Approval of California Air Plan Revisions, Department of Pesticide Regulations, 6481-6483 [2016-02314]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 25 / Monday, February 8, 2016 / Proposed Rules
regulatory action under Executive Order
12866. VA’s impact analysis can be
found as a supporting document at
https://www.regulations.gov, usually
within 48 hours after the rulemaking
document is published. Additionally, a
copy of the rulemaking and its impact
analysis are available on VA’s Web site
at https://www.va.gov/orpm/, by
following the link for ‘‘VA Regulations
Published From FY 2004 Through Fiscal
Year to Date.
Unfunded Mandates
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
of 1995 requires, at 2 U.S.C. 1532, that
agencies prepare an assessment of
anticipated costs and benefits before
issuing any rule that may result in the
expenditure by State, local, and tribal
governments, in the aggregate, or by the
private sector, of $100 million or more
(adjusted annually for inflation) in any
one year. This proposed rule would
have no such effect on State, local, and
tribal governments, or on the private
sector.
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
The Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance numbers and titles for the
programs affected by this document are
64.007, Blind Rehabilitation Centers;
64.008, Veterans Domiciliary Care;
64.009, Veterans Medical Care Benefits;
64.010, Veterans Nursing Home Care;
64.011, Veterans Dental Care; 64.012,
Veterans Prescription Service; 64.014,
Veterans State Domiciliary Care; 64.015,
Veterans State Nursing Home Care;
64.018, Sharing Specialized Medical
Resources; 64.019, Veterans
Rehabilitation Alcohol and Drug
Dependence; 64.022, Veterans Home
Based Primary Care; and 64.024, VA
Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem
Program.
Signing Authority
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or
designee, approved this document and
authorized the undersigned to sign and
submit the document to the Office of the
Federal Register for publication
electronically as an official document of
the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Robert D. Snyder, Interim Chief of Staff,
Department of Veterans Affairs,
approved this document on January 29,
2016, for publication.
List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 17
Administrative practice and
procedure, Alcohol abuse, Alcoholism,
Claims, Day care, Dental health, Drug
abuse, Health care, Health facilities,
Health professions, Health records,
Homeless, Mental health programs,
Nursing homes, Veterans.
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Dated: February 2, 2016.
William F. Russo,
Director, Office of Regulation Policy &
Management, Office of the General Counsel,
Department of Veterans Affairs.
6481
compounds (VOCs) from pesticides. We
are proposing to approve these rules to
regulate these emission sources under
the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act). We
are taking comments on this proposal
and plan to follow with a final action.
For the reasons set forth in the
preamble, we propose to amend 38 CFR
part 17 as follows:
DATES:
PART 17—MEDICAL
ADDRESSES:
1. The authority citation for part 17
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, and as noted in
specific sections.
2. Amend § 17.96 by revising the
introductory paragraph to read as
follows:
■
§ 17.96 Medication prescribed by non-VA
physicians.
Any prescription, which is not part of
authorized Department of Veterans
Affairs hospital or outpatient care, for
drugs and medicines ordered by a
private or non-Department of Veterans
Affairs doctor of medicine or doctor of
osteopathy duly licensed to practice in
the jurisdiction where the prescription
is written, shall be filled by a
Department of Veterans Affairs
pharmacy or a non-VA pharmacy under
contract with VA, to include non-VA
pharmacy in a state home under
contract with VA for filling
prescriptions for patients in state
homes, provided:
*
*
*
*
*
[§ 17.97
Removed and Reserved]
3. Remove § 17.97 and mark as
reserved for future use.
■
[FR Doc. 2016–02350 Filed 2–5–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320–01–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R09–OAR–2015–0807; FRL–9941–94–
Region 9]
Approval of California Air Plan
Revisions, Department of Pesticide
Regulations
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve
revisions to the California Department
of Pesticide Regulations (CDPR) portion
of the California State Implementation
Plan (SIP). These revisions concern
emissions of volatile organic
SUMMARY:
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Any comments must arrive by
March 9, 2016.
Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R09–
OAR–2015–0807 at https://
www.regulations.gov, or via email to
Steckel.Andrew@epa.gov. For comments
submitted at Regulations.gov, follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments. Once submitted, comments
cannot be edited or removed from
Regulations.gov. For either manner of
submission, the EPA may publish any
comment received to its public docket.
Do not submit electronically any
information you consider to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI)
or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Multimedia
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be
accompanied by a written comment.
The written comment is considered the
official comment and should include
discussion of all points you wish to
make. The EPA will generally not
consider comments or comment
contents located outside of the primary
submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or
other file sharing system). For
additional submission methods, please
contact the person identified in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
For the full EPA public comment policy,
information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on
making effective comments, please visit
https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/
commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Nancy Levin, EPA Region IX, (415) 972–
3848, levin.nancy@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document, ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us’’
and ‘‘our’’ refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. The State’s Submittal
A. What rules did the State submit?
B. Are there other versions of these rules?
C. What is the purpose of the submitted
rules and rule revisions?
II. The EPA’s Evaluation and Action
A. How is the EPA evaluating the rules?
B. Do the rules meet the evaluation
criteria?
C. EPA Recommendations To Further
Improve the Rules
D. Public Comment and Proposed Action
III. Incorporation by reference
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 25 / Monday, February 8, 2016 / Proposed Rules
I. The State’s Submittal
A. What rules did the State submit?
This proposal addresses additions and
amendments to Title 3 of the California
Code of Regulations (3 CCR) made by
CDPR Regulation 12–001
(‘‘Nonfumigant Regulations’’). Table 1
lists the new and amended regulations
with the dates that they were adopted
by the CDPR and submitted by the
California Air Resources Board (CARB).
TABLE 1—SUBMITTED RULES
Local agency
Rule No.
CDPR ..................
CDPR ..................
CDPR ..................
3 CCR 6452
3 CCR 6452.2
3 CCR 6558
CDPR ..................
CDPR ..................
CDPR ..................
3 CCR 6577
3 CCR 6864
3 CCR 6880
CDPR
CDPR
CDPR
CDPR
3
3
3
3
..................
..................
..................
..................
CCR
CCR
CCR
CCR
6881
6883
6884
6886
Reduced VOC Emissions Field Fumigation Methods .............................
VOC Emission Limits ...............................................................................
Recommendations for Use of Nonfumigants in the San Joaquin Valley
(SJV) Ozone Nonattainment Area (NAA).
Sales of Nonfumigants for Use in the SJV Ozone NAA .........................
Criteria for Identifying Pesticides as Toxic Air Contaminants .................
Criteria to Designate Low-VOC or High-VOC Nonfumigant Pesticide
Products.
Annual VOC Emissions Inventory Report ...............................................
Recommendation Requirements in the SJV Ozone NAA .......................
SJV Ozone NAA Use Prohibitions ..........................................................
Dealer Responsibilities for the SJV Ozone NAA ....................................
On August 4, 2015, the submittal for
CDPR’s Nonfumigant Regulations was
deemed by operation of law to meet the
completeness criteria in 40 CFR part 51
Appendix V, which must be met before
formal EPA review.
B. Are there other versions of these
rules?
There are no previous versions of 3
CCR 6558, 6577, 6864, 6880, 6883, 6884,
or 6886 in the SIP. We approved earlier
versions of 3 CCR 6452, 6452.2 and
6452.4 (now 6881) into the SIP on
October 26, 2012 (77 FR 65294).
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
C. What is the purpose of the submitted
rules and rule revisions?
VOCs help produce ground-level
ozone, smog and PM, which harm
human health and the environment.
