[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 170 (Wednesday, September 2, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53001-53007]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21681]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2014-0256; FRL-9927-14-Region 9]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Arizona; 
Phased Discontinuation of Stage II Vapor Recovery Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct 
final action to approve a state implementation plan (SIP) revision from 
the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality related to the removal 
of ``Stage II'' vapor recovery equipment at gasoline dispensing 
facilities in the Phoenix-Mesa area. Specifically, the EPA is approving 
a SIP revision that eliminates the requirement to install and operate 
such equipment at new gasoline dispensing facilities, and that provides 
for the phased removal of such equipment at existing gasoline 
dispensing facilities from October 2016 through September 2018. The EPA 
has previously determined that onboard refueling vapor recovery is in 
widespread use nationally and waived the stage II vapor recovery 
requirement. The EPA is approving this SIP revision because the 
resultant short-term incremental increase in emissions would not 
interfere with attainment or maintenance of the national ambient air 
quality standards or any other requirement of the Clean Air Act and 
because it would avoid longer-term increases in emissions from the 
continued operation of stage II vapor recovery equipment at gasoline 
dispensing facilities in the Phoenix-Mesa area.

DATES: This direct final rule is effective on November 2, 2015 unless 
the EPA receives adverse comments by October 2, 2015. If adverse 
comments are received, the 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 No. EPA-R09-OAR-
2014-0256, by one of the following methods:
    1. Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
    2. Email: Jeffrey Buss at [email protected].
    3. Fax: Jeffrey Buss, Air Planning Office (AIR-2), at fax number 
415-947-3579.
    4. Mail: Jeffrey Buss, Air Planning Office (AIR-2), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne, San 
Francisco, California 94105.
    5. Hand or Courier Delivery: Jeffrey Buss, Air Planning Section 
(AIR-2), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne, 
San Francisco, California 94105. Such deliveries are only accepted 
during the Regional Office's normal hours of operation. Special 
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-
2014-0256. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be

[[Page 53002]]

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 the 
disclosure of which is restricted by statute. Do not submit information 
through www.regulations.gov or email that you consider to be CBI or 
otherwise protected from disclosure. The www.regulations.gov Web site 
is an anonymous access system, which means the 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 the 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, the 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 the EPA cannot read your comment due 
to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, the 
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 docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air Planning Office (AIR-
2), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne 
Street, San Francisco, California 94105. The EPA requests that if at 
all possible, you contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section to schedule your inspection during normal 
business hours.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Buss, Office of Air Planning, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9, (415) 947-4152, email: 
[email protected].

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

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. State Submittal
III. Analysis of the State Submittal
    A. SIP Revision Procedural Requirements
    B. SIP Revision Substantive Requirements
IV. The EPA's Action and Request for Public Comment
V. Incorporation by reference
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

