[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 2, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 85]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-33424]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 70

[FRL-6925-2]


Clean Air Act Operating Permit Program; Petition for Objection to 
State Operating Permits for PacifiCorp's Jim Bridger and Naughton Coal-
Fired Power Plants, Wyoming

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of final order on petition to object to state operating 
permit.

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SUMMARY: This document announces that the EPA Administrator has 
partially granted and partially denied a petition to object to two 
state operating permits issued by the Wyoming Department of 
Environmental Quality, Air Quality Division, to PacifiCorp for its Jim 
Bridger plant and its Naughton plant in Wyoming. This order constitutes 
final action on the petition submitted by the Wyoming Outdoor Council. 
Pursuant to section 505(b)(2) of the Clean Air Act (Act) and 40 CFR 
70.8(d), interested parties may seek judicial review of those portions 
of the petition which EPA denied in the United States Court of Appeals 
for the appropriate circuit within 60 days of this decision under 
section 307 of the Act.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the final order, the petition and all other 
supporting information are on file at the: U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region VIII, Air and Radiation Program, 999 18th 
Street--Suite 300, Denver, Colorado, 80202. All documents will be 
available for review at the U.S. EPA Region VIII office Monday through 
Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (excluding federal holidays). The 
final order is also available electronically at http://www.epa.gov/region07/programs/artd/air/title5/t5memos/woc020.pdf.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Monica Morales, Air Technical 
Assistance Unit, EPA Region VIII, telephone (303) 312-6936, e-mail 
[email protected]. Interested parties may also contact the Wyoming 
Department of Environmental Quality, Air Quality Division, 122 West 
25th Street, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Clean Air Act affords EPA the 
opportunity for a 45-day period to review, and object to as 
appropriate, operating permits proposed by state permitting 
authorities. Section 505(b)(2) of the Act authorizes any person to 
petition the EPA Administrator within 60 days after the expiration of 
this review period to object to state operating permits if EPA has not 
done so. Petitions must be based only on objections to the permit that 
were raised with reasonable specificity during the public comment 
period provided by the state, unless the petitioner demonstrates that 
it was impracticable to raise these issues during the comment period or 
the grounds for the issues arose after this period.
    The Wyoming Outdoor Council submitted a petition to the 
Administrator on June 30, 1998, seeking EPA's objection to the 
operating permits issued to PacifiCorp for its Jim Bridger and Naughton 
coal-fired power plants. The petitioner maintains that the PacifiCorp 
operating permits are inconsistent with the Act because the permits: 
(1) fail to require continuous opacity monitoring for Naughton unit 3 
and Jim Bridger units 1, 2, and 3 as required by the federal acid rain 
regulations, 40 CFR 75.14(b); and (2) provide improper exemptions to 
State Implementation Plan (``SIP'') emission limits by allowing excess 
emissions due to malfunctions, abnormal conditions, or breakdowns that 
are beyond the control of the operator.
    The order partially granting and partially denying this petition 
explains the reasons behind EPA's conclusions that (1) the permits fail 
to meet the continuous opacity monitoring requirement for the four 
coal-fired units and otherwise lack monitoring sufficient to assure 
compliance with the permit's terms and conditions, and (2) the 
petitioner failed to demonstrate that EPA has a basis for objecting to 
the exemption from SIP emission limits due to malfunctions, abnormal 
conditions or breakdowns.
    Because the Order is a locally or regionally applicable action of 
the Administrator, judicial review of this decision under section 
307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act (the Act) may be sought only by the 
filing of a petition for review in the United States Court of Appeals 
for the appropriate regional circuit within 60 days from the date on 
which this notice is published in the Federal Register. Under section 
307(b)(2) of the Act, this decision shall not be subject to later 
judicial review in civil or criminal proceedings for enforcement.

    Dated: December 20, 2000.
Jack W. McGraw,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region VIII.
[FR Doc. 00-33424 Filed 12-29-00; 8:45 am]
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