
     



                                       
                 UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
                            REGION IX AIR DIVISION











                          Technical Support Document 
                                      for
                            the EPA's Rulemaking
                                    for the
                     California State Implementation Plan
                                       
                Imperial County Air Pollution Control District
                            Rule 804  -  Open Areas
















                              
                                  April 2019
                          Author: Christine Vineyard
                                       
                                       





RULE IDENTIFICATION 
Agency
Imperial County Air Pollution Control District (ICAPCD)

SIP Approved Rule
Rule 804  -  Open Areas 
Revised  -  October 16, 2012
Submitted  -  November 7, 2012

EPA Approved  -  April 22, 2013 (78 FR 23677)

Previous Submittal


Completeness Finding

Rule 804  -  Open Areas
Revised  -  April 12, 2016
Submitted  -  August 22, 2016

Determination of Completeness letter: September 27, 2016

No action taken

Subject of this TSD

Rule 804  -  Open Areas
Revised  -  September 11, 2018
Submitted  -  October 29, 2018
Completeness Finding


Completeness letter: December 12, 2018


RULE CHANGES  -  To address the requirement for Reasonable Further Progress (RFP) contingency measures (Clean Air Act section 172(c)(9)), Rule 804 was revised to include a provision that would expand the rule's applicability if RFP contingency measures are triggered. The rule regulates fugitive dust emissions by requiring landowners of open areas to implement controls in open areas exceeding 3.0 acres for rural areas or 0.5 acres for urban areas and containing at least 1,000 square feet of disturbed surface area. If the Imperial County PM2.5 Nonattainment Area fails to meet RFP, fails to meet any quantitative milestone or fails to submit a quantitative milestone report, the rural area threshold will be lowered from three acres to include all rural open areas that contain at least 1000 square feet of disturbed surface area as a RFP contingency measure. Lowering of the applicability threshold would require controls on an additional 529 rural acres in the nonattainment area. 

Another substantial revision in the submitted Rule 804 will allow development and implementation of innovative BACM dust control measures for the exposed playa at the Salton Sea, subject to approval by the ICAPCD and the EPA.  

Specific revisions include:
1.  Section E.1. -  Added: 20% opacity shall be determined in accordance with U.S. EPA Test Method 9.

Section E.3  -  Added: Upon U.S. EPA notification that the Imperial County PM2.5 Nonattainment Area has failed:  
(1) to meet Reasonable Further Progress in the 2018 Annual PM2.5 SIP, 
(2) to meet a Quantitative Milestone in the 2018 Annual PM 2.5 SIP, and/or 
(3) to submit a Quantitative Milestone Report required under 40 CFR 51.1013(b), this rule shall apply to any open area having 0.5 acres or more within urban areas and all rural open areas that contain at least 1000 square feet of a disturbed surface area.

2.  Section F  -  Best Available Control Measures for Fugitive Dust (PM10)
	a). F.1  -  Open Areas - Added:  Any Combination of BACM and Alternative BACM is permissible.
	b). F.1.d  -  Added:  Implement Alternative BACM for exposed playa at the Salton Sea if approved by both the APCD and EPA.  Alternative BACM may be approved by the APCD and EPA in accordance with a technical evaluation demonstrating that the proposed Alternative BACM achieves PM10 emission reductions equivalent to BACM measures identified in subsection F.1.a, F.1.b, and F.1.c and that the dust control method will achieve a STABILIZED SURFACE and meet the 20% opacity requirement in accordance with U.S. EPA Test Method 9. 
      
3.  Renumbered:
	G.  Record of Control Implementation
	H.   Violations

EVALUATION CRITERIA - The following criteria were used to evaluate the submitted rule:

1.  Enforceability - The Bluebook (Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations, EPA, May 25, 1988) and the Little Bluebook (Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule Deficiencies, EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001) were used to help evaluate compliance with the CAA §110(a)(2)(A) requirement for enforceability. 

2.  Stringency  -  ICAPCD regulates a Moderate nonattainment area for the 2012 annual PM2.5 standard, which was designated effective April 15, 2015. CAA sections 172(c)(1) and 189(a)(1)(C) require Moderate PM2.5 nonattainment areas to implement RACM and RACT as expeditiously as practicable and no later than four years after designation. Therefore, ICAPCD must implement RACM, including RACT, for PM2.5 and PM2.5 precursors, as expeditiously as practicable and no later than April 15, 2019. The EPA has defined RACM for PM2.5 as "any technologically and economically feasible measure that can be implemented in whole or in part within 4 years after the effective date of designation of a PM2.5 nonattainment area and that achieves permanent and enforceable reductions in direct PM2.5 emissions and/or PM2.5 plan precursor emissions from sources in the area. . . ."  In addition, moderate nonattainment areas must implement "additional reasonable measures,"  which are control measures that otherwise meet the definition of RACM, but "can only be implemented in whole or in part during the period beginning 4 years after the effective date of designation of a nonattainment area and no later than the end of the sixth calendar year following the effective date of designation of the area."      

