[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 2, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 17893-17896]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-6666]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R07-OAR-2008-0103; FRL-8549-8]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of 
Missouri

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision to 
exempt initial fueling of motor vehicles at automobile assembly plants 
in the St. Louis metropolitan area from the Missouri Performance 
Evaluation Test Procedures (MO/PETP) approval test requirements. MO/
PETP requirements were initially implemented to maintain the integrity 
of local air quality by regulating gasoline fueling emissions. The 
Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) provided an air quality 
analysis and it was determined that removal of these test requirements 
for initial fueling at automobile assembly plants will not adversely 
affect air quality in the St. Louis area. In addition, certain portions 
of the rule were renumbered and reformatted. This revision will ensure 
consistency between the state and the federally-approved rules.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective June 2, 2008, without 
further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by May 2, 2008. If 
adverse comment is received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of 
the direct final rule in the Federal Register informing the public that 
the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R07-
OAR-2008-0103, by one of the following methods:
    1. www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    2. E-mail: [email protected].
    3. Mail: Amy Algoe-Eakin, Environmental Protection Agency, Air 
Planning and Development Branch, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, 
Kansas 66101.
    4. Hand Delivery or Courier. Deliver your comments to Amy Algoe-
Eakin, Environmental Protection Agency, Air Planning and Development 
Branch, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66101.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R07-OAR-
2008-0103. 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 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 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

[[Page 17894]]

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 Environmental Protection 
Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch, 901 North 5th Street, 
Kansas City, Kansas 66101. The Regional Office's official hours of 
business are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. excluding 
Federal holidays. The interested persons wanting to examine these 
documents should make an appointment with the office at least 24 hours 
in advance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Algoe-Eakin at (913) 551-7942, or 
by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This section provides 
additional information by addressing the following questions:

What is a SIP?
What is the Federal approval process for a SIP?
What does Federal approval of a state regulation mean to me?
What is being addressed in this document?
Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?
What action is EPA taking?

What is a SIP?

    Section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires states to develop 
air pollution regulations and control strategies to ensure that state 
air quality meets the national ambient air quality standards 
established by EPA. These ambient standards are established under 
section 109 of the CAA, and they currently address six criteria 
pollutants. These pollutants are: carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, 
ozone, lead, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide.
    Each state must submit these regulations and control strategies to 
us for approval and incorporation into the federally-enforceable SIP.
    Each federally-approved SIP protects air quality primarily by 
addressing air pollution at its point of origin. These SIPs can be 
extensive, containing state regulations or other enforceable documents 
and supporting information such as emission inventories, monitoring 
networks, and modeling demonstrations.

What is the Federal approval process for a SIP?

    In order for state regulations to be incorporated into the 
federally-enforceable SIP, states must formally adopt the regulations 
and control strategies consistent with state and Federal requirements. 
This process generally includes a public notice, public hearing, public 
comment period, and a formal adoption by a state-authorized rulemaking 
body.
    Once a state rule, regulation, or control strategy is adopted, the 
state submits it to us for inclusion into the SIP. We must provide 
public notice and seek additional public comment regarding the proposed 
Federal action on the state submission. If adverse comments are 
received, they must be addressed prior to any final Federal action by 
us.
    All state regulations and supporting information approved by EPA 
under section 110 of the CAA are incorporated into the federally-
approved SIP. Records of such SIP actions are maintained in the Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) at title 40, part 52, entitled ``Approval and 
Promulgation of Implementation Plans.'' The actual state regulations 
which are approved are not reproduced in their entirety in the CFR 
outright but are ``incorporated by reference,'' which means that we 
have approved a given state regulation with a specific effective date.

What does Federal approval of a state regulation mean to me?

    Enforcement of the state regulation before and after it is 
incorporated into the federally-approved SIP is primarily a state 
responsibility. However, after the regulation is Federally approved, we 
are authorized to take enforcement action against violators. Citizens 
are also offered legal recourse to address violations as described in 
section 304 of the CAA.

What is being addressed in this document?

    On October 1, 2007, EPA received a request from the MDNR to approve 
a revision to the SIP to exempt initial fueling of motor vehicles at 
automobile assembly plants in the St. Louis metropolitan area from the 
Missouri Performance Evaluation Test Procedures (MO/PETP) approval test 
requirements. The MO/PETP requirements were initially implemented to 
maintain the integrity of local air quality by regulating gasoline 
fueling emissions (volatile organic compounds--VOCs) in St. Louis.
    The MO/PETP is a bank of individual test procedures that apply to 
manufacturers of vapor recovery components. The MDNR uses these test 
procedures to evaluate the overall efficiency of various types of 
gasoline vapor recovery systems (including Stage I and Stage II 
systems). Stage I vapor recovery is the capture and control of gasoline 
vapors that would normally be released into the atmosphere during the 
storage of gasoline at a terminal or bulk plant, or during the loading 
of a gasoline delivery vessel and the subsequent delivery and unloading 
of a gasoline delivery into another storage tank, usually at a gasoline 
dispensing facility (GDF). Stage II is the capture and control of 
gasoline vapors that would normally be released in the atmosphere 
during the refueling of motor vehicles at the GDF. Stage II involves 
the installation of a black boot on the gasoline nozzle at gas stations 
in the St. Louis area which captures the vapors from the automobile 
tank and returns these vapors to the underground storage tank at the 
GDF.
    In implementing the tests, the automobile industry determined that 
the testing requirements were costly and burdensome with little or no 
emissions benefits. Representatives of the automobile manufacturing 
industry in the St. Louis area met with MDNR representatives with 
regard to the MO/PETP test requirements and provided MDNR with 
information that indicated that emissions were already controlled 
pursuant to the CAA and pertinent Missouri rules. In addition, the air 
quality benefit of MO/PETP testing for initial fueling at the 
automobile assembly plants was nominal. These issues, coupled with the 
extensive costs, initiated the change to 10 CSR 10-5.220.
    The St. Louis metropolitan area is currently designated 
nonattainment for the 8-hour ozone standard. The EPA Region 7 requested 
that MDNR demonstrate that revisions to this rule would not negatively 
impact air quality. The CAA Section 110(l), provides in part, that SIP 
revisions cannot interfere with attainment of a National Ambient Air 
Quality Standard or with reasonable further progress towards 
attainment. CAA Section 193 contains anti-backsliding provisions as 
well, but it does not apply here because the testing requirements at 
issue do not predate the 1990 amendments to the CAA. To address these 
concerns, MDNR submitted an air emission impact worksheet that 
concluded the emissions not captured at the automobile assembly plants' 
initial fueling operations were negligible compared to the total VOCs 
in the St. Louis nonattainment areas. Based on this analysis, EPA 
concluded that this change would not relax SIP requirements so as to 
adversely impact air emissions.
    It should be noted that the only portion of the MO/PETP rule 
affected by the revision is the portion that applies at automobile 
manufacturing plants. The remaining requirements for Stage I

[[Page 17895]]

and Stage II vapor recovery remain in place. MDNR rules include the 
requirement to obtain construction permits before replacement or 
addition of equipment that may affect vapor tightness of the vapor 
recovery system. Operating permits for these facilities are required in 
accordance with 10 CSR 10-6.065 and Title V of the CAA. In addition, 
certain portions of the rule were renumbered and reformatted. The 
renumbering and reformatting of the rule makes this rule consistent 
with the general format of Missouri air rules and does not change any 
requirements.

Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?

    The submittal satisfied the completeness criteria of 40 CFR part 
51, appendix V. In addition, the state submittal has met the public 
notice requirements for SIP submission in accordance with 40 CFR 51.102 
and met the substantive SIP requirements of the CAA including section 
110.

What action is EPA taking?

    We are approving the request to amend the Missouri SIP (10 CSR 10-
5.220) to exempt the MO/PETP approval test requirements for initial 
fueling of motor vehicles at automobile assembly plants in St. Louis. 
This rule was also renumbered and reformatted. The appropriate air 
quality analysis was included with the SIP submittal and it has been 
determined that these changes will not relax the SIP or adversely 
impact air emissions.
    We are processing this action as a direct final action because the 
revisions make routine changes to the existing rules which are 
noncontroversial and make regulatory revisions, required by state 
statute. Therefore, we do not anticipate any adverse comments. Please 
note that if EPA receives adverse comment on a part of this rule and if 
that part can be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt 
as final those parts of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse 
comment.

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 (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 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 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 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 state submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be 
inconsistent with applicable law for EPA when it reviews a state 
submission, to use VCS in place of a state 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 June 2, 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 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, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: March 20, 2008.
William Rice,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7.

0
Chapter I, Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 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 AA--Missouri

0
2. In Sec.  52.1320(c) the table is amended under Chapter 5 by revising 
the entry for ``10-5.220'' to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1320  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

[[Page 17896]]



                                                            EPA-Approved Missouri Regulations
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                                                                           State
          Missouri citation                        Title              effective date        EPA approval date                    Explanation
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                                                        Missouri Department of Natural Resources
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                       Chapter 5--Air Quality Standards and Air Pollution Control Regulations for the St. Louis Metropolitan Area
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                                                                      * * * * * * *
10-5.220............................  Control of Petroleum Liquid            9/30/07  4/02/08 [insert FR page
                                       Storage, Loading and Transfer.                  number where the document
                                                                                       begins].
 
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[FR Doc. E8-6666 Filed 4-1-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P