[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 133 (Thursday, July 11, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 33032-33035]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14628]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2019-0184; FRL-9996-27-Region 3]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
District of Columbia; Reasonably Available Control Technology State
Implementation Plan for Volatile Organic Compounds Under the 2008 Ozone
National Ambient Air Quality Standard
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the
District of Columbia (the District). The District's SIP revision
satisfies the volatile organic compound (VOC) reasonably available
control technology (RACT) requirements under the 2008 8-hour ozone
national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). The District will
address RACT for nitrogen oxides (NOX) in a separate SIP
submission. The District's RACT submittal for the 2008 ozone NAAQS
includes certification that for certain major sources, previously
adopted VOC RACT controls in the District's SIP that were approved by
EPA under the 1979 1-hour and 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS are based on the
currently available technically and economically feasible controls, and
continue to represent RACT for implementation of the 2008 8-hour ozone
NAAQS; a listing of the Control Techniques Guidelines (CTGs) already
adopted into the District's SIP, and a listing of those categories of
sources subject to CTGs which do not exist in the District and the
location of prior negative declarations previously submitted and
approved by EPA. The District's SIP submittal also includes an update
to the 2002 Mobile Equipment Repair and Refinishing (MERR) rule to
incorporate the Ozone Transport Commission's (OTC) 2009 Motor Vehicle
and Mobile Equipment Non-Assembly Line Coating Operations regulations
(MVMERR) rule adopted by the District in 2016. EPA is addressing
[[Page 33033]]
the 2009 MVMERR rule in a separate rulemaking action as it is not
related to the 2008 VOC RACT SIP revision and does not impact EPA's
proposed approval. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act
(CAA).
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before August 12, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2019-0184 at https://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 https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory A. Becoat, Planning &
Implementation Branch (3AD30) Air & Radiation Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. The telephone number is (215) 814-
2036. Mr. Gregory A. Becoat can also be reached via electronic mail at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 29, 2018, the District of Columbia
Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) submitted a SIP revision to
address all the RACT requirements for VOCs set forth by the CAA under
the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS (the 2018 RACT Submission). The DOEE also
submitted as an amendment to the SIP-approved 2002 MERR rule the
updated 2009 MVMERR rule. As previously mentioned, the 2009 MVMERR rule
will be addressed in a separate rulemaking notice.
I. Background
A. General
Ozone is formed in the atmosphere by photochemical reactions
between VOCs and NOX in the presence of sunlight. In order
to reduce these ozone concentrations, the CAA requires control of VOC
and NOX emission sources to achieve emission reductions in
moderate or more serious ozone nonattainment areas. Among effective
control measures, RACT controls significantly reduce VOC and
NOX emissions from major stationary sources.
RACT is defined as the lowest emission limitation that a particular
source is capable of meeting by the application of control technology
that is reasonably available considering technological and economic
feasibility.\1\ Section 172 of the CAA sets forth general requirements
for SIPs in nonattainment areas, including a requirement that SIPs must
include reasonably available control measures (RACM) for attainment of
the NAAQS, including emissions reductions from existing sources through
adoption of RACT. CAA section 172(c)(1). Part D, subpart 2 of the CAA
sets forth additional provisions for ozone nonattainment areas. CAA
sections 181-185B. Sections 182(b)(2) and 182(f)(1) of the CAA require
states with moderate (or worse) ozone nonattainment areas to implement
RACT controls on all stationary sources and source categories covered
by a CTG document issued by EPA, and on all major sources of VOC and
NOX emissions located in the area. A major source in a
nonattainment area is defined as any stationary source that emits or
has the potential to emit NOX or VOC above a certain
applicability threshold that is based on the ozone nonattainment
classification of the area: Marginal, Moderate, Serious, or Severe. See
``major stationary source'' in CAA sections 182(c), (d), (e), 184(b)
and 302. EPA's CTGs establish presumptive RACT control requirements for
various VOC source categories. The CTGs typically identify a particular
control level that EPA recommends as being RACT. In some cases, EPA has
issued Alternative Control Techniques guidelines (ACTs) primarily for
NOX source categories, which in contrast to the CTGs, only
present a range for possible control options but do not identify any
particular option as the presumptive norm for what is RACT. Section
183(c) of the CAA requires EPA to revise and update CTGs and ACTs as
the Administrator determines necessary. EPA issued 11 new CTGs from
2006 through 2008 for a total of 44 CTGs issued since November 1990.
States are required to implement RACT for the source categories covered
by CTGs through the SIP.
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\1\ See December 9, 1976 memorandum from Roger Strelow,
Assistant Administrator for Air and Waste Management, to Regional
Administrators, ``Guidance for Determining Acceptability of SIP
Regulations in Non-Attainment Areas.'' see also 44 FR 53761, 53762
(September 17, 1979).
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Section 184(a) of the CAA established a single ozone transport
region (OTR), comprising all or part of 12 eastern states and the
District.\2\ The District is part of the OTR and, therefore, must
comply with the RACT requirements in section 184(b)(1)(B) and (2) of
the CAA. Specifically, section 184(b)(1)(B) requires the implementation
of RACT in OTR states with respect to all sources of VOC covered by a
CTG. Additionally, section 184(b)(2) states that any stationary source
with the potential to emit 50 tons per year (tpy) or more of VOCs shall
be considered a major source and subject to the requirements which
would be applicable to major stationary sources as if the area was
classified as a moderate nonattainment area. A major source in a
moderate nonattainment area is defined by section 302(j) as any
stationary source that emits or has the potential to emit 100 tpy or
more of any air pollutant, including NOX or VOC. Section
182(f) extends the SIP requirements for major sources of VOCs to major
sources of NOX, as defined in sections 302 and 182(c), (d),
and (e).
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\2\ Only a portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia is included
in the OTR.
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B. The District of Columbia's History
The District has been subject to the CAA RACT requirements because
of previous ozone designations. The District was designated as a
Serious 1-hour ozone nonattainment area. On January 24, 2003, the
District's nonattainment classification was ``bumped up'' from Serious
to Severe for the 1-hour NAAQS and the District was required to submit
RACT evaluations on point sources with a potential to emit (PTE) 25 tpy
for either VOCs or NOX (68 FR 3410). Revisions to the
District's VOC RACT provisions to redefine major source thresholds were
adopted into the SIP on December 28, 2004 (69 FR 77647) and the final
attainment demonstration for the 1-hour NAAQS was approved on March 13,
2005 (70 FR 25688). Under the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS, the District was
designated as a Moderate nonattainment area. As a result, the District
continued to be subject to the CAA RACT requirements. 69 FR 23858,
23931 (April 30, 2004). The District
[[Page 33034]]
promulgated its RACT regulations, certifying that the previously
adapted RACT controls approved under the 1-hour ozone NAAQS continued
to represent RACT under the 1997 8-hour ozone standard, and that no
facilities existed in the District for several remaining CTG
categories. EPA approved the SIP revision on June 16, 2009 (74 FR
28447).
Under the 2008 8-hour ozone standard, EPA designated the District
as a marginal nonattainment area. As part of the OTR, the District
must, at a minimum, implement more stringent moderate area RACT
requirements for: (1) All categories of VOC or NOX sources
covered by a CTG; (2) all other major stationary sources of VOC or
NOX located in the area. Section 182(b)(2). For the
District's 2008 VOC RACT analysis, despite classification as a marginal
nonattainment area, the OTR major source thresholds of 50 tpy for VOCs
and 100 tpy for NOX apply. Sections 184(b)(2), 182(f)(1).
C. EPA Guidance and Requirements
EPA has provided more substantive RACT requirements through final
implementation rules for each ozone NAAQS, as well as guidance. On
March 6, 2015, EPA issued its final rule for implementing the 2008 8-
hour ozone NAAQS (the 2008 Ozone Implementation Rule). 80 FR 12264,
codified at 40 CFR part 51, subpart AA. This rule addressed, among
other things, control and planning obligations as they apply to
nonattainment areas under the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS, including RACT
and RACM. In the preamble of the proposed rule, EPA stated that RACT
SIPs must contain adopted RACT regulations, certifications where
appropriate that existing provisions are RACT, and/or negative
declarations that there are no sources in the nonattainment area
covered by a specific CTG source category. 78 FR 34178, 34192. Stated
differently, states can meet the RACT requirements either through (1) a
certification that previously adopted RACT controls in their SIP
revisions approved by EPA under a prior ozone NAAQS continue to
represent adequate RACT control levels for attainment of the 2008 8-
hour ozone NAAQS; (2) through the adoption of new or more stringent
regulations or controls that represent RACT control levels; or (3) a
negative declaration if there are no source categories subject to
certain CTGs within the nonattainment area in lieu of, or in addition
to, a certification. A certification must be accompanied by appropriate
supporting information such as consideration of information received
during the public comment period and consideration of new data.
