[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 141 (Thursday, July 23, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43628-43631]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-17852]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R01-OAR-2010-0460; A-1-FRL-9930-94-Region 1]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Rhode Island; Control of Volatile Organic Compounds From Adhesives and 
Sealants

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Rhode 
Island. This revision includes a regulation adopted by Rhode Island 
that establishes and requires Reasonably Available Control Technology 
(RACT) for volatile organic compound (VOC) sources of emissions from 
miscellaneous adhesives and sealants. The intended effect of this 
action is to approve these requirements into the Rhode Island SIP. This 
action is being taken in accordance with the Clean Air Act.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective September 21, 2015, 
unless EPA receives adverse comments by August 24, 2015. If adverse 
comments are received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the 
direct final rule in the Federal Register informing the public that the 
rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R01-OAR-2010-0460 by one of the following methods:
    1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    2. Email: [email protected].
    3. Fax: (617) 918-0047.
    4. Mail: Docket Identification Number EPA-R01-OAR-2010-0460, Anne 
Arnold, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional 
Office, Office of Ecosystem Protection, Air Quality Planning Unit, 5 
Post Office Square--Suite 100, (Mail code OEP05-2), Boston, MA 02109-
3912.
    5. Hand Delivery or Courier. Deliver your comments to: Anne Arnold, 
Manager, Air Quality Planning Unit, Office of Ecosystem Protection, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional Office, 
5 Post Office Square--Suite 100, (Mail code OEP05-2), Boston, MA 02109-
3912. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office's 
normal hours of operation. The Regional Office's official hours of 
business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding 
legal holidays.

    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No EPA-R01-OAR-
2010-0460. 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 through www.regulations.gov, or 
email, information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected. 
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

[[Page 43629]]

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 at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England 
Regional Office, Office of Ecosystem Protection, 5 Post Office Square--
Suite 100, Boston, MA. EPA requests that if at all possible, you 
contact the contact listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's official 
hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
excluding legal holidays.
    In addition, copies of the state submittal are also available for 
public inspection during normal business hours, by appointment at the 
State Air Agency; Office of Air Resources, Department of Environmental 
Management, 235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908-5767.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Mackintosh, Air Quality Unit, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional Office, 
5 Post Office Square--Suite 100, (Mail code OEP05-2), Boston, MA 02109-
3912, telephone number (617) 918-1584, fax number (617) 918-0584, email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
    Organization of this document. The following outline is provided to 
aid in locating information in this preamble.

I. Background
II. Rhode Island's SIP Revision
III. EPA's Evaluation of Rhode Island's SIP Revision
IV. Final Action
V. Incorporation by Reference
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

    In 1997, EPA revised the health-based National Ambient Air Quality 
Standard (NAAQS) for ozone, setting it at 0.08 parts per million (ppm) 
averaged over an 8-hour time frame. EPA set the 8-hour ozone standard 
based on scientific evidence demonstrating that ozone causes adverse 
health effects at lower ozone concentrations and over longer periods of 
time than was understood when the pre-existing 1-hour ozone standard 
was set. EPA determined that the 8-hour standard would be more 
protective of human health, especially with regard to children and 
adults who are active outdoors, and individuals with a pre-existing 
respiratory disease, such as asthma. On April 30, 2004, pursuant to the 
Federal Clean Air Act (the Act, or CAA), 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq., EPA 
designated portions of the country as being in nonattainment of the 
1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS (69 FR 23858). The entire State of Rhode Island 
was designated as nonattainment for ozone and classified as moderate. 
The entire State of Rhode Island is also part of the Ozone Transport 
Region (OTR) under Section 184(a) of the CAA. Sections 182(b)(2) and 
184 of the CAA compel states with moderate and above ozone 
nonattainment areas, as well as areas in the OTR respectively, to 
submit a revision to their applicable State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
to include provisions to require the implementation of reasonable 
available control technology (RACT) for sources covered by a Control 
Techniques Guideline (CTG) and for all major sources. A CTG is a 
document issued by EPA which establishes a ``presumptive norm'' for 
RACT for a specific VOC source category.
    EPA has determined that States which have RACT provisions approved 
in their SIPs for the 1-hour ozone standard have several options for 
fulfilling the RACT requirements for the 8-hour ozone NAAQS. If a State 
meets certain conditions, it may certify that previously adopted 1-hour 
ozone RACT controls in the SIP continue to represent RACT control 
levels for purposes of fulfilling 8-hour ozone RACT requirements. 
Alternatively, a State may establish new or more stringent requirements 
that represent RACT control levels, either in lieu of, or in 
conjunction with, a certification. In addition, a State may submit a 
negative declaration if there are no CTG sources or major sources of 
VOC and NOx emissions in lieu of, or in addition to, a certification. 
See Final Rule to Implement the 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air 
Quality Standard--Phase 2 (the Phase 2 Rule) (70 FR 71612; November 29, 
2005).
    As noted in the EPA's Phase 2 ozone implementation rule, the RACT 
submittal for the 1997 8-hour ozone standard was due from Rhode Island 
on September 16, 2006. (See 40 CFR 51.916(b)(2).) On March 24, 2008 (73 
FR 15416), EPA issued a finding of failure to submit to Rhode Island 
for the 1997 8-hour ozone RACT requirement. This finding started an 18-
month sanctions clock, as well as a 24 month Federal Implementation 
Plan (FIP) clock. On April 30, 2008, the RI DEM submitted a SIP 
revision which included an attainment demonstration, a RACT 
demonstration, and a reasonable further progress plan for the 8-hour 
ozone NAAQS. EPA determined the SIP revision complete on May 30, 2008, 
stopping the 18-month sanctions clock.

