[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 182 (Wednesday, September 19, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 58076-58078]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-23154]


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 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2012-0611; FRL-9730-2]


Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, South 
Coast Air Quality Management District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the South Coast Air 
Quality Management District (SCAQMD) portion of the California State 
Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern lead emissions from 
large lead-acid battery recycling facilities. We are approving a local 
rule that regulates these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA 
or the Act). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow 
with a final action.

DATES: Any comments must arrive by October 19, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by docket number R09-OAR-2012-
0611, by one of the following methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-
line instructions.
    2. Email: [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 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 www.regulations.gov or email.

[[Page 58077]]

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 email directly to EPA, your email 
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: Generally, documents in the docket for this action are 
available electronically at 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 at www.regulations.gov, some 
information may be publicly available only at the hard copy location 
(e.g., copyrighted material, large maps), 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: Adrianne Borgia, EPA Region IX, (415) 
972-3576, [email protected].

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

Table of Contents

I. The State's Submittal
    A. What rule did the State submit?
    B. Are there other versions of this rule?
    C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?
II. EPA's Evaluation and Action.
    A. How is EPA evaluating the rule?
    B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
    C. EPA Recommendations To Further Improve the Rule.
    D. Public Comment and Final Action.
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. The State's Submittal

A. What rule did the State submit?

    Table 1 lists the rule addressed by this proposal with the dates 
that it was adopted by the local air agency and submitted by the 
California Air Resources Board (CARB).

                                            Table 1--Submitted Rules
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          Rule                  Rule title              Adopted     Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCAQMD..................................       1420.1  Emissions Standard For Lead          11/5/10      9/27/11
                                                        From Large Lead-Acid Battery
                                                        Recycling Facilities.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On October 24, 2011, EPA determined that the submittal for SCAQMD 
Rule 1420.1 met the completeness criteria in 40 CFR Part 51 Appendix V, 
which must be met before formal EPA review.

B. Are there other versions of this rule?

    There are no previous versions of Rules 1420.1 in the SIP.

C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?

    Lead is classified as a hazardous air pollutant under the Clean Air 
Act (CAA) Section 112 (b). On November 12, 2008, The EPA published the 
final rule on the Lead National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). 
The revisions to the primary and secondary Lead NAAQS were to provide 
increased protection for children and other at-risk populations against 
an array of health effects. Such health effects most notably include 
neurological effects in children, including neurocognitive and 
neurobehavioral effects. Section 110(a) of the CAA requires States to 
submit regulations that control lead emissions. SCAQMD Rule 1420.1 
imposes these revised emission standards for large lead-acid battery 
recycling facilities. EPA's technical support document (TSD) has more 
information about this rule.

II. EPA's Evaluation and Action.

A. How is EPA evaluating the rule?

    Generally, SIP rules must be enforceable (see section 110(a) of the 
Act) and must not relax existing requirements (see sections 110(l) and 
193). A SIP, outlining the strategy to demonstrate attainment with the 
lead NAAQS, must be submitted within 18 months of the final designation 
date. In addition, SIP rules must implement Reasonably Available 
Control Measures (RACM), including Reasonably Available Control 
Technology (RACT (see CAA sections 189(a)(1) and 189(b)(1)). The SCAQMD 
regulates a lead nonattainment (see 40 CFR part 81), so SCAQMD must 
implement RACM/RACT.
    Guidance and policy documents that we use to evaluate 
enforceability and RACM/RACT requirements consistently include the 
following:
    1. ``Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and 
Deviations; Clarification to Appendix D of November 24, 1987 Federal 
Register Notice,'' (Blue Book), notice of availability published in the 
May 25, 1988 Federal Register.
    2. ``Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule 
Deficiencies,'' EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001 (the Little Bluebook).
    3. ``State Implementation Plans; General Preamble for the 
Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990,'' 57 
FR 13498 (April 16, 1992); 57 FR 18070 (April 28, 1992).
    4. ``Implementation of the 2008 Lead National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards Guide to Developing Reasonably Available Control Measures 
(RACM) for Controlling Lead Emissions,'' EPA 457/R-12-001, March 2012.

B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?

    We believe this rule is consistent with the relevant policy and 
guidance regarding enforceability, RACM/RACT, and SIP relaxations. The 
TSD has more information on our evaluation.

C. EPA Recommendations To Further Improve The Rule

    The TSD describes additional rule revisions that we recommend for 
the next time the local agency modifies the rule but are not currently 
the basis for rule disapproval.

D. Public Comment and Final Action

    Because EPA believes the submitted rule fulfills all relevant 
requirements, we are proposing to fully approve it 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 this rule 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

[[Page 58078]]

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 disproportionate human health or environmental effects with 
practical, appropriate, and legally permissible methods under Executive 
Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
    In addition, these rules do 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, Intergovernmental 
relations, Lead, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: September 5, 2012.
Jared Blumenfeld,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2012-23154 Filed 9-18-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P