[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 179 (Monday, September 15, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53134-53137]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-21312]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2008-0593-200818a; FRL-8714-7]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans Alabama: 
Volatile Organic Compounds and Open Burning

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the 
Alabama State Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted by the Alabama 
Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) on January 8, 2008. The 
revisions include modifications to Alabama's Volatile Organic Compounds 
(VOC) and Control of Open Burning and Incineration regulations, found 
at Alabama Administrative Code (AAC) Chapters 335-3-1, and 335-3-3, 
respectively. This action is being taken pursuant to section 110 of the 
Clean Air Act (CAA).
    This SIP revision also contains a letter addressing the 
requirements of section 110(a)(2)(D)(i), which EPA will consider 
separately.

DATES: This direct final rule is effective November 14, 2008 without 
further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by October 15, 
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 No. ``EPA-R04-
OAR-2008-0593,'' by one of the following methods:
    1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    2. E-mail: [email protected].
    3. Fax: 404-562-9019.
    4. Mail: ``EPA-R04-OAR-2008-0593,'' Regulatory Development Section, 
Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., 
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960.
    5. Hand Delivery or Courier: Ms. Stacy Harder, Regulatory 
Development Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics 
Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 
Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Such deliveries are 
only accepted during the Regional Office's normal hours of operation. 
The Regional Office's official hours of business are Monday through 
Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, excluding federal holidays.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. ``EPA-R04-OAR-
2008-0593,'' 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

[[Page 53135]]

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 information about EPA's public 
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
     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 at the Regulatory Development Section, Air Planning 
Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., 
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. EPA requests that if at all possible, you 
contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's official 
hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, excluding 
federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Stacy Harder, Regulatory 
Development Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics 
Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 
Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The telephone number 
is (404) 562-9042. Ms. Harder can also be reached via electronic mail 
at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Today's Action
II. What Is the Background for This Action?
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Today's Action

    On January 8, 2008, ADEM submitted proposed SIP revisions to EPA 
for review and approval into the Alabama SIP. The revisions include 
changes made by the State of Alabama to AAC Chapters 335-3-1 and 335-3-
3. The rules became state effective on January 22, 2008. EPA is now 
taking direct final action to approve the revisions, which include 
revising the definition of VOC, and updating an open burning 
regulation. These revisions are part of the State's strategy to meet 
the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) by reducing 
emissions of VOCs.
    The revision to Chapter 335-3-1-.02(gggg), submitted by ADEM, added 
one compound to the list of those excluded from the definition of VOC, 
on the basis that this compound makes a negligible contribution to 
ozone formation. This revision modified the definition to say that: 
1,1,1,2,2,3,4,5,5,5-decafluoro-3-methoxy-4-trifluoromethyl-pentane 
(also known as HFE-7300 or L-14787 or 
C2F5CF(OCH3)CF(CF3)2
), will be considered to be negligibly reactive.
    Additionally, ADEM is revising the Open Burning regulation found at 
Chapter 335-3-3.01(2)(e), to delete an outdated provision which applied 
only in 2006. The revisions summarized above are approvable pursuant to 
section 110 of the CAA.

II. What Is the Background for This Action?

Revisions to Chapter 335-3-1

    Tropospheric ozone, commonly known as smog, occurs when VOC and 
nitrogen oxides (NOX) react in the atmosphere. Because of 
the harmful health effects of ozone, EPA limits the amount of VOC and 
NOX that can be released into the atmosphere. VOC are those 
compounds of carbon (excluding carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, 
carbonic acid, metallic carbides or carbonates, and ammonium carbonate) 
which form ozone through atmospheric photochemical reactions. Compounds 
of carbon (or organic compounds) have different levels of reactivity; 
they do not react at the same speed, or do not form ozone to the same 
extent.
    It has been EPA's policy that compounds of carbon with a negligible 
level of reactivity need not be regulated to reduce ozone (see, 42 FR 
35314, July 8, 1977). EPA determines whether a given carbon compound 
has ``negligible'' reactivity by comparing the compound's reactivity to 
the reactivity of ethane. EPA lists these compounds in its regulations 
at 40 CFR 51.100(s), and excludes them from the definition of VOC. The 
chemicals on this list are often called ``negligibly reactive.'' EPA 
may periodically revise the list of negligibly reactive compounds to 
add compounds to or delete them from the list.
    EPA finalized such a rule on January 18, 2007 (72 FR 2193), 
approving the addition of 1,1,1,2,2,3,4,5,5,5-decafluoro-3-methoxy-4-
trifluoromethyl-pentane to the list of those compounds excluded from 
the definition of VOC. ADEM is updating the State regulation to be 
consistent with federal regulations.

Revisions to Chapter 335-3-3

    The ``Open Burning'' regulation in Chapter 3 is being revised to 
delete Rule 335-3-3-.01(2)(e). As currently written, subparagraph 2(e) 
allows open burning in the counties of DeKalb, Etowah, Russell, and 
Talladega during the months of May, June, July, August, September, and 
October, during 2006 only, provided that an air curtain incinerator is 
used during burning. Alabama is updating the SIP to remove this rule, 
as it applied to the 2006 calendar year only.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving revisions to the Alabama SIP submitted on January 
8, 2008. The SIP revision includes changes to the VOC regulations which 
are part of the State's strategy to meet the NAAQS. The action amends 
Rules 335-3-1-.02(gggg) to update the definition of VOC to be 
consistent with EPA regulations, and deletes an outdated open burning 
provision in rule 335-3-3-.01(2)(e). These changes are consistent with 
the CAA.
    The EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because the 
Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no 
adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this 
Federal Register publication, EPA is publishing a separate document 
that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision should 
adverse comments be filed. This rule will be effective November 14, 
2008 without further notice unless the Agency receives adverse comments 
by October 15, 2008.
    If the EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish a document 
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will 
not take effect. All public comments received will then be addressed in 
a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. EPA will not 
institute a second comment period. Parties interested in commenting 
should do so at this time. If no such comments are received, the public 
is advised that this rule will be effective on November 14, 2008 and no 
further action will be taken on the proposed rule. Please note that if 
EPA receive adverse comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of 
this rule and if that provision may be severed from the remainder of 
the rule, EPA may adopt as final those provisions

[[Page 53136]]

of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and applicable 
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in 
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this 
action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and 
does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state 
law. For that reason, this action:
     Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to 
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Is certified as not having a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     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);
     Does not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent 
with the CAA; and
     Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to 
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental 
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under 
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
    In addition, this rule does not have tribal implications as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), 
because the SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in 
the state, and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct 
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
    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 action 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 November 14, 2008. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect 
the finality of this action 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: September 4, 2008.
Russell L. Wright, Jr.,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.

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 B--Alabama

0
2. Section 52.50(c) is amended by revising entries for ``Sections 335-
3-1-.02 and 335-3-3-.01'' to read as follows:


Sec.  52.50  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                        EPA-Approved Alabama Regulations
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                                                        State effective
         State citation              Title/subject            date         EPA approval date      Explanation
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                   Chapter 335-3-1                    General Provisions
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Section 335-3-1-.02.............  Definitions........           01/22/08  09/15/08..........
                                                                          [Insert citation
                                                                           of publication].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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                   Chapter 335-3-3         Control of Open Burning and Incineration
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Section 335-3-3-.01.............  Open Burning.......  .................  09/15/08..........
                                                                          [Insert citation
                                                                           of publication].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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[FR Doc. E8-21312 Filed 9-12-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P