NOTICES
INDEPENDENT REGULATORY REVIEW COMMISSION
Notice of Comments Issued
[29 Pa.B. 1454] The Independent Regulatory Review Commission (Commission) issued the following comments. The comment period is now closed. The final regulation must be submitted by the dates indicated:
Final-Form Reg. Submission No. Agency/Title Issued Deadline 7-334 Environmental Quality Board
Mobile Equipment Repair and Refinishing (Notice of proposed rulemaking published at 28 Pa.B. 4867 (September 26, 1998))2/25/99 12/10/00 7-341 Environmental Quality Board
Gasoline Volatility Requirements
(Notice of proposed rulemaking published at 28 Pa.B. 4792 (September 26, 1998))2/25/99 12/2/00 49-1 PA Municipal Retirement Board
Revisions to Rules and Regulations
(Notice of proposed rulemaking published at 28 Pa.B. 5249 (October 17, 1998))3/1/99 11/16/00
Environmental Quality Board Regulation No. 7-334
Mobile Equipment Repair and Refinishing
February 25, 1999We have reviewed this proposed regulation from the Environmental Quality Board (Board) and submit for your consideration the following objections and recommendations. Subsections 5.1(h) and 5.1(i) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(h) and (i)) specify the criteria the Commission must employ to determine whether a regulation is in the public interest. In applying these criteria, our Comments address issues that relate to economic impact, need, reasonableness and clarity. We recommend that these Comments be carefully considered as you prepare the final-form regulation.
In the preamble to the proposed rulemaking, the Department of Environmental Protection (Department) requested comment on:
1) The application of the proposal to all facilities, regardless of size and amount of material used;
2) The use of a general permit as a permitting mechanism, as well as the possible use of a permit by rule for smaller facilities; and
3) Whether all provisions should apply to rural areas of the Commonwealth where volatile organic compound (VOC) reductions may not have a significant impact on attainment.
Our Comments will address these issues as well as the proposed regulations.
1. Statewide Permitting for Mobile Equipment Repair and Refinishing--Reasonableness
The amendments to Chapter 127 require Statewide permitting for mobile equipment repair and refinishing facilities (facilities). The purpose is to establish controls on the VOC emissions from such facilities.
Seven counties in the Southwest and the five-county Philadelphia area in the Southeast are nonattainment areas for the health-based standard for ozone. The proposal was developed as one result of stakeholder working groups established in those nonattainment areas. Both the Southeastern and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Working Group recommended strategies for ozone attainment and maintenance based on health-based standards and the requirements of the Clean Air Act. Is it reasonable then to require permitting Statewide? Does all of Pennsylvania exceed the health-based standard for ground-level ozone?
How will permitting of facilities Statewide help achieve the goal of health-based attainment levels in the nonattainment areas? Adopting this measure for noncompliance regions only, similar to the approach taken for the Vehicle Emission Programs, would seem to be more cost effective. If the Statewide permit requirement is maintained in the final-form regulation, the Board should explain how a Statewide requirement is beneficial in reaching the health-based standard for ozone in the nonattainment areas.
2. Permit by Rule as an Alternative to the General Permit--Need
A general permit would require each facility to apply for and meet the requirements of the general permit. A permit by rule would allow smaller facilities to be deemed to have a permit by just meeting the requirements of the regulation.
Is a general permit application really necessary for smaller facilities? Would all the information required in the general permit be necessary from the smaller facilities. We recommend the Board allow permit by rule for smaller facilities. This could be based on size, such as one to two bays, or the amount of coatings consumed at the facility.
3. Section 129.75(e). Allowable Content of VOCs in Mobile Equipment Repair and Refinishing Coatings--Clarity
Section 129.75(e) establishes the allowable VOC content of automobile coatings. Table III in Subsection (e) contains the standards for specific coating categories.
The Regulatory Analysis Form (RAF) indicates the proposed regulations are consistent with the proposed Federal limits on VOCs in automobile refinish materials. However, there are some differences between the proposed regulation and recently adopted Federal changes.
We recommend the Board update the standards in Table III to be consistent with the categories and amounts published by the Environmental Protection Agency in its final regulation (63 FR 48808 and 48819) published in the Federal Register on September 11, 1998.
4. Section 129.75(k)(3). Minimization of Spills--Clarity
Section 129.75(k) contains housekeeping, pollution prevention and training measures. Subsection (k)(3) requires the facility owner and operator to use handling and transfer procedures that ''shall minimize spills'' during transfer of refinishing products. This requirement is vague. The Board should include the procedures it expects facilities to implement in order to ''minimize'' spills. For instance, the Board could include using spouts on larger containers, maintaining covers on containers when not in use, etc.
5. Section 129.75(k)(4). Training--Clarity
Section 129.75(k)(4) requires the facility owner or operator to ''ensure that a person who applies mobile equipment repair and refinishing coatings has completed training'' in the proper use and handling of equipment and products.
The training requirement is vague. How will the owner or operator know when their employees have ''completed training?'' How much training, i.e. how many hours, are required? What are the standards for the quality and content of the training? The Board should provide more specific requirements as well as a method of validation, i.e. testing or records of employee training in handling and applying materials.
6. Section 129(i)(3). Touch-up Repair--Clarity
Section 129(i) lists exemptions for the application equipment requirements in Subsections (g) and (h). Subsection (i)(3) exempts the application of touch-up and repair finish materials by brush. However, Sections 129(g) and (h) list ''brushcoating'' as a covered activity. The Board should clarify how ''brush coating'' differs from ''touch-up and repair by brush.''
