[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 4, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14389-14391]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06878]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2018-0171; FRL-9976-43-Region 9]


Approval of California Plan Revisions, Northern Sonoma County Air 
Pollution Control District; Stationary Source Permits

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve revisions to the Northern Sonoma

[[Page 14390]]

County Air Pollution Control District (NSCAPCD or District) portion of 
the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns 
the District's prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) permitting 
program for new and modified sources of air pollution. We are proposing 
action on these local rules under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 
(CAA or the Act). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to 
follow with a final action.

DATES: Any comments must arrive by May 4, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2018-0171 at http://www.regulations.gov, or via email to T. Khoi 
Nguyen, at [email protected]. For comments submitted at 
Regulations.gov, follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be removed or edited from 
Regulations.gov. For either manner of submission, the EPA may publish 
any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically 
any information you consider to be Confidential Business Information 
(CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 
Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a 
written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment 
and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA 
will generally not consider comments or comment contents located 
outside of the primary submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or other 
file sharing system). For additional submission methods, please contact 
the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 
For the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or 
multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective 
comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: T. Khoi Nguyen, EPA Region IX, (415) 
947-4120, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and 
``our'' refer to the 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?
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action
    A. How is the EPA evaluating the rules?
    B. Do the rules meet the evaluation criteria?
    C. Public Comment and Proposed 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 NSCAPCD and submitted by the California 
Air Resources Board (CARB), the governor's designee for California SIP 
submittals.

                                            Table 1--Submitted Rules
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Local agency                   Rule #             Rule title             Amended        Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NSCAPCD...............................             130  Definitions.............        5/3/2017         6/12/17
NSCAPCD...............................             220  New Source Review.......        5/3/2017         6/12/17
NSCAPCD...............................             230  Action on Applications..        5/3/2017         6/12/17
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On December 12, 2017, the submittal for the NSCAPCD was deemed by 
operation of law to meet the completeness criteria in 40 CFR part 51 
Appendix V that must be met before formal EPA review.

B. Are there other versions of these rules?

    On October 6, 2016, the EPA finalized approval of Rule 230 and 
limited approval and limited disapproval of Rules 130 and 220. 81 FR 
69390. Though Rule 230 was inadvertently fully approved with a 
deficiency, the revised Rule 230 in this SIP submittal addresses the 
deficiency. Our proposed approval of the rules in this action would 
update the SIP to be consistent with the local rules.

C. What is the purpose of the submitted rules?

    Section 110(a) of the CAA requires states to submit regulations 
that include a pre-construction permit program for certain new or 
modified stationary sources of pollutants, including a permit program 
as required by Part C of Title I of the CAA.
    On October 6, 2016, the EPA listed four items that need addressing 
for the three rules with limited approval to become fully approved--
listing lead as a pollutant and indicating a significant emission rate, 
requiring provisions for air quality modeling based on applicable 
models, databases, and other requirements as specified in Part 51 
Appendix W, correcting a typographic error, and including specific 
language regarding source obligations. The revisions to the three 
submitted rules address these four deficiencies.
    Rules 130, 220, and 230 contain the requirements for review and 
permitting of individual stationary sources in NSCAPCD. These rules 
satisfy the statutory and regulatory requirements for the New Source 
Review (NSR) program, including the PSD program. The changes the 
District made to the rules listed above as they pertain to the PSD 
program were largely administrative in nature and provide additional 
clarity to the rules. We present our evaluation under the CAA and the 
EPA's regulations of the revised NSR rules submitted by CARB, as 
identified in Table 1, and provide our reasoning in general terms below 
and a more detailed analysis in our TSD, which is available in the 
docket for the proposed rulemaking.

II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action

A. How is the EPA evaluating the rules?

    The EPA has reviewed the rules submitted by the NSCAPCD governing 
PSD for stationary sources for compliance with the CAA's general 
requirements for SIPs in CAA section 110(a)(2), the EPA's regulations 
for stationary source permitting programs in 40 CFR part 51, sections 
51.160 through 51.164 and 51.166, and the CAA requirements for SIP 
revisions in CAA section 110(l). The EPA is proposing full approval of 
Rules 130 (Definitions), 220 (New Source Review) and 230 (Action on 
Applications).

B. Do the rules meet the evaluation criteria?

    The EPA has reviewed the submitted rules in accordance with the 
rule evaluation criteria described above. With respect to procedures, 
based on our review of the public process documentation included in the 
June 12, 2017 submittal, we are proposing to approve the submitted 
rules in part because we have determined that the NSCAPCD has provided 
sufficient evidence of public notice and opportunity for comment and 
public

[[Page 14391]]

hearings prior to adoption and submittal of this rule, in accordance 
with the requirements of CAA sections 110(a)(2) and 110(l).
    We are also approving Rules 130, 220, and 230 because we have 
determined these rules satisfy all of the statutory and regulatory 
requirements for an NSR permit program (including the PSD program) as 
set forth in the applicable provisions of part C of title I of the Act 
and in 40 CFR 51.165 and 40 CFR 51.307. The revisions to these rules 
also resolve the limited disapproval issues from the October 2016 
action.
    Our TSD, which can be found in the docket for this rule, contains a 
more detailed discussion of the approval criteria.

C. Public Comment and Proposed Action

    As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA proposes to 
fully approve the submitted rules because they fulfill all relevant 
requirements. We will accept comments from the public on this proposal 
until May 4, 2018. If we take final action to approve the submitted 
rules, our final action will incorporate these rules into the federally 
enforceable SIP.

III. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, the EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA rule 
regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance 
with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is proposing to incorporate by 
reference the NSCAPCD rules described in Table 1 of this preamble. The 
EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials available 
through www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region IX Office (please 
contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
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, the 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 Orders 12866 (58 
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
     Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2, 
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted under 
Executive Order 12866.
     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, 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 4, 2018. 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. 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, Intergovernmental relations, New Source Review, Particulate 
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

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

    Dated: March 26, 2018.
Deborah Jordan,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2018-06878 Filed 4-3-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


