[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 197 (Thursday, October 13, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 62034-62037]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21972]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R4-OAR-2022-0226; FRL-10161-02-R4]


Air Plan Approval; South Carolina; Revisions to Startup, 
Shutdown, and Malfunction Rules

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of South 
Carolina, through the South Carolina Department of Health and 
Environmental Control (SC DHEC), on November 4, 2016. This revision was 
submitted by South Carolina in response to a finding of substantial 
inadequacy and SIP call published by EPA on June 12, 2015, of 
provisions in the South Carolina SIP related to excess emissions during 
startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM) events. EPA is approving the 
SIP revision and finds that the revision corrects the deficiencies 
identified in the June 12, 2015, SIP call. EPA is also approving 
portions of multiple SIP revisions previously submitted by SC DHEC on 
October 1, 2007, July 18, 2011, August 8, 2014, and August 12, 2015, as 
they relate to the provisions identified in the June 12, 2015, SIP 
call.

DATES: This rule is effective November 14, 2022.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for these actions under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R4-OAR-2022-0226. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the 
index, some information may not be publicly available, i.e., 
Confidential Business Information or other information whose disclosure 
is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted 
material, is not placed on the internet and will be publicly

[[Page 62035]]

available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials 
are available either electronically through www.regulations.gov or in 
hard copy at the Air Regulatory Management Section, Air Planning and 
Implementation Branch, Air and Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 
30303-8960. EPA requests that if at all possible, you contact the 
person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to 
schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's official hours of 
business are Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Estelle Bae, Air Permits Section, Air 
Planning and Implementation Branch, Air and Radiation Division, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW, 
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Ms. Bae can be reached by telephone at 
(404) 562-9143 or via electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On August 23, 2022, EPA proposed to approve portions of multiple 
SIP revisions submitted by SC DHEC on October 1, 2007, July 18, 2011, 
August 8, 2014, August 12, 2015, and November 17, 2016. See 87 FR 
51631. In that notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), EPA also proposed 
to determine that the SIP revision corrects the deficiencies with 
respect to the South Carolina SIP that the Agency identified in the 
June 12, 2015, action entitled ``State Implementation Plans: Response 
to Petition for Rulemaking; Restatement and Update of EPA's SSM Policy 
Applicable to SIPs; Findings of Substantial Inadequacy; and SIP Calls 
to Amend Provisions Applying to Excess Emissions During Periods of 
Startup, Shutdown, and Malfunction'' (``2015 SSM SIP Action''). See 80 
FR 33839 (June 12, 2015). The reasons for the proposed approval and 
determination are stated in the August 23, 2022, NPRM (see 87 FR 51631) 
and will not be restated here. The public comment period for EPA's 
proposed approval and determination ended on September 22, 2022. EPA 
received one set of comments in a joint letter submitted by the Sierra 
Club and the Environmental Integrity Project (hereinafter collectively 
referred to as the commenter) on September 20, 2022. These comments are 
available in the docket for these actions.

II. Response to Comments

    The commenter provided comments both in support of and adverse to 
EPA's proposed actions. EPA will not address the comments that express 
support for the proposed actions. Instead, this section of the final 
rulemaking notice will focus on the portion of the September 20, 2022, 
letter that did not support the proposed actions.
    Comment: The commenter states that EPA should disapprove or 
conditionally approve the revision to South Carolina's visible 
emissions rule at Regulation 61-62.5, Standard No. 1, Section I.C \1\ 
that adds an exemption for ``natural gas and propane fired units'' from 
the requirement that the owner or operator maintain a startup and 
shutdown log. The commenter alleges that burning these two fuels has 
the potential to emit elevated levels of particulate matter (PM), 
sulfur oxides (SOX), nitrogen oxides (NOX), and 
other pollutants that may contribute to opacity during SSM events and 
that adequate recordkeeping requirements during startup and shutdown 
periods are essential for determining compliance with the Clean Air Act 
(CAA or Act). According to the commenter, excluding these fuel-burning 
sources from the recordkeeping requirement undermines the applicable 
emission limits in the South Carolina SIP and ``frustrates'' federal 
CAA enforcement.
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    \1\ Section I.C. regulates visible emissions from fuel burning 
operations, setting opacity limits from twenty to sixty percent, 
depending on the age of the source and whether emissions are caused 
by soot blowing.
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    Response: EPA disagrees that the Agency should disapprove or 
conditionally approve the addition of an exemption from the requirement 
to keep logs of startups and shutdowns for fuel burning units that fire 
only natural gas and propane in Regulation 61-62.5, Standard No. 1, 
Section I.C. The existing SIP-approved text of Section I.C states:

    The opacity standards set forth above do not apply during 
startup or shutdown. Owners and operators shall, to the extent 
practicable, maintain and operate any source including associated 
air pollution control equipment in a manner consistent with good air 
pollution control practices for minimizing emissions. In addition, 
the owner or operator shall maintain a log of the time, magnitude, 
duration and any other pertinent information to determine periods of 
startup and shutdown and make available to the Department upon 
request.

