[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 127 (Tuesday, July 3, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 36402-36403]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-3227]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2007-0451; FRL-8333-5]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Delaware; Control of VOC Emissions from Crude Oil Lightering Operations

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
revision submitted by the State of Delaware. This SIP revision pertains 
to the control of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from crude 
oil lightering operations. This action is being taken under the Clean 
Air Act (CAA).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before August 2, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2007-0451 by one of the following methods:
    A. http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    B. E-mail: [email protected].
    C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2007-0451, Christopher Cripps, Acting Chief, 
Air Quality Planning Branch, Mailcode 3AP21, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania 19103.
    D. 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 Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-
2007-0451. 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 information that you consider to 
be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or e-mail. 
The www.regulations.gov Web site is 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 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.
    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 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 Delaware Department of Natural Resources & 
Environmental Control, 89 Kings Highway, P.O. Box 1401, Dover, Delaware 
19901.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rose Quinto, (215) 814-2182, or by e-
mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On May 2, 2007, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and 
Environmental Control (DNREC) submitted a revision to its SIP for 
Regulation No. 1124, Section 46--Control of VOC Emissions from Crude 
Oil Lightering Operations. Lightering is the transfer at anchorage for 
some of the

[[Page 36403]]

contents of a larger oil tanker to a smaller service vessel in order to 
allow the larger ship to navigate in shallower waters along the 
Delaware Bay. The VOC emissions released during crude oil lightering 
are a major source of VOC released in Delaware.

II. Summary of SIP Revision

    Delaware's Regulation No. 1124, Section 46, applies to the owner or 
operator of a lightering service that carries out crude oil lightering 
operations in the waters of Delaware which includes the Counties of New 
Castle, Kent and Sussex. This regulation includes standards when 
carrying out a lightering operation by vapor balancing. Vapor balancing 
is the collection and transfer of vapors displaced by the incoming 
crude oil from the cargo tank of a service vessel into a cargo tank of 
the ship to be lightered. A compliance schedule is also included in the 
regulation that includes compliance standards; maximum allowable 
uncontrolled lightering volume; calculation of the total of 
uncontrolled lightering for any given lightering operation; VOC 
emission reductions achieved by the lightering services to below the 
maximum allowable uncontrolled lightering volume; annual audits of 
lightering service records to identify the frequency and duration of 
VOC ventings from the ships to be lightered; and ozone action day 
limitations. In addition, a compliance plan will be developed and 
implemented that describes how initial and ongoing compliance will be 
demonstrated. Another requirement of the regulation is that owner or 
operator of an existing lightering service is to keep records specified 
in the regulation for at least five years in a readily accessible 
location, which is the service vessel. The regulation also includes 
reporting requirements.
    Implementation of the provisions of this regulation will result in 
the reduction of VOCs released during crude oil lightering operations. 
The regulation requires the increased use of vapor balancing equipment 
over a reasonable time period that the industry has indicated to allow 
the changes to be made to the vessels or acquire newer vessels. The 
first regulatory deadline will be an 80 percent limit to uncontrolled 
lightering out of all crude oil lightering volumes by May 1, 2008. This 
level will reduce to 61 percent by May 1, 2010, and again be reduced to 
43 percent by May 1, 2012.

III. Proposed Action

    EPA is proposing to approve the Delaware SIP revision for 
Regulation No. 1124, Section 46-Control of VOC Emissions from Crude Oil 
Lightering Operations submitted on May 2, 2007. This regulation will 
reduce VOC emissions released during crude oil lightering operations in 
the State of Delaware. These reductions will aide in attaining and 
maintaining the Federal health-based air quality standard for the 8-
hour ozone. 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 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 
requirement, 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 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. 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 Delaware's control of VOC emissions 
from crude oil lightering operations, 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: June 22, 2007.
Donald S. Welsh,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 07-3227 Filed 7-2-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-M