[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 184 (Friday, September 20, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 49413-49414]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-24045]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[NC-43-1-9618a; FRL-5609-1]
Approval and Promulgation of State Implementation Plan, North
Carolina: Approval of Cape Industries, Air Permit No. 130R17
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: On August 17, 1989, the State of North Carolina issued to Cape
Industries, located in Wilmington, New Hanover County, North Carolina,
air permit number 130R11, which set the sulfur dioxide emission limit
at 2.3 pounds per million British Thermal Units (BTU). The State then
submitted this permit to EPA on September 21, 1989, for approval as a
revision to the State implementation plan (SIP). Air permit number
130R11 expired on October 1, 1991, and was subsequently replaced by the
current Cape Industries air permit number 130R17 on December 29, 1994.
Upon review of the permit, EPA finds that the designated limit for Cape
Industries is adequate to protect the ambient standard and approves
this permit.
DATES: This action is effective November 19, 1996 unless adverse or
critical comments are received by October 21, 1996. If the effective
date is delayed, timely notice will be published in the Federal
Register.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on this action should be addressed to Mr.
Randy Terry at the EPA Regional Office listed below.
Copies of the documents relative to this action are available for
public inspection during normal business hours at the following
locations. The interested persons wanting to examine these documents
should make an appointment with the appropriate office at least 24
hours before the visiting day.
Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center (Air Docket 6102), US
Environmental Protection Agency, 443, 401 M Street, SW, Washington DC
20460
Environmental Protection Agency, Region IV Air Programs Branch, 345
Courtland Street NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30365
North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural
Resources, Division of Environmental Management, P.O. Box 29535,
Raleigh, North Carolina 27626-0535
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Randy Terry, Regulatory Planning
and Development Section, Air Programs Branch, Air, Pesticides & Toxics
Management Division, Region IV Environmental Protection Agency, 345
Courtland Street NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30365. The telephone number is
404/347-3555, ext. 4212.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 7, 1982 (47 FR 54934), EPA
announced approval of a revised sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission limit for
most fuel-burning sources in North Carolina. This revision raised the
emission limit of SO2 from 1.6 pounds per million BTU to 2.3
pounds per million BTU. Cape Industries, located in Wilmington, New
Hanover County, North Carolina, was included in this rulemaking, but
was not allowed to increase it's emission level until such time that
appropriate conditions could be applied to ensure that the ambient
standard was not violated. These conditions included the issuance of an
air permit. On August 17, 1989, North Carolina Environmental Management
Commission issued air permit no. 130R11 to Cape Industries. On
September 21, 1989, the State of North Carolina, through the North
Carolina Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources
submitted this permit to EPA for approval as a revision to the North
Carolina SIP regarding the SO2 emissions limitation for Cape
Industries. In a letter dated November 25, 1991, EPA responded to the
Cape Industries submittal with several comments concerning the
enforceability of the permit. EPA determined North Carolina's emission
standards did not contain the specific test method, the test run
duration, and the averaging time for each emission standard, and was
therefore unenforceable. EPA also stated that the permit should be
revised to include the opacity limits of each emission point. EPA
directed North Carolina to address these sections before the permit
could be approved. On March 2, 1994, North Carolina submitted a letter
to EPA which effectively responded to all of EPA's concerns and
demonstrated that the permit contains adequate recordkeeping and
testing requirements.
However, in May, 1994, Cape Industries submitted a modeling
protocol to EPA requesting a permit modification to remove current fuel
use and boiler firing limitations which were used as permit conditions
to avoid an earlier PSD applicability issue. Since the proposed
modifications would affect the previous permit conditions which were
used as a basis to demonstrate compliance with the Sulfur Dioxide SIP,
Cape Industries also submitted this protocol as a Sulfur Dioxide SIP
revision. This Modeling protocol was not approveable and on July 28,
1994, EPA responded with a letter outlining the areas that must be
addressed. On March 14, 1996, in response to the July 28, 1994, EPA
letter, Cape Industries officially withdrew their request for the
permit modification. During this time the original Cape Industries air
permit expired and air permit number 130R17 was issued.
