ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R06-0AR-2007-0526; FRL - -1

Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Texas; Revision to

Control Volatile Organic Compound Emissions in the HoustonlGalvestonlBrazoria 8-Hour

Ozone Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct fmal rule.

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a revision to the Texas

State Implementation Plan (SIP). The revision adds additional requirements to control volatile

organic compound (VOC) emissions from storage tanks, transport vessels and marine vessels in

the Houston/GalvestonlBrazoria (HGB) 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area, which consists

ofBrazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller counties.

Specifically, this revision subjects owners or operators ofVOC storage tanks, transport vessels,

and marine vessels located in the HGB 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area to more stringent

control, monitoring, and recordkeeping requirements. EPA is approving the SIP revision

because it will help lower ozone levels in the HGB area by reducing VOC emissions. EPA is

approving the revision pursuant to section 110 and part D ofthe Clean Air Act (CAA).
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DATES: This direct final rule will be effective [Insert date 60 days from date of publication

in the Federal Register] without further notice unless EPA receives relevant adverse comments

by [Insert date 30 days from date of publication in the Federal Register). If adverse

comments are received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal ofthe direct final rule in the

Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket No. EPA-R06-0AR-2007-0526, by

one ofthe following methods:

• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.

• Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.

• EPA Region 6 "Contact Us" Website: http://epa.gov/region6/r6coment.htm. Please

click on "6PD (Multimedia)" and select "Air" before submitting comments.

• E-mail: Mr. Guy Donaldson at donaldson.guy@epa.gov. Please also send a copy by

e-mail to the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section below.

• Fax: Mr. Guy Donaldson, Chief, Air Planning Section (6PD-L), at fax number 214-

665-7242.

• Mail: Mr. Guy Donaldson, Chief, Air Planning Section (6PD-L), Environmental

Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733.

• Hand or Courier Delivery: Mr. Guy Donaldson, Chief, Air Planning Section (6PD-L),

Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200, Dallas, Texas

75202-2733. Such deliveries are accepted only between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4
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p.m. weekdays, and not on legal holidays. Special arrangements should be made for

deliveries of boxed information.

Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket No. EPA-R06-0AR-2007-0526. EPA's policy is

that all comments received 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 information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI)

or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that

you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The

www.regulations.gov web site is an "anonymous access" system, which means EPA will not

know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If

you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov your

e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part ofthe comment that is placed

in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment,

EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your

comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit IfEPA 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 ofspecial characters, any form of

encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.

Docket: All docwnents in the docket are listed in the www.regulations.gov index. Although

listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., CHI or other information

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material,

will be publicly available only in hard copy. Publicly available docket materials are available

either electronically in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air Planning Section (6PD-
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L), Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733.

The file will be made available by appointment for public inspection in the Region 6 FOIA

Review Room between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays except for legal holidays.

Contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT paragraph

below or Mr. Bill Deese at 214-665-7253 to make an appointment. Ifpossible, please make the

appointment at least two working days in advance of your visit. There will be a 15 cent per page

fee for making photocopies ofdocwnents. On the day ofthe visit, please check in at the EPA

Region 6 reception area at 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas.

The State submittal is also available for public inspection during official business hours,

by appointment, at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Office ofAir Quality,

12124 Park 35 Circle, Austin, Texas 78753.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carl Young, Air Planning Section (6PD-L),

Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas

75202-2733, telephone 214-665-6645; fax nwnber 214-665-7263;

e-mail address young.car/@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this docwnent, whenever "we",

"us", or "our" is used, we mean the EPA.

Outline

I. What Action is EPA Taking?

II. What is a SIP?

III. What is the Background for this Action?
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IV. What is EPA's Evaluation ofthe Revision?

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What Action is EPA Taking?

We are approving a revision to the Texas SIP that adds additional requirements to control

VOC emissions from storage tanks, transport vessels and marine vessels in the HGB area, which

consists ofBrazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller

counties. The revision was adopted by the State ofTexas on May 23, 2007 and submitted to EPA

on June 13,2007. The revision amended Title 30 ofthe Texas Administrative Code, Chapter

115 (30 TAC 115) by adding a new section 115.110 (Definitions) and revising sections 115.112-

115.117,115.119,115.541-115.547 and 115.549. The revision requires that tanks and vessels in

the HGB area store volatile organic liquids at petroleum refineries, chemical plants, gasoline

storage terminals, bulk terminals, pipeline breakout stations, and oil and natural gas production

sites under additional controls.

Specifically, for the HGB area the revision requires:

• more stringent controls for tank fittings on floating rooftanks and restrictions on floating roof

tank landings;

• control ofVOC flash emissions from crude oil and condensate storage tanks at oil and gas

exploration and production sites and pipeline breakout stations with uncontrolled flash emissions

greater than 25 tons per year;

• control ofVOC emissions from the degassing ofstorage tanks with a nominal capacity of

250,000 gallons or more, or with a nominal capacity of 75,000 gallons or more storing liquids

with a true vapor pressure greater than ~.6 pounds per square inch absolute (psia);
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• control and monitoring of degassing vapors from storage vessels, transport vessels, and marine

vessels; and

• recordkeeping to validate compliance.

