Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California State Implementation Plan Revision, San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District, Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District, South Coast Air Quality Management District

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[CA 162-2-0002a FRL-5466-1]

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California

State Implementation Plan Revision, San Joaquin Valley Unified Air

Pollution Control District, Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control

District, South Coast Air Quality Management District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action on revisions to the

California State Implementation Plan. The revisions concern rules from

the following districts: San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution

Control District (SJVUAPCD), Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control

District (SBCAPCD), and South Coast Air Quality Management District

(SCAQMD). This approval action will incorporate these rules into the

federally approved SIP. The intended effect of approving these rules is

to regulate emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in

accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act, as amended in

1990

[[Page 20137]]

(CAA or the Act). The revised rules control VOC emissions from

aerospace assembly and component manufacturing operations, motor

vehicle and mobile equipment coating operations, crude oil production

and separation, and storage of reactive organic compound liquids (ROC).

Thus, EPA is finalizing the approval of these revisions into the

California SIP under provisions of the CAA regarding EPA action on SIP

submittals for national primary and secondary ambient air quality

standards and plan requirements for nonattainment areas.

DATES: This action is effective on July 5, 1996 unless adverse or

critical comments are received by June 5, 1996. If the effective date

is delayed, a timely notice will be published in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the rule revisions and EPA's evaluation report for

each rule are available for public inspection at EPA's Region IX office

during normal business hours. Copies of the submitted rule revisions

are available for inspection at the following locations:

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

Protection Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA

94105.

Environmental Protection Agency, Air Docket (6102), 401 ``M'' Street,

S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460.

California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule

Evaluation Section, 2020 ``L'' Street, Sacramento, CA 92123-1095.

San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District, 1999

Tuolumne Street, Suite #200, Fresno, CA 93721.

Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District, 26 Castilian

Drive, B-23, Goleta, CA 93117.

South Coast Air Quality Management District, 21865 E. Copley Drive,

Diamond Bar, CA 91765-4182.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Helen Liu, 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-

1199.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Applicability

The rules being approved into the California SIP include: SJVUAPCD

Rule 4602--Motor Vehicle and Mobile Equipment Coating Operations,

SBCAPCD Rule 325--Crude Oil Production and Separation, SBCAPCD Rule

326--Storage of Reactive Organic Compound Liquids, and SCAQMD Rule

1124--Aerospace Assembly and Component Manufacturing Operations.

Background

On March 3, 1978, EPA promulgated a list of ozone nonattainment

areas under the provisions of the Clean Air Act, as amended in 1977

(1977 Act or pre-amended Act), that included the San Joaquin Valley

Area, the Santa Barbara Area, and the South Coast Air Basin. 43 FR

8964, 40 CFR 81.305. On May 26, 1988, EPA notified the Governor of

California, pursuant to section 110(a)(2)(H) of the 1977 Act, that the

above districts' portions of the California SIP were inadequate to

attain and maintain the ozone standard and requested that deficiencies

in the existing SIP be corrected (EPA's SIP-Call). On November 15,

1990, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 were enacted. Pub. L. 101-

549, 104 Stat. 2399, codified at 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q. In amended

section 182(a)(2)(A) of the CAA, Congress statutorily adopted the

requirement that nonattainment areas fix their deficient reasonably

available control technology (RACT) rules for ozone and established a

deadline of May 15, 1991 for states to submit corrections of those

deficiencies.

Section 182(a)(2)(A) applies to areas designated as nonattainment

prior to enactment of the amendments and classified as marginal or

above as of the date of enactment. It requires such areas to adopt and

correct RACT rules pursuant to pre-amended section 172(b) as

interpreted in pre-amendment guidance.1 EPA's SIP-Call used that

guidance to indicate the necessary corrections for specific

nonattainment areas. The San Joaquin Area is classified as severe,

Santa Barbara Area as moderate, and the South Coast Air Basin as

extreme; 2 therefore, these areas were subject to the RACT fix-up

requirement and the May 15, 1991 deadline.

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\1\ 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); and the existing control

technique guidelines (CTGs).

