[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 224 (Wednesday, November 20, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 64035-64037]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25063]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[Docket No. EPA-R09-OAR-2019-0564; FRL-10002-24-Region 9]


Air Plan Approval; California; Mojave Desert 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 revisions to the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District 
(MDAQMD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). 
These revisions concern emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) 
from organic liquid and gasoline transfer and storage operations. We 
are proposing to approve local rules 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 December 20, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2019-0564 at https://www.regulations.gov. 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, 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://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rebecca Newhouse, EPA Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105, (415) 972-3004, 
[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 rules did the State submit?
    B. Are there other versions of these rules?
    C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule revisions?
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action
    A. How is the EPA evaluating the rules?
    B. Do the rules meet the evaluation criteria?
    C. EPA Recommendations To Further Improve the Rules
    D. Public Comment and Proposed Action
III. Incorporation by Reference
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. The State's Submittal

A. What rules did the State submit?

    Table 1 lists the rules addressed by this proposal with the dates 
that they were adopted by the local air agency and submitted by the 
California Air Resources Board (CARB).

                                            TABLE 1--Submitted Rules
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        Local agency                   Rule No.                 Rule title            Amended        Submitted
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MDAQMD......................  461.......................  Gasoline Transfer and       01/22/2018      05/23/2018
                                                           Dispensing.
MDAQMD......................  462.......................  Organic Liquid Loading      01/22/2018      05/23/2018
MDAQMD......................  463.......................  Storage of Organic          01/22/2018      05/23/2018
                                                           Liquids.
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    On November 23, 2018, the submittal of Rules 461, 462, and 463 for 
MDAQMD 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 these rules?

    The MDAQMD regulates portions of San Bernardino and Riverside 
Counties. On July 1, 1994, a portion of Riverside County left the South 
Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) and joined the MDAQMD. 
The EPA-approved SIP for this portion of Riverside County remained the 
same when the area changed districts. As a result, the Riverside County 
portion of the MDAQMD SIP retained the SCAQMD rules in place at that 
time.
    We approved earlier versions of MDAQMD Rules 461 and 462 into the 
SIP on May 3, 1995 (60 FR 21702). These rules applied in both the San 
Bernardino and Riverside County portions of the MDAQMD and replaced the 
existing versions of Rules 461 and 462 in place in the District at that 
time.
    On May 3, 1995 (60 FR 21702), we also approved a version of Rule 
463 submitted by the San Bernardino County Air Pollution Control 
District on November 2, 1992. This rule was only approved to apply in 
the San Bernardino County portion of the District. In the Riverside 
County portion of the MDAQMD, the EPA approved the June 1, 1984 version 
of SCAQMD Rule 463 on January 15, 1987 (52 FR 1627). For a more 
complete discussion of the SIP history of these rules, see the 
technical support documents (TSDs).
    The MDAQMD adopted revisions to all three rules on January 22, 
2018, and CARB submitted them to us on May 23, 2018. In its submission, 
the District requested that in the San Bernardino County portion of the 
District the newly-adopted rules replace the versions of Rules 461, 
462, and 463, approved in 1995, and that in the Riverside County 
portion of the District, the rules replace all versions of the rules 
that are applicable in Riverside County.

C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule revisions?

    Emissions of VOCs contribute to the production of ground-level 
ozone, smog and particulate matter, which harm human health and the 
environment. Section 110(a) of the CAA requires states to submit 
regulations that control VOC emissions. SIP-approved Rules 461, 462, 
and 463 limit VOC emissions from organic liquid storage tanks and 
during transfers at bulk terminals, bulk gasoline plants, and gasoline 
dispensing

