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Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of Missouri

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[Federal Register: April 2, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 64)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 17893-17896]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02ap08-7]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R07-OAR-2008-0103; FRL-8549-8]

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of Missouri

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

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision to
exempt initial fueling of motor vehicles at automobile assembly plants
in the St. Louis metropolitan area from the Missouri Performance
Evaluation Test Procedures (MO/PETP) approval test requirements. MO/
PETP requirements were initially implemented to maintain the integrity
of local air quality by regulating gasoline fueling emissions. The
Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) provided an air quality
analysis and it was determined that removal of these test requirements
for initial fueling at automobile assembly plants will not adversely
affect air quality in the St. Louis area. In addition, certain portions
of the rule were renumbered and reformatted. This revision will ensure
consistency between the state and the federally-approved rules.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective June 2, 2008, without
further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by May 2, 2008. If
adverse comment is received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of
the direct final rule in the Federal Register informing the public that
the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R07-
OAR-2008-0103, by one of the following methods:
    1. www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
    2. E-mail: algoe-eakin.amy@epa.gov.
    3. Mail: Amy Algoe-Eakin, Environmental Protection Agency, Air
Planning and Development Branch, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City,
Kansas 66101.
    4. Hand Delivery or Courier. Deliver your comments to Amy Algoe-
Eakin, Environmental Protection Agency, Air Planning and Development
Branch, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66101.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R07-OAR-
2008-0103. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit through www.regulations.gov or e-
mail information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected.
The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system,
which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information
unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-
mail comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov,
your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part
of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available
on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends
that you include your name and other contact information in the body of
your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. 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. Electronic
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such
as copyrighted material, is not placed on

[[Page 17894]]

the Internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form.
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Environmental Protection
Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch, 901 North 5th Street,
Kansas City, Kansas 66101. The Regional Office's official hours of
business are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. excluding
Federal holidays. The interested persons wanting to examine these
documents should make an appointment with the office at least 24 hours
in advance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Algoe-Eakin at (913) 551-7942, or
by e-mail at algoe-eakin.amy@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This section provides
additional information by addressing the following questions:

What is a SIP?
What is the Federal approval process for a SIP?
What does Federal approval of a state regulation mean to me?
What is being addressed in this document?
Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?
What action is EPA taking?

What is a SIP?

    Section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires states to develop
air pollution regulations and control strategies to ensure that state
air quality meets the national ambient air quality standards
established by EPA. These ambient standards are established under
section 109 of the CAA, and they currently address six criteria
pollutants. These pollutants are: carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide,
ozone, lead, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide.
    Each state must submit these regulations and control strategies to
us for approval and incorporation into the federally-enforceable SIP.
    Each federally-approved SIP protects air quality primarily by
addressing air pollution at its point of origin. These SIPs can be
extensive, containing state regulations or other enforceable documents
and supporting information such as emission inventories, monitoring
networks, and modeling demonstrations.

What is the Federal approval process for a SIP?

    In order for state regulations to be incorporated into the
federally-enforceable SIP, states must formally adopt the regulations
and control strategies consistent with state and Federal requirements.
This process generally includes a public notice, public hearing, public
comment period, and a formal adoption by a state-authorized rulemaking body.
    Once a state rule, regulation, or control strategy is adopted, the
state submits it to us for inclusion into the SIP. We must provide
public notice and seek additional public comment regarding the proposed
Federal action on the state submission. If adverse comments are received,
they must be addressed prior to any final Federal action by us.
    All state regulations and supporting information approved by EPA
under section 110 of the CAA are incorporated into the federally-
approved SIP. Records of such SIP actions are maintained in the Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) at title 40, part 52, entitled ``Approval and
Promulgation of Implementation Plans.'' The actual state regulations
which are approved are not reproduced in their entirety in the CFR
outright but are ``incorporated by reference,'' which means that we
have approved a given state regulation with a specific effective date.

What does Federal approval of a state regulation mean to me?

    Enforcement of the state regulation before and after it is
incorporated into the federally-approved SIP is primarily a state
responsibility. However, after the regulation is Federally approved, we
are authorized to take enforcement action against violators. Citizens
are also offered legal recourse to address violations as described in
section 304 of the CAA.

What is being addressed in this document?

