83 FR 6822 - Air Plan Approval; SC; VOC Definition

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 32 (February 15, 2018)

On September 5, 2017, the State of South Carolina, through the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DEHC), submitted changes to the South Carolina State Implementation Plan (SIP). Specifically, the revision pertains to the modification of the definition of ``volatile organic compounds'' (VOCs). EPA is proposing to approve the SIP revision because the State has demonstrated that these changes are consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 32 (Thursday, February 15, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6822-6823]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03079]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2017-0557; FRL-9974-46-Region 4]


Air Plan Approval; SC; VOC Definition

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: On September 5, 2017, the State of South Carolina, through the 
South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC 
DEHC), submitted changes to the South Carolina State Implementation 
Plan (SIP). Specifically, the revision pertains to the modification of 
the definition of ``volatile organic compounds'' (VOCs). EPA is 
proposing to approve the SIP revision because the State has 
demonstrated that these changes are consistent with the Clean Air Act 
(CAA or Act).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before March 19, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2017-0557 at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. EPA may publish any comment 
received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any 
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) 
or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 
Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a 
written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment 
and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. EPA will 
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of 
the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing 
system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment 
policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general 
guidance on making effective comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Wong, Air Regulatory 
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air, 
Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 
30303-8960. The telephone number is (404) 562-8726. Mr. Wong can be 
reached via electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    In this rulemaking, EPA is proposing to approve changes to the 
South Carolina SIP, submitted by the State on September 5, 2017. The 
submission revises Regulation 61-62.1--Definitions and General 
Requirements, by removing the recordkeeping, emissions reporting, 
photochemical dispersion modeling, and inventory requirements for t-
Butyl acetate.
    Tropospheric ozone, commonly known as smog, occurs when VOCs and 
nitrogen oxides (NOX) react with sunlight in the atmosphere. 
Because of the harmful health effects of ozone, EPA limits the amount 
of VOCs and NOX that can be released into the atmosphere. 
VOCs are those compounds of carbon (excluding carbon monoxide, carbon 
dioxide, carbonic acid, metallic carbides or carbonates, and ammonium 
carbonate) that participate in atmospheric photochemical reactions. 
Different VOCs have different levels of reactivity; they do not react 
at the same speed or form ozone to the same extent.
    EPA determines whether a given carbon compound has ``negligible'' 
reactivity by comparing the compound's reactivity to the reactivity of 
ethane. It has been EPA's policy that compounds of carbon with 
negligible reactivity need not be regulated to reduce ozone. See 42 FR 
35314, July 8, 1977. EPA lists these compounds in its regulations at 40 
CFR 51.100(s) and excludes them from the definition of VOC. The 
chemicals on this list are often called ``negligibly reactive.'' EPA 
may periodically revise the list of negligibly reactive compounds to 
add or delete compounds.
    On November 29, 2004 (69 FR 69298), EPA issued a final rule 
revising the definition of VOCs at 40 CFR 51.100(s) by adding tertiary 
butyl acetate (or t-Butyl acetate or TBAC) to the list of compounds 
that are considered to be negligibly reactive and excluded from the 
definition of VOCs. Additionally, on February 25, 2016 (81 FR 9339), 
EPA issued a final rule further revising the definition of VOC at 40 
CFR 51.100(s) by removing the recordkeeping, emissions reporting, 
photochemical dispersion modeling, and inventory requirements for t-
Butyl acetate. EPA removed these requirements in part because there was 
no evidence that TBAC was being used at levels that cause concern for 
ozone formation and because the data that had been collected under 
these requirements had proven to be of limited utility in judging the 
cumulative impacts of exempted compounds.\1\ 81 FR 9339, 9341.
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    \1\ In the 2016 EPA rule, EPA also discussed the efforts 
surrounding any future determinations about the health risks 
associated with TBAC, including noting that data collected through 
the recordkeeping and reporting requirements did not appear relevant 
to any such future determinations and that EPA was assessing the 
health risks from TBAC through its Integrated Risk Information 
System. This effort is on-going and more information regarding 
health risks may be found at EPA's previous 2016 rulemaking (81 FR 
9339, 9341).
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II. EPA's Analysis of South Carolina's SIP Revision

    The State's September 5, 2017, SIP revision removes the 
recordkeeping, emissions reporting, photochemical dispersion modeling, 
and inventory requirements for t-Butyl acetate.\2\ The revision removes 
Regulation 61-62.1 paragraph 100(c). EPA is proposing to approve the 
revision because it is consistent with the definition of VOC at 40 CFR 
51.100(s) and satisfies CAA section 110(l) requirements.
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    \2\ EPA previously approved a SIP revision from South Carolina 
which revised its definition of VOC to add t-Butyl acetate to the 
list of negligibly reactive compounds (72 FR 30704).
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    Pursuant to CAA section 110(l), the Administrator shall not approve 
a revision of a plan if the revision would interfere with any 
applicable requirement concerning attainment and reasonable further 
progress, or any other applicable requirement of the Act. EPA proposes 
to find that the State's removal of the recordkeeping, emissions 
reporting, photochemical dispersion modeling, and inventory 
requirements for t-Butyl acetate is approvable under section 110(l) 
because it reflects changes to Federal regulations based on findings

[[Page 6823]]

that TBAC is negligibly reactive, that there was no evidence that TBAC 
was being used at levels that cause concern for ozone formation, and 
that the data that had been collected under these reporting, 
recordkeeping, modeling, and inventory requirements had proven to be of 
limited utility in judging the cumulative impacts of exempted 
compounds, like TBAC.\3\
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    \3\ This current proposed rulemaking does not, and is not 
intended to, reopen any prior final EPA rulemaking or findings made 
therein, including EPA's 2004 final rule (69 FR 69298) and EPA's 
2016 final rule (81 FR 9339).
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III. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA rule 
regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance 
with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, EPA is proposing to incorporate by 
reference Regulation 61-62.1--Definitions and General Requirements, 
effective August 25, 2017. EPA has made, and will continue to make, 
these materials generally available through www.regulations.gov and at 
the EPA Region 4 office (please contact the person identified in the 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this preamble for more 
information).

IV. Proposed Action

    EPA is proposing to approve South Carolina's September 5, 2017, 
submission submitted by the State of South Carolina through SC DEHC. 
The submission revises Regulation 61-62.1--Definitions and General 
Requirements.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, 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 CAA. This action merely 
proposes to approve state law as meeting Federal requirements and does 
not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. 
For that reason, this proposed action:
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to review 
by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders 12866 (58 
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
     Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2, 
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted 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 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 for South Carolina does not have 
Tribal implications as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, 
November 9, 2000), because it does not have substantial direct effects 
on an Indian Tribe. The Catawba Indian Nation Reservation is located 
within the state of South Carolina. Pursuant to the Catawba Indian 
Claims Settlement Act, S.C. Code Ann. 27-16-120, ``all state and local 
environmental laws and regulations apply to the [Catawba Indian Nation] 
and Reservation and are fully enforceable by all relevant state and 
local agencies and authorities.'' EPA notes this action 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, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 
Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile 
organic compounds.

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

    Dated: February 6, 2018.
Onis ``Trey'' Glenn, III,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2018-03079 Filed 2-14-18; 8:45 am]
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