\2\ San Joaquin Valley, Santa Barbara, and South Coast retained

their designation of nonattainment and were 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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The State of California submitted many revised RACT rules for

incorporation into its SIP. The following table includes the dates of

when the districts adopted the rules, the dates that California

submitted them to EPA, and the dates that they were found to be

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

40 CFR part 51 Appendix V: 3

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\3\ 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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Rule Adoption Submittal Completeness

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SJVUAPCD 4602....................... 6/15/95 10/13/95 11/28/95

SBAPCD 325.......................... 1/25/94 3/29/94 6/3/94

SBAPCD 326.......................... 12/14/93 3/29/94 6/3/94

SCAQMD 1124......................... 1/13/95 2/24/95 3/10/95

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This notice addresses EPA's direct-final approval action for the above-

mentioned rules.

All of these rules control VOC emissions from the operations listed

above. VOCs contribute to the production of ground level ozone and

smog. These rules were originally adopted by SJVUAPCD, SBAPCD, and

SCAQMD as part of an effort to achieve the National Ambient Air Quality

Standard (NAAQS) for ozone and in response to EPA's SIP-Call and the

section 182(a)(2)(A) CAA requirement. The following is EPA's evaluation

and final action for these rules.

EPA Evaluation and Action

In determining the approvability of a VOC 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 today's action, appears in the various EPA

policy guidance documents listed in footnote 1. Among those provisions

is the requirement that a VOC rule must, at a minimum, provide for the

implementation of RACT for stationary sources of VOC emissions. This

requirement was carried forth from the pre-amended Act.

For the purpose of assisting state and local agencies in developing

RACT rules, EPA prepared a series of Control Technique Guideline (CTG)

documents. The CTGs are based on the underlying requirements of the Act

and specify the presumptive norms for what is RACT for specific source

categories. Under the CAA, Congress ratified EPA's use of these

documents, as well as other Agency policy, for requiring States to

[[Page 20138]]

``fix-up'' their RACT rules. See section 182(a)(2)(A). The CTGs

applicable to some of these rules are as follows: EPA-450/2-83-007,

``Control of Volatile Organic Compound Equipment Leaks from Natural

Gas/Gasoline Processing Plants,'' EPA-450/2-78-047, ``Control of

Volatile Organic Emissions From Petroleum Liquid Storage in External

Floating Roof Tanks,'' and EPA-450/2-77-036, ``Control of Volatile

Organic Emissions From Storage of Petroleum Liquid in Fixed-Roof

Tanks.'' Rules 4602 and 1124 control emissions from source categories

for which EPA has not yet finalized CTGs. Accordingly, these rules were

evaluated against the interpretations of EPA policy found in the Blue

Book, referred to in footnote 1, and against other EPA policy. In

general, these guidance documents have been set forth to ensure that

VOC rules are fully enforceable and strengthen or maintain the SIP.

SJVUAPCD's submitted Rule 4602--Motor Vehicle and Mobile Equipment

Coating Operations includes the following major provisions:

Exempts operations involved with touch-up coating, graphic

art, and radiator coating,

Includes the maximum allowable VOC contents for Group I and II

vehicle and equipment coatings,

Specifies the requirements for using add-on control equipment,

Includes a list of acceptable methods to apply coatings,

Limits the VOC content and usage of specialty coatings.

SBCAPCD's submitted Rule 325--Crude Oil Production and Separation

includes the following major provisions:

The conditions under which a tank would be exempt from the

standards portion of this rule,

The control measures required for storage tanks and any

produced gas,

The test methods that are to be used to determine compliance.

This includes an alternative test method that is to be used to measure

vapor pressure of an oil whose API gravity is less than 20 degrees,

Details as to how an inspection will be conducted.

SBCAPCD's submitted Rule 326--Storage of Reactive Organic Compound

Liquids includes the following major provisions:

Exempts storange tanks with a capacity of less than 5,000

gallons and storage tanks containing an ROC liquid having a vapor

pressure less than 0.5 psia from requirements of this rule,

Specifies that certain control measures must be in place on

the tank in order to control emissions or that vapor loss control

devices may be installed,

Lists the allowable vapor loss control devices,

Lists the criteria for the closure device on any external or

internal floating roof tank,

Lists the requirements for inspection and reporting.

