Proposed Rule2022-10063
Limited Approval, Limited Disapproval of California Air Plan Revisions; California Air Resources Board
Primary source
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Published
May 12, 2022
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a limited approval and limited disapproval of California Code of Regulations, Title 17, Division 3, Chapter 1, Subchapter 10 Climate Change, Article 4, Subarticle 13: Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards for Crude Oil and Natural Gas Facilities (Oil and Gas Methane Rule) into the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from crude oil and natural gas facilities. We are proposing action on a state rule to regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act). We are also proposing to disapprove the reasonably available control technology demonstrations for the 2008 and 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for sources covered by the EPA's 2016 Control Techniques Guidelines for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry (Oil and Gas CTG) for the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD), San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD), South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (VCAPCD), and the Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District (YSAQMD). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 92 (Thursday, May 12, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 92 (Thursday, May 12, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 29103-29105]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-10063]
[[Page 29103]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2022-0416; FRL-9820-01-R9]
Limited Approval, Limited Disapproval of California Air Plan
Revisions; California Air Resources Board
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a
limited approval and limited disapproval of California Code of
Regulations, Title 17, Division 3, Chapter 1, Subchapter 10 Climate
Change, Article 4, Subarticle 13: Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards for
Crude Oil and Natural Gas Facilities (Oil and Gas Methane Rule) into
the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern
emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from crude oil and
natural gas facilities. We are proposing action on a state rule to
regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the
Act). We are also proposing to disapprove the reasonably available
control technology demonstrations for the 2008 and 2015 ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for sources covered by the EPA's
2016 Control Techniques Guidelines for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry
(Oil and Gas CTG) for the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality
Management District (SMAQMD), San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control
District (SJVAPCD), South Coast Air Quality Management District
(SCAQMD), Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (VCAPCD), and
the Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District (YSAQMD). We are taking
comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 13, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2022-0416 at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. For comments submitted at
<a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>, follow the online instructions for submitting
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from
<a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>. The 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. The 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, please contact the person identified in
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the full EPA public
comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and
general guidance on making effective comments, please visit <a href="https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets">https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</a>. If you need assistance in a
language other than English or if you are a person with disabilities
who needs a reasonable accommodation at no cost to you, please contact
the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole Law, EPA Region IX, 75
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 947-4126 or by
email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#670b061049090e04080b022702170649000811"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="9ef2ffe9b0f0f7fdf1f2fbdefbeeffb0f9f1e8">[email protected]</span></a>. Donnique Sherman, EPA Region IX, 75
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 947-4129 or by
email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#790a111c0b141817571d16171710080c1c391c0918571e160f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7c0f14190e111d125218131212150d09193c190c1d521b130a">[email protected]</span></a>. Sina Schwenk-Mueller, EPA Region IX,
75 Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 947-4100 or
by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#81d2e2e9f6e4efeaccf4e4edede4f3afd2e8efe0c1e4f1e0afe6eef7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1c4f7f746b7972775169797070796e324f75727d5c796c7d327b736a">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and
``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. The State's Submittal
A. What did the State submit?
B. Are there other versions of this rule?
C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action
A. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?
B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
C. What are the rule deficiencies?
D. The EPA's Recommendations To Further Improve the Rule
E. Public Comment and Proposed Action
III. Incorporation by Reference
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. The State's Submittal
A. What did the State submit?
Table 1 lists the rule addressed by this proposal with the dates
that it was adopted and submitted by the California Air Resources Board
(CARB).
Table 1--Submitted Rule
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Agency Rule title Adopted Submitted
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CARB....................................... California Code of Regulations, 03/23/2017 12/11/2018
Title 17, Division 3, Chapter 1,
Subchapter 10 Climate Change,
Article 4 Subarticle 13:
Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards
for Crude Oil and Natural Gas
Facilities (Oil and Gas Methane
Rule).
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The submission also contains a staff report evaluating the Oil and
Gas Methane Rule against the Federal RACT standard, and concluding that
the Oil and Gas Methane Rule, in combination with applicable SIP-
approved local air district rules, meets the RACT requirement for 2008
and 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for
sources covered by the EPA's 2016 Control Techniques Guidelines for the
Oil and Natural Gas Industry for SMAQMD, SJVAPCD, SCAQMD,\1\ VCAPCD,
and YSAQMD. On June 11, 2019, the submittal for the Oil and Gas Methane
Rule was deemed by operation of law to meet the completeness criteria
in 40 CFR part 51 Appendix V, which must be met before formal EPA
review.
