[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 241 (Friday, December 14, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 64750-64751]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-30814]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[WI109-01-7339a, FRL-7115-7]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Wisconsin; Automobile Refinishing Operations

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a 
February 1, 2001, request from Wisconsin to revise its State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) for ozone. This rule revises Wisconsin's 
regulations to control volatile organic compound emissions from 
automobile refinishing operations. In addition, on July 31, 2001, 
Wisconsin submitted a SIP revision that, among other things, renumbers 
a portion of the regulations submitted on February 1, 2001. EPA acted 
on the majority of the July 31, 2001 submittal in our approval of the 
state's one-hour ozone attainment demonstration. We are addressing the 
renumbering portion of that submittal with this action.

DATES: This rule is effective on February 12, 2002, unless EPA receives 
adverse written comments by January 14, 2002. If EPA receives adverse 
comments, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the rule in the 
Federal Register and inform the public that the rule will not take 
effect.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Carlton Nash, Chief, Regulation 
Development Section, Air Programs Branch, (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, 
Illinois, 60604. You may inspect copies of the documents relevant to 
this action during normal business hours at the following location: 
Regulation Development Section, Air Programs Branch, (AR-18J), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 
Chicago, Illinois, 60604.
    Please contact Kathleen D'Agostino at (312) 886-1767 before 
visiting the Region 5 office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathleen D'Agostino, Environmental 
Engineer, Regulation Development Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson 
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-1767.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. What action is EPA taking?
II. Why did Wisconsin adopt regulations for automobile refinishing 
operations?
III. Why is EPA taking this action?
IV. Is this action final, or may I still submit comments?
V. What administrative requirements did EPA consider?

I. What Action Is EPA Taking?

    EPA is approving revisions to Wisconsin's regulations to control 
volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from automobile refinishing 
operations.

II. Why Did Wisconsin Adopt Regulations for Automobile Refinishing 
Operations?

    Section 182(b)(1)(A) of the Clean Air Act (the Act) required states 
with ozone nonattainment areas classified as moderate or above to 
submit plans to reduce VOC emissions by at least 15 percent from 1990 
baseline levels. As part of Wisconsin's 15 percent plan, the state 
chose to adopt rules to reduce VOC emissions from automobile 
refinishing operations. EPA approved Wisconsin's rules in a February 
12, 1996 Federal Register document (61 FR 5306). Subsequently, EPA 
promulgated National Volatile Organic Compound Emission Standards for 
Automobile Refinish Coatings (40 CFR part 59, subpart B) in a September 
11, 1998 Federal Register document (63 FR 48806).
    Wisconsin's February 1, 2001 submittal revises the state's 
automobile refinishing regulations to ensure consistency with the 
Federal rules. In addition, Wisconsin's revisions exempt automobile 
refinishing sources from permitting requirements, if they emit less 
than 1,666 pounds of VOC per month, prior to entering any control 
equipment (slightly less than 10 tons per year). This is lower than the 
threshold of 40 tons per year for VOCs set by Federal permitting 
requirements.\1\ Wisconsin has also repealed the emission limitation 
for cleanup solvents for non-plastic substrates. The low VOC solvent 
required to comply with Wisconsin's original rule did not allow a 
source to clean or prepare the surface adequately to accept a primer 
coating. As a result, vehicles needed to be repainted to achieve an 
acceptable finish.
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    \1\ Alternately, if a VOC is listed as a hazardous air pollutant 
(HAP) under section 112 of the Act, Federal permitting requirements 
set a threshold of 25 tons per year for any combination of two or 
more of these listed HAPs and 10 tons per year of a single listed 
HAP.
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III. Why Is EPA Taking This Action?

    EPA is approving Wisconsin's rule revisions because they are 
consistent with the Act and consistent with EPA's national rule for 
automobile refinish coatings, as promulgated on September 11, 1998. 
EPA's rule does not contain an emission limit for cleanup solvent for 
non-plastic substrates, and repainting inadequately prepared surfaces 
is counterproductive. The emission level used to exempt automobile 
refinishing operations from permitting requirements is consistent with 
other VOC source category exemption levels, and nothing the state is 
proposing is less stringent than Federal permitting requirements. EPA 
is incorporating a section of the automobile refinishing regulations 
that became effective on September 1, 2001, because portions of that 
rule had to be renumbered.

IV. Is This Action Final, or May I Still Submit Comments?

    EPA is publishing this action without prior proposal, because EPA 
views this as a noncontroversial revision and anticipates no adverse 
comments. However, in a separate document in this Federal Register 
publication, EPA is proposing to approve the SIP revision should 
adverse written comments be filed. This action will be effective 
without further notice unless EPA receives relevant adverse written 
comments by January 14, 2002. Should the Agency receive such comment, 
we will publish a final rule informing the public that this action will 
not take effect. Any parties interested in commenting on this action 
should do so at this time. If we do not receive comments, this action 
will be effective on February 12, 2002.

V. What Administrative Requirements Did EPA Consider?

    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

[[Page 64751]]

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 an unfunded mandate nor does it 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 tribal implications, because it will 
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 action also does not have Federalism 
implications, because it does 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). This action 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. 
Executive Order 13045 ``Protection of Children from Environmental 
Health Risks and Safety Risks'' (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), applies 
to any rule that is both economically significant, as defined under 
Executive Order 12866, and concerns an environmental health or safety 
risk that EPA has reson to believe may have a disproportionate effect 
on children. This rule is not subject to Executive Order 13045 because 
it is not economically significant.
    Section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
Act of 1995 (NTTA), 15 U.S.C. 272 note, requires Federal agencies to 
use technical standards that are developed or adopted by voluntary 
consensus to carry out policy objectives, so long as such standards are 
not inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise impracticable. In 
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the Act. Absent a prior 
existing requirement for the state to use voluntary consensus 
standards, EPA has no authority to disapprove a SIP submission for 
failure to use such standards, and it would thus be inconsistent with 
applicable law for EPA to use voluntary consensus standards in place of 
a SIP submission that otherwise satisfies the provisions of the Act. 
Therefore, the requirements of section 12(d) of the NTTA do not apply. 
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 Act, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by February 12, 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, Hydrocarbons, 
Ozone, Volatile organic compounds.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C.7401-7671q.

    Dated: November 28, 2001.
Bertram C. Frey,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.

    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 YY--Wisconsin

    2. Section 52.2570 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(104) to read 
as follows:


Sec. 52.2570  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (104) A revision to the Wisconsin State Implementation Plan for 
ozone was submitted on February 1, 2001. It contained revisions to the 
state's regulations that control volatile organic compound emissions 
from automobile refinishing operations. A portion of these regulations 
were renumbered and submitted on July 21, 2001.
    (i) Incorporation by reference. The following sections of the 
Wisconsin Administrative code are incorporated by reference.
    (A) NR 406.04 as published in the (Wisconsin) Register January, 
2001, No. 541, effective February 1, 2001.
    (B) NR 407.03 as published in the (Wisconsin) Register January, 
2001, No. 541, effective February 1, 2001.
    (C) NR 419.02 as published in the (Wisconsin) Register January, 
2001, No. 541, effective February 1, 2001.
    (D) NR 422.095 as published in the (Wisconsin) Register August, 
2001, No. 548, effective September 1, 2001.
    (E) NR 484.10 as published in the (Wisconsin) Register January, 
2001, No. 541, effective February 1, 2001.

[FR Doc. 01-30814 Filed 12-13-01; 8:45 am]
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