[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 127 (Tuesday, July 2, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 31682-31684]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-13497]



[[Page 31681]]

Vol. 84

Tuesday,

No. 127

July 2, 2019

Part III





Environmental Protection Agency





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40 CFR Part 52





 Air Plan Approval; California; Mojave Desert Air Quality Management 
District and Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District; Final 
Rules

  Federal Register / Vol. 84 , No. 127 / Tuesday, July 2, 2019 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 31682]]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2018-0512; FRL-9994-19-Region 9]


Air Plan Approval; California; Mojave Desert Air Quality 
Management District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final 
action to approve revisions to the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management 
District (MDAQMD or ``District'') portion of the California State 
Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern emissions of 
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from wood products coating operations 
and organic solvent degreasing operations. We are approving local rules 
to regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the 
Act). We are also approving revisions to a definitions rule. Finally, 
we are converting the partial conditional approval of the District's 
reasonably available control technology (RACT) SIPs for the 1997 and 
2008 ozone standards, as it applies to VOC emissions from wood products 
coating operations and organic solvent degreasing operations, to a full 
approval.

DATES: These rules will be effective on August 1, 2019.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2018-0512. All documents in the docket are 
listed on the https://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 https://www.regulations.gov, or please 
contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section for additional availability information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Levin, EPA Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 972-3848 or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,'' 
and ``our'' refer to the EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Proposed Action
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
III. EPA Action
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Proposed Action

    On December 27, 2018 (83 FR 66658), the EPA proposed to approve the 
following rules into the California SIP.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Local agency                Rule No.              Rule title              Amended        Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MDAQMD.............................            1114  Wood Products Coating             1/22/2018       5/23/2018
                                                      Operations.
MDAQMD.............................            1104  Organic Solvent Degreasing        4/23/2018       7/16/2018
                                                      Operations.
MDAQMD.............................             102  Definition of Terms........       4/23/2018       8/22/2018
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We proposed to approve these rules because we determined that they 
comply with the relevant CAA requirements. We also proposed to find 
that the modifications to rules 1114 and 1104 satisfied the District's 
commitment to remedy deficiencies identified in the partial conditional 
approval of the District's RACT SIPs for the 1997 and 2008 ozone 
standards (83 FR 5921). Our proposed action contains more information 
on the rules and our evaluation.

II. Public Comments and EPA Responses

    The EPA's proposed action provided a 30-day public comment period 
that closed on January 28, 2019. During this period, we received eight 
comments. Two comments supported the proposed action, and two comments 
discussed issues unrelated to the proposed action. The EPA does not 
provide a response to those four comments. The remaining four comments 
are summarized below into two separate issues, with EPA responses.
    Comment #1: Three commenters asked whether the revisions to Rule 
1114 would result in additional costs to businesses, cause businesses 
to move out of state, or reduce California's wood products supply. One 
commenter asked whether there is any additional data showing that VOCs 
are harmful to the environment.
    Response #1: In this action we are approving into the California 
SIP a rule that was drafted and adopted by the MDAQMD. In its RACT SIP 
submittal \1\ the District compared its rule with the EPA Control 
Techniques Guidelines (CTG) for Control of Volatile Organic Compound 
Emissions from Wood Furniture Manufacturing Operations (EPA-453/R-96-
007), and with other district rules in order to determine which control 
technologies are reasonably available. The CTG contains the EPA's 
analysis regarding which controls were found to be reasonably available 
for this source category taking into account various factors for 
determining RACT, and it includes an assessment of costs associated 
with the recommended RACT options. As explained in our proposal and 
technical support document, the EPA's analysis concluded that the 
District's rules meet the requirements necessary for RACT. The comments 
received do not address or challenge this determination. Moreover, 
because Rule 1114 has already been implemented locally, the EPA's 
approval of the rule is not expected to result in any additional 
compliance costs, or to otherwise affect the local market for wood 
products and coatings. The EPA's approval simply makes the existing 
locally-implemented rule federally enforceable.
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    \1\ The District's 2015 RACT SIP submittal for the 2008 ozone 
NAAQS can be found in the docket for this rulemaking. The EPA's 
final action partially approving and partially conditionally 
approving the MDAQMD RACT SIP can be found at 83 FR 5921 (February 
12, 2018).
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    Volatile Organic Compounds are a precursor to ozone formation, 
which is harmful to human health and the environment. Information about 
the health and environmental impacts of VOCs and ground-level ozone is 
available on the EPA website.\2\ The impacts of ozone exposure are 
evaluated by the EPA when setting the national ambient air quality 
standards.
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    \2\ For example: https://www.epa.gov/ground-level-ozone-pollution/ground-level-ozone-basics.
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    Comment #2: One commenter states that the use of the phrase 
``coatings and adhesives'' is overly broad, and that the EPA should 
list the specific VOC compounds and manufacturers affected by the rule 
revisions.
    Response #2: District Rule 102 contains a definition of VOC that 
applies to Rule 1114. The VOC definition specifies the VOCs that are 
regulated in Rule 1114. In addition,

[[Page 31683]]

Rule 1114 section (C)(7)(a) provides: ``The manufacturer of Coatings 
subject to this Rule shall include a statement of VOC Content as 
supplied on data sheets; including Coating components, expressed in 
grams per liter or pounds per gallon, excluding water and exempt 
Solvents.'' These provisions provide regulated entities with the 
information needed to evaluate rule applicability and compliance.

