Document ID: EPA-R03-OAR-2006-1011-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Rule
Title: Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Revisions to Stage II Requirements in Allegheny County
Posted Date: 2008-01-17T05:00Z

[Federal Register: January 17, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 12)]
[Rules and Regulations]               
[Page 3190-3192]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17ja08-4]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2006-1011; FRL-8517-2]

 
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Pennsylvania; Revisions to Stage II Requirements in Allegheny County

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving revisions to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 
State Implementation Plan which were submitted on November 21, 2006 by 
the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP). These 
revisions modify and clarify the existing regulatory requirements for 
the control of volatile organic compounds from gasoline dispensing 
facilities in Allegheny County. The revisions modify the compliance 
dates and make other minor technical amendments to the efficiency and 
compliance testing portions of the Stage II regulations in Allegheny 
County. EPA is approving these revisions to the Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania's State Implementation Plan in accordance with the 
requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: This rule is effective on March 17, 2008 without further notice, 
unless EPA receives adverse written comment by February 19, 2008. 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-2006-1011 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-2006-1011, Cristina Fernandez, Chief, Air 
Quality Planning 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-
2006-1011. 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 Web site 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 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 Pennsylvania Department of Environmental 
Protection, Bureau of Air Quality Control, P.O. Box 8468, 400 Market 
Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105; and the Allegheny County Health 
Department, Bureau of Environmental Quality, Division of Air Quality, 
301 39th Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine L. Magliocchetti, (215) 814-
2174, or by e-mail at magliocchetti.catherine@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information 
is arranged as follows:

I. What Action Is EPA Taking Today?
II. Why Is EPA Taking This Action?
III. How Did EPA Review the Commonwealth's Submittal?
IV. What Final Action is EPA Taking Today?
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What Action Is EPA Taking Today?

    EPA is approving revisions to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 
State Implementation Plan (SIP), which were submitted on November 21, 
2006 by PADEP. These changes to Allegheny County's Article XXI Air 
Pollution Control Rules and Regulations amend the existing Stage II 
regulatory requirements to conform with 25 PA Code, Chapter 129, 
Standards for Sources, section 129.82, Control of volatile organic 
compounds (VOCs) from gasoline dispensing facilities. Specifically, the 
revisions incorporate revised compliance dates for Allegheny County, 
and make other minor technical amendments. The revised Stage II 
compliance dates are all now in the past, so gasoline dispensing 
facilities with throughputs greater than 10,000 gallons per month are 
subject to these regulations. In the case of independent small business 
marketers, as defined in Section 324 of the CAA, the regulation does 
not apply if the throughput is less than 50,000 gallons per month. 
Allegheny County has also revised its regulations to establish 
functional testing and certification requirements, as well as 
recordkeeping requirements consistent with EPA's regulations. The 
regulation also establishes a 95% efficiency for Stage II vapor 
recovery systems in Allegheny County, consistent with EPA requirements.

II. Why Is EPA Taking This Action?

    EPA is approving these SIP revisions to the Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania SIP. The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) revised 
its Stage II VOC control requirements in order to follow revisions to 
Stage II requirements that were made at the State level. EPA is 
approving these revisions as necessary for attainment and maintenance 
of the ozone standard in Southwest Pennsylvania.

[[Page 3191]]

III. How Did EPA Review the Commonwealth's Submittal?

    The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's SIP revisions were submitted by 
the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) on 
November 21, 2006. EPA evaluated the Commonwealth's revised Stage II 
requirements for Allegheny County to verify that the revisions were 
consistent with the previously approved Stage II regulations for the 
Commonwealth and met the requirements found in EPA's Stage II 
enforcement and technical documentation. The revisions were also 
reviewed for compliance with the CAA.

IV. What Final Action Is EPA Taking Today?

    EPA is approving a SIP revision request submitted by PADEP that 
makes compliance schedule changes and minor technical amendments to 
Allegheny County's Article XXI Air Pollution Control Rules and 
Regulations amending the existing Stage II regulatory requirements, 
controlling the emission of VOCs from gasoline dispensing facilities.
    We are publishing this rule without prior proposal because the 
Agency views this as a non-controversial 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 March 17, 2008 without further 
notice unless EPA receives adverse comment by February 19, 2008. 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.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General Requirements

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
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, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001). This action 
merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and imposes 
no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. 
Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this 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 approves 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 (Pub. L. 104-4). This rule also does not 
have tribal implications because it will 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). 
This action also does not have Federalism implications because it does 
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, 
as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999). 
This action merely approves a state rule implementing a Federal 
requirement, and does not alter the relationship or the distribution of 
power and responsibilities established in the CAA. This rule also is 
not subject to Executive Order 13045 ``Protection of Children from 
Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks'' (62 FR 19885, April 23, 
1997), because it approves a state rule implementing a Federal 
standard.
    In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state 
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. 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 CAA. 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. This rule does not impose an 
information collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

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 rule 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. This rule 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 circuit by March 17, 2008. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect 
the finality of this rule 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, approving revisions to Allegheny County's Stage II 
regulations, 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, Ozone, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: January 8, 2008.
Donald S. Welsh,
Regional Administrator, Region III.

0
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 NN--Pennsylvania

0
2. In Sec.  52.2020, the table in paragraph (c)(2) is amended by 
revising the entry for Article XXI, Section 2105.14 to read as follows:

[[Page 3192]]

Sec.  52.2020  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (2) * * *

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                                                            State                                Additional
   Article XX or XXI  citation         Title/subject      effective     EPA approval date     explanation/ Sec.
                                                             date                             52.2063  citation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
                                Part E--Source Emission and Operating Standards

                                                  * * * * * * *
                                             Subpart 1--VOC Sources

                                                  * * * * * * *
             2105.14               Gasoline Dispensing       7/10/05  1/17/08 [Insert page
                                    Facilities--Stage                  number where the
                                    II Control.                        document begins].

                                                  * * * * * * *
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 [FR Doc. E8-583 Filed 1-16-08; 8:45 am]

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