Fuels and Fuel Additives: Removal of the Reformulated Gasoline Program From the Phoenix, Arizona Serious Ozone Nonattainment Area

SUMMARY: In today's final action, EPA is announcing its approval of the

petition by the Governor of Arizona to opt-out of the federal RFG

program and remove the requirement to sell federal RFG in the Phoenix

serious ozone nonattainment area as of June 10, 1998. EPA's regulations

establish the procedures and criteria for opting out of the RFG

program, and provide that if a state relies on the federal RFG program

as a control measure in its State Implementation Plan (SIP), the state

must revise the SIP to reflect the opt-out from RFG. EPA regulations

also provide that the effective date of the opt-out shall be no less

than 90 days from EPA's approval of such a SIP revision. Arizona

replaced federal RFG with a state cleaner burning gasoline program

which EPA approved into Arizona's SIP effective March 12, 1998. Under

40 CFR 80.72, the effective date of the opt out is 90 days after EPA

approves such a SIP revision, which in this case is June 10, 1998. As

of June 10, 1998, Arizona's clean fuel state regulations will go into

effect in the Phoenix area. Arizona developed a clean fuel program to

reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and particulates

(PM10). Thus, although opting out of the federal RFG program, the

Phoenix area will continue to enjoy the air quality benefits of a clean

burning gasoline. In accordance with the approval of the opt-out

petition and the determination of the opt-out effective date, EPA is,

in a separate action published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal

Register, amending Sec. 80.70(m) to reflect that Phoenix will not be a

covered area in the federal RFG program as of June 10, 1998.

DATES: The effective date for removal of the Phoenix, Arizona area from

the federal RFG program is June 10, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Materials relevant to this notice to remove the federal RFG

program from the Phoenix area may be found in Docket A-98-23, the

docket for the rulemaking to amend section 80.72 of the RFG

regulations. In addition, materials relevant to the rulemaking to opt-

in Phoenix to the federal RFG program may be found in Docket A-97-02.

The docket is located at the Air Docket Section, Mail Code 6102, U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC

20460, in room M-1500 Waterside Mall. Documents may be inspected on

business days from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. A reasonable fee may be

charged for copying docket material.

Materials relevant to the EPA Final Rule to approve the Arizona SIP

revision establishing state clean burning gasoline regulations are

available in the docket located at Region IX. The docket is located at

75 Hawthorne Street, AIR-2, 17th Floor, San Francisco, California

94105. Documents may be inspected from 9:00 a.m. to noon and from

1:00--4:00 p.m. A reasonable fee may be charged for copying docket

material. This approval action is not being addressed in this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Janice Raburn, Attorney-Advisor, U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air and Radiation, 401 M

Street, SW (6406J), Washington, DC 20460, (202) 564-9856.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Availability on the TTNBBS

Copies of this document are available electronically from the EPA

Internet Web site and via dial-up modem on the Technology Transfer

Network (TTN), which is an electronic bulletin board system (BBS)

operated by EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards. Both

services are free of charge, except for your existing cost of Internet

connectivity or the cost of the phone call to TTN. Users are able to

access and download files on their first call using a personal computer

per the following information. An electronic version is made available

on the day of publication on the primary Internet sites listed below.

The EPA Office of Mobile Sources also publishes these notices on the

secondary Web site listed below and on the TTN BBS.

Internet (Web)

http://www.epa.gov/docs/fedrgstr/EPA-AIR/

(either select desired date or use Search feature)

http://www.epa.gov/OMSWWW/

(look in What's New or under the specific rulemaking topic)

TTN BBS: The TTN BBS can be accessed with a dial-in phone line and a

high-speed modem (PH# 919-541-5742). The parity of your modem should be

set to none, the data bits to 8, and the stop bits to 1. Either a 1200,

2400, 9600, or 14400 baud modem should be used. When first signing on,

the user will be required to answer some basic informational questions

for registration purposes. After completing the registration process,

proceed through the following series of menus:

GATEWAY TO TTN TECHNICAL AREAS (Bulletin Boards)

OMS--Mobile Sources Information

(Alerts display a chronological list of recent documents)

Rulemaking & Reporting

At this point, choose the topic (e.g., Fuels) and subtopic (e.g.,

Reformulated Gasoline) of the rulemaking, and the system will list all

available files in the chosen category in date order with brief

descriptions. To download a file, type the letter ``D'' and hit your

Enter key. Then select a transfer protocol that is supported by the

terminal software on your own computer, and pick the appropriate

command in your own software to receive the file using that same

protocol. After getting the files you want onto your computer, you can

quit the TTN BBS with the oodbye command.

Please note that due to differences between the software used to

develop the document and the software into which the document may be

downloaded, changes in format, page length, etc. may occur.

I. Background

A. Opt-Out Procedures

Section 80.72 of the RFG regulations (Opt-out Rule) provides the

process and criteria for a reasonable transition out of the RFG program

if a state decides to opt-out.1 The procedures for opting

out are geared towards achieving a reasonable transition out of the RFG

program for industry and states. The Opt-out Rule provides that the

Governor of the state must submit a petition to the Administrator

requesting to opt out of the RFG program. The petition must include

specific information on how, if at all, the state has relied on RFG in

a pending or approved SIP and, if RFG is in an approved SIP, how the

SIP will be revised to reflect the state's opt-out from RFG. The Opt-

out Rule also provides that EPA will notify the state in writing of the

Agency's action on the petition and the date the opt-out becomes

effective when the petition is approved.

[[Page 43045]]

The regulations also provide that EPA will publish an FR notice

announcing the approval of any opt-out petition and the effective date

of such opt-out.

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\1\ Pursuant to authority under sections 211(c) and (k) and

301(a) of the Clean Air Act, EPA promulgated regulations to provide

criteria and general procedures for states to opt-out of the RFG

program where the state had previously voluntarily opted into the

program. The regulations were initially adopted on July 8, 1996 (61

FR 35673); and were revised on October 20, 1997 (62 FR 54552).

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The effective date of the opt-out is dependent on how the RFG

program is used by a state in its SIP. Opt-out petitions received prior

to December 31, 1997 become effective 90 days (or later if requested)

from the date EPA provides written notification to the state that the

petition has been approved. If, however, the state included RFG as a

control measure in an approved SIP, the state must revise the SIP to

remove federal RFG as a control measure before the opt-out can be

effective. For the latter case, the opt-out becomes effective no less

than 90 days (or later if requested) after the Agency approves a

revision to the state plan replacing RFG with another control. Opt-out

petitions received after December 31, 1997 are treated differently. See

62 FR 54552 (October 20, 1997).

EPA determined in the Opt-out Rule that it would not be necessary

to conduct a separate rulemaking for each future opt-out request. 61 FR

35673 at 35675 (July 8, 1996). EPA established a petition process to

address, on a case-by-case basis, future individual state requests to

opt-out of the federal RFG program. These regulations establish clear

and objective criteria for EPA to apply. These regulatory criteria

address when a state's petition is complete and the appropriate

transition time for opting out. As EPA stated in the preamble to the

Opt-out Rule, this application of regulatory criteria on a case-by-case

basis to individual opt-out requests does not require notice and

comment rulemaking, either under section 307(d) of the Act or the

Administrative Procedure Act. Thus, in this action, EPA is applying the

criteria provided in the Opt-out Rule to approve the Arizona petition.

B. Arizona Opt-in and Opt-out of RFG for the Phoenix Area

By letter dated January 17, 1997, the Governor of the State of

Arizona applied to EPA to include the Phoenix moderate ozone

nonattainment area in the federal RFG program.2 The Governor

requested an implementation date of June 1, 1997. Pursuant to the

Governor's letter and the provisions of section 211(k)(6) of the Clean

Air Act, and after holding a public hearing in Phoenix on March 18,

1997, EPA adopted regulations on May 28, 1997, that applied the

requirement to sell RFG to the Phoenix area. 62 FR 30260 (June 3, 1997)

3

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\2\ EPA reclassified the Phoenix area from moderate to serious

nonattainment for ozone on November 6, 1997 (62 FR 60001).

