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[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 28, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11990-11992]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4729]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2012-0027; FRL-9638-6]

Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Mojave 
Desert Air Quality Management District and Yolo-Solano Air Quality 
Management District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Mojave Desert Air 
Quality Management District (MDAQMD) and Yolo-Solano Air Quality 
Management District (YSAQMD) portions of the California State 
Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern oxides of nitrogen 
(NOX) emissions from glass melting furnaces and biomass 
boilers. We are approving local rules that regulate these emission 
sources under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act). We 
are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final 
action.

DATES: Any comments must arrive by March 29, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by docket number EPA-R09-OAR-
2012-0027, 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.
    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. 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: Idalia Perez, EPA Region IX, (415) 
972-3248, perez.idalia@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 rules?

[[Page 11991]]

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 addressed by this proposal with the dates 
when they were adopted or amended by the local air agencies and 
submitted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

                                            Table 1--Submitted Rules
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Adopted/
           Local agency                    Rule No.              Rule title           Amended        Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MDAQMD............................  1165.................  Glass Melting                08/12/08        12/23/08
                                                            Furnaces.
YSAQMD............................  2.43.................  Biomass Boilers......        11/10/10        04/05/11
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On April 20, 2009, EPA determined that the submittal for MDAQMD 
Rule 1165 met the completeness criteria in 40 CFR part 51 appendix V, 
which must be met before formal EPA review. On May 6, 2011, EPA 
determined that the submittal for YSAQMD Rule 2.43 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 no previous versions of YSAQMD Rule 2.43. There are no 
previous versions of Rule 1165 in the SIP, although the MDAQMD adopted 
an earlier version of this rule on August 27, 2007, and CARB submitted 
it to us on March 7, 2008. While we can act on only the most recently 
submitted version, we have reviewed materials provided with previous 
submittals.

C. What is the purpose of the submitted rules?

    NOX helps produce ground-level ozone, smog and 
particulate matter, which harm human health and the environment. PM 
contributes to effects that are harmful to human health and the 
environment, including premature mortality, aggravation of respiratory 
and cardiovascular disease, decreased lung function, visibility 
impairment, and damage to vegetation and ecosystems. Section 110(a) of 
the CAA requires States to submit regulations that control 
NOX and PM emissions. MDAQMD Rule 1165 limits emissions of 
NOX, carbon monoxide (CO), volatile organic compounds 
(VOCs), and sulfur oxides (SOX) from glass melting furnaces 
that produce at least 5 tons of glass per day. YSAQMD Rule 2.43 
regulates emissions of NOX and CO from boilers that use 
biomass as fuel and that have a heat input rating of greater than 5 
MMBtu/hour. 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 major source in nonattainment areas (see 
sections 182(b)(2) and 182(f)), and must not relax existing 
requirements (see sections 110(l) and 193). In addition, SIP rules must 
implement Reasonably Available Control Measures (RACM), including 
Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT), in moderate PM 
nonattainment areas, and Best Available Control Measures (BACM), 
including Best Available Control Technology (BACT), in serious PM 
nonattainment areas (see CAA sections 189(a)(1) and 189(b)(1)). The 
MDAQMD regulates an ozone nonattainment area and a PM10 
nonattainment area classified as moderate (see 40 CFR part 81), so Rule 
1165 must implement RACT and RACM. The YSAQMD regulates an ozone 
nonattainment area (see 40 CFR part 81), so Rule 2.43 must fulfill 
RACT.
    Guidance and policy documents that we use to evaluate 
enforceability, RACT and RACM requirements consistently include the 
following:

1. ``State Implementation Plans; Nitrogen Oxides Supplement to the 
General Preamble; Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 Implementation of 
Title I; Proposed Rule,'' (the NOX Supplement), 57 FR 55620, 
November 25, 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. ``State Implementation Plans for Serious PM-10 Nonattainment Areas, 
and Attainment Date Waivers for PM-10 Nonattainment Areas Generally; 
Addendum to the General Preamble for the Implementation of Title I of 
the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990,'' 59 FR 41998 (August 16, 1994).
5. ``PM-10 Guideline Document,'' EPA 452/R-93-008, April 1993.
6. ``Determination of Reasonably Available Control Technology and Best 
Available Retrofit Control Technology for Industrial, Institutional, 
and Commercial Boilers, Steam Generators, and Process Heaters,'' CARB, 
July 18, 1991.
7. ``Alternative Control Techniques Document-- NOX Emissions 
from Industrial/Commercial/Institutional (ICI) Boilers,'' US EPA 453/R-
94-022, March 1994.
8. ``Alternative Control Techniques Document-- NOX Emissions 
from Utility Boilers,'' US EPA 452/R-93-008, March 1994.
9. ``State Implementation Plans (SIPs): Policy Regarding Excess 
Emissions During Malfunctions, Startup and Shutdown'' from Steven A. 
Herman, Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance 
Assurance, and Robert Perciasepe, Assistant Administrator for Air and 
Radiation, September 20, 1999.
10. ``Interim White Paper--Midwest RPO Candidate Control Measure: Glass 
Manufacturing,'' Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium, December 12, 
2005.
11. ``Alternative Control Techniques Document-- NOX 
Emissions from Glass Manufacturing,'' US EPA 453/R-94-037, June 1994.
12. ``Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Reference 
Document on Best Available Techniques in the Glass Manufacturing 
Industry,'' European Commission, December 2001.

[[Page 11992]]

B. Do the rules meet the evaluation criteria?

    We believe these rules are consistent with the relevant policy and 
guidance regarding enforceability, RACT, RACM 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 agencies modify the rules but are not currently 
the basis for rule disapproval.

D. Public Comment and Final Action

    Because EPA believes the submitted rules fulfill all relevant 
requirements, we are proposing to fully approve them as described in 
section 110(k)(3) of the Act. We will accept comments from the public 
on this proposal for the next 30 days. Unless we receive convincing new 
information during the comment period, we intend to publish a final 
approval action that will incorporate these rules into the federally 
enforceable SIP.

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 proposed action merely proposes to approve State law 
as meeting Federal requirements and does not impose additional 
requirements beyond those imposed by State law. For that reason, this 
proposed action:
     Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to 
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
     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 disproportionate human health or environmental effects with 
practical, appropriate, and legally permissible methods under Executive 
Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).

In addition, this proposed action 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.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Intergovernmental 
relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

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

    Dated: February 15, 2012.
Jared Blumenfeld,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2012-4729 Filed 2-27-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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