[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 45 (Friday, March 7, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 10498-10500]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-5873]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52

[OR65-7280; FRL-5700-8]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans: 
Oregon

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve a revision to the State of Oregon

[[Page 10499]]

Implementation Plan. This revision establishes and requires a source-
specific Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) volatile 
organic compound (VOC) emissions standard for PCC Structurals, Inc., 
Large Parts Campus, at 4600 SE Harney Drive, Portland, Oregon. This 
action is being taken under Part D of the Clean Air Act.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 7, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed to: Montel Livingston, 
SIP Manager, Office of Air Quality (OAQ-107), U. S. Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA), Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, 
Washington, 98101. Copies of the documents relevant to this action are 
available for public inspection during normal business hours at EPA 
Region 10, Office of Air Quality, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, 
Washington, 98101, and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, 
811 S.W. Sixth Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204-1390.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Denise Baker, Office of Air Quality 
(OAQ-107), EPA, Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington, 
98101, phone (206) 553-8087.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 172 (a)(2) and (b)(3) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), as 
amended in 1977 (1977 Act), required sources of VOC to install, at a 
minimum, RACT in order to reduce emissions of this pollutant. EPA has 
defined RACT as the lowest emission limit that a particular source is 
capable of meeting by the application of control technology that is 
reasonably available, considering technological and economic 
feasibility (44 FR 53761, September 17, 1979). EPA has developed 
Control Technology Guidelines (CTGs) for the purpose of informing State 
and local air pollution control agencies of air pollution control 
techniques available for reducing emissions of VOC from various 
categories of sources. Each CTG contains recommendations to the States 
of what EPA calls the ``presumptive norm'' for RACT. This general 
statement of agency policy is based on EPA's evaluation of the 
capabilities of, and problems associated with, control technologies 
currently used by facilities within individual source categories. EPA 
has recommended that the States adopt requirements consistent with the 
presumptive norm level.
    On March 3, 1978, the entire Portland-Vancouver Interstate Air 
Quality Maintenance Area was designated by EPA as a non-attainment area 
for ozone. The Portland-Vancouver Interstate Air Quality Maintenance 
Area contains the urbanized portions of three counties in Oregon 
(Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington) and one county (Clark) in the 
State of Washington.
    The 1977 Act required States to submit plans to demonstrate how 
they would attain and maintain compliance with national ambient air 
standards for those areas designated non-attainment. The 1977 Act 
further required these plans to demonstrate compliance with primary 
standards no later than December 31, 1982. An extension up to December 
31, 1987, was possible if the State could demonstrate that, despite 
implementation of all reasonably available control measures, the 
December 31, 1982, date could not be met.
    On October 7, 1982, EPA approved the Portland-Vancouver area ozone 
attainment plan, including an extension of the attainment date to 
December 31, 1987 (47 FR 44262).
    On June 15, 1988, pursuant to Section 110(a)(2)(H) of the pre-
amended CAA, former EPA Regional Administrator Robie Russell notified 
the State of Oregon by letter that the State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
for the Portland-Vancouver area was substantially inadequate to provide 
for timely attainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards 
(NAAQS). In that letter, EPA identified specific actions needed to 
correct deficiencies in State regulations to require RACT for sources 
of VOC. When the CAA was amended in 1990, it required States to correct 
deficiencies. In amended Section 182(a)(2)(A), Congress statutorily 
adopted the requirement that ozone non-attainment areas fix their 
deficient RACT rules for ozone. Areas designated non-attainment before 
the effective date of the amendments, and which retained that 
designation and were classified as marginal or above as of the 
effective date, are required to meet the RACT fix-up requirement. Under 
Section 182(a)(2)(A), States with such non-attainment areas were 
mandated to correct their RACT requirements by May 15, 1991. The 
corrected requirements were to be in compliance with Section 172(b), as 
it existed before the amendments, and as that section was interpreted 
in the pre-amendment guidance. The Portland part of the Portland-
Vancouver non-attainment area is classified as marginal. Therefore, 
this area is subject to the RACT fix-up requirement and the May 15, 
1991, deadline.
    On May 15, 1991, the State of Oregon submitted Oregon 
Administrative Rules (OAR) 340-22-100 through 340-22-220, General 
Emission Standards for Volatile Organic Compounds, as an amendment to 
the Oregon SIP. On September 29, 1993, EPA approved these revisions to 
the Oregon SIP (58 FR 50848). Part of these amended rules included a 
requirement for RACT for non-CTG sources.
    On February 3, 1997, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality 
(ODEQ) submitted to EPA a proposed revision to its SIP. This proposed 
revision was a draft source-specific revision to the State of Oregon 
Clean Air Act Implementation Plan, OAR 340-020-0047, and was submitted 
pursuant to 40 CFR 51.103.
    The proposed revision consists of a RACT determination for PCC 
Structurals, Inc., Large Parts Campus, at 4600 SE Harney Drive, 
Portland, Oregon. This RACT determination establishes requirements that 
are part of the Portland-Vancouver Air Quality Maintenance Plan which 
EPA is proposing to approve in a separate action. As this RACT 
determination is still in draft, ODEQ has requested that it be approved 
through the parallel processing procedures contained in 40 CFR Part 51, 
Appendix V.
    The proposed RACT determination for PCC Structurals, Inc., would 
modify existing operating permit #26-1867 by: 1) requiring (within one 
year of approval of RACT determination by EPA) that PCC Structurals, 
Inc., provide controls to reduce the VOC emissions from the Large Parts 
Campus Steel and Titanium (LPC-S and LPC-T) investment casting 
operations by a minimum of 90 percent; 2) requiring PCC Structurals, 
Inc., to submit (within 90 days of EPA approval) to ODEQ a final 
control strategy concerning the VOC emissions from the investment 
casting operations. [This plan would include a schedule and dates of 
the project interim steps leading up to compliance with 1, above.]; and 
3) stipulating the method by which PCC Structurals, Inc., may 
demonstrate compliance with 1, above. (For more information, see 
conditions 12, 13, and 19 through 22, of addendum #2 to operating 
permit #26-1867, issued by ODEQ.)
    This Federal Register document proposes to approve these permit 
conditions as amendments to the SIP. EPA is soliciting public comments 
on the issues discussed in this notice or on other relevant matters. 
These comments will be considered before taking final action. 
Interested parties may participate in the Federal rule-making

