[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 165 (Monday, August 26, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 54741-54743]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-21558]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[AZ 100-0056a; FRL-7266-3]


Revisions to the Arizona State Implementation Plan, Maricopa 
County Environmental Services Department

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 
Maricopa County Environmental Services Department (MCESD) portion of 
the Arizona State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern 
negative declarations for volatile organic compound (VOC) source 
categories regulated by the MCESD. 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:

Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, 3033 North Central Avenue, 
Phoenix, Arizona 85012.
Maricopa County Environmental Services Department, 1001 North Central, 
No. 595, Phoenix, Arizona 85004.

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 Maricopa County Environmental 
Services Department (MCESD) and submitted by the Arizona Department of 
Environmental Quality (ADEQ).

                                    Table 1.--Submitted Negative Declarations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Local agency                                Title                     Adopted        Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MCESD......................................  Refinery Sources...................        04-26-00        12-14-00
                                             Automobile and Light Duty Trucks...
                                             Magnet Wire........................
                                             Flatwood Paneling..................
                                             Synthesized Pharmaceutical Products
                                             Rubber Tire Manufacturing..........
                                             Polymer Manufacturing..............
                                             SOCMI..............................
                                             Batch Processes....................
                                             Industrial Wastewater..............
                                             Ship Building Repair...............
                                             SOCMI Reactor/Distillation.........
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 54742]]

    On September 3, 2000, 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 MCESD 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(1) and 193.) To do so, the submittal 
should provide reasonable assurance that no sources subject to the CTG 
requirements currently exist or are planned for the MCESD.

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 
Techniques Guideline Series for all major sources in their geographic 
area. Maricopa 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 (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 action 
responding to a Federal requirement, 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

[[Page 54743]]

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 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.
Keith A. Takata,
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 D--Arizona

    2. Subpart D is amended by adding Sec. 52.122 to read as follows:


Sec. 52.122  Negative declarations.

    (a) The following air pollution control districts submitted 
negative declarations for volatile organic compound source categories 
to satisfy the requirements of section 182 of the Clean Air Act, as 
amended. The following negative declarations are approved as additional 
information to the State Implementation Plan.
    (1) Maricopa County Environmental Services Department.
    (i) Refinery Sources (Refinery Process Turnarounds), Automobile and 
Light Duty Trucks, Magnet Wire, Flatwood Paneling, Pharmaceuticals and 
Cosmetic Manufacturing Operations, Rubber Tire Manufacturing, Polymer 
Manufacturing, Industrial Wastewater, Ship Building and Repair, 
Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry (SOCMI) Batch 
Processing, SOCMI Reactors, and SOCMI Distillation were adopted on 
April 26, 2000 and submitted on December 14, 2000.
    (b) [Reserved]

[FR Doc. 02-21558 Filed 8-23-02; 8:45 am]
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