[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 244 (Wednesday, December 20, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 76553-76555]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-21404]
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 244 / Wednesday, December 20, 2006 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 76553]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 63
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0051; FRL-8256-3]
RIN 2060-AJ78
National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants From the
Portland Cement Manufacturing Industry: Notice of Reconsideration
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of reconsideration.
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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing that it is reconsidering the new source
standards for mercury and for total hydrocarbons (THC) which are part
of the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants From
the Portland Cement Manufacturing Industry, published on December 20,
2006.
DATES: Comments are due no later than February 20, 2007.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0051. All documents in the docket are listed on the
www.regulations.gov Web site. 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, is not placed on the Internet and will be
publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket
materials are available either electronically through
www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the EPA Docket, EPA/DC, EPA
West, 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
Docket Center is (202) 566-1742.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Keith Barnett, EPA, Office of Air
Quality Planning and Standards, Sector Policies and Programs Division,
Metals and Minerals Group (D243-02), Research Triangle Park, NC 27711;
telephone number (919) 541-5605; facsimile number (919) 541-3207; e-
mail address [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me? Entities potentially affected by
this action are those that manufacture portland cement. Regulated
categories and entities include:
Table 1.--Regulated Entities Table
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Category NAICS \1\ Examples of regulated entities
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Industry............................ 32731 Owners or operators of portland cement manufacturing
plants.
State............................... .............. None.
Tribal associations................. .............. None.
Federal agencies.................... None None.
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\1\ North American Industry Classification System.
This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a
guide for readers regarding entities likely to be regulated by this
action. This table lists the types of entities that may potentially be
regulated by this action. To determine whether your facility is
regulated by this action, you should carefully examine the
applicability criteria in 40 CFR 63.1340 of the rule. If you have
questions regarding the applicability of this action to a particular
entity, consult the person listed in the preceding FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section.
Worldwide Web (WWW). In addition to being available in the docket,
an electronic copy of today's notice will also be available through the
WWW. Following the Administrator's signature, a copy of this action
will be posted on EPA's Technology Transfer Network (TTN) policy and
guidance page for newly proposed or promulgated rules at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/. The TTN at EPA's Web site provides information
and technology exchange in various areas of air pollution control.
Reconsideration of the New Source Mercury Standard
On December 2, 2005, EPA proposed amendments to the National
Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants from the Portland
Cement Manufacturing Industry (70 FR 72330). Among other things, we
proposed to amend the emission standards for mercury, hydrogen
chloride, and total hydrocarbons. We are publishing the final
amendments in another part of today's Federal Register. The final
amendments contain a mercury new source standard of 41 [mu]g/dscm for
cement kilns and kilns/in-line raw mills, or an alternative standard
requiring application of a limestone wet scrubber with a liquid-to-gas
ratio of 30 gallons per thousand actual cubic feet per minute of
exhaust gas with a site-specific numeric limit to be established based
on that scrubber's performance.
In this notice, we are ourselves granting reconsideration of this
new source standard for mercury. We are doing so because we believe
that reconsideration is compelled by section 307(d)(7)(B) of the Act,
since the information on which the standard is based arose after the
period for public comment and (obviously) is of central relevance to
the rulemaking. In addition, as explained in the following paragraphs,
we believe that there remain important technical issues which we hope
to better resolve during the reconsideration process.
In developing the final amendments, we noted that there are at
least five cement kilns that have limestone (wet) scrubbers for control
of SO2. As explained more fully in the preamble to the final
amendments, based on our experience with utility boilers, as well as on
general engineering principles, we expect that the scrubbers on cement
kilns remove mercury, although the amount of removal is uncertain.
Thus, assuming reductions occur, which we believe to be the case based
on the limited information in the record, a portland cement kiln
equipped with a scrubber would have the best performance for mercury
over time, since variability in mercury emissions attributable to raw
material and fuel inputs would be controlled in part.
We have mercury test data from two portland cement kilns equipped
with wet scrubbers, measured exclusively at the scrubber outlet. These
data range from 0.42 to 30 [mu]g/dscm, which fall within the range of
test data from all
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portland cement kilns (those with wet scrubbers and those without wet
scrubbers). They are among the lowest end-of-stack mercury data in our
data base (although not the lowest). This could indicate that some
removal mechanism is involved. Variability of mercury emissions at the
scrubber-equipped kilns for which we have multiple test data differs by
orders of magnitude. See Summary of Mercury Test data in Docket EPA-HQ-
OAR-2002-0051.
As noted above, we have no test data for mercury measured at the
scrubber inlet. As a result, we cannot, on the basis of the current
data, determine with absolute certainty if the outlet mercury emissions
from the wet scrubber-equipped kilns are a result of mercury removal by
the scrubber, or simply reflect the amounts of mercury in the raw
materials. Nonetheless, for the reasons described in the preamble to
the final amendments, we believe, based on the limited information in
the record, that it is reasonable to find that wet scrubbers remove
some mercury from cement kiln emissions.
