ACTION:
Direct final rule.
SUMMARY:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District (YSAQMD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from solvent cleaning and degreasing operations. We are approving local rules that regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act).
DATES:
This rule is effective on June 29, 2015 without further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comments by May 28, 2015. If we receive such comments, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the
Federal Register to notify the public that this direct final rule will not take effect.
ADDRESSES:
Submit comments, identified by docket number EPA-R09-OAR-2014-0873 by one of the following methods:
1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions.
2. Email: steckel.andrew@epa.gov.
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:
Arnold Lazarus, EPA Region IX, (415) 972-3024 lazarus.arnold@epa.gov.
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 Final Action
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. The State's Submittal
A. What rules did the State submit?
Table 1 lists the rules we are approving with the dates that they were adopted by the local air agency and submitted by the California Air Resources Board.
Table 1—Submitted Rules
Local agency
Rule No.
Rule title
Adopted/ Revised
Rescinded
Submitted
YSAQMD
1.1
General Provisions and Definitions
5/8/2013
N/A
2/10/14
YSAQMD
2.13
Organic Solvents (Rescinded)
5/25/94
* 9/4/14
YSAQMD
2.15
Disposal and Evaporation of Solvents (Rescinded)
1978
* 9/4/14
YSAQMD
2.24
Solvent Cleaning Operations (Degreasing) (Rescinded)
11/14/90
* 9/4/14
YSAQMD
2.31
Solvent Cleaning and Degreasing
5/8/13
N/A
2/10/14
* See letter from Mat Ehrhardt, Executive Director, YSAQMD to Kurt Karperos, Chief, Air Quality Planning and Science Division, California Air Resources Board, requesting that YSAQMD Rules 2.13, 2.15 and 2.24 be withdrawn from the California SIP.
On May 5, 2014, EPA determined that the submittal for YSAQMD Rules 1.1 and 2.31 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?
There are previous versions of Rules 1.1 and 2.31 in the SIP. YSAQMD adopted earlier versions of these rules on August 13, 1997 and April 27, 1994 respectively, and CARB submitted them to us on July 26, 2000 and November 30, 1994 respectively. We approved these versions of Rule 1.1 and 2.31 into the SIP on March 22, 2004 (69 FR 13234) and April 2, 1999 (64 FR 15922) respectively.
C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule revisions?
VOCs help produce ground-level ozone and smog, which harm human health and the environment. Section 110(a) of the CAA requires States to submit regulations that control VOC emissions. Rule 1.1—“General Provisions and Definitions,” contains definitions for specific terms applicable to all District rules. The revisions include additions to the exempt organic compound definition to coincide with those that EPA has determined to have negligible photochemical reactivity as listed in Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 51.100 (40 CFR 51.100.) Rule 2.31, “Solvent Cleaning and Degreasing” establishes VOC limits and workplace requirements for cleaning and degreasing products sold, distributed or used within the District. It also prescribes administrative requirements for recordkeeping and test methods. YSAQMD has rescinded Rule 2.13, “Organic Solvents,” Rule 2.15 “Disposal and Evaporation of Solvents,” and Rule 2.24, “Solvent Cleaning Operations (Degreasing)” because the requirements of those rules are now included in the revised Rule 2.31, “Solvent Cleaning and Degreasing” and had they not been rescinded, there would have been redundancies between them and Rule 2.31. EPA's technical support documents (TSDs) 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), must require Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for each category of sources covered by a Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG) document as well as each VOC major source in ozone nonattainment areas classified as moderate or above (see sections 182(b)(2) and 182(f)), and must not relax existing requirements (see sections 110(l) and 193). The YSAQMD regulates an ozone nonattainment area classified as Severe for the 8-hour ozone (NAAQS 40 CFR part 81.305), so Rules 1.1 and 2.31 must be consistent with RACT requirements.
Guidance and policy documents that we use to evaluate enforceability and RACT requirements consistently include the following:
1. “State Implementation Plans; General Preamble for the Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990,” 57 FR 13498 (April 16, 1992); 57 FR 18070 (April 28, 1992).
2. “Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations,” EPA, May 25, 1988 (the Bluebook).
3. “Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule Deficiencies,” EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001 (the Little Bluebook).
4. Control of Volatile Organic Emissions from Solvent Metal Cleaning” EPA-450/2-77-022, November 1977.
5. “Control Technique Guidelines for Industrial Cleaning Solvents” EPA-453/R-06-001, September 2006.
6. “Control Technique Guidelines for Flexible Package Printing” EPA 453/R-06-003, September 2006.
7. “Control of Volatile Organic Compound Emissions from Coating Operations at Aerospace manufacturing and Rework Operations” EPA-453/R-97-004, December 1997.
8. CARB's RACT/BARCT guidance titled, “Organic Solvent Cleaning and Degreasing Operations” (July 18, 1991)
B. Do the rules meet the evaluation criteria?
We believe these rules are consistent with the relevant policy and guidance regarding enforceability, RACT, and SIP relaxations. The TSDs have more information on our evaluation.
C. EPA Recommendations To Further Improve the Rules
The TSDs describe additional rule revisions that we recommend for the next time the local agency modifies the rules.
D. Public Comment and Final Action
As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, EPA is fully approving submitted YSAQMD Rules 1.1 and 2.31 for incorporation into the SIP and to replace in the SIP YSAQMD Rules 2.13, 2.15, 2.24, because we believe action on these rules fulfills all relevant requirements. We are also removing YSAQMD rules 2.13, 2.15 and 2.24 from the SIP because 2.31 contains more stringent requirements and eliminates redundancies. We do not think anyone will object to this approval, so we are finalizing it without proposing it in advance. However, in the Proposed Rules section of this Federal Register , we are simultaneously proposing the same action on these rules. If we receive adverse comments by May 28, 2015, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register to notify the public that the direct final approval will not take effect and we will address the comments in a subsequent final action based on the proposal. If we do not receive timely adverse comments, the direct final approval will be effective without further notice on June 29, 2015. This will incorporate YSAQMD Rules 1.1 and 2.31 and replace YSAQMD Rules 2.13, 2.15 and 2.24 into the federally enforceable SIP.
Please note that if EPA receives adverse comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that provision may be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt as final those provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment.
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 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 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 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. 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 June 29, 2015. 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, Carbon monoxide, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: March 30, 2015.
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
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)(442)(i)(F) to read as follows:
§ 52.220
(c) * * *
(442) * * *
(i) * * *
(F) Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District.
(1) Rule 1.1, “General Provisions and Definitions,” revised on May 8, 2013.
(2) Rule 2.31, “Solvent Cleaning and Degreasing,” revised on May 8, 2013.
[FR Doc. 2015-09737 Filed 4-27-15; 8:45 am]
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