    In the NPRM, EPA proposed to approve two revisions to this text. 
The first revision, state-effective in 2016, directly addresses the 
2015 SSM SIP Action by removing the first sentence of the paragraph, 
which provides an exemption from opacity standards during startup or 
shutdown. This change satisfies EPA's June 12, 2015, SIP call for South 
Carolina regarding Section I.
    The second revision, state-effective in 2011 and 2015,\2\ inserts 
the phrase ``of fuel burning sources except natural gas and propane 
fired units'' following the word ``operator'' into the third sentence 
of the text. The effect of this change was to specify that the 
requirement to maintain a startup and shutdown log applies to fuel 
burning sources but does not apply to units that fire natural gas or 
propane.\3\
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    \2\ The July 18, 2011, submittal revised subparagraph C of 
Section I, ``Visible Emissions,'' by excluding natural gas fired 
units from the requirement to maintain a log to determine periods of 
startup and shutdown. The August 12, 2015, submittal further revised 
the subparagraph adding propane fired units to the log keeping 
exception.
    \3\ As noted in the NPRM, EPA included this revision in an 
August 16, 2017, direct final rulemaking notice. However, due to the 
receipt of an adverse comment, EPA withdrew the direct final rule, 
and thus, the revision remained pending. See 82 FR 47640 (October 
13, 2017).
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    The purpose of the startup and shutdown recordkeeping requirement 
in Section I.C was to identify those periods when fuel burning sources 
were exempt from opacity standards by requiring sources to log when 
startup and shutdown events took place. However, because EPA is 
removing that exemption from the SIP through this final rulemaking, the 
opacity limits of Regulation 61-62.5, Standard No. 1 now apply at all 
times. Consequently, the rule does not differentiate periods of startup 
and shutdown from other modes of operation as related to compliance 
with the opacity limits, and therefore a requirement to keep startup 
and shutdown logs is no longer needed for determining compliance for 
any sources, including those that burn fuels other than natural gas or 
propane. Nevertheless, the State has not removed the requirement for 
operations that burn fuels other than natural gas or propane to 
maintain startup and shutdown logs.
    Additionally, the revision to Regulation 61-62.5, Standard No. 1, 
Section I.C. being approved does not affect any excess emission 
recordkeeping or reporting requirements under the SIP. For example, 
facilities are generally required to obtain operating permits pursuant 
to South Carolina's Regulation 61-62.1, ``Definitions and General 
Requirements,'' at Section II, ``Permit Requirements.'' Section II.C.3 
of this regulation requires sources that are not required to have 
continuous emission monitoring systems (CEMS) to report to the State, 
emissions due to equipment

[[Page 62036]]

failures that are greater than those described for normal operation in 
the permit application and that last for one hour or more. The initial 
report must be made within 24 hours of the beginning of the occurrence 
of such emissions and a follow up written report must be made within 30 
days. The written report covers, among other things, the magnitude of 
the excess emissions, the time and duration of the excess emissions, 
and the nature and cause of the excess emissions. For sources that are 
required to operate CEMS, Section II.C.4 requires regular ``reports as 
specified in applicable parts of'' the State's regulations. Also, 
Regulation 61-62.5, Standard No. 1, Section IV, ``Opacity Monitoring 
Requirements,'' requires semiannual compliance reporting for sources 
required to install and operate continuous opacity monitoring systems 
(COMS).\4\ This report would require the disclosure of all instances in 
which the opacity provisions of Section I of Standard No. 1 have been 
exceeded and include an account of the nature and cause of the excess 
visible emissions.
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    \4\ Sources that fire only gaseous fuel would be exempt from the 
COMS requirements and instead would be subject to the excess 
emissions reporting established via permitting at Regulation 61-
62.1, Section II.C.
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    The Agency acknowledges the commenter's concern that burning 
natural gas and propane emits pollutants that have the potential to 
contribute to visible emissions. However, visible emissions concerns 
from the burning of natural gas and propane are minor relative to other 
available fuels. Firing these two fuels is typically associated with 
few monitoring requirements, if any. See, e.g., 40 CFR part 63, subpart 
DDDDD, 40 CFR part 60, subpart Da, and 40 CFR part 75. Notwithstanding 
this fact, excess emissions are required to be reported in the manner 
just described. For the reasons stated above and in the NPRM, EPA is 
finalizing its approval of this change to 61-62.5, Standard No. 1, 
Section I.C.

