Document ID: EPA-R03-OAR-2006-0379-0002
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2006-06-16T04:00Z

ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AGENCY
40
CFR
Part
52
[
EPA­
R03­
OAR­
2006­
0379;
FRL­
]

Approval
and
Promulgation
of
Air
Quality
Implementation
Plans;
Commonwealth
of
Pennsylvania;
Reasonably
Available
Control
Technology
Requirements
for
Volatile
Organic
Compounds
and
Nitrogen
Oxides
AGENCY:
Environmental
Protection
Agency
(
EPA).

ACTION:
Proposed
rule.

SUMMARY:
EPA
is
proposing
to
remove
the
limited
status
of
its
approval
of
the
Commonwealth
of
Pennsylvania's
State
Implementation
Plan
(
SIP)
revision
that
requires
all
major
sources
of
volatile
organic
compounds
(
VOC)
and
nitrogen
oxides
(
NOx)
to
implement
reasonably
available
control
technology
(
RACT).
EPA
is
proposing
to
convert
its
limited
approval
of
Pennsylvania's
VOC
and
NOx
RACT
regulations
to
full
approval
because
EPA
has
approved
or
is
currently
conducting
rulemaking
to
approve
all
of
the
case­
by­
case
RACT
determinations
submitted
by
Pennsylvania
for
the
affected
sources.
In
prior
final
rules,
EPA
has
previously
fully
approved
Pennsylvania's
VOC
and
NOx
RACT
regulations
for
the
Philadelphia­
Wilmington­
Trenton,
and
Pittsburgh­
Beaver
Valley
areas.
EPA
is
now
proposing
to
convert
its
limited
approval
of
Pennsylvania's
VOC
and
NOx
RACT
regulations
as
they
apply
in
the
remainder
of
the
Commonwealth
to
full
approval
because
EPA
has
approved
or
is
currently
conducting
rulemaking
to
approve
all
of
the
case­
by­
case
RACT
determinations
submitted
by
Pennsylvania
for
the
affected
sources
in
the
remainder
of
the
Commonwealth.
Final
action
converting
the
limited
approval
to
full
approval
shall
occur
once
EPA
has
completed
rulemaking
to
approve
either
(
1)
the
case­
by­
case
RACT
proposals
for
all
sources
subject
to
the
RACT
2
requirements
currently
known
in
the
remainder
of
the
State,
outside
of
the
Pittsburgh
and
Philadelphia
areas;
or
(
2)
for
a
sufficient
number
of
sources
such
that
the
emissions
from
any
remaining
subject
sources
represent
a
de
minimis
level
of
emissions.
This
action
is
being
taken
under
the
Clean
Air
Act
(
CAA
or
the
Act).

DATES:
Written
comments
must
be
received
on
or
before
[
insert
date
30
days
from
date
of
publication].

ADDRESSES:
Submit
your
comments,
identified
by
Docket
ID
Number
EPA­
R03­

OAR­
2006­
0379
by
one
of
the
following
methods:

A.
www.
regulations.
gov.
Follow
the
on­
line
instructions
for
submitting
comments.

B.
E­
mail:
morris.
makeba@
epa.
gov.

C.
Mail:
EPA­
R03­
OAR­
2006­
0379,
Makeba
Morris,
Chief,
Air
Quality
Planning
and
Analysis
Branch,
Mailcode
3AP21,
U.
S.
Environmental
Protection
Agency,
Region
III,

1650
Arch
Street,
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
19103.

D.
Hand
Delivery:
At
the
previously­
listed
EPA
Region
III
address.
Such
deliveries
are
only
accepted
during
the
Docket's
normal
hours
of
operation,
and
special
arrangements
should
be
made
for
deliveries
of
boxed
information.

Instructions:
Direct
your
comments
to
Docket
ID
No.
EPA­
R03­
OAR­
2006­
0379.

