[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 28 (Thursday, February 10, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7784-7786]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-02570]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2021-0748; FRL-9217-01-R9]


Air Plan Approval; Arizona; Maricopa County Air Quality 
Department

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve a revision to the Maricopa County Air Quality Department (MCAQD 
or County) portion of the Arizona State Implementation Plan (SIP). This 
revision concerns emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). We 
are proposing action on rescissions of local rules that regulate these 
pollutants 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 March 14, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2021-0748 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 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: La Kenya Evans, EPA Region IX, 75 
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 972-3245 or by 
email at [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 is the County rescinding?
    B. What is the purpose of the rules and what is the impact of 
the EPA's rescission?
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action
    A. How is the EPA evaluating the request for rescission?
    B. Do the rule rescissions 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 is the County rescinding?

    On September 13, 2017, the Arizona Department of Environmental 
Quality (ADEQ) submitted to the EPA a request from MCAQD to act on a 
series of rules from the SIP, including the rescission of various local 
rules. Table 1 lists the portion of the SIP approved rules from MCAQD's 
2017 rescission request that the EPA is proposing to act on in this 
notice. The table includes the dates that the rules were adopted by the 
MCAQD and the dates they were approved into the SIP by the EPA.

                                                               Table 1--SIP Approved Rules
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             Rule No.                        Title                   Local adopted date               SIP approved date                FR citation
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27...............................  Performance Tests........  June 23, 1980..................  April 12, 1982.................  47 FR 15579.
32 A.............................  Odors and Gaseous          August 12, 1971................  July 27, 1972..................  37 FR 15080.
                                    Emissions (General
                                    prohibitions).
32 B.............................  Odors and Gaseous          August 12, 1971................  July 27, 1972..................  37 FR 15080.
                                    Emissions (Treatment or
                                    processing of animal or
                                    vegetable matter).
32 C.............................  Odors and Gaseous          August 12, 1971................  July 27, 1972..................  37 FR 15080.
                                    Emissions (Storage
                                    requirements).
32 D.............................  Odors and Gaseous          August 12, 1971................  July 27, 1972..................  37 FR 15080.
                                    Emissions (Stack, vent,
                                    or other outlet).
32 E.............................  Odors and Gaseous          August 12, 1971................  July 27, 1972..................  37 FR 15080.
                                    Emissions (Hydrogen
                                    sulfide).
32 F.............................  Odors and Gaseous          August 12, 1971................  July 27, 1972..................  37 FR 15080.
                                    Emissions (Relating to
                                    sulfur oxide and
                                    sulfuric acid).
34 A.............................  Organic Solvents-Volatile  June 23, 1980..................  May 5, 1982....................  47 FR 19326.
                                    Organic Compounds (VOC).
34 D.1...........................  Dry Cleaning.............  June 23, 1980..................  May 5, 1982....................  47 FR 19326.

[[Page 7785]]

 
34 E.1...........................  Spray Paint and Other      June 23, 1980..................  May 5, 1982....................  47 FR 19326.
                                    Surface Coating
                                    Operations (General
                                    Requirements).
34 E.3...........................  Spray Paint and Other      June 23, 1980..................  May 5, 1982....................  47 FR 19326.
                                    Surface Coating
                                    Operations
                                    (Architectural Coating).
34 L.............................  Cutback Asphalt..........  June 23, 1980..................  May 5, 1982....................  47 FR 19326.
81...............................  Operation................  August 12, 1971................  July 27, 1972..................  37 FR 15080.
340..............................  Cutback and Emulsified     September 13, 1988.............  February 1, 1996...............  61 FR 3578.
                                    Asphalt.
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    On March 13, 2018, the submittal for MCAQD's rescission request was 
deemed by operation of law to meet the completeness criteria in 40 CFR 
part 51 Appendix V, which must be met before formal EPA review. The 
SIP-approved sections from Rules 32 and 34 not described in Table 1, 
along with other rules in this submittal, will be addressed in a 
separate rulemaking.

