[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 28 (Friday, February 10, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7931-7934]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-3376]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52

[OAQPS CA 102-4-6757; FRL-5152-3]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California 
State Implementation Plan Revision, Bay Area Air Quality Management 
District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the California State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) which concern the control of volatile organic 
compound (VOC) emissions from light [[Page 7932]] and medium duty motor 
vehicle assembly plants, from the surface coating of large appliances 
and metal furniture, from wood coating operations, and from air 
stripping and soil vapor extraction operations.
    The intended effect of proposing approval of these rules is to 
regulate emissions of VOCs in accordance with the requirements of the 
Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act). EPA's final action 
on this notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) will incorporate these 
rules into the federally approved SIP. EPA has evaluated each of these 
rules and is proposing to approve them under provisions of the CAA 
regarding EPA action on SIP submittals, SIPs for national primary and 
secondary ambient air quality standards and plan requirements for 
nonattainment areas.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 13, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Daniel A. Meer, Rulemaking 
Section (A-5-3), Air and Toxics Division, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901.
    Copies of the rules and EPA's evaluation report of each rule are 
available for public inspection at EPA's Region 9 office during normal 
business hours. Copies of the submitted rules are also available for 
inspection at the following locations:

California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule 
Evaluation Section, 2020 ``L'' Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Bay Area Air Quality Management District, 939 Ellis Street, San 
Francisco, CA 94109

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nikole Reaksecker, Rulemaking Section 
(A-5-3), Air and Toxics Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901. (415) 
744-1187.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Applicability

    The rules being proposed for approval into the California SIP 
include: Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), Regulation 
8, Rule 13 (Rule 8-13), Light and Medium Duty Motor Vehicle Assembly 
Plants; Regulation 8, Rule 14 (Rule 8-14), Surface Coating of Large 
Appliances and Metal Furniture; Regulation 8, Rule 23 (Rule 8-23), 
Coating of Flat Wood Paneling and Wood Flat Stock; and Regulation 8, 
Rule 47 (Rule 8-47), Air Stripping and Soil Vapor Extraction 
Operations. These rules were submitted by the California Air Resources 
Board (CARB) to EPA on September 28, 1994.

Background

    On March 3, 1978, EPA promulgated a list of ozone nonattainment 
areas under the provisions of the Clean Air Act, as amended in 1977 
(1977 CAA or pre-amended Act), that included the San Francisco Bay 
Area. 43 FR 8964; 40 CFR 81.305. Because this area was unable to meet 
the statutory attainment date of December 31, 1982, California 
requested under section 172(a)(2), and EPA approved, an extension of 
the attainment date to December 31, 1987. (40 CFR 52.222) On May 26, 
1988, EPA notified the Governor of California, pursuant to section 
110(a)(2)(H) of the pre-amended Act, that the above district's portion 
of the California SIP was inadequate to attain and maintain the ozone 
standard and requested that deficiencies in the existing SIP be 
corrected (EPA's SIP-Call). On November 15, 1990, the Clean Air Act 
Amendments of 1990 were enacted. Public Law 101-549, 104 Stat. 2399, 
codified at 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q. In amended section 182(a)(2)(A) of 
the CAA, Congress statutorily adopted the requirement that 
nonattainment areas fix their deficient reasonably available control 
technology (RACT) rules for ozone and established a deadline of May 15, 
1991 for states to submit corrections of those deficiencies.
    Section 182(a)(2)(A) applies to areas designated as nonattainment 
prior to enactment of the amendments and classified as marginal or 
above as of the date of enactment. It requires such areas to adopt and 
correct RACT rules pursuant to pre-amended section 172(b) as 
interpreted in pre-amendment guidance.<SUP>1 EPA's SIP-Call used that 
guidance to indicate the necessary corrections for specific 
nonattainment areas. The San Francisco Bay Area is classified as 
moderate;<SUP>2 therefore, this area was subject to the RACT fix-up 
requirement and the May 15, 1991 deadline.

