03-3701. National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Chemical Recovery Combustion Sources at Kraft, Soda, Sulfite, and Stand-Alone Semichemical Pulp Mills

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Proposed rule; amendments.

SUMMARY:

The EPA is proposing amendments to the national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for chemical recovery combustion sources at kraft, soda, sulfite, and stand-alone semichemical pulp mills, which were issued on January 12, 2001 under section 112 of the Clean Air Act. This action proposes to improve implementation of the emission standards by clarifying and consolidating monitoring and testing requirements and adding a site-specific compliance alternative for one pulp mill.

In the Rules and Regulations section of this Federal Register, we are issuing these amendments as a direct final rule, without prior proposal, because we view the revisions as noncontroversial and anticipate no significant adverse comments. We have explained our reasons for these revisions in the preamble to the direct final rule.

If we receive any significant adverse comment on one or more distinct amendments in the direct final rule, we will publish a timely notice of withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public which provisions will become effective and which provisions are being withdrawn due to adverse comment. We will address all public comments in a subsequent final rule. If no significant adverse comments are received, no further action will be taken on the proposal, and the direct final rule will become effective as provided in that action.

The regulatory text for the proposal is identical to that for the direct final rule published in the Rules and Regulations section of this Federal Register. For further supplementary information, see the direct final rule.

DATES:

Comments. Written comments must be received by March 20, 2003, unless a hearing is requested by February 28, 2003. If a hearing is requested, written comments must be received by April 4, 2003.

Public Hearing. If anyone contacts EPA requesting to speak at a public hearing by February 28, 2003, a public hearing will be held on March 4, 2003.

ADDRESSES:

Comments. Comments may be submitted electronically, by mail, or through hand delivery/courier. By mail, comments may be submitted (in duplicate, if possible) to EPA West (Air Docket), U.S. EPA, Room B-108 (MD-6102T), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID No. OAR-2002-0045. By hand delivery/courier, comments may be submitted (in duplicate, if possible) to EPA Docket Center (Air Docket), U.S. EPA, Room B-108 (MD-6102T), 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID No. OAR-2002-0045.

Public Hearing. If a public hearing is held, it will be held at the new EPA facility complex in Research Triangle Park, NC at 10:30 a.m. Persons interested in presenting oral testimony or inquiring as to whether a hearing is to be held should contact the person listed below under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, at least 2 days in advance of the hearing.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Jeff Telander, Minerals and Inorganic Chemicals Group, Emission Standards Division (MD-C504-05), Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, U.S. EPA, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone number [phone], facsimile number [phone], electronic mail address: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulated Entities. Categories and entities potentially regulated by this action are kraft, soda, sulfite, and stand-alone semichemical pulp mills with chemical recovery processes that involve the combustion of spent pulping liquor. Categories and entities potentially regulated by this action include:

Category	NAICS code*	Examples of regulated entities
Industry	32211 32212 32213	Kraft, soda, sulfite, and stand-alone semichemical pulp mills.
Federal government		Not affected.
State/local tribal government		Not affected.
*North American Industrial Classification System.

This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a guide for readers regarding entities likely to be regulated by this action. To determine whether your facility is regulated by this action, you should carefully examine the applicability criteria in § 63.860 of the national emission standards. If you have questions regarding the applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult the person listed in the preceding FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document. Docket. The EPA has established an official public docket for this action under Docket ID No. OAR-2002-0045. The official public docket is the collection of materials that is available for public viewing at the EPA Docket Center (Air Docket), EPA West, Room B-108, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460. The Docket Center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Reading Room is [phone], and the telephone number for the Air Docket is [phone].

Electronic Access. An electronic version of the public docket is available through EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, EPA Dockets. You may use EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/​edocket/​ to submit or view public comments, access the index of the contents of the official public docket, and access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, select “search” and key in the appropriate docket identification number.

Certain types of information will not be placed in the EPA Dockets. Information claimed as confidential business information (CBI) and other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute, which are not included in the official public docket, will not be available for public viewing in EPA's electronic public docket. The EPA's policy is that copyrighted material will not be placed in EPA's electronic public docket but will be available only in printed paper form in the official public docket. Although not all docket materials may be available electronically, you may still access any of the publicly available docket materials through the docket facility identified in this document.

For public commenters, it is important to note that EPA's policy is that public comments, whether submitted electronically or on paper, will be made available for public viewing in EPA's electronic public docket as EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a comment containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that material in the version of the comment that is placed in EPA's electronic public docket. The entire printed comment, including the copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket.

Public comments submitted on computer disks that are mailed or delivered to the docket will be transferred to EPA's electronic public docket. Public comments that are mailed or delivered to the docket will be scanned and placed in EPA's electronic public docket. Where practical, physical objects will be photographed, and the photograph will be placed in EPA's electronic public docket along with a brief description written by the docket staff.

