[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 16, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 38825-38828]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-17242]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2017-0388; FRL-9966-22-Region 4]
Air Plan Approval; SC: Standards for Volatile Organic Compounds
and Oxides of Nitrogen
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 changes to the South
[[Page 38826]]
Carolina State Implementation Plan (SIP) that revise several
miscellaneous rules for control standards for process industries.
Specifically, changes are made to standards for volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) and oxides of nitrogen (NOX). EPA is
approving portions of SIP revisions submitted by the State of South
Carolina, through the South Carolina Department of Health and
Environmental Control (SC DHEC), on the following dates: October 1,
2007, June 17, 2013, and January 20, 2016. These actions are being
taken pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).
DATES: This direct final rule is effective October 16, 2017 without
further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by September 15,
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-R04-
OAR-2017-0388 at https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot
be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. 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, the full EPA public comment
policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general
guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: D. Brad Akers, Air Regulatory
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air,
Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia
30303-8960. Mr. Akers can be reached via telephone at (404) 562-9089 or
via electronic mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. What action is EPA taking?
On October 1, 2007, June 17, 2013, and January 20, 2016, SC DHEC
submitted SIP revisions to EPA for approval to make administrative and
clarifying amendments and correct typographical errors. These SIP
submittals make changes to several air quality rules in the South
Carolina Code of Regulations Annotated (S.C. Code Ann. Regs.). The
changes EPA is approving into the SIP in this action modify portions of
Regulation 61-62.5--``Air Pollution Control Standards'' at Standard No.
5--``Volatile Organic Compounds,'' and Regulation 61-62.5, Standard No.
5.2--``Control of Oxides of Nitrogen (NOX).''
At this time, EPA is not acting on changes in the October 1, 2007,
submittal to Regulation 61-62.1, Section II--``Permit Requirements'' or
Regulation 61-62.5, Standard No. 4--``Emissions from Process
Industries.'' EPA is also not acting on the changes included in the
June 17, 2013, submittal to the following regulations: Regulation 61-
62.1, Section I--``Definitions''; Regulation 61-62.1, Section II--
``Permit Requirements''; Regulation 61-62.1, Section IV--``Source
Tests''; Regulation 61-62.3--``Air Pollution Episodes''; or Regulation
61-62.5, Standard No. 4--``Emissions from Process Industries.''
Finally, EPA is not acting on the changes included in the January 20,
2016, submittal to the following regulations: Regulation 61-62.1,
Section II, ``Permit Requirements''; Regulation 61-62.5, Standard No.
7.1--``Nonattainment New Source Review''; or Regulation 61-62.6--
``Control of Fugitive Particulate Matter.''
II. Analysis of South Carolina's Submittals
A. Regulation 61-62.5, Standard No. 5--``Volatile Organic Compounds''
South Carolina is amending its standards for controlling VOCs at
Regulation 61-62.5, Standard No. 5--``Volatile Organic Compounds.'' The
June 17, 2013, submittal revises the VOC regulation to make several
administrative edits only, including formatting for consistency and
correcting typographical errors in Section I, Part A and Part G and
Section II, Part Q.\1\ The January 20, 2016, submittal also revises the
VOC regulation to make further administrative edits only, including
formatting for consistency in Section II, Part A and Part B. EPA has
reviewed the changes made to South Carolina's VOC regulation and is
approving them into the SIP pursuant to CAA section 110.
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\1\ Regulation 61-62.5, Standard No. 5, Section II, Part A is
approved into the SIP, last revised May 7, 2002 (67 FR 30594).
However, the entry for ``Part A'' at 40 CFR 52.2120(c) was
inadvertently removed from the table of SIP-approved regulations. In
this action, EPA is adding that entry back into the table.
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B. Regulation 61-62.5, Standard No. 5.2--``Control of Oxides of
Nitrogen (NOX)''
South Carolina is amending its standards for controlling
NOX at Regulation 61-62.5, Standard No. 5.2--``Control of
Oxides of Nitrogen (NOX).'' The October 1, 2007, submittal
makes the following changes to the NOX regulation at Section
I--``Applicability,'' and Section III--``Standard Requirements for New
Sources'': (1) Clarifies applicability at paragraph I.a. by adding the
state effective date of the regulation; (2) modifies the number of
hours of operation for testing and maintenance for exempted emergency
generators at subparagraph I.b.2.; (3) clarifies the exemption of
combustion control devices at subparagraph I.b.4.; and (4) adds
clarifying language to Section III at Table 1, ``NOX Control
Standards.''
CAA section 110(l) provides that EPA shall not approve a revision
to a plan if the revision would interfere with any applicable
requirement concerning attainment and reasonable further progress (as
defined in CAA section 171), or any other applicable requirement of the
CAA. Subparagraph I.B.2. extends the testing and maintenance operation
threshold for exempted emergency generators from 250 hours to 500 hours
per year. SC DHEC submitted supplemental information in support of its
earlier SIP revision submittal in a December 20, 2016, letter to EPA.
SC DHEC notes in its letter that it considered CAA section 110(l) in
making this change and asserts that the State expects no increase in
actual emissions as a result of raising this exemption threshold. SC
DHEC explains that the 500 hours per year threshold is commonly used to
determine the potential to emit for title V and other major source
applicability determinations, consistent with EPA guidance.\2\ These
sources are still restricted to use in emergency conditions.
Additionally, SC DHEC points to applicable federal requirements for
emergency generators at 40 CFR 63, subpart ZZZZ and 40 CFR 60 at
subparts IIII and JJJJ, which restrict non-emergency use of these
sources to 100 hours per year. SC DHEC also
[[Page 38827]]
clarifies that peak shaving and other types of activities are not
considered emergency activities, and so would not qualify for the
exemption under paragraph II.B. Therefore, this change to subparagraph
I.b.2. is not expected to result in any increase in emissions that
would affect the State's ability to attain or maintain state or Federal
standards or reasonable further progress.
