[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 52 (Friday, March 17, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 13767-13769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-2601]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R01-OAR-2005-ME-0003; A-1-FRL-8038-1]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Maine; Architectural and Industrial Maintenance (AIM) Coatings 
Regulation

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision 
submitted by the State of Maine. This revision establishes requirements 
to reduce volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from architectural 
and industrial maintenance (AIM) coatings. The intended effect of this 
action is to approve these requirements into the Maine SIP. This action 
is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: This rule will become effective on April 17, 2006.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R01-OAR-2005-ME-0003. All documents in the 
docket are listed on the http://www.regulations.gov Web site. 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 
through http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Office of 
Ecosystem Protection, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New 
England Regional Office, One Congress Street, Suite 1100, Boston, MA. 
EPA requests that if at all possible, you contact the contact listed in 
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to schedule your 
inspection. The Regional Office's official hours of business are Monday 
through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, excluding Federal holidays.
    Copies of the documents relevant to this action are also available 
for public inspection during normal business hours, by appointment at 
the Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Room B-108, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC; and the Bureau of Air Quality Control, Department of 
Environmental Protection, First Floor of the Tyson Building, Augusta 
Mental Health Institute Complex, Augusta, ME 04333-0017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anne Arnold, Air Quality Planning 
Unit, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional 
Office, One Congress Street, Suite 1100 (CAQ), Boston, MA 02114-2023, 
(617) 918-1047, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This section is organized as follows:

    A. What action is EPA taking?
    B. What are the requirements of Maine's new regulation?
    C. Why is EPA approving this regulation?

A. What action is EPA taking?

    EPA is approving Maine's Chapter 151, ``Architectural and 
Industrial Maintenance (AIM) Coatings,'' and incorporating this 
regulation into the Maine SIP.
    On December 15, 2005, (70 FR 74259), EPA proposed approval of 
Maine's Chapter 151 (the proposal). No one submitted comments on the 
proposal.

B. What are the requirements of Maine's new regulation?

    Maine's Chapter 151 applies to any person who supplies, sells, 
offers for sale, or manufactures, any architectural coating for use 
within the State of Maine and to any person who applies, or solicits 
the application of, any architectural coating within the State of 
Maine. The rule includes VOC content limits for several categories of 
architectural coatings such as roof coatings, swimming pool coatings, 
and traffic marking coatings. Aerosol coating products, as well as 
architectural coatings sold in a container with a volume of one liter 
or less, are exempt from the regulation.
    In addition, Chapter 151 includes the appropriate testing and 
recordkeeping

[[Page 13768]]

requirements to ensure compliance with the specified performance 
standards. Specifically, the rule requires the use of EPA test methods 
and test procedures adopted by ASTM, South Coast AQMD, and Bay Area 
AQMD. The rule also allows the use of alternative test methods that 
have been approved by the Maine DEP and EPA. Finally, the rule requires 
compliance with the specified VOC content limits by January 1, 2006 
(with one exception).\1\ However, coatings manufactured prior to 
January 1, 2006, may be sold, supplied, offered for sale, or applied 
after January 1, 2006, so long as the coating complied with the 
standards in effect at the time the coating was manufactured.
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    \1\ The rule includes both a January 1, 2006, and a January 1, 
2011, emission limit for varnishes.
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    Other specific requirements of Chapter 151 are explained in the 
proposal and TSD \2\ and will not be restated here.
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    \2\ ``Technical Support Document--Maine--Architectural and 
Industrial Maintenance Coatings Regulation,'' (TSD) EPA memorandum, 
dated November 10, 2005.
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C. Why is EPA approving this regulation?

    The rationale for EPA's approval is stated in the proposal and in 
the TSD and will not be restated here. The Agency has determined this 
rule is approvable as a SIP strengthening measure. The reductions from 
Maine's AIM rule will be evaluated in a separate rulemaking where EPA 
is proposing approval of Maine's five percent increment of progress 
plan which relies on reductions from the AIM rule. See notice of 
proposed rulemaking at 71 FR 569 (January 5, 2006).
    Final Action: EPA is approving Maine's Chapter 151, ``Architectural 
and Industrial Maintenance (AIM) Coatings,'' and incorporating this 
regulation into the Maine SIP.

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 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), because it 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.)
    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. section 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. 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. 
section 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 May 16, 2006.
    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, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile 
organic compounds.

    Dated: February 14, 2006.
Robert W. Varney,
Regional Administrator, EPA New England.

0
Part 52 of 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 U--Maine

0
2. Section 52.1020 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(59) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.1020  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (59) Revisions to the State Implementation Plan submitted by the 
Maine Department of Environmental Protection on December 3, 2004, 
January 5, 2005, October 31, 2005, and November 9, 2005.
    (i) Incorporation by reference.

[[Page 13769]]

    (A) Chapter 151 of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection 
Regulations, ``Architectural and Industrial Maintenance (AIM) 
Coatings,'' effective in the State of Maine on November 1, 2005.
    (ii) Additional materials.
    (A) Nonregulatory portions of the submittal.

0
3. In Sec.  52.1031, Table 52.1031 is amended by adding a new state 
citation, 151, to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1031  EPA-approved Maine regulations.

* * * * *

                               Table 52.1031.--EPA-Approved Rules and Regulations
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                                     Date          Date
   State       Title/subject      adopted  by  approved  by    Federal Register    52.1020
 citation                            state          EPA            citation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
      151   Architectural and       10/06/05       3/17/06   [Insert Federal        (c)(59)  ...................
             Industrial                                       Register page
             Maintenance (AIM)                                number where the
             Coatings.                                        document begins].
 
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    Note 1. The regulations are effective statewide unless stated 
otherwise in comments section.


[FR Doc. 06-2601 Filed 3-16-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P