[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 60 (Wednesday, March 29, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 16088-16090]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-7492]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Chapter I

[FRL-5174-3]


National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants 
Streamlined Development: Announcement and Request for Comments

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

[[Page 16089]] ACTION: Announcement and Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Section 112(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) directs EPA to 
reduce emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) by requiring new 
and existing sources to achieve an emissions standard attainable by the 
maximum achievable control technology (MACT). The HAPs regulated under 
Section 112 have been characterized as carcinogenic, mutagenic, 
bioaccumulative, and causing other adverse health and environmental 
effects. MACT standards are intended to significantly reduce these 
effects.
    This notice announces and requests comments on EPA's plan to use a 
streamlined approach to promulgating MACT standards, termed MACT 
Partnerships. Section 112(e) requires EPA to promulgate, on a strict 
schedule, MACT standards for the more than 150 source categories of 
HAPs listed pursuant to Section 112(c)(1). This large number of MACT 
standards can not be addressed by the traditional approach to standards 
development. The MACT Partnerships approach is designed to expedite the 
regulatory development process and provide information for case-by-case 
emission limitation determinations as required by Section 112(g) and 
112(j) of the CAA. The MACT Partnerships approach is founded on the 
mutual interests of all the major stakeholders, including EPA, States 
and local agencies, industry, and environmental organizations. This 
notice also announces the availability on the Technology Transfer 
Network (TTN), one of EPA's electronic bulletin boards, of an initial 
list of MACT standards being handled under MACT Partnerships.

DATES: Comments: Comments must be received on or before May 15, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments: Comments should be submitted (in duplicate or as a 
WP5.1 file, if possible) to: Policy, Planning, and Standards Group; 
Emission Standards Division (MD-13), U. S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711, telephone number 
(919) 541-5623.
    TTN: The TTN provides information and technology exchange in 
various areas of air pollution control. The service is free, except for 
the cost of a phone call. Dial (919) 541-5742 for up to a 14,400 bps 
modem. If more information on TTN is needed, call the HELP line at 
(919) 541-5384.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information concerning 
this notice, contact Albert H. Wehe at (919) 541-5623; Policy, Planning 
and Standards Group; Emission Standards Division (MD-13), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Pursuant to Section 112(c) and 112(e) of the CAA, EPA published two 
Federal Register notices laying out the source categories of HAPs 
regulated under Section 112(d) of the Clean Air Act. In the first 
Federal Register notice (57 FR 31578, July 16, 1992), EPA published the 
source categories of HAPs as required under Section 112(c). In the 
second Federal Register notice (58 FR 83941, December 3, 1993), EPA 
presented the list in a regulatory schedule as required by Section 
112(e). In addition to requiring the regulatory schedule, Section 
112(e) requires EPA to develop MACT standards under Section 112(d) 
according to this regulatory schedule.
    There are consequences if EPA fails to set the MACT standards on 
time. Thirty-nine MACT standards were targeted for promulgation by 
November 1994, forty-three more by Nov 1997, and an additional eighty-
seven by Nov 2000. Section 112(j) of the CAA requires the States to 
establish emission limitations, using a case-by-case determination of 
what the Federal standard would have been if EPA fails to promulgate 
Federal standards.
    Case-by-case MACT determinations under 112(j) will require 
substantial information and resources from State and local agencies, 
industry, and environmental groups. Individually, State and local 
agencies, industry and environmental groups have expressed their 
interest in avoiding a significant number of case-by-case MACT 
determinations. Accordingly, there appears to be a strong incentive for 
EPA, State and local agencies, industry and environmental groups to 
work together to enable EPA to promulgate the standards on schedule and 
to gather information for 112(j) case-by-case MACT determinations.

II. Current Situation

    The EPA is currently behind schedule on a number of MACT standards 
due in November 1994 and potentially behind schedule on a number of 
MACT standards due in November 1997. The EPA has promulgated about one-
half of the MACT standards due in November 1994. The EPA is already 
under court-ordered schedules to complete many of the remaining MACT 
standards due in November 1994. These schedules will ensure that 
standards are promulgated before case-by-case MACT determinations would 
be required by Section 112(j). The EPA has recently been served notice 
by an environmental group indicating the group plans to file a petition 
to compel EPA to promulgate the few standards due in November 1994 that 
are not done nor on an existing court-ordered schedule.
    In 1994, EPA had to postpone work on several of the MACT standards 
due in November 1997 and November 2000 (the 7-year and 10-year MACT 
standards) as a result of resource constraints. The EPA had to do so in 
part to ensure that adequate resources were available for the court-
ordered MACT standards. These resource constraints have put EPA behind 
on completing the 7-year and 10-year MACT standards.
    The amount of work (and therefore resources) needed to complete the 
7-year and 10-year MACT standards on time is difficult to predict. 
Nevertheless, given the EPA's experience of the MACT standards 
completed to date, EPA believes that the amount of work can be 
significantly reduced by streamlining and re-engineering the way these 
standards are developed. This work helps EPA appropriately 
subcategorize source categories, define the MACT floor (see Section 
112(d)), address emissions of special HAPs (e.g., Great Waters and 
urban air toxics), and evaluate potential regulatory options beyond the 
MACT floor.
    Resources have been traditionally used by EPA to gather and analyze 
essentially all the data and information necessary to reach the 
regulatory decisions associated with standards such as MACT standards. 
Many of the 7-year and 10-year MACT standards had not been studied by 
EPA prior to recent years. Traditionally, EPA has found that it takes 
about 4 years to develop national technology-based standards such as 
MACT standards. Accordingly, to complete the 7-year MACT standards by 
November 1997, EPA had to begin in earnest to work on these standards 
early in 1994. Thus, to complete the 7-year MACT standards on time, EPA 
needs to reduce the amount of work and time associated with these 
standards.
    In order to meet both the 7-year and 10-year deadlines, EPA has 
concluded that it must develop new approaches to streamline the 
standard setting process and to leverage its limited resources. To that 
end, EPA is currently initiating a new process for developing MACT 
standards that involves a partnership with states, industry, and 
environmental organizations. This partnership, called MACT 
Partnerships, is founded on the [[Page 16090]] mutual interests of all 
the major stakeholders in the air toxics program.
    For many source categories for which MACT standards are required, 
State and local agency personnel have the expertise, information and 
desire to provide technical assistance for the development of MACT 
standards. Industry personnel are also invaluable sources of technical 
expertise and data needed to develop MACT standards. In addition, 
environmental groups have a thorough understanding of the interests of 
the public and can assist in the development of as many MACT standards 
as practical.

