[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 89 (Wednesday, May 10, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 21703-21706]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-09385]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R05-OAR-2016-0645; FRL-9962-11-Region 5]


Air Plan Approval; Indiana; Commissioner's Order for SABIC 
Innovative Plastics

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving, as a 
revision to the Indiana State Implementation Plan (SIP), a submittal 
from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to EPA, 
dated December 5, 2016. The submittal consists of an order issued by 
the Commissioner of IDEM that establishes permanent and enforceable 
sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission limits for SABIC Innovative 
Plastics (SABIC). IDEM submitted this order so the area near SABIC can 
be designated ``attainment'' of the 2010 primary SO2 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), a matter that will be 
addressed in a separate future rulemaking. EPA's approval of this this 
order would make these SO2 emission limits and applicable 
reporting, recordkeeping, and compliance demonstration requirements 
part of the federally enforceable Indiana SIP.

DATES: This direct final rule is be effective July 10, 2017, unless EPA 
receives adverse comments by June 9, 2017. If adverse comments are 
received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the direct final rule 
in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not 
take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Nos. EPA-R05-
OAR-2016-0645 at http://www.regulations.gov or via email to 
[email protected]. For comments submitted at Regulations.gov, 
follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, 
comments cannot be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. For either 
manner of submission, EPA may publish any comment received to its 
public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you 
consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia 
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written 
comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and 
should include discussion of all points you wish to make. EPA will 
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of 
the primary submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or other file sharing 
system). For additional submission methods, please contact the person 
identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the full 
EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia 
submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please 
visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph Ko, Environmental Engineer, 
Attainment Planning and Maintenance Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-
18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson 
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-7947, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information 
section is arranged as follows:

I. Why did IDEM issue this Commissioner's Order?
II. What are the SO2 limits in this Commissioner's Order?
III. By what criterion is EPA reviewing this SIP revision?
IV. What action is EPA taking?
V. Incorporation by Reference
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Why did IDEM issue this Commissioner's Order?

    On December 5, 2016, IDEM submitted for approval, as a revision to 
the Indiana SIP, an order issued by IDEM's Commissioner that 
establishes SO2 emission limits for SABIC. SO2 
emission limits for SABIC previously did not exist in the Indiana SIP. 
IDEM established these emission limits so the area near SABIC can 
qualify in the future for being designated ``attainment'' of the 2010 
primary SO2 NAAQS. The history of the 2010 SO2 
NAAQS designation process and the applicable Data Requirements Rule 
(DRR) is explained below in order to provide a more detailed 
explanation of the context for IDEM's request.
    On June 3, 2010, pursuant to section 109 of the Clean Air Act 
(CAA), EPA revised the primary (health-based) SO2 NAAQS by 
establishing a new one-hour standard codified at title 40 Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) section 50.17 (75 FR 35520). Pursuant to 
section 107(d) of the CAA, EPA must designate areas as either 
``unclassifiable,'' ``attainment,'' or ``nonattainment'' for the 2010 
one-hour SO2 primary NAAQS. Under Section 107(d) of the CAA, 
a nonattainment area is any area that does not meet the NAAQS or that 
contributes to a violation in a nearby area. An attainment area is any 
area, other than a nonattainment area, that meets the NAAQS. 
Unclassifiable areas are those that cannot be classified on the basis 
of

[[Page 21704]]

