[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 233 (Wednesday, December 5, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 68508-68511]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-23496]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R05-OAR-2006-1021; FRL-8501-3]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Minnesota
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is approving State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions to
sulfur dioxide (SO2) requirements for Northern States Power
Company, doing business as Xcel Energy, Inver Hills Generating Plant
(Inver Hills), located in Inver Grove Heights, Dakota County,
Minnesota. The revisions make the limits of the sulfur content in its
fuel and its sulfur dioxide emissions more stringent, and prohibit the
burning of residual fuel oil. The revisions allow the facility to use
simpler methods to analyze the sulfur content of its fuel. Because the
sulfur dioxide emission limits are being reduced, the air quality of
Dakota County will be protected.
DATES: This direct final rule will be effective February 4, 2008,
unless EPA receives adverse comments by January 4, 2008. If adverse
comments are received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the
direct final rule in the Federal Register informing the public that the
rule will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2006-1021, by one of the following methods:
1. http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
2. E-mail: [email protected].
3. Fax: (312) 886-5824.
4. Mail: John M. Mooney, Chief, Criteria Pollutant Section, Air
Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
5. Hand Delivery: John M. Mooney, Chief, Criteria Pollutant
Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. Such
deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office normal hours of
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of
boxed information. The Regional Office official hours of business are
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. excluding Federal
holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-
2006-1021. EPA's policy is that all comments received 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 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 www.regulations.gov or e-mail.
The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system,
which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information
unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-
mail comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov
your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part
of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available
on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends
that you include your name and other contact information in the body of
your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. 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. Electronic
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the
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.
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Environmental Protection
Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. This Facility is open from 8:30 am
to 4:30 pm, Monday
[[Page 68509]]
through Friday, excluding legal holidays. We recommend that you
telephone Matt Rau, Environmental Engineer, at (312) 886-6524 before
visiting the Region 5 office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matt Rau, Environmental Engineer,
Criteria Pollutant Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago,
Illinois 60604, (312) 886-6524, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information
section is arranged as follows:
I. What is EPA Approving?
II. What is the Background for this Action?
III. What is EPA's Analysis of the State Submission?
IV. What are the Environmental Effects of this Action?
V. What Action is EPA Taking?
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What is EPA Approving?
EPA is approving into the SO2 SIP for Minnesota revised
conditions from the Inver Hills joint Title I/Title V document. The
revisions lower the allowable sulfur content of its fuel and reduce the
allowable limits of its SO2 emissions. The revisions also
allow a simplified method to analyze fuel sulfur content. EPA is also
removing from the SIP any non-SIP related Title I conditions that were
previously mistakenly incorporated into the SIP for Inver Hills.
EPA is incorporating only the conditions in the joint Title I/Title
V document labeled as ``Title I Condition: State Implementation Plan
for SO2 NAAQS'' into the Minnesota SIP. The joint Title I/
Title V document is the Minnesota Air Emission Permit Number 03700015-
003.
II. What is the Background for This Action?
A. What are the Revisions to the SIP?
Xcel Energy's Inver Hills facility is a 440 Megawatt peak demand
electrical generation plant. The plant has six generation units,
turbines EU 001-EU 006, which can fire both natural gas and distillate
fuel oil. The facility is located in the Pine Bend portion of the
Minneapolis-Saint Paul SO2 maintenance area.
The SIP revisions reduce the limit for SO2 emissions
from the six turbines from 0.67 pounds per million British Thermal
Units (lb/MMBTU) to 0.50 lb/MMBTU. This emission reduction is achieved
by requiring the reduction of the sulfur content in the fuel from 0.64
percent by weight to 0.48 percent by weight. The SIP revision prohibits
the use of residual fuel oil. If Inver Hills uses low sulfur fuel
having a sulfur content of 0.10 percent by weight or less, Inver Hills
can use a guarantee from a supplier as to the sulfur content of the
fuel, and can use a simple fuel analysis option (ASTM Method D-1552) at
the time of delivery.
