[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 115 (Friday, June 14, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 41138]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-14628]



[[Page 41138]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 63

[FRL-7225-4]
RIN 2060-AJ09 and 2060-AJ11


National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for 
Secondary Aluminum Production

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Withdrawal of proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This document withdraws a previously published proposed rule 
to stay the national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants 
(NESHAP) for secondary aluminum production, as applied to aluminum die 
casters and aluminum foundries. This document also announces that we do 
not intend to take any further action with respect to an advance notice 
of proposed rulemaking in which we announced our intention to remove 
aluminum die casters and aluminum foundries from the secondary aluminum 
NESHAP and to promulgate a separate NESHAP for these facilities. We 
published these actions pursuant to a settlement agreement with the 
petitioners in American Foundrymen's Society et al. v. EPA, Civ. No. 
00-1208 (D.C. Cir.), a case seeking judicial review of the secondary 
aluminum NESHAP. That settlement agreement has now been entirely 
supplanted by a new agreement to propose certain amendments to the 
existing standards.

DATES: The proposed rule to stay the applicability of 40 CFR part 63, 
subpart RRR, is withdrawn as of June 14, 2002.

ADDRESSEES: Docket. Docket No. A-2000-31, containing information 
pertaining to the advance notice of proposed rulemaking, and Docket No. 
A-2000-35, containing information pertaining to the proposed rule to 
stay the applicability of subpart RRR, are available for public 
inspection between 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays, at the following address: U.S. EPA, Air and 
Radiation Docket and Information Center (6102), 401 M Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20460, telephone (202) 260-7548. The dockets are located 
at the above address in room M-1500, Waterside Mall (ground floor). A 
reasonable fee may be charged for copying docket materials.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. John Schaefer, U.S. EPA, Minerals 
and Inorganic Chemicals Group, Emission Standards Division (Mail Code 
C504-05), Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Research 
Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone number (919) 541-0296, electronic 
mail address, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 23, 2000 (65 FR 15690), we 
promulgated the NESHAP for secondary aluminum production (40 CFR part 
63, subpart RRR) under the authority of section 112(d) of the Clean Air 
Act (CAA).
    After promulgation of the NESHAP for secondary aluminum production, 
a petition for judicial review of the standards was filed in the D.C. 
Circuit Court of Appeals by the American Foundrymen's Society, the 
North American Die Casting Association, and the Non-Ferrous Founders' 
Society (American Foundrymen's Society et al. v. U.S. EPA, Civ. No 00-
1208 (D.C. Cir.)).
    The Foundrymen's case presented issues concerning the applicability 
of subpart RRR to aluminum die casters and aluminum foundries which 
were considered during the initial rulemaking development. Because 
aluminum die casters and foundries sometimes conduct the same type of 
operations as other secondary aluminum producers, we originally 
intended to apply the standards to these facilities, but only in those 
instances where they conduct such operations. However, representatives 
of the affected facilities argued that they should not be considered to 
be secondary aluminum producers and should be wholly exempt from the 
rule. During the rulemaking development, we decided to permit die 
casters and foundries to melt contaminated internal scrap without being 
considered to be secondary aluminum producers, but their 
representatives insisted that too many facilities would still be 
subject to the NESHAP. After promulgation, we announced that we would 
withdraw the standards as applied to die casters and foundries and 
develop separate MACT (maximum achievable control technology) standards 
for these facilities.
    After the Foundrymen's case was filed, we negotiated an initial 
settlement agreement which established a process to effectuate our 
commitment to develop new MACT standards. In that first settlement, EPA 
agreed that it would stay the current standards for these facilities, 
collect comprehensive data to support alternate standards, and 
promulgate alternate standards. We then published a proposed rule to 
stay the applicability of the standards for aluminum die casters and 
aluminum foundries (65 FR 55491, September 14, 2000) and an advance 
notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) announcing our intent to develop 
new standards for these facilities (65 FR 55489, September 14, 2000).
    During the subsequent process of preparing for information 
collection, the petitioners concluded that the present rule was not as 
sweeping in applicability as they had feared, and the parties then 
agreed to explore an alternate approach to settlement based on 
clarifications of the current standards. We subsequently reached 
agreement with the Foundrymen's petitioners on a new settlement which 
entirely supplants the prior settlement. The current settlement 
requires us to propose certain amendments clarifying and modifying the 
existing secondary aluminum standards, rather than developing and 
promulgating new standards for aluminum die casters and aluminum 
foundries.
    As required by section 113(g) of the CAA, we provided notice and an 
opportunity for comment concerning the Foundrymen's settlement (67 FR 
9972, March 5, 2002). We received three adverse comments on the 
settlement. After reviewing these comments, we decided to proceed with 
settlement. A copy of these comments and of our responses to them is 
available in Docket No. A-2002-06 for proposed rule amendments to the 
existing standards, and in Docket No. A-2002-05 for a direct final rule 
and parallel proposal to effectuate the new settlement, all of which 
are being publishing elsewhere in today's Federal Register.
    Pursuant to the new settlement agreement, we are today withdrawing 
the proposed rule to stay the applicability of 40 CFR part 63, subpart 
RRR, for aluminum die casting facilities and aluminum foundries which 
we published on September 14, 2000. In addition, we are announcing that 
we will take no further action with respect to the ANPR announcing our 
intention to develop separate NESHAP for aluminum die casters and 
foundries, which we also published on September 14, 2000.

    Dated: May 31, 2002.
Christine Todd Whitman,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 02-14628 Filed 6-13-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P