[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 142 (Wednesday, July 26, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 48150-48152]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15490]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2023-0157]; FRL-10778-01-R9


Air Plan Approval; California; San Diego County Air Pollution 
Control District; Oxides of Nitrogen

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) portion of the California State Implementation Plan 
(SIP). This revision concerns emissions of oxides of nitrogen 
(NOX) from small boilers, process heaters, steam generators, 
and large water heaters. We are proposing to approve a local rule to 
regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the 
``Act''). The California Air Resources Board (CARB) submitted the rule, 
on behalf of SDCAPCD, to the EPA as part of the requirement to 
implement reasonably available control technology (RACT) for major 
sources of NOX for the San Diego County ozone nonattainment 
area. We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a 
final action.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 25, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2023-0157 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. 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: Alina Batool, EPA Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 972-3345 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 date 
that it was adopted by the SDCAPCD and submitted by the California Air 
Resources Board (CARB).

[[Page 48151]]



                                             Table 1--Submitted Rule
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            Local agency                Rule #                 Rule title                 Adopted     Submitted
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SDCAPCD............................       69.2.1  Small Boilers, Process Heaters,        \a\ 07/08/     09/21/20
                                                   Steam Generators, and Large Water             20
                                                   Heaters.
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\a\ SDCAPCD locally adopted Rule 69.2.1 on March 25, 2009, and locally amended the rule on July 8, 2020. CARB
  submitted the version of the rule that SDCAPCD amended on July 8, 2020, for inclusion in the California SIP.

    Pursuant to CAA section 110(k)(1)(B) and 40 CFR part 51, appendix 
V, the EPA determined that the submittal for SDCAPCD Rule 69.2.1 met 
the completeness criteria on March 21, 2021.

B. Are there other versions of this rule?

    There are no previous versions of Rule 69.2.1 in the SIP. The 
SDCAPCD locally adopted Rule 69.2.1 on March 25, 2009, and an amended 
version of the rule (amendment date of July 8, 2020) was submitted by 
CARB to the EPA on September 21, 2020, as an attachment to a letter 
dated September 18, 2020.

C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?

    Emissions of NOX contribute to the production of ground-
level ozone and smog, which harms human health and the environment. 
Section 110(a) of the CAA requires states to submit plans that provide 
for implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of the National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Rule 69.2.1 is a new rule that 
controls NOX emissions from new units that are manufactured, 
sold, offered for sale or distribution, or installed for use within San 
Diego County with a heat input rating from 75,000 British thermal units 
(Btu) per hour to 2 million Btu per hour. Units of this size are 
commonly used at commercial facilities such as restaurants, 
laundromats, hotels, apartment buildings, and dry cleaners. The 
emissions from the use of these units can result in the formation of 
ozone. When inhaled, ozone and NOX adversely affect people's 
health. Symptoms can include chest pain, shortness of breath, worsening 
of bronchitis and asthma, and nausea.
    Rule 69.2.1 requires new units that operate on natural gas at a 
heat input rating from 75,000 to 400,000 Btu per hour or from 400,000 
to 2,000,000 Btu per hour to meet a NOX emission limit of 20 
parts per million by volume (ppmv). New pool heaters that operate on 
natural gas at a heat input rating from 75,000 to 400,000 Btu per hour 
have a NOX emission limit of 55 ppmv. New units that operate 
on non-public utility commission (PUC) gas or liquid fuel at a heat 
input rating from 75,000 to 400,000 Btu per hour have a NOX 
emission limit of 77 ppmv, and units with a heat input rating greater 
than 400,000 to 2,000,000 Btu per hour have a NOX emission 
limit of 30 ppmv. All emission limits are calculated at three percent 
oxygen (O2). Test methods are provided in Rule 69.2.1 for 
new unit compliance testing and certification for sale in San Diego 
County. Test methods are also provided for new natural gas-fired units 
to ensure compliance with the NOX emissions limits. The 
EPA's technical support document (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 (CAA section 110(a)(2)) and 
must not interfere with applicable requirements concerning attainment 
and reasonable further progress or other CAA requirements (CAA section 
110(l)).
    Generally, SIP rules must require RACT for sources subject to the 
Control Techniques Guidelines (CTGs) as well as each major source of 
VOCs and NOX in ozone nonattainment areas classified as 
moderate or above (CAA section 182(b)(2)). The SDCAPCD regulates an 
ozone nonattainment area classified as Severe for both the 2008 and 
2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS (40 CFR 81.305; 86 FR 29522 (June 2, 2021)). 
Rule 69.2.1 regulates equipment operating at major NOX 
sources in the San Diego County ozone nonattainment area.\1\ Because 
the State submitted the rule to fulfill the obligation to implement 
RACT in a nonattainment area for the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS, the 
EPA's evaluation focused on whether the rule implements RACT.
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    \1\ SDCAPCD, ``2020 Reasonably Available Control Technology 
Demonstration for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for 
Ozone in San Diego County,'' (``2020 RACT SIP''). Adopted by the 
SDCAPCD on October 14, 2020.
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    Guidance and policy documents that we used to evaluate 
enforceability, revision or relaxation, and rule stringency 
requirements for the applicable criteria pollutants include the 
following:
    1. ``Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and 
Deviations,'' EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, May 25, 
1988 (``the Bluebook,'' revised January 11, 1990).
    2. ``Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule 
Deficiencies,'' EPA Region IX, August 21, 2001 (``the Little 
Bluebook'').
    3. ``NOX Emissions from Industrial/Commercial/
Institutional (ICI) Boilers,'' EPA Region V, March 1994.
    4. ``Determination of Reasonably Available Control Technology and 
Best Available Retrofit Control Technology for Industrial, 
Institutional, and Commercial Boilers, Steam Generators, and Process 
Heaters,'' CARB, July 18, 1991.

