[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 94 (Monday, May 17, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26743-26745]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-12370]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[AD-FRL-6343-6]
RIN 2060-AI52
National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants:
Revision of Schedule for Standards Under Section 112 of the Clean Air
Act
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of revisions to promulgation schedule for standards.
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SUMMARY: This notice publishes revisions to the schedule for the
promulgation of standards for sources of hazardous air pollutants
(HAP). Required under section 112(c) and (e) of the Clean Air Act
(CAA), the source category list and the schedule for standards
constitute a significant part of the EPA's agenda for regulating
stationary sources of air toxic emissions.
The schedule for standards, required under CAA section 112(e),
organized the source categories into groups of four separate timeframes
with promulgation deadlines of November 15, 1992; November 15, 1994;
November 15, 1997; and November 15, 2000. The EPA refers to these
groups of four separate timeframes as 2-year, 4-year, 7-year, and 10-
year bins, respectively. Today's notice announces a scheduling change
for two source categories from the 7-year bin to the 10-year bin and
two source categories from the 10-year bin to the 7-year bin. In
addition, this notice corrects the schedule for a source category
recently added to the list.
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 17, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Docket No. A-90-49, containing supporting information used
in development of this notice, is available for public inspection and
copying between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding
legal holidays. The docket is located in the EPA's Air and Radiation
Docket and Information Center, Waterside Mall, Room M-1500, 401 M
Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460, or by calling (202) 260-7548. A
reasonable fee may be charged for copying docket materials.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information concerning this
notice, contact Ms. Maria Noell, Emissions Standards Division (MD-13),
U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711, telephone number (919) 541-5607,
facsimile number (919) 541-3470, electronic mail address
noell.maria@epa.gov''.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. What Is the History of the Source Category List and Schedule?
The CAA amendments of 1990 (Public Law 101-549) require, under
section 112, that the Agency list categories of sources emitting HAP
and promulgate national emission standards for HAP (NESHAP) in order to
control, reduce, or otherwise limit the emissions of HAP from such
categories of major and area sources. Pursuant to the various specific
listing requirements in section 112(c), we published on July 16, 1992
(57 FR 31576), a list of 174 categories of major and area sources--
referred to as the ``initial list''--for which we would develop
emission standards. Following this listing, pursuant to requirements in
section 112(e), on December 3, 1993 (58 FR 63941), we published a
schedule for the promulgation of emission standards for each of the 174
listed source categories.
When we publish notices that affect actions relating to individual
source categories, it is important to reflect the resultant changes on
the list and schedule. On June 4, 1996 (61 FR 28197), we published a
notice that referenced all previous listing and schedule changes and
consolidated those actions, along with several new actions, into a
revised source category list and schedule. We published a subsequent
notice on February 12, 1998 (63 FR 7155), which again updated the list
and schedule. You should read these previous notices for information
relating to development of the initial list and schedule.
II. Why Is EPA Issuing This Notice?
This notice announces scheduling changes for promulgating
standards. This action moves two source categories from the 7-year bin
to the 10-year bin:
Petroleum Refineries--Catalytic Cracking (Fluid and Other)
Units, Catalytic Reforming Units, and Sulfur Plant Units; and
Primary Copper Smelting.
Also, to ensure that we still meet the CAA section 112(e)(1)
scheduling requirements, we are countering these scheduling changes by
moving two source categories forward to the 7-year bin:
Hydrogen Fluoride Production; and
Butadiene-Furfural Cotrimer (R-11) Production.
Additionally, this notice announces one other scheduling change. We
are correcting the promulgation deadline for the Natural Gas
Transmission and Storage source category, which we added to the
original source category list, from November 15, 1997 to November 15,
2000.
III. What Revisions Is EPA Making to the Source Category Schedule?
The following sections describe the new revisions to the source
category schedule since the February 12, 1998 publication.
