Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of California; 2012 Los Angeles County State Implementation Plan for 2008 Lead Standard, 75293-75304 [2013-29583]
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 238 / Wednesday, December 11, 2013 / Proposed Rules
is within the scope of that authority
because it addresses an unsafe condition
that is likely to exist or develop on
products identified in this rulemaking
action.
Regulatory Findings
We determined that this proposed AD
would not have federalism implications
under Executive Order 13132. This
proposed AD would not have a
substantial direct effect 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.
For the reasons discussed above, I
certify this proposed regulation:
1. Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory
action’’ under Executive Order 12866;
2. Is not a ‘‘significant rule’’ under the
DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures
(44 FR 11034, February 26, 1979);
3. Will not affect intrastate aviation in
Alaska; and
4. Will not have a significant
economic impact, positive or negative,
on a substantial number of small entities
under the criteria of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act.
List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39
Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation
safety, Incorporation by reference,
Safety.
The Proposed Amendment
Accordingly, under the authority
delegated to me by the Administrator,
the FAA proposes to amend 14 CFR part
39 as follows:
PART 39—AIRWORTHINESS
DIRECTIVES
1. The authority citation for part 39
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701.
§ 39.13
[Amended]
2. The FAA amends § 39.13 by adding
the following new AD:
■
Bombardier, Inc.: Docket No. FAA–2013–
1025; Directorate Identifier 2013–NM–
096–AD.
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
(a) Comments Due Date
We must receive comments by January 27,
2014.
(b) Affected ADs
None.
(c) Applicability
This AD applies to Bombardier, Inc.,
Model DHC–8–102, –103, –106, –201, –202,
–301, –311, and –315 airplanes; certificated
in any category; serial numbers 003 through
672 inclusive with a beta warning horn
(BWH) (Mod 8/2852) incorporated; except for
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airplanes that have incorporated Bombardier
option CR873CH00003, CR873CH00005,
CR873SOO8112, or MS8Q902206.
(d) Subject
Air Transport Association (ATA) of
America Code 31, Instruments; Code 76,
Engine Controls.
(e) Reason
This AD was prompted by a report of a
BWH system failing to activate when the beta
mode was triggered. We are issuing this AD
to prevent the inadvertent activation of
ground beta mode during flight, which could
lead to engine overspeed, engine damage or
failure, and consequent reduced
controllability of the airplane.
(f) Compliance
Comply with this AD within the
compliance times specified, unless already
done.
75293
dated March 6, 2013, for related information.
This MCAI may be found in the AD docket
on the Internet at https://www.regulations.gov
by searching for and locating it in Docket No.
FAA–2013–1025.
(2) For service information identified in
this AD, contact Bombardier, Inc., Q-Series
Technical Help Desk, 123 Garratt Boulevard,
Toronto, Ontario M3K 1Y5, Canada;
telephone 416–375–4000; fax 416–375–4539;
email thd.qseries@aero.bombardier.com;
Internet https://www.bombardier.com. You
may view copies of this referenced service
information at the FAA, Transport Airplane
Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton,
WA. For information on the availability of
this material at the FAA, call 425–227–1221.
Issued in Renton, Washington, on
November 29, 2013.
Johm P. Piccola,
Acting Manager, Transport Airplane
Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service.
(g) Terminating Modification
Within 6,000 flight hours or 36 months,
whichever occurs first, after the effective date
of this AD: Modify the BWH microswitch
installation by replacing the existing BWH
microswitch installation bracket with a new
bracket having part number 87610164–003,
in accordance with the Accomplishment
Instructions of Bombardier Service Bulletin
8–76–33, dated December 13, 2012.
[FR Doc. 2013–29513 Filed 12–10–13; 8:45 am]
(h) Other FAA AD Provisions
The following provisions also apply to this
AD:
(1) Alternative Methods of Compliance
(AMOCs): The Manager, New York Aircraft
Certification Office (ACO), ANE–170, FAA,
has the authority to approve AMOCs for this
AD, if requested using the procedures found
in 14 CFR 39.19. In accordance with 14 CFR
39.19, send your request to your principal
inspector or local Flight Standards District
Office, as appropriate. If sending information
directly to the ACO, send it to ATTN:
Program Manager, Continuing Operational
Safety, FAA, New York ACO, 1600 Stewart
Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590;
telephone 516–228–7300; fax 516–794–5531.
Before using any approved AMOC, notify
your appropriate principal inspector, or
lacking a principal inspector, the manager of
the local flight standards district office/
certificate holding district office. The AMOC
approval letter must specifically reference
this AD.
(2) Airworthy Product: For any requirement
in this AD to obtain corrective actions from
a manufacturer, use these actions if they are
FAA-approved. Corrective actions are
considered FAA-approved if they were
approved by the State of Design Authority (or
its delegated agent, or by the Design
Approval Holder with a State of Design
Authority’s design organization approval).
For a repair method to be approved, the
repair approval must specifically refer to this
AD. You are required to ensure the product
is airworthy before it is returned to service.
[EPA–R09–OAR–2013–0687; FRL9903–99–
Region 9]
(i) Related Information
(1) Refer to Mandatory Continuing
Airworthiness Information (MCAI) Canadian
Airworthiness Directive CF–2012–01R1,
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BILLING CODE 4910–13–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
Approval and Promulgation of
Implementation Plans; State of
California; 2012 Los Angeles County
State Implementation Plan for 2008
Lead Standard
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
EPA is proposing to approve
a State implementation plan revision
submitted by the State of California to
provide for attainment of the 2008 lead
national ambient air quality standard in
the Los Angeles County nonattainment
area. The submitted SIP revision is the
Final 2012 Lead State Implementation
Plan—Los Angeles County. Specifically,
EPA is proposing to approve the
emissions inventory, attainment
demonstration, the reasonably available
control measures/reasonably available
control technology, reasonable further
progress demonstration, and
contingency measures as meeting the
requirements of the Clean Air Act and
EPA’s implementing regulations for the
lead NAAQS.
DATES: Any comments must arrive by
January 10, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments,
identified by docket number EPA–R09–
OAR–2013–0687, by one of the
following methods:
SUMMARY:
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• Federal eRulemaking Portal:
www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line
instructions.
• Email: tax.wienke@epa.gov.
• Mail or deliver: Marty Robin, Office
of Air Planning (AIR–2), U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San
Francisco, CA 94105.
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. The
www.regulations.gov Web site 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
comments due to technical difficulties
and cannot contact you for clarification,
EPA may not be able to consider your
comment.
Docket: The index to the docket for
this action is available electronically on
the www.regulations.gov Web site and
in hard copy at EPA Region IX, 75
Hawthorne Street, San Francisco,
California, 94105. 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). 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
below.
Copies of the SIP materials are also
available for inspection at the following
locations:
• California Air Resources Board,
1001 I Street, Sacramento, California
95812, and
• South Coast Air Quality
Management District, 21865 E. Copley
Drive, Diamond Bar, California 91765.
The SIP materials are also electronically
available at: https://www.aqmd.gov/
aqmp/Lead_SIP/homepage.htm and
https://www.arb.ca.gov/planning/sip/
sip.htm.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Wienke Tax, Air Planning Office (AIR–
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2), U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region IX, (415) 947–4192,
tax.wienke@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document, ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us’’
and ‘‘our’’ refer to EPA.
Table of Contents
I. The Lead NAAQS and the Los Angeles
County Lead Nonattainment Area
A. The Lead NAAQS
B. The Lead Nonattainment Problem in Los
Angeles County
II. California’s State Implementation Plan
Submittal To Address Lead
Nonattainment in the Los Angeles
County Nonattainment Area
A. California’s SIP Submittal
B. CAA Procedural and Administrative
Requirements for SIP Submittals
III. CAA and Regulatory Requirements for
Lead Attainment SIPs
A.CAA and EPA Guidance
B. Infrastructure SIPs
IV. Review of the 2012 Los Angeles County
Lead SIP
A. Summary of EPA’s Proposed Actions
B. Emission Inventories
1. Requirements for Emission Inventories
2. Base Year Emission Inventory in the
2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP
3. Proposed Action on the Emission
Inventory
C. RACM/RACT Demonstration and
Adopted Control Strategy
1. Requirements for RACM/RACT
Demonstrations
2. RACM/RACT Demonstration in the 2012
Los Angeles County Lead SIP
3. Proposed Actions on RACM/RACT
Demonstration and Adopted Control
Strategy
D. Attainment Demonstration
1. Requirements for Attainment
Demonstrations
2. Air Quality Modeling in the 2012 Los
Angeles County Lead SIP
3. Attainment Demonstration
4. Proposed Action on the Attainment
Demonstration
E. RFP Demonstration
1. Requirements for RFP
2. RFP Demonstration in the 2012 Los
Angeles County Lead SIP
3. Proposed Action on the RFP
Demonstration
F. Contingency Measures
1. Requirements for Contingency Measures
2. Contingency Measures in the 2012 Los
Angeles County Lead SIP
3. Proposed Action on the Contingency
Measures
V. EPA’s Proposed Action and Request for
Public Comments
A. EPA’s Proposed Approvals
B. Request for Public Comments
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. The Lead NAAQS and the Los
Angeles County Lead Nonattainment
Area
A. The Lead NAAQS
Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), EPA
must establish national ambient air
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quality standards (NAAQS) for six
criteria pollutants, including lead. Lead
is generally emitted in the form of
particles, which end up being deposited
in water, soil, and dust. People may be
exposed to lead by inhaling it, or by
ingesting lead-contaminated food,
water, soil, or dust. Once in the body,
lead is quickly absorbed into the
bloodstream and can result in a broad
range of adverse health effects. These
include damage to the central nervous
system, cardiovascular function,
kidneys, immune system, and red blood
cells. Children are particularly
vulnerable to lead exposure, in part
because they are more likely to ingest
lead and in part because their stilldeveloping bodies are more sensitive to
the effects of lead. Urban children are
also of particular risk if the mother is
exposed to lead. The harmful effects to
children’s developing nervous systems
(including their brains) arising from
lead exposure may include IQ loss, poor
academic achievement, long-term
learning disabilities, and an increased
risk of delinquent behavior.
EPA first established a lead standard
in 1978 at 1.5 micrograms per meter
cubed (mg/m3) as a quarterly average.1
Based on new health and scientific data,
EPA revised the federal lead standard to
0.15 mg/m3 and revised the averaging
time for the standard on October 15,
2008 (see 73 FR 66964, November 12,
2008). A violation of the standard
occurs when ambient lead
concentrations exceed 0.15 mg/m3
averaged over a 3-month rolling period.
The process for designating areas
following promulgation of a new or
revised NAAQS is contained in section
107(d) of the CAA. The CAA requires
EPA to complete the initial area
designations process within two years of
promulgating a new or revised NAAQS.
Designations for the 2008 lead NAAQS
were promulgated effective December
31, 2010 (see 75 FR 71033). Based on
ambient air quality data for the years
2007–2009, a portion of Los Angeles
County (excluding the high desert areas,
San Clemente and Santa Catalina
Islands) was identified as an area that
did not meet the 2008 lead NAAQS.2
Areas are required to attain the
revised lead standard as expeditiously
as practicable, but no later than five
years from the date the nonattainment
designation became effective. For the
Los Angeles County lead nonattainment
area, this date is December 31, 2015.
Attainment demonstration state
implementation plans (SIPs) are due 18
1 See
43 FR 46246, October 5, 1978.
an exact description of the Los Angeles
County lead nonattainment area, see 40 CFR 81.305.
2 For
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months after the effective date of an
area’s designation. For the Los Angeles
County lead nonattainment area, the SIP
was due June 30, 2012. These SIPs
should include emissions inventories, a
reasonable further progress (RFP)
demonstration, reasonably available
control measures/reasonably available
control technology (RACM/RACT)
demonstration, an attainment
demonstration, and contingency
measures. To demonstrate attainment,
control measures need to be in place by
November 1, 2012.3
A. The Lead Nonattainment Problem in
Los Angeles County
Stationary sources of lead are
generally from large industrial sources,
including metals processing,
particularly primary and secondary lead
smelters. Lead can also be emitted by
iron and steel foundries; primary and
secondary copper smelters; industrial,
commercial and institutional boilers;
waste incinerators; glass manufacturing;
refineries; and cement manufacturing.
The South Coast Air Quality
Management District (SCAQMD or
‘‘District’’) has determined that the
primary causes of the nonattainment
status of Los Angeles County are two
large lead-acid battery recycling
facilities, Exide Technologies located in
the city of Vernon, and Quemetco, Inc.
located in the City of Industry. These
facilities receive used lead-acid batteries
and other lead-bearing materials and
recycle them, recovering the lead. Lead
is recycled because of its value and to
reduce toxic waste, and it is primarily
used to manufacture new batteries.
Because regional ambient air lead
concentrations indicate low ambient
lead levels relative to the new lead
NAAQS, and the only ambient levels
exceeding the NAAQS were at sites near
the lead-acid battery recyclers,
SCAQMD’s lead attainment strategy is
focused on reducing directly-emitted
lead from these two sources.
II. California’s State Implementation
Plan Submittal To Address Lead
Nonattainment in the Los Angeles
Nonattainment Area
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A. California’s SIP Submittal
Designation of an area as
nonattainment starts the process for a
state to develop and submit to EPA a
SIP under title 1, part D of the CAA.
This SIP must include, among other
things, a demonstration of how the
NAAQS will be attained in the
nonattainment area as expeditiously as
practicable, but no later than the date
3 See
73 FR 66964 (November 12, 2008).
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required by the CAA. Under CAA
section 191(a), a State has up to 18
months after an area’s designation to
nonattainment to submit its SIP to EPA.
For the 2008 lead NAAQS, these
nonattainment SIPs were due no later
than June 30, 2012.
The SCAQMD is the air quality
agency that develops SIPs for the Los
Angeles area. The Final 2012 Lead State
Implementation Plan—Los Angeles
County (2012 Los Angeles County Lead
SIP) was adopted by the SCAQMD
Governing Board on May 4, 2012.4 The
California Air Resources Board (CARB)
adopted the SIP on May 24, 2012 and
submitted it to EPA on June 20, 2012.5
B. CAA Procedural and Administrative
Requirements for SIP Submittals
CAA sections 110(a)(1) and (2) and
110(l) require a state to provide
reasonable public notice and
opportunity for public hearing prior to
the adoption and submittal of a SIP or
SIP revision. To meet this requirement,
every SIP submittal should include
evidence that adequate public notice
was given and a public hearing was held
consistent with EPA’s implementing
regulations in 40 CFR section 51.102.
Both the District and CARB have
satisfied applicable statutory and
regulatory requirements for reasonable
public notice and hearing prior to
adoption and submittal of the 2012 Los
Angeles County Lead SIP. The District
provided a public comment period and
held a public hearing prior to the
adoption of the 2012 Los Angeles
County Lead SIP on May 4, 2012. CARB
provided the required public notice and
opportunity for public comment prior to
its May 24, 2012 public hearing on the
plan.
The SIP submittal includes notices of
the District and CARB public hearings,
as evidence that all hearings were
properly noticed.6 We therefore find
that the submittals meet the procedural
requirements of CAA sections 110(a)
and 110(l).
CAA section 110(k)(1)(B) requires
EPA to determine whether a SIP
submittal is complete within 60 days of
receipt. This section also provides that
any plan that EPA has not affirmatively
determined to be complete or
incomplete will become complete 6
4 See SCAQMD Governing Board Resolution No.
12–11.
5 See CARB Board Resolution No. 12–20.
6 See Enclosure 3, California Air Resources Board,
‘‘Notice of Public Meeting to Consider Approval of
the Proposed State Implementation Plan Revision
for the Federal Lead Standard,’’ and Enclosure 6,
Notice of Public Hearing, Adoption of 2012 Lead
State Implementation Plan—Los Angeles Count for
the South Coast Air Quality Management District in
the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP.
