[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 187 (Wednesday, September 26, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 59186]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-23690]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[Petition IV-2011-1; FRL-9734-2]
Clean Air Act Operating Permit Program; Petition for Objection to
State Operating Permit for Tennessee Valley Authority's Shawnee Fossil
Plant; McCracken County, KY
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of final order on petition to object to a state
operating permit.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 505(b)(2), the EPA
Administrator signed an Order, dated August 31, 2012, denying a
petition to object to a CAA title V operating permit issued by the
Kentucky Division for Air Quality (KDAQ) to Tennessee Valley Authority
for its Shawnee Fossil Plant (SFP) facility located in West Paducah,
Kentucky. This Order constitutes a final action on the petition dated
February 28, 2011, and submitted by the Environmental Integrity Project
and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (Petitioners). Pursuant to
sections 307(b) and 505(b)(2) of the CAA, a petition for judicial
review of those parts of the Order that deny the petition may be filed
in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit
within 60 days from the date this notice is published in the Federal
Register.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Order, the petition, and information relating
thereto are on file at the following location: EPA Region 4; Air,
Pesticides and Toxics Management Division; 61 Forsyth Street SW.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The Order is also available electronically
at the following address: http://www.epa.gov/region07/air/title5/petitiondb/petitions/shawnee_response2011.pdf.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Purvis, Air Permits Section, EPA
Region 4, at (404) 562-9139 or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CAA affords the EPA a 45-day period to
review and, as appropriate, the authority to object to operating
permits proposed by state permitting authorities under title V of the
CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7661-7661f. Section 505(b)(2) of the CAA and 40 CFR
70.8(d) authorize any person to petition the EPA Administrator to
object to a title V operating permit within 60 days after the
expiration of the EPA's 45-day review period if the EPA has not
objected on its own initiative. Petitions must be based only on
objections to the permit that were raised with reasonable specificity
during the public comment period provided by the state, unless the
petitioner demonstrates that it was impracticable to raise these issues
during the comment period or the grounds for the issues arose after
this period.
Petitioners submitted a petition regarding SFP (received by the EPA
on March 1, 2011), requesting that the EPA object to the CAA title V
operating permit (V-09-002 R1). Petitioners alleged that the
permit was not consistent with the CAA for four primary reasons
described in the petition. On August 31, 2012, the Administrator issued
an Order denying the petition. In summary, the Petition was denied
because the EPA interprets its regulations to limit the scope of
petitions to object on permit revisions resulting from reopening for
cause. The scope of petitions to object is limited to issues related to
the parts of the permit for which the permitting authority has
determined that cause to reopen exists. Because the Petitioners'
objections apply to parts of the Shawnee Permit that are beyond the
scope of the reopening for cause resulting in Permit Revision 1, the
EPA is denying the Petition. The Order further explains the EPA's
rationale for denying the petition.
Dated: September 17, 2012.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Deputy Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2012-23690 Filed 9-25-12; 8:45 am]
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