concern an 
extension of the compliance dates specified in 40 CFR 63.1311(b) and 
(d)(6) for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) affected sources. We are 
proposing these compliance extensions pursuant to Clean Air Act section 
301(a)(1) to complete reconsideration of equipment leak provisions and 
any necessary revision to the rule.
    In the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of the Federal Register, 
we are approving the extension of compliance dates as a direct final 
rule without prior proposal because we view this as a noncontroversial 
revision and anticipate no adverse comment. We have explained our 
reasons for this approval in the preamble to the direct final rule. If 
we receive no adverse comment, we will not take further action on this 
proposed rule. If we received adverse comment, we will withdraw the 
direct final rule and it will not take effect. We will address all 
public comments in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. 
We will not institute a second comment period on this action. Any 
parties interested in commenting must do so at this time.

DATES: Comments. Written comments must be received by July 8, 1999, 
unless a hearing is requested by June 18, 1999. If a hearing is 
requested, written comments must be received by July 23, 1999.
    Public Hearing. Anyone requesting a public hearing must contact the 
EPA no later than June 18, 1999. If a hearing is held, it will take 
place on June 23, 1999, beginning at 10:00 a.m.

ADDRESSES: Comments. Comments should be submitted (in duplicate, if 
possible) to: Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center (6102), 
Attention Docket Number A-92-45 (see docket section below), Room M-
1500, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW, 
Washington, DC 20460. The EPA requests that a separate copy also be 
sent to the contact person listed below. Comments and data may also be 
submitted electronically by following the instructions provided in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. No Confidential Business Information 
(CBI) should be submitted through electronic mail.
    Public Hearing. If a public hearing is held, it will be held at the 
EPA's Office of Administration Auditorium, Research Triangle Park, 
North Carolina. Persons interested in attending the hearing or wishing 
to present oral testimony should notify Ms. Maria Noell, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, MD-13, Research Triangle Park, N.C. 
27711, telephone (919) 541-5607.
    Docket. The official record for this rulemaking has been 
established under docket number A-92-45 (including comments and data 
submitted electronically as described below). A

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public version of this record, including printed, paper versions of 
electronic comments and data, which does not include any information 
claimed as CBI, is available for inspection between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The official 
rulemaking record is located at the address in the ADDRESSES section. 
Alternatively, a docket index, as well as individual items contained 
within the docket, may be obtained by calling (202) 260-7548 or (202) 
260-7549. A reasonable fee may be charged for copying.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Keith Barnett, Emission Standards 
Division (MD-13), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air 
Quality Planning and Standards, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 
27711, telephone number (919) 541-5605, fax number (919) 541-3470, and 
electronic mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Filing

    Electronic comments and data can be sent directly to the EPA at: a-
[email protected]. Electronic comments and data must be 
submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special characters and 
any form of encryption. Comments and data will also be accepted on 
diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 file format or ASCII file format. All 
comments and data in electronic form must be identified by the docket 
number A-92-45. Electronic comments may be filed online at many Federal 
Depository Libraries.

Electronic Availability

    This document is available in docket number A-92-45 or by request 
from the EPA's Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center (see 
ADDRESSES), and is available for downloading from the Technology 
Transfer Network (TTN), the EPA's electronic bulletin board system. The 
TTN provides information and technology exchange in various areas of 
emissions control. The service is free, except for the cost of a 
telephone call. Dial (919) 541-5742 for up to a 14,000 baud per second 
modem. For further information, contact the TTN HELP line at (919) 541-
5348, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or access the 
TTN web site at: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg.

Regulated Entities

    Regulated categories and entities include:

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                                                Examples of regulated
                 Category                             entities
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Industry..................................  Facilities that produce PET.
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This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a 
guide for readers regarding entities regulated by the NESHAP addressed 
in this notice. If you have questions regarding the applicability of 
the NESHAP addressed in this notice to a particular entity, consult the 
person listed in the preceding FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
    For further information, please see the information provided in the 
direct final action that is located in the ``Rules and Regulations'' 
section of this Federal Register publication.

