[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 49 (Friday, March 13, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 13248-13250]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-05649]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R05-OAR-2014-0123; FRL-9922-71-Region 5]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Illinois; Amendments to Gasoline Vapor Recovery Requirements for 
Illinois

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a state 
implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Illinois 
Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) on January 17, 2014, concerning 
the state's gasoline vapor recovery requirements. The

[[Page 13249]]

revision phases out the Stage II vapor recovery (Stage II) program 
requirements in the Illinois portion of the Chicago ozone nonattainment 
area (NAA) as a component of the Illinois ozone SIP. To be consistent 
with the repeal of the Stage II program requirements, the SIP revision 
also includes amendments to the state's permitting regulations 
applicable to storage tanks and fuel dispensing, including repealing 
the Stage I vapor recovery (Stage I) registration provisions due to 
overlapping Federal notification requirements and state tracking 
systems for gasoline dispensing operations. Finally, the SIP revision 
includes other clarifying and clean-up amendments at 35 Ill. Adm. Code 
Parts 201, 218, and 219. The submittal also includes a demonstration 
under section 110(l) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) that shows there are no 
emissions impacts associated with the removal of the program. A 
proposed rule approving IEPA's submittal was published in the Federal 
Register on October 17, 2014.

DATES: This final rule is effective on April 13, 2015.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID 
No. EPA-R05-OAR-2014-0123. All documents in the docket are listed in 
the www.regulations.gov Web site. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., Confidential Business 
Information 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 through www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 
77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility is 
open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 
Federal holidays. We recommend that you telephone Francisco J. Acevedo, 
Mobile Source Program Manager, at (312) 886-6061, before visiting the 
Region 5 office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Francisco J. Acevedo, Mobile Source 
Program Manager, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-
18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson 
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-6061, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information 
section is arranged as follows:

I. What is being addressed by this document?
II. What is our response to comments received on the notice of 
proposed rulemaking?
III. What action is EPA taking?
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews.

I. What is being addressed by this document?

    On October 17, 2014, EPA published proposed (79 FR 62378) and 
direct final (79 FR 62352) rules approving revisions to the Illinois 
ozone SIP submitted on January 17, 2014, concerning the State's Stage 
II vapor recovery program requirements in Illinois. The rules also 
included amendments to 35 Ill. Adm. Code Parts 201, 218, and 219 to 
make necessary updates and to be consistent with the repeal of the 
Stage II program standards. A full list of the regulatory changes 
submitted by Illinois for EPA approval included:
     Revisions to 35 Ill. Adm. Code 201.146 and 201.302 adopted 
at 38 Ill. Reg. 1005, effective December 23, 2013.
     Revisions to 35 Ill. Adm. Code 218.112, 218.583, and 
218.586 adopted at 38 Ill. Reg. 1032, effective December 23, 2013.
     Revisions to 35 Ill. Adm. Code 219.105, 219.112, and 
218.583 adopted at 38 Ill. Reg. 1061, effective December 23, 2013.
    EPA subsequently received adverse comments on the direct final rule 
and withdrew it on December 10, 2014 (79 FR 73202). The proposal was 
not withdrawn and remained in effect. In this action we are responding 
to the comments and taking final action to approve Illinois' SIP 
revision request submitted on January 17, 2004.

II. What is our response to comments received on the notice of proposed 
rulemaking?

    EPA only received one adverse comment on the October 17, 2014, 
proposed approval of this Illinois rule. We are responding to the 
commenter who disagreed with our action.
    Comment. The commenter notes that the CAA section 110(l) 
demonstration submitted by Illinois is flawed and the commenter claims 
that there are in fact significant emission reduction losses resulting 
from the removal of the Stage II program requirements in Illinois. The 
commenter further claims that the increased emissions represent a 
significant environmental, health and safety risk.

