[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 96 (Thursday, May 20, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 27344-27346]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10613]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2020-0573; FRL-10023-94-Region 9]


Air Plan Approval; California; Mojave Desert Air Quality 
Management District, Placer County Air Pollution Control District, 
South Coast Air Quality Management District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve revisions to the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District 
(MDAQMD), Placer County Air Pollution Control District (PCAPCD) and the 
South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) portion of the 
California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern 
emissions of: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter 
(PM) from metal coating operations. We are proposing to approve local 
rules and rescissions to regulate these emission sources under the 
Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act). We are taking comments on this proposal 
and plan to follow with a final action.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 21, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2020-0573 at https://www.regulations.gov. For comments submitted at 
Regulations.gov, follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from 
Regulations.gov. 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

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making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets. If you need assistance in a language other than 
English or if you are a person with disabilities who needs a reasonable 
accommodation at no cost to you, please contact the person identified 
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Arnold Lazarus, EPA Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 972-3024 or by 
email at lazarus.arnold@epa.gov.

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

Table of Contents

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

I. The State's Submittal

A. What rules and rule rescissions did the State submit?

    Table 1 lists the rules addressed by this proposal with the dates 
that they were adopted by the local air agencies and submitted by the 
California Air Resources Board (CARB).

                                            Table 1--Submitted Rules
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         Local agency              Rule No.           Rule title             Amended             Submitted
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MDAQMD........................            1115  Metal Parts & Products  June 8, 2020....  July 24, 2020.
                                                 Coating Operations.
PCAPCD........................             102  Definitions...........  June 11, 2020...  July 24, 2020.
SCAQMD........................            1107  Coating of Metal Parts  February 7, 2020  July 24, 2020
                                                 & Products.
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    In addition to replacing the previous versions of the submitted 
rules listed in Table 1, the EPA is proposing to rescind SCAQMD Rule 
1107 as it applies to the Riverside County portion of the MDAQMD, as 
requested by CARB.\1\
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    \1\ CARB's rescission request cites to four Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) provisions for SCAQMD Rule 1107; however, since 
three of the CFR provisions are previous versions of the Rule that 
were replaced by more recent versions, and are therefore no longer 
in the SIP, EPA is interpreting this as a request to remove the 
latest (and only) version of SCAQMD Rule 1107 applicable in the 
Riverside County portion of the MDAQMD--namely the version submitted 
on May 13, 1993, and listed at 40 CFR 52.220(c)(193)(i)(A)(1).
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    On November 24, 2020 the EPA determined that the submittal for 
MDAQMD Rule 1115, PCAPCD Rule 102, and SCAQMD Rule 1107 met the 
completeness criteria in 40 CFR part 51 Appendix V, which must be met 
before formal EPA review.

B. Are there other versions of these rules?

    We approved an earlier version of MDAQMD Rule 1115 into the SIP on 
February 27, 2020 (85 FR 11812); we approved an earlier version of 
PCAPCD Rule 102 into the SIP on January 31, 2013 (78 FR 6736); and we 
approved an earlier version of SCAQMD Rule 1107 into the SIP on 
November 24, 2008 (73 FR 70883).

C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule revisions and rule 
rescissions?

    Emissions of VOCs contribute to the production of ground-level 
ozone, smog and PM, which harm human health and the environment. 
Section 110(a) of the CAA requires states to submit regulations that 
control VOC emissions. PCAPCD Rule 102 is a definition rule that 
provides clarity for rules in the District. MDAQMD Rule 1115 and SCAQMD 
Rule 1107 control VOCs emitted from coating operations associated with 
metal parts and products. Rules 1107 and 1115 were revised to address 
the reasonably available control technology (RACT) requirement. The 
EPA's technical support documents (TSDs) have more information about 
these rules.
    The rescissions remove the replaced versions of the submitted 
rules, and also remove the obsolete requirements found in an older 
version of SCAQMD Rule 1107 within MDAQMD's boundaries.\2\
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    \2\ When the Palo Verde portion of Riverside County left the 
SCAQMD and became part of the MDAQMD, it kept the SCAQMD rules in 
place. The MDAQMD now has an updated district-wide rule coving the 
same source category as SCAQMD Rule 1107, namely MDAQMD Rule 1115. 
Accordingly, MDAQMD has requested to remove the vestigial SCAQMD 
rule in an effort to simplify and clarify the SIP for this region.
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II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action`

    A. How is the EPA evaluating the rules and rescissions?
    Rules in the SIP 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).
    Generally, SIP rules must require RACT for each category of sources 
covered by a Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG) document as well as 
each major source of VOCs in ozone nonattainment areas classified as 
moderate or above (see CAA section 182(b)(2)).
    The MDAQMD regulates an ozone nonattainment area classified as 
Severe for the 1997, 2008 and 2015 8-hour ozone national ambient air 
quality standard (NAAQS) (40 CFR 81.305). Therefore, these rules must 
implement RACT. The SCAQMD regulates an ozone nonattainment area 
classified as Extreme for the 1997, 2008 and 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS 
(40 CFR 81.305). Therefore, these rules must implement RACT. The PCAPCD 
regulates an ozone nonattainment area classified as Severe for the 1997 
and 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS and Moderate for the 2015 8-hour ozone 
NAAQS (40 CFR 81.305). The PCAPCD must implement RACT for rules that 
are covered by a CTG document as well as each major source of VOCs in 
ozone nonattainment areas classified as moderate or above (see CAA 
section 182(b)(2)), however definitions rules are administrative and 
RACT does not apply.
    Guidance and policy documents that we used 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); 57 FR 18070 (April 28, 1992).
2. ``Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and 
Deviations,'' EPA, May 25, 1988 (the Bluebook, revised January 11, 
1990).
3. ``Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule 
Deficiencies,'' EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001 (the Little Bluebook).

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4. ``Control of Volatile Organic Emissions from Existing Stationary 
Sources -Volume VI: Surface Coating of Miscellaneous Metal Parts and 
Products'' (EPA-450/2-78-15, June 1978).
5. ``Control Techniques Guidelines for Miscellaneous Metal and 
Plastic Parts Coatings'' (EPA-453/R-08-003, September 2008).

B. Do the rules and rescissions meet the evaluation criteria?

    These rules meet CAA requirements and are consistent with relevant 
guidance regarding enforceability, and SIP revisions. The TSDs have 
more information on our evaluation.

C. The EPA's Recommendation to Further Improve the Rules

    The MDAQMD Rule 1115 TSD includes a recommendation for the next 
time the MDAQMD modifies the rule.

D. 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. The EPA also proposes to rescind the current SIP-approved 
versions of the submitted rules, and the version of SCAQMD Rule 1107 
that is currently in the SIP for the Riverside County portion of the 
MDAQMD, because these rules will be replaced by the updated rules we 
are proposing to approve. We will accept comments from the public on 
this proposal until June 21, 2021. 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 MDAQMD the PCAPCD and the SCAQMD rules described in Table 
1 of this preamble. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these 
materials available through https://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 proposed action merely proposes to approve state law 
as meeting federal requirements and does not impose additional 
requirements beyond those imposed by state law. For that reason, this 
proposed 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);
     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 (Public Law 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 the 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).
    In addition, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian 
reservation land or in any other area where the 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).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: May 14, 2021.
Deborah Jordan,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2021-10613 Filed 5-19-21; 8:45 am]
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