Final Action
EPA is approving Cape Industries' air permit No. 130R17 submitted
on August 9, 1996, for incorporation into the North Carolina SIP. The
EPA is publishing this action without prior proposal because the EPA
views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no adverse
comments. However, in a separate document in this Federal Register
publication, the EPA is proposing to approve the SIP revision should
adverse or critical comments be filed. This action will be effective
October 21, 1996 unless, within 30 days of its publication, adverse or
critical comments are received.
If the EPA receives such comments, this action will be withdrawn
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 this action serving as a
proposed rule. The EPA will not institute a second comment period on
this action. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should
do so at this time. If no such comments are received, the public is
advised that this action will be effective November 19, 1996.
The EPA has reviewed this request for revision of the Federally-
approved SIP
[[Page 49414]]
for conformance with the provisions of the 1990 Amendments enacted on
November 15, 1990. The EPA has determined that this action conforms
with those requirements irrespective of the fact that the submittal
preceded the date of enactment.
Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), 42 U.S.C.
7607(b)(1), petitions for judicial review of this action must be filed
in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by
November 19, 1996. Filing a petition for reconsideration by the
Administrator of this final rule does not affect the finality of this
rule for 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) of the CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7607 (b)(2)).
This action has been classified as a Table 3 action for signature
by the Regional Administrator under the procedures published in the
Federal Register on January 19, 1989 (54 FR 2214-2225), as revised by a
July 10, 1995 memorandum from Mary Nichols, Assistant Administrator for
Air and Radiation. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has
exempted this regulatory action from E.O. 12866 review.
Nothing in this action shall be construed as permitting or allowing
or establishing a precedent for any future request for a 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.
Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 600 et. seq., 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, 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.
SIP approvals under 110 and subchapter I, part D of the CAA do not
create any new requirements, but simply approve requirements that the
State is already imposing. Therefore, because the Federal SIP-approval
does not impose any new requirements, I certify that it does not have a
significant impact on any small entities affected. Moreover, due to the
nature of the Federal-state relationship under the CAA, preparation of
a regulatory flexibility analysis would constitute Federal inquiry into
the economic reasonableness of state action. The CAA forbids EPA to
base its actions concerning SIPs on such grounds. Union Electric Co. v.
U.S. E.P.A., 427 U.S. 246, 256-66 (S.Ct. 1976); 42 U.S.C. section
7410(a)(2).
Submission to Congress and the General Accounting Office
Under 5 U.S.C. section 801(a)(1)(A) as added by the Small Business
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, 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. section 804(2).
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,
EPA must undertake various actions in association with proposed or
final rules that 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.
Through submission of this state implementation plan or plan
revision, the State and any affected local or tribal governments have
elected to adopt the program provided for under section 110 of the
Clean Air Act. These rules may bind State, local and tribal governments
to perform certain duties. To the extent that the rules being approved
by this action will impose any mandate upon the State, local or tribal
governments either as the owner or operator of a source or as a
regulator, or would impose any mandate upon the private sector. EPA's
action will impose no new requirements; such sources are already
subject to these regulations under State law. Accordingly, no
additional costs to State, local, or tribal governments, or to the
private sector, result from this action. EPA has also determined that
this final action does not include a mandate that may result in
estimated costs of $100 million or more to State, local, or tribal
governments in the aggregate or to the private sector.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Particulate matter, Reporting
and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides.
Dated: June 6, 1996.
Michael V. Peyton,
Acting Regional Administrator.
Part 52 of chapter I, title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, is
amended as follows:
PART 52--[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42.U.S.C. 7401-7671q.
Subpart II--North Carolina
2. Section 52.1770, is amended by adding paragraph (c)(91) to read
as follows:
Sec. 52.1770 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(91) The North Carolina Department of Environment, Health and
Natural Resources submitted revisions to the North Carolina State
Implementation Plan on September 21, 1989. These revisions incorporate
SO2 limits and permit conditions for Cape Industries.
(i) Incorporation by reference.
(A) Permit for Cape Industries (air permit no. 130R17) which was
issued by the Environmental Management Commission on December 29, 1994.
(ii) Additional material--none.
[FR Doc. 96-24045 Filed 9-19-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
