[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 221 (Thursday, November 15, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 57395-57396]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-28187]



[[Page 57395]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[MD120-3071a; FRL-7100-2]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Maryland; VOC RACT Determination for the Thomas Manufacturing 
Corporation Inc. in the Baltimore Ozone Nontattainmant Area

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 
State of Maryland's State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revision was 
submitted by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) to 
establish and require reasonably available control technology (RACT) 
for a major source of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in Maryland, the 
Thomas Manufacturing Corporation, Inc. This source is located in the 
Baltimore ozone nonattainment area. EPA is approving this revision to 
establish a RACT requirement in the SIP in accordance with the Clean 
Air Act (CAA).

DATES: This rule is effective on December 31, 2001 without further 
notice, unless EPA receives adverse written comment by December 17, 
2001. If EPA receives such comments, it will publish a timely 
withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform 
the public that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed to David L. Arnold, Chief, 
Air Quality Planning & Information Services Branch, Air Protection 
Division, Mailcode 3AP21, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 
III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of the 
documents relevant to this action are available for public inspection 
during normal business hours at the Air Protection Division, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103; the Air and Radiation Docket and 
Information Center, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street, 
SW, Washington, DC 20460; and the Maryland Department of the 
Environment, 2500 Broening Highway, Baltimore, Maryland, 21224.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine Magliocchetti at (215) 814-
2174 at the EPA Region III address above or by e-mail at 
[email protected]. Please note that while questions may 
be posed via telephone and e-mail, formal comments must be submitted, 
in writing, as indicated in the ADDRESSES section of this document.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On February 21, 2001, the Maryland Department of the Environment 
(MDE) submitted a revision to the Maryland SIP that establishes and 
imposes a source-specific RACT determination for the Thomas 
Manufacturing Corporation, Inc., a major source of VOC's in the State 
of Maryland. The submittal consists of a consent order that imposes VOC 
RACT requirements for this source. This source is located in Baltimore 
County. Maryland is imposing a source-specific RACT determination under 
COMAR 26.11.19.02 G. Once this SIP revision is approved by EPA, the 
Thomas Manufacturing Corporation Inc. will no longer be subject to 
COMAR 26.11.06.06.

II. Summary of the SIP Revision

    Thomas Manufacturing Corporation Inc. is a light bulb coating 
facility located in Baltimore County, Maryland. Thomas Manufacturing 
Corporation Inc. is a major VOC emitting facility. The MDE issued a 
consent order to impose RACT for this VOC emitting source as follows.
    The consent order for this facility requires Thomas Manufacturing 
Corporation Inc. to operate and maintain the existing Carbon 
Adsorption/Absorption Unit on the light bulb coating operation to 
reduce VOC emissions. The source also must operate the control system, 
at all times, in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications. The 
source must adjust the operating cycles of adsorption and desorption to 
maximize VOC recovery, and in no event can the cycles exceed a two (2) 
hour cycle. The source is required to operate and maintain the existing 
Carbtrol system to reduce VOC emissions from the material mixing room. 
The source must operate the control system at all times in accordance 
with the manufacturer's specifications. The source must use chemical 
sensing detector tubes to determine when carbon breakthough occurs, 
which shall be defined as a VOC reading of greater than or equal to 50 
parts per million (ppm) on the detector. Upon detection of 
breakthrough, the carbon canisters shall be removed and replaced with 
fresh carbon canisters. All used canisters of carbon shall be capped to 
prevent fugitive emissions until recovery has taken place.
Thomas Manufacturing Corporation Inc. agrees to design and operate the 
carbon control system to reduce VOC emissions by 85 percent or more, 
overall. The source shall demonstrate compliance through the 
calculation of monthly material balance under which the company shall 
record the total VOC used and recovered during each calendar month. The 
source must retain all VOC use and recovery records for three years and 
make such records available to the MDE upon request. Under this consent 
order, Thomas Manufacturing Corporation Inc. shall not be subject to 
the otherwise applicable general VOC requirements in COMAR 26.11.06.06, 
provided that the source achieves and maintains compliance with the 
terms of the consent order.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving this revision to the Maryland SIP submitted by MDE 
on February 21, 2001 to establish and require VOC RACT for the Thomas 
Manufacturing Corporation Inc., located in the Baltimore area. EPA is 
publishing this rule without prior proposal because the Agency views 
this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no adverse 
comment. However, in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of today's Federal 
Register, EPA is publishing a separate document that will serve as the 
proposal to approve the SIP revision if adverse comments are filed. 
This rule will be effective on December 31, 2001 without further notice 
unless EPA receives adverse comment by December 17, 2001. If EPA 
receives adverse comment, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal in the 
Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take 
effect. EPA will address all public comments in a subsequent final rule 
based on the proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment 
period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so 
at this time.

IV. Administrative Requirements

A. General 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.'' See 66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001. This 
action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and 
imposes no additional

[[Page 57396]]

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), 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.).

B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General

    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. Section 804 exempts from section 801 the following types 
of rules: (1) Rules of particular applicability; (2) rules relating to 
agency management or personnel; and (3) rules of agency organization, 
procedure, or practice that do not substantially affect the rights or 
obligations of non-agency parties. 5 U.S.C. 804(3). EPA is not required 
to submit a rule report regarding today's action under section 801 
because this is a rule of particular applicability establishing source-
specific requirements for one named source.

C. 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 January 14, 2002. 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 approving Maryland's source-specific RACT requirements 
to control VOC emissions from the Thomas Manufacturing Corporation Inc. 
in Maryland 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, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    Dated: October 31, 2001.
Thomas Voltaggio,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.

    40 CFR part 52 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 V--Maryland

    2. Section 52.1070 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(167) to read 
as follows:


Sec. 52.1070  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (167)
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    (A) Letter dated February 21, 2001 submitted by the Maryland 
Department of the Environment transmitting the source-specific VOC RACT 
determination for the Thomas Manufacturing Corporation Inc., in the 
form of a Consent Order.
    (B) Consent Order for the Thomas Manufacturing Corporation Inc., 
dated February 6, 2001, with an effective date of February 15, 2001.
    (ii) Additional Materials--Other materials submitted by the State 
of Maryland in support of and pertaining to the RACT determination for 
the source listed in paragraph (c)(167)(i)(B) of this section.
[FR Doc. 01-28187 Filed 11-14-01; 8:45 am]
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