B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?

    Rule 69.2.1 establishes stringent emission limits for 
NOX and includes testing, certification, labeling, and 
recordkeeping requirements to assist in ensuring compliance with 
emissions standards. Rule 69.2.1 is a new rule that regulates units 
that are not currently regulated in the SDCAPCD portion of the 
California SIP, thereby strengthening it. The rule is consistent with 
CAA requirements and relevant guidance regarding enforceability, RACT, 
and SIP revisions. Additionally, all test records for oxides of 
nitrogen and carbon monoxide emissions and certification records must 
be retained for as long as the new unit model is sold, or for three 
calendar years after the date of manufacture. The rule requirements are 
discussed in greater detail in the TSD, which is available in the 
docket for this action.
    Rule 69.2.1 is at least as stringent as the EPA's 1994 Alternative 
Control Technology (ACT) document and CARB's RACT/BARCT guidance. The 
EPA also evaluated the stringency of the rule's emission limits 
compared to other California SIP-approved rules that regulate 
NOX emissions from small boilers, process heaters, steam 
generators, and large water heaters, including Ventura County Air 
Pollution Control District Rule 74.11.1, South Coast Air Quality 
Management District Rule 1146.2, and San Joaquin Valley Unified Air 
Pollution Control District Rule 4308. As described in further detail in 
the TSD, the EPA's analysis shows that the submitted rule is as 
stringent as analogous SIP-approved California air district rules. As a 
result of our evaluation, we are proposing to

[[Page 48152]]

determine that the rule limits implement RACT.

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

    The TSD includes a recommendation to clarify a testing requirement 
for the next time SDCAPCD 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 August 25, 2023. 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 San Diego County Air Pollution Control District Rule 
69.2.1, ``Small Boilers, Process Heaters, Steam Generators, and Large 
Water Heaters,'' locally amended on July 8, 2020, which regulates 
NOX and CO from small boilers, process heaters, steam 
generators, and large water heaters, as described in Table 1 of this 
document. 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.
    Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions To Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629, 
Feb. 16, 1994) directs Federal agencies to identify and address 
``disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental 
effects'' of their actions on minority populations and low-income 
populations to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law. 
EPA defines environmental justice (EJ) as ``the fair treatment and 
meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, 
national origin, or income with respect to the development, 
implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and 
policies.'' EPA further defines the term fair treatment to mean that 
``no group of people should bear a disproportionate burden of 
environmental harms and risks, including those resulting from the 
negative environmental consequences of industrial, governmental, and 
commercial operations or programs and policies.''
    Under the CAA, 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 review state choices, 
and approve those choices if they meet the minimum criteria of the Act. 
Accordingly, this proposed action approves state law as meeting federal 
requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those 
imposed by state law.
    The air agency did not evaluate environmental justice 
considerations as part of its SIP submittal; the CAA and applicable 
implementing regulations neither prohibit nor require such an 
evaluation. EPA did not perform an EJ analysis and did not consider EJ 
in this action. Due to the nature of the action being taken here, this 
action is expected to have a neutral to positive impact on the air 
quality of the affected area. Consideration of EJ is not required as 
part of this action, and there is no information in the record 
inconsistent with the stated goal of E.O. 12898 of achieving 
environmental justice for people of color, low-income populations, and 
Indigenous peoples. 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, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen 
oxides, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

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

    Dated: July 17, 2023.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2023-15490 Filed 7-25-23; 8:45 am]
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