\3\ See Notice of Proposed Rulemaking at 62 FR 7197 (February

18, 1997); and Notice of public hearing at 62 FR 11405 (March 12,

1997).

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Arizona subsequently enacted legislation which authorized the

establishment of a State cleaner burning gasoline program which would

become effective June 1, 1998. By letter dated September 12, 1997, the

Governor of the State of Arizona applied to EPA to opt-out of the

federal RFG program for the Phoenix area. The Governor requested the

specific opt-out effective date of June 1, 1998, to ensure that the

federal RFG program would be maintained in the Phoenix area until the

State RFG regulations became effective. Thus, the Governor requested

that EPA approve the State's opt-out petition and set the opt-out

effective date only upon EPA approval of the SIP revision containing

the Arizona RFG regulations and the waiver request.

EPA's Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) responded to the Governor's

petition by letter dated October 3, 1997. EPA stated in the letter that

the Governor's petition provided the information required by the Opt-

out Rule and that OAR would work with EPA Region IX to process the SIP

revision as quickly as possible in order to provide the opt-out

effective date requested.

II. Action

In this document, EPA is notifying the public that it has applied

the criteria provided in the Opt-out Rule (40 CFR 80.72) and is

approving the petition submitted by the Governor of Arizona to

determine that June 10, 1998 is the effective date for opt-out of the

federal RFG program for the Phoenix area. EPA is, in a separate action

published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, amending

Sec. 80.70(m) to reflect that Phoenix will not be a covered area in the

federal RFG program as of June 10, 1998.

First, EPA is approving the Governor's petition because it provided

the information required by the Opt-out Rule. Second, EPA is

determining the opt-out effective date by applying the criteria in 40

CFR 80.72. As discussed in section I.A.above, the Opt-Out Rule requires

that if a state included RFG as a control measure in an approved SIP,

the state must revise the SIP, reflecting the removal of federal RFG as

a control measure before an opt-out can be effective. The Governor's

petition stated that Arizona adopted an interim rule for a State clean

fuel program which would replace the federal RFG program as a control

measure in its SIP. In September 1997, the State submitted to EPA's

Region IX office a SIP revision that included its clean fuel program

and a request for a waiver of federal preemption of state fuel

standards under section 211(c)(4)(C) of the Act. Arizona's SIP revision

provided data to show that its clean fuel program would provide the

same or more VOC and PM reductions that it realized from federal RFG.

EPA's Region IX office published a proposed approval of the SIP

revision on November 20, 1997 (62 FR 61942) and a final approval of the

SIP revision on February 10, 1998. (63 FR 6653) The effective date for

the final approval of the SIP revision was March 12, 1998. The Opt-out

Rule provides that the opt-out effective date shall be no less than 90

days from the EPA SIP approval effective date. Thus, the opt-out

effective date for the Phoenix area will be June 10, 1998, 90 days from

March 12, 1998.

Thus, EPA is today notifying the public that it has applied its

regulatory criteria to make the following determinations. EPA is

approving the petition by the Governor of Arizona to opt-out of the

federal reformulated gasoline (RFG) program for the Phoenix area and

removing the requirement to sell federal RFG in the Phoenix serious

ozone nonattainment area as of June 10, 1998. This opt-out effective

date applies to retailers, wholesale purchaser-consumers, refiners,

importers, and distributors. Pursuant to these determinations, EPA is

also, in a separate action published elsewhere in this issue of the

Federal Register, amending Sec. 80.70(m) to reflect that Phoenix will

not be a covered area in the federal RFG program as of June 10, 1998.

Dated: July 31, 1998.

Carol M. Browner,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 98-21213 Filed 8-10-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P