Approval and Promulgation of State Implementation Plans; California State Implementation Plan Revision, Santa Barbara County, Ventura County, Monterey Bay Unified, and Placer County Air Pollution Control Districts; and Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[CA 33-3-7130a; FRL-5339-7]

Approval and Promulgation of State Implementation Plans;

California State Implementation Plan Revision, Santa Barbara County,

Ventura County, Monterey Bay Unified, and Placer County Air Pollution

Control Districts; and Yolo-Solano 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 (SIP). The revisions concern rules

from the following districts: Santa Barbara County Air Pollution

Control District (SBCAPCD), Ventura County Air Pollution Control

District (VCAPCD), Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District

(MBUAPCD), Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District (YSAQMD), and

Placer County Air Pollution Control District (PCAPCD). 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 (CAA or the Act).

In addition, the final action on three of these rules, MBUAPCD's Rule

416, 433, and 434, serves as a final determination that the finding of

nonsubmittal for the rules has been corrected and that on the effective

date of this action, any Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) clock is

stopped. The revised rules control VOC emissions from operations

involving the following: the coating or assembly of aircraft or

aerospace vehicle parts and products, the use of organic solvents and

organic solvent cleaners, the coating of miscellaneous metal parts and

products, the application of adhesives, and the coating of flat wood

paneling. 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 12, 1996, unless adverse or

critical comments are received by March 13, 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.

Placer County Air Pollution Control District, 11464 B Avenue,

Auburn, CA 95603.

Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District, 24580 Silver

Cloud Court, Monterey, CA 93940.

Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District, 26 Castilian

Drive B-23, Goleta, CA 93117.

Ventura County Air Pollution Control District, 669 County Square

Drive, Ventura, CA 93003.

Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District, 1947 Galileo Court,

Suite 103, Davis, CA 95616.

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: SBCAPCD

Rule 337--Surface Coating of Aircraft or Aerospace Vehicle Parts and

Products, VCAPCD Rule 74.13--Aerospace Assembly and Component

Manufacturing Operations, MBUAPCD Rule 416--Organic Solvents, MBUAPCD

Rule 433--Organic Solvent Cleaning, MBUAPCD Rule 434--Coating of Metal

Parts and Products, YSAQMD Rule 2.25--Metal Parts and Products Coating

Operations, YSAQMD Rule 2.33--Adhesives Operations, PCAPCD Rule 238--

Factory Coating of Flat Wood Paneling.

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 Santa Barbara, Ventura

County, Monterey Bay, and Sacramento Metro areas. 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. Public Law 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. In

amended section 182(b)(2) of the CAA, Congress also statutorily

required nonattainment areas to submit RACT rules for all VOC sources

covered by any control technique guideline (CTG) by November 15, 1992

(the RACT ``catch-up'' requirement).

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 Santa Barbara Area and the Monterey Bay Area

are classified as moderate, the Ventura County Area and the Sacramento

Metro Area are classified as severe; 2 therefore, these

[[Page 5289]]

areas were subject to the RACT fix-up requirement and the May 15, 1991

deadline. These areas were also subject to RACT catch-up requirement

and the November 15, 1992 deadline.3

\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\ The Santa Barbara, Ventura County, Monterey Bay, and

Sacramento Metro areas retain 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). The Sacramento Metro Area was reclassified from

serious to severe [60 FR 20237] April 25, 1995.

\3\ California did not make the required SIP submittal to

Monterey by November 15, 1992. On June 8, 1993, the EPA made a

finding of failure to make a submittal pursuant to section

179(a)(1), which started an 18-month sanction clock. Three rules

from Monterey Bay being acted on in this direct final rule were

submitted in response to the EPA finding of failure to submit.

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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 CARB 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: 4

\4\ 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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SBCAPCD 337............................................ 10/20/94 1/24/95 2/24/95

VCAPCD 74.13........................................... 1/22/91 4/5/91 5/21/91

MBUAPCD 416............................................ 4/20/94 7/13/94 9/12/94

MBUAPCD 433............................................ 6/15/94 9/28/94 11/22/94

MBUAPCD 434............................................ 6/15/94 9/28/94 11/22/94

YSAQMD 2.25............................................ 4/27/94 11/30/94 1/30/95

YSAQMD 2.33............................................ 9/14/94 11/30/94 1/30/95

PCAPCD 238............................................. 6/18/95 10/13/95 11/28/95

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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 certain operations

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

and smog. These rules were originally adopted as part of the districts'

efforts 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 this rule.

