[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 188 (Monday, September 29, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 50871-50873]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-25755]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[PA-103-21a; FRL-5898-3]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Pennsylvania; Approval of a NOX RACT Determination for
Panther Creek Energy Facility
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision
submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This revision
establishes and requires nitrogen oxides (NOX) reasonably
available control technology (RACT) for Panther Creek Energy Facility
located in Carbon County, Pennsylvania. The intended effect of this
action is to approve a source-specific operating permit that
establishes the above-mentioned RACT requirements in accordance with
the Clean Air Act. This action is being taken under section 110 of the
Clean Air Act.
DATES: This action is effective November 28, 1997 unless notice is
received on or before October 29, 1997 that adverse or critical
comments will be submitted. If the effective date is delayed, timely
notice will be published in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to David Campbell, Air, Radiation,
and Toxics Division, Mailcode 3AT22, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region III, 841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
19107. Copies of the documents relevant to this action are available
for public inspection during normal business hours at the Air,
Radiation, and Toxics Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region III, 841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107;
the Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW., Washington, DC 20460;
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Air
Quality Control, P.O. Box 8468, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania 17105.
[[Page 50872]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelly L. Bunker, (215) 566-2177, at
the EPA Region III office or via e-mail at
Bunker.Kelly@epamail.epa.gov. While information may be requested via e-
mail, any comments must be submitted in writing to the Region III
address.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 13, 1996 and January 21, 1997,
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania submitted formal revisions to its
State Implementation Plan (SIP). Each source subject to this rulemaking
will be identified and discussed below. Any plan approvals and
operating permits submitted coincidentally with those being approved in
this document, and not identified below, will be addressed in a
separate rulemaking action.
Pursuant to sections 182(b)(2) and 182(f) of the Clean Air Act
(CAA), Pennsylvania is required to implement RACT for all major VOC and
NOX sources by no later than May 31, 1995. The major source
size is determined by its location, the classification of that area and
whether it is located in the ozone transport region (OTR), which is
established by the CAA. The Pennsylvania portion of the Philadelphia
ozone nonattainment area consists of Bucks, Chester, Delaware,
Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties and is classified as severe. The
remaining counties in Pennsylvania are classified as either moderate or
marginal nonattainment areas or are designated attainment for ozone.
However, under section 184 of the CAA, at a minimum, moderate ozone
nonattainment area requirements (including RACT as specified in
sections 182(b)(2) and 182(f)) apply throughout the OTR. Therefore,
RACT is applicable statewide in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania
submittal that is the subject of this document is meant to satisfy the
RACT requirements for one source in Pennsylvania.
Summary of SIP Revision
The details of the RACT requirements for the source-specific
operating permit can be found in the docket and accompanying technical
support document (TSD) and will not be reiterated in this document.
Briefly, EPA is approving a revision to the Pennsylvania SIP pertaining
to the determination of RACT for one major source. The operating permit
contains conditions irrelevant to the determination of NOX
RACT. Consequently, these provisions are not being included in this
approval for source-specific NOX RACT.
RACT Determination
The Panther Creek Energy Facility is a cogeneration utility located
in Carbon County. NOX RACT for the facility is addressed in
operating permit # 13-0003. The majority of NOX emissions at
the facility are generated by two circulating fluidized bed (CFB)
boilers. The facility is not a major VOC source. NOX RACT
for the two CFB boilers was determined to be continuation of current
operating conditions which includes the operation of selective non-
catalytic reduction (SNCR) controls. The RACT emission rate for each
CFB boiler is never to exceed 0.15 pounds of NOX/MMBtu and
72.5 pounds/hour, based on an one-hour average. Further information on
the RACT requirements for this facility are summarized in the
accompanying technical support document, which is available upon
further request, from the EPA Region III office listed in the Addresses
section of this document.
