
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 78 (Thursday, April 23, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 22646-22648]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09409]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2014-0924; FRL-9924-77-Region 9]


Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Feather 
River Air Quality Management District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct 
final action to approve revisions to the Feather River Air Quality 
Management District (FRAQMD) portion of the California State 
Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern volatile organic 
compound (VOC), oxides of nitrogen (NOX) and particulate 
matter (PM) emissions from rice straw burning, surface preparation and 
cleanup for solvents, wood product coating operations, boilers, steam 
generators, process heaters, and stationary internal combustion 
engines. We are approving local rules that regulate these emission 
sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act).

DATES: This rule is effective on June 22, 2015 without further notice, 
unless EPA receives adverse comments by May 26, 2015. If we receive 
such comments, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal 
Register to notify the public that this direct final rule will not take 
effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by docket number EPA-R09-OAR-
2014-0924, by one of the following methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-
line instructions.
    2. Email: steckel.andrew@epa.gov.
    3. Mail or deliver: Andrew Steckel (Air-4), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 
94105-3901.
    Instructions: All comments will be included in the public docket 
without change and may be made available online at www.regulations.gov, 
including any personal information provided, unless the comment 
includes Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Information that you 
consider CBI or otherwise protected should be clearly identified as 
such and should not be submitted through www.regulations.gov or email. 
www.regulations.gov is an ``anonymous access'' system, and EPA will not 
know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the 
body of your comment. If you send email directly to EPA, your email 
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the 
public comment. 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: Generally, documents in the docket for this action are 
available electronically at www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at EPA 
Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California 94105-3901. 
While all documents in the docket are listed at www.regulations.gov, 
some information may be publicly available only at the hard copy 
location (e.g., copyrighted material, large maps), and some may not be 
publicly available in either location (e.g., CBI). To inspect the hard 
copy materials, please schedule an appointment during normal business 
hours with the contact listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin Gong, EPA Region IX, (415) 972-
3073, Gong.Kevin@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,'' 
and ``our'' refer to EPA.

Table of Contents

I. The State's Submittal
    A. What rules did the State submit?
    B. Are there other versions of these rules?
    C. What is the purpose of the submitted rules or rule revisions?
II. EPA's Evaluation and Action
    A. How is EPA evaluating the rules?
    B. Do the rules meet the evaluation criteria?
    C. EPA Recommendations to Further Improve the Rules
    D. Public Comment and Final Action
III. Incorporation by Reference
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. The State's Submittal

A. What rules did the State submit?

    Table 1 lists the rules addressed by this action with the dates 
that they were adopted by the local air agency and submitted by the 
California Air Resources Board.

                                            Table 1--Submitted Rules
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Adopted or
          Local agency             Rule No.               Rule title                  amended        Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FRAQMD.........................         10.9  Rice Straw Emission Reduction             4/6/2009       11/6/2014
                                               Credits and Banking.
FRAQMD.........................         3.14  Surface Preparation and Clean-Up..        8/1/2011       2/10/2014
FRAQMD.........................         3.20  Wood Products Coating Operations..        8/1/2011       2/10/2014
FRAQMD.........................         3.21  Industrial, Institutional, and            6/5/2006       2/10/2014
                                               Commercial Boilers, Steam
                                               Generators, and Process Heaters.
FRAQMD.........................         3.22  Stationary Internal Combustion           10/6/2014       11/6/2014
                                               Engines.
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[[Page 22647]]

    On May 5, 2014, EPA determined that the submittal for FRAQMD 
Rules 3.14, 3.20 and 3.21 met the completeness criteria in 40 CFR 
part 51, appendix V, which must be met before formal EPA review. On 
December 18, 2014, EPA determined that the submittal for FRAQMD 
Rules 10.9 and 3.22 met the completeness criteria.

B. Are there other versions of these rules?

    There are no previous versions of Rules 10.9, 3.20 and 3.21 in 
the SIP. We approved an earlier version of Rule 3.14 that had been 
submitted by the Sutter County Air Pollution Control District 
(SCAPCD) on May 3, 1982 in 47 FR 118856. SCAPCD is a predecessor 
agency to FRAQMD and so that version of the rule is enforceable by 
FRAQMD. We included an earlier version of Rule 3.22 into the SIP on 
March 1, 2012 in 77 FR 12493 in a limited approval and limited 
disapproval action.