EPA's
policy
is
that
all
comments
received
will
be
included
in
the
public
docket
without
change,
and
may
be
made
available
online
at
www.
regulations.
gov.
providing
any
personal
information
provided,
unless
the
comment
includes
information
claimed
to
be
3
Confidential
Business
Information
(
CBI)
or
other
information
whose
disclosure
is
restricted
by
statute.
Do
not
submit
information
that
you
consider
to
be
CBI
or
otherwise
protected
through
www.
regulations.
gov
or
e­
mail.
The
www.
regulations.
gov
website
is
an
"
anonymous
access"
system,
which
means
EPA
will
not
know
your
identity
or
contact
information
unless
you
provide
it
in
the
body
of
your
comment.
If
you
send
an
e­
mail
comment
directly
to
EPA
without
going
through
www.
regulations.
gov,
your
e­
mail
address
will
be
automatically
captured
and
included
as
part
of
the
comment
that
is
placed
in
the
public
docket
and
made
available
on
the
Internet.
If
you
submit
an
electronic
comment,
EPA
recommends
that
you
include
your
name
and
other
contact
information
in
the
body
of
your
comment
and
with
any
disk
or
CD­
ROM
you
submit.
If
EPA
cannot
read
your
comment
due
to
technical
difficulties
and
cannot
contact
you
for
clarification,

EPA
may
not
be
able
to
consider
your
comment.
Electronic
files
should
avoid
the
use
of
special
characters,
any
form
of
encryption,
and
be
free
of
any
defects
or
viruses.

Docket:
All
documents
in
the
electronic
docket
are
listed
in
the
www.
regulations.
gov
index.
Although
listed
in
the
index,
some
information
is
not
publicly
available,
i.
e.,
CBI
or
other
information
whose
disclosure
is
restricted
by
statute.
Certain
other
material,

such
as
copyrighted
material,
is
not
placed
on
the
Internet
and
will
be
publicly
available
only
in
hard
copy
form.
Publicly
available
docket
materials
are
available
either
electronically
in
www.
regulations.
gov
or
in
hard
copy
during
normal
business
hours
at
the
Air
Protection
Division,
U.
S.
Environmental
Protection
Agency,
Region
III,
1650
Arch
Street,
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
19103.
Copies
of
the
State
submittal
are
4
available
at
the
Pennsylvania
Department
of
Environmental
Resources
Bureau
of
Air
Quality
Control,
P.
O.
Box
8468,
400
Market
Street,
Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania
17105.

FOR
FURTHER
INFORMATION
CONTACT:
Ellen
Wentworth,
(
215)
814­
2034,
or
by
e­
mail
at
wentworth.
ellen@
epa.
gov.

I.
Background
Pursuant
to
sections
182(
b)
and
182(
f)
of
the
Clean
Air
Act
(
CAA),
the
Commonwealth
of
Pennsylvania
(
the
Commonwealth
or
Pennsylvania)
is
required
to
establish
and
implement
RACT
for
all
major
VOC
and
NOx
sources.
SIP
revisions
imposing
RACT
for
three
classes
of
VOC
sources
are
required
under
section
182(
b)(
2).
The
categories
are
all
sources
covered
by
a
Control
Technique
Guideline
(
CTG)
document
issued
between
November
15,
1990
and
the
date
of
1­
hour
ozone
attainment;
all
sources
covered
by
a
CTG
issued
prior
to
November
15,
1990;
and
all
other
major
non­
CTG
sources.
Section
182(
f)
provides
that
the
planning
requirements
applicable
to
major
stationary
sources
of
VOCs
in
other
provisions
in
part
D,
subpart
2
(
including
section
182)
apply
to
major
stationary
sources
of
NOx.

The
Pennsylvania
SIP
already
includes
approved
RACT
regulations
for
sources
and
source
categories
of
VOCs
covered
by
the
CTGs
as
required
by
section
182(
b)(
2)(
A)
and
(
B).
Regulations
requiring
RACT
for
all
major
sources
of
VOC
and
NOx
were
to
be
submitted
to
EPA
as
SIP
revisions
by
November
1992
and
compliance
required
by
May
of
1995.
On
February
4,
1994,
PADEP
submitted
a
revision
to
its
SIP,
consisting
of
25
5
PA
Code
Chapters
129.91
through
129.95,
to
require
major
sources
of
NOx
and
additional
major
sources
of
VOC
emissions
(
not
covered
by
a
CTG)
to
implement
RACT
(
non­
CTG
RACT
rules).
The
February
4,
1994
submittal
was
amended
on
May
3,
1994
to
correct
and
clarify
certain
presumptive
NOx
RACT
requirements
under
Chapter
129.93.
As
described
in
more
detail,
below,
EPA
granted
conditional
limited
approval
of
the
Commonwealth's
VOC
and
NOx
RACT
regulations
on
March
23,
1998
(
63
FR
13789),
and
removed
the
conditional
aspect
of
the
approval
on
May
3,
2001
(
66
FR
22123).

