[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 41 (Friday, March 2, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9441-9445]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3586]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2006-0921; FRL-8282-9]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Virginia; Amendments to VOC and NOX Emission Control Areas and VOC 
Control Regulations

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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

SUMMARY: EPA is approving State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions 
submitted by the Commonwealth of Virginia. These revisions amend 
existing volatile organic compound (VOC) and nitrogen oxide 
(NOX) emissions control areas, and amend certain VOC and 
NOX regulations in order to manage the extension of 
applicability of these provisions to the amended VOC and NOX 
emission control areas. EPA is approving these revisions in accordance 
with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

EFFECTIVE DATE: This final rule is effective on April 2, 2007.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID 
Number EPA-R03-OAR-2006-0921. All documents in the docket are listed in 
the http://www.regulations.gov Web site. Although listed in the 
electronic docket, some information is not publicly available, i.e., 
confidential business information (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 for public inspection 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 
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, 629 East Main Street, 
Richmond, Virginia 23219.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Wentworth, (215) 814-2034, or by 
e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On December 26, 2006 (71 FR 77353), EPA published a notice of 
proposed rulemaking (NPR) for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The NPR 
proposed approval of amendments to 9 VAC 5 Chapter 20, Volatile Organic 
Compound and Nitrogen Oxides Emissions Control Areas, (9 VAC 5-20-206), 
and also proposed approval of amendments to 9 VAC 5 Chapter 40, 
Articles 4, Emission Standards for General Process Operations; Article 
36, Emission Standards for Flexographic, Packaging Rotogravure, and 
Publication Rotogravure Printing Lines; Article 37, Emission Standards 
for Petroleum Liquid Storage and Transfer Operations; and Article 53, 
Emission Standards for Lithographic Printing Processes. The formal SIP 
revisions were submitted by the Commonwealth of Virginia on September 
12, 2006, and October 2, 2006.

[[Page 9442]]

II. Summary of SIP Revisions

    The September 12, 2006 formal SIP revision consists of amendments 
to 9 VAC 5-20-206 of Chapter 20, Volatile Organic Compound and Nitrogen 
Oxides Emission Control Areas. Specifically, this revision creates a 
new VOC and NOX emissions control area (the Fredericksburg 
Area), consisting of Spotsylvania County and Fredericksburg City, and 
expands the existing Richmond VOC and NOX Emissions Control 
Areas to include Prince George County and Petersburg City. In addition 
this revision expands the existing Hampton Roads VOC and NOX 
Emissions Control Areas to include Gloucester and Isle of Wight 
Counties. These amendments are necessary to implement VOC control and 
contingency measures within the 8-hour ozone nonattainment areas and 1-
hour ozone maintenance areas.
    The October 2, 2006 formal SIP revision consists of amendments to 9 
VAC 5 Chapter 40 that implement non-CTG and CTG VOC RACT control 
requirements within those areas that are designated as VOC emissions 
control areas. While most of the Chapter 40 rules apply to sources of 
VOCs in VOC emissions control areas designated in Chapter 20, 9 VAC 5-
206, certain Chapter 40 rules (specifically Articles 4, 36, 37, and 53) 
have provisions mandating that these regulations apply only to certain 
VOC and NOX emission control areas. Article 4, Emission 
Standards for General Process Operations is being amended to ensure 
that VOC RACT is not required from large VOC sources in the new areas 
within the expanded Richmond VOC Emissions Control Areas; Article 36, 
Packaging and Publishing Rotogravure Printing, and Flexographic 
Printing, is being amended to add appropriate exemptions for small 
facilities in those VOC emissions control areas that currently have no 
such exemptions; and Article 37, Storage or Transfer of Petroleum 
Liquids, is also being amended to ensure that Stage II Vapor Recovery 
is not required at gasoline dispensing stations in the new areas within 
the expanded Richmond VOC Emissions Control Area. Lastly, Article 53, 
Lithographic Printing, is being amended to apply in all VOC emissions 
control areas instead of just in the Northern Virginia and Richmond VOC 
Emissions Control Areas, and is also being amended to provide 
appropriate exemptions for small facilities in the newly applicable VOC 
emissions control areas. In this rulemaking, EPA is also recodifying 
the lithographic printing rule (9 VAC 5-40-7800-7940, inclusive) as 
Article 53 and Rule 4-53. Other specific requirements and the rationale 
for EPA's proposed action are explained in the NPR and will not be 
restated here. No public comments were received on the NPR.