available information as meeting or not meeting the NAAQS.
    On August 5, 2013, EPA published a final rule designating 29 areas 
in the United States as nonattainment for the 2010 SO2 
NAAQS, based on recorded air quality monitoring data from 2009-2011 
that showed violations of the NAAQS (78 FR 47191). In that rulemaking, 
EPA committed to address, in separate future actions, the designations 
for all other areas for which EPA was not yet prepared to issue 
designations.
    Following the initial August 5, 2013, designations, three lawsuits 
were filed against EPA in different U.S. District Courts, alleging that 
EPA had failed to perform a nondiscretionary duty under the CAA by not 
designating all portions of the country by June 2013, three years after 
the promulgation of the revised SO2 NAAQS, as required by 
Section 107(d) of the CAA. In an effort intended to resolve the 
litigation in one of those cases, plaintiffs Sierra Club and the 
Natural Resources Defense Council and EPA filed a proposed consent 
decree with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of 
California. On March 2, 2015, the Court entered the consent decree and 
issued an enforceable order for EPA to complete the area designations 
according to the Court-ordered schedule.\1\ The consent decree required 
EPA to complete the designations in three additional rounds following 
EPA's original designations (Round 1): Round 2 by July 2, 2016, Round 3 
by December 31, 2017, and Round 4 by December 31, 2020. This action 
falls within Round 3 of the designation process.
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    \1\ Sierra Club et al. v. EPA, No. 3:13-cv-3953-SI (N.D.Cal.).
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    Under the DRR (80 FR 51052), each state air agency was required to 
submit a list to the EPA by January 15, 2016, that identified all 
sources within the state that had SO2 emissions exceeding 
2,000 tons per year (tpy) during the most recent year for which 
emissions data for those sources were available, plus any additional 
sources and their associated areas identified by the state air agency 
or by the EPA as also warranting air quality characterization due to 
their potential to contribute to an SO2 NAAQS violation.
    According to IDEM, SABIC emitted 4,030 tons of SO2 in 
2014, exceeding the 2,000 tpy threshold, and therefore Indiana 
identified SABIC as one of eleven facilities in the state as being 
subject to the air quality characterization requirements of the DRR. To 
satisfy the requirements of the DRR, states must characterize local 
SO2 concentrations with either air dispersion modeling or 
ambient air monitoring. States also have the option to establish a 
permanent and federally enforceable facility-wide limit on 
SO2 emissions from a listed source to below 2,000 tpy. On 
June 30, 2016, Indiana informed EPA that SABIC had selected the 
dispersion modeling option to characterize the local SO2 
concentrations in the area surrounding the facility. Indiana also wrote 
on September 26, 2016, to inform EPA that it planned to pursue 
federally enforceable limits for SABIC as a means to provide for 
attainment in the area.
    Under the DRR, for sources such as SABIC that the state has elected 
to address through modeling, the state is required to submit modeling 
by January 13, 2016, characterizing nearby air quality. Under the DRR, 
Indiana may submit modeling showing that the applicable limits provide 
for attainment of the standard, but only if these limits are federally 
enforceable.
    SABIC requested a Commissioner's Order from IDEM to be submitted to 
EPA so as to establish federally enforceable and permanent 
SO2 emission limits that will ensure modeled attainment of 
the 2010 SO2 NAAQS in accordance with EPA's Draft SO2 NAAQS 
Designations Modeling Technical Assistance Document.\2\ Therefore, IDEM 
conducted air dispersion modeling using the American Meteorological 
Society/Environmental Protection Agency Regulatory Model (AERMOD) 
version 15181 in accordance with appendix W of 40 CFR part 51 to 
determine SO2 emission limits for SABIC that should result 
in modeled attainment of the 2010 SO2 NAAQS in the area near 
this facility.
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    \2\ Draft SO2 NAAQS Designations Modeling Technical Assistance 
Document. December 2013. http://www3.epa.gov/airquality/sulfurdioxide/pdfs/SO2ModelingTAD.pdf.
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    IDEM has requested that EPA approve Commissioner's Order 2016-03 
for SABIC as part of Indiana's SIP. If EPA approves the SO2 
emission limits contained in these orders, they would become federally 
enforceable. Once these SO2 emission limits have become 
federally enforceable, IDEM intends to use them to demonstrate modeled 
attainment for the 2010 SO2 NAAQS for the area near SABIC. 
To be clear, the purpose of this rulemaking is to take action on IDEM's 
request to approve these SO2 emission limits into the 
Indiana SIP and thereby make them federally enforceable. The purpose of 
this rulemaking is not to take action on whether these SO2 
emission limits are adequate for EPA to designate attainment of the 
2010 SO2 NAAQS for the area near SABIC. EPA intends to 
complete 2010 SO2 NAAQS designations for areas under the 
Federal consent decree deadlines, including the area near SABIC, in 
separate rulemakings.

II. What are the SO2 limits in these Commissioner's Orders?

    For SABIC, Indiana issued Commissioner's Order 2016-03 on October 
20, 2016, with an effective date of January 13, 2017. This order 
established SO2 emission limits for 20 emission units within 
the SABIC facility. According to IDEM, the COS Vent Oxidizer and the 
COS Flare units contribute the most to SO2 ambient air 
concentrations in the area. Within the SABIC process line, the COS Vent 
Oxidizer is the primary control device, and the COS Flare serves as a 
back-up to the oxidizer or is used during safety interlock of the 
system. The function of both units is to eliminate the sulfur-
containing compounds in the regeneration gas via thermal combustion. 
The order established the following emissions rates for the COS Vent 
Oxidizer and the COS Flare: (a) 415 lb/hr, one-hour average; and (b) 
269.21 lb/hr, twenty-four hour rolling average, based on daily coke 
usage and daily sulfur input. The 18 other emission limits for 
ancillary units are minor contributors to the overall SO2 
ambient air concentrations in the area, and are listed in Table 1 
below.

