[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 63 (Tuesday, April 2, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12508-12511]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-04779]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2018-0153; FRL-9990-86-Region 3]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Maryland; Amendment To Control of Emissions of Volatile Organic
Compounds From Consumer Products
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a
revision to the State of Maryland's state implementation plan (SIP).
The State of Maryland's SIP revision pertains to Code of Maryland
Regulations (COMAR) 26.11.32--Control of Emissions of Volatile Organic
Compounds (VOCs) from Consumer Products. This action is being taken
under the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: This final rule is effective on May 2, 2019.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
Number EPA-R03-OAR-2018-0153. All documents in the docket are listed on
the www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, e.g., confidential business
information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted
by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is
not placed on the internet and will be publicly available only in hard
copy form. Publicly available docket materials are available through
www.regulations.gov, or please contact the person identified in the For
Further Information Contact section for additional availability
information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Gregory Becoat, Office of Air
Program Planning (3AP30), Air Protection Division, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 3, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania 19103. The telephone number is (215) 814-2036. Mr. Becoat
can also be reached via electronic mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 16, 2017, the Maryland
Department of Environment (MDE) submitted a revision to its SIP for
COMAR 26.11.32--Control of Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds from
Consumer Products. The amendment is part of Maryland's strategy to
achieve and maintain the 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality
standards (NAAQS) throughout the State.
I. Background
EPA has designated certain areas within Maryland as nonattainment
for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. See 40 CFR 81.321. Also, all of Maryland is
included in the Ozone Transport Region (OTR) and is therefore treated
as a moderate nonattainment area for ozone. See CAA section 184(a),
(b)(2), 42 U.S.C. 7511c(a), (b)(2). Therefore, Maryland must continue
to enact regulations to gain further reductions of the emissions of
VOCs, a class of compounds that are precursors to ground-level ozone.
Ozone is formed in the atmosphere by photochemical reactions between
VOCs and oxides of nitrogen (NOX) in the presence of
sunlight. In order to reduce ozone concentrations, the CAA requires
control of VOC and NOX emission sources to achieve VOC and/
or NOX emission reductions in nonattainment areas.
In December 1999, EPA identified emission reduction shortfalls in
several severe 1-hour ozone nonattainment areas, including those
located in the OTR. The Ozone Transport Commission (OTC) developed
model rules for a number of source categories. One of the model rules
was to reduce VOC emissions from consumer products. The OTC model rules
are based on existing rules developed by the California Air Resources
Board (CARB). The OTC
[[Page 12509]]
Model Rule for Consumer Products was first issued in March 28, 2001,
revised November 29, 2001, and April 23, 2002. Additional amendments
followed in 2006, 2010, and 2014. Maryland adopted the 2001 OTC model
rule for consumer products under COMAR 26.11.32--Control of Emissions
of Volatile Organic Compounds from Consumer Products, on August 18,
2003. EPA approved Maryland's adopted regulation COMAR 26.11.32 as part
of the SIP on December 8, 2004 (69 FR 70895). Maryland adopted the
amended 2006 OTC model rule for consumer products under COMAR
26.11.32--Control of Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds from
Consumer Products, on June 8, 2007. EPA approved Maryland's amended
regulation into the SIP on December 10, 2007 (72 FR 69621). Maryland
again amended its consumer products regulation and on October 18, 2010
(75 FR 63717), EPA approved Maryland's SIP revision to COMAR 26.11.32--
Control of Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds from Consumer
Products.
II. Summary of SIP Revision and EPA Analysis
On November 16, 2017, Maryland submitted a SIP revision to amend
COMAR 26.11.32--Control of Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds from
Consumer Products, in order to institute the requirements of the 2010
and 2014 OTC model rules for consumer products. The 2010 and 2014 model
rules were developed as part of a regional effort to attain and
maintain the 8-hour ozone NAAQS and reduce 8-hour ozone levels. The
2010 OTC model rule reflected changes made by the 2006 CARB rule. The
2014 OTC model rule reflected changes made by the 2009 CARB rule. The
OTC model rules further enhance VOC standards for specific consumer
products and introduces VOC standards for new products. Generally, the
amendments to COMAR 26.11.32--Control of Emissions of Volatile Organic
Compounds from Consumer Products regulations, established or amended
VOC content limits and standards for a variety of consumer product
categories, including personal care products, household products,
automotive cleaners, and adhesives, in order to be consistent with the
CARB and OTC model rules. More detailed information on these
provisions, as well as a detailed summary of EPA's review and rationale
for approving these SIP revisions, can be found in the notice of
proposed rulemaking (NPR) for this action which is available on line at
www.regulations.gov, Docket number EPA-R03-OAR-2018-0153.
After evaluating the SIP revision submittal, EPA concluded that the
revisions made to COMAR 26.11.32--Control of Emissions of VOCs from
Consumer Products, meet the SIP revision requirements of the CAA. The
revision will continue to help Maryland attain and maintain the eight-
hour ozone standard for the 2008 NAAQS. On August 8, 2018 (83 FR
39009), EPA published a NPR for the State of Maryland SIP revision. EPA
received two comments, one which was a relevant adverse comment on the
NPR, noting that the CARB and the OTC model rules referenced in the NPR
were not in the docket on www.regulations.gov. As a result, EPA placed
the missing CARB and OTC model rules into the docket for this action on
August 16, 2018, and then published a supplemental NPR on November 26,
2018 (83 FR 57704), reopening the comment period for this action for
thirty days. EPA received two additional comments during the
supplemental NPR comment period. All comments received during the
initial public comment period and the supplemental NPR comment period
are addressed in Section III. Response to Comments of this rulemaking
action.
