Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California State Implementation Plan Revision, Ventura County Air Pollution Control District

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[OAQPS # CA 37-10-6201; FRL-5021-7]

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California

State Implementation Plan Revision, Ventura County Air Pollution

Control District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the California State

Implementation Plan (SIP) for ozone. These revisions concern the

control of oxides of nitrogen (NOX) from boilers, steam

generators, process heaters, and oilfield drilling operations. The

intended effect of proposing approval of these rules is to regulate

emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOX) in accordance with the

requirements of the Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).

EPA's final action on this notice of proposed rulemaking will

incorporate these rules into the federally approved SIP. EPA has

evaluated these rules and is proposing to approve them under provisions

of the CAA regarding EPA actions on SIP submittals, SIPs for national

primary and secondary ambient air quality standards, and plan

requirements for nonattainment areas.

DATES: Comments on this proposed action must be received in writing on

or before August 29, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Daniel A. Meer, Rulemaking

Section (A-5-3), Air and Toxics Division, U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. Please

refer to document number CA 37-10-6201 in all correspondence.

Copies of the rules and EPA's evaluation report of each rule are

available for public inspection at EPA's Region 9 office during normal

business hours. Copies of the submitted rules are also available for

inspection at the following locations:

California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule

Evaluation Section, 2020 ``L'' Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.

Ventura County Air Pollution Control District, 800 South Victoria

Avenue, Ventura, CA 93009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Duane F. James, Rulemaking Section (A-

5-3), Air and Toxics Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, Telephone:

(415) 744-1191.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Applicability

The rules being proposed for approval into the California SIP

include: Ventura County Air Pollution Control District's (VCAPCD) Rule

74.15, ``Boilers, Steam Generators and Process Heaters,'' and Rule

74.16, ``Oilfield Drilling Operations.'' These rules were submitted by

the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to EPA on April 5, 1991 (Rule

74.16) and June 19, 1992 (Rule 74.15).

Background

On November 15, 1990, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAA)

were enacted. Pub. L. 101-549, 104 Stat. 2399, codified at 42 U.S.C.

7401-7671q. The air quality planning requirements for the reduction of

NOX emissions through reasonably available control technology

(RACT) are set out in section 182(f) of the CAA. On November 25, 1992,

EPA published a NPRM entitled ``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) which describes the requirements of section 182(f). The

November 25, 1992, notice should be referred to for further information

on the NOX requirements and is incorporated into this proposal by

reference.

Section 182(f) of the Clean Air Act requires States to apply the

same requirements to major stationary sources of NOX (``major'' as

defined in section 302 and section 182 (c), (d), and (e)) as are

applied to major stationary sources of volatile organic compounds

(VOCs) in moderate or above ozone nonattainment areas. The Ventura

County Area is classified as severe;\1\ therefore this area was subject

to the RACT requirements of section 182(b)(2), cited above, including

the November 15, 1992 deadline.

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\1\The Ventura County Area retained its designation of

nonattainment and was classified by operation of law pursuant to

sections 107(d) and 181(a) upon the date of enactment of the CAA.

See 55 FR 56694 (November 6, 1991).

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Section 182(b)(2) requires submittal of RACT rules for major

stationary sources of VOC emissions (not covered by a pre-enactment

control technologies guidelines (CTG) document or a post-enactment CTG

document) by November 15, 1992. There were no NOX CTGs issued

before enactment and EPA has not issued a CTG document for any NOX

sources since enactment of the CAA. The RACT rules covering NOX

sources and submitted as SIP revisions are expected to require final

installation of the actual NOX controls by May 31, 1995, for those

sources where installation by that date is practicable.

The State of California submitted the rules being acted on in this

document on April 5, 1991, and June 19, 1992. This document addresses

EPA's proposed action for VCAPCD's Rule 74.15, ``Boilers, Steam

Generators and Process Heaters,'' and Rule 74.16, ``Oilfield Drilling

Operations.'' VCAPCD adopted Rule 74.16 on January 8, 1991, and Rule

74.15 on December 3, 1991. These submitted rules were found to be

complete on May 21, 1991 (Rule 74.16) and August 27, 1992 (Rule 74.15)

pursuant to EPA's completeness criteria that are set forth in 40 CFR

Part 51, Appendix V\2\, and are being proposed for approval into the

SIP.

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\2\EPA adopted the completeness criteria on February 16, 1990

(55 FR 5830) and, pursuant to section 110(k)(1)(A) of the CAA,

revised the criteria on August 26, 1991 (56 FR 42216).

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NOX emissions contribute to the production of ground level

ozone and smog. The rules were adopted as part of VCAPCD's efforts to

achieve the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone

and in response to the CAA requirements cited above. The following is

EPA's evaluation and proposed action for these rules.

EPA Evaluation and Proposed Action

In determining the approvability of a NOX rule, EPA must

evaluate the rule for consistency with the requirements of the CAA and

EPA regulations, as found in section 110, and part D of the CAA and 40

CFR part 51 (Requirements for Preparation, Adoption and Submittal of

Implementation Plans). The EPA interpretation of these requirements,

which forms the basis for this action, appears in various EPA policy

guidance documents.\3\ Among these provisions is the requirement that a

NOX rule must, at a minimum, provide for the implementation of

RACT for stationary sources of NOX emissions.

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\3\Among other things, the pre-amendment guidance consists of

those portions of the proposed post-1987 ozone and carbon monoxide

policy that concern RACT, 52 FR 45044 (November 24, 1987); ``Issues

Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations,

Clarification to Appendix D of November 24, 1987 Federal Register

Notice'' (Blue Book) (notice of availability was published in the

Federal Register on May 25, 1988).

