[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 200 (Thursday, October 16, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 62006-62008]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24005]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2013-0746; FRL-9917-64-Region-4]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Florida: 
Removal of Sulfur Storage and Handling Rules

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final 
action to approve a revision to the Florida State Implementation Plan 
(SIP), submitted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection 
(FDEP), on April 5, 2012. The revision modifies Florida's SIP to remove 
two state rules relating to new and existing sulfur storage and 
handling facilities because they are no longer necessary. EPA has 
determined that Florida's April 5, 2012, SIP revision regarding sulfur 
storage and handling facilities is approvable because it is consistent 
with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

DATES: This rule will be effective November 17, 2014.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2013-0746. 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. EPA requests that if at all possible, you contact the 
person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to 
schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's official hours of 
business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30 excluding federal 
holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sean Lakeman, 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 telephone number is (404) 
562-9043. Mr. Lakeman can be reached via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The FDEP revision requests that EPA remove two state rules--Rule 
62-212.600, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.), ``Sulfur Storage and 
Handling Facilities'' and Rule 62-296.411, F.A.C.,

[[Page 62007]]

``Sulfur Storage and Handling Facilities''--from Florida's SIP. Florida 
repealed these rules on February 16, 2012.
    The requirements of Rule 62-212.600, F.A.C., apply to proposed new 
or modified sulfur storage and handling facilities. The rule states 
that the owner or operator of any proposed new or modified sulfur 
storage and handling facility that is to be located within five 
kilometers of either a particulate matter (PM) air quality maintenance 
area or a prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) Class I area 
shall provide FDEP with an analysis of the probable particulate matter 
ambient air quality impacts that could result from the operation of the 
facility. Additionally, the owner or operator shall provide FDEP with 
an analysis of the probable annual and maximum monthly sulfur 
deposition rates that could occur as a result of the operation of the 
facility. The owner or operator shall conduct post-construction air 
quality and deposition monitoring of sulfur particulate emissions from 
the facility for two years from the date of issuance of the initial air 
operation permit for the facility, and, through the permitting process, 
shall determine the period of time, if any, such monitoring must be 
continued. The data collected would then be provided to FDEP as 
specified in the permit. Florida states that the ``General 
Preconstruction Review Requirements'' and ``Prevention of Significant 
Deterioration (PSD)'' provisions of the Rules 62-212.300 and 62-
212.400, F.A.C., respectively, can be used instead of Rule 62-212.600, 
F.A.C., to prevent PM emissions that would interfere with attainment 
and maintenance of national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), 
prevention of significant deterioration of air quality, or protection 
of visibility.
    Rule 62-296.411, F.A.C., states that no person shall cause, suffer, 
or allow elemental sulfur to be stored, handled, or transported within 
the State in crushed bulk or slate form or in any form other than 
standard sulfur pellets or in molten form, except that sulfur may be 
transferred within the boundaries of a single facility in other forms. 
Facilities using standard sulfur pellets or molten sulfur, or sulfur 
vatting facilities, may be permitted only in conformance with the 
practices identified in the rule. Florida states that the ``General 
Pollutant Emission Limiting Standards'' of Rule 62-296.320, F.A.C., can 
be applied instead of Rule 62-296.411, F.A.C., to adequately control PM 
emissions from dry material handling operations such as those 
associated with sulfur storage and handling facilities.
    With removal of the above two rules from the SIP, Florida's PM 
requirements under the SIP for new and existing sulfur storage and 
handling facilities would align with the PM requirements for other, 
similar dry material handling sources in the State. At the time that 
Florida promulgated its sulfur storage and handling rules, the State 
was concerned that total suspended particulate matter levels in Florida 
would be negatively impacted by increased sulfur handling and storage 
operations to such an extent as to warrant additional facility-specific 
work practices and monitoring. However, the anticipated increase in 
sulfur handling and storage operations did not occur, and only 11 
facilities are subject to Rule 62-212.300, F.A.C. and Rule 62-212.400, 
F.A.C. EPA approved these two rules into the SIP on December 24, 1985, 
at 50 FR 52460.\1\
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    \1\ EPA's December 24, 1985, action incorporated the state 
sulfur storage and handling rules at 17-2.540, F.A.C. and 17-2.600, 
F.A.C. into Florida's SIP. Florida later reorganized its 
administrative code and renumbered these rules as 62-212.600, F.A.C. 
and 62-296.411, F.A.C., respectively. EPA updated the Florida SIP on 
June 16, 1999 (64 FR 32346), to make it consistent with the revised 
numbering system.
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    EPA's primary consideration for determining the approvability of 
Florida's request to remove the existing sulfur storage and handling 
facilities rules, 62-212.600, F.A.C. and 62-296.411, F.A.C., from the 
SIP is whether these requested actions comply with section 110(l) of 
the CAA. Under section 110(l), EPA cannot approve a SIP revision if 
that revision would interfere with any applicable requirement regarding 
attainment, reasonable further progress (RFP), or any other applicable 
requirement established in the CAA. EPA will approve a SIP revision 
that removes or modifies control measures in the SIP only after the 
state makes a ``noninterference'' demonstration that such a removal or 
modification will not interfere with RFP, attainment or maintenance of 
any NAAQS, or any other CAA requirement. As such, Florida was required 
to make a demonstration of noninterference in order to remove the 
sulfur storage and handling facilities requirements from its SIP.
    Because actual emissions are not expected to change, there will be 
no impact on PSD increments, RFP, visibility, attainment or maintenance 
of any NAAQS, or any other applicable CAA requirement. Particulate 
matter, in the form of coarse (PM10) and fine 
(PM2.5) PM, is the pollutant related to the SIP revision. On 
January 15, 2013 (78 FR 3086), EPA established an annual primary 
PM2.5 NAAQS at 12.0 micrograms per cubic meter ([mu]g/m\3\) 
based on a 3-year average of annual mean PM2.5 
concentrations. At that time, EPA retained the 2006 24-hour 
PM2.5 NAAQS at 35 [mu]g/m\3\ based on a 3-year average of 
the 98th percentile of 24-hour concentrations. All areas in the State 
are currently designated as attainment for the PM10 and 
PM2.5 NAAQS.
    There are no emissions reductions of carbon monoxide (CO), lead, 
nitrogen oxides, ozone, or sulfur dioxide (SO2) attributable 
to the sulfur storage and handling facilities requirements. As a 
result, the removal of these requirements will not interfere with 
attainment of these NAAQS.
    Of the 11 facilities that are subject to the sulfur handling and 
storage emission rules, four will experience a relaxation in the 
opacity limit from 10 or 15 percent to 20 percent if 62-212.600, F.A.C. 
and 62-296.411, F.A.C. are removed from the SIP, but emissions are not 
expected to increase because the underlying work practices will remain 
unchanged. The sulfur particulate emitting emissions units at these 
four facilities are approximately less than one ton per year, and a 
majority of the visible emissions tests conducted in 2010-11 for sulfur 
storage and handling units showed no visible emissions (i.e., zero 
percent opacity).
    Furthermore, several existing state rules incorporated into 
Florida's SIP can be applied in lieu of Rules 62-212.600, F.A.C. and 
62-296.411, F.A.C. to address sulfur PM emissions from sulfur storage 
and handling emissions units at these facilities. Rules 62-212.300 and 
62-212.400, F.A.C., respectively, can be applied instead of the sulfur-
specific requirements of paragraph 62-212.600(2)(a), F.A.C., to 
evaluate potential particulate matter ambient air quality impacts. The 
sulfur deposition analysis required by paragraph 62-212.600(2)(b), 
F.A.C., is unnecessary because there is no standard to compare the 
results with to demonstrate compliance. Rule 62-296.411, F.A.C., the 
``General Pollutant Emission Limiting Standards'' of Rule 62-296.320, 
F.A.C., and, for some emissions units, the PM Reasonably Available 
Control Technology requirements of Rule 62-296.711, F.A.C., can be 
applied to control the sulfur PM emissions from sulfur storage and 
handling emissions units at these facilities. Rule 62-296.711, F.A.C. 
generally imposes a five percent opacity limit for existing sulfur 
handling, sizing, screening, crushing, and grinding operations in 
former total suspended particulate nonattainment

