[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 144 (Friday, July 26, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 45114-45116]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-18051]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2013-0508; FRL-9838-3]
Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope
Valley Air Quality Management District
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Antelope Valley
Air Quality Management District (AVAQMD) portion of the California
State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern standards for
continuous emissions monitoring systems and oxides of sulfur
(SOX) emissions. We are approving local rules that regulate
continuous emissions monitoring systems and standards for gaseous
sulfur 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: Any comments must arrive by August 26, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by docket number EPA-R09-OAR-
2013-0508, by one of the following methods:
1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-
line instructions.
2. Email: [email protected].
3. Mail or deliver: Andrew Steckel (Air-4), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA
94105-3901.
Instructions: All comments 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 Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Information that you
consider CBI or otherwise protected should be clearly identified as
such and should not be submitted through www.regulations.gov or email.
www.regulations.gov is an ``anonymous access'' system, and EPA will not
know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the
body of your comment. If you send email directly to EPA, your email
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the
public comment. 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: Generally, documents in the docket for this action are
available electronically at www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at EPA
Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California 94105-3901.
While all documents in the docket are listed at www.regulations.gov,
some information may be publicly available only at the hard copy
location (e.g., copyrighted material, large maps), and some may not be
publicly available in either location (e.g., CBI). To inspect the hard
copy materials, please schedule an appointment during normal business
hours with the contact listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stanley Tong, EPA Region IX, (415)
947-4122, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,''
and ``our'' refer to EPA.
Table of Contents
I. The State's Submittal
A. What rules did the State submit?
B. Are there other versions of these rules?
C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule revisions?
II. EPA's Evaluation and Action
A. How is EPA evaluating the rules?
B. Do the rules meet the evaluation criteria?
C. EPA Recommendations To Further Improve the Rules
D. Public Comment and Proposed Action
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. The State's Submittal
A. What rules did the State submit?
Table 1 lists the rules addressed by this proposal with the dates
that they were adopted by the local air agency and submitted by the
California Air Resources Board.
Table 1--Submitted Rules
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Local agency Rule No. Rule title Adopted Submitted
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AVAQMD............................ 218 Continuous Emission 07/17/12 02/06/13
Monitoring.
AVAQMD............................ 218.1 Continuous Emission 07/17/12 02/06/13
Monitoring Performance
Specifications.
AVAQMD............................ 431.1 Sulfur Content of Gaseous 08/21/12 04/22/13
Fuels.
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On April 9, 2013 for AVAQMD Rules 218 and 218.1, and on June 26,
2013 for AVAQMD Rule 431.1, EPA determined the submittals met the
completeness criteria in 40 CFR Part 51 Appendix V, which must be met
before formal EPA review.
B. Are there other versions of these rules?
We approved an earlier version of Rule 218 into the SIP on
September 2, 2008 (73 FR 51226). AVAQMD adopted revisions to the SIP-
approved version on July 17, 2012 and CARB submitted them to us on
February 6, 2013.
There is no previous version of Rule 218.1 in the SIP. AVAQMD
adopted Rule 218.1 on July 17, 2012 and CARB submitted it to us on
February 6, 2013.
We approved an earlier version of Rule 431.1 into the SIP on
October 19, 1984 (49 FR 41028).\1\ AVAQMD adopted revisions to Rule
431.1 on August 21,
[[Page 45115]]
2012 and CARB submitted them to us on April 22, 2013.
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\1\ The 1984 SIP approval of Rule 431.1 was actually for the
South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD). The Antelope
Valley Air Pollution Control District (AVAPCD) was formed on July 1,
1997 from the SCAQMD. All South Coast rules in effect at the time
remain in effect under the newly formed AVAPCD until such time that
Antelope Valley amended or rescinded the rule. On January 1, 2002,
Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District replaced the AVAPCD.
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While we can act on only the most recently submitted version of
these rules, we have reviewed materials provided with previous
submittals.
C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule revisions?
Oxides of Nitrogen (NOX) help produce ground-level
ozone, smog and particulate matter, which harm human health and the
environment. Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) exposure is associated
with adverse respiratory effects and can contribute to fine particle
pollution. Carbon Monoxide (CO) contributes to the formation of smog
and can also harm human health. Section 110(a) of the CAA requires
States to submit regulations that control the primary and secondary
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), which includes
NOX, SO2, and CO emissions.
Rule 218 establishes requirements for continuous emission monitors
of NOX, SO2, gaseous sulfur compounds, and CO.
Rule 218 was amended to better define specifications and guidelines for
continuous emission monitoring systems (CEMS), delete obsolete
language, and clarify administrative requirements. The original SIP
approved rule was separated into an administrative portion and a
technical portion. Rule 218 now contains the administrative
requirements for CEMS and covers applicability, the application and
approval process for CEMS, and recordkeeping and reporting requirements
for CEMS. The technical requirements for CEMS were update and form the
basis for a new rule, Rule 218.1.