B. What is the purpose of the rules and what is the impact of the EPA's 
rescission?

    MCAQD has revised many of its rules to comply with the CAA national 
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) requirement to implement 
reasonably available control technology (RACT) for various source 
categories in nonattainment areas. These rules, including Rules 27, 32, 
34, 81, and 340, were submitted to the EPA for incorporation into the 
Arizona SIP at various times. In 2016, the EPA reformatted the Arizona 
SIP as codified in the Code of Federal Regulations into a tabulated 
``notebook'' format. While developing the updated SIP tables for that 
conversion, the EPA worked closely with the ADEQ and local air agencies 
to clarify what was in their applicable SIP, including older provisions 
that had not been updated or replaced to reflect local rulemakings. The 
result of that coordination was the MCAQD's September 13, 2017 request 
to rescind or replace many obsolete rules in their federally 
enforceable SIP in favor of rules that reflect their current locally 
enforceable rulebook. What follows is a summary of the rules that we 
are proposing for rescission.
    Rule 27 states the need for performance testing within 60, but no 
later than 180, days after the initial start-up of sources or 
facilities.
    Rule 32.A prohibits emitting gaseous or odorous emissions in such 
quantities as to cause air pollution. Rule 32.B covers treatment or 
processing of animal or vegetable matter and prohibits such operations 
unless all effluents from such operations have been incinerated under 
certain specified conditions. Rule 32.B also requires the use of 
control devices as necessary to prevent air pollution. Rule 32.C 
requires reasonable measures and installation of control devices to 
reduce emissions from evaporation, leakage or discharge from the 
processing, storage, use and transport of materials such as solvents, 
paints, acids, fertilizers and manure. Rule 32.D relates to nuisance 
effects from emissions on adjoining properties and authorizes the 
Control Officer to require abatement equipment or alterations to the 
stack to reduce nuisance impacts. Rule 32.E establishes a property line 
concentration standard for hydrogen sulfide. Rule 32.F establishes 
ambient air standards for any sulfur oxide and sulfuric acid ground 
level concentrations beyond the premises of a facility. Rule 32.F was 
superseded by Rule 510 (86 FR 54628, October 04, 2021). The remainder 
of Rule 32 (sections G, H, J, and K) are not addressed in this 
rulemaking.
    Rule 34.A defines the term volatile organic compound. Rule 34.D.1 
describes the operating requirements for dry cleaning equipment using 
chlorinated synthetic solvents. Rule 34.E.1 describes the requirements 
for containing overspray from surface coating operations. Rule 34.E.3 
defines architectural coating. Rule 34.L limits the application of 
cutback asphalt or an emulsified asphalt containing petroleum solvents. 
In addition, the rule limits the VOC content of the emulsified asphalts 
and dust palliatives to no more than three percent (3%) by volume of 
VOC. Rule 34.L was superseded by Rule 340. The remainder of Rule 34 
(sections B, C, D.2, E, E.2, E.4, F, G, H, I, J, and K) are not 
addressed in this rulemaking.
    Rule 81 states that no other provision of the County's rulebook 
shall in any manner be constructed as authorizing or permitting the 
creation or maintenance of a nuisance.
    Rule 340 regulates cutback and emulsified asphalt and replaced Rule 
34.L in 1988 after the MCAQD revised and renumbered all of their local 
rules.
    The EPA's technical support document (TSD) has more information 
about these rules.

II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action

A. How is the EPA evaluating the request for rescission?

    Once a rule has been approved as part of a SIP, the rescission of 
that rule from the SIP constitutes a SIP revision. To approve such a 
revision, the EPA must determine whether the revision meets relevant 
CAA criteria for stringency, if any, and complies with restrictions on 
relaxation of SIP measures under CAA section 110(l), and the General 
Savings Clause in CAA section 193 for SIP-approved control requirements 
in effect before November 15, 1990.
    Stringency: Generally, rules must be protective of the NAAQS, and 
must require RACT in nonattainment areas for ozone. Maricopa County is 
currently designated as nonattainment for ozone and classified as 
Moderate for the 2008 8-hour NAAQS (see 40 CFR 81.303, 81 FR 26699).
    Plan Revisions: States must demonstrate that SIP revisions would 
not interfere with attainment, reasonable further progress or any other 
applicable requirement of the CAA under the provisions of CAA section 
110(l) and section 193.
    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).

B. Do the rule rescissions meet the evaluation criteria?

    We have concluded that the rules in Table 1 are appropriate for 
rescission. The reasons for the rule rescissions are described in the 
following categories:
    Category 1--Rules that do not establish emission limits or enforce 
the NAAQS; rules that do not improve or impact the stringency of other 
measures in the SIP and are not appropriate for the SIP: Rules 27, 
32.A, B, C, D, and E, 34.D.1 and E.3, and 81.

[[Page 7786]]

    Category 2--Rules that have a negative declaration stating that the 
facilities they covered are no longer located in Maricopa County: Rules 
34.L and 340.
    Category 3--Rules that have been superseded by a newer SIP-approved 
rule and are no longer needed in the SIP: Rules 32.F and 34.A.
    Category 4--Rules that are not enforceable: Rule 34E.1.
    These rules address local issues but are not connected to the 
purposes for which SIPs are developed and approved--namely the 
implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of the NAAQS. Thus, they 
are not required to be included in the SIP.\1\ The TSD has more 
information on our evaluation.
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    \1\ See CAA section 110(a)(1).
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C. Public Comment and Proposed Action

    As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA proposes to 
fully approve the requested rescission of the rules because the request 
fulfills all relevant requirements. We will accept comments from the 
public on this proposal until March 14, 2022. If we take final action 
to approve the rescission of the submitted rules, our final action will 
remove these rules from the federally enforceable SIP.

III. Incorporation by Reference

    In this action, the EPA is proposing to delete rules that were 
previously incorporated by reference from the applicable Arizona SIP. 
In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is proposing to 
delete certain Maricopa County rules, as described in Table 1 of this 
preamble. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, incorporation by 
reference documents generally available electronically through 
www.regulations.gov and/or 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, 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 (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 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, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 
Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur 
dioxide, Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: February 2, 2022.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2022-02570 Filed 2-9-22; 8:45 am]
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