III. General Information Pertaining to SIP Submittals From the 
Commonwealth of Virginia

    In 1995, Virginia adopted legislation that provides, subject to 
certain conditions, for an environmental assessment (audit) 
``privilege'' for voluntary compliance evaluations performed by a 
regulated entity. The legislation further addresses the relative burden 
of proof for parties either asserting the privilege or seeking 
disclosure of documents for which the privilege is claimed. Virginia's 
legislation also provides, subject to certain conditions, for a penalty 
waiver for violations of environmental laws when a regulated entity 
discovers such violations pursuant to a voluntary compliance evaluation 
and voluntarily discloses such violations to the Commonwealth and takes 
prompt and appropriate measures to remedy the violations. Virginia's 
Voluntary Environmental Assessment Privilege Law, Va. Code Sec. 10.1-
1198, provides a privilege that protects from disclosure documents and 
information about the content of those documents that are the product 
of a voluntary environmental assessment. The Privilege Law does not 
extend to documents or information (1) that are generated or developed 
before the commencement of a voluntary environmental assessment; (2) 
that are prepared independently of the assessment process; (3) that 
demonstrate a clear, imminent and substantial danger to the public 
health or environment; or (4) that are required by law.
    On January 12, 1998, the Commonwealth of Virginia Office of the 
Attorney General provided a legal opinion that states that the 
Privilege law,Va. Code Sec. 10.1-1198, precludes granting a privilege 
to documents and information ``required by law,'' including documents 
and information ``required by Federal law to maintain program 
delegation, authorization or approval,'' since Virginia must ``enforce 
Federally authorized environmental programs in a manner that is no less 
stringent than their Federal counterparts * * * .'' The opinion 
concludes that ``[r]egarding Sec.  10.1-1198, therefore, documents or 
other information needed for civil or criminal enforcement under one of 
these programs could not be privileged because such documents and 
information are essential to pursuing enforcement in a manner required 
by Federal law to maintain program delegation, authorization or 
approval.''
    Virginia's Immunity law, Va. Code Sec. 10.1-1199, provides that 
``[t]o the extent consistent with requirements imposed by Federal 
law,'' any person making a voluntary disclosure of information to a 
state agency regarding a violation of an environmental statute, 
regulation, permit, or administrative order is granted immunity from 
administrative or civil penalty. The Attorney General's January 12, 
1998 opinion states that the quoted language renders this statute 
inapplicable to enforcement of any Federally authorized programs, since 
``no immunity could be afforded from administrative, civil, or criminal 
penalties because granting such immunity would not be consistent with 
Federal law, which is one of the criteria for immunity.''
    Therefore, EPA has determined that Virginia's Privilege and 
Immunity statutes will not preclude the Commonwealth from enforcing its 
program consistent with the Federal requirements. In any event, because 
EPA has also determined that a state audit privilege and immunity law 
can affect only state enforcement and cannot have any impact on Federal 
enforcement authorities, EPA may at any time invoke its authority under 
the Clean Air Act, including, for example, sections 113, 167, 205, 211 
or 213, to enforce the requirements or prohibitions of the state plan, 
independently of any state enforcement effort. In addition, citizen 
enforcement under section 304 of the Clean Air Act is likewise 
unaffected by this, or any, state audit privilege or immunity law.

IV. Final Action

    EPA is approving Virginia SIP revisions submitted on September 12, 
and October 2, 2006, amending the VOC and NOX emission 
control areas found in Chapter 20, and amending certain provisions 
found in Chapter 40 which implement non-CTG and CTG VOC RACT control 
requirements within certain areas designated as VOC emissions control 
areas.

V. 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

[[Page 9443]]

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 requirement, 
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 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), 
because it approves a state rule implementing a Federal standard.
    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 May 1, 2007. 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, pertaining to amendments to Chapter 20 and 
Chapter 40 of Virginia's regulations, 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, Nitrogen dioxide, 
Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic 
compounds.

