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Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Revisions to Stage II Requirements in Allegheny County
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: January 17, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 12)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 3190-3192]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17ja08-4]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2006-1011; FRL-8517-2]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Pennsylvania; Revisions to Stage II Requirements in Allegheny County
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is approving revisions to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
State Implementation Plan which were submitted on November 21, 2006 by
the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP). These
revisions modify and clarify the existing regulatory requirements for
the control of volatile organic compounds from gasoline dispensing
facilities in Allegheny County. The revisions modify the compliance
dates and make other minor technical amendments to the efficiency and
compliance testing portions of the Stage II regulations in Allegheny
County. EPA is approving these revisions to the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania's State Implementation Plan in accordance with the
requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: This rule is effective on March 17, 2008 without further notice,
unless EPA receives adverse written comment by February 19, 2008. If
EPA receives such comments, it 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: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2006-1011 by one of the following methods:
A. http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
B. E-mail: fernandez.cristina@epa.gov
C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2006-1011, Cristina Fernandez, Chief, Air
Quality Planning Branch, Mailcode 3AP21, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
D. Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region III address.
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of
boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-
2006-1011. EPA's policy is that all comments received 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 information claimed to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to
be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail.
The http://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 http://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 electronic docket are listed in the
http://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 the Internet and will be
publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket
materials are available either electronically in http://www.regulations.gov
or in hard copy during normal business hours at the Air Protection
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch
Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of the State submittal
are available at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection, Bureau of Air Quality Control, P.O. Box 8468, 400 Market
Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105; and the Allegheny County Health
Department, Bureau of Environmental Quality, Division of Air Quality,
301 39th Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15201.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine L. Magliocchetti, (215) 814-
2174, or by e-mail at magliocchetti.catherine@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information
is arranged as follows:
I. What Action Is EPA Taking Today?
II. Why Is EPA Taking This Action?
III. How Did EPA Review the Commonwealth's Submittal?
IV. What Final Action is EPA Taking Today?
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What Action Is EPA Taking Today?
EPA is approving revisions to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
State Implementation Plan (SIP), which were submitted on November 21,
2006 by PADEP. These changes to Allegheny County's Article XXI Air
Pollution Control Rules and Regulations amend the existing Stage II
regulatory requirements to conform with 25 PA Code, Chapter 129,
Standards for Sources, section 129.82, Control of volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) from gasoline dispensing facilities. Specifically, the
revisions incorporate revised compliance dates for Allegheny County,
and make other minor technical amendments. The revised Stage II
compliance dates are all now in the past, so gasoline dispensing
facilities with throughputs greater than 10,000 gallons per month are
subject to these regulations. In the case of independent small business
marketers, as defined in Section 324 of the CAA, the regulation does
not apply if the throughput is less than 50,000 gallons per month.
Allegheny County has also revised its regulations to establish
functional testing and certification requirements, as well as
recordkeeping requirements consistent with EPA's regulations. The
regulation also establishes a 95% efficiency for Stage II vapor
recovery systems in Allegheny County, consistent with EPA requirements.
II. Why Is EPA Taking This Action?
EPA is approving these SIP revisions to the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania SIP. The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) revised
its Stage II VOC control requirements in order to follow revisions to
Stage II requirements that were made at the State level. EPA is
approving these revisions as necessary for attainment and maintenance
of the ozone standard in Southwest Pennsylvania.
[[Page 3191]]
III. How Did EPA Review the Commonwealth's Submittal?
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's SIP revisions were submitted by
the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) on
November 21, 2006. EPA evaluated the Commonwealth's revised Stage II
requirements for Allegheny County to verify that the revisions were
consistent with the previously approved Stage II regulations for the
Commonwealth and met the requirements found in EPA's Stage II
enforcement and technical documentation. The revisions were also
reviewed for compliance with the CAA.
IV. What Final Action Is EPA Taking Today?
EPA is approving a SIP revision request submitted by PADEP that
makes compliance schedule changes and minor technical amendments to
Allegheny County's Article XXI Air Pollution Control Rules and
Regulations amending the existing Stage II regulatory requirements,
controlling the emission of VOCs from gasoline dispensing facilities.
We are publishing this rule without prior proposal because the
Agency views this as a non-controversial amendment and anticipates no
adverse comment. However, in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of today's
Federal Register, EPA is publishing a separate document that will serve
as the proposal to approve the SIP revision if adverse comments are
filed. This rule will be effective on March 17, 2008 without further
notice unless EPA receives adverse comment by February 19, 2008. If EPA
receives adverse comment, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal in the
Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take
effect. EPA will address all public comments in a subsequent final rule
based on the proposed rule. EPA will not institute a second comment
period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so
at this time.
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. General 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. 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
requirement, 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 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 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.).
B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General
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. This rule is not a
``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
C. Petitions for Judicial Review
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 March 17, 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, approving revisions to Allegheny County's Stage II
regulations, 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, Ozone, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: January 8, 2008.
Donald S. Welsh,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
• 40 CFR part 52 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 NN--Pennsylvania
• 2. In Sec. 52.2020, the table in paragraph (c)(2) is amended by
revising the entry for Article XXI, Section 2105.14 to read as follows:
[[Page 3192]]
Sec. 52.2020 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(2) * * *
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State Additional
Article XX or XXI citation Title/subject effective EPA approval date explanation/ Sec.
date 52.2063 citation
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* * * * * * *
Part E--Source Emission and Operating Standards
* * * * * * *
Subpart 1--VOC Sources
* * * * * * *
2105.14 Gasoline Dispensing 7/10/05 1/17/08 [Insert page
Facilities--Stage number where the
II Control. document begins].
* * * * * * *
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[FR Doc. E8-583 Filed 1-16-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P