Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; New Hampshire; Decommissioning of Stage II Vapor Recovery Systems

H. Curtis Spalding
Environmental Protection Agency
March 10, 2014

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 46 (Monday, March 10, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13268-13271]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04950]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R01-OAR-2013-0509; A-1-FRL-9906-95-Region 1]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
New Hampshire; Decommissioning of Stage II Vapor Recovery Systems

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the 
State of New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. This 
revision includes regulatory amendments that require the 
decommissioning of Stage II vapor recovery systems at gasoline 
dispensing facilities by December 22, 2015, and a demonstration that 
such removal is consistent with the Clean Air Act and EPA guidance. The 
intended effect of this action is to propose approval of New 
Hampshire's revised vapor recovery regulation.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before April 9, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R01-OAR-2013-0509 by one of the following methods:
    1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    2. Email: arnold.anne@epa.gov.
    3. Fax: (617) 918-0047.
    4. Mail: ``Docket Identification Number EPA-R01-OAR-2013-0509,'' 
Anne Arnold, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England 
Regional Office, Office of Ecosystem Protection, Air Quality Planning 
Unit, 5 Post Office Square--Suite 100, (Mail code OEP05-2), Boston, MA 
02109--3912.
    5. Hand Delivery or Courier. Deliver your comments to: Anne Arnold, 
Manager, Air Quality Planning Unit, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, EPA New England Regional Office, Office of Ecosystem 
Protection, Air Quality Planning Unit, 5 Post Office Square--Suite 100, 
(mail code OEP05-2), Boston, MA 02109-3912. Such deliveries are only 
accepted during the

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Regional Office's normal hours of operation. The Regional Office's 
official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, 
excluding legal holidays.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R01-OAR-
2013-0509. EPA's policy is that all comments received 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 information claimed to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit through www.regulations.gov, or 
email, information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected. 
The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, 
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 email 
comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov your 
email 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.
    Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. 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 www.regulations.gov or 
in hard copy at Office of Ecosystem Protection, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional Office, 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 to 4:30, excluding legal 
holidays.
    In addition, copies of the state submittal are also available for 
public inspection during normal business hours, by appointment at the 
State Air Agency: Air Resources Division, Department of Environmental 
Services, 6 Hazen Drive, P.O. Box 95, Concord, NH 03302-0095.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ariel Garcia, Air Quality Planning 
Unit, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional 
Office, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 100 (mail code: OEP05-2), Boston, 
MA 02109-3912, telephone number (617) 918-1660, fax number (617) 918-
0660, email garcia.ariel@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
    Organization of this document. The following outline is provided to 
aid in locating information in this preamble.

I. Background and Purpose
II. Summary of New Hampshire's Stage II Vapor Recovery Program SIP 
Revision.
III. EPA's Evaluation of New Hampshire's SIP Revision.
IV. Proposed Action.
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews.

