[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 249 (Wednesday, December 28, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 95475-95477]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31227]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R05-OAR-2016-0502; FRL-9955-89-Region 5]


Air Plan Approval; Illinois; Volatile Organic Compounds 
Definition

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) is approving a state submission as a revision to the 
Illinois State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revision amends the 
Illinois Administrative Code (IAC) by updating the definition of 
volatile organic material (VOM), otherwise known as volatile organic 
compounds (VOC), to exclude 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP). This 
revision is in response to an EPA rulemaking in 2014 which exempted 
this compound from the Federal definition of VOC on the basis that the 
compound makes a negligible contribution to tropospheric ozone 
formation.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective February 27, 2017, 
unless EPA receives adverse comments by January 27, 2017. If adverse 
comments are received, 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 ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2016-0502 at http://www.regulations.gov or via email to 
[email protected]. For comments submitted at Regulations.gov, 
follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, 
comments cannot be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. For either 
manner of submission, 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. 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: Michelle Becker, Life Scientist, 
Attainment Planning and Maintenance Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-
18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson 
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-3901, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information 
section is arranged as follows:

I. What is the background for this action?
II. What is EPA's analysis of the SIP Revision?
III. What action is EPA taking?
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What is the background for this action?

    The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) submitted a 
revision to the Illinois SIP to EPA for approval on August 9, 2016. The 
SIP revision excludes the chemical compound 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol 
(AMP) from the definition of VOM or VOC at 35 IAC Part 211, Subpart B, 
Section 211.7150(a).
    The Illinois Pollution Control Board (IPCB) held a public hearing 
on the proposed SIP revision on January 8, 2015. There were no public 
comments received at the public hearing. IPCB received one comment from 
the American Coatings Association in a letter dated December 16, 2014, 
supporting the exemption of AMP from

[[Page 95476]]

the Illinois regulated VOCs. IPCB adopted the amendment to 35 IAC 
211.7150(a) on March 5, 2015. IPCB also adopted minor administrative 
changes such as alphabetizing compound names, adding a subpart heading 
previously omitted, and replacing the word ``above'' with ``of this 
Section'' in 35 IAC 211.7150(d) for ease of cross-referencing within a 
section of the regulations.

II. What is EPA's analysis of the SIP Revision?

    In 2012, EPA received a petition requesting that AMP be exempted 
from VOC control based on its low reactivity to ethane. On March 27, 
2014 (79 FR 17037), EPA responded to the petition by amending 40 CFR 
51.100(s)(1) to exclude this chemical compound from the definition of 
VOC for purposes of preparing SIPs to attain the national ambient air 
quality standard for ozone under title I of the CAA (78 FR 9823). Based 
on the mass maximum incremental reactivity value for the compound being 
equal to or less than that of ethane, EPA concluded that this compound 
makes negligible contributions to tropospheric ozone formation. (79 FR 
17037). Additionally, EPA considered risks not related to tropospheric 
ozone associated with currently allowed uses of the chemical to be 
acceptable. EPA's action became effective on June 25, 2014. IEPA's SIP 
revision is consistent with EPA's action amending the definition of VOC 
at 40 CFR 51.100(s).

III. What action is EPA taking?

    EPA is approving into the Illinois SIP revisions to 35 IAC 211 
contained in the August 9, 2016, submittal. We are publishing this 
action without prior proposal because we view this as a 
noncontroversial amendment and anticipate no adverse comments. However, 
in the proposed rules section of this Federal Register publication, we 
are publishing a separate document that will serve as the proposal to 
approve the state plan if relevant adverse written comments are filed. 
This rule will be effective February 27, 2017 without further notice 
unless we receive relevant adverse written comments by January 27, 
2017. If we receive such comments, we will withdraw this action before 
the effective date by publishing a subsequent document that will 
withdraw the final action. All public comments received will then be 
addressed in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed action. 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 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, 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 February 27, 2017.

IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the Illinois 
Regulations described in the amendments to 40 CFR part 52 set forth 
below. EPA has made, and will continue to make, these documents 
generally available through www.regulations.gov, and/or at the National 
Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and/or at the EPA Region 5 
Office (please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this preamble for more information). For 
information on the availability of this material at NARA, go to: 
www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA 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 CAA. 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 (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);
     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, 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 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. 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 CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by February 27, 2017. 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

[[Page 95477]]

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 today's Federal 
Register, rather than file an immediate petition for judicial review of 
this direct final rule, so that 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: November 18, 2016.
Robert A. Kaplan,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.
    40 CFR Part 52 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.

0
2. Section 52.720 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(209) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.720  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (209) On August 9, 2016, the state submitted a proposed revision to 
the Illinois SIP updating the definition of Volatile Organic Material 
(VOM) or Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) to exclude the chemical 
compound 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP), along with minor 
administrative revisions.
    (i) Incorporation by reference. Illinois Administrative Code, Title 
35: Environmental Protection, Subtitle B: Air Pollution, Chapter I: 
Pollution Control Board, Subchapter c: Emissions Standards and 
Limitations for Station Sources, Part 211: Definitions and General 
Provisions, Subpart B: Definitions, Section 211.7150 Volatile Organic 
Material (VOM) or Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), effective March 24, 
2015.

[FR Doc. 2016-31227 Filed 12-27-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P