[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 153 (Thursday, August 8, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 51461-51464]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-19435]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[NC-96; 97-200231(a); FRL-7254-2]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans: North 
Carolina: Permitting Rules and Other Miscellaneous Revisions

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision 
submitted by the State of North Carolina, through the North Carolina 
Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (NCDENR), on April 
16, 2001. These revisions include the adoption of rules 15A NCAC 2D 
.0611 through .0615, the amending of .0501, .0903 and multiple rules 
within Chapter .0600 Monitoring: Recordkeeping: Reporting, the adoption 
of rules 15A NCAC 2Q .0316 and .0317 and the amending of rules .0109, 
.0803 and .0805 through .0808. The purpose of these revisions is to 
make the revised regulations consistent with the requirements of the 
Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA).

DATES: This direct final rule is effective October 7, 2002, without 
further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by September 9, 
2002. If adverse comment is received, EPA 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: All comments should be addressed to: Randy Terry at the EPA, 
Region 4 Air Planning Branch, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 
30303-8960.
    Copies of the State submittal(s) are available at the following 
addresses for inspection during normal business hours:

Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, Air Planning Branch, 61 
Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Randy Terry, 404/562-
9032.
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, 512 
North Salisbury Street, Raleigh, North Carolina 27604.
Forsyth County Environmental Affairs Department, 537 North Spruce 
Street, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27101.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Randy B. Terry at 404/562-9032, or by 
electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On April 16, the State of North Carolina, through the North 
Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (NCDENR), 
submitted revisions to the North Carolina SIP. These revisions include 
the adoption of rules 15A NCAC 2D .0611 through .0615, the amending of 
.0501, .0903 and multiple rules within Chapter .0600 Monitoring: 
Recordkeeping: Reporting, the adoption of rules 15A NCAC 2Q .0316 and 
.0317 and the amending of rules .0109, .0803 and .0805 through .0808. A 
detailed analysis of each of the major revisions submitted is listed 
below.

II. Analysis of North Carolina's Submittal

Subchapter 2D

2D .0501  Compliance With Emission Control Standards
    This rule was amended to add detailed language to the cited ASTM 
methods and to eliminate the duplicative processing for the facilities 
with mixed control required to be permitted according to the 
requirements of title V of the CAA. Previously these facilities with 
mixed control were subject to the SIP process and the title V 
permitting process. Both processes involve the same amount of public 
participation. Both involve EPA review and approval. Under their 
previous process, there were two public comment periods and two EPA 
reviews for title V

[[Page 51462]]

facilities with mixed control that decided to choose emission trading 
to meet the NOX SIP call requirements. These amendments 
simplify and streamline the emission trading process for title V 
facilities by requiring only one public hearing for both title V and 
SIP processes.
2D .0600  Monitoring: Recordkeeping: Reporting
    This subchapter was amended for the following purposes:
    (1) To resolve deficiencies that EPA has identified in the SIP.
    (2) To write the requirements of 40 CFR part 51, appendix P in a 
more concise, precise, and readable form.
    (3) To require that data collected for the purposes of showing 
compliance be quality assured data,
    (4) To add rule to implement EPA's compliance assurance monitoring 
(CAM) requirements.
    (5) To clearly delegate to the Director the authority to place 
monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements in permits of 
non-title V facilities.
2D .0903  Recordkeeping: Reporting: Monitoring
    This rule was amended to delete specific recordkeeping and 
reporting requirements and add a reference to monitoring requirements 
in section 15A NCAC 2D .0600.

Subchapter 2Q

2Q .0109  Compliance Schedule for Previously Exempted Activities
    This rule was amended to delete obsolete schedules for submitting 
permit applications for activities that have lost their permit 
exemptions.
2Q .0316  Administrative Permit Amendments
    This rule was adopted to describe the administrative amendment 
process and define the types of changes that are administrative 
amendments.
2Q .0317  Avoidance Conditions
    This rule was adopted to clarify that conditions can be placed in 
permits to avoid applicability of more restrictive rules. It gives the 
permittee a chance to choose a less expensive cost of operations by 
avoiding the applicability of certain rules.
2Q .0800  Exclusionary rules
    This Subchapter was amended to require annual reports to be 
submitted by March 1, 2000, and to the regional supervisors of the 
appropriate Division regional office instead of the Director. These 
changes make tracking the report submittals easier.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving the aforementioned changes to the SIP because the 
revisions are consistent with Clean Air Act and EPA regulatory 
requirements. The EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal 
because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and 
anticipates no adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section 
of this Federal Register publication, EPA is publishing a separate 
document that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision 
should adverse comments be filed. This rule will be effective October 
7, 2002, without further notice unless the Agency receives adverse 
comments by September 9, 2002.
    If the EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish a document 
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will 
not take effect. All public comments received will then be addressed in 
a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. The EPA will not 
institute a second comment period. Parties interested in commenting 
should do so at this time. If no such comments are received, the public 
is advised that this rule will be effective on October 7, 2002, and no 
further action will be taken on the proposed rule. Please note that if 
we receive adverse comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of 
this rule and if that provision may be severed from the remainder of 
the rule, we may adopt as final those provisions of the rule that are 
not the subject of an adverse comment.

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 (Pub. L. 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 Clean 
Air Act. 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 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. 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

[[Page 51463]]

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 October 7, 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, Carbon monoxide, 
Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate 
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, 
Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: July 10, 2002.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.

PART 52--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority for citation for part 52 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Subpart II--North Carolina

    2. In the table in Sec. 52.1770(c), the table is designated as 
Table 1 and amended as follows:
    b. Under subchapter 2D by revising entries: .0501, .0601, .0602, 
.0604, .0605, .0607, .0610, and .0903;
    c. Under subchapter 2D by adding in numerical order a new entry for 
.0611, .0612, .0613, .0614, and .0615.
    d. Under subchapter 2Q by revising entries .0109, .0803, .0805, 
.0806, and .0807.
    d. Under subchapter 2Q by adding in numerical order a new entry for 
.0316, .0317 and .0808.


Sec. 52.1770  Identification of plan.

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    (c) * * *

                                                    TABLE 1.--EPA APPROVED NORTH CAROLINA REGULATIONS
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                                                                                  State
         State citation                          Title/subject                  effective         EPA approval date                   Comments
                                                                                   date
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                                                    Subchapter 2D Air Pollution Control Requirements
 
                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *
                                                        Section .0500 Emission Control Standards
Sect. .0501.....................  Compliance With Emission Control Standards.     04/01/01  August 8, 2002.
 
                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *
                                                 Section .0600 Air Contaminants; Monitoring, Reporting
Sect. .0601.....................  Monitoring: Recordkeeping: Reporting.......     04/01/99  August 8, 2002.
Sect. .0602.....................  Definitions................................     04/01/99  August 8, 2002.
Sect. .0604.....................  Exceptions to Monitoring and Reporting          04/01/99  August 8, 2002.
                                   Requirements.
Sect. .0605.....................  General Recordkeeping and Reporting             04/01/99  August 8, 2002.
                                   Requirements.
 
                   *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *
Sect. .0607.....................  Large Wood and Wood-Fossil Fuel Combination     04/01/99  August 8, 2002.
                                   Units.
 
                   *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *
Sect. .0610.....................  Federal Monitoring Requirements............     04/01/99  August 8, 2002.
Sect. .0611.....................  Monitoring Emissions From Other Sources....     04/01/99  August 8, 2002.
Sect. .0612.....................  Alternative Monitoring and Reporting            04/01/99  August 8, 2002.
                                   Procedures.
Sect. .0613.....................  Quality Assurance Program..................     04/01/99  August 8, 2002.
Sect. .0614.....................  Compliance Assurance Monitoring............     04/01/99  August 8, 2002.
Sect. .0615.....................  Delegation.................................     04/01/99  August 8, 2002.
 
                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *
                                                        Section .0900 Volatile Organic Compounds
 
                   *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *
Sect. .0903.....................  Recordkeeping: Reporting: Monitoring.......     04/01/99  August 8, 2002.
 
                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *
                                                            Subchapter 2Q Air Quality Permits
                                                            Section .0100 General Provisions
 
                   *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *
Sect. .0109.....................  Compliance Schedule for Previously Exempted     04/01/01  August 8, 2002.
                                   Activities.
 
                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *
                                                    Section .0300 Construction and Operating Permits
 
                   *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *
Sect. .0316.....................  Administrative Permit Amendments...........     04/01/01  August 8, 2002.
Sect. .0317.....................  Avoidance Conditions.......................     04/01/01  August 8, 2002.
 

[[Page 51464]]

 
                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *
                                                            Section .0800 Exclusionary Rules
Sect. .0803.....................  Coating, Solvent Cleaning, Graphic Arts         04/01/01  August 8, 2002.
                                   Design.
 
                   *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *
Sect. .0805.....................  Grain Elevators............................     04/01/01  August 8, 2002.
Sect. .0806.....................  Cotton Gins................................     04/01/01  August 8, 2002.
Sect. .0807.....................  Emergency Generators.......................     04/01/01  August 8, 2002.
Sect. .0808.....................  Peak Shaving Generators....................     04/01/01  August 8, 2002.
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[FR Doc. 02-19435 Filed 8-7-02; 8:45 am]
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