[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 165 (Thursday, August 24, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51564-51566]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-21671]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[Region 7 Tracking No. 113-1113; FRL-6857-5]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of 
Missouri

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve a statewide NOX rule to 
reduce the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOX) and establish 
a NOX emissions trading program for the state of Missouri. 
This rule is a critical element in the state's plan to attain the ozone 
standard in the St. Louis ozone nonattainment area.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 23, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed to Kim Johnson, Air 
Planning and Development Branch, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, 
Kansas 66101.
    Copies of the state submittal are available at the following 
address for inspection during normal business hours: Environmental 
Protection Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch, 901 North 5th 
Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66101.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim Johnson at (913) 551-7975.

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 being addressed in this document?

[[Page 51565]]

    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.
    This rule is being parallel processed. Parallel processing means 
that EPA will propose approval of a rule before it is final (or in this 
case legally binding) under state law. Under parallel processing, EPA 
proposes action on a state submission before it is final or effective, 
and will take final action on its proposal if the final state 
submission is substantially unchanged from the submission on which the 
proposal is based, or if significant changes in the final state 
submission are anticipated and adequately described in EPA's proposal.
    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 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 Being Addressed in This Document?

    We are proposing to approve, as an amendment to Missouri's SIP, 
rule 10 CSR 10-6.350, ``Emissions Limitations and Emissions Trading of 
Oxides of Nitrogen,'' submitted to us on June 29, 2000. The basis for 
our proposed approval of the rule is described in this document, and in 
more detail in the technical support document (TSD) prepared for this 
proposal. The TSD is available at the address identified above. Because 
the rule is not yet effective under state law, the submittal from 
Missouri requested that we propose approval of the regulation by 
parallel processing.
    The rule requires reductions in NOX emissions by 
establishing NOX emissions limitations for large electric 
generating units (EGU) which includes any EGU with a nameplate capacity 
greater than 25 megawatts across the state, beginning May 1, 2003. EGUs 
located in the eastern third of the state are limited to an emission 
rate of 0.25 lbs. NOX per million British thermal units per 
hour (mmBtu) of heat input during the control period. The EGUs located 
in the western two-thirds of the state are limited to the less 
stringent rate of 0.35 lbs. NOX mmBtu of heat input during 
the control period. The control period begins on May 1 and ends on 
September 30 of the same calendar year. The control period is limited 
to this period because this is the time of year when ozone formation is 
most likely to occur at unhealthful levels.
    The rule also establishes a trading program for the state of 
Missouri to allow the affected EGUs' flexibility in meeting the 
requirements of this rule. The trading program establishes allowances 
for each affected NOX unit for each control period. The 
system then tracks the balance of the allowances for each unit. At the 
end of the control period, units with remaining allowances can either 
bank the allowances for future years or trade the allowances to units 
with a deficit (overdraft accounts.)
    Other features of the trading program include the following:

    1. the availability of early reduction credits for affected 
NOX units which reduce their NOX emissions rate 
prior to May 1, 2003;
    2. an individual EGU opt-in provision which allows EGU units that 
are not initially affected by the rule to opt in to the NOX 
trading program, thereby subjecting them to the rule, including the 
trading program; and
    3. geographic flow control to discourage the flow of allowances 
from west to east and to encourage more reductions in the vicinity of 
the St. Louis area.

    The rule specifies appropriate compliance methods, reporting and 
recordkeeping sufficient to determine compliance, referencing the 
requirements of 40 CFR part 75 (EPA's monitoring requirements for acid 
rain sources). We believe that this portion of the rule meets the 
applicable enforceability requirements.
    This rule is a critical element in the state's plan to attain the 
ozone standard in the St. Louis ozone nonattainment area. The St. Louis 
ozone nonattainment area includes Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles, and 
St. Louis counties and St. Louis City in Missouri; and Madison, Monroe, 
and St. Clair counties in Illinois. As part of the control strategy for 
the attainment of the ozone standard in the St. Louis area, Missouri 
and Illinois included NOX reductions for certain sources 
throughout the two states.
    Full approval of the ozone attainment demonstration for St. Louis 
is dependent upon the adoption of regional NOX emissions 
control regulations, sufficient to achieve attainment of the ozone 
standard based on the attainment demonstration. EPA's proposal on the 
attainment demonstration is in 65 FR 20404, April 17, 2000. That 
proposal includes a detailed discussion of the role of regional 
NOX emission reductions in attainment of the ozone standard 
in the St. Louis area. The target levels established in the 
NOX rule, described

