[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 241 (Thursday, December 16, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 78602-78606]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-31345]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R05-OAR-2010-0449; FRL-9239-2]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Minnesota

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: EPA is approving a request submitted by the Minnesota 
Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) on May 7, 2010, to revise the Minnesota 
State Implementation Plan (SIP) for particulate matter less than 10 
microns (PM10). The approval revises the Minnesota SIP by 
updating information for the Metropolitan Council Environmental 
Services (MCES) Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant located in St. 
Paul, Minnesota. The revision reflects changes at the facility which 
include the decommissioning of six multiple hearth incinerators and 
associated equipment and the addition of three fluidized bed 
incinerators and associated equipment. These revisions are included in 
a joint Title I/Title V document for the MCES Metropolitan Wastewater 
Treatment Plant, which replaces the document currently approved in the 
SIP for the facility. These revisions will result in reducing the 
PM10 emissions in the St. Paul area, and strengthen the 
existing PM10 SIP.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective February 14, 2011 
unless EPA receives adverse comments by January 18, 2011. If adverse 
comments are received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the 
direct final rule in the Federal Register informing the public that the 
rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2010-0449, by one of the following methods:
    1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    2. E-mail: [email protected].
    3. Fax: (312) 408-2279.
    4. Mail: Douglas Aburano, Chief, Control Strategies Section, Air 
Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West 
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
    5. Hand Delivery: Douglas Aburano, Chief, Control Strategies 
Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. Such 
deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information. The Regional Office official hours of business are 
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. excluding Federal 
holidays.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-
2010-0449. 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 www.regulations.gov 
or e-mail. The 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 
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

[[Page 78603]]

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 docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West 
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility is open from 
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal 
holidays. We recommend that you telephone Charles Hatten, Environmental 
Engineer, at (312) 886-6031 before visiting the Region 5 office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Hatten, Environmental 
Engineer, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson 
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-6031, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information 
section is arranged as follows:

I. General Information
II. What revision did the State request be incorporated into the 
SIP?
III. What is EPA's analysis of the State submission?
IV. What action is EPA taking?
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    This action applies only to the MCES Metropolitan Wastewater 
Treatment Plant located at 2400 Childs Road, St. Paul, Minnesota 
(Ramsey County).

B. Has public notice been provided?

    Minnesota published a public notice of the revisions to the SIP on 
July 31, 2009. The comment period began on August 1, 2009, and ended on 
August 31, 2009. In the public notice, Minnesota stated it would hold a 
public hearing if one was requested during the comment period. This 
follows the alternative public participation process EPA approved on 
June 5, 2006 (71 FR 32274). For limited types of SIP revisions that are 
noncontroversial and for which the public has shown little or no 
interest, a public hearing is not automatically required. Because no 
one requested a public hearing, Minnesota did not hold a public 
hearing.

C. What is the background to this action?

    The MCES Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant was found to be a 
culpable source in the Childs Road area's nonattainment plan for the 
PM10 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). However, 
the area currently meets the NAAQS for PM10, and was 
officially redesignated as attainment on September 24, 2002.
    The MCES Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant is an advanced 
secondary waste water treatment plant. This plant is the principal 
sewage treatment facility for the Minneapolis and St. Paul metropolitan 
area serving more than 80 percent of the area's sewered population, as 
well as commercial, institutional, and industrial wastewater 
generators. The plant has a permitted average wet weather design flow 
of 314 million gallons per day. Primary and secondary sludges from the 
waste water treatment process, as well as sludges from other MCES 
treatment facilities, are blended and thickened prior to incineration 
on-site.
    The primary source of emissions at this plant is the incineration 
of sewage sludge, along with small amounts of spent activated carbon 
and scum generated on-site in three fluidized bed sludge reactors 
(FBRs). Each identical FBR is equipped with a pollution control train 
consisting of carbon injection, high temperature fabric filter 
baghouse, a venturi scrubber and a high efficiency wet electrostatic 
precipitator. Each FBR is capable of processing 130 dry tons of sewage 
sludge per day. The FBRs normally fire natural gas as an auxiliary 
fuel, but are capable of utilizing No. 2 fuel oil. Emissions also 
result from aeration of the wastewater during the treatment process, 
operation of two auxiliary steam boilers for plant heating, operation 
of emergency generators, ash and other material handling, fuel storage 
activities, and other routine maintenance activities.

II. What revision did the State request be incorporated into the SIP?

    The State has requested that EPA approve, as a revision to the 
Minnesota SIP, a new joint Title I/Title V document, Air Permit No. 
12300053-006, to replace the joint Title I/Title V document currently 
approved into the SIP. The new joint document incorporates changes to 
reflect current operating conditions and the applicable PM10 
SIP conditions for MCES Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant. The 
biggest change to the facility included replacing the six multiple 
hearth sludge incinerators, identified as emission units EU008 to 
EU013, with three FBRs, identified as emission units EU035 to EU037.

