Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; New York; Gasoline Dispensing, Stage I, Stage II and Transport Vehicles

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; New York; Gasoline Dispensing, Stage I, Stage II and Transport Vehicles

Publication: Federal Register
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
Byline: Lisa Garcia
Date: 9 February 2023
Subjects: American Government

, The Environment, Petroleum

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 27 (Thursday, February 9, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 8371-8373]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02674]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R02-OAR-2022-0169; FRL-9610-02-R2]

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; New York;
Gasoline Dispensing, Stage I, Stage II and Transport Vehicles

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State
Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the State of New York for ozone
concerning the control of volatile organic compounds. The SIP revision
consists of amendments to regulations in New York's Codes, Rules and
Regulations (NYCRR) applicable to gasoline dispensing sites and
transport vehicles. This revision includes regulatory amendments that
eliminate Stage II requirements and strengthen requirements for Stage I
vapor recovery systems at gasoline dispensing facilities, and that
require that transport vehicles meet current Federal United States
Department of Transportation (DOT) requirements. The intended effect of
this action is to approve control strategies, required by the Clean Air
Act, which will result in emission reductions that will help attain and
maintain national ambient air quality standards for ozone and will
reduce volatile organic compounds throughout the State. This action is
being taken pursuant to the Clean Air Act. The EPA proposed to approve
this rule on November 1, 2022, and received no comments.

DATES: This final rule is effective on March 13, 2023.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID Number EPA-R02-OAR-2022-0169. All documents in the docket are
listed on the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in
the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g.,
Confidential Business Information (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 electronically through https://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ysabel Banon, Air Programs Branch,
Environmental Protection Agency, 290 Broadway, New York, New York
10007-1866, at (212) 637-3382, or by email at banon.ysabel@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Comments Received in Response to the EPA's Proposed Action
III. Final Action
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

On November 1, 2022 (87 FR 65714), the EPA published a notice of
proposed rulemaking (NPR) that proposed to approve a SIP revision
submitted by the State of New York on March 3, 2021. The submitted SIP
revision consists of amendments to Title 6 of NYCRR, part 230,
``Gasoline Dispensing Sites and Transport Vehicles.'' These revisions
to 6 NYCRR part 230 eliminate Stage II vapor recovery system
requirements and require the decommissioning of existing Stage II vapor
recovery systems; strengthen Stage I vapor recovery requirements; and
require that transport vehicles meet current Federal United States DOT
requirements. On September 17, 2021, the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) submitted a supplemental analysis,
``New York State Stage II Removal Analysis 2020,'' to demonstrate its
justification of Stage II removal.

Stage I Vapor Recovery Systems

Stage I vapor recovery systems are systems that capture hydrocarbon

[[Page 8372]]

vapors, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), displaced from
storage tanks at gasoline dispensing facilities (GDFs) during gasoline
tank truck deliveries. When gasoline is delivered into an aboveground
or underground storage tank, vapors that were taking up space in the
storage tank are displaced by the gasoline entering the storage tank.
The Stage I vapor recovery systems route these displaced vapors into
the transport vehicle's (delivery truck's) tank. Some vapors are vented
to the atmosphere when the storage tank exceeds a specified pressure
threshold, however, the Stage I vapor recovery systems greatly reduce
the displaced vapors being released into the atmosphere. Stage I vapor
recovery systems have been in place since the 1970s, and the EPA
guidance regarding use of Stage I systems to control VOC emissions from
this source category (gasoline service stations) has been in place
since 1975.\1\
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\1\ See U.S. EPA, ``Design Criteria for Stage I Vapor Control
Systems--Gasoline Service Stations'' (Nov. 1975, EPA Online
Publication EPA-450/R-75-102), available at https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi?Dockey=20013S56.txt; U.S. EPA, ``Control Techniques
Guidelines for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry'' (Nov. 2016 EPA
Online Publication EPA-453/B-16-001), available at https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-10/documents/2016-ctg-oil-and-gas.pdf (providing control techniques guidelines for control of VOC
emissions from the gasoline service station source category); and
U.S. EPA, ``Control of Volatile Organic Compound Leaks from Gasoline
Tank Trunks and Vapor Collection System'' (Dec. 1978 EPA Online
Publication EPA-450/2-78-051), available at https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi?Dockey=2000M9RD.txt (providing guidelines related to
the control of VOC leaks from and test procedures for gasoline tank
trunks and vapor collection systems at terminals, bulk plants and
service stations).
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Stage II Vapor Recovery Systems and Onboard Refueling Vapor Recovery
Systems