Under
section
184
of
the
CAA,
RACT
as
specified
in
sections
182(
b)(
2)
and
182(
f)

applies
throughout
the
ozone
transport
region
(
OTR).
The
entire
Commonwealth
is
located
within
the
OTR.
Therefore,
RACT
is
applicable
statewide
in
Pennsylvania.
The
major
source
size
generally
is
determined
by
the
classification
of
the
area
in
which
the
source
is
located.
However,
for
areas
located
in
the
OTR,
the
major
source
size
for
stationary
sources
of
VOCs
is
50
tons
per
year
(
tpy)
unless
the
area's
1­
hour
ozone
classification
prescribes
a
lower
major
source
threshold.
The
RACT
regulations
contain
technology­
based
or
operational
"
presumptive
RACT
emission
limitations"
for
certain
major
NOx
sources.
For
other
major
NOx
sources,
and
all
major
non­
CTG
VOC
sources
(
not
otherwise
already
subject
to
RACT
pursuant
to
a
source
category
regulation
under
the
Pennsylvania
SIP),
the
regulations
contain
a
"
generic"
RACT
provision.
A
generic
RACT
regulation
is
one
that
does
not,
itself,
specifically
define
RACT
for
a
source
or
source
categories,
but
instead
allows
for
case­
by­
case
RACT
determinations.
The
generic
provisions
of
Pennsylvania's
regulations
allow
for
PADEP
to
make
case­
by­
case
6
RACT
determinations
that
are
then
to
be
submitted
to
EPA
as
revisions
to
the
Pennsylvania
SIP.

On
March
23,
1998
(
63
FR
13789),
EPA
granted
conditional
limited
approval
of
a
Pennsylvania
SIP
revision
that
established
and
required
all
major
sources
of
VOCs
and
NOx
to
implement
RACT.
This
approval
was
granted
on
the
condition
that
Pennsylvania
must,
by
no
later
than
April
22,
1999
certify
that
(
1)
it
had
submitted
case­
by­
case
RACT
proposals
for
all
sources
subject
to
the
RACT
requirements
currently
know
to
PADEP,
or
(
2)
demonstrate
that
the
emissions
from
any
remaining
subject
sources
represented
a
de
minimis
level
of
emissions
as
defined
in
the
rulemaking
document.

On
April
22,
1999,
the
PADEP
submitted
a
letter
certifying
that
it
had
met
the
terms
and
conditions
imposed
by
EPA
in
its
March
23,
1998
(
63
FR
13789)
conditional
limited
approval
of
its
VOC
and
NOx
RACT
regulation
by
submitting
case­
by­
case
VOC/
NOx
RACT
determinations
as
SIP
revisions.
EPA
concurred
that
Pennsylvania's
April
22,

1999
certification
satisfied
the
condition
imposed
in
its
conditional
limited
approval
published
on
March
23,
1998
(
63
FR
13789),
and
published
a
direct
final
rulemaking
(
May
3,
2001,
66
FR
22123)
removing
the
conditional
status
of
its
approval
of
the
Commonwealth's
SIP
revision
that
required
all
major
sources
of
VOCs
and
NOx
to
implement
RACT.
That
final
rule
became
effective
on
June
18,
2001.
The
regulation
retained
a
limited
approval
status
on
the
basis
that
it
strengthened
the
Pennsylvania
SIP.

