[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 156 (Friday, August 13, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 44134-44135]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-21011]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[CA 207-156; FRL-6409-4]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California 
State Implementation Plan Revision, South Coast Air Quality Management 
District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is finalizing the approval of revisions to the California 
State Implementation Plan (SIP) proposed in the Federal Register on May 
4, 1999. The revisions concern rules from the South Coast Air Quality 
Management District (SCAQMD). This approval action will incorporate 
these rules into the federally approved SIP. The intended effect of 
approving these rules is to regulate emissions of volatile organic 
compounds (VOCs) in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air 
Act, as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act). The revised rules control VOC 
emissions from solvent cleaning and motor vehicle refinish coating 
operations. Thus, EPA is finalizing the approval of these revisions 
into the California SIP 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.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This action is effective on September 13, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the revised rules and EPA's evaluation report for 
each rule are available for public inspection at EPA's Region IX office 
during normal business hours. Copies of the submitted revised rules are 
available for inspection at the following locations:

Rulemaking Office (AIR-4), Air Division, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
Environmental Protection Agency, Air Docket (6102), 401 ``M'' Street, 
SW, Washington, DC 20460
California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule 
Evaluation Section, 2020 ``L'' Street, Sacramento, CA 95812
South Coast Air Quality Management District, 21865 Copley Drive, 
Diamond Bar, CA 91765

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Steckel, Rulemaking Office, 
(AIR-4), Air Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, 
75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, Telephone: (415) 744-
1185.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Applicability

    The rules being approved into the California SIP include: SCAQMD 
Rules 1151--Motor Vehicle and Mobile Equipment Non-Assembly Line 
Coating Operations, and Rule 1171--Solvent Cleaning Operations. These 
rules were submitted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to 
EPA on March 10, 1998.

II. Background

    On May 4, 1999 in 64 FR 23813, EPA proposed to approve the 
following rules into the California SIP: SCAQMD's Rule 1151--Motor 
Vehicle and Mobile Equipment Non-Assembly Line Coating Operations and 
SCAQMD's Rule 1171--Solvent Cleaning Operations. Rule 1151 and 1171 
were amended by SCAQMD on June 13, 1997. Both rules were submitted by 
CARB to EPA on March 10, 1998. These rules were submitted in response 
to EPA's 1988 SIP-Call and the CAA section 182(a)(2)(A) requirement 
that nonattainment areas fix their reasonably available control 
technology (RACT) rules for ozone in accordance with EPA guidance that 
interpreted the requirements of the pre-amendment Act. A detailed 
discussion of the background for each of the above rules and 
nonattainment areas is provided in the NPRM cited above.
    EPA has evaluated the above rules for consistency with the 
requirements of the CAA and EPA regulations and EPA interpretation of 
these requirements as expressed in the various EPA policy guidance 
documents referenced in the NPRM(s) cited above. EPA has found that the 
rules meet the applicable EPA requirements. A detailed discussion of 
the rule provisions and evaluations has been provided in 64 FR 23774 
and in technical support documents (TSDs) available at EPA's Region IX 
office (TSDs dated July 1998, SCAQMD's Rules 1171 and 1151).

III. Response to Public Comments

    A 30-day public comment period was provided in 64 FR 23774. EPA 
received a comment from EPI Research (EPIR) regarding Rule 1171. EPIR 
commented that they did not have accurate information from SCAQMD 
during the rule making process and that lowered VOC and/or vapor 
pressure limits of cleaning solvents would be difficult, if not 
impossible to meet, or were not commercially available. For this reason 
EPIR requested that EPA withhold approval of SCAQMD's Rule 1171 into 
the California SIP. EPA has evaluated the information submitted by 
California regarding Rule 1171 and determined that it fulfills the 
procedural requirements of 40 CFR 51, Appendix V, including the 
requirements of 2.1(f) public notice, (g) public hearing, and (h) 
compilation of public comments and responses. Furthermore, under CAA 
section 110(a)(2), EPA may not consider the economic or technological 
feasibility of the provisions of the SCAQMD rule in approval of the SIP 
revision. Union Electric v. EPA, 427 U.S. 246, 265-266 (1976). As noted 
by the Supreme Court, it is the province of the State or local 
authorities to determine whether or not to impose more stringent limits 
that may require technology forcing. EPA must assess the SIP revision 
on the basis of factors set forth in CAA section 110(a)(2) which 
include reasonable notice and public hearings in the adoption process, 
but does not provide for the disapproval of a rule in a SIP based upon 
economic or technological infeasibility. For these reasons the comments 
submitted do not affect the incorporation of SCAQMD's Rule 1171 into 
the California SIP.

IV. EPA Action

    EPA is finalizing action to approve the above rules for inclusion 
into the California SIP. EPA is approving the submittal under section 
110(k)(3) as meeting the requirements of section 110(a) and Part D of 
the CAA. This approval action will incorporate these rules into the 
federally approved SIP. The intended effect of approving these rules is 
to regulate emissions of VOCs in

[[Page 44135]]

accordance with the requirements of the CAA.

V. Administrative Requirements

A. Executive Orders 12866 and 13045

    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has exempted this 
regulatory action from E.O. 12866 review.
    The final rule is not subject to E.O. 13045, entitled ``Protection 
of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks,'' because 
it is not an ``economically significant'' action under E.O. 12866.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    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 section 110 and subchapter I, part D of the 
Clean Air 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, the 
Administrator certifies 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 CAA, 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).

C. Unfunded Mandates

    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 rule that includes a Federal mandate that may result in estimated 
costs to State, local, or tribal governments in the aggregate; or to 
private sector, of $100 million or more. Under section 205, EPA must 
select the most cost-effective and least 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 approval action promulgated 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 approves 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.

D. Submission to Congress and the General Accounting Office

    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally 
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating 
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, 
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the 
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this rule and other 
required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior 
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. This rule is not a 
``major'' rule as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

E. Petitions for Judicial Review

    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by October 12, 1999. Filing a 
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule 
does not affect the finality of this rule for the purposes of judicial 
review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial 
review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such 
rule or action. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings 
to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Hydrocarbons, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Note: Incorporation by reference of the State Implementation 
Plan for the State of California was approved by the Director of the 
Federal Register on July 1, 1982.

    Dated: July 19, 1999.
David P. Howekamp,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.

    Part 52, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is 
amended as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Subpart F--California

    2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding paragraph (c) (254)(i)(D)(2) 
to read as follows:


Sec. 52.220  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (254) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (D) * * *
    (2) Rule 1151, adopted on July 8, 1988 and amended on June 13, 
1997, and Rule 1171, adopted on August 2, 1991 and amended on June 13, 
1997.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 99-21011 Filed 8-12-99; 8:45 am]
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