[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 69 (Tuesday, April 11, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 21576-21579]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07331]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R01-OAR-2023-0189; FRL-10876-01-R1]


Air Plan Approval; Connecticut; New Source Review Permit Program 
State Plan Revision

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve revisions to the Connecticut State

[[Page 21577]]

Implementation Plan (SIP) concerning its New Source Review (NSR) permit 
program. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental 
Protection (CT DEEP) submitted these revisions on December 15, 2020, as 
well as a supplemental letter on February 14, 2023. The revised state 
plan incorporates various updates to CT DEEP's NSR procedural 
requirements, substantive review criteria, provisions related to the 
control of volatile organic compounds (VOC), and clarifying revisions 
to existing SIP-approved regulations.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before May 11, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R01-
OAR-2023-0189 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, 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, 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://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets. Publicly available docket 
materials are available at https://www.regulations.gov or at the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Region 1 Regional Office, Air and 
Radiation Division, 5 Post Office Square--Suite 100, Boston, MA. EPA 
requests that if at all possible, you contact the contact 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 legal holidays and facility 
closures due to COVID-19.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessica Kilpatrick, Air Permits, 
Toxics, and Indoor Programs Branch, Air and Radiation Division, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1, 5 Post Office Square, Mail 
Code: 5-MI, Boston, MA 02109-0287. Telephone: 617-918-1652. Fax: 617-
918-0652 Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Review of NSR Program Updates
III. Proposed Action
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

    CT DEEP established its SIP, including its NSR permit program, in 
1972 in accordance with Clean Air Act (CAA) section 110 and 40 CFR part 
51. Since then, there have been numerous revisions to the SIP in 
compliance with state and federal air permitting regulations. On 
December 15, 2020, CT DEEP submitted a SIP amendment to its NSR 
permitting air quality regulations, Regulations of Connecticut State 
Agencies (RCSA) 22a-174-1, 22a-174-2a, 22a-174-3a, 22a-174-20, and 22a-
174-26, which became effective on November 18, 2020. After initial 
review of these SIP revisions, EPA requested clarification of the exact 
regulatory text CT DEEP proposed to incorporate into its SIP. As a 
result, CT DEEP provided a supplemental clarification letter on 
February 14, 2023.

II. Review of NSR Program Updates

    CT DEEP's revisions includes various changes to the NSR permit 
program. There are multiple corrections and updates to citations within 
the RCSA and Connecticut General Statutes (CGS) as well as some 
grammatical edits and clarifying language that do not substantively 
change the meaning of the regulations. Significant changes are outlined 
in the paragraphs below.
    The RCSA 22a-174-2a revisions pertain to procedural requirements 
for NSR permitting. One of these revisions at RCSA 22a-174-2a(d)(9) 
clarifies the requirements that apply when the commissioner modifies an 
NSR permit. The provision requires public notice as well as opportunity 
for public comment and public hearing before granting, granting with 
conditions, or denying the permit.
    Another revision at RCSA 22a-174-2a(e)(3)(C) alters the timeline 
requirements of the minor permit modification \1\ process after an 
application is submitted, so that there is an exception for 
implementing the modifications not less than 21 days after filing an 
application. If the commissioner notifies the applicant during that 
period, the commissioner can define when the modification can be 
implemented. If 21 days have passed since filing a complete application 
and the commissioner has not notified the permittee, the permittee 
shall comply with the terms and conditions of the proposed modified 
permit and the terms and conditions of the existing permit that are not 
being modified, until the commissioner issues or denies the proposed 
modified permit.
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    \1\ Connecticut's minor NSR permit modification provisions apply 
to changes to a permit that are required for the permittee to 
lawfully engage in any of the activities or proposed activities at a 
stationary source as identified, which would not otherwise be 
permitted under state's substantive review program at 22a-174-3a, 
where a 15 tons per year increase threshold for Regulated NSR 
pollutants review exists.
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    RCSA 22a-174-2a(e)(3) was revised to require a minor permit 
notification for a permit issued pursuant to RCSA 22a-174-3a or former 
RCSA 22a-174-3 to include the demonstrations required by RCSA 22a-174-
3a(d)(3)(B) and (C). RCSA 22a-174-2a(e) clarifies that the commissioner 
may modify a NSR permit in accordance with RCSA 22a-174-2a, RCSA 22a-
174-3a, and CGS 22a-174c. The revision to RCSA 22a-174-2a(f)(2) 
requires a permittee of any stationary source for which the 
commissioner has issued a permit pursuant to RCSA 22a-174-3a or former 
RCSA 22a-174-3 to submit a written request for a permit revision, for 
the purpose of implementing a fuel conversion described in section RCSA 
22a-174-3a(a)(2)(A)(iii), (iv), or (v). Other purposes established 
previously include correcting clerical errors, minor administrative 
changes, revising the name of the authorized representative of the 
permittee, and more frequent or additional monitoring, record keeping, 
or reporting.
    The revisions to RCSA 22a-174-3a pertain to permitting for 
constructing and operating stationary sources. Permit exemption 
criteria are modified at 22a-174-3a(a)(2)(A)(ii)-(v), so that there is 
a new subclause (v) that exempts any activity that ``constitutes a 
conversion from fuel oil to liquefied petroleum gas, or in addition to 
fuel oil, provided such conversion does not increase actual emissions 
of any individual air pollutant by fifteen (15) tons or more per year, 
unless such conversion results in reconstruction'' from requiring a 
permit to construct or operate a