Section 110(a) of the CAA requires
States to submit regulations that control
VOC emissions. The overall purpose of
the new and amended regulations is to
regulate certain nonfumigant pesticide
products applied to certain crops in the
SJV ozone NAA when VOC emissions
meet or exceed 95% of the 18.1 tons per
day limit on VOC emissions, or 17.2
tons per day. CDPR added or revised the
rules specified above largely to establish
limits on the sale and use of high-VOC
formulations of nonfumigant pesticide
products that contain abamectin,
chlorpyrifos, gibberellins, or oxyfluorfen
as their primary active ingredient, for
use on any of the following seven crops:
Alfalfa, almond, citrus, cotton, grape,
pistachio, and walnut. These
restrictions are only triggered when the
VOC emissions meet or exceed 17.2 tons
per day, as reported in the CDPR’s
Annual VOC Emissions Inventory
Report. They apply only during the
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Adopted/
amended
Rule title
Jkt 238001
May-October ‘‘ozone season.’’ Once
high-VOC product prohibitions are in
effect, they must remain in effect until
the ‘‘hypothetical emissions’’ (i.e., the
estimated VOC emissions if the
prohibitions were not in effect) for
pesticides in the SJV ozone NAA
comply with the 17.2 tons per day limit
for at least two consecutive years. The
rules include a calculation to determine
the ‘‘hypothetical emissions.’’ The rules
also require pest control dealers to
provide customers written information
about these restrictions and to indicate
on the invoice that the written
information was provided. Pest control
advisors are prohibited from
recommending a restricted nonfumigant
product, unless it qualifies under an
exception.
The EPA’s technical support
document (TSD) has more information
about these rules.
II. The EPA’s Evaluation and Action
A. How is the EPA evaluating the rules?
SIP rules must be enforceable (see
CAA section 110(a)(2)), must not
interfere with applicable requirements
concerning attainment and reasonable
further progress or other CAA
requirements (see CAA section 110(l)),
and must not modify certain SIP control
requirements in nonattainment areas
without ensuring equivalent or greater
emissions reductions (see CAA section
193).
Generally, SIP rules must require
Reasonably Available Control
Technology (RACT) for each category of
sources covered by a Control
Techniques Guidelines (CTG) document
as well as each major source of VOCs in
ozone nonattainment areas classified as
moderate or above (see CAA section
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Submitted
05/23/13
05/23/13
05/23/13
02/04/15
02/04/15
02/04/15
05/23/13
05/23/13
05/23/13
02/04/15
02/04/15
02/04/15
05/23/13
05/23/13
05/23/13
05/23/13
02/04/15
02/04/15
02/04/15
02/04/15
182(b)(2)). Because there are no relevant
EPA CTG documents and because there
are no major sources of VOCs for
nonfumigant pesticides, nonfumigant
pesticides are not subject to RACT
requirements. However, nonfumigant
pesticide use is subject to other VOC
limits and requirements described in the
TSD.
Guidance and policy documents that
we use to evaluate enforceability,
revision/relaxation and rule stringency
requirements for the applicable criteria
pollutants include the following:
1. ‘‘Issues Relating to VOC Regulation
Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations,’’
EPA, May 25, 1988 (the Bluebook,
revised January 11, 1990).
2. ‘‘Guidance Document for Correcting
Common VOC & Other Rule
Deficiencies,’’ EPA Region 9, August 21,
2001 (the Little Bluebook).
B. Do the rules meet the evaluation
criteria?
We believe these rules are consistent
with CAA requirements and relevant
guidance regarding enforceability,
stringency, and SIP revisions. The TSD
has more information on our evaluation.
C. EPA Recommendations To Further
Improve the Rules
The TSD describes additional rule
revisions that we recommend for the
next time the local agency modifies the
rules but are not currently the basis for
rule disapproval.
E. Public Comment and Proposed
Action
As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of
the Act, the EPA proposes to fully
approve the submitted rules because we
believe they fulfill all relevant
requirements. We will accept comments
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 25 / Monday, February 8, 2016 / Proposed Rules
from the public on this proposal until
March 9, 2016. Unless we receive
convincing new information during the
comment period, we intend to publish
a final approval action that will
incorporate these rules into the federally
enforceable SIP.