    Under the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act''), the EPA has promulgated 
national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or ``standards'') for 
certain pervasive air pollutants. The NAAQS are concentration levels 
the attainment and maintenance of which EPA has determined to be 
requisite to protect public health (i.e., the ``primary'' NAAQS) and 
welfare (i.e., the ``secondary'' NAAQS). Under the CAA, states are 
required to develop and submit plans, referred to as state 
implementation plans (SIPs) to implement, maintain, and enforce the 
NAAQS.\1\ Ozone is one of the air pollutants for which the EPA has 
established NAAQS.\2\ The original NAAQS for ozone, established by the 
EPA in 1979, was 0.12 parts per million (ppm), 1-hour average (``1-hour 
ozone standard'').\3\
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    \1\ Under Arizona law, the Arizona Department of Environmental 
Quality (ADEQ) is responsible for adopting and submitting the 
Arizona SIP and SIP revisions. Within the Maricopa County portion of 
the Phoenix-Mesa area, the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) 
is responsible for developing regional ozone air quality plans.
    \2\ Ground-level ozone is an oxidant that is formed from 
photochemical reactions in the atmosphere between volatile organic 
compounds (VOC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOX) in the 
presence of sunlight. These two pollutants, referred to as ozone 
precursors, are emitted by many types of pollution sources including 
on-road motor vehicles (cars, trucks, and buses), nonroad vehicles 
and engines, power plants and industrial facilities, and smaller 
area sources such as lawn and garden equipment and paints.
    \3\ See 44 FR 8202 (February 8, 1979).
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    Under the CAA, the EPA is also responsible for designating areas of 
the country as attainment, nonattainment, or unclassifiable for the 
various NAAQS. States with ``nonattainment'' areas are required to 
submit revisions to their SIPs that include a control strategy 
necessary to demonstrate how the area will attain the NAAQS.
    Under the CAA Amendments of 1990, the ``Phoenix metropolitan 
area,'' defined by the Maricopa Association of Governments' (MAGs') 
urban planning area boundary (but later revised to exclude the Gila 
River Indian Community at 70 FR 68339 (November 10, 2005)), was 
classified as a ``Moderate'' nonattainment area, 56 FR 56694 (November 
6, 1991), and later reclassified as a ``Serious'' nonattainment area, 
62 FR 60001 (November 6, 1997), for the 1-hour ozone standard.
    States with ``Serious,'' ``Severe,'' or ``Extreme'' ozone 
nonattainment areas were required under CAA section 182(b)(3) to submit 
SIP revisions that require the use of ``Stage II'' vapor recovery 
systems at gasoline dispensing facilities (GDFs) located within the 
nonattainment area. Gasoline dispensing pump vapor control devices, 
commonly referred to as ``Stage II'' vapor recovery, are systems that 
control VOC vapor releases during the refueling of motor vehicles. This 
process takes the vapors normally emitted directly into the atmosphere 
when pumping gas and recycles them back into the underground fuel 
storage tank, preventing them from polluting the air.
    In response to this requirement, the State of Arizona promulgated 
and submitted certain statutes and regulations that require use of 
Stage II vapor recovery systems in the Phoenix metropolitan area, and 
later extended the requirements to a larger geographic area referred to 
as ``Area A.'' \4\ The EPA approved the state's Stage-II-related 
statutes and regulations as a revision to the Arizona SIP. See 59 FR 
54521 (November 1, 1994) and 77 FR 35279 (June 13, 2012).
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    \4\ ``Area A'' is defined in Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) 
section 49-541, and it includes all of the Phoenix metropolitan 1-
hour ozone nonattainment area plus additional areas in Maricopa 
County to the north, east, and west, as well as small portions of 
Yavapai County and Pinal County. Area A roughly approximates the 
boundaries of the Phoenix-Mesa area designated by the EPA for the 
1997 8-hour ozone standard.
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    The 1990 amended CAA anticipates that, over time, Stage II vapor 
recovery requirements at GDFs would be replaced by ``onboard refueling 
vapor recovery'' (ORVR) systems that the EPA was to establish for new 
motor vehicles under CAA section 202(a)(6). ORVR consists of an 
activated carbon canister installed in a motor vehicle. The carbon 
canister captures gasoline vapors during refueling. There the vapors 
are captured by the activated carbon in the canister. When the engine 
is started, the vapors are drawn off of the activated carbon and into 
the engine where they are burned as fuel. In 1994, the EPA promulgated 
its ORVR standards,\5\ with a minimum 95% vapor capture efficiency, 
which fully applied to all new light duty vehicles by 2000. The ORVR 
requirements were phased in to apply to heavier classes of vehicles as 
well--reaching full effect for all new vehicles with a gross vehicle 
weight rating of up to 10,000 pounds by 2006. Recognizing that, over 
time, the number