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

``fix-up'' their RACT rules. See section 182(a)(2)(A). However, there

are source categories for which no CTG has been written. The CTGs

applicable to some of these rules are entitled, ``Control of Volatile

Organic Emissions from Existing Stationary Sources--Volume VI: Surface

Coating of Miscellaneous Metal Parts and Products'' (EPA-450/2-78-015),

``Control of Volatile Organic Emissions from Solvent Metal Cleaning''

(EPA-450/2-77-022), and ``Control of Volatile Organic Emissions From

Existing Stationary Sources--Volume VII: Factory Surface Coating of

Flat Wood Paneling'' (EPA-450/2-78-032). Further interpretations of EPA

policy are found in the Blue Book, referred to in footnote 1. In

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

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

SBCAPCD's submitted Rule 337--Surface Coating of Aircraft or

Aerospace Vehicle Parts and Products--includes the following major

provisions:

exempted certain coatings and operations,

the reactive organic compound (ROC) limits for different

coating categories,

the control and capture efficiency requirements for add-on

exhaust control equipment,

recordkeeping requirements.

VCAPCD's submitted Rule 74.13--Aerospace Assembly and Component

Manufacturing Operations--includes the following major provisions:

a list of ROC limits for coatings and adhesives,

the requirements for surface and general cleaning, add-on

control equipment, and recordkeeping,

an exemption for sources emitting less than 3 pounds of

ROC per day and less than 200 pounds of ROC per year,

a requirement to obtain an Authority to Construct or a

Permit to Operate application under certain circumstances.

MBUAPCD Rule 416--Organic Solvents--includes the following major

provisions:

limits for emissions due to organic solvents that are

baked, heat-cured, heat-polymerized, or exposed to flame,

limits for emissions from photochemically and non-

photochemically reactive solvents,

recordkeeping requirements.

MBUAPCD Rule 433--Organic Solvent Cleaning--includes the following

major provision:

requirements for operational, equipment, alternative

control requirements, and recordkeeping.

MBUAPCD Rule 434--Coating of Metal Parts and Products--includes the

following provision:

requirements for VOC content of coatings, add-on control

alternatives, the qualification for extreme-performance coating, and

recordkeeping.

YSAQMD Rule 2.25--Metal Parts and Products Coating Operations--

includes the following major provisions:

requirements for VOC content of coatings, application

methods, add-on control alternatives, surface preparation and clean-up

solvents,

requirements for prohibition of specification,

qualification for extreme performance coating classification, and

recordkeeping.

[[Page 5290]]

YSAQMD Rule 2.33--Adhesives Operations--includes the following

major provisions:

VOC limits for adhesives and adhesive primers,

requirement to use equipment that is airless, air assisted

airless, high volume low pressure, electrostatic spray, or disposable

aerosol containers,

requirements for using alternative emissions control

systems,

limiting the weight percent of VOCs in aerosol adhesives,

recordkeeping requirements.

PCAPCD Rule 238--Factory Coating of Flat Wood Paneling--includes

the following major provisions:

limits on the VOC content of wood flat stock coating,

adhesive, and inks,

requirements for using alternative emissions,

control systems, application equipment requirements.

EPA has evaluated the submitted rules and has determined that they

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

Therefore, the following rules: SBCAPCD Rule 337--Surface Coating of

Aircraft or Aerospace Vehicle Parts and Products, VCAPCD Rule 74.13--

Aerospace Assembly and Component Manufacturing Operations, MBUAPCD Rule

416--Organic Solvents, MBUAPCD Rule 433--Organic Solvent Cleaning,

MBUAPCD Rule 434--Coating of Metal Parts and Products, YSAQMD Rule

2.25--Metal Parts and Products Coating Operations, YSAQMD Rule 2.33--

Adhesives Operations, and PCAPCD Rule 238--Factory Coating of Flat Wood

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

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

this direct final action is not withdrawn, on April 12, 1996, any FIP

clock is stopped.

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 document 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 April 12, 1996, unless, by March 13, 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 12, 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, 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 pubished 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 OMB has exempted this action from review under

Executive Order 12866.

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: November 8, 1995.

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) (183)(B)(3),

(198)(F)(2), (199)(C), (207)(C)(3), (214)(C), and (225)(B) to read as

follows:

Sec. 52.220 Identification of plan.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(183) * * *

(B) * * *

(3) Rule 74.13, adopted on January 22, 1991.

* * * * *

(198) * * *

[[Page 5291]]

(F) * * *

(2) Rule 416, adopted April 20, 1994.

* * * * *

(199) * * *

(C) Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District.

(1) Rules 433 and 434, adopted June 15, 1994.

* * * * *

(207) * * *

(C) * * *

(3) Rules 2.25 and 2.33, adopted April 27, 1994 and September 14,

1994, respectively.

* * * * *

(214) * * *

(C) Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District.

(1) Rule 337, adopted October 20, 1994.

* * * * *

(225) * * *

(B) Placer County Air Pollution Control District.

(1) Rule 238, adopted June 8, 1995.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 96-2969 Filed 2-9-96; 8:45 am]

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