[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 147 (Wednesday, August 2, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35945-35946]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-16277]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Petitions IV-2016-06 and -07; FRL-9965-57-Region 4]


Clean Air Act Operating Permit Program; Petitions for Objection 
to State Operating Permits for Duke Energy, LLC--Asheville Steam 
Electric Plant (Buncombe County, North Carolina) and Roxboro Steam 
Electric Plant (Person County, North Carolina)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of final orders on petitions to object to state 
operating permits.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The EPA Administrator signed two Orders, dated June 30, 2017, 
granting the petitions submitted by Sierra Club (Petitioner) objecting 
to proposed Clean Air Act (CAA) title V operating permits issued to 
Duke Energy, LLC. One Order responds to a June 17, 2016, petition 
objecting to a proposed title V permit issued by the Western North 
Carolina Regional Air Quality Agency to the Asheville Steam Electric 
Plant located in Arden, Buncombe County, North Carolina. The other 
Order responds to a June 23, 2016, petition objecting to a proposed 
title V permit issued by the North Carolina Department of Environmental 
Quality to the Roxboro Steam Electric Plant located near Semora, in 
Person County, North Carolina. Each Order constitutes a final action on 
the petition addressed therein.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Orders, the petitions, and all pertinent 
information relating thereto are on file at the following location: EPA 
Region 4; Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division; 61 Forsyth 
Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The Orders are also available 
electronically at the following addresses: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-7/documents/duke_asheville_response2016.pdf, 
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-07/documents/duke_roxboro_response2016_0.pdf.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Art Hofmeister, Air Permits Section, 
EPA Region 4, at (404) 562-9115 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CAA affords the EPA a 45-day period to 
review and, as appropriate, the authority to object to operating 
permits proposed by state permitting authorities under title V of the 
CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7661-7661f. Section 505(b)(2) of the CAA and 40 CFR 
70.8(d) authorize any person to petition the EPA Administrator to 
object to a title V operating permit within 60 days after the 
expiration of the EPA's 45-day review period if EPA has not objected on 
its own initiative. Petitions must be based only on objections to the 
permit that were raised with reasonable specificity during the public 
comment period provided by the state, unless the petitioner 
demonstrates that it was impracticable to raise these issues during the 
comment period or the grounds for the issues arose after this period. 
Pursuant to sections 307(b) and 505(b)(2) of the CAA, a petition for 
judicial review of those parts of the Order that deny issues in the 
petition may be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the 
appropriate circuit within 60 days from the date this notice is 
published in the Federal Register.
    Petitioner submitted a petition requesting that EPA object to the 
proposed CAA title V operating permit #11-628-15 issued to the 
Asheville Steam Electric Plant and a separate petition requesting that 
EPA object to the proposed title V operating permit #01001T49 issued to 
the Roxboro Steam Electric Plant. Petitioner claims generally that each 
permit must contain stricter, modeling-based numerical emission limits 
for sulfur dioxide (SO2) to prevent exceedances of the 2010 
1-

[[Page 35946]]

hour SO2 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) and 
must contain a compliance schedule because, according to Petitioner, 
each facility has violated its current permit by causing violations of 
the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS. On June 30, 2017, the 
Administrator issued Orders granting the petitions. The Orders explain 
EPA's basis for granting the petitions.

    Dated: July 19, 2017.
V. Anne Heard,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2017-16277 Filed 8-1-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P