[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 158 (Friday, August 15, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43647-43650]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-21702]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[MO-028-1028; FRL-5875-7]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of
Missouri
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final notice of the Herculaneum, Missouri, nonattainment area's
failure to attain the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for
lead.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act), the EPA has
notified the state of Missouri that the Doe Run-Herculaneum
nonattainment area failed to attain the NAAQS for lead (Pb) by June 30,
1995, as required under the provisions of the Act and the Missouri
State Implementation Plan (SIP). This notification is based on the
EPA's review of monitored air quality data for compliance with the
NAAQS for lead. This notice is issued pursuant to the EPA's obligations
under sections 179(c) (1) and (2) of the CAA, which require the EPA to
make a determination of an area's attainment status following an
applicable attainment date, and publish a notice in the Federal
Register indicating that such a determination has been made. Pursuant
to section 179(d)(1) of the CAA, Missouri is required to submit a SIP
revision, meeting the applicable provisions of the Act within one year
of today's finding.
DATES: This action is effective on September 15, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the documents relevant to this action are
available for public inspection during normal business hours at the:
Environmental Protection Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch,
726 Minnesota Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas 66101.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Royan W. Teter at (913) 551-7609.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The EPA designated the area in the vicinity of the Doe Run
Company's primary lead smelter in Herculaneum, Missouri, nonattainment
with respect to the NAAQS for lead on November 6, 1991 (56 FR 56694).
This designation became effective on January 6, 1992. Missouri
initially submitted a SIP revision addressing the nonattainment
designation in July 1993. Supplements were submitted in March and
November 1994. The EPA approved Missouri's revised SIP on May 5, 1995
(60 FR 22274), establishing June 30, 1995, as the date by which the
area was to have attained the NAAQS for lead. Ambient air monitoring
data, as shown below, indicate that violations of the lead NAAQS have
continued to occur in each calendar quarter subsequent to the
attainment date. On March 5, 1997, the EPA published a proposed notice
of failure to attain the NAAQS for the Herculaneum, Missouri,
nonattainment area (62 FR 10001). The proposed notice detailed the
responsibilities of the EPA and the state of Missouri under the CAA and
provided the public with an opportunity to comment on the Agency's
determination that the Herculaneum area has failed to attain the
standard.
Lead Ambient Air Quality Data--Vicinity Of The DOE Run Primary Smelter
Calendar Quarterly Values
(Micrograms of lead per cubic meter of air (g/m\3\))
[[Page 43648]]
HI--VOL Monitor Locations
Dunklin 29- Dunklin 29- Golf Course North 29- Ursaline 29- Rutz 29-099- Div. Manager Broad Street
Date 099-0014 099-0005 29-099-0008 099-0009 099-0010 0011 29-099-0013 29-099-0015
S H H H H H H H
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1995:
3rd................................. 1.4 1.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 1.0 1.2 4.1
4th................................. 1.9 1.7 0.4 0.8 0.1 1.6 1.3 6.3
1996:
1st................................. 2.3 1.9 0.3 0.4 0.1 1.4 .8 2.3
2nd................................. 1.6 1.2 0.5 0.1 0.2 2.4 0.8 5.7
3rd................................. 0.8 0.6 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.7 0.5 4.0
4th................................. 1.7 1.8 0.1 0.5 0.3 1.4 0.9 1.6
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Notes:
\1\ (S) = State monitor, (H) = Asarco monitor.
\2\ Italicized Quarterly Air Quality Values exceed the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for lead; the NAAQS for lead is 1.5 g/m\3\
and is the arithmetic mean of a series of daily (24-hour) values from hi-vol monitors measuring particulate matter, within a 3-month (calendar
quarter) period.
II. Response To Comments
The EPA received 334 letters regarding the Doe Run Company and its
Herculaneum, Missouri, operations. Those submitting comments included
25 businesses, 108 members of The Doe Run Company's mining and milling
division, and 201 other Doe Run employees. None of the comments
pertained specifically to the EPA's determination that the Herculaneum
nonattainment area failed to attain the NAAQS for lead by the
prescribed date, as discussed in the March 5, 1997, proposed action.
Nevertheless, the EPA believes it is appropriate to outline the major
themes discussed by those who submitted comments and provide a
response.
Comments: All commentors expressed support for the Doe Run Company
and encouraged the EPA to work cooperatively with the Company to
address the air quality issues within the nonattainment area. Three
distinct rationales were presented. One group of commentors cited the
Company's success in reducing toxic chemical releases to the
environment while participating in the EPA's 33/50 Program. Another
group of commentors cited recent expenditures totaling $900,000 as
evidence of the Company's desire to fulfill the corporate philosophy to
``Make it better tomorrow than it is today.'' A third group
acknowledged Doe Run as an important contributor to the economies of
the state and the nation, and expressed concern over any actions that
the EPA might take that could place the company at an economic
disadvantage and jeopardize the company's survival.
