[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 179 (Friday, September 14, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 47887-47890]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-22995]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[IN135-2; FRL-7052-6]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Indiana

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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[[Page 47888]]

SUMMARY: On June 7, 2001, the EPA proposed to approve a November 15, 
2000, State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision request which tightens 
Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) regulations for cold cleaning 
degreasing operations in Clark, Floyd, Lake and Porter Counties in 
Indiana, which are nonattainment for ozone. VOC combines with oxides of 
nitrogen in the atmosphere to form ground-level ozone, commonly known 
as smog. Exposure to ozone is associated with a wide variety of human 
health effects, agricultural crop loss, and damage to forests and 
ecosystems. The State of Indiana has included the tightened cold 
cleaning degreasing regulations in its 2002, 2005 and 2007 Rate-Of-
Progress (ROP) Plans and its 2007 attainment demonstration for Lake and 
Porter Counties. Indiana expects that the control measures specified in 
this SIP revision will reduce VOC emissions in Clark, Floyd, Lake and 
Porter Counties. EPA did not receive any public comments in response to 
its proposed approval. We are approving Indiana's cold cleaning 
degreasing rule.

DATES: This final rule is effective October 15, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Copies of this SIP revision request are available for public 
inspection during normal business hours at the following address: U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 
77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. (It is recommended 
that you telephone Steven Rosenthal at (312) 886-6052 before visiting 
the Region 5 Office.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Rosenthal, Air Programs Branch 
(AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West 
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, Telephone: (312)886-6052, 
E-Mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, the terms ``you'' 
and ``me'' refer to the reader of this final rule and to sources 
subject to the State rule, and the terms ``we,'' ``us,'' or ``our'' 
refer to the EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Background
    A. What is a State Implementation Plan (SIP)?
    B. What is the federal approval process for a SIP?
    C. What does federal approval of a state regulation mean to me?
    D. What is the purpose of this cold cleaning degreasing rule?
    E. What are the key milestone dates for this rule?
II. Evaluation of the Rule
    A. What are the basic components of the State's rule?
    B. Is this rule approvable?
III. Proposed Action
    A. What action did EPA propose on June 7, 2001?
IV. Public Comments
    A. Did EPA receive public comments on the proposed rule?
V. Final Action
    A. What action is EPA taking?
VI. Administrative Requirements

I. Background

A. What Is a State Implementation Plan (SIP)?

    Section 110 of the Clean Air Act (Act or CAA) requires states to 
develop air pollution control regulations and strategies to ensure that 
state air quality meets the national ambient air quality standards 
established by the EPA. Each state must submit the regulations and 
emission control strategies to the EPA for approval and promulgation 
into the federally enforceable SIP.
    Each federally approved SIP protects air quality primarily by 
addressing air pollution at its points of origin. The SIPs can be and 
generally are extensive, containing many state regulations or other 
enforceable documents and supporting information, such as emission 
inventories, monitoring documentation, and modeling (attainment) 
demonstrations.

B. What Is the Federal Approval Process for a SIP?

    In order for state regulations to be incorporated into the 
federally enforceable SIP, states must formally adopt the regulations 
and emission control strategies consistent with state and federal 
requirements. This process generally includes public notice, public 
hearings, public comment periods, and formal adoption by state-
authorized rulemaking bodies.
    Once a state has adopted a rule, regulation, or emissions control 
strategy it submits it to us for inclusion into the SIP. We must 
provide public notice and seek additional public comment regarding the 
proposed federal action on the state submission. If we receive adverse 
comments we address them prior to any final federal action (we 
generally address them in a final rulemaking action).
    The EPA incorporates into the federally approved SIP all state 
regulations and supporting information it has approved under section 
110 of the Act. Records of such SIP actions are maintained in the Code 
of Federal Regulations (CFR) at Title 40, Part 52, titled ``Approval 
and Promulgation of Implementation Plans.'' The actual state 
regulations the EPA has approved are not reproduced in their entirety 
in the CFR, but are ``incorporated by reference,'' which means that EPA 
has approved a given state regulation (or rule) with a specific 
effective date.

C. What Does Federal Approval of a State Regulation Mean to Me?

    Enforcement of a state regulation before and after it is 
incorporated into a federally approved SIP is primarily a state 
responsibility. After the regulation is federally approved, however, 
the CAA authorizes the EPA to take enforcement actions against 
violators. The CAA also offers citizens legal recourse to address 
violations, as provided in section 304 of the Act.

