[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 222 (Friday, November 16, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 57666-57668]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-28345]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[CA 169-0272a; FRL-7100-6]


Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, California 
State Implementation Plan Revision; San Joaquin Valley Unified Air 
Pollution Control District, and 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 revisions to the 
San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District (SJVUAPCD), 
and South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) portions of 
the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern 
volatile organic compound (VOC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOX) 
emissions from equipment tuning procedure for boilers, steam 
generators, and process heaters, pumps and compressor seals at 
petroleum refineries and chemical plants, and residential type, natural 
gas-fired water heaters. We are proposing to approve local rules to 
regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act as amended in 
1990 (CAA or the Act). We are approving local rules that regulate these 
emission sources under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the 
Act).

DATES: This rule is effective on January 15, 2002 without further 
notice, unless EPA receives adverse comments by December 17, 2001. 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:
California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule 
Evaluation Section, 1001 ``I'' Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District, 1990 E. 
Gettysburg, Fresno, CA 93726
South Coast Air Quality Management District, 21865 E. Copley Dr. 
Diamond Bar, CA 91765-4182

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charnjit Bhullar, Rulemaking Office 
(AIR-4), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, (415) 744-
1153.

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 and rule 
revisions?
II. EPA's Evaluation and Action
    A. How is EPA evaluating the rules?
    B. Do the rules meet the evaluation criteria?
    C. EPA recommendations to further improve the rules.
    D. Public comment and final action.
III. Background information.
Why were the rules submitted?
IV. Administrative Requirements
I. The State's Submittal

A. What Rules Did the State Submit?

    Table 1 lists the rules we are approving with the dates that they 
were adopted by local air agencies and submitted by the California Air 
Resources Board (CARB).

                                            Table 1.--Submitted Rules
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Local agency               Rule #                Rule title                  Adopted     Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SJVUAPCD.............................     4304  Equipment tuning procedure for             10/19/95     03/26/96
                                                 boilers, steam generators, and
                                                 process heaters.
SJVUAPCD.............................     4452  Pumps and compressor seals at              12/17/92     09/07/99
                                                 petroleum refineries and chemical
                                                 plants.
SCAQMD...............................     1121  Control of nitrogen oxides from            12/10/99     03/28/00
                                                 residential type, natural gas-fired
                                                 water heaters.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On May 15, 1996, October 20, 1999, and 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?

    There is no previous version of SJVUAPCD Rule 4304 in the SIP. EPA 
approved an earlier version of Rule 4452, numbered 464.2, which was 
adopted locally on April 11, 1991. We approved a version of SCAQMD Rule 
1121 adopted on March 10, 1995.

C. What Is the Purpose of the Submitted Rule and Rule Revisions?

    SJVUAPCD Rule 4304 provides tuning procedures for boilers, steam 
generators, and process heaters to control visible emissions, and both 
nitrogen oxide (NOX) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions.

[[Page 57667]]

    SJVUAPCD amended Rule 464.2, is renumbered as Rule 4452. The 
amendments provide administrative changes, normalize format, and unify 
numbering system. They are not substantive in nature. The provisions of 
existing SCAQMD Rule 1121 are amended to establish reduced emission 
limits of nitrogen oxides from new residential type, natural gas-fired 
water heaters that are sold or installed in residential or commercial 
establishments.The TSDs have more information about the rules.

II. EPA's Evaluation and Action

A. How Is EPA Evaluating the Rules?

    Generally, SIP rules must be enforceable (see section 110(a) of the 
Act), must require Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for 
major sources in nonattainment areas (see section 182(a)(2)(A)), and 
must not relax existing requirements (see sections 110(l) and 193).
    Guidance and policy documents that we used to define specific 
enforceability and RACT requirements include the following:
    1. ``State Implementation Plans; Nitrogen Oxides Supplement to the 
General Preamble; Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 Implementation of 
Title I; Proposed Rule,'' (the NOX Supplement), 57 FR 55620, 
November 25, 1992.
    2. ``Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and 
Deviations; Clarification to Appendix D of November 24, 1987 Federal 
Register document,'' (Blue Book), notice of availability published in 
the May 25, 1988 Federal Register.
    3. September 20, 1999 memo regarding state implementation plans: 
policy regarding excess emissions during malfunctions, startup, and 
shutdown, U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.

B. Do the Rules Meet the Evaluation Criteria?

    We believe the rules are consistent with the relevant policy and 
guidance regarding enforceability and SIP relaxations. The TSDs have 
more information on our evaluation.

C. EPA Recommendations to Further Improve the Rules

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

D. Public comment and Final Action

    As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, EPA is fully 
approving the submitted rules because we believe they fulfill all 
relevant requirements. We do not think anyone will object to this 
approval, so we are finalizing it without proposing it in advance. 
However, in the Proposed Rules section of this Federal Register, we are 
simultaneously proposing approval of the same submitted rules. If we 
receive adverse comments by December 17, 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 January 15, 2002. This will incorporate the 
rules into the federally enforceable SIP.

III. Background Information

A. Why Were the Rules Submitted?

    NOX and VOC help produce ground-level ozone, smog and 
particulate matter, which harm human health and the environment. 
Section 110(a) of the CAA requires states to submit regulations that 
control NOX and VOC emissions. Table 2 lists some of the 
national milestones leading to the submittal of these local agency 
rules.

                Table 2.--Ozone Nonattainment Milestones
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             Date                                 Event
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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. 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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 state rules 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,

[[Page 57668]]

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 15, 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 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, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: October 22, 2001.
Wayne Nastri,
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)(230)(i)(D)(2), (269)(i)(C)(2), and (277)(i)(D) to read as follows:


Sec. 52.220  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (230) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (D) * * *
    (2) Rule 4304 adopted on October 19, 1995.
* * * * *
    (269) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (C) * * *
    (2) Rule 4452 adopted on December 17, 1992.
* * * * *
    (277) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (D) South Coast Air Quality Management District.
    (1) Rule 1121 adopted on December 10, 1999.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 01-28345 Filed 11-15-01; 8:45 am]
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