A. Corrections to Previous Notice
The Administrator may at any time add categories and subcategories
of HAP to the original source category list based on the same criteria
used to develop the original list. Section 112(c)(5) states that the
Administrator shall promulgate standards to regulate HAP emissions from
these added categories and subcategories within 10 years after
enactment of the CAA amendments of 1990 (i.e., by November 15, 2000,
the 10-year bin date) or within 2 years after the date on which the
category or subcategory was listed, whichever is later.
This Federal Register notice announces one scheduling change to
correct the regulatory promulgation date for the Natural Gas
Transmission and Storage source category. In our last notice regarding
changes to the source category list, on February 12, 1998, we
incorrectly indicated that this category was a subset of the Oil and
Natural Gas Production source category. Consequently, we did not
consider it to be subject to the scheduling requirements of section
112(c)(5), and we placed it in the same regulatory bin as the Oil and
Natural Gas Production source category (i.e., the 7-year bin). However,
in a February 6, 1998 Federal Register notice of proposed maximum
achievable control technology (MACT) standards for the Oil and Natural
Gas Production and the Natural Gas Transmission and Storage source
categories (63 FR 6287), we had amended the source category list to add
Natural Gas Transmission and Storage
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as a separate source category, distinct from the originally listed Oil
and Natural Gas Production source category. As such, the Natural Gas
Transmission and Storage source category is subject to the scheduling
requirements of section 112(c)(5). Therefore, in this notice, we are
correcting the promulgation deadline for the Natural Gas Transmission
and Storage source category from November 15, 1997 to November 15,
2000.
B. Moving Standards Promulgation Deadlines for Source Categories
In the December 3, 1993 notice, we scheduled the initially listed
source categories for regulation such that exactly 50 percent (87 out
of 174) would be promulgated by November 15, 1997. Consequently, in
order to continue to satisfy the numerical and temporal requirements of
section 112(e)(1), any change that would delay the deadline for a
source category scheduled for regulation by November 15, 1997 must be
offset by a corresponding shifting of a source category from the
November 15, 2000 regulatory timeframe forward to the November 15, 1997
timeframe.
1. Primary Copper Smelting and Hydrogen Fluoride Production
The schedule for Primary Copper Smelting, which we included in the
initial source category schedule in December 1993, is being changed
from November 15, 1997 to November 15, 2000. The schedule for Hydrogen
Fluoride Production, published in the same notice (58 FR 63941,
December 3, 1993), is being changed from November 15, 2000 to November
15, 1997. Moving Primary Copper Smelting to the 10-year bin will allow
us additional time to address issues raised by comments received on the
April 20, 1998 proposal (63 FR 19581).
Because we included the standard for Hydrogen Fluoride Production
as part of the Generic MACT proposal, published October 14, 1998 (63 FR
55177), it will be ahead of its initial regulatory deadline and,
therefore, can be used in place of the Primary Copper Smelting source
category in order to address the statutory requirement of completion of
50 percent of the initially listed source categories by November 15,
1997.
2. Petroleum Refineries--Catalytic Cracking (Fluid and Other) Units,
Catalytic Reforming Units, and Sulfur Plant Units and Butadiene-
Furfural Cotrimer (R-11) Production
This notice also announces the change of schedules for the
Petroleum Refineries--Catalytic Cracking (Fluid and Other) Units,
Catalytic Reforming Units, and Sulfur Plant Units source category and
the Butadiene-Furfural Cotrimer (R-11) Production source category. The
schedule for Petroleum Refineries--Catalytic Cracking (Fluid and Other)
Units, Catalytic Reforming Units, and Sulfur Plant Units, which we
included in the initial source category schedule in December 1993, is
being changed from November 15, 1997 to November 15, 2000. The schedule
for Butadiene-Furfural Cotrimer (R-11) Production, published in the
same notice (58 FR 63941, December 3, 1993), is being changed from
November 15, 2000 to November 15, 1997.
The Office of Mobile Sources will soon be proposing standards that
will limit the amount of sulfur in gasoline. Some petroleum refineries
may comply with the gasoline sulfur standards by removing both sulfur
and metals from the feed to the Catalytic Cracking Units (CCU), and
thereby reduce metallic HAP emissions from the CCU regeneration vent.
