[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 156 (Friday, August 13, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 44134-44135]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-21011]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[CA 207-156; FRL-6409-4]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California
State Implementation Plan Revision, South Coast Air Quality Management
District
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is finalizing the approval of revisions to the California
State Implementation Plan (SIP) proposed in the Federal Register on May
4, 1999. The revisions concern rules from the South Coast Air Quality
Management District (SCAQMD). This approval action will incorporate
these rules into the federally approved SIP. The intended effect of
approving these rules is to regulate emissions of volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air
Act, as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act). The revised rules control VOC
emissions from solvent cleaning and motor vehicle refinish coating
operations. Thus, EPA is finalizing the approval of these revisions
into the California SIP under provisions of the CAA regarding EPA
action on SIP submittals, SIPs for national primary and secondary
ambient air quality standards and plan requirements for nonattainment
areas.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This action is effective on September 13, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the revised rules and EPA's evaluation report for
each rule are available for public inspection at EPA's Region IX office
during normal business hours. Copies of the submitted revised rules are
available for inspection at the following locations:
Rulemaking Office (AIR-4), Air Division, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
Environmental Protection Agency, Air Docket (6102), 401 ``M'' Street,
SW, Washington, DC 20460
California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule
Evaluation Section, 2020 ``L'' Street, Sacramento, CA 95812
South Coast Air Quality Management District, 21865 Copley Drive,
Diamond Bar, CA 91765
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Steckel, Rulemaking Office,
(AIR-4), Air Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX,
75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, Telephone: (415) 744-
1185.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Applicability
The rules being approved into the California SIP include: SCAQMD
Rules 1151--Motor Vehicle and Mobile Equipment Non-Assembly Line
Coating Operations, and Rule 1171--Solvent Cleaning Operations. These
rules were submitted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to
EPA on March 10, 1998.
II. Background
On May 4, 1999 in 64 FR 23813, EPA proposed to approve the
following rules into the California SIP: SCAQMD's Rule 1151--Motor
Vehicle and Mobile Equipment Non-Assembly Line Coating Operations and
SCAQMD's Rule 1171--Solvent Cleaning Operations. Rule 1151 and 1171
were amended by SCAQMD on June 13, 1997. Both rules were submitted by
CARB to EPA on March 10, 1998. These rules were submitted in response
to EPA's 1988 SIP-Call and the CAA section 182(a)(2)(A) requirement
that nonattainment areas fix their reasonably available control
technology (RACT) rules for ozone in accordance with EPA guidance that
interpreted the requirements of the pre-amendment Act. A detailed
discussion of the background for each of the above rules and
nonattainment areas is provided in the NPRM cited above.
EPA has evaluated the above rules for consistency with the
requirements of the CAA and EPA regulations and EPA interpretation of
these requirements as expressed in the various EPA policy guidance
documents referenced in the NPRM(s) cited above. EPA has found that the
rules meet the applicable EPA requirements. A detailed discussion of
the rule provisions and evaluations has been provided in 64 FR 23774
and in technical support documents (TSDs) available at EPA's Region IX
office (TSDs dated July 1998, SCAQMD's Rules 1171 and 1151).
III. Response to Public Comments
A 30-day public comment period was provided in 64 FR 23774. EPA
received a comment from EPI Research (EPIR) regarding Rule 1171. EPIR
commented that they did not have accurate information from SCAQMD
during the rule making process and that lowered VOC and/or vapor
pressure limits of cleaning solvents would be difficult, if not
impossible to meet, or were not commercially available. For this reason
EPIR requested that EPA withhold approval of SCAQMD's Rule 1171 into
the California SIP. EPA has evaluated the information submitted by
California regarding Rule 1171 and determined that it fulfills the
procedural requirements of 40 CFR 51, Appendix V, including the
requirements of 2.1(f) public notice, (g) public hearing, and (h)
compilation of public comments and responses. Furthermore, under CAA
section 110(a)(2), EPA may not consider the economic or technological
feasibility of the provisions of the SCAQMD rule in approval of the SIP
revision. Union Electric v. EPA, 427 U.S. 246, 265-266 (1976). As noted
by the Supreme Court, it is the province of the State or local
authorities to determine whether or not to impose more stringent limits
that may require technology forcing. EPA must assess the SIP revision
on the basis of factors set forth in CAA section 110(a)(2) which
include reasonable notice and public hearings in the adoption process,
but does not provide for the disapproval of a rule in a SIP based upon
economic or technological infeasibility. For these reasons the comments
submitted do not affect the incorporation of SCAQMD's Rule 1171 into
the California SIP.
