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Approval and Promulgation of Revisions to the Georgia State Implementation Plan
Related Material
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: March 13, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 49)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 13239-13242]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13mr00-3]
[[Page 13239]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[GA44 & GA36-9948a; FRL-6547-4 ]
Approval and Promulgation of Revisions to the Georgia State
Implementation Plan
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: The EPA is approving the State Implementation Plan (SIP)
revisions submitted by the State of Georgia on February 11, 1998, and
November 19, 1998. The February 11, 1998, revisions update references
to the August 15, 1997, version of Georgia's ``Procedures for Testing
and Monitoring Sources of Air Pollutants'' manual. The November 19,
1998, revisions adopt new Permit by Rule provisions for several, small
source categories, including: certain types of fuel-burning equipment,
on-site power generation, concrete mixing plants, hot mix asphalt
plants, cotton ginning operations, coating and/or gluing operations,
printing operations, non-reactive mixing operations, fiberglass molding
and forming operations, and peanut/nut shelling operations.
For these categories of sources that operate below the major source
threshold, the rules may negate the need to file for a Part 70 Permit
(also known as a ``Title V Permit'') or a synthetic minor permit.
DATES: This direct final rule is effective May 12, 2000 without further
notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by April 12, 2000. If
adverse comment is received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of
the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform the public
that the rule will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: All comments should be addressed to: Michele Notarianni, Air
Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides, and Toxics Management Division, EPA
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303.
Copies of the State's submittals are available at the following
addresses for inspection during normal business hours:
EPA Region 4, Air Planning Branch, 61 Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta,
Georgia 30303. (To make an appointment, please contact Michele
Notarianni at 404/562-9031.)
Air Protection Branch, Georgia Environmental Protection Division,
Georgia Department of Natural Resources, 4244 International Parkway,
Suite 120, Atlanta, Georgia 30354.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michele Notarianni at 404/562-9031 (or
by e-mail at: notarianni.michele@epa.gov).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Revisions Approved by EPA
The EPA is approving SIP revisions to Georgia's Rules for Air
Quality Control included in the February 11, 1998, and the November 19,
1998, submittals. Below is a summary of the approved revisions.
Air Quality Control, Rule 391-3-1
Rule 391-3-1.02(3): The revision updates the reference
date of Georgia's ``Procedures for Testing and Monitoring Sources of
Air Pollutants'' manual from March 1, 1997, to August 15, 1997.
Rule 391-3-1.02(6): The revisions to subparagraphs
(a)2.(v)(I), (a)2.(vii)(I), (a)2.(vii)(II)I, and (b)1.(vi) update the
reference date of Georgia's ``Procedures for Testing and Monitoring
Sources of Air Pollutants'' manual from March 1, 1997, to August 15,
1997.
Rule 391-3-1-.03(11): A new paragraph, (11), is added to
adopt new Permit by Rule provisions for the following 11 small source
categories: (1) Fuel-burning equipment burning natural gas/liquid
petroleum gasoline (LPG) and/or distillate oil; (2) fuel-burning
equipment burning natural gas/LPG and/or residual oil; (3) on-site
power generation; (4) concrete mixing plants; (5) hot mix asphalt
plants; (6) cotton ginning operations; (7) coating and/or gluing
operations; (8) printing operations; (9) non-reactive mixing
operations; (10) fiberglass molding and forming operations; and (11)
peanut/nut shelling operations. For these categories of sources that
operate below the major source threshold, the rules may negate the need
to file for a Part 70 Permit or for a synthetic minor permit.
Facilities in these categories that have potential emissions greater
than major source thresholds even after the Permit by Rule is met or
are not able to meet the relevant conditions established in the Permit
by Rule may be required to obtain a Part 70 Permit. A more detailed
description of this new paragraph follows.
--Rule 391-3-1-.03(11)(a): A new subparagraph, (a), is added to
identify general requirements for sources covered by the Permit by
Rule. Eligible facilities must certify in writing to the Georgia EPD
that they can comply with the Permit by Rule.
--Rule 391-3-1-.03(11)(b)1: A new subsection, (b)1, is added to
establish Permit by Rule standards for applicable facilities with fuel-
burning equipment burning natural gas/LPG and/or distillate oil.
Applicable facilities must meet the following conditions. During any 12
consecutive months, facility fuel usage is limited to 900 million cubic
feet of natural gas (or 7.0 million gallons of LPG) and 1.6 million
gallons of distillate oil except in the counties of Cherokee, Clayton,
Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett,
Henry, Paulding, and Rockdale (13 county ozone nonattainment area),
where fuel usage is limited to 450 million cubic feet of natural gas
(or 3.5 million gallons of LPG) and 800,000 gallons of distillate oil.
