[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 145 (Friday, July 27, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 44146-44149]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-18094]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2012-0272; FRL-9702-6]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Maryland; Control of Iron and Steel Production Installations; Sintering 
Plants

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 
Maryland State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Maryland 
Department of the Environment (MDE) on June 30, 2009. The revisions 
amend the visible emissions requirements of the Maryland SIP's 
regulation for the Control of Iron and Steel Production Installations 
only as they apply to sintering plants. The sintering plant located at 
the Sparrows Point steelmaking facility (Sparrows Point) is the only 
sintering plant located in the State of Maryland. The revisions exempt 
the sintering plant from the visible emissions section of the 
regulation for the Control of Iron and Steel Production Installations 
contingent upon the source's two wet scrubbers, used to control 
emissions of particulate matter, continuously monitoring compliance 
with specified pressure drop and flow rate operating parameters. EPA is 
approving these revisions because they provide for a continuous means 
of determining compliance with the applicable SIP emission rate for 
particulate matter from the sintering plant located at Sparrows Point, 
and because that emission rate has been demonstrated to protect and 
maintain the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for 
PM10 (particulate matter consisting of particles with an 
aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 10 micrometers). EPA is 
approving these revisions in accordance with the requirements of the 
Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: This rule is effective on September 25, 2012 without further 
notice, unless EPA receives adverse written comment by August 27, 2012. 
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-2012-0272 by one of the following methods:
    A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    B. Email: [email protected].
    C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2012-0272, Marcia L. Spink, Associate Director 
for Policy & Science, Air Protection Division, Mailcode 3AP00, 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-
2012-0272. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change, and may be made available online 
at 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 email. 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 email comment 
directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov, your email 
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 
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. 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 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 Maryland Department of the Environment, 1800 
Washington Boulevard, Suite 705, Baltimore, Maryland 21230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marcia L. Spink, Associate Director 
for Policy & Science, Air Protection Division (215) 814-2104, or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On June 30, 2009, MDE submitted formal revisions (09-02) 
to its SIP. The SIP revisions consist of amendments to Regulation .03 
Visible Emissions under (Code of Maryland administrative regulations) 
COMAR 26.11.10 Control of Iron and Steel Production Installations as 
they apply only to sintering plants. There is only one sintering plant 
located in Maryland. The one sintering plant affected by this 
regulation is located at Sparrows Point. Its particulate matter 
emissions are controlled by two wet (water) scrubbers each equipped 
with two fans. Under the current Maryland SIP, this sintering plant is 
subject to visible emissions and particulate matter standards. The 
current SIP requires that after demonstrating compliance with the 
applicable SIP particulate matter emission rate for sintering plants, a 
person may not cause or permit the discharge of visible fugitive 
emissions into the outdoor atmosphere, other than water in an 
uncombined form, which is greater than 10 percent opacity as averaged 
over any consecutive 6-minute period. The sintering plant's applicable 
SIP emission rate for particulate matter

[[Page 44147]]

is 0.03 grains per dry standard cubic foot (gr/dscf).
    The visible emissions standards for sintering plants found in 
Regulation .03 Visible Emissions under COMAR 26.11.10 Control of Iron 
and Steel Production Installations was originally established to allow 
the use of a Method 9 observation test as additional means of 
determining compliance, in addition to stack testing, with the 
sintering plant's applicable SIP particulate matter emission rate of 
.03 gr/dscf. In 2007, MDE amended Regulation .03 Visible Emissions 
under COMAR 26.11.10 to exempt the sintering plant at Sparrows Point 
from the visible emissions requirement and to establish open-ended 
requirements for the scrubbers' flow rates and pressure drops. Under 
the 2007 version of the regulation, MDE intended to establish specific 
flow rate and pressure drop parameters during a future stack test and 
to include them in the Title V permit for the sintering plant located 
at Sparrows Point. Upon further consideration, the MDE concurred with 
EPA that the SIP must stand on its own to protect the NAAQS, and that 
such open-ended requirements were not appropriate for inclusion in the 
SIP. Therefore, effective as of June 29, 2009, MDE again amended 
Regulation .03 under COMAR 26.11.10 to require that the two scrubbers 
of the sintering plant located at Sparrows Point meet specific flow 
rate and pressure drop parameters at all times under defined specific 
operating scenarios. During a stack test that demonstrated compliance 
with the SIP's applicable particulate matter emission rate of .03 gr/
dscf, the flow rates and pressure drops of the two scrubbers were 
continuously monitored. Specific flow rate (in gallons per minute) and 
pressure drop (in inches of water) parameters for the scrubbers, 
established from the parameters monitored during the complying stack 
test, are now specified in the amended version of Regulation .03 under 
COMAR 26.11.10. Therefore, under the 2009 amended version of the 
regulation, the sintering plant at Sparrows Point is exempt from the 
visible emissions requirement of Regulation .03 under COMAR 26.11.10 
when demonstrating compliance with the SIP's applicable particulate 
matter emission limit of 0.03 gr/dscf by continuously monitoring the 
flow rate and pressure drop parameters of the scrubbers and by 
providing that monitoring data to MDE. This monitoring data must 
demonstrate that the scrubbers are meeting the flow rate and pressure 
drop parameters which are now specifically included in the amended 
version of Regulation .03 under COMAR 26.11.10. Under Regulation .03 of 
COMAR 26.11.10, the exemption from the visible emissions requirement is 
contingent upon the sintering plant scrubbers operating in compliance 
with the conditions of subsection D. of the regulation which specifies 
the pressure drop and flow rate parameters established as previously 
described. The regulation also requires stack testing to be performed 
every 2.5 years.
    Modeling has been performed in support of this SIP revision to 
demonstrate that the SIP's 0.03 gr/dscf applicable emission rate for 
particulate matter is protective of the NAAQS for PM10, and 
that protection is not dependent upon the visible emissions standard. A 
description of the modeling analyses conducted by MDE and the results 
are included in MDE's June 30, 2009 SIP revision submittal which is in 
the docket of this rulemaking. No SIP particulate matter emission rate 
relaxations are being approved as part of this SIP revision.