Administrative

A. Paperwork Reduction Act

    For the Group IV Polymers and Resins NESHAP, the information 
collection requirements were submitted to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act. The OMB approved the 
information collection requirements and assigned OMB control number 
2060-0351. An Agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 
required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays 
a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for the 
EPA's regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR Chapter 15. 
The EPA has amended 40 CFR 9.1, to indicate the information collection 
requirements contained in the Group IV Polymers and Resins NESHAP.
    This action has no impact on the information collection burden 
estimates made previously. Therefore, the ICR has not been revised.

B. Executive Order 12866--Regulatory Planning and Review

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), the EPA 
must determine whether the regulatory action is ``significant'' and 
therefore subject to review by OMB on the basis of the requirements of 
the Executive Order in addition to its normal review requirements. The 
Executive Order defines ``significant regulatory action'' as one that 
is likely to result in a rule that may:
    (1) have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or 
adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the 
economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public 
health or safety, or State, local or Tribal governments or communities;
    (2) create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an 
action taken or planned by another agency;
    (3) materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, 
user fees, or loan programs, or the rights and obligations of 
recipients thereof; or
    (4) raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal 
mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in 
the Executive Order.
    Today's action does not fall within any of the four categories 
described above. Instead, the proposed rule will provide an extension 
of the compliance dates specified in 40 CFR 63.1311(b) and (d)(6) for 
PET affected sources. The proposed rule does not add any additional 
control requirements. Therefore, this proposed rule was classified 
``non-significant'' under Executive Order 12866 and was not required to 
be reviewed by OMB.

C. Regulatory Flexibility

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act generally requires an agency to 
conduct a regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule subject to notice 
and comment rulemaking requirements unless the agency certifies 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 small government jurisdictions. 
This proposed rule would not have a significant impact on a substantial 
number of small entities because rather than imposing additional 
requirements, this proposed rule provides additional time for 
compliance while the EPA completes reconsideration and any necessary 
revision to parts of the Group IV Polymers and Resins NESHAP. 
Therefore, I certify that this rule will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), Public 
Law 104-4, establishes requirements for Federal agencies to assess the 
effects of their regulatory actions on State, local and tribal 
governments and the private sector. Under section 202 of the UMRA, the 
EPA generally must prepare a written statement, including a cost-
benefit analysis, for proposed and final rules with ``Federal 
mandates'' that may result in expenditures to State, local and tribal 
governments, in the aggregate, or to the private sector of $100 million 
or more in any one year. Before promulgating an EPA rule for which a 
written statement is needed, section 205 of the UMRA generally requires 
the EPA to identify and consider a reasonable

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number of regulatory alternatives and adopt the least costly, most 
cost-effective or least burdensome alternative that achieves the 
objects of the rule. The provisions of section 205 do not apply when 
they are inconsistent with applicable law. Moreover, section 205 allows 
the EPA to adopt an alternative other than the least costly, most cost-
effective or least burdensome alternative if the Administrator 
publishes with the final rule an explanation of why that alternative 
was not adopted. Before the EPA establishes any regulatory requirements 
that may significantly or uniquely affect small governments, including 
tribal governments, it must have developed under section 203 of the 
UMRA a small government agency plan. The plan must provide for 
notifying potentially affected small governments, enabling officials of 
affected small governments to have meaningful and timely input in the 
development of EPA regulatory proposals with significant Federal 
intergovernmental mandates, and informing, educating, and advising 
small governments on compliance with the regulatory requirements.
    Today's proposed rule contains no Federal mandates (under the 
regulatory provisions of Title II of the UMRA) for State, local or 
tribal governments or the private sector. Instead, this proposed rule 
provides additional time to comply with some requirements of the 
Polymers and Resins IV NESHAP. In any event, the EPA has determined 
that this rule does not contain a Federal mandate that may result in 
expenditure of $100 million or more for State, local and tribal 
governments, in the aggregate, or the private sector, in any one year. 
This rule is not subject to the requirements of sections 202 and 205 of 
the UMRA.
    We also have determined that this rule contains no regulatory 
requirements that might significantly or uniquely affect small 
governments. This rule does not impose any enforceable duties on small 
governments, i.e., they own or operate no sources subject to this rule 
and therefore are not required to purchase control systems to meet the 
requirements of this rule.

