[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 52 (Wednesday, March 18, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14037-14038]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-06145]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 70

[EPA-R03-OAR-2015-0119; FRL-9924-56-Region 3]


Clean Air Act Title V Operating Permit Program Revision; 
Pennsylvania

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve a revision to the Pennsylvania 
Title V Operating Permit Program submitted by the Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania on February 11, 2014. The Pennsylvania Operating Permit 
Program is implemented through its Title V Operating Permits Rule, 
codified at Subchapter G of Chapter 127 of Title 25 of the Pennsylvania 
Code. The February 11, 2014 revision amends the title V fee program 
that funds the Pennsylvania Title V Operating Permit Program. These 
changes resulted in substantial revisions to Pennsylvania's Title V 
Operating Permit Program. EPA is proposing to approve these revisions. 
The intended effect of this action is to improve the Commonwealth's 
title V operating permit program.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before April 17, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2015-0119 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-2015-0119, David Campbell, Associate Director, 
Office of Permits and Air Toxics, Mailcode 3AP10, 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-
2015-0119. 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 Pennsylvania Department of Environmental 
Protection, Bureau of Air Quality Control, P.O. Box 8468, 400 Market 
Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gerallyn Duke, (215) 814-2084, or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    EPA granted full approval of the Pennsylvania Title V Operating 
Permits Program on July 30, 1996. See 61 FR 39597. Under 40 CFR 70.9(a) 
and (b), an approved state title V operating permits program must 
require that the owners or operators of part 70 sources pay annual 
fees, or the equivalent over some other period, that are sufficient to 
cover the permit program costs and ensure that any fee required under 
40 CFR 70.9 is used solely for permit program costs. The fee schedule 
must result in the collection and retention of revenues sufficient to 
cover the permit program costs.
    Pennsylvania's initial title V permit emission fee, established in 
1994 at 25 PA Code 127.705, was $37 per ton of regulated pollutant per 
title V facility. Pennsylvania's fee has been increased each year since 
1994 by the percentage, if any, by which the Consumer Price Index (CPI) 
for the most recent calendar year exceeded the CPI for the previous 
calendar year. Under that regulatory framework, the annual emission fee 
for emissions occurring in calendar year 2012 was $57.50 per ton of 
regulated pollutant for emissions of up to 4,000 tons of each regulated 
pollutant. The fee structure has not been revised since 1994.
    Pennsylvania has determined that title V annual emission fee 
revenues collected are no longer sufficient to cover title V program 
costs. Installation of air pollution control technology over the past 
two decades on major stationary sources, the retirement or curtailment 
of operations by major sources, and the conversion at many major 
facilities from burning coal or oil to burning natural gas have 
resulted in decreased emission of regulated pollutants that are subject 
to annual emission fees, and revenues collected have been decreasing as 
a result. The decline in interest rates paid on savings account 
balances used by the Commonwealth to manage permit fees collected also 
has affected the funds available to Pennsylvania, as the investments 
earn less interest in the current economy compared to the early years 
of the title V program. Pursuant to 40 CFR 70.4(i)(2), when EPA 
receives a title V program revision, EPA will publish its proposed 
approval or disapproval in the Federal Register and provide opportunity 
for comment.

II. Summary of Program Revision

    In the February 11, 2014 program revision, Pennsylvania has 
included revised 25 PA Code 127.705 which Pennsylvania has amended to 
increase

[[Page 14038]]

Pennsylvania's annual emission fees. Fees are increased to $85 per ton 
of emissions for emissions from title V sources of up to 4,000 tons of 
each regulated pollutant. The provisions for increasing the annual 
emissions fees in response to increases in the CPI at 25 PA Code 
127.705(d) remain unchanged. The revised fees are designed to cover all 
reasonable costs required to develop and administer the title V program 
as required by 40 CFR 70.9(a) and (b). These costs include those for 
activities such as reviewing and processing plan approvals and 
operating permits, conducting inspections, responding to complaints and 
pursuing enforcement actions, emissions and ambient air monitoring, 
preparing applicable regulations and guidance, modeling, analyses, 
demonstrations, emission inventories, and tracking emissions.
    Without this fee increase, Pennsylvania anticipates funds will not 
be sufficient to sustain the title V permitting program beginning 
fiscal years 2015-2016. If funds become insufficient to sustain the 
title V permitting program in Pennsylvania, EPA may determine that 
Pennsylvania has not taken ``significant action to assure adequate 
administration and enforcement of the Program'' and take subsequent 
required action under 40 CFR 70.10(b) and(c) as well as impose 
mandatory and discretionary sanctions under the CAA.

III. EPA Analysis of Program Revision

    The February 11, 2014 Title V Operating Permit Program revision 
consists of amendments to Pennsylvania's rules which establish annual 
emission fees under title V of the CAA. This rulemaking proposes 
approval of the increase to the annual title V fees paid by the owner 
or operator of a title V facility from $57.50 per ton of regulated air 
pollutant to $85 per ton because the revision meets requirements in 40 
CFR 70.9 for sufficient title V fees to cover permit program costs. The 
emission fees apply to emissions up to 4,000 tons of any regulated 
pollutant. The proposed revision does not establish a fee structure for 
carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases (GHGs). EPA's rules do not 
mandate revisions to state title V programs to account for GHG 
emissions.

IV. Proposed Action

    Pursuant to 40 CFR 70.4(i)(2), EPA is proposing to approve the 
Pennsylvania Title V Operating Program revision submitted on February 
11, 2014 to increase the annual title V fees paid by the owners or 
operators of all title V facilities throughout Pennsylvania, including 
Allegheny and Philadelphia Counties, from $57.50 per ton of regulated 
air pollutant to $85 per ton. The revision meets requirements in 40 CFR 
70.9. EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues discussed in this 
document. These comments will be considered before taking final action.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    This proposed action merely proposes to approve state law as 
meeting Federal requirements and imposes no additional requirements 
beyond those imposed by state law. For that reason, this proposed 
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 proposed rule related to Pennsylvania title V 
fees does not have tribal implications as specified by Executive Order 
13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because the program 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.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 70

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, 
Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, Intergovernmental relations, 
Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: March 6, 2015.
William C. Early,
Acting, Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2015-06145 Filed 3-17-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P