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75295
months after the date of submittal by
operation of law. EPA’s SIP
completeness criteria are found in 40
CFR part 51, Appendix V. The 2012 Los
Angeles County Lead SIP became
complete by operation of law on
December 20, 2012.
III. CAA and Regulatory Requirements
for Lead Attainment SIPs
A. CAA and EPA Guidance
EPA is implementing the lead
NAAQS under Title 1, Part D, subparts
1 and 5 of the CAA, which includes
section 172, ‘‘Nonattainment plan
provisions,’’ and sections 191 and 192,
‘‘Plan Submission Deadlines’’ and
‘‘Attainment Dates,’’ respectively.
Section 192(a) establishes the
attainment date for lead nonattainment
areas ‘‘as expeditiously as practicable’’
but no later than five years from the date
of the nonattainment designation for the
area. EPA designated most of Los
Angeles County (except for the high
desert areas and San Clemente and
Catalina Islands) as a nonattainment
area effective December 31, 2010, and
thus the applicable attainment date is
no later than December 31, 2015. Under
section 172(a)(2)(D), the Administrator
is precluded from granting an extension
of this attainment date where the statute
separately establishes a specific
attainment date, such as the 5-year
deadline established in section 192(a).
Section 172(c) contains the general
statutory planning requirements
applicable to all nonattainment areas,
including the requirements for
emissions inventories, RACM/RACT,
attainment demonstrations, RFP
demonstrations, and contingency
measures.
When EPA issued the NAAQS for
lead on November 12, 2008 (‘‘lead
NAAQS rule’’), it included some
implementation guidelines for the lead
NAAQS regarding planning
requirements. See 73 FR 66964. EPA
also issued several guidance documents
related to planning requirements for the
lead NAAQS. These include:
• Memorandum from Scott Mathias,
Interim Director, Air Quality Policy
Division, USEPA Office of Air Quality
Planning and Standards, to Regional Air
Division Directors, Regions I–X, ‘‘2008
Lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS) Implementation
Questions and Answers,’’ July 8, 2011,
(‘‘Lead Q&A’’) and
• ‘‘Addendum to the 2008 Lead
NAAQS Implementation Questions and
Answers Signed on July 11, 2011, by
Scott Mathias,’’ dated August 10, 2012.
(‘‘Lead Q&A Addendum’’); and
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• Implementation of the 2008 Lead
National Ambient Air Quality
Standards—Guide to Developing
Reasonably Available Control Measures
(RACM) for Controlling Lead Emissions,
USEPA Office of Air Quality Planning
and Standards, EPA–457/R–12–001,
March 2012 (‘‘Lead RACM Guidance’’).7
The lead NAAQS rule and its
preamble and the two guidance
documents address the statutory
planning requirements for emissions
inventories, RACM/RACT, attainment
demonstrations including air quality
modeling requirements, RFP
demonstrations, and contingency
measures. The lead NAAQS rule also
addresses other matters such as
monitoring, designations, lead
infrastructure SIPs and exceptional
events.
Control measures for the 2008 lead
NAAQS need to be in place as
expeditiously as practicable. In order for
control measures to result in three years
of monitored clean data by the
attainment date, lead nonattainment
areas required to demonstrate
attainment by December 31, 2015 would
need to have all necessary controls in
place no later than November 1, 2012.8
We will discuss each of the CAA and
regulatory requirements for lead
attainment plans in more detail below
in our review of the 2012 Los Angeles
County Lead SIP.
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B. Infrastructure SIPs for Lead
Under section 110 of the CAA, all
states (including those without
nonattainment areas) are required to
submit infrastructure SIPs within three
years of the promulgation of a new or
revised NAAQS. Because the lead
NAAQS was signed and widely
disseminated on October 15, 2008, the
infrastructure SIPs were due by October
15, 2011. Section 110(a)(1) and (2)
require states to address basic program
elements, including requirements for
emissions inventories, monitoring, and
modeling, among other things.
Subsections (A) through (M) of section
110(a)(2) set forth the elements that a
states program must contain in the SIP.
California’s lead infrastructure SIP was
submitted on October 6, 2011 and will
be acted on in a separate rulemaking
action.
IV. Review of the 2012 Los Angeles
County Lead SIP
A. Summary of EPA’s Proposed Actions
EPA is proposing to approve the 2012
Los Angeles County Lead SIP
7 All three of these guidance documents can be
found in the docket for today’s action.
8 Lead Q&A, p. 4.
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demonstrating attainment of the 2008
lead NAAQS in the Los Angeles County
lead nonattainment area. We are
proposing to approve the base year
emissions inventory in this SIP revision
as meeting the applicable requirements
of the CAA and EPA guidance. We are
also proposing to approve the
attainment demonstration, RACM/RACT
analysis, RFP demonstration, and the
contingency measures as meeting the
applicable requirements of the CAA and
EPA guidance.
EPA’s analysis and findings are
discussed below for each applicable
requirement. The Technical Support
Document (TSD) for today’s proposed
action contains additional details on
selected lead planning requirements.
We also discuss the SCAQMD lead
monitoring network and present recent
ambient air quality monitoring data in
the TSD.
B. Emission Inventories
1. Requirements for Emission
Inventories
CAA section 172(c)(3) requires that
states submit a ‘‘comprehensive,
accurate, current inventory of actual
emissions from all sources of the
relevant pollutant.’’ Therefore, all
sources of lead emissions in the
nonattainment area must be included in
the submitted inventory. A base year
emission inventory is required for the
attainment demonstration and for
meeting RFP requirements. The base
year emissions inventory for 2010 or
other suitable year should be used for
attainment planning and RFP plans for
areas initially designated nonattainment
for the lead NAAQS in 2010.9
In addition to inventory reporting
requirements in CAA section 172(c)(3),
40 CFR 51.117(e)(1) requires that the
inventory contain all point sources that
emit 0.5 tons of lead emissions per year
(tpy).10 Based on annual emissions
reporting for 2010, no point sources in
the Los Angeles County lead
9 2008 Lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS) Implementation Questions and
Answers, Memorandum from Scott Mathias, Interim
Director, Air Quality Policy Division, Office of Air
Quality Planning and Standards, USEPA to Air
Quality Division Directors, Regions I–X. July 8,
2011. Also see, Addendum to the 2008 Lead
NAAQS Implementation Questions and Answers
Signed on July 11, 2011, by Scott Mathias. August
10, 2012.
10 Additional emissions inventory reporting
requirements are also found in EPA’s Air Emissions
Reporting Rule (AERR) (codified at 40 CFR part 51
subpart A) and 73 FR 76539. Although the AERR
requirements are separate from the SIP-related
requirements in CAA section 172(c)(3) and 40 CFR
51.117(e)(1), the AERR requirements are intended to
be compatible with the SIP-related requirements.
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nonattainment area emit over 0.5 tpy of
lead.
2. Base Year Emissions Inventory in the
2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP
The 2010 base year inventory for the
Los Angeles County lead nonattainment
area and additional documentation for
the inventory are described in Chapter
3 of the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead
SIP. The 2010 base year lead inventory
provides the basis for the control
measure analysis and the RFP and
attainment demonstrations in the 2012
Los Angeles County Lead SIP.
Lead emissions are grouped into two
general categories, stationary sources
and mobile sources. Stationary sources
can be further divided into ‘‘point’’ and
‘‘area’’ sources. Point sources are
typically emitted from permitted
facilities and have one or more
identified and fixed pieces of equipment
and emissions points. Facilities are
required to report their emissions to the
SCAQMD Annual Emissions Reporting
Program. Conversely, area sources
consist of widespread and numerous
smaller emission sources, such as small
permitted facilities, households, and
road dust. The mobile sources category
can be divided into two major
subcategories, ‘‘on-road’’ and ‘‘off-road’’
mobile sources. On-road mobile sources
include light-duty automobiles, light-,
medium-, and heavy-duty trucks, and
motorcycles. Off-road mobile sources
include aircraft, locomotives,
construction equipment, mobile
equipment, and recreational vehicles.
The methodologies used to calculate the
emission inventories are described in
Chapter 3 of the 2012 Los Angeles
County Lead SIP.
Table 1 depicts the 2010 lead
emissions inventory for the Los Angeles
County lead nonattainment area as
presented in the 2012 Los Angeles
County Lead SIP. Emissions in Table 1
are broken down by the major source
categories described above. Table 2
provides a further break down of the
2010 inventory into specific
subcategories. Table 1 indicates that 4.2
tons per year (tpy) of lead emissions are
from mobile sources. This accounts for
23 percent of the total lead inventory for
Los Angeles County. Because lead is
still used as an additive in general
aviation fuel, aircraft powered by
piston-driven engines comprise 4.0 tpy
or 93 percent of the mobile source
inventory.11 Stationary and area sources
11 For a complete list of airports located in the Los
Angeles County lead nonattainment area and their
lead emissions, see table 3–3 on page 3–11 of the
South Coast Lead 2012 SIP or the Technical
Support Document for this action. For more
information on EPA efforts to monitor lead
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emit 14.0 tpy or 77 percent of the lead
inventory. Two area sources,
construction and demolition and paved
road dust, account for 12.6 tpy or
approximately 90 percent of the total
stationary and area source emissions.
TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY NONATTAINMENT AREA 2010 EMISSIONS INVENTORY FOR LEAD
Lead
emissions a
(tpy)
Source category
2010
Stationary and Area .................................................................................................................................................................
On-road Mobile ........................................................................................................................................................................
Off-road Mobile ........................................................................................................................................................................
14.0
0.2
4.0
Total ..................................................................................................................................................................................
18.2
a Source:
Table 3–1, 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP.
As indicated in Chapter 3, page 3–3
of the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead
SIP, Los Angeles County’s lead
nonattainment status is linked to two
large lead-acid battery-recycling
facilities—Exide Technologies in
Vernon (‘‘Exide’’) and Quemetco Inc. in
City of Industry (‘‘Quemetco’’). These
two sources fall within the Metal
Processes subcategory shown in Table
2.12 Even though the Metal Processes
category accounts for a small percentage
of total emissions in the nonattainment
area, based on the historical lead
measurements in Los Angeles County,
the vicinities near the Exide and
Quemetco facilities are areas where
exceedances of the lead NAAQS have
occurred in the past and could
potentially reoccur.
TABLE 2—CATEGORY-SPECIFIC LOS ANGELES COUNTY NONATTAINMENT AREA 2010 EMISSIONS INVENTORY FOR LEAD
2010 Lead
emissions a
(tpy)
Source category
Stationary and Area Sources
Fuel Combustion:
Electric Utilities .................................................................................................................................................................
Cogeneration ....................................................................................................................................................................
Petroleum Refining (Combustion) ....................................................................................................................................
Manufacturing and Industrial ............................................................................................................................................
Service and Commercial ..................................................................................................................................................
Waste Disposal:
Incinerators .......................................................................................................................................................................
Petroleum Production & Marketing:
Petroleum Refining ...........................................................................................................................................................
Industrial Processes:
Mineral Processes ............................................................................................................................................................
Metal Processes ...............................................................................................................................................................
Glass and Related Products ............................................................................................................................................
Miscellaneous Processes:
Residential Fuel Combustion ...........................................................................................................................................
Construction and Demolition ............................................................................................................................................
Paved Road Dust .............................................................................................................................................................
Unpaved Road Dust .........................................................................................................................................................
Fugitive Windblown Dust ..................................................................................................................................................
Fires ..................................................................................................................................................................................
Waste Burning and Disposal ............................................................................................................................................
0.02
0.01
0.05
0.08
0.04
0.01
0.03
0.06
0.42
0.02
0.02
5.80
6.83
0.47
0.06
0.01
0.03
Total Stationary and Area Sources ...........................................................................................................................
13.96
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Mobile Sources
On-Road Vehicles:
Light-Duty Passenger .......................................................................................................................................................
Light & Medium Duty Trucks ............................................................................................................................................
Heavy-Duty Gas Trucks ...................................................................................................................................................
Heavy-Duty Diesel Trucks ................................................................................................................................................
emissions at airports, see EPA Program Update
‘‘Airport Lead Monitoring,’’ EPA–420–F–13–032,
June 2013 found at https://www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/
nonroad/aviation/420f13032.pdf.
12 Lead concentrations at all ambient monitoring
network sites in the Los Angeles County portion of
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the Basin are well below the new 2008 standard for
lead, with typical levels of about 0.01 mg/m3. The
Los Angeles County lead nonattainment area’s
nonattainment status has not been linked to any
stationary sources other than Exide and Quemetco;
however, for additional information on point
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0.09
0.06
0.0
0.07
sources that emit greater than one pound of lead per
year and are located in the nonattainment area, see
Table 3–2 on page 3–9 of the 2012 Los Angeles
County Lead SIP.
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TABLE 2—CATEGORY-SPECIFIC LOS ANGELES COUNTY NONATTAINMENT AREA 2010 EMISSIONS INVENTORY FOR LEAD—
Continued
2010 Lead
emissions a
(tpy)
Source category
Total On-Road Vehicles ............................................................................................................................................
Off-road Mobile:
Aircraft ..............................................................................................................................................................................
Trains ................................................................................................................................................................................
Ships & Commercial Boats ..............................................................................................................................................
Off-Road Equipment .........................................................................................................................................................
0.22
3.95
0.01
0.0
0.06
Total Off-Road Mobile ...............................................................................................................................................
4.02
Total All Sources .......................................................................................................................................................
18.20
a Source:
2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP, Table 3–1.
3. Proposed Action on the Emission
Inventory
We have reviewed the emissions
inventories in the 2012 Los Angeles
County Lead SIP and the inventory
methodologies used by the District and
CARB for consistency with CAA
requirements, the lead NAAQS rule, and
EPA’s guidance. We find that the 2010
base year inventory is a comprehensive,
accurate, and current inventory of actual
or projected emissions of lead in the Los
Angeles County lead nonattainment area
as of the date of the submittal. We
therefore propose to approve the 2010
base year inventory as meeting the
requirements of CAA section 172(c)(3)
and applicable EPA guidance.
C. RACM/RACT Demonstration and
Adopted Control Strategy
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1. Requirements for RACM/RACT
Demonstrations
CAA section 172(c)(1) requires that
each attainment plan ‘‘provide for the
implementation of all reasonably
available control measures as
expeditiously as practicable (including
such reductions in emissions from
existing sources in the area as may be
obtained through the adoption, at a
minimum, of reasonably available
control technology), and shall provide
for attainment of the national primary
ambient air quality standards.’’ EPA
defines RACM as measures that a state
finds are both reasonably available and
contribute to attainment as
expeditiously as practicable in its
nonattainment area. Lead nonattainment
plans must contain RACM (including
RACT) that address sources of ambient
lead concentrations. The EPA’s historic
definition of RACT is the lowest
emissions limitation that a particular
source is capable of meeting by the
application of control technology that is
reasonably available considering
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technological and economic
feasibility.13 EPA recommends that, at a
minimum, all stationary sources
emitting 0.5 tpy or more should undergo
a RACT review. See 73 FR 67038. Based
on annual emissions reporting for 2010,
no point sources in the Los Angeles
County lead nonattainment area emit
over 0.5 tpy of lead.14
2. RACM/RACT Demonstration in the
2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP
CARB and the District have
rulemaking processes for development,
adoption and implementation of RACM/
RACT that have been in place for
decades.
Because of lead’s dispersion
characteristics (e.g., lack of transport
over a large geographic area), the highest
ambient concentrations of lead are
expected to be near lead sources (e.g.,
Exide and Quemetco). The 2008 lead
NAAQS is unique in that attainment
must be demonstrated at sourceoriented monitors as well as ambient
monitors, and this RACM/RACT
demonstration addresses specific
facilities that may cause a NAAQS
exceedance. The RACM/RACT
demonstration for the 2012 Los Angeles
County Lead SIP does not involve or
require a typical RACM evaluation as is
done for other criteria pollutants (e.g.,
ozone or fine particulate matter) which
involves looking at a broader set of
source categories.