A. What prior SIP actions are pertinent to this action?

    The MCES Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant in St. Paul, 
Minnesota, has been subject to a federally enforceable permit 
incorporated into Minnesota's SIP as a joint Title I/Title V document, 
containing requirements for ensuring maintenance of the NAAQS for 
PM10. In 2001, the joint Title I/Title V document, Air 
Permit No. 12300053-001, incorporated operating conditions and the 
applicable PM10 SIP conditions for the MCES Metropolitan 
Wastewater Treatment Plant. The 2001 joint document included in the SIP 
was based on plant operations using multiple hearth incinerators. The 
limited potential emissions of PM10 from the facility, 
considering all permit limitations, was 184.9 tons per year (tpy). 
Prior to the issuance of the 2001 joint document, EPA and the MCES 
Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant had entered into a consent 
decree (65 FR 52787), which imposed compliance measures and called for 
the replacement of the multiple hearth incinerators with new FBRs. The 
new FBRs were permitted in 2002.
    Other changes at MCES Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant since 
2001 include the decommissioning of ash handling systems (EU016-EU018), 
housekeeping vacuum system (EU033), multiple hearth auxiliary fuel feed 
systems (EU027-EU032), two auxiliary boilers (EU14-EU015), and rotating 
biological system contractors and sedimentation tanks (EU0005-EU007); 
and, the installation of sludge alkaline stabilization processing 
equipment (EU038-EU041), sludge centrifuge processing equipment (EU051-
EU053), ash and other materials handling equipment (EU045-EU050), two 
replacement auxiliary boilers (EU042

[[Page 78604]]

and EU043), and an additional emergency back-up diesel generator.
    The SIP requirements in the joint Title I/Title V document 
submitted by MPCA are designated as ``Title I Condition: SIP for 
PM10 NAAQS'' making it clear that the term is part of the 
SIP's source-specific requirements.

B. What are Title I conditions and joint Title I/Title V documents?

    SIP control measures were contained in permits issued to culpable 
sources in Minnesota until 1990 when EPA determined that limits in 
state-issued permits are not federally enforceable because the permits 
expire. Minnesota then issued permanent Administrative Orders to 
culpable sources in nonattainment areas from 1991 to February of 1996.
    Minnesota's consolidated permitting regulations, approved into its 
SIP on May 2, 1995 (60 FR 21447), include the term ``Title I 
condition'' which was written, in part, to satisfy EPA requirements 
that SIP control measures remain permanent. A ``Title I condition'' is 
defined as ``any condition based on source-specific determination of 
ambient impacts imposed for the purposes of achieving or maintaining 
attainment with the national ambient air quality standard and which was 
part of the state implementation plan approved by EPA or submitted to 
the EPA pending approval under section 110 of the act * * *.'' The rule 
also states that ``Title I conditions and the permittee's obligation to 
comply with them, shall not expire, regardless of the expiration of the 
other conditions of the permit.'' Further, ``any title I condition 
shall remain in effect without regard to permit expiration or 
reissuance, and shall be restated in the reissued permit.''
    Minnesota has initiated using joint Title I/Title V documents as 
the enforceable document for imposing emission limitations and 
compliance requirements in SIPs. The SIP requirements in joint Title I/
Title V documents submitted by MPCA are cited as ``Title I 
conditions,'' therefore ensuring that SIP requirements remain permanent 
and enforceable. EPA reviewed the State's procedure for using joint 
Title I/Title V documents to implement site-specific SIP requirements 
and found it to be acceptable under both Titles I and V of the Clean 
Air Act (CAA) (July 3, 1997 letter from David Kee, EPA, to Michael J. 
Sandusky, MPCA). Further, a June 15, 2006, letter from EPA to MPCA 
clarifies procedures to transfer requirements from Administrative 
Orders to joint Title I/Title V documents.

III. What is EPA's analysis of the State submission?

    This SIP revision replaces the joint Title I/Title V document 
currently approved into the SIP for MCES Metropolitan Wastewater 
Treatment Plant with a new joint Title I/Title V document, Air Permit 
No.12300053-006. This document reflects current operating conditions 
and applicable PM10 SIP conditions for the MCES Metropolitan 
Wastewater Treatment Plant. The facility now operates three FBRs, 
replacing the six multiple hearth sludge incinerators, two new 
auxiliary boilers, new alkaline stabilization process equipment, new 
sludge centrifuge processing equipment, new ash handling equipment, and 
an additional emergency back-up diesel generator.
    The facility remains subject to several ongoing SIP conditions, and 
some new or more stringent SIP conditions have been added; these 
conditions limit PM10 emissions that ensure that the NAAQS 
for PM10 are maintained. Conditions for recordkeeping, 
performance testing, and reporting of deviations from SIP conditions 
have been maintained.

Reduced PM10 Limits

    The six multiple hearth incinerators, replaced with three FBRs, 
were previously limited to 1.20 pounds of PM10 per ton of 
dry sludge charged. Each unit generally charged 90 dry tons of sludge 
per day, resulting in total emissions of 19.7 tpy of PM10 
per unit, and a total of 118.3 tpy of PM10. The three new 
FBRs are each limited to 2.01 pounds of PM10 per hour. If 
these units were to operate 8,760 hours in a year, that would result in 
8.8 tpy of PM10 per unit or 26.4 tpy for all three FBRs 
combined.
    The auxiliary boilers were previously each subject to a 
PM10 limit of 0.10 pounds of PM10 per million Btu 
heat input; this resulted in 5.7 tpy of PM10 per unit. The 
replacement boilers are subject to a limit of 15.37 pounds per million 
pounds of steam. For these boilers, this equals about 1.23 pounds per 
hour per boiler (or 5.4 tpy).
    The new alkaline stabilization process and the ash handling system 
PM10 emissions are limited to 0.005 grains/dry standard 
cubic feet (grains/dscf), respectively. The prior alkaline 
stabilization process and ash handling system each had a SIP emission 
limit for PM10 of 0.05 grains/dscf.
    Overall, the changes noted in this SIP revision do not increase 
total PM10 emission limits. Instead, the potential emissions 
of PM10 for the MCES Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment 
Plant, considering all permit limitations, are reduced from 184.9 tpy 
to 47.8 tpy.

Air Quality Analysis

    Because some of the changes being made to the facility may affect 
the release and dispersion of PM10 emissions, MCES 
Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant provided an air quality 
analysis to address the facility's impact on the PM10 NAAQS. 
All the changes to the facility were completed in 2002. Air quality 
modeling was performed in 2001 and 2002 using the ISCST3 dispersion 
model. The modeling used five years of surface meteorological data from 
the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport and upper air data from St. Cloud, 
1987-1991. The model was run with urban dispersion coefficients and 
regulatory default options. The high, sixth high 24-hour 
PM10 modeled concentration for the MCES Metropolitan 
Wastewater Treatment Plant, plus a conservative background 
concentration, was 107.1 micrograms per cubic meter ([mu]g/m\3\). This 
value is below the 24-hour PM10 standard of 150 [mu]g/m\3\. 
The modeled result for the annual standard, including background, was 
32.5 [mu]g/m\3\, which was below the annual PM10 standard of 
50 [mu]g/m\3\. The annual PM10 standard was revoked in 2006.

IV. What action is EPA taking?

    EPA is approving the revision to Minnesota's SIP to replace the 
joint Title I/Title V document currently approved into the SIP for MCES 
Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant with a new joint Title I/Title 
V document, Air Permit No. 12300053-006. The updated information in the 
new joint document will incorporate changes to reflect current 
operating conditions and the applicable PM10 SIP conditions 
for MCES Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant. In approving this 
joint Title I/Title V document, EPA is incorporating into the SIP only 
those requirements in the joint document labeled as ``Title I 
Condition: SIP for PM10 NAAQS.''
    Since this SIP revision will decrease PM10 impacts in 
the St. Paul area, MCES Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant 
revision will strengthen the existing PM10 SIP.
    We are publishing this action without prior proposal because we 
view this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipate no adverse 
comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal 
Register publication, we are publishing a separate document that will 
serve as the proposal to approve the state plan if relevant adverse 
written comments are filed. This rule will be

[[Page 78605]]

effective February 14, 2011 without further notice unless we receive 
relevant adverse written comments by January 18, 2011. If we receive 
such comments, we will withdraw this action before the effective date 
by publishing a subsequent document that will withdraw the final 
action. All public comments received will then be addressed in a 
subsequent final rule based on the proposed action. The EPA will not 
institute a second comment period. Any parties interested in commenting 
on this action should do so at this time. If we do not receive any 
comments, this action will be effective February 14, 2011.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, 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 CAA. 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 CAA; 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).
    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.
    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).
    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 February 14, 2011. 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. This action 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, Intergovernmental relations, Particulate matter, Reporting 
and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: December 3, 2010.
Susan Hedman,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.

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 Y--Minnesota

0
2. In Sec.  52.1220 the table in paragraph (d) is amended by revising 
the entry for ``Metropolitan Council Environmental Services 
Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant North Star Steel'' to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.1220  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *

                                 EPA-Approved Minnesota Source-Specific Permits
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  State
        Name of source           Permit No.     effective     EPA Approval                 Comments
                                                   date           date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Metropolitan Council             12300053-006     02/25/10  12/16/10,         Only conditions cited as ``Title I
 Environmental Services                                      [Insert page      condition: SIP for PM10 NAAQS.''
 Metropolitan Wastewater                                     number where
 Treatment Plant.                                            the document
                                                             begins].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 78606]]

* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2010-31345 Filed 12-15-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P