[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 159 (Thursday, August 18, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-20167]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: August 18, 1994]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 75
[FRL-5040-3]
Acid Rain Program: Continuous Emissions Monitoring
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: Title IV of the Clean Air Act (the Act), as amended November
15, 1990, requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency)
to establish an Acid Rain Program to reduce the adverse effects of
acidic deposition. On January 11, 1993, the Agency promulgated final
rules implementing the program, including the General Provision and
Permit rule and the Continuous Emission Monitoring (CEM) rule (58 FR
3590-3766). Technical corrections were published on June 23, 1993 (58
FR 34126) and July 30, 1993 (58 FR 40746-40752). This notice of direct
final rulemaking contains an extension to the certification compliance
deadline for NOX and CO2 emissions monitoring of gas-fired
units and oil-fired units affected under title IV. EPA believes that
this compliance deadline extension will give the regulated community
more time to meet their obligations under title IV and will allow more
thorough Agency review of certification application submissions,
resulting in the likelihood of higher quality data. EPA believes this
deadline extension is non-controversial and therefore is publishing
this notice of direct final rulemaking.
DATES: If no adverse comments are received by September 19, 1994, the
effective date of these revisions will be October 17, 1994. If the
effective date is delayed, timely notice will be published in the
Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Any written comments on these rule revisions must be
identified with the document control number ``A-94-16'' and must be
submitted in duplicate to: EPA Air Docket (6102), Environmental
Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW., Washington, DC 20460.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharon Saile, CEM Section Chief, Acid
Rain Division (6204J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20460. (202) 233-9180.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the Proposed Rules Section of this
Federal Register, EPA is proposing to revise the Continuous Emission
Monitoring provisions. The Agency views these revisions as
noncontroversial and anticipates no adverse comments. However, if EPA
does receive adverse comments, EPA will publish a document in the
Federal Register withdrawing the direct final rule. All public comments
received will be treated as comments on the proposed rule as published
in the Proposed Rules Section of this Federal Register and will be
addressed in a subsequent final rulemaking notice. The EPA will not
institute a second comment period on the document in the Proposed Rules
Section of this Federal Register or on any subsequent final rule
addressing withdrawn portions of this final rule. Any parties
interested in commenting on these revisions to Part 75 should do so at
this time.
I. Acid Rain Program Background
On January 11, 1993, EPA promulgated the ``core'' regulations that
implemented the major provisions of Title IV of the Clean Air Act
Amendments of 1990 (CAAA or the Act), including the Continuous Emission
Monitoring (CEM) Regulation at 40 CFR Part 75 authorized under section
412 and 821 of the Act. The CEM rule specifies how each affected
utility unit must install a system to continuously monitor the
emissions and to collect, record, and report emissions data to ensure
that the mandated reductions in SO2 and NOx emissions are
achieved, that opacity and CO2 emissions are measured, and that
SO2 emissions are accurately measured so that the allowance system
functions in an orderly manner.
Since the CEM rule was promulgated, the operation of Phase I
utility units have essentially completed the first stage of
implementation of the rule, having submitted monitoring plans,
conducted certification testing, submitted certification applications,
and submitted their first quarterly reports. In addition, many Phase II
utility units have also begun implementation. As a result of issues
arising during implementation of part 75, EPA is revising part 75 to
extend the monitoring certification deadline for certain classes of
units for some pollutants.
II. Changes to Part 75--Certification Deadlines for Gas-Fired and
Oil-Fired Units
Affected units under title IV of the Clean Air Act Amendments are
required to install and operate continuous emission monitoring systems
or alternative monitoring systems approved by the Administrator. Part
75 specifies that all monitoring systems must be tested and approved
through a certification process. In the January 11, 1993 final rule,
EPA specified that required monitoring systems for units with emission
limitations beginning January 1, 1995 (Phase I units) must be
installed, operated, certified, and maintained by November 15, 1993 [40
CFR 74.4(a)(1)]. Similarly, units with emission limitations beginning
January 1, 2000 (Phase II units) must be installed, operated,
certified, and maintained by January 1, 1995 [40 CFR 75.4(a)(3)].