D. What Is the Purpose of This Cold Cleaning Degreasing Rule?

    Section 182(c)(2)(B) of the Act requires any serious and above 
ozone nonattainment area to achieve post-1996 ROP reductions of 3 
percent of VOC 1990 baseline emissions per year, averaged over each 
consecutive 3-year period, until the area has achieved attainment of 
the 1-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard. In Indiana, 
Lake and Porter Counties (Northwest Indiana nonattainment area) are 
classified as ``severe'' nonattainment for the 1-hour ozone standard. 
As such, this area is subject to the ROP requirement.
    The Act specifies under section 182(b)(1)(C) that emission 
reductions claimed under ROP plans must be achieved through the 
implementation of control measures through revisions to the SIP, the 
promulgation of federal rules, or the issuance of permits under Title V 
of the Act. The state may not include as part of its ROP reduction 
control measures implemented before November 15, 1990.
    Indiana has submitted tightened cold cleaning degreasing rules for 
the control of VOC as a revision to the SIP for the purpose of meeting 
ROP requirements for the Northwest Indiana ozone nonattainment area and 
of reducing VOC emissions in Clark and Floyd counties. Cold cleaning 
degreasing is used to remove grease and oil from metal parts.

E. What Are the Key Milestone Dates for This Rule?

    Indiana held a public hearing on the tightened rules on February 4, 
1998, in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Indiana Air Pollution Control Board 
finally adopted the rules on November 4, 1998. The rule revisions 
became effective May 27, 1999, and were formally submitted to EPA on 
November 15, 2000, as a revision to the Indiana SIP for ozone.

[[Page 47889]]

    The November 15, 2000, submittal includes amendments to 326 IAC 8-
3-1 (Applicability) and 326 IAC 8-3-8 (Material Requirements for Cold 
Cleaning Degreasers).

II. Evaluation of the Rule

A. What Are the Basic Components of the State's Rule?

    Indiana originally implemented cold cleaning degreasing rules, 
which are contained in 326 IAC 8-3, as part of its Reasonably Available 
Control Technology (RACT) requirements for VOC control. The November 
15, 2000, SIP revision submittal amends section 326 IAC 8-3-1 to 
specify the applicability of this rule to degreasing operations in 
Clark, Floyd, Lake and Porter Counties. It also adds section 326 IAC 8-
3-8, material requirements for cold cleaning degreasers, which tightens 
requirements for operators of cold cleaning degreasers and adds new 
requirements for sellers of solvent for use in cold cleaning degreasing 
operations. The rules are more stringent because a requirement has been 
added limiting the vapor pressure of the cleaning solvents to 1.0 
millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), which is lower than the vapor pressure 
of cleaning solvents that are typically used. Lowering the vapor 
pressure reduces the amount of VOC emissions generated from this 
degreasing operation.
    As previously discussed, this SIP revision submittal is required by 
the Act to the extent that Indiana submitted the rule to meet its ROP 
requirements. The EPA addressed what emission reductions this SIP 
revision is expected to achieve for purposes of ROP in its August 3, 
2001, proposed approval of Indiana's post-1999 ROP plan for Northwest 
Indiana.
    To determine whether the Indiana submittal meets the requirements 
for an approvable SIP revision, the EPA reviewed the rules for their 
consistency with section 110 and part D of the Act. A discussion of the 
rules and EPA's evaluation follows.
Material Requirements
    Section 326 IAC 8-3-8 has been added to limit the vapor pressure of 
solvent used or sold for use in cold cleaning degreasing operations in 
Clark, Floyd, Lake and Porter Counties. Beginning November 1, 1999, the 
vapor pressure limit is 2.0 mm Hg, or 0.038 pounds per square inch 
(psi) measured at 20 degrees Celsius (C) (68 degrees Fahrenheit (F)). 
On May 1, 2001, the vapor pressure limit is tightened to 1.0 mm Hg 
(0.019 psi) measured at 20 degrees C (68 degrees F).
Exemptions
    The supplier sale requirements in Section 326 IAC 8-3-8(c) do not 
apply to the sale of 5 gallons or less of solvents to an individual or 
business during any 7 consecutive days. This cutoff level is only 
expected to exempt a very small amount of the total solvent sold.
    Section 326 IAC 8-3-8(a) exempts the cleaning of electronic 
components from the vapor pressure limits under section 326 IAC 8-3-
8(c). Indiana has defined ``electronic components'' under section 326 
IAC 8-3-8(b) as all components of an electronic assembly, including, 
but not limited to, circuit board assemblies, printed wire assemblies, 
printed circuit boards, soldered joints, ground wires, bus bars, and 
any other associated electronic component manufacturing equipment. 
Indiana added this exemption because solvents limited to 1.0 mmHg vapor 
pressure do not adequately clean certain types of electronic equipment.
Recordkeeping
    Section 326 IAC 8-3-8(d) requires subject solvent suppliers and 
users to maintain documents which indicate the solvent's vapor pressure 
at the prescribed temperature. The sellers of cold cleaning solvents to 
users must keep records indicating the name and address of the solvent 
purchaser, the date of purchase, the type of solvent purchased, the 
unit volume of the solvent, the total volume purchased, and the vapor 
pressure of the solvent purchased measured in mmHg at 20 degrees C (68 
degrees F). Solvent users must maintain records for each solvent 
purchase indicating the name and address of the solvent supplier, the 
date of the solvent purchase, the type of solvent purchased, and the 
vapor pressure of solvent measured in mmHg at 20 degrees C (68 degrees 
F). These records must be kept on-site for 3 years and be reasonably 
accessible for an additional 2 years.
    As discussed above, these recordkeeping provisions require that 
both the sellers and users of the cleaning solvents keep records of the 
vapor pressure. Material Safety Data Sheets, which are required by 
Occupational Health and Safety regulations (20 CFR 1918), must specify 
the vapor pressure of the solvent (this Occupational Health and Safety 
requirement affects but is not directly referenced by Indiana's rule). 
In its response to a comment from the DeRolf Environmental Consulting 
Agency, Inc. on recordkeeping, Indiana stated (in the September 1, 
1997, Indiana Register): ``To fulfill the recordkeeping requirements of 
this rule the user of a cold cleaning degreaser would need to maintain 
a Material Safety Data Sheet and a sales receipt.'' These record 
requirements provide a sufficient basis to enforce the applicable 
rules.

