Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 187 / Thursday, September 28, 2017 / Proposed Rules 45253 

requirements contained in Merrimack 

Station’s permit, TP–0189, to 

demonstrate how compliance with 

Merrimack Station’s SO2 emission limit 

will be achieved and determined. EPA 

is proposing to approve into the New 

Hampshire SIP the provisions of 

Merrimack Station’s permit, TP–0189, 

that constitute the SO2 operating and 

emission limits and their associated 

monitoring, testing, recordkeeping, and 

reporting requirements. EPA is 

proposing to approve these provisions 

into the State’s SIP through 

incorporation by reference, as described 

in section VIII, below. EPA’s analysis is 

discussed in this proposed rulemaking. 

EPA is not proposing to remove from 

the existing New Hampshire SIP, Table 

4, items 6, 8, and 10 contained in 

Merrimack Station’s July 2011 permit, 

TP–0008, because EPA has not received 

a request from the State to do so. See 

52.1520(d) EPA-approved State Source 

specific requirements. However, EPA 

considers those provisions to be 

superseded by the conditions of TP– 

0189, which are more stringent, and 

which are to be incorporated into the 

SIP in this proposed action. 

Specifically, two of the provisions, 

items 6 and 8 from Table 4, relate to SO2

emissions limits that have been 

superseded by Merrimack Station’s 

September 2016 permit, TP–0189. Item 

10 from Table 4 has also been 

superseded by Merrimack Station’s 

September 2016 permit, TP–0189, in 

that the existing SIP provision allowed 

operation of one of Merrimack Station’s 

two boilers, MK1, for up to 840 hours 

in any consecutive 12-month period 

through the emergency bypass stack, 

i.e., not through the FGD. Each of the 

corresponding provisions of Merrimack 

Station’s September 2016 permit, TP– 

0189, are more stringent than those 

existing SIP provisions. EPA is taking 

public comments for thirty days 

following the publication of this 

proposed action in the Federal Register. 

We will take all comments into 

consideration in our final action. 

VIII. Incorporation by Reference 

In this rule, EPA is proposing to 

include in a final EPA rule regulatory 

text that includes incorporation by 

reference. In accordance with 

requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, EPA is 

proposing to incorporate by reference 

certain federally enforceable provisions 

of Merrimack Station’s permit, TP–0189, 

effective on September 1, 2016. 

Specifically, the following provisions of 

that permit are proposed to be 

incorporated by reference: Items 1, 2, 

and 3 in Table 4 (‘‘Operating and 

Emission Limits’’); items 1 and 2 in 

Table 5 (‘‘Monitoring and Testing 

Requirements’’); items 1 and 2 in Table 

6 (‘‘Recordkeeping Requirements’’); and 

items 1 and 2 in Table 7 (‘‘Reporting 

Requirements’’). 

EPA has made, and will continue to 

make, these materials generally 

available through www.regulations.gov 

and/or at the EPA Region 1 Office 

(please contact the person identified in 

the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section of this preamble for more 

information). 

IX. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

Under the CAA, 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 CAA. Accordingly, this proposed 

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 proposed action: 

• 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) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, 

January 21, 2011); 

• does not impose an information 

collection burden under the provisions 

of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.); 

• 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.); 

• 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); 

• 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 a significant regulatory action 

subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 

28355, May 22, 2001); 

• 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 CAA; 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, the SIP is not approved 

to apply on any Indian reservation land 

or in any other area where EPA or an 

Indian tribe has demonstrated that a 

tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of 

Indian country, the rule does not have 

tribal implications and will not impose 

substantial direct costs on tribal 

governments or preempt tribal law as 

specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 

FR 67249, November 9, 2000). 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Incorporation by 

Reference, Intergovernmental relations, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Sulfur oxides. 

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

Dated: September 15, 2017. 

Ken Moraff, 

Acting Regional Administrator, EPA New 

England. 

[FR Doc. 2017–20721 Filed 9–27–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 82 

[EPA–HQ–OAR–2017–0213; FRL–9968–67– 

OAR] 

RIN 2060–AT43 

Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: 

Refrigerant Management Regulations 

for Small Cans of Motor Vehicle 

Refrigerant 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing this action 

to correct an editing oversight that lead 

to a potential conflict in a prior 

rulemaking as to whether or not 

containers holding two pounds or less 

of non-exempt substitute refrigerants for 

use in motor vehicle air conditioning 

that are not equipped with a self-sealing 

valve can be sold to persons that are not 

certified technicians, provided those 

small cans were manufactured or 

imported prior to January 1, 2018. This 

action clarifies that those small cans 

may continue to be sold to persons that 

are not certified as technicians under 

sections 608 or 609 of the Clean Air Act. 

In the ‘‘Rules and Regulations’’ section 

of this Federal Register, EPA is 

publishing this action as a direct final 


jstallworth on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
45254 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 187 / Thursday, September 28, 2017 / Proposed Rules 

rule without a prior proposed rule. If we 

receive no adverse comment, we will 

not take further action on this proposed 

rule. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received by October 30, 2017. Any party 

requesting a public hearing must notify 

the contact listed below under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 5 p.m. 