In the final amendments being published concurrently with this
notice, we developed an emissions limit of 41 [mu]g/dscm (corrected to
7 percent oxygen) using the following rationale. First, we limited the
analysis to data from wet scrubber-equipped kilns regardless of their
actual outlet emissions levels. Second, we ranked all the wet scrubber
mercury emissions with the raw mill off--a recurring mode of operation
for cement kilns reflecting the maximum variability a properly designed
and operated scrubber-equipped kiln would experience. We then took the
mean raw mill off value for mercury emissions from the best performing
wet scrubber-equipped cement kiln in our (limited) data base, and
multiplied it by a variability factor which accounts for normal,
unavoidable variation in mercury emissions. This variability factor is
the standard deviation of the data multiplied by 2.326 to produce the
99th confidence interval. We looked to all of the data we have from
cement kilns equipped with wet scrubbers, rather than just to data from
the single lowest-emitting kiln, because there are too few data points
from the lowest emitting kiln to properly estimate its variability. The
result of this analysis is a new source floor of 41 [mu]g/dscm, which
we then adopted as the new source standard. This standard must be met
continuously (raw mill on and raw mill off).
Because of the limited performance data characterizing performance
of the lowest-emitting scrubber-equipped kiln, we also developed an
alternative new source mercury floor. The best performing kiln is
equipped with a wet scrubber. Therefore, if a new source installs a
properly designed and operated wet scrubber, and is unable to achieve
the 41 [mu]g/dscm standard, then whatever emission level the source
achieves (over time, considering all normal sources of variability)
would become the floor for that source. Based on the design of the wet
scrubbers that were the basis of the new source floor, this would be a
packed bed or spray tower wet scrubber with a minimum liquid-to-gas
ratio of 30 gallons per thousand actual cubic feet of exhaust gas. We
also adopted this alternative floor as an alternative new source
emission standard for mercury.
As noted above, we are ourselves granting reconsideration of the
new source mercury standard adopted in the final amendments, both due
to substantive issues relating to performance of wet scrubbers and
because information about their performance in this industry has not
been available for public comment. As part of the reconsideration
process, we are initiating a test program to simultaneously measure
mercury emissions at the inlet and the outlet of wet scrubbers
currently installed on cement kilns. By doing so, we expect to be able
to better resolve the ultimate issues we are reconsidering: the
appropriateness of the new source standard (and floor), and whether wet
scrubbers remove mercury from portland cement kiln emissions, and if
so, to what extent.
We intend to complete the reconsideration process by December 20,
2007. When data from the testing process are in hand, we will issue
another Federal Register notice describing the data and the testing
process by which the data were obtained, and seek public comment on
those data and on the testing process. As part of that notice, we may
also propose to amend the new source standard.
At the present time, we are also soliciting any data that could
potentially be relevant in this reconsideration process. Given the
expedited schedule for reconsideration of the new source mercury
standard, we are asking that the data be submitted to EPA as soon as
possible, and no later than February 20, 2007, so that we can properly
consider it prior to publishing another notice in the Federal Register.
The data should be submitted to the person and address in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
Reconsideration of Existing and New Source Standard Banning Cement Kiln
Use of Certain Mercury-Containing Fly Ash
As part of the final rule, EPA adopted a standard for both new and
existing sources banning the use of utility boiler fly ash in cement
kilns where the fly ash mercury content has been increased through the
use of activated carbon or any other sorbent unless the facility can
demonstrate that the use of that fly ash will not result in an increase
in mercury emissions over baseline emissions (i.e. emissions not using
the mercury increased fly ash). See section IV.A.2 to the preamble to
the final rule. EPA took this action because of the potential for
significant increases in mercury emissions from cement kilns, and
because the positive energy and non-air health and environmental
impacts from current recycling of utility fly ash as feed material in
cement kilns would not be significantly impeded. Although EPA alluded
to the possibility of this type of standard at proposal (70 FR 72334),
we nonetheless believe it appropriate to reconsider the issue to
provide further opportunity for comment on both the standard and the
underlying rationale, because we do not feel we have the level of
analysis we would like to support a beyond-the-floor determination. We
request that all comments be submitted to EPA no later than February
20, 2007.
Reconsideration of New Source Standard for THC
As part of the final amendments, EPA also issued a standard for new
cement kilns of 20 ppmv (corrected to 7 percent oxygen) or 98 percent
reduction in THC emissions from uncontrolled levels. This standard is
based upon the performance of a single cement kiln which has installed
a regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) in series with a wet scrubber
(which precedes the RTO and enables its performance by preventing
plugging, fouling, and corrosion of the device). We are ourselves
granting reconsideration of this standard in this notice. We are doing
so because we believe that reconsideration is compelled by section
307(d)(7)(B) of the Act, since the information on which the standard is
based arose after the period for public comment and is of central
relevance to the rulemaking.
We are specifically requesting comment on the new source standard
itself, as well as on the information upon which the standard is based.
We also are soliciting data on THC emission levels from preheater/
precalciner cement kilns. We further solicit
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comment as to whether the promulgated standard is appropriate for
reconstructed new sources, should any be contemplated (it is our
understanding that all new source cement kilns will be newly
constructed). We request that all comment be submitted within February
20, 2007. EPA will evaluate all data and comments received, and
determine whether in light of those data and comment it is appropriate
to propose to amend the promulgated standard. If EPA does propose to
amend the standard, EPA would take final action on the proposal within
the same one year period that we are allotting for completion of the
reconsideration process for the new source mercury standard.
How can I get copies of the final amendments and other related
information?
EPA has established the official public docket for this rulemaking
under docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0051. Information on how to access
the docket is presented above in the ADDRESSES section. In addition,
information may be obtained from the Web page for the rulemaking at:
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/pcem/pcempg.html.
Dated: December 8, 2006.
Stephen L. Johnson,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. E6-21404 Filed 12-19-06; 8:45 am]
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