C. What is the purpose of the submitted rules or rule revisions?

    VOCs help produce ground-level ozone and smog, which harm human 
health and the environment. Section 110(a) of the CAA requires 
States to submit regulations that control VOC emissions. Rule 10.9 
establishes standards, processes and procedures for calculating 
creditable VOC emissions reductions from the curtailment of rice 
straw burning. Rules 3.14 and 3.20 establish limits and control 
procedures for reducing VOC emissions resulting from solvent use and 
wood product coating operations. Rule 3.22 limits VOC emissions from 
internal combustion engines.
    NOX helps produce ground-level ozone, smog and 
particulate matter, which harm human health and the environment. 
Section 110(a) of the CAA requires States to submit regulations that 
control NOX emissions. Rule 10.9 establishes standards, 
processes and procedures for calculating creditable NOX 
emissions reductions from the curtailment of rice straw burning. 
Rules 3.21 and 3.22 limit NOX emissions from combustion 
sources including internal combustion engines, boilers, steam 
generators, and process heaters.
    PM contributes to effects that are harmful to human health and 
the environment, including premature mortality, aggravation of 
respiratory and cardiovascular disease, decreased lung function, 
visibility impairment, and damage to vegetation and ecosystems. 
Section 110(a) of the CAA requires States to submit regulations that 
control PM emissions. Rule 10.9 establishes standards, processes and 
procedures for calculating creditable PM emissions reductions from 
the curtailment of rice straw burning. Rules 3.21 and 3.22 directly 
limit NOX emissions which are a precursor to 
PM2.5.
    EPA's technical support documents (TSDs) have more information 
about these rules.

II. EPA's Evaluation and Action

A. How is EPA evaluating the rules?

    SIP rules must be enforceable (see CAA section 110(a)(2)), must 
not interfere with applicable requirements concerning attainment and 
reasonable further progress or other CAA requirements (see CAA 
section 110(l)), and must not modify certain SIP control 
requirements in nonattainment areas without ensuring equivalent or 
greater emissions reductions (see CAA section 193). Additionally, 
Rule 10.9 includes provisions that generate emission reduction 
credits for use as offsets in the New Source Review (NSR) program, 
and must meet the NSR requirement for valid offsets (see CAA section 
173(c)). Such rules are also evaluated against EPA's non-binding 
guidance on economic incentive programs.
    Guidance and policy documents that we use to evaluate 
enforceability, revision/relaxation and rule stringency requirements 
for the applicable criteria pollutants include the following:
    1. ``State Implementation Plans; General Preamble for the 
Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990,'' 
(57 FR 13498, April 16, 1992 and 57 FR 18070, April 28, 1992).
    2. ``Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, 
and Deviations'' (``the Bluebook,'' U.S. EPA, May 25, 1988; revised 
January 11, 1990).
    3. ``Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule 
Deficiencies'' (``the Little Bluebook'', EPA Region 9, August 21, 
2001).
    4. ``State Implementation Plans; Nitrogen Oxides Supplement to 
the General Preamble; Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 
Implementation of Title I; Proposed Rule'' (``the NOX 
Supplement,'' 57 FR 55620, November 25, 1992).
    5. ``Improving Air Quality with Economic Incentive Programs'' 
(EPA-452/R-01-001, January 2001) http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t1/memoranda/eipfin.pdf.
    6. Rice Straw Emission Reduction Credit Model Rule Support 
Document (White Paper), Sacramento Federal Non-Attainment Area, 
October 16, 2008.
    7. ``Control Technique Guidelines for the Control of VOC 
Emission from Wood Furniture Manufacturing Operations'' (EPA-453/R-
96-007, April 1996).
    8. ``Control Technique Guidelines for Flat Wood Paneling 
Coatings'' (EPA-453/R-06-004, September 2006).
    9. ``Control of Volatile Organic Emissions from Solvent Metal 
Cleaning'' (EPA-450/2-77-022, November 1977).
    10. ``Control Techniques Guidelines for Industrial Cleaning 
Solvents'' (EPA-453/R-06-001 September 2006).
    11. ``Control Technique Guidelines for Flexible Package 
Printing'' (EPA-453/R-06-003, September 2006)
    12. ``Control of Volatile Organic Compound Emissions from 
Coating Operations at Aerospace Manufacturing and Rework 
Operations'' (EPA-453/R-97-004, December 1997)

