Document ID: EPA-R03-OAR-2007-0644-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Rule
Title: Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; Revisions to Stage II Requirements
Posted Date: 2008-01-17T05:00Z

[Federal Register: January 17, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 12)]
[Rules and Regulations]               
[Page 3187-3190]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17ja08-3]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2007-0644; FRL-8516-9]

 
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Maryland; Revisions to Stage II Requirements

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

[[Page 3188]]

(SIP). The revisions will allow the Maryland Department of the 
Environment to utilize inspections of Stage I and Stage II systems by a 
certified inspector. EPA is approving these revisions to the Maryland 
SIP 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-2007-0644 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-2007-0644, 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-
2007-0644. 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 Maryland Department of the Environment, 1800 
Washington Boulevard, Suite 705, Baltimore, Maryland 21230.

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 Maryland State Implementation 
Plan (SIP), which were submitted by the Maryland Department of the 
Environment (MDE). These changes, which include amendments to 
Regulation .01 and new Regulation .05-1 under COMAR 26.11.24 Stage II 
Vapor Recovery at Gasoline Dispensing Facilities amend Maryland's 
existing Stage II regulatory requirements. Specifically, the amendments 
and additions will allow MDE to utilize inspections of Stage I and 
Stage II systems by a certified inspector under COMAR 26.10.03.10. 
During one calendar year, approximately one-third of those stations 
required to be inspected would be inspected by certified inspectors. 
Based upon the inspections reports, MDE will be able to better target 
state-conducted inspections.

II. Why Is EPA Taking This Action?

    MDE revised its Stage II requirements in order to enhance its 
inspection efficiency. EPA is approving these revisions as necessary 
for attainment and maintenance of the ozone standard in the State of 
Maryland.

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

    Maryland's SIP revisions (07-02) were submitted by MDE on 
February 15, 2007. EPA evaluated MDE's revised Stage II requirements to 
verify that the revisions were consistent with the previously approved 
Stage II regulations for the State 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 MDE that 
allows for use of third party inspectors of Stage I and Stage II 
systems.
    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,

[[Page 3189]]

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 Maryland'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 V--Maryland

0
2. In Sec.  52.1070, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by revising 
the entry for COMAR 26.11.24.01 and adding an entry for COMARS 
26.11.24.05-1 to read as follows:

Sec.  52.1070  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                  EPA-Approved Regulations in the Maryland SIP
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                  Additional
 Code of Maryland administrative                       State  effective                          explanation/
  regulations (COMAR)  citation      Title/subject           date          EPA approval date  citation at 40 CFR
                                                                                                    52.1100
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                  * * * * * * *
26.11.24........................             Stage II vapor recovery at gasoline dispensing facilities
26.11.24.01.....................  Definitions.......  1/29/07...........  1/17/08 [Insert     Addition of
                                                                           page number where   ``Certified
                                                                           the document        Inspector'' and
                                                                           begins].            ``Vapor Recovery
                                                                                               System.''

                                                  * * * * * * *
26.11.24.05-1...................  Inspections by a    1/29/07...........  1/17/08 [Insert
                                   Certified                               page number where
                                   Inspector.                              the document
                                                                           begins].

                                                  * * * * * * *
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[[Page 3190]]

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[FR Doc. E8-579 Filed 1-16-08; 8:45 am]

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