Based on lead monitoring data,
SCAQMD identified two large lead-acid
battery recycling facilities (i.e., Exide
and Quemetco) as the only sources of
lead in the Los Angeles County lead
nonattainment area that have caused or
have the potential to cause exceedances
13 See for example, 44 FR 53761 (September 17,
1979) and footnote 3 of that notice.
14 Exide is the largest stationary source emitter of
lead in Los Angeles County with 2010 emissions of
655.5 pounds or approximately 0.3 tpy.
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of the 2008 lead NAAQS.15 The overall
control strategy in the 2012 Los Angeles
County Lead SIP relies primarily on
implementation of Rule 1420.1—
Emissions Standard for Lead from Large
Lead-Acid Battery Recycling Facilities,
adopted by SCAQMD in November
2010. Thus EPA’s evaluation of RACM/
RACT is based on an evaluation of Rule
1420.1. SCAQMD’s RACM/RACT
evaluation is found in Section 6, pages
17–21 of the 2012 Los Angeles County
Lead SIP. A discussion of Rule 1420.1
is provided below.
Control Measure
On January 25, 2013, EPA approved
SCAQMD Rule 1420.1 into the
California SIP. See 78 FR 5305. Rule
1420.1 establishes facility-wide and
individual point source maximum
allowable emission rates and requires
secondary lead control devices on
dryers. Fugitive lead emissions are
addressed through housekeeping and
maintenance activity requirements, and
total enclosures, vented to control
devices, for all areas where lead is being
processed and where maintenance
activities are occurring. The rule also
sets ambient standards for airborne lead
concentrations at monitors around the
facility and requires facility-operated
monitors (a minimum of four) that
collect samples on a once every-threedays schedule. Source testing,
recordkeeping, and reporting
requirements are included to ensure
continuous compliance. The rule also
requires the submittal of a new
compliance plan and emission
reduction feasibility study when a
15 As previously stated, EPA recommends that, at
a minimum, all stationary sources emitting 0.5 tpy
(1000 pounds) or more should undergo a RACT
review (See 73 FR 66964, at 67038). Based on
annual emissions reporting for 2010, no point
sources in the Los Angeles Lead nonattainment area
emit over 0.5 tpy of lead.
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source’s monitoring indicates ambient
levels have reached 0.12 mg/m3, which
is 80% of the rule limit.
EPA describes RACM/RACT
nationally for secondary lead smelters
in guidance published in March 2012.16
Rule 1420.1 includes extensive and
comprehensive provisions for the
control of lead point source and fugitive
emissions and contains all the necessary
RACM/RACT elements described in the
EPA guidance. A summary of these
minimum elements and how they are
addressed in Rule 1420.1 is provided in
EPA’s TSD for this action and in the
TSD for EPA’s approval of Rule
1420.1.17
EPA also published the final residual
risk and technology review revisions to
the National Emission Standard for
Hazardous Air Pollutants from
Secondary Lead Smelting on January 5,
2012 (NESHAP from Secondary Lead
Smelting). 77 FR 556. The revised
NESHAP requirements represent
maximum achievable control
technology (MACT) under CAA section
112. MACT requirements apply
nationwide, regardless of whether an
area attains the lead NAAQS. EPA
considered the MACT requirements as
part of our evaluation of RACM/RACT.
A summary of the MACT requirements
and how they are addressed by Rule
1420.1 is also in the TSD for EPA’s
approval of Rule 1420.1, which can be
found in the docket for today’s proposed
action.
In its January 25, 2013 approval of
Rule 1420.1, EPA determined that,
based on comparison of Rule 1420.1 to
the national RACM guidance and
MACT, and additional analysis
provided in SCAQMD’s staff report,18
Rule 1420.1 adequately fulfills CAA
RACM/RACT requirements.
The following provides a detailed
description of Rule 1420.1
requirements.
D Ambient Air Lead Concentrations:
Facilities are not allowed to discharge
into the atmosphere emissions which
contribute to ambient air concentrations
of lead that exceed 0.15 mg/m3 averaged
over any 30 consecutive days. The
averaging time is shorter than that of the
lead NAAQS (rolling 3-month average of
16 Implementation of the 2008 Lead National
Ambient Air Quality Standards, Guide to
Developing Reasonably Available Control Measures
(RACM) for Controlling Lead Emissions, EPA–457/
R–12–001. March 2012.
17 TSD for EPA’s Proposed Rulemaking for the
California SIP, SCAQMD Rule 1420.1, Emissions
Standard for Lead from Large Lead-acid Battery
Recycling Facilities. June 2012. The TSD is
included in the docket for today’s action.
18 Staff Report, Proposed Rule 1420.1—Emissions
Standard for Lead from Large Lead-Acid Battery
Recycling Facilities, November, 2010.
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monthly averages) with a more frequent
sampling requirement of one sample in
three days versus the NAAQS which
requires one sample in six days.
Ambient air samples are collected close
to the facility’s fenceline. Thus,
potential rule violations in the form of
exceedances of the ambient limits in
Rule 1420.1 will likely occur before
exceedances of the federal NAAQS and
allow for corrective action to take place
to avoid such federal NAAQS
exceedances.
D Ambient Air Monitoring and
Sampling Requirements: Each facility is
required to collect and analyze ambient
air lead samples to determine
compliance with the ambient air quality
lead concentration standard of Rule
1420.1. The rule requires a minimum of
four monitors at facility locations
approved by the District. Federal
regulations require only one sourceoriented monitor at all facilities emitting
more than 0.5 tons of lead per year.
Facilities are required to collect samples
at least once every three days, more
frequently than the federal requirement
of once every six days.
Facilities that exceed an ambient air
lead concentration of 0.15 mg/m3
averaged over any 30 consecutive days,
measured at any fence line monitor, will
be in violation of the rule and be
required to increase ambient air
monitoring and sampling to a daily
frequency. Daily monitoring and
sampling will be required to be
conducted for a period of at least 60
consecutive days at each sampling site
that measured an exceedance until no
30-day average exceedances are
recorded. Sampling sites at the property
line may be located just inside the fence
line on facility property if logistical
constraints preclude placement outside
the fence line. As a result, monitors
required under Rule 1420.1 will be
located closer to fugitive lead sources,
in most cases, when compared to
monitors required by federal monitoring
requirements, which must be in
publicly accessible areas. Along with
the shorter averaging time described
previously, all of the ambient air
monitoring and sampling requirements
of Rule 1420.1 are more stringent than
the federal requirements, such that
potential rule violations will likely
occur before exceedances of the lead
NAAQS.
D Total Enclosures: All areas used in
the lead-acid battery recycling operation
for processing or storage of leadcontaining material, and all areas where
maintenance is being performed, are
required to install total enclosures
vented to a lead control device. This
requirement provides maximum
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75299
containment and will minimize fugitive
lead-dust emissions generated in areas
where processing, handling and storage
of lead-containing materials occur. Rule
1420.1 also establishes requirements for
monitoring and maintaining negative
pressure and in-draft velocity at the
openings of these enclosed areas.
D Lead Point Source Emission
Controls: All lead emissions from lead
point sources are required to be vented
to an emissions collection system that
transports the entire gas stream to a lead
control device. The total facility mass
lead emission rate for all lead point
sources shall not exceed 0.045 pounds
of lead per hour (lbs/hr), with a
maximum emission rate for any single
lead point source not to exceed 0.010
lbs/hr. The maximum emission rates of
0.045 and 0.010 lb/hr were established
to adequately provide a protective limit
for exposure to lead emissions and
achieve the ambient federal standard of
0.15 mg/m3.
D Housekeeping Requirements: The
housekeeping requirements in Rule
1420.1 include: Prescribed requirements
for cleaning frequencies of specific
areas; maintenance activity;
encapsulation of all facility grounds;
removal of weather caps on any lead
emissions source stacks; building
structural integrity inspections; storage
and transport of lead-containing
materials; onsite mobile vacuum
sweeping; and surface impoundment
pond or reservoir cleanings.
D Annual Source Testing: Annual
source tests are required for all lead
control devices to demonstrate
compliance with the facility total lead
mass emission rate standard of 0.045 lb/
hr, and the maximum individual stack
lead emission rate standard of 0.010 lb/
hr. If the most recent source test for a
lead point source demonstrates
emissions of 0.0025 lb/hr or less, the
facility may alternatively elect to
conduct the next source test for that
device within 24 months.
D Recordkeeping and Reporting
Requirements: Requires recordkeeping
and reporting, including public
notifications, for specific maintenance
activity, turnarounds and shutdowns for
all lead-containing materials processed
at the facility. Records for all
housekeeping, maintenance activity,
ambient air lead monitoring, lead
control device inspection and
maintenance, and unplanned
shutdowns of any smelting furnaces
must be maintained. Facilities are
required to submit reports for monthly
ambient air monitoring results for lead
and wind data measured at each
sampling location on a monthly basis.
The rule also requires notifications of
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planned and unplanned shutdowns, and
turnarounds.
D Compliance Plan: As an additional
safeguard against the facilities
exceeding the lead NAAQS or Rule
1420.1 limits, the requirement to
prepare and submit a compliance plan
is triggered if the facility exceeds 0.12
mg/m3 as measured on a 30-day rolling
average. The compliance plan must be
implemented if the facility’s lead
emissions contribute to an exceedance
of the Rule 1420.1 ambient lead
standard of 0.15 mg/m3 as measured on
a 30-day rolling average. The
compliance plan provision is intended
to ensure that measures can be
identified prior to exceedances of the
0.15 mg/m3 NAAQS (which is measured
on a 90-day rolling average) and are
ready for fast implementation if the 0.15
mg/m3 standard NAAQS is exceeded.
D On January 27, 2012, SCAQMD
approved a Compliance Plan for Exide.
The approved Compliance Plan requires
Exide to implement various measures
and install various controls to reduce
lead emissions. Condition 8 of the
Compliance Plan states that if, after
March 31, 2012, monitored ambient lead
concentrations exceed 0.15 mg/m3, Exide
must submit to SCAQMD for approval,
within 15 days of any such occurrence,
the mitigation measures it will
implement. Such mitigation measures
include installation of second stage high
efficient particulate air (HEPA) filters at
specified locations.
D We discuss below how Rule
1420.1’s compliance plan provisions
meet EPA criteria for contingency
measures.
Expeditious Implementation of
RACM/RACT. We find that expeditious
implementation of RACM/RACT at
affected sources within the
nonattainment area is an appropriate
approach to assure attainment of the
lead NAAQS in an expeditious
manner.19 Rule 1420.1 establishes
various deadlines for affected sources.
Specifically, Rule 1420.1 requires
affected sources to: (1) Submit a
complete permit application for all
construction and necessary equipment
within 30 days of November 5, 2010; (2)
complete all construction within 180
days of receiving permit to construct
approvals from the District, or by July 1,
2011, whichever was earlier; and (3)
install, maintain, and operate total
enclosures and lead point source
emission control devices) by July 1,
2011. In addition, Rule 1420.1 requires
expeditious installation of additional
controls in the event monitored ambient
19 See Lead NAAQS Rule, 73 FR 66964
(November 12, 2008) at 67038–67039.
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lead concentrations exceed 0.15 mg/m3
on a rolling 30 day average. EPA
believes the measures and schedule in
Rule 1420.1 are both reasonably
available and provide for attainment as
expeditiously as practicable in the Los
Angeles County lead nonattainment
area.
Adopted Control Strategies
As described above, the primary
control strategy in the 2012 Los Angeles
County Lead SIP relies on emission
reductions achieved through the
implementation of SCAQMD Rule
1420.1—Emissions Standard for Lead
from Large Lead-Acid Battery Recycling
Facilities. Full implementation of Rule
1420.1 began on January 1, 2012, and
EPA approved the rule into the SIP on
January 25, 2013. See 78 FR 5305.
3. Proposed Actions on RACM/RACT
Demonstration and Adopted Control
Strategy
We propose to find that there are, at
this time, no additional RACM that
individually or collectively would
advance attainment of the lead NAAQS
by one year or more in the Los Angeles
County lead nonattainment area. We
also propose to find that the RACM/
RACT measure is both reasonably
available and provides for attainment as
expeditiously as practicable in the Los
Angeles County lead nonattainment
area. This proposal is based on our
review of the 2012 Los Angeles County
Lead SIP, the sources contributing to
nonattainment of the lead NAAQS, the
District’s adopted control strategy and
EPA guidance. Therefore, we propose to
find that the 2012 Los Angeles County
Lead SIP provides for the
implementation of RACM/RACT as
required by CAA section 172(c)(1).
D. Attainment Demonstration
1. Requirements for Attainment
Demonstrations
CAA section 172 requires a state to
submit a plan for each of its
nonattainment areas that demonstrates
attainment of the applicable ambient air
quality standard as expeditiously as
practicable but no later than the
specified attainment date. This
demonstration should consist of four
parts:
(1) Technical analyses that locate,
identify, and quantify sources of
emissions that are contributing to
violations of the lead NAAQS;
(2) analyses of future year emissions
reductions and air quality improvement
resulting from already-adopted national,
state, and local programs and from
potential new state and local measures
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to meet the RACT, RACM, and RFP
requirements in the area;
(3) adopted emissions reduction
measures with schedules for
implementation; and
(4) contingency measures required
under section 172(c)(9) of the CAA.
The requirements for the first two
parts are described in the sections on
emissions inventories and RACM/RACT
above and in the sections on air quality
modeling and the attainment
demonstration that follows immediately
below. Requirements for the third and
fourth parts are described in the
sections on the control strategy and the
contingency measures, respectively.
2. Air Quality Modeling in the 2012 Los
Angeles County Lead SIP
The lead attainment demonstration
must include air quality dispersion
modeling developed in accordance with
EPA’s Modeling Guidance.20 The
SCAQMD modeling analysis was
prepared using EPA’s preferred
dispersion modeling system, the
American Meteorological Society/
Environmental Protection Agency
Regulatory Model (AERMOD) consisting
of the AERMOD (version 12060) model
and two data input preprocessors
AERMET (version 11059) and AERMAP
(version 11103). AERSURFACE (version
08009) was also used to develop inputs
to AERMET. The Building Profile Input
Program for Plume Rise Model
Enhancements was also used in the
downwash-modeling and incorporated
good engineering practice. More
detailed information on the AERMOD
modeling system and other modeling
tools and documents can be found on
the EPA Technology Transfer Network
Support Center for Regulatory
Atmospheric Modeling (SCRAM) 21 and
in the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead
SIP in the docket for today’s proposed
action.
a. Modeling Approach
The following is an overview of the
lead modeling approach used in 2012
Los Angeles County Lead SIP. This
approach was developed by the
SCAQMD and revised based on
comments received from the EPA.
Model inputs were developed using
the AERMOD modeling system.
AERMET was used to develop the
necessary 5-year meteorological data set
for each facility using the
meteorological data from the most
representative monitoring station. For
20 40 CFR Part 51 Appendix W (EPA’s Guideline
on Air Quality Models) (November 2005) located at
https://www.epa.gov/ttn/scram/guidance/guide/
appw_05.pdf.
21 https://www.epa.gov/ttn/scram/.
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the Exide facility modeling application,
the SCAQMD Central LA monitoring
station was determined to be the most
representative meteorological site.
SCAQMD’s rationale for the use of these
data is described in the TSD for today’s
action. Only four years of
meteorological data were available for
this station (2006 to 2009). The La Habra
monitoring station was determined to be
the most representative site for the
Quemetco facility, and five years (2005
to 2009) of meteorological data were
available. The National Weather Service
San Diego Miramar Naval Air Station
were determined to be the most
representative upper air meteorological
monitoring site for Exide and Quemetco.
