Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California State Implementation Plan Revision; Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, San Diego County Air Pollution Control District, San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District, and Ventura County Air Pollution Control District

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[CA 102-13-7212a; FRL-5398-6]

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California

State Implementation Plan Revision; Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality

Management District, San Diego County Air Pollution Control District,

San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District, and Ventura

County Air Pollution Control 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 (SIP) for ozone which concern the

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

generators, and process heaters. The intended effect of approving these

rules is to regulate emissions of NOX in accordance with the

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

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

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

submittals, SIPs for national primary and secondary ambient air quality

standards and plan requirements for nonattainment areas.

DATES: This action is effective on April 9, 1996 unless adverse or

critical comments are received by March 11, 1996. If the effective date

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

ADDRESSES: 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:

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

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

94105-3901.

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

SW., Washington, DC 20460.

California Air Resources Board, Stationary Source Division, Rule

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

Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, 8411 Jackson

Road, Sacramento, CA 95826.

San Diego County Air Pollution Control District, 9150 Chesapeake Drive,

San Diego, CA 92123-1096.

San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District, 1999

Tuolumne Street, Suite 200, Fresno, CA 93721.

Ventura County Air Pollution Control District, Rule Development

Section, 669 County Square Drive, Ventura, CA 93003.

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 94105-3901,

Telephone: (415) 744-1191, e-mail: [email protected].

[[Page 4888]]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Applicability

The rules being approved into the California SIP include: the

Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District's (SMAQMD) Rule

411, ``Boiler NOX,'' the San Diego County Air Pollution Control

District's (SDCAPCD) Rule 69.2, ``Industrial and Commercial Boilers,

Process Heaters and Steam Generators,'' the San Joaquin Valley Unified

Air Pollution Control District's (SJVUAPCD) Rule 4352, ``Solid Fuel

Fired Boilers, Steam Generators and Process Heaters,'' and the Ventura

County Air Pollution Control District's (VCAPCD) Rule 74.15, ``Boilers,

Steam Generators and Process Heaters.'' These rules were submitted by

the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to EPA on September 28, 1994

(Rule 4352), October 19, 1994 (Rule 69.2), January 24, 1995 (Rule

74.15), and June 16, 1995 (Rule 411).

Background

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

were enacted. Public Law 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 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (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 NOX Supplement should be

referred to for further information on the NOX requirements and is

incorporated into this document 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 Sacramento County

portion of the Sacramento Metro Area is classified as severe, the San

Diego County Area and the San Joaquin Valley Area are classified as

serious, and the Ventura County Area is classified as severe; 1

therefore these areas were subject to section 182(f), the RACT

requirements of section 182(b)(2), cited below, and the November 15,

1992 deadline.

\1\ The San Joaquin Valley and Ventura County Areas retained

their designations 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). The

Sacramento Metro Area was reclassified from serious to severe on

June 1, 1995. See 60 FR 20237 (April 25, 1995). The San Diego Area

was reclassified from severe to serious on February 21, 1995. See 60

FR 3771 (January 19, 1995).

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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 SMAQMD adopted Rule 411 on February 2, 1995; the SDCAPCD

adopted Rule 69.2 on September 27, 1994; the SJVUAPCD adopted Rule 4352

on September 14, 1994; and the VCAPCD adopted Rule 74.15 on November 8,

1994. These submitted rules were found to be complete on October 21,

1994 (Rules 69.2, and 4352), February 24, 1995 (Rule 74.15), and June

30, 1995 (Rule 411) pursuant of 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.

\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. SMAQMD's Rule 411, SDCAPCD's Rule 69.2, and VCAPCD's

Rule 74.15 control NOX emissions from boilers, steam generators,

and process heaters that are fired on gaseous and liquid fuels;

SJVUAPCD's Rule 4352 applies to solid-fuel fired boilers, steam

generators, and process heaters. The rules were adopted as part of the

districts' 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 final 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.

\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

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 technique 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 are fully enforceable and strengthen or maintain the SIP.

The California ARB has published a RACT/BARCT guidance document for

boilers, steam generators, and process heaters entitled,

``Determination of Reasonably Available Control Technology and Best

Available Retrofit Control Technology for Industrial, Institutional,

and Commercial Boilers, Steam Generators, and Process Heaters'' (July

18, 1991). The guidance document defines RACT as an emission limit of

70 parts per million volume (ppmv) at 3% O2 when firing on gaseous

fuels and 115 ppmv at 3% O2 when firing on liquid fuels. BARCT is

defined as an emission limit of 30 ppmv at 3% O2 when firing

[[Page 4889]]

on gaseous fuels and 40 ppmv at 3% O2 when firing on liquid fuels.

The SMAQMD's Rule 411 and the SDCAPCD's Rule 69.2 required RACT control

by May 31, 1995, and require BARCT by May 31, 1997. The SJVUAPCD's Rule

4352 applies to units firing on solid fuel, which the RACT/BARCT

document does not address. However, the rule's emission limit of 0.20

lb/MMBtu (with exceptions) appears to be reasonable because it is the

same as the RACT/BARCT document's limit for firing on liquid fuels

other than fuel oil #1 and #2. Final compliance with the rule was

required by May 31, 1995. The VCAPCD's Rule 74.15 has an emission limit

of 40 ppmv at 3% O2 for firing on gaseous fuels, and final

compliance was required by March 1, 1992; firing on liquid fuels is

prohibited except only in emergencies. All the rules contain adequate

recordkeeping requirements, and the appropriate test methods for

compliance determinations are referenced. The exemptions provided in

the rules are consistent with EPA guidelines. 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 these rules, dated September 18,

1995.

EPA has evaluated the submitted rules and has determined that they

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

SMAQMD Rule 411, ``Boiler NOX,'' SDCAPCD Rule 69.2, ``Industrial

and Commercial Boilers, Process Heaters and Steam Generators,''

SJVUAPCD Rule 4352, ``Solid Fuel Fired Boilers, Steam Generators and

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

and Process Heaters,'' are being approved 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\

\4\ The SJVUAPCD's Rule 4352 references the district's Rules

2201 and 1020 in sections 3.7 and 3.12 respectively; the VCAPCD's

Rule 74.15 references the district's Rule 32 in section (C)(3).

Rules 2201, 1020, and 32 have not been approved by EPA for inclusion

into the SIP. Therefore, this direct final rule does not constitute

action on or approval of these rules into the SIP.

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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 revisions

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

effective April 9, 1996, unless, by March 11, 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 April 9, 1996.

Regulatory Flexibility

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-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).

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, 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 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 compound.

Dated: November 21, 1995.

Felicia Marcus,

Regional Administrator.

Subpart F of part 52, chapter I, Title 40 of the Code of Federal

Regulations is amended as follows:

[[Page 4890]]

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)(199) (i)(D),

(202)(i)(C)(3), (214)(i)(D), and (222)(i)(C) to read as follows:

Sec. 52.220 Identification of plan.

* * * * *

(199) * * *

(i) * * *

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

(1) Rule 4352, adopted on September 14, 1994.

* * * * *

(202) * * *

(i) * * *

(C) * * *

(3) Rule 69.2, adopted on September 27, 1994.

* * * * *

(214) * * *

(i) * * *

(D) Ventura County Air Pollution Control District.

(1) Rule 74.15, adopted on November 8, 1994.

* * * * *

(222) * * *

(i) * * *

(C) Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District.

(1) Rule 411, adopted on February 2, 1995.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 96-2824 Filed 2-8-96; 8:45 am]

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