[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 53 (Monday, March 19, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11944-11946]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-05286]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2017-0760; FRL-9975-61--Region 9]


Approval of California Air Plan Revisions, Antelope Valley 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 Antelope Valley Air Quality Management 
District (AVAQMD) portion of the California

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State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns the emissions 
of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from motor vehicle assembly 
coating operations. 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 April 18, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2017-0760 at http://www.regulations.gov, or via email to Arnold 
Lazarus, Rulemaking Office 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: Arnold Lazarus, EPA Region IX, (415) 
972-3024, [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 dates 
that it was adopted by the local air agency and submitted by the 
California Air Resources Board.

                                             Table 1--Submitted Rule
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Local agency                  Rule No.            Rule title             Adopted        Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AVAQMD................................          1151.1  Motor Vehicle Assembly         6/20/2017        8/9/2017
                                                         Coating Operations.
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    On February 9, 2018, the submittal for AVAQMD Rule 1151.1 was 
deemed by operation of law to meet 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 1151.1 in the SIP. Prior to 
July 1, 1997, the area regulated by the AVAQMD was contained within the 
South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) boundaries. On 
July 1, 1997, the Antelope Valley Air Pollution Control District 
(AVAPCD) was created and took over responsibilities for the 
jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County portion of the Mojave Desert Air 
Basin. Rules and regulations of the SCAQMD were retained until the 
AVAPCD Governing Board adopted, rescinded or amended these rules. 
Therefore, SCAQMD Rule 1115, ``Motor Vehicle Assembly Line Coating 
Operations,'' adopted by SCAQMD in May 1995 and approved by the EPA in 
July 1995, became part of the AVAPCD SIP in July 1997. The AVAPCD 
subsequently rescinded SCAQMD Rule 1115 within its borders, and 
submitted a negative declaration to the EPA stating that no sources 
within its jurisdiction were covered by the rule.\1\ The AVAQMD was 
created to replace the AVAPCD in 2002. On June 20, 2017, the AVAQMD 
adopted Rule 1151.1, ``Motor Vehicle Assembly Coating Operations,'' 
because it now has a facility that builds and paints new, heavy duty 
vehicles.
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    \1\ 65 FR 31267 (May 17, 2000).
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C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?

    VOCs contribute to the production of ground-level ozone, smog and 
particulate matter (PM), which harm human health and the environment. 
Section 110(a) of the CAA requires states to submit regulations that 
control VOC emissions. Rule 1151.1 was adopted to limit VOC emissions 
from all aspects of motor vehicle assembly coating operations. 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).
    Additionally, SIP rules must require reasonably available control 
technology (RACT) for each category of sources covered by a Control 
Techniques Guidelines (CTG) document as well as each major source of 
VOCs in ozone nonattainment areas classified as Moderate or above (see 
CAA section 182(b)(2)). The AVAQMD regulates an ozone nonattainment 
area classified as Severe-15 for the 2008 8-hour ozone national ambient 
air quality standards (40 CFR 81.305). In addition, Rule 1151.1 
regulates activities covered by a CTG: ``Control Techniques Guidelines 
for Automobile and Light-Duty Truck Assembly Coatings'' (EPA-453/R-08-
006, September 2008). Therefore, this rule must implement RACT.
    Guidance and policy documents that we used to evaluate 
enforceability and rule stringency 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,''

[[Page 11946]]

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. ``Control Techniques Guidelines for Automobile and Light-Duty 
Truck Assembly Coatings,'' (EPA-453/R-08-006, September 2008).

B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?

    This rule is consistent with CAA requirements and relevant guidance 
regarding enforceability, RACT, and SIP revisions. 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 April 18, 2018. 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 AVAQMD 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 Orders 
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 
2011);
     Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2, 
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted under 
Executive Order 12866;
     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 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: March 2, 2018.
Alexis Strauss,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2018-05286 Filed 3-16-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P