A Cartesian receptor grid with 50meter by 50-meter spacing was used at
each facility, in addition to fence-line
receptors placed at 25-meter intervals.
Receptor elevations and hill heights
were assigned using AERMAP and
terrain data, available from the United
States Geological Survey. AERMOD
output was processed through EPA’s
LEADPOST post processor (version
12114) deriving the maximum 3-month
average rolling design value across the
5-year meteorological data period for
Quemetco, and the 4-year period for
Exide.
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b. Modeling Results
Rule 1420.1 requirements were
modeled to provide the assurance that
emissions will not cause a NAAQS
violation in 2015. The modeling results
for total emissions (stack and fugitive
emissions) are provided in the SIP for
each facility, and are discussed below.
The lead NAAQS compliance results of
the attainment modeling are
summarized below in Table 3, 2008
Lead NAAQS Attainment
Demonstration Modeling Results for
Exide and Quemetco Lead-Acid Battery
Acid Recycling Facilities.
Stack Emissions
The Rule 1420.1 emission stack limits
for 2015 were modeled for Exide and
Quemetco. For each facility, the 0.045
lb/hr total stack emissions were evenly
distributed throughout the stacks, and
emissions from any individual stack
were kept below the 0.010 lb/hr per
stack limit. The modeled maximum 3month rolling average lead
concentration from stack emissions
alone for Exide is 0.115 mg/m3. For
Quemetco, the modeled maximum 3month rolling average lead
concentration from stack emissions is
0.083 mg/m3. The 2015 modeled lead
concentrations for the Quemetco facility
are a conservative estimate of the impact
because the modeling assumes the
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allowable stack emission limits set by
Rule 1420.1, which are significantly
higher than Quemetco’s current stack
emissions. No significant increases in
actual emissions are expected beyond
the modest growth factors used in the
emission projection.
Fugitive Emissions
According to Chapter 6 of the 2012
Los Angeles County Lead SIP, Exide
identified fugitive lead emissions as
resulting from its raw materials
processing system (RMPS) and from
roadways. Quemetco did not identify
fugitive lead emission to SCAQMD, so
SCAQMD assumed fugitive emissions
from Quemetco’s battery wrecking area
(which SCAQMD assumed to be
approximately equivalent to Exide’s
RMPS) and from roadways. For 2015,
for both Exide and Quemetco, SCAQMD
relied on Rule 1420.1 emission
standards (in particular, a requirement
to use an onsite mobile vacuum sweeper
or equivalent), and applied an 80%
reduction to the roadway fugitive
emissions (based on an assumed
efficiency of 80% or greater for certified
street sweepers). SCAQMD assumed
that fugitive emissions for Exide’s RMPS
and Quemetco’s battery wrecker area
would not change between the current
year and 2015 and therefore applied the
same emissions values to the current
year and year 2015 for these areas.
The modeling takes a number of
relevant factors into consideration,
including emissions, receptor
proximity, and wind direction. The
modeled maximum 3-month rolling
average lead concentration from all
emissions (stack and fugitive emissions
combined) is 0.135 mg/m3 for the Exide
facility, and 0.140 mg/m3 for Quemetco.
3. Attainment Demonstration
The AERMOD modeling results are
presented in Table 3 below. A
background ambient air quality
concentration of 0.01 mg/m3, based on
air quality monitoring data from the
South Coast AQMD network,22 is
included in the modeling results. The
maximum modeled 3-month rolling
average, including background data, for
each of the facilities is less than or equal
to the 2008 Lead NAAQS of 0.15 mg/m3.
Based on these modeled attainment
demonstration results, the SCAQMD
concludes that the proposed controls
should be sufficient to attain the 2008
lead NAAQS. A more detailed
discussion of the modeling is included
in the TSD for today’s action and in
22 SCAQMD’s monitoring network lead design
values for 2012, based on data from 2010, 2011 and
2012.
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Chapter 5 of the 2012 Los Angeles
County Lead SIP.
TABLE 3—2008 LEAD NAAQS ATTAINMENT DEMONSTRATION MODELING
RESULTS
FOR
EXIDE
AND
QUEMETCO LEAD-ACID BATTERY
ACID RECYCLING FACILITIES 23
Facility
Exide .......
Quemetco
Lead concentration (maximum 3month rolling average),24 stack
and fugitive emission
0.135 μg/m 3
0.140 μg/m 3
4. Proposed Action on Attainment
Demonstration
EPA has reviewed the modeling that
SCAQMD submitted to support the
attainment demonstration for 2012 Los
Angeles County Lead SIP and has
preliminarily determined that this
modeling is consistent with CAA
requirements, Appendix W, and EPA
guidance for lead attainment
demonstration modeling. We therefore
propose to approve the modeling and
attainment demonstration in the 2012
Los Angeles County Lead SIP.
E. RFP Demonstration
1. Requirements for RFP
CAA section 172(c)(2) requires that
attainment plans shall provide for RFP.
RFP is defined in section 171(1) as
‘‘such annual incremental reductions in
emissions of the relevant air pollutant as
are required by this part or may
reasonably be required by the
Administrator for the purpose of
ensuring attainment of the applicable
national ambient air quality standard by
the applicable date.’’ While for some
pollutants, historically, RFP has been
met through generally linear
incremental progress toward attainment
by the applicable attainment date, EPA
believes that RFP for lead
nonattainment areas should be met by
‘‘adherence to an ambitious compliance
schedule’’ which is expected to
periodically yield significant emission
reductions, and as appropriate, linear
progress.25
EPA recommends that SIPs for lead
nonattainment areas provide a detailed
schedule for compliance of RACM
23 Final results listed in Table 3 are rounded
according to 40 CFR part 50, Appendix R;
specifically subsection 4(a) which addresses
comparison with the Lead NAAQS, as well as 5(a),
(b), and (c) which addresses rounding conventions.
24 The maximum modeled 3-month rolling
average across all years of meteorological data
(Exide 2006–2009, and Quemetco 2005–2009).
25 73 FR 66964, at p. 67038.
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(including RACT) in the affected areas
and accurately indicate the
corresponding annual emission
reductions to be achieved.26 EPA
expects that a detailed schedule would
provide for periodic yields in significant
emissions reductions.27 In reviewing the
SIP, EPA believes that it is appropriate
to expect early implementation of less
technology-intensive control measures
(e.g., controlling fugitive dust emissions
at the stationary source, as well as
required controls on area sources) while
phasing in the more technologyintensive control measures, such as
those involving the purchase and
installation of new hardware. We
believe the expeditious implementation
of RACM/RACT at affected sources
within the nonattainment area is an
appropriate approach to assure
attainment of the lead NAAQS in an
expeditious manner.28
2. RFP Demonstration in the 2012 Los
Angeles County Lead SIP
The RFP demonstration is contained
in Chapter 6 of the 2012 Los Angeles
County Lead SIP. The demonstration
uses the 2010 actual emissions
inventory as the base year inventory and
2012–2015 projected emissions based
on Rule 1420.1 allowable emissions
limits. Below we summarize the RFP
demonstration in the 2012 Los Angeles
County Lead SIP for both the Exide and
Quemetco facilities.29
To demonstrate the emissions
reductions associated with adherence to
an ambitious compliance schedule and
expeditious implementation of control
measures, SCAQMD has addressed this
requirement through the schedules in
Rule 1420.1. Rule 1420.1 contains
compliance deadlines of July 1, 2011 for
implementation of all requisite control
measures and emissions limits, and
January 1, 2012 for the ambient
monitoring limit of 0.15 mg/m3. The
emissions reductions associated with
Rule 1420.1 are presented in Table 4
below. By the time the 2012 Los Angeles
County Lead SIP was submitted to EPA
in June of 2012, most compliance
deadlines in South Coast Rule 1420.1
were already in effect.
TABLE 4—2012 LOS ANGELES COUNTY LEAD SIP RFP DEMONSTRATION
[Emissions in lb/yr]
2010
Emissions
(actual emissions)
Facility
Exide ......................................................................................................
Quemetco ..............................................................................................
a Total
b 2010
3. Proposed Action on the RFP
Demonstration
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2015 Emissions
a 437.4
≤437.4
a b 98.1
655.5
96.2
a b 107.7
emissions based on requirements in South Coast Rule 1420.1.
emissions were grown based on the growth factor in the South Coast 2007 Air Quality Management Plan.
RFP for Exide is demonstrated
through the achievement of a 30 percent
emissions reduction (i.e., 655.5 tpy –
437.4 tpy = 218.1 lbs/yr) resulting from
implementation of South Coast Rule
1420.1. Quemetco’s actual emissions in
2010 were 96.21 lbs/year, well below
the 422.3 lbs/yr allowed based on
requirements in Rule 1420.1.30 With
continued implementation of
Quemetco’s control measures, emissions
are expected to stay well below 422.3
lbs/yr, as indicated in Table 4.
Rule 1420.1 was determined to meet
RACM (see 78 FR 5305, January 25,
2013 and that determination is affirmed
in today’s action), and the emissions
reductions resulting from
implementation of Rule 1420.1 serve to
meet the RFP requirements of the lead
NAAQS.
We propose to find that the State has
demonstrated that the 2012 Los Angeles
County Lead SIP meets the requirements
26 Lead
2012 Emissions
(after implementation
of south coast
rule 1420.1)
Q&A, p. 2.
27 Ibid.
28 See 73 FR 66964 (November 12, 2008) at
67038–67039.
29 See 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP, pages
6–14 to 6–17.
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Under CAA section 172(c)(9), all lead
attainment plans must include
contingency measures to be
implemented if an area fails to meet RFP
(‘‘RFP contingency measures’’) and
contingency measures to be
implemented if an area fails to attain the
lead NAAQS by the applicable
attainment date (‘‘attainment
contingency measures’’). These
contingency measures must be fully
adopted rules or control measures that
are ready to be implemented quickly
without significant additional action by
the State or EPA if the area fails to meet
RFP requirements or fails to meet its
attainment date. They must also be
measures not relied on to demonstrate
RFP or attainment in the plan and
should provide SIP-creditable emissions
reductions generally equivalent to about
one year’s worth of RFP. Finally, the SIP
should contain a trigger mechanism for
the contingency measures and specify a
schedule for their implementation. See
CAA section 172(c)(9).
Contingency measures can include
federal measures and local measures
already scheduled for implementation
that provide emissions reductions in
excess of those needed to provide for
RFP or expeditious attainment. EPA has
approved numerous SIPs under this
interpretation. See, e.g., 62 FR 15844,
April 3, 1997; 62 FR 66279, December
18, 1997; 66 FR 30811, June 8, 2001; 66
FR 586 and 66 FR 634, January 3, 2001.
EPA recognizes that certain actions,
such as the notification of sources,
modification of permits, etc., may be
needed before a measure could be
implemented. However, states must
show that their contingency measures
can be implemented with only minimal
further action on their part and with no
additional rulemaking actions such as
public hearings or legislative review.
After EPA determines that a lead
nonattainment area has failed to
30 Between 2006 and 2008, Quemetco
significantly reduced actual emissions at their
facility. In response to requirements under
California Assembly Bill 2588 (The Air Toxics ‘‘Hot
Spots’’ Information and Assessment Act), Quemetco
submitted a Health Risk Assessment (HRA) to
SCAQMD in December 2005. To reduce toxic
emissions of metals (including lead) and particles
identified in the HRA, Quemetco installed a wet
electrostatic precipitator (WESP) that became fully
operational and approved by SCAQMD in October
2008. The WESP, combined with other facility
changes, significantly reduced lead emissions
compared to prior years (e.g., 643 lbs reported by
Quemetco for 2006).
of section 172(c)(2) and relevant EPA
guidance for meeting RFP.
F. Contingency Measures
1. Requirements for Contingency
Measures
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maintain RFP or timely attain the lead
NAAQS, EPA generally expects all
actions needed to affect full
implementation of the contingency
measures to occur within 60 days after
EPA notifies the state of such failure.31
The state should ensure that the
measures are fully implemented as
expeditiously as practicable after the
requirement takes effect.
If a State chooses to implement
contingency measures earlier than
would be triggered by a failure to
demonstrate RFP or to attain, EPA does
not believe the State needs to adopt
additional contingency measures as a
backfill for the early activation of those
contingency measures.32 However, if the
area fails to demonstrate RFP or to
attain, then the State will need to adopt
additional contingency measures.33
2. Contingency Measures in the 2012
Los Angeles County Lead SIP
The attainment plan for the Los
Angeles County lead nonattainment area
includes contingency measures to be
implemented if the area fails to meet
RFP requirements or to attain by its
attainment date. The contingency
measures for the Los Angeles County
lead nonattainment area can be found in
Chapter 6 of the 2012 Los Angeles
County Lead SIP.34 They are described
below.
SCAQMD included facility-specific
contingency measures for Exide and
Quemetco in the 2012 Los Angeles
County Lead SIP.35 This is appropriate,
given that these sources have
historically been the major cause of
NAAQS violations in the Los Angeles
County lead nonattainment area.
Exide
For the Exide facility, SCAQMD has
submitted conditions 8A and 8B of the
Exide compliance plan that was
submitted to SCAQMD on December 20,
2011, and approved by SCAQMD on
January 27, 2012 to EPA for inclusion in
the SIP.36 These measures state that as
31 73
FR 66964, at p. 67039.
Memorandum, G.T. Helms, EPA Office of
Air Quality Planning and Standards, USEPA, to Air
Branch Chiefs, EPA Regions I–X, ‘‘Early
Implementation of Contingency Measures for Ozone
and Carbon Monoxide (CO) Nonattainment Areas,’’
dated August 13, 1993. https://www.epa.gov/ttn/
oarpg/t1/memoranda/19930813_helms
_contingency_measures_early_implementation.pdf
and EPA’s Lead Q&A.
33 Ibid.
34 See 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP, pp. 6–
3 to 6–14.
35 See 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP,
Chapter 6, pages 6–10 through 6–13.
36 See letter, Jay Chen, P.E., Senior Engineering
Manager, Engineering and Compliance, SCAQMD,
to Corey Vodvarka, Plant Manager, Exide
Technologies, dated January 27, 2012 and Exide
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32 See
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of March 31, 2012, if monitored ambient
lead concentrations exceed 0.15 mg/m3
on a rolling 30-day average at any
SCAQMD or SCAQMD-approved
ambient monitor, Exide shall
implement, individually or in
combination, mitigation measures to
address the specific problem causing the
ambient value to exceed 0.15 mg/m3 on
a rolling 30-day average.
The specific mitigation measures are
described below. The mitigation
measures can be implemented
individually or in combination based on
the specific situation surrounding the
exceedance of the trigger concentration.
Condition 8A: Install an additional
room ventilation baghouse or dust
collector, equipped with a second stage
high efficiency particulate air (HEPA)
filter, with sufficient blower capacity to
move a minimum of 50,000 cubic feet
per minute (CFM) of air from one or
more of the following locations:
a. The battery crusher room in the
north end of the RMPS building.
b. The truck loading and unloading
dock on the south end of the RMPS
building.
c. The furnace room in the smelter
building.
d. The cupola feed room in the south
end of the smelter building.
As an alternative to adding additional
ventilation with individual baghouses
or dust collectors, Exide may install a
single larger air pollution control system
with at least 200,000 CFM of blower
capacity to cover all four of these
locations.
Condition 8B: Install second stage
HEPA filters on one or more of the
following air pollution control systems:
a. The hard lead refinery baghouse
(device C47).
b. The soft lead refinery baghouse
(device C46).
c. The MAC baghouses venting the
RMPS building (devices C156 and
C157).
d. The cupola furnace feed room
baghouse (device C48).
According to the requirements of
South Coast Rule 1420.1, Exide must
submit these measures to SCAQMD for
approval within 15 days of a triggering
occurrence.37
These measures are in addition to the
measures specified in South Coast Rule
1420.1. The trigger mechanism is an
ambient lead concentration exceeding
0.15 mg/m3 on a rolling 30-day average,
which is more stringent than a NAAQS
compliance plan dated December 15, 2011, as
modified January 20, 2012 in the docket for today’s
action.
