[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 215 (Friday, November 6, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 68766-68768]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-28274]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2015-0643; FRL-9935-65-Region 9]


Approval of California Air Plan Revisions, Placer County Air 
Pollution Control District

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 revision to the Placer County portion of the 
California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns the 
necessary procedures to create emission reduction credits (ERCs) from 
the reduction of volatile organic compound (VOC), oxides of nitrogen 
(NOx), oxides of sulfur (SOx), particulate matter (PM), and carbon 
monoxide (CO) emissions due to the use and installation of a control 
device on stationary locomotive engines in rail yards. We are approving 
a local rule that provides administrative procedures for creating 
emissions reduction credits, consistent with Clean Air Act (CAA or the 
Act) requirements.

DATES: This rule is effective on January 5, 2016 without further 
notice, unless the EPA receives adverse comments by December 7, 2015. 
If we receive such comments, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the 
Federal Register to notify the public that this direct final rule will 
not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by docket number EPA-R09-OAR-
2015-0643, 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: Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or 
withdrawn. The EPA may publish any comment received to its public 
docket. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. If you need to include CBI as part 
of your comment, please visit http://www.epa.gov/dockets/comments.html 
for further instructions. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) 
must be accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is 
considered the official comment and should include discussion of all 
points you wish to make. For the full EPA public comment policy and 
general guidance on making effective comments, please visit http://www.epa.gov/dockets/comments.html.
    Docket: Generally, documents in the docket for this action are 
available electronically at www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at EPA 
Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California 94105-3901. 
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: Nancy Levin, EPA Region IX, (415) 972-
3848, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,'' 
and ``our'' refer to the 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. The EPA's Evaluation and Action
    A. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?
    B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
    C. Public Comment and Final Action
III. Incorporation by Reference
IV. 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 action with the dates that 
it was adopted by the Placer County Air Pollution Control District 
(PCAPCD) and submitted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

                                             Table 1--Submitted Rule
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Local agency                  Rule No.            Rule title            Adopted         Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PCAPCD..............................             515   Stationary Rail Yard         02-19-2015       06-26-2015
                                                        Control Emission
                                                        Reduction Credits.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On August 13, 2015, the EPA determined that the submittal for 
PCAPCD Rule 515 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 Rule 515 in the SIP, although the 
PCAPCD adopted an earlier version of this rule on October 9, 2008, and 
CARB submitted it to us on December 23, 2008. CARB withdrew the earlier 
version of Rule 515 on August 11, 2014.

C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?

    The purpose of Rule 515 is to provide owners of a rail yard located 
in Placer County with a mechanism for quantifying, certifying, and 
banking emission reductions from the installation and use of a control 
device that reduces emissions from locomotive engines in rail yards. 
Approval of Rule 515 into the SIP would allow these emission reductions 
to be used as offsets under PCAPCD's New Source Review (NSR) rule. The 
EPA's technical support document (TSD) has more information about this 
rule.

II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action

A. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?

    SIP rules must be enforceable (see CAA section 110(a)(2)), must not 
interfere with applicable requirements concerning attainment and 
reasonable further progress or other CAA requirements (see CAA section 
110(l)), and must not modify certain SIP control requirements in 
nonattainment areas without ensuring equivalent or greater emissions 
reductions (see CAA section 193).
    In addition, a rule of this type that generates emission reduction 
credits for use as offsets in the NSR program must

[[Page 68767]]

meet the NSR requirements for valid offsets (see section 173(c)) and 
meet the criteria set forth in the EPA's guidance concerning economic 
incentive programs.
    Guidance and policy documents that we use to evaluate 
enforceability and other requirements consistently include the 
following:
    1. ``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).
    2. State Implementation Plans; Nitrogen Oxides Supplement to the 
General Preamble; Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 Implementation of 
Title I; Proposed Rule,'' (the NOx Supplement), 57 FR 55620, November 
25, 1992.
    3. ``Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and 
Deviations,'' EPA, May 25, 1988 (the Bluebook).
    4. ``Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule 
Deficiencies,'' EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001 (the Little Bluebook).
    5. New Source Review--Section 173(c) of the CAA and 40 CFR part 51, 
appendix S, ``Emission Offset Interpretative Ruling'' require certain 
sources to obtain emission reductions to offset increased emissions 
from new projects.
    6. ``Improving Air Quality with Economic Incentive Programs,'' EPA-
452/R-01-001, January 2001.

B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?

    We believe this rule is consistent with the relevant policy and 
guidance regarding enforceability and economic incentive programs; and 
ensures that the emission reductions are real, surplus, quantifiable, 
enforceable, and permanent. This rule includes detailed emissions 
quantification protocols and enforceable procedures that provide the 
necessary assurance that the emission reduction credits issued will 
meet the criteria for valid NSR offsets. The TSD has more information 
on our evaluation.

C. Public Comment and Final Action

    As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA is fully 
approving the submitted rule because we believe it fulfills all 
relevant requirements. We do not think anyone will object to this 
approval, so we are finalizing it without proposing it in advance. 
However, in the Proposed Rules section of this Federal Register, we are 
simultaneously proposing approval of the same submitted rule. If we 
receive adverse comments by December 7, 2015, we will publish a timely 
withdrawal in the Federal Register to notify the public that the direct 
final approval will not take effect and we will address the comments in 
a subsequent final action based on the proposal. If we do not receive 
timely adverse comments, the direct final approval will be effective 
without further notice on January 5, 2016. This will incorporate the 
rule into the federally enforceable SIP.
    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 the rule, the EPA may adopt as final 
those provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse 
comment.

III. 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 CARB 
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).

IV. 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, the 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 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, 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. 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 January 5, 2016.

[[Page 68768]]

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, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 
Particulate matter, Sulfur dioxide, Carbon monoxide, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: September 25, 2015.
Jared Blumenfeld,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.

    Part 52, 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 F--California

0
2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(463) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.220  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (463) Amended regulations for the following APCDs were submitted on 
June 26, 2015 by the Governor's designee.
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    (A) Placer County Air Pollution Control District.
    (1) Rule 515, ``Stationary Rail Yard Control Emission Reduction 
Credits,'' amended on February 19, 2015.

[FR Doc. 2015-28274 Filed 11-5-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P