During the process of implementing part 75, the Agency learned that
many utilities with Phase II units were having difficulty planning and
performing certification testing early. Many utilities found the
testing procedures in Appendix E sufficiently confusing that they were
delaying testing for gas-fired and oil-fired peaking units. In other
cases, software vendors were still assisting their Phase I unit clients
and did not focus on the problems of Phase II units, causing further
delays. In addition, both utilities and stack emission testing firms
expressed concern that there might be a shortage of stack testers
because of the large number of unit all requiring stack testing at the
same time. There will be a total of approximately 1000 oil-fired and
gas-fired units submitting certification applications in Phase II,
compared to 5 oil-fired units in Phase I and 1300 Phase II coal-fired
units compared to 263 coal-fired units in Phase I. If review of all
these applications were done at the same time, the review might be
severely limited because of the resources required and the short time
period for review.
As a result of these concerns, the Agency is postponing the
certification deadline for two categories of monitoring: NOX and
CO2 monitoring of gas-fired and oil-fired Phase II units. Although
these units must monitor NOX and CO2 emissions [40 CFR
75.10], they do not have NOX emission limitations under Title IV
of the Act. Gas-fired and oil-fired units are being monitored for
NOX and CO2 to provide quality-assured NOX and CO2
emissions data for informational purposes. This data will also allow
the Agency to assess progress toward the NOX emission reduction
goals of the Act. Furthermore, the Act requires EPA to establish a
public database of CO2 emissions data. EPA believes that delaying
the certification of NOX and CO2 CEMS and Appendix E and G
monitoring for these units still meets these purposes, and helps to
ensure higher quality NOX and CO2 emission data than might be
obtained if the January 1, 1995 deadline were still required because a
phased schedule for certifications submissions will allow more thorough
and complete review of the submissions for each time period. The
revised deadline does not apply to coal-fired units or to monitoring of
SO2, opacity, or heat input for gas-fired and oil-fired units.
EPA believes that it is reasonable for utilities to begin to
monitor the NOX emissions in ozone nonattainment areas and the
ozone transport region of the northeast U.S. earlier than in other
areas. An accurate account of NOX emissions is environmentally
significant in such areas because NOX helps ozone to form (see
docket item ``Title IV Affected Utility Plants in Nonattainment Areas
or in OTR''). As a result, EPA is extending the certification deadline
for NOX monitoring of gas-fired and oil-fired units in ozone
nonattainment areas and ozone transport regions by six months only,
until July 1, 1995. Other gas-fired and oil-fired units that are not in
these environmentally critical areas may postpone their certification
testing until one year after the original deadline, until January 1,
1996. By instituting this phased-in approach, two purposes are
accomplished--certification applications will receive thorough review
and NOX information will be available first for the areas with the
greatest need for that information.
EPA has also included a delayed certification deadline for CO
monitoring from oil-fired units and gas-fired units in today's revision
to part 75. A CO2 monitor may be used both as a CO2 diluent
monitor in a NOX continuous emission monitoring system and as a
CO2 continuous emission monitoring system. If the NOX
monitoring deadline were extended but the CO2 monitoring deadline
were not extended, then the owner or operator of a gas-fired unit or
and oil-fired unit would still be required to install the CO2
monitor and stack test it before its certification as part of the
NOX monitoring system. In effect, an owner or operator would need
to go through stack testing and certification twice for the same
CO2 monitor. In order to make the NOX monitoring
certification deadline extension more useful and to avoid unnecessary
duplication of testing and certification activities, EPA is also
extending the certification deadline for CO2 monitoring.
Gas-fired and oil-fired peaking units may choose to use the
procedures in Appendices E and G of part 75 to estimate NOX and
CO2 emissions using means other than continuous emission
monitoring. Appendix E requires a utility to develop a correlation
between unit load and NOX emission rate. Appendix G allows any
utility, not just peaking units, to estimate CO2 mass emissions
from a unit using fuel sampling and analysis and fuel usage data. Both
of these methods require the development of software that is different
from that already developed and implemented for use under Phase I of
the program. In contrast, software programmers have already developed
software for units with continuous emission monitoring systems and for
units using Appendix D of part 75 for determination of SO2
emissions from oil-fired or gas-fired units. In order to allow software
programmers more time to develop software to implement Appendices E and
G of part 75, EPA is extending the certification deadline for NOX
monitoring and CO2 monitoring from these methods, as well as for
CEMS.
EPA is not extending the certification deadlines for coal-fired
units. Phase I utilities overwhelmingly were able to meet the statutory
deadline for monitoring with CEMS--95% of Phase I units completed
testing by the deadline of November 15, 1993. There are no class-wide
issues delaying implementation for coal-fired units using CEMS.
