[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 156 (Monday, August 15, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 47757-47759]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16111]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[R03-OAR-2005-MD-0011; FRL-7952-5]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Maryland; Amendments to the Control of VOC Emissions From AIM Coatings

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 
the amendments of controlling volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions 
from architectural and industrial maintenance (AIM) coatings in 
Maryland. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA or 
the Act).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before September 14, 
2005.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Regional Material in 
EDocket (RME) ID Number R03-OAR-2005-MD-0011 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: R03-OAR-2005-MD-0011, 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-
0011. 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

[[Page 47758]]

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: On March 15, 2005, the Maryland Department 
of the Environment (MDE) submitted a revision to its SIP. The SIP 
revision consists of amendments to Regulations .06, .10, and .12; 
repeal of existing Regulation .13; and adoption of new Regulation .13 
under COMAR 26.11.33 Architectural Coatings.

I. Background

    On March 19, 2004, MDE submitted a regulation establishing 
standards to reduce VOC emissions from AIM coatings in Maryland. These 
standards were based on a regional model rule developed by an Ozone 
Transport Commission (OTC) workgroup consisting of several states, 
including Maryland. EPA published a proposed rulemaking of the Maryland 
AIM coatings rule on May 25, 2004 (69 FR 29674), and the final 
rulemaking on May 12, 2005 (70 FR 24979) with an effective date of June 
13, 2005.

II. Summary of SIP Revision

    To provide consistency with similar regulations adopted by the 
other states in the Ozone Transport Region (OTR), MDE submitted 
amendments to COMAR 26.11.33 Architectural Coatings. The amendments 
are:
    1. Addition of four industrial coatings to the list of specific 
coatings that are excluded from applying the most restrictive VOC limit 
in Regulation .06B: calcimine recoaters, impacted immersion coatings, 
nuclear coatings, and thermoplastic rubber coating and mastic. 
Regulation .06A requires the application of the most restrictive VOC 
limit to a coating that satisfies the definition for more than one 
coating or for different applications.
    2. Remove the requirement to include on the label that conversion 
varnishes are to be used only by professionals. Conversion varnish is a 
specially formulated coating made available to professionals that are 
involved with the coating or recoating of hardwood floors.
    3. The requirement for coating manufacturers to submit annual 
reports on the volume of coating sold in Maryland has been changed to 
require the information to be maintained for five years and made 
available to MDE upon request.

III. Proposed Action

    EPA's review of this material indicates that the MDE amendments to 
its AIM coatings rule are administrative changes that will not affect 
VOC reductions achieved though compliance with the coating standards. 
EPA is proposing to approve a revision to the Maryland SIP for the 
amendments of COMAR 26.11.33 submitted on March 15, 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 (Public Law 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

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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 the amendments to the 
Maryland's AIM coatings 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.).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

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

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

    Dated: August 5, 2005.
Donald S. Welsh,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 05-16111 Filed 8-12-05; 8:45 am]
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