B. What Prior SIP Actions Are Pertinent to This Action?
In 1980, Inver Hills was identified by the state of Minnesota as a
culpable source in the Pine Bend area's nonattainment plan for the
SO2 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). On July
28, 1992, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) issued an
Administrative Order for Inver Hills to address the source's
contribution to the nonattainment problem. The SIP revision contained
in the Administrative Order was approved by EPA into the SIP on April
14, 1994. The most recent SIP action was taken when the MPCA submitted
the Title I SIP conditions in the original Title V permit, Air Emission
Permit 03700015-001, to EPA in August 2002. EPA approved those Title I
SIP conditions into the SIP as of July 2, 2004 (69 FR 31891). However,
the materials incorporated by reference into the SIP included all Title
I conditions, including certain conditions that were unrelated to the
SIP.
C. Has Public Notice Been Provided?
Minnesota published public notice of the Inver Hills revisions on
September 7, 2006. No comments were received during the comment period
which ended on October 9, 2006. In the public notice, Minnesota stated
it would hold a public hearing if one were requested during the comment
period. This follows the alternative public participation process EPA
approved on June 5, 2006 (71 FR 32274). For limited types of SIP
revisions that the public has shown little interest in, a public
hearing is not automatically required. If anyone requests a public
hearing during the comment period, Minnesota will hold a public
hearing. Because no one requested a public hearing, Minnesota did not
hold a public hearing for this SIP revision.
D. What Are Title I Conditions and Joint Title I/Title V Documents?
SIP control measures were contained in permits issued to culpable
sources in Minnesota until 1990 when EPA determined that limits in
state-issued permits are not federally enforceable because the permits
expire. Minnesota then issued permanent Administrative Orders to
culpable sources in nonattainment areas from 1991 to February of 1996.
Minnesota's consolidated permitting regulations, approved into the
state SIP on May 2, 1995 (60 FR 21447), includes the term ``Title I
condition'' which was written, in part, to satisfy EPA requirements
that SIP control measures remain permanent. A ``Title I condition'' is
defined as ``any condition based on source-specific determination of
ambient impacts imposed for the purposes of achieving or maintaining
attainment with the national ambient air quality standard and which was
part of the state implementation plan approved by EPA or submitted to
the EPA pending approval under section 110 of the act * * *'' The rule
also states that ``Title I conditions and the permittee's obligation to
comply with them, shall not expire, regardless of the expiration of the
other conditions of the permit.'' Further, ``any Title I condition
shall remain in effect without regard to permit expiration or
reissuance, and shall be restated in the reissued permit.''
Minnesota has initiated using joint Title I/Title V documents as
the enforceable document for imposing emission limitations and
compliance requirements in SIPs. The SIP requirements in joint Title I/
Title V documents submitted by MPCA are cited as ``Title I
conditions,'' therefore ensuring that SIP requirements remain permanent
and enforceable. EPA reviewed the State's procedure for using joint
Title I/Title V documents to implement site-specific SIP requirements
and found it to be acceptable under both Titles I and V of the Act
(July 3, 1997 letter from David Kee, EPA, to Michael J. Sandusky,
MPCA). Further, a June 15, 2006, letter from EPA to MPCA clarifies
procedures to transfer requirements from Administrative Orders to joint
Title I/Title V documents.
III. What Is EPA's Analysis of the State Submission?
Xcel Energy is receiving more stringent SO2 limits on
the generation units at the Inver Hills facility. However, it can take
advantage of simplified methods of meeting fuel sulfur content and
analysis requirements. The use of low sulfur fuel will ensure the
tightened emission limits are met.
A modeling analysis was not conducted for the Inver Hills revision
because its emission limits will be more stringent. The actual
emissions may not decrease, but the potential to emit will decrease
with the SO2 limit reductions.
[[Page 68510]]
Modeling uses potential to emit in determining the impact on ambient
air. Minnesota has noted that a July 2006 modeling analysis for the
Pine Bend area showed that ambient SO2 levels will remain
below the standards and thus the area's air quality is protected. All
significant sources of SO2 emissions in the Pine Bend area
including Inver Hills were in the July 2006 modeling analysis.
