[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 11, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 11836-11839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-6098]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[IL166-1a; FRL-5975-3]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plan; Illinois

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: On May 5, 1995, and May 26, 1995, the State of Illinois 
submitted a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision request to the EPA 
regarding rules for controlling Volatile Organic Material (VOM) 
emissions from Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry 
(SOCMI) reactor processes and distillation operations in the Chicago 
and Metro-East (East St. Louis) areas. VOM, as defined by the State of 
Illinois, is identical to ``Volatile Organic Compounds'' (VOC), as 
defined by EPA. VOC is an air pollutant which combines with nitrogen 
oxides in the atmosphere to form ground-level ozone, commonly known as 
smog. Ozone pollution is of particular concern because of its harmful 
effects upon lung tissue and breathing passages. This plan was 
submitted to meet the Clean Air Act (Act) requirement for States to 
adopt Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) rules for sources 
that are covered by Control Techniques Guideline (CTG) documents. This 
rulemaking action only addresses compliance with the RACT requirement 
for one source, Monsanto Chemical Group's Sauget Facility. The EPA is 
approving the State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision request 
submitted by the State of Illinois as it applies to Monsanto Chemical 
Group's Sauget Facility.

DATES: The ``direct final'' approval is effective on May 11, 1998, 
unless EPA receives adverse or critical written comments by April 10, 
1998. If the effective date is delayed timely notice will be published 
in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the revision request are available for inspection 
at the following address: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 
5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, 
Illinois 60604. (It is recommended that you telephone Mark J. Palermo 
at (312) 886-6082 before visiting the Region 5 Office.)
    Written comments should be sent to: J. Elmer Bortzer, Chief, 
Regulation Development Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, 
Illinois 60604.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark J. Palermo, Environmental 
Protection Specialist, at (312) 886-6082.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Section 182(b)(2) of the Act requires all moderate and above ozone 
nonattainment areas to adopt RACT rules for sources that are located in 
moderate and above ozone nonattainment areas and covered by CTG 
documents, such as SOCMI reactor processes and distillation operations. 
In Illinois, the Chicago area is classified as ``severe'' nonattainment 
for ozone, while the Metro-East area is classified as ``moderate'' 
nonattainment. See 40 CFR 81.314.
    The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) held public 
hearings on the SOCMI rules on November 4, 1994, December 2, 1994, and 
December 16, 1994. The rules, which require compliance by March 15, 
1996, were published in the Illinois Register on May 19, 1995. The 
rules became effective at the State level on May 9, 1995. The IEPA 
formally submitted the SOCMI rules to EPA on May 5, 1995, and May 26, 
1995, as a revision to the Illinois SIP for ozone. The submittal amends 
35 Illinois Administrative Code (Ill.Adm.Code) Parts 211, 218 and 219, 
to include control measures for SOCMI reactor processes and 
distillation operations.
    The submittal includes the following new or revised rules:

Part 211: Definitions and General Provisions

Subpart B: Definitions
211.980  Chemical Manufacturing Process Unit
211.1780  Distillation Unit
211.2365  Flexible Operation Unit
211.5065  Primary Product

Part 218: Organic Material Emission Standards and Limitations for the 
Chicago Area

Subpart Q: Synthetic Organic Chemical and Polymer Manufacturing 
Plant
218.431  Applicability
218.432  Control Requirements
218.433  Performance and Testing Requirements
218.434  Monitoring Requirements
218.435  Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements
218.436  Compliance Date
Appendix G: TRE Index Measurement for SOCMI Reactors and 
Distillation Units

Part 219: Organic Material Emission Standards and Limitations for the 
Metro-East Area

Subpart Q: Synthetic Organic Chemical and Polymer Manufacturing 
Plant
219.431  Applicability
219.432  Control Requirements
219.433  Performance and Testing Requirements
219.434  Monitoring Requirements
219.435  Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements
219.436  Compliance Date.
Appendix G: TRE Index Measurement for SOCMI Reactors and 
Distillation Units

