[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 189 (Tuesday, September 29, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 60942-60943]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-20611]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R05-OAR-2010-0037; FRL-10014-72-Region 5]


Air Plan Approval; Minnesota; Revision to Taconite Federal 
Implementation Plan; Notice of Public Hearing

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing that a 
virtual public hearing will be held on the proposed action titled, 
``Air Plan Approval; Minnesota; Revision to Taconite Federal 
Implementation Plan,'' which was published in the Federal Register on 
February 4, 2020. The hearing will be held on October 14, 2020.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 13, 2020. EPA 
will hold a virtual public hearing on October 14, 2020. Please refer to 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for additional information on the 
public hearing and the submission of written comments.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-
R05-OAR-2010-0037, 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.
    Virtual Public Hearing. The virtual public hearing will be held on 
October 14, 2020. The hearing will convene at 9:00 a.m. Central 
Daylight Time (CDT) and will conclude at 1:00 p.m. CDT, or 15 minutes 
after the last pre-registered presenter in attendance has presented if 
there are no additional presenters. EPA will announce further details 
on the virtual public hearing website at https://www.epa.gov/mn/revision-taconite-federal-implementation-plan. Refer to the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for additional information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Abigail Teener, Environmental 
Engineer, Attainment Planning and Maintenance Section, Air Programs 
Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 
West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, 312-353-7314, 
[email protected]. The EPA Region 5 office is open from 
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal 
holidays and facility closures due to COVID-19.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
    On February 6, 2013, EPA promulgated a Federal implementation plan 
(FIP) that included BART limits for certain taconite furnaces in 
Minnesota and Michigan (2013 Taconite FIP; 78 FR 8706). On February 4, 
2020, EPA proposed to revise the 2013 Taconite FIP with respect to the 
nitrogen oxides (NOX) best available retrofit technology 
(BART) emission limitations and compliance schedules for the United 
States Steel Corporation's (U.S. Steel's) Minntac taconite facility 
(``Minntac'' or ``Minntac facility'') located in Mt. Iron, Minnesota 
(85 FR 6125). Specifically, EPA proposed that an aggregate emission 
limit of 1.6 pounds NOX per million British Thermal Units 
(lbs NOX/MMBTU), based on a 30-day rolling average, averaged 
across Minntac's five production lines, represents NOX BART 
for the Minntac facility. An explanation of the Clean Air Act (CAA) 
requirements, a detailed analysis of how these requirements apply to 
Minntac, and EPA's bases for proposing the revised limit and compliance 
schedule were provided in the notice of proposed rulemaking. The public 
comment period for this proposed rule ended on March 5, 2020.
    One commenter stated that EPA did not provide information regarding 
a public hearing and did not ask the public if they were interested in 
a public hearing in accordance with CAA section 307(d)(5). The 
commenter also stated that EPA did not demonstrate that the agency 
consulted with Federal Land Managers (FLMs) regarding the proposed FIP 
revision.
    To address these comments, EPA is holding a virtual public hearing 
and reopening the comment period consistent with CAA section 307(d)(5). 
Further, EPA has engaged with the FLMs on the proposed revision to the 
taconite FIP for Minntac. The FLMs have indicated that they have no 
comments on the proposed FIP revision.
    Participation in virtual public hearing. In order to comply with 
current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 
recommendations, as well as state and local orders, for social 
distancing to limit the spread of COVID-19, EPA is holding a virtual 
public hearing to provide interested parties the opportunity to present 
data, views, or arguments concerning the proposal.
    EPA will begin pre-registering presenters and attendees for the 
hearing upon publication of this document in the Federal Register. EPA 
will provide information on participating in the virtual public hearing 
at https://www.epa.gov/mn/revision-taconite-federal-implementation-plan. To pre-register to attend or present at the virtual public 
hearing, please use the online registration form available at

[[Page 60943]]

https://www.epa.gov/mn/revision-taconite-federal-implementation-plan or 
contact Abigail Teener at 312-353-7314 or by email at [email protected]. The last day to pre-register to present at the 
hearing will be October 9, 2020. On October 13, 2020, EPA will post a 
general agenda for the hearing that will list pre-registered presenters 
in approximate order at: https://www.epa.gov/mn/revision-taconite-federal-implementation-plan. Additionally, requests to present will be 
taken on the day of the hearing as time allows.
    EPA will make every effort to follow the schedule as closely as 
possible on the day of the hearing; however, please plan for the 
hearing to run either ahead of schedule or behind schedule. Each 
commenter will have 5 minutes to provide oral testimony. EPA encourages 
commenters to provide EPA with a copy of their oral testimony 
electronically by including it in the registration form or emailing it 
to [email protected]. EPA may ask clarifying questions 
during the oral presentations but will not respond to the presentations 
at that time. Written statements and supporting information submitted 
during the comment period will be considered with the same weight as 
oral comments and supporting information presented at the virtual 
public hearing.
    EPA is asking all hearing attendees to pre-register, even those who 
do not intend to present. This will help EPA prepare for the virtual 
hearing.
    Please note that any updates made to any aspect of the hearing will 
be posted online at https://www.epa.gov/mn/revision-taconite-federal-implementation-plan. While EPA expects the hearing to go forward as set 
forth above, please monitor our website or contact Abigail Teener at 
312-353-7314 to determine if there are any updates. EPA does not intend 
to publish a document in the Federal Register announcing updates.
    If you require the services of a translator or a special 
accommodation such as audio description/closed captioning, please pre-
register for the hearing with Abigail Teener at 312-353-7314 or 
[email protected] and describe your needs by October 6, 
2020. EPA may not be able to arrange accommodations without advance 
notice.

How can I get copies of the proposed action and other related 
information?

    EPA has established the official public docket for the proposed 
action under Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-2010-0037. A copy of the 
proposed action is also available at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-02-04/pdf/2020-01321.pdf, and any detailed information 
related to the proposed action will be available in the public docket 
prior to the public hearing. Verbatim transcripts of the hearing and 
written statements will be included in the rulemaking docket.

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

    Dated: September 14, 2020.
Kurt Thiede,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2020-20611 Filed 9-28-20; 8:45 am]
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