Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Illinois

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[IL163-1a; FRL-6119-2]

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Illinois

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

ACTION: Direct Final Rule.

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SUMMARY: On August 21, 1995, U.S. EPA promulgated a site-specific

volatile organic material (VOM) rule for Riverside Laboratories, Inc.'s

(Riverside) Kane County facility. The rule consisted primarily of a

compliance date extension for Riverside through December 31, 1996,

after which time Riverside is required to meet the applicable

requirements of the Chicago-area Federal Implementation Plan (FIP). On

October 10, 1997, the State of Illinois requested that U.S. EPA approve

a change in regulatory status for Riverside, based on Riverside's

current compliance with the applicable State Implementation Plan (SIP)

rule. For the reasons discussed below, U.S. EPA is today approving the

State plan as applying to Riverside.

U.S. EPA is taking this action as a ``direct final'' rulemaking;

the rationale for this approach is set forth below. Elsewhere in this

Federal Register, U.S. EPA is proposing this action and soliciting

comment. If adverse written comments or a request for a public hearing

are received, U.S. EPA will withdraw the direct final rule and it will

not take effect. U.S. EPA will address the comments received in a new

final rule. If no adverse written comments are received, no further

rulemaking will occur on this requested SIP revision.

DATES: This final rule is effective August 31, 1998 unless written

adverse comments or a request for a public hearing are received by July

31, 1998. If adverse comment is received, EPA will publish a timely

withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform

the public the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Written comments can be mailed to: J. Elmer Bortzer, Chief,

Regulation Development Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), Air and

Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West

Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60604.

A public hearing may be requested, to be held in Chicago, Illinois.

Requests for a hearing should be submitted to J. Elmer Bortzer.

Interested persons may call Steven Rosenthal at (312) 886-6062 to see

if a hearing will be held and the date and location of the hearing. Any

hearing will be strictly limited to the subject matter of this action,

the scope of which is discussed below.

Copies of the SIP revision request are available for inspection at

the following address: (It is recommended that you telephone Steven

Rosenthal at (312) 886-6052, before visiting the Region 5 office.)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation

Division, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60604.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Rosenthal, Air Programs Branch

(AR-18J) at (312) 886-6052.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

On June 29, 1990, U.S. EPA promulgated a FIP which contained

Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) regulations for

stationary sources of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) located in six

northeastern Illinois (Chicago area) counties: Cook, DuPage, Kane,

Lake, McHenry, and Will.1 Included in U.S. EPA's rules was a

requirement that paper coating sources be subject to 40 CFR

52.741(e)(1)(C), which requires that a source achieves either a coating

limit of 2.9 pounds of VOC per gallon of coating or an 81 percent

reduction in emissions. On August 30, 1990, Riverside filed a petition

for review of the FIP in the United States Court of Appeals for the

Seventh Circuit, Riverside Laboratories, Inc., v. U.S. EPA, Case No.

90-2886. On August 20, 1991, Riverside filed a petition for

reconsideration (amended on September 5, 1991) with U.S. EPA, in which

it contended that its economic status prevented the federal rules from

being RACT for its facility. Based on the information provided, U.S.

EPA agreed to reconsider the RACT rules for Riverside. U.S. EPA also

agreed to issue an administrative stay of the applicable FIP rules,

pending reconsideration. See 57 FR 27935 (June 23, 1992).

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\1\ A definition of RACT is cited in a General Preamble-

Supplement on CTGs, published at 44 FR at 53761 (September 17,

1979). RACT is defined as the lowest emission limitation that a

particular source is capable of meeting by the application of

control technology that is reasonably available, considering

technological and economic feasibility.

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On September 9, 1994, U.S. EPA approved a number of Illinois

volatile organic material (VOM) 2 RACT rules, adopted as 35

Ill. Admin. Code Part 218. 59 FR 46562. These rules established State

VOM RACT requirements for surface coating operations in the Chicago and

Metro-East St. Louis ozone nonattainment areas, and replaced a large

section of the Chicago FIP. These regulations include 35 Ill. Admin.

