[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 230 (Thursday, November 29, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 71111-71115]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-28824]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2010-0935, FRL-9755-8]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
State of Florida; Regional Haze State Implementation Plan

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The EPA is finalizing a full approval of the Best Available 
Retrofit Technology (BART) determinations addressed in the Agency's May 
25, 2012, proposed rulemaking action on a regional haze state 
implementation plan (SIP) submitted by the State of Florida, through 
the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). These BART 
determinations were submitted to the EPA in a draft regional haze SIP 
on April 13, 2012, for parallel processing, and re-submitted in final 
form on September 17, 2012. Specifically, the portion of Florida's 
September 17, 2012, regional haze SIP that is being acted upon in this 
final action addresses some of the requirements of the Clean Air Act 
(CAA or Act) and the EPA's rules that require states to prevent any 
future and remedy any existing anthropogenic impairment of visibility 
in mandatory Class I areas (national parks and wilderness areas) caused 
by emissions of air pollutants from numerous sources located over a 
wide geographic area (also referred to as the ``regional haze 
program''). States are required to assure reasonable progress toward 
the national goal of achieving natural visibility conditions in Class I 
areas. The EPA will take separate action at a later date to address the 
remainder of Florida's September 17, 2012, regional haze SIP.

DATES: Effective Date: This rule will be effective December 31, 2012.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2010-0935. All documents in the 
docket are listed on the www.regulations.gov Web site. Although listed 
in the index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., 
Confidential Business Information 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 through www.regulations.gov or in hard 
copy at the Regulatory Development Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, 
Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 
30303-8960. The EPA requests that if at all possible, you contact the 
person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section for 
further information. The Regional Office's official hours of business 
are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, excluding federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michele Notarianni, Regulatory 
Development Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics 
Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 
Forsyth Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Ms. Notarianni may be 
reached by phone at (404) 562-9031, or via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. What is the background for this final action?

[[Page 71112]]

II. What is the action the EPA is taking?
III. What are the EPA's responses to comments received on this 
action?
IV. What is the effect of this final action?
V. Final Action
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What is the background for this final action?

