[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 40 (Thursday, February 28, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10673-10675]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-3392]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2007-1157; FRL-8532-4]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
State of Maryland; Revised Definition of Volatile Organic Compound 
(VOC)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action on a revision to the 
Maryland State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Maryland 
Department of Environment (MDE). The revision allows Maryland to 
incorporate prospectively EPA's definition of ``Volatile organic 
compounds (VOC)'' as amended. EPA is approving these revisions to the 
Maryland SIP in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act.

DATES: This rule is effective on April 28, 2008 without further notice, 
unless EPA receives adverse written comment by March 31, 2008. If EPA 
receives such comments, it 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 Number R03-
OAR-2007-1157 by one of the following methods:
    A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    B. E-mail: [email protected]
    C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2007-1157, Harold A. Frankford, Office of Air 
Programs, Mailcode 3AP20, 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-
2007-1157. 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 Maryland Department of the Environment, 1800 
Washington Boulevard, Suite 705, Baltimore, Maryland 21230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harold A. Frankford at (215) 814-2108, 
or by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Summary of SIP Revisions

    On October 24, 2007, the State of Maryland submitted a formal 
revision (07-11) to its SIP. The SIP revision consists of a 
revised reference to the Federal definition of ``Volatile organic 
compounds (VOC)'' at 40 CFR 51.100(s) which is found at COMAR 
26.11.01.01B(53), Maryland's definition for ``Volatile organic compound 
(VOC)''. These regulatory revisions became effective on October 8, 
2007.

II. Description of the SIP Revision

    Maryland has revised COMAR 26.11.01.01B(53) to incorporate by 
reference the EPA definition of VOC found at 40 CFR 51.100(s), as 
amended. Maryland's current SIP definition of VOC specifically 
references the 2004 edition of 40 CFR 51.100(s). This wording change 
allows Maryland to incorporate by reference the current and all future 
revisions of 40 CFR 51.100(s) into COMAR 26.11.01.01B(53) without 
requiring a regulatory change to the Maryland rule. Maryland states 
that it can incorporate this Federal rule prospectively as a result of 
a change to section 7-207(a)(3)(iii)2, State Government Article, 
Annotated Code of Maryland, which the State enacted in 2005.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving the amendment to COMAR 26.11.01.01B(53) as a 
revision to the Maryland SIP. EPA is publishing this rule without prior 
proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment 
and anticipates no adverse comment since the revisions are 
administrative changes to the state regulations. However, in the 
``Proposed Rules'' section of today's Federal Register, EPA is 
publishing a separate document that will serve as the proposal to 
approve the SIP revision if adverse comments are filed. This rule will 
be effective on April 28, 2008 without further notice unless EPA 
receives adverse comment by March 31, 2008. If EPA receives adverse 
comment, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register 
informing the public that the rule will not take effect. EPA will 
address all public comments in a subsequent final rule based on the 
proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period on this 
action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so at this time.

IV. 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 Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May

[[Page 10674]]

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 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.).

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 April 28, 2008. 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 to approve Maryland's revised definition of 
``Volatile organic compound (VOC)'' 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, Volatile organic compounds

    Dated: February 12, 2008.
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 part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart V--Maryland

0
2. In Sec.  52.1070, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by revising 
the entry for COMAR 26.11.01.01B(53) to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1070  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                  EPA-Approved Regulations in the Maryland SIP
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                                                                                                 Additional
 Code of Maryland administrative                            State                               explanation/
  regulations (COMAR) citation        Title/subject       effective     EPA approval date    citation at 40 CFR
                                                             date                                  52.1100
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                                  26.11.01.01 General Administrative Provisions
 
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                                                  * * * * * * *
26.11.01.01B(53)................  Definitions-           ...........  02/28/08 [Insert      Definition reflects
                                   definition of                       page number where     the current version
                                   Volatile organic                    the document          of 40 CFR
                                   compound (VOC).                     begins].              51.100(s), as
                                                                                             amended.
 
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 [FR Doc. E8-3392 Filed 2-27-08; 8:45 am]
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