[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 182 (Tuesday, September 21, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 57390-57393]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-23534]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2010-0289-201018(a); FRL-9203-9]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Alabama:
Volatile Organic Compounds
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve a revision to the
Alabama State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Alabama
Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) on March 3, 2010. The
revision modifies the definition of ``volatile organic compounds''
(VOCs) found at Alabama Administrative Code (AAC) section 335-3-
1-.02(gggg). Specifically, the revision adds two compounds (propylene
carbonate and dimethyl carbonate) to the list of those excluded from
the VOC definition on the basis that these compounds make a negligible
contribution to tropospheric ozone formation. ADEM is updating its SIP
to be consistent with the EPA rule finalized on January 21, 2009, which
excludes these compounds from the regulatory VOC definition. This
action is being taken pursuant to Section 110 of the Clean Air Act
(CAA).
DATES: This rule is effective on November 22, 2010 without further
notice, unless EPA receives relevant adverse comment by October 21,
2010. If EPA receives such comment, EPA will publish a timely
withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that this rule
will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2010-0289, by one of the following methods:
[[Page 57391]]
1. http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
2. E-mail: [email protected].
3. Fax: (404) 562-9019.
4. Mail: ``EPA-R04-OAR-2010-0289,'' Regulatory Development Section,
Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960.
5. Hand Delivery or Courier: Lynorae Benjamin, Chief, Regulatory
Development Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics
Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61
Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Such deliveries are
only accepted during the Regional Office's normal hours of operation.
The Regional Office's official hours of business are Monday through
Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding Federal holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. ``EPA-R04-OAR-
2010-0289.'' 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 through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail, information that you consider to be CBI
or otherwise protected. 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. For additional information about EPA's public
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
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 at the Regulatory Development
Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth
Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. EPA requests that if at all
possible, you contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's
official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30
p.m., excluding Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zuri Farngalo, Regulatory Development
Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth
Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Zuri Farngalo may be reached
by phone at (404) 562-9152 or by electronic mail address
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Analysis of the State's Submittal
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
Tropospheric ozone, commonly known as smog, occurs when VOCs and
nitrogen oxides (NOX) react in the atmosphere. Because of
the harmful health effects of ozone, EPA limits the amount of VOCs and
NOX that can be released into the atmosphere. VOCs are those
compounds of carbon (excluding carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide,
carbonic acid, metallic carbides or carbonates, and ammonium carbonate)
that form ozone through atmospheric photochemical reactions. Compounds
of carbon (or organic compounds) have different levels of reactivity;
they do not react at the same speed, or do not form ozone to the same
extent.
It has been EPA's policy that compounds of carbon with negligible
reactivity need not be regulated to reduce ozone. See 42 FR 35314, July
8, 1977. EPA determines whether a given carbon compound has
``negligible'' reactivity by comparing the compound's reactivity to the
reactivity of ethane. EPA lists these compounds in its regulations at
40 CFR 51.100(s) and excludes them from the definition of VOC. The
chemicals on this list are often called ``negligibly reactive.'' EPA
may periodically revise the list of negligibly reactive compounds to
add or delete compounds.
On January 21, 2009, EPA issued a final rule approving the addition
of propylene carbonate and dimethyl carbonate to the list of those
compounds excluded from the regulatory definition of VOC. See 74 FR
3437. ADEM is updating its SIP to be consistent with Federal
regulations.
II. Analysis of the State's Submittal
On March 3, 2010, ADEM submitted a proposed SIP revision to EPA for
review and approval. The revision modifies the definition of VOCs found
at AAC section 335-3-1-.02(gggg). Specifically, the revision adds two
compounds (propylene and dimethyl carbonate) to the list of those
excluded from the VOC definition on the basis that these compounds make
a negligible contribution to tropospheric ozone formation.
EPA is approving revisions to the Alabama SIP submitted on March 3,
2010. This action amends Rule 335-3-1-.02(gggg) to update the
definition of VOC to be consistent with EPA regulations. These changes
are consistent with the CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
III. Final Action
Pursuant to section 110 of the CAA, EPA is approving the revision
to the Alabama SIP revising the VOC definition. EPA has evaluated
Alabama's March 3, 2010 submittal and has determined that it meets the
applicable requirements of the CAA and EPA regulations and is
consistent with EPA policy. EPA is publishing this rule without prior
proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal
and anticipates no adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules
section of this Federal Register publication, EPA is publishing a
separate document that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP
revision should adverse comments be filed. This rule will be effective
November 22, 2010 without further notice unless the Agency receives
adverse comments by October 21, 2010. If the EPA receives such
comments, then EPA will publish a document withdrawing the final rule
and informing the public that the rule
[[Page 57392]]
will not take effect. All public comments received will then be
addressed in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. EPA
will not institute a second comment period. Parties interested in
commenting should do so at this time. If no such comments are received,
the public is advised that this rule will be effective on November 22,
2010 and no further action will be taken on the proposed rule.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP
submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and applicable
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve State choices,
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this
action merely approves State law as meeting Federal requirements and
does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by State
law. For that reason, this action:
Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
Is certified as not having a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
Does not have Federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
Is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent
with the CAA; and
Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, this rule does not have Tribal implications as specified
by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because the
SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in the State,
and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct costs on
Tribal governments or preempt Tribal law.
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 action 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. A major rule cannot
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C.
804(2).
Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by November 22, 2010. Filing a petition for
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect
the finality of this action 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. Parties with objections to this direct final rule are
encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel notice of
proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules
section of today's Federal Register, rather than file an immediate
petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can
withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed
rulemaking. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to
enforce its requirements. See CAA Sec. 307(b)(2), 42 U.S.C.
7607(b)(2).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Intergovernmental
relations, Incorporation by reference, Ozone, Nitrogen dioxides,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: September 3, 2010.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
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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 B--Alabama
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2. Section 52.50(c) is amended by revising the entry for ``Section 335-
3-1-.02'' to read as follows:
Sec. 52.50 Identification of plan.
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(c) * * *
EPA Approved Alabama Regulations
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State
State citation Title/Subject effective date EPA approval date Explanation
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Chapter 335-3-1 General Provisions
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* * * * * * *
Section 335-3-1-.02.............. Definitions........ 03/30/10 09/21/10 [Insert Exclusion of
citation of propylene
publication]. carbonate and
dimethyl carbonate
from VOC
definition.
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[FR Doc. 2010-23534 Filed 9-20-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P