[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 161 (Monday, August 20, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43483-43485]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-20780]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[CA 207-0277a; FRL-7026-5]


Revision to the California State Implementation Plan, South Coast 
Air Quality Management District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve a revision to the 
South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) portion of the 
California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns 
volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from Phase I gasoline 
transfer into stationary storage tanks and Phase II gasoline transfer 
into vehicle fuel tanks. We are approving a local rule that regulates 
this emission source under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or 
the Act).

DATES: This rule is effective on October 19, 2001 without further 
notice, unless EPA receives adverse comments by September 19, 2001. If 
we receive such comments, 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.
    You can inspect a copy of the submitted rule revision and EPA's 
technical support document (TSD) at our Region IX office during normal 
business hours. You may also see a copy of the submitted rule revision 
at the following locations:

Environmental Protection Agency, Air Docket (6102), Ariel Rios 
Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C. 20460
California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule 
Evaluation Section, 1001 ``I'' Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
South Coast Air Quality Management District, 21865 East Copley Drive, 
Diamond Bar, CA 91765

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Al Petersen, Rulemaking Office (AIR-
4), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX; (415) 744-1135.

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

Table of Contents

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

[[Page 43484]]

II. EPA's Evaluation and Action
    A. How is EPA evaluating the rule?
    B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
    C. EPA recommendations to further improve the rule
    D. Public comment and final action
III. Background information
    A. Why was this rule submitted?
IV. Administrative Requirements

I. The State's Submittal

A. What Rule Did the State Submit?

    Table 1 lists the rule we are approving with the date that it was 
adopted by the local air agency and submitted by the California Air 
Resources Board (CARB).

                                            Table 1.--Submitted Rule
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Local Agency              Rule #          Rule title               Adopted             Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCAQMD...........................        461  Gasoline Transfer and     04/21/00             07/26/00
                                               Dispensing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On October 4, 2000, this rule submittal was 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 this Rule?

    We approved a version of Rule 461 into the SIP on October 7, 1996. 
See 61 FR 52297.

C. What Is the Purpose of the Submitted Rule Revision?

    The purpose of the revision to Rule 461 is to revise the rule to 
include new CARB standards and more frequent reverification testing of 
vapor recovery equipment.

II. EPA's Evaluation and Action

A. How Is EPA Evaluating the Rule?

    Generally, SIP rules must be enforceable (see section 110(a) of the 
CAA), must require Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for 
major sources in nonattainment areas (see sections 182(a)(2)(A) and 
182(b)(3)(A)), and must not relax existing requirements (see sections 
110(l) and 193). The SCAQMD regulates an extreme ozone nonattainment 
area. See 40 CFR part 81. Therefore, Rule 461 must fulfill the 
requirements of RACT.
    Guidance and policy documents that we used to define specific 
enforceability and RACT requirements include the following:
     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 
published in the May 25, 1988 Federal Register.
    Rule 461 was also evaluated against the EPA Draft Model Rule, 
Gasoline Dispensing Facility-Stage II Vapor Recovery (August 17, 1992). 
In evaluating RACT, EPA also considered information published since the 
1992 Draft Model Rule, including documents associated with development 
of CARB's Enhanced Vapor Recovery Guidelines (March 23, 2000). EPA, 
Region IX, has summarized RACT requirements in the EPA Draft Gasoline 
Vapor Recovery Guidelines (April 24, 2000).

B. Does the Rule Meet the Evaluation Criteria?

    We believe that this rule is consistent with the relevant policy 
and guidance regarding enforceability, RACT, and SIP relaxations. Rule 
461 is more stringent than the SIP. The TSD has more information on our 
evaluation.

C. EPA Recommendations To Further Improve the Rule

    The TSD describes additional rule revisions that do not affect 
EPA's current action but are recommended for the next time the local 
agency modifies the rules.

D. Public Comment and Final Action

    As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the CAA, EPA is fully 
approving the submitted rule because we believe it fulfills 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. If we 
receive adverse comments by September 19, 2001, we will publish a 
timely withdrawal in the Federal Register to notify the public that the 
direct final approval will not take effect and we will address the 
comments in a subsequent final action based on the proposal. If we do 
not receive timely adverse comments, the direct final approval will be 
effective without further notice on October 19, 2001. This will 
incorporate these rules into the federally-enforceable SIP.

III. Background Information

A. Why Was This Rule Submitted?

    VOCs help produce ground-level ozone and smog, which harm human 
health and the environment. Section 110(a) of the CAA requires states 
to submit regulations that control VOC emissions. Table 2 lists some of 
the national milestones leading to the submittal of these local agency 
VOC 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 CAA.
November 15, 1990.........................  Clean Air Act Amendments of
                                             1990 were enacted. Pub. L.
                                             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

[[Page 43485]]

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). This rule also does not have a substantial direct 
effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the 
Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power 
and responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, 
as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000). 
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 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 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 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), EPA has taken the 
necessary steps to eliminate drafting errors and ambiguity, minimize 
potential litigation, and provide a clear legal standard for affected 
conduct in issuing this rule. 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. section 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. 
section 804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Act, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by October 19, 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, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: July 27, 2001.
Jane Diamond,
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)(280)(i)(A)(2) 
to read as follows:


Sec. 52.220  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (280) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (A) * * *
    (2) Rule 461, adopted on April 21, 2000.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 01-20780 Filed 8-17-01; 8:45 am]
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