[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 56 (Thursday, March 23, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 17486-17488]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-05281]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R05-OAR-2015-0529; EPA-R05-OAR-2022-0685; FRL-10638-01-R5]
Air Plan Approval; Wisconsin; Emissions Reporting and
Infrastructure SIP Requirements
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve a revision to the Wisconsin state implementation plan (SIP)
revising air emissions reporting requirements codified in Chapter 438
of the Wisconsin Administrative Code. Additionally, EPA is proposing to
approve a related infrastructure requirement under section 110 of the
Clean Air Act (CAA) for the 2012 fine particulate matter
(PM2.5) and 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS). The infrastructure requirements are designed to
ensure that the structural components of each state's air quality
management program are adequate to meet the state's responsibilities
under the CAA.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 24, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2015-0529 or EPA-R05-OAR-2022-0685 at https://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
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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 https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Olivia Davidson, Physical Scientist,
Attainment Planning and Maintenance Section, Air Programs Branch
(AR18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-0266,
[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.
I. What is the background of this SIP submission?
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) submitted a
SIP revision on July 13, 2015, addressing infrastructure SIP
requirements for the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA proposed approval
of most elements of the submission on February 19, 2016 (81 FR 8460).
The public comment period for our proposed rulemaking closed on March
21, 2016. EPA received two adverse comment letters.
One commenter stated that ``Compounding the issue of insufficient
monitoring is the fact that the WDNR does not require industrial
facilities to provide and report their annual PM2.5
emissions like they do for PM and PM10. Each facility is in
the best position to know their actual emissions from the previous
year, so not requiring a report at the end of the year makes it even
more difficult to identify any violations. The information needed to
make that assessment would need to be sought out independently for each
facility in the entire state, which requires a great deal more work
than reading a report and comparing it to the limit.'' EPA agreed that
110(a)(2)(F) was not satisfied in the proposed rule.
Once the final approval of most elements and deferred action of
element F was published, WDNR began the rule making process to update
NR 400.03, 438, and 484.06(4) Wis. Adm. Code and establish
PM2.5 reporting requirements that satisfy the Federal Air
Emissions Reporting Requirements (AERR) rule. WDNR held a public
comment period on the revised rules from September 27, 2021, through
November 5, 2021, and held a public hearing on October 29, 2021.
Several adverse comments were received on the additional costs that
would be incurred by sources to report annual emissions from units,
operations and activities with de minimus emissions that are not
required to be reported for permitting, and concerns with the
specificity of the record-keeping requirements. As discussed further
below, WDNR broadened language on record-keeping requirements and
included exemptions for de minimus reporting requirements in the final
rule submitted to EPA in response to comments received.
WDNR made submissions on July 13, 2015, August 8, 2016, and
November 26, 2018, to address infrastructure SIP requirements for the
2012 PM2.5 NAAQS \1\ and EPA finalized approval of most
elements for the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS on December 27, 2016 (81
FR 95043). Further, EPA proposed approval of most elements for the 2015
ozone NAAQS on September 30, 2020 (85 FR 61673). EPA did not take
action on Wisconsin's satisfaction of the infrastructure requirements
of CAA section 110(a)(2)(F) for the 2012 PM2.5 or 2015 ozone
NAAQS. This action addresses section 110(a)(2)(F), also referred to as
``element F'', which pertains to stationary source monitoring and
reporting requirements for the 2012 PM2.5 and 2015 ozone
NAAQS. Approving this element would lead to full approval of
Wisconsin's 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS infrastructure SIP.
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\1\ The 2016 submission addressed Prevention of Significant
Deterioration (PSD) of section 110(a)(2)(C), 110(a)(2)(D), and
110(a)(2)(J), and was approved on February 7, 2017 (82 FR 9515). The
2018 submission addressed section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) Prong's 1 and 2
Transport requirements and was approved on October 4, 2019 (84 FR
53061).
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A. Revisions to Emission Reporting Requirements
On August 3, 2022, WDNR submitted to EPA Board Order AM-31-19 (Rule
AM-31-19), effective in the Wisconsin Administrative Register on August
1, 2022. The submission addresses the identified reporting requirement
deficiencies in NR 438 Wis. Adm. Code and updates administrative
language in NR 400.03 and 484.06(4) Wis. Adm. Code.
