Source: http://www.pabulletin.com/secure/data/vol47/47-8/327.html
Timestamp: 2017-03-29 05:13:48
Document Index: 82801653

Matched Legal Cases: ['§\u2002121', '§\u20024005', '§\u20027401', '§\u20024004', '§\u20027410', '§\u2002126', '§\u2002126', '§\u2002126', '§\u2002745', 'art 80', '§\u2002126', '§\u2002126', '§\u2002126', '§\u2002126', '§\u2002126', '§\u2002126', '§\u2002126', 'art 80', 'art 80']

PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 17-327
[ 25 PA CODE CHS. 121 AND 126 ]
[47 Pa.B. 1157][Saturday, February 25, 2017]
The Environmental Quality Board (Board) proposes to amend Chapters 121 and 126 (relating to general provisions; and motor vehicle and fuels programs) to read as set forth in Annex A. This proposed rulemaking will rescind Chapter 126, Subchapter C (relating to gasoline volatility requirements). This proposed rulemaking will also delete terms and definitions from § 121.1 (relating to definitions) that only support Chapter 126, Subchapter C.
This proposed rulemaking is given under Board order at its meeting of October 18, 2016.
For further information, contact Kirit Dalal, Chief, Division of Air Resource Management, Bureau of Air Quality, Rachel Carson State Office Building, P.O Box 8468, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8468, (717) 772-3436; or Kristen Furlan, Assistant Director, Bureau of Regulatory Counsel, Rachel Carson State Office Building, P.O. Box 8464, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8464, (717) 787-7060. Information regarding submitting comments on this proposed rulemaking appears in Section J of this preamble. Persons with a disability may use the Pennsylvania AT&T Relay Service, (800) 654-5984 (TDD users) or (800) 654-5988 (voice users). This proposed rulemaking is available on the Department of Environmental Protection's (Department) web site at www.dep.pa.gov (select ''Public Participation,'' then ''Environmental Quality Board (EQB)'').
This proposed rulemaking is authorized under section 5(a)(1) of the Air Pollution Control Act (APCA) (35 P.S. § 4005(a)(1)), which grants the Board the authority to adopt rules and regulations for the prevention, control, reduction and abatement of air pollution in this Commonwealth; section 5(a)(8) of the APCA, which grants the Board the authority to adopt rules and regulations designed to implement the provisions of the Clean Air Act (CAA) (42 U.S.C.A. §§ 7401—7671q); and section 4(18.3) of the APCA (35 P.S. § 4004(18.3)), which requires the Department to:
This proposed rulemaking will rescind Chapter 126, Subchapter C to delete requirements for gasoline with a Reid vapor pressure (RVP) of 7.8 pounds per square inch (psi) or less (low RVP gasoline) to be sold or transferred into or within the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area between May 1 and September 15 of each year. The Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland Counties. Gasoline vapors include volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. VOCs are a precursor to the formation of ground-level ozone air pollution and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), both hazards to public health and welfare. Gasoline formulated with an RVP of 7.8 psi has lower VOC emissions than gasoline formulated at higher RVP levels. The requirements in Chapter 126, Subchapter C were approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at 63 FR 31116 (June 8, 1998) as a revision to the Commonwealth's State Implementation Plan (SIP) as a control measure to attain and maintain the 1-hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area to protect the public health and welfare.
The act of May 14, 2014 (P.L. 674, No. 50) (Act 50) added section 4(18.3) of the APCA:
The paragraph was effective May 14, 2014. According to the Senate Co-Sponsorship Memorandum for Senate Bill 1037, dated June 5, 2013, Act 50 was proposed to address the price differential between low RVP gasoline and conventional gasoline in the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area, cited by the Legislative sponsors as being as much as a 10 to 15 cents per gallon (cpg) price difference between the two fuels.
The Commonwealth is required to ensure that the rescission of Chapter 126, Subchapter C complies with section 110(l) of the CAA (42 U.S.C.A. § 7410(l)) (Non-Interference Clause). The Non-Interference Clause requires that the EPA Administrator not approve a SIP revision if the revision would interfere with any applicable requirement concerning attainment of a NAAQS or reasonable further progress in attaining a NAAQS, or any other applicable requirement of the CAA. The Department intends to demonstrate noninterference to the EPA through using ''commensurate emission reductions,'' as mandated by Act 50 for the repeal of the low RVP regulation.