Therefore, EPA expects that all Phase II coal-fired units will meet the
certification deadline of 1/1/95. Furthermore, coal-fired units have
emission limitations for SO2 and NOx under the Acid Rain
Program. Coal-fired units emit large amounts of SO2 and NOx.
EPA also is not extending the certification deadlines for SO2
and opacity monitoring for gas-fired units and oil-fired units. Gas-
fired and oil-fired units have SO2 emission reduction obligations
under title IV of the Act. Oil-fired units, in particular, have
significant SO2 emissions. Many of these units have the
opportunity to implement Appendix D of part 75 (an optional SO2
emissions estimation protocol using fuel sampling and analysis),
thereby avoiding stack testing for CEMS. Some Phase I units were oil-
fired units using Appendix D. The Agency has issued guidance to the
regulated community that allows them to implement Appendix D.
Furthermore, software has already been developed to implement Appendix
D requirements. Opacity monitors do not require the services of special
stack testers or new software. Extending the deadline for SO2 and
opacity monitoring for gas-fired units and oil-fired units will not
reduce competition for stack testers or require development of software
that has not been developed for Phase I units. Because of these
reasons, EPA expects gas-fired units and oil-fired units to meet the
January 1, 1995 certification deadline for SO2 and opacity
monitoring.
III. Impact Analyses
A. Paperwork Reduction Act
EPA has determined that this final rule contains no information
requirements as specified by the Paperwork Reduction Act 44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.
B. Executive Order Requirements
Executive Order 12866
Under Executive Order 12866, (58 FR 51735 (October 4, 1993)) the
Agency must determine whether the 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 results in a rule that may:
(1) Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million of 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;
(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.
It has been determined that this rule is not a ``significant
regulatory action'' under the terms of Executive Order 12866 and is
therefore not subject to OMB review.
C. Regulatory Flexibility Act
Pursuant to section 605(b) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5
U.S.C. 605(b), the Administrator certifies on August 4, 1994, that this
rule revision will not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
EPA performed an analysis of the effects upon small utilities of
the Acid Rain Core Rules (58 FR 3649, January 11, 1993), including
permitting, allowances, and continuous emission monitoring. The earlier
document concluded that significant costs would occur to small
utilities as a result of statutory requirements. For example, based
upon a worst case for model utilities, total regulatory costs could
represent as much as 6 to 7 percent of the average value of electricity
produced in the year 2000. About one-third of the 105 small utilities
currently affected could face impacts of up to this magnitude.
Today's revisions to part 75 have either no impact or a beneficial
impact on small entities by extending the time for complying with the
Acid Rain Program monitoring requirements for approximately 800 small
utility units. EPA expects today's revision to part 75 to maintain the
same cost of compliance as under the promulgated rule of January 11,
1993.
IV. Supporting Information
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 75
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon dioxide,
Continuous emission monitors, Electric utilities, Incorporation by
reference, Nitrogen oxides, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements,
Sulfur dioxide.
Dated: August 4, 1994.
Carol M. Browner,
Administrator, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble chapter I of title 40 of
the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as follows:
PART 75--CONTINUOUS EMISSION MONITORING
1. The authority citation for part 75 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7651k and note.
Subpart A--General [Amended]
2. Section 75.4 is amended by revising paragraph (a)(3) to read as
follows:
Sec. 75.4 Compliance dates.
(a) * * *
(3) For either a Phase II unit, other than a gas-fired unit or an
oil-fired unit, or a substitution or compensating unit that is not a
substitution or compensating unit under paragraph (a)(2) of this
section: January 1, 1995.
* * * * *
3. Section 75.4 is amended by adding paragraph (a)(4) to read as
follows:
(a) * * *
(4) For a gas-fired Phase II unit or an oil-fired Phase II unit,
January 1, 1995, except that certification tests for continuous
emission monitoring systems for NOX and CO2 or excepted
monitoring systems for NOX under appendix E or CO2 estimation
under Appendix G of this part shall be completed as follows:
(i) For an oil-fired Phase II unit or a gas-fired Phase II unit
located in an ozone nonattainment area or the ozone transport region,
not later than July 1, 1995; or
(ii) For an oil-fired Phase II unit or a gas-fired Phase II unit
not located in an ozone nonattainment area or the ozone transport
region, not later than January 1, 1996.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 94-20167 Filed 8-17-94; 8:45 am]
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