[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 186 (Monday, September 27, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59086-59090]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-24000]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2010-0484; FRL-9205-9]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Maryland; Adoption of Control Techniques Guidelines for Flexible 
Packaging Printing

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Maryland Department 
of the Environment (MDE). This SIP revision includes amendments to 
Maryland's regulation for Volatile Organic Compounds from Specific 
Processes, and meets the requirement to adopt Reasonably Available 
Control Technology (RACT) for sources covered by EPA's Control 
Techniques Guidelines (CTG) standards for flexible packaging printing. 
These amendments will reduce emissions of volatile organic compound 
(VOC) emissions from flexible packaging printing. Therefore, this 
revision will help Maryland attain and maintain the national ambient 
air

[[Page 59087]]

quality standard (NAAQS) for ozone. This action is being taken under 
the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: This rule is effective on November 26, 2010 without further 
notice, unless EPA receives adverse written comment by October 27, 
2010. 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 EPA-
R03-OAR-2010-0484, by one of the following methods:
    A. http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    B. E-mail: [email protected]
    C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2010-0484, Maria A. Pino, Acting Associate 
Director, Office of Air Program Planning, Mailcode 3AP30, 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-
2010-0484. EPA's policy is that all comments received 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 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 http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://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 http://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 
http://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 http://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: Irene Shandruk, (215) 814-2166, or by 
e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 23, 2010, MDE submitted to EPA a 
SIP revision concerning the adoption of the EPA CTG for flexible 
packaging printing.

I. Background

    Section 172(c)(1) of the CAA provides that SIPs for nonattainment 
areas must include reasonably available control measures (RACM), 
including RACT for sources of emissions. Section 182(b)(2)(A) provides 
that for certain nonattainment areas, States must revise their SIPs to 
include RACT for sources of VOC emissions covered by a CTG document 
issued after November 15, 1990 and prior to the area's date of 
attainment.
    The CTG for flexible package printing is intended to provide state 
and local air pollution control authorities information that should 
assist them in determining RACT for VOC from flexible package printing 
facilities. In developing this CTG, EPA, among other things, evaluated 
the sources of VOC emissions from this industry and the available 
control approaches for addressing these emissions, including the costs 
of such approaches. Based on available information and data, EPA 
provides recommendations for RACT for VOC from flexible package 
printing facilities.
    In December 1978, EPA published a CTG for graphic arts (rotogravure 
printing and flexographic printing) that included flexible package 
printing. The 1978 CTG discusses the flexible package printing 
industry, the nature of VOC emissions from that industry, available 
control technologies for addressing such emissions, the costs of 
available control options, and other items. EPA also published a 
national emission standard for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for 
the printing and publishing industry (40 CFR Part 60, Subpart KK) in 
May 1996, which is applicable to flexible package printing.
    Under section 183(e) of the CAA, EPA conducted a study of VOC 
emissions from the use of consumer and commercial products to assess 
their potential to contribute to levels of ozone that violate the NAAQS 
for ozone, and to establish criteria for regulating VOC emissions from 
these products. Section 183(e) of the CAA directs EPA to list for 
regulation those categories of products that account for at least 80 
percent of the VOC emissions, on a reactivity-adjusted basis, from 
consumer and commercial products in areas that violate the NAAQS for 
ozone (i.e., ozone nonattainment areas), and to divide the list of 
categories to be regulated into four groups.
    EPA published the original list of product categories and the 
original schedule that established the four groups of categories in the 
Federal Register on March 23, 1995 (60 FR 15264). Flexible package 
printing materials was included in that list. EPA noted in that notice 
that EPA may amend the list of products for regulation, and the groups 
of products for regulation, and the groups of product categories, in 
order to achieve an effective regulatory program in accordance with the 
Agency's discretion under CAA section 183(e). EPA published a revised 
schedule and grouping on March 18, 1999 (64 FR 13422). EPA again 
revised the list to regroup the product categories on November 17, 2005 
(70 FR 69759). On May 16, 2006 (71 FR 28320), EPA modified the section 
183(e) list and schedule for regulation by adding one category and 
removing one category of consumer and commercial products. Flexible 
package printing materials remained on the list and are still included 
on the current section 183(e) list under Group II.
    In September 2006, after conducting a review of currently existing 
state and local VOC emission reduction approaches for flexible package 
printing, reviewing the 1978 CTG and the 1996 NESHAP for the printing 
and publishing industry (40 CFR part 60, subpart KK), which is 
applicable to

[[Page 59088]]

flexible package printing, and taking into account the information that 
has become available since then, EPA developed a new CTG for flexible 
package printing entitled ``Control Techniques Guidelines for Flexible 
Package Printing'' (Publication No. EPA 453/R-06-003).
    Flexible packaging refers to any package or part of a package the 
shape of which can be readily changed. There are two types of printing 
processes used by flexible package printing facilities: (1) Rotogravure 
printing; and (2) flexographic printing. There are two main sources of 
VOC emissions from flexible package printing for both rotogravure and 
flexographic: (1) Evaporation of VOC from inks, coatings, and 
adhesives, and (2) evaporation of VOC from cleaning materials. There 
are two approaches to reducing VOC emissions from inks, coatings, and 
adhesives used in the flexible package printing industry: (1) Adding/
improving add-on controls, and (2) material reformulation or 
substitution.

