National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Solvent Extraction for Vegetable Oil Production

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Proposed rule; amendments.

SUMMARY:

On April 12, 2001 (66 FR 19006), the EPA issued national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for solvent extraction for vegetable oil production under section 112(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA). This action would amend the compliance requirements for vegetable oil production processes that exclusively use a qualifying low-HAP extraction solvent. The amendments are being made to require only the necessary recordkeeping and reporting requirements for facilities using the low-HAP extraction solvent compliance option.

In the Rules and Regulations section of this Federal Register, we are taking direct final action on the proposed amendments because we view the amendments as noncontroversial and anticipate no adverse comments. We have explained our reasons for the amendments in the direct final rule. If we receive no significant adverse comments, we will take no further action on the proposed amendments. If we receive significant adverse comments, we will withdraw only those provisions on which we received significant adverse comments. We will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register indicating which provisions will become effective and which provisions are being withdrawn. If part or all of the direct final rule in the Rules and Regulations section of today's Federal Register is withdrawn, all comments pertaining to those provisions will be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed amendments. We will not institute a second comment period on the subsequent final action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so at this time.

DATES:

Written comments must be received on or before October 1, 2004, unless a hearing is requested by September 13, 2004. If a timely hearing request is submitted, we must receive written comments on or before October 18, 2004.

ADDRESSES:

Comments. Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. OAR-2004-0006, by one of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov . Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
• Agency Web site: http://www.epa.gov/edocket . EDOCKET, EPA's electronic public docket and comment systems, is EPA's preferred method for receiving comments. Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
• E-mail: A-and-R-Docket@epamail.epa.gov
• Fax: 202-566-1741
• Mail: (in duplicate, if possible) to Air and Radiation Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460.
• Hand Delivery: (in duplicate, if possible) to: Air and Radiation Docket, Attention Docket ID Number OAR-2004-0006, U.S. EPA, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room B-108, Washington, DC 20460. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.

We request that a separate copy also be sent to the contact person listed below (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. OAR-2004-0006. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change and may be made available online at http://www.epa.gov/edocket,, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through EDOCKET, regulations.gov, or e-mail. The EPA EDOCKET and the federal regulations.gov websites are “anonymous access” systems, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through EDOCKET or regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public docket visit EDOCKET on-line or see the Federal Register of May 31, 2002 (67 FR 38102). For additional instructions on submitting comments, go to the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the EDOCKET index at http://www.epa.gov/edocket. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically in EDOCKET or in hard copy at the Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room B-102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. A reasonable fee may be charged for copying docket materials. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the Air and Radiation Docket is (202) 566-1742.

Public Hearing. If a public hearing is held, it will be held at 10 a.m. at the EPA facility complex in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina or at an alternate site nearby.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Greg Nizich, U.S. EPA, Waste and Chemical Processes Group (C439-03), Emission Standards Division, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711, telephone number (919) 541-3078, facsimile number (919) 541-3207, electronic mail address: nizich.greg@epa.gov. Questions regarding the applicability of this action to a particular entity should be directed to the appropriate EPA Regional Office representative.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulated Entities. If your facility produces vegetable oil from corn germ, cottonseed, flax, peanuts, rapeseed (for example, canola), safflower, soybeans, or sunflower, it may be a “regulated entity.” Categories and entities potentially regulated by this action include those listed in the following table:

This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a guide for readers regarding entities likely to be regulated by this action. To determine whether your facility is regulated by this action, you should examine the applicability criteria in 40 CFR part 63, subpart GGGG. If you have any questions regarding the applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult the individual described in the preceding FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

Submitting Comments Containing CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through EDOCKET, regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all of the information that you claim to be CBI. (For CBI information in a disk or CD ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD ROM as CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD ROM the specific information that is claimed as CBI). In addition to one complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.

Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments, remember to:

• Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
• Follow directions—The agency may ask you to respond to specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
• Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and substitute language for your requested changes.
• Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information and/or data that you used.
• If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be reproduced.
• Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and suggest alternatives.
• Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of profanity or personal threats.
• Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period deadline identified.

Worldwide Web (WWW). In addition to being available in the docket, an electronic copy of this action will also be available through the WWW. Following signature, a copy of this action will be posted on EPA's Technology Transfer Network (TTN) policy and guidance page for newly proposed or promulgated rules: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg . The TTN at EPA's Web site provides information and technology exchange in various areas of air pollution control. If more information regarding the TTN is needed, call the TTN HELP line at (919) 541-5384.

Public Hearing. Persons interested in presenting oral testimony or inquiring as to whether a hearing is to be held should contact Ms. Willie Russell, Waste and Chemical Processes Group, Emissions Standards Division, (C439-04), Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone number (919) 541-5034, at least 2 days in advance of the potential date of the public hearing. Persons interested in attending the public hearing must also call Ms. Russell to verify the time, date, and location of the hearing. The public hearing will provide interested parties the opportunity to present data, views, or arguments concerning these proposed emissions standards.

Direct Final Rule. A direct final rule identical to the proposal is published in the Rules and Regulations section of today's Federal Register. If we receive any significant adverse comment pertaining to the amendments in the proposal, we will publish a timely notice in the Federal Register informing the public that the amendments are being withdrawn due to adverse comment. We will address all public comments concerning the withdrawn amendments in a subsequent final rule. If no relevant adverse comments are received, no further action will be taken on the proposal and the direct final rule will become effective as provided in that notice.

The regulatory text for this proposal is identical to that for the direct final rule published in the Rules and Regulations section of today's Federal Register. For further supplementary information, see the direct final rule.

Statutory and Executive Order Reviews. The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), as amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., generally requires an agency to prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule subject to notice and comment rulemaking requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act or any other statute unless the Agency certifies that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Small entities include small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions.

For purposes of assessing the impacts of today's proposed rule amendments on small entities, a small entity is defined as: (1) A small business whose parent company has fewer than 750 employees; (2) a small governmental jurisdiction that is a government of a city, county, town, school district or special district with a population of less than 50,000; or (3) a small organization that is any not-for-profit enterprise which is independently owned and operated and is not dominant in its field.

We believe there will be little or no impact on small entities because the purpose of today's proposed amendments is to simplify the rule by limiting the recordkeeping and reporting requirements for facilities utilizing a low-HAP extraction solvent exclusively in the vegetable oil production process. The Administrator certifies that this action will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

For information regarding other administrative requirements for this action, please see the direct final rule located in the Rules and Regulations section of today's Federal Register.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 63

• Environmental protection
• Administrative practice and procedure
• Air pollution control
• Hazardous substances
• Intergovernmental relations
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements