[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 101 (Friday, May 25, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 29273-29276]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-10061]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2006-0130-200714(a); FRL-8317-8]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans: State of
Florida; Prevention of Significant Deterioration Requirements for Power
Plants Subject to the Florida Power Plant Siting Act
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: On February 3, 2006, the State of Florida, through a State
Implementation Plan (SIP) submittal addressing New Source Review (NSR)
Reform requirements, requested that EPA grant it full approval to
implement the State's Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) Prevention of
Significant Deterioration (PSD) program for electric power plants
subject to the Florida Electrical Power Plant Siting Act. EPA is
proposing to approve this specific request under section 110 of the
Act. EPA intends to take action on all other portions of Florida's
February 3, 2006, NSR Reform SIP submittal in a future rulemaking.
DATES: This direct final rule is effective July 24, 2007 without
further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by June 25, 2007.
If EPA receives such comments, it will publish a timely withdrawal of
the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform the public
that the rule will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2006-0130, by one of the following methods:
[[Page 29274]]
1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
2. E-mail: [email protected].
3. Fax: 404-562-9066.
4. Mail: ``EPA-R04-OAR-2006-0130'', Air Permits Section, Air
Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960.
5. Hand Delivery or Courier: Ms. Kelly Fortin, Air Permits Section,
Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Such deliveries are only accepted during
the Regional Office's normal hours of operation. The Regional Office's
official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30,
excluding federal holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. ``EPA-R04-OAR-
2006-0130''. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be
included in the public docket without change and may be made available
online at http://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 through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail, information that you consider to be CBI
or otherwise protected. The http://www.regulations.gov website 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 http://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. For additional information about EPA's public
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the
http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, i.e., 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 in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Regulatory Development
Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth
Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. EPA requests that if at all
possible, you contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's
official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30
p.m., excluding federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Kelly Fortin, Air Permits Section,
Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The telephone number is (404) 562-9117.
Ms. Fortin can also be reached via electronic mail at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Part C of the CAA establishes the PSD program, the preconstruction
review program that applies to areas of the country that have attained
the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). CAA sections 160-
169, 42 U.S.C. 7470-7479. In such areas, a major stationary source may
not begin construction or undertake certain modifications without first
obtaining a PSD permit. In broad overview, the program (1) limits the
impact of new or modified major stationary sources on ambient air
quality and (2) requires the application of state-of-the-art pollution
control technology, known as best available control technology. CAA
section 165, 42 U.S.C. 7475.
EPA has promulgated two largely identical sets of regulations to
implement the PSD program. One set, at 40 CFR 52.21, contains EPA's own
federal PSD program under which EPA is the permitting authority in
states operating without an EPA-approved state program. The other set
of regulations contain minimum requirements that state PSD programs
must meet to be approved by EPA as part of a SIP. 40 CFR 51.166. Over
time, most states have received EPA approval for their PSD programs.
In order to comply with the established minimum requirements of the
CAA, the State of Florida adopted its own PSD regulations on June 10
and October 28, 1981. The Florida PSD program was initially approved by
EPA into the Florida SIP on December 22, 1983. 48 FR 52713. The
approval transferred to the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection (FDEP) the legal authority to process and issue PSD permits
to sources in Florida that are required to obtain PSD permits.
One category of sources not covered by EPA's 1983 approval of
Florida's PSD program was electric power plants. This was because, at
the time, a separate Florida law known as the Florida Electrical Power
Plant Siting Act (PPSA) required permits for electric power plants to
be issued solely by the PPSA's Site Certification Board, rather than by
FDEP. Such a conflict between the PPSA and Florida's PSD program
created impediments to implementation and enforcement of the State's
PSD program by FDEP for such power plants and precluded EPA's SIP-
approval of Florida's PSD program as to these sources. As a result, for
electric power plants subject to the PPSA, FDEP has been operating
under either a partial or full delegation of authority to implement the
federal PSD program since 1983, while various attempts to amend the
PPSA to correct the conflict were made. Currently, FDEP is operating
under a full delegation of authority to implement the federal PSD
program for electric power plants, following further amendments to the
PPSA in 1993.
