[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 146 (Wednesday, July 29, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 45568-45571]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-15500]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R07-OAR-2020-0356; FRL-10012-14-Region 7]


Air Plan Approval; Missouri; Removal of Control of Emissions From 
Polyethylene Bag Sealing Operations

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing 
approval of a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the 
State of Missouri on January 15, 2019, and supplemented by letter on 
July 11, 2019. Missouri requests that the EPA remove a rule related to 
the control of emissions from polyethylene bag sealing operations in 
the St. Louis, Missouri area from its SIP. This removal does not have 
an adverse effect on air quality. The EPA's proposed approval of this 
rule revision is in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air 
Act (CAA).

[[Page 45569]]


DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 28, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R07-
OAR-2020-0356 to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID 
No. for this rulemaking. Comments received will be posted without 
change to https://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal 
information provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and 
additional information on the rulemaking process, see the ``Written 
Comments'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this 
document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Peter, Environmental Protection 
Agency, Region 7 Office, Air Permitting and Standards Branch, 11201 
Renner Boulevard, Lenexa, Kansas 66219; telephone number: (913) 551-
7397; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' and 
``our'' refer to the EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Written Comments
II. What is being addressed in this document?
III. Background
IV. What is the EPA's analysis of Missouri's SIP revision request?
V. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?
VI. What action is the EPA taking?
VII. Incorporation by Reference
VIII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Written Comments

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R07-OAR-2020-
0356 at https://www.regulations.gov. Once submitted, comments cannot be 
edited or removed from Regulations.gov. The 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. The 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://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

II. What is being addressed in this document?

    The EPA is proposing to approve the removal of 10 Code of State 
Regulations (CSR) 10-5.360, Control of Emissions from Polyethylene Bag 
Sealing Operations, from the Missouri SIP.
    According to the July 11, 2019 letter from the Missouri Department 
of Natural Resources, available in the docket for this proposed action, 
Missouri rescinded the rule because, of the only two facilities that 
were initially subject to the rule, neither facility is currently 
subject to the rule. One facility shutdown and the other facility no 
longer meets the applicability of the rule, specifically the facility 
no longer has a potential-to-emit (PTE) of volatile organic compounds 
(VOC) greater than 100 tons per year (tpy). Therefore, the rule is no 
longer necessary for attainment and maintenance of the 1979, 1997, 
2008, or 2015 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Ozone.

III. Background

    The EPA established a 1-hour ozone NAAQS in 1971. 36 FR 8186 (April 
30, 1971). On March 3, 1978, the entire St. Louis Air Quality Control 
Region (AQCR) (070) was identified as being in nonattainment of the 
1971 1-hour ozone NAAQS, as required by the CAA Amendments of 1977. 43 
FR 8962 (March 3, 1978). On the Missouri side, the St. Louis 
nonattainment area included the city of St. Louis and Jefferson, St. 
Charles, Franklin and St. Louis Counties (hereinafter referred to in 
this document as the ``St. Louis Area''). On February 8, 1979, the EPA 
revised the 1-hour ozone NAAQS, referred to as the 1979 ozone NAAQS. 44 
FR 8202 (February 8, 1979). On May 26, 1988, the EPA notified Missouri 
that the SIP was substantially inadequate (hereinafter referred to as 
the ``SIP Call'') to attain the 1-hour ozone NAAQS in the St. Louis 
Area. See 54 FR 43183 (October 23, 1989). To address the inadequacies 
identified in the SIP Call, Missouri submitted VOC control regulations 
on June 14, 1985; November 19, 1986; and March 30, 1989. The EPA 
subsequently approved the revised control regulations for the St. Louis 
Area on March 5, 1990. The VOC control regulations approved by EPA into 
the SIP included reasonably available control technology (RACT) rules 
as required by CAA section 172(b)(2), including 10 CSR 10-5.360 Control 
of Emissions from Polyethylene Bag Sealing Operations.
    The EPA redesignated the St. Louis Area to attainment of the 1979 
1-hour ozone standard on May 12, 2003. 68 FR 25418. Pursuant to section 
175A of the CAA, the first 10-year maintenance period for the 1-hour 
ozone standard began on May 12, 2003, the effective date of the 
redesignation approval. On April 30, 2004, the EPA published a final 
rule in the Federal Register stating the 1-hour ozone NAAQS would no 
longer apply (i.e., would be revoked) for an area one year after the 
effective date of the area's designation for the 8-hour ozone NAAQS. 69 
FR 23951 (April 30, 2004). The effective date of the revocation of the 
1979 1-hour ozone standard for the St. Louis Area was June 15, 2005. 
See 70 FR 44470 (August 3, 2005).
    As noted above, 10 CSR 10-5.360, Control of Emissions from 
Polyethylene Bag Sealing Operations, was approved into the Missouri SIP 
as a RACT rule on March 5, 1990.\1\ 55 FR 7712 (March 5, 1990). At the 
time the rule was approved into the SIP, 10 CSR 10-5.360 applied to all 
installations throughout St. Louis City and Jefferson, St. Charles, 
Franklin and St. Louis Counties that utilized polyethylene bag sealing 
operations.
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    \1\ 10 CSR 10-5.360 was initially approved into Missouri's SIP 
on October 15, 1984 (49 FR 40164) but was ultimately revised as part 
of the updated control strategy and this revision was approved on 
March 5, 1990.
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    By letter dated January 15, 2019, Missouri requested that the EPA 
remove 10 CSR 10-5.360 from the SIP. Section 110(l) of the CAA 
prohibits EPA from approving a SIP revision that interferes with any 
applicable requirement concerning attainment and reasonable further 
progress (RFP), or any other applicable requirement of the CAA. The 
State supplemented its SIP revision with a July 11, 2019 letter in 
order to address the requirements of section 110(l) of the CAA.

IV. What is the EPA's analysis of Missouri's SIP revision request?

    In its July 11, 2019 letter, Missouri states that it intended its 
RACT rules, such as 10 CSR 10-5.360, to solely apply to existing 
sources in accordance with section 172(c)(1) of the CAA.\2\ Missouri 
states that although the applicability section of 10 CSR 10-5.360 
specifies that the rule applies to all installations located throughout 
St.

[[Page 45570]]

Louis City and Jefferson, St. Charles, Franklin and St. Louis Counties, 
the only two facilities that met the applicability criteria of the rule 
were Bemis Bag Company and Crown Zellerbach (Gaylord Container) which 
is currently being operated as International Paper St. Louis 
(hereinafter referred to as ``Bemis'' and ``International Paper'', 
respectively).
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    \2\ The EPA agrees with Missouri's interpretation of CAA section 
172(c)(1) in regard to whether RACT is required for existing 
sources, but also notes that the State regulation establishing RACT 
may apply to new sources as well, dependent upon the State 
regulation's language.
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    Missouri, in its July 11, 2019 letter, indicated that Bemis is no 
longer in operation. The EPA confirmed that Bemis is no longer in 
operation \3\ and is therefore no longer subject to 10 CSR 10-5.360. 
Missouri further indicated in the July 11, 2019 letter that 
International Paper was not operating under a Part 70/Title V Operating 
Permit.\4\ Facilities with a PTE greater than or equal to 100 tpy are 
required to obtain a Part 70/Title V Operating Permit.\5\ To be subject 
to 10 CSR 10-5.360, the facility must also have a PTE greater than or 
equal 100 tpy. Since the PTE from International Paper does not exceed 
100 tpy, the facility is no longer subject to 10 CSR 10-5.360.\6\
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    \3\ The EPA reviewed MDNR's website that lists active, issued 
permits to facilities in Missouri and did not observe a permit for 
Bemis. Further, the EPA reviewed EPA's ICIS-Air database which 
indicated that the facility was no longer in operation.
    \4\ Missouri confirmed the operating permit status in an email 
from Shelly Reimer of MDNR to David Peter of EPA Region 7 dated June 
12, 2020, which is included in the rulemaking docket. Missouri 
further indicated in this email that the highest annual emissions 
from the facility from 2003 to 2019 was approximately 3 tons. The 
EPA reviewed MDNR's website that lists active, issued permits and 
did not observe a permit for the International Paper.
    \5\ 10 CSR 10-6.065(2)(R).
    \6\ In Missouri's June 12, 2020 email, Missouri further 
indicated that the construction permits issued to the facility 
showed no indication of polyethylene bag sealing operations. 
International Paper would be required to obtain the appropriate 
construction permits before starting up any new polyethylene bag 
sealing operations.
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    As stated above, Missouri contends that 10 CSR 10-5.360 may be 
removed from the SIP because section 172(c)(1) of the CAA requires RACT 
for existing sources, and because 10 CSR 10-5.360 was applicable to 
only two sources \7\ that are no longer subject to the rule and, 
therefore, the rule no longer reduces VOC emissions. Because these two 
facilities are no longer subject to the rule, the EPA believes the rule 
no longer provides an emission reduction benefit to the St. Louis Area 
and is proposing to remove it from the SIP.
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    \7\ The EPA indicated in the February 3, 1983 Federal Register 
document (48 FR 5022), which proposed to approve 10 CSR 10-5.360 
into Missouri's SIP, that two facilities were subject to this rule 
but did not specifically name the two facilities.
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    Missouri's July 11, 2019 letter states that any new sources or 
major modifications of existing sources are subject to new source 
review (NSR) permitting. Under NSR, a new major source or major 
modification of an existing source with a PTE of 250 tpy \8\ or more of 
any NAAQS pollutant is required to obtain a Prevention of Significant 
Deterioration (PSD) permit when the area is in attainment or 
unclassifiable, which requires an analysis of Best Available Control 
Technology (BACT) in addition to an air quality analysis and an 
additional impacts analysis. Sources with a PTE greater than 100 tpy, 
but less than 250 tpy,\9\ are required to obtain a minor permit in 
accordance with Missouri's New Source Review permitting program, which 
is approved into the SIP.\10\ Further, a new major source or major 
modification of an existing source with a PTE of 100 tpy or more of any 
NAAQS pollutant is required to obtain a nonattainment (NA) NSR permit 
when the area is in nonattainment, which requires an analysis of Lowest 
Achievable Emission Rate (LAER) in addition to an air quality analysis, 
an additional impacts analysis and emission offsets. The EPA agrees 
with this analysis.
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    \8\ The PSD major source threshold for certain sources is 100 
tpy rather than 250 tpy (see 40 CFR 52.21(b)(1)(i)(a) and 10 C.S.R. 
10-6.060(8)(A)).
    \9\ Except for those sources with a PSD major source threshold 
of 100 tpy.
    \10\ EPA's latest approval of Missouri's NSR permitting program 
rule was published in the Federal Register on October 11, 2016. 81 
FR 70025.
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    Missouri has demonstrated that removal of 10 CSR 10-5.360 will not 
interfere with attainment of the NAAQS, RFP \11\ or any other 
applicable requirement of the CAA because the two sources ever subject 
to the rule are no longer subject and the removal of the rule will not 
cause VOC emissions to increase. Therefore, the EPA proposes to approve 
the removal of 10 CSR 10-5.360 from the SIP.
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    \11\ RFP is not applicable to the St. Louis Area because for 
marginal ozone nonattainment areas, such as the St. Louis Area, the 
specific requirements of section 182(a) apply in lieu of the 
attainment planning requirements that would otherwise apply under 
section 172(c), including the attainment demonstration and 
reasonably available control measures (RACM) under section 
172(c)(1), reasonable further progress (RFP) under section 
172(c)(2), and contingency measures under section 172(c)(9).
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V. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?