    Generally, SIP rules must require Reasonably Available Control 
Technology (RACT) for each category of sources covered by a Control 
Techniques Guidelines (CTG) document as well as each VOC and 
NOX major source in ozone nonattainment areas classified as 
moderate or above (see sections 182(b)(2) and 182(f)). 40 CFR 81.305 
describes FRAQMD as regulating a portion of the Sacramento Metro Area 
nonattainment area classified as Severe-15 for the 1997 and 2008 8-hour 
ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), and classified as 
Severe-15 for the 1-hour ozone standard. The rest of FRAQMD is 
classified as a Section 185A Area for the 1-hour ozone standard. These 
rules must implement RACT, as the District regulates an ozone 
nonattainment area classified as Severe.

B. Do the rules meet the evaluation criteria?

    We believe these rules are consistent with the relevant policy and 
guidance regarding enforceability, RACT or RACM, and SIP relaxations. 
The TSDs have more information on our evaluation.

C. EPA Recommendations To Further Improve the Rules

    The TSDs describe additional rule revisions that we recommend for 
the next time the local agency modifies the rules but are not currently 
the basis for rule disapproval.

D. Public Comment and Final Action

    As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, EPA is fully 
approving the submitted rules because we believe they fulfill all 
relevant requirements. We do not think anyone will object to this 
approval, so we are finalizing it without proposing it in advance. 
However, in the Proposed Rules section of this Federal Register, we are 
simultaneously proposing approval of the same submitted rules. If we 
receive adverse comments by May 26, 2015, we will publish a timely 
withdrawal in the Federal Register to notify the public that the direct 
final approval will not take effect and we will address the comments in 
a subsequent final action based on the proposal. If we do not receive 
timely adverse comments, the direct final approval will be effective 
without further notice on June 22, 2015. This will incorporate these 
rules into the federally enforceable SIP.
    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.

III. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, the EPA is finalizing the

[[Page 22648]]

incorporation by reference of the FRAQMD rules described in the 
amendments to 40 CFR part 52 set forth below. The EPA has made, and 
will continue to make, these documents available electronically through 
www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at the appropriate EPA office (see 
the ADDRESSES section of this preamble for more information).

IV. 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 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 disproportionate human health or environmental effects with 
practical, appropriate, and legally permissible methods under Executive 
Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
    The SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian reservation land or 
in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has demonstrated that a 
tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian country, the rule does 
not have tribal implications and will not impose substantial direct 
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as specified by 
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
    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).
    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 22, 2015. 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 this 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, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: February 27, 2015.
Jared Blumenfeld,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
    Part 52, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is 
amended as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

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

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

Subpart F--California

0
2. Section 52.220, is amended by adding paragraphs (c)(442)(i)(E) and 
(c)(457) to read as follows:


Sec.  52.220  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (442) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (E) Feather River Air Quality Management District.
    (1) Rule 3.14, ``Surface Preparation and Clean-Up,'' amended on 
August 1, 2011.
    (2) Rule 3.20, ``Wood Products Coating Operations,'' amended on 
August 1, 2011.
    (3) Rule 3.21, ``Industrial, Institutional, and Commercial Boilers, 
Steam Generators, and Process Heaters,'' adopted on June 5, 2006.
* * * * *
    (457) New and amended regulations for the following APCDs were 
submitted on November 6, 2014 by the Governor's designee.
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    (A) Feather River Air Quality Management District.
    (1) Rule 10.9, ``Rice Straw Emission Reduction Credits and 
Banking,'' amended on October 6, 2014.
    (2) Rule 3.22, ``Stationary Internal Combustion Engines,'' amended 
on October 6, 2014.

[FR Doc. 2015-09409 Filed 4-22-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


