[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 105 (Thursday, June 1, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35868-35869]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-11635]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-10974-01-R5]


Clean Air Act Operating Permit Program; Petition for Objection to 
State Operating Permits for Premcor Refining Group, Inc., Premcor Alsip 
Distribution Center, and ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, Des Plaines 
Terminal, Cook County, Illinois

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of final Order on petition for objection to a Clean Air 
Act title V operating permit.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator signed 
an Order dated May 1, 2023, denying two petitions dated July 23, 2022 
(the Premcor Petition) and November 14, 2022, (the ExxonMobil 
Petition), submitted by an anonymous petitioner, C23D32 (the 
Petitioner). The Petitions requested that EPA object to two Clean Air 
Act (CAA) title V operating permits issued by the Illinois 
Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) to Premcor Refining Group's 
Alsip Distribution

[[Page 35869]]

Center (Premcor) and ExxonMobil Pipeline Company's Des Plaines Terminal 
(ExxonMobil), both located in Cook County, Illinois.

ADDRESSES: The final Order, the Petitions, and other supporting 
information are available for public inspection during normal business 
hours at the following address: Environmental Protection Agency, Region 
5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, 
Illinois 60604. This facility 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. We recommend that you contact the individual listed in 
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section before visiting the Region 
5 office. Additionally, the final Order and Petitions are available 
electronically at: https://www.epa.gov/title-v-operating-permits/title-v-petition-database.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Danny Marcus, Air Permits Section, Air 
Programs Branch (AR-18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 
West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 353-8781, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
    The CAA affords EPA a 45-day period to review and object to, as 
appropriate, operating permits proposed by state permitting authorities 
under title V of the CAA. Section 505(b)(2) of the CAA authorizes any 
person to petition the EPA Administrator to object to a title V 
operating permit within 60 days after the expiration of EPA's 45-day 
review period if EPA has not objected on its own initiative. Petitions 
must be based only on objections to the permit that were raised with 
reasonable specificity during the public comment period provided by the 
state, unless the petitioner demonstrates that it was impracticable to 
raise these issues during the comment period or unless the grounds for 
the issues arose after this period.
    On July 23, 2022, EPA received the Premcor Petition from the 
Petitioner requesting that EPA object to IEPA's July 11, 2022, 
modification of Premcor's operating permit no. 96030063. The Premcor 
Petition alleges that IEPA's issuance of the permit modification was 
unlawful because IEPA improperly processed a significant change to 
testing requirements in Premcor's permit as a minor modification. The 
Petitioner structured the Premcor Petition into the following five 
``claims'': (1) IEPA relaxed testing requirements without public 
outreach, in violation of IEPA's environmental justice (EJ) practices 
and policies; (2) IEPA made changes to the permit based on a 
``secretive template''; (3) the ``sheer amount of changes'' that IEPA 
appears to have made to the permit is enough to show a public comment 
period was warranted; (4) IEPA made changes to title I construction 
permits that should have been considered a significant change to the 
permit; and (5) the permit modification allows the facility to delay 
testing, which is a violation of human rights and will result in ``no 
testing ever being conducted'' and no ``demonstration of compliance.''
    On November 14, 2022, EPA received the ExxonMobil Petition from the 
Petitioner requesting that EPA object to IEPA's July 11, 2022, 
modification of ExxonMobil's operating permit no. 95060060. Similar to 
the Premcor Petition, the ExxonMobil Petition alleges that IEPA 
improperly processed a significant change to testing requirements in 
ExxonMobil's title V permit as a minor modification. The Petitioner 
structured the ExxonMobil Petition into the following two ``claims'': 
(1) IEPA violated its EJ practices and policies by relaxing a 
``critical air pollution control device test requirement'' without 
conducting public outreach and failed to give the public an opportunity 
to comment on the ``gross relaxation'' of testing at the terminal; and 
(2) IEPA deleted testing requirements in violation of human rights.
    On May 1, 2023, the EPA Administrator issued an Order denying both 
Petitions. The Order explains the basis for EPA's decision.
    Sections 307(b) and 505(b)(2) of the CAA provide that a petitioner 
may request judicial review of those portions of an order that deny 
issues in a petition. Any petition for review of the Administrator's 
May 1, 2023, Order shall be filed in the United States Court of Appeals 
for the appropriate circuit no later than July 31, 2023.
    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: May 25, 2023.
Debra Shore,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2023-11635 Filed 5-31-23; 8:45 am]
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