[[Page 51566]]

above, are consistent with the levels in the attainment demonstration.
    The state has made a commitment to provide an annual demonstration 
to us that the total actual NOX emissions, from affected 
utilities, remain below the inventory projections used in the St. Louis 
attainment demonstration. The state has also committed to continue to 
evaluate the effects of this rule on the monitored ozone levels in the 
St. Louis ozone nonattainment area, and make any necessary adjustments 
based on the monitoring data.
    Because the attainment demonstration assumes that specific 
NOX emission reductions will occur as a result of the rule, 
we believe it is critical that the state closely monitor progress 
toward achieving the reductions, and take corrective action if 
necessary to ensure the reductions are realized. This corrective action 
could include making modifications to the rule or taking further action 
to address the NOX emissions reduction shortfall if any 
occurs.
    The state is committed to evaluating the effectiveness of the rule 
in achieving necessary NOX reductions, and we intend to 
review the annual demonstration submitted by Missouri. If necessary, we 
may exercise our authorities under sections 110 and 179 of the Act to 
require further action to remedy shortfalls, if any, in the 
NOX reduction program, when it is implemented.
    For clarification, our evaluation of the statewide NOX 
rule is not related to the obligations which Missouri may subsequently 
have under EPA's regional NOX reduction rule (the 
NOX SIP call). That rule, explained in more detail in our 
April 17, 2000, proposal on the attainment demonstration, requires that 
certain states develop regional NOX controls to address 
contributions to downwind nonattainment of the ozone standard in the 
eastern portion of the country. In response to a recent judicial remand 
of the SIP call as it relates to Missouri, EPA intends to undertake 
rulemaking to establish regional NOX requirements for a 
portion of Missouri. When that rulemaking is completed, we anticipate 
that it will establish separate NOX reduction requirements 
to address contributions by Missouri sources to ozone nonattainment in 
other areas. The state would then be required to take subsequent 
action, pursuant to the NOX SIP call, to ensure 
NOX emissions address long-range transport, and we would 
then take separate rulemaking action on Missouri's response to the 
NOX SIP call.

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 criteria in 40 CFR part 51, appendix V for completeness 
of SIP revisions submitted for parallel processing. In addition, as 
explained above and in more detail in the TSD which is part of this 
document, the revision meets the substantive SIP requirements of the 
CAA, including section 110, part D of Title I, and implementing 
regulations.

What action is EPA taking?

    We are proposing to approve, as an amendment to Missouri's SIP, 
rule 10 CSR 10-6.350, ``Emissions Limitations and Emissions Trading of 
Oxides of Nitrogen.'' We are processing this as a proposal action 
through parallel processing because this rule is not yet effective 
under state law. We anticipate that the final effective rule will be 
the same as the rule on which this proposal is based.

Administrative Requirements

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
proposed action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and 
therefore is not subject to review by the Office of Management and 
Budget. This proposed action merely approves state law as meeting 
Federal requirements and imposes no additional requirements beyond 
those imposed by state law. Accordingly, the Administrator certifies 
that this proposed rule will not have a significant economic impact on 
a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because this rule proposes to approve 
preexisting requirements under state law and does not impose any 
additional enforceable duty beyond that required by state law, it 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). For the same reason, this proposed rule also does 
not significantly or uniquely affect the communities of tribal 
governments, as specified by Executive Order 13084 (63 FR 27655, May 
10, 1998). This proposed rule will not have substantial direct effects 
on the states, on the relationship between the national government and 
the states, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among 
the various levels of government, as specified in Executive Order 13132 
(64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999), because it merely approves a state rule 
implementing a Federal standard, and does not alter the relationship or 
the distribution of power and responsibilities established in the CAA. 
This proposed rule also is not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not economically significant.
    In reviewing SIP submissions, our role is to approve state choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. In this context, in 
the absence of a prior existing requirement for the state to use 
voluntary consensus standards (VCS), we have no authority to disapprove 
a SIP submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be inconsistent 
with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a SIP submission, to use 
VCS in place of a SIP submission that otherwise satisfies the 
provisions of the CAA. Thus, the requirements of section 12(d) of the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) do not apply. As required by section 3 of Executive Order 12988 
(61 FR 4729, February 7, 1996), in issuing this proposed rule, we have 
taken the necessary steps to eliminate drafting errors and ambiguity, 
minimize potential litigation, and provide a clear legal standard for 
affected conduct. We have complied with Executive Order 12630 (53 FR 
8859, March 15, 1988) by examining the takings implications of the rule 
in accordance with the ``Attorney General's Supplemental Guidelines for 
the Evaluation of Risk and Avoidance of Unanticipated Takings' issued 
under the Executive Order. This proposed rule does not impose an 
information collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Hydrocarbons, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, 
Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides.

    Dated: August 14, 2000.
Michael J. Sanderson,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7.
[FR Doc. 00-21671 Filed 8-23-00; 8:45 am]
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