[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 147 (Monday, August 2, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 46106-46108]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-17497]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 70

[NV117a-OPP; FRL-7795-6]


Approval and Promulgation of Operating Permits Program; State of 
Nevada, Clark County Department of Air Quality Management

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 
Clark County Department of Air Quality Management (DAQM) Operating 
Permits (Title V) Program. Under authority of the Clean Air Act as 
amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act), we are approving a rule revision that 
addresses when a timely application for title V permit renewal must be 
submitted.

DATES: These rule revisions are effective on October 1, 2004, without 
further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comments by September 1, 
2004. If we receive such comment, we will publish a timely withdrawal 
in the Federal Register to notify the public that these revisions will 
not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Gerardo Rios, Permits Office Chief (AIR-3), 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, 
San Francisco, CA 94105-3901 or e-mail to [email protected]. 
Comments may also be submitted at http://www.regulations.gov.
    You can inspect copies of the submitted rule revision and other 
supporting documentation relevant to this action during normal business 
hours at Air Division, EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San 
Francisco, California 94105.
    You may also see copies of the State's submittal at the Nevada 
Division of Environmental Protection, 333 W. Nye Lane, Room 138, Carson 
City, Nevada or at the Clark County Department of Air Quality 
Management, 500 S. Grand Central Parkway, Las Vegas, Nevada 89155.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Roger Kohn, EPA Region IX, Air 
Division, Permits Office (AIR-3), at (415) 972-3973 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. The Part 70 Operating Permits Program
    A. What is the part 70 operating permits program?
    B. What is the federal approval process for revisions to an 
operating permits program?
II. This action
    A. What revision is being approved?
    B. Have the requirements for approval been met?
    C. Public comment and final action.
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. The Part 70 Operating Permits Program

A. What Is the Part 70 Operating Permits Program?

    The Clean Air Act Amendments (CAA) of 1990 require all states to 
develop an operating permits program that meets federal criteria listed 
in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 70. In implementing this 
program, the states are to require certain sources of air pollution to 
obtain permits that contain all applicable requirements under the CAA. 
One purpose of the part 70 operating permits program (also known as a 
Title V program) is to improve enforcement and compliance by issuing 
each source a single permit that consolidates all of the applicable CAA 
requirements into a federally-enforceable document. By consolidating 
all of the applicable requirements for a facility into one document, 
the source, the public, and the permitting authorities can more easily 
determine what CAA requirements apply and how compliance with those 
requirements is determined.

B. What Is the Federal Approval Process for Revisions to an Operating 
Permits Program?

    In order for state regulations to be incorporated into the 
federally-enforceable part 70 operating permits program, states must 
formally adopt regulations consistent with state and federal 
requirements. Once a state regulation is adopted, the state submits it 
to the EPA for inclusion into the approved operating permits program. 
The EPA must provide public notice and seek additional public comment 
regarding the proposed federal action on the state submission. If 
adverse comments are received, they must be addressed prior to any 
final federal action by EPA.

II. This Action

A. What Revision Is Being Approved?

    EPA is approving a revision to DAQM Section 19, Part 70 Operating 
Permits, that addresses the submittal of timely permit applications. 
DAQM revised Section 19.3 to state that for the purposes of permit 
renewal, a timely and complete application is one that is submitted 
``between six (6) and eighteen

[[Page 46107]]

(18) months, prior to the date of permit expiration.'' This application 
deadline is consistent with the Part 70 requirement at 40 CFR 
70.5(a)(1)(iii). Currently, the approved title V program requires 
applications for renewal to be submitted eighteen (18) months prior to 
the date of permit expiration. Since the rule does not specify whether 
the 18-month deadline is a minimum or maximum, EPA has interpreted it 
to be consistent with part 70, which states that eighteen months is the 
maximum. In cases in which a title V permit required a source to submit 
an renewal application in accordance with Section 19, but did not 
specify an amount of time, DAQM's interpretation has been the same as 
EPA's. However, if a permit specifically required a renewal application 
to be submitted 18 months prior to permit application, DAQM has 
interpreted this to mean no later than 18 months prior to the 
expiration of the permit. EPA is approving this title V program 
revision, which is the only change requested in DAQM's submittal, in 
order to clarify that in all cases eighteen months is the earliest date 
for submittal of a renewal application and six months is the latest 
date for a renewal application. After this latest date, the application 
would be considered late.

C. Public Comment and Final Action

    EPA is fully approving the revision to DAQM's part 70 operating 
permits program because it is consistent with Title V of the Clean Air 
Act and 40 CFR part 70. We are processing this action as a direct final 
action because we believe the revision of Section 19 is 
noncontroversial. Therefore, we do not think anyone will object to this 
approval. 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 1, 2004, 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 1, 
2004. 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. 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 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 state operating permits programs submitted pursuant to 
Title V of the CAA, EPA will approve state programs 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 Part 70 
program revision for failure to use VCS. It would thus be inconsistent 
with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a Part 70 program 
revision, 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 1, 2004. 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 70

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, 
Air pollution control, Intergovernmental relations, Operating permits, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: July 16, 2004.
Keith Takata,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.

0
Part 70, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is 
amended as follows:

[[Page 46108]]

PART 70--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority citation for part 70 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart F--California

0
2. Appendix A to part 70 is amended by adding under ``Nevada'' 
paragraph (c)(3) to read as follows:

APPENDIX A TO PART 70--APPROVAL STATUS OF STATE AND LOCAL OPERATING 
PERMITS PROGRAMS

* * * * *

Nevada

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (3) Revisions were submitted on February 23, 2004, effective 
October 1, 2004.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 04-17497 Filed 7-30-04; 8:45 am]
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