[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 231 (Thursday, December 1, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 86662-86664]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-28741]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2016-0245; FRL-9955-60-Region 9]


Approval of California Air Plan Revisions, Yolo-Solano Air 
Quality Management 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 Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District 
(YSAQMD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). 
This revision concerns emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) 
and particulate matter (PM) from confined animal facilities (CAFs). 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 3, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2016-0245 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: 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. 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 Resourced Board (CARB).

                                             Table 1--Submitted Rule
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           Local agency                 Rule No.             Rule title             Adopted         Submitted
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YSAQMD............................            11.2   Confined Animal                  06/14/06       10/05/2006
                                                      Facilities Permit
                                                      Program.
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[[Page 86663]]

    On October 24, 2006, the EPA determined that the submittal for 
YSAQMD Rule 11.2 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 11.2 in the SIP.

C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?

    VOCs help produce ground-level ozone, smog and PM, which harm human 
health and the environment. Section 110(a) of the CAA requires States 
to submit regulations that control VOC emissions. PM, including PM 
equal to or less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5) and 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. This rule prohibits any person from operating a CAF without 
first obtaining a ``CAF Permit'' from the YSAQMD Air Pollution Control 
Officer (APCO). The rule defines a CAF as a ``facility where animals 
are corralled, penned, or otherwise caused to remain in restricted 
areas for commercial purposes and primarily fed by means other than 
grazing.'' \1\ The rule exempts a CAF from permit requirements if it 
does not meet the definition of a large CAF (LCAF).\2\ The rule defines 
a LCAF as a CAF that meets or exceeds a threshold of 1,000 milking cows 
per dairy, 3,500 beef cattle per beef feedlot, 7,500 ``other cattle'' 
\3\ per facility, 100,000 turkeys per facility, 650,000 chickens per 
facility or 3,000 swine per facility.\4\ The permit application must 
contain an emissions mitigation plan that implements best available 
retrofit control technology (BARCT) for existing CAFs and best 
available control technology (BACT) for new facilities, as applicable. 
The rule does not include specific measures that the CAF may or must 
use to implement BARCT or BACT. The EPA's technical support document 
(TSD) has more information about this rule.
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    \1\ See YSAQMD Rule 11.2, section 206 ``Confined Animal Facility 
(CAF).''
    \2\ See YSAQMD Rule 11.2, sections 103 ``Exemptions'' and 211 
``Large Confined Animal Facility.'' All CAFs must comply with 
section 502 ``Number of Animals--Exemption Demonstration,'' which 
requires the owner or operator of any CAF that exceeds 50 percent of 
the large CAF (LCAF) threshold to maintain records demonstrating 
that the CAF meets the exemption criteria of the rule. Rule 11.2 
also exempts a CAF if it is subject to YSAQMD Rule 3.8 ``Federal 
Operating Permits.'' See Rule 11.2 section 103.
    \3\ ``Other Cattle'' includes heifers and calves.
    \4\ See YSAQMD Rule 11.2, section 211. This section also 
includes LCAF thresholds for sheep, lamb or goat CAFs (15,000 head), 
horse CAFs (2,500 head), duck CAFs (650,000 head), and CAFs for any 
other type of livestock not listed (30,000 head).
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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).
    Guidance and policy documents that we use to evaluate 
enforceability and revision/relaxation requirements for the applicable 
criteria pollutants include the following:
    1. ``Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and 
Deviations,'' EPA, May 25, 1988 (the ``Bluebook,'' revised January 11, 
1990).
    2. ``Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule 
Deficiencies,'' EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001 (the ``Little 
Bluebook'').

B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?

    We believe this rule is consistent with CAA requirements and 
relevant guidance regarding enforceability and SIP revisions. The 
submitted rule strengthens the SIP by establishing a permit program for 
CAFs and by prohibiting any person from operating a CAF without first 
obtaining a CAF permit from the APCO. The CAF permit application must 
include an emissions mitigation plan. 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 the local agency modifies the rule.

D. 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 we believe it fulfills all 
relevant requirements. We will accept comments from the public on this 
proposal until January 3, 2017. Unless we receive convincing new 
information during the comment period, we intend to publish a final 
approval action that 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 YSAQMD rule as 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, 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 (Public Law 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);

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     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, Ozone, Particulate matter, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: November 14, 2016.
Alexis Strauss,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2016-28741 Filed 11-30-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P