[Federal Register: June 20, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 120)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 35071-35074]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20jn08-6]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R07-OAR-2008-0342; FRL-8581-7]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of
Missouri
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve Missouri's
request to revise the State Implementation Plan
[[Page 35072]]
(SIP). This approval will revise the SIP to include changes to the
sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions rates and averaging times for Kansas
City Power & Light's Hawthorn Plant and Montrose Station in the rule,
Restriction of Emission of Sulfur Compounds. Previous changes to this
rule were disapproved in 2006 because EPA was concerned that the
averaging times for the rates at these units had been dramatically
increased from a 3-hour average to an annual average, and that the
revised averaging times were not demonstrated by the state to be
protective of the short-term (3- and 24-hour) SO2 National Ambient Air
Quality Standard (NAAQS). EPA believes that the recent changes, which
EPA is now approving, have been shown by Missouri to be protective of
the short-term SO2 NAAQS. This revision will ensure consistency between
the state and the Federally-approved rules.
DATES: This direct final rule will be effective August 19, 2008,
without further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by July 21,
2008. If adverse comment is 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-R07-
OAR-2008-0342, by one of the following methods:
1. http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
2. E-mail: algoe-eakin.amy@epa.gov.
3. Mail: Amy Algoe-Eakin, Environmental Protection Agency, Air
Planning and Development Branch, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City,
Kansas 66101.
4. Hand Delivery or Courier. Deliver your comments to Amy Algoe-
Eakin, Environmental Protection Agency, Air Planning and Development
Branch, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66101.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R07-OAR-
2008-0342. 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 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 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 Environmental Protection
Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch, 901 North 5th Street,
Kansas City, Kansas 66101. The Regional Office's official hours of
business are Monday through Friday, 8 to 4:30 excluding Federal
holidays. The interested persons wanting to examine these documents
should make an appointment with the office at least 24 hours in
advance.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Algoe-Eakin at (913) 551-7942 or
by e-mail at algoe-eakin.amy@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This section provides
additional information by addressing the following questions:
What is a SIP?
What is the Federal approval process for a SIP?
What does Federal approval of a state regulation mean to me?
What is the background of this action?
What is being addressed in this document?
Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?
What action is EPA taking?
What is a SIP?
Section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires states to develop
air pollution regulations and control strategies to ensure that state
air quality meets the national ambient air quality standards
established by EPA. These ambient standards are established under
section 109 of the CAA, and they currently address six criteria
pollutants. These pollutants are: carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide,
ozone, lead, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide.
Each state must submit these regulations and control strategies to
us for approval and incorporation into the Federally-enforceable SIP.
Each federally-approved SIP protects air quality primarily by
addressing air pollution at its point of origin. These SIPs can be
extensive, containing state regulations or other enforceable documents
and supporting information such as emission inventories, monitoring
networks, and modeling demonstrations.
What is the Federal approval process for a SIP?
In order for state regulations to be incorporated into the
Federally-enforceable SIP, states must formally adopt the regulations
and control strategies consistent with state and Federal requirements.
This process generally includes a public notice, public hearing, public
comment period, and a formal adoption by a state-authorized rulemaking
body.
Once a state rule, regulation, or control strategy is adopted, the
state submits it to us for inclusion into the SIP. We must provide
public notice and seek additional public comment regarding the proposed
Federal action on the state submission. If adverse comments are
received, they must be addressed prior to any final Federal action by
us.
All state regulations and supporting information approved by EPA
under section 110 of the CAA are incorporated into the Federally-
approved SIP. Records of such SIP actions are maintained in the Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) at title 40, part 52, entitled ``Approval and
Promulgation of Implementation Plans.'' The actual state regulations
which are approved are not reproduced in their entirety in the CFR
outright but are ``incorporated by reference,'' which means that we
have approved a given state regulation with a specific effective date.
What does Federal approval of a state regulation mean to me?
Enforcement of the state regulation before and after it is
incorporated into
[[Page 35073]]
the Federally-approved SIP is primarily a state responsibility.
However, after the regulation is Federally approved, we are authorized
to take enforcement action against violators. Citizens are also offered
legal recourse to address violations as described in section 304 of the
CAA.
What is the background of this action?
In 2006, EPA disapproved Missouri's request to amend the SIP to
include revisions to the Restriction of Emission of Sulfur Compounds
rule relating to a change in emissions rates and averaging times for
the Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L) Hawthorn Plant and Montrose
Station. EPA was concerned that, although the emissions rates were
decreased, the averaging times for the rates at these units had been
dramatically increased from a 3-hour average to an annual average and
that the state had not shown that the revised averaging times were
protective of the short-term SO2 NAAQS. (See, 71 FR 12623,
March 13, 2006.)
Since 2006, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has
revised Table 1 in the Restriction of Emission of Sulfur Compounds rule
to change the averaging times for the emissions rates at the Hawthorn
Plant and Montrose Station. For the Hawthorn Plant, Table 1 reflects
the averaging time and emission rate consistent with the Prevention of
Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit issued for Unit 5A in 1999. This
emissions limit had been determined to be adequate to protect the
SO2 NAAQS. For the Montrose Station unit, modeling (using
the AERMOD model) was conducted to determine an emission rate which
would be protective of the short term SO2 NAAQS. Modeling
results indicate that the emission rate should not exceed 3.9 lbs/
MMBTU, on a 24-hour average, in order to avoid exceeding the 3-hour and
24-hour SO2 NAAQS. The state has adequately demonstrated
that this emissions limit for the Montrose Station is protective of the
NAAQS.
What is being addressed in this document?
EPA is approving a revision to Missouri's SIP to include revisions
to Table 1 of Missouri rule, 10 CSR 10-6.260 Restriction of Emission of
Sulfur Compounds. Missouri has demonstrated that the revisions in Table
1 for KCP&L's Hawthorn Plant and for KCP&L's Montrose Station are
protective of the 3-hour and 24-hour SO2 NAAQS.
Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?
The state submittal has met the public notice requirements for SIP
submissions in accordance with 40 CFR 51.102. The submittal also
satisfied the completeness criteria of 40 CFR part 51, appendix V. In
addition, the revision meets the substantive SIP requirements of the
CAA, including section 110 and implementing regulations.
What action is EPA taking?
EPA is taking final action to approve Missouri's request to revise
the SIP as submitted on March 28, 2008. We are processing this action
as a direct final action because the revisions make routine changes to
the existing rules which are noncontroversial. Therefore, we do not
anticipate any adverse comments. Please note that if EPA receives
adverse comment on part of this rule and if that part can be severed
from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt as final those parts of
the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment.
Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a
SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA 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 CAA. 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 CAA; 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).
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.
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).
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 August 19, 2008. 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. 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,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead,
[[Page 35074]]
Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: June 9, 2008.
John B. Askew,
Regional Administrator, Region 7.
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 AA--Missouri
0
2. In Sec. 52.1320 the table in paragraph (c) is amended under Chapter
6 by revising the entry for 10-6.260 to read as follows:
Sec. 52.1320 Identification of plan.
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(c) * * *
EPA-Approved Missouri Regulations
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State
Missouri citation Title effective date EPA approval date Explanation
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Missouri Department of Natural Resources
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Chapter 6--Air Quality Standards, Definitions, Sampling and Reference Methods, and Air Pollution Control Regulations for the State of Missouri
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* * * * * * *
10-6.260.......................... Restriction of 2/29/08 6/20/08 [insert FR page number where Section (3)(B) is not SIP approved.
Emission of Sulfur the document begins].
Compounds.
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[FR Doc. E8-13838 Filed 6-19-08; 8:45 am]
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