[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 214 (Friday, November 3, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 66175-66178]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-27659]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[CA 241-0244a; FRL-6893-1]


Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope 
Valley Air Pollution Control District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the 
Antelope Valley Air Pollution Control

[[Page 66176]]

District portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). 
These revisions concern the recission of rules and associated negative 
declarations for one volatile organic compound (VOC) source category 
and one oxides of nitrogen ( NOX) source category for the 
Antelope Valley Air Pollution Control District (AVAPCD). We are 
approving these local rule recissions and negative declarations under 
the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).

DATES: This rule is effective on January 2, 2001, without further 
notice, unless EPA receives adverse comments by December 4, 2000. If we 
receive such comment, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the 
Federal Register to notify the public that this rule will not take 
effect.

ADDRESSES: Mail comments to Andy Steckel, Rulemaking Office Chief (AIR-
4), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne 
Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901.
    You can inspect copies of the submitted SIP revisions and EPA's 
technical support documents (TSDs) at our Region IX office during 
normal business hours. You may also see copies of the submitted SIP 
revisions at the following locations:

Environmental Protection Agency, Air Docket (6102), Ariel Rios 
Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington DC 20460.
California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule 
Evaluation Section, 2020 ``L'' Street, Sacramento, CA 95812.
Antelope Valley Air Pollution Control District, 43301 Division Street, 
Suite 206, Lancaster, CA 93539-4409

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie A. Rose, Rulemaking Office (AIR-
4), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, (415) 744-1184.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and 
``our'' refer to EPA.

Table of Contents

I. The State's Submittal
    A. What rules did the State submit?
    B. Are there other versions of these rules?
    C. What is the purpose of the submitted rules?

II. EPA's Evaluation and Action

A. How is EPA evaluating the rule recissions?

    B. Do the rules meet the evaluation criteria?
    C. Public comment and final action
III. Background information
    Why were these rules submitted initially?
IV. Administrative Requirements

I. The State's Submittal

A. What Rules Did the State Submit?

    Table 1 lists the rule recissions and negative declarations we are 
approving with the dates that they were adopted by the local air agency 
and submitted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

                          Table 1.--Submitted Rule Recissions and Negative Declarations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Local agency                    Rule No.                    Rule title            Adopted     Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 AVAPCD.....................   1103 & Negative              Pharmaceuticals and            01-18-00     03-28-00
                               Declaration.                 Cosmetic Manufacturing
                                                            Operations.
 AVAPCD.....................  1159 & Negative Declaration   Nitric Acid Units--Oxides      01-18-00     03-28-00
                                                            of Nitrogen.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On May 19, 2000, these rule submittals were found to meet the 
completeness criteria in 40 CFR part 51, appendix V, which must be met 
before formal EPA review.

B. Are There Other Versions of These Rules?

    The current versions of Rules 1103 and 1159 were approved in the 
SIP for the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) on 
July 2, 1982 and July 12, 1990, respectively. At that time, these rules 
applied in all of SCAQMD, including the Antelope Valley region of Los 
Angeles County. \1\ The AVAPCD was created pursuant to California 
Health and Safety Code (CHSC) section 40106 and assumed all air 
pollution control responsibilities of the SCAQMD in the Antelope Valley 
region effective July 1, 1997, including responsibility for 
implementing Rules 1103 and 1159.
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    \1\ The Antelope Valley region of Los Angeles County is 
contained within the Federal area known as the southeast Desert 
Modified Air Quality Management Area and the region identified by 
the State of California as the Mojave Desert Air Basin.
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C. What Is the Purpose of the Submitted Rules?

    Rule 1103 establishes limits for VOC emissions produced by 
Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics Manufacturing Operations. Rule 1159 
establishes limits for oxides of nitrogen ( NOX) emissions 
produced by Nitric Acid Plants. The recissions and associated negative 
declarations were submitted because there are no applicable 
manufacturing or nitric acid facilities within AVAPCD jurisdiction.

II. EPA's Evaluation and Action

A. How Is EPA Evaluating the Rule Recissions?

    These SIP revisions must be consistent with Clean Air Act 
applicable manufacturing or nitric acid facilites within AVAPCD 
jurisdiction.

II. EPA's Evaluation and Action

A. How Is EPA Evaluating the Rule Recissions?

    These SIP revisions must be consistent with Clean Air Act 
requirements for RACT (see sections 182(a)(A) and 182(F)) and SIP 
relaxations (see sections 110(l) and 193.) To do so, the submittal 
should provide reasonable assurance that no sources subject to Rules 
1103 or 1159 currently exist or are planned for the AVAPCD.

B. Do the Rules Meet the Evaluation Criteria?

    We believe these rule recissions and associated negative 
declarations are consistent with the relevant policy and guidance 
regarding RACT and SIP relaxations. The TSD has more information on our 
evaluation.

