[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 93 (Monday, May 14, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 28338-28340]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-11639]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2012-0208; FRL-9672-2]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Maryland; Reasonably Available Control Technology for the 1997 8-Hour
Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP)
revision submitted by the State of Maryland. This revision pertains to
the requirements for meeting reasonably available control technology
(RACT) for the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standard
(NAAQS). These requirements are based on: A certification that
previously adopted RACT controls in Maryland's SIP, that were approved
by EPA under the 1-hour ozone NAAQS, are based on the currently
available technically and economically feasible controls, and that they
continue to represent RACT for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS
implementation purposes; a negative declaration demonstrating that no
facilities exist in the State for the applicable control technique
guideline (CTG) categories; and adoption of new or more stringent RACT
determinations. This action is being taken in accordance with the
requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before June 13, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2012-0208 by one of the following methods:
A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
B. Email: [email protected].
C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2012-0208, Cristina Fernandez, Associate
Director, Office of Program Planning, Mailcode 3AP30, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
D. Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region III address.
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of
boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-
2012-0208. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change, and may be made available online
at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to
be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or email. The
www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which
means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you
provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email comment
directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov, your email
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the
comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the
Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you
include your name and other contact information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI 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 either electronically in www.regulations.gov or
in hard copy during normal business hours at the Air Protection
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch
Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of the State submittal
are available at Maryland Department of the Environment, 1800
Washington Boulevard, Suite 705, Baltimore, Maryland 21230.
[[Page 28339]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jacqueline Lewis, (215) 814-2037, or
by email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. On October 17, 2011, the
Maryland Department of the Environment submitted a revision to its SIP
that addresses requirements of RACT for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS set
forth by the CAA.
I. Background
Ozone is formed in the atmosphere by photochemical reactions
between volatile organic compounds (VOC), oxides of nitrogen
(NOX), and carbon monoxide (CO) in the presence of sunlight.
In order to reduce ozone concentrations in the ambient air, the CAA
requires all nonattainment areas to apply control on VOC and
NOX emission sources to achieve emission reductions. Among
effective control measures, RACT controls are a major group for
reducing VOC and NOX emissions from stationary sources.
Since the 1970's, EPA has consistently interpreted RACT to mean the
lowest emission limit that a particular source is capable of meeting by
the application of the control technology that is reasonably available
considering technological and economic feasibility. See 44 FR 53761,
September 17, 1979. Section 182 of the CAA sets forth two separate RACT
requirements for ozone nonattainment areas. The first requirement,
contained in section 182(a)(2)(A) of the CAA and referred to as RACT
fix-up, requires the correction of RACT rules for which EPA identified
deficiencies before the CAA was amended in 1990. EPA published final
rulemaking notices approving the State of Maryland's SIP revisions in
order to correct their VOC RACT regulations and establish and require
the implementation for revised SIP regulations to control VOCs. See 58
FR 63085, November 30, 1993; 59 FR 46180, September 7, 1994; 59 FR
60908, November 29, 1994; and 60 FR 2018, January 6, 1995.
The second requirement, set forth in section 182(b)(2) of the CAA
and referred to as RACT catch-up, applies to moderate (or worse) ozone
nonattainment areas as well as to marginal and attainment areas in the
ozone transport region (OTR) established pursuant to section 184 of the
CAA, and requires these areas to implement RACT controls on all major
VOC and NOX emission sources and on all sources and source
categories covered by a CTG issued by EPA. On January 6, 1995, EPA
published one of many final rulemaking notices approving the State of
Maryland's SIP revision as meeting the CTG RACT provisions of the CAA.
See 60 FR 2018, January 6, 1995.