III. EPA Action

    No comments were submitted that change our assessment of the rules 
as described in our proposed action. Therefore, as authorized in 
section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA is fully approving these rules 
into the California SIP. The EPA is also converting the partial 
conditional approval of the District's RACT SIPs with respect to Rules 
1104 and 1114 into a full approval.

IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the 
Mojave Desert rules described in the amendments to 40 CFR part 52 set 
forth below. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these 
documents 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).

V. 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 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 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, 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 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).
    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. The 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 Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by September 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 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: May 14, 2019.
Deborah Jordan,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
    Part 52, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 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 F--California

0
2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding paragraphs (c)(37)(i)(D), 
(c)(41)(xiv)(B), (c)(44)(v)(C), (c)(179)(i)(B)(3), (c)(188)(i)(C)(3), 
(c)(207)(i)(D)(4), (c)(244)(i)(C)(3), and (c)(518), (519) and (520) to 
read as follows:


Sec.  52.220   Identification of plan-in part.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (37) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (D) Previously approved on June 14, 1978 in paragraph (c)(37)(i)(A) 
of this section and now deleted with replacement in paragraph 
(c)(520)(i)(A)(1) of this section in the Mojave Desert Air Quality 
Management District, Rule 102.
* * * * *
    (41) * * *
    (xiv) * * *
    (B) Previously approved on December 19, 1978 in paragraph 
(c)(41)(xiv)(A) of

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this section and now deleted with replacement in paragraph 
(c)(520)(i)(A)(1) of this section in the Mojave Desert Air Quality 
Management District, Rule 102 (except for the definition of 
``agricultural burning'').
* * * * *
    (44) * * *
    (v) * * *
    (C) Previously approved on March 28, 1979 in paragraph 
(c)(44)(v)(A) of this section and now deleted with replacement in 
paragraph (c)(520)(i)(A)(1) of this section in the Mojave Desert Air 
Quality Management District, Rule 102, amended November 4, 1977.
* * * * *
    (179) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (B) * * *
    (3) Previously approved on November 27, 1990 in paragraph 
(c)(179)(i)(B)(1) of this section and now deleted with replacement in 
paragraph (c)(520)(i)(A)(1) of this section, Rule 102 (except fugitive 
liquid leak and fugitive vapor leak), amended on December 19, 1988.
* * * * *
    (188) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (C) * * *
    (3) Previously approved on December 20, 1993 in paragraph 
(c)(188)(i)(C)(1) of this section and now deleted with replacement in 
paragraph (c)(519)(i)(A)(1) of this section in the Mojave Desert Air 
Quality Management District, Rule 1171, adopted August 2, 1991.
* * * * *
    (207) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (D) * * *
    (4) Previously approved on April 30, 1996 in paragraph 
(c)(207)(i)(D)(2) of this section and now deleted with replacement in 
paragraph (c)(519)(i)(A)(1) of this section, Rule 1104, adopted on 
September 28, 1994.
* * * * *
    (244) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (C) * * *
    (3) Previously approved on August 18, 1998 in (c)(244)(i)(C)(1) of 
this section and now deleted with replacement in (c)(518)(i)(A)(1) of 
this section, Rule 1114, amended on November 25, 1996.
* * * * *
    (518) New and amended regulations for the following APCDs were 
submitted on May 23, 2018 by the Governor's designee.
    (i) Incorporation by reference. (A) Mojave Desert Air Quality 
Management District.
    (1) Rule 1114, ``Wood Products Coating Operations,'' amended on 
January 22, 2018.
    (2) [Reserved]
    (B) [Reserved]
    (ii) [Reserved]
    (519) New and amended regulations for the following APCDs were 
submitted on July 16, 2018 by the Governor's designee.
    (i) Incorporation by reference. (A) Mojave Desert Air Quality 
Management District.
    (1) Rule 1104, ``Organic Solvent Degreasing Operations,'' amended 
on April 23, 2018.
    (2) [Reserved]
    (B) [Reserved]
    (ii) [Reserved]
    (520) New and amended regulations for the following APCDs were 
submitted on August 22, 2018 by the Governor's designee.
    (i) Incorporation by reference. (A) Mojave Desert Air Quality 
Management District.
    (1) Rule 102, ``Definition of Terms,'' amended on April 23, 2018.
    (2) [Reserved]
    (B) [Reserved]
    (ii) [Reserved]

0
3. Section 52.248 is amended by revising paragraph (d) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.248   Identification of plan--conditional approval.

* * * * *
    (d)(1) The EPA is conditionally approving portions of the 
California SIP revisions submitted on July 11, 2007 and September 9, 
2015, demonstrating control measures in the Mojave Desert portion of 
the Los Angeles-San Bernardino Counties (West Mojave Desert) 
nonattainment area implement RACT for the 1997 and 2008 ozone 
standards. The conditional approval is based on a commitment from the 
state to submit new or revised rules that will correct deficiencies in 
the following rules for the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management 
District:
    (i) Rule 461, Gasoline Transfer and Dispensing;
    (ii) Rule 462, Organic Liquid Loading;
    (iii) Rule 463, Storage of Organic Liquids;
    (iv)-(v) [Reserved]
    (vi) Rule 1115, Metal Parts and Product Coating Operations;
    (vii) Rule 1157, Boilers and Process Heaters;
    (viii) Rule 1160, Internal Combustion Engines;
    (ix) Rule 1161, Portland Cement Kilns; and
    (x) Rule 1162, Polyester Resin Operations.
    (2) If the State fails to meet its commitment by January 31, 2019, 
the conditional approval is treated as a disapproval.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2019-13497 Filed 7-1-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P