[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 185 (Monday, September 23, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 49685-49688]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-24047]
[[Page 49685]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[TX-58-1-7256a; FRL-5557-8]
State of Texas; Approval of State Implementation Plan (SIP)
Addressing the Sulfur Dioxide Emission Limit; Site-Specific Revision to
the SIP for the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA) Facility in
Rockdale, TX
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: This document announces the EPA's decision to approve a
September 20, 1995, request from the State of Texas for a site-specific
revision to the Texas sulfur dioxide (SO2) SIP. The revision
amends the SO2 emission limitations applicable to the ALCOA
facility in Milam County, Texas. In this action, the EPA is approving
Texas' SIP revision allowing an increase in lignite fuel emissions of
SO2 from 3.0 pounds per million British thermal units (lb/MMBtu)
to 4.0 lb/MMBtu. The SIP revision also includes new requirements for
limits on the sulfur content of the petroleum coke used at the ALCOA
facility and an increased stack height to ``Good Engineering
Practices'' (GEP) as defined in 40 CFR 51.100 (ii). Texas has modeled
these changes demonstrating that with the revisions the National
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for SO2 will remain
protected.
DATES: This action is effective on November 22, 1996, unless adverse
comments are received by October 23, 1996. If the effective date is
delayed, timely notice will be published in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to Thomas H. Diggs, Chief, Air
Planning Section (6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency Region 6,
1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733. Copies of the State's
petition and other information relevant to this action are available
for inspection during normal hours at the following locations:
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, Air Planning Section (6PD-
L), 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200, Dallas, TX 75202-2733.
Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center, Environmental
Protection Agency, 401 M. Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20460.
Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, Office of Air Quality,
12124 Park 35 Circle, P.O. Box 13087, Austin, TX 78711-3087.
Anyone wishing to review this petition at the EPA office is asked
to contact the person below to schedule an appointment 24 hours in
advance.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Petra Sanchez, Air Planning
Section (6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, 1445 Ross
Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, telephone (214) 665-6686.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On May 31, 1972 the EPA approved the original Texas SIP submission
allowing for 3.0 lbs/MMBtu SO2 emissions from solid fossil fuel-
fired steam generators at the ALCOA plant. In 1979, ALCOA petitioned
the Texas Air Control Board (TACB), now the Texas Natural Resource
Conservation Commission (TNRCC), to allow relaxed SO2 emission
limitations for its power plant units.
The 1979 relaxation increased the allowable SO2 limit to 5.0
lb/MMBtu, and was published in the Texas Register on July 6, 1979.
After a public hearing conducted by the TACB on November 13, 1979,
ALCOA modified its original petition and agreed to gradually lower the
SO2 emission limit from 5.0 lb/MMBtu SO2 to 4.5 lb/MMBtu in
1981, and eventually to 4.0 lb/MMBtu after January 1, 1982. The TACB
adopted this phased-in schedule on December 14, 1979, thus, lowering
the requirement to 4.0 lb/MMBtu, as it remains today in the Texas
regulations (see TAC Sec. 112.8). However, the increase in allowable
SO2 limits was not officially revised and submitted to the EPA for
approval as a SIP revision. Also in 1979, a new 545 MW power plant
(Sandow Four) was built, doubling the fuel capacity from 2.1 million to
5.6 million tons of lignite per year. Sandow Four is owned by TU
Electric Company and is under a contractual agreement with ALCOA to
supply most of its power to ALCOA's operations. Therefore, Sandow Four
Unit is not part of this SIP action but must meet more stringent
emissions limitations. Sandow Four has a Prevention of Significant
Deterioration (PSD) permit and is under New Source Performance
Standards (NSPS) as well thus, BACT (Best Available Control Technology)
applies. Under NSPS, Sandow Four is subject to a limitation of 1.2 lb/
MMBtu SO2 emissions in accordance with 40 CFR 60, Subpart D.
SIP Violation
On May 5, 1981, the EPA issued a Notice of Violation to ALCOA for
exceeding the 3.0 lb/MMBtu SO2 limit in the approved 1972 SIP.
