[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 126 (Friday, July 1, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 38023-38025]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-13052]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[R09-OAR-2005-CA-0004; FRL-7932-3]


Correction to the California State Implementation Plan, South 
Coast 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 delete a provision from 
the California State Implementation Plan (SIP) that was approved into 
the SIP in error. This provision is part of a rule concerning emissions 
of volatile organic compounds (VOC) from solvent cleaning operations. 
EPA has determined that the continued presence of this provision in the 
SIP is potentially confusing and thus harmful to affected sources, 
local agencies and to EPA. The intended effect of this action is to 
delete this provision and make the federally enforceable SIP consistent 
with the SIP as adopted and submitted by the State of California.

DATES: This rule is effective on August 30, 2005 without further 
notice, unless EPA receives adverse comments by August 1, 2005. If we 
receive such comments, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the 
Federal Register to notify the public that this direct final rule will 
not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by docket number [DOCKET 
NUMBER], by one of the following methods:
    1. Agency Web site: http://docket.epa.gov/rmepub/. EPA prefers 
receiving comments through this electronic public docket and comment 
system. Follow the on-line instructions to submit comments.
    2. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the on-line instructions.
    3. E-mail: [email protected].
    4. Mail or deliver: Andrew Steckel (Air-4), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 
94105-3901.
    Instructions: All comments will be included in the public docket 
without change and may be made available online at http://docket.epa.gov/rmepub/ rmepub/, including any personal information provided, 
unless the comment includes Confidential Business Information (CBI) or 
other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 
Information that you consider CBI or otherwise protected should be 
clearly identified as such and should not be submitted through the 
agency Web site, eRulemaking portal or e-mail. The agency Web site and 
eRulemaking portal are ``anonymous access'' systems, and EPA will not 
know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the 
body of your comment. If you send e-mail directly to EPA, your e-mail 
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the 
public comment. 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.
    Docket: The index to the docket for this action is available 
electronically at http://docket.epa.gov/rmepub and in hard copy at EPA 
Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California. While all 
documents in the docket are listed in the index, some information may 
be publicly available only at the hard copy location (e.g., copyrighted 
material), and some may not be publicly available in either location 
(e.g., CBI). To inspect the hard copy materials, please schedule an 
appointment during normal business hours with the contact listed in the 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Francisco D[oacute][ntilde]ez, EPA 
Region IX, (415) 972-3956, [email protected].

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

Table of Contents

I. Why Is EPA Correcting the SIP?
II. What Provision Is Being Deleted?
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Why Is EPA Correcting the SIP?

    On August 13, 1999, EPA approved South Coast Air Quality Management 
District (SCAQMD or District) Rule 1171, Solvent Cleaning Operations, 
as a revision to the South Coast portion of the California SIP. See 64 
FR 44134 (August 13, 1999). On October 8, 1999, SCAQMD adopted 
revisions to Rule 1171. In adopting the revisions to Rule 1171 on 
October 8, 1999, SCAQMD intended the revised rule, excluding the July 
1, 2005 VOC limits specified in subsection (c)(1) of the rule, to be 
submitted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to EPA for 
approval as a SIP revision, and SCAQMD also committed to submitting a 
future SIP revision containing the July 1, 2005 VOC limits after the 
District has reviewed the Technology Assessments pursuant to section 
(d) of the rule unless SCAQMD by majority vote schedules a hearing to 
consider amending such limits.
    On January 21, 2000, CARB submitted the revised SCAQMD Rule 1171, 
as adopted by SCAQMD on October 8, 1999, to EPA for approval as a 
revision to the South Coast portion of the California SIP. This 
submittal specified that the entire revised Rule 1171 was to be 
included in the SIP, except for the July 1, 2005 VOC limits specified 
in subsection (c)(1) of the rule. EPA did not take action on this 
submittal and considered the January 21, 2000 submittal of Rule 1171 
superseded when EPA acted on subsequent submittals of further revised 
versions of the rule.
    When SCAQMD subsequently revised Rule 1171 on August 2, 2002 and 
November 7, 2003, the District again intended that the 2005 limits not 
be included into the federally enforceable SIP. However, the 
corresponding submissions of these revisions from CARB on December 23, 
2002 and January 15, 2004, respectively, did not clearly repeat the 
stipulation that the July 1, 2005 VOC limits were not to be included in 
the SIP. Therefore, when

