Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; RACT for VOC's From Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industries (SOCMI) in Allegheny County

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[PA-15-6025; FRL-4828-2]

Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; RACT for VOC's From Synthetic Organic

Chemical Manufacturing Industries (SOCMI) in Allegheny County

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking a limited approval/limited disapproval on a

State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Pennsylvania

Department of Environmental Resources (PADER). This revision

establishes and requires reasonably available control technology (RACT)

to control fugitive volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions from

Synthetic Organic Chemical and Polymer Manufacturing-Fugitive Sources

(SOCMI) and the associated test method required to determine

compliance. This revision has been submitted by the PADER at the

request of the Allegheny County Bureau of Air Pollution Control (BAPC)

to fulfill its 1982 ozone SIP commitment to adopt all applicable

control technique guidelines (CTG's) published by EPA. The intended

effect of this document is to take limited approval action on the

revision because the regulation strengthens the SIP. At the same time,

EPA is taking limited disapproval action on this revision because it

does not fully meet the Federal SIP requirements. Furthermore, the

limited disapproval action initiates the 18-month sanction clock and

the 24-month Federal implementation plan (FIP) period. These actions

are being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule will become effective on March 14, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the documents relevant to this action are

available for public inspection during normal business hours at the

Air, Radiation, and Toxics Division, U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, Region III, 841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

19107; Jerry Kurtzweg ANR-443, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

401 M Street, SW., Washington, DC 20460; Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,

Department of Environmental Resources Bureau of Air Quality Control,

P.O. Box 8468, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105; and

Allegheny County Health Department, Bureau of Air Pollution Control,

301 39th Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelly A. Sheckler, (215) 597-6863.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 15, 1992 (57 FR 59327), EPA

published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) for the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania. The NPR proposed limited approval and limited disapproval

of the addition of section 534, Synthetic Organic Chemical and Polymer

Manufacturing-Fugitive Sources and section 605 I, the associated test

method required to determine compliance with section 534, which revised

Article XX of the Allegheny County Health Department Rules and

Regulations, as a revision to the Allegheny County portion of the

Pennsylvania SIP. The formal SIP revision was submitted by the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on July 13, 1987.

As discussed in the NPR (57 FR 59327), the proposed revision serves

to strengthen the SIP because the regulations constitute RACT for the

synthetic organic chemical and polymer manufacturing fugitive sources,

except as discussed below. By taking limited approval action, the

regulations will be made federally enforceable. Therefore, EPA is

taking limited approval action. At the same time, the revision is not

approvable pursuant to section 182(a)(2)(A) of the CAA because its

Director discretion provisions are not consistent with the

interpretation of section 172 of the pre-amendment guidance.

Specifically, section 534 at paragraph D of the Allegheny County's

regulation, which provides the Director of the Allegheny County BAPC

the discretion to approve alternatives, must be amended to require that

the use of any alternative VOC emission reduction system and/or

alternative monitoring procedures also be approved by the United States

Environmental Protection Agency. Therefore, EPA is also taking limited

disapproval action.

Under section 179(a)(2), if the Administrator disapproves a

submittal under section 110(k) for an area designated nonattainment

based on the submittal's failure to meet one or more of the elements

required by the Act, the Administrator must apply sanctions set forth

in section 179(b) unless the deficiency has been corrected within 18

months of such disapproval. Section 179(b) provides two sanctions

available to the Administrator: Highway funding and emission offsets.

The disapproval action in this final rulemaking initiates the 18-month

sanctions period for Allegheny County. Moreover, final disapproval

triggers the 24-month period by which EPA must promulgate a Federal

implementation plan (FIP) under section 110(c) until such time as the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania corrects the language of Article XX,

section 534 at paragraph D as described above.

The rationale for EPA's action are explained in the NPR and will

not be restated here. No public comments were received on the NPR.