The SOCMI rules contained in Part 218 are identical to those in Part 
219 except for the areas of applicability. Part 218 applies to the 
Chicago Area, while Part 219 applies to the Metro-East area. Illinois' 
SOCMI rules are based largely on EPA's final CTG for control of VOCs 
from SOCMI reactor processes and distillation operations, which was 
issued on November 15, 1993 (58 FR 60197). This document contains the 
recommended presumptive norm for RACT for these sources.
    The applicability measure for RACT is dependent upon a facility's 
calculated Total Resource Effectiveness (TRE) index. The TRE index is a 
measure of the cost per unit of VOC emission reduction and is 
normalized so that the decision point has a defined value of 1.0. It 
considers variables such as the emission stream characteristics (i.e., 
heat value, flow rate, VOC emission rate) and a maximum cost 
effectiveness. A TRE index value of less than or equal to 1.0, 
calculated by using the specific stream characteristics, ensures that 
the stream could be effectively controlled further by a combustion 
device without an unreasonable cost burden. The use of the TRE index 
applicability measure provides an incentive for pollution prevention by 
letting a facility consider alternatives to installing add-on control 
devices. Facilities can choose to

[[Page 11837]]

improve product recovery so that the calculated TRE index falls above 
the cutoff value of 1.0.
    The technology underlying RACT for SOCMI reactor processes and 
distillation operations processes is combustion via either thermal 
incineration or flaring. These control techniques generally achieve the 
highest emission reduction among demonstrated VOC technologies. The EPA 
believes that a thermal incinerator that is well operated and 
maintained according to manufacturer's specifications can achieve at 
least 98 percent control efficiency, by weight. Likewise, flares that 
conform with the design and operating specifications set forth in 40 
CFR 60.18, can achieve at least 98 percent control, by weight, of VOC 
emissions.