37 Chen, p. 3.
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75303
violation of 0.15 mg/m3 on a rolling 3month average.38
Quemetco
In accordance with the Helms memo
on early implementation of contingency
measures, Quemetco’s contingency
measure is a control measure that is not
needed for RFP or attainment.39
Quemetco has installed a wet
electrostatic precipitator (WESP) device
as a secondary control device for air
contaminants such as lead present in
the gas stream as condensable
particulates. For Quemetco, the proper
design and operation of the WESP
serves as the contingency measure. The
WESP has already been implemented,
thus no trigger or implementation
schedule is needed. The WESP goes
beyond what is required under South
Coast Rule 1420.1, and the reductions
provided by the measure are not
included in or needed for the RFP or
attainment demonstrations.
3. Proposed Action on the Contingency
Measures
We propose to find that the State has
demonstrated that the 2012 Los Angeles
County Lead SIP meets the requirements
of section 172(c)(9) and relevant EPA
guidance for contingency measures that
would be triggered for failure to make
RFP and for failure to attain.
V. EPA’s Proposed Action and Request
for Public Comments
A. EPA’s Proposed Approvals
For the reasons discussed above, EPA
is proposing to approve California’s
attainment SIP for the Los Angeles
County lead nonattainment area for the
2008 lead NAAQS. This SIP submittal
addresses CAA requirements and EPA
regulations for expeditious attainment
of the 2008 lead NAAQS for the Los
Angeles County lead nonattainment
area.
For the reasons discussed in this
proposed rulemaking, EPA is proposing
to approve under CAA section 110(k)(3)
the following elements of the South
Coast lead attainment SIP:
1. The SIP’s base year emissions
inventory as meeting the requirements
of CAA section 172(c)(3) and 40 CFR
51.117(e)(1);
2. the attainment demonstration,
including air quality modeling, that
demonstrates attainment as
expeditiously as practicable, as meeting
38 For current information about recent controls
that have been installed or will be installed at Exide
see www.aqmd.gov/prdas/AB2588/Exide/
Exide.html.
39 See footnote 21.
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the requirements of CAA section
172(c)(1);
3. the RACM/RACT demonstration, as
meeting the requirements of CAA
section 172(c)(1);
4. the RFP demonstration, as meeting
the requirements of CAA section
172(c)(2);
5. and contingency measures as
meeting the requirements of the CAA
section 172(c)(9).
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
B. Request for Public Comments
We are taking public comments for
thirty days following the publication of
this proposed rule in the Federal
Register. We will take all comments into
consideration in our final rule.
VI. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
Under the CAA, the Administrator is
required to approve a SIP submittal 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 proposed
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 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, October 7,
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
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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 proposed 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.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations,
Lead, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: November 26, 2013.
Jared Blumenfeld,
Regional Administrator, EPA Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2013–29583 Filed 12–10–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services
42 CFR Part 411
[CMS–6061–ANPRM]
RIN 0938–AR88
Medicare Program; Medicare
Secondary Payer and Certain Civil
Money Penalties
Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed
rulemaking.
AGENCY:
This advance notice of
proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) solicits
public comment on specific practices
for which civil money penalties (CMPs)
may or may not be imposed for failure
to comply with Medicare Secondary
Payer reporting requirements for certain
group health and non-group health
plans arrangements.
DATES: To be assured consideration,
comments must be received at one of
the addresses provided below, no later
than 5 p.m. on February 10, 2014.
ADDRESSES: In commenting, please refer
to file code CMS–6061–ANPRM.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
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Because of staff and resource
limitations, we cannot accept comments
by facsimile (FAX) transmission.
You may submit comments in one of
four ways (please choose only one of the
ways listed).
1. Electronically. You may submit
electronic comments on this regulation
to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow
the instructions under the ‘‘More Search
Options’’ tab.
2. By regular mail. You may mail
written comments to the following
address ONLY: Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services, Department of
Health and Human Services, Attention:
CMS–6061–ANPRM, P.O. Box 8013,
Baltimore, MD 21244–8013. Please
allow sufficient time for mailed
comments to be received before the
close of the comment period.
3. By express or overnight mail. You
may send written comments to the
following address ONLY: Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services,
Department of Health and Human
Services, Attention: CMS–6061–
ANPRM, Mail Stop C4–26–05, 7500
Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD
21244–1850.
4. By hand or courier. If you prefer,
you may deliver (by hand or courier)
your written comments before the close
of the comment period to either of the
following addresses:
a. For delivery in Washington, DC—
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services, Department of Health and
Human Services, Room 445–G, Hubert
H. Humphrey Building, 200
Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20201. (Because access
to the interior of the Hubert H.
Humphrey Building is not readily
available to persons without Federal
government identification, commenters
are encouraged to leave their comments
in the CMS drop slots located in the
main lobby of the building. A stamp-in
clock is available for persons wishing to
retain a proof of filing by stamping in
and retaining an extra copy of the
comments being filed.)
b. For delivery in Baltimore, MD—
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services, Department of Health and
Human Services, 7500 Security
Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244–1850.
If you intend to deliver your comments
to the Baltimore address, please call
telephone number (410) 786–9994 in
advance to schedule your arrival with
one of our staff members.
Comments mailed to the addresses
indicated as appropriate for hand or
courier delivery may be delayed and
received after the comment period.
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 11, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 75293-75304]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-29583]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2013-0687; FRL9903-99-Region 9]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of
California; 2012 Los Angeles County State Implementation Plan for 2008
Lead Standard
AGENCY: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve a State implementation plan
revision submitted by the State of California to provide for attainment
of the 2008 lead national ambient air quality standard in the Los
Angeles County nonattainment area. The submitted SIP revision is the
Final 2012 Lead State Implementation Plan--Los Angeles County.
Specifically, EPA is proposing to approve the emissions inventory,
attainment demonstration, the reasonably available control measures/
reasonably available control technology, reasonable further progress
demonstration, and contingency measures as meeting the requirements of
the Clean Air Act and EPA's implementing regulations for the lead
NAAQS.
DATES: Any comments must arrive by January 10, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by docket number EPA-R09-OAR-
2013-0687, by one of the following methods:
[[Page 75294]]
Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow
the on-line instructions.
Email: tax.wienke@epa.gov.
Mail or deliver: Marty Robin, Office of Air Planning (AIR-
2), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne
Street, San Francisco, CA 94105.
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.
The www.regulations.gov Web site 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 comments due to
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA
may not be able to consider your comment.
Docket: The index to the docket for this action is available
electronically on the www.regulations.gov Web site and in hard copy at
EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California, 94105.
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). 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 below.
Copies of the SIP materials are also available for inspection at
the following locations:
California Air Resources Board, 1001 I Street, Sacramento,
California 95812, and
South Coast Air Quality Management District, 21865 E.
Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, California 91765.
The SIP materials are also electronically available at: https://www.aqmd.gov/aqmp/Lead_SIP/homepage.htm and https://www.arb.ca.gov/planning/sip/sip.htm.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wienke Tax, Air Planning Office (AIR-
2), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, (415) 947-4192,
tax.wienke@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and
``our'' refer to EPA.
Table of Contents
I. The Lead NAAQS and the Los Angeles County Lead Nonattainment Area
A. The Lead NAAQS
B. The Lead Nonattainment Problem in Los Angeles County
II. California's State Implementation Plan Submittal To Address Lead
Nonattainment in the Los Angeles County Nonattainment Area
A. California's SIP Submittal
B. CAA Procedural and Administrative Requirements for SIP
Submittals
III. CAA and Regulatory Requirements for Lead Attainment SIPs
A.CAA and EPA Guidance
B. Infrastructure SIPs
IV. Review of the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP
A. Summary of EPA's Proposed Actions
B. Emission Inventories
1. Requirements for Emission Inventories
2. Base Year Emission Inventory in the 2012 Los Angeles County
Lead SIP
3. Proposed Action on the Emission Inventory
C. RACM/RACT Demonstration and Adopted Control Strategy
1. Requirements for RACM/RACT Demonstrations
2. RACM/RACT Demonstration in the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead
SIP
3. Proposed Actions on RACM/RACT Demonstration and Adopted
Control Strategy
D. Attainment Demonstration
1. Requirements for Attainment Demonstrations
2. Air Quality Modeling in the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP
3. Attainment Demonstration
4. Proposed Action on the Attainment Demonstration
E. RFP Demonstration
1. Requirements for RFP
2. RFP Demonstration in the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP
3. Proposed Action on the RFP Demonstration
F. Contingency Measures
1. Requirements for Contingency Measures
2. Contingency Measures in the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP
3. Proposed Action on the Contingency Measures
V. EPA's Proposed Action and Request for Public Comments
A. EPA's Proposed Approvals
B. Request for Public Comments
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. The Lead NAAQS and the Los Angeles County Lead Nonattainment Area
A. The Lead NAAQS
Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), EPA must establish national ambient
air quality standards (NAAQS) for six criteria pollutants, including
lead. Lead is generally emitted in the form of particles, which end up
being deposited in water, soil, and dust. People may be exposed to lead
by inhaling it, or by ingesting lead-contaminated food, water, soil, or
dust. Once in the body, lead is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream
and can result in a broad range of adverse health effects. These
include damage to the central nervous system, cardiovascular function,
kidneys, immune system, and red blood cells. Children are particularly
vulnerable to lead exposure, in part because they are more likely to
ingest lead and in part because their still-developing bodies are more
sensitive to the effects of lead. Urban children are also of particular
risk if the mother is exposed to lead. The harmful effects to
children's developing nervous systems (including their brains) arising
from lead exposure may include IQ loss, poor academic achievement,
long-term learning disabilities, and an increased risk of delinquent
behavior.
EPA first established a lead standard in 1978 at 1.5 micrograms per
meter cubed ([micro]g/m\3\) as a quarterly average.\1\ Based on new
health and scientific data, EPA revised the federal lead standard to
0.15 [micro]g/m\3\ and revised the averaging time for the standard on
October 15, 2008 (see 73 FR 66964, November 12, 2008). A violation of
the standard occurs when ambient lead concentrations exceed 0.15
[micro]g/m\3\ averaged over a 3-month rolling period.
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\1\ See 43 FR 46246, October 5, 1978.
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The process for designating areas following promulgation of a new
or revised NAAQS is contained in section 107(d) of the CAA. The CAA
requires EPA to complete the initial area designations process within
two years of promulgating a new or revised NAAQS. Designations for the
2008 lead NAAQS were promulgated effective December 31, 2010 (see 75 FR
71033). Based on ambient air quality data for the years 2007-2009, a
portion of Los Angeles County (excluding the high desert areas, San
Clemente and Santa Catalina Islands) was identified as an area that did
not meet the 2008 lead NAAQS.\2\
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\2\ For an exact description of the Los Angeles County lead
nonattainment area, see 40 CFR 81.305.
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Areas are required to attain the revised lead standard as
expeditiously as practicable, but no later than five years from the
date the nonattainment designation became effective. For the Los
Angeles County lead nonattainment area, this date is December 31, 2015.
Attainment demonstration state implementation plans (SIPs) are due
18
[[Page 75295]]
months after the effective date of an area's designation. For the Los
Angeles County lead nonattainment area, the SIP was due June 30, 2012.
These SIPs should include emissions inventories, a reasonable further
progress (RFP) demonstration, reasonably available control measures/
reasonably available control technology (RACM/RACT) demonstration, an
attainment demonstration, and contingency measures. To demonstrate
attainment, control measures need to be in place by November 1,
2012.\3\
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\3\ See 73 FR 66964 (November 12, 2008).
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A. The Lead Nonattainment Problem in Los Angeles County
Stationary sources of lead are generally from large industrial
sources, including metals processing, particularly primary and
secondary lead smelters. Lead can also be emitted by iron and steel
foundries; primary and secondary copper smelters; industrial,
commercial and institutional boilers; waste incinerators; glass
manufacturing; refineries; and cement manufacturing. The South Coast
Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD or ``District'') has determined
that the primary causes of the nonattainment status of Los Angeles
County are two large lead-acid battery recycling facilities, Exide
Technologies located in the city of Vernon, and Quemetco, Inc. located
in the City of Industry. These facilities receive used lead-acid
batteries and other lead-bearing materials and recycle them, recovering
the lead. Lead is recycled because of its value and to reduce toxic
waste, and it is primarily used to manufacture new batteries.
Because regional ambient air lead concentrations indicate low
ambient lead levels relative to the new lead NAAQS, and the only
ambient levels exceeding the NAAQS were at sites near the lead-acid
battery recyclers, SCAQMD's lead attainment strategy is focused on
reducing directly-emitted lead from these two sources.
II. California's State Implementation Plan Submittal To Address Lead
Nonattainment in the Los Angeles Nonattainment Area
A. California's SIP Submittal
Designation of an area as nonattainment starts the process for a
state to develop and submit to EPA a SIP under title 1, part D of the
CAA. This SIP must include, among other things, a demonstration of how
the NAAQS will be attained in the nonattainment area as expeditiously
as practicable, but no later than the date required by the CAA. Under
CAA section 191(a), a State has up to 18 months after an area's
designation to nonattainment to submit its SIP to EPA. For the 2008
lead NAAQS, these nonattainment SIPs were due no later than June 30,
2012.
The SCAQMD is the air quality agency that develops SIPs for the Los
Angeles area. The Final 2012 Lead State Implementation Plan--Los
Angeles County (2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP) was adopted by the
SCAQMD Governing Board on May 4, 2012.\4\ The California Air Resources
Board (CARB) adopted the SIP on May 24, 2012 and submitted it to EPA on
June 20, 2012.\5\
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\4\ See SCAQMD Governing Board Resolution No. 12-11.
\5\ See CARB Board Resolution No. 12-20.
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B. CAA Procedural and Administrative Requirements for SIP Submittals
CAA sections 110(a)(1) and (2) and 110(l) require a state to
provide reasonable public notice and opportunity for public hearing
prior to the adoption and submittal of a SIP or SIP revision. To meet
this requirement, every SIP submittal should include evidence that
adequate public notice was given and a public hearing was held
consistent with EPA's implementing regulations in 40 CFR section
51.102.
Both the District and CARB have satisfied applicable statutory and
regulatory requirements for reasonable public notice and hearing prior
to adoption and submittal of the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP. The
District provided a public comment period and held a public hearing
prior to the adoption of the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP on May 4,
2012. CARB provided the required public notice and opportunity for
public comment prior to its May 24, 2012 public hearing on the plan.
The SIP submittal includes notices of the District and CARB public
hearings, as evidence that all hearings were properly noticed.\6\ We
therefore find that the submittals meet the procedural requirements of
CAA sections 110(a) and 110(l).
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\6\ See Enclosure 3, California Air Resources Board, ``Notice of
Public Meeting to Consider Approval of the Proposed State
Implementation Plan Revision for the Federal Lead Standard,'' and
Enclosure 6, Notice of Public Hearing, Adoption of 2012 Lead State
Implementation Plan--Los Angeles Count for the South Coast Air
Quality Management District in the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP.
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CAA section 110(k)(1)(B) requires EPA to determine whether a SIP
submittal is complete within 60 days of receipt. This section also
provides that any plan that EPA has not affirmatively determined to be
complete or incomplete will become complete 6 months after the date of
submittal by operation of law. EPA's SIP completeness criteria are
found in 40 CFR part 51, Appendix V. The 2012 Los Angeles County Lead
SIP became complete by operation of law on December 20, 2012.
III. CAA and Regulatory Requirements for Lead Attainment SIPs
A. CAA and EPA Guidance
EPA is implementing the lead NAAQS under Title 1, Part D, subparts
1 and 5 of the CAA, which includes section 172, ``Nonattainment plan
provisions,'' and sections 191 and 192, ``Plan Submission Deadlines''
and ``Attainment Dates,'' respectively.