Monitoring and record keeping requirements include maintaining a log of
monthly fuel usage.
--Rule 391-3-1-.03(11)(b)2: A new subsection, (b)2, is added to
establish Permit by Rule standards for applicable facilities with fuel-
burning equipment burning natural gas/LPG and/or residual oil.
Applicable facilities must meet the following conditions. During any 12
consecutive months, annual facility fuel usage is limited to 1,000
million cubic feet of natural gas (or 7.5 million gallons of LPG) and
400,000 gallons of residual fuel oil except in the 13 county ozone
nonattainment area, where fuel usage is limited to 400 million cubic
feet of natural gas (or 3.2 million gallons of LPG) and 400,000 gallons
of residual fuel oil. Monitoring and record keeping requirements
include maintaining a log of monthly fuel usage.
--Rule 391-3-1-.03(11)(b)3: A new subsection, (b)3, is added to
establish Permit by Rule standards for applicable facilities that
operate fuel-burning equipment for on-site power generation. Applicable
facilities must meet the following conditions. During any 12
consecutive months, a facility's power generation is limited to a total
of no more than 6.7 million horsepower-hours except in the 13 county
ozone nonattainment area, where the total is no more than 3.35 million
horsepower-hours. Monitoring and record keeping
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requirements include maintaining a log of the monthly total horsepower-
hours for the facility based on the number of hours of operation of
each unit per month multiplied by the maximum horsepower rating of that
unit.
--Rule 391-3-1-.03(11)(b)4: A new subsection, (b)4, is added to
establish Permit by Rule standards for applicable concrete mixing
plants, which must meet the following conditions to operate under the
Permit by Rule. Production on the plant site is limited to 600,000
cubic yards during any 12 consecutive months. Monitoring and record
keeping requirements include maintaining a log of the plant's monthly
production.
--Rule 391-3-1-.03(11)(b)5: A new subsection, (b)5, is added to
establish Permit by Rule standards for applicable hot mix asphalt
plants, which must meet the following conditions to operate under the
Permit by Rule. New asphalt plants (which commenced construction or
modification after June 11, 1973), permitted to burn natural gas/LPG
and/or distillate oil only must maintain a log of the monthly
production and hours of operation and, during any 12 consecutive
months, must limit production to 400,000 tons and operation to 3,000
hours. During any 12 consecutive months, new and existing asphalt
plants permitted to burn natural gas/LPG, distillate oil, and residual
oil in any combination must limit: production to 200,000 tons,
operation to 3,000 hours, fuel oil usage to 678,000 gallons, and fuel
sulfur content to less than or equal to 1.5%. Monitoring and record
keeping requirements for these plants include maintaining fuel oil
certifications showing sulfur content less than or equal to 1.5% and a
log of production, hours of operation, and monthly fuel use.
--Rule 391-3-1-.03(11)(b)6: A new subsection, (b)6, is added to
establish Permit by Rule standards for applicable cotton ginning
operations. To operate under the Permit by Rule, applicable facilities
must limit production to 65,000 standard bales of cotton during any 12
consecutive months and maintain a log of the monthly production.
--Rule 391-3-1-.03(11)(b)7: A new subsection, (b)7, is added to
establish Permit by Rule standards for applicable coating and/or gluing
operations. Applicable facilities must meet the monitoring and record
keeping requirements and declare which of the four, following options
will be met to operate under the Permit by Rule. The options are: (1)
Consumption of any Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) and/or Hazardous Air
Pollutant (HAP) containing materials shall be less than 20,000 pounds
during any 12 consecutive months; (2) usage of coating, gluing,
cleaning, and washoff materials shall be less than 250 total gallons
each month; (3) usage of coating, gluing, cleaning, and washoff
materials shall be less than 3,000 total gallons per rolling 12-month
period; or (4) usage of materials containing less than five tons of any
one HAP per rolling 12-month period, less than 12.5 tons of any
combination of HAPs per rolling 12-month period, less than 25 tons of
VOC per rolling 12-month period for sources located in the 13 county
ozone nonattainment area, and less than 50 tons of VOC per rolling 12-
month period for facilities not located in the 13 county ozone
nonattainment area.
--Rule 391-3-1-.03(11)(b)8: A new subsection, (b)8, is added to
establish Permit by Rule standards for applicable printing operations,
which must meet the following conditions to operate under the Permit by
Rule. The consumption of any VOC and/or HAP emitting materials
(including but not limited to inks, thinners, and solvents) by the
facility is limited to 20,000 pounds during any 12 consecutive months.
