[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 132 (Monday, July 13, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 33397-33399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-16496]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2009-0371, FRL-8929-7]


Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Northern 
Sierra Air Quality Management District and San Joaquin Valley Unified 
Air Pollution Control District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Northern Sierra 
Air Quality Management District (NSAQMD) and San Joaquin Valley Unified 
Air Pollution Control District (SJVUAPCD) portions of the California 
State Implementation Plan (SIP). Under authority of the Clean Air Act 
as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act), we are proposing to approve local 
rules that address volatile organic compound emissions from asphalt 
paving, gasoline bulk storage tanks, and gasoline dispensing stations.

DATES: Any comments must arrive by August 12, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by docket number EPA-R09-OAR-
2009-0371, by one of the following methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the on-line instructions.
    2. E-mail: [email protected].
    3. Mail or deliver: Andrew Steckel (Air-4), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 
94105-3901.
    Instructions: All comments will be included in the public docket 
without change and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless the comment includes Confidential Business Information (CBI) or 
other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 
Information that you consider CBI or otherwise protected should be 
clearly identified as such and should not be submitted through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. http://www.regulations.gov is an 
``anonymous access'' system, and EPA will not know your identity or 
contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. 
If you send e-mail directly to EPA, your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the public comment. 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.
    Docket: The index to the docket for this action is available 
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at EPA 
Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California. While all 
documents in the docket are listed in the index, some information may 
be publicly available only at the hard copy location (e.g., copyrighted 
material), and some may not be publicly available in either location 
(e.g., CBI). To inspect the hard copy materials, please schedule an 
appointment during normal business hours with the contact listed in the 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mae Wang, EPA Region IX, (415) 947-
4124, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and 
``our'' refer to EPA.

Table of Contents

I. The State's Submittal
    A. What Rules Did the State Submit?
    B. Are There Other Versions of These Rules?
    C. What Is the Purpose of the Submitted Rules and Rule 
Amendments?
II. EPA's Evaluation and Action
    A. How Is EPA Evaluating the Rules?
    B. Do the Rules Meet the Evaluation Criteria?
    C. Public Comment and Final Action
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. The State's Submittal

A. What Rules Did the State Submit?

    Table 1 lists the rules we are proposing to approve with the dates 
that they were adopted, amended, or revised by the local air agencies 
and submitted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

[[Page 33398]]



                                            Table 1--Submitted Rules
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Adopted or
             District                  Rule No.              Rule title               amended        Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NSAQMD............................             227  Cutback and Emulsified              11/27/06        03/07/08
                                                     Asphalt Paving Materials.
SJVUAPCD..........................            4621  Gasoline Transfer into              12/20/07        03/07/08
                                                     Stationary Storage
                                                     Containers, Delivery
                                                     Vessels, and Bulk Plants.
SJVUAPCD..........................            4622  Gasoline Transfer into Motor        12/20/07        03/07/08
                                                     Vehicle Fuel Tanks.
SJVUAPCD..........................            4651  Soil Decontamination                09/20/07        03/07/08
                                                     Operations.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On April 17, 2008, CARB's submittal of March 7, 2008, was found to 
meet the completeness criteria in 40 CFR part 51, appendix V, which 
must be met before formal EPA review.

B. Are There Other Versions of These Rules?

    There is no previous version of NSAQMD Rule 227 in the SIP. We 
approved previous versions of SJVUAPCD Rules 4621 and 4622 into the SIP 
on April 19, 2000 (65 FR 20912) and March 24, 2003 (68 FR 14156), 
respectively. We approved a previous version of SJVUAPCD Rule 4651 into 
the SIP on July 24, 1996 (61 FR 38571).