Comments. You may submit comments electronically, by mail, by facsimile, or through hand delivery/courier. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, identify the appropriate docket identification number in the subject line on the first page of your comment. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the specified comment period. Comments submitted after the close of the comment period will be marked “late.” The EPA is not required to consider these late comments.

Electronically. If you submit an electronic comment as prescribed below, EPA recommends that you include your name, mailing address, and an electronic mail (e-mail) address or other contact information in the body of your comment. Also include this contact information on the outside of any disk or CD ROM you submit and in any cover letter accompanying the disk or CD ROM. This ensures that you can be identified as the submitter of the comment and allows EPA to contact you in case EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties or needs further information on the substance of your comment. The EPA's policy is that EPA will not edit your comment, and any identifying or contact information provided in the body of a comment will be included as part of the comment that is placed in the official public docket and made available in EPA's electronic public docket. 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.

Your use of EPA's electronic public docket to submit comments to EPA electronically is EPA's preferred method for receiving comments. Go directly to EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/​edocket and follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once in the system, select “search” and key in Docket ID No. OAR-2002-0045. The system is an “anonymous access” system, which means EPA will not know your identity, e-mail address, or other contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment.

Comments may be sent by e-mail to [e-mail], Attention Docket ID No. OAR-2002-0045. In contrast to EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail system is not an “anonymous access” system. If you send an e-mail comment directly to the docket without going through EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail system automatically captures your e-mail address. E-mail addresses that are automatically captured by EPA's e-mail system are included as part of the comment that is placed in the official public docket and made available in EPA's electronic public docket.

You may submit comments on a disk or CD ROM that you mail to the mailing address identified in this document. These electronic submissions will be accepted in WordPerfect or ASCII file format. Avoid the use of special characters and any form of encryption.

By Mail. Send your comments (in duplicate, if possible) to: EPA West (Air Docket), U.S. EPA, Room B-108 (MD-6102T), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID No. OAR-2002-0045.

By Hand Delivery or Courier. Deliver your comments (in duplicate, if possible) to: EPA Docket Center (Air Docket), U.S. EPA, Room B-108 (MD-6102T), 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID No. OAR-2002-0045. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket Center's normal hours of operation as identified in this document.

By Facsimile. Fax your comments to: [phone], Attention Docket ID OAR-2002-0045.

CBI. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI through EPA's electronic public docket or by e-mail. Send or deliver information identified as CBI only to the following address: Jeff Telander, c/o OAQPS Document Control Officer (MD-C404-02), U.S. EPA, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, Attention Docket ID No. OAR-2002-0045. You may claim information that you submit to EPA as CBI by marking any part or all of that information as CBI (if you submit CBI on disk or CD ROM, mark the outside of the disk or CD ROM as CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD ROM the specific information that is CBI). Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.

Worldwide Web (WWW). In addition to being available in the docket, an electronic copy of today's proposal will also be available on the WWW through EPA's Technology Transfer Network (TTN). Following the Administrator's signature, a copy of this action will be posted on the TTN's policy and guidance page for newly proposed rules at http://www.epa.gov/​ttn/​oarpg. The TTN provides information and technology exchange in various areas of air pollution control. If more information regarding the TTN is needed, call the TTN HELP line at [phone].

What Are the Administrative Requirements for This Action?

For information regarding other administrative requirements for this action, please see the direct final rule action that is located in the Rules and Regulations section of this Federal Register.

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), as Amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.

The RFA generally requires an agency to prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule subject to notice and comment rulemaking requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act or any other statute unless the agency certifies that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Small entities include small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions.

For purposes of assessing the impacts of today's proposed rule on small entities, small entity is defined as: (1) A small business that has fewer than 750 employees for NAICS codes 32211, 32212, and 32213 (pulp, paper, and paperboard mills); (2) a small governmental jurisdiction that is a government of a city, county, town, school district or special district with a population of less than 50,000; and (3) a small organization that is any not-for-profit enterprise which is independently owned and operated and is not dominant in its field.

After considering the economic impacts of today's proposed rule on small entities, I certify that this action will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. In determining whether a rule has a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities, the impact of concern is any significant adverse economic impact on small entities, since the primary purpose of the regulatory flexibility analyses is to identify and address regulatory alternatives which minimize any significant economic impact of the proposed rule on small entities (5 U.S.C. 603-604). Thus, an agency may certify that a rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities if the rule relieves regulatory burden, or otherwise has a positive effect on the small entities subject to the rule. The amendments in today's rule make improvements to the emission standards, primarily by clarifying issues in the areas of testing and monitoring and add a new compliance option. We have, therefore, concluded that today's proposed rule will have no adverse impacts on any small entities and may relieve burden in some cases.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 63

• Environmental protection
• Air pollution control
• Hazardous substances
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements

Dated: January 27, 2003.

Christine Todd Whitman,

Administrator.