[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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