[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 53 (Tuesday, March 19, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 16825-16826]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-06196]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 49
[EPA-R09-OAR-2013-0009; FRL-9791-8]
Approval of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Navajo Nation;
Regional Haze Requirements for Navajo Generating Station; Extension of
Comment Period
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: On February 5, 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
proposed a source-specific federal implementation plan (FIP) requiring
the Navajo Generating Station (NGS), located on the Navajo Nation, to
reduce emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOX) under the Best
Available Retrofit Technology (BART) provision of the Clean Air Act
(CAA or Act) in order to reduce visibility impairment resulting from
NGS at 11 National Parks and Wilderness Areas. EPA provided a 90-day
public comment period for the proposed rule that is scheduled to close
on May 6, 2013. The Navajo Nation and other stakeholders have submitted
requests to extend the comment period an additional 90 days to allow
time for interested parties to explore alternatives to BART that
provide additional flexibility and also ensure greater reasonable
progress than would be achieved under BART. In today's action, EPA is
extending the comment period an additional 90 days.
DATES: Comments on the proposed rulemaking published on February 5,
2013 (78 FR 8274) must be submitted no later than August 5, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments identified by docket number EPA-R09-OAR-
2013-0009, by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line
instructions.
Email: [email protected].
Mail or deliver: Anita Lee (Air-2), U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901.
Instructions: All comments will be included in the public docket
without change and may be made available online at www.regulations.gov,
including any personal information provided, unless the comment
includes Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Information that you
consider CBI or otherwise protected should be clearly identified as
such and should not be submitted through www.regulations.gov or email.
www.regulations.gov is an ``anonymous access'' system, and EPA will not
know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the
body of your comment. If you send an email directly to EPA, your email
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the
public comment. 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.
Hearings: EPA intends to hold public hearings, at least 30 days
prior to the close of the comment period, to accept oral and written
comments on the proposed rulemaking. EPA will provide notice and
additional details related to the hearings in the Federal Register, on
our Web site, and in the docket for this proposed rulemaking.
Docket: The index to the docket for this action is available
electronically at www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at EPA Region 9,
75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California. While documents in the
docket are listed in the index, some information may be publicly
available only at EPA Region 9 (e.g., maps, voluminous reports,
copyrighted material), and some may not be publicly available in either
location (e.g., CBI). To inspect the hard copy materials, please
schedule an appointment during normal business hours with the contact
listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anita Lee, EPA Region 9, (415) 972-
3958, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we'', ``us'',
and ``our'' refer to EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Today's Action
I. Background
NGS is a coal-fired power plant located on the Navajo Nation Indian
Reservation, just east of Page, Arizona, approximately 135 miles north
of Flagstaff, Arizona. Emissions of NOX from NGS affect
visibility at 11 National Parks and Wilderness Areas that are
[[Page 16826]]
designated as Class I federal areas, mandated by Congress to receive
heightened protection. NGS is subject to the BART requirement of the
CAA and the Regional Haze Rule based on its age and its effects on
visibility in Class I areas.\1\
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\1\ Please refer to 78 FR 8274 (February 5, 2013) for additional
background information related to NGS, regional haze and the
protection of visibility at mandatory Class I federal areas, and the
statutory and regulatory framework for addressing visibility
impairment from sources located in Indian country.
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On February 5, 2013, EPA proposed a BART determination to require
NGS to achieve a nearly 80 percent reduction of its current overall
NOX emission rate. EPA also proposed an alternative to BART
that would provide flexibility to NGS in the schedule for the
installation of new post-combustion control equipment. EPA's proposed
alternative to BART credits NGS for its early and voluntary
installation of new combustion controls to reduce NOX
emissions beginning in 2009 and therefore achieves greater reasonable
progress than BART.
In recognition that there may be other approaches that could result
in equivalent or better visibility benefits than BART, as well as the
singular importance of NGS to the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, and other
numerous tribes located in Arizona, EPA also outlined a framework for
evaluating other alternatives to provide greater flexibility than EPA's
proposed alternative to BART. EPA requested comment on Alternatives 2
and 3 that provide until 2025 or 2026 for compliance but would require
the owners of NGS to implement additional emission reductions in order
to assure greater reasonable progress than would otherwise be achieved
under BART.
EPA encouraged a robust public discussion of our proposed BART
determination and alternative, as well as Alternatives 2 and 3, and
recognized the potential need for a supplemental proposal if
Alternatives 2 or 3, or other approaches developed by other parties,
are identified as meeting the needs of stakeholders and meeting the
requirements of the CAA.
On February 15, 2013, Salt River Project (SRP), co-owner and
operator of NGS, requested a 90-day extension of the public comment
period. SRP stated that identifying and analyzing alternatives and
discussing options with interested parties would require a significant
amount of time. On February 21, 2013, the Central Arizona Water
Conservation District (CAWCD) submitted a similar request for a 90-day
extension of the comment period.\2\ On March 1, 2013, the Navajo Nation
also requested a 90-day extension of the comment period in order to
allow the Navajo Nation the time and opportunity to participate with
NGS owners and other stakeholders in examining the feasibility of
additional alternatives, including Alternatives 2 and 3.
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\2\ The CAWCD manages the Central Arizona Project, a water
delivery system that relies on electricity from NGS to pump surface
water from the Colorado River for use by numerous tribes in Arizona,
as well as agricultural, municipal, and industrial water users.
Please refer to 78 FR 8274 (February 5, 2013) for additional
information about CAWCD and its relationship to NGS and tribes
located in Arizona.
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II. Today's Action
EPA recognizes that the stakeholder process, to develop viable
alternatives to BART that provide additional flexibility to the owners
of NGS while achieving more emission reductions to assure greater
reasonable progress than BART, will require a significant amount of
time. EPA also recognizes the critical importance of active
participation by the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, and other affected
tribes located in Arizona in the development of alternatives to BART.
Therefore, EPA is extending the comment period by an additional 90
days.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 49
Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure,
Air pollution control, Indians, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting
and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: March 8, 2013.
Jared Blumenfeld,
Regional Administrator, Region 9.
[FR Doc. 2013-06196 Filed 3-18-13; 8:45 am]
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