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stationary source or modification. RCSA 22a-174-3a(a)(5) is updated to 
confirm that any modification or revision to a permit issued in 
accordance with the section or former RCSA 22a-174-3 shall be made as 
required in, and in accordance with, the provisions in the section and 
section 22a-174-2a of the RCSA.
    RCSA 22a-174-3a(d)(3)(B) and (C) modify demonstration requirements 
before issuance of a permit or permit modification. RCSA 22a-174-
3a(d)(3)(B) is modified in regard to demonstration requirements for 
attainment or maintenance of applicable ambient air quality standards 
or Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) increments. The 
revision specifies that such demonstration shall be made with respect 
to any applicable ambient air quality standard or increment in effect 
at the time the application is submitted: (i) when emissions of the 
pollutant or a precursor to the pollutant subject to the applicable 
ambient air quality standard or increment will increase as a result of 
the construction and operation, or (ii) when any parameter is changed 
in a manner that may increase the ambient impact. RCSA 22a-174-
3a(d)(3)(C) is modified in regard to demonstration requirements for 
attainment or maintenance of any other states' National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards (NAAQS) and SIP application requirements. The 
revision specifies that such demonstration shall be made with respect 
to any applicable ambient air quality standard or increment in effect 
at the time the application is submitted: (i) when emissions of the 
pollutant or a precursor to the pollutant subject to the applicable 
ambient air quality standard or increment will increase as a result of 
the construction and operation, or (ii) when any parameter is changed 
in a manner that may increase the ambient impact.
    A revision to RCSA 22a-174-3a(i)(2) specifies that the air quality 
models, databases, and other techniques used for estimating ambient air 
quality impacts must also be approved by the EPA Administrator, not 
just by CT DEEP commissioner.\2\ With this revision, Connecticut's SIP 
will provide for the performance of such air quality modeling as the 
EPA Administrator has prescribed and will therefore comply with CAA 
Sec.  110(a)(2)(K). As a result, EPA proposes to convert the 
conditional approvals, which EPA previously issued for CAA section 
110(a)(2)(K) and for the PSD-related requirements of sections 
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II), 110(a)(2)(C), and 110(a)(2)(J) for Connecticut's 
infrastructure SIP for the 2015 ozone NAAQS, 85 FR 50953 (Aug. 19, 
2020), to full approvals.
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    \2\ The EPA Administrator's approved air quality models, 
databases, and other requirements are found at EPA's 40 CFR part 51, 
Appendix W, Guideline on Air Quality Models.
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    RCSA 22a-174-3a(j)(8)(A) adds Best Available Control Technology 
(BACT) restrictions to emissions of any pollutant which would exceed: 
(ii) any applicable State Implementation Plan limitation or (iii) an 
emission limitation established in section 22a-174-22e of the RCSA for 
the applicable category of fuel burning equipment, regardless of 
whether the equipment is located at a source that is major for nitrogen 
oxides (NOX). CT DEEP reserves RCSA 22a-174-3a(k)(3), which 
exempts a major stationary source or major modification with potential 
emissions of NOX of more than twenty-five (25) tons but less 
than forty (40) tons per year from PSD attainment area permit 
requirements.
    A variety of changes are made to RCSA 22a-174-3a(l)(1), which 
establishes permit requirements for nonattainment areas. These changes 
include applicability to any new major stationary source of the 
pollutants for which the area is designated as nonattainment, or of the 
precursors to such pollutants. There are also updates to applicability 