Monitoring and record keeping requirements include maintaining a log of
the monthly consumption of VOC and/or HAP containing material.
--Rule 391-3-1-.03(11)(b)9: A new subsection, (b)9, is added to
establish Permit by Rule standards for applicable non-reactive mixing
operations, which must meet the following conditions to operate under
the Permit by Rule. Materials mixed are limited to 500 tons during any
12 consecutive months, mixing/blending tanks must be equipped with
lids, mixing tanks must be maintained at a temperature of less than 150
degree Fahrenheit, and tank lids must be closed at all times during
operation except when charging raw materials, retrieving samples, or
discharging finished product. Monitoring and record keeping
requirements include maintaining a monthly log of materials mixed.
--Rule 391-3-1-.03(11)(b)10: A new subsection, (b)10, is added to
establish Permit by Rule standards for applicable fiberglass molding
and forming operations, which must meet the following conditions to
operate under the Permit by Rule. During any 12 consecutive months,
annual facility material usage (i.e., the combined weight of polyester
resin and gel coat) is limited to 89,000 pounds for any combination of
hand and spray lay-up operations or 120,000 pounds for spray lay-up
operations only. Monitoring and record keeping requirements include
maintaining a log of the combined monthly usage of polyester resin and
gel coat.
--Rule 391-3-1-.03(11)(b)11: A new subsection, (b)11, is added to
establish Permit by Rule standards for applicable peanut/nut shelling
operations, which must meet the following conditions to operate under
the Permit by Rule. During any 12 consecutive months, facility process
input is limited to 130,000 tons of unshelled nuts and annual hours of
operation shall not exceed 5,000 hours. Monitoring and record keeping
requirements include maintaining a log of the monthly unshelled
peanuts/nuts processed.
II. Final Action
The EPA is approving the aforementioned changes to the Georgia SIP
because they are consistent with Agency policy and the Clean Air Act as
amended in 1990. The EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal
because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and
anticipates no adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section
of this Federal Register publication, EPA is publishing a separate
document that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision
should adverse comments be filed. This rule will be effective May 12,
2000 without further notice unless the Agency receives adverse comments
by April 12, 2000.
If the EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish a document
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will
not take effect. All public comments received will then be addressed in
a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. The EPA will not
institute a second comment period. Parties interested in commenting
should do so at this time. If no such comments are received, the public
is advised that this rule will be effective on May 12, 2000.
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III. Administrative Requirements
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. 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 (Public Law 104-4). For the same reason,
this rule also does not significantly or uniquely affect the
communities of tribal governments, as specified by Executive Order
13084 (63 FR 27655, May 10, 1998). This rule will 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), because it
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 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997),
because it is not economically significant.
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. As required by section 3
of Executive Order 12988 (61 FR 4729, February 7, 1996), in issuing
this rule, EPA has taken the necessary steps to eliminate drafting
errors and ambiguity, minimize potential litigation, and provide a
clear legal standard for affected conduct. EPA has complied with
Executive Order 12630 (53 FR 8859, March 15, 1988), by examining the
takings implications of the rule in accordance with the ``Attorney
General's Supplemental Guidelines for the Evaluation of Risk and
Avoidance of Unanticipated Takings'' issued under the executive order.
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. section 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, 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.
section 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 May 12, 2000. 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, Administrative practice and procedure,
Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, Hydrocarbons, Intergovernmental
relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides.
Dated: February 14, 2000.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
Accordingly, for the reasons set forth in the preamble, Part 52 of
chapter I, title 40, 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--L--Georgia
Sec. 52.570 [AMENDED]
2. In Sec. 52.570, a. Adding in numerical order an entry for ``391-
3-1-.03(11)'' to the table in paragraph (c).
b. Revising the entries for ``391-3-1-.02(3)'', and ``391-3-
1-.02(6)'' in the table to paragraph (c).
Sec. 52.570 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c)
EPA Approved Georgia Regulations
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State EPA approval
State citation Title/subject effective date date Explanation
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* * * * * *
*
391-3-1-.02(3)..................... Sampling................... 12/25/97 3/13/00 ..............
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391-3-1-.02(6)..................... Source Monitoring.......... 12/25/97 3/13/00 ..............
* * * * * *
*
391-3-1-.03(11).................... Permit by Rule............. 12/25/97 3/13/00 ..............
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[FR Doc. 00-5386 Filed 3-10-00; 8:45 am]
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