[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 94 (Tuesday, May 15, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 28491-28493]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-11626]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2012-0292; FRL-9671-7]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Maryland; Permit To Construct Exemptions

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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

SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the 
Maryland State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revisions pertain to 
sources which are exempt from preconstruction permitting requirements 
under Maryland's New Source Review (NSR) program. EPA is approving 
these revisions in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air 
Act (CAA).

DATES: This rule is effective on July 16, 2012 without further notice, 
unless EPA receives adverse written comment by June 14, 2012. 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-2012-0292 by one of the following methods:
    A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    B. Email: [email protected].
    C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2012-0292, Kathleen Cox, Associate Director, 
Office of Permits and Air Toxics, Mailcode 3AP10, 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-
2012-0292. 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 email. 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 email comment 
directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov, your email 
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: David Talley, (215) 814-2117, or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Throughout this document, whenever ``we,'' ``us,'' or ``our'' is 
used, we mean EPA. On December 1, 2003, the Maryland Department of the 
Environment (MDE) submitted a formal revision (03-11) to its 
State Implementation Plan (SIP). The SIP revision consists of two 
amendments: (A) the repeal of the exemption from permitting 
requirements for equipment burning solid fuel at a rate of 350,000 
British thermal units per hour (Btu/hr) or less, and (B) the reduction 
of the cutoff level of the exemption for stationary internal combustion 
engines.

II. Summary of SIP Revision

    Regulation .10 under COMAR 26.11.02 (Permits, Approvals, and 
Registration) contains exemptions for certain sources that are not 
required to obtain approvals or permits to construct prior to the 
construction or modification of the affected source. Specifically, 
COMAR 26.11.02.10D (as it currently exists in the Maryland SIP) 
provides such an exemption for fuel burning equipment using solid fuel 
with a heat input rate of less than 350,000 Btu/hr. This exemption led 
to the mistaken belief on the part of some owners/operators of such 
sources that this equipment was not subject to any air quality related 
requirements. However, the exemption from permitting requirements does 
not provide an exemption from other applicable air pollution 
requirements. No such relief exists in MDE's regulations. Fuel burning 
equipment must meet all applicable requirements and emissions 
limitations, regardless of size. In order to remove any ambiguity, 
COMAR 26.11.02.10D was repealed.
    COMAR 26.11.02.10E provides a similar exemption for stationary 
combustion engines under 1,000 brake horsepower (bhp) operating under 
2,000 hours per year, as well as all stationary internal combustion 
engines under 500 bhp. Regulation .10E was revised to remove the 
exemption for the larger engines, and now only applies to engines with 
an output less than 500 bhp, and which are not used to generate 
electricity for sale or load shaving (See COMAR 26.11.02.10E). The 
lower threshold allows MDE to establish permit conditions on smaller 
engines, and thus lower the equipment's potential to emit.
    The revisions to COMAR 26.11.02.10D and .10E were effective in 
Maryland on November 24, 2003. The MDE submitted them to EPA for 
approval into the SIP on December 1, 2003. EPA's review of the SIP 
submittal finds the revisions consistent with CAA requirements.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving MDE's December 1, 2003 SIP submittal. 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''

[[Page 28492]]

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 July 16, 
2012 without further notice unless EPA receives adverse comment by June 
14, 2012. 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 CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA 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 (Public Law 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.

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 CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by July 16, 2012. 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 permit to construct exemptions 
under Maryland's NSR program may not be challenged later in proceedings 
to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2) of the CAA.)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: May 2, 2012.
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 26.11.02.10 to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1070  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                 EPA-Approved Regulations, Technical Memoranda, and Statutes in the Maryland SIP
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                  Additional
 Code of Maryland administrative                       State effective                           explanation/
  regulations (COMAR) citation       Title/Subject           date        EPA approval date    citation at 40 CFR
                                                                                                   52.1100
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
                                  26.11.02 Permits, Approvals, and Registration
 

[[Page 28493]]

 
                                                  * * * * * * *
26.11.02.10.....................  Sources Exempt from        11/24/03   5-15-12 [Insert      Removed .10D;
                                   Permits to                            page number where    revised .10E.
                                   Construct and                         the document
                                   Approvals.                            begins].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2012-11626 Filed 5-14-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P