to any major modification that is or will be located at a major 
stationary source of the pollutant for which the area is designated as 
nonattainment and that results in a significant net emissions increase 
of the pollutant for which the area is designated as nonattainment, or 
results in a significant net emissions increase of a precursor to the 
pollutant for which the area is designated nonattainment. A new RCSA 
22a-174-3a(l)(1)(D) defines applicable precursor pollutants to the 
subsection: VOC compounds are precursors to ozone, NOX are 
precursors to ozone and PM2.5, and sulfur dioxide is a 
precursor to PM2.5.
    RCSA 22a-174-20(gg), which regulates control of VOC emissions from 
offset lithographic printing and letterpress printing, has a new 
subdivision for exemption criteria for fountain solutions at RCSA 22a-
174-20(gg)(3)(A) and cleaning solvents at RCSA 22a-174-20(gg)(5)(A) and 
(B). Exemption criteria are specifically applicable to an owner or 
operator of a heatset web offset lithographic or heatset letterpress 
printing press that operates VOC pollution control equipment in 
accordance with RCSA 22a-174-20(gg)(4). These exemptions are subject to 
the contingency that the emissions from the use of cleaning solvents 
and fountain solution are vented to an air pollution control system 
that is operated when VOC-containing materials are used.
    EPA reviewed these SIP revisions for consistency with the CAA. We 
determined that CT DEEP's implementation and enforcement provisions are 
at least as stringent as the Federal regulations applicable to NSR 
permitting at 40 CFR part 51 and 52. The specific changes proposed to 
be made to the SIP and EPA's rationale for approval are included in a 
technical support document included in this docket of this action.

III. Proposed Action

    EPA is proposing to approve CT DEEP's revised state plan for its 
NSR permit program. EPA is also proposing to convert several 
conditional approvals, which EPA previously issued for Connecticut's 
Infrastructure State Implementation Plan for the 2015 ozone standard, 
to full approvals. EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues 
discussed in this notice or on other relevant matters. These comments 
will be considered before taking final action. Interested parties may 
participate in the Federal rulemaking procedure by submitting written 
comments to this proposed rule by following the instructions listed in 
the ADDRESSES section of this Federal Register.

IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, the 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, the EPA is proposing to incorporate by 
reference the provisions regulating NSR permitting discussed in Section 
II. of this preamble and as specified in CT DEEP's letter dated 
February 14, 2023. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these 
documents generally available through https://www.regulations.gov and 
at the EPA Region 1 Office (please contact the person identified in the 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this preamble for more 
information).

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the Clean Air Act, 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 Clean Air Act. 
Accordingly, this proposed

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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 proposed action:
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to review 
by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders12866 (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 Clean Air Act; 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, Carbon oxides, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen 
oxides, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, 
Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: April 3, 2023.
David Cash,
Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1.
[FR Doc. 2023-07331 Filed 4-10-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P