Section 192(a) establishes the attainment date for lead
nonattainment areas ``as expeditiously as practicable'' but no later
than five years from the date of the nonattainment designation for the
area. EPA designated most of Los Angeles County (except for the high
desert areas and San Clemente and Catalina Islands) as a nonattainment
area effective December 31, 2010, and thus the applicable attainment
date is no later than December 31, 2015. Under section 172(a)(2)(D),
the Administrator is precluded from granting an extension of this
attainment date where the statute separately establishes a specific
attainment date, such as the 5-year deadline established in section
192(a).
Section 172(c) contains the general statutory planning requirements
applicable to all nonattainment areas, including the requirements for
emissions inventories, RACM/RACT, attainment demonstrations, RFP
demonstrations, and contingency measures.
When EPA issued the NAAQS for lead on November 12, 2008 (``lead
NAAQS rule''), it included some implementation guidelines for the lead
NAAQS regarding planning requirements. See 73 FR 66964. EPA also issued
several guidance documents related to planning requirements for the
lead NAAQS. These include:
Memorandum from Scott Mathias, Interim Director, Air
Quality Policy Division, USEPA Office of Air Quality Planning and
Standards, to Regional Air Division Directors, Regions I-X, ``2008 Lead
(Pb) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) Implementation
Questions and Answers,'' July 8, 2011, (``Lead Q&A'') and
``Addendum to the 2008 Lead NAAQS Implementation Questions
and Answers Signed on July 11, 2011, by Scott Mathias,'' dated August
10, 2012. (``Lead Q&A Addendum''); and
[[Page 75296]]
Implementation of the 2008 Lead National Ambient Air
Quality Standards--Guide to Developing Reasonably Available Control
Measures (RACM) for Controlling Lead Emissions, USEPA Office of Air
Quality Planning and Standards, EPA-457/R-12-001, March 2012 (``Lead
RACM Guidance'').\7\
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\7\ All three of these guidance documents can be found in the
docket for today's action.
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The lead NAAQS rule and its preamble and the two guidance documents
address the statutory planning requirements for emissions inventories,
RACM/RACT, attainment demonstrations including air quality modeling
requirements, RFP demonstrations, and contingency measures. The lead
NAAQS rule also addresses other matters such as monitoring,
designations, lead infrastructure SIPs and exceptional events.
Control measures for the 2008 lead NAAQS need to be in place as
expeditiously as practicable. In order for control measures to result
in three years of monitored clean data by the attainment date, lead
nonattainment areas required to demonstrate attainment by December 31,
2015 would need to have all necessary controls in place no later than
November 1, 2012.\8\
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\8\ Lead Q&A, p. 4.
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We will discuss each of the CAA and regulatory requirements for
lead attainment plans in more detail below in our review of the 2012
Los Angeles County Lead SIP.
B. Infrastructure SIPs for Lead
Under section 110 of the CAA, all states (including those without
nonattainment areas) are required to submit infrastructure SIPs within
three years of the promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS. Because the
lead NAAQS was signed and widely disseminated on October 15, 2008, the
infrastructure SIPs were due by October 15, 2011. Section 110(a)(1) and
(2) require states to address basic program elements, including
requirements for emissions inventories, monitoring, and modeling, among
other things. Subsections (A) through (M) of section 110(a)(2) set
forth the elements that a states program must contain in the SIP.
California's lead infrastructure SIP was submitted on October 6, 2011
and will be acted on in a separate rulemaking action.
IV. Review of the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP
A. Summary of EPA's Proposed Actions
EPA is proposing to approve the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP
demonstrating attainment of the 2008 lead NAAQS in the Los Angeles
County lead nonattainment area. We are proposing to approve the base
year emissions inventory in this SIP revision as meeting the applicable
requirements of the CAA and EPA guidance. We are also proposing to
approve the attainment demonstration, RACM/RACT analysis, RFP
demonstration, and the contingency measures as meeting the applicable
requirements of the CAA and EPA guidance.
EPA's analysis and findings are discussed below for each applicable
requirement. The Technical Support Document (TSD) for today's proposed
action contains additional details on selected lead planning
requirements. We also discuss the SCAQMD lead monitoring network and
present recent ambient air quality monitoring data in the TSD.
B. Emission Inventories
1. Requirements for Emission Inventories
CAA section 172(c)(3) requires that states submit a
``comprehensive, accurate, current inventory of actual emissions from
all sources of the relevant pollutant.'' Therefore, all sources of lead
emissions in the nonattainment area must be included in the submitted
inventory. A base year emission inventory is required for the
attainment demonstration and for meeting RFP requirements. The base
year emissions inventory for 2010 or other suitable year should be used
for attainment planning and RFP plans for areas initially designated
nonattainment for the lead NAAQS in 2010.\9\
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\9\ 2008 Lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality Standards
(NAAQS) Implementation Questions and Answers, Memorandum from Scott
Mathias, Interim Director, Air Quality Policy Division, Office of
Air Quality Planning and Standards, USEPA to Air Quality Division
Directors, Regions I-X. July 8, 2011. Also see, Addendum to the 2008
Lead NAAQS Implementation Questions and Answers Signed on July 11,
2011, by Scott Mathias. August 10, 2012.
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In addition to inventory reporting requirements in CAA section
172(c)(3), 40 CFR 51.117(e)(1) requires that the inventory contain all
point sources that emit 0.5 tons of lead emissions per year (tpy).\10\
Based on annual emissions reporting for 2010, no point sources in the
Los Angeles County lead nonattainment area emit over 0.5 tpy of lead.
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\10\ Additional emissions inventory reporting requirements are
also found in EPA's Air Emissions Reporting Rule (AERR) (codified at
40 CFR part 51 subpart A) and 73 FR 76539. Although the AERR
requirements are separate from the SIP-related requirements in CAA
section 172(c)(3) and 40 CFR 51.117(e)(1), the AERR requirements are
intended to be compatible with the SIP-related requirements.
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2. Base Year Emissions Inventory in the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead
SIP
The 2010 base year inventory for the Los Angeles County lead
nonattainment area and additional documentation for the inventory are
described in Chapter 3 of the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP. The
2010 base year lead inventory provides the basis for the control
measure analysis and the RFP and attainment demonstrations in the 2012
Los Angeles County Lead SIP.
Lead emissions are grouped into two general categories, stationary
sources and mobile sources. Stationary sources can be further divided
into ``point'' and ``area'' sources. Point sources are typically
emitted from permitted facilities and have one or more identified and
fixed pieces of equipment and emissions points. Facilities are required
to report their emissions to the SCAQMD Annual Emissions Reporting
Program. Conversely, area sources consist of widespread and numerous
smaller emission sources, such as small permitted facilities,
households, and road dust. The mobile sources category can be divided
into two major subcategories, ``on-road'' and ``off-road'' mobile
sources. On-road mobile sources include light-duty automobiles, light-,
medium-, and heavy-duty trucks, and motorcycles. Off-road mobile
sources include aircraft, locomotives, construction equipment, mobile
equipment, and recreational vehicles. The methodologies used to
calculate the emission inventories are described in Chapter 3 of the
2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP.
Table 1 depicts the 2010 lead emissions inventory for the Los
Angeles County lead nonattainment area as presented in the 2012 Los
Angeles County Lead SIP. Emissions in Table 1 are broken down by the
major source categories described above. Table 2 provides a further
break down of the 2010 inventory into specific subcategories. Table 1
indicates that 4.2 tons per year (tpy) of lead emissions are from
mobile sources. This accounts for 23 percent of the total lead
inventory for Los Angeles County. Because lead is still used as an
additive in general aviation fuel, aircraft powered by piston-driven
engines comprise 4.0 tpy or 93 percent of the mobile source
inventory.\11\ Stationary and area sources
[[Page 75297]]
emit 14.0 tpy or 77 percent of the lead inventory. Two area sources,
construction and demolition and paved road dust, account for 12.6 tpy
or approximately 90 percent of the total stationary and area source
emissions.
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\11\ For a complete list of airports located in the Los Angeles
County lead nonattainment area and their lead emissions, see table
3-3 on page 3-11 of the South Coast Lead 2012 SIP or the Technical
Support Document for this action. For more information on EPA
efforts to monitor lead emissions at airports, see EPA Program
Update ``Airport Lead Monitoring,'' EPA-420-F-13-032, June 2013
found at https://www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/nonroad/aviation/420f13032.pdf.
Table 1--Summary of Los Angeles County Nonattainment Area 2010 Emissions
Inventory for Lead
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lead emissions \a\
(tpy)
Source category ---------------------
2010
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stationary and Area............................... 14.0
On-road Mobile.................................... 0.2
Off-road Mobile................................... 4.0
---------------------
Total......................................... 18.2
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\a\ Source: Table 3-1, 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP.
As indicated in Chapter 3, page 3-3 of the 2012 Los Angeles County
Lead SIP, Los Angeles County's lead nonattainment status is linked to
two large lead-acid battery-recycling facilities--Exide Technologies in
Vernon (``Exide'') and Quemetco Inc. in City of Industry
(``Quemetco''). These two sources fall within the Metal Processes
subcategory shown in Table 2.\12\ Even though the Metal Processes
category accounts for a small percentage of total emissions in the
nonattainment area, based on the historical lead measurements in Los
Angeles County, the vicinities near the Exide and Quemetco facilities
are areas where exceedances of the lead NAAQS have occurred in the past
and could potentially reoccur.
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\12\ Lead concentrations at all ambient monitoring network sites
in the Los Angeles County portion of the Basin are well below the
new 2008 standard for lead, with typical levels of about 0.01 [mu]g/
m\3\. The Los Angeles County lead nonattainment area's nonattainment
status has not been linked to any stationary sources other than
Exide and Quemetco; however, for additional information on point
sources that emit greater than one pound of lead per year and are
located in the nonattainment area, see Table 3-2 on page 3-9 of the
2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP.
Table 2--Category-specific Los Angeles County Nonattainment Area 2010
Emissions Inventory for Lead
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010 Lead emissions
Source category \a\ (tpy)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stationary and Area Sources
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fuel Combustion:
Electric Utilities............................ 0.02
Cogeneration.................................. 0.01
Petroleum Refining (Combustion)............... 0.05
Manufacturing and Industrial.................. 0.08
Service and Commercial........................ 0.04
Waste Disposal:
Incinerators.................................. 0.01
Petroleum Production & Marketing:
Petroleum Refining............................ 0.03
Industrial Processes:
Mineral Processes............................. 0.06
Metal Processes............................... 0.42
Glass and Related Products.................... 0.02
Miscellaneous Processes:
Residential Fuel Combustion................... 0.02
Construction and Demolition................... 5.80
Paved Road Dust............................... 6.83
Unpaved Road Dust............................. 0.47
Fugitive Windblown Dust....................... 0.06
Fires......................................... 0.01
Waste Burning and Disposal.................... 0.03
---------------------
Total Stationary and Area Sources......... 13.96
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mobile Sources
------------------------------------------------------------------------
On-Road Vehicles:
Light-Duty Passenger.......................... 0.09
Light & Medium Duty Trucks.................... 0.06
Heavy-Duty Gas Trucks......................... 0.0
Heavy-Duty Diesel Trucks...................... 0.07
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[[Page 75298]]
Total On-Road Vehicles.................... 0.22
---------------------
Off-road Mobile:
Aircraft...................................... 3.95
Trains........................................ 0.01
Ships & Commercial Boats...................... 0.0
Off-Road Equipment............................ 0.06
---------------------
Total Off-Road Mobile..................... 4.02
---------------------
Total All Sources......................... 18.20
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ Source: 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP, Table 3-1.
3. Proposed Action on the Emission Inventory
We have reviewed the emissions inventories in the 2012 Los Angeles
County Lead SIP and the inventory methodologies used by the District
and CARB for consistency with CAA requirements, the lead NAAQS rule,
and EPA's guidance. We find that the 2010 base year inventory is a
comprehensive, accurate, and current inventory of actual or projected
emissions of lead in the Los Angeles County lead nonattainment area as
of the date of the submittal. We therefore propose to approve the 2010
base year inventory as meeting the requirements of CAA section
172(c)(3) and applicable EPA guidance.
C. RACM/RACT Demonstration and Adopted Control Strategy
1. Requirements for RACM/RACT Demonstrations
CAA section 172(c)(1) requires that each attainment plan ``provide
for the implementation of all reasonably available control measures as
expeditiously as practicable (including such reductions in emissions
from existing sources in the area as may be obtained through the
adoption, at a minimum, of reasonably available control technology),
and shall provide for attainment of the national primary ambient air
quality standards.'' EPA defines RACM as measures that a state finds
are both reasonably available and contribute to attainment as
expeditiously as practicable in its nonattainment area. Lead
nonattainment plans must contain RACM (including RACT) that address
sources of ambient lead concentrations. The EPA's historic definition
of RACT is the lowest emissions limitation that a particular source is
capable of meeting by the application of control technology that is
reasonably available considering technological and economic
feasibility.\13\ EPA recommends that, at a minimum, all stationary
sources emitting 0.5 tpy or more should undergo a RACT review. See 73
FR 67038. Based on annual emissions reporting for 2010, no point
sources in the Los Angeles County lead nonattainment area emit over 0.5
tpy of lead.\14\
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\13\ See for example, 44 FR 53761 (September 17, 1979) and
footnote 3 of that notice.
\14\ Exide is the largest stationary source emitter of lead in
Los Angeles County with 2010 emissions of 655.5 pounds or
approximately 0.3 tpy.
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2. RACM/RACT Demonstration in the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP
CARB and the District have rulemaking processes for development,
adoption and implementation of RACM/RACT that have been in place for
decades.
Because of lead's dispersion characteristics (e.g., lack of
transport over a large geographic area), the highest ambient
concentrations of lead are expected to be near lead sources (e.g.,
Exide and Quemetco). The 2008 lead NAAQS is unique in that attainment
must be demonstrated at source-oriented monitors as well as ambient
monitors, and this RACM/RACT demonstration addresses specific
facilities that may cause a NAAQS exceedance. The RACM/RACT
demonstration for the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP does not involve
or require a typical RACM evaluation as is done for other criteria
pollutants (e.g., ozone or fine particulate matter) which involves
looking at a broader set of source categories.
Based on lead monitoring data, SCAQMD identified two large lead-
acid battery recycling facilities (i.e., Exide and Quemetco) as the
only sources of lead in the Los Angeles County lead nonattainment area
that have caused or have the potential to cause exceedances of the 2008
lead NAAQS.\15\ The overall control strategy in the 2012 Los Angeles
County Lead SIP relies primarily on implementation of Rule 1420.1--
Emissions Standard for Lead from Large Lead-Acid Battery Recycling
Facilities, adopted by SCAQMD in November 2010. Thus EPA's evaluation
of RACM/RACT is based on an evaluation of Rule 1420.1. SCAQMD's RACM/
RACT evaluation is found in Section 6, pages 17-21 of the 2012 Los
Angeles County Lead SIP. A discussion of Rule 1420.1 is provided below.
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\15\ As previously stated, EPA recommends that, at a minimum,
all stationary sources emitting 0.5 tpy (1000 pounds) or more should
undergo a RACT review (See 73 FR 66964, at 67038). Based on annual
emissions reporting for 2010, no point sources in the Los Angeles
Lead nonattainment area emit over 0.5 tpy of lead.
