[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 60 (Tuesday, March 29, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 17390-17392]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-06962]
[[Page 17390]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2015-0552; FRL-9943-40-Region9]
Approval of California Air Plan Revisions, San Joaquin Valley
Unified Air Pollution Control District and South Coast Air Quality
Management District
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final
action to approve revisions to the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air
Pollution Control District (SJVUAPCD) and the South Coast Air Quality
Management District (SCAQMD) portions of the California State
Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern emissions of oxides
of nitrogen (NOX) from fan-driven natural-gas-fired central
furnaces for residences and businesses. We are approving local rules
that regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or
the Act).
DATES: These rules will be effective on April 28, 2016.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established docket number EPA-R09-OAR-2015-0552
for this action. Generally, documents in the docket for this action are
available electronically at http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy
at EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California 94105-
3901. While all documents in the docket are listed at http://www.regulations.gov, some information may be publicly available only at
the hard copy location (e.g., copyrighted material, large maps, multi-
volume reports), and some may not be available in either location
(e.g., confidential business information (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: Kevin Gong, EPA Region IX, (415) 972
3073, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and
``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Proposed Action
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
III. EPA Action
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Proposed Action
On November 7, 2015 in 80 FR 68484, the EPA proposed to approve the
following rules into the California SIP.
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Local agency Rule No. Rule title Amended Submitted
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SJVUAPCD........................... 4905 Natural-Gas-Fired, Fan-Type 01/22/15 04/07/15
Central Furnaces.
SCAQMD............................. 1111 Reduction of NOX Emissions 09/05/14 04/07/15
From Natural-Gas-Fired,
Fan-Type Central Furnaces.
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We proposed to approve these rule because we determined that they
complied with the relevant CAA requirements. Our proposed action
contains more information on the rules and our evaluation.
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
The EPA's proposed action provided a 30-day public comment period.
On December 7, 2015, we received two emails from Harvey Eder
representing the Public Solar Power Coalition (PSPC). One email
included the subject line, ``FW: docket ID EPA-R09-2015-0552, Can,t
Email You Again All of The Record from me HE/PSPC inc. into record by
reference from 6/2014 etc. to today SC PM 2.5 SC SIP EPA-R09-OAR-2015-
0204 to Extreme.'' The second email included the subject line, ``FW:
Part 3 of 3 there may be a Part 4/This isDocut ID EPA-R09-OAR-2015-
0552, emissions of NOX from fan-driven natural-gas-firedd
furnaces for res & business SCD R1111/SJV 4905 +FRL-9936-70-Region 9
(pt 1 & 2 also Inc This etc. Incorporate allfrom . . .'' We received an
additional email from PSPC on December 9, 2015 labeled as ``part 1 of
3,'' after the close of the comment period. We have summarized below
the substance of the emailed comments from PSPC to the extent possible.
The comments and our responses are as follows:
Comment #1: PSPC listed several external sources in reference to
our proposal. These included the following: Documents attributed to a
California Superior Court case where PSPC was a plaintiff against the
SCAQMD; references to information attributed to the International
Energy Agency and the California Governor's Office of Planning and
Research; documents previously submitted for comment in other EPA
dockets (including EPA-R09-OAR-2015-0204); communications with local
and federal officials; and Santa Cruz County and Los Angeles County
planning documents. None of these documents were summarized or provided
as attachments to comments on docket EPA-R09-OAR-2015-0552.
Response #1: In PSPC's emails to the EPA, PSPC did not provide
attachments or provide source materials supporting its claims. The
emails attempted to incorporate by reference various news articles,
reports, and other documents in support of PSPC's stated claims and
assertions (see additional discussion in Comments #2 and #3). However,
such a practice is in violation of EPA's commenting guidelines,
available at http://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets#rules.
In particular, the comments do not comply with the restriction that
``EPA will not consider comments or comment contents located outside of
the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing
system).'' \1\
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\1\ United States Environmental Protection Agency. ``Commenting
on EPA Dockets--Rules and Restrictions.'' Last updated December 21,
2015. http://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
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Moreover, submitting general documents on a topic fails to raise
any particular issue with reasonable specificity as required by the
Clean Air Act and the Administrative Procedures Act. See generally
Mossville Envtl. Action Now v. EPA, 370 F.3d 1232, 1238 (D.C. Cir.
