[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 155 (Friday, August 10, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 42123-42126]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-20140]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[PA-4121a; FRL-7027-9]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Pennsylvania; NOX RACT Determination for Latrobe Steel 
Company in the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve a revision to the 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's State Implementation Plan (SIP). The 
revision was submitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental 
Protection (PADEP) to establish and require reasonably available 
control technology (RACT) for Latrobe Steel Company, a major source of 
nitrogen oxides ( NOX) located in the Pittsburgh-Beaver 
Valley ozone nonattainment area (the Pittsburgh area). EPA is approving 
this revision to establish RACT requirements in the SIP in accordance 
with the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: This rule is effective on September 24, 2001 without further 
notice, unless EPA receives adverse written comment by September 10, 
2001. If EPA receives such comments, it will publish a timely 
withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform 
the public that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed to David L. Arnold, Chief, 
Air Quality Planning & Information Services Branch, Air Protection 
Division, Mail code 3AP21, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 
III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of the 
documents relevant to this action are available for public inspection 
during normal business hours at the Air Protection Division, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103; the Air and Radiation Docket and 
Information Center, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street, 
SW., Washington, DC 20460; and the Pennsylvania Department of 
Environmental Protection, Bureau of Air Quality Control, P.O. Box 8468, 
400 Market Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Ioff at (215) 814-2166, the 
EPA Region III address above or by e-mail at [email protected]. Please 
note that while questions may be posed via telephone and e-mail, formal 
comments

[[Page 42124]]

must be submitted, in writing, as indicated in the ADDRESSES section of 
this document.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Pursuant to sections 182(b)(2) and 182(f) of the Clean Air Act 
(CAA), the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (the Commonwealth or 
Pennsylvania) is required to establish and implement RACT for all major 
volatile organic compounds (VOC) and NOX sources. The major 
source size is determined by its location, the classification of that 
area and whether it is located in the ozone transport region (OTR). 
Under section 184 of the CAA, RACT as specified in sections 182(b)(2) 
and 182(f) applies throughout the OTR. The entire Commonwealth is 
located within the OTR. Therefore, RACT is applicable statewide in 
Pennsylvania.
    State implementation plan revisions imposing reasonably available 
control technology (RACT) for three classes of VOC sources are required 
under section 182(b)(2). The categories are: (1) All sources covered by 
a Control Technique Guideline (CTG) document issued between November 
15, 1990 and the date of attainment; (2) All sources covered by a CTG 
issued prior to November 15, 1990; (3) All other major non-CTG rules 
were due by November 15, 1992. The Pennsylvania SIP has approved RACT 
regulations and requirements for all sources and source categories 
covered by the CTG's.
    On February 4, 1994, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental 
Protection (PADEP) submitted a revision to its SIP to require major 
sources of NOX and additional major sources of VOC emissions 
(not covered by a CTG) to implement RACT. The February 4, 1994 
submittal was amended on May 3, 1994 to correct and clarify certain 
presumptive NOX RACT requirements. In the Pittsburgh area, a 
major source of VOC is defined as one having the potential to emit 50 
tons per year (tpy) or more, and a major source of NOX is 
defined as one having the potential to emit 100 tpy or more. 
Pennsylvania's RACT regulations require sources, in the Pittsburgh 
area, that have the potential to emit 50 tpy or more of VOC and sources 
which have the potential to emit 100 tpy or more of NOX 
comply with RACT by May 31, 1995. The regulations contain technology-
based or operational ``presumptive RACT emission limitations'' for 
certain major NOX sources. For other major NOX 
sources, and all major non-CTG VOC sources (not otherwise already 
subject to RACT under the Pennsylvania SIP), the regulations contain a 
``generic'' RACT provision. A generic RACT regulation is one that does 
not, itself, specifically define RACT for a source or source categories 
but instead allows for case-by-case RACT determinations. The generic 
provisions of Pennsylvania's regulations allow for PADEP to make case-
by case RACT determinations that are then to be submitted to EPA as 
revisions to the Pennsylvania SIP.
    On March 23, 1998 EPA granted conditional limited approval to the 
Commonwealth's generic VOC and NOX RACT regulations (63 FR 
13789). In that action, EPA stated that the conditions of its approval 
would be satisfied once the Commonwealth either (1) certifies that it 
has submitted case-by-case RACT proposals for all sources subject to 
the RACT requirements currently known to PADEP; or (2) demonstrates 
that the emissions from any remaining subject sources represent a de 
minimis level of emissions as defined in the March 23, 1998 rulemaking. 
On April 22, 1999, PADEP made the required submittal to EPA certifying 
that it had met the terms and conditions imposed by EPA in its March 
23, 1998 conditional limited approval of its VOC and NOX 
RACT regulations by submitting 485 case-by-case VOC/NOX RACT 
determinations as SIP revisions and making the demonstration described 
as condition 2, above. EPA determined that Pennsylvania's April 22, 
1999 submittal satisfied the conditions imposed in its conditional 
limited approval published on March 23, 1998. On May 3, 2001 (66 FR 
22123), EPA published a rulemaking action removing the conditional 
status of its approval of the Commonwealth's generic VOC and 
NOX RACT regulations on a statewide basis. The regulation 
currently retains its limited approval status. Once EPA has approved 
the case-by-case RACT determinations submitted by PADEP to satisfy the 
conditional approval for subject sources located in Allegheny, 
Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington, and Westmoreland 
Counties; the limited approval of Pennsylvania's generic VOC and 
NOX RACT regulations shall convert to a full approval for 
the Pittsburgh area.
    On March 21, 1996, PADEP submitted revisions to the Pennsylvania 
SIP which establish and impose case-by-case RACT for several sources of 
VOC and/or NOX. This rulemaking pertains to the 
Commonwealth's submittal of operating permit (OP) 65-000-016 which 
imposes NOX RACT requirements for the Latrobe Steel Company 
(LSC), a major source of NOX located in the Pittsburgh area. 
The RACT determinations submitted on March 21, 1996 for other sources 
are or have been the subject of separate rulemakings.