II. Analysis of State Submittal

    The Illinois SOCMI rules affect vent streams associated with 
reactor processes and distillation operations that manufacture a SOCMI 
chemical, as listed in Appendix A of Illinois' Rules and Regulations 
for Air Pollution Control (35 Ill.Adm.Code 218 and 219), if the 
chemical is a ``primary product.'' The rules exclude any reactor or 
distillation unit that (1) is part of a polymer manufacturing 
operation, (2) is included in a batch operation, (3) has a total design 
capacity of less than 1,100 tons per year for the primary product, (4) 
has a primary product not listed in Appendix A, (5) has a vent stream 
VOC concentration of less than 500 parts per million by volume or a 
flow rate of less than 0.0085 standard cubic meter per minute, or (6) 
is included in the hazardous air pollutants early reduction program, as 
specified in 40 CFR Part 63 and published at 50 FR 60970 on October 22, 
1993. Any other process vent stream from a reactor process or 
distillation operations process in SOCMI that does not satisfy the 
above exclusion criteria must perform a TRE determination. If the TRE 
index value, calculated at a point immediately after the associated 
recovery device, is less than or equal to 1.0, then VOC emissions (less 
methane and ethane) must be reduced by 98 percent by weight or to 20 
parts per million by volume, on a dry basis, corrected to 3 percent 
oxygen. The compliance date in the Illinois rules is March 15, 1996.
    While Illinois' SOCMI reactor and distillation rules generally 
require RACT level control efficiencies, the rules' applicability 
provision is significantly less stringent than RACT for two reasons. 
The first is the concept of ``primary product'' as defined in the State 
rules, and the second is the list of SOCMI chemicals provided in the 
State rules.
    ``Primary product,'' as defined in at 35 Ill.Adm.Code 211.5065, 
means the ``product with the greatest annual design capacity on a mass 
basis;'' or in the case of a flexible operation unit, the product which 
is produced for the greatest annual operating time. Section 218/
219.431(a)(1) of the Illinois rules states that sources are only 
subject if one of the listed chemicals is produced as the primary 
product. RACT, as specified in the CTG, requires sources to comply if 
they produce one or more SOCMI chemicals as intermediates or final 
products. Illinois' rules are less stringent than RACT because the 
production of SOCMI chemicals as intermediates does not contribute to 
applicability. Section 218.431(a)(2), however, provides an exception to 
this provision for Stepan Company's Millsdale facility is an exception 
to this provision (see June 17, 1997, Federal Register, 62 FR 32694). 
Section 218.431(a)(2) states that all continuous reactor process and 
distillation operation emission units at Stepan Company's Millsdale 
facility are subject, unless they are already subject to the State's 
Air Oxidation Processes rules.
    The place where the ``primary product'' concept makes the 
applicability of the Illinois rules less stringent than that of RACT is 
in Section 218/219.431(b)(4). This section exempts units that have a 
design capacity of less than 1,100 tons per year of the primary 
product, and exempts units, no matter how large, if the primary product 
is not a SOCMI chemical. The CTG calls for this exemption to apply to 
units with a design capacity of less than 1,100 tons per year of all 
chemicals produced within the unit. Because of this language, the State 
rules could exempt sources that would be covered under RACT, as 
specified in the CTG. For example, if a source were producing 1,500 
tons per year of chemicals, but only 1,000 tons of the primary product, 
the source would be exempt under the State rules but would not be 
exempt under RACT level rules. Also, if a source produced 4,000 tons of 
a SOCMI chemical, it could still be exempted from the Illinois rules if 
it also produced 5,000 tons of a non-SOCMI primary product.
    The concept of ``primary product'' can also be found in other 
places in the State rules. The definition of ``Chemical Manufacturing 
Process Unit'' (section 211.980) states that a chemical manufacturing 
process unit is identified by its primary product. This definition 
further clarifies the rules' intent that units producing SOCMI 
chemicals, but not as the primary product, be exempt from control 
requirements.
    The second concern with the State rules is the list of SOCMI 
chemicals contained in 35 Ill.Adm.Code 218, Appendix A. The list of 
chemicals in this appendix is referenced in the State SOCMI reactor and 
distillation rules for applicability purposes. In other words, for a 
unit to be covered under the State rules, its primary product must be a 
chemical listed in Appendix A. The concern is that the list in Appendix 
A does not match the list in the CTG. The result is that a large 
percentage of the chemicals which would be covered under RACT are not 
covered by the Illinois rules. (Note that 35 IAC 218, Appendix A, is 
not part of this rulemaking action. It was previously approved by the 
EPA on September 9, 1994, at 59 FR 46562).
    It is not totally clear how these deviations from RACT will affect 
the general applicability of the Illinois rules, as compared to a RACT-
level rule. However, IEPA has analyzed air permit information for the 
Monsanto Sauget facility to determine whether any SOCMI reactor or 
distillation unit at the facility has been inadvertently left out of 
RACT controls because of the differences between the State rules' 
applicability criteria and the CTG. IEPA provided documentation on 
October 1, 1996, indicating the source has two SOCMI reactors which 
meet the SOCMI CTG applicability criteria, both of which are covered 
under the State rules. Therefore, in respect to the Monsanto Sauget 
facility, the Illinois SOCMI reactor and distillation rules are as 
stringent as RACT. All units at this facility which would be covered by 
RACT-level rules are covered by the Illinois rules.

III. Final Rulemaking Action

    The EPA approves, solely as it relates to Monsanto Chemical Group's 
Sauget facility, the plan revision submitted to EPA by the State of 
Illinois on May 5, 1995, and May 26, 1995, for SOCMI reactor processes 
and distillation operations. While the limits contained in the State's 
rules are generally of RACT stringency, the applicability is extremely 
limited and may not apply to all sources which should be covered by 
RACT rules. Illinois has shown, however, that the rules apply to all 
sources at Monsanto Chemical Group's Sauget facility which are covered 
under the CTG, and thus is approvable. The EPA has already taken action 
on the Illinois rules as they apply to Stepan Company's Millsdale 
facility (June 17, 1997, 62 FR 32694), and the EPA will take action on 
the rules as they apply to

[[Page 11838]]

other facilities, and on the rules overall, at a later date.
    The EPA is publishing this action without prior proposal because 
EPA views this as a noncontroversial revision and anticipates no 
adverse comments. However, in a separate document in this Federal 
Register publication, the EPA is proposing to approve the SIP revision 
should specified written adverse or critical comments be filed. This 
action will become effective without further notice unless the EPA 
receives relevant adverse written comment on the parallel proposed rule 
(published in the proposed rules section of this Federal Register) by 
April 10, 1998. Should the EPA receive such comments, it will publish a 
final rule informing the public that this action did not take effect. 
Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at 
this time. If no such comments are received, the public is advised that 
this action will be effective on May 11, 1998.
    Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting, allowing 
or establishing a precedent for any future request for revision to any 
SIP. Each request for revision to the SIP shall be considered 
separately in light of specific technical, economic, and environmental 
factors and in relation to relevant statutory and regulatory 
requirements.