Conversion
from
limited
to
full
approval
would
occur
when
EPA
had
approved
all
of
the
case­
by­
case
RACT
determinations
as
SIP
revisions.
7
On
October
16,
2001
(
66
FR
52533),
EPA
published
a
final
rulemaking
for
the
Commonwealth
removing
the
limited
status
of
its
approval
of
Pennsylvania's
SIP
revision
that
required
all
major
sources
of
VOCs
and
NOx
to
implement
RACT
as
it
applied
in
the
Pittsburgh­
Beaver
Valley
ozone
nonattainment
area
(
Allegheny,

Armstrong,
Beaver,
Butler,
Fayette,
Washington,
and
Westmoreland
counties),
because
EPA
had
approved
all
of
the
case­
by­
case
RACT
determinations
submitted
by
PADEP
for
affected
major
sources
of
NOx
and/
or
VOC
sources
located
in
the
area.
EPA
converted
its
limited
approval
of
Pennsylvania's
RACT
regulation
to
full
approval
as
it
applied
to
that
area.
That
rulemaking
became
effective
on
November
15,
2001.

On
October
30,
2001,
(
66
FR
54698),
EPA
published
a
final
rulemaking
for
the
Commonwealth
removing
the
limited
status
of
its
approval
of
Pennsylvania's
SIP
revision
that
required
all
major
sources
of
VOCs
and
NOx
to
implement
RACT
as
it
applied
in
the
Philadelphia­
Wilmington­
Trenton
ozone
nonattainment
area
(
Bucks,

Chester,
Delaware,
Montgomery,
and
Philadelphia
counties)
because
EPA
had
approved
all
of
the
case­
by­
case
RACT
determinations
submitted
by
PADEP
for
affected
major
sources
of
NOx
and/
or
VOC
sources
located
in
the
area.
EPA
converted
its
limited
approval
of
Pennsylvania's
RACT
regulation
to
full
approval
as
it
applied
to
that
area.

That
rulemaking
became
effective
on
November
29,
2001.

II.
EPA's
Proposed
Action
As
EPA
stated
in
its
May
3,
2001
final
rule
(
66
FR
22123),
conversion
of
Pennsylvania's
VOC
and
NOx
regulation
from
limited
to
full
approval
would
occur
when
EPA
had
8
approved
all
of
the
case­
by­
case
RACT
determinations
submitted
by
Pennsylvania
into
the
Pennsylvania
SIP.
EPA
has
previously
removed
the
limited
status
of
its
approval
of
Pennsylvania's
SIP
revisions
that
requires
all
major
sources
of
VOC
and
NOx
to
implement
RACT
as
it
applies
in
the
Pittsburgh
and
Philadelphia
areas
because
EPA
has
approved
all
of
the
case­
by­
case
RACT
determinations
for
these
areas.
In
this
action
EPA
is
proposing
to
convert
its
limited
approval
of
Pennsylvania's
RACT
regulation
to
full
approval
as
it
applies
in
the
remainder
of
the
Commonwealth
because
EPA
has
approved
or
is
currently
conducting
rulemaking
to
approve
all
remaining
case­
by­
case
RACT
determinations
submitted
by
PADEP.
Final
action
converting
the
limited
approval
to
full
approval
shall
occur
once
EPA
has
completed
rulemaking
to
approve
either
(
1)
the
case­
by­
case
RACT
proposals
for
all
sources
subject
to
the
RACT
requirements
currently
known
in
the
remainder
of
the
State,
outside
of
the
Pittsburgh
and
Philadelphia
areas;
or
(
2)
for
a
sufficient
number
of
sources
such
that
the
emissions
from
any
remaining
subject
sources
represent
a
de
minimis
level
of
emissions
as
defined
in
the
March
23,
1998
rulemaking
(
63
FR
13789).
EPA
is
soliciting
public
comments
on
the
issues
discussed
in
this
document.
These
comments
will
be
considered
before
taking
final
action.