    \1\Among other things, the pre-amendment guidance consists of 
those portions of the proposed Post-1987 ozone and carbon monoxide 
policy that concern RACT, 52 FR 45044 (November 24, 1987); ``Issues 
Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations, 
Clarification to Appendix D of November 24, 1987 Federal Register 
Notice'' (Blue Book) (notice of availability was published in the 
Federal Register on May 25, 1988); and the existing control 
technique guidelines (CTGs).
    \2\The San Francisco Bay Area retained its designation of 
nonattainment and was classified by operation of law pursuant to 
sections 107(d) and 181(a) upon the date of enactment of the CAA. 
See 55 FR 56694 (November 6, 1991).
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    The State of California submitted many revised RACT rules for 
incorporation into its SIP on September 28, 1994, including the rules 
being acted on in this document. This document addresses EPA's proposed 
action for BAAQMD's Rules 8-13, 8-14, 8-23, and 8-47. BAAQMD adopted 
Rule 8-14 on June 1, 1994, and adopted Rules 8-13, 8-23 and 8-47 on 
June 15, 1994. These submitted rules were found to be complete on 
November 22, 1994 pursuant to EPA's completeness criteria that are set 
forth in 40 CFR part 51, appendix V<SUP>3 and are being proposed for 
approval into the SIP.

    \3\EPA adopted the completeness criteria on February 16, 1990 
(55 FR 5830) and, pursuant to section 110(k)(1)(A) of the CAA, 
revised the criteria on August 26, 1991 (56 FR 42216).
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    Rule 8-13 controls VOC emissions from light and medium duty motor 
vehicle assembly plants. Rule 8-14 controls VOC emissions from the 
surface coating of large appliances and metal furniture. Rule 8-23 
controls VOC emissions from the coating of flat wood paneling and wood 
flat stock. Rule 8-47 limits VOC emissions from new and modified air 
stripping and soil vapor extraction equipment used for the treatment of 
contaminated groundwater and soil. VOCs contribute to the production of 
ground level ozone and smog. The rules were adopted as part of the 
District's efforts to achieve the National Ambient Air Quality Standard 
(NAAQS) for ozone and in response to EPA's SIP-Call and the section 
182(a)(2)(A) CAA requirement. The following is EPA's evaluation and 
proposed action for these rules.