We have moved the Petroleum Refineries--Catalytic Cracking (Fluid and
Other) Units, Catalytic Reforming Units, and Sulfur Plant Units source
category to the 10-year bin to gain understanding of the effects of the
gasoline sulfur standards on refineries, decide how our final MACT rule
should address these effects, and coordinate the implementation and
compliance aspects of the MACT rule with the schedule for
implementation of the gasoline sulfur program.
Because we addressed the Butadiene-Furfural Cotrimer (R-11)
Production source category in the Pesticide Active Ingredient
Production proposal (62 FR 60565, November 10, 1997), this source
category will be ahead of its initial regulatory deadline of November
15, 2000 and, therefore, can be used in place of the Petroleum
Refineries--Catalytic Cracking (Fluid and Other) Units, Catalytic
Reforming Units, Sulfur Plant Units source category.
IV. Is This Action Subject to Judicial Review?
Section 112(e)(3) states that the determination of priorities for
promulgation of standards for the listed source categories is not a
rulemaking and is not subject to judicial review, except that, failure
to promulgate any standard pursuant to the schedule established under
section 112(e) shall be subject to review under section 304 of the CAA.
Section 112(e)(4) states that, notwithstanding section 307 of the Act,
no action of the Administrator listing a source category or subcategory
under section 112(c) shall be a final Agency action subject to judicial
review, except that any such action may be reviewed under section 307
when the Administrator issues emission standards for such pollutant or
category. Therefore, today's schedule is not subject to judicial
review.
V. Is EPA Asking for Public Comment?
Prior to issuance of the initial source category list, we published
a draft initial list for public comment (56 FR 28548, June 21, 1991).
Although we were not required to take public comment on the initial
source category list, we believed it was useful to solicit input on a
number of issues related to the list. Indeed, in most instances, even
where there is no statutory requirement to take comment, we solicit
public comments on actions we are contemplating. We have decided,
however, that it is unnecessary to solicit additional public comment on
the revisions reflected in today's notice. Interested parties will have
the opportunity to provide comments on individual emissions standards.
VI. Administrative Requirements
A. Docket
The docket for this action is A-90-49. The docket is an organized
and complete file of all the information submitted to or otherwise
considered by the Agency in the development of this revised list of
categories of sources and revised schedule for standards. The principal
purpose of this docket is to allow interested parties to identify and
locate documents that serve as a record of the process engaged in by
the Agency to publish today's revision to the initial list and
schedule. The docket is available for public inspection at the EPA's
Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center, which is listed in the
ADDRESSES section of this notice.
B. Regulatory Requirements
1. General
Today's notice is not a rule; it is essentially an information
sharing activity which does not impose regulatory requirements or
costs. Therefore, the requirements of Executive Order 13045 (Protection
of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks),
Executive Order 13084 (Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal
Governments), Executive Order 12875 (Enhancing the Intergovernmental
Partnership), the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the National Technology
Transfer and Advancement Act, and the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act do
not apply to today's notice. Also, this notice does not contain any
information collection requirements and, therefore, is not
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subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
2. Executive Order 12866 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Review
Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), the
Agency must determine whether a regulatory action is ``significant''
and, therefore, subject to OMB review and the requirements of the
Executive Order. The Order defines ``significant'' regulatory action as
one that is likely to lead to a rule that may either (1) have an annual
effect on the economy of $100 million or more, or adversely affect a
sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the
environment, public health or safety, or State, local or tribal
governments or communities; (2) create a serious inconsistency or
otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by another agency;
(3) materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, user
fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients
thereof; or (4) raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal
mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in
the Executive Order.
Pursuant to the terms of Executive Order 12866, today's notice is
considered a ``significant regulatory action'' within the meaning of
the Executive Order. For this reason, this action underwent review by
the OMB.
Dated: May 10, 1999.
Robert D. Brenner,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 99-12370 Filed 5-14-99; 8:45 am]
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