[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 89 (Wednesday, May 10, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 21749-21751]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-09384]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R02-OAR-2017-0013; FRL-9960-68-Region 2]
Approval and Revision of Air Quality Implementation Plans; State
of New York; Regional Haze State and Federal Implementation Plans
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to approve
a source-specific revision to the New York State Implementation Plan
(SIP). This revision consists of a Best Available Retrofit Technology
(BART) determination for the Danskammer Generating Station Unit 4. The
SIP revision establishes emission limits for sulfur dioxide, oxides of
nitrogen, and particulate matter that are identical to those set by the
EPA's Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) for Danskammer Unit 4, which
was promulgated in an action taken on August 28, 2012. The SIP revision
also restricts Danskammer Unit 4 to combusting only natural gas. The
EPA proposes to find that the SIP revision fulfills the requirements of
the Clean Air Act and the EPA's Regional Haze Rule for BART at
Danskammer Unit 4. In conjunction with this proposed approval, we
propose to withdraw those portions of the FIP that address BART for
Danskammer Unit 4.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 9, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R02-
OAR-2017-0013 to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot
be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any
comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI)
or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a
written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment
and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA
will generally not consider comments or comment contents located
outside of the primary submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or other
file sharing system). For additional submission methods, the full
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EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please
visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edward J. Linky, Environmental
Protection Agency, Air Programs Branch, 290 Broadway, New York, New
York 1007-1866 at 212-637-3764 or by email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. What action is the EPA proposing?
II. What is the background information for this proposal?
A. SIP and FIP Background
B. Regional Haze Background
C. EPA Action on New York's Regional Haze Submittals
III. What is included in the NYSDEC SIP proposal?
IV. What is the EPA's analysis of NYSDEC's submittal?
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Throughout this document whenever ``Agency,'' ``we,'' ``us,'' or
''our'' is used, we mean the EPA.
I. What action is the EPA proposing?
The EPA is proposing to approve a source-specific State
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision for Unit 4 at the Danskammer
Generating Station submitted by the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) on August 10, 2015, and
supplemented by NYSDEC on August 5, 2016.\1\ Specifically, the EPA is
proposing to approve emission limits for sulfur dioxide
(SO2), oxides of nitrogen (NOX), and particulate
matter (PM) for Unit 4 at the Danskammer Generating Station that are
equivalent to the emission limits established by the EPA's Federal
Implementation Plan (FIP) that was promulgated on August 28, 2012 (77
FR 51915, 51928). The EPA is also proposing to approve a condition in
the SIP revision that restricts Danskammer Unit 4 to combusting only
natural gas.
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\1\ NYSDEC's August 10, 2015, submittal also included SIP
revisions for LaFarge Building Materials and Rockville Centre Power
Plant which we intend to act on separately.
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II. What is the background information for this proposal?
This section provides a brief overview of the requirements of the
Clean Air Act (CAA) and Regional Haze Rule that apply to this
particular action. Please refer to our previous rulemakings on the New
York Regional Haze SIP for additional background regarding the
visibility protection provisions of the CAA and the Regional Haze
Rule.\2\
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\2\ 77 FR 24794 (April 25, 2012) (proposed rule); 77 FR 27162
(May 9, 2012) (Notice of Data Availability); 77 FR 51915 (Aug. 28,
2012) (final rule).
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A. SIP and FIP Background
The CAA requires each state to develop plans to meet various air
quality requirements, including protection of visibility. (CAA sections
110(a), 169A, and 169B). The plans developed by a state are referred to
as SIPs. A state must submit its SIPs and SIP revisions to EPA for
approval. Once approved, a SIP is federally enforceable, that is
enforceable by the EPA and subject to citizen suits under the CAA. If a
state fails to make a required SIP submittal or if we find that a
state's required submittal is incomplete or unapprovable, then EPA must
promulgate a FIP to fill this regulatory gap. (CAA section 110(c)(1)).
B. Regional Haze Background
In the 1977 Amendments to the CAA, Congress initiated a program for
protecting visibility in the nation's national parks and wilderness
areas. Section 169A(a)(1) of the CAA establishes as a national goal the
``prevention of any future, and the remedying of any existing,
impairment of visibility in mandatory Class I Federal areas which
impairment results from manmade air pollution.'' In 1990, Congress
added section 169B to the CAA to address regional haze issues. On July
1, 1999, the EPA promulgated the Regional Haze Rule (RHR) (64 FR
35714). The requirement to submit a Regional Haze SIP applies to New
York and all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin
Islands. 40 CFR 51.308(b) of the RHR required states to submit the
first implementation plan addressing regional haze visibility
impairment no later than December 17, 2007.