    Regional haze is visibility impairment that is produced by a 
multitude of sources and activities which are located across a broad 
geographic area and emit fine particles (e.g., sulfates, nitrates, 
organic carbon, elemental carbon, and soil dust), and their precursors 
(e.g., sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides 
(NOX), and in some cases, ammonia (NH3) and 
volatile organic compounds (VOC)). Fine particle precursors react in 
the atmosphere to form fine particulate matter (PM2.5) which 
impairs visibility by scattering and absorbing light. Visibility 
impairment reduces the clarity, color, and visible distance that one 
can see. PM2.5 can also cause serious health effects and 
mortality in humans and contributes to environmental effects such as 
acid deposition and eutrophication.
    In section 169A of the 1977 Amendments to the CAA, Congress created 
a program for protecting visibility in the nation's national parks and 
wilderness areas. This section of the CAA establishes as a national 
goal the ``prevention of any future, and the remedying of any existing, 
impairment of visibility in mandatory Class I areas which impairment 
results from manmade air pollution.'' On December 2, 1980, the EPA 
promulgated regulations to address visibility impairment in Class I 
areas that is ``reasonably attributable'' to a single source or small 
group of sources, i.e., ``reasonably attributable visibility 
impairment.'' See 45 FR 80084. These regulations represented the first 
phase in addressing visibility impairment. The EPA deferred action on 
regional haze that emanates from a variety of sources until monitoring, 
modeling, and scientific knowledge about the relationships between 
pollutants and visibility impairment were improved.
    Congress added section 169B to the CAA in 1990 to address regional 
haze issues. The EPA promulgated a rule to address regional haze on 
July 1, 1999 (64 FR 35713), the Regional Haze Rule (RHR). The RHR 
revised the existing visibility regulations to integrate into the 
regulation provisions addressing regional haze impairment and 
established a comprehensive visibility protection program for Class I 
areas. The requirements for regional haze, found at 40 CFR 51.308 and 
51.309, are included in the EPA's visibility protection regulations at 
40 CFR 51.300-309. The requirement to submit a regional haze SIP 
applies to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin 
Islands. 40 CFR 51.308(b) requires states to submit the first 
implementation plan addressing regional haze visibility impairment no 
later than December 17, 2007.
    On March 19, 2010, and August 31, 2010, FDEP submitted and 
subsequently amended a SIP to address regional haze due to emissions 
from sources in the State's and other states' Class I areas. On May 25, 
2012, the EPA published an action proposing a limited approval of 
Florida's regional haze SIP to address the first implementation 
period.\1\ See 77 FR 31240. The EPA's May 25, 2012, proposed rulemaking 
covered Florida's March 19, 2010, and August 31, 2010, regional haze 
SIP submittals as well as the State's April 13, 2012, draft regional 
haze SIP that was submitted for parallel processing, and subsequently 
re-submitted in final form on September 17, 2012. In a draft regional 
haze SIP provided on July 31, 2012, Florida addressed 18 reasonable 
progress units and 11 facilities with BART-eligible electric generating 
units (EGUs) subject to the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) (a total 
of 20 EGUs) that were not covered by Florida's April 13, 2012, draft 
regional haze SIP.\2\ It also amended the SIP to remove Florida's 
reliance on CAIR to satisfy BART and reasonable progress requirements 
for the State's affected EGUs.
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    \1\ In a separate action published on December 30, 2011 (76 FR 
88219), the EPA proposed a limited disapproval of the Florida 
regional haze SIP, and on June 7, 2012 (77 FR 33642), the EPA 
finalized a limited disapproval of the regional haze SIPs for 
several states, but deferred final action on the Florida regional 
haze SIP. The EPA will address this limited disapproval when it 
completes action on the remainder of Florida's September 17, 2012, 
regional haze SIP.
    \2\ The facilities addressed in the July 31, 2012, proposed 
amendment for reasonable progress are: City of Gainesville Deerhaven 
unit 5; Florida Power & Light (FP&L) Manatee units 1, 2; FP&L Turkey 
Point units 1, 2; Gulf Power Company Crist unit 7; Lakeland Electric 
C.D. McIntosh unit 3; JEA Northside/St. Johns River Power Park 
(SJRPP) units 3, 16, 17; Progress Energy Anclote units 1, 2; 
Progress Energy Crystal River units 1, 2, 3, 4; and Seminole 
Electric Cooperative units 1, 2. The facilities addressed in the 
July 31, 2012, proposed amendment for BART are: City of 
Tallahassee--Arvah B.Hopkins Generating Station (unit 1); Progress 
Energy Anclote Power Plant (units 1, 2); Progress Energy Crystal 
River Power Plant (units 1, 2); FP&L Manatee Power Plant (units 1, 
2); FP&L Martin Power Plant (units 1, 2); FP&L Turkey Point Power 
Plant (units 1, 2); Gulf Power Company Crist Electric Generating 
Plant (units 6, 7); Gulf Power Company Lansing Smith Plant (units 1, 
2); JEA Northside SJRPP (unit 3); Lakeland Electric C.D. McIntosh, 
Jr. Power Plant (units 1, 2); and Reliant Energy Indian River (units 
2, 3).
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    Florida's September 17, 2012, final regional haze SIP consolidated 
its draft April 13, 2012, and July 31, 2012, regional haze SIP 
submittals into a single package. The EPA has not yet proposed action 
on Florida's July 31, 2012, draft regional haze SIP as finalized on 
September 17, 2012. Because of the interdependence between the various 
elements of Florida's regional haze SIP, the EPA has elected to: (1) 
Take final action on the BART determinations addressed in the May 25, 
2012, proposed action; and (2) defer final action on the remaining 
elements of the SIP addressed in the Agency's May 25, 2012, proposed 
action until it has taken action on the BART and reasonable progress 
determinations for the facilities included in Florida's draft July 31, 
2012, regional haze SIP. As such, today's final action fully approves 
all of the BART determinations addressed in the EPA's May 25, 2012, 
proposed action. The EPA will propose action on the remaining 
facilities addressed in Florida's July 31, 2012, draft regional haze 
SIP (as finalized in the September 17, 2012, final regional haze SIP) 
and take final action on the entire remaining elements of Florida's 
regional haze plan in actions subsequent to today's final rulemaking.

