Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; District of ColumbiaEmission Statement Program

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[DC15-1-6358; FRL-5178-7]

Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;

District of Columbia--Emission Statement Program

AGENCY: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision

submitted by the District of Columbia. This revision consists of an

emission statement program for stationary sources which emit volatile

organic compounds (VOCs) and/or nitrogen oxides (NOX) at or above

specified actual emission threshold levels. The intended effect of this

action is to approve a regulation for annual reporting of actual

emissions by sources that emit VOC and/or NOX within the District

in accordance with section 182(a)(3)(b) of the 1990 Clean Air Act

Amendments (CAAA). This action is being taken under section 110 of the

Clean Air Act.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This action will become effective July 25, 1995 unless

notice is received on or before June 26, 1995 that adverse or critical

comments will be submitted. If the effective date is delayed, timely

notice will be published in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Thomas J. Maslany, Director, Air,

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

Region III, 841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19107.

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, PA 19107; the Air and Radiation

Docket and Information Center, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

401 M Street. SW, Washington, DC 20460; and the Environmental

Regulation Administration, District of Columbia Department of Consumer

and Regulatory Affairs, 2100 Martin Luther King Ave, S.E., Washington,

DC 20020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Enid A. Gerena, U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, Air, Radiation, and Toxics Division, 841 Chestnut

Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107, (215) 597-8239.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 22, 1993, the District of

Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) submitted

a formal revision to its SIP. One of those revisions is the District's

Emission Statement program which requires owners of stationary sources

that emit VOCs and/or NOX, above specified actual emission

applicability thresholds, to submit annual statements certifying

emissions. This notice only addresses the District's Emission Statement

SIP submittal. The other revisions submitted on October 22, 1993 are

the subjects of separate rulemaking notices.

I. Background

The air quality planning and State Implementation Plan (SIP)

requirements for ozone nonattainment and transport areas are set out in

subparts I and II of Part D of Title I of the Clean Air Act, as amended

by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. EPA published a ``General

Preamble'' describing EPA's preliminary views on how it intends to

review SIP's and SIP revisions submitted under Title I of the CAA,

including those State submittals for ozone transport areas within the

States {see 57 FR 13498 (April 16, 1992) [''SIP: General Preamble for

the Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of

1990''], 57 FR 18070 (April 28, 1992) [''Appendices to the General

Preamble''], and 57 FR 55620 (November 25, 1992) [''SIP: NOX

Supplement to the General Preamble'']}.

EPA also issued a draft guidance document describing the

requirements for the emission statement programs discussed in this

action, entitled ``Guidance on the Implementation of an Emission

Statement Program'' (July, 1992). The Agency is also conducting a

rulemaking process to modify title 40, part 51 of the CFR to reflect

the requirements of the emission statement program.

Section 182 of the Act sets out a graduated control program for

ozone nonattainment areas. Section 182(a) sets out requirements

applicable in marginal ozone nonattainment areas, which are also made

applicable by section 182 (b), (c), (d), and (e) to all other ozone

nonattainment areas. Among the requirements in section 182(a) is a

program for stationary sources to prepare and submit to the State each

year emission statements certifying their actual emissions of VOCs and

NOX. This section of the Act provides that the States or in this

case the District, are to submit a revision to their SIPs by November

15, 1992 establishing this emission statement program. [[Page 27890]]

If a source emits either VOCs or NOX at or above the

designated minimum reporting level, the other pollutant should be

included in the emission statement, even if it is emitted at levels

below the specified cutoffs.

States or the District may waive, with EPA approval, the

requirement for an emission statement for classes or categories of

sources with less than 25 tons per year of actual plant-wide NOX

or VOC emissions in nonattainment areas if the class or category is

included in the base year and periodic inventories and emissions are

calculated using emissions factors established by EPA (such as those

found in EPA publication AP-42) or other methods acceptable to EPA.

Emissions from stationary sources that emit less than 25 tons per year

of VOC and NOX are included in the District of Columbia's 1990

base year emission inventory and must also be included in the periodic

emission inventories.

At minimum, the emission statement data should include:

--Certification of data accuracy;

--Source identification information;

--Operating schedule;

--Emissions information (to include annual and typical ozone season day

emissions);

--Control equipment information; and

--Process data.

EPA developed emission statements data elements to be consistent

with other source and State reporting requirements. This consistency is

essential to assist States (or the District) with quality assurance for

emission estimates and to facilitate consolidation of all EPA reporting

requirements.

II. EPA's Evaluation of the District's Submittal

A. Procedural Background

The District of Columbia held a public hearing on October 27, 1992,

for the purpose of soliciting public comment on proposed regulatory

revisions concerning emission statements for stationary sources. The

regulatory revisions were adopted on July 16, 1993, submitted to EPA on

October 22, 1993 as a revision to the SIP, and became effective in the

District on September 30, 1993.

