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Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.


 


[Federal Register: May 30, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 103)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 29886-29889]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30my07-12]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2007-0236; FRL-8315-9]

Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, San
Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the
San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District (SJVUAPCD)
portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These
revisions concern Oxides of Nitrogen (NOX) emissions from
Boilers, Steam Generators and Process Heaters (2.0 MMBtu/hr to 5.0
MMBtu/hr, and 0.075 MMBtu/hr to 2.0 MMBtu/hr); Dryers, Dehydrators, and
Ovens; Natural Gas-Fired, Fan-Type

[[Page 29887]]

Residential Central Furnaces; and Solid Fuel Fired Boilers, Steam
Generators and Process Heaters. We are approving local rules that
regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act as amended in
1990 (CAA or the Act).

DATES: This rule is effective on July 30, 2007 without further notice,
unless EPA receives adverse comments by June 29, 2007. 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-
2007-0236, by one of the following methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow
the on-line instructions.
    2. E-mail: 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 
http://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 the
http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail http://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 e-mail directly to EPA, your e-mail 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.
    Docket: The index to the docket for this action is available
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at EPA
Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California. While all
documents in the docket are listed in the index, some information may
be publicly available only at the hard copy location (e.g., copyrighted
material), 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: Francisco D[oacute][ntilde]ez, EPA
Region IX, (415) 972-3956, Donez.Francisco@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 and 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. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. The State's Submittal

A. What rules did the State submit?

    Table 1 lists the rules we are approving 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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Local agency                   Rule No.             Rule title             Adopted     Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SJVUAPCD..................................         4307  Boilers, Steam Generators and     04/20/06     10/05/06
                                                          Process Heaters--2.0 MMBtu/
                                                          hr to 5.0 MMBtu/hr.
SJVUAPCD..................................         4308  Boilers, Steam Generators and     10/20/05     03/10/06
                                                          Process Heaters--0.075 MMBtu/
                                                          hr to 2.0 MMBtu/hr.
SJVUAPCD..................................         4309  Dryers, Dehydrators, and          12/15/05     03/10/06
                                                          Ovens.
SJVUAPCD..................................         4352  Solid Fuel Fired Boilers,         05/18/06     10/05/06
                                                          Steam Generators and Process
                                                          Heaters.
SJVUAPCD..................................         4905  Natural Gas-Fired, Fan-Type       10/20/05     03/10/06
                                                          Residential Central Furnaces.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On March 30, 2006, the submittals of Rules 4308, 4309, and 4905
were found to meet the completeness criteria in 40 CFR Part 51 Appendix
V, which must be met before formal EPA review. On October 24, 2006, the
submittals of Rules 4307 and 4352 were found to meet these completeness
criteria.

B. Are there other versions of these rules?

    Rules 4308, 4309, and 4905 are new rules submitted to us for the
first time. There are no previous versions of Rule 4307 in the SIP,
although the SJVUAPCD adopted an earlier version of this rule on
December 15, 2005, and CARB submitted it to us on March 10, 2006. We
approved a version of Rule 4352 into the SIP on February 11, 1999 (64
FR 6803). The SJVUAPCD adopted revisions to the SIP-approved version on
May 18, 2006 and CARB submitted them to us on October 5, 2006. While we
can act on only the most recently submitted version, we have reviewed
materials provided with previous submittals.

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

    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. The amendments to Rule 4307 are
purely administrative, and do no change any emissions reduction
requirements. New Rule 4308 requires that small boilers, steam
generators and process heaters (0.075 to 2.0 million British thermal
units per hour, MMBtu/hr) be certified to meet NOX emission
limits. New Rule 4309 limits NOX and carbon monoxide (CO)
emissions from dryers, dehydrators and ovens with total rated heat
input of 5.0 MMBtu/hr or greater. The amendments to Rule 4352 expand
the rule's scope to apply to units with potential NOX
emissions of 10 tons per year; the emissions limits have also been
strengthened. New Rule 4905 limits NOX emissions from
natural gas-fired, fan-type residential central furnaces with a rated
heat input capacity of less than 175,000 Btu/hr, or a rated cooling
capacity of less than 65,000 Btu/hr for combination heating and cooling
units. EPA's technical support documents (TSD) have more information
about these rules.