Rule 218.1 is a new rule and contains requirements for the
certification of CEMS, the performance specifications of CEMS, and the
operation and maintenance of CEMS.
Rule 431.1 limits the sulfur content of fuels such as landfill
gases, sewage digester gases, refinery gases and other gaseous fuels.
EPA's technical support documents (TSD) have more information about
these rules.
II. EPA's Evaluation and Action
A. How is EPA evaluating the rules?
Generally, SIP rules must be enforceable (see section 110(a) of the
Act) and must not relax existing requirements (see sections 110(l) and
193). The AVAQMD regulates an ozone nonattainment area classified as
severe for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. AVAQMD is in attainment for the
1971 primary CO standard and designated as ``better than national
standard'' for the 1971 primary SO2 standard (see 40 CFR
Part 81.305).
Guidance and policy documents that we use to evaluate
enforceability requirements consistently include the following:
1. ``Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and
Deviations,'' EPA, May 25, 1988 (the Bluebook).
2. ``Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule
Deficiencies,'' EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001 (the Little Bluebook).
3. 40 CFR 60 Appendix B--Performance Specifications.
4. 40 CFR 60 Appendix F--Quality Assurance Procedures.
5. SO2 Guideline Document, EPA 452/R-94-008, February
1994.
B. Do the rules meet the evaluation criteria?
We believe these rules are consistent with the relevant policy and
guidance regarding enforceability and SIP relaxations. AVAQMD's staff
report for Rule 431.1 estimates there is a maximum SOx emissions
shortfall of approximately 10 pounds per day (~2 tons per year) when
the locally enforced limit of 40 ppm is raised to 250 ppm. Since the
existing SIP limit is 250 ppm, we do not consider this a SIP
relaxation. AVAQMD also amended the 250 ppm sulfur limit in Rule 431.1
for selling sewage digester gases. The rule now allows two compliance
options. The first option, a 40 ppm daily average, is clearly more
stringent than the existing 250 ppm SIP limit. The second option, a 40
ppm monthly average combined with a 500 ppm 15-minute average allows
short term intermittent emissions to exceed the existing 250 ppm SIP
limit for selling sewage digester gas. We do not believe this short
term 500 ppm 15-minute average would adversely impact the District's
ability to maintain the SO2 NAAQS for the following reasons:
(1) A 40 ppm monthly average effectively limits a facility from
emitting 500 ppm more than two days per month before it will exceed the
40 ppm monthly average limit; (2) District staff indicated there are
two publicly owned treatment works and to their knowledge, the sewage
digester gases are burned or flared (800 ppm existing SIP limit) and
are not sold (250 ppm existing SIP limit); and (3) AVAQMD is in
attainment for the 1971 primary SO2 NAAQS, and California
points out that for the 2010 SO2 primary standard, ambient
air quality monitoring in the Mojave Desert Air Basin shows a 2009 1-
hour SO2 design value of 10 ppb, well below the 2010 federal
standard of 75 ppb and that there have been no violations of the
federal 1-hour SO2 standard measured over the last two
decades, and violations are not expected in the future.\2\ Since AVAQMD
is in attainment for the SO2 NAAQS, Rule 431.1 is not a
required SIP submittal. The TSD has more information on our evaluation.
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\2\ Letter from the California Air Resources Board (James
Goldstene) to EPA Region 9 (Jared Blumenfeld) dated June 20, 2011,
Page A24-32.
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C. EPA Recommendations to Further Improve the Rules
Our comments to draft Rule 431.1 recommended AVAQMD revisit its
Best Available Control Technology (BACT) analysis at a future date and
consider cost information and data that may become available on carbon
adsorption technology being tested under an experimental research
permit in the South Coast Air Quality Management District. We are
including this recommendation for the District to evaluate the next
time AVAQMD amends Rule 431.1. We have no recommendations for Rules 218
or 218.1.
D. Public Comment and Proposed Action
Because EPA believes the submitted rules fulfill all relevant
requirements, we are proposing to fully approve them as described in
section 110(k)(3) of the Act. We will accept comments from the public
on this proposal for the next 30 days. Unless we receive convincing new
information during the comment period, we intend to publish a final
approval action that will incorporate these rules into the federally
enforceable SIP.
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, 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 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.);
[[Page 45116]]
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 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, this proposed action 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, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Particulate matter, Carbon monoxide, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur dioxide.
Dated: July 12, 2013.
Alexis Strauss,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2013-18051 Filed 7-25-13; 8:45 am]
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