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Control Measure
On January 25, 2013, EPA approved SCAQMD Rule 1420.1 into the
California SIP. See 78 FR 5305. Rule 1420.1 establishes facility-wide
and individual point source maximum allowable emission rates and
requires secondary lead control devices on dryers. Fugitive lead
emissions are addressed through housekeeping and maintenance activity
requirements, and total enclosures, vented to control devices, for all
areas where lead is being processed and where maintenance activities
are occurring. The rule also sets ambient standards for airborne lead
concentrations at monitors around the facility and requires facility-
operated monitors (a minimum of four) that collect samples on a once
every-three-days schedule. Source testing, recordkeeping, and reporting
requirements are included to ensure continuous compliance. The rule
also requires the submittal of a new compliance plan and emission
reduction feasibility study when a
[[Page 75299]]
source's monitoring indicates ambient levels have reached 0.12
[micro]g/m\3\, which is 80% of the rule limit.
EPA describes RACM/RACT nationally for secondary lead smelters in
guidance published in March 2012.\16\ Rule 1420.1 includes extensive
and comprehensive provisions for the control of lead point source and
fugitive emissions and contains all the necessary RACM/RACT elements
described in the EPA guidance. A summary of these minimum elements and
how they are addressed in Rule 1420.1 is provided in EPA's TSD for this
action and in the TSD for EPA's approval of Rule 1420.1.\17\
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\16\ Implementation of the 2008 Lead National Ambient Air
Quality Standards, Guide to Developing Reasonably Available Control
Measures (RACM) for Controlling Lead Emissions, EPA-457/R-12-001.
March 2012.
\17\ TSD for EPA's Proposed Rulemaking for the California SIP,
SCAQMD Rule 1420.1, Emissions Standard for Lead from Large Lead-acid
Battery Recycling Facilities. June 2012. The TSD is included in the
docket for today's action.
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EPA also published the final residual risk and technology review
revisions to the National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air
Pollutants from Secondary Lead Smelting on January 5, 2012 (NESHAP from
Secondary Lead Smelting). 77 FR 556. The revised NESHAP requirements
represent maximum achievable control technology (MACT) under CAA
section 112. MACT requirements apply nationwide, regardless of whether
an area attains the lead NAAQS. EPA considered the MACT requirements as
part of our evaluation of RACM/RACT. A summary of the MACT requirements
and how they are addressed by Rule 1420.1 is also in the TSD for EPA's
approval of Rule 1420.1, which can be found in the docket for today's
proposed action.
In its January 25, 2013 approval of Rule 1420.1, EPA determined
that, based on comparison of Rule 1420.1 to the national RACM guidance
and MACT, and additional analysis provided in SCAQMD's staff
report,\18\ Rule 1420.1 adequately fulfills CAA RACM/RACT requirements.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\18\ Staff Report, Proposed Rule 1420.1--Emissions Standard for
Lead from Large Lead-Acid Battery Recycling Facilities, November,
2010.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following provides a detailed description of Rule 1420.1
requirements.
[ssquf] Ambient Air Lead Concentrations: Facilities are not allowed
to discharge into the atmosphere emissions which contribute to ambient
air concentrations of lead that exceed 0.15 [mu]g/m\3\ averaged over
any 30 consecutive days. The averaging time is shorter than that of the
lead NAAQS (rolling 3-month average of monthly averages) with a more
frequent sampling requirement of one sample in three days versus the
NAAQS which requires one sample in six days. Ambient air samples are
collected close to the facility's fenceline. Thus, potential rule
violations in the form of exceedances of the ambient limits in Rule
1420.1 will likely occur before exceedances of the federal NAAQS and
allow for corrective action to take place to avoid such federal NAAQS
exceedances.
[ssquf] Ambient Air Monitoring and Sampling Requirements: Each
facility is required to collect and analyze ambient air lead samples to
determine compliance with the ambient air quality lead concentration
standard of Rule 1420.1. The rule requires a minimum of four monitors
at facility locations approved by the District. Federal regulations
require only one source-oriented monitor at all facilities emitting
more than 0.5 tons of lead per year. Facilities are required to collect
samples at least once every three days, more frequently than the
federal requirement of once every six days.
Facilities that exceed an ambient air lead concentration of 0.15
[mu]g/m\3\ averaged over any 30 consecutive days, measured at any fence
line monitor, will be in violation of the rule and be required to
increase ambient air monitoring and sampling to a daily frequency.
Daily monitoring and sampling will be required to be conducted for a
period of at least 60 consecutive days at each sampling site that
measured an exceedance until no 30-day average exceedances are
recorded. Sampling sites at the property line may be located just
inside the fence line on facility property if logistical constraints
preclude placement outside the fence line. As a result, monitors
required under Rule 1420.1 will be located closer to fugitive lead
sources, in most cases, when compared to monitors required by federal
monitoring requirements, which must be in publicly accessible areas.
Along with the shorter averaging time described previously, all of the
ambient air monitoring and sampling requirements of Rule 1420.1 are
more stringent than the federal requirements, such that potential rule
violations will likely occur before exceedances of the lead NAAQS.
[ssquf] Total Enclosures: All areas used in the lead-acid battery
recycling operation for processing or storage of lead-containing
material, and all areas where maintenance is being performed, are
required to install total enclosures vented to a lead control device.
This requirement provides maximum containment and will minimize
fugitive lead-dust emissions generated in areas where processing,
handling and storage of lead-containing materials occur. Rule 1420.1
also establishes requirements for monitoring and maintaining negative
pressure and in-draft velocity at the openings of these enclosed areas.
[ssquf] Lead Point Source Emission Controls: All lead emissions
from lead point sources are required to be vented to an emissions
collection system that transports the entire gas stream to a lead
control device. The total facility mass lead emission rate for all lead
point sources shall not exceed 0.045 pounds of lead per hour (lbs/hr),
with a maximum emission rate for any single lead point source not to
exceed 0.010 lbs/hr. The maximum emission rates of 0.045 and 0.010 lb/
hr were established to adequately provide a protective limit for
exposure to lead emissions and achieve the ambient federal standard of
0.15 [mu]g/m\3\.
[ssquf] Housekeeping Requirements: The housekeeping requirements in
Rule 1420.1 include: Prescribed requirements for cleaning frequencies
of specific areas; maintenance activity; encapsulation of all facility
grounds; removal of weather caps on any lead emissions source stacks;
building structural integrity inspections; storage and transport of
lead-containing materials; onsite mobile vacuum sweeping; and surface
impoundment pond or reservoir cleanings.
[ssquf] Annual Source Testing: Annual source tests are required for
all lead control devices to demonstrate compliance with the facility
total lead mass emission rate standard of 0.045 lb/hr, and the maximum
individual stack lead emission rate standard of 0.010 lb/hr. If the
most recent source test for a lead point source demonstrates emissions
of 0.0025 lb/hr or less, the facility may alternatively elect to
conduct the next source test for that device within 24 months.
[ssquf] Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements: Requires
recordkeeping and reporting, including public notifications, for
specific maintenance activity, turnarounds and shutdowns for all lead-
containing materials processed at the facility. Records for all
housekeeping, maintenance activity, ambient air lead monitoring, lead
control device inspection and maintenance, and unplanned shutdowns of
any smelting furnaces must be maintained. Facilities are required to
submit reports for monthly ambient air monitoring results for lead and
wind data measured at each sampling location on a monthly basis. The
rule also requires notifications of
[[Page 75300]]
planned and unplanned shutdowns, and turnarounds.
[ssquf] Compliance Plan: As an additional safeguard against the
facilities exceeding the lead NAAQS or Rule 1420.1 limits, the
requirement to prepare and submit a compliance plan is triggered if the
facility exceeds 0.12 [mu]g/m\3\ as measured on a 30-day rolling
average. The compliance plan must be implemented if the facility's lead
emissions contribute to an exceedance of the Rule 1420.1 ambient lead
standard of 0.15 [mu]g/m\3\ as measured on a 30-day rolling average.
The compliance plan provision is intended to ensure that measures can
be identified prior to exceedances of the 0.15 [mu]g/m\3\ NAAQS (which
is measured on a 90-day rolling average) and are ready for fast
implementation if the 0.15 [mu]g/m\3\ standard NAAQS is exceeded.
[ssquf] On January 27, 2012, SCAQMD approved a Compliance Plan for
Exide. The approved Compliance Plan requires Exide to implement various
measures and install various controls to reduce lead emissions.
Condition 8 of the Compliance Plan states that if, after March 31,
2012, monitored ambient lead concentrations exceed 0.15 [mu]g/m\3\,
Exide must submit to SCAQMD for approval, within 15 days of any such
occurrence, the mitigation measures it will implement. Such mitigation
measures include installation of second stage high efficient
particulate air (HEPA) filters at specified locations.
[ssquf] We discuss below how Rule 1420.1's compliance plan
provisions meet EPA criteria for contingency measures.
Expeditious Implementation of RACM/RACT. We find that expeditious
implementation of RACM/RACT at affected sources within the
nonattainment area is an appropriate approach to assure attainment of
the lead NAAQS in an expeditious manner.\19\ Rule 1420.1 establishes
various deadlines for affected sources. Specifically, Rule 1420.1
requires affected sources to: (1) Submit a complete permit application
for all construction and necessary equipment within 30 days of November
5, 2010; (2) complete all construction within 180 days of receiving
permit to construct approvals from the District, or by July 1, 2011,
whichever was earlier; and (3) install, maintain, and operate total
enclosures and lead point source emission control devices) by July 1,
2011. In addition, Rule 1420.1 requires expeditious installation of
additional controls in the event monitored ambient lead concentrations
exceed 0.15 [mu]g/m\3\ on a rolling 30 day average. EPA believes the
measures and schedule in Rule 1420.1 are both reasonably available and
provide for attainment as expeditiously as practicable in the Los
Angeles County lead nonattainment area.
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\19\ See Lead NAAQS Rule, 73 FR 66964 (November 12, 2008) at
67038-67039.
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Adopted Control Strategies
As described above, the primary control strategy in the 2012 Los
Angeles County Lead SIP relies on emission reductions achieved through
the implementation of SCAQMD Rule 1420.1--Emissions Standard for Lead
from Large Lead-Acid Battery Recycling Facilities. Full implementation
of Rule 1420.1 began on January 1, 2012, and EPA approved the rule into
the SIP on January 25, 2013. See 78 FR 5305.
3. Proposed Actions on RACM/RACT Demonstration and Adopted Control
Strategy
We propose to find that there are, at this time, no additional RACM
that individually or collectively would advance attainment of the lead
NAAQS by one year or more in the Los Angeles County lead nonattainment
area. We also propose to find that the RACM/RACT measure is both
reasonably available and provides for attainment as expeditiously as
practicable in the Los Angeles County lead nonattainment area. This
proposal is based on our review of the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead
SIP, the sources contributing to nonattainment of the lead NAAQS, the
District's adopted control strategy and EPA guidance. Therefore, we
propose to find that the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP provides for
the implementation of RACM/RACT as required by CAA section 172(c)(1).
D. Attainment Demonstration
1. Requirements for Attainment Demonstrations
CAA section 172 requires a state to submit a plan for each of its
nonattainment areas that demonstrates attainment of the applicable
ambient air quality standard as expeditiously as practicable but no
later than the specified attainment date. This demonstration should
consist of four parts:
(1) Technical analyses that locate, identify, and quantify sources
of emissions that are contributing to violations of the lead NAAQS;
(2) analyses of future year emissions reductions and air quality
improvement resulting from already-adopted national, state, and local
programs and from potential new state and local measures to meet the
RACT, RACM, and RFP requirements in the area;
(3) adopted emissions reduction measures with schedules for
implementation; and
(4) contingency measures required under section 172(c)(9) of the
CAA.
The requirements for the first two parts are described in the
sections on emissions inventories and RACM/RACT above and in the
sections on air quality modeling and the attainment demonstration that
follows immediately below. Requirements for the third and fourth parts
are described in the sections on the control strategy and the
contingency measures, respectively.
2. Air Quality Modeling in the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP
The lead attainment demonstration must include air quality
dispersion modeling developed in accordance with EPA's Modeling
Guidance.\20\ The SCAQMD modeling analysis was prepared using EPA's
preferred dispersion modeling system, the American Meteorological
Society/Environmental Protection Agency Regulatory Model (AERMOD)
consisting of the AERMOD (version 12060) model and two data input
preprocessors AERMET (version 11059) and AERMAP (version 11103).
AERSURFACE (version 08009) was also used to develop inputs to AERMET.
The Building Profile Input Program for Plume Rise Model Enhancements
was also used in the downwash-modeling and incorporated good
engineering practice. More detailed information on the AERMOD modeling
system and other modeling tools and documents can be found on the EPA
Technology Transfer Network Support Center for Regulatory Atmospheric
Modeling (SCRAM) \21\ and in the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP in
the docket for today's proposed action.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\20\ 40 CFR Part 51 Appendix W (EPA's Guideline on Air Quality
Models) (November 2005) located at https://www.epa.gov/ttn/scram/guidance/guide/appw_05.pdf.
\21\ https://www.epa.gov/ttn/scram/.
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a. Modeling Approach
The following is an overview of the lead modeling approach used in
2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP. This approach was developed by the
SCAQMD and revised based on comments received from the EPA.
Model inputs were developed using the AERMOD modeling system.
AERMET was used to develop the necessary 5-year meteorological data set
for each facility using the meteorological data from the most
representative monitoring station. For
[[Page 75301]]
the Exide facility modeling application, the SCAQMD Central LA
monitoring station was determined to be the most representative
meteorological site. SCAQMD's rationale for the use of these data is
described in the TSD for today's action. Only four years of
meteorological data were available for this station (2006 to 2009). The
La Habra monitoring station was determined to be the most
representative site for the Quemetco facility, and five years (2005 to
2009) of meteorological data were available. The National Weather
Service San Diego Miramar Naval Air Station were determined to be the
most representative upper air meteorological monitoring site for Exide
and Quemetco.
A Cartesian receptor grid with 50-meter by 50-meter spacing was
used at each facility, in addition to fence-line receptors placed at
25-meter intervals. Receptor elevations and hill heights were assigned
using AERMAP and terrain data, available from the United States
Geological Survey. AERMOD output was processed through EPA's LEADPOST
post processor (version 12114) deriving the maximum 3-month average
rolling design value across the 5-year meteorological data period for
Quemetco, and the 4-year period for Exide.
b. Modeling Results
Rule 1420.1 requirements were modeled to provide the assurance that
emissions will not cause a NAAQS violation in 2015. The modeling
results for total emissions (stack and fugitive emissions) are provided
in the SIP for each facility, and are discussed below. The lead NAAQS
compliance results of the attainment modeling are summarized below in
Table 3, 2008 Lead NAAQS Attainment Demonstration Modeling Results for
Exide and Quemetco Lead-Acid Battery Acid Recycling Facilities.
Stack Emissions
The Rule 1420.1 emission stack limits for 2015 were modeled for
Exide and Quemetco. For each facility, the 0.045 lb/hr total stack
emissions were evenly distributed throughout the stacks, and emissions
from any individual stack were kept below the 0.010 lb/hr per stack
limit. The modeled maximum 3-month rolling average lead concentration
from stack emissions alone for Exide is 0.115 [mu]g/m\3\. For Quemetco,
the modeled maximum 3-month rolling average lead concentration from
stack emissions is 0.083 [mu]g/m\3\. The 2015 modeled lead
concentrations for the Quemetco facility are a conservative estimate of
the impact because the modeling assumes the allowable stack emission
limits set by Rule 1420.1, which are significantly higher than
Quemetco's current stack emissions. No significant increases in actual
emissions are expected beyond the modest growth factors used in the
emission projection.
Fugitive Emissions
According to Chapter 6 of the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP,
Exide identified fugitive lead emissions as resulting from its raw
materials processing system (RMPS) and from roadways. Quemetco did not
identify fugitive lead emission to SCAQMD, so SCAQMD assumed fugitive
emissions from Quemetco's battery wrecking area (which SCAQMD assumed
to be approximately equivalent to Exide's RMPS) and from roadways. For
2015, for both Exide and Quemetco, SCAQMD relied on Rule 1420.1
emission standards (in particular, a requirement to use an onsite
mobile vacuum sweeper or equivalent), and applied an 80% reduction to
the roadway fugitive emissions (based on an assumed efficiency of 80%
or greater for certified street sweepers). SCAQMD assumed that fugitive
emissions for Exide's RMPS and Quemetco's battery wrecker area would
not change between the current year and 2015 and therefore applied the
same emissions values to the current year and year 2015 for these
areas.