              Table 1--Emission Limits for Ancillary Units
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                                                          Emission limit
                        Unit name                          (lb/hr, one-
                                                           hour average)
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NE Boiler (01-101)......................................            0.15
BW Gas (01-014).........................................            0.15
H-790 (12-701)..........................................            0.02
H-520 (03-007)..........................................          0.0045
H-530A (03-008).........................................            27.8
H-530B (03-008).........................................            27.8
H-390 (12-169)..........................................          0.0102
H-900 (13-049)..........................................            1.86
H-900B (13-321).........................................          0.0188
SC 1/2 (13-155).........................................          0.0008
H-7090 (04-063).........................................         0.00235
H-6060 (04-050).........................................         0.00153
F-972 (08-001)..........................................           0.518
COGEN (19-001)..........................................            1.17
AUX BOILER (19-002).....................................            0.15
AUX2 BOILER (19-003)....................................            0.15
CG1 BOILER (19-004).....................................            0.15
R BOILER (09-106).......................................            0.11
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III. By what criterion is EPA reviewing this SIP revision?

    EPA has evaluated this revision on the basis of whether it 
strengthens Indiana's SIP. Prior to Commissioner's Order 2016-03, there 
were no specific

[[Page 21705]]

SO2 emission limitations in the SIP applicable to SABIC. The 
SO2 emission limits contained in Commissioner's Order 2016-
03 for SABIC establish permanent and enforceable limits, and should, 
therefore, strengthen Indiana's SIP.
    The adequacy of these limits for providing for attainment is not a 
prerequisite for approval of these limits. Nevertheless, the purpose of 
these limits is ultimately to provide for attainment, and EPA is 
working with Indiana to assure a proper analysis of the adequacy of 
these limits for this purpose.

IV. What action is EPA taking?

    EPA is approving Commissioner's Order 2016-03 as part of the 
Indiana SIP. The Commissioner's Order strengthens Indiana's SIP by 
incorporating SO2 emission limits for SABIC, which did not 
have any specific SO2 emission limits for SABIC previously. 
By approving the Commissioner's Order into the Indiana SIP, these 
SO2 emission limits and applicable reporting, recordkeeping, 
and compliance demonstration requirements contained in the order would 
become federally enforceable, and strengthen the Indiana SIP.
    We are publishing this action without prior proposal because we 
view this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipate no adverse 
comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal 
Register publication, we are publishing a separate document that will 
serve as the proposal to approve the state plan if relevant adverse 
written comments are filed. This rule will be effective July 10, 2017 
without further notice unless we receive relevant adverse written 
comments by June 9, 2017. If we receive such comments, we will withdraw 
this action before the effective date by publishing a subsequent 
document that will withdraw the final action. All public comments 
received will then be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on the 
proposed action. EPA will not institute a second comment period. Any 
parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at this 
time. Please note that if EPA receives adverse comment on an amendment, 
paragraph, or section of this rule and if that provision may be severed 
from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt as final those provisions 
of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment. If we do 
not receive any comments, this action will be effective July 10, 2017.

V. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the Indiana 
Commissioner's Order described in the amendments to 40 CFR part 52 set 
forth below. Therefore, these materials have been approved by EPA for 
inclusion in the State implementation plan, have been incorporated by 
reference by EPA into that plan, are fully federally enforceable under 
sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the effective date of the final 
rulemaking of EPA's approval, and will be incorporated by reference by 
the Director of the Federal Register in the next update to the SIP 
compilation.\3\ EPA has made, and will continue to make, these 
documents generally available through www.regulations.gov, and/or at 
the EPA Region 5 Office (please contact the person identified in the 
For Further Information Contact section of this preamble for more 
information).
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    \3\ 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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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 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 Orders 12866 (58 
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
     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, 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 and will not impose 
substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
    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 July 10, 2017. 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

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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 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, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides.

    Dated: April 20, 2017.
Robert A. Kaplan,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.

    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.


0
2. In Sec.  52.770 the table in paragraph (d) is amended by adding an 
entry for ``SABIC Innovative Plastics'' to read as follows:


Sec.  52.770  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *

                                 EPA-Approved Indiana Source-Specific Provisions
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          CO date                    Title             SIP rule          EPA approval           Explanation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
10/20/2016.................  SABIC Innovative                  N.A  5/10/2017, [Insert     Limitation intended
                              Plastics.                              Federal Register       to support
                                                                     citation].             attainment
                                                                                            designation.
 
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[FR Doc. 2017-09385 Filed 5-9-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P