Adoption of new RACT regulations will occur when states have new
stationary sources not covered by existing RACT regulations, or when
new data or technical information indicates that a previously adopted
RACT measure does not represent a newly available RACT control level.
II. Summary of SIP Revision
On August 29, 2018, the DOEE submitted a SIP revision to address
all the VOC RACT requirements set forth by the CAA for the 2008 8-hour
ozone NAAQS. Specifically, the District's 2018 RACT Submission
includes: (1) A certification that for certain major sources,
previously adopted VOC RACT controls in the District's SIP that were
approved by EPA under the 1979 1-hour and 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS are
based on the currently available technically and economically feasible
controls, and continue to represent RACT for implementation of the 2008
8-hour ozone NAAQS; (2) a listing of the CTGs already adopted into the
District's SIP, and (3) a listing of those categories of sources
subject to CTGs which do not exist in the District and the location of
prior negative declarations previously submitted and approved by EPA.
The District's Regulations and Statutes, under DMCR Subtitle A (Air
Quality), Chapter 7--Volatile Organic Compounds, contain the VOC RACT
controls that were implemented and approved into the District's SIP
under the 1-hour and 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. The District is
certifying that these regulations, all previously approved by EPA into
the SIP, continue to meet the RACT requirements for the 2008 8-hour
ozone NAAQS for major stationary sources of VOCs and CTG-covered
sources of VOCs. The District also submitted negative declarations for
those sources covered by CTGs and ACT guidelines that have not been
adopted due to no affected facilities in the District in their review
of applicable 2008 8-hour ozone RACT requirements. Additionally, the
District conducted a RACT analysis for each major non-CTG stationary
source of VOC. For the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS, the District determined
that there were three major stationary sources with a PTE of 50 tpy or
more of VOCs. The District evaluated the equipment at these sources to
determine whether there was any equipment emitting VOCs that were not
covered by RACT level controls or a CTG. For equipment at these sources
not covered by RACT controls or CTGs, the District determined that the
actual emissions of VOCs from this equipment were so small that it
would not be cost-effective (economically feasible) to apply controls.
More detailed information on the District's 2018 VOC RACT
submission; as well as a detailed summary of EPA's review of the
submission, can be found in the Technical Support Document (TSD) for
this action, which is available online at www.regulations.gov, Docket
number EPA-R03-OAR-2019-0184.
III. Proposed Action
EPA has reviewed the District's 2018 RACT submission and is
proposing to approve it as a SIP revision. The District has met the
RACT requirements for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS as set forth by
sections 182(b) and 184(b)(2) of the CAA. The District's SIP revision
satisfies the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS RACT requirements through (1)
certification that previously adopted RACT controls in the District's
SIP for major, non-CTG VOC sources that were approved by EPA under the
1-hour ozone and 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS continue to be based on the
currently available technically and economically feasible controls, and
that they continue to represent RACT; (2) a listing identifying those
CTGs which the District has already adopted into its SIP, and (3) a
listing of the negative declarations previously submitted by the
District for those source categories covered by CTGs that do not exist
in the District. EPA finds that the District's 2018 RACT Submission
demonstrates that the District has adopted air pollution control
strategies that represent RACT for the purposes of compliance with the
2008 8-hour ozone standard for all major stationary sources of VOC, it
implements RACT with respect to all sources of VOCs covered by a CTG
issued prior to July 20, 2014, and has submitted or previously
submitted negative declarations for those VOC sources covered by CTGs
and ACTs that are not found in the District. EPA is soliciting public
comments on the issues discussed in this document relevant to VOC RACT
requirements for the District for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. These comments
will be considered before taking final action.
IV. Incorporation by Reference
In this document, 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, EPA is proposing to incorporate by
reference source-specific RACT determinations under the 2008 8-hour
ozone NAAQS for certain major sources of VOC emissions. EPA has made,
and will
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continue to make, these materials generally available through https://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).
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 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 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 proposed rule, the District's 2008 8-hour ozone
RACT SIP revision 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 District, and
EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct costs on tribal
governments or preempt tribal law.
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: June 26, 2019.
Cosmo Servidio,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2019-14628 Filed 7-10-19; 8:45 am]
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