[Federal Register: June 21, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 119)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 34207-34209]
[DOCID:fr21jn07-11]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2007-0450; FRL-8329-6]

Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Delaware; Open Burning

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP)
revision submitted by the State of Delaware. This SIP revision pertains
to the amendments of Delaware's open burning regulation. This action is
being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before July 23, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2007-0450 by one of the following methods:
    A. http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for

submitting comments.
    B. E-mail<EMAIL_ADDRESS>    C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2007-0450, Christopher Cripps, Acting Chief,
Air Quality Planning Branch, Mailcode 3AP21, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania 19103.
    D. Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region III address.
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-
2007-0450. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change, and may be made available online
at http://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 information that you consider to
be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail.

The http://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 e-
mail comment directly to EPA without going through http://www.regulations.gov,

your e-mail 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
http://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 http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy during normal

business hours at the Air Protection Division, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of the State submittal are available at the
Delaware Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Control, 89
Kings Highway, P.O. Box 1401, Dover, Delaware 19901.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rose Quinto,<PHONE_NUMBER>, or by e-
mail at<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On May 2, 2007, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and
Environmental Control (DNREC) submitted a revision to its SIP for
Regulation No. 1113--Open Burning. The SIP revision includes (1)
Expanding the open burning ban from New Castle and Kent Counties to
statewide; (2) expanding the open burning ban from June 1 through
August 31 in the current regulation to May 1 through September 30; and
(3) to clarify the prohibitions in the existing regulation and their
interaction with other applicable laws and regulations.

II. Summary of SIP Revision

    Delaware's Open Burning Regulation, Regulation No. 1113, applies to
all open burning activities in the State of Delaware which includes the
counties of New Castle, Kent and Sussex. The following are the
prohibitions and provisions of open burning activities in the State of
Delaware during May 1 through September 30:
    (1) The regulation prohibits leaf and refuse burning statewide.
    (2) The regulation allows the following without permission from
DNREC: domestic burning of branches and limbs from trees and shrubs
statewide; and agricultural burning statewide to cultivate and/or
prepare soil for the production of crops or the support of livestock.
    (3) The regulation requires permission from DNREC for the following
types of open burning: prescribed burning for conservation practices,
wildlife habitat management, or plant, pest or disease control; and
burning of wooden buildings for fire fighting instruction conducted by
authorized fire companies.
    (4) Commercial operations are not permitted to burn for disposal,
e.g. burning of tree limbs, stumps as a result of land clearing, and
construction debris.
    (5) All allowable types of burning can be conducted between the
hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Approval can be obtained from DNREC to burn
outside of those hours for reasons of safety, smoke reduction or a more
efficient or complete burn.
    (6) The following types of burning are exempt from the regulation,
and can be conducted at any time: cooking fires; recreational fires;
ceremonial fires; emergency signaling flares; backburning to suppress
wildfires; and fire fighting instruction conducted by the Delaware
State Fire School.

III. Proposed Action

    EPA is proposing to approve the Delaware SIP revision for
Regulation No. 1113--Open Burning submitted on May 2, 2007. This
regulation will result in the control of volatile organic compound
(VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) emissions by establishing
rules for open burning activities in the State of Delaware during the
ozone season. EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues discussed
in this document. These comments will be considered before taking final
action.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this
proposed action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and
therefore is not subject to review by the Office of Management and
Budget. For this reason, this action is also not subject to Executive
Order 13211, ``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect
Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355 (May 22, 2001)).
This action merely proposes to approve State law as meeting Federal
requirements and imposes no additional requirements beyond those
imposed by state law. Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that
this proposed rule will not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because this rule proposes to approve pre-
existing requirements under State law and does not impose any
additional enforceable duty beyond that required by State law, it 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). This proposed rule also does not have a
substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the
relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on
the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal
Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65
FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor will it 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, as specified
in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999), because it
merely proposes to approve a state rule implementing a Federal
requirement, and does not alter the relationship or the distribution of
power and responsibilities established in the Clean Air Act. This
proposed rule also is not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997), because it approves a state rule implementing a
Federal standard.
    In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. In
this context, in the absence of a prior existing requirement for the
State to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority
to disapprove a SIP submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be
inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a SIP
submission, to use VCS in place of a SIP submission that otherwise
satisfies the provisions of the Clean Air Act. Thus, the requirements
of section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply. As required by section 3
of Executive Order 12988 (61 FR 4729, February 7, 1996), in issuing
this proposed rule, EPA has taken the necessary steps to eliminate
drafting errors and ambiguity, minimize potential litigation, and
provide a clear legal standard for affected conduct. EPA has complied
with Executive Order 12630 (53 FR 8859, March 15, 1988) by examining
the takings implications of the rule in accordance with the ``Attorney
General's Supplemental Guidelines for the Evaluation of Risk and
Avoidance of Unanticipated Takings'' issued under the executive order.
    This proposed rule pertaining to Delaware's Open Burning
Regulation, does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et
seq.).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Nitrogen dioxide,
Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic
compounds.

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

    Dated: June 12, 2007.
Donald S. Welsh,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
 [FR Doc. E7-12051 Filed 6-20-07; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


I. National Technology Transfer Advancement Act As noted in the proposed rule, Section 12( d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (" NTTAA"), Pub L. No. 104 113, § 12( d) ( 15 U. S. C. 272 note) directs EPA to use voluntary consensus standards in its regulatory activities unless to do so would be inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise impractical. Voluntary consensus standards are technical standards ( e. g., materials specifications, test methods, sampling procedures, and business practices) that are developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies. The NTTAA directs EPA to provide Congress, through OMB, explanations when the Agency decides not to use available and applicable voluntary consensus standards. This action does not involved technical standards. Therefore, EPA did not consider the use of any voluntary consensus standards.

J. Congressional Review Act The Congressional Review Act, 5 U. S. C. § 801 et seq., as added by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United States. EPA will submit a report containing this rule and other required information to the U. S. Senate, the U. S. House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A Major rule cannot take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register. This action is not a " major rule" as defined by 5 U. S. C. § 804( 2). This rule will be effective on January 1, 2005.

Dated: December 17, 2004 Michael O. Leavitt, Administrator For the reasons stated in the preamble, 40 CFR part 82 is amended as follows:

PART 82 PROTECTION OF STRATOSPHERIC OZONE [ insert finalized reg text here]