[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 132 (Monday, July 13, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 33329-33332]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-16365]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2009-0352; FRL-8929-2]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Pennsylvania; Allegheny County, Continuous Opacity Monitor Regulation
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the
Pennsylvania State Implementation Plan (SIP). This SIP revision,
``Revision 58, Continuous Opacity Monitor Regulation Changes,''
consists of changes to the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD)
Rules and Regulations, Article XXI, Air Pollution Control. EPA is
approving this revision to the Pennsylvania SIP in accordance with the
requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: This rule is effective on September 11, 2009 without further
notice, unless EPA receives adverse written comment by August 12, 2009.
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 Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2009-0352 by one of the following methods:
A. http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
B. E-mail: [email protected].
C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2009-0352, Cristina Fernandez, Chief, Air
Quality Planning Branch, Mailcode 3AP21, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
D. Hand Delivery: At the previously listed EPA Region III address.
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of
boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-
2009-0352. 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 information that you
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://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 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.
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.
[[Page 33330]]
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 during normal business
hours at the Air Protection Division, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
Copies of the State submittal are available at the Allegheny County
Health Department, Bureau of Environmental Quality, Division of Air
Quality, 301 39th Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15201.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maria A. Pino, (215) 814-2181, or by
e-mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On May 16, 2007, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania submitted a
formal revision to the Pennsylvania SIP. The SIP revision consists of
changes to Article XXI of the ACHD Rules and Regulations to specify the
method to determine compliance with opacity requirements for coke oven
combustion stacks, allow the use of continuous opacity monitoring
systems (COMS) to measure visual emissions, and remove a redundant
phrase in the current approved SIP.
II. Summary of SIP Revision
The revisions in ``Revision 58, Continuous Opacity Monitor
Regulation Changes'' make three changes to the ACHD Rules and
Regulations, Article XXI, Air Pollution Control.
The revision to Sec. 2105.21.f specifies the method to determine
compliance with opacity requirements for coke oven combustion stacks.
The new language states that opacity measurements are to be performed
according to the methods established in Sec. 2107.11. This addition to
Sec. 2105.21.f strengthens the Pennsylvania SIP because the current
SIP does not specify visible emission compliance methods for coke oven
combustion stacks.
The revision to Sec. 2107.11 allows the use of COMS to measure
visual emissions. Previously, compliance with visible emission
requirements was determined only by EPA Method 9, which requires a
certified smoke reader to observe the emissions leaving the stack
during daylight hours. EPA Method 9 had been the only federally
acceptable method to determine compliance with visibility emissions.
However, on February 24, 1997, EPA promulgated its Credible Evidence
Revisions, which clarified that non-reference test data, i.e., any
creditable evidence, can be used in enforcement actions and for
compliance determinations under the Clean Air Act (62 FR 8314). Thus,
Method 9 is not the exclusive means to determining compliance with
visibility requirements, and the use of data from COMS is deemed
acceptable. This change strengthens the Pennsylvania SIP by allowing
the use of COMS data to determine compliance with visibility
requirements, which will make compliance determinations easier.
The revision to Sec. 2108.03 removes the redundant phrase,
``within the time specified,'' in the current approved SIP. This
revision does not change the meaning of Sec. 2108.03, but adds
clarity. Therefore, this revision is approvable.
III. Final Action
EPA is approving ``Revision 58, Continuous Opacity Monitor
Regulation Changes,'' submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on
May 16, 2007. The revision to Sec. 2105.21.f specifies the method to
determine compliance with opacity requirements for coke oven combustion
stacks in Allegheny County. The revision to Sec. 2107.11 allows the
use of COMS to measure visual emissions in Allegheny County. The
revision to Sec. 2108.03 removes a redundant phrase in the current
approved SIP. EPA is approving these revisions to the Pennsylvania SIP
in accordance with the requirements of the CAA.
EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because the
Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no
adverse comment. This revision to the Pennsylvania SIP serves to
strengthen and add clarity to the SIP, but does not add any new
regulatory requirements. However, in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of
today's Federal Register, EPA is publishing a separate document that
will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision if adverse
comments are filed. This rule will be effective on September 11, 2009
without further notice unless EPA receives adverse comment by August
12, 2009. If EPA receives adverse comment, EPA will publish a timely
withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule
will not take effect. EPA will address all public comments in a
subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. EPA will not
institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties
interested in commenting must do so at this time. Please note that if
EPA receives adverse comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of
this rule and if that provision may be severed from the remainder of
the rule, EPA may adopt as final those provisions of the rule that are
not the subject of an adverse comment.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. General Requirements
Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a
SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and
applicable Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a).
Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act.
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 13132 (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 Clean Air Act; 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).
[[Page 33331]]
In addition, this rule does not have tribal implications as
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000),
because the SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in
the State, and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General
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 action 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).
C. Petitions for Judicial Review
Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by September 11, 2009. Filing a
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule
does not affect the finality of this action 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. Parties with objections to this direct final
rule are encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel
notice of proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed
rules section of today's Federal Register, rather than file an
immediate petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so
that EPA can withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in
the proposed rulemaking.
This action, which revises the Pennsylvania SIP to establish the
method to determine compliance with opacity requirements for coke oven
combustion stacks and allows the use of COMS to measure visible
emissions in Allegheny County, and removes a redundant phrase in the
current approved SIP, 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, Nitrogen dioxide, Particulate matter, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides.
Dated: July 1, 2009.
William C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
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 NN--Pennsylvania
0
2. In Sec. 52.2020, the table in paragraph (c)(2) is amended by
revising the entries for Article XXI, Sections 2105.21, 2107.11, and
2108.03 to read as follows:
Sec. 52.2020 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(2) * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additional
Article XX or XXI citation Title/subject State effective EPA approval date explanation/Sec.
date 52.2063 citation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Part E--Source Emission and Operating Standards
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subpart 2--Slag, Coke, and Miscellaneous Sulfur Sources
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
Sec. 2105.21.................. Coke Oven and Coke 4/1/07............ 7/13/09, [Insert Revision to
Gas Oven. page number where paragraph
the document 2105.21.f
begins]. (Combustion
Stacks).
* * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Part G--Methods
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
Sec. 2107.11.................. Visible Emissions. 4/1/07............ 7/13/09, [Insert
page number where
the document
begins].
* * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Part H--Reporting, Testing & Monitoring
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
Sec. 2108.03.................. Continuous 4/1/07............ 7/13/09, [Insert Revision to
Emission page number where paragraph
Monitoring. the document 2108.03.f
begins]. (Violations).
* * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 33332]]
* * * * *
[FR Doc. E9-16365 Filed 7-10-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P