[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 12, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 34808-34810]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-14103]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2012-0394; FRL-9684-9]


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

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 
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 August 13, 2012 without further 
notice, unless EPA receives adverse written comment by July 12, 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-2012-0394 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-
2012-0394. 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 October 17, 2011, the Maryland Department of the 
Environment (MDE) submitted a formal revision (11-07) to its 
State Implementation Plan (SIP). The SIP revision consists of the 
addition of an exemption from preconstruction permitting requirements 
for insignificant sources of volatile organic compounds (VOC's).

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 26.11.02.10X (as it currently exists in the Maryland SIP) 
provides such an exemption for sources that emit less than one (1) ton 
per year (tpy) of each pollutant which is a Class II toxic air 
pollutant, or a pollutant for which there is a federal ambient air 
quality standard. Regulation .10X also provides such an exemption for 
sources that emit less than one (1) pound per day of a

[[Page 34809]]

Class I toxic air pollutant. Maryland's proposed revisions add sources 
of VOC's to the list of sources eligible for the 1 tpy exemption under 
section .10X. Additionally, the revisions clarify that the thresholds 
for exemption apply to a source's ``pre-control potential-to-emit.''
    The revisions to COMAR 26.11.02.10X were effective in Maryland on 
August 11, 2011. The MDE submitted them to EPA for approval into the 
SIP on October 17, 2011. EPA's review of the SIP submittal finds the 
revisions consistent with CAA requirements.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving MDE's October 17, 2011 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'' 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 August 13, 2012 without further notice 
unless EPA receives adverse comment by July 12, 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 (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.

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 August 13, 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: June 1, 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) * * *

[[Page 34810]]



                 EPA-Approved Regulations, Technical Memoranda, and Statutes in the Maryland SIP
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                                                                                                  Additional
 Code of Maryland administrative                             State                               explanation/
   regulations (COMAR) citation       Title/subject     effective date   EPA approval date    citation at 40 CFR
                                                                                                   52.1100
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                                  26.11.02 Permits, Approvals, and Registration
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                                                  * * * * * * *
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26.11.02.10......................  Sources Exempt from         8/11/11  6/12/12............  Revised .10X
                                    Permits to                          [Insert page number
                                    Construct and                        where the document
                                    Approvals.                           begins].
 
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[FR Doc. 2012-14103 Filed 6-11-12; 8:45 am]
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