[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 26, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 21337-21340]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-8317]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[RME-OAR-2005-MD-0002; FRL-7904-2]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Maryland; Clarification of Visible Emissions Exception Provisions

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 
Maryland State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revision consists of 
clarifications to the exception provisions of the Maryland visible 
emissions regulations. EPA is approving these revisions to the Maryland 
regulations in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act.

DATES: This rule is effective on June 27, 2005 without further notice, 
unless EPA receives adverse written comment by May 26, 2005. If EPA 
receives such comments, it 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: Submit your comments, identified by Regional Material in 
EDocket (RME) ID Number RME-OAR-2005-MD-0002 by one of the following 
methods:
    A. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
    B. Agency Web Site: http://www.docket.epa.gov/rmepub/ RME, EPA's 
electronic public docket and comment system, is EPA's preferred

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method for receiving comments. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    C. E-mail: [email protected].
    D. Mail: RME-OAR-2005-MD-0002, Makeba Morris, Chief, Air Quality 
Planning Branch, Mailcode 3AP21, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
    E. Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region III address. 
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to RME ID No. RME-OAR-2005-MD-
0002. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in 
the public docket without change, and may be made available online at 
http://www.docket.epa.gov/rmepub/, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through RME, regulations.gov 
or e-mail. The EPA RME and the Federal regulations.gov Web sites are an 
``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without 
going through RME or regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the 
RME index at http://www.docket.epa.gov/rmepub/. Although listed in the 
index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other 
material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet 
and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly 
available docket materials are available either electronically in RME 
or in hard copy during normal business hours at the Air Protection 
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch 
Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of material to be 
incorporated by reference are available at the Air and Radiation Docket 
and Information Center, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1301 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Room B108, Washington, DC 20460. Copies of 
the State submittal are available at the Maryland Department of the 
Environment, 1800 Washington Boulevard, Suite 705, Baltimore, Maryland 
21230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda Miller, (215) 814-2068, or by e-
mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) submitted a 
revision to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) on December 1, 2003. 
The revision consists of clarifications to the general visible 
emissions (VE) regulations and those related to specific source 
categories. The regulations affected by these revisions are found in 
Code of Maryland Regulations--COMAR 26.11.06 General Emission 
Standards, Prohibitions and Restrictions; COMAR 26.11.08 Control of 
Incinerators; COMAR 26.11.09 Control of Fuel Burning Equipment 
Stationary Internal Combustion Engines and Certain Fuel Burning 
Installations; and COMAR 26.11.10 Control of Iron and Steel Production 
Installations. Each of these regulations has previously been 
incorporated into the Maryland State Implementation Plan.

II. Summary of SIP Revision

    This revision clarifies the intent of the VE exceptions provisions 
in the Maryland regulation as they relate generally and to specific 
source categories. The revised language will ensure that sources 
correctly interpret the exception provisions. The purpose of the 
existing regulation, which is presently included in the SIP, is to 
allow for a 6-minute per hour exclusion during certain activities such 
as load changes, adjustments and soot-blowing of boilers. The revised 
regulations clarify that this exception should not be applied for every 
hour of operation, but only during the hour in which the activity 
mentioned above occurs. In addition, the revised language clarifies 
that only periods of visible emissions less than 40 percent may qualify 
for the exception and that the 6-minute period is any consecutive 6-
minute period during the hour in which the VE is recorded. The 
revisions include the addition this clarifying language to:
    1. COMAR 26.11.06.02 Control of Visible emissions in the General 
Emission Standards.
    2. COMAR 26.11.08.04 Control Visible emissions for Incinerators.
    3. COMAR 26.11.09.05 Control of Visible Emissions for fuel burning 
equipment.
    4. COMAR 26.11.10.03 Control of Visible emissions for Iron and 
Steel Production Installations.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving revisions the Maryland VE exceptions provisions. 
EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because the Agency 
views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no adverse 
comment. This revision is a clarification to an existing requirement. 
However, in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of today's Federal Register, 
EPA is publishing a separate document that will serve as the proposal 
to approve the SIP revision if adverse comments are filed. This rule 
will be effective on June 27, 2005 without further notice unless EPA 
receives adverse comment by May 26, 2005. If EPA receives adverse 
comment, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register 
informing the public that the rule will not take effect. EPA will 
address all public comments in a subsequent final rule based on the 
proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period on this 
action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so at this time. 
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.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General 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

[[Page 21339]]

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 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.).

B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General

    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. This rule to 
approve clarifications to the visible emissions exception language is 
not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

C. Petitions for Judicial Review

    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 June 27, 2005. 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, to approve revisions to the Maryland 
regulations which clarify the visible emissions exception provisions, 
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, Particulate 
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: April 19, 2005.
Richard J. Kampf,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.

0
40 CFR part 52 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 V--Maryland

0
2. In Sec.  52.1070, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by revising 
the entries for COMAR 26.11.06.02, 10.18.08 (Title), 10.18.08.04, 
26.11.09.05, and 26.11.10.03 to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1070  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) EPA approved regulations.

                                                                          EPA-Approved Regulations in the Maryland SIP
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   Code of Maryland administrative                                                                                                                         Additional explanation/citation at 40
    regulations (COMAR) citation                  Title/subject               State effective date                     EPA approval date                                CFR 52.1100
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26.11.06............................                                                   General Emission Standards, Prohibitions, and Restrictions
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* * * * * * *
26.11.06.02.........................  Visible Emissions....................  11/24/03                4/26/05.............................................  Revised paragraph 26.11.02.02A(2).
[Except: .02A(1)(e), (1)(g), (1)(h),                                                                 [Insert page number where the document begins]......
 (1)(i)].
 
* * * * * * *
10.18.08/26.11.08...................                                                                    Control of Incinerators
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* * * * * * *

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10.18.08.04/26.11.08.04.............  Visible Emissions....................  11/24/03                4/26/05.............................................  Revised COMAR citation; revised
                                                                                                     [Insert page number where the document begins]......   paragraph 26.11.08.04C.
 
* * * * * * *
26.11.09............................                       Control of Fuel-Burning Equipment, Stationary Internal Combustion Engines, and Certain Fuel-Burning Installations
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* * * * * * *
26.11.09.05.........................  Visible Emissions....................  11/24/03                4/26/05.............................................  Revised paragraph 26.11.09.05A(3).
                                                                                                     [Insert page number where the document begins]......
 
* * * * * * *
26.11.10............................                                                      Control of Iron and Steel Production Installations
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* * * * * * *
26.11.10.03.........................  Visible Emissions....................  11/24/03                4/26/05.............................................  Revised paragraph 26.11.10.03A(2)
                                                                                                     [Insert page number where the document begins]......
 
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[FR Doc. 05-8317 Filed 4-25-05; 8:45 am]
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