[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 129 (Friday, July 7, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 31464-31468]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-14204]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2016-0561; FRL-9964-58-Region 3]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Pennsylvania; Volatile Organic Compound Reasonably Available Control
Technology for 1997 Ozone Standard
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct
final action to approve revisions to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
state implementation plan (SIP). This SIP revision pertains to the
requirements for reasonably available control technology (RACT)
controls for certain sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) under
the 1997 ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). This SIP
revision includes Pennsylvania's certification that previously adopted
RACT controls in Pennsylvania'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 ozone NAAQS and a negative declaration that certain
categories of sources do not exist in Pennsylvania. This SIP revision
does not address Pennsylvania's May 2016 VOC and nitrogen oxides
(NOX) RACT rule, ``Additional RACT Requirements for Major
Sources of NOX and VOCs,'' also known as RACT II. EPA will
take separate action on RACT II. EPA is approving these revisions
addressing VOC RACT for the 1997 ozone NAAQS in accordance with the
requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: This rule is effective on October 5, 2017 without further
notice, unless EPA receives adverse written comment by August 7, 2017.
If EPA receives such comments, it will publish a timely withdrawal of
the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform the public
that the rule will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R03-
OAR-2016-0561 at https://www.regulations.gov, or via email to
[email protected]. For comments submitted at Regulations.gov,
follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted,
comments cannot be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. For either
manner of submission, 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. 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 http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maria A Pino, (215) 814-2181, or by
email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 25, 2006, the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection (PADEP) submitted a revision to its SIP that addresses
certain requirements of RACT under the 1997 ozone NAAQS. The SIP
revision was entitled, ``Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) State
Implementation Plan (SIP) Revision Under the 8-Hour Ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS),'' September 2006, and will be
referred to in this rulemaking action as ``the 2006 RACT SIP.'' On June
27, 2016, PADEP withdrew from EPA review portions of the 2006 RACT SIP
revision related to RACT for major stationary sources of VOC and
NOX. EPA has included in the docket a redacted version of
the 2006 RACT SIP to identify which portions of this document remain
before EPA and are the subject of this notice of proposed rulemaking.
Pennsylvania addressed the
[[Page 31465]]
remaining RACT requirements for the 1997 ozone NAAQS (which
Pennsylvania withdrew from the 2006 RACT SIP) in a subsequent SIP
revision submittal, which will be the subject of a separate rulemaking
action.
I. Background
Ozone is formed in the atmosphere by photochemical reactions
between VOCs, 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 significantly reduce
VOC and NOX emissions from major stationary sources.
RACT is defined as the lowest emission limitation that a particular
source is capable of meeting by the application of control technology
that is reasonably available considering technological and economic
feasibility (44 FR 53761 at 53762, 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. Pennsylvania previously corrected its
deficiencies under the 1-hour ozone standard and has no further
deficiencies to correct under this section of the CAA. The second
requirement, set forth in section 182(b)(2) of the CAA, applies to
moderate (or worse) ozone nonattainment area as well as to marginal and
attainment areas in ozone transport regions (OTRs) 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 control technique
guideline (CTG) issued by EPA.\1\ See CAA section 182(b)(2) and 184(b).
Alternatively, if a state has no sources in a particular source
category covered by an EPA CTG, the state may submit a negative
declaration in a SIP submittal asserting no subject sources are within
the state.
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\1\ CTGs are documents issued by EPA intended to provide state
and local air pollution control authorities information to assist
them in determining RACT for VOC from various sources. The
recommendations in the CTG are based upon available data and
information and may not apply to a particular situation based upon
the circumstances. States can follow the CTG and adopt state
regulations to implement the recommendations contained therein, or
they can adopt alternative approaches. In either case, states must
submit their RACT rules to EPA for review and approval as part of
the SIP process. Pursuant to section 184(b)(1)(B) of the CAA, all
areas in the OTR must implement RACT with respect to sources of VOCs
in the state covered by a CTG issued before or after November 15,
1990.
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In 1997, EPA revised the health-based NAAQS for ozone, setting it
at 0.08 parts per million (ppm) averaged over an 8-hour time frame. EPA
set the 8-hour ozone standard based on scientific evidence
demonstrating that ozone causes adverse health effects at lower ozone
concentrations and over longer periods of time, than was understood
when the pre-existing 1-hour ozone standard was set. EPA determined
that the 8-hour standard would be more protective of human health,
especially children and adults who are active outdoors, and individuals
with a preexisting respiratory disease, such as asthma. EPA
subsequently revised the ozone NAAQS in 2008 and again in 2015. This
rulemaking only addresses SIP requirements under the 1997 ozone NAAQS.
The entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is in the OTR. Therefore,
under CAA section 184, the entire Commonwealth was subject to RACT
requirements under the 1-hour ozone standard. Pennsylvania has
implemented numerous RACT controls to meet the CAA RACT requirements
under the 1-hour and 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. These RACT controls were
promulgated in title 25 of the Pennsylvania Code, chapter 129,
Standards for Sources.
EPA requires under the 1997 ozone NAAQS that states meet the CAA
RACT requirements, either through a certification that previously
adopted RACT controls in their SIP revisions approved by EPA under the
1-hour ozone NAAQS represent adequate RACT control levels for 1997
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 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. Pursuant to section 184(b)(1)(B) of
the CAA, Pennsylvania had the obligation for the 1997 ozone NAAQS to
implement RACT with respect to sources of VOCs in the Commonwealth
covered by a CTG issued before or after November 15, 1990 (but before
September 15, 2006 when SIP requirements were due for the 1997 ozone
NAAQS). Another 1997 ozone NAAQS requirement for RACT is to submit a
negative declaration that there are no CTG or non-CTG major sources of
VOC and NOX emissions within the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania. The RACT requirements for the 1997 ozone NAAQS were due
to EPA as SIP revisions by September 15, 2006. As stated above, PADEP
submitted its 2006 RACT SIP on September 25, 2006 to address RACT
requirements for certain VOC sources and for CTG sources.
II. Summary of SIP Revision
Pennsylvania's 2006 RACT SIP revision satisfies certain RACT
requirements for the 1997 ozone NAAQS through certification that
previously adopted RACT controls in Pennsylvania'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 continues
to represent RACT for the 1997 ozone NAAQS and negative declarations
that certain CTG source categories do not exist in Pennsylvania.
CTG Source Categories
Table 1 lists the CTG source categories due which were required to
have RACT rules under the 1997 ozone NAAQS as these CTGs were issued by
EPA prior to the due date for SIP requirements for this NAAQS (i.e.,
September 15, 2006). Table 1 also shows the regulations which PADEP has
adopted for those source categories, their state effective dates, and
the date and Federal Register (FR) citation of EPA's approval of each
regulation. In addition, Table 1 shows the source categories for which
Pennsylvania has submitted negative declarations as none of these
sources existed in the Commonwealth for those specific categories. In
its 2006 RACT SIP, PADEP has certified that these rules constitute RACT
for the 1997 ozone NAAQS.
[[Page 31466]]
Table 1-- Pennsylvania RACT Rules for CTG VOC Source Categories
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Pennsylvania rule (25 Pa. State EPA Approval date & FR
CTG VOC source category Code) effective date citation
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Aerospace............................. Section 129.73 Aerospace 4/10/99 6/25/01, 66 FR 33645.
manufacturing and rework.
Bulk Gasoline Plants.................. Section 129.60 Bulk gasoline 8/3/91 5/13/93, 58 FR 28362.
plants.
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Equipment Leaks from Natural Gas/ Negative Declaration.
Gasoline Processing Plants.
Factory Surface Coating of Flat Wood Negative Declaration.
Paneling.
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Fugitive Emissions from Synthetic Section 129.71 Synthetic 5/23/92 12/22/94, 59 FR 65971.
Organic Chemical Polymer and Resin organic chemical and polymer
Manufacturing Equipment. manufacturing--fugitive
sources.
Graphic Arts--Rotogravure and Section 129.67 Graphic arts 8/3/91 5/13/93, 58 FR 28362.
Flexography. systems.
9/5/1998 7/26/2000, 65 FR 45918.
6/28/2014 6/25/2015, 80 FR 36481.
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Large Petroleum Dry Cleaners.......... Negative declaration.
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Leaks from Gasoline Tank Trucks and Section 129.62 General 5/23/94 12/22/94, 59 FR 65971.
Vapor Collection Systems. standards for bulk gasoline
terminals, bulk gasoline
plants, and small gasoline
storage tanks.
Leaks from Petroleum Refinery Section 129.58 Petroleum 8/13/83 7/27/84, 49 FR 30183.
Equipment. refineries--fugitive sources.
Manufacture of High-Density Section 129.71 Synthetic 5/23/92 12/22/94, 59 FR 65971.
Polyethylene, Polypropylene, and organic chemical and polymer
Polystyrene Resins. manufacturing--fugitive
sources.
Manufacture of Pneumatic Rubber Tires. Section 129.69 Manufacture of 5/23/92 12/22/94, 59 FR 65971.
pneumatic rubber tires.
Manufacture of Synthesized Section 129.68 Manufacture of 8/3/91 5/13/93, 58 FR 28362.
Pharmaceutical Products. synthesized pharmaceutical
products.
8/11/92, 57 FR 3577.
Petroleum Liquid Storage in External Section 129.56 Storage tanks 9/5/98 7/26/00, 65 FR 45920.
Floating Roof Tanks. greater than 40,000 gallons
capacity containing VOCs.
Refinery Vacuum Producing Systems, Section 129.55 Petroleum 6/20/81 1/19/83, 48 FR 2319.
Wastewater Separators, and Process refineries--specific sources.
Unit Turnarounds.
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SOCMI Air Oxidation Processes......... Negative declaration.
SOCMI Distillation and Reactor Negative declaration.
Processes.
Shipbuilding/repair................... Negative declaration.
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Solvent Metal Cleaning................ Section 129.63 Degreasing 12/22/01 1/16/03, 68 FR 2208.
operations.
Stage I Vapor Control Systems-- Section 129.61 Small gasoline 8/3/91 5/13/93, 58 FR 28362.
Gasoline Service Stations. storage tank control (Stage I
control).
Storage of Petroleum Liquids in Fixed Section 129.56 Storage tanks 9/5/98 7/26/00, 65 FR 45920.
Roof Tanks. greater than 40,000 gallons
capacity containing VOCs.
Surface Coating for Section 129.52 Surface coating 6/10/2000 7/20/01, 66 FR 37908.
Insulation of Magnet Wire. processes.
Surface Coating of .............................. 11/20/10 8/24/2011, 76 FR 52870.
Automobiles and Light-Duty Trucks.
Surface Coating of Cans......
Surface Coating of Coils.....
Surface Coating of Fabrics...
Surface Coating of Large
Appliances.
Surface Coating of Metal
Furniture.
Surface Coating of
Miscellaneous Metal Parts and
Products.
Surface Coating of Paper.....
Tank Truck Gasoline Loading Terminals. Section 129.59 Bulk gasoline 8/3/91 5/13/93, 58 FR 28362.
terminals.
Use of Cutback Asphalt................ Section 129.64 Cutback asphalt 8/13/83 7/27/84, 49 FR 30183.
paving.
Wood Furniture........................ Sections 129.101-107 Wood 6/10/00 7/20/01, 66 FR 37908.
Furniture Manufacturing
Operations.
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Non-CTG VOC Source Categories
In its 2006 RACT SIP, PADEP has also certified that three
regulations constitute RACT for certain VOC sources for the 1997 ozone
NAAQS based on the currently available technically and economically
feasible controls. Table 2 lists these source categories, their state
effective dates, and the date and FR citation of EPA's approval of each
regulation.