I. Background and Purpose

    On June 18, 2013, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental 
Services submitted a revision to its State Implementation Plan (SIP). 
The SIP revision consists of New Hampshire's revised Env-Or 500, 
Recovery of Gasoline Vapors (formerly numbered Env-A 1205), and a 
demonstration that such removal is consistent with the Clean Air Act 
and EPA guidance. Stage II and onboard refueling vapor recovery (ORVR) 
systems are two types of emission control systems that capture fuel 
vapors from vehicle gas tanks during refueling. Stage II vapor recovery 
systems are installed at gasoline dispensing facilities (GDFs) and 
capture the refueling fuel vapors at the gasoline pump. The system 
carries the vapors back to the underground storage tank at the GDF to 
prevent the vapors from escaping to the atmosphere. ORVR systems are 
carbon canisters installed directly on automobiles to capture the fuel 
vapors evacuated from the gasoline tank before they reach the nozzle. 
The fuel vapors captured in the carbon canisters are then combusted in 
the engine when the automobile is in operation.
    Stage II vapor recovery systems and vehicle ORVR systems were 
initially both required by the 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act 
(CAA). Section 182(b)(3) of the CAA requires moderate and above ozone 
nonattainment areas to implement Stage II vapor recovery programs. 
Also, under CAA section 184(b)(2), states in the Ozone Transport Region 
(OTR) are required to implement Stage II or comparable measures. CAA 
section 202(a)(6) required EPA to promulgate regulations for ORVR for 
light-duty vehicles (passenger cars). EPA adopted these requirements in 
1994, at which point moderate ozone nonattainment areas were no longer 
subject to the CAA section 182(b)(3) Stage II vapor recovery 
requirements. ORVR equipment has been phased in for new passenger 
vehicles beginning with model year 1998, and starting with model year 
2001 for light-duty trucks and most heavy-duty gasoline powered 
vehicles. ORVR equipment has been installed on nearly all new gasoline-
powered light-duty vehicles, light-duty trucks, and heavy-duty vehicles 
since 2006.
    During the phase-in of ORVR controls, Stage II has provided 
volatile organic compound (VOC) reductions in ozone nonattainment areas 
and certain attainment areas of the OTR. Congress recognized that ORVR 
systems and Stage II vapor recovery systems would eventually become 
largely redundant technologies, and provided authority to EPA to allow 
states to remove Stage II vapor recovery programs from their SIPs after 
EPA finds that ORVR is in ``widespread use.'' Effective May 16, 2012, 
the date the final rule was published in the Federal Register (see 77 
FR 28772), EPA determined that ORVR systems are in widespread use 
nationwide for control of gasoline emissions during refueling of 
vehicles at GDFs. Currently, more than 75 percent of gasoline refueling 
nationwide occurs with ORVR-equipped vehicles, so Stage II vapor 
recovery programs have become largely redundant control systems and 
Stage II vapor recovery systems achieve an ever declining emissions 
benefit as more ORVR-equipped vehicles continue to enter the on-road 
motor vehicle fleet.\1\ In its May 16, 2012 rulemaking, EPA also 
exercised its authority under CAA section 202(a)(6) to waive certain 
federal statutory requirements for Stage II vapor recovery systems at 
GDFs. This decision

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exempts all new ozone nonattainment areas classified serious or above 
from the requirement to adopt Stage II vapor recovery programs. 
Finally, EPA's May 16, 2012 rulemaking also noted that any state 
currently implementing Stage II vapor recovery programs may submit SIP 
revisions that would allow for the phase-out of Stage II vapor recovery 
systems.
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    \1\ In areas where certain types of vacuum-assist Stage II vapor 
recovery systems are used, the differences in operational design 
characteristics between ORVR and some configurations of these Stage 
II vapor recovery systems result in the reduction of overall control 
system efficiency compared to what could have been achieved relative 
to the individual control efficiencies of either ORVR or Stage II 
emissions from the vehicle fuel tank.
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II. Summary of New Hampshire's Stage II Vapor Recovery Program SIP 
Revision

    New Hampshire adopted its Stage II Vapor Recovery Program in 1992 
in order to satisfy the requirements of sections 182(b)(3) and 
184(b)(2) of the CAA. The New Hampshire Stage II vapor recovery program 
requirements were codified in New Hampshire rule Env-A 1205, Volatile 
Organic Compounds (VOC): Gasoline Dispensing Facilities and Gasoline 
Tank Trucks, and EPA approved the program into the New Hampshire SIP on 
December 7, 1998 (63 FR 67405). New Hampshire's rule required gasoline 
dispensing facilities in Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham, and 
Strafford counties to install Stage II vapor recovery systems. In 
addition, in a SIP revision dated July 9, 1998, New Hampshire 
identified comparable measures (a combination of emission reductions 
from the implementation of Stage II and reformulated gasoline) to meet 
the CAA section 184(b)(2) requirement for a state in the OTR to adopt 
Stage II or comparable measures. EPA approved New Hampshire section 
184(b)(2) Stage II comparability demonstration on September 29, 1999 
(64 FR 52434).
    On June 18, 2013, New Hampshire submitted a SIP revision requesting 
the removal of its Stage II vapor recovery program from the New 
Hampshire SIP. The SIP revision consists of New Hampshire's revised 
regulation Env-Or 500, Recovery of Gasoline Vapors, formerly known as 
Env-A 1205. The revised rule exempts new dispensing facilities from the 
requirements to install Stage II vapor recovery systems and requires 
existing Stage II vapor recovery systems to be decommissioned by 
December 22, 2015.
    The June 18, 2013 SIP revision also includes a narrative 
demonstration supporting the removal of the New Hampshire Stage II 
vapor recovery program. This demonstration consists of an analysis that 
the Stage II vapor recovery controls provide only de minimis emission 
reductions due to the prevalence of ORVR-equipped vehicles. This 
demonstration also highlights that EPA redesignated the ozone 
nonattainment area in southern New Hampshire to attainment for the 1997 
ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) on January 31, 2013 
(78 FR 6741) and that EPA designated the entire state of New Hampshire 
as unclassifiable/attainment for the 2008 ozone NAAQS (77 FR 30088; May 
21, 2012).