II. Summary of the SIP Revision

    The Latrobe Steel Company (Latrobe) is a producer of high-
performing alloy and specialty steels located in the Borough of 
Latrobe, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The Latrobe facility 
consists of eighty-eight individual unit/processes with potential 
NOX and VOC emissions of 493.4 tons per year and 15 tons per 
year, respectively facility-wide. As the facility's potential VOC 
emissions are less than 50 tons per year, the facility is not a major 
source of VOC. The facility is a major source of NOX and is 
subject to RACT. The PADEP established NOX RACT requirements 
for the facility in OP 65-000-016 for the eighty-eight individual units 
or processes subject to Pennsylvania's RACT regulation.

A. Description of the NOX Emitting Units/Processes at 
Latrobe Steel

    (1) Electric Arc Furnaces (EAFs) A and B at the Melt Shop--Both 
EAFs are used at the plant to melt and refine the charge of metallic 
scrap, fluxes, and various alloying elements. The sufficient resistive 
heating is generated inside the refractory-lined furnace vessel by 
electrical current flowing between the three graphite electrodes and 
through the metallic charge. In spite of very high temperatures which 
arise inside the furnace during the melting phase, only modest 
NOX formation occurs. This is due to the fact that in the 
EAF process the generation of NOX is largely transferred 
from a steelmaking facility to an electric generating unit at a utility 
plant where those emissions are controlled.
    (2) Heating/Reheating/Annealing Furnaces--Heating/reheating 
furnaces are used for heat-treating of steel and bringing it to a 
uniform temperature suitable for hot working. Annealing furnaces are 
used to refine the steel grain structure, to relief stresses induced by 
hot or cold working, and to alter the mechanical properties of steel in 
order to improve its machinability. Heat treatment of the alloy steels 
is conducted at a slow rate and relatively low temperatures to minimize 
thermal stresses and to avoid distortion and cracking.