C. Public Comment and Final Action

    As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, EPA is fully 
approving the submitted rule recissions because we believe they fulfill 
all relevant requirements. We do not think anyone will object to this, 
so we are finalizing the approval without proposing it in advance. 
However, in the Proposed Rules section of this Federal Register, we are 
simultaneously proposing approval of the same submitted rule 
recissions. If we receive timely adverse comments, the direct final 
approval will be effective without further notice on January 2, 2001. 
This will incorporate these rule recissions into the federally 
enforceable SIP.

III. Background Information

Why Were These Rules Submitted Initially?

    VOCs and NOX help produce ground-level ozone and smog, 
which harm

[[Page 66177]]

human health and the environment. Section 110(a) of the CAA requires 
states to submit regulations that control VOC and NOX 
emissions. Table 2 lists some of the national milestones leading to the 
submittal of these local agency VOC and NOX rules.

                 Table 2.--Ozone Nonattainment Milestones
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                  Date                                 Event
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 March 3, 1978.........................   EPA promulgated a list of
                                          ozone nonattainment areas
                                          under the Clean Air Act as
                                          amended in 1977. 43 FR 8964;
                                          40 CFR 81.305.
 May 26, 1988..........................   EPA notified Governors that
                                          parts of their SIPs were
                                          inadequate to attain and
                                          maintain the ozone standard
                                          and requested that they
                                          correct the deficiencies
                                          (EPA's SIP-Call). See section
                                          110(a)(2)(H) of the pre-
                                          amended Act.
 November 15, 1990.....................   Clean Air Act Amendments of
                                          1990 were enacted. Public Law
                                          101-549, 104 Stat. 2399,
                                          codified at 42 U.S.C. 7401-
                                          7671q.
 May 15, 1991..........................   Section 182(a)(2)(A) requires
                                          that ozone nonattainment areas
                                          correct deficient RACT rules
                                          by this date.
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IV. Administrative Requirements

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not 
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. This action 
merely approves state law as meeting federal requirements and imposes 
no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. 
Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because 
this rule approves pre-existing requirements under state law and does 
not impose any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by 
state law, it does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-4). For the same reason, 
this rule also does not significantly or uniquely affect the 
communities of tribal governments, as specified by Executive Order 
13084 (63 FR 27655, May 10, 1998). This rule will not have substantial 
direct effects on the States, on the relationship between the national 
government and the States, or on the distribution of power and 
responsibilities among the various levels of government, as specified 
in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999), because it 
merely approves a state rule implementing a federal standard, and does 
not alter the relationship or the distribution of power and 
responsibilities established in the Clean Air Act. This rule also is 
not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), 
because it is not economically significant.
    In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state 
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. In 
this context, in the absence of a prior existing requirement for the 
State to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority 
to disapprove a SIP submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be 
inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a SIP 
submission, to use VCS in place of a SIP submission that otherwise 
satisfies the provisions of the Clean Air Act. Thus, the requirements 
of section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply. As required by section 3 
of Executive Order 12988 (61 FR 4729, February 7, 1996), in issuing 
this rule, EPA has taken the necessary steps to eliminate drafting 
errors and ambiguity, minimize potential litigation, and provide a 
clear legal standard for affected conduct. EPA has complied with 
Executive Order 12630 (53 FR 8859, March 15, 1988) by examining the 
takings implications of the rule in accordance with the ``Attorney 
General's Supplemental Guidelines for the Evaluation of Risk and 
Avoidance of Unanticipated Takings'' issued under the executive order. 
This rule does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq.).
    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. A major rule cannot 
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal 
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
804(2).
    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 January 2, 2001. 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, 
Intergovernmental relations, Oxides of nitrogen, Ozone, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: October 4, 2000.
Felicia Marcus,
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 paragraphs (c)(69)(v) and 
(c)(168)(i)(H)(3) to read as follows:


Sec. 52.220  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (69) * * *
    (v) Previously approved on July 8, 1982 in paragraph (c)(69)(iii) 
of this section and now deleted without replacement for implementation 
in the Antelope Valley Air Pollution Control District Rule 1103.
* * * * *
    (168) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (H) * * *
    (3) Previously approved on July 12, 1990 in paragraph (i)(H)(1) of 
this section and now deleted without replacement for implementation in 
the Antelope Valley Air Pollution Control District Rule 1159.
* * * * *

    3. Section 52.222 is amended by adding paragraphs (a)(6)(iv) and 
(b)(4)(iii) to read as follows:

[[Page 66178]]

Sec. 52.222  Negative declarations.

    (a) * * *
    (6) * * *
    (iv) Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetic Manufacturing Operations 
submitted on March 28, 2000 and adopted on January 18, 2000.
* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (4) * * *
    (iii) Nitric Acid Units submitted on March 28, 2000 and adopted on 
January 18, 2000.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 00-27659 Filed 11-2-00; 8:45 am]
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