Revisions to the Nevada State Implementation Plan, Washoe County Air Quality District, 44560-44562 [2012-18500]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 146 (Monday, July 30, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 44560-44562]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-18500]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2012-0556; FRL-9706-7]


Revisions to the Nevada State Implementation Plan, Washoe County 
Air Quality District

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Washoe County 
District Board of Health (WCDBOH) portion of the Nevada State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) that EPA expects to be submitted by the 
Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NVDEP). These revisions 
concern regulations regarding compliance with permit conditions, 
recordkeeping, source sampling and testing, and statements of 
compliance with 40 CFR part 70 permits. These regulations generally 
regulate emissions of criteria pollutants such as volatile organic 
compounds (VOC), oxides of nitrogen (NOX), and particulate 
matter (PM). This proposed approval is based upon proposed regulations 
submitted by NVDEP and an accompanying request that EPA proceed with 
SIP review while the State and local agencies complete their public 
review and agency adoption processes. EPA will not take final action on 
these regulations until NVDEP submits the final adopted versions to EPA 
as a revision to the Nevada SIP. Final EPA approval of the regulations 
and incorporation of them into the Nevada SIP would make them federally 
enforceable under the Clean Air Act (CAA). We are taking comments on 
this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.

DATES: Any comments must arrive by August 29, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by docket number EPA-R09-OAR-
2012-0556, by one of the following methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-
line instructions.
    2. Email: steckel.andrew@epa.gov.
    3. Mail or deliver: Andrew Steckel (Air-4), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 
94105-3901.
    Instructions: All comments 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 Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Information that you 
consider CBI or otherwise protected should be clearly identified as 
such and should not be submitted through www.regulations.gov or email. 
www.regulations.gov is an ``anonymous access'' system, and EPA will not 
know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the 
body of your comment. If you send email directly to EPA, your email 
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the 
public comment. 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.
    Docket: Generally, documents in the docket for this action are 
available electronically at www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at EPA 
Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California. While all 
documents in the docket are listed at www.regulations.gov, some 
information may be publicly available only at the hard copy location 
(e.g., copyrighted material, large maps), and some may not be publicly 
available in either location (e.g., CBI). To inspect the hard copy 
materials, please schedule an appointment during normal business hours 
with the contact listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Allen, EPA Region IX, (415) 
947-4120, allen.cynthia@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and 
``our'' refer to 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?
II. EPA's Evaluation and Proposed Action
    A. How is EPA evaluating the rules?
    B. Do the rules meet the evaluation criteria?
    C. Public Comment and Proposed Action
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. The State's Submittal

A. What rules did the State submit?

    By letter dated July 5, 2012, NVDEP submitted to EPA on behalf of 
WCDBOH, unofficial copies of several rules, with a request for approval 
of these provisions into the SIP by parallel processing.\1\ See July 5, 
2012 letter to Jared Blumenfeld, Regional Administrator, EPA Region 9, 
from Colleen Cripps, Administrator, NVDEP. Table 1 lists the four rules 
addressed by this proposal.
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    \1\ Under EPA's ``parallel processing'' procedure, EPA proposes 
rulemaking action concurrently with the State's proposed rulemaking. 
If the State's proposed rule is changed, EPA will evaluate that 
subsequent change and may publish another notice of proposed 
rulemaking. If no significant change is made, EPA will publish a 
final rulemaking on the rule after responding to any submitted 
comments. Final rulemaking action by EPA will occur only after the 
rule has been fully adopted by Nevada and submitted formally to EPA 
for incorporation into the SIP. See 40 CFR part 51, appendix V.