C. EPA Action on New York's Regional Haze Submittals
The EPA's final action on New York's Regional Haze SIP included
approving 17 source-specific SIP revisions containing permits for Best
Available Retrofit Technology (BART) and promulgating a FIP to address
two sources where EPA disapproved New York's BART determinations--
Roseton Generating Station (Units 1 and 2) and the Danskammer
Generating Station (Unit 4). 77 FR 51915 (August 28, 2012).
On August 10, 2015, NYSDEC submitted a request for a source-
specific SIP revision for Danskammer Unit 4 which would replace the
EPA's FIP. In this action, the EPA proposes to approve the SIP revision
and remove Danskammer Unit 4 from the FIP, but this action does not
address the Roseton Generating Station still covered by the EPA's FIP.
III. What is included in the NYSDEC SIP submittal?
On August 10, 2015, NYSDEC submitted a request for a source-
specific SIP revision for Danskammer Unit 4, which would replace the
BART emission limits and related requirements in the EPA's FIP that
were promulgated in the Federal Register on August 28, 2012 (77 FR
51915). This SIP revision contained Danskammer Unit 4's Title V permit
conditions 61-64.
In a letter to NYSDEC dated July 14, 2016, the EPA requested that
NYSDEC supplement its August 10, 2015 SIP submittal. Specifically, the
EPA requested that NYSDEC submit Danskammer Unit 4's Title V permit
condition 55.6 (at pages 48 and 49 of the permit), which restricts Unit
4 to combusting only natural gas. The EPA also requested that NYSDEC
submit a copy of the April 1, 2015 public notice as published in
NYSDEC's Environmental Notice Bulletin (ENB).
In a letter dated August 5, 2016, NYSDEC submitted to the EPA (1)
permit condition 55.6 (pages 48 and 49) of Dankskammer Unit 4's Title V
permit that was renewed on February 24, 2015, which permits Unit 4 to
combust natural gas only and (2) a copy of NYSDEC's April 1, 2015 ENB
that noticed the proposed Danskammer SIP revision.
IV. What is the EPA's analysis of NYSDEC's submittal?
In its submittal, NYSDEC includes BART emission limits for
Danskammer Unit 4 that are identical to those contained in the EPA's
FIP: 0.12 pounds NOX per million Btu (lb/MMBtu) calculated
on a 24-hour average during the ozone season and on a 30-day average
during the rest of the year; 0.09 lb SO2/MMBtu calculated on
a 24-hour average; and 0.06 lb PM/MMBtu calculated on a 1-hour average.
NYSDEC also includes a condition that restricts Danskammer Unit 4 to
combusting only natural gas.
The EPA is proposing to approve NYSDEC's SIP submittal because it
is more stringent than the EPA's FIP. The SIP submittal includes BART
emission limits for SO2, NOX, and PM and related
administrative requirements (i.e., monitoring, recordkeeping and
reporting requirements) that are identical to those in the EPA's FIP.
Moreover, the SIP submittal includes a
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condition that restricts Dankskammer Unit 4 to combusting only natural
gas, which will have the effect of further reducing visibility-
impairing emissions, particularly SO2 and PM. Consequently,
the EPA proposes to withdraw those portions of the FIP that address
BART for Danskammer Unit 4. The EPA will fully consider all significant
comments on these proposed actions.
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
In reviewing NYSDEC's SIP submittal, the EPA's role is to approve
state choices if they meet the requirements of the CAA. Accordingly,
this action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements
and does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by
state law. For that reason this action:
Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
is certified as not having a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
does not have Federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
is not subject to requirements of section 12(d) of the
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent
with the CAA; and
does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to
address as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
This action does not have tribal implications as specified by
Executive Order 13175. The SIP revision submitted by NYSDEC is not
approved to apply on any Indian reservation land or in any other areas
where the EPA or Tribal Nation has demonstrated that a Nation has
jurisdiction. Thus Executive Order 13175 does not apply to this
proposed rule.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Particulate
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: March 10, 2017.
Catherine R. McCabe,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 2.
[FR Doc. 2017-09384 Filed 5-9-17; 8:45 am]
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