UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

REGION IX AIR DIVISION

Technical Support Document

for

EPA ’ s Rulemaking
for the California State Implementation Plan

Butte County Air Quality Management District’s Rule 300 Open Burning Requirements, Prohibitions and Exemptions

Prepared by: Kevin Gong

June 20

, 20161

RULE IDENTIFICATION Agency Butte County Air Quality Management District (BCAQMD)

SIP Approved
Rule Rule 3 00

– Open Burning Requirements, Prohibitions and

Exemptions
Amended

– February 24 , 20 11
Submitted

- September 21, 2012

EPA Action

- Limited Approval and Limited Disapproval, July 8,

201 5 ( 8 0 FR 38966 )

Subject of this

TSD Rule 3 00

– Open Burning Requirements, Prohibitions and

Exemptions
Amended

– August 27, 2015
Submitted

- March 1 1, 2016

Completeness Finding Determination of Completeness letter: April 19, 2016

RULE SUMMARY Rule 300 is designed to minimize the impacts of smoke and other air pollutants generated by open burning conducted within Butte County and to assure that it is managed consistent with state and federal law. Rule 300 allows open burning on permissive burn d ays, provided a permit is obtained; details the types of open burning that can be authorized; sets burn hours, drying

- time, and ignition requirements; establishes burn plan requirements for prescribed burns; limits burn acreage for agricultural burning; an d lists exemptions to rule requirements.

Changes from the approved SIP rule include the following :

1. Expand the definition of “Open Burning” to also include Open Outdoor Fires or Open Fires as used in this rule at 5.31

.

2. Remove the definition for “V ariance” at 5.53 and renumber subsequent terms accordingly.

3. Remove the option to burn garbage under a variance at 6.5.

4. Remove the option for the APCO to waive drying times at 8.24.

EVALUATION CRITERIA The following criteria were used to evaluate the submitted rule

.2

1. Enforceability: The Bluebook ( Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations , EPA, May 25, 1988) and the Little Bluebook ( Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule Deficiencies, EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001) were used to help evaluate compliance with the CAA
§ 110(a)(2)(A) requirement for enforceability

.

2. Stringency : Open burning emits particulate matter (PM), including particulate matter of ten microns or less (PM 10 ) and par ticulate matter of 2.5 microns or less (PM 2.5 ) directly, as well as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxides of nitrogen (NO x ), which are precursors to ozone and PM 2.5

.

BCAQMD regulates an ozone nonattainment area, which is classified as Marginal under the 1997 and 2008 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone (40 CFR § 81.305). CAA §182(a) exempts ozone nonattainment areas classified as marginal from the requirement to submit an attainment demonstration. Because EPA interprets the reasonably available control measures (RACM) requirement of CAA §172(c)(1) in the context of the requirement to demonstrate attainment as expeditiously as practicable, EPA does not require marginal areas to meet the RACM test (77 FR 28438; 78 FR 34196). Th erefore, BCAQMD is not required to implement RACM for ozone.

BCAQMD is currently designated attainment for PM 10 (40 CFR § 81.305). Accordingly, BCAQMD is not subject to the requirement to implement RACM or Best Available Control Measures (BACM) for PM 10 and PM 10 precursors in CAA§ 189(b) and (e). Therefore, we are not evaluating Rule 300 for compliance with RACM or BACM requirements with respect to PM 10

.

Effective December 14, 2009, EPA designated the Chico nonattainment area, in Butte County, which is under BCAQMD jurisdiction, as nonattainment for the 2006

24

- hour PM 2.5 NAAQS (74 FR 58688, November 13, 2009). As a result, the area was required to implement RACM for PM 2.5 . On September 10, 2013 (78 FR 55225),
EPA issued a determination that the area had attained the 2006 24

- hour PM 2.5 standard based on complete, quality

- assured, and certified ambient air monitoring
data for the 2010

– 2012 monitoring period. Under EPA's Clean Data Policy and the regulations that embody it ( 40 CFR 51.1004(c) for PM 2.5 ), an EPA determination that an area is attaining the relevant standard suspends the area's obligations to submit RACM for as long as the area continues to attain. Therefore, BCAQMD is not currently required to implement RACM for PM 2.5 . If the Chico nonattainmen t area is redesignated to attainment, RACM requirements for PM 2.5 will no longer apply.

3. SIP Relaxation: CAA §110(l) prohibits EPA from approving any SIP revision that would interfere with any applicable requirement concerning attainment and
reasonable further progress (RFP) or any other applicable requirement of the CAA.3 In addition, CAA §193 prohibits the modification of any SIP

- approved control requirement in effect before November 15, 1990, in a nonattainment area.

EPA EVALUATION A summary of our evaluation of the three criteria follows.

1. EPA finalized a limited approval and limited disapproval of the current SIP

approved version of Rule 300 at 80 FR 38966. EPA finalized the limited approval
because we found that most of the provisions and requ irements of the rul e were sufficiently enforceable. However, two instances of Air Pollution Control Officer (APCO) discretion (allowing the burning of garbage under discretionary variance at 6.5, and allowing discretion to w aive drying times at 8.24) did n ot meet enforceability criteria, and precluded full approval of the rule. These provisions
allowed the APCO to independently interpret the SIP without explicit and replicable procedures within the rule to define how the discretion is exercised in
order to assure equivalent emission reductions, and without explicit approval of such discretion provisions by the EPA. As a result, EPA also finalized a limited disapproval which triggered sanctions and Federal Implementation Plan (FIP)
clocks.

BCAQMD’s new subm ittal was submitted in response to these EPA

- identified deficiencies. The new rule language removes these instances of APCO discretion, resolving the previous enforceability concerns. As a result, Rule 300’s requirements and applicability now ensure that sources and regulators can evaluate and determine compliance consistently.

2. As noted above, BCAQMD is not currently required to implement RACM for PM 2.5

. EPA’s Technical Support Document (TSD) assessing the previous version of this rule
found that this rule was generally as stringent as other California District rules for this category, but that “some areas were implementing more stringent requirements that may be technologically and economically feasible for implementation in Butte County.” 1 We recomme nd reviewing the other recommendations made in that TSD for implementation in the next revision of this
rule.

3. We propose to determine that our approval of the submittal would comply with CAA §§110(l) and 193 because (1) the proposed SIP revision would not interfere
with the on

- going process for ensuring that requirements for RFP and attainment of the NAAQS are met, and (2) the emission limits in the submitted rule are more

1 “Technical Support Document for EPA’s N otice of Proposed Rulemaking for the California State Implementation Plan, Butte County Air Quality Management District Rule 300, Open Burning, Prohibitions and Exemptions,” Prepared by Rynda Kay, October 2014.4 stringent than the existing SIP

- approved control requirements that they would

re place.

EPA ACTION
The submitted Rule 3 00 strengthens the SIP by resolving previously identified
deficiencies

. The rule largely fulfils the relevant CAA §110 and part D requirements

. Therefore, EPA staff recommends approval of Rule 3 00 pursuant to CAA §110(k)(3) and §301(a). EPA's approval of this submittal would terminate the FIP and sanctions clocks
started in our previous final action at 80 FR 38966.

REFERENCES

1. “Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Devia tions,” (a.k.a., Bluebook) EPA OAQPS, May 25, 1988.

2. “Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule Deficiencies,” (a.k.a., Little Bluebook), EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001.

3. “Technical Support Document for EPA’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the California State Implementation Plan, Butte County Air Quality Management District Rule 300, Open Burning, Prohibitions and Exemptions,” Prepared by Rynda Kay, October 2014.