All Maryland counties were subject to RACT requirements under the
1-hour ozone standard. The Baltimore, Washington, DC, and Cecil County,
Maryland nonattainment areas were designated as severe 1-hour ozone
nonattainment areas. Kent and Queen Anne's counties were designated as
a marginal 1-hour ozone nonattainment area. All remaining Maryland
counties were identified as part of the OTR. As part of the planning
process, section 182(b)(2) of the CAA required the State of Maryland to
adopt all RACT regulations for all CTG sources and all major non-CTG
VOC sources (VOC sources with the potential to emit greater than or
equal to 25 tons per year (TPY) in Baltimore, Washington, DC, and Cecil
County, Maryland nonattainment areas and greater than or equal to 50
TPY in the remainder of the State) throughout the State.
On July 18, 1997, EPA promulgated an 8-hour NAAQS for ozone. See 62
FR 38856, July 18, 1997. Under the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS, four areas
were designated nonattainment for the 1997 8-hour ozone standard in
Maryland. Three areas were classified as moderate and one as marginal.
Maryland also had an Early Action Compact area. All other remaining
counties are part of the OTR. The three moderate 1997 8-hour ozone
standard nonattainment areas are Baltimore, Washington, DC, and Cecil
County (part of the Philadelphia nonattainment area). The one marginal
1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS nonattainment area consists of Kent and Queen
Anne's Counties. Washington County was part of the Early Action Compact
program.
EPA requires under the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS that states meet the
CAA RACT requirements, either through a certification that previously
adopted RACT controls in their SIP revisions be approved by EPA under
the 1-hour ozone NAAQS represent adequate RACT control levels for 1997
8-hour ozone NAAQS attainment purposes, or through the adoption of new
or more stringent regulations that represent RACT control levels. A
certification must be accompanied by appropriate supporting information
such as consideration of information received during the public comment
period and consideration of new data. This information may supplement
existing RACT guidance documents that were developed for the 1-hour
standard, such that the state's SIP accurately reflects RACT for the
1997 8-hour ozone standard based on the current availability of
technically and economically feasible controls. Adoption of new RACT
regulations will occur when states have new stationary sources not
covered by existing RACT regulations, or when new data or technical
information indicates that a previously adopted RACT measure does not
represent a newly available RACT control level. Another 1997 8-hour
ozone NAAQS requirement for RACT is to submit a negative declaration
that there are no CTG major sources of VOC and NOX emissions
within Maryland.
II. Summary of SIP Revision
Maryland's SIP revision contains the requirements of RACT set forth
by the CAA under the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. Maryland's SIP revision
satisfies the 1997 8-hour ozone standard RACT requirements through (1)
certification that previously adopted RACT controls in Maryland's SIP
that were approved by EPA under the 1-hour ozone NAAQS are based on the
currently available technically and economically feasible controls and
that they continue to represent RACT for the 8-hour implementation
purpose; (2) a negative declaration demonstrating that no facilities
exist in Maryland for the applicable CTG categories; and (3) adoption
of new or more stringent RACT determinations. A detailed summary of
EPA's review and rationale for proposing to approve this SIP revision
may be found in the Technical Support Document (TSD) for this action
which is available on line at www.regulations.gov. Docket number EPA-
R03-OAR-2012-0208.
III. Proposed Action
EPA's review of this material indicates that Maryland has met the
requirements of RACT for NOX and VOCs set forth by the CAA
with respect to the 1997 8-hour ozone standard. EPA is proposing to
approve the Maryland SIP revision for the requirements of RACT set
forth by the CAA under the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS, which was submitted
on October 17, 2011. EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues
discussed in this document. These comments will be considered before
taking final action.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA and applicable
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in
reviewing SIP submissions,
[[Page 28340]]
EPA's role is to approve state choices, provided that they meet the
criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this 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 Order
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
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 CAA; and
Does not provide 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, this proposed rule pertaining to Maryland RACT for the
1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS, does not have tribal implications as specified
by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because the
SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in the state,
and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct costs on
tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Nitrogen dioxide,
Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic
compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: May 2, 2012.
W.C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2012-11639 Filed 5-11-12; 8:45 am]
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