    The State submission has met the public notice requirements for SIP 
submissions in accordance with 40 CFR 51.102. The submission also 
satisfied the completeness criteria of 40 CFR part 51, appendix V. The 
State provided public notice on this SIP revision from May 15, 2018, to 
August 2, 2018, and received eleven comments from the EPA that related 
to Missouri's lack of an adequate demonstration that the rule could be 
removed from the SIP in accordance with section 110(l) of the CAA, 
whether the rule applied to new sources and other implications related 
to rescinding the rule. Missouri's July 11, 2019 letter and December 3, 
2018 response to comments on the state rescission rulemaking addressed 
the EPA's comments. In addition, the revision meets the substantive SIP 
requirements of the CAA, including section 110 and implementing 
regulations.

VI. What action is the EPA taking?

    The EPA is proposing to approve Missouri's request to rescind 10 
CSR 10-5.360 from the SIP because the rule applied to two facilities 
that are no longer subject and because the rule is not applicable to 
any other source. Therefore, the rule no longer serves to reduce 
emissions in the St. Louis Area. Furthermore, any new sources or major 
modifications of existing sources in the St. Louis Area are subject to 
NSR permitting.\12\ We are processing this as a proposed action because 
we are soliciting comments on this proposed action. Final rulemaking 
will occur after consideration of any comments.
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    \12\ ``NSR Permitting'' includes PSD permitting in areas 
designated attainment and unclassifiable, NA NSR in areas designated 
nonattainment and minor source permitting.
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VII. Incorporation by Reference

    In this document, the EPA is proposing to amend regulatory text 
that includes incorporation by reference. As described in the proposed 
amendments to 40 CFR part 52 set forth below, the EPA is proposing to 
remove provisions of the EPA-Approved Missouri Regulation from the 
Missouri State Implementation Plan, which is incorporated by reference 
in accordance with the requirements of 1 CFR part 51.

VIII. 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

[[Page 45571]]

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);
     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 the National Technology 
Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTA) because this rulemaking does not 
involve technical standards; 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 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).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic 
compounds.

    Dated: July 13, 2020.
James Gulliford,
Regional Administrator, Region 7.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the EPA proposes to amend 
40 CFR part 52 as set forth below:

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 AA--Missouri


Sec.  52.1320  [Amended]

0
2. In Sec.  52.1320, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by removing 
the entry ``10-5.360'' under the heading ``Chapter 5-Air Quality 
Standards and Air Pollution Control Regulations for the St. Louis 
Metropolitan Area''.

[FR Doc. 2020-15500 Filed 7-28-20; 8:45 am]
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