[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 137 (Wednesday, July 18, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39414-39415]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-13896]


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ENVIROMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8441-3]


Clean Air Act Operating Permit Program; Petition to Object to 
Title V Permit for Reliant Portland Generating Station, Upper Mount 
Bethel Township, Northampton County, PA

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 section 505(b)(2) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and 
40 CFR 70.8(d), the EPA Administrator signed an order dated June 20, 
2007, denying a petition to object to a state operating permit proposed 
to be issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection 
(PADEP) to Reliant Energy Mid-Atlantic Power Holdings, LLC for its 
Portland Generating Station in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. This 
order constitutes final action on the petition filed by the New Jersey 
Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), dated July 21, 2006, 
requesting that the Administrator object to the issuance of the 
proposed title V 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 III, Air Protection Division 
(APD), 1650 Arch St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. The final order 
is also available electronically at the following Web site: http://www.epa.gov/region07/programs/artd/air/title5/petitionb/petitiondb.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dave Campbell, Air Protection 
Division, EPA Region III; telephone (215) 814-2196, or by e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Clean Air Act (CAA) 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 raised with reasonable specificity during the public 
comment period, unless the petitioner demonstrates that it was 
impracticable to raise these issues during the comment period or that 
the grounds for objection or other issue arose after the comment 
period.
    EPA received a petition from the New Jersey Department of 
Environmental Protection (NJDEP), dated July 21, 2006, requesting that 
EPA object to the issuance of the proposed title V permit for the 
Reliant Portland Generating Station because, (1) the plant was modified 
in violation of the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) 
requirements of the Clean Air Act but had not installed the Best 
Available Control Technology (BACT); (2) modifications increased the 
hourly emission rate at the plant, triggering unnamed New Source 
Performance Standards (NSPS); and (3) the permit must contain maximum 
hourly heat input limits for the boilers in order to prevent NAAQS 
exceedances, avoid triggering NSPS, and to assure compliance with 
limits derived from the Pennsylvania State Implementation Plan (SIP). 
The order explains the reasons behind EPA's decision to deny NJDEP's 
petition for objection on all grounds.


[[Page 39415]]


    Dated: July 9, 2007.
Donald S. Welsh,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. E7-13896 Filed 7-17-07; 8:45 am]
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