[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 78 (Monday, April 22, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29328-29329]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08493]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9542-06-OAR]


Information Regarding Allowances Used in Cross-State Air 
Pollution Rule (CSAPR) Trading Programs

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of data availability.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing notice 
of the availability of data on emission allowance allocations to 
certain units under the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) trading 
programs. EPA has completed final calculations for the allocations of 
allowances from the new unit set-asides (NUSAs) for the 2023 control 
periods and has posted spreadsheets containing the calculations on 
EPA's website. EPA has also completed calculations for allocations of 
the remaining 2023 NUSA allowances to existing units and has posted 
spreadsheets containing those calculations on EPA's website as well. 
Additionally, EPA is making available an estimate of the data and 
calculations to be used in the allowance bank recalibration process for 
the 2024 control period under the CSAPR NOX Ozone Season 
Group 3 Trading Program.

DATES: April 22, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning this action 
should be addressed to Garrett Powers at (202) 564-2300 or 
[email protected] or Morgan Riedel at (202) 564-1144 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Allocations From New Unit Set-Asides

    Under each CSAPR trading program where EPA is responsible for 
determining emission allowance allocations, a portion of each state's 
emissions budget for the program for each control period is reserved in 
a NUSA (and, under most of the trading programs, in an additional 
Indian country NUSA in the case of states with Indian country within 
their borders) for allocation to certain units that would not otherwise 
receive allowance allocations. The procedures for identifying the 
eligible units for each control period and for allocating allowances 
from the NUSAs and Indian country NUSAs to these units are set forth in 
the CSAPR trading program regulations at 40 CFR 97.411(b) and 97.412 
(NOX Annual), 97.511(b) and 97.512 (NOX Ozone 
Season Group 1), 97.611(b) and 97.612 (SO2 Group 1), 
97.711(b) and 97.712 (SO2 Group 2), 97.811(b) and 97.812 
(NOX Ozone Season Group 2), and 97.1012 (NOX 
Ozone Season Group 3). Each NUSA allowance allocation process involves 
allocations to eligible units, termed ``new'' units, followed by the 
allocation to ``existing'' units of any allowances not allocated to new 
units.\1\
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    \1\ The CSAPR NOX Ozone Season Group 3 Trading 
Program serves as the compliance mechanism for electricity 
generating units under the Good Neighbor Plan (88 FR 36654, June 5, 
2023). As of the date of signature of this notice, applications for 
a stay of the Good Neighbor Plan are pending before the Supreme 
Court of the United States. If a stay order is issued and depending 
on its nature, it could affect EPA's ability to implement the 
regulatory provisions of the CSAPR NOX Ozone Season Group 
3 Trading Program that are described in this notice.
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    In a notice of data availability (NODA) published in the Federal 
Register on March 1, 2024 (89 FR 15199), EPA provided notice of the 
preliminary calculations of NUSA allowance allocations for the 2023 
control periods and described the process for submitting any 
objections. This NODA concerns the final NUSA allowance allocations.
    In response to the March 1, 2024, NODA, EPA received a written 
objection from Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC (ORIS 58933) stating that 
the preliminary allocation of one CSAPR SO2 Group 1 
allowance to unit 101 from the NUSA for West Virginia was incorrect and 
that unit 101 should receive two allowances instead. EPA agrees and 
accordingly has corrected the final NUSA allowance allocations for the 
CSAPR SO2 Group 1 Trading Program to reflect a 1-ton 
increase in the amount of NUSA allowances allocated to Shell Chemical 
Appalachia LLC unit 101 and a corresponding 1-ton decrease in the 
collective amount of NUSA allowances allocated to West Virginia's 
``existing'' units. EPA received no other written objections, and all 
other final allocations are unchanged from the preliminary allocations.
    The detailed unit-by-unit data and final allowance allocation 
calculations are set forth in Excel spreadsheets titled 
``CSAPR_NUSA_2023_NOx_Annual_Final_Data_New_Units,'' 
``CSAPR_NUSA_2023_NOx_OS_Final_Data_New_Units,'' 
``CSAPR_NUSA_2023_SO2_Final_Data_New_Units,'' 
``CSAPR_NUSA_2023_NOx_Annual_Final_Data_Existing_Units,'' 
``CSAPR_NUSA_2023_NOx_OS_Final_Data_Existing_Units,'' and 
``CSAPR_NUSA_2032_SO2_Final_Data_Existing_Units'', available 
on EPA's website at www.epa.gov/Cross-State-Air-Pollution/csapr-compliance-year-2023-nusa-nodas.
    EPA notes that an allocation or lack of allocation of allowances to 
a given unit under a given CSAPR trading program does not constitute a 
determination that the trading program