Eastern Daylight Time on October 5, 

2017. If a public hearing is requested, 

the hearing will be held on or around 

October 13, 2017. If a hearing is held, 

it will take place at EPA headquarters in 

Washington, DC. EPA will post a notice 

on our Web site, www.epa.gov/ 

section608, announcing further 

information should a hearing take place. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– 

OAR–2017–0213, at http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Once submitted, comments cannot be 

edited or removed from Regulations.gov. 

EPA may publish any comment received 

to its public docket. Do not submit 

electronically any information you 

consider to be Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Multimedia submissions (audio, video, 

etc.) must be accompanied by a written 

comment. The written comment is 

considered the official comment and 

should include discussion of all points 

you wish to make. EPA will generally 

not consider comments or comment 

contents located outside of the primary 

submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or 

other file sharing system). For 

additional submission methods, the full 

EPA public comment policy, 

information about CBI or multimedia 

submissions, and general guidance on 

making effective comments, please visit 

http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/ 

commenting-epa-dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara 

Kemme by regular mail: U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, 

Stratospheric Protection Division 

(6205T), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue 

NW., Washington, DC 20460; by 

telephone: (202) 566–0511; or by email: 

kemme.sara@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Why is EPA issuing this Proposed 

Rule? 

On November 18, 2016, EPA 

published a rule finalizing a restriction 

that non-exempt substitute refrigerants 

may only be sold to technicians certified 

under sections 608 or 609 of the CAA 

(81 FR 82280). In the case of refrigerant 

for use in motor vehicle air conditioning 

(MVAC), EPA finalized the exemption 

for the sale of certain small cans of nonozone-depleting substitutes with a selfsealing valve to allow the do-it-yourself 

community to continue servicing their 

personal vehicles. However, the Agency 

did not finalize a sell-through provision 

as proposed. Instead, EPA intended to 

allow the continued sale of small cans 

without self-sealing valves that were 

manufactured or imported before 

January 1, 2018, and described that 

intent in the preamble to the final rule. 

See 81 FR 82280, 82342. 

These intentions were also expressed 

in the regulatory text at 40 CFR 

82.154(c)(2), which was revised in the 

November 2016 rule to state: ‘‘Selfsealing valve specifications. This 

provision applies starting January 1, 

2018, for all containers holding two 

pounds or less of non-exempt substitute 

refrigerant for use in an MVAC that are 

manufactured or imported on or after 

that date. (i) Each container holding two 

pounds or less of non-exempt substitute 

refrigerant for use in an MVAC must be 

equipped with a single self-sealing valve 

that automatically closes and seals 

when not dispensing refrigerant . . . .’’ 

However, because of an editing error, 

another provision, 40 CFR 

82.154(c)(1)(ix), contains text that could 

be construed as contradicting the 

Agency’s clearly expressed intent to 

allow non-technicians to purchase, and 

retailers to sell, small cans of refrigerant 

for use in MVAC that were 

manufactured or imported before the 

January 1, 2018, compliance date 

irrespective of whether they have a selfsealing valve. 

The Automotive Refrigeration 

Products Institute and the Auto Care 

Association inquired about whether the 

language in 40 CFR 82.154(c)(1)(ix) 

effectively negates the provision in 40 

CFR 82.154(c)(2) and the preamble 

discussion showing EPA’s intention to 

allow small cans of refrigerant for use in 

MVAC manufactured or imported before 

January 1, 2018, to continue to be sold 

without self-sealing valves. EPA is 

proposing this rule to revise the 

regulatory text so that persons in 

possession of small cans of refrigerant 

for use in MVAC without self-sealing 

valves that were manufactured or 

imported before January 1, 2018, can be 

assured that they will be able to sell off 

their existing inventories without 

disruption. 

EPA has published a direct final rule 

making identical edits to the regulatory 

text as those proposed here in the 

‘‘Rules and Regulations’’ section of this 

Federal Register because we view this 

as a noncontroversial action and 

anticipate no adverse comment. We 

have further explained our reasons for 

this action in the preamble to the direct 

final rule. For additional information on 

the action being taken, see the direct 

final rule published in the Rules and 

Regulations section of this Federal 

Register. 

If we receive no adverse comment, we 

will not take further action on this 

proposed rule. If we receive adverse 

comment, we will withdraw the direct 

final rule and it will not take effect. In 

that case, we would address all public 

comments in any subsequent final rule 

based on this proposed rule. 

We do not intend to institute a second 

comment period on this action. Any 

parties interested in commenting must 

do so at this time. EPA is not proposing, 

and is not seeking comment on, any 

changes to the regulations at 40 CFR 

part 82, subpart F other than the 

proposed revisions discussed in this 

notice. For further information on how 

to submit comments, please see the 

information provided in the ADDRESSES

section of this document. 

II. Does this action apply to me? 

Categories and entities potentially 

affected by this action include entities 

that distribute or sell small cans 

refrigerant for use in MVAC. Regulated 

entities include, but are not limited to, 

manufacturers and distributors of small 

cans of refrigerant (NAICS codes 

325120, 441310, 447110) such as 

automotive parts and accessories stores 

and industrial gas manufacturers. 

