[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 42 (Monday, March 4, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7313-7315]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-03851]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2018-0609; FRL-9990-30-Region 4]
Air Plan Approval; Kentucky: Jefferson County Process Operations
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve changes to the Jefferson County portion of the Kentucky State
Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted by the Commonwealth of Kentucky,
through the Energy and Environment Cabinet (Cabinet), through a letter
dated March 15, 2018. The proposed SIP revision was submitted by the
Cabinet on behalf of the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control
District (District) and makes minor ministerial amendments to
regulations regarding new and existing process operations.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 3, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2018-0609 at https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot
be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. 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, the full EPA public comment
policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general
guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andres Febres, Air Regulatory
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation 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) 562-8966. Mr. Febres can also
be reached via electronic mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. What action is EPA proposing?
EPA is proposing to approve changes to the Jefferson County portion
of the Kentucky SIP that were provided to EPA through a letter dated
March 15, 2018.\1\ EPA is proposing to approve the portions of this SIP
revision that make changes to the District's Regulation 6.09--Standards
of Performance for Existing Process Operations, and Regulation 7.08--
Standards of Performance for New Process Operations.\2\ The March 15,
2018, SIP revision makes minor and ministerial changes that do not
alter the meaning of these regulations but rather are intended to
clarify the applicability of these regulations, as well as reduce
redundancy in the particulate matter (PM) and opacity standards. The
SIP revision updates the current SIP-approved versions of Regulation
6.09
[[Page 7314]]
(version 6) and Regulation 7.08 (version 3) to versions 7 and version
4, respectively. The changes that are being proposed for approval in
this rulemaking and EPA's rationale for proposing approval are
described in more detail below.
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\1\ EPA notes that the Agency received the SIP revision on March
23, 2018.
\2\ EPA also notes that the Agency received several other
revisions to the Jefferson County portion of the Kentucky SIP
submitted with the same March 15, 2018, cover letter. EPA will be
considering action on the remaining revisions in separate actions.
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II. EPA's Analysis of the State Submittal
As mentioned in Section I of this document, the portion of
Jefferson County's March 15, 2018, SIP revision that EPA is proposing
to approve makes changes to two Jefferson County Air Quality
Regulations. Specifically, the SIP revision updates the SIP-approved
version of Regulation 6.09 to version 7, and the SIP-approved version
of Regulation 7.08 to version 4.
(1) Regulation 6.09, Standards of Performance for Existing Process
Operations
Jefferson County's Regulation 6.09 provides for the control of
emissions from existing process operations and includes standards for
PM emissions, as well as nitrogen oxides (NOX) emissions.
Jefferson County's March 15, 2018, SIP revision requests that EPA
incorporate version 7 of Regulation 6.09 into the SIP. Version 7 amends
two sections of Regulation 6.09: Section 1, Applicability, in order to
clarify the applicability of this regulation through slightly modified
language; and Section 3, Standards for Particulate Matter, in order to
eliminate redundancies within that section.
Section 1.1 of the current SIP-approved version of Regulation 6.09
states that the provisions of this regulation apply to process
operations that were either in existence or had an approved
construction permit on or before September 1, 1976. With the amendments
in version 7, Jefferson County makes minor edits to clarify that the
provisions of this regulation apply to process operations that not only
were in existence on or before September 1, 1976, but also to those
process operations that had either commenced construction,
reconstruction, or a modification by that date. In addition, Jefferson
County rewords, for clarification purposes, the part of Section 1.1
that specifies that Regulation 6.09 applies to those process operations
not otherwise covered under any other portion of Regulation 6, but the
scope, meaning, and applicability of Regulation 6.09 remain the same.
Section 3 of the current SIP-approved version of Regulation 6.09
includes specific standards for PM emissions from existing process
operations. With the amendments in version 7, Jefferson County deletes
Sections 3.3 and 3.4 of Regulation 6.09. Section 3.3 contains an
opacity standard for PM that limits process operation emissions to 20
percent opacity; and Section 3.4 contains a Mass emission standard for
PM that limits process operation emissions to emissions rates provided
in Table 1 of Regulation 6.09. Both standards for PM emissions are
unnecessary because they are already established under sections 3.1 and
3.2 of Regulation 6.09. By deleting Sections 3.3 and 3.4, Jefferson
County is not removing any emissions limit for existing process
operations, but is simply removing redundancy in the current SIP-
approved version of the regulation.