[[Page 38024]]

EPA approved these versions of Rule 1171 into the SIP, the 2005 limits 
were inadvertently approved into the SIP as well. See 68 FR 33005 (June 
3, 2003) and 69 FR 44599 (July 27, 2004).
    Earlier this year, SCAQMD brought this error to the attention of 
CARB and EPA, and SCAQMD submitted a letter dated May 6, 2005 to CARB 
requesting that CARB request corrective action by EPA to resolve this 
issue. By letter dated May 24, 2005, CARB submitted a letter to EPA 
withdrawing the July 1, 2005 VOC limits in SCAQMD Rule 1171 from the 
California SIP consistent with the District's intent on adopting 
revisions to the rule on October 8, 1999, August 2, 2002, and November 
7, 2003. SCAQMD's May 6, 2005 letter and CARB's May 24, 2005 letter are 
included in the docket for this rulemaking. We agree with SCAQMD and 
CARB that a SIP correction action is warranted under these 
circumstances.

II. What Provision Is Being Deleted?

    Section 110(k)(6) of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) provides, 
``Whenever the Administrator determines that the Administrator's action 
approving, disapproving, or promulgating any plan or plan revision (or 
part thereof), area designation, redesignation, classification, or 
reclassification was in error, the Administrator may in the same manner 
as the approval, disapproval, or promulgation revise such action as 
appropriate without requiring any further submission from the State.''
    For the reasons described above, EPA has determined that the 
provision listed in the table below was previously approved into the 
SIP in error. The table below also provides the dates on which the 
relevant versions of Rule 1171 were submitted by the State and then 
approved by EPA. We are deleting the specified provision from the 
SCAQMD's portion of the California SIP under CAA section 110(k)(6).

               South Coast Air Quality Management District
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     Rule                Title            Submittal date   Approval date
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1171.........  Solvent Cleaning                 12/23/02        06/03/03
                Operations--July 1, 2005        01/15/04        07/27/04
                limits in Section (c)(1).
------------------------------------------------------------------------

III. Final Action

    EPA has reviewed the SIP submittal materials related to the 
provision listed in the table above and determined that it was 
previously approved into the applicable California SIP in error. 
Therefore, EPA is taking action to delete this provision under section 
110(k)(6) of the Act, which provides EPA authority to remove this 
provision without additional State submission. All of the other 
provisions in SCAQMD Rule 1171, i.e., other than the July 1, 2005 VOC 
limits in subsection (c)(1), remain federally enforceable as of the 
effective dates of EPA's final rules published on August 13, 1999, June 
3, 2003, and July 27, 2004 and are unaffected by this correction 
action.
    We do not think anyone will object to this deletion, so we are 
finalizing it without proposing it in advance. However, in the Proposed 
Rules section of this Federal Register, we are simultaneously proposing 
deletion of this same provision. If we receive adverse comments by 
August 1, 2005, 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 August 30, 2005. This will incorporate this correction into 
the federally enforceable SIP.

IV. 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 deletes a provision that had been approved by EPA in error and 
imposes no additional requirements. 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 deletes a provision that 
had been approved by EPA in error and does not impose any additional 
enforceable duty, 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 deletes a provision that 
had been approved by EPA in error, 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 as defined in Executive Order 12866, and because the Agency 
does not have reason to believe the environmental health or safety 
risks addressed by this rule present a disproportionate risk to 
children.
    This rule does not involve establishment of technical standards, 
and 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

[[Page 38025]]

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 August 30, 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 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, Ozone, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: June 16, 2005.
Wayne Nastri,
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 paragraphs (c)(311)(i)(A)(2) and 
(c)(328)(i)(B)(2) to read as follows:


Sec. 52.220  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (311) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (A) * * *
    (2) Previously approved on June 3, 2003 in paragraph 
(c)(311)(i)(A)(1) of this section and now deleted without replacement, 
Subsection (c)(1) (July 1, 2005 VOC limits) of Rule 1171.
* * * * *
    (328) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (B) * * *
    (2) Previously approved on July 27, 2004 in paragraph 
(c)(328)(i)(B)(1) of this section and now deleted without replacement, 
Subsection (c)(1) (July 1, 2005 VOC limits) of Rule 1171.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 05-13052 Filed 6-30-05; 8:45 am]
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