[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 145 (Friday, July 29, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 43817-43818]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-15052]



[[Page 43817]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[R03-OAR-2005-MD-0009; FRL-7946-5]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Maryland; VOC RACT for Perdue Farms, Inc.

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
revision submitted by the State of Maryland. This revision pertains to 
a Consent Order establishing volatile organic compound (VOC) reasonably 
available control technology (RACT) for Perdue Farms, Incorporated. 
This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before August 29, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Regional Material in 
EDocket (RME) ID Number R03-OAR-2005-MD-0009 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: campbell,[email protected].
    D. Mail: R03-OAR-2005-MD-0009, David Campbell, 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. R03-OAR-2005-MD-
0009. 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: Rose Quinto, (215) 814-2182, or by e-
mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On May 31, 2005, the State of Maryland submitted a formal revision 
to its State Implementation Plan (SIP). The SIP revision consists of a 
Consent Order establishing VOC RACT for Perdue Farms, Incorporated 
(Perdue) located at 6906 Zion Church Road, Wicomico County, Maryland.

II. Summary of SIP Revision

    Perdue operates a soybean oil extraction process that involves 
heating soybeans, pressing them into thin flakes, and extracting oil by 
rinsing the flakes with a hexane based solvent. The solvent is then 
evaporated from the solvent/oil mixture and the flakes, is condensed 
and reused. Hexane is a VOC and is discharged from the process in 
excess of the major source threshold.
    Perdue has identified and implemented the following VOC RACT 
measures in order to reduce hexane emissions discharged from the 
process:
    1. Installed and operates an automatic VOC leak monitoring system 
at Perdue. This system was installed and is operated in accordance with 
the manufacturer's specifications with appropriate set points to 
provide warning of leaks from the process;
    2. Operates a mineral oil absorption system on the final VOC 
exhaust vent in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations 
using groundwater as the cooling source that does not exceed 60 degrees 
F;
    3. Installed screened sections in the desolventizing toaster to 
better provide product/steam contact to improve hexane recovery;
    4. Installed a 10-inch diameter vapor line from the extractor to 
the distillation system to improve vacuum control in the extraction 
system; and
    5. In order to minimize the loss of hexane in the soybean 
extraction process, prepared a standard operating procedures (SOP) 
document for the efficient operation of the soybean extraction process 
and a training manual which clearly and concisely identifies the 
operation of the process that is used for training new and existing 
operators. The manual includes good operating practices that will 
minimize VOC emissions and maximize hexane recovery. The SOP document 
and the training manual will be made available to the Maryland 
Department of the Environment (MDE) upon request.
    In addition, Perdue has agreed to limit VOC emissions from the 
process to 0.3 gallons per ton of soybean processed in a calendar year 
to comply with RACT requirements. Perdue will prepare an annual hexane 
emissions report demonstrating compliance with the VOC emission 
standards and be made available to MDE upon request. Perdue will 
maintain the records required by this Consent Order for at least five 
years.

III. Proposed Action

    EPA is proposing to approve a revision to the State of Maryland SIP 
to establish VOC RACT for Perdue Farms,

[[Page 43818]]

Inc. located in Wicomico County, Maryland submitted on May 31, 2005. 
EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues discussed in this 
document. These comments will be considered before taking final action.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
proposed 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 proposes to approve state law as meeting Federal 
requirements and imposes no additional requirements beyond those 
imposed by state law. Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that 
this proposed 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 proposes to approve 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 proposed rule also does 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), nor will it 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), because it 
merely proposes to approve 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 
proposed rule also is not subject to Executive Order 13045 (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. As required by section 3 
of Executive Order 12988 (61 FR 4729, February 7, 1996), in issuing 
this proposed rule, EPA has taken the necessary steps to eliminate 
drafting errors and ambiguity, minimize potential litigation, and 
provide a clear legal standard for affected conduct. EPA has complied 
with Executive Order 12630 (53 FR 8859, March 15, 1988) by examining 
the takings implications of the rule in accordance with the ``Attorney 
General's Supplemental Guidelines for the Evaluation of Risk and 
Avoidance of Unanticipated Takings' issued under the executive order. 
This proposed rule pertaining to a Consent Order establishing VOC RACT 
for Perdue Farms, Inc. located in Wicomico County, Maryland, does not 
impose an information collection burden under the provisions of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Ozone, Reporting 
and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: July 22, 2005.
Donald S. Welsh,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 05-15052 Filed 7-28-05; 8:45 am]
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