B. Is This Rule Approvable?

    This rule change requires the use of cleaning solvents with a lower 
vapor pressure than what is typically used. This makes the rule more 
stringent, because the lower the vapor pressure the less VOC emissions 
are generated. These rule revisions are, therefore, approvable.

III. Proposed Action

A. What Action Did EPA Propose on June 7, 2001?

    The EPA proposed to approve Indiana's tightened cold cleaning 
degreasing rules for Clark, Floyd, Lake and Porter Counties.

IV. Public Comments

A. Did EPA Receive Public Comments on the Proposed Rule?

    The EPA did not receive any public comments in response to the 
proposed rule.

V. Final Action

A. What Action Is EPA Taking?

    We did not receive any public comments in response to our proposed 
approval. We are approving the incorporation of Indiana's tightened 
cold cleaning degreasing rule into the Indiana SIP. The specific 
provisions we are approving consist of amendments to 326 IAC 8-3-1 and 
the addition of 326 IAC 8-3-8. These rules were finally adopted by the 
State on November 4, 1998, took effect on May 27, 1999, and were 
published in the Indiana Register on June 1, 1999 (22 IR 2854).

VI. 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. For this 
reason, this action is also not subject to Executive Order 13211, 
``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001). 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

[[Page 47890]]

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), 
nor will it 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. 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). This rule will be effective October 15, 2001.
    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 November 13, 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, Incorporation by 
reference, Volatile organic compounds, Ozone.

    Dated: August 28, 2001.
Norman Niedergang,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.
    For the reasons stated in the preamble 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 P--Indiana

    2. Section 52.770 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(143) to read 
as follows:


Sec. 52.770  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c)* * *
    (143) On November 15, 2000, the State submitted rules to reduce 
volatile organic compound emissions from cold cleaning degreasing.
    (i) Incorporation by reference. 326 Indiana Administrative Code 8-
3: Organic Solvent Degreasing Operations, Section 1, Applicability, and 
Section 8, Material Requirements for Cold Cleaning Degreasers. Final 
adoption by the Indiana Air Pollution Control Board on November 4, 
1998. Filed with the Secretary of State on April 27, 1999. Effective 
May 27, 1999. Published at Indiana Register, Volume 22, Number 9, June 
1, 1999.
[FR Doc. 01-22995 Filed 9-13-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P