[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 217 (Thursday, November 8, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 56447-56449]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-27829]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[WI107-01-7337a; FRL-7064-4]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Wisconsin

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving revisions to the minor source/minor 
modification pre-construction permitting requirements for Wisconsin 
Electric Power Company's (WE's) Pleasant Prairie Power Plant. The 
Pleasant Prairie Power Plant is located in Kenosha County at 8000 95th 
Street, Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Department of 
Natural Resources (WDNR) submitted the revised requirements on February 
9, 2001, as amendments to its State Implementation Plan (SIP). The 
revisions include the expansion of the State's general construction 
permit exemption to include certain activities at the Pleasant Prairie 
facility.

DATES: This rule is effective on January 7, 2002, unless EPA receives 
relevant

[[Page 56448]]

adverse written comments by December 10, 2001. If adverse comment is 
received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the rule in the 
Federal Register and inform the public that the rule will not take 
effect.

ADDRESSES: You should mail written comments to: Robert Miller, Chief, 
Permits and Grants Section MI/MN/WI, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 
Chicago, Illinois 60604.
    You may inspect copies of the State submittal and EPA's analysis of 
it at:
    Permits and Grants Section MI/MN/WI, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson 
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Miller, Chief, Permits and 
Grants Section MI/MN/WI, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 
Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 353-0396.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document wherever ``we'', 
``us'', or ``our'' is used we mean EPA.

Table of Contents

I. What is the EPA approving?
II. What are the changes from current rules?
III. What are the environmental effects of this action?
IV. EPA rulemaking action.
V. Administrative requirements.

I. What Is the EPA Approving?

    We are approving revisions to the minor source/minor modification 
pre-construction permitting requirements for Wisconsin Electric Power 
Company's (WE's) Pleasant Prairie Power Plant located at 8000 95th 
Street, Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. WDNR submitted the revised 
requirements on February 9, 2001, as amendments to its SIP. The WDNR 
held a public hearing on the proposed revisions on January 22, 2001.
    The revisions include the expansion of the State's general 
construction permit exemption to include certain activities at the 
Pleasant Prairie facility. This SIP revision will not have an adverse 
effect on air quality.

II. What Are the Changes From Current Rules?

    The WDNR has submitted a portion of the Environmental Cooperative 
Agreement signed by WDNR and WE on February 5, 2001, for approval into 
the SIP. The Environmental Cooperative Agreement was developed pursuant 
to the Environmental Cooperative Pilot Program authorized under Section 
299.80, Wis. Stats. The Environmental Cooperative Agreement replaces 
the general construction permit exemption at NR 406.04(2) with the 
requirements of Section XII.C, Item ``Construction Permit Exemption for 
Minor Physical or Operational Changes,'' of the Environmental 
Cooperative Agreement. This change applies only to the Pleasant Prairie 
Power Plant. The provisions of NR 406.04(2) remain in effect for all 
other facilities within the State of Wisconsin.
    The revisions differ from the current requirements in several 
significant ways:
    1. The current exemption cannot by used by any facility subject to 
a New Source Performance Standard (NSPS). The Pleasant Prairie Power 
Plant has two units subject to an NSPS.
    2. The current exemption threshold for nitrogen oxide ( 
NOX) emissions is 5.7 pounds per hour. The revision 
increases the threshold to 9.0 pounds per hour (approximately 39.42 
tons per year) of NOX.
    3. The current regulations at NR 406.04(2) do not require a source 
to notify WDNR and EPA of changes that qualify for the exemption prior 
to making the changes or to perform an ambient air quality analysis for 
those changes. The revisions do require pre-construction notification 
and an air quality analysis.