Without an approved SIP revision, ALCOA should have complied with the
3.0 lb/MMBtu limit under federal law rather than the higher state
limit. The SIP revision provided by Texas includes information on the
ALCOA facilities (i.e., Sandow One, Two, and Three) to ensure that a
sulfur limit relaxation for those units will result in acceptable
levels of SO2 concentrations and to ensure continued attainment of
the SO2 National Ambient Air Quality Standards. To support the
proposal, ALCOA submitted technical feasibility studies and economic
evaluations, supported by ambient monitoring data and dispersion
modeling. Compliance with the NAAQS and Prevention of Significant
Deterioration (PSD) increments for SO2 emission levels were
supported through modeling procedures. The final submittal from the
State contained limits on the use of sulfur-bearing fuels for the three
units to prevent potential violations of the SO2 NAAQS. A public
hearing announcement was published on May 11, 1995, and a hearing was
held on June 14, 1995, in Rockdale, Texas. No adverse comments were
received. Comments were generally supportive of the action. The EPA
found the SIP revision to be administratively complete in a letter
dated November 28, 1995. For further details on the SIP submittal,
please reference the Technical Support Document on file.
Good Engineering Practice and Stack Height Increase at Sandow Three
In June of 1995, ALCOA completed construction of a new stack for
Sandow Three to increase the height of the emission point from 81 to
161 meters. The increase in height helped avoid the down-washing effect
caused by the presence of large nearby structures. However, another
effect of increasing stack height is to disperse emissions over a
larger area, resulting in lower ambient concentrations without a true
emissions reduction in grams per second. To limit over-crediting, the
EPA federal regulations which define ``Good Engineering Practices''
(GEP) for the stack height, were evaluated to ensure that emissions do
not result in excessive concentrations due to atmospheric downwash, or
wakes created by terrain or structures in the vicinity of a source.
Requirements, promulgated under 40 CFR Part 51, regulate stack height
``credits'' instead of actual stack height.
A GEP stack is defined under 40 CFR 51.100 (ii) by a formula that
relates stack height to the dimensions of nearby structures, thus
restricting stack increases to the modeling height necessary to avoid
over-crediting by dilution. It also specifies certain site-specific
demonstrations that are required to justify increases of an
[[Page 49686]]
existing stack to GEP formula height. The EPA interpretation of this
rule (stated in a July 29, 1992 memo from the EPA's Office of Air
Quality Planning and Standards to the EPA Directors) waives the
requirement for a site-specific demonstration if a new structure has
been built since the construction of the original stack. Thus, the
siting of a new nearby structure removes a presumption that the
original stack height is the GEP height, since the new structure may
create downwash effects that were not anticipated in the original stack
design. In ALCOA's case, the stack for Sandow Three was built in the
early 1950's and Sandow Four was built in the late 1970's on adjacent
property. The presence of the Sandow Four structure created new
downwash effects. Therefore, the stack height increase is allowed by
the EPA's stack height regulations, as long as it is within the
allowable height as defined by 40 CFR 51.100(ii).
Dispersion Modeling Analysis
Dispersion modeling was used to demonstrate that ambient SO2
concentrations are predicted to be below the NAAQS and allowable
Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) increments. Dispersion
modeling integrates historical meteorological data and continuous
industrial emissions to predict whether the population outside of a
facility's property could be exposed to SO2 levels above
applicable health-based standards.
Alcoa hired Earth Tech/Sigma Research to conduct the modeling
analyses to demonstrate that the ALCOA aluminum reduction facility and
power plant was in compliance with the NAAQS. The PSD increments
modeling was also performed to determine whether an incremental
increase in SO2 emissions from three to four pounds per MMBtu heat
input at Units one, two, and three of the Sandow Power Plant would
cause any violations.
The Industrial Source Complex--Short Term (ISCST2) model was used
to model the Sandow power plant point sources along with 132 non-ALCOA
background sources. The Buoyant Line and Point (BLP) Source model was
used to model all of the line and scrubber stacks for the aluminum
reduction facilities. The meteorological data used in the analyses were
obtained from the Austin surface station and the Stephenville upper air
station. The modeling was conducted in accordance to EPA's Guideline on
Air Quality Models and were generally consistent with the EPA's
regulatory recommendations.
NAAQS Modeling Analysis
The NAAQS analyses was performed in three phases. Results of the
ISCST2 model and BLP dispersion modeling runs were summed up to provide
ambient concentrations on an hourly basis for each receptor. Ambient
concentrations were then compared with the primary and secondary NAAQS.
The NAAQS limits are:
National SO2 Standards
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Micrograms
per cubic
NAAQS meter (ug/
m3)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary annual SO2.......................................... 80
Primary 24-hour............................................. 365
Secondary 3-hour............................................ 1,300
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To demonstrate compliance with the SO2 NAAQS, four
alternatives were used (based on smelter production levels and sulfur
content in the anodes). As discussed in the Technical Support Document,
the modeling runs predicted no violations of the applicable NAAQS.