II. EPA's Evaluation and Action

A. How is EPA evaluating the rules?

    Generally, SIP rules must be enforceable (see section 110(a) of the
Act), must require Reasonably Available

[[Page 29888]]

Control Technology (RACT) for each category of sources covered by a
Control Technique Guideline (CTG) document as well as each major source
in nonattainment areas (see sections 182(a)(2) and 182(f)), and must
not relax existing requirements (see sections 110(l) and 193). The
SJVUAPCD regulates a ``serious'' ozone nonattainment area (see 40 CFR
part 81), so Rules 4307, 4308, 4309, 4352, and 4905 must fulfill RACT.
In addition, the San Joaquin Valley is a ``serious'' particulate matter
(PM-10) nonattainment area, and is therefore required under section
189(b)(1)(B) and (e) of the Act to implement Best Available Control
Measures (BACM) (which includes Best Available Control Technology or
BACT) for control of PM-10 precursor emissions, including NOX.
    Guidance and policy documents that we use to help evaluate
enforceability and RACT requirements consistently include the following:
    1. ``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.
    2. ``Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and
Deviations,'' U.S. EPA, May 25, 1988 (the Bluebook).
    3. ``Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule
Deficiencies,'' U.S. EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001 (the Little Bluebook).
    4. ``Determination of Reasonably Available Control Technology and
Best Available Retrofit Control Technology for Industrial,
Institutional, and Commercial Boilers, Steam Generators, and Process
Heaters,'' California Air Resources Board, July 18, 1991.
    5. ``Alternative Control Techniques Document--NOX
Emissions from Industrial/Commercial/Institutional (ICI) Boilers,''
U.S. EPA, EPA-453/R-94-022, March 1994.
    6. ``State Implementation Plans: Policy Regarding Excess Emissions
during Malfunctions, Startup, and Shutdown,'' U.S. EPA Memorandum to
Regional Administrators, September 20, 1999.

B. Do the rules meet the evaluation criteria?

    We believe these rules are consistent with the relevant policy and
guidance regarding enforceability, RACT, BACM, 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 do not affect
EPA(s current action but are recommended for the next time the local
agency modifies the rules.

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 June 29, 2007, 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 July 30, 2007. 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. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. For this
reason, this action is also not subject to Executive Order 13211,
``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy
Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001). This action
merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and imposes
no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law.
Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this rule will not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because
this rule approves pre-existing requirements under state law and does
not impose any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by
state law, it 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).
    This rule also does not have tribal implications because it will
not have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on
the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or
on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal
Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 13175
(59 FR 22951, November 9, 2000). This action also does not have Federalism
implications because it does not have substantial direct effects on the
States, on the relationship between the national government and the
States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the
various levels of government, as specified in Executive Order 13132
(64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999). This action merely approves a state rule
implementing a Federal standard, and does not alter the relationship or
the distribution of power and responsibilities established in the Clean
Air Act. This rule also is not subject to Executive Order 13045
``Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety
Risks'' (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), because it approves a state rule
implementing a Federal standard.
    In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. In
this context, in the absence of a prior existing requirement for the
State to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority
to disapprove a SIP submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be
inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a SIP
submission; to use VCS in place of a SIP submission that otherwise
satisfies the provisions of the Clean Air Act. Thus, the requirements
of section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply. This rule does not
impose an information collection burden under the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
    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 rule and other
required information to the U.S. Senate,

[[Page 29889]]

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 July 30, 2007. Filing a
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule
does not affect the finality of this rule 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, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: April 30, 2007.
Laura Yoshii,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.

• Part 52, Chapter I, Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is
amended as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

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

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

Subpart F--California

• 2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding paragraphs (c)(344)(i)(C) and
(347) to read as follows:

Sec.  52.220  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (344) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (C) San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Quality Management District.
    (1) Rule 4308, adopted on October 20, 2005; Rule 4309, adopted on
December 15, 2005; and Rule 4905, adopted on October 20, 2005.
* * * * *
    (347) New and amended regulations for the following APCDs were
submitted on October 5, 2006, by the Governor's designee.
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    (A) San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District.
    (1) Rule 4307, adopted on April 20, 2006; and Rule 4352, adopted on
May 18, 2006.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. E7-10236 Filed 5-29-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P

 
 


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