III. What Are the Environmental Effects of This Action?

    This action will exempt physical changes or changes in the method 
of operation at the Pleasant Prairie Power Plant with potential 
emissions less than 9.0 pounds per hour (39.42 tons per year) for 
sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, or NOX; 5.7 pounds per hour 
(24.97 tons per year) of particulate matter or volatile organic 
compounds; 3.4 pounds per hour (14.89 tons per year) of particulate 
matter less than 10 microns in diameter; and 0.13 pounds per hour (0.57 
tons per year) of lead from the requirement to obtain a permit prior to 
commencing construction on the physical changes or on changes in the 
method of operation. The current rules contain a similar exemption for 
certain sources; however, this exemption cannot be used by the Pleasant 
Prairie Power Plant because it is subject to an NSPS.
    The general exemption in the current rule does include a threshold 
of 5.7 pounds per hour for NOX because it can be applied in 
areas with a lower significance threshold such as severe ozone non-
attainment areas. For the area in which the Pleasant Prairie Power 
Plant is located, the significance threshold is 40 tons per year 
(approximately 9.13 pounds per hour). Although the current rules do 
require receipt of a construction permit prior to making changes for 
the Pleasant Prairie Power Plant, issuance of the permit will not 
result in any additional pollution control requirements or lower 
emission limitations. The revision is procedural and has no direct 
impact on emissions.
    Under the current rule, an air quality analysis is required for 
physical changes or changes in the method of operation as part of the 
pre-construction permitting process to ensure that no applicable 
standards are violated. The revisions have maintained this requirement. 
The Pleasant Prairie Power Plant must notify WDNR and EPA of all 
modifications made under the exemption, and they must include a summary 
of air quality impacts including any ambient air quality modeling 
performed as part of that notification.
    The applicability provisions and requirements of the current 
operating permit regulations are unchanged. Any physical change or 
change in the method of operation at the Pleasant Prairie Power Plant 
triggering these requirements must obtain the required permit prior to 
commencing operation.

IV. EPA Rulemaking Action

    We are approving, through direct final rulemaking, revisions to the 
minor source pre-construction permitting requirements for the WE 
Pleasant Prairie Power Plant, located in Kenosha County at 8000 95th 
Street, Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. We are publishing this action 
without prior proposal because we view this as a noncontroversial 
revision and anticipate no adverse comments. However, in a separate 
document in this Federal Register publication, we are proposing to 
approve the SIP revision should adverse written comments be filed. This 
action will be effective without further notice unless we receive 
relevant adverse written comment by December 10, 2001. Should we 
receive such comments, we will publish a final rule informing the 
public that this action will not take effect. Any parties interested in 
commenting on this action should do so at this time. If no such 
comments are received, this action will be effective on January 7, 
2002.

V. Administrative 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. This

[[Page 56449]]

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 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.).
    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. EPA will submit a report containing this rule and other 
required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior 
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot 
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal 
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
804(2). This rule will be effective January 7, 2002 unless EPA receives 
adverse written comments by December 10, 2001.
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7607, 
petitions for judicial review of this action must be filed in the 
United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by January 
7, 2002. 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, Review of New 
Sources and Modifications, Incorporation by reference, 
Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: September 10, 2001.
David A. Ullrich,
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 YY--Wisconsin

    2. Section 52.2570 is amended by adding paragraph (c)(102) to read 
as follows:


Sec. 52.2570  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (102) On February 9, 2001 the Wisconsin Department of Natural 
Resources submitted a site specific SIP revision in the form of a 
February 5, 2001 Environmental Cooperative Agreement for incorporation 
into the federally enforceable State Implementation Plan. The 
Cooperative Agreement establishes an exemption for pre-construction 
permitting activities for certain physical changes or changes in the 
method of operation at the Wisconsin Electric Power Company, Pleasant 
Prairie Power Plant located at 8000 95th Street, Pleasant Prairie, 
Wisconsin. This Environmental Cooperative Agreement expires on February 
4, 2006.
    (i) Incorporation by reference.
    The following provisions of the Environmental Cooperative Agreement 
between the Wisconsin Electric Power Company and the Wisconsin 
Department of Natural Resources signed on February 5, 2001: The 
provisions in Section XII.C. Permit Streamlining concerning 
Construction Permit Exemption for Minor Physical or Operational 
Changes. These provisions establish a construction permit exemption for 
minor physical or operational changes at the Wisconsin Electric Power 
Company Pleasant Prairie Power Plant. This Environmental Cooperative 
Agreement expires on February 4, 2006.

[FR Doc. 01-27829 Filed 11-7-01; 8:45 am]
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