[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 196 (Wednesday, October 11, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59674-59677]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-16812]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2005-AL-0004-200619a; FRL-8229-8]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Alabama: 
Volatile Organic Compounds

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving revisions to the Alabama State Implementation 
Plan (SIP), submitted by the Alabama Department of Environmental 
Management (ADEM) on November 18, 2005. The revisions include 
modifications to Alabama's Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) rules 
found at Alabama Administrative Code (AAC) Chapter 335-3-1. ADEM is 
taking an action that was similarly approved by EPA on November 29, 
2004 (69 FR 69298). The revision adds several compounds to the list of 
compounds excluded from the definition of VOC on the basis that they 
make a negligible contribution to ozone formation. This action is being 
taken pursuant to section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: This direct final rule is effective December 11, 2006 without 
further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by November 13, 
2006. If adverse comment is received, EPA 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 Docket ID No. ``EPA-R04-
OAR-2005-AL-0004,'' by one of the following methods:

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    1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    2. E-mail: [email protected].
    3. Fax: 404-562-9019.
    4. Mail: ``EPA-R04-OAR-2005-AL-0004,'' Regulatory Development 
Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management 
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth 
Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960.
    5. Hand Delivery or Courier: Stacy DiFrank, Regulatory Development 
Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management 
Division 12th floor, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 
Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Such deliveries are 
only accepted during the Regional Office's normal hours of operation. 
The Regional Office's official hours of business are Monday through 
Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, excluding federal holidays.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. ``EPA-R04-OAR-
2005-AL-0004.'' EPA's policy is that all comments received will be 
included in the public docket without change and may be made available 
online at www.regulations.gov, 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 through 
www.regulations.gov or e-mail, information that you consider to be CBI 
or otherwise protected. The www.regulations.gov website is an 
``anonymous access'' systems, 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 www.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. For additional information about EPA's public 
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. 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 www.regulations.gov or 
in hard copy at the Regulatory Development Section, Air Planning 
Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., 
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. EPA requests that if at all possible, you 
contact the person 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 
legal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stacy DiFrank, Regulatory Development 
Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management 
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth 
Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The telephone number is (404) 
562-9042. Ms. DiFrank can also be reached via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Today's Action

    On November 18, 2005, ADEM submitted proposed SIP revisions to EPA 
for review and approval into the Alabama SIP. The revisions include 
changes made by the State of Alabama to AAC Chapter 335-3-1, regarding 
VOCs. The rules became state effective on December 12, 2005. EPA is now 
taking direct final action to approve the proposed revisions, which 
include revising the definition of VOC, which is a part of the State's 
strategy to meet the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) by 
reducing emissions of VOCs. In summary, the revisions submitted by ADEM 
added four compounds to the list of those excluded from the definition 
of VOC, on the basis that these compounds make a negligible 
contribution to ozone formation. The revision modified the definition 
to say that: 1,1,1,2,2,3,3-heptafluoro-3-methoxy-propane (n-
C3F7OCH3) (known as HFE-7000); 3-
ethoxy-1,1,1,2,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,6-dodecafluro-2-(trifluoromethyl) hexane 
(known as HFE-7500), 1,1,1,2,3,3,3-heptafluoropropane (known as HFC-
227ea); and methyl formate (HCOOOCH3) will be considered to 
be negligibly reactive. The revisions summarized above are approvable 
pursuant to section 110 of the CAA.

II. Background

    Tropospheric ozone, commonly known as smog, occurs when VOCs and 
nitrogen oxides (NOX) react in the atmosphere. Because of 
the harmful health effects of ozone, EPA limits the amount of VOCs and 
NOX that can be released into the atmosphere. VOCs are those 
compounds of carbon (excluding carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, 
carbonic acid, metallic carbides, or carbonates, and ammonium 
carbonate) which form ozone through atmospheric photochemical 
reactions. Compounds of carbon (or organic compounds) have different 
levels of reactivity; they do not react at the same speed, or do not 
form ozone to the same extent.
    It has been EPA's policy that compounds of carbon with a negligible 
level of reactivity need not be regulated to reduce ozone (see 42 FR 
35314, July 8, 1977). EPA determines whether a given carbon compound 
has ``negligible'' reactivity by comparing the compound's reactivity to 
the reactivity of ethane. EPA lists these compounds in its regulations 
at 40 CFR 51.100(s), and excludes them from the definition of VOC. The 
chemicals on this list are often called ``negligibly reactive.'' EPA 
may periodically revise the list of negligibly reactive compounds to 
add compounds to or delete them from the list.
    EPA finalized a similar rule on November 29, 2004 (69 FR 69298), 
approving the addition of the four compounds listed in Section I above 
to the list of those excluded from the definition of VOC.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving revisions to the Alabama SIP to include changes 
made to Alabama's VOC regulations which are part of the State's 
strategy to meet the NAAQS. These changes are consistent with the CAA.
    EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because the 
Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no 
adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this 
Federal Register publication, EPA is publishing a separate document 
that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision should 
adverse comments be filed. This rule will be effective December 11, 
2006 without further notice unless the

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Agency receives adverse comments by November 13, 2006.
    If EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish a document 
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will 
not take effect. All public comments received will then be addressed in 
a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. EPA will not 
institute a second comment period. Parties interested in commenting 
should do so at this time. If no such comments are received, the public 
is advised that this rule will be effective on December 11, 2006 and no 
further action will be taken on the proposed rule.

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 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 (Public Law 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 CAA. 
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 CAA. 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 CAA. 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 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 CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by December 11, 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, Carbon monoxide, 
Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate 
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic 
compounds.

    Dated: September 18, 2006.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.

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40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

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1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart B--Alabama

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2. Section 52.50(c) is amended by revising entries for ``Section 335-3-
1.02'' to read as follows:


Sec.  52.50  Identification of plan.

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    (c) * * *

                                                            EPA Approved Alabama Regulations
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         State cita- tion               Title/subject        State effective date           EPA approval date                     Explanation
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                                                           Chapter 335-3-1 General provisions
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                                                                      * * * * * * *
Section 335-3-1-.02...............  Definitions..........               12/12/2005  10/11/06 [Insert citation of       .................................
                                                                                     publication].
 
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 [FR Doc. E6-16812 Filed 10-10-06; 8:45 am]
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