[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 78 (Tuesday, April 23, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 19682-19684]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-9786]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[CA 247-0322a; FRL-7158-4]


Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Monterey 
Bay Unified Air Pollution Control 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 
Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District (MBUAPCD) portion 
of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision 
concerns the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC) from the 
transfer of gasoline into stationary storage containers and from 
gasoline bulk plants and terminals. We are approving local rules that 
regulates this emission source under the Clean Air Act as amended in 
1990 (CAA or the Act).

DATES: This rule is effective on June 24, 2002, without further notice, 
unless EPA receives adverse comments by May 23, 2002. 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 copies of the submitted rule revisions and EPA's 
technical support document (TSD) at our Region IX office during normal 
business hours. You may also see copies of the submitted rule revisions 
and TSD at the following locations:

Environmental Protection Agency, Air Docket (6102), Ariel Rios 
Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20460.
California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule 
Evaluation Section, 1001 ``I'' Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.
Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District, 24580 Silver Cloud 
Court, Monterey, CA 93940.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Al Petersen, Rulemaking Office (AIR-
4), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX; (415) 947-4118.

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

Table of Contents

I. The State's Submittal

[[Page 19683]]

    A. What rules did the State submit?
    B. Are there other versions of these rules?
    C. What is the purpose of the submitted 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
    A. Why were these 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 date that they 
were adopted by the local air agency and submitted by the California 
Air Resources Board (CARB).

                        Table 1.--Submitted Rules
------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Local
  agency             Rule #          Rule title     Adopted    Submitted
------------------------------------------------------------------------
   MBUAPCD  418....................    Transfer      12/13/00  05/08/01
                                             of
                                       Gasoline
                                           into
                                     Stationary
                                        Storage
                                     Containers
   MBUAPCD  419....................        Bulk      12/13/00  05/08/01
                                       Gasoline
                                     Plants and
                                      Terminals
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On July 20, 2001, this 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 These Rules?

    We approved into the SIP on February 15, 1995 (60 FR 8565) a 
version of Rule 418, adopted on August 25, 1993. We approved into the 
SIP on January 17, 1997 (62 FR 2597) a version of Rule 419, adopted on 
November 23, 1994.

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

    The purpose of revisions to Rule 418 is to make the rule consistent 
with the vapor recovery efficiency required by the CARB for 
certification of vapor recovery equipment used for the transfer of 
gasoline into stationary storage containers.
    The purposes of revisions to Rule 419 ares to remove group I and II 
definitions, to move the definition of VOC to Rule 101, and to remove 
an obsolete compliance schedule.

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 
CAA), 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). The 
MBUAPCD regulates an ozone attainment area (see 40 CFR part 81), 
therefore Rules 418 and 419 are not required to fulfill RACT 
requirements.
    Guidance and policy documents that we used to define specific 
enforceability requirements include the following:
     Requirements for Preparation, Adoption, and Submittal of 
Implementation Plans, U.S. EPA, 40 CFR Part 51.
     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.
     Federal Attainment Plan for the Monterey Bay Region 
(October 1994).

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 TSD has more information on our evaluation.

C. EPA Recommendations to Further Improve the Rules

    The TSD for Rule 419 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 rules because we believe they fulfill 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 rules. If we 
receive adverse comments by May 23, 2002, 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 approvals will be effective 
without further notice on June 24, 2002. This will incorporate these 
rules into the federally-enforceable SIP.
    Please note that if EPA receives adverse comment on an amendment, 
paragraph, or section of this rule and if that provision may be severed 
from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt as final those provisions 
of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment.

III. Background Information

A. Why Were These Rules 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.

[[Page 19684]]



                Table 2.--Ozone Nonattainment Milestones
------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Date                                 Event
------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 3, 1978.................  EPA promulgated a list of ozone
                                 nonattainment areas under the 1978
                                 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. 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 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 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 CAA. 
This rule also is not subject to Executive Order 13045, ``Protection of 
Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks'' (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 CAA. 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 CAA. 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. 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 CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by June 24, 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, Ozone, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: April 5, 2002.
Laura Yoshii,
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)(284)(i)(A)(2) 
to read as follows:


Sec. 52.220  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (284) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (A) * * *
    (2) Rules 418 and 419, adopted on December 13, 2000.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 02-9786 Filed 4-22-02; 8:45 am]
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