[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 249 (Monday, December 31, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 74250-74252]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-25405]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R05-OAR-2006-0003; FRL-8512-5]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Illinois

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing disapproval of a revision to the Illinois 
Ozone State Implementation Plan (SIP). On August 17, 2005, Illinois 
requested that five compounds be added to its list of compounds exempt 
from being considered a volatile organic compound (VOC). EPA no longer 
considers four of the compounds to be VOCs because the compounds were 
shown to be negligibly photochemically reactive. Thus, the compounds do 
not lead to ozone formation. For the fifth compound, t-butyl acetate, 
EPA determined that it is not considered a VOC for emission limits and 
VOC content requirements, but it is considered a VOC for recordkeeping, 
emission reporting, and inventory requirements. Illinois has indicated 
it is correcting the restrictions on t-butyl acetate. Consequently, EPA 
is alternatively proposing approval of the SIP revisions if t-butyl 
acetate is removed from the list of compounds exempt from being 
considered VOC or if the special requirements for t-butyl acetate are 
clearly indicated. Illinois must submit the supporting documentation 
during the comment period for this rule.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 30, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2006-0003, by one of the following methods:
    1. http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    2. E-mail: [email protected].
    3. Fax: (312)886-5824.
    4. Mail: John M. Mooney, Chief, Criteria Pollutant Section, Air 
Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West 
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
    5. Hand Delivery: John M. Mooney, Chief, Criteria Pollutant 
Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. Such 
deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information. The Regional Office official hours of business are 
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. excluding Federal 
holidays.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-
2006-0003. 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. For additional 
instructions on submitting comments, go to Section I of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Environmental Protection 
Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson 
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. This Facility is open from 8:30 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. We 
recommend that you telephone Matt Rau, Environmental Engineer, (312) 
886-6524 before visiting the Region 5 office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matt Rau, Environmental Engineer, 
Criteria Pollutant Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, 
Illinois 60604, (312) 886-6524, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information 
section is arranged as follows:

I. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?
II. What Revisions Did the State Request?
III. What Is EPA's Analysis of the Revisions?
IV. What Action Is EPA Taking Today?
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

    When submitting comments, remember to:
    1. Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other identifying 
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
    2. Follow directions--The EPA may ask you to respond to specific 
questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
    3. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and 
substitute language for your requested changes.
    4. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information 
and/or data that you used.
    5. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you 
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
    6. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.

[[Page 74251]]

    7. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of 
profanity or personal threats.
    8. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period deadline 
identified.

II. What Revisions Did the State Request?

    Illinois requested revisions to its ozone SIP which would add five 
compounds from the list of compounds considered to not be VOC. The 
State requested the compounds 1,1,1,2,2,3,3-heptafluoro-3-
methoxypropane (n-C3F7OCH3), 3-ethoxy 
1,1,1,2,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,6-dodecafluoro-2-(trifluoromethyl)hexane (HFE-
7500), 1,1,1,2,3,3,3-heptafluoropropane (HFC-227ea), methyl formate, 
and t-butyl acetate be added to its list of compounds exempt from VOC 
requirements. Illinois also requested the addition of special 
requirements for t-butyl acetate. The compound, t-butyl acetate, will 
be considered VOC for recordkeeping, emissions reporting, modeling, and 
inventory requirements, but is not considered VOC for emission limits 
or content requirements. The special restrictions on t-butyl acetate 
are listed in a separate section from the listing of compounds exempt 
from being considered VOCs.

III. What Is EPA's Analysis of the Revisions?

    EPA added four compounds, n-
C3F7OCH3, HFE-7500, HFC-227ea, and 
methyl formate, to its list of compounds exempt from VOC requirements 
on November 29, 2004 (69 FR 69290). EPA also provided special 
requirements for t-butyl acetate users in a separate November 29, 2004, 
action (69 FR 69298). Users of t-butyl acetate still must follow the 
recordkeeping, emissions reporting, modeling, and inventory 
requirements. However, t-butyl acetate is not considered a VOC for 
content requirements and emission limits.
    Illinois added the four compounds from the EPA plus t-butyl acetate 
to Title 35 of the Illinois Administration Code Section 211.7150(a), 
its list of compounds exempt from VOC requirements. It also added 
Section 211.7150(e), which provides the same unique requirements for t-
butyl acetate users as the EPA action did. It is not appropriate for t-
butyl acetate to be listed in 211.7150(a) because this compound is not 
exempt from all VOC requirements as are the other compounds listed 
there. It should be listed in 211.7150(e) only, so the unique 
requirements for t-butyl acetate are clear. This would follow the 
approach EPA took in making these revisions to the Federal definition 
of VOC through separate actions.
    EPA would find the requested revisions approvable if Illinois 
removes t-butyl acetate from the list of compounds exempt from VOC 
requirements in 211.7150(a). This would leave it listed only under 
211.7150(e) which makes it clear what requirements apply to t-butyl 
acetate users. EPA would also find it acceptable for Illinois to add a 
note to section 211.7150(a) that certain compounds listed in section 
211.7150(a) are subject to the requirements of 211.7150(e). This would 
direct t-butyl acetate users to section 211.7150(e) where the special 
requirements for this compound are stated.

IV. What Action Is EPA Taking Today?

    EPA is proposing disapproval of the requested ozone revisions to 
the Illinois SIP. In the alternative, EPA is proposing approval of 
ozone revisions to the Illinois SIP if a correction is made to Title 35 
of the Illinois Administration Code Section 211.7150(a) to remove t-
butyl acetate from the list of compounds exempt from VOC regulations or 
if it is clearly stated that t-butyl acetate is subject to the 
requirements of section 211.7150(e). Illinois must submit the 
supporting documentation of the correction during the comment period 
for this rule for the alternative, proposed approval to be considered. 
Illinois has proposed adding language to section 211.7150(a) that 
states some compounds listed in that section must also follow the 
restrictions in section 211.7150(e). EPA finds this language 
acceptable. If Illinois submits the final state rule with language of 
the proposed state rule, this action should be considered a proposed 
approval.

VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, September 30, 1993), this 
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and, therefore, is 
not subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This proposed 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.).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This proposed 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.).

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    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).

Executive Order 13132: Federalism

    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 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.

Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal 
Governments

    This proposed 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).

Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental Health 
and Safety Risks

    This proposed 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 proposes approval of 
a state rule implementing a Federal Standard.

Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 
Distribution, or Use

    Because it is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under 
Executive

[[Page 74252]]

Order 12866 or a ``significant regulatory action,'' 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).

National Technology Transfer Advancement Act

    Section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
Act of 1995 (NTTAA), 15 U.S.C. 272, requires Federal agencies to use 
technical standards that are developed or adopted by voluntary 
consensus to carry out policy objectives, so long as such standards are 
not inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise impractical. In 
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve State choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. Absent a 
prior existing requirement for the state to use voluntary consensus 
standards, EPA has no authority to disapprove a SIP submission for 
failure to use such standards, and it would thus be inconsistent with 
applicable law for EPA to use voluntary consensus standards in place of 
a program submission that otherwise satisfies the provisions of the 
Clean Air Act. Therefore, the requirements of section 12(d) of the 
NTTAA do not apply.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: December 18, 2007.
Bharat Mathur,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. E7-25405 Filed 12-28-07; 8:45 am]
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