[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 8, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 14276-14278]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04504]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2022-0158; FRL-10541-02-R4]


Air Plan Approval; Tennessee; Eastman Chemical Company Nitrogen 
Oxides SIP Call Alternative Monitoring

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is conditionally 
approving a revision to the Tennessee State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
submitted by the State of Tennessee, through the Tennessee Department 
of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), through a letter dated August 
11, 2021. This revision establishes alternative monitoring, 
recordkeeping, and reporting requirements under the Nitrogen Oxides 
(NOX) SIP Call. EPA is approving these changes pursuant to 
the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

DATES: This rule is effective April 7, 2023.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2022-0158. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the 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 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: Steven Scofield, 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. The telephone number is 
(404) 562-9034. Mr. Scofield can also be reached via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Eastman Chemical Company (Eastman) petitioned TDEC to adopt revised 
permit conditions applicable to its Kingsport, Tennessee facility with 
an alternative monitoring option for this large non-EGU, along with 
corresponding revised recordkeeping and reporting conditions. This 
petition resulted in the issuance of the permit for Eastman included as 
part of TDEC's SIP submittal. The changes allow Eastman to address the 
NOX SIP Call's requirements for enforceable limits on ozone 
season NOX mass emissions through alternative monitoring and 
reporting methodologies. The August 11, 2021, source-specific SIP 
revision submitted by TDEC contains the permit provisions that TDEC 
modified to specifically address the alternative monitoring provisions 
allowed under the NOX SIP Call and requests conditional 
approval of those provisions into the SIP.
    Through a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), published on 
January 11, 2023 (88 FR 1533), EPA proposed to conditionally approve 
into Tennessee's SIP Tennessee Air Pollution Control Board operating 
permit No. 077509 for Eastman, state effective on August 11, 2021, to 
provide alternative NOX monitoring and reporting for Natural 
Gas-Fired Boilers 25-29 (PES B-253-1) at this facility in accordance 
with 40 CFR 51.121(i). TDEC requests that this approval be conditioned 
on Tennessee's commitment to modify the provisions at Chapter 1200-03-
27.12(11) to specify allowable non-Part 75 permissible alternative 
monitoring and reporting methodologies for large industrial non-EGUs 
subject to the NOX SIP Call, such as the alternative 
monitoring and reporting provisions in permit No. 077509. The details 
of Tennessee's submission, as well as the background and EPA's 
rationale for conditionally approving the changes, are described in 
more detail in the January 11, 2023, NPRM. Comments on the January 11, 
2023, NPRM were due on or before February 10, 2023.

II. Response to Comments

    EPA received three sets of supportive comments on the NPRM and one 
set of adverse comments, all from members of the general public.\1\ EPA 
summarizes

[[Page 14277]]

and responds to the set of adverse comments below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The comment ``in support of the EPA approving [the] TN Air 
Pollution Control Board, for the Eastman Chemical Company,'' is 
unclear and may be based on a misunderstanding regarding the nature 
of this rulemaking. To clarify, EPA is not approving the Tennessee 
Air Pollution Control Board. EPA is conditionally approving a permit 
issued to Eastman by the Tennessee Air Pollution Control Board into 
Tennessee's SIP.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Comment: The commenter claims that the State's proposal regarding 
alternative monitoring and reporting requirements is ``vague'' and 
``harmful'' and would set a ``dangerous precedent'' by establishing 
``conditions beneath already lax federal regulations'' that would 
enable states and industry to ``seek a carve-out for a particular law 
instead of complying with rules designed to provoke compliance with 
good neighbor provisions.'' According to the commenter, this approach 
would allow the establishment of standards ``that could not register a 
problem if it occurred or give the company permission to develop lax, 
uninformed, and purposefully negligent reporting and monitoring 
requirements.''
    Response: EPA disagrees with the commenter. As discussed in the 
January 11, 2023, NPRM, EPA revised its NOX SIP Call rules 
at 40 CFR 51.121 in 2019 to make Part 75 monitoring, recordkeeping, and 
reporting optional for subject sources, such that a SIP may establish 
alternative monitoring for NOX SIP Call budget units if the 
SIP containing the alternative meets the general requirements of 40 CFR 
51.121(f)(1) and (i)(1). These general requirements ensure that 
alternative monitoring is sufficient to determine whether sources are 
in compliance with the NOX SIP Call budgets. Tennessee 
utilized this flexibility in modifying Eastman's air permit to allow 
for alternative monitoring and in submitting that permit to EPA for 
incorporation into its SIP. The permit conditions contain clear and 
specific alternative monitoring provisions that EPA described in detail 
in the NPRM, and the SIP revision containing those provisions satisfies 
40 CFR 51.121. More specifically, the level of detail and monitoring 
rigor required by 40 CFR part 75, Appendices D and E (as an alternative 
to the methodologies in 40 CFR 75.12 and 40 CFR 75.17) are adequate to 
ensure that Eastman is in compliance with its source-specific 
allocation of Tennessee's NOX SIP Call budget.\2\ Compliance 
with the NOX monitoring provisions within 40 CFR part 75, 
Appendices D and E is required by Condition 2 of Tennessee Air 
Pollution Control Board operating permit No. 077509, which is being 
conditionally approved into Tennessee's SIP.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ Furthermore, as discussed in Section III of the NPRM, 
NOX emissions from Eastman's affected units are 
substantially below the facility's NOX budget, and the 
work practice requirements of 40 CFR part 63, subpart DDDDD 
(periodic tune-ups) provide additional assurance that the boilers 
are operating properly.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