[[Page 53003]]

of vehicles with ORVR as a percentage of the overall motor vehicle 
fleet would increase with the turnover of older models not equipped 
with ORVR with newer models equipped with ORVR, CAA section 202(a)(6) 
also permits the EPA to promulgate a determination that ORVR is in 
``widespread use'' throughout the motor vehicle fleet and to revise or 
waive Stage II vapor recovery requirements for Serious, Severe and 
Extreme ozone nonattainment areas.
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    \5\ See 59 FR 16262 (April 6, 1994).
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    Meanwhile, the EPA has taken certain actions that affect SIP 
planning in general, and the Phoenix metropolitan area and Stage II 
vapor recovery SIP requirements in particular, including the following:
     Revision of the NAAQS for ozone, setting it at 0.08 ppm 
averaged over an 8-hour timeframe (referred to herein as the ``1997 8-
hour ozone standard'') (62 FR 33856, July 18, 1997), and designation of 
the Phoenix-Mesa area \6\ as a ``Marginal'' nonattainment area (69 FR 
23857, April 30, 2004; 77 FR 28424, May 14, 2012);
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    \6\ The Phoenix-Mesa 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area covers 
a much larger portion of Maricopa County than the Phoenix 
metropolitan 1-hour ozone area and also includes the Apache Junction 
portion of Pinal County. The precise boundaries of the Phoenix-Mesa 
1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area and the Phoenix metropolitan 1-
hour ozone nonattainment are found in 40 CFR 81.303.
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     Redesignation of the Phoenix metropolitan area from 
nonattainment to attainment for the 1-hour ozone standard (70 FR 34362; 
June 14, 2005), and revocation of the 1-hour ozone standard, effective 
June 15, 2005 (40 CFR 50.9(b));
     Revision of the 8-hour ozone standard down to 0.075 ppm 
(the 2008 8-hour ozone standard) (73 FR 16436, March 27, 2008), and 
designation of the Phoenix-Mesa area as a ``Marginal'' nonattainment 
area for the 2008 8-hour ozone standard (77 FR 30088, May 21, 2012); 
\7\
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    \7\ The nonattainment area for the 2008 8-hour ozone standard 
was expanded slightly to the south and west in Maricopa County as 
compared to the boundary established for the 1997 8-hour ozone 
standard. See 40 CFR 81.303 for the exact boundaries of the Phoenix-
Mesa 2008 8-hour ozone nonattainment area. For both 8-hour ozone 
standards, the nonattainment area is referred to as the ``Phoenix-
Mesa'' area. The applicable attainment date for areas initially 
classified as ``Marginal'' nonattainment areas for the 2008 8-hour 
ozone standard is July 20, 2015.
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     Determination that ORVR systems are in ``widespread use'' 
in the nation's motor vehicle fleet (77 FR 28772, May 16, 2012; and 40 
CFR 51.126); and
     Redesignation of the Phoenix-Mesa ozone area from 
nonattainment to attainment for the 1997 8-hour ozone standard (79 FR 
55645, September 17, 2014).
    In the wake of the EPA's ``widespread use'' determination, states, 
such as Arizona, that were required to implement Stage II vapor 
recovery programs under CAA section 182(b)(3) are now permitted to 
remove the requirement from their SIPs under certain circumstances. On 
August 7, 2012, the EPA released its ``Guidance on Removing Stage II 
Gasoline Vapor Control Programs from State Implementation Plans and 
Assessing Comparable Measures'' \8\ (``Stage II Guidance'') to aid in 
the development of SIP revisions to remove Stage II controls from GDFs. 
The Stage II Guidance also provides a series of equations to determine 
the emissions impacts of removing Stage II controls.
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    \8\ ``Guidance on Removing Stage II Gasoline Vapor Control 
Programs from State Implementation Plans and Assessing Comparable 
Measures,'' EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, August 
7, 2012.
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    In summary, the State of Arizona established Stage II vapor 
recovery requirements in the Phoenix metropolitan area to address CAA 
requirements for ``Serious'' nonattainment areas for the 1-hour ozone 
standard and later extended the requirements to a larger geographic 
area known as Area A that roughly approximates the boundaries of the 
Phoenix-Mesa 1997 8-hour ozone area. The Phoenix metropolitan area has 
been redesignated to attainment for the 1-hour ozone standard, and the 
Phoenix-Mesa area has been redesignated to attainment for the 1997 8-
hour ozone standard, but the Phoenix-Mesa area remains designated 
``Marginal'' nonattainment for the 2008 8-hour ozone standard. Under 40 
CFR 51.126, Stage II vapor recovery is no longer a SIP requirement in 
ozone nonattainment areas, and existing SIP provisions establishing 
Stage II vapor recovery requirements may be rescinded under certain 
circumstances. In this action, and for the reasons set forth in the 
following section of this document, the EPA is approving the State of 
Arizona's revisions to its SIP that eliminate Stage II requirements for 
new GDFs and that provide for the phased removal of Stage II vapor 
recovery equipment at existing GDFs within the geographic area referred 
to as ``Area A,'' which roughly approximates the boundaries of the 
Phoenix-Mesa area for the 1997 8-hour ozone standard.