II. Summary of SIP Revision

    On April 23, 2010, MDE submitted to EPA a SIP revision 
(10-04) concerning the adoption of the EPA CTG for flexible 
packaging printing. EPA develops CTGs as guidance on control 
requirements for source categories. States can follow the CTGs or adopt 
more restrictive standards. MDE has adopted EPA's CTG standards for 
flexible packaging printing and work practices (see EPA 453/R-06-003, 
September 2006). This SIP revision includes amendments to COMAR 
26.11.19.10 and a new regulation .10-1 under COMAR 26.11.19, Volatile 
Organic Compounds from Specific Processes. This action affects sources 
that use flexographic and rotogravure presses to print flexible 
packaging materials.
    New regulation COMAR 26.11.19.10-1 contains the following 
requirements and standards for flexible packaging printing lines: 
Emissions are either reduced by using water-based inks that contain 
less than 25 percent VOC by volume of the volatile portion of the ink, 
or high solids inks that contain not less than 60 percent nonvolatiles. 
If compliance cannot be achieved through use of the water-based inks or 
high solids inks described above, the source shall reduce the VOC 
content of each ink, or reduce the average VOC content of inks used at 
each press as follows:
    (a) 60 percent reduction for flexographic presses;
    (b) 65 percent reduction for packaging rotogravure presses; and
    (c) 75 percent reduction for publication rotogravure presses.
    Additional emission standards and requirements for a flexible 
packaging printing line with potential to emit VOCs of 25 tons or more 
per year are limiting the VOC content of each flexible packaging 
coating or limiting the average VOC content of flexible packaging 
coatings of the line to not more than:
    (a) 0.8 lb VOC/lb or kg VOC/kg solids applied; or
    (b) 0.16 lb VOC/lb or kg VOC/kg materials applied; or
    (c) Venting the dryer exhaust of the line through a control device 
that is constructed, operated, and maintained to achieve an overall 
control efficiency of:
     65 percent overall control for a press that was first 
installed prior to March 14, 1995 and that is controlled by an add-on 
air pollution control device (APCD) whose first installation date was 
prior to the effective date.
     70 percent overall control for a press that was first 
installed prior to March 14, 1995 and that is controlled by an add-on 
APCD whose first installation date was on or after the effective date 
of the rule.
     75 percent overall control for a press that was first 
installed on or after March 14, 1995 and that is controlled by an add-
on APCD whose first installation date was prior to the effective date 
of the rule.
     80 percent overall control for a press that was first 
installed on or after March 14, 1995 and that is controlled by an add-
on APCD whose first installation date was on or after the effective 
date of the rule.

III. Final Action

    Maryland's April 23, 2010 SIP revision meets the CAA requirement to 
include RACT for sources covered by the EPA CTG for flexible package 
printing. Therefore, EPA is approving the Maryland SIP revision for 
adoption of the CTG standards for flexible packaging printing. EPA is 
publishing this rule without prior proposal because the Agency views 
this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no adverse 
comment. 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 November 26, 2010 without further notice 
unless EPA receives adverse comment by October 27, 2010. 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 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 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).

[[Page 59089]]

    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.

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 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).

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 November 26, 2010. 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. Parties with objections to this direct final 
rule are encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel 
notice of proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed 
rules section of today's Federal Register, rather than file an 
immediate petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so 
that EPA can withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in 
the proposed rulemaking. This action pertaining to Maryland's adoption 
of the CTG standards for flexible packaging printing 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, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile 
organic compounds.

    Dated: September 7, 2010.
W.C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
    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 26.11.19.10 and adding an entry for COMAR 
26.11.19.10-1 to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1070  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c)* * *

                                  EPA-Approved Regulations in the Maryland SIP
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                  Additional
       Code of Maryland                                        State                             explanation/
  Administrative Regulations          Title/subject       effective date   EPA approval date  citation at 40 CFR
       (COMAR) citation                                                                             52.1100
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           26.11.19 Volatile Organic Compounds from Specific Processes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
26.11.19.10...................  Flexographic and                 4/19/10  September 27, 2010  Revision to
                                 rotogravure printing.                    [Insert page         section
                                                                           number where the    .10(B)(2).
                                                                           document begins].
26.11.19.10-1.................  Flexible packaging               4/19/10  September 27, 2010  New Regulation.
                                 printing.                                [Insert page
                                                                           number where the
                                                                           document begins].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 59090]]

* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2010-24000 Filed 9-24-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P