[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 6, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 38774-38776]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-13281]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[RME-OAR-2005-MD-0006; FRL-7933-6]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Maryland; Approval of Clarifications of Requirements for Fuel-Burning 
Equipment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to 
the Maryland State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revisions are 
clarifications to the applicability and compliance methods for 
particulate matter standards for fuel-burning equipment. The EPA is 
approving these revisions to Maryland regulations in accordance with 
the requirements of the Clean Air Act.

DATES: This rule is effective on September 6, 2005, without further 
notice, unless EPA receives adverse written comment by August 5, 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-0006 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 method 
for receiving comments. Follow the on-line instructions for submitting 
comments.
    C. E-mail: [email protected].
    D. Mail: RME-OAR-2005-MD-0006, David Campbell, Chief, Air Quality 
Planning, 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-
0006. 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 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

    On July 12, 2004, the State of Maryland submitted a formal revision 
to

[[Page 38775]]

its State Implementation Plan (SIP). The SIP revision consists of minor 
changes which clarify the applicability and compliance methods for the 
regulations governing fuel-burning equipment.

II. Summary of SIP Revision

    Specifically, the changes in this revision are clarifications to 
existing regulations. The applicability portion found in COMAR 
26.11.09.01 has been revised to include a reference to wood used as 
fuel. The existing regulation lacked a definition of ``fuel.'' The 
Maryland Department of the Environment has stated that the intent of 
the regulation has always been to include wood as a fuel regulated in 
this section. An incorrect interpretation of the applicability would be 
that only ``fossil fuel-fired'' equipment is regulated by the 
regulations in COMAR 26.11.09. The addition of the definition for 
``fuel'' clarifies the applicability to include equipment using ``wood 
or wood products'' as fuel. The revision also clarifies the 
calculations for particulate matter emissions found in COMAR 
26.11.09.03. The clarification distinguishes the calculations used for 
concentration emission limits from the calculations used for mass 
emissions requirements. Concentration emission limits (grains per 
standard cubic foot) require an adjustment for air flow, mass emission 
limits (such as pounds per million BTU) do not require this adjustment. 
The final change in the revision is a clarification of the compliance 
test method for particulate matter emissions in COMAR 26.11.06. EPA 
test method 5 requires three runs of approximately one hour each. This 
amendment clarifies that the average of the three test runs is used to 
determine compliance with particulate matter standards in a manner 
consistent with EPA test method 5.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving revisions to three sections of regulations for the 
control of fuel-burning equipment. EPA is publishing this rule without 
prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial 
amendment and anticipates no adverse comment. These changes are 
considered clarifications to existing requirements. The State of 
Maryland provided public notice and hearing. There were no comments 
received during the public participation process. 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 September 6, 2005, without further notice unless EPA 
receives adverse comment by August 5, 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 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 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 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 September 6, 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

[[Page 38776]]

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 clarifications to the 
applicability and compliance methods for particulate matter standards 
for fuel-burning equipment 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, Carbon monoxide, 
Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate 
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, 
Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: June 15, 2005.
Donald S. Welsh,
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 Section 52.1070, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by 
revising the entries for COMAR 26.11.09.01, 26.11.09.03 and 26.11.09.06 
to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1070  Identification of plan.

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

                                  EPA-Approved Regulations in the Maryland SIP
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Code of Maryland
 administrative regulations    Title/subject        State        EPA approval    Additional explanation/citation
          (COMAR)                              effective date        date               at 40 CFR 52.1100
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                 * * * * * * *
 COMAR 26.11.09.01 Control of Fuel-burning Equipment, Stationary Internal Combustion Engines, and Certain Fuel-
                                              Burning Installations
26.11.09.01................  Definitions.....         6/21/04  7/6/05..........  Revised Definition of ``fuel''
                                                               [Insert page       in 26.11.09.01.B.2-1.a.
                                                                number where
                                                                the document
                                                                begins].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
26.11.09.03................  General                  6/21/04  7/6/05..........  Revised paragraphs
                              Conditions for                   [Insert page       26.11.09.03.C.1 and 2.
                              Fuel-Burning                      number where
                              Equipment.                        the document
                                                                beings].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
26.11.09.06................  Control of               6/21/04  7/6/05..........  Addition of paragraph
                              Particulate                      [Insert page       26.11.09.06C.
                              Matter.                           number where
                                                                the document
                                                                begins].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *
[FR Doc. 05-13281 Filed 7-5-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P