7. Section 129.75(l). Permit Fees--Economic Impact and Clarity
The proposal requires owners or operators of a facility to apply for a permit in accordance with Chapter 127. Facilities vary in size from one bay to very large operations. How will the cost of the permit be determined? Is the size of a facility and its ability to emit VOCs considered?
Section 129.75(l) provides that facilities shall apply for a permit in accordance with Chapter 127. The Regulatory Analysis Form indicates the fee will be $250. This amount is consistent with the operating permit fee provisions of Section 127.703(b). However, Section 127.703(d) states the Department may establish application fees for general operating permits at the time the general permit is issued which do not exceed the other fees contained in Section 127.703.
Since the Board anticipates using general permits for these facilities, we recommend the Board specify the amount of the permit fees in its final-form regulation. The Board should also explain whether the same application fee would be applied to all sizes of facilities. We further recommend that the Board demonstrate that the permit fee is consistent with the cost of permitting and compliance activity of the Department.
8. Enforcement and Penalties--Clarity
The proposal does not specify the manner of enforcement or the penalties for failing to meet its provisions. We recommend the Board address enforcement and penalties in the final-form regulation through a reference to the applicable provision in existing regulations, or through the addition of specific provisions to this subchapter.
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Environmental Quality Board Regulation No. 7-341
Gasoline Volatility Requirements
February 25, 1999We have reviewed this proposed regulation from the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) and submit for your consideration the following objections and recommendations. Subsections 5.1(h) and 5.1(i) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5a (h) and (i)) specify the criteria the Commission must employ in determining whether a regulation is in the public interest. In applying these criteria, our Comments address issues that relate to economic impact and reasonableness of the regulation. We recommend that these Comments be carefully considered as you prepare the final-form regulation.
Section 126.302. Recordkeeping and reporting--Reasonableness and Economic Impact
The existing Subsection (c) requires each person in the gasoline distribution network to maintain compliance records for at least two years from the date of sale or transfer of the compliant fuel. The EQB proposes to amend that provision to also require the same records be kept on site at each point in the distribution network. Commentators have recommended that this amendment be modified to allow records to be kept at other, more central locations (e.g., at a supplier or a district office). Such records could be furnished within a reasonable time following a request for them.
We agree that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) may need immediate access to certain site records during the ozone season to confirm whether the gasoline in use, storage or transmission complies with applicable low Reid vapor pressure standards. On the other hand, the two-year duration of the proposed new requirement could impose additional and unnecessary recordkeeping costs on the regulated industry.
We recommend the regulation be further amended to require records be kept on site only for the duration of the current ozone season (i.e., either from May 1 to September 15, or from June 1 to September 15). The regulation should also be amended to require that the records be retained after the ozone season at a designated central location for the remainder of the two-year retention period.
Such further amendments will make Subsection (c) more reasonable and reduce its economic impact on the regulated community. If there is a need for records to be kept on site on a year round basis, the EQB should explain the reason in its response as part of the final-form rulemaking.
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Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement Board Regulation No. 49-1
Revisions to Rules and Regulations
March 1, 1999We have reviewed this proposed regulation from the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement Board (Board) and submit for your consideration the following objections and recommendations. Subsections 5.1(h) and 5.1(i) of the Regulatory Review Act specify the criteria the Commission must employ to determine whether a regulation is in the public interest. In applying these criteria, our Comments address issues that relate to clarity. We recommend that these Comments be carefully considered as you prepare the final-form regulation.
Section 81.2. Applicability of regulations. Clarity
This section provides that Chapters 81, 83, 85, 87 and 91 are equally applicable under all articles of the law. However, the Board is deleting Chapters 85 and 87. For this reason, the references to Chapters 85 and 87 should be deleted from the language of this section.
Section 81.9. Management and investment of fund; interest credits. Clarity
Subsection (b) provides that to facilitate the purchase and sale of securities, the Board may establish a ''nominee registration process.'' It is not clear from the proposed language what a ''nominee registration process'' is. We understand that the Board, in conjunction with the State Treasurer's Office, registers securities for purchase and sale. We recommend that the Board include a brief explanation or define the term ''nominee registration process'' in the final-form regulation.
Section 81.10. Withdrawal provisions. Clarity
The Board is deleting the provisions pertaining to the application process that municipalities must follow in order to withdraw their plans in Section 83.14. However, Section 81.10 refers to the application process without specifying any of the procedures. The Board should clearly specify the procedures that municipalities must follow in order to formally withdraw their plans in the Board's regulations. The Board could satisfy this concern by providing a cross-reference to Section 881.214 (53 P. S. § 881.214) of the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement Law in Section 81.10 which provides the withdrawal requirements for the municipalities.
Additionally, Subsection (a) is very lengthy. Because it is difficult to follow the Board's intent, we recommend that the Board clarify this section in the final-form regulation. For example, it could be restated as follows:
(a) Applications for withdrawal pursuant to Section 881.214 (53 P. S. § 881.214) of the Law must be approved by the Board. If the application is approved, the Board may require:
1) The withdrawing municipality to enter into a written agreement with the Board which would terminate its contractual relationship with the Board and fix the respective rights of the parties;
2) The withdrawing municipality to obtain individual waivers or releases from affected members, who will no longer be eligible for benefits.
Since the language in Subsection (b) indicates the requirements for the withdrawal application, the Board should consider placing Subsection (b) before the lan-guage in Subsection (a) which relates to withdrawal applications approved by the Board.
JOHN R. MCGINLEY, Jr.,
Chairperson
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 99-436. Filed for public inspection March 12, 1999, 9:00 a.m.]
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