[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 120 (Monday, June 23, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35543-35544]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-14596]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-R09-OAR-2012-0634; FRL-9912-72-Region-9]


Notice of Decision To Issue Clean Air Act PSD Permit for Sierra 
Pacific Industries-Anderson Division

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of final agency action.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces that the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) Region 9 issued a final permit decision for a Clean Air Act 
Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit to Sierra Pacific 
Industries for the Sierra Pacific Industries-Anderson Division (SPI-
Anderson) facility.

DATES: EPA Region 9 issued a final PSD permit decision for the SPI-
Anderson facility April 25, 2014. The PSD permit is effective on June 
6, 2014. Pursuant to section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 
7607(b)(1), judicial review of this final permit decision, to the 
extent it is available, may be sought by filing a petition for review 
in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit within 60 
days of June 23, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Documents relevant to the above-referenced permit are 
available for public inspection during normal business hours at the 
following address: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9, 75 
Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-3901. To arrange for viewing 
of these documents, call Shaheerah Kelly at (415) 947-4156.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shaheerah Kelly, Permits Office (Air-
3), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9, (415) 947-4156, 
[email protected]. Key portions of the administrative record for 
this decision (including the final permit, all public comments, EPA's 
responses to the public comments, and additional supporting 
information) are available through a link at Region 9's Web site, 
www.epa.gov/region09/air/permit/r9-permits-issued.html#psd, or at 
www.regulations.gov (Docket ID EPA-R09-OAR-2011-0978). Anyone 
who wishes to review the EPA Environmental Appeals Board (EAB or Board) 
decision described below or documents in the EAB's electronic docket 
for its decision related to this matter can obtain them at http://www.epa.gov/eab/.
    Notice Of Final Action And Supplementary Information: On April 25, 
2014, EPA Region 9 issued its final permit decision (PSD Permit No. SAC 
12-01) to SPI authorizing the construction and operation of a new 31 
megawatt biomass and natural gas-fired cogeneration unit and auxiliary 
equipment at the SPI-Anderson facility in Anderson, California. EPA 
Region 9 had issued a previous decision regarding this project, on 
February 19, 2013. After petitions for review of that decision were 
filed with the EAB, the Board remanded the permit to EPA Region 9 in 
part and directed EPA Region 9 to reopen the permit proceedings to hold 
a public hearing, issue a final permit decision and respond to any new 
comments received during the hearing. See, In re Sierra Pacific 
Industries (Anderson Processing Facility), PSD Appeal Nos. 13-01 to 13-
04, slip op. at 67 (EAB July 18, 2013). The EAB denied review of all 
other issues.
    Following these events, we revised the PSD permit by including GHG 
emission limits and related requirements, as requested by SPI. 
Following the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia 
vacatur of EPA's deferral of biogenic carbon dioxide emissions from PSD 
requirements, see, Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. EPA, 722 F.3d 401 
(D.C. Cir. 2013), in August 2013, SPI-Anderson submitted to EPA a 
supplemental PSD application for GHG emissions. EPA Region 9 revised 
the PSD permit to include GHG emission limits and related requirements; 
we also revised certain other conditions (primarily related to 
monitoring, performance testing, and recordkeeping) to address minor 
technical issues we had identified since February 2013. We provided 
notice of public comment of the proposed PSD permit and a public

[[Page 35544]]

hearing per 40 CFR 124 on November 8, 2013. In response to the EAB 
remand, we held a public hearing on December 10, 2013. We accepted 
public comments on the proposed PSD permit from November 8, 2013 until 
January 10, 2014.
    On April 25, 2014, we issued the final PSD permit, our responses to 
public comments, and other key documents relevant to the final PSD 
permit in accordance with 40 CFR 52.21 and 40 CFR part 124. In our 
correspondence and notifications regarding the final PSD permit, we 
stated that the final permit decision will become effective 30 days 
after the service of notice of the decision unless our decision is 
appealed to the EAB pursuant to 40 CFR 124.19. Three petitions were 
submitted to the EAB. On June 5, 2014, the EAB dismissed these 
petitions for review of the final PSD permit decision for lack of 
jurisdiction.
    EPA Region 9 has completed the remand proceedings in response to 
the EAB's Order, pursuant to 40 CFR 124.19(l)(2), and is issuing the 
final permit decision granting PSD Permit No. SAC 12-01 to SPI for the 
SPI-Anderson facility. All conditions of the PSD permit issued on April 
25, 2014 are final and effective on June 6, 2014.

    Dated: June 9, 2014.
Deborah Jordan,
Director, Air Division, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2014-14596 Filed 6-20-14; 8:45 am]
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