Code Sec. 218.204, which contains a RACT rule for paper coating

operations that is identical to the applicable FIP rule of 2.9 lbs./

gal. (40 CFR 52.741(e)(1)(C)). They also contain the Applicability

section, at 35 Ill. Admin. Code Sec. 218.203. Under Section

218.103(a)(2), the effectiveness of the Part 218 rules is stayed as to

any source which appealed the FIP and received a stay of the

effectiveness of the FIP pending reconsideration. The rule further

provides that:

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\2\ VOM, as defined by the State of Illinois, is identical to

VOC, as defined by U.S. EPA.

When USEPA has published in the Federal Register final action to

revise or affirm the provisions of the FIP specifically applicable

to such individual source or category of sources or such stay is

otherwise terminated, the Board shall take corresponding action and

the Agency shall submit such action to USEPA for approval. Until

such time as USEPA approves the corresponding amendment to this

Part, the FIP rule shall remain the applicable implementation plan

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for that source. * * *

On August 21, 1995, U.S. EPA promulgated a site-specific rule for

Riverside (60 FR 43388). This rule consists of a compliance date

extension for Riverside through December 31, 1996. During the period of

the compliance date extension Riverside was required to, among other

things, decrease the use of VOC-containing material. Starting on

January 1, 1997, Riverside's polyester paper coating lines were

required to meet the applicable FIP requirements in 40 CFR

52.741(e)(1), (e)(2), and (e)(6). In this rulemaking, U.S. EPA also

terminated the stay of the FIP.

On February 13, 1996, U.S. EPA approved a revision to the Illinois

RACT rules for paper coating operations at 35 Ill. Admin. Code

218.204(c), which further reduced the applicable VOM pounds-per-gallon

limitation to 2.3 lbs./gal. 61 FR 5511.

On October 10, 1997, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

(IEPA) submitted a request to U.S. EPA that it change the regulatory

status for Riverside to recognize the applicability of Illinois' SIP,

as federally approved on February 13, 1996. In its letter, IEPA states

that, as a matter of State law, Riverside is subject to the 2.3 pounds

VOC per gallon limit in 35 Ill. Administrative Code 218.204(c). For

that reason, IEPA has requested that the Board not be required to

conduct further rulemaking. The State intends its October 10, 1997,

request to fulfill the ``corresponding action'' condition of

[[Page 35843]]

Section 218.103(a)(2). U.S. EPA agrees that it is not necessary to

require Illinois to conduct additional rulemaking, since the

regulations are already in the SIP and Riverside does not contest their

applicability (See Riverside's March 26, 1998, letter regarding rule

applicability.).

II. Applicability

As a result of this action, the approved State of Illinois

regulations, including the emission limits in 35 Ill. Admin. Code

218.204(c) and the associated control requirements, test methods and

recordkeeping requirements in Part 218 and the associated definitions

in Part 211 shall become the federally approved regulations applicable

to Riverside on August 31, 1998. The site-specific rule applicable to

Riverside promulgated by U.S. EPA on August 21, 1995, remains in effect

and is enforceable after August 31, 1998 for the period before August

31, 1998.

III. Final Action

At the time U.S. EPA approved Ill. Admin. Code Part 218, the Agency

determined that the generally applicable rules, along with the

appropriate test methods, recordkeeping requirements and definitions,

met the applicable statutory requirements for RACT. U.S. EPA also has

concluded that the provisions of Ill. Admin. Code 218.204(c) constitute

RACT for Riverside's Kane County paper coating operations. They are

thus reasonable replacements for the FIP rule that was promulgated by

U.S. EPA on June 29, 1990, and the site-specific compliance date

extension promulgated for Riverside by U.S. EPA on August 21, 1995.