II. Rhode Island's SIP Revision

    On October 27, 2009, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental 
Management (DEM) submitted a SIP revision to EPA. This SIP revision 
included Rhode Island's new Air Pollution Control (APC) Regulation No. 
44, ``Control of Volatile Organic Compounds from Adhesives and 
Sealants.'' Then, on March 25, 2015, Rhode Island DEM submitted a SIP 
revision containing a minor revision to APC Regulation No. 44 to 
address a typographical error in the regulation.

III. EPA's Evaluation of Rhode Island's SIP Revision

    Rhode Island's APC Regulation No. 44, ``Control of Volatile Organic 
Compounds from Adhesives and Sealants,'' is based on the OTC Model Rule 
for Adhesives and Sealants. APC Regulation No. 44 includes all of the 
approaches to controlling VOC emissions found in EPA's CTG for 
Miscellaneous Industrial Adhesives (EPA 453/R-08-005, September 2008): 
VOC content limits for adhesives and cleaning solvents; work practices; 
record keeping; air pollution control equipment requirements; surface 
preparation requirements; and spray gun cleaning requirements. Rhode 
Island's rule is also more comprehensive than the CTG, since it 
establishes VOC content limits for sealants and sealant primers (in 
addition to adhesives as covered by the CTG), regulates sellers and 
manufacturers, not just appliers, of regulated adhesives, adhesive 
primers and sealants, and contains a VOC composite vapor pressure limit 
for cleaning materials. The exemptions of APC Regulation No. 44 are 
similar to those recommended in the CTG. While

[[Page 43630]]

there are minor differences in the named adhesive categories (and 
emission limits) included in the CTG and APC Regulation No. 44, those 
differences are inconsequential compared to the broader applicability 
of APC Regulation No. 44 noted above.
    The March 25, 2015, SIP revision corrects the header on page 1 to 
identify the regulation as ``No. 44'' and not ``No. 33.''

IV. Final Action

    EPA is approving, and incorporating into the Rhode Island SIP, 
Rhode Island's APC Regulation No. 44, ``Control of Volatile Organic 
Compounds from Adhesives and Sealants.''
    The EPA is publishing this action without prior proposal because 
the Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates 
no adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this 
Federal Register publication, EPA is publishing a separate document 
that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision should 
relevant adverse comments be filed. This rule will be effective 
September 21, 2015 without further notice unless the Agency receives 
relevant adverse comments by August 24, 2015.
    If the EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish a notice 
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will 
not take effect. All public comments received will then be addressed in 
a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. The EPA will not 
institute a second comment period on the proposed rule. All parties 
interested in commenting on the proposed rule should do so at this 
time. If no such comments are received, the public is advised that this 
rule will be effective on September 21, 2015 and no further action will 
be taken on the proposed rule. Please note that if EPA receives adverse 
comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that 
provision may be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt 
as final those provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an 
adverse comment.

V. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the 
[State Agency Regulations] described in the amendments to 40 CFR part 
52 set forth below. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these 
documents generally available electronically through 
www.regulations.gov and/or in hard copy at the appropriate EPA office 
(see the ADDRESSES section of this preamble for more information).

VI. 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 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 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 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).

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 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 September 21, 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. 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 this 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 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, Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.


[[Page 43631]]


    Dated: June 18, 2015.
H. Curtis Spalding,
Regional Administrator, EPA New England.

    Part 52 of chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
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.

Subpart OO--Rhode Island

0
2. In Sec.  52.2070, the table in paragraph (c), EPA-Approved Rhode 
Island Regulations, is amended by adding an entry in numerical order 
for Air Pollution Control Regulation 44 to read as follows:


Sec.  52.2070  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                                          EPA-Approved Rhode Island Regulations
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                                                                                       State effective
                 State citation                              Title/subject                   date              EPA approval date          Explanations
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                                                                      * * * * * * *
Air Pollution Control Regulation 44.............  Control of Volatile Organic                06/04/2009                    07/23/2015
                                                   Compounds from Adhesives and                              [Insert Federal Register
                                                   Sealants.                                                                citation]
 
                                                                      * * * * * * *
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[FR Doc. 2015-17852 Filed 7-22-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P