EPA is approving this SIP revision without prior proposal because
the Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates
no adverse comments. However, in a separate document in this Federal
Register publication, EPA is proposing to approve the SIP revision
should adverse or critical comments be filed. This action is effective
November 28, 1997 unless notice is received on or before October 29,
1997 that adverse or critical comments will be submitted.
If 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. 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 on November 28, 1997. If
adverse comments are received that do not pertain to all documents
subject to this rulemaking action, those documents not affected by the
adverse comments will be finalized in the manner described here. Only
those documents that receive adverse comments will be withdrawn in the
manner described here.
Final Action
EPA is approving one operating permit as NOX RACT for
Panther Creek Energy Facility.
Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or
allowing or establishing a precedent for any future request for
revision to any state implementation plan. Each request for revision to
the state implementation plan shall be considered separately in light
of specific technical, economic, and environmental factors and in
relation to relevant statutory and regulatory requirements.
Administrative Requirements
A. Executive Order 12866
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has exempted this
regulatory action from E.O. 12866 review.
B. Regulatory Flexibility Act
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 section 110 and subchapter I, part D of the
Clean Air Act 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, the
Administrator certifies 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 flexibility
analysis would constitute Federal inquiry into the economic
reasonableness of state action. The Clean Air Act forbids EPA to base
its actions concerning SIPs on such grounds. Union Electric Co. v. U.S.
EPA, 427 U.S. 246, 255-66 (1976); 42 U.S.C. 7410(a)(2).
C. Unfunded Mandates Act
Under section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
(``Unfunded Mandates Act''), signed into law on March 22, 1995, EPA
must prepare a budgetary impact statement to accompany any proposed or
final rule that includes a Federal mandate that may result in estimated
costs to State, local, or tribal governments in the aggregate, or to
private sector, of $100 million or more. Under section 205, EPA must
select the most cost-effective and least burdensome alternative that
achieves the objectives of the rule and
[[Page 50873]]
is consistent with statutory requirements. Section 203 requires EPA to
establish a plan for informing and advising any small governments that
may be significantly or uniquely impacted by the rule.
EPA has determined that the approval action promulgated does not
include a Federal mandate that may result in estimated costs of $100
million or more to either State, local, or tribal governments in the
aggregate, or to the private sector. This Federal action approves pre-
existing requirements under State or local law, and imposes no new
Federal requirements. Accordingly, no additional costs to State, local,
or tribal governments, or to the private sector, result from this
action.
D. Submission to Congress and the General Accounting Office
Under 5 U.S.C. 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 the 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 Clean Air Act, petitions for
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by November 28, 1997. Filing a
petition for reconsideration by the Regional 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 to approve a
NOX RACT determination for a one individual source in
Pennsylvania as a revision to the Commonwealths SIP 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, Hydrocarbons,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen
dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: September 16, 1997.
W. Michael McCabe,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
40 CFR part 52 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 NN--Pennsylvania
2. Section 52.2020 is amended by adding paragraph (c) (128) to read
as follows:
Sec. 52.2020 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(128) Revisions to the Pennsylvania Regulations, Chapter 129.91
pertaining to NOX RACT, submitted on September 13, 1996 and
January 21, 1997 by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Resources (now known as the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection).
(i) Incorporation by reference.
(A) Two letters submitted by the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Resources (now, the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection) transmitting source-specific NOX
RACT determinations in the form of an operating permit on the following
dates: September 13, 1996 and January 21, 1997.
(B) Operating permit (OP). Panther Creek Energy Facility, Carbon
County, OP # 13-0003, effective date of December 2, 1996, except for
condition # 7 pertaining to particulate, PM-10, SO2, CO and VOC
emission limits, condition # 10 pertaining to particulate emissions,
condition # 11 pertaining to opacity, condition # 12 pertaining to the
Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and the expiration
date.
(ii) Additional material.
(A) Remainder of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's September 13,
1996 and January 21, 1997 submittals.
[FR Doc. 97-25755 Filed 9-26-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F