Final Action

EPA is taking limited approval/limited disapproval action on the

addition of section 534, Synthetic Organic Chemical and Polymer

Manufacturing-Fugitive Sources and section 605 I, the associated test

method required to determine compliance with section 534, which revised

Article XX, as a revision to the Allegheny County portion of the

Pennsylvania SIP.

The Agency has reviewed this request for revision of the federally-

approved State implementation plan for conformance with the provisions

of the 1990 amendments enacted on November 15, 1990. The Agency has

determined that this action does not conform with the statute as

amended and must be disapproved. The Administrator has examined the

issue of whether this action should be reviewed only under the

provisions of the law as it existed on the date of submittal to the

Agency (i.e., prior to November 15, 1990) as has determined that the

Agency must apply the new law to this revision.

The limited disapproval action taken in this rulemaking notice

initiates, the 18-month sanction clock for Allegheny County and the 24-

month FIP clock for EPA, upon the effective date of this document.

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.

This action pertaining to the limited approval/limited disapproval

of Allegheny County's RACT for VOC's from SOCMI, has been classified as

a Table 3 action for signature by the Acting 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. On January 6, 1989, the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) waived Table 2 and Table 3 SIP revisions from the requirements of

section 3 of Executive Order 12291 for a period of two years. The EPA

has submitted a request for a permanent waiver for Table 2 and 3 SIP

revisions. The OMB has agreed to continue the waiver until such time as

it rules on EPA's request. This request is still applicable under

Executive Order 12866, which superseded Executive Order 12291 on

September 30, 1993.

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 April 11, 1994. 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, Hydrocarbons,

Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Ozone,

Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile Organic Compounds.

Dated: January 6, 1994.

Stanley L. Laskowski,

Acting 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. 7401-7671q.

Subpart NN--Pennsylvania

2. Section 52.2020 is amended by adding paragraph(c)(86) to read as

follows:

Sec. 52.2020 Identification of plan.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(86) Revisions to the Pennsylvania Regulations for reasonably

available control technology (RACT) to control fugitive organic

chemical manufacturing industries, Article XX of the Rules and

Regulations of the Allegheny County Health Department, section 534 and

605 I submitted on July 13, 1987 by the Pennsylvania Department of

Environmental Resources (DER).

(i) Incorporation by reference.

(A) Letter of July 13, 1987 from the Pennsylvania Department of

Environmental Resources transmitting regulations for the control of

``Synthetic Organic Chemical and Polymer Manufacturing-Fugitive

Sources'' and the associated test method, EPA method 21.

(B) Article XX, of the Rules and Regulations of the Allegheny

County Health Department, section 534 and 605 I, effective June 10,

1987.

3. Section 52.2023 is amended by adding paragraph (h) to read as

follows:

Sec. 52.2023 Approval status.

* * * * *

(h) The Allegheny County Bureau of Air Pollution Control (BAPC)

Article XX, section 534 at paragraph D, does not fulfill its 1982 ozone

SIP commitment to adopt all applicable control technique guidelines

published by EPA. These regulations establish and require reasonable

available control technology to control fugitive volatile organic

compounds emissions (VOC) from synthetic organic chemical and polymer

manufacturing-fugitive sources and associated test method required to

determine compliance, but provide the Director of the Bureau authority

to approve an alternative VOC emission reduction system and/or

alternative monitoring procedure. The approval of any such alternatives

by the Director of the BAPC cannot and would not amend the SIP. Only

the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) has the authority to approve an alternative VOC emission

reduction system and/or the use of an alternative monitoring procedure

as a revision to the SIP. Air Pollution Article XX, section 534 at

paragraph D of the SIP will remain inadequate until this language

providing for Director discretion is corrected to require that any such

alternatives approved by the Director of BAPC must also be approved by

EPA. The amended version of Article XX, section 534, paragraph D must

be adopted by the Commonwealth, submitted to EPA and approved as a SIP

revision to correct this deficiency in the Pennsylvania SIP.

[FR Doc. 94-2911 Filed 2-9-94; 8:45 am]

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