B. Description of the RACT Determinations

    Of the eighty-eight NOX emitting units/processes, 
seventy-nine are various heating/reheating/annealing natural gas-fired 
furnaces with a rated gross heat input of less than 20 MMBTU/hr each. 
Pennsylvania has

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determined that these sources are subject to SIP-approved presumptive 
RACT requirements set forth in 25 Pa. Code Section 129.93(c)(1) which 
require that the installation, maintenance, and operation of the source 
be done in accordance with manufacturer's specifications. One of the 
other nine remaining sources is a natural gas-fired combustion unit 
(boiler) with a rated gross heat input between 20 MMBTU/hr and 50 
MMBTU/hr. Pennsylvania has determined that this source is a subject to 
SIP-approved presumptive RACT requirements set forth in 25 Pa. Code 
Section 129.93(b)(2) which require that an annual adjustment or tune-up 
of the combustion process be performed.
    The remaining eight sources are comprised of two EAFs, four 
Carbottom natural gas-fired heating furnaces with a rated gross heat 
input of less than 50 MMBTU/hr each, and two natural gas-fired 
reheating furnaces (Selas Barrel and Salem Walking Beam furnaces) with 
a rated gross heat input of less than 100 MMBTU/hr each. The following 
NOX control options were evaluated in a case-by-case RACT 
analysis: Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction (SNCR), Selective Catalytic 
Reduction (SCR), Waste Gas Wet Scrubber, Exhaust Gas Recirculation 
(EGR), Staged Combustion Burners, Low NOX Burners, and 
Optimized Combustion Systems Operations/Maintenance Procedures. 
Pennsylvania's determinations of NOX RACT requirements for 
these eight furnaces were based upon case-by-case analyses of whether 
or not the evaluated control technologies were technically and 
economically feasible options in each particular application. A summary 
of Pennsylvania's NOX RACT determinations for these furnaces 
is provided below.
    (1) EAFs and B at the Melt Shop--The PADEP concluded that there are 
no feasible control technologies for reducing NOX emissions 
from the existing EAFs. The equipment and technology currently in place 
are constitute RACT for the source. In OP 65-000-016, PADEP limits 
NOX emissions from EAFs A and B to 0.52 lbs per ton each and 
to 14.5 tpy and 21.7 tpy, respectively.
    (2) Carbottom furnaces (No. 1 and No. 2 at the Melt Shop; No. 7 and 
No. 50 at the Mesta Press--Furnaces Nos. 1, 2, and 7 are identical in 
design and rated capacity and consist of 16 natural gas-fired burners 
each with a total gross heat input of 29.6 MMBTU/hr per furnace. 
Furnace No. 50 consists of 15 natural gas-fired burners with a total 
gross heat input of 20.6 MMBTU/hr. Based upon a case-by-case 
NOX RACT analysis, Pennsylvania has concluded that 
implementation of combustion operating/maintenance procedures 
constitutes RACT for these sources. This control option is consistent 
with the SIP-approved presumptive RACT requirements for combustion 
units with a rated gross heat input between 20 MMBTU/hr and 50 MMBTU/hr 
set forth in 25 Pa. Code Section 129.93.(b)(2). Pennsylvania also 
limits NOX emissions from each of Carbottom furnaces Nos. 1, 
2 and 7 to 0.12 lbs/MMBTU and to 15.6 tpy. The NOX emissions 
from Carbottom furnace No. 50 are limited to 0.12 lbs/MMBTU and 13.7 
tpy.
    (3) Selas Barrel furnace No. 1 at the Continuous Rolling Mill--The 
furnace consists of 88 natural gas-fired burners with a total gross 
heat input of 80.8 MMBTU/hr. Based upon a case-by-case NOX 
RACT analysis, Pennsylvania has concluded that implementation of 
combustion operating/maintenance procedures constitutes RACT for the 
source. Pennsylvania also limits NOX emissions from Selas 
Barrel furnace No. 1 to 0.12 lbs/MMBTU and to 35.7 tpy.
    (4) Salem Walking Beam furnace at the Continuous Rolling Mill--The 
furnace consists of 13 natural gas-fired burners with a total gross 
heat input of 88 MMBTU/hr. Pennsylvania limits the hours of operations 
to no more than 6,000 hours in any calendar year and requires 
implementation of specified combustion operating/maintenance 
procedures. In addition to restricting the furnace's operating hours, 
Pennsylvania also limits the NOX emissions from the Salem 
Walking Beam furnace to 0.12 lbs/MMBTU and to 46.3 tpy.

