[Federal Register: September 15, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 179)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 53134-53137]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15se08-12]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2008-0593-200818a; FRL-8714-7]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans Alabama:
Volatile Organic Compounds and Open Burning
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the
Alabama State Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted by the Alabama
Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) on January 8, 2008. The
revisions include modifications to Alabama's Volatile Organic Compounds
(VOC) and Control of Open Burning and Incineration regulations, found
at Alabama Administrative Code (AAC) Chapters 335-3-1, and 335-3-3,
respectively. This action is being taken pursuant to section 110 of the
Clean Air Act (CAA).
This SIP revision also contains a letter addressing the
requirements of section 110(a)(2)(D)(i), which EPA will consider
separately.
DATES: This direct final rule is effective November 14, 2008 without
further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by October 15,
2008. 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 No. ``EPA-R04-
OAR-2008-0593,'' by one of the following methods:
1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
2. E-mail: harder.stacy@epa.gov.
3. Fax: 404-562-9019.
4. Mail: ``EPA-R04-OAR-2008-0593,'' 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: Ms. Stacy Harder, 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 to 4:30, excluding federal holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. ``EPA-R04-OAR-
2008-0593,'' EPA's policy is that all comments received will be
included in the public docket without change and may be made available
online at 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
www.regulations.gov or e-mail, information that you consider to be CBI
or otherwise protected. The 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 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
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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
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 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 to 4:30, excluding
federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Stacy Harder, 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. The telephone number
is (404) 562-9042. Ms. Harder can also be reached via electronic mail
at harder.stacy@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Today's Action
II. What Is the Background for This Action?
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Today's Action
On January 8, 2008, ADEM submitted proposed SIP revisions to EPA
for review and approval into the Alabama SIP. The revisions include
changes made by the State of Alabama to AAC Chapters 335-3-1 and 335-3-
3. The rules became state effective on January 22, 2008. EPA is now
taking direct final action to approve the revisions, which include
revising the definition of VOC, and updating an open burning
regulation. These revisions are part of the State's strategy to meet
the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) by reducing
emissions of VOCs.
The revision to Chapter 335-3-1-.02(gggg), submitted by ADEM, added
one compound to the list of those excluded from the definition of VOC,
on the basis that this compound makes a negligible contribution to
ozone formation. This revision modified the definition to say that:
1,1,1,2,2,3,4,5,5,5-decafluoro-3-methoxy-4-trifluoromethyl-pentane
(also known as HFE-7300 or L-14787 or
C2F5CF(OCH3)CF(CF3)2
), will be considered to be negligibly reactive.
Additionally, ADEM is revising the Open Burning regulation found at
Chapter 335-3-3.01(2)(e), to delete an outdated provision which applied
only in 2006. The revisions summarized above are approvable pursuant to
section 110 of the CAA.
II. What Is the Background for This Action?
Revisions to Chapter 335-3-1
Tropospheric ozone, commonly known as smog, occurs when VOC and
nitrogen oxides (NOX) react in the atmosphere. Because of
the harmful health effects of ozone, EPA limits the amount of VOC and
NOX that can be released into the atmosphere. VOC are those
compounds of carbon (excluding carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide,
carbonic acid, metallic carbides or carbonates, and ammonium carbonate)
which 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 a negligible
level of 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 compounds to or delete them from the list.
EPA finalized such a rule on January 18, 2007 (72 FR 2193),
approving the addition of 1,1,1,2,2,3,4,5,5,5-decafluoro-3-methoxy-4-
trifluoromethyl-pentane to the list of those compounds excluded from
the definition of VOC. ADEM is updating the State regulation to be
consistent with federal regulations.
Revisions to Chapter 335-3-3
The ``Open Burning'' regulation in Chapter 3 is being revised to
delete Rule 335-3-3-.01(2)(e). As currently written, subparagraph 2(e)
allows open burning in the counties of DeKalb, Etowah, Russell, and
Talladega during the months of May, June, July, August, September, and
October, during 2006 only, provided that an air curtain incinerator is
used during burning. Alabama is updating the SIP to remove this rule,
as it applied to the 2006 calendar year only.
III. Final Action
EPA is approving revisions to the Alabama SIP submitted on January
8, 2008. The SIP revision includes changes to the VOC regulations which
are part of the State's strategy to meet the NAAQS. The action amends
Rules 335-3-1-.02(gggg) to update the definition of VOC to be
consistent with EPA regulations, and deletes an outdated open burning
provision in rule 335-3-3-.01(2)(e). These changes are consistent with
the CAA.
The 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 14,
2008 without further notice unless the Agency receives adverse comments
by October 15, 2008.
If the EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish a document
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule 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 14, 2008 and no
further action will be taken on the proposed rule. Please note that if
EPA receive adverse comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of
this rule and if that provision may be severed from the remainder of
the rule, EPA may adopt as final those provisions
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of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment.
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 14, 2008. 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. This action 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, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: September 4, 2008.
Russell L. Wright, Jr.,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
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 B--Alabama
0
2. Section 52.50(c) is amended by revising entries for ``Sections 335-
3-1-.02 and 335-3-3-.01'' to read as follows:
Sec. 52.50 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
EPA-Approved Alabama Regulations
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State effective
State citation Title/subject 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........ 01/22/08 09/15/08..........
[Insert citation
of publication].
* * * * * * *
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Chapter 335-3-3 Control of Open Burning and Incineration
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Section 335-3-3-.01............. Open Burning....... ................. 09/15/08..........
[Insert citation
of publication].
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[FR Doc. E8-21312 Filed 9-12-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P