Air Plan Approval; ME; Motor Vehicle Fuel Requirements |
|---|
|
Deborah A. Szaro
Environmental Protection Agency
8 May 2017
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 87 (Monday, May 8, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 21346-21347]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-09181]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R01-OAR-2015-0648; FRL-9961-24-Region 1]
Air Plan Approval; ME; Motor Vehicle Fuel Requirements
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the
State of Maine on August 28, 2015. The SIP revision includes a revised
motor vehicle fuel volatility regulation that has been updated to be
consistent with existing federal regulations which require retailers to
sell reformulated gasoline (RFG) in the counties of York, Cumberland,
Sagadahoc, Androscoggin, Kennebec, Knox, and Lincoln, as of June 1,
2015. The intended effect of this action is to propose approval of this
amendment into the Maine SIP. This action is being taken under the
Clean Air Act.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before June 7, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R01-
OAR-2015-0648 at http://www.regulations.gov, or via email to
rogan.john@epa.gov. For comments submitted at Regulations.gov, follow
the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted,
comments cannot be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. For either
manner of submission, 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 http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Rogan, Air Quality Planning Unit,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, New England Regional Office, 5
Post Office Square--Suite 100, (Mail code OEP05-2), Boston, MA 02109-
3912, telephone (617) 918-1645, facsimile (617) 918-0645, email
rogan.john@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. Maine's Revisions to Its Chapter 119 Motor Vehicle Fuel
Volatility Limits
III. EPA's Evaluation of Maine's SIP Revision
IV. Proposed Action
V. Incorporation by Reference
VI. Removal of Maine's Gasoline Volatility Requirements in Southern
Maine--Impacts on the Boutique Fuels List
VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background and Purpose
On August 28, 2015, the Maine Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) submitted to the EPA a revision to its State
Implementation Plan (SIP). The SIP revision consists of Maine's revised
Chapter 119 Motor Vehicle Fuel Volatility Limits. Chapter 119 was
revised to require retailers to sell reformulated gasoline (RFG) in the
counties of York, Cumberland, Sagadahoc, Androscoggin, Kennebec, Knox,
and Lincoln (hereinafter, the ``Southern Maine Counties'') effective
June 1, 2015. RFG is gasoline that is blended to burn more cleanly as
compared to conventional gasoline. This regulation was revised to be
consistent with existing federal regulations at 40 CFR part 80, subpart
D.
In April, 2013, the Maine Legislature enacted Public Law 2013 c.221
calling for the use of RFG in the Southern Maine Counties beginning May
1, 2014. On July 23, 2013, the Governor of Maine formally requested,
pursuant to Clean Air Act (CAA) section 211(k)(6)(B), that the EPA
extend the requirement for the sale of RFG to these counties beginning
on May 1, 2014. The Maine legislature subsequently enacted an emergency
law, Public Law 2013 c.452, effective March 6, 2014, to postpone the
requirement for the sale of RFG in the Southern Maine Counties until
June 1, 2015. Pursuant to that legislation, the Commissioner of the
Maine DEP submitted a request to the EPA on March 10, 2014, modifying
Maine's request for the implementation date for the sale of RFG in the
Southern Maine Counties to coincide with the new June 1, 2015 effective
date.
Per Maine's request, the EPA extended the requirements of the RFG
program to the Southern Maine Counties. The final rule, Regulation of
Fuels and Fuel Additives: Extension of the Reformulated Gasoline
Program to Maine's Southern Counties, was published in the Federal
Register on February 6, 2015 (80 FR 6658).
II. Maine's Revisions to Its Chapter 119 Motor Vehicle Fuel Volatility
Limits
On August 28, 2015, the Maine DEP submitted to EPA a SIP revision
containing Maine's revised Chapter 119 Motor Vehicle Fuel Volatility
Limits rule adopted on May 21, 2015. The rule's prohibition on selling
or dispensing motor vehicle fuel having a Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP)
greater than 7.8 pounds per square inch (psi), in the Southern Maine
Counties, during the period of May 1 through September 15 was revised
to apply through September 15 of 2014, and a new provision, requiring
retailers who sell gasoline in the Southern Maine Counties to only sell
RFG in those counties year round, was added to the rule. The revisions
to Chapter 119 maintain the 9.0 psi maximum RVP requirement in the
reminder of the State during the period of May 1 through September 15
each year.