C. What Is the Purpose of the Submitted Rules and Rule Amendments?

    Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) help produce ground-level ozone 
and smog, which harm human health and the environment. Section 110(a) 
of the CAA requires States to submit regulations that control VOC 
emissions. NSAQMD Rule 227 provides standards to control VOC emissions 
during the use or manufacture of cutback asphalt and emulsified asphalt 
paving materials. SJVUAPCD Rule 4621 limits VOC emissions from gasoline 
storage containers and delivery vessels, and gasoline transfer 
operations at bulk plants. SJVUAPCD Rule 4622 limits VOC emissions from 
the transfer of gasoline into motor vehicle fuel tanks. SJVUAPCD Rule 
4651 regulates VOC emissions from excavation, transportation, handling, 
decontamination, and disposal of soil that has been contaminated with a 
VOC-containing liquid. EPA's technical support documents (TSDs) have 
more information about these rules.

II. EPA's Evaluation and Action

A. How Is EPA Evaluating the Rules?

    Generally, SIP rules must be enforceable (see section 110(a) of the 
CAA) and must not relax existing requirements (see sections 110(l) and 
193 of the CAA).
    CAA subpart 1 VOC rules must require Reasonably Available Control 
Measures (RACM), including Reasonably Available Control Technology 
(RACT), for each major VOC source in ozone nonattainment areas (see 
section 172(c)(1) of the CAA). The NSAQMD regulates a subpart 1 8-hr 
ozone nonattainment area in Western Nevada County (see 40 CFR part 81) 
and must fulfill the requirements of RACM/RACT in that area.
    CAA subpart 2 VOC rules must require RACT for each significant 
source category covered by a Control Technique Guideline (CTG) document 
and for each major source in ozone nonattainment areas (see sections 
182(a)(2) and (b)(2) of the CAA). The SJVUAPCD regulates a subpart 2 8-
hr ozone nonattainment area which was classified under the 1-hr 
standard as an extreme nonattainment area (see 40 CFR part 81). 
Additionally, gasoline storage, transfer, and dispensing rules must 
fulfill the special requirements for gasoline vapor recovery in ozone 
nonattainment areas (see section 182(b)(3)(A) of the CAA) and special 
requirements for vehicle fleets (see section 202(a)(6) of the CAA).
    Guidance and policy documents that we use to help evaluate specific 
enforceability and RACT requirements consistently include the 
following:
    1. Portions of the proposed post-1987 ozone and carbon monoxide 
policy that concern RACT, 52 FR 45044 (November 24, 1987).
    2. Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and 
Deviations, EPA (May 25, 1988) [The Bluebook].
    3. Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule 
Deficiencies, EPA Region 9 (August 21, 2001) [The Little Bluebook].
    4. Control of VOC from the Use of Cutback Asphalt, EPA-450/2-77-037 
(December 1977).
    5. SJVUAPCD 2004 Extreme Ozone Attainment Demonstration Plan.
    6. SJVUAPCD 2007 Ozone Plan, http://www.arb.ca.gov/planning/sip/2007sip/sjv8hr/sjvozone.htm.
    7. SJVUAPCD Final Staff Report, Proposed Amendments to Rule 4651 
(September 20, 2007).

B. Do the Rules Meet the Evaluation Criteria?

    We believe that NSAQMD Rule 227 and SJVUAPCD Rules 4621, 4622, and 
4651 are consistent with the relevant policy and guidance regarding 
enforceability, RACT, and SIP relaxations. The TSDs have more 
information on our evaluation.

C. Public Comment and Final Action

    Because EPA believes the submitted rules fulfill all relevant 
requirements, we are proposing to fully approve them as described in 
section 110(k)(3) of the Act. We will accept comments from the public 
on this proposal for the next 30 days. Unless we receive convincing new 
information during the comment period, we intend to publish a final 
approval action that will incorporate these rules into the Federally 
enforceable SIP.

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the Clean Air Act, 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 Clean Air Act. 
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

[[Page 33399]]

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 Clean Air Act; 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.

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: June 22, 2009.
Jane Diamond,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
 [FR Doc. E9-16496 Filed 7-10-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P