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\1\ The SCAQMD regulates both the South Coast Air Basin, and the
Riverside County (Coachella Valley) ozone nonattainment areas.
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B. Are there other versions of this rule?
There are no previous versions of the Oil and Gas Methane Rule in
the California SIP.
C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule?
Emissions of VOCs contribute to the production of ground-level
ozone, smog and particulate matter (PM), which harm human health and
the environment. Section 110(a) of the CAA requires states to submit
regulations that control VOC emissions. The Oil and Gas
[[Page 29104]]
Methane Rule establishes methane emission standards for crude oil and
natural gas facilities in furtherance of the California Global Warming
Solutions Act (AB 32, as codified in sections 38500-38599 of the Health
and Safety Code). Because many of the methane controls in the Oil and
Gas Methane Rule also reduce VOC emissions, the Oil and Gas Methane
Rule was submitted into the California SIP as a rule that controls VOC
emissions. The EPA's technical support document (TSD) has more
information about this rule.
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action
A. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?
Rules in the SIP must be enforceable (see CAA section 110(a)(2)),
must not interfere with applicable requirements concerning attainment
and reasonable further progress or other CAA requirements (see CAA
section 110(l)), and must not modify certain SIP control requirements
in nonattainment areas without ensuring equivalent or greater emissions
reductions (see CAA section 193).
Generally, SIP rules must require reasonably available control
technology (RACT) for each category of sources covered by a Control
Techniques Guidelines (CTG) document as well as each major source of
VOCs in ozone nonattainment areas classified as Moderate or above (see
CAA section 182(b)(2)). Five California air districts contain
nonattainment areas classified as Moderate or above for the 2008 or
2015 ozone NAAQS, and contain operations covered by the Oil and Gas
CTG: SMAQMD, SJVAPCD, SCAQMD, VCAPCD, and YSAQMD.\2\ We refer to these
districts collectively as ``applicable local air districts.'' The Oil
and Gas Methane Rule applies statewide, including within the applicable
local air districts. Therefore, this rule must implement RACT.
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\2\ 40 CFR 81.305. See also Staff Report at pp. 1-2.
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Guidance and policy documents that we used to evaluate
enforceability, revision/relaxation, and rule stringency requirements
for the applicable criteria pollutants include the following:
1. ``State Implementation Plans; General Preamble for the
Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990,''
57 FR 13498 (April 16, 1992); 57 FR 18070 (April 28, 1992).
2. ``Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies,
and Deviations,'' EPA, May 25, 1988 (the Bluebook, revised January
11, 1990).
3. ``Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule
Deficiencies,'' EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001 (the Little Bluebook).
4. EPA 453/B-16-001, Control Techniques Guidelines for the Oil
and Natural Gas Industry, October 2016.
B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
The Oil and Gas Methane Rule improves the SIP by establishing
emission limits and by clarifying monitoring, recording and
recordkeeping provisions. The rule is largely consistent with CAA
requirements and relevant guidance regarding enforceability, RACT and
SIP revisions. However, the Oil and Gas Methane Rule contains a number
of deficiencies that preclude full approval. The rule provisions that
do not meet the evaluation criteria are summarized below and discussed
further in the TSD.
C. What are the rule deficiencies?
The Oil and Gas Methane Rule contains several provisions that do
not meet the enforceability or stringency criteria. These provisions do
not satisfy the requirements of section 110 and part D of title I of
the Act and prevent full approval of the SIP revision. Key issues
include insufficiently bounded director's discretion, lack of clearly
specified test methods for some categories of emission sources,
undefined terms, references to undefined district rules, insufficient
reporting and recordkeeping, and a lack of initial and continuous
compliance requirements for some categories of emission sources.
Additionally, the rule may not capture all storage tanks in the oil and
gas sector in the applicable local air districts that are required to
meet RACT; the rule allows delay of leak repairs in several sections;
and there are several exemptions in the rule that may reduce the rule's
stringency. The TSD includes in-depth descriptions of the rule
deficiencies.
In addition, the RACT demonstration for the applicable local air
districts relies on both the Oil and Gas Methane Rule, and the SIP-
approved local rules regulating sources covered by the Oil and Gas CTG.
Some of these rules contain deficiencies that would preclude approval
of the RACT demonstration for these districts, even if the deficiencies
in the Oil and Gas Methane Rule were rectified. These deficiencies are
identified and discussed in the TSD.