[[Page 31467]]
Table 2--Pennsylvania RACT Rules for Non-CTG VOC Sources
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State
Pennsylvania non-CTG VOC rule (25 Pa. Code) effective date EPA approval date & FR citation
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Section 129.65 Ethylene production plants..... 8/1/79 5/20/80, 45 FR 33607.
Section 129.72 Manufacture of surface active 5/23/92 12/22/94, 59 FR 65971.
agents.
Section 129.75 Mobile equipment repair and 11/27/99 8/14/00, 65 FR 49501.
refinishing.
Section 129.51 Sources of VOC, General........ 4/10/1999 6/25/2001, 66 FR 33645.
(This section lists general requirements for 6/28/2014 6/25/2015, 80 FR 36482.
all sources of VOCs, and does not include
RACT controls.).
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III. Final Action
EPA's review of this material indicates that Pennsylvania's 2006
RACT SIP meets certain RACT requirements for the 1997 ozone NAAQS for
applicable CTG source categories and for three non-CTG VOC categories:
manufacture of surface active agents, mobile equipment repair and
refinishing, and ethylene production plants to address sections 182(b)
and 184(b) of the CAA.
EPA is approving Pennsylvania's 2006 RACT SIP, which was submitted
on September 25, 2006. This SIP revision consists of (1) Pennsylvania's
certification that previously adopted and SIP approved RACT controls
for CTG source categories and three non-CTG source categories are based
on the currently available technically and economically feasible
controls, and that they continue to represent RACT for the 8-hour
implementation purposes and (2) negative declaration that there are no
sources in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for five CTG source
categories. EPA finds this 2006 RACT SIP meets requirements for RACT in
CAA section 182(b) and 184(b) with respect to these CTG categories, to
the negative declarations, and to these specific VOC source categories.
Pennsylvania has addressed its remaining obligations to address major
stationary source RACT for VOC and NOX sources in a
subsequent SIP submittal for which EPA will take later, separate
rulemaking action.
EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because EPA
views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no adverse
comment. However, in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of today's Federal
Register, EPA is publishing a separate document that will serve as the
proposal to approve the SIP revision if adverse comments are filed.
This rule will be effective on October 5, 2017 without further notice
unless EPA receives adverse comment by August 7, 2017. If EPA receives
adverse comment, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal
Register informing the public that the rule will not take effect. EPA
will address all public comments in a subsequent final rule based on
the proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period on
this action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so at this
time.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. General Requirements
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, EPA's role is to approve state choices,
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. 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 (Public Law 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 rule 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.
B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General
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. 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).
C. Petitions for Judicial Review
Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by September 5, 2017. 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
[[Page 31468]]
extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may be
filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or action.
Parties with objections to this direct final rule are encouraged to
file a comment in response to the parallel notice of proposed
rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules section of
today's Federal Register, rather than file an immediate petition for
judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can withdraw
this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed
rulemaking action.
This action approving Pennsylvania's 2006 RACT SIP 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, Ozone, Particulate matter,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: June 22, 2017.
Cecil Rodrigues,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
40 CFR part 52 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 NN--Pennsylvania
0
2. In Sec. 52.2020, the table in paragraph (e)(1) is amended by adding
an entry for ``Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for the
1997 ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS)'' at the end
of the table to read as follows:
52.2020 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
(1) * * *
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Name of non-regulatory SIP Applicable geographic State
revision area submittal date EPA approval date Additional explanation
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* * * * * * *
Reasonably Available Control Statewide............ 9/25/2006 7/7/2017, [Insert Federal Register Pertaining only to control technique
Technology (RACT) for the 1997 citation]. guideline (CTG) source categories
ozone national ambient air and three non-CTG volatile organic
quality standard (NAAQS). compound (VOC) source categories:
Manufacture of surface active
agents, mobile equipment repair and
refinishing, and ethylene production
plants. Remainder of submittal
withdrawn 6/27/2016.
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[FR Doc. 2017-14204 Filed 7-6-17; 8:45 am]
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