2013-13724. Direct Final Approval of Sewage Sludge Incinerators State Plan for Designated Facilities and Pollutants; Indiana

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Direct final rule.

SUMMARY:

EPA is approving Indiana's State Plan to control air pollutants from “Sewage Sludge Incinerators” (SSI). The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) submitted the State Plan on February 27, 2013. The State Plan is consistent with the Emission Guidelines (EGs) promulgated by EPA on March 21, 2011. This approval means that EPA finds that the State Plan meets applicable Clean Air Act (Act) requirements for subject SSI units. Once effective, this approval also makes the State Plan Federally enforceable.

DATES:

This direct final rule will be effective August 12, 2013, unless EPA receives adverse comments by July 11, 2013. If adverse comments are received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-2013-0372, by one of the following methods:

1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.

2. Email: [e-mail].

3. Fax: [phone].

4. Mail: Carlton T. Nash, Chief, Toxics and Global Atmosphere Section, Air Toxics and Assessment Branch (AT-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.

5. Hand Delivery: Carlton T. Nash, Chief, Toxics and Global Atmosphere Section, Air Toxics and Assessment Branch (AT-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. The Regional Office official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. excluding Federal holidays.

Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-2013-0372. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change and may be made available online at 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 www.regulations.gov or email. The 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 email comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov your email 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 docket are listed in the www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. This Facility is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. We recommend that you telephone Margaret Sieffert, Environmental Engineer, at [phone] before visiting the Region 5 office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Margaret Sieffert, Environmental Engineer, Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard (AT-18J), Chicago, Illinois 60604, [phone], [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Throughout this document whenever “we,” “us,” or “our” is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information section is arranged as follows:

I. Background

II. What Does the State plan contain?

III. Does the State Plan meet the EPA requirements?

IV. What action is EPA taking?

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

On March 21, 2011, in accordance with sections 111 and 129 of the Act, EPA promulgated SSI EGs and compliance schedules for the control of emissions from existing SSI units. See 76 FR 15404. EPA codified these guidelines at 40 CFR part 60, subpart MMMM. They include a model rule at 40 CFR §§ 60.5085 through 62.5250 that States may use to develop their own plans. Under that rule, EPA has defined an “SSI unit,” in part, as any device that combusts sewage sludge for the purpose of reducing the volume of the sewage sludge by removing combustible matter. 40 CFR 60.5250

Under section 111(d) of the Act, EPA is required to develop regulations for existing sources of noncriteria pollutants (i.e., a pollutant for which there is no national ambient air quality standard) whenever EPA promulgates a standard for a new source. This would include SSIs. Section 111(d) plans are subject to EPA review and approval.

Under section 129(b)(2) of the Act and the EGs at subpart MMMM, States with SSIs must submit to EPA plans that implement the EGs. The plans must be at least as protective as the EGs, which are not Federally enforceable until EPA approves them (or promulgates a Federal Plan for implementation and enforcement).

40 CFR part 60, subpart B contains general provisions applicable to the adoption and submittal of State Plans for subject facilities under section 111(d), which would include SSIs. On February 27, 2013, Indiana submitted its SSI State Plan, which EPA received on March 1, 2013. This submission followed public hearings for preliminary adoption of the State rule on May 2, 2012 and for final adoption on August 1, 2012. The State adopted the final rule on October 31, 2012 and it became effective on November 1, 2012. The plan includes State rule 326 IAC 11-10, which establishes emission standards for existing SSI.

II. What does the State Plan contain?

The State submittal is based on the SSI EGs. As set forth in section 129 of the Act and in 40 CFR part 60, subparts B and MMMM, the State Plan addresses the nine minimum required elements, as follows:

1. An inventory of affected SSI units, including those that have ceased operation but have not been dismantled. Indiana has provided this.

2. An inventory of the emissions from affected SSI units. Indiana has provided this.

3. Compliance schedules for each affected SSI unit. Indiana has provided a compliance schedule and a compliance date of December 21, 2015.

4. Emission limits, emission standards, operator training and qualification requirements and operating limits for affected SSI units that are at least as protective as the EGs. Indiana has provided this.