SCAQMD's submitted Rule 1124--Aerospace Assembly and Component

Manufacturing Operations includes the following major provisions:

Includes a comprehensive list of coatings, their corresponding

VOC limits, and the phase-in compliance schedule of when facilities

must use coatings that meet certain VOC content limits,

Includes solvent use, clean-up, and stripping requirements,

Includes a list of the different acceptable methods to apply

coatings that ensure a certain level of transfer efficiency,

If control equipment is used, it must have a destruction

efficiency of at least 95% and a capture efficiency of at least 90%,

Prohibits a person from requiring the use of any non-compliant

coating,

Requires a person who performs qualification acceptance

testing on coatings to submit a status report describing the progress

toward the development of coatings that satisfy future compliance

dates,

Lists which facilities and what coatings are exempt from this

rule.

EPA has evaluated the submitted rules and has determined that they

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

Therefore, SJVUAPCD 4602--Motor Vehicle and Mobile Equipment Coating

Operations, SBCAPCD 326--Storage of Reactive Organic Compound Liquids,

and SCAQMD 1124--Aerospace Assembly and Component Manufacturing

Operations are being approved under section 110(k)(3) of the CAA as

meeting the requirements of section 110(a) and part D.

Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or

allowing or establishing a precedent for any future 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.

EPA is publishing this notice 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, the EPA is proposing to approve the SIP revision

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

effective July 5, 1996, unless, by June 5, 1996, adverse or critical

comments are received.

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

before the effective date by publishing a subsequent document 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. The 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 July 5, 1996.

Regulatory Process

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. Secs. 603 and

604. Alternatively, EPA may certify that the rule will not have a

significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. Small

entities include small businesses, small not-for-profit enterprises and

government entities with jurisdiction over population of less than

50,000.

SIP approvals under sections 110 and 301(a) 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 any small entities

affected. 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. 7410(a)(2).

Unfunded Mandates

Under Sections 202, 203, and 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform

Act of 1995 (``Unfunded Mandates Act''), signed into law on March 22,

1995, EPA must undertake various actions in association with proposed

or final rules that include a Federal mandate that may result in

estimated costs of $100 million or more to the private sector or to

State,

[[Page 20139]]

local, or tribal governments in the aggregate.

Through submission of this state implementation plan or plan

revision, the State and any affected local or tribal governments have

elected to adopt the program provided for under Part D of the Clean Air

Act. These rules may bind State, local, and tribal governments to

perform certain actions and also require the private sector to perform

certain duties. The rules being approved by this action will impose no

new requirements because affected sources are already subject to these

regulations under State law. Therefore, no additional costs to State,

local, or tribal governments or to the private sector result from this

action. EPA has also determined that this direct-final action does not

include a mandate that may result in estimated costs of $100 million or

more to State, local, or tribal governments in the aggregate or to the

private sector.

This action has been classified as a Table 3 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 a

July 10, 1995 memorandum from Mary Nichols, Assistant Administrator for

Air and Radiation. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has

exempted this regulatory action from Executive Order 12866 review.

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.

Note: Incorporation by reference of the State Implementation

Plan for the State of California was approved by the Director of the

Federal Register on July 1, 1982.

Dated: April 18, 1996.

Felicia Marcus,

Regional Administrator.

Subpart F of part 52, 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. 7401-7671q.

Subpart F--California

2. Section 52.220 is amended by adding paragraphs

(c)(196)(i)(C)(2), (215)(i)(A)(5), and (225)(i)(D) to read as follows:

Sec. 52.220 Identification of Plan.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(196) * * *

(i) * * *

(C) * * *

(2) Rules 325 & 326, adopted on January 25, 1994 and December 14,

1993, respectively.

* * * * *

(215) * * *

(i) * * *

(A) * * *

(5) Rule 1124, adopted January 13, 1995.

* * * * *

(225) * * *

(i) * * *

(D) San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District.

(1) Rule 4602, adopted June 15, 1995.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 96-11205 Filed 5-3-96; 8:45 am]

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