IV. Administrative Requirements

A. Executive Order 12866

    The Office of Management and Budget has exempted this regulatory 
action from Executive Order 12866 review.

B. Regulatory Flexibility

    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 600 et seq., EPA 
must prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis assessing the impact of 
any proposed or final rule on small entities. 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604. 
Alternatively, EPA may certify that the rule will not have a 
significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. Small 
entities include small businesses, small not-for-profit enterprises, 
and government entities with jurisdiction over populations of less than 
50,000.
    SIP approvals under section 110 and subchapter I, part D of the Act 
do not create any new requirements, but simply approve requirements 
that the State is already imposing. Therefore, because the Federal SIP 
approval does not impose any new requirements, the Administrator 
certifies that it does not have a significant impact on any small 
entities affected. Moreover, due to the nature of the Federal-State 
relationship under the Act, preparation of a flexibility analysis would 
constitute Federal inquiry into the economic reasonableness of the 
State action. The Clean Air Act forbids EPA to base its actions 
concerning SIPs on such grounds. Union Electric Co. v. EPA., 427 U.S. 
246, 256-66 (1976); 42 U.S.C. 7410(a)(2).

C. Unfunded Mandates

    Under Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, 
signed into law on March 22, 1995, EPA must undertake various actions 
in association with any proposed or final rule that includes a Federal 
mandate that may result in estimated costs to state, local, or tribal 
governments in the aggregate; or to the private sector, of $100 million 
or more. This Federal action approves pre-existing requirements under 
state or local law, and imposes no new requirements. Accordingly, no 
additional costs to state, local, or tribal governments, or the private 
sector, result from this action.

D. 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. Section 804, however, exempts from section 801 the 
following types of rules: Rules of particular applicability; rules 
relating to agency management or personnel; and rules of agency 
organization, procedure, or practice that do not substantially affect 
the rights or obligations of non-agency parties. 5 U.S.C. 804(3). EPA 
is not required to submit a rule report regarding today's action under 
section 801 because this is a rule of particular applicability.

E. Petitions for Judicial Review

    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Act, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by May 11, 1998. 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 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, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovermental relations, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    Dated: February 24, 1998.
Michelle D. Jordan,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, part 52, chapter I, title 
40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Subpart O--Illinois

    2. Section 52.720 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(138) to read 
as follows:


Sec. 52.720  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (138) On May 5, 1995, and May 26, 1995, the State of Illinois 
submitted State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision requests for reactor 
processes and distillation operation processes in the Synthetic Organic 
Chemical Manufacturing Industry as part of the State's control measures 
for Volatile Organic Material emissions for the Metro-East (East St. 
Louis) area. This State Implementation Plan revision request is 
approved as it applies to Monsanto Chemical Group's Sauget Facility.
    (i) Incorporation by reference. Illinois Administrative Code, Title 
35: Environmental Protection, Subtitle B: Air Pollution, Chapter I: 
Pollution Control Board, Subchapter c: Emissions Standards and 
Limitations for Stationary Sources.
    (A) Part 211: Definitions and General Provisions, Subpart B; 
Definitions, 211.980 Chemical Manufacturing Process Unit, 211.1780 
Distillation Unit, 211.2365 Flexible Operation Unit, 211.5065 Primary 
Product, amended at 19 Ill. Reg. 6823, effective May 9, 1995.
    (B) Part 219: Organic Material Emission Standards and Limitations 
for the Metro East Area, Subpart Q: Synthetic Organic Chemical and 
Polymer Manufacturing Plant, Sections 219.431 Applicability, 219.432 
Control Requirements, 219.433 Performance and Testing Requirements, 
219.434 Monitoring Requirements, 219.435 Recordkeeping and Reporting 
Requirements, 219.436 Compliance Date, 219.Appendix G, TRE Index

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Measurement for SOCMI Reactors and Distillation Units, amended at 19 
Ill. Reg. 6958, effective May 9, 1995.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 98-6098 Filed 3-10-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-U