III. Incorporation by Reference

    In this document, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, and as discussed in Section I of this preamble and the January 
11, 2023, NPRM, EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of 
Tennessee Air Pollution Control Board operating permit No. 077509 for 
Eastman, state effective on August 11, 2021, into the Tennessee SIP. 
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). 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.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ See 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

IV. Final Action

    EPA is taking final action to conditionally approve Tennessee Air 
Pollution Control Board operating permit No. 077509 for Eastman, state 
effective August 11, 2021, for incorporation into the Tennessee SIP. 
These changes were submitted by Tennessee on August 11, 2021. As 
discussed in more detail in the January 11, 2023 NPRM, these changes to 
Tennessee's SIP are approved subject to the condition that Tennessee 
meets its commitment to submit a SIP revision modifying the provisions 
of TAPCR 1200-03-27.12(11) to specify permissible non-Part 75 
alternative monitoring and reporting methodologies, as allowed under 40 
CFR 51.121(i)(1) and (4), by 12 months from the date of this final 
approval. If the State fails to submit this revision on or before 12 
months from the date of final approval of this action, the conditional 
approval will become a disapproval pursuant to CAA section 110(k)(4).

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 
conditionally approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and 
does not impose additional requirements beyond 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);
     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,

[[Page 14278]]

2000), nor will it impose substantial direct costs on tribal 
governments or preempt tribal law.
    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 this action 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. This action is 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 this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by May 8, 2023. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect 
the finality of this action 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. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to 
enforce its requirements. See section 307(b)(2).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: February 28, 2023.
Daniel Blackman,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, 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 RR--Tennessee

0
2. In Sec.  52.2219, add paragraph (b) to read as follows:


Sec.  52.2219  Conditional approval.

* * * * *
    (b) Tennessee submitted a source-specific SIP revision to EPA on 
August 11, 2021, regarding the Eastman Chemical Company's Kingsport, 
Tennessee facility, along with a commitment to modify the provisions at 
Tennessee Air Pollution Control Regulation 1200-03-27.12(11) to specify 
allowable non-Part 75 permissible alternative monitoring and reporting 
methodologies for large industrial non-EGUs subject to the 
NOX SIP Call. EPA conditionally approved the August 11, 
2021, SIP revision in an action published in the Federal Register on 
March 8, 2023. If Tennessee fails to meet its commitment by March 8, 
2024, the conditional approval will become a disapproval on March 8, 
2024.

0
3. In Sec.  52.2220, add an entry for ``Eastman Chemical Company'' at 
the end of the table in paragraph (d) to read as follows:


Sec.  52.2220   Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *

                               EPA-Approved Tennessee Source-Specific Requirements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      State
         Name of source            Permit No.    effective date   EPA approval date          Explanation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Eastman Chemical Company.......          077509       8/11/2021  3/8/2023, [Insert   Conditional approval based
                                                                  citation of         on TDEC's commitment to
                                                                  publication].       modify the provisions at
                                                                                      Chapter 1200-03-27.12(11)
                                                                                      to specify allowable non-
                                                                                      Part 75 permissible
                                                                                      alternative monitoring and
                                                                                      reporting methodologies
                                                                                      for large industrial non-
                                                                                      EGUs subject to the NOX
                                                                                      SIP Call.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2023-04504 Filed 3-7-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P