In light of the 1993 amendments to the PPSA, the State has
requested, through its February 3, 2006, NSR Reform SIP submittal, that
EPA grant Florida SIP-approval to implement the State's PSD program for
electric power plants subject to the PPSA. EPA is approving this
specific request under section 110 of the Act because there is no
longer a conflict between the State's PSD regulations and the PPSA and
because FDEP now has adequate and effective procedures for full
implementation of the State's PSD program for sources in Florida,
including electric power plants.
II. Analysis of State's Request
The statutory amendments to the PPSA made by the Florida
legislature in 1993 form the basis of the State's request for SIP-
approval of its PSD program for sources subject to the PPSA.
[[Page 29275]]
Those amendments, which took effect on April 22, 1993, expressly
provide that the ``[D]epartment's action on a federally required new
source review or prevention of significant deterioration permit shall
differ from the actions taken by the siting board regarding the
certification if the federally approved state implementation plan
requires such a different action to be taken by the department. Nothing
in this part [the PPSA] shall be construed to displace the department's
authority as the final permitting entity under the federally approved
permit program.'' The amendments make clear that FDEP is the final
permitting authority for PSD and new source review permits and can act
in a manner different from the PPSA Siting Board if Florida's PSD or
new source review regulations require such a different action.
In addition, subsequent to the State's February 3, 2006, NSR Reform
SIP submittal, the PPSA was again amended (on June 19, 2006), to among
other things, wholly extricate the PSD permitting process from the PPSA
process. See, Florida Public Health Code 403.0872. Specifically,
language requiring that a PPSA application for certification include
``documents necessary for the department to render a decision on any
permit required pursuant to any federally delegated or approved permit
program'' was deleted from the PPSA; language requiring that FDEP's
action on a PSD permit be based on the recommended order of the PPSA
certification hearing was removed; and requirements that administrative
procedures used in the issuance of PSD and operating permits follow the
administrative procedures of the PPSA were also removed.
EPA has reviewed the 1993 and June 19, 2006 amendments to the PPSA
and concludes that they provide FDEP the authority to fully implement
and enforce Florida's PSD program for electric power plants located
within the State.
III. Final Action
EPA is approving the aforementioned change to the Florida SIP. This
approval means that Florida's SIP-approved PSD program includes
coverage of electric power plants in the State. EPA is not, in this
rulemaking, taking any other action on Florida's February 3, 2006 NSR
Reform SIP submittal. EPA intends to take action on the remaining
portions of Florida's February 3, 2006, NSR Reform SIP submittal in a
future rulemaking. EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal
because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and
anticipates no adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section
of this Federal Register publication, EPA is publishing a separate
document that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision
should adverse comments be filed. This rule will be effective July 24,
2007 without further notice unless the Agency receives adverse comments
by June 25, 2007.
If EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish a document
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will
not take effect. All public comments received will then be addressed in
a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. EPA will not
institute a second comment period. Parties interested in commenting
should do so at this time. If no such comments are received, the public
is advised that this rule will be effective on July 24, 2007 and no
further action will be taken on the proposed rule.
Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
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. For this
reason, 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). 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.). 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).
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 (65
FR 67249, November 9, 2000). 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 CAA.
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 is not economically significant.
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. 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.).
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. 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 July 24, 2007. 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
[[Page 29276]]
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, Carbon monoxide,
Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides,
Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: May 16, 2007.
Russell L. Wright, Jr.,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
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 K--Florida
0
2. Section 52.530 is amended by revising paragraphs (a) and (b) to read
as follows:
Sec. 52.530 Significant deterioration of air quality.
(a) EPA approves the Florida Prevention of Significant
Deterioration program, as incorporated into this chapter, for power
plants subject to the Florida Power Plant Siting Act.
(b) [Reserved]
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[FR Doc. E7-10061 Filed 5-24-07; 8:45 am]
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