[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 165 (Tuesday, August 26, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 51184-51185]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-21588]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[CA 279-0401a; FRL-7526-4]


Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan; Sacramento 
Metropolitan Air Quality Management 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 
Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District's portion of 
the California State Implementation Plan. These revisions concern a 
local fee rule that applies to major sources of volatile organic 
compound and nitrogen oxide emissions within the Sacramento 
Metropolitan ozone nonattainment area. We are approving a local rule 
that regulates these emission sources under the Clean Air Act as 
amended in 1990.

DATES: This rule is effective on October 27, 2003 without further 
notice, unless EPA receives adverse comments by September 25, 2003. 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 Andrew 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 State Implementation Plan 
revisions and EPA's technical support document at our Region IX office 
during normal business hours. You may also see copies of the submitted 
revisions at the following locations:

Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Room B-102, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW., (Mail 
Code 6102T), Washington, DC 20460.
California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule 
Evaluation Section, 1001 ``I'' Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.
    Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, 777 
12th Street, Third Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814.
    A copy of the rule may also be available via the Internet at 
http://www.arb.ca.gov/drdb/drdbltxt.htm. Please be advised that this 
is not an EPA Web site and may not contain the same version of the 
rule that was submitted to EPA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mae Wang, EPA Region IX, (415) 947-
4124.

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

Table of Contents

I. The State's Submittal
    A. What rule did the State submit?
    B. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?
    C. Why was this rule submitted?
II. What action is EPA taking?
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. The State's Submittal

A. What Rule Did the State Submit?

    The Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District 
(SMAQMD) adopted Rule 307, Clean Air Act Fees, on September 26, 2002. 
This rule was submitted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on 
December 12, 2002, for incorporation into the California State 
Implementation Plan (SIP). On February 7, 2003, this rule submittal was 
found to meet the completeness criteria in 40 CFR part 51, appendix V, 
which must be met before formal EPA review. There are no previous 
versions of Rule 307 in the SIP, and no previous versions of this rule 
have been submitted.

B. What Is the Purpose of the Submitted Rule?

    SMAQMD Rule 307 requires major stationary sources of volatile 
organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) in the 
Sacramento Metropolitan ozone nonattainment area to pay a fee to the 
SMAQMD if the area fails to attain the one-hour national ambient air 
quality standard for ozone by its federally established attainment 
year. The fee must be paid beginning in the second year after the 
attainment year, and in each calendar year thereafter, until the area 
is redesignated to attainment of the 1-hour ozone standard. EPA's 
technical support document (TSD) has more information about this rule.

C. Why Was This Rule Submitted?

    Under sections 182(d)(3), (e), and 185 of the Clean Air Act as 
amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act), States are required to adopt an 
excess emissions fee regulation for ozone nonattainment areas 
classified as severe or extreme. In California, the Sacramento 
Metropolitan nonattainment area is classified as severe. The fee 
regulation specified by the Act requires major stationary sources of 
VOCs in the nonattainment area to pay a fee to the State if the area 
fails to attain the standard by the attainment date set forth in the 
Act. Emissions of VOCs play a role in producing ground-level ozone and 
smog, which harm human health and the environment. Section 182(f) of 
the Act requires States to apply the same requirements to major 
stationary sources of NOX as are applied to major stationary 
sources of VOCs. SMAQMD Rule 307 applies to major sources of both 
NOX and VOCs.

II. What Action Is EPA Taking?

    As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, EPA is fully 
approving SMAQMD Rule 307 because we believe it fulfills all relevant 
requirements. We believe the submitted rule is consistent with the 
requirements of the Act and relevant policy and guidance regarding SIP 
revisions. The TSD has more information on our evaluation.
    We do not think anyone will object to this approval, so we are 
finalizing it without proposing it in advance. However, in the Proposed 
Rules section of this Federal Register, we are simultaneously proposing 
approval of the same submitted rule. If we receive adverse comments by 
September 25, 2003, 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 27, 2003. This will incorporate SMAQMD Rule 307 into 
the federally enforceable SIP.

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    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

[[Page 51185]]

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 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 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 27, 2003. 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, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: June 12, 2003.
Alexis Strauss,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.

0
Part 52, Chapter I, Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is 
amended as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart F--California

0
2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(308)(i)(C) to read 
as follows:


Sec.  52.220  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (308) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (C) Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District.
    (1) Rule 307, adopted on September 26, 2002.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 03-21588 Filed 8-25-03; 8:45 am]
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