[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 91 (Friday, May 11, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Page 26813]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-2334]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8313-7]


Clean Air Act Operating Permit Program; Petition To Object to 
Title V Permit for BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc.'s Gathering Center 1, 
Prudhoe Bay, AK

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

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

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Clean Air Act (CAA) section 505(b)(2) and 40 CFR 
70.8(d), the EPA Administrator signed an order dated April 20, 2007, 
denying a petition to object to a state operating permit issued by the 
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) to BP 
Exploration (Alaska) Inc.'s (BPX) Gathering Center 1 (Revision 1 to GC1 
permit), Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. This order constitutes final action on 
the petition filed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility 
(PEER) on behalf of Bill MacClarence on April 14, 2004, requesting that 
EPA object to the issuance of Revision 1 to the GC1 permit. Pursuant to 
section 505(b)(2) of the CAA, any person may seek judicial review in 
the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit within 
60 days of this notice under section 307 of the CAA.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the final order, the petition, and all pertinent 
information relating thereto are on file at the following location: 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10, Office of Air, Waste, and 
Toxics (AWT-107), 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101. The 
final order is also available electronically at the following Web site: 
http://www.epa.gov/region07/programs/artd/air/title5/petitiondb/petitiondb.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Natasha Greaves, Office of Air, Waste 
and Toxics, EPA Region 10, telephone (206) 553-7079, e-mail 
[email protected]. Interested parties may also contact the Alaska 
Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Air Quality, 555 
Cordova Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99501-2617.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    The Clean Air Act affords EPA a 45-day period to review and object 
to, as appropriate, operating permits proposed by state permitting 
authorities. Section 505(b)(2) of the CAA authorizes any person to 
petition the EPA Administrator within 60 days after the expiration of 
this review period to object to a state operating permit 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 
that the grounds for the objection or other issue arose after the 
comment period.
    On April 19, 2004, EPA received a petition from PEER on behalf of 
Bill MacClarence requesting that EPA object to the issuance of Revision 
1 to the GC1 permit on the grounds that: (1) Revision 1 to the GC1 
Permit violates Title V of the CAA because it does not explain the 
departure from ADEC's March 7, 2003 draft permit and because the 
provisions of Prevention of Significant Deterioration, National 
Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, and New Source 
Performance Standards are all based on the aggregated impact of air 
emissions and this permit did not aggregate all facilities within the 
Prudhoe Bay Unit (PBU); (2) the pollution consequences of this 
violation are significant becasue elevated levels of nitrogen oxide on 
the North Slope of Alaska present a serious health problem for workers 
and native communities in the region and have been created by not 
aggregating facilities within the PBU; and (3) ADEC and EPA failed to 
exercise proper regulatory oversight in this matter by issuing the 
final permit with no public notice or discussion. The order explains 
the reasons behind EPA's decision to deny PEER's petition for objection 
on all grounds.

    Dated: May 1, 2007.
Elin D. Miller,
Regional Administrator, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 07-2334 Filed 5-10-07; 8:45 am]
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