III. Streamlined MACT Development Approach

    The MACT Partnerships program, as currently envisioned, involves 
two phases for each MACT standard. The first phase involves development 
of a ``presumptive MACT''. A ``presumptive MACT'' is not an emission 
standard; but it serves as a statement of current knowledge of maximum 
available control technologies and a basis for a decision on how to 
develop the emission standard for the source category involved. The 
second phase is the formal standard development process, which results 
in a promulgated MACT standard for the source category.
    In the first phase of the MACT Partnerships program, the 
development of a ``presumptive MACT'', begins with two main steps: (1) 
A meeting between EPA and State and local agencies, known as the 
presumptive MACT meeting and (2) consultations with industry, 
environmental and other interest groups. In the presumptive-MACT 
meeting, EPA, and States review available information to estimate what 
MACT would be if only this information were used in the determination. 
This draft presumptive MACT then goes through a consultation stage 
where industry and environmental groups are invited to comment on the 
selected presumptive MACT. After this consultation, EPA and the State/
local agencies determine a final presumptive MACT and how best to 
complete the development of a standard, with the normal opportunities 
for public comment. This determination of a presumptive MACT and a 
decision on how to complete development of a standard are the two 
products of the first phase.
    For the second phase of MACT Partnerships, EPA envisions the use of 
one of three basic regulatory development paths: Adopt-a-MACT, share-a-
MACT, or a streamlined-traditional approach. In all cases, EPA would 
eventually propose and then promulgate the MACT standard. The ``Adopt-
a-MACT'' path allows EPA to enter into an agreement with a State 
wherein the State would accept primary responsibility for data 
collection and analysis. Alternatively, a ``share-a-MACT'' path allows 
states, industry or both to share with EPA the responsibility for 
developing the underlying data and analysis from which EPA would 
determine the MACT emission limitation. When no suitable partners can 
be found, a ``streamlined-traditional'' path is the last alternative. 
In the ``streamlined-traditional'' path, EPA would go through a 
streamlined process of the traditional rule development, with a 
presumptive MACT specification as an intermediate stage. No matter what 
path is chosen, almost all standards would go through phase one, 
namely, the presumptive MACT meeting and the second consultative stage.
    The EPA has successfully worked with States and industry in the 
development of presumptive MACT in two pilot projects. One project 
concerned the MACT standard primary aluminum manufacturing. The States 
of Washington and New York worked with EPA in the development of a 
presumptive MACT. In addition, the Aluminum Manufacturers Association 
and its member companies participated. For the second project, EPA 
worked with the States of Wisconsin and Maryland to develop a 
presumptive MACT for bakers yeast manufacturing. Both EPA and State 
partners have worked with the industry to move from the presumptive 
MACT to develop a MACT standard that is scheduled to be proposed in the 
fall of 1995.
    Currently, EPA is beginning more than 25 projects within the MACT 
Partnerships program. Presumptive MACT meetings are scheduled over the 
next several months. For the information of the public, EPA has 
developed a table of these projects and has added it to the Technology 
Transfer Network bulletin board system (TTN BBS) See Addresses section 
above for information on how to access the TTN BBS. The list can be 
found under the Clean Air Act (Rules/Guidance/Policy) section, Tittle 
III: Hazardous Air Pollutants subsection and then the Status of Rules/
Projects portion of the TTN BBS.
    In summary, the MACT Partnerships program is one way to pursue new, 
assertive ways to develop MACT standards. MACT Partnerships is 
characterized by EPA and State/localities working together with 
industry and environmentalists to fulfill the mandate to set MACT 
standards for sources of hazardous air pollutants. Given the mutual 
interest of all the stakeholders and EPA's current ``budgetary'' 
situation within the air toxics program, EPA has begun redefining its 
role in selected areas of MACT standard development for many MACT 
standards as a coordinator and facilitator.

IV. Request for Comments

    With this notice the EPA is requesting comments on:
    (1) The concept of MACT Partnerships as an approach for 
streamlining the development of MACT standards,
    (2) How to improve the MACT Partnership approach,
    (3) Alternative ways to streamline the MACT development process, 
and
    (4) Using presumptive MACT as a starting point for case-by-case 
MACT determinations.

V. Administrative Requirement

A. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The request for comments detailed in this notice seeks voluntary 
responses and does not affect information collection burdens.

B. Executive Order 12866 Review

    This notice is a request for comments and, therefore, was not 
reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 
12866. It was not considered significant.

    Dated: March 14, 1995.
Mary D. Nichols,
Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 95-7492 Filed 3-28-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P