E. Executive Order 13045--Protection of Children From Environmental 
Health Risks and Safety Risks

    Executive Order 13045, entitled Protection of Children from 
Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks (62 FR 19885, April 23, 
1997), applies to any rule that (1) is determined to be ``economically 
significant'' as defined under Executive Order 12866, and (2) concerns 
an environmental health or safety risk that the EPA has reason to 
believe may have a disproportionate effect on children. If the 
regulatory action meets both criteria, the Agency must evaluate the 
environmental health or safety aspects of the planned rule on children, 
and explain why the planned regulation is preferable to other 
potentially effective and reasonably feasible alternatives considered 
by the Agency.
    The EPA interprets E.O. 13045 as applying only to those regulatory 
actions that are based on health or safety risks, such that the 
analysis required under section 5-501 of the Order has the potential to 
influence the regulation. This proposed action is not subject to the 
Executive Order 13045 because it is not an economically significant 
regulatory action as defined in E.O. 12866, and it is based on 
technology performance and not on health or safety risks.

F. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act

    Section 12 of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act 
of 1995 (NTTAA) requires federal agencies to evaluate existing 
technical standards when developing new regulations. To comply with the 
NTTAA, the EPA must consider and use ``voluntary consensus standards'' 
(VCS) if available and applicable when developing programs and policies 
unless doing so would be inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise 
impractical.
    The EPA believes that the use of VCS in this proposed rule is 
impractical. The compliance extension of the Group IV Polymers and 
Resins NESHAP is merely a procedural action that does not require 
sources to take substantive steps that lend themselves to VCS.

G. Executive Order 12875--Enhancing Intergovernmental Partnership

    Under Executive Order 12875, the EPA may not issue a regulation 
that is not required by statute and that creates a mandate upon a 
State, local or tribal government, unless the Federal government 
provides the funds necessary to pay the direct compliance costs 
incurred by those governments, or the EPA consults with those 
governments. If the EPA complies by consulting, Executive Order 12875 
requires the EPA to provide to the Office of Management and Budget a 
description of the extent of the EPA's prior consultation with 
representatives of affected State, local and tribal governments, the 
nature of their concerns, copies of any written communications from the 
governments, and a statement supporting the need to issue the 
regulation. In addition, Executive Order 12875 requires the EPA to 
develop an effective process permitting elected officials and other 
representatives of State, local and tribal governments ``to provide 
meaningful and timely input in the development of regulatory proposals 
containing significant unfunded mandates.''
    Today's proposed rule does not create a mandate on State, local or 
tribal governments. The proposed rule does not impose any enforceable 
duties on these entities. Rather, the proposed rule extends certain 
regulatory requirements. Accordingly, the requirements of section 1(a) 
of Executive Order 12875 do not apply to this rule.

H. Executive Order 13084--Consultation and Coordination With Indian 
Tribal Governments

    Under Executive Order 13084, the EPA may not issue a regulation 
that is not required by statute, that significantly or uniquely affects 
the communities of Indian tribal governments, and that imposes 
substantial direct compliance costs on those communities, unless the 
Federal government provides the funds necessary to pay the direct 
compliance costs incurred by the tribal governments, or the EPA 
consults with those governments. If the EPA complies by consulting, 
Executive Order 13084 requires the EPA to provide to the Office of 
Management and Budget, in a separately identified section of the 
preamble to the rule, a description of the extent of the EPA's prior 
consultation with representatives of affected tribal governments, a 
summary of the nature of their concerns, and a statement supporting the 
need to issue the regulation. In addition, Executive Order 13084 
requires the EPA to develop an effective process permitting elected 
officials and other representatives of Indian tribal governments ``to 
provide meaningful and timely input in the development of regulatory 
policies on matters that significantly or uniquely affect their 
communities.''
    Today's proposed rule does not significantly or uniquely affect the 
communities of Indian tribal governments. This proposed rule imposes no 
enforceable duties on these entities. Rather, the proposed rule extends 
certain regulatory requirements. Accordingly, the requirements of 
section 3(b) of Executive Order 13084 do not apply to this rule.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 63

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Hazardous 
substances, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.


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    Dated: May 28, 1999.
Carol M. Browner,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 99-14350 Filed 6-7-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-U