II. State Submittal

    On September 2, 2014, ADEQ submitted a SIP revision to phase-out 
Stage II vapor recovery requirements in Area A by eliminating the 
requirement to install Stage II equipment at new GDFs and by providing 
for a phased decommissioning process to remove Stage II equipment at 
existing GDFs beginning in October 2016 and ending in September 2018. 
The SIP submittal includes the SIP revision itself, ``MAG State 
Implementation Plan Revision for the Removal of Stage II Vapor Recovery 
Controls in the Maricopa Eight-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area'' (``Stage 
II Vapor Recovery SIP Revision'' or ``SIP Revision''), as well as 
supporting materials related to legal authority and completeness. The 
Stage II Vapor Recovery SIP Revision includes nonregulatory materials, 
such as a narrative and supporting technical analysis, and includes a 
law (House Bill 2128) passed by the Arizona Legislature and signed by 
the Governor providing for the phase-out of the Stage II vapor recovery 
requirements.
    Effective for State law purposes upon the Governor's signature 
(i.e., on April 22, 2014), HB 2128 (in relevant part) amends Arizona 
Revised Statutes (ARS) sections 41-2131 (``Definitions''), 41-2132 
(``Stage I vapor recovery systems''), 41-2133 (``Compliance 
schedules''), and adds new section 41-2135 (``Stage II vapor recovery 
systems''). The new section ARS 41-2135 retains the existing Stage II 
control requirements for existing GDFs and establishes a phased 
decommissioning process to remove Stage II controls beginning October 
1, 2016 and ending September 30, 2018.
    The two-year period for decommissioning is based on the expectation 
of the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures (ADWM) of the time 
necessary to safely decommission Stage II controls at the over 1,000 
existing GDFs in Area A. Decommissioning is expected to be spread 
evenly over each of the 24 months from October 2016 through September 
2018 and to occur for existing GDFs during the month when the annual 
scheduled Stage II controls test would have occurred. HB 2128 repeals 
the new section 41-2135 on September 30, 2018 coinciding with the 
completion of the Stage II decommissioning process. To address the 
potential for adverse impacts relative to attainment and maintenance of 
the NAAQS, the SIP submittal includes a year-by-year analysis of the 
changes in VOC emissions taking into account both the elimination of 
Stage II controls at new GDFs and the phase-out of Stage II controls at 
existing GDFs from October 2016 through September 2018.