[[Page 44561]]



       Table 1--Rules Submitted by Nevada for Parallel Processing
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           Local agency             Rule No.           Rule title
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WCDBOH...........................   030.218    Demonstration of
                                                Compliance.
WCDBOH...........................   030.230    Record Keeping.
WCDBOH...........................   030.235    Requirements for Source
                                                Sampling and Testing.
WCDBOH...........................   030.970A   Part 70 Permit Monitoring
                                                and Compliance.
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    The above rules have been adopted locally but have not been adopted 
specifically for purposes of approval into the federally enforceable 
SIP under CAA section 110. NVDEP has requested that WCDBOH adopt these 
regulations following public process for purposes of SIP approval and 
thereafter submit the rules to NDEP for transmittal to EPA as SIP 
revisions. Concurrent with these county processes, NVDEP anticipates 
that it will schedule a public hearing in August on its proposal to 
submit these rules to EPA for incorporation into the SIP, and intends 
to submit the final SIP revision to EPA by late August. We note that 
because the state and county rulemaking processes here are solely for 
purposes of adopting these regulations as SIP revisions under CAA 
section 110 and not for purposes of revising any of the regulations, we 
do not expect any substantive changes between the proposed and final 
submittals. Final approval of these rules, however, is contingent upon 
EPA's receipt of fully adopted rules that satisfy state and local 
procedural requirements for SIP submittals.

B. Are there other versions of these rules?

    There are no SIP-approved versions of WCDBOH Rules 030.218, 
030.230, 030.235, and 030.970.

C. What is the purpose of the submitted rules?

    The submitted rules govern demonstrating compliance with permit 
conditions, recordkeeping, source sampling and testing, and statements 
of compliance with 40 CFR Part 70 permits. These regulations generally 
regulate, among other things, emissions of criteria pollutants such as 
VOCs, NOX and PM. VOCs help produce ground-level ozone and 
smog, which harm human health and the environment. NOX helps 
produce ground-level ozone, smog and particulate matter, which harm 
human health and the environment. PM contributes to effects that are 
harmful to human health and the environment, including premature 
mortality, aggravation of respiratory and cardiovascular disease, 
decreased lung function, visibility impairment, and damage to 
vegetation and ecosystems. Section 110(a) of the CAA requires States to 
submit regulations that control VOC, NOX, and PM emissions.
     Section 030.218, Demonstration of Compliance, states that 
the Control Officer may require the operator of a source to provide any 
applicable data to demonstrate compliance with the conditions of the 
Permit to Operate.
     Section 030.230, Record Keeping, states that the Control 
Officer may require any holder of a Permit to Operate to keep adequate 
records concerning contaminant emissions for any equipment or process 
for which the permit was issued.
     Section 030.235, Requirement for Source Sampling and 
Testing, requires the APCO to determine the exact quantity and effect 
of emissions produced by stationary sources. The APCO may require 
source stack testing, or other types of source testing including, but 
not limited to, mass balance types of analysis, be made by the 
operator.
     Section 030.970A, Part 70 Permit Monitoring and 
Compliance, requires sources subject to 40 CFR Part 70 permitting 
requirements to submit an annual statement of compliance covering 
certain specified items.
    EPA's technical support document (TSD) has more information about 
these rules.

II. EPA's Evaluation and Proposed Action

A. How is EPA evaluating the rules?

    Generally, SIP rules must be enforceable (see section 110(a) of the 
Act) and must not relax existing requirements (see sections 110(l) and 
193). Guidance and policy documents that we use to evaluate 
enforceability requirements consistently include the following:
    1. ``Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and 
Deviations,'' EPA, May 25, 1988 (the Bluebook).
    2. ``Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule 
Deficiencies,'' EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001 (the Little Bluebook).
    3. State Implementation Plans; General Preamble for the 
Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (57 
FR 13498, April 16, 1992) (``General Preamble'').

B. Do the rules meet the evaluation criteria?

    We believe these rules are consistent with the applicable 
requirements and guidance regarding enforceability and SIP relaxations. 
The TSD has more information on our evaluation.

C. Public Comment and Proposed Action

    Because EPA believes the submitted rules fulfill all applicable CAA 
requirements, we are proposing to fully approve them under section 
110(k)(3) of the Act. We will accept comments from the public on this 
proposal for the next 30 days. Unless we receive convincing new 
information during the comment period or NVDEP does not submit the 
adopted SIP revisions as expected, we intend to publish a final 
approval action that will incorporate these rules into the federally 
enforceable SIP.

III. 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, 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.);

[[Page 44562]]

     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 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, this proposed action 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.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Intergovernmental 
relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: July 19, 2012.
 Jared Blumenfeld,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2012-18500 Filed 7-27-12; 8:45 am]
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