[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 231 (Wednesday, December 2, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 75442-75444]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-30542]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2015-0751; FRL-9939-64-Region 9]


Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, San 
Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve a revision to the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution 
Control District (SJVUAPCD) portion of the California State 
Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns volatile organic 
compound (VOC), oxides of nitrogen (NOX), and particulate 
matter (PM) emissions from internal combustion engines. We are 
proposing to approve a local rule to regulate these emission sources 
under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act). We are taking comments on 
this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.

DATES: Any comments must arrive by January 4, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by docket number [EPA-R09-OAR-
2015-0751, 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withdrawn.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://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

[[Page 75443]]

    Docket: Generally, documents in the docket for this action are 
available electronically at www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at EPA 
Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California. While all 
documents in the docket are listed at www.regulations.gov, some 
information may be publicly available only at the hard copy location 
(e.g., copyrighted material, large maps), and some may not be publicly 
available in either location (e.g., CBI). To inspect the hard copy 
materials, please schedule an appointment during normal business hours 
with the contact listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole Law, EPA Region IX, (415) 947-
4126, [email protected].

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

Table of Contents

I. The State's Submittal
    A. What rule did the State submit?
    B. Are there other versions of this rule?
    C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule revisions?
II. EPA's Evaluation and Proposed Action
    A. How is EPA evaluating the rule?
    B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
    C. EPA recommendations to further improve the rule
    D. Public comment and proposed 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 proposal with the dates 
that it was adopted by the local air agency and submitted by the 
California Air Resources Board (CARB).

                                             Table 1--Submitted Rule
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Local agency                 Rule number          Rule title             Adopted        Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SJVUAPCD..............................            4702  Internal Combustion             11/14/13        05/13/14
                                                         Engines.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On July 18, 2014, EPA determined that the submittal for SJVUAPCD 
Rule 4702 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?

    We approved an earlier version of Rule 4702 into the SIP on January 
10, 2008 (73 FR 1819). The SJVUAPCD adopted revisions to the SIP-
approved version on November 14, 2013 and CARB submitted them to us on 
May 13, 2014. While we can act on only the most recently submitted 
version, we have reviewed materials provided with previous submittals.

C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule revisions?

    VOCs and NOX help produce ground-level ozone and smog, 
which harm human health and the environment. PM contributes to effects 
that are harmful to human health and the environment, including 
premature mortality, aggravation of respiratory and cardiovascular 
disease, decreased lung function, visibility impairment, and damage to 
vegetation and ecosystems. Section 110(a) of the CAA requires States to 
submit regulations that control emissions of VOC, NOX, and 
PM, among other pollutants.
    The primary changes to Rule 4702 include expanding the 
applicability of the rule, establishing lower NOX limits for 
spark-ignited non-Agricultural Operation (non-AO) IC engines, and 
adding a fee compliance option. EPA's technical support document (TSD) 
contains more information about this rule.

II. EPA's Evaluation and Proposed Action

A. How is EPA evaluating the rule?

    Generally, 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).
    Guidance and policy documents that we use to evaluate pollution 
control requirements, rule enforceability, and SIP revisions under CAA 
section 110 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. ``Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and 
Deviations,'' EPA, May 25, 1988 (the Bluebook, revised January 11, 
1990).
3. ``Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule 
Deficiencies,'' EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001 (the Little Bluebook).
4. ``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.
5. ``Alternative Control Techniques Document--NOX 
Emissions from Stationary Reciprocating Internal Combustion 
Engines,'' EPA-453/R-93-032, July 1993.
6. ``Determination of Reasonable Available Control Technology and 
Best Available Retrofit Control Technology for Stationary Spark-
Ignited Internal Combustion Engines,'' CARB, November 2011.
7. ``Review of State Implementation Plans and Revisions for 
Enforceability and Legal Sufficiency,'' September 23, 1987.

    In ozone nonattainment areas classified as moderate or above, all 
major stationary sources of NOX or VOCs must be subject to 
Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) (see sections 182(b)(2) 
and 182(f)). The SJVUAPCD regulates an ozone nonattainment area 
classified as extreme nonattainment for the 1-hour, 1997 8-hour, and 
2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS (see 40 CFR 81.305).
    Additionally, moderate PM2.5 nonattainment areas must 
implement Reasonably Available Control Measures (RACM), including 
Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) (see CAA sections 
172(c)(1) and 189(a)(1)(C)), and serious PM2.5 nonattainment 
areas must implement Best Available Control Measures (BACM), including 
Best Available Control Technology (BACT) (see CAA section 
189(b)(1)(B)). The SJVUAPCD regulates a PM2.5 nonattainment 
area classified as serious nonattainment for the 1997 PM2.5 
NAAQS and moderate nonattainment for the 2006 and 2012 PM2.5 
NAAQS. Therefore, we are evaluating this rule for compliance with both 
RACT and BACT requirements for NOX control.

B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?

    We believe this rule is consistent with the relevant policy and 
guidance regarding enforceability, RACT, BACT, and SIP revisions. 
Although the new NOX emission limits for spark-ignited IC 
engines used in non-agricultural

[[Page 75444]]

operations in Table 2 of the revised rule are not enforceable because 
of the option to pay fees in lieu of compliance with the limits 
(section 5.2.2.2), the rule clearly requires that all engines in the 
fee program comply with the applicable limits in Table 1 of the rule 
(section 5.2.2.2.1), which are identical to the control requirements in 
the SIP-approved version of Rule 4702. Based on our evaluation of the 
control requirements in the rule and related support documents in the 
SIP submission, we propose to determine that Rule 4702 implements BACT 
for NOX emissions from stationary internal combustion 
engines operating in the SJV. The TSD has more information on our 
evaluation.

C. EPA Recommendations to Further Improve the Rule

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

D. Public Comment and Proposed Action

    As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, EPA is proposing to 
fully approve the submitted rule based on our conclusion that the rule 
satisfies all applicable CAA requirements. We will accept comments from 
the public on this proposal until January 4, 2016.

III. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, the EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA rule 
regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance 
with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is proposing to incorporate by 
reference the SJVUAPCD rule as described in Table 1 of this notice. The 
EPA has made, and will continue to make, these documents available 
electronically through www.regulations.gov and 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, EPA's role is to approve State 
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. 
Accordingly, this proposed action merely proposes to approve State law 
as meeting Federal requirements and does not impose additional 
requirements beyond those imposed by State law. For that reason, this 
proposed action:
     Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to 
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
     does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     is certified as not having a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
     does not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent 
with the Clean Air Act; and
     does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to 
address disproportionate human health or environmental effects with 
practical, appropriate, and legally permissible methods under Executive 
Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
    In addition, this proposed action does not have tribal implications 
as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), 
because 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 
will not have tribal implications and will not impose substantial 
direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

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


    Dated: November 12, 2015.
Jared Blumenfeld,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2015-30542 Filed 12-1-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P