[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 107 (Monday, June 7, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30232-30234]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11891]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2021-0366; FRL-10024-78-Region 9]


Air Plan Approval; California; San Diego 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 San Diego County Air Pollution Control 
District (SDCAPCD or District) portion of the California State 
Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns emissions of volatile 
organic compounds (VOCs) from gasoline transfers into underground 
stationary storage tanks at gasoline dispensing facilities. We are 
proposing to approve a local rule 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: Comments must be received on or before July 7, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2021-0366 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: 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. 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).

[[Page 30233]]



                                             Table 1--Submitted Rule
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         Local agency             Rule No.          Rule title           Adopted               Submitted
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SDCAPCD......................          61.3.1  Transfer of Gasoline  March 1, 2006..  August 9, 2017.\1\
                                                into Stationary
                                                Underground Storage
                                                Tanks.
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    On February 9, 2018, the submittal for Rule 61.3.1 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.
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    \1\ The District supplemented its submittal by providing 
additional proof of public notice, submitted by CARB to the EPA on 
December 28, 2020. Letter dated December 28, 2020, from Richard W. 
Corey, Executive Officer, CARB, to John W. Busterud, Regional 
Administrator, EPA, Region IX, transmitting the proof of public 
notice in The Daily Transcript, and Minute Order No.1 from the 
SDCAPCD Board hearing on October 14, 2020.
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B. Are there other versions of this rule?

    We approved Rule 61.3: Transfer of Volatile Organic Compounds Into 
Stationary Storage Tanks (revised October 16, 1990) into the SIP on 
June 30, 1993 (58 FR 34906). Rule 61.3 applies to gasoline transfers 
into aboveground and underground stationary storage tanks at gasoline 
dispensing facilities (GDFs). SDCAPCD adopted a separate rule, Rule 
61.3.1, to update requirements for gasoline transfers to underground 
storage tanks at GDFs on March 1, 2006, and CARB submitted the rule to 
the EPA on August 9, 2017.

C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?

    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 Rule 61.3 
regulates emissions from gasoline transfers at GDFs. Rule 61.3.1, 
adopted in 2006, further limits VOC emissions from gasoline transfers 
into underground storage tanks at GDFs, and requires underground 
storage tanks at GDFs to have CARB-certified vapor recovery systems 
meeting a vapor control efficiency of 98% and CARB-certified and vapor 
tight components including poppetted dry breaks and fittings. Rule 
61.3.1 includes requirements for weekly and monthly inspections, and 
expanded source testing and recordkeeping requirements beyond the 
requirements included in Rule 61.3. The District's reasonably available 
control technology (RACT) analysis for the 2008 8-hr ozone National 
Ambient Air Quality Standard (2008 RACT SIP) states that, ``[w]hile 
Rule 61.3 applies to both aboveground and underground storage tanks, 
Rule 61.3.1 applies only to underground storage tanks. Consequently, 
Rule 61.3.1 supplements, but does not replace Rule 61.3, as RACT for 
Stage I vapor recovery . . . .'' \2\
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    \2\ SDCAPCD, ``2008 Eight-Hour Ozone Reasonably Available 
Control Technology Demonstration for San Diego County,'' December 
2016, 2-4.
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    On December 3, 2020 (85 FR 77996), the EPA partially disapproved 
SDCAPCD's 2008 RACT SIP for the source category covering the ``Design 
Criteria for Stage I Vapor Control Systems--Gasoline Service Stations'' 
(EPA-450/R-75-102) Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG). We refer 
hereafter to this CTG as the ``Stage I Gasoline Transfer CTG.'' The 
EPA's August 10, 2020 proposal states that, ``. . . Rule 61.3.1, which 
regulates sources in this category, was not properly noticed, and is 
thus not approvable. The District intends to re-notice Rule 61.3.1, 
which together with [Rule] 61.3 would establish current RACT for this 
category.'' \3\
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    \3\ 85 FR 48127, 48131.
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    The SDCAPCD submitted a supplement to the original submittal of 
Rule 61.3.1, which was transmitted by CARB to the EPA on December 28, 
2020, and included updated public notice documentation that cured the 
public notice deficiency from the original submittal of Rule 61.3.1.\4\
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    \4\ Letter dated December 28, 2020, from Richard W. Corey, 
Executive Officer, CARB, to John W. Busterud, Regional 
Administrator, EPA, Region IX, transmitting the proof of public 
notice in The Daily Transcript, and Minute Order No.1 from the 
SDCAPCD Board hearing on October 14, 2020.
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    The EPA's TSD has more information about this rule.

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).
    Generally, SIP rules must require reasonably available control 
technology (RACT) for each category of sources covered by a 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 
SDCAPCD regulates an ozone nonattainment area classified as a 
``Serious'' nonattainment area for the 2008 8-hour ozone National 
Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) and a ``Moderate'' nonattainment 
area for the 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS (see 40 CFR 81.305). Therefore, 
this rule must implement RACT. As this rule regulates only a subset of 
the sources covered by the CTG, our action evaluates whether Rules 61.3 
and 61.3.1 together implement RACT for the entire Stage I Gasoline 
Transfer CTG source category.
    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. ``Design Criteria for Stage I Vapor Control Systems--Gasoline 
Service Stations,'' EPA-450/R-75-102, November 1975.

B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?

    This rule is consistent with CAA requirements and relevant guidance 
regarding enforceability, RACT, and SIP revisions. Specifically, the 
rule requirements sufficiently ensure that affected sources and 
regulators can consistently evaluate and determine compliance. 
Additionally, our analysis finds that Rule 61.3.1 and Rule 61.3 
together represent current RACT for the Stage I Gasoline Transfer CTG, 
because the rules are more stringent than the CTG, and are generally 
consistent with requirements in other air districts for gasoline 
transfers into stationary storage tanks at GDFs. Lastly, Rule 61.3.1 
will

[[Page 30234]]

not interfere with any applicable requirements of the CAA. The TSD has 
more information on our evaluation.

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

    Our TSD for this action recommends several amendments to Rule 
61.3.1, for consideration by the District the next time the rule is 
revised. Specifically, our TSD recommends amending the definition of 
``vapor leak,'' removing language authorizing the use of the most 
current version of a specified ASTM test method, and adding a reference 
to the specific section of the California Code of Regulations that 
lists relevant vapor recovery system defects. Our TSD has more 
information regarding these recommendations.

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. Additionally, because the District corrected the 
procedural deficiency preventing Rule 61.3.1's approval into the SIP 
and we are now proposing such approval, and because our analysis 
confirms that Rules 61.3.1 and 61.3 satisfy RACT requirements for 
sources covered by the Stage I Gasoline Transfer CTG, we propose to 
find that SDCAPCD has rectified the deficiency identified in our 
partial disapproval of the District's 2008 RACT SIP submittal with 
respect to the Stage I Gasoline Transfer CTG. If finalized, this action 
will stop the sanction and federal implementation plan clocks for this 
CTG source category. We will accept comments from the public on this 
proposal until July 7, 2021. 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 SDCAPCD rule described in Table 1 of this preamble. The 
EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials available 
through https://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);
     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, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: June 1, 2021.
Deborah Jordan,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2021-11891 Filed 6-4-21; 8:45 am]
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