    Dated: February 21, 2007.
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 40 CFR part 52 continues to read as 
follows:

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

Subpart VV--Virginia

0
2. In Sec.  52.2420, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by:
0
a. Revising the entries for 5-20-206, 5-40-300, 5-40-5060, and 5-40-
5200.
0
b. For Chapter 40, Part II, removing the entry for Article 45 and 
replacing it with an entry for Article 53.


Sec.  52.2420  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                 EPA-Approved Virginia Regulations and Statutes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            State                            Explanation [former
   State citation  (9 VAC 5)         Title/subject     effective date   EPA approval  date      SIP citation]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         Chapter 20--General Provisions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          Part II--Air Quality Programs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
5-20-206.......................  Volatile organic            10/04/06  3/2/07 [Insert page   Addition of new
                                  compound and                          number where the      Fredericksburg
                                  nitrogen oxides                       document begins].     area and expansion
                                  emissions control                                           of Richmond and
                                  areas.                                                      Hampton Roads
                                                                                              emission control
                                                                                              areas

[[Page 9444]]

 
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     Chapter 40--Existing Stationary Sources
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           Part II--Emission Standards
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     Article 4--Emission Standards for General Process Operations (Rule 4-4)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
5-40-300.......................  Standard for                10/04/06  3/2/07 [Insert page
                                  volatile organic                      number where the
                                  compounds.                            document begins.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Article 36--Flexographic, Packaging Rotogravure, and Publication Rotogravure Printing Lines (Rule 4-36)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5-40-5060......................  Applicability and           04/01/96  3/2/07 [Insert page
                                  designation of             10/04/06   number where the
                                  affected facility.                    document begins.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Article 37--Emission Standards for Petroleum Liquid Storage and Transfer Operations (Rule 4-37)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5-40-5200......................  Applicability and           04/01/96  3/2/07 [Insert page
                                  designation of             10/04/06   number where the
                                  affected facility.                    document begins.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Article 53--Emission Standards for Lithographic Printing Processes (Rule 4-53) [Formerly Article 45]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5-40-7800......................  Applicability and           10/04/06  3/2/07 [Insert page   Revised to include
                                  designation of                        number where the      and exempt certain
                                  affected facility.                    document begins.      emission control
                                                                                              areas.
5-40-7810......................  Definitions of              04/01/96  3/2/07 Insert page
                                  ``alcohol,''               10/04/06   number where the
                                  ``Cleaning                            document begins.
                                  solution,''
                                  ``fountain
                                  solution,''
                                  ``lithographic
                                  printing,''
                                  ``printing
                                  process''.
5-40-7820......................  Standard for                04/01/96  3/2/07 Insert page
                                  Volatile Organic           10/04/06   number where the
                                  Compounds.                            document begins.
5-40-7840......................  Standard for Visible        04/01/96  3/2/07 [Insert page
                                  Emissions.                 10/04/06   number where the
                                                                        document begins.
5-40-7850......................  Standard for                04/01/96  3/2/07 [Insert page
                                  Fugitive Dust              10/04/06   number where the
                                  Emissions.                            document begins.
5-40-7880......................  Compliance..........        10/04/06  3/2/07 [Insert page   Revisions to
                                                                        number where the      compliance dates.
                                                                        document begins.
5-40-7890......................  Test Methods and            04/01/96  3/2/07 [Insert page
                                  Procedures.                10/04/06   number where the
                                                                        document begins.
5-40-7900......................  Monitoring..........        04/01/96  3/2/07 [Insert page
                                                             10/04/06   number where the
                                                                        document begins.
5-40-7910......................  Notification,               04/01/96  3/2/07 [Insert page
                                  Records and                10/04/06   number where the
                                  Reporting.                            document begins.
5-40-7920......................  Registration........        04/01/96  3/2/07 [Insert page
                                                             10/04/06   number where the
                                                                        document begins.
5-40-7930......................  Facility and Control        04/01/96  3/2/07 [Insert page
                                  Equipment                  10/04/06   number where the
                                  Maintenance and                       document begins.
                                  Malfunction.
5-40-7940......................  Permits.............        04/01/96  3/2/07 [Insert page
                                                             10/04/06   number where the
                                                                        document begins.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 9445]]

* * * * *
 [FR Doc. E7-3586 Filed 3-1-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P