This proposed rulemaking addresses the Legislative mandate to promulgate regulations to rescind Chapter 126, Subchapter C. After rescission of Chapter 126, Subchapter C, the persons, groups and entities, including small businesses, currently subject to the regulations will become subject to the Federal rules. The applicable Federal regulation, 40 CFR 80.27(a)(2) (relating to controls and prohibitions on gasoline volatility), states that gasoline RVP may not exceed 9.0 psi for Pennsylvania year-round unless a SIP revision with a lower RVP requirement is approved by the EPA for a specific area. Section 80.27(d)(1) of 40 CFR provides a 1.0 psi RVP allowance for gasoline containing ethanol at 9 to 10 volume percent applicable to Pennsylvania. After the rescission of the 7.8 RVP requirement, this will result in a maximum allowable RVP of 10.0 psi allowed for gasoline blended with ethanol in all areas of this Commonwealth, except the Philadelphia area where a different type of gasoline is mandated.
If published as a final-form rulemaking, this proposed rulemaking will be submitted to the EPA for approval as a revision to the Commonwealth's SIP. The Department is proceeding with the demonstration of continued compliance with the applicable NAAQS through the use of commensurate emission reductions separately from this proposed action of rescinding Chapter 126, Subchapter C.
This proposed rulemaking will apply to gasoline refiners, importers, distributors, resellers, terminal owners and operators, carriers, retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers who sell, exchange or supply gasoline in the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area between May 1 and September 15 of each year. These entities include owners and operators of facilities and infrastructure in the gasoline supply chain, such as bulk gasoline stations and terminals, gasoline merchant wholesalers, gasoline stations with and without convenience stores, tanker trucks and petroleum pipelines.
A review of multiple Department databases identified 33 to 1,252 businesses that may be subject to Chapter 126, Subchapter C. Additionally, the Commonwealth's Small Business Development Center's (SBDC) Environmental Management Assistance Program (EMAP) performed a query of the Hoover's database for a list of potentially subject businesses based on North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes provided by the Department and provided the Department with a list of 768 businesses that are potentially subject to Chapter 126, Subchapter C. The Department also identified 1,095 potentially affected entities through American FactFinder, a web-based tool of the United States Census Bureau. The Department estimates that as many as 84% of the entities identified from all sources may be small businesses, based on the fact that 84% of the 768 entities identified by the SBDC EMAP qualified as small businesses.
Based on the available data, if this proposed rulemaking is published as a final-form rulemaking, refineries may save 0.5 cpg, retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers may save between 1.4 cpg and 3.2 cpg, and consumers may save between 1.6 cpg and 9.2 cpg. Actual cost savings for retailers, wholesale purchaser-consumers and consumers are directly dependent on how much gasoline is purchased from an entity subject to Chapter 126, Subchapter C during the applicable time period. The Department estimates that total gasoline consumption in the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area for the summer months of 2013 (June—September) was approximately 16,667,316 gallons. Estimated cost savings resulting from this proposed rulemaking range from $83,337 (0.5 cpg for refineries) to $1,533,393 (9.2 cpg for consumers) annually during the summer months.
The Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee (AQTAC) and the Small Business Compliance Advisory Committee (SBCAC) were briefed on this proposed rulemaking on December 10, 2015, and February 17, 2016, respectively. AQTAC voted 15-5-0 and SBCAC voted unanimously to concur with the Department's recommendation to move this proposed rulemaking forward to the Board for consideration. The five AQTAC members who were opposed expressed concern about the loss of emission reduction benefits as a result of this proposed rulemaking, how the emission reduction benefits were calculated and the process used by the Department to demonstrate continued compliance with the Federal NAAQS through the use of commensurate emission reductions. This proposed rulemaking was presented to the Citizens Advisory Council's (CAC) Policy and Regulatory Oversight Committee on March 2, 2016. On the recommendation of the Policy and Regulatory Oversight Committee, on March 15, 2016, the CAC concurred with the Department's recommendation to forward this proposed rulemaking to the Board. The AQTAC, SBCAC and CAC meetings are advertised and open to the public.
This section contains definitions relating to the air quality regulations. The following terms are proposed to be deleted: ''compliant fuel,'' ''importer,'' ''low RVP gasoline'' and ''Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area.''
§ 126.301. Compliant fuel requirement
This section describes when and where low RVP gasoline is required and details the restrictions on selling, exchanging, supplying, blending, mixing, storing and transferring compliant and noncompliant fuel during the applicable period. This section is proposed to be rescinded.
