[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 85 (Friday, May 1, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 25293-25295]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-08290]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2019-0564; FRL-10006-63-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) 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 approving local rules that regulate these emission 
sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act). We are also 
converting the conditional approval of the MDAQMD's reasonably 
available control technology (RACT) SIPs for the 1997 and 2008 ozone 
standards, as it applies to these rules, to a full approval.

DATES: This rule will be effective on June 1, 2020.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2019-0564. 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 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: Rebecca Newhouse, EPA Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 972-3004 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 November 20, 2019 (84 FR 64035), the EPA proposed to approve the 
following rules into the California SIP.

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             Local  agency                 Rule No.           Rule title              Amended        Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 Liquids      01/22/2018      05/23/2018
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We proposed to approve these rules because we determined that they 
comply with the relevant CAA requirements. We also proposed to find 
that the rule revisions fulfill commitments made by the District and 
the California Air Resources Board (CARB) necessary for the EPA to 
convert the partial conditional approval of the District's 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 
(83 FR 5921, February 12, 2018), to a full approval. 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. 
During the comment period, we received seventeen anonymous comments. 
Ten commenters supported EPA's proposal. Two commenters discussed the 
impacts of air pollution generally, and the importance of clean air and 
regulating emissions from gasoline in the Mojave Desert, without 
expressing either support or opposition to the EPA's proposal. We thank 
these commenters for their input.
    The issues raised by the five remaining commenters are described 
below, followed by the EPA's response. One commenter asked why the EPA 
proposed to enforce the updated regulations only in the Mojave Desert, 
and not in the remainder of the United States, and two more wrote that 
although the proposed rule is a ``great'' revision to the Mojave AQMD 
rules, ``the EPA needs to use their power of regulating emission 
sources under the Clean Air Act on a wider scope of the

[[Page 25294]]

United States.'' The EPA notes that the Clean Air Act establishes a 
system of cooperative federalism, in which the federal government sets 
air quality standards, and the states have the responsibility to 
develop a plan ``which provides for implementation, maintenance, and 
enforcement'' of such standards.\1\ The states then submit these State 
Implementation Plans to the EPA. Under section 110(k)(3) of the Act, 
the EPA ``shall approve such submittal as a whole if it meets all of 
the applicable requirements'' of the Act. In this instance, the MDAQMD 
has modified its local rules, and CARB has submitted these changes as a 
State Implementation Plan revision. These rules are applicable only 
within the District. The EPA does not have the authority to expand the 
applicability of these rules beyond the boundaries of the MDAQMD. 
Because the EPA proposed to determine that the SIP submission meets the 
requirements of the Act applicable to a SIP revision, and these 
commenters have not suggested that the submittal does not meet the 
necessary requirements for approval, the comments have not changed the 
EPA's view on the approvability of the submitted rules.
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    \1\ 42 U.S.C. 7401(a).
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    Another commenter wrote that ``[w]hen environmental issues grow 
worse, it should not be an appropriate action to approve what is 
already in place rather than creating measures to improve state work 
against local pollutants.'' The EPA notes that as ozone pollution 
worsens in a nonattainment area, the area can be reclassified, 
resulting in additional requirements becoming applicable under the 
Act.\2\ In its proposal, the EPA proposed to find that the submitted 
rules met the stringency requirements currently applicable within the 
MDAQMD. The commenter has not suggested that the submission does not 
meet the requirements of the Act. Accordingly, the comment has not 
changed the EPA's view on the approvability of the submitted rules. To 
the extent that the commenter suggests that the EPA should create its 
own pollution control measures, any such request is outside the scope 
of the current action.
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    \2\ 42 U.S.C. 7511a.
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    One commenter expressed concerns about the impacts of pollution, 
and wrote that ``organic compounds should be considered a pollution and 
the polluter should be charged with either a fine or a criminal 
offense.'' In its proposal the EPA proposed to find that the submitted 
rules met the SIP criteria for stringency and enforceability. This 
means that the rules as submitted are as stringent as the Act requires, 
and can be effectively enforced in the event of a violation. Under the 
Act, a violation of a SIP rule can be enforced by the EPA, resulting in 
penalties, injunctive relief, and in some instances, criminal 
penalties.\3\ Members of the public may also bring citizen suits to 
enforce emission standards or limitations under the Act.\4\ 
Accordingly, the enforcement options mentioned by the commenter may be 
available to address those who violate the rule. To the extent that the 
commenter suggests that all emissions of organic compounds should lead 
to a fine or a criminal offense, the EPA does not agree. The EPA 
proposed to find that the submitted rules met the stringency 
requirements of the Act, including the requirement to implement RACT. 
The commenter has not indicated that the rules do not meet the 
requirements of the Act.
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    \3\ 42 U.S.C. 7413.
    \4\ 42 U.S.C. 7604.
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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 2006 and 2015 RACT SIPs with 
respect to Rules 461, 462 and 463 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 
MDAQMD 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

[[Page 25295]]

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 June 30, 2020. 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: April 14, 2020.
John Busterud,
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)(156)(vii)(C), 
(c)(191)(i)(C)(2), (c)(198)(i)(E)(3), (c)(518)(i)(A)(3), (4), and (5) 
to read as follows:


Sec.  52.220  Identification of plan-in part.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (156) * * *
    (vii) * * *
    (C) Previously approved on January 15, 1987 in paragraph 
(c)(156)(vii)(A) of this section, and now deleted with replacement in 
the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District in paragraph 
(c)(518)(i)(A)(5), Rule 463.
* * * * *
    (191) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (C) * * *
    (2) Previously approved on May 3, 1995 in paragraph 
(c)(191)(i)(C)(1) of this section, and now deleted with replacement in 
the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District in paragraph 
(c)(518)(i)(A)(5), Rule 463.
* * * * *
    (198) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (E) * * *
    (3) Previously approved on May 3, 1995 in paragraph 
(c)(198)(i)(E)(1) of this section, and now deleted with replacement in 
paragraphs (c)(518)(i)(A)(3) and (4), respectively, Rules 461 and 462.
* * * * *
    (518) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (A) * * *
    (3) Rule 461, ``Gasoline Transfer and Dispensing,'' amended on 
January 22, 2018.
    (4) Rule 462, ``Organic Liquid Loading,'' amended on January 22, 
2018.
    (5) Rule 463, ``Storage of Organic Liquids,'' amended on January 
22, 2018.
* * * * *


Sec.  52.248  [Amended]

0
3. Section 52.248 is amended by removing and reserving paragraphs 
(d)(1)(i), (ii), and (iii).

[FR Doc. 2020-08290 Filed 4-30-20; 8:45 am]
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