II. Summary of SIP Revision

    Regulation .03 Visible Emissions under COMAR 26.11.10, at 
subsection A. General, (2) Exceptions, paragraph (f) has been amended 
to exempt visible emissions from sintering plant scrubbers that are in 
compliance with the conditions of subsection D. of the regulation. 
Regulation .03 under COMAR 26.11.10 has been amended to revise 
subsection D. to require:
    (1) The owner or operator of the sintering plant shall ensure 
continuous compliance with the .03 gr/dscf applicable particulate 
matter emission rate by maintaining the hourly average scrubber 
pressure drop and water flow rate to each of the two scrubbers 
(referred to as Scrubber North and Scrubber South) as follows:
    (2) Scrubber Operating Conditions and Requirements.

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                                                     Pressure drop  (inches of     Water flow rate  (gallons per
                                                              water)                          minute)
              Operating conditions               ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       North           South           North           South
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2 scrubbers each with 2 fans....................              33              39           3,796           3,718
2 scrubbers each with a wind box fan............              23              32           3,679           3,705
North scrubber with 2 fans and South scrubber                 33              32           3,710           3,818
 with a wind box fan............................
South scrubber with 2 fans and North scrubber                 32              33           3,818           3,710
 with a wind box fan............................
North scrubber with 2 fans......................              33  ..............           3,488  ..............
South scrubber with 2 fans......................  ..............              33  ..............           3,488
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    (3) One or more of the scrubbers be in operation while the 
sintering plant is in operation.
    (4) Compliance with the 0.03 gr/dscf emission limit requirement for 
particulate matter is achieved if at any time the hourly block average 
of scrubber pressure drop and flow rate are not less than the values in 
D(2) of this regulation.
    (5) The scrubber pressure drop and flow rate shall be monitored by 
a continuous monitoring system and the monitoring system data made 
available to MDE upon request.
    (6) Stack Testing Requirements.
    (a) The affected sintering plant shall be stack tested for 
particulate matter not less than once each 2.5 years. During a 
compliance stack test, the scrubber pressure drop and flow rate shall 
be recorded as hourly block averages.
    (b) If the scrubber pressure drop and water flow rate determined 
during a compliance stack test differ from the values in D(2) of this 
regulation, the owner or operator may request that MDE change to the 
values in D(2) of this regulation to reflect the revised values.
    (c) Upon receiving such a request, the MDE may propose amending the 
regulation to include the revised values. Any amendment shall be 
submitted to the EPA as a SIP revision.
    EPA has determined that these revisions to Regulation .03 Visible 
Emissions under COMAR 26.11.10 Control of Iron and Steel Production 
Installations as they apply to the sintering plant located at Sparrows 
Point are approvable because they provide for a continuous means of 
determining compliance with SIP's applicable particulate matter 
emission limit of 0.03 gr/dscf which has been demonstrated to protect 
and maintain the NAAQS for PM10.

[[Page 44148]]

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving the SIP revisions to Regulation .03 Visible 
Emissions under COMAR 26.11.10 submitted by MDE on June 30, 2009. EPA 
is publishing this rule without prior proposal because the Agency views 
this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no adverse 
comment. 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 25, 2012 without further 
notice unless EPA receives adverse comment by August 27, 2012. 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.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General Requirements

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA 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.

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 CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by September 25, 2012. 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 to approve a revision to Regulation .03 Visible 
Emissions under COMAR 26.11.10 Control of Iron and Steel Production 
Installations as they apply to sintering plants 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, Particulate matter.

    Dated: July 10, 2012.
W.C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.

    Therefore, 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.


0
2. In Sec.  52.1070, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by revising 
the entry for COMAR 26.11.10.03 to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1070  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

[[Page 44149]]



                 EPA-Approved Regulations, Technical Memoranda, and Statutes in the Maryland SIP
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                                                          State                          Additional explanation/
 Code of Maryland administrative     Title/subject      effective    EPA approval date      citation at 40 CFR
  regulations (COMAR) citation                             date                                  52.1100
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                          26.11.10 Control of Iron and Steel Production Installations
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26.11.10.03.....................  Visible Emissions..      6/29/09  7/27/2012 [Insert    Revised paragraphs A.
                                                                     page number where    and D. of 26.11.10.03
                                                                     the document         for Sintering Plants.
                                                                     begins].
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[FR Doc. 2012-18094 Filed 7-26-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P