III. Response to Comments
During the two comment periods, EPA received four anonymous
comments on the proposed rulemaking action. One comment generally
discussed air quality in China and India. EPA believes this comment is
not germane to this rulemaking and therefore no further response is
provided. Two comments were supportive of EPA's approval of the State
of Maryland's SIP revision and noted the air quality benefits of
approving the CARB and OTC model rules into Maryland's SIP. EPA thanks
those commenters and agrees that this SIP revision will have air
quality benefits in Maryland. The fourth comment, received during the
first public comment period, pointed out that the CARB and OTC
regulations were not in the docket for the rule, which EPA corrected by
issuing the supplemental NPR and, also, raised the comment discussed
below.
Comment #1: The anonymous commenter stated: ``Are you or are you
not proposing to approve the hair styling gel category? The ``Proposed
Action'' section makes it sound like you are approving everything
except the hair styling gel category.''
Response #1: EPA is approving the ``hair styling product--all other
forms'' category--which includes ``hair styling gel''--into the
Maryland SIP. As noted in the NPR published on August 8, 2018 (83 FR
39009), the 2006 CARB rule eliminated the ``hair styling gel'' category
and now considers gels to fall under ``hair styling product--all other
forms'' category. Considering hair styling gels to be part of the
``hair styling product--all other forms'' category resulted in a
reduction of the hair styling gels VOC limit from 6 to 2 percent VOC by
weight. The 2014 OTC model rule did not address the 2006 CARB rule
amendment for hair styling gels. However, MDE rectified this omission
in the 2014 OTC model rules when amending COMAR 26.11.32--Control of
Emissions of VOCs from Consumer Products, by moving the ``hair styling
gel'' category into the ``hair styling product--all other forms''
category. Placing hair styling gels into the ``hair styling product--
all other forms'' category reduces the VOC content to 2 percent VOC by
weight and makes the Maryland regulations consistent with the 2006 CARB
rules.
IV. Final Action
EPA is approving the State of Maryland's November 16, 2017 SIP
revision submittal that adopts the VOC limits established in the 2010
and 2014 OTC model rules for consumer products.
V. Incorporation by Reference
In this document, 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 Maryland
rule discussed in section II of this preamble. EPA has made, and will
continue to make, these materials generally available through http://www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region III Office (please contact
the person identified in the For Further Information Contact section of
this preamble for more information). Therefore, these materials have
been approved by EPA for inclusion in the SIP, have been incorporated
by reference by EPA into that plan, are fully Federally enforceable
under sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the effective date of the
final rulemaking of EPA's approval, and will be incorporated by
reference in the next update to the SIP compilation.\1\
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\1\ 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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[[Page 12510]]
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. General Requirements
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);
Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2,
2017) regulatory action because it is not a significant action 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 CAA; 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, this rule 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 in Indian country located in
the state, and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General
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).
C. Petitions for Judicial Review
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 June 3, 2019. 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 shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or
action. This action, which approves the State of Maryland's COMAR
26.11.32--Control of Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds from
Consumer Products, 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, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: March 4, 2019.
Cecil Rodrigues,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
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.
Subpart V--Maryland
0
2. In Sec. 52.1070, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by:
0
a. Revising entries for ``26.11.32.01'', ``26.11.32.02'',
``26.11.32.03'', ``26.11.32.04'', and ``26.11.32.05'';
0
b. Adding an entry in numerical order for ``26.11.32.05-1''; and
0
c. Revising entries for ``26.11.32.06'', ``26.11.32.08'',
``26.11.32.12'', ``26.11.32.14'', and ``26.11.32.16''.
The revisions and addition read as follows:
Sec. 52.1070 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
EPA-Approved Regulations, Technical Memoranda, and Statutes in the Maryland SIP
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Code of Maryland State Additional
Administrative Regulations Title/subject effective EPA approval date explanation/ citation
(COMAR) citation date at 40 CFR 52.1100
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26.11.32 Control of Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds From Consumer Products
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26.11.32.01................ Applicability and 10/09/2017 4/2/2019, Insert Revised.
Exemptions. Federal Register
citation].
[[Page 12511]]
26.11.32.02................ Incorporation by 10/09/2017 4/2/2019, Insert Revised.
Reference. Federal Register
citation].
26.11.32.03................ Definitions.......... 10/09/2017 4/2/2019, Insert Revised. Previous
Federal Register Approval dated 12/10/
citation]. 2007.
26.11.32.04................ Standards--General... 10/09/2017 4/2/2019, Insert Revised.
Federal Register
citation].
26.11.32.05................ Standards--Requiremen 10/09/2017 4/2/2019, Insert Revised.
ts for Charcoal Federal Register
Lighter Materials. citation].
26.11.32.05-1.............. Requirements for 10/09/2017 4/2/2019, Insert New Regulation.
Flammable and Federal Register
Extremely Flammable citation].
Multi-Purpose
Solvent and Paint
Thinner.
26.11.32.06................ Standards--Requiremen 10/09/2017 4/2/2019, Insert Revised.
ts for Aerosol Federal Register
Adhesives. citation].
* * * * * * *
26.11.32.08................ Requirements for 10/09/2017 4/2/2019, Insert Revised.
Contact Adhesives, Federal Register
Electronic Cleaners, citation].
Footwear, or Leather
Care Products, and
General Purpose
Cleaners.
* * * * * * *
26.11.32.12................ Innovative Products-- 10/09/2017 4/2/2019, Insert Revised.
Department Exemption. Federal Register
citation].
* * * * * * *
26.11.32.14................ Reporting 10/09/2017 4/2/2019, Insert Revised.
Requirements. Federal Register
citation].
* * * * * * *
26.11.32.16................ Test Methods......... 10/09/2017 4/2/2019, Insert Revised.
Federal Register
citation].
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[FR Doc. 2019-04779 Filed 4-1-19; 8:45 am]
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