[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 194 (Monday, October 7, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62467-62468]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-25421]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[IL 215-1; FRL-7391-9]


Notice of Final Determination for the Carlton LLC, North Shore 
Power Plant, City of Zion, Lake County, IL

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of final action.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces that on February 28, 2001, the 
Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) of the EPA dismissed a petition for 
review of a permit issued for the Carlton, Inc. North Shore Power Plant 
(Carlton) by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois 
EPA) pursuant to the regulations under Illinois' minor New Source 
Review (NSR) program. The EAB dismissed the petition for lack of 
jurisdiction to review the permit.

DATES: The effective date for the EAB's decision is February 28, 2001. 
Judicial review of this permit decision, to the extent it is available 
pursuant to section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, may be sought by 
filing a petition for review in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the Seventh Circuit within 60 days of October 7, 2002.

ADDRESSES: The documents relevant to the above action are available for 
public inspection during normal business hours at the following 
address: Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson 
Boulevard (AR-18J), Chicago, Illinois 60604. To arrange viewing of 
these documents, call Jorge Acevedo at (312) 886-2263.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jorge Acevedo, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 W. Jackson Boulevard (AR-18J), Chicago, 
Illinois 60604. Anyone who wishes to review the EAB decision can obtain 
it at http://www.epa.gov/eab/disk11/carlton.pdf.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This supplemental information is organized 
as follows:

    A. What Action is EPA Taking?
    B. What is the Background Information?
    C. What did EPA Determine?

A. What Action Is EPA Taking?

    We are notifying the public of a final decision by EPA's EAB on a 
permit issued by Illinois EPA pursuant to Illinois' minor NSR program.

B. What Is the Background Information?

    On November 10, 2000, Illinois EPA issued a construction permit 
99120057 to Carlton for the construction of either three General 
Electric (GE) frame 7FA simple cycle turbines with a nominal capacity 
of 187 megawatts each, or six GE Frame 7EA simple cycle turbines with a 
nominal capacity of 98.2 megawatts each. The proposed turbines would 
fire only natural gas and would be required to use dry low oxides of 
nitrogen combusters. On December 11, 2000, Verena Owen and the Lake 
County Conservation Alliance (LCCA) filed a petition for review stating 
that the proposed facility was not a minor source, but in fact a major 
source of Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Oxides, Volatile Organic Materials, 
and Hazardous Air Pollutants and should be subject to the appropriate 
regulations. Illinois EPA filed a motion to dismiss the petition on 
January 5, 2001, in which it argued that the EAB lacked

[[Page 62468]]

jurisdiction to review Illinois EPA's permit decision because the 
permit issued to Carlton was issued under Illinois EPA's minor NSR 
program, rather than the Federal PSD program. On January 22, 2001, the 
EAB issued an order requesting EPA's Office of General Counsel (OGC) 
prepare an amicus brief on the issue of whether the EAB has 
jurisdiction over this matter. OGC subsequently filed an amicus brief 
advancing the view that the EAB is without jurisdiction in this case.

C. What Did the EAB Determine?

    On February 28, 2001, the EAB denied the petition for review based 
on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction. The EAB stated that their 
jurisdiction is limited to permits issued under federal regulations and 
it does not extend to appeals of state-issued minor NSR permits in 
approved States.

    Dated: September 24, 2002.
Bharat Mathur,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 02-25421 Filed 10-4-02; 8:45 am]
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