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For the purposes of assisting state and local agencies in

developing NOX RACT rules, EPA prepared the NOX Supplement to

the General Preamble, cited above (57 FR 55620). In the NOX

Supplement, EPA provides guidance on how RACT will be determined for

major stationary sources of NOX emissions. While most of the

guidance issued by EPA on what constitutes RACT for stationary sources

has been directed towards application for VOC sources, much of the

guidance is also applicable to RACT for stationary sources of NOX

(see section 4.5 of the NOX Supplement). In addition, pursuant to

section 183(c), EPA is issuing alternative control techniques documents

(ACTs), that identify alternative controls for all categories of

stationary sources of NOX. The ACT documents will provide

information on control technology for stationary sources that emit or

have the potential to emit 25 tons per year or more of NOX.

However, the ACTs will not establish a presumptive norm for what is

considered RACT for stationary sources of NOX. In general, the

guidance documents cited above, as well as other relevant and

applicable guidance documents, have been set forth to ensure that

submitted NOX RACT rules meet federal RACT requirements and are

fully enforceable and strengthen or maintain the SIP.

Rule 74.15 limits the discharge of NOX from boilers, steam

generators, and process heaters to 40 parts per million volume (ppmv)

or 0.048 pounds per million Btu (lb/MMBtu). Rule 74.15 satisfies all

the requirements of RACT for California with the added stringency of a

lower emission limit. The rule's compliance date of March 2, 1992,

satisfies the CAA's NOX RACT implementation date requirement of

May 31, 1995 (Sec. 182(b)(2)). The District expects this rule to

provide a 50 to 60% reduction in NOX emissions for this source

category. This reduction corresponds to 1.34 tons per day based on the

District's inventory.

Rule 74.16 requires all drilling operations to be powered by

utility electricity unless, under Section C.1, its installation is not

cost effective. The exemption may be granted if a Best Available

Control Technology (BACT) evaluation shows that the cost of control

exceeds the BACT guideline cost. The costs used in the analysis are

limited to the costs of installing sufficient and compatible electric

capacity to power the drill rig. For drilling operations claiming an

exemption from this requirement, the emissions of NOX from diesel-

powered engines shall not exceed 515 ppmv or 6.9 grams per brake

horsepower-hour (g/bhp-hr). Compliance must be demonstrated annually by

source testing. Section C.2 also grants a limited exemption for shallow

drilling projects which use smaller rigs with engines that cannot meet

the emission limit. This exemption applies only if the Section C.1 cost

effectiveness exemption also applies, and, in any event, expires on

June 1, 1995, when manufacturer certified low NOX engines are

expected to be available. A more detailed discussion of the sources

controlled, the controls required, and the justification for why these

controls represent RACT can be found in the Technical Support Documents

(TSDs) for Rules 74.15 and 74.16, date November 19, 1993.

EPA has evaluated the submitted rules and has determined that they

are consistent with the CAA, EPA regulations and EPA policy. Therefore,

VCAPCD's Rule 74.15, ``Boilers, Steam Generators and Process Heaters,''

and Rule 74.16, ``Oilfield Drilling Operations,'' are being proposed

for approval under section 110(k)(3) of the CAA as meeting the

requirements of section 110(a), section 182(b)(2), section 182(f) and

the NOX Supplement to the General Preamble.

Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or

allowing or establishing a precedent for any future request for

revision to any state implementation plan. Each request for revision to

the state implementation plan shall be considered separately in light

of specific technical, economic and environmental factors and in

relation to relevant statutory and regulatory requirements.\4\

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\4\Section C.3 of Rule 74.15 references VCAPCD Rule 32. VCAPCD

Rule 32 was not submitted to EPA with Rule 74.15 and has not been

approved by EPA for inclusion into the SIP. Therefore, this NPRM for

Rule 74.15 does not constitute action on or approval of Rule 32 into

the SIP.

Both Rules 74.15 and 74.16 reference California Air Resources

Board's (CARB) Method 100, which has been cited for certain

deficiencies by the Emissions Measurement Branch. CARB has committed

to correct these deficiencies in 1994, and final approval of Rules

74.15 and 74.16 is contingent on these corrections.

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Regulatory Flexibility

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. Section 600 et.

seq., EPA must prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis assessing the

impact of any proposed or final rule on small entities. 5 U.S.C

sections 603 and 604. Alternatively, EPA may certify that the rule will

not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small

entities. Small entities include small businesses, small not-for-profit

enterprises, and government entities with jurisdiction over populations

of less than 50,000.

SIP approvals under section 110 and subchapter I, Part D of the CAA

do not create any new requirements, but simply approve requirements

that the State is already imposing. Therefore, because the Federal SIP-

approval does not impose any new requirements, I certify that it does

not have a significant impact on affected small entities. Moreover, due

to the nature of the federal-state relationship under the CAA,

preparation of a regulatory flexibility analysis would constitute

federal inquiry into the economic reasonableness of state action. The

CAA forbids EPA to base its actions concerning SIPs on such grounds.

Union Electric Co. v. U.S. E.P.A., 427 U.S. 246, 256-66 (S.Ct. 1976);

42 U.S.C. section 7410 (a)(2).

This action has been classified as a Table 2 action by the Regional

Administrator under the procedures published in the Federal Register on

January 19, 1989 (54 FR 2214-2225), as revised by an October 4, 1993,

memorandum from Michael H. Shapiro, Acting Assistant Administrator for

Air and Radiation. The OMB has exempted this regulatory action from

Executive Order 12866 review.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

Environmental Protection Agency, Air pollution control,

Hydrocarbons, Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.

Dated: July 11, 1994.

Felicia Marcus,

Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 94-18326 Filed 7-27-94; 8:45 am]

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