[[Page 29329]]

does or does not apply to the unit. EPA also notes that, under 40 CFR 
97.411(c), 97.511(c), 97.611(c), 97.711(c), 97.811(c), 97.1011(c), and 
97.1012(c), allocations are subject to potential correction if a unit 
to which allowances have been allocated for a given control period is 
not actually an affected unit as of the start of that control period.

II. Information for the Allowance Bank Recalibration Procedures

    The CSAPR NOX Ozone Season Group 3 Trading Program 
includes provisions calling for EPA to annually recalibrate the bank of 
CSAPR NOX Ozone Season Group 3 allowances if the total 
quantity of banked allowances from previous control periods held in all 
facility and general accounts after compliance deductions for those 
control periods exceeds an allowance bank ceiling target for the 
current control period. The allowance bank recalibration procedures are 
set forth in the trading program regulations at 40 CFR 97.1026(d). 
Generally, if recalibration takes place for a given control period, the 
amount of banked CSAPR NOX Ozone Season Group 3 allowances 
from previous control periods held in each facility or general account 
will be adjusted so that the amount of such banked allowances held in 
the account after recalibration will equal the amount held in the 
account immediately before recalibration multiplied by the allowance 
bank ceiling target, divided by the total amount of such banked 
allowances held in all facility and general accounts immediately before 
recalibration, and rounded up to the nearest allowance. Allowance bank 
recalibration for a given control period applies only to holdings of 
banked allowances issued for previous control periods; it does not 
affect any holdings of allowances issued for that control period. The 
regulations call for EPA to carry out the allowance bank recalibration 
procedures for the 2024 control period as soon as practicable on or 
after August 1, 2024.\2\
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    \2\ See note 1, supra.
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    For the 2024 control period, the allowance bank ceiling target is 
expected to be 12,605 tons, computed as 21% the sum of the 2024 state 
emission budgets for the ten states currently covered by the trading 
program. Based on the emissions and allowance data available at 
campd.epa.gov as of the date of signature of this notice, EPA estimates 
that after allowance deductions for 2023 compliance are completed in 
June 2024, approximately 38,545 banked vintage 2021-2023 allowances 
will be held in facility or general accounts (84,378 current allowance 
holdings + 3,365 upcoming NUSA allocations-49,198 reported 2023 ozone 
season emissions = 38,545 estimated remaining allowances). Based on 
these figures, EPA expects that allowance bank recalibration will take 
place for the 2024 control period and estimates that the amount of 
banked vintage 2021-2023 allowances that will be held in each facility 
or general account after recalibration will be the amount of such 
banked allowances held in the account immediately before recalibration 
multiplied by 12,605 and divided by 38,545 (or, equivalently, the 
amount of such banked allowances held in the account immediately before 
recalibration multiplied by approximately 33%). In the actual allowance 
bank recalibration process, instead of using the estimated figures 
described in this notice, EPA will use the most current information 
available as of the recalibration date.
(Authority: 40 CFR 97.411(b), 97.511(b), 97.611(b), 97.711(b), 
97.811(b), and 97.1012(a).)

Rona Birnbaum,
Director, Clean Air and Power Division, Office of Atmospheric 
Protection, Office of Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 2024-08493 Filed 4-19-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P