5. Performance testing, recordkeeping and reporting and requirements. Indiana has provided this.

6. Certification that the hearing on the state plan was held, a list of witnesses and their organizational affiliations, if any, appearing at the hearing, and a brief written summary of each presentation or written submission. Indiana has provided this.

7. A provision for State progress reports to EPA. Indiana has stated that it will submit an annual report that will include updates to the inventory, any enforcement activities and submission of copies of technical reports on all performance testing on designated facilities. The Air Facility System will be used to submit information pertaining to emissions, inspections, status of compliance, dates of performance testing, and enforcement actions.

8. Identification of enforceable state mechanisms that the State selected for implementing the EGs. Indiana has provided a detailed list which identified the enforceable mechanisms.

9. A demonstration of the State's legal authority to carry out the SSI State Plan. Indiana has provided a detailed list which demonstrated that it has such legal authority. This includes the legal authority to incorporate by reference Federal emission guidelines provisions, as confirmed by an Indiana Attorney General's Opinion letter dated February 21, 2013.

III. Does the State Plan meet the EPA requirements?

EPA evaluated the SSI State Plan and related information submitted by Indiana for consistency with the Act, EPA regulations and policy. For the reasons discussed above, EPA has determined that the State Plan meets all applicable requirements and, therefore, is approving it.

IV. What action is EPA taking?

EPA is approving the State Plan which Indiana submitted on February 27, 2013, for the control of emissions from existing SSI sources in the State. EPA is publishing this approval notice without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a non-controversial action and anticipates no adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal Register publication, EPA is publishing a separate document that will serve as the proposal to approve the State Plan in the event adverse written comments are filed. This rule will be effective August 12, 2013 without further notice unless we receive relevant adverse written comments by July 11, 2013. If we receive such comments, we will withdraw this action before the effective date by publishing a subsequent document that will withdraw the final action. All public comments received will then be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed action. EPA will not institute a second comment period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at this time. Please note that if EPA receives adverse comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that provision may be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt as final those provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment. If we do not receive any comments, this action will be effective August 12, 2013.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General Requirements

Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 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 approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and imposes no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this 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 approves 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 rule also does not have tribal implications because it will 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). This action also does not have Federalism implications because it does not 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). This action merely approves a state rule implementing a Federal requirement, and does not alter the relationship or the distribution of power and responsibilities established in the Act. This 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 section 111(d)/129 plan submissions, EPA's role is to approve State choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the 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 section 111(d)/129 plan submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a section 111(d)/129 plan submission, to use VCS in place of a section 111(d)/129 plan submission that otherwise satisfies the provisions of the 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. This rule does not impose an information collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General

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. This rule is not a “major rule” as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

C. Petitions for Judicial Review

Under Section 307(b)(1) of the Act, petitions for judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by August 12, 2013. Filing a petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect the finality of this rule 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 approving Indiana's section 111(d)/129 plan revision for SSI sources may not be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 62

• Environmental protection
• Air pollution control
• Administrative practice and procedure
• Intergovernmental relations
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements
• Sewage sludge incinerators

Dated: May 28, 2013.

Susan Hedman,

Regional Administrator, Region 5.

40 CFR part 62 is amended as follows:

PART 62—APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF STATE PLANS FOR DESIGNATED FACILITIES AND POLLUTANTS

1. The authority citation for part 62 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart P—Indiana

2. Add an undesignated center heading and §§ 62.3670, 62.3671, and 62.3672 to subpart P to read as follows:

Control of Air Emissions From Sewage Sludge Incinerators

§ 62.3670

Identification of plan.

On February 27, 2013, Indiana submitted a State Plan for implementing the emission guidelines for Sewage Sludge Incinerators (SSI). The enforceable mechanism for this State Plan is a State rule codified in 326 Indiana Administrative Code (IAC) 11-10. The rule was adopted on August 1, 2012, and became effective on November 1, 2012.

§ 62.3671

Identification of sources.

The Indiana State Plan for existing Sewage Sludge Incinerators (SSI) applies to all SSIs for which construction commenced on or before October 14, 2010 or for which a modification was commenced on or before September 21, 2011 primarily to comply with this rule.

§ 62.3672

Effective Date.

The Federal effective date of the Indiana State Plan for existing Sewage Sludge Incinerators is August 12, 2013.