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\2\ Seitz, John S. ``Calculating Potential to Emit (PTE) for
Emergency Generators.'' Memorandum to Program Directors in EPA
Regional Offices. Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
Research Triangle Park, NC. September 6, 1995.
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The change at subparagraph I.b.4. clarifies the exemption for
devices functioning solely as combustion control devices. The
additional language specifies that these devices are not automatically
excluded from the exemption if waste heat is recovered from them. This
additional language is aimed at encouraging process efficiency and will
not interfere with attainment or maintenance of any Federal or state
standard or reasonable further progress.
EPA has reviewed the October 1, 2007, SIP submittal, and is
approving the aforementioned changes to Regulation 61-62.5, Standard
No. 5.2, pursuant to CAA section 110(a)(2)(A) and 110(l).
III. Incorporation by Reference
In this rule, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR
51.5, EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of South
Carolina Regulation 61-62.5, Standard No. 5--``Volatile Organic
Compounds,'' effective November 27, 2015, which makes ministerial
changes for consistency and Regulation 61-62.5, Standard No. 5.2--
``Control of Oxides of Nitrogen (NOX),'' effective May 25,
2007, which makes ministerial changes for consistency and modifies
applicability for NOX control. Therefore, these materials
have been approved by EPA for inclusion in the SIP, have been
incorporated by reference by EPA into that plan, are fully federally-
enforceable under sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the effective
date of the final rulemaking of EPA's approval, and will be
incorporated by reference by the Director of the Federal Register in
the next update to the SIP compilation.\3\ EPA has made, and will
continue to make, these materials generally available through https://www.regulations.gov and/or at the EPA Region 4 Office (please contact
the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this preamble for more information).
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\3\ 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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IV. Final Action
EPA is approving the aforementioned changes to the South Carolina
SIP, submitted on October 1, 2007, June 17, 2013, and January 20, 2016,
because they are consistent with the CAA and Federal regulations. EPA
is publishing this rule without prior proposal because the Agency views
this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no adverse
comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal
Register publication, EPA is publishing a separate document that will
serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision should adverse
comments be filed. This rule will be effective October 16, 2017 without
further notice unless the Agency receives adverse comments by September
15, 2017.
If EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish a document
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will
not take effect. All adverse comments received will then be addressed
in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. EPA will not
institute a second comment period. Parties interested in commenting
should do so at this time. If no such comments are received, the public
is advised that this rule will be effective on October 16, 2017 and no
further action will be taken on the proposed rule. Please note that if
we receive adverse comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of
this rule and if that provision may be severed from the remainder of
the rule, we may adopt as final those provisions of the rule that are
not the subject of an adverse comment.
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP
submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and applicable
federal regulations. See 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 (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 direct final action for the State of South
Carolina does not have Tribal implications as specified by Executive
Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because it does not have
substantial direct effects on an Indian Tribe. The Catawba Indian
Nation Reservation is located within the South Carolina portion of the
bi-state Charlotte Area. Pursuant to the Catawba Indian Claims
Settlement Act, S.C. Code Ann. 27-16-120, ``all state and local
environmental laws and regulations apply to the [Catawba Indian Nation]
and Reservation and are fully enforceable by all relevant state and
local agencies and authorities.'' EPA notes this action will not impose
substantial direct costs on Tribal governments or preempt Tribal law.
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
[[Page 38828]]
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 CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by October 16, 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 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. 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, Nitrogen dioxide, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: August 3, 2017.
Anne Heard,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
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 PP--South Carolina
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2. Section 52.2120(c) is amended under ``Regulation No. 62.5'' by:
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a. Under ``Standard No. 5'':
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i. Revising the entry ``Section I'';
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ii. Under ``Section I'' revising the entries ``Part A'' and ``Part G'';
0
iii. Revising the entry ``Section II'';
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iv. Adding under ``Section II'' the entry ``Part A''; and
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v. Revising under ``Section II'' the entries ``Part B'' and ``Part Q''.
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b. Revising the entry ``Standard No. 5.2''.
The revisions and additions read as follows:
Sec. 52.2120 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
Air Pollution Control Regulations for South Carolina
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State EPA approval Federal Register
State citation Title/subject effective date date notice
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* * * * * * *
Regulation No. 62.5.............. Air Pollution Control .............. .............. .....................
Standards.
* * * * * * *
Standard No. 5................... Volatile Organic .............. .............. .....................
Compounds.
Section I........................ General Provisions.... 4/26/2013 8/16/2017 [Insert citation of
publication].
Part A........................... Definitions........... 4/26/2013 8/16/2017 [Insert citation of
publication].
* * * * * * *
Part G........................... Equivalency 4/26/2013 8/16/2017 [Insert citation of
Calculations. publication].
Section II....................... Provisions for 11/27/2015 8/16/2017 [Insert citation of
Specific Sources. publication].
Part A........................... Surface Coating of 11/27/2015 8/16/2017 [Insert citation of
Cans. publication].
Part B........................... Surface Coating of 11/27/2015 8/16/2017 [Insert citation of
Coils. publication].
* * * * * * *
Part Q........................... Manufacture of 4/26/2013 8/16/2017 [Insert citation of
Synthesized publication].
Pharmaceutical
Products.
* * * * * * *
Standard No. 5.2................. Control of Oxides of 5/25/2007 8/16/2017 [Insert citation of
Nitrogen (NOX). publication].
* * * * * * *
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[FR Doc. 2017-17242 Filed 8-15-17; 8:45 am]
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