[[Page 53004]]

III. Analysis of the State Submittal

A. SIP Revision Procedural Requirements

    CAA sections 110(a)(1), 110(a)(2), and 110(l) require a state to 
provide reasonable public notice and opportunity for public hearing 
prior to the adoption and submittal of a SIP or SIP revision. To meet 
this requirement, every SIP submittal should include evidence that 
adequate public notice was given and a public hearing (if requested) 
was held consistent with EPA's implementing regulations in 40 CFR 
51.102.
    Appendix B of the Stage II Vapor Recovery SIP Revision documents 
the public process followed by MAG and ADEQ in developing, adopting, 
and submitting this SIP revision. Specifically, on May 2 and 3, 2014, 
ADEQ and MAG published a notice, in a newspaper of general circulation 
in the Phoenix area, of a joint public hearing to be held on June 3, 
2014 and the availability of the draft version of the Stage II vapor 
recovery SIP revision for public review and comment. ADEQ and MAG 
conducted the public hearing on June 3, 2014. ADEQ and MAG received no 
comments on the draft SIP revision. On August 27, 2014, MAG's Regional 
Council adopted the Stage II Vapor Recovery SIP Revision. ADEQ 
subsequently adopted and submitted the SIP revision to EPA by letter 
dated September 2, 2104. As such, ADEQ and MAG have satisfied 
applicable statutory and regulatory procedural requirements for 
adoption and submittal of this SIP revision.

B. SIP Revision Substantive Requirements

    As discussed above, pursuant to the EPA's determination of 
``widespread use'' (of ORVR systems in the motor vehicle fleet), Stage 
II vapor recovery controls are no longer a SIP requirement, and thus, 
states are allowed to rescind such control requirements in their SIPs 
if doing so is consistent with the general SIP revision requirements of 
CAA section 110(l) and section 193. In relevant part, CAA section 
110(l) prohibits the EPA from approving a SIP revision if that revision 
would interfere with any applicable requirement concerning reasonable 
further progress towards, or attainment of, any of the NAAQS, or any 
other applicable requirement of the CAA.
    Section 193 provides, in relevant part, that no control requirement 
in effect, or required to be adopted, before November 15, 1990 (i.e., 
the effective date of the CAA Amendments of 1990) in any area which is 
a nonattainment area for any air pollutant may be modified after 
November 15, 1990 in any manner unless the modification insures 
equivalent or greater emission reductions of such air pollutant. 
Arizona's Stage II vapor recovery controls were developed in response 
to the CAA Amendments of 1990 and thus were adopted and approved in the 
years following the 1990 CAA Amendments. Thus, the requirements of 
section 193 do not apply to this particular SIP revision.
    As described in the Background section of this document, Stage II 
and ORVR are two types of emission control systems that capture fuel 
vapors from vehicle gas tanks during refueling. Stage II controls are 
installed in the dispensing pumps while ORVR is installed as part of 
the motor vehicle. Stage II and ORVR were initially both required by 
the 1990 CAA Amendments, but Congress recognized that Stage II and ORVR 
would eventually become largely redundant technologies as the 
percentage of the nation's motor vehicle fleet equipped with ORVR 
increases, and provided authority to the EPA to allow states to remove 
Stage II from their SIPs after the EPA finds that ORVR is in widespread 
use. The EPA's Stage II Guidance projects that, by 2015, over 84% of 
all the gasoline dispensed in the nation will be dispensed to ORVR-
equipped motor vehicles.\9\ As such, Stage II and ORVR have become 
largely redundant technologies, and Stage II control systems are 
achieving an ever-declining emissions benefit as more ORVR-equipped 
vehicle continue to enter the on-road motor vehicle fleet. In addition, 
the EPA's Stage II Guidance recognizes that, in areas where certain 
types of vacuum-assist Stage II control systems are used, the limited 
compatibility between ORVR and some configurations of this Stage II 
hardware may ultimately result in an area-wide emissions disbenefit. 
The disbenefit can result when the Stage II controls pull air into the 
underground tank instead of gasoline vapors when both vacuum-assist 
Stage II controls and ORVR are active during refueling. This increases 
the pressure in the underground tank and can cause venting of excess 
emissions into the air.
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    \9\ See Table A-1 of the Stage II Guidance.
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    The Phoenix-Mesa ozone nonattainment area is an area where the vast 
majority of Stage II systems that have been installed use vacuum assist 
technologies.\10\ As documented in chapter 2 of the Stage II Vapor 
Recovery SIP Revision and in MAG's technical support document (appendix 
A, exhibit 1 of the SIP Revision), MAG used the equations recommended 
by the EPA in its Stage II Guidance to calculate the areawide emission 
reduction benefits/disbenefits associated with Stage II controls on 
vehicle refueling emissions in the Phoenix-Mesa ozone nonattainment 
area. More specifically, MAG developed year-by-year estimates of 
areawide VOC emissions from motor vehicle refueling with use of Stage 
II controls in the Phoenix-Mesa area taking into account the fraction 
of gasoline throughput covered by Stage II controls, the fraction of 
gasoline dispensed to ORVR-equipped vehicles, the Stage II control in-
use control efficiency, the fraction of gasoline dispensed through 
vacuum-assisted Stage II control, and the compatibility factor for the 
increase in underground storage tank vent emissions relative to normal 
conditions.
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    \10\ Table A-6 of the EPA's Stage II Guidance cites the 
percentages of State/Area GDF using vacuum assist Stage II 
technology. The listed percentage for the Phoenix-Mesa area is 85%.
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    Based on MAG's estimates, assuming Stage II requirements remain in 
place, the VOC emissions reductions benefits from Stage II controls 
would continue a steady decline until 2018 when the implementation of 
Stage II controls will first result in an emissions disbenefit. Without 
rescission of Stage II control requirements, the disbenefit would then 
increase over time in concert with the increase in the frequency of 
refueling by ORVR-equipped vehicles at vacuum-assist Stage II GDFs.
    The Stage II Vapor Recovery SIP Revision is intended to minimize 
the temporary increases in VOC emissions during the decommissioning 
process and to avoid the long-term disbenefit by eliminating the 
requirement for installing Stage II equipment at new GDFs and phasing-
out the Stage II requirement for (and providing for the removal of 
Stage II equipment at) existing GDFs from October 2016 through 
September 2018. To estimate the emissions impacts due to the SIP 
Revision, MAG developed year-by-year VOC estimates for the foregone 
emissions reductions due to construction of new GDFs from 2014 through 
2017 without Stage II controls and due to the decommissioning of Stage 
II controls at existing GDFs during the 2017 ozone season. Table 1 
below compares the VOC emissions impacts with and without the Stage II 
Vapor Recovery SIP Revision in the Phoenix-Mesa area based on MAG's 
estimates.

