[Federal Register: July 30, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 146)]
[Notices]
[Page 39312-39313]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30jy01-30]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-7020-6]
Notice of Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) Final
Determination for Zion Energy LLC, City of Zion, Lake County, IL
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of final action.
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SUMMARY: This document announces that on March 27, 2001, the
Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) of the United States EPA dismissed a
petition for review of a permit issued for Zion Energy by the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) pursuant to EPA's
Prevention of Significant Deterioration of Air Quality (PSD)
regulations.
DATES: The effective date for the EAB's decision is March 27, 2001.
Judicial review of this permit decision, to the extent it is available
pursuant to section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, may be sought by
filing a petition for review in the United States Court of Appeals for
the Seventh Circuit within 60 days of July 30, 2001.
ADDRESSES: The documents relevant to the above action are available for
public inspection during normal business hours at the following
address: Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson
Boulevard (AR-18J), Chicago, Illinois 60604. To arrange viewing of
these documents, call Jorge Acevedo at (312) 886-2263.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jorge Acevedo, United States
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 W. Jackson Boulevard (AR-
18J), Chicago, Illinois 60604. Anyone who wishes to review the EAB
decision can obtain it at http://www.epa.gov/eab/disk11/zion.pdf.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This supplemental information is organized
as follows:
A. What Action is EPA Taking?
B. What is the Background Information?
C. What did the EAB Determine?
A. What Action Is EPA Taking?
We are notifying the public of a final decision by EPA's EAB on a
permit issued by Illinois EPA pursuant to the PSD regulations found at
40 CFR 52.21.
B. What Is the Background Information?
On December 8, 2000, Illinois EPA issued PSD permit 99110042 to
Zion Energy LLC (Zion) for the construction of a new electric power
generating facility with a capacity of 800 megawatts. The proposed
facility consists of five simple-cycle combustion turbines that operate
on natural gas as a primary fuel and distillate oil as a back-up fuel.
The project also consists of five auxiliary boilers, two fuel heaters,
and a fuel storage tank. The facility is subject to PSD for nitrogen
oxides ( NOX), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Sulfur Dioxide
(SO2), and Particulate Matter (PM/PM10).
On January 5, 2001, Susan Zingle, on her own behalf and as
executive director of the Lake County Conservation Alliance (LCCA), and
the LCCA petitioned the EAB to review this permit. The petitioner
alleged: (i) The facility is a major source of hazardous air pollutants
(HAPs) and is subject to Maximum Available Control Technology (MACT)
requirements, specifically the potential to emit HAPs is higher than
reflected in the permit and the permit does not effectively cap HAP
emissions, (ii) the permit should contain a provision requiring
compliance with State noise regulations, (iii) Illinois' ``
NOX waiver'' should be lifted and the facility treated as
major for NOX, (iv) the permit incorrectly identified the
proposed simple-cycle combustion turbines as ``peaking units,'' (v)
Illinois EPA's best available control technology (BACT) analysis was
erroneous for several reasons including, Illinois EPA failed to
consider certain control technologies such as combined cycle operation
with catalytic controls, catalytic controls were rejected, and Illinois
EPA should have considered alternative locations for the facility due
to consideration of water availability, the analysis should have
included an evaluation of need, energy conservation, demand side
management and other alternatives to construction of the facility,
Illinois EPA should have considered the use of alternative turbine
configurations, the use of low NOX burners for the fuel
heaters and auxiliary boilers does not constitute BACT, the permit's
provision for the operation of auxiliary boilers does not constitute
BACT, good combustion practices were not sufficiently defined
[[Page 39313]]
and are not BACT for CO and PM, Illinois failed to require the
development of operation and maintenance procedures as part of the BACT
analysis, and the use of diesel fuel does not constitute BACT, (vi) the
permit failed to properly account for emissions during startup and
shutdown of the facility, and failed to limit the number of startups,
(vii) emissions limits were based on unsubstantiated assumptions
regarding facility operation, (viii) the permit should specify what
constitutes good air pollution control practices, (ix) the permit fails
to require compliance with requirements for a major source of volatile
organic compounds (VOCs) in a non-attainment area for ozone, (x) the
permit's monitoring requirements were inadequate for reasons such as
the 180 day period of operation prior to shakedown and emission testing
should be shortened, testing for particulate matter should use method
202, testing for VOCs should use method 18 rather than 25a, (xi)
emissions from facilities under common control should have been
included in calculating the potential to emit, and (xii) a complete
copy of the draft permit was not made available at the Waukegan Public
Library or on the internet.
On January 29, 2001, Illinois EPA filed a Motion for Summary
Disposition with the EAB. Illinois EPA asserted that LCCA failed to
satisfy the requirements for review under 40 CFR 124.19, and the
petition should be dismissed. Zion also filed a response and also
asserted that LCCA failed to satisfy the requirements for review under
40 CFR 124.19. On March 2, 2001 LCCA filed a motion seeking leave to
respond to Illinois EPA's Motion and to supplement the petition with
comments to Illinois EPA's responsiveness summary.
C. What Did the EAB Determine?
On March 27, 2001, the EAB denied the petition for review based on
the grounds that the petitioner failed to satisfy the requirements for
obtaining review under 40 CFR 124.19. Specifically, the petitioner
reiterated comments previously submitted to Illinois EPA during the
comment period without indicating why Illinois EPA's responses to these
comments were erroneous. The EAB also denied the supplement to the
petition based on the fact that accepting the supplement would expand
the petitioner's appeal rights under the regulations in 40 CFR 124.19.
Dated: July 13, 2001.
Gary Gulezian,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 01-18883 Filed 7-27-01; 8:45 am]
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