[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 62 (Friday, March 31, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 16239-16241]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-3107]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2006-0151; FRL-8051-6]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
State of Maryland; Revised Definition of Volatile Organic Compounds
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action on revisions to the Maryland
State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Maryland Department of
Environment (MDE). The revisions update the SIP's reference to the EPA
definition of volatile organic compounds (VOC). EPA is approving these
revisions to the State of Maryland's SIP in accordance with the
requirements of the Clean Air Act.
DATES: This rule is effective on May 30, 2006 without further notice,
unless EPA receives adverse written comment by May 1, 2006. If EPA
receives such comments, it will publish a timely withdrawal of the
direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform the public that
the rule will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number R03-
OAR-2006-0151 by one of the following methods:
A. http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
B. E-mail: [email protected].
C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2006-0151, Harold A. Frankford, Office of Air
Programs, Mailcode 3AP20, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region
III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
D. Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region III address.
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of
boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-
2006-0151. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change, and may be made available online
at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site
is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without
going through http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of
any defects or viruses.
Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the
http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such
as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be
publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket
materials are available either electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy during normal business hours at the
Air Protection Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region
III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of the
State submittal are available at the Maryland Department of the
Environment, 1800 Washington Boulevard, Suite 705, Baltimore, Maryland
21230.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harold A. Frankford at (215) 814-2108,
or by e-mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Summary of SIP Revisions
On October 31, 2005, the State of Maryland submitted a formal
revision (No. 05-05) to its SIP. The SIP revision consists of a revised
reference to the Federal definition of VOC at 40 CFR 51.100(s) which is
found at COMAR 26.11.01.01B(53), Maryland's definition for ``volatile
organic compounds (VOC)''. These regulatory revisions became effective
on September 12, 2005.
II. Description of the SIP Revision
Maryland has amended COMAR 26.11.01.01B(53) to update the Federal
reference for incorporation of the EPA definition of VOC found at 40
CFR 51.100(s) from the 2002 edition (the currently SIP-approved
version) to the 2004 edition of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
III. Final Action
EPA is approving revisions to COMAR 26.11.01.01B(53) of the
Maryland SIP to update the references to the EPA definition of VOC
found at 40 CFR 51.100(s) in effect as of 12/31/2004. EPA is publishing
this rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a
noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no adverse comment since the
revisions are administrative changes to the state regulations. However,
in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of today's Federal Register, EPA is
publishing a separate document that will serve as the proposal to
approve the SIP revision if adverse comments are filed. This rule will
be effective on May 30, 2006 without further notice unless EPA receives
adverse comment by May 1, 2006. If EPA receives adverse comment, EPA
will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the
public that the rule will not take effect. EPA will address all public
comments in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. EPA
will not institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties
interested in commenting must do so at this time.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. General Requirements
Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. For this
reason, this action is also not subject to Executive Order 13211,
``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy
Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001). This action
merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and imposes
no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law.
Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this rule will not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities
under the Regulatory Flexibility
[[Page 16240]]
Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because this rule approves pre-existing
requirements under state law and does not impose any additional
enforceable duty beyond that required by state law, it does not contain
any unfunded mandate or significantly or uniquely affect small
governments, as described in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
(Public Law 104-4). This rule also does not have tribal implications
because it will not have a substantial direct effect on one or more
Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal Government and
Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities
between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, as specified by
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000). This action also
does not have Federalism implications because it does not have
substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between
the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power
and responsibilities among the various levels of government, as
specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999). This
action merely approves a state rule implementing a Federal standard,
and does not alter the relationship or the distribution of power and
responsibilities established in the Clean Air Act. This rule also is
not subject to Executive Order 13045 ``Protection of Children from
Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks'' (62 FR 19885, April 23,
1997), because it is not economically significant. In reviewing SIP
submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices, provided that they
meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. In this context, in the absence
of a prior existing requirement for the State to use voluntary
consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority to disapprove a SIP
submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be inconsistent with
applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a SIP submission, to use VCS in
place of a SIP submission that otherwise satisfies the provisions of
the Clean Air Act. Thus, the requirements of section 12(d) of the
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272
note) do not apply. This rule does not impose an information collection
burden under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 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 the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this rule and other
required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. This rule is not a
``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
C. 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 May 30, 2006. 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 to approve Maryland's revised definition of
``volatile organic compound (VOC)'' may not be challenged later in
proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Ozone, Volatile
organic compounds.
Dated: March 21, 2006.
William Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
0
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:
PART 52--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart V--Maryland
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2. In Sec. 52.1070, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by revising
the entry for COMAR 26.11.01.01B(53) to read as follows:
52.1070 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
EPA-Approved Regulations in the Maryland SIP
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Additional
Code of Maryland State explanation/
administrative regulations Title/subject effective EPA approval date citation at 40
(COMAR) citation date CFR 52.1100
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26.11.01.01 General Administrative Provisions
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26.11.01.01B(53)............. Definitions- 9/12/05 3/1/06 [Insert page number Definition
definition of where the document reflects the
volatile organic begins]. version of 40
compound (VOC). CFR 51.100(s)
in effect as
of 12/31/2004.
* * * * * * *
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[FR Doc. 06-3107 Filed 3-30-06; 8:45 am]
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