[[Page 53005]]



    Table 1--Comparison of VOC Emissions Impacts in the Phoenix-Mesa Area With and Without the Stage II Vapor
                                              Recovery SIP Revision
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                                                                       Column 2: Emission
                                                 Column 1: Emission    reduction benefits    Column 3:  Emission
                                                 reduction benefits      from  Stage II        Impact  of SIP
                     Year                          from  Stage II       controls with SIP    Revision  (summer,
                                                  controls (summer,     Revision (summer,         mtpd) \c\
                                                      mtpd) \a\             mtpd) \b\
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2014..........................................                 0.725                 0.710                 0.015
2015..........................................                 0.462                 0.443                 0.019
2016..........................................                 0.238                 0.223                 0.015
2017..........................................                 0.060                 0.029                 0.031
2018..........................................                -0.108                -0.023                -0.085
2019..........................................                -0.244                     0                -0.244
2020..........................................                -0.359                     0                -0.359
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\a\ Column 1 is from table 2-3 of the Stage II Vapor Recovery SIP Revision.
\b\ Column 2 is derived by combining column 1 with the estimates of total temporary increases in VOC emissions
  from the SIP Revision shown in table 2-7 of the Stage II Vapor Recovery SIP Revision, except for year 2018
  during which a disbenefit of 0.023 mtpd is expected due to existing facilities that have not removed Stage II
  controls by the beginning of the 2018 ozone season.
\c\ Column 3 is derived by subtracting column 2 from column 1.
Note: Negative values in the columns listing emission reduction benefits indicate increases in emissions.