Response: The EPA will work cooperatively with the Doe Run Company
and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to develop a SIP that
meets the requirements of the CAA. The EPA is an active participant in
discussions related to the development of an appropriate emissions
control strategy. Recent discussions have yielded positive results.
Some data collection activities are already underway and a framework
has been developed for future activities. These activities will
facilitate a better understanding of the sources of emissions that are
contributing to violations of the NAAQS.
The Doe Run Company's success in the 33/50 Program and its latest
efforts to reduce lead emissions from the Herculaneum smelter are
commendable actions; however, ambient lead concentrations in the
vicinity of the smelter remain above the levels which are protective of
public health and welfare. As such, the EPA is mandated by the CAA to
publish a notice in the Federal Register, indicating the area's failure
to attain the standard. The Act then requires that within one year,
Missouri revise its SIP to address the violations of the air quality
standard.
[[Page 43649]]
One group of commentors expressed concerns that the EPA's actions
may jeopardize the economic future of the Doe Run Company. While cost
will be a factor in determining the final control plan, it is important
to understand that the EPA's determination regarding the Herculaneum
area's failure to attain the NAAQS for lead involves only a factual
finding based on air quality measurements. This determination does not
impose any specific requirements or limitations on the Doe Run Company.
Any such requirements will be specified in Missouri's SIP.
III. Final action
Today's action finalizes the EPA's determination that the
Herculaneum, Missouri, nonattainment area did not attain the NAAQS for
lead by June 30, 1990, as prescribed by CAA and Missouri's SIP. This
action invokes section 179(d) of the CAA which, under the
circumstances, requires Missouri to submit a SIP revision meeting the
implementation and nonattainment plan provisions of the Act, and any
additional measures which may be reasonably prescribed in order to
bring the area into attainment with the NAAQS. This SIP revision must
be submitted within one year of today's action.
Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or
allowing or establishing a precedent for any future request for
revision to any SIP. Each request for revision to the SIP shall be
considered separately in light of specific technical, economic, and
environmental factors, and in relation to relevant statutory and
regulatory requirements.
IV. Administrative Requirements
A. Executive Order (EO) 12866
Under E.O. 12866, 58 FR 51735 (October 4, 1993), the EPA is
required to determine whether regulatory actions are significant and
therefore should be subject to the Office of Management and Budget
review, economic analysis, and the requirements of the Executive Order.
The Executive Order defines a ``significant regulatory action'' as one
that is likely to result in a rule that may meet at least one of the
four criteria identified in section 3(f), including, under paragraph
(1), that the rule may ``have an annual effect on the economy of $100
million or more or adversely affect, in a material way, the economy, a
sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the
environment, public health or safety, or state, local, or tribal
governments or communities.''
The Agency has determined that today's action does not result in
any of the effects identified in 3(f). Under sections 179(c) and
179(c)(2), a determination that an area has failed to attain the NAAQS
for lead and the call for revision of the relevant SIP are based upon
air quality considerations and must occur by operation of law in light
of certain air quality conditions. They do not, in-and-of-themselves,
impose any new requirements on any sectors of the economy.
B. Regulatory Flexibility
Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 600 et seq., the EPA
must prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis assessing the impact of
any proposed or final rule on small entities (5 U.S.C. 603 and 604).
Alternatively, the EPA may certify that the rule will not have a
significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. Small
entities include small businesses, small not-for-profit enterprises,
and government entities with jurisdiction over populations of less than
50,000.
As previously discussed, a determination that an area has failed to
attain the lead NAAQS and its associated SIP call, do not in-an-of-
themselves create any new requirements. Therefore, I certify that
today's final action does not have a significant impact on small
entities.
C. Unfunded Mandates
Under sections 202, 203, and 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act of 1995 (Unfunded Mandates Act), signed into law on March 22, 1995,
the EPA must assess whether various actions undertaken in association
with proposed or final regulations include a Federal mandate that may
result in estimated costs of $100 million or more to the private
sector, or to state, local or tribal governments in the aggregate.
The EPA believes, as discussed above, that its determination that
the Herculaneum, Missouri, area has failed to attain the NAAQS for lead
is a factual determination based upon air quality considerations and
must occur by operation of law and, hence, does not impose any Federal
intergovernmental mandate, as defined in section 101 of the Unfunded
Mandates Act.
D. Small Business Regulatory Fairness Act (SBREFA)
Under 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A) as added by the Small Business
Regulatory
[[Page 43650]]
Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, the EPA submitted 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 General
Accounting Office prior to publication of this rule in today's Federal
Register. This rule is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C.
804(2).
E. Petitions for Judicial Review
Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by October 14, 1997. 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 may not be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its
requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Hydrocarbons, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations,
Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.
Dated: August 4, 1997.
Michael J. Sanderson,
Acting Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 97-21702 Filed 8-14-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