III. Incorporation by Reference

    In this document, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with the requirements of 1 
CFR 51.5, and as discussed in Section I of this preamble, EPA is 
finalizing the incorporation by reference into the South Carolina SIP 
of Regulation 61-62.1, Section II.L, ``Emergency Provisions,'' which 
regulates permit requirements to document emergencies, State effective 
on September 23, 2016; \5\ Regulation 61-62.5, Standard No. 1, Section 
I, ``Visible Emissions,'' which regulates visible emissions from fuel 
burning operations, State effective on September 23, 2016; and 
Regulation 61-62.5, Standard No. 4, Section XI, ``Total Reduced Sulfur 
(TRS) Emissions of Kraft Pulp Mills,'' which regulates emissions of 
total reduced sulfur at Kraft pulp mills, State effective on September 
23, 2016. EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials 
generally available through https://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). Therefore, these materials have been approved by EPA for 
inclusion in the SIP, 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 in the next update to 
the SIP compilation.\6\
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    \5\ The remaining portions of Regulation 61-62.1, Section II, 
retain the June 24, 2005, State effective date, as currently 
approved in the South Carolina SIP under 40 CFR 52.2120(c). 
Additionally, although Section II.G of Regulation 61-62.1 retains 
the June 24, 2005, State effective date, paragraph G.6 specifically 
is being removed from the South Carolina SIP because it is being 
recodified as Section II.L of Regulation 61-62.1. These changes are 
explained in more detail in Section II.A of the August 23, 2022, 
NPRM.
    \6\ See 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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III. Final Actions

    EPA is approving South Carolina's November 4, 2016, SIP submission 
with respect to Regulation 61-62.1, Section II.L; Regulation 61-62.5, 
Standard No. 1, Section I.C; and Regulation 61-62.5, Standard No. 4, 
Section XI.D.4. EPA is also approving portions of the October 1, 2007, 
July 18, 2011, August 8, 2014, and August 12, 2015, South Carolina SIP 
submissions that seek revisions to these provisions, as specified in 
Section II of the July 26, 2022, NPRM. EPA has also determined that 
these SIP revisions correct the deficiencies identified in the 2015 SSM 
SIP Action and fully satisfy South Carolina's obligations with respect 
to the SIP call included in the 2015 SSM SIP Action.

IV. 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. 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 they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, these actions 
merely approve removal of State law not meeting Federal requirements 
and do not impose additional requirements beyond those already imposed 
by State law. For that reason, these actions:
     Are not significant regulatory actions 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);
     Do not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Are 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.);
     Do 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);
     Do not have federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Are not economically significant regulatory actions based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Are not significant regulatory actions subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     Are 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
     Do 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).
    Because these final actions merely approve state law as meeting 
Federal requirements and do not impose additional requirements beyond 
those imposed by state law, these final actions for the State of South 
Carolina do not have Tribal implications as specified by Executive 
Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000). Therefore, these actions 
will not impose substantial direct costs on Tribal governments or 
preempt Tribal law. The Catawba Indian Nation (CIN) Reservation is 
located within the boundary of York County, South Carolina. Pursuant to 
the Catawba Indian Claims Settlement Act, S.C. Code Ann. 27-16-120 
(Settlement Act), ``all state and local environmental laws and

[[Page 62037]]

regulations apply to the Catawba Indian Nation and Reservation and are 
fully enforceable by all relevant state and local agencies and 
authorities.'' The CIN also retains authority to impose regulations 
applying higher environmental standards to the Reservation than those 
imposed by state law or local governing bodies, in accordance with the 
Settlement Act.
    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 these actions 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. These actions are 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 these actions must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals 
for the appropriate circuit by December 12, 2022. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect 
the finality of these actions 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(s). These actions may not be challenged later in proceedings to 
enforce its requirements. See section 307(b)(2) of the CAA.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

Daniel Blackman,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the EPA amends 40 CFR part 
52 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.

Subpart PP--South Carolina

0
2. In Sec.  52.2120(c), amend the table by:
0
a. Under the undesignated heading ``Regulation No. 62.1,'' revise the 
entry for ``Section II''; and
0
b. Under the undesignated heading ``Regulation No. 62.5'':
0
i. Under ``Standard No. 1,'' revise the entry for ``Section I''; and
0
ii. Under ``Standard No. 4,'' revise the entry for ``Section XI''.
    The revisions read as follows:


Sec.  52.2120   Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                     EPA-Approved South Carolina Regulations
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                                                           State
        State citation              Title/subject        effective      EPA approval date        Explanation
                                                           date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regulation No. 62.1...........  Definitions and
                                 General
                                 Requirements.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Section II....................  Permit Requirements.       6/24/2005  6/2/2008, 73 FR       Except for Section
                                                                       31369.                II.L, approved on
                                                                                             October 13, 2022
                                                                                             with a state
                                                                                             effective date of
                                                                                             September 23, 2016.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Regulation No. 62.5...........  Air Pollution
                                 Control Standards.
Standard No. 1................  Emission from Fuel
                                 Burning Operations.
Section I.....................  Visible Emissions...       9/23/2016  10/13/2022, [Insert
                                                                       citation of
                                                                       publication].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Standard No. 4................  Emissions from
                                 Process Industries.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Section XI....................  Total Reduced Sulfur       9/23/2016  10/13/2022, [Insert
                                 Emissions of Kraft                    citation of
                                 Pulp Mills.                           publication].
 
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[FR Doc. 2022-21972 Filed 10-12-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P