The predicted concentrations for the annual average and the
highest-second-high (H2H) concentrations for three-hour and 24-hour
concentrations were below the SO2 NAAQS for all years evaluated.
The maximum annual concentrations for seven and eight lines scenarios
are 76.83 ug/m3 and 76.90 ug/m3, respectively. Both occur at
684900 easting and 3389100 northing, approximately six kilometers north
of the center of the ALCOA Rockdale facility. Meanwhile, the maximum
H2H 24-hour concentration which occurs with the 2.6 percent sulfur
content eight-line scenario is 355.29 ug/m3 at 683783 easting and
3381889 northing. The maximum H2H three-hour concentration which occurs
with the 3.0 percent sulfur content seven-line operating scenario is
1025.59 ug/m3 at 682500 easting and 3382000 northing.
PSD Modeling Analysis
In addition to the NAAQS evaluations, the EPA requires an analysis
to ensure that incremental increases of SO2 due to a SIP
relaxation will not cause a violation of the PSD increments. Milam
County is classified as a Class II area for the purpose of establishing
its allowable PSD increments.
There are no Class III areas in Texas. Numerical increments for
SO2 are defined below as the maximum increase above baseline,
ambient concentrations.
Class II PSD Increment Standards for SO2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PSD increment ug/m3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual SO2 average............................................ 20
24-hour SO2 average........................................... 91
3-hour SO2 average............................................ 512
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The PSD modeling analysis was also performed in three phases. For
the PSD analysis, the main ALCOA increment-consuming sources are Sandow
One, Two, and Three. These sources were modeled with ISCST2 using a 1.0
lb/MMBtu emission rate increase, representing the proposed increase in
allowable SO2 emission from 3.0 to 4.0 lb/MMBtu. Sandow Four was
also included in the modeling because it too consumes PSD increment.
The modeling predicted some exceedances of allowable PSD increments in
an area about thirty kilometers to the southwest of the ALCOA facility.
The predicted exceedances however, occurred inside the private property
owned by the Acme Brick Company.
Closure of FM 1786 and Construction of Alternate Route
The TNRCC modeling staff predicted excesses of the NAAQS on a
public roadway, Farm-to-Market Road 1786 (FM 1786), which was
originally built as an entrance into the plant. ALCOA confirmed these
possible impacts in their preliminary modeling efforts. After the
public hearing, ALCOA and Milam County agreed to provide an alternate
route as part of the county road system, resolving potential citizen
complaints. ALCOA eventually acquired a 2.4-mile section of FM 1786 and
privatized the road to limit its public access. On November 23, 1994,
the Governor of Texas signed the deed transferring this section of
roadway to ALCOA. With the closure of the former FM 1786, which is the
entrance to the Rockdale Operations Facility, measures to restrict
public access are to be taken. A gate has been installed and security
guards patrol for unauthorized entry.
Monitoring
ALCOA is currently operating a monitoring network with two monitors
collecting data on SO2 concentrations, fluoride, wind speed, and
wind direction. The Agreed Order requires ALCOA to continue providing
ambient SO2 and meteorological monitors installed and operated at
the TNRCC approved sites in accordance with the Quality Assurance
Project Plan (QAPP) to ensure that the NAAQS are protected. The QAPP
was submitted to the TNRCC for approval and was approved on June
[[Page 49687]]
13, 1995. The TNRCC assumes all responsibility for ensuring quality
data collection, analysis, calibration, and reporting requirements from
ALCOA will protect the NAAQS. Monitoring reports submitted to the TNRCC
currently show no exceedances of the NAAQS.
Enforceability
In order to protect the annual NAAQS, an annual limit of 3.1
million MW-hours of power generation from Sandow One, Two and Three is
imposed on the facility. This limit was used to calculate the annual
average for all four operating scenarios modeled. The Agreed Order
adopted by TNRCC and ALCOA ensure the annual limits will be enforced
and become federally enforceable through this SIP action. Within sixty
days after adoption of the Agreed Order by the TNRCC, ALCOA began a
fuel sampling program to determine continuous compliance with the
emissions limit of 4.0 lbs SO2/MMBtu.