IV. EPA Action
EPA is finalizing action to approve the above rules for inclusion
into the California SIP. EPA is approving the submittal under section
110(k)(3) as meeting the requirements of section 110(a) and Part D of
the CAA. This approval action will incorporate these rules into the
federally approved SIP. The intended effect of approving these rules is
to regulate emissions of VOCs in
[[Page 44135]]
accordance with the requirements of the CAA.
V. Administrative Requirements
A. Executive Orders 12866 and 13045
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has exempted this
regulatory action from E.O. 12866 review.
The final rule is not subject to E.O. 13045, entitled ``Protection
of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks,'' because
it is not an ``economically significant'' action under E.O. 12866.
B. Regulatory Flexibility Act
Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 600 et seq., EPA
must prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis assessing the impact of
any proposed or final rule on small entities. 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604.
Alternatively, EPA may certify that the rule will not have a
significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. Small
entities include small businesses, small not-for-profit enterprises,
and government entities with jurisdiction over populations of less than
50,000.
SIP approvals under section 110 and subchapter I, part D of the
Clean Air Act do not create any new requirements but simply approve
requirements that the State is already imposing. Therefore, because the
Federal SIP approval does not impose any new requirements, the
Administrator certifies that it does not have a significant impact on
any small entities affected. Moreover, due to the nature of the
Federal-State relationship under the CAA, preparation of a flexibility
analysis would constitute Federal inquiry into the economic
reasonableness of state action. The Clean Air Act forbids EPA to base
its actions concerning SIPs on such grounds. Union Electric Co. v. U.S.
EPA, 427 U.S. 246, 255-66 (1976); 42 U.S.C. 7410(a)(2).
C. Unfunded Mandates
Under section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
(``Unfunded Mandates Act''), signed into law on March 22, 1995, EPA
must prepare a budgetary impact statement to accompany any proposed or
final rule that includes a Federal mandate that may result in estimated
costs to State, local, or tribal governments in the aggregate; or to
private sector, of $100 million or more. Under section 205, EPA must
select the most cost-effective and least burdensome alternative that
achieves the objectives of the rule and is consistent with statutory
requirements. Section 203 requires EPA to establish a plan for
informing and advising any small governments that may be significantly
or uniquely impacted by the rule.
EPA has determined that the approval action promulgated does not
include a Federal mandate that may result in estimated costs of $100
million or more to either State, local, or tribal governments in the
aggregate, or to the private sector. This Federal action approves pre-
existing requirements under State or local law, and imposes no new
Federal requirements. Accordingly, no additional costs to State, local,
or tribal governments, or to the private sector, result from this
action.
D. Submission to Congress and the General Accounting Office
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 rule 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. This rule is not a
``major'' rule as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
E. Petitions for Judicial Review
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 October 12, 1999. Filing a
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule
does not affect the finality of this rule 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, Hydrocarbons,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Note: Incorporation by reference of the State Implementation
Plan for the State of California was approved by the Director of the
Federal Register on July 1, 1982.
Dated: July 19, 1999.
David P. Howekamp,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
Part 52, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is
amended as follows:
PART 52--[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart F--California
2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding paragraph (c) (254)(i)(D)(2)
to read as follows:
Sec. 52.220 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(254) * * *
(i) * * *
(D) * * *
(2) Rule 1151, adopted on July 8, 1988 and amended on June 13,
1997, and Rule 1171, adopted on August 2, 1991 and amended on June 13,
1997.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 99-21011 Filed 8-12-99; 8:45 am]
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