IV. What Are the Environmental Effects of This Action?
Sulfur dioxide causes breathing difficulties and aggravation of
existing cardiovascular disease. It is also a precursor of acid rain
and fine particulate matter formation. Sulfate particles are a major
cause of visibility impairment in America. Acid rain damages lakes and
streams impairing aquatic life and causes damage to buildings,
sculptures, statues, and monuments. Sulfur dioxide also causes the loss
of chloroform leading to vegetation damage. Ambient SO2
levels are expected to be unchanged or to decrease because of the SIP
revisions. Thus, the Pine Bend area of Dakota County, Minnesota is
expected to remain in attainment of the SO2 NAAQS.
V. What Action Is EPA Taking?
EPA is approving into the Minnesota SIP revised Title I conditions
from the Inver Hills joint Title I/Title V document. EPA is also
removing from the SIP for Inver Hills any non-SIP related Title I
conditions that were previously mistakenly incorporated into the SIP.
We are publishing this action without prior proposal because we
view this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipate no adverse
comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal
Register publication, we are publishing a separate document that will
serve as the proposal to approve the state plan if relevant adverse
written comments are filed. This rule will be effective February 4,
2008 without further notice unless we receive relevant adverse written
comments by January 4, 2008. If we receive such comments, we will
withdraw this action before the effective date by publishing a
subsequent document that will withdraw the final action. All public
comments received will then be addressed in a subsequent final rule
based on the proposed action. The EPA will not institute a second
comment period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action
should do so at this time. If we do not receive any comments, this
action will be effective February 4, 2008.
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review
Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and, therefore, is
not subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget.
Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
Distribution, or Use
Because it is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under
Executive Order 12866 or a ``significant energy action,'' this action
is also not subject to Executive Order 13211, ``Actions Concerning
Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or
Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001).
Regulatory Flexibility Act
This action merely approves state law as meeting Federal
requirements and imposes no additional requirements beyond those
imposed by state law. Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that
this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.
601 et seq.).
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
Because this rule approves pre-existing requirements under state
law and does not impose any additional enforceable duty beyond that
required by State law, it 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).
Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal
Governments
This rule also does not have tribal implications because it will
not have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on
the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or
on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal
Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 13175 (59
FR 22951, November 9, 2000).
Executive Order 13132: Federalism
This action also does not have Federalism implications because it
does not have substantial direct effects on the states, on the
relationship between the national government and the States, or on the
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of
government, as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August
10, 1999). This action merely approves a State rule implementing a
Federal standard, and does not alter the relationship or the
distribution of power and responsibilities established in the Clean Air
Act.
Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental Health
and Safety Risks
This rule also is not subject to Executive Order 13045 ``Protection
of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks'' (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997), because it approves a State rule implementing a
Federal Standard.
National Technology Transfer Advancement Act
In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. In this
context, in the absence of a prior existing requirement for the state
to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority to
disapprove a SIP submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be
inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a SIP
submission, to use VCS in place of a SIP submission that otherwise
satisfies the provisions of the CAA. Thus, the requirements of section
12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995
(15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This rule does not impose an information collection burden under
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.).
Congressional Review Act
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule,
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this rule and other
required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal
Register.
[[Page 68511]]
This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by February 4, 2008. Filing a petition for
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect
the finality of this rule for the purposes of judicial review nor does
it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may be
filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or action.
This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its
requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur oxides.
Dated: November 20, 2007.
Bharat Mathur,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.
0
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:
PART 52--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart Y--Minnesota
0
2. In Sec. 52.1220 the table in paragraph (d) is amended by revising
the entry for ``Xcel Energy, Inver Hills Generating Plant'' to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.1220 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(d) * * *
EPA-Approved Minnesota Source-Specific Permits
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State
Name of source Permit No. effective date EPA approval date Comments
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* * * * * * *
Xcel Energy--Inver Hills 03700015-003 10/27/06 12/5/07, [Insert Only conditions
Generating Plant. page number where cited as ``Title I
the document condition: SIP for
begins]. SO2 NAAQS.''
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[FR Doc. E7-23496 Filed 12-4-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P