III. Incorporation by Reference
In this rule, the EPA is proposing to
include in a final EPA rule regulatory
text that includes incorporation by
reference. In accordance with
requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is
proposing to incorporate by reference
the CDPR rules as described in Table 1
of this notice. The EPA has made, and
will continue to make, these documents
available electronically through
www.regulations.gov and in hard copy
at the appropriate EPA office (see the
ADDRESSES section of this preamble for
more information).
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
IV. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
Under the Clean Air Act, 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, the EPA’s role is to
approve State choices, provided that
they meet the criteria of the Clean Air
Act. Accordingly, this proposed action
merely proposes to approve State law as
meeting Federal requirements and does
not impose additional requirements
beyond those imposed by State law. For
that reason, this proposed 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);
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Jkt 238001
• 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 Clean Air Act;
and
• does not provide the EPA with the
discretionary authority to address
disproportionate human health or
environmental effects with practical,
appropriate, and legally permissible
methods under Executive Order 12898
(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, the SIP is not approved
to apply on any Indian reservation land
or in any other area where the EPA or
an Indian tribe has demonstrated that a
tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of
Indian country, the rule does not have
tribal implications and will not impose
substantial direct costs on tribal
governments or preempt tribal law as
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65
FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations,
Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic
compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: January 14, 2016.
Jared Blumenfeld,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2016–02314 Filed 2–5–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R06–OAR–2012–0953; FRL–9941–96–
Region 6]
Approval and Promulgation of Air
Quality Implementation Plans; Texas;
Infrastructure or Requirements for the
2008 Ozone and 2010 Nitrogen Dioxide
National Ambient Air Quality
Standards
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve
elements of State Implementation Plan
(SIP) submissions from the State of
Texas for Ozone (O3) and Nitrogen
Dioxide (NO2) National Ambient Air
SUMMARY:
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6483
Quality Standards (NAAQS). These
submittals address how the existing SIP
provides for implementation,
maintenance, and enforcement of the
2008 O3 and 2010 NO2 NAAQS
(infrastructure SIPs or i-SIPs). These iSIPs ensure that the State’s SIP is
adequate to meet the state’s
responsibilities under the Federal Clean
Air Act (CAA).
Written comments must be
received on or before March 9, 2016.
DATES:
Submit your comments,
identified by Docket No. EPA–R06–
OAR–2012–0953 at https://
www.regulations.gov or via email to
fuerst.sherry@epa.gov. Follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments. Once submitted, comments
cannot be edited or removed from
Regulations.gov. The EPA may publish
any comment received to its public
docket. Do not submit electronically any
information you consider to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI)
or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Multimedia
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be
accompanied by a written comment.
The written comment is considered the
official comment and should include
discussion of all points you wish to
make. The EPA will generally not
consider comments or comment
contents located outside of the primary
submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or
other file sharing system). For
additional submission methods, please
contact Sherry Fuerst, (214) 665–6454,
fuerst.sherry@epa.gov. For the full EPA
public comment policy, information
about CBI or multimedia submissions,
and general guidance on making
effective comments, please visit https://
www2.epa.gov/dockets/commentingepa-dockets.
Docket: The index to the docket for
this action is available electronically at
www.regulations.gov and in hard copy
at EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue,
Suite 700, Dallas, Texas. While all
documents in the docket are listed in
the index, some information may be
publicly available only at the hard copy
location (e.g., copyrighted material), and
some may not be publicly available at
either location (e.g., CBI).
ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sherry Fuerst, telephone (214) 665–
6454, fuerst.sherry@epa.gov. To inspect
the hard copy materials, please schedule
an appointment with her or Bill Deese
at (214) 665–7253.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document, ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’
or ‘‘our’’ means the EPA.
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 25 (Monday, February 8, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6481-6483]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-02314]
=======================================================================
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2015-0807; FRL-9941-94-Region 9]
Approval of California Air Plan Revisions, Department of
Pesticide Regulations
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve revisions to the California Department of Pesticide Regulations
(CDPR) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These
revisions concern emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from
pesticides. We are proposing to approve these rules to regulate these
emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act). We are
taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final
action.