    As shown in table 1, without the Stage II Vapor Recovery SIP 
Revision, the emissions benefits from implementation of Stage II 
controls in the Phoenix-Mesa area would decline until 2018 when 
implementation of Stage II would result in an emissions increase due to 
the incompatibility between ORVR-equipped vehicles and vacuum-assist 
Stage II technology. With the SIP Revision, table 1 shows that the 
emissions reduction benefits from implementation of Stage II in the 
Phoenix-Mesa area would be reduced slightly due to the construction and 
operation of new GDFs without Stage II controls and due to the phase-
out of Stage II vapor controls at existing GDFs during the 2017 ozone 
season.\11\ The temporary emissions increases due to the SIP Revision 
(relative to the scenario in which Stage II requirements remain fully 
implemented) will occur during years 2014 through 2017 and range from 
0.015 mtpd to 0.031 mtpd. Beginning in 2018 and increasing in magnitude 
thereafter, the SIP Revision will result in fewer VOC emissions than 
would otherwise have occurred if Stage II requirements were to remain 
fully implemented in the Phoenix-Mesa area (once again, due to the 
incompatibility of ORVR-equipped vehicles and vacuum-assist Stage II 
technologies).
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    \11\ Under the SIP Revision, the phase-out for existing GDFS 
begins in October 2016, and thus does not affect the 2016 ozone 
season.
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    For perspective, we note that the temporary increases in VOC 
emissions during years 2014 through 2017 due to the SIP Revision would 
represent an approximate 0.002 percent to 0.005 percent increase in the 
overall VOC emissions inventory in the Phoenix-Mesa area.\12\ Such 
increases would have negligible impacts on ozone concentrations in the 
area. More importantly, the schedule for the phase-out of Stage II 
controls under the SIP Revision will maintain most of the emissions 
reductions benefits associated with Stage II control through 2017 while 
avoiding the more significant increases in VOC emissions that would 
otherwise occur beginning in 2019 and beyond due to the incompatibility 
effects described above between ORVR-equipped vehicles and vacuum-
assist Stage II technologies. In 2018, the scheduled phase-out will 
reduce the emissions increase (due to ORVR and Stage II 
incompatibilities) that would otherwise be expected but would not 
entirely avoid an emissions increase because some existing GDFs will 
not yet have removed Stage II controls by the beginning of the 2018 
ozone season. All Stage II controls will be decommissioned by September 
30, 2018 under the Stage II Vapor Recovery SIP Revision. Lastly, the 
phase-out of Stage II controls by the end of the 2018 ozone season will 
support longer-term regional efforts to attain or maintain the 1997 and 
2008 8-hour ozone standards in the Phoenix-Mesa area.
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    \12\ The EPA-approved MAG Eight-Hour Ozone Maintenance Plan 
anticipates VOC emissions between 653.9 mtpd (June ozone episode, 
2005) and 659.0 mtpd (June ozone episode, 2015) during the relevant 
period. See our proposed approval of the maintenance plan and 
redesignation request at 79 FR 16734, at 16744 (March 26, 2014).
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    We find MAG's methods and assumptions, as documented in chapter 2 
of the Stage II Vapor Recovery SIP Revision and in MAG's technical 
support document, to be reasonable, and we find that MAG's emissions 
estimates provide a reasonable basis upon which to evaluate the ozone 
impacts of the SIP Revision. Moreover, based on MAG's emissions 
estimates and for the reasons provided above, we conclude that the SIP 
Revision would not interfere with reasonable further progress toward, 
or attainment of, any of the NAAQS and would not interfere with any 
other applicable requirement of the CAA. Thus, we conclude that the SIP 
Revision is approvable under CAA section 110(l).