II. What is the action the EPA is taking?

    The EPA is finalizing a full approval of the BART determinations 
addressed in the Agency's May 25, 2012, proposed rulemaking action on a 
draft regional haze SIP submitted by the State of Florida on April 13, 
2012, to the EPA for parallel processing. Florida re-submitted this 
draft regional haze SIP in final form on September 17, 2012.\3\
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    \3\ The EPA proposed approval of FDEP's April 13, 2012, draft 
regional haze SIP contingent upon Florida providing the EPA a final 
regional haze SIP that was not changed significantly from the April 
13, 2012, draft regional haze SIP. Florida provided its final 
regional haze SIP on September 17, 2012. There were no substantive 
changes made to the final submittal for these facilities.
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    Specifically, the BART determinations addressed by this action are: 
Tampa Electric Company--Big Bend Station (Units 1, 2, 3); City of 
Tallahassee--Purdom Generating Station (Unit 7); FP&L--Port Everglades 
Power Plant (Units 3, 4); CEMEX; White Springs Agricultural Chemical--
SR/SC Complex; City of Gainesville--Deerhaven Generating Station (Unit 
3); City of Vero Beach--City of Vero Beach Municipal Utilities (Units 
2, 3, 4); FP&L--Putnam Power Plant (Units 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10); 
Lake Worth Utilities--Tom G. Smith (Units 6, 9); City of Tallahassee--
Arvah B. Hopkins

[[Page 71113]]

Generating Station (Unit 4); FP&L--Riviera Power Plant (Unit 4); 
Florida Power Corp.--Bartow Plant (Unit 3); Lakeland Electric--Charles 
Larsen Memorial Power Plant (Unit 4); Ft. Pierce Utilities Authority--H 
D King Power Plant (Units 7, 8); FP&L--Cape Canaveral Power Plant 
(Units 1, 2); Atlantic Sugar Association--Atlantic Sugar Mill; Buckeye 
Florida--Perry; ExxonMobil Production--St. Regis Treating Facility and 
Jay Gas Plant; IFF Chemical Holdings, Inc.; IMC Phosphates Company--
South Pierce; International Paper Company--Pensacola Mill; Mosaic--
Bartow; Mosaic--Green Bay Plant; Osceola Farms; Sugar Cane Growers Co-
Op; U.S. Sugar Corp.--Clewiston Mill and Refinery; Solutia Inc., 
Sterling Fibers, Inc.; U.S. Sugar Corp.--Bryant Mill; IMC Phosphates 
Company--Port Sutton Terminal; Georgia Pacific-Palatka; Smurfit-Stone-
Fernandina Beach; Smurfit-Stone-Panama City; Mosaic-New Wales; Mosaic-
Riverview; and CF Industries.
    On May 25, 2012, the EPA proposed a limited approval of the March 
19, 2010, August 31, 2010, and draft April 13, 2012, regional haze SIP 
submittals to implement the regional haze requirements for Florida on 
the basis that these submissions, as a whole, strengthen the Florida 
SIP. In today's action, the EPA has elected to finalize approval of 
only those BART determinations identified above and to defer final 
action on the remaining elements of the regional haze SIP addressed in 
the Agency's May 25, 2012, proposed action. The EPA will take final 
action on those remaining elements once it has taken action on the BART 
and reasonable progress determinations for the facilities included in 
Florida's July 31, 2012, draft regional haze SIP as incorporated into 
its September 17, 2012, final regional haze SIP.
    The EPA received adverse comments on its May 25, 2012, proposed 
action on Florida's regional haze SIP. See section III of this 
rulemaking for a summary of the comments received on the EPA's May 25, 
2012, proposed action that relate to the BART determinations being 
acted upon today and the Agency's responses to these comments. Detailed 
background information and the EPA's rationale for the proposed action 
is provided in the EPA's May 25, 2012, proposed rulemaking. See 77 FR 
31240.
    The EPA's May 25, 2012, proposed action was contingent upon Florida 
providing a final regional haze SIP that was substantively the same as 
the draft proposed for approval by the EPA in the proposed rulemaking. 
See 77 FR 31242. Florida provided its final regional haze SIP on 
September 17, 2012. While there are minor differences between the 
provisions covered by the April 13, 2012, draft regional haze SIP and 
those same provisions addressed in the final September 17, 2012, 
regional haze SIP, the EPA has determined that these differences do not 
warrant re-proposal of this action.