EPA Evaluation and Proposed Action

    In determining the approvability of a VOC rule, EPA must evaluate 
the rule for consistency with the requirements of the CAA and EPA 
regulations, as found in section 110 and part D of the CAA and 40 CFR 
part 51 (Requirements for Preparation, Adoption, and Submittal of 
Implementation Plans). The EPA interpretation of these requirements, 
which forms the basis for today's action, appears in the various EPA 
policy guidance documents listed in footnote 1. Among those provisions 
is the requirement that a VOC rule must, at a minimum, provide for the 
implementation of RACT for stationary sources of VOC emissions. This 
requirement was carried forth from the pre-amended Act.
    For the purpose of assisting state and local agencies in developing 
RACT rules, EPA prepared a series of Control Technique Guideline (CTG) 
documents. The CTGs are based on the underlying requirements of the Act 
and specify the presumptive norms for what is RACT [[Page 7933]] for 
specific source categories. Under the CAA, Congress ratified EPA's use 
of these documents, as well as other Agency policy, for requiring 
States to ``fix-up'' their RACT rules. See section 182(a)(2)(A). The 
CTG applicable to BAAQMD's Rule 8-13 is entitled ``Control of Volatile 
Organic Emissions from Stationary Sources--Volume II: Surface Coating 
of Cans, Coils, Paper, Fabrics, Automobiles, and Light-Duty Trucks'', 
EPA-450/2-77-008. The CTGs applicable to BAAQMD's Rule 8-14 are 
entitled ``Control of Volatile Organic Emissions from Existing 
Stationary Sources--Volume V: Surface Coating of Large Appliances'', 
EPA-450/2-77-034, and ``Control of Volatile Organic Emissions from 
Existing Stationary Sources--Volume III: Surface Coating of Metal 
Furniture'', EPA-450/2-77-032. The CTG applicable to BAAQMD's Rule 8-23 
is entitled ``Control of Volatile Organic Emissions from Existing 
Stationary Sources--Volume VII: Factory Surface Coating of Flat Wood 
Paneling'', EPA-450/2-78-032. Rule 8-47 controls emissions from a 
source category for which EPA has not developed a CTG. Consequently, 
Rule 8-47 was evaluated against the general RACT requirements of the 
Clean Air Act (section 110 and part D), 40 CFR part 51, and other EPA 
policy including the EPA Region IX/CARB document entitled, Guidance 
Document for Correcting VOC Rule Deficiencies, April 1991. Further 
interpretations of EPA policy are found in the Blue Book, referred to 
in footnote 1. In general, these guidance documents have been set forth 
to ensure that VOC rules are fully enforceable and strengthen or 
maintain the SIP.
    BAAQMD's submitted Rule 8-13 includes the following significant 
changes from the current SIP:
    <bullet> deletes exemptions for miscellaneous coatings and 
constrained coating lines,
    <bullet> incorporates applicable coating limits from two other 
BAAQMD rules (Rules 8-19 and 8-31) into Rule 8-13,
    <bullet> establishes VOC limits on a ``solids-applied basis'',
    <bullet> adds and changes several definitions,
    <bullet> develops a new compliance schedule,
    <bullet> revises recordkeeping section to require monthly records 
instead of annual records,
    <bullet> adds recordkeeping requirements for air pollution 
abatement equipment,
    <bullet> includes EPA Test Methods 24 and 24A as test methods that 
can be used to determine compliance.
    BAAQMD's submitted Rule 8-14 includes the following significant 
changes from the current SIP:
    <bullet> reduces low usage coating exemption amount to 55 gallons,
    <bullet> adds a definition for key system operating parameter,
    <bullet> adds recordkeeping requirements for air pollution 
abatement equipment,
    <bullet> includes EPA suggested language referencing EPA Test 
Methods 25 and 25A as test methods that can be used to determine 
compliance.
    BAAQMD's submitted Rule 8-23 includes the following significant 
changes from the current SIP:
    <bullet> mandates that air pollution abatement equipment have an 
abatement device efficiency of at least 90% and meet the requirements 
of Regulation 2, Rule 1,
    <bullet> requires persons operating air pollution abatement 
equipment to record key system operating parameters on a daily basis,
    <bullet> includes EPA suggested language referencing EPA Test 
Methods 25 and 25A as test methods that can be used to determine 
compliance.
    BAAQMD's Rule 8-47 is a new rule which was adopted to limit the VOC 
emissions from air stripping and soil vapor extraction equipment used 
for the treatment of contaminated groundwater and soil. The rule 
strengthens the SIP by:
    <bullet> regulating a previously unregulated source,
    <bullet> requiring any air stripping and soil vapor extraction 
operations which emit benzene, vinyl chloride, perchloroethylene, 
methylene chloride and/or trichloroethylene to be vented to a control 
device which reduces emissions to the atmosphere by at least 90% by 
weight,
    <bullet> mandating that any air stripping and soil vapor extraction 
operations with a total organic compound emission greater than 15 
pounds per day be vented to a control device which reduces emissions to 
the atmosphere by at least 90% by weight,
    <bullet> requiring sources to apply for permits and/or to provide 
written notification of intention to operate and to maintain records of 
water analysis and vapor monitoring results,
    <bullet> providing test methods for air stripper water samples, 
organic compound concentration in the water, and the determination of 
emissions,
    <bullet> exempting small operations, air stripping and soil vapor 
extraction operations with total emissions of less than one pound per 
day, sewage treatment facilities, and industrial wastewater treatment 
facilities.
    EPA has evaluated the submitted rules and has determined that they 
are consistent with the CAA, EPA regulations, and EPA policy. 
Therefore, BAAQMD's Rule 8-13, Light and Medium Duty Motor Vehicle 
Assembly Plants, Rule 8-14, Surface Coating of Large Appliances and 
Metal Furniture, Rule 8-23, Coating of Flat Wood Paneling and Wood Flat 
Stock, and Rule 8-47, Air Stripping and Soil Vapor Extraction 
Operations, are being proposed for approval under section 110(k)(3) of 
the CAA as meeting the requirements of section 110(a) and part D.
    Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or 
allowing or establishing a precedent for any future request for 
revision to any state implementation plan. Each request for revision to 
the state implementation plan shall be considered separately in light 
of specific technical, economic, and environmental factors and in 
relation to relevant statutory and regulatory requirements.

Regulatory Process

    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 sections 110 and 301 and subchapter I, part D 
of the CAA 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, 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 regulatory flexibility analysis would constitute 
Federal inquiry into the economic reasonableness of state action. The 
CAA forbids EPA to base its actions concerning SIPs on such grounds. 
Union Electric Co. v. U.S. E.P.A., 427 U.S. 246, 256-66 (S.Ct. 1976); 
42 U.S.C. 7410(a)(2).
    The OMB has exempted this action from review under Executive Order 
12866.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Hydrocarbons, 
Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Volatile organic compound.

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

    [[Page 7934]] Dated: February 1, 1995.
John Wise,
Acting Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 95-3376 Filed 2-9-95; 8:45 am]
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