IV. The EPA's Action and Request for Public Comment

    The EPA is taking direct final action to approve the Stage II Vapor 
Recovery SIP Revision submitted by ADEQ on September 2, 2014 to provide 
for the phased removal of ``Stage II'' vapor recovery equipment at 
gasoline dispensing facilities in the Phoenix-Mesa area. Specifically, 
the EPA is approving a SIP revision that eliminates the requirement to 
install and operate such equipment at new gasoline dispensing 
facilities, and that provides for the phased removal of such equipment 
at existing gasoline dispensing facilities from October 2016 through 
September 2018.
    The EPA is approving this SIP revision because Stage II vapor 
recovery controls are no longer a SIP requirement under CAA section 
182(b)(3) due to EPA's ``widespread use determination'' for ORVR. 
Additionally, we are approving this SIP revision because the temporary 
incremental increase in VOC emissions from 2014 through 2018 would not 
interfere with reasonable further progress toward, or attainment of, 
any of the NAAQS, and because this SIP revision avoids the longer-term 
VOC emissions increases associated with continued implementation of 
Stage II controls in the Phoenix-Mesa area. As

[[Page 53006]]

part of this final action, the EPA is approving the specific statutory 
provisions that provide for the phase-out of Stage II controls in Area 
A, i.e., sections 5 through 8, and 10 through 12 of House Bill 2128, 
amending ARS sections 41-2131, 41-2132, 41-2133 and adding section 41-
2135.\13\
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    \13\ Approval of these statutory provisions as revisions to the 
Arizona SIP supersedes the following existing SIP provisions in the 
Arizona SIP: ARS section 41-2131, as approved at 77 FR 35279 (June 
13, 2012); ARS section 41-2132, as approved at 77 FR 35279 (June 13, 
2012); and ARS section 41-2133, as approved at 77 FR 35279 (June 13, 
2012).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We are publishing this action without prior proposal because we 
view this as a noncontroversial SIP revision and anticipate no adverse 
comments. In the Proposed Rules section of this Federal Register 
publication, however, we are publishing a separate document that will 
serve as the proposal to approve the state SIP revision if relevant 
adverse comments are filed. This rule will be effective November 2, 
2015 without further notice unless we receive relevant adverse comments 
by October 2, 2015.
    If we receive such comments, we will withdraw this action before 
the effective date by publishing a separate document withdrawing the 
direct final action. All public comments received will then be 
addressed in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed action. The 
EPA will not institute a second comment period. Any parties interested 
in commenting on this action should do so at this time. Please note 
that if the EPA receives adverse comment on an amendment, paragraph, or 
section of this rule and if that provision may be severed from the 
remainder of this rule, the EPA may adopt as final those provisions of 
the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment. If we do not 
receive any comments, this action will be effective on November 2, 
2015.

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 certain 
sections of House Bill 2128 amending various sections of the Arizona 
Revised Statutes related to stage II vapor recovery systems in Area A, 
effective April 22, 2014, as 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 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 the 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 the EPA or an Indian tribe 
has demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of 
Indian country, this rule does not have tribal implications as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor 
will it impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or 
preempt tribal law.
    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. The 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 November 2, 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 the 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.

    Dated: March 30, 2015.
Jared Blumenfeld,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.

    Editorial note:  This document was received for publication by 
the Office of the Federal Register on August 27, 2015.


[[Page 53007]]


    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 D--Arizona

0
2. Section 52.120 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(171) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.120  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (171) The following plan was submitted on September 2, 2014 by the 
Governor's designee.
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    (A) Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.
    (1) House Bill 2128, effective April 22, 2014, excluding sections 1 
through 4, and 9 (including the text that appears in all capital 
letters and excluding the text that appears in strikethrough).
    (ii) Additional materials.
    (A) Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.
    (1) MAG 2014 State Implementation Plan Revision for the Removal of 
Stage II Vapor Recovery Controls in the Maricopa Eight-Hour Ozone 
Nonattainment Area (August 2014), adopted by the Regional Council of 
the Maricopa Association of Governments on August 27, 2014, excluding 
appendix A, exhibit 2 (``Arizona Revised Statutes Listed in Table 1-
1'').

[FR Doc. 2015-21681 Filed 9-1-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P