2004) (``Petitioners also point to a sentence in the letter requesting
the EPA to use `all reasonably available data, including the data
provided under Subpart F.' Petitioners' argument that, because Subpart
F contains data for both the ten and 400 ppm standards, the EPA was on
notice fails for the same reasons as articulated above.'') Therefore,
EPA is not making any changes to our proposed approval on the basis of
this comment.
Comment #2: PSPC commented that a range of solar-related
technologies, including solar seasonal heating, concentrating solar,
and photovoltaic-powered heating and cooling systems are an alternative
to natural gas-fired home furnaces that are subject to this rule. PSPC
claims that the EPA should
[[Page 17391]]
consider such technologies as RACT for space heating applications that
are currently being fulfilled by furnaces.
Response #2: The EPA can identify no CAA requirement in PSPC's
comment emails that would require the consideration of solar-based
technologies as RACT in this context, as all natural gas-fired fan-
driven furnaces subject to these rules do not meet the major source
threshold triggering a RACT requirement for ozone. The SIP must still
implement all RACM/RACT for NOX, but these requirements are
generally evaluated in the context of a broader RACM/RACT assessment.
Furthermore, the revisions to South Coast Rule 1111 that are the
subject of this action do not include any substantive revisions
concerning control technologies or emission limits that PSPC's comment
would be germane to.
Comment #3: PSPC made several additional claims including: The
solar technologies as described would be RACT for other source
categories, including boilers and heaters not subject to the rules in
this action; and water tank-based solar seasonal storage heating has
secondary use in firefighting and public safety applications following
earthquakes.
Response #3: These claims are not relevant to our analysis of the
approval of the rules and we are finalizing our proposed approval
without change.
III. EPA Action
No comments were submitted that change our assessment of the rules
as described in our proposed action. Therefore, as authorized in
section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA is fully approving these rules
into the California SIP.
IV. Incorporation by Reference
In this rule, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR
51.5, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the
SCAQMD and SJVUAPCD rules described in the amendments to 40 CFR part 52
set forth below. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these
documents available electronically through www.regulations.gov and in
hard copy at the appropriate EPA office (see the ADDRESSES section of
this preamble for more information).
V. 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 action merely approves state law as meeting Federal
requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those
imposed by state law. For that reason, this 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, 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, 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).
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule,
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. The EPA will submit a report containing this action and
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C.
804(2).
Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by May 31, 2016. Filing a
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule
does not affect the finality of this action for the purposes of
judicial review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for
judicial review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness
of such rule or action. This action may not be challenged later in
proceedings to enforce its requirements (see section 307(b)(2)).
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.
Dated: February 4, 2016.
Jared Blumenfeld,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
Part 52, Chapter I, Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is
amended as follows:
PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
0
1. The authority citation for Part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart F--California
0
2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding paragraphs (c)(344)(i)(C)(2),
(c)(379)(i)(A)(6), (c)(461)(i)(C)(2) and (c)(461)(i)(D) to read as
follows:
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Sec. 52.220 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(344) * * *
(i) * * *
(C) * * *
(2) Previously approved on May 30, 2007 in paragraph
(c)(344)(i)(C)(1) of this section and now deleted with replacement in
paragraph (c)(461)(i)(D)(1), Rule 4905, ``Natural-Gas-Fired Fan-Type
Central Furnaces,'' adopted on October 20, 2005.
* * * * *
(379) * * *
(i) * * *
(A) * * *
(6) Previously approved on August 4, 2010 in paragraph
(c)(379)(i)(A)(3) of this section and now deleted with replacement in
paragraph (c)(461)(i)(C)(2), Rule 1111, ``Reduction of NOX
Emissions from Natural-Gas-Fired Fan-Type Central Furnaces,'' amended
on November 6, 2009.
* * * * *
(461) * * *
(i) * * *
(C) * * *
(2) Rule 1111, ``Reduction of NOX Emissions From
Natural-Gas-Fired, Fan-Type Central Furnaces,'' amended September 5,
2014.
(D) San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District.
(1) Rule 4905, ``Natural-Gas-Fired, Fan-Type Central Furnaces,''
amended January 22, 2015.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2016-06962 Filed 3-28-16; 8:45 am]
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