To satisfy the AERR rule, major sources in nonattainment areas and
sources with the potential to emit equal to or greater than 100 tons
per year (tpy) of criteria air pollutants \2\ or ammonia are required
to report annual emissions, and sources with actual emissions of equal
to or greater than 0.5 tpy of lead are required to report annual
emissions of all criteria air pollutants and ammonia regardless of the
magnitude of emissions. The revision of NR 438 ensures compliance with
the AERR rule. More specifically, the revision adds the requirement
that any source directly emitting PM2.5 report annual
emissions, and the reported particulate emissions (including
PM10 and PM2.5) must distinguish between
filterable and condensable particulate matter,\3\ and include fugitive
emissions.\4\ While these reporting requirement thresholds, established
based off the AERR rule,\5\ are determined by the potential to emit,
the revised rule 438 adds the annual reporting requirement of 5 tpy of
actual emissions of primary PM2.5, adding to the existing
actual emission reporting requirements for PM10, Carbon
Monoxide, Lead, Ammonia, Nitrogen Oxides, Sulfur Dioxide, and Volatile
Organic Carbons.
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\2\ The six criteria pollutants are carbon monoxide, ground-
level ozone, lead, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, and sulfur
dioxide.
\3\ Filterable particulate matter are particles that are
directly emitted by a source as a solid or liquid at stack or
releasee conditions and captured on the filter of a stack test
train, while condensable particulate matter are emissions that are
vapor phase at stack conditions, but which condense and/or react
upon cooling and dilution in the ambient air to form solid or liquid
PM after discharging from the stack. Direct (or primary) particulate
matter is the sum of the filterable and condensable particulate
matter emissions.
\4\ See NR 438.04(5) in the docket of this rulemaking.
\5\ See 40 CFR 51, subpart A, and 40 CFR 51.122.
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To address the comments received regarding emission reporting
exemptions, NR 438.03(1)(am)3-4 have been created to list emission
units, operations, or activities that have de minimus emissions and are
therefore not required to be reported in the annual emissions inventory
report. Further, NR 438.03(4) was revised based on comments received to
broaden the required recordkeeping documents from specifically stated
safety data sheets, technical data sheets, and lab testing results to
records that include information on the composition and
[[Page 17488]]
quantity of raw materials and waste, including continuous emissions
monitoring data and audits, and results of stack or performance tests.
Updates to NR 400.03 and 484.06(4) were included to align with
Federal emissions reporting terminology and the updated emissions
inventory process. The update to NR 400.03 incorporates an acronym
definition used in the revision of NR 438, while the update to NR
484.06 corrected citations amended in NR 438 to reflect EPA's updated
emissions factor database.
B. Section 110(a)(2)(F)--Stationary Source Monitoring System
Section 110(a)(2)(F) contains several requirements, each of which
are described below.
States must establish a system to monitor emissions from stationary
sources and submit periodic emissions reports. Each plan shall also
require the installation, maintenance, and replacement of equipment,
and the implementation of other necessary steps, by owners or operators
of stationary sources to monitor emissions from such sources. The state
plan shall also require periodic reports on the nature and amounts of
emissions and emissions-related data from such sources, and correlation
of such reports by each state agency with any emission limitations or
standards established pursuant to this chapter. Lastly, the reports
shall be available at reasonable times for public inspection.
WDNR requires regulated sources to submit various reports,
dependent on applicable requirements and the type of permit issued, to
the Bureau of Air Management Compliance Team. Basic authority for
Wisconsin's Federally mandated Compliance Assurance Monitoring
reporting structure is provided in Wis. Stats. 285.65. NR 438 and NR
439 set forth the minimum emissions reporting requirements that must be
reported to EPA annually, and monitoring and testing requirements,
respectively, for applicable facilities. Considering the proposed
revisions to NR 438, EPA proposes that Wisconsin has met the
infrastructure SIP requirements of section 110(a)(2)(F) with respect to
the 2012 PM2.5 and 2015 ozone NAAQS.
II. What action is EPA taking?
EPA is proposing to approve WDNR's request to incorporate by
reference the revisions to NR 400.03, 484.06(4), and 438 contained in
Rule AM-31-19 into Wisconsin's SIP in order to update the emission
reporting requirements. Further, EPA is proposing to approve
110(a)(2)(F) of Wisconsin's infrastructure SIP submission, required
under the 2012 PM2.5 and 2015 ozone NAAQS, based on the
updated rule submission. Approving this element would lead to full
approval of Wisconsin's 2012 PM2.5 infrastructure SIP.
III. Incorporation by Reference
In this rule, 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 revisions to Wisconsin Administrative Code rules NR 400.03,
NR 438, and NR 484.06(4) Table 4D Row (a), as published in the
Wisconsin Register July 2022 No. 799, effective August 1, 2022,
discussed in section I of this preamble. EPA has made, and will
continue to make, these documents generally available through
www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region 5 Office (please contact the
person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this preamble for more information).
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. 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 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).
In addition, 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, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur
oxides, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: March 9, 2023.
Debra Shore,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2023-05281 Filed 3-22-23; 8:45 am]
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