[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 71 (Wednesday, April 13, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 21822-21825]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07918]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2022-0253; FRL-9611-01-R9]


Air Plan Approval; California; San Diego County; Reasonably 
Available Control Technology

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 San Diego Air Pollution Control District 
(SDAPCD or ``District'') portion of the California State Implementation 
Plan (SIP). These revisions concern SDAPCD's negative declarations for 
certain Control Techniques Guidelines (CTGs) as they apply to the 2008 
and 2015 ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or 
``standards'') reasonably available control technology (RACT) SIP. We 
are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final 
action.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 13, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2022-0253 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

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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. If you need assistance in a 
language other than English or if you are a person with disabilities 
who needs a reasonable accommodation at no cost to you, please contact 
the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doris Lo, EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne 
St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 972-3959 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 document did the State submit?
    B. Are there other versions of this document?
    C. What is the purpose of the negative declarations?
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action
    A. How is the EPA evaluating the negative declarations?
    B. Do the negative declarations meet the evaluation criteria?
    C. Public Comment And Proposed Action
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. The State's Submittal

A. What document did the State submit?

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

                                         TABLE 1--SUBMITTED DOCUMENT \1\
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                Local agency                               Document                   Adopted        Submitted
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SDAPCD.....................................  ``2020 Reasonably Available Control      10/14/2020      12/29/2020
                                              Technology Demonstration for the
                                              National Ambient Air Quality
                                              Standards For Ozone in San Diego
                                              County, October 2020 (2020 RACT
                                              SIP)--Negative Declarations for
                                              the 2008 and 2015 NAAQS:.
                                             Control of Volatile Organic
                                              Emissions from Manufacture of
                                              Synthesized Pharmaceutical
                                              Products (EPA-450/2-78-029).
                                             Control Techniques Guidelines for
                                              Fiberglass Boat Manufacturing
                                              Materials (EPA-453/R-08-004).
                                             Control of Volatile Organic
                                              Emissions from Miscellaneous Metal
                                              and Plastic Parts Coatings (EPA-
                                              453/R-08-003); Table 3--Plastic
                                              Parts and Products, Table 4--
                                              Automotive/Transportation and
                                              Business Machine Plastic Parts,
                                              Table 5--Pleasure Craft Surface
                                              Coating, Table 6--Motor Vehicle
                                              Materials.
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    On June 29, 2021, the submittal of the SDAPCD 2020 RACT SIP, with 
the exception of the negative declaration for the CTG for the Oil and 
Natural Gas Industry (EPA-453/B-16-001, 2016/10), 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.\2\
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    \1\ The EPA is only acting on the negative declarations for the 
Control Techniques Guidelines (CTGs) for Synthesized Pharmaceutical 
Products, Fiberglass Boat Manufacturing Materials, and Miscellaneous 
Metal and Plastic Products, Tables 3-6. The EPA will propose 
separate action on the remainder of the 2020 SDAPCD RACT SIP 
submittal at a future date.
    \2\ On May 6, 2021, in a letter from Elizabeth J. Adams, EPA to 
Richard Corey, CARB, the EPA determined that the following element 
was deemed complete: Negative Declaration for Control Techniques 
Guidelines for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry (EPA-453/B-16-001, 
2016/10).
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B. Are there other versions of this document?

    There are no previous versions of the negative declarations listed 
in Table 1 in the SDAPCD portion of the California SIP for the 2008 or 
2015 ozone NAAQS.

C. What is the purpose of the negative declarations?

    Emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxides of 
nitrogen (NOX) contribute to the production of ground-level 
ozone, smog, and particulate matter (PM), which harm human health and 
the environment. Section 110(a) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires 
states to submit regulations that control VOC and NOX 
emissions. CAA section 182(b)(2) requires states to submit SIP 
revisions to implement reasonably available control technology (RACT) 
for, among other things, each category of VOC sources in the 
nonattainment areas covered by Control Technique Guidelines (CTGs). 
SDAPCD is subject to this requirement as it regulates the San Diego 
County 2008 and 2015 ozone nonattainment areas (NAAs) classified as 
``Severe.'' \3\ In lieu of adopting local regulations to implement a 
CTG, air agencies must adopt a negative declaration if the 
nonattainment area has no sources covered by a CTG.\4\ SDAPCD's 
submittal of negative declarations is the District's certification that 
there are no sources covered by the CTGs.
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    \3\ 86 FR 29522 (June 2, 2021) ``Designation of Areas for Air 
Quality Planning Purposes; California; San Diego County Ozone 
Nonattainment Area; Reclassification to Severe.'' Section 182 
applies to ozone nonattainment areas classified as Moderate and 
above.
    \4\ Memorandum from William T. Harnett to Regional Air Division 
Directors, dated May 18, 2006, ``RACT Qs & As--Reasonably Available 
Control Technology (RACT) Questions and Answers.''
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    On December 3, 2020 (85 FR 77996), the EPA partially approved and 
partially disapproved SDAPCD's RACT demonstrations for the 2008 8-hr 
ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) (also referred to 
as the ``2016 RACT SIP'').\5\ Specifically, the EPA found that certain 
CTG categories were not addressed by either a negative declaration or a 
RACT rule.
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    \5\ The nonattainment area was classified as ``Moderate'' when 
the 2016 RACT SIP was submitted.
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II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action

A. How is the EPA evaluating the negative declarations?

    Generally, CAA section 110(a)(2)(A) requires SIPs to ``include 
enforceable

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emission limitations and other control measures, means, or techniques . 
. . as may be necessary or appropriate to meet the applicable 
requirements of [the CAA],'' and SIPs must be consistent with the 
requirements of CAA sections 110(l) and 193. SIPs must also require 
RACT for each category of sources covered by a CTG document and each 
major source in ozone nonattainment areas classified as Moderate or 
above (see CAA sections 182(b)(2) and (f)).
    States should also submit, for SIP approval, negative declarations 
for those source categories for which they have not adopted CTG-based 
regulations (because they have no sources above the CTG-recommended 
applicability threshold), regardless of whether such negative 
declarations were made for an earlier SIP.\6\ To do so, the submittal 
should provide reasonable assurance that no sources subject to the CTG 
requirements currently exist in the portion of the ozone nonattainment 
area that is regulated by the SDAPCD.
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    \6\ 57 FR 13498, 13512 (April 16, 1992).
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    Guidance and policy documents that we use to evaluate CAA section 
182 RACT requirements 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. EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, ``Issues 
Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations,'' 
May 25, 1988 (``the Bluebook,'' revised January 11, 1990).
    3. EPA Region IX, ``Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & 
Other Rule Deficiencies,'' August 21, 2001 (``the Little Bluebook'').
    4. ``State Implementation Plans; Nitrogen Oxides Supplement to the 
General Preamble; Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 Implementation of 
Title I; Proposed Rule,'' (the NOX Supplement), 57 FR 55620, 
(November 25, 1992).
    5. Memorandum dated May 18, 2006, from William T. Harnett, 
Director, Air Quality Policy Division, to Regional Air Division 
Directors, Subject: ``RACT Qs & As--Reasonably Available Control 
Technology (RACT): Questions and Answers.''
    6. ``Final Rule to Implement the 8-hour Ozone National Ambient Air 
Quality Standard--Phase 2,'' 70 FR 71612 (November 29, 2005).
    7. ``Implementation of the 2008 National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards for Ozone: State Implementation Plan Requirements,'' 80 FR 
12264 (March 6, 2015).
    8. ``Implementation of the 2015 National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards for Ozone: Nonattainment Area State Implementation Plan 
Requirements,'' 83 FR 62998 (December 6, 2018).

B. Do the negative declarations meet the evaluation criteria?

    The submittal contains the District's certification that there are 
no sources within the 2008 or 2015 ozone nonattainment areas under 
District jurisdiction that are subject to the CTGs listed in Table 1. 
The District based its certifications on reviews of permit files and 
emission inventories. We accessed CARB databases and performed internet 
searches and did not find indications that any sources exist for which 
the CTGs would apply.
    The EPA's technical support document (TSD) for this action has more 
information about the District's submittal and the EPA's evaluation 
thereof.

C. Public Comment and Proposed Action

    We propose to approve the negative declarations listed in Table 1, 
as submitted by CARB on December 29, 2020. We also propose that these 
negative declarations remedy the deficiencies for the following CTGs 
identified in our partial disapproval of the 2016 RACT SIP: Control of 
Volatile Organic Emissions from Manufacture of Synthesized 
Pharmaceutical Products (EPA-450/2-78-029); Control Techniques 
Guidelines for Fiberglass Boat Manufacturing Materials (EPA-453/R-08-
004); and Control of Volatile Organic Emissions from Miscellaneous 
Metal and Plastic Parts Coatings (EPA-453/R-08-003); Table 3--Plastic 
Parts and Products, Table 4--Automotive/Transportation and Business 
Machine Plastic Parts, Table 5--Pleasure Craft Surface Coating, Table 
6--Motor Vehicle Materials. We will accept comments from the public on 
the proposed approval for the next 30 days.

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

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


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    Dated: April 7, 2022.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2022-07918 Filed 4-12-22; 8:45 am]
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