Air Plan Approval; Rhode Island; Control of Volatile Organic Compound Emissions, Control of Nitrogen Oxide Emissions, and Sulfur Content of Fuels

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Final rule.

SUMMARY:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Rhode Island. This revision updates Rhode Island Air Pollution Control Regulations (APCRs) for volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, nitrogen oxide (NO_X) emissions, sulfur content in fuel requirements and associated general definitions. The intended effect of this action is to approve the revised regulations. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act.

DATES:

This rule is effective September 12, 2018.

ADDRESSES:

EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket Identification No. EPA-R01-OAR-2018-0098. All documents in the docket are listed on the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are available at https://www.regulations.gov or at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Region 1, Office of Ecosystem Protection, Air Quality Planning Unit, 5 Post Office Square—Suite 100, Boston, MA. EPA requests that if at all possible, you contact the contact listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding legal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David L. Mackintosh, Air Quality Planning Unit, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Region 1, 5 Post Office Square—Suite 100, (Mail code OEP05-2), Boston, MA 02109-3912, tel. 617-918-1584, email Mackintosh.David@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Throughout this document whenever “we,” “us,” or “our” is used, we mean EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Background and Purpose

II. Response to Comments

III. Final Action

IV. Incorporation by Reference

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background and Purpose

On June 15, 2018 (83 FR 25981), EPA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for the State of Rhode Island. In the NPRM, EPA proposed approval of SIP revisions submitted by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RI DEM) on February 10, 2017. This SIP submittal included six revised Air Pollution Control Regulations (APCRs): No. 8, “Sulfur Content of Fuels;” No. 19, “Control of Volatile Organic Compounds from Surface Coating Operations;” No. 27, “Control of Nitrogen Oxides Emissions;” No. 35, “Control of Volatile Organic Compounds and Volatile Hazardous Air Pollutants from Wood Products Manufacturing Operations;” No. 36, “Control of Emissions from Organic Solvent Cleaning;” and General Definitions.

The NPRM provides the rationale for EPA's proposed approval, which will not be restated here.

II. Response to Comments

EPA received two anonymous comments in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking. The comments address subjects outside the scope of the proposed action, did not explain (or provide a legal basis for) how the proposed action should differ in any way, and made no specific mention of the proposed action. Therefore, the comments are not germane and EPA provides no further response.

III. Final Action

EPA is approving the February 10, 2017 RI DEM SIP submittal consisting of the six revised APCRs: No. 8, “Sulfur Content of Fuels” (with the exception of sections 8.7 and 8.8.3); No. 19, “Control of Volatile Organic Compounds from Surface Coating Operations” (with the exception of sections 19.2.2 and 19.9.2); No. 27, “Control of Nitrogen Oxides Emissions” (with the exception of section 27.7.3); No. 35, “Control of Volatile Organic Compounds and Volatile Hazardous Air Pollutants from Wood Products Manufacturing Operations” (with the exception of sections 35.2.3 and 35.9.3); No. 36, “Control of Emissions from Organic Solvent Cleaning” (with the exception of sections 36.2.2 and 36.14.2); and General Definitions (with the exception of the provision entitled “Application” under the “General Provisions”).

IV. Incorporation by Reference

In this rule, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the Rhode Island regulations described in the amendments to 40 CFR part 52 set forth below. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these documents generally available through https://www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region 1 Office (please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this preamble for more information). Therefore, these materials have been approved by EPA for inclusion in the State implementation plan, have been incorporated by reference by EPA into that plan, are fully federally enforceable under sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the effective date of the final rulemaking of EPA's approval, and will be incorporated by reference in the next update to the SIP compilation.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and applicable Federal regulations. See 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. Accordingly, this action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. For that reason, this action:

• Is not a significant regulatory action subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
• This action is not an Executive Order 13771 regulatory action because this action is not significant under Executive Order 12866;
• Does not impose an information collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
• Is certified as not having a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
• Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
• Does not have Federalism implications as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
• Is not an economically significant regulatory action based on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997);
• Is not a significant regulatory action subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
• Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent with the Clean Air Act; and
• Does not provide 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, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian reservation land or in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian country, the rule does not have tribal implications and will not impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).

The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United States. EPA will submit a report containing this action and other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register. This action is not a “major rule” as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by October 12, 2018. Filing a petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect the finality of this action for the purposes of judicial review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or action. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

• Environmental protection
• Air pollution control
• Incorporation by reference
• Intergovernmental relations
• Nitrogen dioxide
• Ozone
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements
• Sulfur oxides
• Volatile organic compounds

Part 52 of chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as follows:

PART 52—APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart OO—Rhode Island

2. In § 52.2070(c), the table is amended by revising the entries for “Air Pollution Control General Definitions Regulation”, “Air Pollution Control Regulation 8”, “Air Pollution Control Regulation 19”, “Air Pollution Control Regulation 27”, “Air Pollution Control Regulation 35”, and “Air Pollution Control Regulation 36” to read as follows: