[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 51 (Monday, March 16, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14845-14847]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-05331]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2019-0291; FRL-10006-47-Region 9]


Air Plan Approval; California; Mariposa County Air Pollution 
Control 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 Mariposa County Air Pollution Control 
District (MCAPCD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan 
(SIP). This revision concerns reporting of emissions of volatile 
organic compounds (VOCs) and oxides of nitrogen (NOX) in 
nonattainment areas. We are proposing to approve a local rule to 
require submittal of emissions statements 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 15, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2019-0291 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. 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 https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Levin, EPA Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA

[[Page 14846]]

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. 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. The EPA's recommendations to further improve the rule
    D. 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 (CARB).

                                             Table 1--Submitted Rule
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           Local agency                Rule #                Rule title               Revised        Submitted
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MCAPCD...........................             513  Emissions Statements.........        05/15/18        04/30/19
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    On May 13, 2019, the EPA determined that Rule 513 met the 
completeness criteria in 40 CFR part 51 Appendix V, which must be met 
before formal EPA review.\1\
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    \1\ Letter from Elizabeth J. Adams, EPA to Richard Corey, CARB, 
dated May 13, 2019.
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B. Are there other versions of this rule?

    We approved an earlier version of Rule 513, then numbered Rule 408 
``Source Recordkeeping and Reporting,'' into the SIP on August 22, 1977 
(42 FR 42219). The MCAPCD renumbered and adopted revisions to Rule 408 
on May 15, 2018, and CARB submitted Rule 513 ``Emissions Statements'' 
on April 30, 2019. Submitted Rule 513 reorganizes the information 
contained in SIP-approved Rule 408. It also removes a requirement for 
sources to retain emissions reports submitted to the District, which is 
not required by the Act.

C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?

    Emissions of VOCs and NOX 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 and NOX emissions. 
Rule 513 establishes requirements for the owner or operator of any 
stationary source that emits, or has the potential to emit, ``criteria 
pollutants,'' \2\ to submit an annual written statement to the MCAPCD 
showing actual emissions of VOC and NOX or operational data 
to estimate actual emissions from that source. The rule was revised to 
comply with CAA section 182(a)(3)(B). The EPA's technical support 
document (TSD) has more information about this rule.
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    \2\ The criteria pollutants are carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen 
dioxide, ozone, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide.
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II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action

A. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?

    Rules in the SIP 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). Areas classified as Marginal 
nonattainment or higher, such as the Mariposa County nonattainment 
area, are subject to the requirements of CAA section 182(a)(3)(B).
    Guidance and policy documents that we used to evaluate 
enforceability, revision/relaxation, and CAA requirements for the 
applicable criteria pollutants include the following:
     ``Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, 
Deficiencies, and Deviations,'' EPA, May 25, 1988 (the Bluebook, 
revised January 11, 1990).
     ``Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule 
Deficiencies,'' EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001 (the Little Bluebook).
     ``(Draft) Guidance on the Implementation of an Emission 
Statement Program,'' EPA, July 1992.

B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?

    This rule is consistent with CAA requirements and relevant guidance 
regarding enforceability and SIP revisions. The TSD has more 
information on our evaluation.

C. The EPA's Recommendations To Further Improve the Rule

    The TSD includes recommendations for the next time the local agency 
modifies the rule.

D. 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 15, 2020. 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 MCAPCD 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,

[[Page 14847]]

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, Nitrogen dioxide, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: March 2, 2020.
John W. Busterud,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2020-05331 Filed 3-13-20; 8:45 am]
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