ICAPCD also regulates a Serious PM10 nonattainment area (40 CFR 81.305). CAA section 189(b)(1)(B) requires Serious PM10 nonattainment areas to implement best available control measures (BACM). Therefore, ICAPCD is required to implement BACM for PM10. BACM is generally "required for all categories of sources in Serious areas unless the State adequately demonstrates that a particular source category does not contribute significantly to nonattainment of the NAAQS." The EPA has defined BACM for PM10 as "the maximum degree of emissions reduction of PM-10 and PM-10 precursors from a source . . . which is determined on a case-by-case basis, taking into account energy, environmental, and economic impacts and other costs, to be achievable for such source through application of production processes and available methods, systems, and techniques for control of each such pollutant."

3.  SIP Relaxation and Non-Interference - CAA section 110(l) prohibits the EPA from approving any SIP revision that would interfere with any applicable requirement concerning attainment or reasonable further progress (RFP) or any other applicable requirement of the CAA. In addition, CAA section 193 prohibits the modification of any SIP-approved control requirement in effect before November 15, 1990, in a nonattainment area.

EPA EVALUATION - A summary of our evaluation of the three criteria follows:

1.  Enforceability - The rule requirements and applicability are clear, and the requirement to maintain records of control implementation and other provisions sufficiently ensure that affected sources and regulators can evaluate and determine compliance with Rule 804 consistently.    

2.  Stringency  -  The EPA will address the overall RACM requirement for the Imperial County PM2.5 Nonattainment Area at a later date when we act on the Imperial Annual PM2.5 Plan and will address the overall BACM requirement, as necessary, in a future PM10 planning action. However, we note that in 2010 and 2012, we determined that the previous version of Rule 804 (in conjunction with SIP-approved Rule 800) implemented BACM-level controls for fugitive dust in open areas. The new contingency measure in section E.3 strengthens the rule by lowering the rule's applicability threshold if the measure is triggered. The new alternative BACM provision in F.1.d ensures that any alternative measures would achieve PM10 emission reductions equivalent to the specified BACM measures, achieve a stabilized surface, and meet a 20% opacity limit. We are not aware of any additional measures that have become available for this source category since 2012. Accordingly, we believe Rule 804 continues to implement BACM-level controls for PM10 and also generally implements reasonable controls for PM2.5 for open areas. 

3.  SIP Relaxation and Non-Interference - We propose to determine that our approval of the submittal would comply with CAA sections 110(l) and 193 because (1) the proposed SIP revision would not interfere with any CAA requirements, including RFP and attainment of the NAAQS, and (2) the requirements in the submitted rule are as or more stringent than the existing SIP-approved control requirements that they would replace.

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE NEXT RULE REVISION  -  The EPA previously recommended that ICAPCD:
 add a 0% opacity at the fenceline standard to Rule 804, in addition to the 20% opacity standard, and
 consider revising Rule 804 Section B to apply requirements to smaller sources.

While the new contingency measure would lower the applicability threshold for rural areas, it would retain the existing 0.5 acres threshold for urban areas, as well as the 1000-square-feet disturbed surface area threshold. We recommend that ICAPCD consider lowering these thresholds, as well as adding a 0% opacity at the fence line standard the next time Rule 804 is revised. 

EPA ACTION - The submitted Rule 804 strengthens the SIP and fulfills the relevant CAA §110 and title I part D requirements. Therefore, EPA staff recommends approval of Rule 804 pursuant to CAA §110(k)(3). 

REFERENCES 

    "Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations," (a.k.a., Bluebook) EPA OAQPS, May 25, 1988.
    "Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule Deficiencies," (a.k.a., Little Bluebook), EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001.
    ICAPCD Rule 804 as revised on September 11, 2018 and submitted to EPA on October 29, 2018.  
    ICAPCD Rule 804 as approved April 22, 2013 (78 FR 23677).
    ICAPCD Draft Staff Report for the Proposed Rule 428  -  Wood Burning Appliances, Rule 429  -  Mandatory Episodic Curtailment of Wood and Other Solid Fuel Burning and Revised Rule 804  -  Open Areas ("Staff Report"), dated September 11, 2018.