DATES: Any comments must arrive by March 9, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2015-0807 at https://www.regulations.gov, or via email to
Steckel.Andrew@epa.gov. For comments submitted at Regulations.gov,
follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted,
comments cannot be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. For either
manner of submission, the EPA may publish any comment received to its
public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you
consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written
comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and
should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of
the primary submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or other file sharing
system). For additional submission methods, please contact the person
identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the full
EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please
visit https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Levin, EPA Region IX, (415) 972-
3848, levin.nancy@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and
``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. The State's Submittal
A. What rules did the State submit?
B. Are there other versions of these rules?
C. What is the purpose of the submitted rules and rule
revisions?
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action
A. How is the EPA evaluating the rules?
B. Do the rules meet the evaluation criteria?
C. EPA Recommendations To Further Improve the Rules
D. Public Comment and Proposed Action
III. Incorporation by reference
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
[[Page 6482]]
I. The State's Submittal
A. What rules did the State submit?
This proposal addresses additions and amendments to Title 3 of the
California Code of Regulations (3 CCR) made by CDPR Regulation 12-001
(``Nonfumigant Regulations''). Table 1 lists the new and amended
regulations with the dates that they were adopted by the CDPR and
submitted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
Table 1--Submitted Rules
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adopted/
Local agency Rule No. Rule title amended Submitted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CDPR........................... 3 CCR 6452 Reduced VOC Emissions 05/23/13 02/04/15
Field Fumigation
Methods.
CDPR........................... 3 CCR 6452.2 VOC Emission Limits... 05/23/13 02/04/15
CDPR........................... 3 CCR 6558 Recommendations for 05/23/13 02/04/15
Use of Nonfumigants
in the San Joaquin
Valley (SJV) Ozone
Nonattainment Area
(NAA).
CDPR........................... 3 CCR 6577 Sales of Nonfumigants 05/23/13 02/04/15
for Use in the SJV
Ozone NAA.
CDPR........................... 3 CCR 6864 Criteria for 05/23/13 02/04/15
Identifying
Pesticides as Toxic
Air Contaminants.
CDPR........................... 3 CCR 6880 Criteria to Designate 05/23/13 02/04/15
Low-VOC or High-VOC
Nonfumigant Pesticide
Products.
CDPR........................... 3 CCR 6881 Annual VOC Emissions 05/23/13 02/04/15
Inventory Report.
CDPR........................... 3 CCR 6883 Recommendation 05/23/13 02/04/15
Requirements in the
SJV Ozone NAA.
CDPR........................... 3 CCR 6884 SJV Ozone NAA Use 05/23/13 02/04/15
Prohibitions.
CDPR........................... 3 CCR 6886 Dealer 05/23/13 02/04/15
Responsibilities for
the SJV Ozone NAA.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On August 4, 2015, the submittal for CDPR's Nonfumigant Regulations
was deemed by operation of law to meet the completeness criteria in 40
CFR part 51 Appendix V, which must be met before formal EPA review.
B. Are there other versions of these rules?
There are no previous versions of 3 CCR 6558, 6577, 6864, 6880,
6883, 6884, or 6886 in the SIP. We approved earlier versions of 3 CCR
6452, 6452.2 and 6452.4 (now 6881) into the SIP on October 26, 2012 (77
FR 65294).