Response

    The commenter's primary argument that Illinois' 110(l) 
demonstration is ``flawed'' is not directly supported in the comments 
submitted to EPA. The commenter does not provide any specific 
information outlining how or why he believes the state's 110(l) 
demonstration is unsound, or how approving the state's action would 
represent a significant environmental, health and safety risk. The 
state's SIP submittal, on the other hand, included an extensive 
analysis using state specific data demonstrating that beginning in 
2014, on-board refueling vapor recovery (ORVR) systems alone would 
start providing greater reductions in refueling emissions than the 
simultaneous use of ORVR and Stage II in the Chicago ozone NAA. The 
commenter submitted only general calculations deriving the increase in 
refueling emissions, but the methodology and data used for calculating 
the stated emissions impacts are unexplained and appear to be based on 
incomplete assumptions that on their own are not acceptable for SIP 
demonstration purposes as they do not use state specific information, 
including vehicle miles traveled, fuel Reid vapor pressure, 
meteorological data, and vehicle population. Further, the commenter's 
calculations do not take into consideration the incompatibility issue 
between some Stage II systems and ORVR systems that is being addressed 
through the state's Stage II decommissioning process. EPA has provided 
guidance to states on how the compatibility factor should be 
incorporated into SIP revisions for Stage II programs. Specifically, 
EPA issued guidance including a document entitled ``Guidance on 
Removing Stage II Gasoline Vapor Control Programs from State 
Implementation Plans and Assessing Comparable Measures,'' EPA457/B-12-
001 (August 7, 2012). IEPA's calculations are consistent with EPA 
guidance and take the compatibility factor into account. After 
considering the commenter's concerns and re-examining Illinois' SIP 
submittal, including the state's responses to similar issues raised by 
the commenter during the state's rule development process, EPA 
continues to find that IEPA's modeling demonstration supports phasing 
out the state's Stage II vapor recovery systems and complies with the 
CAA section 110(l) ``anti-backsliding'' provisions.

III. What action is EPA taking?

    EPA is approving the revisions to the Illinois ozone SIP submitted 
on January 17, 2014, concerning the State's Stage II vapor recovery 
program standards in Illinois. EPA is also approving amendments to 35 
Ill. Adm. Code Parts

[[Page 13250]]

201, 218, and 219 to make necessary updates and to be consistent with 
the repeal of the Stage II program standards. EPA finds that the 
revisions will not interfere with any applicable requirement concerning 
attainment, reasonable further progress or any other applicable CAA 
requirement.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    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 Orders 
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 
2011);
     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, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian 
reservation land or in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has 
demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian 
country, the rule does not have tribal implications and will not impose 
substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
    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).
    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 May 12, 2015. 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. This action 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, Oxides of nitrogen, Ozone, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: January 30, 2015.
Bharat Mathur,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.

    40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:


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

0
2. Section 52.720 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(203) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.720  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (203) On January 17, 2013, the Illinois Environmental Protection 
Agency submitted a request to phase out Stage II vapor recovery 
standards at 35 Ill. Adm. Code 218.586 and to make other related 
revisions to 35 Ill. Adm. Code Parts 201, 218, and 219.
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    (A) Illinois Administrative Code, Title 35: Environmental 
Protection, Subtitle B: Air Pollution, Chapter I: Pollution Control 
Board, Subchapter a: Permits and General Provisions, Part 201, Permits 
and General Provisions, Subpart C: Prohibitions, Section 201.146, 
Exemptions from State Permit Requirements, and Subpart K: Records and 
Reports, Section 201.302, Reports, effective December 23, 2013.
    (B) Illinois Administrative Code, Title 35: Environmental 
Protection, Subtitle B: Air Pollution, Chapter I: Pollution Control 
Board, Subchapter c: Emission Standards and Limitations for Stationary 
Sources, Part 218, Organic Material Emission Standards and Limitations 
for the Chicago Area, Subpart A: General Provisions, Section 218.112, 
Incorporations by Reference, Subpart Y: Gasoline Distribution, Section 
218.583, Gasoline Dispensing Operations--Storage Tank Filling 
Operations and Section 218.586, Gasoline Dispensing Operations--Motor 
Vehicle Fueling Operations, effective December 23, 2013.
    (C) Illinois Administrative Code, Title 35: Environmental 
Protection, Subtitle B: Air Pollution, Chapter I: Pollution Control 
Board, Subchapter c: Emission Standards and Limitations for Stationary 
Sources, Part 219, Organic Material Emission Standards and Limitations 
for the Metro East Area, Subpart A: General Provisions, Section 
219.105, Test Methods and Procedures, and Section 219.112, 
Incorporations by Reference, Subpart Y: Gasoline Distribution, Section 
219.583, Gasoline Dispensing Operations--Storage Tank Filling 
Operations, effective December 23, 2013.

[FR Doc. 2015-05649 Filed 3-12-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P