[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 132 (Monday, July 13, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 33329-33332]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-16365]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2009-0352; FRL-8929-2]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Pennsylvania; Allegheny County, Continuous Opacity Monitor Regulation

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the 
Pennsylvania State Implementation Plan (SIP). This SIP revision, 
``Revision 58, Continuous Opacity Monitor Regulation Changes,'' 
consists of changes to the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) 
Rules and Regulations, Article XXI, Air Pollution Control. EPA is 
approving this revision to the Pennsylvania SIP in accordance with the 
requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: This rule is effective on September 11, 2009 without further 
notice, unless EPA receives adverse written comment by August 12, 2009. 
If EPA receives such comments, it will publish a timely withdrawal of 
the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform the public 
that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2009-0352 by one of the following methods:
    A. http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    B. E-mail: [email protected].
    C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2009-0352, Cristina Fernandez, Chief, Air 
Quality Planning Branch, Mailcode 3AP21, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
    D. Hand Delivery: At the previously listed EPA Region III address. 
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-
2009-0352. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change, and may be made available online 
at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 
is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without 
going through http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the 
http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.

[[Page 33330]]

Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on 
the Internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy during normal business 
hours at the Air Protection Division, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. 
Copies of the State submittal are available at the Allegheny County 
Health Department, Bureau of Environmental Quality, Division of Air 
Quality, 301 39th Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maria A. Pino, (215) 814-2181, or by 
e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On May 16, 2007, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania submitted a 
formal revision to the Pennsylvania SIP. The SIP revision consists of 
changes to Article XXI of the ACHD Rules and Regulations to specify the 
method to determine compliance with opacity requirements for coke oven 
combustion stacks, allow the use of continuous opacity monitoring 
systems (COMS) to measure visual emissions, and remove a redundant 
phrase in the current approved SIP.

II. Summary of SIP Revision

    The revisions in ``Revision 58, Continuous Opacity Monitor 
Regulation Changes'' make three changes to the ACHD Rules and 
Regulations, Article XXI, Air Pollution Control.
    The revision to Sec.  2105.21.f specifies the method to determine 
compliance with opacity requirements for coke oven combustion stacks. 
The new language states that opacity measurements are to be performed 
according to the methods established in Sec.  2107.11. This addition to 
Sec.  2105.21.f strengthens the Pennsylvania SIP because the current 
SIP does not specify visible emission compliance methods for coke oven 
combustion stacks.
    The revision to Sec.  2107.11 allows the use of COMS to measure 
visual emissions. Previously, compliance with visible emission 
requirements was determined only by EPA Method 9, which requires a 
certified smoke reader to observe the emissions leaving the stack 
during daylight hours. EPA Method 9 had been the only federally 
acceptable method to determine compliance with visibility emissions. 
However, on February 24, 1997, EPA promulgated its Credible Evidence 
Revisions, which clarified that non-reference test data, i.e., any 
creditable evidence, can be used in enforcement actions and for 
compliance determinations under the Clean Air Act (62 FR 8314). Thus, 
Method 9 is not the exclusive means to determining compliance with 
visibility requirements, and the use of data from COMS is deemed 
acceptable. This change strengthens the Pennsylvania SIP by allowing 
the use of COMS data to determine compliance with visibility 
requirements, which will make compliance determinations easier.
    The revision to Sec.  2108.03 removes the redundant phrase, 
``within the time specified,'' in the current approved SIP. This 
revision does not change the meaning of Sec.  2108.03, but adds 
clarity. Therefore, this revision is approvable.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving ``Revision 58, Continuous Opacity Monitor 
Regulation Changes,'' submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on 
May 16, 2007. The revision to Sec.  2105.21.f specifies the method to 
determine compliance with opacity requirements for coke oven combustion 
stacks in Allegheny County. The revision to Sec.  2107.11 allows the 
use of COMS to measure visual emissions in Allegheny County. The 
revision to Sec.  2108.03 removes a redundant phrase in the current 
approved SIP. EPA is approving these revisions to the Pennsylvania SIP 
in accordance with the requirements of the CAA.
    EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because the 
Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no 
adverse comment. This revision to the Pennsylvania SIP serves to 
strengthen and add clarity to the SIP, but does not add any new 
regulatory requirements. However, in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of 
today's Federal Register, EPA is publishing a separate document that 
will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision if adverse 
comments are filed. This rule will be effective on September 11, 2009 
without further notice unless EPA receives adverse comment by August 
12, 2009. If EPA receives adverse comment, EPA will publish a timely 
withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule 
will not take effect. EPA will address all public comments in a 
subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. EPA will not 
institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties 
interested in commenting must do so at this time. Please note that if 
EPA receives adverse comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of 
this rule and if that provision may be severed from the remainder of 
the rule, EPA may adopt as final those provisions of the rule that are 
not the subject of an adverse comment.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General Requirements

    Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a 
SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and 
applicable Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). 
Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state 
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. 
Accordingly, this action merely approves state law as meeting Federal 
requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those 
imposed by state law. For that reason, this action:
     Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to 
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Is certified as not having a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
     Does not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent 
with the Clean Air Act; and
     Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to 
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental 
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under 
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).

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    In addition, this rule does not have tribal implications as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), 
because the SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in 
the State, and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct 
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.

B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General

    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 action 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).

C. Petitions for Judicial Review

    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by September 11, 2009. Filing a 
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule 
does not affect the finality of this action 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. Parties with objections to this direct final 
rule are encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel 
notice of proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed 
rules section of today's Federal Register, rather than file an 
immediate petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so 
that EPA can withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in 
the proposed rulemaking.
    This action, which revises the Pennsylvania SIP to establish the 
method to determine compliance with opacity requirements for coke oven 
combustion stacks and allows the use of COMS to measure visible 
emissions in Allegheny County, and removes a redundant phrase in the 
current approved SIP, 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, Incorporation by 
reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Particulate matter, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides.

    Dated: July 1, 2009.
William C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.


0
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Subpart NN--Pennsylvania

0
2. In Sec.  52.2020, the table in paragraph (c)(2) is amended by 
revising the entries for Article XXI, Sections 2105.21, 2107.11, and 
2108.03 to read as follows:


Sec.  52.2020  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (2) * * *

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                                                                                                  Additional
   Article XX or XXI citation        Title/subject     State  effective    EPA approval date   explanation/Sec.
                                                             date                              52.2063  citation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
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                                 Part E--Source Emission and Operating Standards
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                                                  * * * * * * *
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                             Subpart 2--Slag, Coke, and Miscellaneous Sulfur Sources
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Sec.   2105.21..................  Coke Oven and Coke  4/1/07............  7/13/09, [Insert    Revision to
                                   Gas Oven.                               page number where   paragraph
                                                                           the document        2105.21.f
                                                                           begins].            (Combustion
                                                                                               Stacks).
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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                                                 Part G--Methods
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Sec.   2107.11..................  Visible Emissions.  4/1/07............  7/13/09, [Insert
                                                                           page number where
                                                                           the document
                                                                           begins].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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                                     Part H--Reporting, Testing & Monitoring
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Sec.   2108.03..................  Continuous          4/1/07............  7/13/09, [Insert    Revision to
                                   Emission                                page number where   paragraph
                                   Monitoring.                             the document        2108.03.f
                                                                           begins].            (Violations).
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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[FR Doc. E9-16365 Filed 7-10-09; 8:45 am]
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