D. The EPA's Recommendations To Further Improve the Rule
The TSD includes recommendations for the next time CARB modifies
the rule.
E. Public Comment and Proposed Action
As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA is proposing
a limited approval and limited disapproval of the submitted rule. Even
though the rule has deficiencies, the EPA concludes that the Oil and
Gas Methane Rule would substantially strengthen the SIP. The limited
disapproval for the Oil and Gas Methane Rule is based on the
enforceability and stringency issues identified in section II.C. of
this notice and described in detail in the TSD.
In addition, as authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA
is proposing a disapproval of the RACT demonstrations for the 2008 and
2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for sources
covered by the Oil and Gas CTG for SMAQMD, SJVAPCD, SCAQMD, VCAPCD, and
YSAQMD.
We will accept comments from the public on this proposal until June
13, 2022. If finalized, this action would incorporate the submitted
rule into the SIP, including those provisions identified as deficient.
If we finalize this disapproval, CAA section 110(c) would require the
EPA to promulgate a Federal implementation plan within 24 months unless
we approve subsequent SIP revisions that correct the deficiencies
identified in the final disapproval.
In addition, final disapproval would trigger the offset sanction in
CAA section 179(b)(2) 18 months after the effective date of a final
disapproval, and the highway funding sanction in CAA section 179(b)(1)
six months after the offset sanction is imposed. A sanction will not be
imposed if the EPA determines that a subsequent SIP submission corrects
the deficiencies identified in our final action before the applicable
deadline. The EPA intends to work with the CARB and the applicable
local air districts to correct the deficiencies in a timely manner.
Note that the submitted rule has been adopted by CARB, and the
EPA's final limited disapproval would not prevent the State from
enforcing it. The limited disapproval also would not prevent any
portion of the rule from being incorporated by reference into the
federally enforceable SIP as discussed in a July 9, 1992 EPA memo found
at: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-07/documents/procsip.pdf">https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-07/documents/procsip.pdf</a>.
III. Incorporation by Reference
In this rulemaking, the EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA
rule regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In
accordance with requirements of 1 CFR
[[Page 29105]]
51.5, the EPA is proposing to incorporate by reference the CARB rule
listed in Table 1 and discussed in Section I of this preamble. The EPA
has made, and will continue to make, these materials available through
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and at the EPA Region IX Office (please
contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section of this preamble for more information).
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Additional information about these statutes and Executive orders
can be found at <a href="https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/laws-and-executive-orders">https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/laws-and-executive-orders</a>.
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review
This action is not a significant regulatory action and was
therefore not submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for review.
B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
This action does not impose an information collection burden under
the PRA because this action does not impose additional requirements
beyond those imposed by state law.
C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
I certify that this action will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities under the RFA. This
action will not impose any requirements on small entities beyond those
imposed by state law.
D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
This action does not contain any unfunded mandate as described in
UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 1531-1538, and does not significantly or uniquely affect
small governments. This action does not impose additional requirements
beyond those imposed by state law. Accordingly, no additional costs to
state, local, or tribal governments, or to the private sector, will
result from this action.
E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
This action does not have federalism implications. It will not have
substantial direct effects 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.
F. Executive Order 13175: Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments
This action does not have tribal implications, as specified in
Executive Order 13175, because the SIP is not approved to apply on any
Indian reservation land or in any other area where the EPA or an Indian
tribe has demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction, and will not
impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal
law. Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not apply to this action.
G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental
Health Risks and Safety Risks
The EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 as applying only to those
regulatory actions that concern environmental health or safety risks
that the EPA has reason to believe may disproportionately affect
children, per the definition of ``covered regulatory action'' in
section 2-202 of the Executive order. This action is not subject to
Executive Order 13045 because it does not impose additional
requirements beyond those imposed by state law.
H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect Energy
Supply, Distribution, or Use
This action is not subject to Executive Order 13211, because it is
not a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866.
I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA)
Section 12(d) of the NTTAA directs the EPA to use voluntary
consensus standards in its regulatory activities unless to do so would
be inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise impractical. The EPA
believes that this action is not subject to the requirements of section
12(d) of the NTTAA because application of those requirements would be
inconsistent with the CAA.
J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Population
The EPA lacks the discretionary authority to address environmental
justice in this rulemaking.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: May 4, 2022.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2022-10063 Filed 5-11-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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