[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 165 (Monday, August 26, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 54739-54741]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-21556]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[CA 265-0363a; FRL-7266-5]


Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Santa 
Barbara County 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 revisions to the 
Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (SBCAPCD) portion 
of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions 
concern negative declarations for volatile organic compound (VOC) 
source categories for the SBCAPCD. We are approving these negative 
declarations under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the 
Act).

DATES: This rule is effective on October 25, 2002, without further 
notice, unless EPA receives adverse comments by September 25, 2002. 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 document (TSD) 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.
Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District, 26 Castilian 
Drive, Suite B-23, Goleta, CA 93117-3027.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie A. Rose, Rulemaking Office (AIR-
4), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, (415) 947-4126. E-
mail: [email protected].

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

Table of Contents

I. The State's Submittal
    A. What negative declarations did the State submit?
    B. What is the purpose of the submitted negative declarations?
II. EPA's Evaluation and Action
    A. How is EPA evaluating the negative declarations?
    B. Do the negative declarations meet the evaluation criteria?
    C. Public comment and final action.
III. Background Information
    Why were these negative declarations submitted initially?
IV. Administrative Requirements

I. The State's Submittal

A. What Negative Declarations Did the State Submit?

    Table 1 lists the negative declarations we are approving with the 
dates that they were adopted by the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution 
Control District (SBCAPCD) and submitted by the California Air 
Resources Board.

                                    Table 1.--Submitted Negative Declarations
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             Local agency                                 Title                       Adopted        Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SBCAPCD...............................  Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing        02-21-02        04-09-02
                                         Industry (SOCMI) Batch Processing,
                                         Reactors, and Distillation.
                                        Wood Furniture Manufacturing Operations.        02-21-02        04-09-02
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On June 25, 2002, 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. What Is the Purpose of the Submitted Negative Declarations?

    The negative declarations were submitted to meet the requirements 
of CAA section 182(a)(2)(A). Nonattainment areas are required to adopt 
volatile organic compound (VOC) regulations for the published Control 
Technique Guideline (CTG) categories. If a nonattainment area does not 
have stationary sources for which EPA has published a CTG, then the 
area is required to submit a negative declaration. The negative 
declarations were submitted because there are no applicable sources 
within the SBCAPCD jurisdiction.

II. EPA's Evaluation and Action

A. How Is EPA Evaluating the Negative Declarations?

    The negative declarations are submitted as SIP revisions and must 
be consistent with Clean Air Act requirements for Reasonable Available 
Control Technology (RACT) (see section 182(a)(2)(A)) and SIP 
relaxations (see sections 110(l) and 193.) To do so, the

[[Page 54740]]

submittal should provide reasonable assurance that no sources subject 
to the CTG requirements currently exist or are planned for the SBCAPCD.

B. Do the Negative Declarations Meet the Evaluation Criteria?

    We believe these negative declarations are consistent with the 
relevant policy and guidance regarding RACT and SIP relaxations. The 
TSD has more information on our evaluation.

C. Public Comment and Final Action

    As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, EPA is fully 
approving the submitted negative declarations as additional information 
to the SIP 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 these negative declarations. If we receive adverse comments 
by September 25, 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 approval will be effective without further 
notice on October 25, 2002.

III. Background Information

Why Were These Negative Declarations Submitted?

    These negative declarations were submitted to fulfill the 
requirements of CAA section 182(a)(2)(A). Section 182 requires that 
ozone nonattainment areas adopt VOC regulations found in the Control 
Technique Guideline Series for all major sources in their geographic 
area. Santa Barbara County is a nonattainment area for ozone and thus 
is required to adopt regulations for all major sources of VOCs. 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 negative declarations.

                Table 2.--Ozone Nonattainment Milestones
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             Date                                Event
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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. 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 action 
responding to 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 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

[[Page 54741]]

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 25, 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, Intergovernmental 
relations, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile 
organic compounds.

    Dated: August 6, 2002.
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 52.222 is amended by adding paragraph (a)(3)(ii) to read 
as follows:


Sec. 52.222  Negative declarations.

    (a) * * *
    (3) * * *
    (ii) Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry (SOCMI) 
Batch Processing, SOCMI Reactors, and SOCMI Distillation; and Wood 
Furniture Manufacturing Operations were submitted on April 9, 2002 and 
adopted on February 21, 2002.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 02-21556 Filed 8-23-02; 8:45 am]
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