ALCOA is required to ensure that the total percentage of sulfur
contained in the new petroleum coke used in the anodes in the operating
potlines and portions of potlines do not exceed the following amount
when averaged over a thirty-day period and considering the number of
potlines in operation during that period:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent SO2
allowed in
Number of operating potlines new
petroleum
coke
------------------------------------------------------------------------
8.......................................................... 2.6
7 or fewer................................................. 3.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
When additional potlines or portions of potlines are started up or
shut down, the maximum allowable percentage of sulfur in the new
petroleum coke shall conform with the applicable sulfur limits stated
above. If ALCOA operates a portion of a potline between the number of
potlines specified above, the maximum allowable percentage of sulfur in
the new petroleum coke shall be determined by proportional
interpolations between the pair of limits specified above. ALCOA will
notify the TNRCC Regional Office ten (10) days prior to the start up or
shut down of any potline(s) or portions of potlines except that in the
case of an emergency shutdown, notice shall be given as soon as
reasonably possible.
ALCOA is prohibited from using any new petroleum coke without test
reports or on-site testing demonstrating compliance. ALCOA is also
required to ensure that the sulfur content of the returned anode butts
is no greater than the sulfur content of the new petroleum coke used in
the manufacture of those returned anode butts. ALCOA will demonstrate
compliance with the total sulfur content limits specified in the Agreed
Order by limiting the percent sulfur in new petroleum coke to the
petroleum coke supplier and will require its supplier to sample,
analyze, and demonstrate that the total sulfur content complies with
ALCOA's percent sulfur specification before shipment of any single lot
of new petroleum coke is made. Test reports from suppliers may be used
to document the sulfur content of new petroleum coke, or on-site
testing of each incoming new petroleum coke shipment in accordance with
ASTM Methods D346-90 or ASTM D4239-85. ALCOA will maintain records
documenting compliance with the requirements of the Agreed Order.
Records will include computations which show the amounts and total
percent sulfur content of new petroleum coke and the sulfur content of
the returned anode butts used in production of anodes. The sulfur
content of the returned anode butts may be based on records of the new
petroleum coke that went into them and ALCOA records showing the
statistically established relationship between that sulfur content and
the sulfur content of returned anode butts.
Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements
ALCOA will maintain a record of the gross power generated for each
calendar month, and of the gross power generated for the previous
twelve month period. Records will be made available upon request to the
TNRCC, the EPA or any local air pollution control agency having
jurisdiction. Periodic compliance demonstrations will be conducted at
least quarterly beginning with the calendar quarter ending December 31,
1995 using methods prescribed for the initial demonstration in the
Agreed Order. Results will be reported to the TNRCC and the EPA Region
VI no later than thirty days after the completion of testing.
The provisions for the Milam County Agreed Order are adopted
through this SIP action. The Order includes SO2 maximum allowable
emissions limits, recordkeeping, reporting and compliance monitoring
requirements and other required stipulations briefly described in this
notice. For further details on compliance monitoring and record keeping
requirements please reference the Agreed Order and the Technical
Support Document.
Final Rulemaking Action
In today's action, the EPA is approving the ALCOA SIP revision
which includes among other things, TNRCC Agreed Order No. 95-0583-SIP.
Texas's revised Milam County SO2 Order creates an enforceable
restriction on the operations of a primary aluminum smelting plant and
three units of a lignite-fueled power plant at the ALCOA facility. This
action is also approving revisions to 31 TAC Chapter 112, section
112.8, ``Allowable Emissions From Solid Fossil Fuel-Fired Steam
Generators,'' Subsections 112.8(a) and 112.8(b). Adequate modeling
demonstrating that the NAAQS for SO2 and SO2 PSD increment
will be protected in Milam County, Texas was also provided.
This action is being published without a prior proposal because the
EPA views this as a noncontroversial revision and anticipates no
adverse comments to the proposal. However, the EPA is publishing a
separate document in this Federal Register publication, which
constitutes a ``proposed approval'' of the requested SIP revision and
clarifies that the rulemaking will not be deemed final if timely
adverse or critical comments are filed. The ``direct final'' approval
shall be effective on November 22, 1996, unless the EPA receives
adverse or critical comments by October 23, 1996.
If the EPA receives comments adverse to or critical of the approval
discussed above, the EPA will withdraw this approval before its
effective date by publishing a subsequent Federal Register document
which withdraws this final action. All public comments received will
then be addressed in a subsequent rulemaking document. Please be aware
that the EPA will institute a second comment period on this action only
if warranted by significant revisions to the rulemaking based on
comments received in response to this action. Any parties interested in
commenting on this action should do so at this time. If no such
comments are received, the EPA hereby advises the public that this
action will be effective on November 22, 1996.
Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting, allowing
or establishing a precedent for any future request for revision to any
SIP. The EPA shall consider each request for revision to the SIP in
light of specific technical, economic, and environmental factors and in
relation to relevant statutory and regulatory requirements.
This action has been classified as a Table 3 action for signature
by the Regional Administrator under the
[[Page 49688]]
procedures published in the Federal Register on January 19, 1989 (54 FR
2214-2225), as revised by a July 10, 1995, memorandum from Mary D.
Nichols, Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation. The Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) has exempted this regulatory action from
Executive Order 12866 review. Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act of 1995, signed into law on March 22, 1995, requires that
the EPA prepare a budgetary impact statement before promulgating a rule
that includes a Federal mandate that may result in expenditure by
State, local, and tribal governments, in aggregate, or by the private
sector, of $100 million or more in any one year. Section 203 requires
the EPA to establish a plan for obtaining input from and informing,
educating, and advising any small governments that may be significantly
or uniquely affected by the rule.
Under section 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, the EPA must
identify and consider a reasonable number of regulatory alternatives
before promulgating a rule for which a budgetary impact statement must
be prepared. The EPA must select from those alternatives the least
costly, most cost-effective, or least burdensome alternative that
achieves the objectives of the rule, unless the EPA explains why this
alternative is not selected or the selection of this alternative is
inconsistent with law.
This final rule is estimated to result in the expenditure by State,
local, and tribal governments or the private sector of less then $100
million in any one year. Therefore the EPA has not prepared a budgetary
impact statement or specifically addressed the selection of the least
costly, most cost-effective, or least burdensome alternative. Small
governments will not be significantly or uniquely affected by this
rule. Hence, the EPA is not required to develop a plan with regard to
small governments. This rule only approves the incorporation of
existing State rules into the SIP. It imposes no additional
requirements.
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).
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.
SIP approvals under section 110 and subchapter I, part D of the Act
do not create any new requirements but simply approve requirements that
the State is already imposing. The Federal SIP approval does not impose
any additional requirements. Therefore, I certify that the SIP does not
have a significant impact on any small entities affected. Moreover, due
to the nature of the Federal-State relationship under the Act,
preparation of a regulatory flexibility analysis would constitute
Federal inquiry into the economic reasonableness of the State action.
The Act forbids the EPA to base its actions concerning SIPs on such
grounds. See Union Electric Co. v. EPA, 427 U.S. 246, 256-66 (S.Ct.
1976); 42 U.S.C. 7410(a)(2).
Under section 307(b)(1) of the Act, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by November 22, 1996. 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 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, Incorporation by
reference, Sulfur oxides.
Dated: August 9, 1996.
Allyn M. Davis,
Acting Regional Administrator.
Title 40, part 52, of the Code of the 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 SS--Texas
2. Section 52.2270 is amended by adding paragraph (c) (101) to read
as follows:
Sec. 52.2270 Identification of Plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(101) Revisions to Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission
Regulation II and the Texas State Implementation Plan concerning the
Control of Air Pollution from Sulfur Compounds, submitted by the
Governor by cover letters dated October 15, 1992 and September 20,
1995. These revisions relax the SO2 limit from 3.0 lb/MMBtu to 4.0
lb/MMBtu, and include Agreed Order No. 95-0583-SIP, which stipulates
specific SO2 emission limit compliance methodologies for the
Aluminum Company of America, located in Rockdale, Texas.
(i) Incorporation by reference.
(A) Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission Agreed Order No.
95-0583-SIP, approved and effective on August 23, 1995.
(B) Revisions to 31 TAC Chapter 112, Section 112.8, ``Allowable
Emissions From Solid Fossil Fuel-Fired Steam Generators,'' Subsections
112.8(a) and 112.8(b) as adopted by the TNRCC on August 23, 1995.
(ii) Additional material.
(A) The State submittal entitled Revisions to the State
Implementation Plan Concerning Sulfur Dioxide in Milam County, dated
June 14, 1995.
(B) The document entitled Dispersion Modeling Analysis of ALCOA
Rockdale Operations, Rockdale, Texas, dated April 28, 1995 (document
No. 1345-05).
[FR Doc. 96-24047 Filed 9-20-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