§ 126.302. Recordkeeping and reporting
This section describes the recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the subchapter, including when records are required, who shall maintain the records and what must be included in the records. This section is proposed to be rescinded.
§ 126.303. Compliance and test methods
This section identifies the approved methodology for sampling and testing gasoline to determine RVP. This section is proposed to be rescinded.
The benefits of this proposed rulemaking are expected to outweigh the costs and short-term environmental effects of this proposed rulemaking.
Rescinding the requirements for low RVP gasoline in the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area will likely result in slightly increased emissions of VOCs into the atmosphere for the next few years. The VOC emission reduction benefits from requiring low RVP gasoline in the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area steadily decline in future years, decreasing from VOC emission reductions of 1.636 tons per day in 2017 to VOC emission reductions of 1.329 tons per day by 2030. The oxides of nitrogen emission reduction cobenefits of low RVP gasoline decline from 0.354 ton per day in 2017 to 0.007 ton per day in 2030. The Commonwealth will need to offset these small increases in VOC emissions with VOC emission reductions achieved from other control measures.
One potential benefit of this proposed rulemaking would be the elimination of the costs regarding blending gasoline with an RVP of 7.8 psi or less to be exchanged, supplied or sold in the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area between May 1 and September 15 of each year. These cost savings may be passed down through the gasoline supply chain, potentially lowering costs for consumers. Another potential benefit may be a reduction in the recordkeeping and reporting obligations experienced by the regulated community to comply with Chapter 126, Subchapter C.
Owners and operators of facilities and infrastructure in the gasoline supply chain, including refineries, bulk gasoline stations and terminals, gasoline merchant wholesalers, gasoline stations with and without convenience stores, tanker trucks and petroleum pipelines, may benefit from this proposed rulemaking both financially and through reduced recordkeeping and reporting obligations. As previously stated, the Department identified 33 to 1,252 businesses in the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area that may be subject to Chapter 126, Subchapter C. Some industry sectors will be impacted more than others. The Department's analysis of potentially affected entities used United States Census Bureau data based on the NAICS codes for the subject industry sectors; most of the NAICS codes analyzed also include other industry sectors not related to the production, transportation or sale of gasoline, which may result in the Department's estimated number of affected facilities being higher than the actual number of affected facilities.
The population of the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area was approximately 2,353,045 in 2015. It is likely that most of the population uses gasoline for operating gasoline-powered vehicles and off-road equipment. Gasoline consumers in the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area, consumers in the adjacent counties who purchase gasoline in the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area and consumers traveling through the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area may benefit economically if cost savings are passed through to the retail establishments and the ultimate consumers.
This proposed rulemaking is expected to result in cost savings or no financial impact for most affected entities. Businesses involved in the sale of gasoline, including gas stations, bulk terminals and wholesalers, will likely see an economic benefit from the elimination of the requirement to obtain and sell gasoline with an RVP of 7.8 psi or less if the cost savings of blending the special fuel are passed down the supply chain from the refinery and terminal to the gas station. The ultimate consumer may or may not see a cost savings at the pump. On the other hand, businesses involved in gasoline transport and storage will be unlikely to see much impact, if any, as the type of gasoline being transported does not directly affect the business operation.
Refineries may save up to 0.5 cpg, the cost to refine the gasoline fuel from 8.7 psi RVP to 7.8 psi RVP. The baseline gasoline used in a study of refinery costs conducted in 2008 by Pechan and Associates for the Department was 8.7 psi RVP gasoline. The use of a baseline of 8.7 psi RVP gasoline in the Pechan study was based on the use of 8.7 psi RVP gasoline by the Department as a modeling input to model mobile source emissions for the purposes of Pennsylvania air quality inventory development and SIP revisions at the time of the study. The baseline fuel used in the analysis performed by a consultant for this proposed rulemaking to determine the emission reduction benefits of Chapter 126, Subchapter C was 10.0 psi RVP gasoline, based on consultation with the EPA. The costs to blend in ethanol for an average 10% ethanol content are not affected by this proposed rulemaking. The Department obtained data from the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS), which provides average weekly gasoline prices at the terminal (rack) for the Pittsburgh metro area and for this Commonwealth as a whole. Weekly data was obtained from OPIS for most weeks between mid-June 2006 and October 2011. Based on the available data, retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers may save between 1.4 cpg and 3.2 cpg as a result of this proposed rulemaking. The Department also obtained OPIS data for average retail gasoline prices for the Pittsburgh metro area and for this Commonwealth as a whole. The data includes weekly average retail gasoline prices for April 2003 through December 2010, and monthly average retail gasoline prices for January 2011 through December 2015. Based on the 5 most recent years of available data, consumers may save between 1.6 cpg and 9.2 cpg as a result of this proposed rulemaking. Actual cost savings for retailers, wholesale purchaser-consumers and consumers are directly dependent on how much gasoline is purchased from an entity subject to Chapter 126, Subchapter C during the applicable time period.