For more information on the requirements please see our Technical Support Document (TSD)

found in the electronic docket or 30 TAC 115, Subchapter B, Division 1 (Storage of Volatile

Organic Compounds) and Subchapter F, Division 3 (Degassing or Cleaning of Stationary,

Marine and Transport Vessels). The electronic docket can be found at the website

www.regulations.gov (Docket number EPA-R06-0AR-2007-0526).

Control of VOC emissions will help the area reduce ambient levels of ozone. Our

approval will make the revised regulations federally enforceable. We are approving the revision

pursuant to section 110 and part D ofthe CAA and EPA's regulations.

We are publishing this rule without prior proposal because we view this as a

noncontroversial amendment and anticipate no relevant adverse comments. However, in the

proposed rules section ofthis Federal Register publication, we are publishing a separate

document that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision ifrelevant adverse

comments are received. This rule will be effective on [Insert date 60 days from date of

publication in the Federal Register] without further notice unless we receive relevant adverse

comment by [Insert date 30 days from date of publication in the Federal Register]. If we

receive relevant adverse comments, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register

informing the public that the rule will not take effect. We will address all public comments in a

subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. We will not institute a second comment period

on this action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so now. Please note that if we

receive adverse comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section ofthis rule and ifthat
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provision may be severed from the remainder ofthe rule, we may adopt as final those provisions

ofthe rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment.

II. What is a SIP?

Section 110 ofthe CAA requires states to develop air pollution regulations and control

strategies to ensure that air quality meets the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS)

established by EPA. NAAQS are established under section 109 ofthe CAA and currently

address six criteria pollutants: carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, lead, particulate

matter, and sulfur dioxide.

A SIP is a set of air pollution regulations, control strategies, other means or techniques,

and technical analyses developed by the state, to ensure that the state meets the NAAQS. It is

required by section 110 and other provisions ofthe CAA. A SIP protects air quality primarily by

addressing air pollution at its point oforigin. A SIP can be extensive, containing state

regulations or other enforceable documents, and supporting information such as emissions

inventories, monitoring networks, and modeling demonstrations. Each state must submit

regulations and control strategies to EPA for approval and incorporation into the federallyenforceable SIP.

III. What is the Background for this Action?

Inhaling ozone, even at low levels, can trigger a variety of health problems including

chest pains, coughing, nausea, throat irritation, and congestion. It can also worsen bronchitis and

asthma, and reduce lung capacity. VOCs and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) are known as "ozone

precursors", as they react with oxygen and sunlight to form ozone. Motor vehicle exhaust and
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industrial emissions, gasoline vapors and chemical solvents emit VOC and NOx. Controlling

sources ofVOe and NOx emissions can lower ozone levels in the ambient air.

On July 18, 1997, we promulgated an 8-hour ozone standard of 0.08 parts per million

(ppm), which is more protective than the previous I-hour ozone-standard (62 FR 38855).1 On

April 30, 2004, we published designations and classifications for the 1997 8-hour ozone standard

(69 FR 23858). The HGB area, which consists ofBrazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston,

Harris, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller counties was classified as a moderate ozone

nonattainment area, with an attainment date no later than June 15,2010. On October 1,2008, at

the request ofthe Governor ofTexas, we reclassified the area as a severe ozone nonattainment

area with an attainment date no later than June 15, 2019 (73 FR 56983).

The State ofTexas found that certain types ofVOe storage tank emissions, including

degassing, flash, and floating roof landing loss emissions, have been unreported or underreported

in the HGB area. The State revised the voe control regulations in the SIP to help reduce

emissions from these sources in the HGB area. The revision to the SIP was adopted by the State

on May 23,2007 and submitted it to EPA on June 13,2007.

IV. What is EPA's Evaluation of the Revision?

We have evaluated the Chapter 115 revision and find they enhance the SIP by reducing

emissions from voe storage tanks, transport vessels and marine vessels in the HGB area. We

have reached this conclusion because these revisions for the HGB area require additional

controls on voe emissions from these sources. By lowering voe emissions, these rules will

help lower ozone levels in the HGB area. In addition, these revisions improve rules that EPA

I EPA issued revised 8-hour ozone standards on March 27,2008 (73 FR 16436) and proposed to set different

standards on January 19,2010 (75 FR 2938). This process is ongoing and does not affect EPA's action here.
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previously approved (73 FR 10383, February 27, 2008) as meeting the Reasonably Available

Control Technology ofthe Clean Air Act. Therefore, we are finding that these rules continue to

implement RAeT for this source category. For a discussion ofthe rules and how the rules

improve the SIP see the technical support document for this action. For more information on our

evaluation, please see our TSD found in the electronic docket.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews.

Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP submission that

complies with the provisions ofthe Act and applicable Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 741O(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 ofthe 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 ofManagement and

Budget under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);

- does not impose an information collection burden under the provisions ofthe Paperwork

Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.y;

- is certified as not having a significant economic impact on a substantial number ofsmall

entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.y;

-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 l04-

4);
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• 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 asignificant regulatory action subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May

22,2001);

• is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) ofthe National Technology Transfer and

Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because application ofthose 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, this rule 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.

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 ofthe

rule, to each House ofthe Congress and to the Comptroller General ofthe United States. EPA

will submit a report containing this action and other required information to the U.S. Senate, the

U.S. House ofRepresentatives, and the Comptroller General ofthe United States prior to

publication ofthe rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot take effect until 60 days
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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) ofthe Clean Air Act, petitions for judicial review ofthis action

must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by [Insert date 60

days from date of publication of this document in the Federal]. Filing a petition for

reconsideration by the Administrator ofthis final rule does not affect the fmality ofthis action

for the purposes ofjudicial review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial

review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness ofsuch rule or action. This action

may not be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)
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List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Intergoverrtmental Relations, Nitrogen

oxides, Ozone, Volatile organic compounds.

~11';2" II 0 Dated:~

Al Armendariz,

Regional Administrator, Region 6
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40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52-[AMENQED]

1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart SS - Texas

2. The table in § 52.2270(c) entitled "EPA Approved Regulations in the Texas SIP" under

Chapter 115 (Reg 5) is amended by:

a. Adding an entry for Section 115.110 under Subchapter B, Division 1, in numerical

order.

b. Revising the entries for Sections 115.112-115.117 and 115.119 under Subchapter B,

Division 1.

c. Revising the entries for Sections 115.541-115.547 and 115.549 under Subchapter F,

Division 3.

The amendments read as follows:

Section 52.2270

* * * * *

(c) * * *

Identification of plan.

EPA-Approved Regulations in the Texas SIP

State Citation Title / Subject State EPA approval date Explanation

approval/

submittal

date

* * * * * * *

Chapter 115 (Ret! 5) - Control of Air Pollution from Volatile Oraanic Compounds

* * * * * * *

Subchapter B - General Volatile Organic Compound Sources

* * * * * * *

Division 1. Storage of Volatile Oraanie Compounds
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* * * * * * *

Section Definitions 5/23/07 [Insert date of FR

115.110 publication]

[Insert FR page

number where

document begins]

Section Control 5/23/07 [Insert date of FR

115.112 Requirements publication]

[Insert FR page

number where

document begins]

Section Alternate Control 5/23/07 [Insert date of FR

115.113 Requirements publication]

[Insert FR page

number where

document begins]

Section Inspection 5/23/07 [Insert date of FR

115.114 Requirements publication]

[Insert FR page

number where

document begins]

Section Approved Test 5/23/07 [Insert date of FR

115.115 Methods publication]

[Insert FR page

number where

document begins]

Section Monitoring and 5/23/07 [Insert date of FR

115.116 Recordkeeping publication]

Requirements [Insert FR page

number where

document begins]

Section Exemptions 5/23/07 [Insert date of FR

115.117 publication]

[Insert FR page

number where

document begins1

Section Counties and 5/23/07 [Insert date of FR

115.119 Compliance publication]

Schedules [Insert FR page

number where

document bezins]

* * * * * * *

Subchapter F - Miscellaneous Industrial Sources

* * * * * * *

Division 3: Degassing or Cleanina of Stationarv, Marine, and Transport Vessels

* * * * * * *
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Section Emission 5/23/07 [Insert date of FR

115.541 Specifications publication]

[Insert FR page

number where

document begins]

Section Control 5/23/07 [Insert date of FR

115.542 Requirements publication]

[Insert FR page

number where

document begms]

Section Alternate Control 5/23/07 [Insert date ofFR

115.543 Requirements publication]

[Insert FR page

number where

document begins]

Section Inspection 5/23/07 [Insert date of FR

115.544 Requirements publication]

[Insert FR page

number where

document bee:ins]

Section Approved Test 5/23/07 [Insert date of FR

115.545 Methods publication]

[Insert FR page

number where

document be,;ns]

Section Monitoring and 5/23/07 [Insert date of FR

115.546 Recordkeeping publication]

Requirements [Insert FR page

number where

document bee:insl

Section Exemptions 5/23/07 [Insert date of FR

115.547 publication]

[Insert FR page

number where

document beginsl

Section Counties and 5/23/07 [Insert date of FR

115.549 Compliance publication]

Schedules [Insert FR page

. number where

document begms]

* * * * * * *