This list is not intended to be 

exhaustive, but rather to provide a guide 

for readers regarding entities likely to be 

regulated by this action. To determine 

whether your facility, company, 

business, or organization could be 

regulated by this action, you should 

carefully examine the regulations at 40 

CFR part 82, subpart F. If you have 

questions regarding the applicability of 

this action to a particular entity, consult 

the person listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

III. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 13563: Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review 

This action is not a significant 

regulatory action and was therefore not 

submitted to the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) for review. 

B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 

This action does not impose any new 

information collection burden under the 

PRA. OMB has previously approved the 

information collection activities 


jstallworth on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 187 / Thursday, September 28, 2017 / Proposed Rules 45255 

contained in the existing regulations 

and has assigned OMB control number 

2060–0256. These changes do not add 

information collection requirements 

beyond those currently required under 

the applicable regulations. 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

I certify that this action will not have 

a significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities 

under the RFA. In making this 

determination, the impact of concern is 

any significant adverse economic 

impact on small entities. An agency may 

certify that a rule will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities if 

the rule relieves regulatory burden, has 

no net burden or otherwise has a 

positive economic effect on the small 

entities subject to the rule. This action 

clarifies that small cans of refrigerant for 

use in MVAC may be sold to persons 

who are not certified technicians even if 

they are not equipped with a self-sealing 

valve, so long as those small cans are 

manufactured or imported prior to 

January 1, 2018. We have therefore 

concluded that this action will have no 

net regulatory burden for all directly 

regulated small entities. 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

This action does not contain any 

unfunded mandate as described in 

UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 1531–1538, and does 

not significantly or uniquely affect small 

governments. This action corrects a 

potential conflict in the refrigerant 

management regulations as to whether 

or not small cans of refrigerant for use 

in MVAC could be sold to nontechnicians if they were manufactured 

or imported prior to January 1, 2018, 

and do not have a self-sealing valve. 

This action clarifies that those small 

cans of refrigerant for use in MVAC may 

be sold to persons who are not certified 

technicians. 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

This action does not have federalism 

implications. It will not have substantial 

direct effects on the states, on the 

relationship between the national 

government and the states, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. 

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

This action does not have tribal 

implications as specified in Executive 

Order 13175. This action corrects a 

potential conflict in the refrigerant 

management regulations as to whether 

or not small cans of refrigerant for use 

in MVAC could be sold to nontechnicians if they were manufactured 

or imported prior to January 1, 2018, 

and do not have a self-sealing valve. 

Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not 

apply to this action. 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks 

The EPA interprets Executive Order 

13045 as applying only to those 

regulatory actions that concern 

environmental health or safety risks that 

the EPA has reason to believe may 

disproportionately affect children, per 

the definition of ‘‘covered regulatory 

action’’ in section 2–202 of the 

Executive Order. This action is not 

subject to Executive Order 13045 

because it does not concern an 

environmental health risk or safety risk. 

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

This action is not subject to Executive 

Order 13211, because it is not a 

significant regulatory action under 

Executive Order 12866. 

I. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act 

This rulemaking does not involve 

technical standards. 

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal 

Actions To Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations 

The EPA believes that this action does 

not have disproportionately high and 

adverse human health or environmental 

effects on minority populations, lowincome populations and/or indigenous 

peoples, as specified in Executive Order 

12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). 

This action does not affect the level of 

protection provided to human health or 

the environment. This action corrects a 

potential conflict in the refrigerant 

management regulations as to whether 

or not small cans of refrigerant for use 

in MVAC could be sold to nontechnicians if they were manufactured 

or imported prior to January 1, 2018, 

and do not have a self-sealing valve. 

This action clarifies that those small 

cans of refrigerant for use in MVAC may 

be sold to persons who are not certified 

technicians. The documentation for this 

decision is contained in Docket No. 

EPA–HQ–OAR–2017–0213, where 

EPA’s assessment of the underlying 

regulatory changes that necessitated this 

correction found no disproportionately 

high and adverse human health or 

environmental effects on minority 

populations, low-income populations 

and/or indigenous peoples. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 82 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Chemicals, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: September 21, 2017. 

E. Scott Pruitt, 

Administrator. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, the Environmental Protection 

Agency proposes to amend 40 CFR part 

82 as follows: 

PART 82—PROTECTION OF 

STRATOSPHERIC OZONE 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 82 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7414, 7601, 7671– 

7671q. 

■ 2. In § 82.154, revise paragraph 

(c)(1)(ix) to read as follows: 

§ 82.154 Prohibitions. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(ix) The non-exempt substitute 

refrigerant is intended for use in an 

MVAC and is sold in a container 

designed to hold two pounds or less of 

refrigerant, has a unique fitting, and, if 

manufactured or imported on or after 

January 1, 2018, has a self-sealing valve 

that complies with the requirements of 

paragraph (c)(2) of this section. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2017–20838 Filed 9–27–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 


jstallworth on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with PROPOSALS