Recordkeeping requirements for all affected entities may be reduced or simplified since the businesses will not be required to document the transfer of gasoline with an RVP of 7.8 psi. This may or may not lead to cost savings as the records kept are likely to continue to be kept for business purposes by terminals and retailers.
The Board anticipates that implementation of this proposed rulemaking will have minimal financial impact on the owners and operators of affected facilities.
The Department does not anticipate that compliance assistance will be required, as this proposed rulemaking eliminates requirements, including recordkeeping and reporting requirements. The Department will respond to questions that affected facilities may have about transitioning from 7.8 psi RVP gasoline to 9.0 or 10.0 psi RVP gasoline through the Department's ongoing compliance assistance program.
In addition, the Department will rescind policy document # 273-4000-008, ''Policy for Sampling and Determination of Compliance with Low RVP Gasoline Requirements in the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Ozone Non-attainment Area,'' as it will no longer be needed.
The owner or operator of a facility subject to Chapter 126, Subchapter C is required to maintain records sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the applicable requirements. This proposed rulemaking eliminates the recordkeeping and reporting requirements for owners and operators of affected facilities.
Although a slight increase in VOC and oxides of nitrogen emissions is expected with the repeal of the low RVP gasoline requirements, the emission increases are expected to be offset by emission reductions from other control measures. The ozone air quality in the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area has consistently improved since the first Ozone NAAQS was implemented and is expected to continue to do so as a result of current permanent and enforceable control measures and regulations. To demonstrate compliance with Act 50 and with the Non-Interference Clause, the Commonwealth plans to identify equivalent emission reductions to offset the emission reductions that would be lost in future years after Chapter 126, Subchapter C is rescinded and removed from the SIP.
This provision is not applicable because Chapter 126, Subchapter C will no longer exist.
Under section 5(a) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P.S. § 745.5(a)), on February 10, 2017, the Department submitted a copy of this proposed rulemaking and a copy of a Regulatory Analysis Form to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) and to the Chairpersons of the House and Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committees. A copy of this material is available to the public upon request.
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments, suggestions, support or objections regarding this proposed rulemaking to the Board. Comments, suggestions, support or objections must be received by the Board by May 1, 2017. In addition to the submission of comments, interested persons may also submit a summary of their comments to the Board. The summary may not exceed one page in length and must also be received by the Board by May 1, 2017. The one-page summary will be distributed to the Board and available publicly prior to the meeting when the final rulemaking will be considered.
Comments may be submitted to the Board by accessing the eComment system at http://www.ahs.dep.pa.gov/eComment.
The Board will hold three public hearings for the purpose of accepting comments on this proposed rulemaking. The hearings will be held at 1:00 p.m. on the following dates:
March 28, 2017 Department of Environmental Protection Southwest Regional Office Waterfront Conference Rooms A and B 400 Waterfront Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15222
March 29, 2017 Department of Environmental Protection Southeast Regional Office Delaware and Schuylkill Conference Rooms 2 East Main Street Norristown, PA 19401 March 30, 2017 Department of Environmental Protection Rachel Carson State Office Building Conference Room 105 400 Market Street Harrisburg, PA 17105
Fiscal Note: 7-529. No fiscal impact; (8) recommends adoption.
Compliant coating—A coating that meets the applicable emission limits specified in Chapter 129 (relating to standards for sources).
[Compliant fuel—Low RVP gasoline.]
Computer diskette jacket manufacturing adhesive—An adhesive intended by the manufacturer to glue the fold-over flaps to the body of a vinyl computer diskette jacket.
Immersion cold cleaning machine—An open top cold cleaning machine in which the parts are immersed in the solvent when being cleaned.
[Importer—A person who imports gasoline or gasoline blending stocks or components from a foreign country into the United States.]