    On October 1, 2007, EPA received a request from the MDNR to approve
a revision to the SIP to exempt initial fueling of motor vehicles at
automobile assembly plants in the St. Louis metropolitan area from the
Missouri Performance Evaluation Test Procedures (MO/PETP) approval test
requirements. The MO/PETP requirements were initially implemented to
maintain the integrity of local air quality by regulating gasoline
fueling emissions (volatile organic compounds--VOCs) in St. Louis.
    The MO/PETP is a bank of individual test procedures that apply to
manufacturers of vapor recovery components. The MDNR uses these test
procedures to evaluate the overall efficiency of various types of
gasoline vapor recovery systems (including Stage I and Stage II
systems). Stage I vapor recovery is the capture and control of gasoline
vapors that would normally be released into the atmosphere during the
storage of gasoline at a terminal or bulk plant, or during the loading
of a gasoline delivery vessel and the subsequent delivery and unloading
of a gasoline delivery into another storage tank, usually at a gasoline
dispensing facility (GDF). Stage II is the capture and control of
gasoline vapors that would normally be released in the atmosphere
during the refueling of motor vehicles at the GDF. Stage II involves
the installation of a black boot on the gasoline nozzle at gas stations
in the St. Louis area which captures the vapors from the automobile
tank and returns these vapors to the underground storage tank at the GDF.
    In implementing the tests, the automobile industry determined that
the testing requirements were costly and burdensome with little or no
emissions benefits. Representatives of the automobile manufacturing
industry in the St. Louis area met with MDNR representatives with
regard to the MO/PETP test requirements and provided MDNR with
information that indicated that emissions were already controlled
pursuant to the CAA and pertinent Missouri rules. In addition, the air
quality benefit of MO/PETP testing for initial fueling at the
automobile assembly plants was nominal. These issues, coupled with the
extensive costs, initiated the change to 10 CSR 10-5.220.
    The St. Louis metropolitan area is currently designated
nonattainment for the 8-hour ozone standard. The EPA Region 7 requested
that MDNR demonstrate that revisions to this rule would not negatively
impact air quality. The CAA Section 110(l), provides in part, that SIP
revisions cannot interfere with attainment of a National Ambient Air
Quality Standard or with reasonable further progress towards
attainment. CAA Section 193 contains anti-backsliding provisions as
well, but it does not apply here because the testing requirements at
issue do not predate the 1990 amendments to the CAA. To address these
concerns, MDNR submitted an air emission impact worksheet that
concluded the emissions not captured at the automobile assembly plants'
initial fueling operations were negligible compared to the total VOCs
in the St. Louis nonattainment areas. Based on this analysis, EPA
concluded that this change would not relax SIP requirements so as to
adversely impact air emissions.
    It should be noted that the only portion of the MO/PETP rule
affected by the revision is the portion that applies at automobile
manufacturing plants. The remaining requirements for Stage I

[[Page 17895]]

and Stage II vapor recovery remain in place. MDNR rules include the
requirement to obtain construction permits before replacement or
addition of equipment that may affect vapor tightness of the vapor
recovery system. Operating permits for these facilities are required in
accordance with 10 CSR 10-6.065 and Title V of the CAA. In addition,
certain portions of the rule were renumbered and reformatted. The
renumbering and reformatting of the rule makes this rule consistent
with the general format of Missouri air rules and does not change any
requirements.

Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?

    The submittal satisfied the completeness criteria of 40 CFR part
51, appendix V. In addition, the state submittal has met the public
notice requirements for SIP submission in accordance with 40 CFR 51.102
and met the substantive SIP requirements of the CAA including section 110.

What action is EPA taking?

    We are approving the request to amend the Missouri SIP (10 CSR 10-
5.220) to exempt the MO/PETP approval test requirements for initial
fueling of motor vehicles at automobile assembly plants in St. Louis.
This rule was also renumbered and reformatted. The appropriate air
quality analysis was included with the SIP submittal and it has been
determined that these changes will not relax the SIP or adversely
impact air emissions.
    We are processing this action as a direct final action because the
revisions make routine changes to the existing rules which are
noncontroversial and make regulatory revisions, required by state
statute. Therefore, we do not anticipate any adverse comments. Please
note that if EPA receives adverse comment on a part of this rule and if
that part can be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt
as final those parts of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse
comment.

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 CAA.
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 CAA. 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 state submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be
inconsistent with applicable law for EPA when it reviews a state
submission, to use VCS in place of a state submission that otherwise
satisfies the provisions of the CAA. 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, 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 CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by June 2, 2008. 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, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: March 20, 2008.
William Rice,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7.

• 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 AA--Missouri

• 2. In Sec.  52.1320(c) the table is amended under Chapter 5 by revising
the entry for ``10-5.220'' to read as follows:

Sec.  52.1320  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

[[Page 17896]]

                                                            EPA-Approved Missouri Regulations
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                                                                           State
          Missouri citation                        Title              effective date        EPA approval date                    Explanation
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                                                        Missouri Department of Natural Resources
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                                                                      * * * * * * *
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                       Chapter 5--Air Quality Standards and Air Pollution Control Regulations for the St. Louis Metropolitan Area
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                                                                      * * * * * * *
10-5.220............................  Control of Petroleum Liquid            9/30/07  4/02/08 [insert FR page
                                       Storage, Loading and Transfer.                  number where the document
                                                                                       begins].

                                                                      * * * * * * *
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* * * * *
[FR Doc. E8-6666 Filed 4-1-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P

 
 


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