[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 177 (Tuesday, September 13, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 62849-62850]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-21872]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2016-0393; FRL-9952-08-Region 9]


Approval of California Air Plan Revisions, Great Basin 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 Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control 
District (GBUAPCD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan 
(SIP). This revision concerns emissions of particulate matter (PM) at 
Owens Lake, CA. We are proposing to approve a local rule to regulate 
this emission source 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 October 13, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2016-0393 at http://www.regulations.gov, or via email to Andrew 
Steckel, Rulemaking Office Chief at [email protected]. For 
comments submitted at Regulations.gov, follow the online instructions 
for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be removed or 
edited from Regulations.gov. For either manner of submission, 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. 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. The EPA will generally not consider comments or comment 
contents located outside of the primary submission (i.e. on the web, 
cloud, or other file sharing system). For additional submission 
methods, please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the full EPA public comment policy, 
information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance 
on making effective comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Vineyard, EPA Region IX, 
(415) 947-4125, [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 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 date 
that it was adopted by the local air agency and submitted by the 
California Air Resources Board (CARB).

                                             Table 1--Submitted Rule
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        Local agency              Rule No.                Rule title                Adopted         Submitted
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GBUAPCD.....................             433   Control of Particulate                 04/13/16         06/09/16
                                                Emissions at Owens Lake.
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    On July 6, 2016, the EPA determined that the submittal for GBUAPCD 
Rule 433 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 433 in the SIP.

C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?

    PM, including PM equal to or less than 10 microns in diameter 
(PM10), 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 PM 
emissions, including PM10 emissions. GBUAPCD Rule 433 
establishes PM10 emission control requirements at the dry 
Owens Lake bed in the Owens Valley Planning Area (OVPA). The rule 
defines Best Available Control Measures (BACM) and establishes the 
temporal and geographic requirements of these controls at Owens Lake, 
with the goal of reducing PM10 emissions from the dry lake 
bed to attain the 24-hour PM10 National Ambient Air Quality 
Standard (NAAQS) in 2017. For example, Rule 433 requires the 
application of controls such as gravel blankets, managed vegetation, or 
shallow flooding to areas of the dry Owens Lake bed that have 
contributed to violations of the NAAQS. 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).
    Generally, SIP rules must implement BACM, including Best Available 
Control Technology (BACT), in areas classified as serious nonattainment 
(see CAA section 189(b)(1)(B)) for PM10. The GBUAPCD 
regulates the OVPA, which is a PM10 nonattainment area 
classified as serious. A BACM and BACT evaluation is generally 
performed in context of a broader plan.\1\
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    \1\ CARB submitted the GBUAPCD's 2016 OVPA PM10 SIP 
on June 9, 2016. We intend to evaluate and propose action on the 
2016 OVPA PM10 SIP, including BACM, in a separate action 
in the near future.
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    The dry Owens Lake bed is the predominant source of PM10 
emissions in the OVPA.\2\ Rule 433 requires the City of Los Angeles to 
implement a number of PM10 control measures, including 
shallow flooding, managed vegetation, installation of gravel blankets, 
application of brine, or surface roughening (tillage) over a large 
portion of the dry Owens Lake bed. The control

[[Page 62850]]

measures required by Rule 433 will result in a substantial reduction of 
PM10 emissions in the OVPA from the Owens Lake bed.\3\
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    \2\ OVPA 2016 SIP BACM Assessment at p. 1.
    \3\ OVPA 2016 SIP at p. 87 and Figure 10-1.
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    Guidance and policy documents that we use to evaluate 
enforceability, revision/relaxation and rule stringency requirements 
for the applicable criteria pollutants 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 for Serious PM10 
Nonattainment Areas, and Attainment Date Waivers for PM10 
Nonattainment Areas Generally; Addendum to the General Preamble for the 
Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990,'' 59 
FR 41998 (August 16, 1994).
    5. ``PM10 Guideline Document,'' EPA 452/R-93-008, April 
1993.
    6. ``Fugitive Dust Background Document and Technical Information 
Document for Best Available Control Measures,'' EPA 450/2-92-004, 
September 1992.

B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?

    The PM10 emission controls and other requirements in 
Rule 433 are clear and adequately enforceable. The requirements clearly 
strengthen the SIP and are consistent with CAA sections 110(l) and 193. 
We intend to address BACM for this area in the near future when we act 
on the OVPA 2016 SIP. Therefore, we find that Rule 433 is consistent 
with the relevant policy and guidance regarding enforceability and does 
not result in a SIP relaxation. The TSD has more information on our 
evaluation.

C. Public Comment and Proposed Action

    As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA proposes to 
fully approve the submitted rule because it fulfills all relevant 
requirements. We will accept comments from the public on this proposal 
until October 13, 2016. If we take final action to approve the 
submitted rule, our final action will incorporate this rule into the 
federally enforceable SIP.

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 GBUAPCD rule described in Table 1 of this preamble. The 
EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials available 
through www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region IX Office (please 
contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
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 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, 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).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Particulate matter, Reporting 
and recordkeeping requirements.

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

    Dated: August 24, 2016.
Alexis Strauss,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2016-21872 Filed 9-12-16; 8:45 am]
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