Incineration—The combustion of wastes, including municipal wastes, in an enclosed device with the products of combustion directed to a flue as defined in this section.
Lithographic printing—A printing process in which the image and nonimage areas are in the same plane on the surface of a lithographic plate. The image and nonimage areas are chemically differentiated; the image area is oil receptive and the nonimage area is water receptive. The substrate can be fed to the press as either an individual sheet or a rolled web.
[Low RVP gasoline—Gasoline that has an RVP of 7.8 pounds per square inch or less as determined in accordance with the appropriate sampling and testing methodologies in 40 CFR Part 80, Appendix E (relating to test for determining Reid vapor pressure (RVP) of gasoline and gasoline-oxygenate blends).]
Lower Beaver Valley air basin—All of Beaver County except for the following political subdivisions: Darlington Borough, Darlington Township, Economy Borough, Frankfort Springs Borough, Franklin Township, Hanover Township, Independence Township, Marion Township, New Sewickley Township and South Beaver Township.
[Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area—The seven-county area comprised of the following Pennsylvania counties: Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland.]
Plastic cement welding adhesive—
CHAPTER 126. MOTOR VEHICLE AND FUELS PROGRAMS
Subchapter C. [GASOLINE VOLATILITY REQUIREMENTS] (Reserved)
§ 126.301. [Compliant fuel requirement] (Reserved).
[(a) This subchapter applies to gasoline which is sold or transferred into or within the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area during the period May 1 through September 15, 1998, and continuing every year thereafter.
(b) A refiner, importer, distributor, reseller, terminal owner and operator or carrier, may not:
(1) Sell, exchange or supply gasoline that is not a compliant fuel during the period described in subsection (a).
(2) Blend, mix, store or transport or allow blending, mixing, storing or transporting of compliant fuel with noncompliant fuel during the period described in subsection (a).
(c) A retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer may not sell, exchange or supply gasoline that is not a compliant fuel during the period June 1 through September 15, 1998, and continuing every year thereafter.]
§ 126.302. [Recordkeeping and reporting] (Reserved).
[(a) Beginning with the terminal owner or operator who sells or transfers gasoline intended for use in the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area during the period described in § 126.301(a) (relating to compliant fuel requirements), each time the physical custody of or title to a shipment of gasoline changes hands, other than when gasoline is sold or transferred for use in motor vehicles at a retail outlet or wholesale purchaser-consumer's facility, the transferor shall provide to the transferee a copy of the record described in this subsection. This record shall legibly and conspicuously contain, at a minimum, the following information:
(1) The date of the sale or transfer.
(2) The name and address of the transferor.
(3) The name and address of the transferee.
(4) The location of the gasoline at the time of transfer.
(5) The volume of gasoline which is being sold or transferred.
(6) A statement or grade code certifying that the gasoline has an RVP of 7.8 pounds per square inch or less per gallon.
(b) A person who transports, stores or sells compliant fuel that is intended for use in the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area during the period described in § 126.301(a), shall segregate the compliant fuel from noncompliant fuel and the documentation described in subsection (a) shall accompany the compliant fuel at all times.
(c) Each person in the gasoline distribution network shall maintain records containing the compliance information listed in subsection (a). These records shall be retained for at least 2 years from the date of the sale or transfer of compliant fuel.
(d) The records containing the compliance information in subsection (a) for the period described in subsection (c) shall be kept onsite at each point in the distribution network except for retail outlets. Retail outlets shall retain these records for the period described in subsection (c) and only those records for the current period described under § 126.301(c) shall be kept onsite. At the end of each period described under § 126.301(c), these records may be transferred to an alternate location for the remainder of the period described under subsection (c) and be made available to the Department upon request.]
§ 126.303. [Compliance and test methods] (Reserved).
[Compliance with the 7.8 pounds per square inch RVP standard shall be determined by use of the sampling and testing methods specified in this section. Sampling or testing of gasoline required by this chapter shall be accomplished as follows:
(1) Sampling of gasoline for the purpose of determining compliance with this subchapter shall be conducted in accordance with 40 CFR Part 80, Appendix D (relating to sampling procedures for fuel volatility).
(2) Testing of gasoline for purposes of determining compliance with this rule shall be conducted in accordance with 40 CFR Part 80, Appendix E (relating to test for determining Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) of gasoline and gasoline-oxygenate blend).]
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 17-327. Filed for public inspection February 24, 2017, 9:00 a.m.]