Document ID: EPA-R05-OAR-2010-0946-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Rule
Title: Direct Final Approval of Illinois Exemptions from Definition of VOM
Posted Date: 2011-04-26T04:00Z

[Federal Register: April 26, 2011 (Volume 76, Number 80)]
[Rules and Regulations]               
[Page 23196-23198]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26ap11-11]                         

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R05-OAR-2010-0946; FRL-9294-7]

 
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; IL

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: EPA is approving a revision to the Illinois State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) for ozone. The State is revising its 
definition of volatile organic compound (VOC) to add two chemical 
compounds to the list of compounds that are exempt from being 
considered a VOC. This revision is based on EPA's 2009 determination 
that these two compounds do not significantly contribute to ozone 
formation.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective June 27, 2011, unless 
EPA receives adverse comments by May 26, 2011. If adverse comments are 
received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the direct final rule 
in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not 
take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2010-0946, by one of the following methods:
    1. http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    2. E-mail: aburano.douglas@epa.gov.
    3. Fax: (312) 408-2279.
    4. Mail: Douglas Aburano, Chief, Control Strategies Section, Air 
Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West 
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
    5. Hand Delivery: Douglas Aburano, Chief, Control Strategies 
Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. Such 
deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information. The Regional Office official hours of business are 
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding Federal 
holidays.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-
2010-0946. 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 docket are listed in the http://
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West 
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility is open from 
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal 
holidays. We recommend that you telephone Charles Hatten, Environmental 
Engineer, (312) 886-6031 before visiting the Region 5 office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Hatten, Environmental 
Engineer, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 
Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-6031, hatten.charles@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean

[[Page 23197]]

EPA. This supplementary information section is arranged as follows:

I. What is the background for this action?
    A. When did the State submit the SIP revision to EPA?
    B. Did Illinois hold public hearings on this SIP revision?
II. What is EPA approving?
III. What is EPA's analysis of the SIP revision?
IV. What action is EPA taking today?
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What is the background for this action?

A. When did the State submit the SIP revision to EPA?

    The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) 
submitted a revision of the Illinois SIP provision at 35 Illinois 
Administrative Code (IAC) 211.7150(a) to EPA for approval on October 
25, 2010. The SIP revision at 35 IAC 211.7150(a) updates the definition 
of ``volatile organic material (VOM) or volatile organic compound 
(VOC).''

B. Did Illinois hold public hearings on this SIP revision?

    The Illinois Pollution Control Board held a public hearing on the 
proposed SIP revision on November 19, 2009. The Board received public 
comments only from Illinois EPA; these comments were in support of the 
proposed revision.

II. What is EPA approving?

    EPA is approving an Illinois SIP revision that adds to the list of 
compounds that are exempt from being considered a VOM or VOC. On 
October 25, 2010, Illinois EPA submitted its revision to Title 35 of 
IAC 211.7150(a), the state's VOC exemption list, with the addition of 
two chemical compounds--propylene carbonate and dimethyl carbonate, 
requesting that this revised rule be incorporated into the Illinois SIP 
in place of the current 35 IAC 211.7150(a). Compounds listed under 35 
IAC 211.7150(a) are excluded from the definition of a VOM or VOC. 
Illinois EPA took this action based on EPA's determination that these 
compounds have negligible photochemical reactivity. (See 74 FR 3437, 
January 20, 2009.)

III. What is EPA's analysis of the SIP revision?

    In 2009, EPA evaluated petitions submitted by manufacturers asking 
EPA to exempt propylene carbonate and dimethyl carbonate from the 
definition of VOC and determined that the level of reactivity of these 
two chemical compounds is negligible. EPA concluded that these two 
compounds make a negligible contribution to tropospheric ozone 
formation (74 FR 3437, Jan. 21, 2009). Therefore, on January 21, 2009, 
EPA amended 40 CFR 51.100(s)(1) to exclude propylene carbonate and 
dimethyl carbonate from the definition of VOC for purposes of preparing 
SIPs to attain the national ambient air quality standard for ozone 
under Title I of the Clean Air Act (74 FR 3437). EPA's action became 
effective on February 20, 2009. Illinois EPA's SIP revision is 
consistent with EPA's action amending EPA's definition of VOC at 40 CFR 
51.100(s).

IV. What action is EPA taking today?

    EPA is approving a revision to the Illinois SIP for ozone which is 
consistent with EPA's 2009 action revising the definition of VOC. The 
Illinois SIP revision adds propylene carbonate and dimethyl carbonate 
compounds to the list of compounds considered exempt from being a VOC 
compound at 35 IAC 211.7150(a).
    We are publishing this action without prior proposal because we 
view this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipate no adverse 
comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal 
Register publication, we are publishing a separate document that will 
serve as the proposal to approve the state plan if relevant adverse 
written comments are filed. This rule will be effective June 27, 2011 
without further notice unless we receive relevant adverse written 
comments by May 26, 2011. If we receive such comments, we will withdraw 
this action before the effective date by publishing a subsequent 
document that will withdraw the final action. All public comments 
received will then be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on the 
proposed action. The EPA will not institute a second comment period. 
Any parties interested in commenting on this action should 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. 
If we do not receive any comments, this action will be effective June 
27, 2011.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a 
SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Clean Air 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 Clean Air Act. 
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 Clean Air Act; 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.
    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

[[Page 23198]]

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).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by June 27, 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 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, Ozone, Volatile organic compound.

    Dated: April 4, 2011.
Susan Hedman,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.

    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 O--Illinois

0
2. Section 52.720 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(187) to read as 
follows:

Sec.  52.720  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (187) On October 25, 2010, Illinois submitted revised regulations 
that are consistent with 40 CFR 51.100(s)(1), as amended by 74 FR 3437. 
The compounds propylene carbonate and dimethyl were added to the list 
of negligibly reactive compounds excluded from the definition of VOC in 
35 IAC 211.7150(a).
    (i) Incorporation by reference. Illinois Administrative Code Title 
35: Environmental Protection, Part 211: Definitions and General 
Provisions, Section 211.7150: Volatile Organic Matter (VOM) or Volatile 
Organic Compound (VOC), Subsection 211.7150(a). Effective January 11, 
2010.

[FR Doc. 2011-10027 Filed 4-25-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P