The U.S. EPA is publishing this action without prior proposal

because U.S. EPA views this as a noncontroversial revision and

anticipates no adverse comments. However, in a separate document in

this Federal Register publication, U.S. EPA is proposing this action

should adverse comments be filed or a request for a hearing be

received. This action will become effective without further notice

unless the U.S. EPA receives relevant adverse comments or a request for

a hearing on the parallel proposed rule (published in the proposed

rules section of this Federal Register) by July 31, 1998. Should the

U.S. EPA receive such comments or a request for a hearing, it will

withdraw this final rule and publish a document informing the public

that this action did not take effect. 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 August 31, 1998.

Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting, allowing

or establishing a precedent for any future request for revision to 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.

IV. Administrative Requirements

A. Executive Order 12866

The Office of Management and Budget has exempted this regulatory

action from Executive Order 12866 review.

B. Regulatory Flexibility

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 600 et seq., U.S.

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, U.S. 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 populations of less than

50,000.

This action (SIP approval and a supersession of the FIP under

section 110) does not create any new requirements, but simply approves

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

any small entities affected. Moreover, due to the nature of the

Federal-State relationship under the Act, preparation of a flexibility

analysis would constitute Federal inquiry into the economic

reasonableness of the State action. The Clean Air Act forbids U.S. EPA

to base its actions concerning SIPs on such grounds. Union Electric Co.

v. EPA., 427 U.S. 246, 256-66 (1976); 42 U.S.C. 7410(a)(2).

C. Unfunded Mandates

Under Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995,

signed into law on March 22, 1995, U.S. EPA must undertake various

actions in association with any proposed or final rule that includes a

Federal mandate that may result in estimated costs to state, local, or

tribal governments in the aggregate; or to the private sector, of $100

million or more. This Federal action approves pre-existing requirements

under state or local law, and imposes no new requirements. Accordingly,

no additional costs to state, local, or tribal governments, or the

private sector, result from this action.

D. Petitions for Judicial 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 August 31, 1998. 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)).

E. Congressional Review Act

The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. section 801 et seq., as

added by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of

1996, generally provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency

promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy

of the rule, to each House of Congress and to the Comptroller General

of the United States. Section 804, however, exempts from section 801

the following types of rules: rules of particular applicability; rules

relating to agency management or personnel; and rules of agency

organization, procedure, or practice that do not substantially affect

the rights or obligations of non-agency parties. 5 U.S.C. section

804(3). U.S. EPA is not required to submit a rule report regarding

today's action under section 801 because this is a rule of particular

applicability.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Hydrocarbons,

Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

Dated: June 25, 1998.

Carol M. Browner,

Administrator.

For the reasons stated in the preamble, 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 et seq.

[[Page 35844]]

Subpart O--Illinois

2. Section 52.726 is amended by adding paragraph (s) to read as

follows:

Sec. 52.726 Control strategy: Ozone.

* * * * *

(s) On October 10, 1997, Illinois submitted a site-specific

revision to the State Implementation Plan, in the form of a letter from

Bharat Mathur, Chief, Bureau of Air, Illinois Environmental Protection

Agency. This October 10, 1997, letter requests a change in regulatory

status for Riverside Laboratories, Inc.'s Kane County facility, to

reflect that the Federal site-specific rule for Riverside (40 CFR

52.741(e)(10)) has been superseded by the State of Illinois

regulations, including the emission limits in 35 Illinois

Administrative Code 218.204(c) and the associated control requirements,

test methods and recordkeeping requirements in Part 218 and the

associated definitions in Part 211. These State regulations shall

become the federally approved regulations applicable to Riverside on

August 31, 1998. The site-specific rule, applicable to Riverside,

promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency on August 21, 1995

(40 CFR 52.741(e)(10)), remains in effect and is enforceable after

August 31, 1998 for the period before August 31, 1998.

[FR Doc. 98-17517 Filed 6-30-98; 8:45 am]

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