III. EPA's Evaluation of Maine's SIP Revision
EPA previously approved Maine's Chapter 119 into the Maine SIP on
March 6, 2002 (67 FR 10100). EPA has reviewed Maine's revised Chapter
119 Motor Vehicle Fuel Volatility Limits rule and has concluded that
Maine's August 28, 2015 SIP revision is consistent with the anti-back
sliding requirements of CAA section 110(l). The previous version of
Chapter 119 currently in the Maine SIP states that in the Southern
Maine Counties ``no owner or operator shall dispense, sell, or supply
as fuel for motor vehicles a gasoline having a RVP greater than 7.8 psi
during the period of May 1 through September 15 of each year.'' The
revised rule instead requires RFG in the Southern Maine Counties year-
round beginning June 1, 2015, without the 7.8 psi RVP requirement, and
maintains the 9.0 psi RVP requirement in the reminder of the State.
Requiring a lower RVP for fuels means less evaporative emissions, and
therefore removal of such a
[[Page 21347]]
requirement might be of concern. In this case, however, although the
low RVP requirement for the Southern Maine Counties has been removed,
it has been replaced with a requirement for the sale of RFG. The
requirement for RFG, in practice, results in a similar RVP for the
fuel. Specifically, an analysis of summer time RFG for 2011-2015
indicates an annual average RVP between 7.01 and 7.13 psi, with a
standard deviation of approximately 0.19 psi.\1\ Therefore, Maine's
revised Chapter 119 meets the CAA section 110(l) anti-back sliding
requirements and EPA is proposing to approve the revised regulation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See EPA memorandum, ``Volatility of Reformulated Gasoline''
(October 3, 2016), available in the docket for today's action.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
IV. Proposed Action
EPA is proposing to approve Maine's August 28, 2015 SIP revision.
Specifically, EPA is proposing to approve, and incorporate into the
Maine SIP, Maine's revised Chapter 119 Motor Vehicle Fuel Volatility
Limits rule. EPA is proposing to approve this SIP because it meets all
applicable requirements of the CAA and relevant EPA guidance, and it
will not interfere with any applicable requirement concerning National
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) attainment and reasonable further
progress or with any other applicable requirement in the Clean Air Act.
V. Incorporation by Reference
In this rule, 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 51.5, the EPA is proposing to incorporate by
reference the Maine regulation referenced in Section IV. of this
preamble. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these documents
generally available electronically through http://www.regulations.gov
and/or in hard copy at the appropriate EPA office.
VI. Removal of Maine's Gasoline Volatility Requirements in Southern
Maine--Impacts on the Boutique Fuels List
Section 1541(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 required EPA in
consultation with the U.S. Department of Energy to determine the number
of fuels programs approved into all SIPs as of September 1, 2004 and to
publish a list of such fuels. On December 28, 2006, EPA published the
list of boutique fuels. (See 71 FR 78192.) EPA maintains the current
list of boutique fuels on its Web site at: https://www.epa.gov/gasoline-standards/state-fuels. The final list of boutique fuels was
based on a fuel type approach. CAA section 211(c)(4)(C)(v)(III)
requires that EPA remove a fuel from the published list if it is either
identical to a federal fuel or is removed from the SIP in which it is
approved. Under the adopted fuel type approach, EPA interpreted this
requirement to mean that a fuel would have to be removed from all SIPs
in which it was approved in order for it to be removed from the list.
(See 71 FR 78195)
The 7.8 psi RVP fuel program, which is approved into Maine's SIP,
is a fuel type that is included in EPA's boutique fuel list, 71 FR
78198-99; (https://www.epa.gov/gasoline-standards/state-fuels) and the
specific counties in Southern Maine where the 7.8 psi RVP gasoline was
required are identified on EPA's Gasoline Reid Vapor Pressure Web page
(https://www.epa.gov/gasoline-standards/gasoline-reid-vapor-pressure).
If today's proposed approval of the removal of Maine's 7.8 psi RVP
requirement from the State's SIP is subsequently granted final
approval, EPA intends to update the State Fuels and Gasoline Reid Vapor
Pressure Web pages on the effective date of the removal. While EPA
intends to delete the entry for Maine from the list of boutique fuels,
this would not result in an opening on the boutique fuels list because
the 7.8 psi RVP fuel type remains in other state SIPs.
VII. 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 Orders 12866 (58
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
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).
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.
Dated: March 21, 2017.
Deborah A. Szaro,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA New England.
[FR Doc. 2017-09181 Filed 5-5-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P