[[Page 62008]]

areas or within 50 kilometers of such former areas except where an 
emissions unit has received a Best Available Retrofit Technology 
determination or the emissions are insignificant enough to be exempted 
under Rule 62-296.700(2), F.A.C. The control techniques and work 
practice standards found in Rule 62-296.411, F.A.C., to control 
unconfined emissions of particulate matter can also be required by 
paragraph 62-296.320(4)(c), F.A.C., which prohibits the emission of 
unconfined particulate matter without taking reasonable precautions to 
prevent such emissions.
    For the reasons discussed above, EPA has determined that removal of 
the sulfur storage and handling facilities rules will not interfere 
with attainment or maintenance of the NAAQS in surrounding states or 
interfere with any other requirement identified in section 110(l). On 
July 1, 2014 (79 FR 37255), EPA proposed approval of the Florida April 
5, 2012, submission. No adverse comments were received on this proposed 
action and EPA is hereby finalizing approval of the revision.

II. Final Action

    EPA is taking final action to approve Florida's April 5, 2012, SIP 
revision to remove Rule 62-212.600, F. A. C. and Rule 62-296.411, F. A. 
C., related to sulfur storage and handling facilities, from the Florida 
SIP because the Agency has determined that this revision is consistent 
with section 110(l) of the CAA.

III. 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 final 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 (Public Law 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).
    The SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian reservation land or 
in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has demonstrated that a 
tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian country, the rule does 
not have tribal implications as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 
FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor will it 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 CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by December 15, 2014. 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 and Sulfur oxides.

    Dated: September 25, 2014.
Heather McTeer Toney,
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(c) is amended by removing the entries for ``62-
212.600'' under Chapter 62-212 Stationary Sources--Preconstruction 
Review and ``62-296.411'' under Chapter 62-296 Stationary Sources--
Emission Standards.

[FR Doc. 2014-24005 Filed 10-15-14; 8:45 am]
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