[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 79 (Monday, April 27, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 18995-18997]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-9436]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2008-0502; FRL-8783-5]


Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, South 
Coast Air Quality Management District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is finalizing approval of revisions to the South Coast Air 
Quality Management District (SCAQMD) portion of the California State 
Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions were proposed in the Federal 
Register on July 30, 2008 and concern oxides of nitrogen (NOx) 
emissions from gaseous- and liquid-fueled internal combustion engines. 
We are approving a local rule that regulates these emission sources 
under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).

DATES: Effective Date: This rule is effective on May 27, 2009.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established docket number EPA-R09-OAR-2008-0502 for 
this action. The index to the docket is available electronically at 
http://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 in the index, some information may be publicly 
available only at the hard copy location (e.g., copyrighted material), 
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: Francisco D[oacute][ntilde]ez, EPA 
Region IX, (213) 244-1834, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#03476c6d66792d4571626d606a70606c436673622d646c75"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6f2b00010a1541291d0e010c061c0c002f0a1f0e41080019">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and 
``our'' refer to EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Proposed Action
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
III. EPA Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Proposed Action

    On July 30, 2008 (73 FR 44204), EPA proposed to approve the 
following rule into the California SIP.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Local agency                  Rule No.            Rule title             Adopted        Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCAQMD................................          1110.2  Gaseous- and Liquid-            02/01/08        05/20/08
                                                         Fueled Internal
                                                         Combustion Engines.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 18996]]

    We proposed to approve this rule because we determined that it 
complied with the relevant CAA requirements. Our proposed action 
contains more information on the rule and our evaluation.

II. Public Comments and EPA Responses

    EPA's proposed action provided a 30-day public comment period. 
During this period, we received comments from the following parties.
    1. Charles Humphrey, Jr., Sempra Energy Utilities (SEU); letter 
dated August 29, 2008 and received August 29, 2008.
    2. B. Sachau; e-mail message dated July 30, 2008 and received July 
30, 2008.
    3. U.S. Citizen (anonymous); web comment submitted July 31, 2008.
    The comments and our responses are summarized below.
    Comment #1: Rule 1110.2, subsection (f)(1)(G), requires that 
portable analyzers be operated only by persons appropriately trained 
and certified by the District. However, as of the date of the letter, 
the District had not initiated training or certification programs for 
this purpose. If operators are unable to obtain this required training 
in a timely manner, they may be prevented, through no fault of their 
own, from certifying compliance by the end of the reporting year as the 
rule requires. (SEU)
    Response #1: This comment more regards how Rule 1110.2 is 
implemented in the near term rather than the requirements of the rule. 
The commenter does not dispute those rule requirements. EPA's proposal 
to approve Rule 1110.2 into the California SIP is based on the rule's 
requirements as written, which fulfill the relevant CAA criteria for 
SIP approval. EPA contacted SCAQMD regarding this question in early 
October. The District informed us at that time that some training 
sessions had already been scheduled. For further questions, EPA 
recommends contacting SCAQMD directly, or referring to the District's 
rule support documents at http://www.aqmd.gov/rules/support.html. See 
also response <greek-i>3.
    Comment #2: Rule 1110.2, subsection (f)(1)(C), requires that source 
testing shall be conducted in accordance with a District-approved 
source test protocol. However, as of the comment letter date the 
District had yet to issue written approval of the source test protocols 
that SEU submitted for its engines. Therefore, SEU may not be able to 
perform the required source tests before the Rule 1110.2 deadline, 
putting the affected engines at risk of violating the rule. (SEU)
    Response #2: In a conversation in early October, SCAQMD assured us 
that if for some reason the District is unable to act on the submitted 
source test protocols in a timely manner, they would extend the 
relevant deadlines. Also see Response <greek-i>1 and Response 
<greek-i>3.
    Comment #3: By being constrained from fulfilling certain rule 
requirements in a timely manner (as in Comments <greek-i>1 and 
<greek-i>2 above), Title V facilities with engines regulated by Rule 
1110.2 risk not being able to certify compliance for the period ending 
December 31, 2008. This problem could have significant repercussions 
for facilities, including leaving them susceptible to citizen lawsuits 
alleging violations of their Title V permits. Similarly, affected 
companies may not be able to provide a New Source Review (NSR) 
certification for a given Title V facility. We request that EPA 
consider these Title V compliance issues if amended Rule 1110.2 becomes 
SIP-approved. (SEU)
    Response #3: EPA acknowledges this concern and recognizes that 
sources may depend on District action in order to fully comply with the 
rule. Although these rule implementation issues do not affect our 
decision to approve Rule 1110.2, we are willing to work with SCAQMD to 
reasonably resolve concerns with related Title V permitting 
requirements.
    The other comments received did not relate to our proposal to 
approve Rule 1110.2, and are therefore not addressed here.

III. EPA Action

    No comments were submitted that change our assessment that the 
submitted rule complies with the relevant CAA requirements. Therefore, 
as authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, EPA is fully approving 
this rule into the California SIP.

IV. 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 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:
    <bullet> 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);
    <bullet> Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
    <bullet> 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.);
    <bullet> 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);
    <bullet> Does not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
    <bullet> Is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
    <bullet> Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
    <bullet> 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
    <bullet> 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 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 action 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

[[Page 18997]]

the Federal Register. A major rule 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 June 26, 2009. Filing a 
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule 
does not affect the finality of this action 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, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 
Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: March 2, 2009.
Laura Yoshii,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.

0
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 F--California

0
2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding and reserving paragraph (c)(359) 
and by adding paragraph (c)(360) to read as follows:


Sec.  52.220  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (359) [Reserved]
    (360) New and amended regulations were submitted on May 20, 2008 by 
the Governor's designee.
    (i) Incorporation by Reference.
    (A) South Coast Air Quality Management District
    (1) Rule 1110.2, ``Gaseous- and Liquid-Fueled Internal Combustion 
Engines, adopted on August 3, 1990 and amended February 1, 2008.

[FR Doc. E9-9436 Filed 4-24-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


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