Stage II vapor recovery systems 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
and capture the refueling fuel vapors at the gasoline pump. The Stage
II system carries the captured vapors back to an 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 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.\2\
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\2\ 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 actually result in lower overall control
system efficiency than what could have been achieved individually by
either ORVR or the Stage II vapor recovery system.
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A detailed discussion of New York's SIP revision and EPA's
rationale for approval of the SIP revision were provided in the notice
of proposed rulemaking and will not be restated in this final rule. For
this detailed information, the reader is referred to the EPA's November
1, 2022, proposed rulemaking (87 FR 65714).
Attendant revisions to 6 NYCRR section 200, ``General Provisions,''
section 200.9, Table 1, ``Referenced material'', related to 6 NYCRR
part 230 have been addressed under a separate rulemaking at 87 FR
52337, effective September 26, 2022.

II. Comments Received in Response to the EPA's Proposed Action

The EPA provided a 30-day review and comment period for the
November 1, 2022, proposed rule. The comment period ended on December
2, 2022. We received no comments on the EPA's proposed action.

III. Final Action

The EPA is approving New York's March 3, 2021, SIP revision that
incorporates revisions to Title 6 NYCRR, part 230, ``Gasoline
Dispensing Sites and Transport Vehicles,'' with a State effective date
of February 12, 2021. The EPA is approving 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 National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Attendant revisions
to 6 NYCRR part 200, ``General Provisions,'' section 200.9, Table 1,
``Referenced material,'' related to 6 NYCRR part 230 have been
addressed under a separate rulemaking at 87 FR 52337, effective
September 26, 2022.

IV. Incorporation by Reference

In this document, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that
includes incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of
1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the
revised 6 NYCRR part 230, ``Gasoline Dispensing Sites and Transport
Vehicles,'' regulation described in 40 CFR part 52 as discussed in
section I. of this preamble. The EPA has made, and will continue to
make, these materials generally available through www.regulations.gov
and at the EPA Region 2 Office (please contact the person identified in
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this preamble for more
information). Therefore, these materials have been approved by the EPA
for inclusion in the State Implementation Plan, have been incorporated
by reference by the EPA into that plan, are fully federally enforceable
under sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the effective date of the
final rulemaking of the EPA's approval, and will be incorporated by
reference in the next update to the SIP compilation.\3\
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\3\ 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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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 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 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 (Public Law 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);

[[Page 8373]]

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 the 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 it 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).
This action is subject to the Congressional Review Act, and the EPA
will submit a rule report to each House of the Congress and the
Comptroller General of the United States. This action is not a ``major
rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by April 10, 2023. Filing a
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule
does not affect the finality of this action for the purposes of
judicial review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for
judicial review may be filed and shall not postpone the effectiveness
of such rule or action. This action may not be challenged later in
proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See CAA section 307(b)(2)).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Ozone, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

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

Lisa Garcia,
Regional Administrator, Region 2.

For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 40 CFR part 52 is
amended as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart HH--New York

0
2. In Sec. 52.1670, in the table in paragraph (c), revise the entry
for ``Title 6, Part 230'' to read as follows:

Sec. 52.1670 Identification of plan.

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(c) * * *

EPA-Approved New York State Regulations and Laws
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State effective
State citation Title/subject date EPA approval date Comments
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* * * * * * *
Title 6, Part 230............ Gasoline Dispensing 2/12/2021 2/9/2023 EPA approval
Sites and Transport finalized at
Vehicles. [insert Federal
Register citation].

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[FR Doc. 2023-02674 Filed 2-8-23; 8:45 am]
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