III.
Statutory
and
Executive
Order
Reviews
Under
Executive
Order
12866
(
58
FR
51735,
October
4,
1993),
this
proposed
action
is
not
a
"
significant
regulatory
action"
and
therefore
is
not
subject
to
review
by
the
Office
of
Management
and
Budget.
For
this
reason,
this
action
is
also
not
subject
to
Executive
Order
13211,
"
Actions
Concerning
Regulations
That
Significantly
Affect
Energy
Supply,
9
Distribution,
or
Use"
(
66
Fed.
Reg.
28355
(
May
22,
2001)).
This
action
merely
proposes
to
approve
state
law
as
meeting
Federal
requirements
and
imposes
no
additional
requirements
beyond
those
imposed
by
state
law.
Accordingly,
the
Administrator
certifies
that
this
proposed
rule
will
not
have
a
significant
economic
impact
on
a
substantial
number
of
small
entities
under
the
Regulatory
Flexibility
Act
(
5
U.
S.
C.
601
et
seq.).
Because
this
rule
proposes
to
approve
pre­
existing
requirements
under
state
law
and
does
not
impose
any
additional
enforceable
duty
beyond
that
required
by
state
law,
it
does
not
contain
any
unfunded
mandate
or
significantly
or
uniquely
affect
small
governments,
as
described
in
the
Unfunded
Mandates
Reform
Act
of
1995
(
Public
Law
104­
4).
This
proposed
rule
also
does
not
have
a
substantial
direct
effect
on
one
or
more
Indian
tribes,
on
the
relationship
between
the
Federal
Government
and
Indian
tribes,
or
on
the
distribution
of
power
and
responsibilities
between
the
Federal
Government
and
Indian
tribes,
as
specified
by
Executive
Order
13175
(
65
FR
67249,
November
9,
2000),

nor
will
it
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,
as
specified
in
Executive
Order
13132
(
64
FR
43255,
August
10,
1999),
because
it
merely
proposes
to
approve
a
state
rule
implementing
a
Federal
requirement,
and
does
not
alter
the
relationship
or
the
distribution
of
power
and
responsibilities
established
in
the
Clean
Air
Act.
This
proposed
rule
also
is
not
subject
to
Executive
Order
13045
(
62
FR
19885,
April
23,
1997),
because
it
is
not
economically
significant.
10
In
reviewing
SIP
submissions,
EPA's
role
is
to
approve
state
choices,
provided
that
they
meet
the
criteria
of
the
Clean
Air
Act.
In
this
context,
in
the
absence
of
a
prior
existing
requirement
for
the
State
to
use
voluntary
consensus
standards
(
VCS),
EPA
has
no
authority
to
disapprove
a
SIP
submission
for
failure
to
use
VCS.
It
would
thus
be
inconsistent
with
applicable
law
for
EPA,
when
it
reviews
a
SIP
submission,
to
use
VCS
in
place
of
a
SIP
submission
that
otherwise
satisfies
the
provisions
of
the
Clean
Air
Act.

Thus,
the
requirements
of
section
12(
d)
of
the
National
Technology
Transfer
and
Advancement
Act
of
1995
(
15
U.
S.
C.
272
note)
do
not
apply.
As
required
by
section
3
of
Executive
Order
12988
(
61
FR
4729,
February
7,
1996),
in
issuing
this
proposed
rule,

EPA
has
taken
the
necessary
steps
to
eliminate
drafting
errors
and
ambiguity,
minimize
potential
litigation,
and
provide
a
clear
legal
standard
for
affected
conduct.
EPA
has
complied
with
Executive
Order
12630
(
53
FR
8859,
March
15,
1988)
by
examining
the
takings
implications
of
the
rule
in
accordance
with
the
"
Attorney
General's
Supplemental
Guidelines
for
the
Evaluation
of
Risk
and
Avoidance
of
Unanticipated
Takings"
issued
under
the
executive
order.
11
This
proposed
rule,
regarding
Pennsylvania's
VOC
and
NOx
RACT
regulations
as
they
apply
in
the
remainder
of
the
Commonwealth,
does
not
impose
an
information
collection
under
the
provisions
of
the
Paperwork
Reduction
Act
of
1995
(
44
U.
S.
C.
3501
et
seq.).

List
of
Subjects
in
40
CFR
Part
52
Environmental
protection,
Air
pollution
control,
Nitrogen
dioxide,
Ozone,
Reporting
and
recordkeeping
requirements,
Volatile
organic
compounds.

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

/
s/
___________________________
____________________________
Dated:
June
7,
2006
Donald
S.
Welsh,
Regional
Administrator,
Region
III.