B. Components of the District's Emission Statement Program

There are several key and specific components of an acceptable

emission statement program. Specifically, the District must submit a

revision to its SIP which consists of an emission statement program

which meets the minimum requirements for reporting by the sources and

the State (or the District). For the emission statement program to be

approvable, the District's SIP revision must include, at a minimum,

definitions and provisions for applicability, compliance, and specific

source reporting requirements and reporting forms.

The District's revision consists of amendments to D.C. ACT 10-56

District of Columbia Air Pollution Control Act of 1984. These

amendments revise Section 20 DCMR 199, Definitions and add Section 20

DCMR 500.7, Emission Statements.

Section 20 DCMR 199, Definitions, has been revised by adding the

definitions of the following terms:

Annual process rate; Certifying individual; Control efficiency;

Control equipment identification code; Emission factor; Emission

statement; Estimated emission method code; Oxides of nitrogen; Percent

annual throughput; Plant; Point; Process rate; Standard industrial

classification code; Typical ozone season day; and Volatile organic

compounds.

Section 20 DCMR 500.7, Emission Statements, requires that a person

who owns or operates any installation, source, or premises located in

areas designated by the CAA as marginal, moderate, serious, severe or

extreme ozone nonattainment area to report the levels of emissions from

the sources emitting 25 tons per year (TPY) or more of VOCs and

NOX, in order to track emission reductions necessary to attain the

ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Section 20 DCMR

500.7, Emission Statements, also requires that a certifying official

for each facility provide the District with a statement reporting

emissions by April 15 of each year, beginning with April 15, 1993, for

the emissions discharged during the previous calendar year. Section 20

DCMR 500.7, Emission Statements, also defines specific requirements for

the content of these annual emission statements.

C. Enforceability

The District of Columbia has provisions in its SIP which ensure

that the emission statement requirements of Section 182(a)(3)(B) and

Sections 184(b)(2) and 182(f) of the CAA as required by D.C. ACT 10-56,

sections 20 DCMR 199, and section 20 DCMR 500.7 are adequately

enforced. Once EPA completes the rulemaking process approving the

District's Emission Statement program as part of the SIP, it will be

federally enforceable.

EPA has determined that the submittal made by the District of

Columbia satisfies the relevant requirements of the CAA and EPA's

guidance document, ``Guidance on the Implementation of an Emission

Statement Program'' (July 1992). EPA's detailed review of the

District's Emission Statement Program is contained in a Technical

Support Document (TSD) which is available, upon request, from the EPA

Regional Office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this action.

EPA is approving this SIP revision without prior proposal because

the Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates

no adverse comments. However, in a separate document in this Federal

Register publication, EPA is proposing to approve the SIP revision

should adverse or critical comments be filed. This action will be

effective July 25, 1995 unless, within 30 days of publication, adverse

or critical comments are received.

If EPA receives such comments, this action will be withdrawn before

the effective date by publishing a subsequent notice that will withdraw

the final action. All public comments received will then be addressed

in a subsequent final rule based on this action serving as a proposed

rule. EPA will not institute a second comment period on this action.

Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at

this time. If no such comments are received, the public is advised that

this action will be effective on July 25, 1995.

III. Final Action

EPA is approving revisions to the District of Columbia SIP to

include an Emission Statement Program. These revisions consist of

amendments to D.C. ACT 10-56 District of Columbia Air Pollution Control

Act by revising section 20 DCMR 199, Definitions, and the addition of

section 20 DCMR 500.7, Emission Statements.

Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or

allowing or establishing a precedent for any future request for

revision of any SIP. Each request for revision to the SIP shall be

considered separately in light of specific technical, economic, and

environmental factors and in relation to relevant statutory and

regulatory requirements.

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 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. 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-

[[Page 27891]] 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 Act

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, the Administrator

certifies that it does not have a significant impact on 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 or District

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 for signature

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 E.O. 12866 review. 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 July 25, 1995. 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 the District of Columbia Emission Statement

SIP submittal 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, Oxides of

nitrogen, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, volatile

organic compounds.

Dated: January 25, 1995.

Peter H. Kostmayer,

Regional Administrator, Region III.

40 CFR part 52, subpart J of chapter I, title 40 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 J--District of Columbia

2. Section 52.470 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(32) to read as

follows:

Sec. 52.470 Identification of plan.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(32) Revisions to the District of Columbia Regulations State

Implementation Plan submitted on October 22, 1993 by the Government of

the District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.

(i) Incorporation by reference.

(A) Letter of October 22, 1993 from the Government of the District

of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs transmitting

a revised regulation which require owners of stationary sources to

submit emission statements annually.

(B) D.C. ACT 10-56 amendments to District of Columbia Air Pollution

Control Act of 1984, Section 20 DCMR 199, specifically the addition of

new definitions, and the addition of Section 20 DCMR 500.7. Effective

on September 30, 1993.

[FR Doc. 95-12927 Filed 5-25-95; 8:45 am]

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