[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 113 (Monday, June 12, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 36788-36790]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-14171]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[AZ 086-0207a; FRL-6710-5]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Arizona State 
Implementation Plan Revision, Maricopa County Environmental Services 
Department

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the 
Maricopa County Environmental Services Department portion of the 
Arizona State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern 
volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from ferrous sand casting 
operations. We are approving local rules that regulate these emission 
sources under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).

DATES: This rule is effective on August 11, 2000 without further 
notice, unless EPA receives adverse comments by July 12, 2000. If we 
receive such comment, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the 
Federal Register to notify the public that this rule will not take 
effect.

ADDRESSES: Mail comments to Andrew Steckel, Chief, Rulemaking Office, 
AIR-4, Air Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, 
75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105.
    You can inspect copies of the submitted rule and our technical 
support document (TSD) at our Region IX office from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, 
Monday through Friday. To see copies of the submitted rule, you may 
also go to the following locations:

Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, 3033 North Central Avenue, 
Phoenix, AZ 85012
Maricopa County Environmental Services Department, Air Quality 
Division, 1001 North Central Avenue, Suite 201, Phoenix, AZ 85004

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Al Petersen, Rulemaking Office (AIR-
4), Air Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901, (415) 744-1135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document wherever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' are used, we mean EPA.

Table of Contents

I. The State's Submittal
    A. What rule did the State submit?
    B. Are there other versions of this rule?
    C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?
II. EPA's Evaluation and Action
    A. How is EPA evaluating the rule?
    B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
    C. Public comment and final action.
III. Background Information
    Why was this rule submitted?
IV. Administrative Requirements

I. The State's Submittal

A. What rule did the State submit?

    The rule we are approving for incorporation into the Arizona SIP is 
MCESD Rule 347, Ferrous Sand Casting. This rule was adopted on March 4, 
1998 by the MCESD and submitted to us on August 4, 1999 by the Arizona 
Department of Environmental Quality. On August 25, 1999, this rule 
submittal was found to meet the completeness criteria in 40 CFR part 
51, appendix V, which must be met before formal EPA review.

B. Are there other versions of this rule?

    There is no previous version of MCESD Rule 347 in the SIP. There 
are no previous submittals on which we have not acted.

C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?

    MCESD Rule 347 limits the amount of volatile organic compounds 
(VOCs) emitted by organic binder materials and other organic materials 
used in molds made of sand or other finely divided refractory material 
in ferrous metal sand casting operations. The emission of VOC is 
limited to 150 pounds per day or 25 tons per year, unless VOC emissions 
are controlled by a device with at least 81% capture or by maintaining 
an organic binder to sand ratio of less than 1.35 to 100 by weight. The 
TSD has more information about this rule.

II. EPA's Evaluation and Action

A. How is EPA evaluating the rule?

    Generally, SIP rules must be enforceable (see section 110(a) of the 
Act), must require Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for 
major sources in nonattainment areas (see section 182(a)(2)(A)), and 
must not relax existing requirements (see sections

[[Page 36789]]

110(l) and 193). The MCESD regulates a serious ozone nonattainment area 
(see 40 CFR part 81), so MCESD Rule 347 must fulfill the requirements 
of RACT.
    Guidance and policy documents that we used to define specific 
enforceability and RACT requirements include the following:
    1. Portions of the proposed post-1987 ozone and carbon monoxide 
policy that concern RACT, 52 FR 45044, November 24, 1987.
    2. ``Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and 
Deviations; Clarification to Appendix D of November 24, 1987 Federal 
Register Notice,'' (Blue Book), notice of availability published in the 
May 25, 1988 Federal Register.
    3. Profile of the Metal Casting Industry, EPA 310-R097-004, 
September 1997 (cover only.)

B. Does the Rule Meet the Evaluation Criteria?

    We believe the rule is consistent with the relevant policy and 
guidance regarding enforceability, RACT, and SIP relaxations. The TSD 
has more information on our evaluation.

C. Public Comment and Final Action.

    As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, EPA is approving the 
submitted rule because we believe it fulfills all relevant 
requirements. We do not think anyone will object to this, so we are 
finalizing the approval without proposing it in advance. However, in 
the Proposed Rules section of this Federal Register, we are 
simultaneously proposing approval of the same submitted rules. If we 
receive adverse comments by July 12, 2000, 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 August 11, 2000. This will incorporate this 
rule into the federally enforceable SIP.

III. Background Information

    Why was this rule submitted? 
    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. Table 1 lists some of 
the national milestones leading to the submittal of these local agency 
VOC rules.

                Table 1.--Ozone Nonattainment Milestones
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             Date                                Event
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March 3, 1978................  EPA promulgated a list of ozone
                                nonattainment areas under the Clean Air
                                Act as amended in 1977. 43 FR 8964; 40
                                CFR 81.305.
May 26, 1988.................  EPA notified Governors that parts of
                                their SIPs were inadequate to attain and
                                maintain the ozone standard and
                                requested that they correct the
                                deficiencies (EPA's SIP-Call). See
                                section 110(a)(2)(H) of the pre-amended
                                Act.
November 15, 1990............  Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 were
                                enacted. Public Law 101-549, 104 Stat.
                                2399, codified at 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.
May 15, 1991.................  Section 182(a)(2)(A) requires that ozone
                                nonattainment areas correct deficient
                                RACT rules by this date.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

IV. Administrative Requirements

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not 
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. This action 
merely approves state law as meeting federal requirements and imposes 
no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. 
Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because 
this rule approves pre-existing requirements under state law and does 
not impose any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by 
state law, it 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). For the same reason, 
this rule also does not significantly or uniquely affect the 
communities of tribal governments, as specified by Executive Order 
13084 (63 FR 27655, May 10, 1998). This rule will not have substantial 
direct effects on the States, on the relationship between the national 
government and the States, or on the distribution of power and 
responsibilities among the various levels of government, as specified 
in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999), because it 
merely approves a state rule implementing a federal standard, and does 
not alter the relationship or the distribution of power and 
responsibilities established in the Clean Air Act. This rule also is 
not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), 
because it is not economically significant.
    In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state 
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. In 
this context, in the absence of a prior existing requirement for the 
State to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority 
to disapprove a SIP submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be 
inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a SIP 
submission, to use VCS in place of a SIP submission that otherwise 
satisfies the provisions of the Clean Air Act. Thus, the requirements 
of section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply. As required by section 3 
of Executive Order 12988 (61 FR 4729, February 7, 1996), in issuing 
this rule, EPA has taken the necessary steps to eliminate drafting 
errors and ambiguity, minimize potential litigation, and provide a 
clear legal standard for affected conduct. EPA has complied with 
Executive Order 12630 (53 FR 8859, March 15, 1988) by examining the 
takings implications of the rule in accordance with the ``Attorney 
General's Supplemental Guidelines for the Evaluation of Risk and 
Avoidance of Unanticipated Takings' issued under the executive order. 
This rule does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq.).
    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. A major rule

[[Page 36790]]

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 August 11, 2000. 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, Incorporation by 
reference, Organics, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, 
Volatile organic compound.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: May 12, 2000.
Laura Yoshii,
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 D--Arizona

    2. Section 52.120 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(94)(i)(C) to 
read as follows:


Sec. 52.120  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (94) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (C) Rule 347, adopted on March 4, 1998.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 00-14171 Filed 6-9-00; 8:45 am]
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