C. What is the purpose of the submitted rules and rule revisions?
VOCs help produce ground-level ozone, smog and PM, which harm human
health and the environment. Section 110(a) of the CAA requires States
to submit regulations that control VOC emissions. The overall purpose
of the new and amended regulations is to regulate certain nonfumigant
pesticide products applied to certain crops in the SJV ozone NAA when
VOC emissions meet or exceed 95% of the 18.1 tons per day limit on VOC
emissions, or 17.2 tons per day. CDPR added or revised the rules
specified above largely to establish limits on the sale and use of
high-VOC formulations of nonfumigant pesticide products that contain
abamectin, chlorpyrifos, gibberellins, or oxyfluorfen as their primary
active ingredient, for use on any of the following seven crops:
Alfalfa, almond, citrus, cotton, grape, pistachio, and walnut. These
restrictions are only triggered when the VOC emissions meet or exceed
17.2 tons per day, as reported in the CDPR's Annual VOC Emissions
Inventory Report. They apply only during the May-October ``ozone
season.'' Once high-VOC product prohibitions are in effect, they must
remain in effect until the ``hypothetical emissions'' (i.e., the
estimated VOC emissions if the prohibitions were not in effect) for
pesticides in the SJV ozone NAA comply with the 17.2 tons per day limit
for at least two consecutive years. The rules include a calculation to
determine the ``hypothetical emissions.'' The rules also require pest
control dealers to provide customers written information about these
restrictions and to indicate on the invoice that the written
information was provided. Pest control advisors are prohibited from
recommending a restricted nonfumigant product, unless it qualifies
under an exception.
The EPA's technical support document (TSD) has more information
about these rules.
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action
A. How is the EPA evaluating the rules?
SIP rules must be enforceable (see CAA section 110(a)(2)), must not
interfere with applicable requirements concerning attainment and
reasonable further progress or other CAA requirements (see CAA section
110(l)), and must not modify certain SIP control requirements in
nonattainment areas without ensuring equivalent or greater emissions
reductions (see CAA section 193).
Generally, SIP rules must require Reasonably Available Control
Technology (RACT) for each category of sources covered by a Control
Techniques Guidelines (CTG) document as well as each major source of
VOCs in ozone nonattainment areas classified as moderate or above (see
CAA section 182(b)(2)). Because there are no relevant EPA CTG documents
and because there are no major sources of VOCs for nonfumigant
pesticides, nonfumigant pesticides are not subject to RACT
requirements. However, nonfumigant pesticide use is subject to other
VOC limits and requirements described in the TSD.
Guidance and policy documents that we use to evaluate
enforceability, revision/relaxation and rule stringency requirements
for the applicable criteria pollutants include the following:
1. ``Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and
Deviations,'' EPA, May 25, 1988 (the Bluebook, revised January 11,
1990).
2. ``Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule
Deficiencies,'' EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001 (the Little Bluebook).
B. Do the rules meet the evaluation criteria?
We believe these rules are consistent with CAA requirements and
relevant guidance regarding enforceability, stringency, and SIP
revisions. The TSD has more information on our evaluation.
C. EPA Recommendations To Further Improve the Rules
The TSD describes additional rule revisions that we recommend for
the next time the local agency modifies the rules but are not currently
the basis for rule disapproval.
E. Public Comment and Proposed Action
As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA proposes to
fully approve the submitted rules because we believe they fulfill all
relevant requirements. We will accept comments
[[Page 6483]]
from the public on this proposal until March 9, 2016. Unless we receive
convincing new information during the comment period, we intend to
publish a final approval action that will incorporate these rules into
the federally enforceable SIP.
III. Incorporation by Reference
In this rule, the EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA rule
regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance
with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is proposing to incorporate by
reference the CDPR rules as described in Table 1 of this notice. The
EPA has made, and will continue to make, these documents available
electronically through www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at the
appropriate EPA office (see the ADDRESSES section of this preamble for
more information).
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the Clean Air Act, 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, the EPA's role is to approve State
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act.
Accordingly, this proposed action merely proposes to approve State law
as meeting Federal requirements and does not impose additional
requirements beyond those imposed by State law. For that reason, this
proposed 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 Clean Air Act; and
does not provide the EPA with the discretionary authority
to address disproportionate human health or environmental effects with
practical, appropriate, and legally permissible methods under Executive
Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian
reservation land or in any other area where the EPA or an Indian tribe
has demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of
Indian country, the rule does not have tribal implications and will not
impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal
law as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9,
2000).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: January 14, 2016.
Jared Blumenfeld,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2016-02314 Filed 2-5-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P