The March 15, 2018, SIP revision does not change the scope or
meaning of Regulation 6.09, nor does it modify how the regulation
works. These changes are minor and ministerial in nature and help to
clean up and clarify the regulation of existing process operations. EPA
has made the preliminary determination that the aforementioned changes
will not have a negative impact on air quality in the area and is
therefore proposing to approve version 7 of Regulation 6.09 into the
Jefferson County portion of the Kentucky SIP.
(2) Regulation 7.08, Standards of Performance for New Process
Operations
Like Jefferson County's Regulation 6.09, Regulation 7.08 provides
for the control of emissions from process operations, but these
provisions apply to new process operations rather than existing ones.
Jefferson County's March 15, 2018, SIP revision requests that EPA adopt
version 4 of Regulation 7.08 into the SIP. Version 4 of Regulation 7.08
makes changes similar to those in version 7 of Regulation 6.09 by
amending the two corresponding sections: Section 1, Applicability, in
order to clarify the applicability of this regulation through slightly
modified language; and Section 3, Standards for Particulate Matter, in
order to eliminate redundancies within that section.
Section 1 of the current SIP-approved version of Regulation 7.08
states that the provisions of this regulation apply to process
operations that commenced construction after September 1, 1976. With
the amendments in version 4, Jefferson County clarifies that the
provisions of this regulation apply to process operations that not only
had commenced construction after September 1, 1976, but also to those
that had either commenced modification or reconstruction after this
date. As with the changes in Regulation 6.09, Jefferson County also
rewords, for clarification purposes, the provision in Section 1 that
specifies that this regulation applies to those process operations not
otherwise covered under any other portion of Regulation 7, but the
scope, meaning, and applicability remain the same.
Section 3 of the current SIP-approved version of Regulation 7.08
includes specific standards for PM emissions of new process operations.
With the amendments in version 4, Jefferson County deletes Section 3.2,
which contains the 20 percent opacity limit for PM from process
operation emissions. This opacity standard is unnecessary because it is
already established in section 3.1.1 of Regulation 7.08. By deleting
Section 3.2, Jefferson County is not removing any emissions limitation
for new process operations, but is simply removing a redundancy that
exists in the current SIP-approved version of the regulation.
Just as with Regulation 6.09 above, the March 15, 2018, SIP
revision does not change the meaning or scope of Regulation 7.08, nor
does it modify how the regulation works. These changes are minor and
ministerial in nature and help to clean up and clarify the regulation
of new process operations. EPA has made the preliminary determination
that the aforementioned changes will not have a negative impact on air
quality in the area and is therefore proposing to approve version 4 of
Regulation 7.08 into the Jefferson County portion of the Kentucky SIP.
III. Incorporation by Reference
In this document, EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA rule
regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance
with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, EPA is proposing to incorporate by
reference Jefferson County's Regulation 6.09, Standards of Performance
for Existing Process Operations, Version 7, and Regulation 7.08,
Standards of Performance for New Process Operations, Version 4, both
State effective January 17, 2018. EPA has made, and will continue to
make, these materials generally available through www.regulations.gov
and at the EPA Region 4 office (please contact the person identified in
the ``For Further Information Contact'' section of this preamble for
more information).
IV. Proposed Action
EPA is proposing to approve changes to the Jefferson County portion
of the Kentucky SIP that were provided to EPA through a letter dated
March 15, 2018. Specifically, EPA is proposing to
[[Page 7315]]
approve the District's Regulation 6.09 version 7 and Regulation 7.08
version 4. The March 15, 2018, SIP revision makes minor and ministerial
changes and is intended to clarify the applicability of these
regulations, as well as reduce redundancy in the PM and opacity
standards. These rule adoptions do not contravene federal permitting
requirements or existing EPA policy, nor will they impact the NAAQS or
interfere with any other applicable requirement of the Act.
V. 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. See 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. This action merely
proposes to approve state law as meeting Federal requirements and does
not impose 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 Orders 12866 (58
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2,
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted under
Executive Order 12866;
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).
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.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference, Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides,
Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: February 20, 2019.
Mary S. Walker,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2019-03851 Filed 3-1-19; 8:45 am]
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