III. What are the EPA's responses to comments received on this action?

    The EPA received two sets of comments on its May 25, 2012, proposed 
rulemaking on Florida's regional haze SIP described above. 
Specifically, the comments were received from the Sierra Club and 
National Parks Conservation Association (collectively) and from the 
Florida Electric Power Coordinating Group Environment Committee. Full 
sets of the comments provided by all of the aforementioned entities 
(hereinafter referred to as ``the Commenter'') are provided in the 
docket for today's final action. A summary of the comment that relates 
to the approvability of the BART determinations subject to today's 
final action and the EPA's response is provided below. The remaining 
comments will be addressed in a subsequent final action on the 
remaining elements of Florida's regional haze SIP.
    Comment 1: The Commenter believes that the EPA must clarify its 
proposed decisions on Florida's BART determinations. The Commenter 
notes that the proposal ``includes BART proposals for the five sources 
listed in Table 8 as `Facilities With Unit(s) With a Complete BART 
Analysis,' '' but it does not believe that the EPA clearly states that 
it is proposing to approve or disapprove the State's BART disposition 
for each of these sources. If the EPA is approving them, the Commenter 
states that it must include them as part of the enforceable conditions 
of the regional haze SIP.
    Response 1: The EPA specifically addressed each of the proposed 
BART determinations for the five sources identified by the Commenter in 
five subsections under the portion of the notice addressing BART 
(section V.C.6), and in a subsection entitled ``EPA Assessment'' 
(section V.C.6.vi), stated that ``EPA proposes to agree with Florida's 
analyses and conclusions for the five BART-subject sources described 
above. The EPA has reviewed the State's analyses and believes that they 
were conducted in a manner that is consistent with the EPA's BART 
Guidelines and the EPA's Air Pollution Control Cost Manual (http://www.epa.gov/ttncatc1/products.html#cccinfo).'' This is a clear 
statement of the EPA's intent to approve these BART determinations. 
Regarding the emissions limits and conditions for these five BART 
determinations that were adopted by Florida and have been incorporated 
into the facilities' federally enforceable title V operating permits, 
the EPA has incorporated these limits and conditions into the SIP in 40 
CFR 52.520 as part of this final action.

IV. What is the effect of this final action?

    The EPA is finalizing a full approval of the BART determinations 
addressed in the Agency's May 25, 2012, proposed rulemaking action on a 
draft regional haze SIP submitted by the State of Florida on April 13, 
2012, to the EPA for parallel processing. Florida submitted this draft 
regional haze SIP in final form on September 17, 2012. The EPA is 
taking this approach because these BART determinations meet the 
regional haze requirements of the CAA and RHR and because Florida's SIP 
will be stronger and more protective of the environment with the 
implementation of these measures. The EPA has elected to defer final 
action on the remaining elements of the regional haze SIP addressed in 
the Agency's May 25, 2012, proposed action because of the 
interdependence between the various elements of Florida's regional haze 
SIP. The EPA will take final action on the remaining elements once it 
has taken action on the BART and reasonable progress determinations for 
the facilities included in Florida's July 31, 2012, draft regional haze 
SIP, as incorporated into its September 17, 2012, final regional haze 
SIP. As mentioned above, Florida's September 17, 2012, regional haze 
SIP addresses 18 reasonable progress units and 11 facilities with BART-
eligible EGUs subject to CAIR (a total of 20 EGUs) that were not 
covered by Florida's April 13, 2012, draft regional haze SIP. The EPA 
will also take action at a later date to address the Agency's December 
30, 2011, proposed limited disapproval of the Florida regional haze 
plan.

V. Final Action

    The EPA is finalizing a full approval of the BART determinations 
addressed in the Agency's May 25, 2012, proposed rulemaking action on a 
draft regional haze SIP submitted by the State of Florida on April 13, 
2012, to the EPA for parallel processing. Florida re-submitted this 
regional haze SIP in final form on September 17, 2012. Specifically, 
this action addresses only the aforementioned BART determinations 
included in the draft regional haze SIP

[[Page 71114]]

submitted to the EPA for parallel processing on April 13, 2012 (as re-
submitted in final form on September 17, 2012), as meeting some of the 
applicable regional haze requirements as set forth in sections 169A and 
169B of the CAA and in 40 CFR 51.300-308.

VI. 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, the 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 the 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, and the 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. The 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 CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by January 28, 2013. 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, Nitrogen dioxide, Particulate 
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, 
Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: November 15, 2012.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

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

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

Subpart K--Florida

0
2. Section 52.520(e) is amended by adding a new entry for ``Portion of 
Regional Haze Plan Amendment submitted on September 17, 2012'' at the 
end of the table to read as follows:


Sec.  52.520  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                                 EPA-Approved Florida Non-Regulatory Provisions
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                                     State effective     EPA approval     Federal Register
            Provision                      date              date              notice            Explanation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Portion of Regional Haze Plan      September 17, 2012.        11-29-12  [Insert citation of  Only the BART
 Amendment submitted on September                                        publication].        determinations
 17, 2012.                                                                                    approved in
                                                                                              [Insert citation
                                                                                              of publication]
                                                                                              are incorporated.
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[FR Doc. 2012-28824 Filed 11-28-12; 8:45 am]
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