[[Page 10500]]

procedure by submitting written comments to the EPA Regional Office 
listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.
    This revision is being proposed under a procedure called parallel 
processing, whereby EPA proposes rule-making action concurrently with 
the State's procedures for amending its regulations. If the proposed 
revision is substantially changed in areas other than those identified 
in this notice, EPA will evaluate those changes and may publish another 
notice of proposed rule-making. If no substantial changes are made 
other than those areas cited in this notice, ODEQ will publish a Final 
Rule-making Notice on the revisions. The final rule-making action by 
EPA will occur only after the SIP revision has been adopted by ODEQ and 
submitted formally to EPA for incorporation into the SIP.

Proposed Action

    EPA is proposing to approve the revisions to the State of Oregon 
Implementation Plan submitted on February 3, 1997, that establish RACT 
requirements for PCC Structurals, Inc. EPA is proposing this rule-
making action concurrently with the State's procedures for amending its 
regulations. EPA will take final action on this proposal after ODEQ 
submits its RACT determination to EPA for approval.
    Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or 
allowing or establishing a precedent for any future request for 
revision to any SIP. Each request for revision to the SIP shall be 
considered separately in light of specific technical, economic, and 
environmental factors and in relation to relevant statutory and 
regulatory requirements.

III. Administrative Requirements

A. Executive Order 12866

    This action has been classified as a Table 3 action for signature 
by the Regional Administrator under the procedures published in the 
Federal Register on January 19, 1989 (54 FR 2214-2225), as revised by a 
July 10, 1995, memorandum from Mary Nichols, EPA Assistant 
Administrator for Air and Radiation. The Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) has exempted this regulatory action from E.O. 12866 
review.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The EPA's actions under section 502 of the Act do not create any 
new requirements, but simply address operating permits programs 
submitted to satisfy the requirements of 40 CFR Part 70. Because this 
action does not impose any new requirements, it does not have a 
significant impact on a substantial number of small entities.
    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 
the 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 on by the rule.
    EPA has determined that the approval action proposed 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 
requirements. Accordingly, no additional costs to State, local, or 
tribal governments, or to the private sector, result from this action.
    The Administrator's decision to approve the SIP revision will be 
based on whether it meets the requirements of section 110(a)(2) (A)-(K) 
and part D of the Clean Air Act, as amended, and EPA regulations in 40 
CFR Part 51.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Ozone, Reporting 
and recordkeeping requirements.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.

    Dated: February 27, 1997.
Charles E. Findley,
Acting Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 97-5873 Filed 3-6-97; 8:45 am]
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