[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 13, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14716-14717]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-5550]
[[Page 14716]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 60
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0960; FRL-9644-1]
Notice of Availability: Draft Documents Related to the
Development of Emissions Estimating Methodologies for Broiler Animal
Feeding Operations and Lagoons and Basins for Swine and Dairy Animal
Feeding Operations
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The EPA is requesting public comment on draft documents
titled, ``Development of Emissions Estimating Methodologies for Broiler
Animal Feeding Operations'' and ``Development of Emissions Estimating
Methodologies for Lagoons and Basins at Swine and Dairy Animal Feeding
Operations.'' These documents contain EPA's draft emissions estimating
methodologies for determining daily and annual emissions from a broiler
chicken animal feeding operation and from a lagoon or basin located at
a swine or dairy animal feeding operation.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 11, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Submit your information, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
HQ-OAR-2010-0960, by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the
online instructions for submitting data.
Email: Send your information via electronic mail to [email protected], Attention Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0960.
Facsimile: Fax your comments to (202) 566-1741, Attention Docket ID
Number EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0960.
Mail: Send your information to: EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC),
Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OAR-
2010-0960. Please include two copies. We request that a separate copy
also be sent to the contact person identified below (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT).
Hand Delivery: Deliver your information to: EPA Docket Center (EPA/
DC), EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0960.
Such deliveries are only accepted during the normal hours of operation
(8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal
holidays) and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of
boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your data and information to Docket ID Number
EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0960. The EPA's policy is that all information received
will be included in the public docket and may be made available online
at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided, unless the submission includes information claimed to be
confidential business information (CBI) or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you
consider to be CBI, or otherwise protected, through http://www.regulations.gov or email. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site
is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means the EPA will not know
your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body
of your information. If you send an email directly to the EPA without
going through http://www.regulations.gov, your email address will be
automatically captured and included as part of the information that is
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you
submit the electronic data and information, the EPA recommends that you
include your name and other contact information in the body of your
information and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If the EPA cannot
read your information due to technical difficulties and cannot contact
you for clarification, the EPA may not be able to consider your
information. Electronic files should avoid the use of special
characters or any form of encryption and should be free of any defects
or viruses.
Docket: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0960. All documents in the docket are
listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the
index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other
material, such as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only
in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are available
either electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at
the EPA's Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301
Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is open
from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal
holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202)
566-1744, and the telephone number for the EPA's Docket Center is (202)
566-1742.
Submitting CBI: Do not submit information you consider to be CBI
electronically through http://www.regulations.gov or email. Send or
deliver information identified as CBI to only the following address:
Mr. Larry Elmore, c/o Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards
Document Control Officer (Room C404-02), U.S. EPA, Research Triangle
Park, NC 27711, Attention Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0960.
Clearly mark the part or all of the information that you claim to be
CBI. For CBI information in a disk or CD-ROM that you mail to the EPA,
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 claimed as CBI. In addition to one complete version of the
information claimed as CBI, a copy of the information that does not
contain the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion
in the public docket. Information marked as CBI will not be disclosed
except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
If you have any questions about CBI or the procedures for claiming
CBI, please consult the person identified in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Larry Elmore, Natural Resources
Group, Sector Policies and Programs Division, (E143-03), Environmental
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; telephone number:
(919) 541-5433; Facsimile number: (919) 541-3470; email address:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In January 2005, the EPA announced the
voluntary Air Compliance Agreement (Agreement) with the animal feeding
operations (AFO) industry. Under the Agreement, participating AFOs were
responsible for funding the National Air Emissions Monitoring Study
(NAEMS)--a 2-year study of animal confinement structures and manure
storage and treatment units in the broiler chicken, egg-layer, swine
and dairy industries. The study's purpose was to gather emissions data
that the EPA could use to develop emissions estimating methodologies
(EEMs). To provide a framework for the NAEMS, AFO industry experts,
university and government scientists, and other stakeholders
collaborated to develop a comprehensive monitoring plan. The study was
designed to generate scientifically credible data to characterize
emissions from the participating animal sectors. The
[[Page 14717]]
NAEMS began in the summer of 2007 and consisted of 24 monitoring sites
located in nine states. In addition, Tyson Foods, Inc. collected data
from two broiler sites, which are also included in the NAEMS dataset.
Academic researchers from various universities conducted the NAEMS
study with EPA oversight. At the animal confinement sites, the study
was designed to collect process and emissions data for ammonia
(NH3), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), total suspended
particulate matter (TSP), particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters
less than 10 micrometers (PM10), PM with aerodynamic
diameters less than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5), and volatile
organic compounds (VOCs). For lagoons and basins, the study was
designed to collect NH3, H2S and VOCs.
In accordance with the Agreement's monitoring protocol, the EPA
developed draft EEMs for animal housing structures and manure storage
and treatment units using the emissions and process data collected
under the NAEMS and other relevant information. Once the draft EEMs are
final, the EPA expects that the AFO industry will use the EEMs to
estimate daily and annual emissions for use in determining AFOs'
regulatory responsibilities under the Clean Air Act, the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, and the
Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.
The draft documents describe the sites monitored, the statistical
methodology used to analyze the data, and the EEMs.
The agency is requesting comment on the draft documents with
particular emphasis on the statistical methodology used to develop the
emissions estimating methodologies. Please submit comments within 90
days of the date of this notice. Electronic copies of the documents are
available at www.epa.gov/airquality/agmonitoring.
On February 17, 2012, EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and
Standards sent a memorandum to the EPA Science Advisory Board Staff
Office titled, ``Animal Feeding Operations Air Emissions Estimating
Methodologies from the National Air Emissions Monitoring Study'' asking
the Science Advisory Board to review and provide comments on these
documents.
In response to EPA's memorandum, the EPA's Science Advisory Board
has formed an expert panel to review and provide comments on these
documents. The Science Advisory Board review process is an independent
process. Information on submitting comments to the Science Advisory
Board can be found at www.epa.gov/sab. Additional information about the
Science Advisory Board process can be found at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/0/ae6639dd6b79360e852579a4004e5529!OpenDocument. The Science Advisory
Board anticipates multiple meetings of the expert panel to cover the
documents in this notice.
The EPA will consider public comments received in response to this
notice, public comments submitted to the Science Advisory Board, and
the Science Advisory Board panel recommendations as the final emissions
estimating methodologies are developed.
Dated: February 29, 2012.
Janet McCabe,
Acting Assistant Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2012-5550 Filed 3-12-12; 8:45 am]
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