III. EPA's Evaluation of New Hampshire's SIP Revision

    EPA has reviewed New Hampshire's revised regulation Env-Or 500, 
Recovery of Gasoline Vapors, and accompanying SIP narrative and has 
concluded that New Hampshire's June 18, 2013 SIP revision is consistent 
with EPA's widespread use rule (77 FR 28772; May 16, 2012) and EPA's 
``Guidance on Removing Stage II Gasoline Vapor Control Programs from 
State Implementation Plans and Assessing Comparable Measures'' (EPA-
457/B-12-001; August 7, 2012), hereafter referred to as EPA's Guidance 
Document.
    New Hampshire's June 18, 2013 SIP revision includes a CAA section 
110(l) anti-back sliding demonstration based on equations in EPA's 
Guidance Document. According to these calculations, the potential loss 
of refueling emission reductions from removing Stage II vapor recovery 
systems in 2012 (the effective date of the regulation amendments) is 
9.36 percent, thus meeting the 10 percent de minimis recommendation in 
EPA's Guidance Document.
    In addition, New Hampshire's ozone redesignation request, which EPA 
approved on January 31, 2013 (78 FR 6741), included a maintenance plan 
with future year emission estimates. The maintenance plan showed that 
estimated VOC and NOx emissions in 2012 and 2022 were less than the 
2008 attainment year VOC and NOx emissions. The anticipated phase-out 
of New Hampshire's Stage II program was included in these emission 
projections. Therefore, the maintenance plan estimates also support the 
position that discontinuing the Stage II program does not interfere 
with maintenance of the ozone NAAQS.
    Finally, New Hampshire's June 18, 2013 SIP revision also includes 
calculations illustrating that the overall emissions effect of removing 
the Stage II vapor recovery program would be an increase of 171 tons in 
2012. EPA's 2011 National Emissions Inventory database, Version 1, 
illustrates that New Hampshire's statewide anthropogenic VOC emissions 
were 44,974 tons (see www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/net/2011inventory.html), 
therefore the 171 annual tons of VOC emissions increase calculated by 
New Hampshire are only about 0.4 percent of the total anthropogenic VOC 
emissions in New Hampshire. Also, these foregone emissions reductions 
in the near term continue to diminish rapidly over time as ORVR phase-
in continues. Therefore, EPA believes that the resulting temporary 
increases in VOC emissions will not interfere with maintenance of the 
ozone NAAQS.

IV. Proposed Action

    EPA is proposing to approve New Hampshire's June 18, 2013 SIP 
revision. Specifically, EPA is proposing to approve the amended New 
Hampshire rule Env-Or 500, Recovery of Gasoline Vapors, and incorporate 
it into the New Hampshire SIP. EPA is proposing to approve this SIP 
revision because it meets all applicable requirements of the Clean Air 
Act and EPA guidance, and it will not interfere with attainment or 
maintenance of the ozone NAAQS.
    EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues discussed in this 
notice or on other relevant matters. These comments will be considered 
before taking final action. Interested parties may participate in the 
Federal rulemaking procedure by submitting written comments to the EPA 
New England Regional Office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this 
Federal Register.

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. 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 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

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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, this 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, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

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

H. Curtis Spalding,
Regional Administrator, EPA New England.
[FR Doc. 2014-04950 Filed 3-7-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P