Document ID: EPA-R03-OAR-2011-0011-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Rule
Title: Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans: Maryland; Amendment to the Definition of Fuel-Burning Equipment
Posted Date: 2011-02-22T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 22, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9650-9652]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-3722]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2011-0011; FRL-9268-2]

Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Maryland; Amendment to the Definition of Fuel-Burning Equipment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the 
Maryland State Implementation Plan (SIP) amending the definition of 
``fuel-burning equipment.'' The revision removes the word ``furnace'' 
from the definition of ``fuel-burning equipment'' in one of Maryland's 
regulations and also removes the redundant definition of ``fuel-burning 
equipment'' from another section. EPA is approving these revisions to 
the definition of ``fuel-burning equipment'' in accordance with the 
requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: This rule is effective on April 25, 2011 without further notice, 
unless EPA receives adverse written comment by March 24, 2011. If EPA 
receives such comments, it will publish a timely withdrawal of the 
direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform the public that 
the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2011-0011 by one of the following methods:
    A. http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    B. E-mail: fernandez.cristina@epa.gov.
    C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2011-0011, Cristina Fernandez, Associate 
Director, Office of Air Program Planning, Mailcode 3AP30, 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-
2011-0011. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change, and may be made available online 
at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
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 http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://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 http://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 
http://www.regulations.gov index. Although

[[Page 9651]]

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 http://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 available at the Maryland Department 
of the Environment, 1800 Washington Boulevard, Suite 705, Baltimore, 
Maryland 21230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irene Shandruk, (215) 814-2166, or by 
e-mail at shandruk.irene@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The term ``fuel-burning equipment'' was originally defined in order 
to differentiate between a boiler that involves the indirect heating of 
air or water and fuel-burning installations that involve direct heat 
exchange. Fuel-burning installations, such as a kiln, are subject to 
the general requirements for sulfur dioxide (SO2) and 
particulate matter, whereas fuel-burning equipment is subject to 
different standards in the form of pounds of SO2 per million 
(British thermal unit) Btu per hour heat input or the sulfur content of 
the fuel.
    Since a ``furnace'' is usually direct heat exchange, the State of 
Maryland concludes that it should not be included in the definition of 
``fuel-burning equipment''. There is no Federal definition of the term 
``fuel-burning equipment,'' however, the term ``fuel-burning 
equipment'' is consistent with the Federal definition of the term 
``boiler.''

II. Summary of SIP Revision

    On December 15, 2010, the State of Maryland submitted a formal 
revision (10-10) to its State Implementation Plan (SIP). The 
SIP revision consists of amendments to Regulation .01 under COMAR 
26.11.01, General Administrative Provisions and Regulation .01 under 
COMAR 26.11.09, Control of Fuel-Burning Equipment, Stationary Internal 
Combustion Engines, and Certain Fuel-Burning Installations. The 
revision removes the word ``furnace'' from the definition of ``fuel-
burning equipment'' in COMAR 26.11.01.01 and also removes the redundant 
definition of ``fuel-burning equipment'' from COMAR 26.11.09.01.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving Maryland's revision which removes the word 
``furnace'' from the definition of ``fuel-burning equipment'' in COMAR 
26.11.01.01 and also removes the redundant definition of ``fuel-burning 
equipment'' from COMAR 26.11.09.01. EPA is publishing this rule without 
prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial 
amendment and anticipates no adverse comment. However, in the 
``Proposed Rules'' section of today's Federal Register, EPA is 
publishing a separate document that will serve as the proposal to 
approve the SIP revision if adverse comments are filed. This rule will 
be effective on April 25, 2011 without further notice unless EPA 
receives adverse comment by March 24, 2011. If EPA receives adverse 
comment, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register 
informing the public that the rule will not take effect. EPA will 
address all public comments in a subsequent final rule based on the 
proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period on this 
action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so at this time. 
Please note that if EPA receives adverse comment on an amendment, 
paragraph, or section of this rule and if that provision may be severed 
from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt as final those provisions 
of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General Requirements

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA 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 
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:
     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);
     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, 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.

B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General

    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 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).

C. Petitions for Judicial Review

    Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate

[[Page 9652]]

circuit by April 25, 2011. 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. Parties with 
objections to this direct final rule are encouraged to file a comment 
in response to the parallel notice of proposed rulemaking for this 
action published in the proposed rules section of today's Federal 
Register, rather than file an immediate petition for judicial review of 
this direct final rule, so that EPA can withdraw this direct final rule 
and address the comment in the proposed rulemaking. This action which 
pertains to Maryland's amendment to the definition of ``fuel-burning 
equipment'' 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, Particulate matter, Sulfur oxides.

    Dated: February 1, 2011.
W.C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.

    40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart V--Maryland

0
2. In Sec.  52.1070, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by revising 
the entries for COMAR 26.11.01.01 and COMAR 26.11.09.01 to read as 
follows:

Sec.  52.1070  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                                      EPA-Approved Regulations in the Maryland SIP
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Code of Maryland  administrative                           State                                             Additional explanation/ citation at 40 CFR
  regulations (COMAR)  citation      Title/subject    effective date            EPA approval date                              52.1100
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       26.11.01 General Administrative Provisions
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26.11.01.01.....................  Definitions.......         9/20/10  2/22/11, [Insert page number where    Revision to paragraph .01B(17).
                                                                       the document begins].
 
                                                                      * * * * * * *
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              26.11.09 Control of Fuel Burning Equipment and Stationary Internal Combustion Engines, and Certain Fuel-Burning Installations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
26.11.09.01.....................  Definitions.......         9/20/10  2/22/11, [Insert page number where    Revision removes definition of ``fuel-
                                                                       the document begins].                 burning equipment''.
 
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[FR Doc. 2011-3722 Filed 2-18-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P