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facilities. Major revisions to the SIP-approved versions of the rules 
include requiring CARB-certification for vapor recovery systems, 
requiring a minimum vapor recovery efficiency for gasoline transfers to 
mobile fuelers, lowering the threshold for determining vapor leaks, 
lowering the vapor pressure cut-off for stationary storage tanks, 
adding an emissions limit for organic liquid transfers at bulk 
terminals, adding backpressure requirements during organic liquid 
transfer, and strengthening recordkeeping and inspection requirements, 
among other changes. The EPA's TSDs have more information about these 
rules.
    Additionally, on February 12, 2018 (83 FR 5921), the EPA partially 
conditionally approved MDAQMD's reasonably available control technology 
(RACT) demonstrations for the 1997 8-hr ozone National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards (NAAQS) and the 2008 8-hr ozone NAAQS (also referred 
to as the 2006 and 2015 RACT SIPs) with respect to Rules 461, 462, and 
463, based on commitments from MDAQMD and CARB to adopt and submit 
amendments to those rules to implement current RACT.\1\ These rules 
were revised by the District and submitted to the EPA by CARB for 
incorporation into the SIP to ensure continued compliance with the CAA 
RACT requirement, and to fulfill commitments necessary for the EPA to 
convert the partial conditional approval of the District's 2006 and 
2015 RACT SIPs into a full approval for the VOC source categories 
covered by Rules 461, 462, and 463.
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    \1\ Letter dated September 25, 2017, from Brad Poiriez, Air 
Pollution Control Officer, MDAQMD, to Alexis Strauss, Acting 
Regional Administrator, EPA, Region IX, and Richard Corey, Executive 
Officer, CARB; and letter dated October 3, 2017, from Jon Taylor, 
Acting Chief, Air Quality Planning and Science Division, CARB, to 
Alexis Strauss, Acting Regional Administrator, EPA, Region IX.
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II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action

A. How is the EPA evaluating the rules?

    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).
    Generally, SIP rules must require 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 MDAQMD regulates an 
ozone nonattainment area classified as Severe for the 1997, 2008, and 
2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS (40 CFR 81.305). Therefore, these rules must 
implement RACT.
    Guidance and policy documents that we used to evaluate 
enforceability, revision/relaxation and rule stringency requirements 
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,'' 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 of Volatile Organic Emissions from Storage of 
Petroleum Liquids in Fixed-Roof Tanks,'' EPA-450/2-77-036, December 
1977.
    5. ``Control of Volatile Organic Emissions from Petroleum Liquid 
Storage in External Floating Roof Tanks,'' EPA-450/2-78-047, 
December 1978.
    6. ``Control of Volatile Organic Emissions from Bulk Gasoline 
Plants,'' EPA-450/2-77-035, December 1977.
    7. ``Control of Hydrocarbons from Tank Truck Gasoline Loading 
Terminals,'' EPA-450/2-77-026, October 1977.
    8. ``Control of Volatile Organic Compound Leaks from Gasoline 
Tank Trucks and Vapor Collection Systems,'' EPA-450/2-78-051, 
December 1978.
    9. ``Design Criteria for Stage I Vapor Control Systems-Gasoline 
Service Stations,'' EPA-450/R-75-102, November 1975.
    10. ``Alternative Control Techniques Document: Volatile Organic 
Liquid Storage in Floating and Fixed Roof Tanks,'' EPA-453/R-94-001, 
January 1994.

B. Do the rules meet the evaluation criteria?

    These rules are consistent with CAA requirements and relevant 
guidance regarding enforceability, RACT, and SIP revisions, and fulfill 
the District's commitment to revise the rules to meet current RACT. The 
TSDs have more information on our evaluation.

C. EPA Recommendations To Further Improve the Rules

    The TSDs describe additional rule revisions that we recommend for 
the next time the local agency modifies the rules.

D. Public Comment and Proposed Action

    As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA proposes to 
fully approve the submitted rules because they fulfill all relevant 
requirements. In addition, we propose to convert the partial 
conditional approval of the District's RACT SIPs with respect to Rules 
461, 462, and 463, as found in 40 CFR 52.248(d), to a full approval. We 
will accept comments from the public on this proposal until December 
20, 2019. If we take final action to approve the submitted rules, our 
final action will incorporate these rules into the federally 
enforceable SIP.

III. Incorporation by Reference

    In this document, 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 MDAQMD rules 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

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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, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: November 4, 2019.
Deborah Jordan,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2019-25063 Filed 11-19-19; 8:45 am]
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