III. EPA's Evaluation of Pennsylvania's SIP Revision

    EPA is approving Pennsylvania's RACT SIP submittal of OP 65-000-016 
which establishes and imposes RACT requirements on Latrobe Steel in 
accordance with the criteria set forth in its SIP-approved RACT 
regulations and which also imposes record-keeping, monitoring, and 
testing requirements sufficient to determine compliance with the 
applicable RACT determinations.

IV. Final Action

    EPA is approving Latrobe Steel's OP 65-000-016 as a revision to the 
Pennsylvania SIP. It was submitted by PADEP to establish and impose 
NOX RACT for Latrobe Steel, a major source located in the 
Pittsburgh area. EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal 
because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment and 
anticipates no adverse comment. However, in the ``Proposed Rules'' 
section of today's Federal Register, EPA is publishing a separate 
document that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision if 
adverse comments are filed. This rule will be effective on September 
24, 2001 without further notice unless EPA receives adverse comment by 
September 10, 2001. If EPA receives adverse comment, EPA will publish a 
timely withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that the 
rule will not take effect. EPA will address all public comments in a 
subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. EPA will not 
institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties 
interested in commenting must do so at this time.

V. Administrative Requirements

A. General Requirements

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not 
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. For this 
reason, this action is also not subject to Executive Order 13211, 
``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use.'' See 66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001. This 
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 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 approves pre-existing 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 (Public Law 104-4). This rule also does not 
have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the 
relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on 
the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal 
Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 
FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor will it 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

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and responsibilities established in the Clean Air Act. This 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, EPA's role is to approve state choices, provided that they 
meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. In this context, in the absence 
of a prior existing requirement for the State to use voluntary 
consensus standards (VCS), EPA has 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 Clean Air Act. 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 rule, EPA has taken the 
necessary steps to eliminate drafting errors and ambiguity, minimize 
potential litigation, and provide a clear legal standard for affected 
conduct. EPA has 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 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.).

B. 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 exempts from section 801 the following types 
of rules: (1) rules of particular applicability; (2) rules relating to 
agency management or personnel; and (3) 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 establishing source-
specific requirements for one named source.

C. Petitions for Judicial Review

    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by October 9, 2001. 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 approving the Commonwealth's source-
specific RACT requirements to control NOX from Latrobe Steel 
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, Hydrocarbons, 
Incorporation by reference, Nitrogen Oxides, Ozone, Reporting and 
record-keeping requirements.

    Dated: August 1, 2001.
Thomas C. Voltaggio,
Deputy Regional Administrator, Region III.

    40 CFR part 52 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 NN--Pennsylvania

    2. Section 52.2020 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(158) to read 
as follows:


Sec. 52.2020  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (158) Revision pertaining to NOX RACT for the Latrobe 
Steel Company located in Latrobe Borough, Westmoreland County, 
submitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on 
March 21, 1996.
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    (A) Letter submitted on March 21, 1996 by the Pennsylvania 
Department of Environmental Protection transmitting source-specific VOC 
and/or NOX RACT determinations.
    (B) Operating Permit 65-000-016, effective December 22, 1995, for 
the Latrobe Steel Company in Latrobe Borough, Westmoreland County, 
except for the specified Permit Term: 12/22/95-12/22/00.
    (ii) Additional Materials--Other materials submitted by the 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in support of and pertaining to the RACT 
determination for the source listed in (i)(B), above.

[FR Doc. 01-20140 Filed 8-9-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P