The modeling takes a number of relevant factors into consideration,
including emissions, receptor proximity, and wind direction. The
modeled maximum 3-month rolling average lead concentration from all
emissions (stack and fugitive emissions combined) is 0.135 [mu]g/m\3\
for the Exide facility, and 0.140 [mu]g/m\3\ for Quemetco.
3. Attainment Demonstration
The AERMOD modeling results are presented in Table 3 below. A
background ambient air quality concentration of 0.01 [mu]g/m\3\, based
on air quality monitoring data from the South Coast AQMD network,\22\
is included in the modeling results. The maximum modeled 3-month
rolling average, including background data, for each of the facilities
is less than or equal to the 2008 Lead NAAQS of 0.15 [mu]g/m\3\. Based
on these modeled attainment demonstration results, the SCAQMD concludes
that the proposed controls should be sufficient to attain the 2008 lead
NAAQS. A more detailed discussion of the modeling is included in the
TSD for today's action and in Chapter 5 of the 2012 Los Angeles County
Lead SIP.
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\22\ SCAQMD's monitoring network lead design values for 2012,
based on data from 2010, 2011 and 2012.
Table 3--2008 Lead NAAQS Attainment Demonstration Modeling Results for
Exide and Quemetco Lead-Acid Battery Acid Recycling Facilities \23\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lead concentration (maximum
3-month rolling
Facility average),\24\ stack and
fugitive emission
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exide..................................... 0.135 [mu]g/m \3\
Quemetco.................................. 0.140 [mu]g/m \3\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\23\ Final results listed in Table 3 are rounded according to 40
CFR part 50, Appendix R; specifically subsection 4(a) which
addresses comparison with the Lead NAAQS, as well as 5(a), (b), and
(c) which addresses rounding conventions.
\24\ The maximum modeled 3-month rolling average across all
years of meteorological data (Exide 2006-2009, and Quemetco 2005-
2009).
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4. Proposed Action on Attainment Demonstration
EPA has reviewed the modeling that SCAQMD submitted to support the
attainment demonstration for 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP and has
preliminarily determined that this modeling is consistent with CAA
requirements, Appendix W, and EPA guidance for lead attainment
demonstration modeling. We therefore propose to approve the modeling
and attainment demonstration in the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP.
E. RFP Demonstration
1. Requirements for RFP
CAA section 172(c)(2) requires that attainment plans shall provide
for RFP. RFP is defined in section 171(1) as ``such annual incremental
reductions in emissions of the relevant air pollutant as are required
by this part or may reasonably be required by the Administrator for the
purpose of ensuring attainment of the applicable national ambient air
quality standard by the applicable date.'' While for some pollutants,
historically, RFP has been met through generally linear incremental
progress toward attainment by the applicable attainment date, EPA
believes that RFP for lead nonattainment areas should be met by
``adherence to an ambitious compliance schedule'' which is expected to
periodically yield significant emission reductions, and as appropriate,
linear progress.\25\
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\25\ 73 FR 66964, at p. 67038.
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EPA recommends that SIPs for lead nonattainment areas provide a
detailed schedule for compliance of RACM
[[Page 75302]]
(including RACT) in the affected areas and accurately indicate the
corresponding annual emission reductions to be achieved.\26\ EPA
expects that a detailed schedule would provide for periodic yields in
significant emissions reductions.\27\ In reviewing the SIP, EPA
believes that it is appropriate to expect early implementation of less
technology-intensive control measures (e.g., controlling fugitive dust
emissions at the stationary source, as well as required controls on
area sources) while phasing in the more technology-intensive control
measures, such as those involving the purchase and installation of new
hardware. We believe the expeditious implementation of RACM/RACT at
affected sources within the nonattainment area is an appropriate
approach to assure attainment of the lead NAAQS in an expeditious
manner.\28\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\26\ Lead Q&A, p. 2.
\27\ Ibid.
\28\ See 73 FR 66964 (November 12, 2008) at 67038-67039.
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2. RFP Demonstration in the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP
The RFP demonstration is contained in Chapter 6 of the 2012 Los
Angeles County Lead SIP. The demonstration uses the 2010 actual
emissions inventory as the base year inventory and 2012-2015 projected
emissions based on Rule 1420.1 allowable emissions limits. Below we
summarize the RFP demonstration in the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP
for both the Exide and Quemetco facilities.\29\
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\29\ See 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP, pages 6-14 to 6-17.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To demonstrate the emissions reductions associated with adherence
to an ambitious compliance schedule and expeditious implementation of
control measures, SCAQMD has addressed this requirement through the
schedules in Rule 1420.1. Rule 1420.1 contains compliance deadlines of
July 1, 2011 for implementation of all requisite control measures and
emissions limits, and January 1, 2012 for the ambient monitoring limit
of 0.15 [mu]g/m\3\. The emissions reductions associated with Rule
1420.1 are presented in Table 4 below. By the time the 2012 Los Angeles
County Lead SIP was submitted to EPA in June of 2012, most compliance
deadlines in South Coast Rule 1420.1 were already in effect.
Table 4--2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP RFP Demonstration
[Emissions in lb/yr]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012 Emissions
(after
Facility 2010 Emissions implementation of 2015 Emissions
(actual emissions) south coast rule
1420.1)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exide........................................ 655.5 \a\ 437.4 <=437.4
Quemetco..................................... 96.2 a b 98.1 a b 107.7
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ Total emissions based on requirements in South Coast Rule 1420.1.
\b\ 2010 emissions were grown based on the growth factor in the South Coast 2007 Air Quality Management Plan.
RFP for Exide is demonstrated through the achievement of a 30
percent emissions reduction (i.e., 655.5 tpy - 437.4 tpy = 218.1 lbs/
yr) resulting from implementation of South Coast Rule 1420.1.
Quemetco's actual emissions in 2010 were 96.21 lbs/year, well below the
422.3 lbs/yr allowed based on requirements in Rule 1420.1.\30\ With
continued implementation of Quemetco's control measures, emissions are
expected to stay well below 422.3 lbs/yr, as indicated in Table 4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\30\ Between 2006 and 2008, Quemetco significantly reduced
actual emissions at their facility. In response to requirements
under California Assembly Bill 2588 (The Air Toxics ``Hot Spots''
Information and Assessment Act), Quemetco submitted a Health Risk
Assessment (HRA) to SCAQMD in December 2005. To reduce toxic
emissions of metals (including lead) and particles identified in the
HRA, Quemetco installed a wet electrostatic precipitator (WESP) that
became fully operational and approved by SCAQMD in October 2008. The
WESP, combined with other facility changes, significantly reduced
lead emissions compared to prior years (e.g., 643 lbs reported by
Quemetco for 2006).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rule 1420.1 was determined to meet RACM (see 78 FR 5305, January
25, 2013 and that determination is affirmed in today's action), and the
emissions reductions resulting from implementation of Rule 1420.1 serve
to meet the RFP requirements of the lead NAAQS.
3. Proposed Action on the RFP Demonstration
We propose to find that the State has demonstrated that the 2012
Los Angeles County Lead SIP meets the requirements of section 172(c)(2)
and relevant EPA guidance for meeting RFP.
F. Contingency Measures
1. Requirements for Contingency Measures
Under CAA section 172(c)(9), all lead attainment plans must include
contingency measures to be implemented if an area fails to meet RFP
(``RFP contingency measures'') and contingency measures to be
implemented if an area fails to attain the lead NAAQS by the applicable
attainment date (``attainment contingency measures''). These
contingency measures must be fully adopted rules or control measures
that are ready to be implemented quickly without significant additional
action by the State or EPA if the area fails to meet RFP requirements
or fails to meet its attainment date. They must also be measures not
relied on to demonstrate RFP or attainment in the plan and should
provide SIP-creditable emissions reductions generally equivalent to
about one year's worth of RFP. Finally, the SIP should contain a
trigger mechanism for the contingency measures and specify a schedule
for their implementation. See CAA section 172(c)(9).
Contingency measures can include federal measures and local
measures already scheduled for implementation that provide emissions
reductions in excess of those needed to provide for RFP or expeditious
attainment. EPA has approved numerous SIPs under this interpretation.
See, e.g., 62 FR 15844, April 3, 1997; 62 FR 66279, December 18, 1997;
66 FR 30811, June 8, 2001; 66 FR 586 and 66 FR 634, January 3, 2001.
EPA recognizes that certain actions, such as the notification of
sources, modification of permits, etc., may be needed before a measure
could be implemented. However, states must show that their contingency
measures can be implemented with only minimal further action on their
part and with no additional rulemaking actions such as public hearings
or legislative review.
After EPA determines that a lead nonattainment area has failed to
[[Page 75303]]
maintain RFP or timely attain the lead NAAQS, EPA generally expects all
actions needed to affect full implementation of the contingency
measures to occur within 60 days after EPA notifies the state of such
failure.\31\ The state should ensure that the measures are fully
implemented as expeditiously as practicable after the requirement takes
effect.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\31\ 73 FR 66964, at p. 67039.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
If a State chooses to implement contingency measures earlier than
would be triggered by a failure to demonstrate RFP or to attain, EPA
does not believe the State needs to adopt additional contingency
measures as a backfill for the early activation of those contingency
measures.\32\ However, if the area fails to demonstrate RFP or to
attain, then the State will need to adopt additional contingency
measures.\33\
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\32\ See Memorandum, G.T. Helms, EPA Office of Air Quality
Planning and Standards, USEPA, to Air Branch Chiefs, EPA Regions I-
X, ``Early Implementation of Contingency Measures for Ozone and
Carbon Monoxide (CO) Nonattainment Areas,'' dated August 13, 1993.
https://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t1/memoranda/19930813_helms_contingency_measures_early_implementation.pdf and EPA's Lead Q&A.
\33\ Ibid.
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2. Contingency Measures in the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP
The attainment plan for the Los Angeles County lead nonattainment
area includes contingency measures to be implemented if the area fails
to meet RFP requirements or to attain by its attainment date. The
contingency measures for the Los Angeles County lead nonattainment area
can be found in Chapter 6 of the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP.\34\
They are described below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\34\ See 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP, pp. 6-3 to 6-14.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCAQMD included facility-specific contingency measures for Exide
and Quemetco in the 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP.\35\ This is
appropriate, given that these sources have historically been the major
cause of NAAQS violations in the Los Angeles County lead nonattainment
area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\35\ See 2012 Los Angeles County Lead SIP, Chapter 6, pages 6-10
through 6-13.
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Exide
For the Exide facility, SCAQMD has submitted conditions 8A and 8B
of the Exide compliance plan that was submitted to SCAQMD on December
20, 2011, and approved by SCAQMD on January 27, 2012 to EPA for
inclusion in the SIP.\36\ These measures state that as of March 31,
2012, if monitored ambient lead concentrations exceed 0.15 [mu]g/m\3\
on a rolling 30-day average at any SCAQMD or SCAQMD-approved ambient
monitor, Exide shall implement, individually or in combination,
mitigation measures to address the specific problem causing the ambient
value to exceed 0.15 [mu]g/m\3\ on a rolling 30-day average.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\36\ See letter, Jay Chen, P.E., Senior Engineering Manager,
Engineering and Compliance, SCAQMD, to Corey Vodvarka, Plant
Manager, Exide Technologies, dated January 27, 2012 and Exide
compliance plan dated December 15, 2011, as modified January 20,
2012 in the docket for today's action.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The specific mitigation measures are described below. The
mitigation measures can be implemented individually or in combination
based on the specific situation surrounding the exceedance of the
trigger concentration.
Condition 8A: Install an additional room ventilation baghouse or
dust collector, equipped with a second stage high efficiency
particulate air (HEPA) filter, with sufficient blower capacity to move
a minimum of 50,000 cubic feet per minute (CFM) of air from one or more
of the following locations:
a. The battery crusher room in the north end of the RMPS building.
b. The truck loading and unloading dock on the south end of the
RMPS building.
c. The furnace room in the smelter building.
d. The cupola feed room in the south end of the smelter building.
As an alternative to adding additional ventilation with individual
baghouses or dust collectors, Exide may install a single larger air
pollution control system with at least 200,000 CFM of blower capacity
to cover all four of these locations.
Condition 8B: Install second stage HEPA filters on one or more of
the following air pollution control systems:
a. The hard lead refinery baghouse (device C47).
b. The soft lead refinery baghouse (device C46).
c. The MAC baghouses venting the RMPS building (devices C156 and
C157).
d. The cupola furnace feed room baghouse (device C48).
According to the requirements of South Coast Rule 1420.1, Exide
must submit these measures to SCAQMD for approval within 15 days of a
triggering occurrence.\37\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\37\ Chen, p. 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
These measures are in addition to the measures specified in South
Coast Rule 1420.1. The trigger mechanism is an ambient lead
concentration exceeding 0.15 [mu]g/m\3\ on a rolling 30-day average,
which is more stringent than a NAAQS violation of 0.15 [mu]g/m\3\ on a
rolling 3-month average.\38\
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\38\ For current information about recent controls that have
been installed or will be installed at Exide see www.aqmd.gov/prdas/AB2588/Exide/Exide.html.
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Quemetco
In accordance with the Helms memo on early implementation of
contingency measures, Quemetco's contingency measure is a control
measure that is not needed for RFP or attainment.\39\ Quemetco has
installed a wet electrostatic precipitator (WESP) device as a secondary
control device for air contaminants such as lead present in the gas
stream as condensable particulates. For Quemetco, the proper design and
operation of the WESP serves as the contingency measure. The WESP has
already been implemented, thus no trigger or implementation schedule is
needed. The WESP goes beyond what is required under South Coast Rule
1420.1, and the reductions provided by the measure are not included in
or needed for the RFP or attainment demonstrations.
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\39\ See footnote 21.
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3. Proposed Action on the Contingency Measures
We propose to find that the State has demonstrated that the 2012
Los Angeles County Lead SIP meets the requirements of section 172(c)(9)
and relevant EPA guidance for contingency measures that would be
triggered for failure to make RFP and for failure to attain.
V. EPA's Proposed Action and Request for Public Comments
A. EPA's Proposed Approvals
For the reasons discussed above, EPA is proposing to approve
California's attainment SIP for the Los Angeles County lead
nonattainment area for the 2008 lead NAAQS. This SIP submittal
addresses CAA requirements and EPA regulations for expeditious
attainment of the 2008 lead NAAQS for the Los Angeles County lead
nonattainment area.
For the reasons discussed in this proposed rulemaking, EPA is
proposing to approve under CAA section 110(k)(3) the following elements
of the South Coast lead attainment SIP:
1. The SIP's base year emissions inventory as meeting the
requirements of CAA section 172(c)(3) and 40 CFR 51.117(e)(1);
2. the attainment demonstration, including air quality modeling,
that demonstrates attainment as expeditiously as practicable, as
meeting
[[Page 75304]]
the requirements of CAA section 172(c)(1);
3. the RACM/RACT demonstration, as meeting the requirements of CAA
section 172(c)(1);
4. the RFP demonstration, as meeting the requirements of CAA
section 172(c)(2);
5. and contingency measures as meeting the requirements of the CAA
section 172(c)(9).
B. Request for Public Comments
We are taking public comments for thirty days following the
publication of this proposed rule in the Federal Register. We will take
all comments into consideration in our final rule.
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP
submittal 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
proposed 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 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, October 7, 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 proposed 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.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: November 26, 2013.
Jared Blumenfeld,
Regional Administrator, EPA Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2013-29583 Filed 12-10-13; 8:45 am]
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