[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 150 (Thursday, August 7, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 38093-38095]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-14989]
[[Page 38093]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R05-OAR-2024-0549; FRL-12784-01-R5]
Air Plan Approval; Ohio; Carmeuse Lime, Inc. SO2
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve the addition of Director's Final Findings and Orders (DFFOs)
issued by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) to
Carmeuse Lime, Inc. into the Ohio State Implementation Plan (SIP) for
the 2010 sulfur dioxide (SO2) National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS). The DFFOs establish a new emissions limit for
SO2 emissions from the combined lime kiln stack that
receives and emits SO2 emissions from two rotary lime kilns
at the Carmeuse Lime Maple Grove Facility in Seneca County, Ohio.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 8, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2024-0549 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 the docket. EPA may publish
any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit to EPA's
docket at https://www.regulations.gov any information you consider to
be Confidential Business Information (CBI), Proprietary Business
Information (PBI), or other information the disclosure of which 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, PBI, or multimedia submissions, and general
guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cecilia Magos, Air and Radiation
Division (AR18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-7336,
[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.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
I. Background
On August 21, 2015 (80 FR 51052), EPA finalized the Data
Requirements Rule (DRR) which required State air agencies to
characterize ambient SO2 levels in areas with large sources
of SO2 emissions to help implement the 2010 SO2
NAAQS. Under the DRR, State air agencies must at a minimum, model or
monitor air quality around sources that emit 2,000 tons per year (tpy)
or more of SO2, and that are not located in an area already
designated nonattainment. An air agency could have avoided this
requirement for a source emitting more than 2,000 tpy by adopting
federally enforceable emission limits by January 13, 2017, that ensured
the source would emit less than 2,000 tpy of SO2. The DRR
required State air agencies to notify EPA of their selected approach
for characterizing air quality around SO2 sources subject to
the DRR by July 1, 2016.
On January 13, 2017, Ohio EPA submitted a list of applicable
sources with SO2 emissions of 2,000 tpy or more, subject to
the DRR pursuant to 40 CFR 51.1203.\1\ The list of sources included
Carmeuse Lime Maple Grove, Inc. (referred to as Carmeuse Lime) (Ohio
EPA Facility ID #0374000010) in Seneca County, Ohio. On January 9, 2018
(83 FR 1098), EPA designated Seneca County as unclassifiable/attainment
under the 2010 SO2 NAAQS Round 3 designations process and
required the identified sources to adopt DRR requirements by July 1.
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\1\ Ohio EPA's ``State of Ohio 2010 Revised Sulfur Dioxide
National Ambient Air Quality Standard Recommended Area Designations
Round 3'' can be found at https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2025-04/recommendation-round-3-ohio.pdf.
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Under the DRR (40 CFR 51.1205), for any area where modeling of
actual SO2 emissions served as a basis for designating such
area as attainment for the 2010 SO2 NAAQS, the State air
agency shall submit to EPA an annual ambient SO2 emissions
report of applicable sources by July 1 of each year, including an
assessment of the cause of any emission increases from the previous
year and a recommendation regarding the need for additional dispersion
modeling to determine if an area is still meeting the 2010
SO2 NAAQS.
After analyzing data from Ohio's 2023 Annual SO2
Emissions Review, Ohio EPA determined that new emission limits at
Carmeuse Lime were needed to ensure that air quality standards are
protected. On August 31, 2023, in preparation for Ohio's 2024 Annual
SO2 Emissions Review, as recommended by Ohio EPA, new
modeling using data from the 2020-2022 period for the Carmeuse Lime
facility, showed a maximum modeled 3-year DV of 211.003 [mu]g/m\3\,
representing a modeled violation of the 2010 SO2 NAAQS value
of 196.4 [mu]g/m\3\. The updated modeling included WIN Waste
Innovations of Seneca County at maximum permitted emission rates. In
response to the modeled violation, Ohio EPA conducted new modeling
based on allowables, using a critical emission rate of 1,350.00 pounds
per hour (lbs/hr) from the combined lime kiln stack at the Carmeuse
Lime facility that would model compliance with the 2010 SO2
NAAQS. This updated dispersion modeling showed a maximum modeled 3-year
DV for SO2 of 192.2 [mu]g/m\3\. In accordance with EPA's
April 2014 ``Guidance for 1-Hour SO2 Nonattainment Area SIP
Submissions'' (April 2014 SO2 Guidance) \2\ and 40 CFR
63.10021, Equation 9, Ohio EPA determined the allowable emission rate
for SO2 from the combined lime kiln stack at Carmeuse Lime,
resulting in an allowable emission rate of 1,170.0 lbs/hr as a 30-day
rolling average.
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\2\ EPA's ``Guidance for 1-Hour Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
Nonattainment Area State Implementation Plans (SIP) Submissions''
can be found at https://www.epa.gov/so2-pollution/guidance-1-hour-sulfur-dioxide-so2-nonattainment-area-state-implementation-plans-sip.
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On November 13, 2024, Ohio EPA submitted a request to incorporate
into the Ohio SIP for the 2010 SO2 NAAQS the DFFOs issued by
Ohio EPA to Carmeuse Lime, establishing a new allowable 30-day rolling
average SO2 emissions limit of 1,170.0 lbs/hr for the
combined lime kiln stack shared by two rotary lime kilns. EPA proposes
to determine that the adoption of the revised enforceable emission
limit (alternatively ``the revised DFFOs'') will ensure continued
attainment of the 2010 SO2 NAAQS.
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II. Analysis of Ohio EPA's Request
Ohio EPA's November 13, 2024, SIP submittal requests to incorporate
a new limit for Carmeuse Lime into the Ohio SIP through Ohio's DFFOs
process and in accordance with the Data Requirements Rule at 40 CFR
51.1205. Ohio EPA is acting under Clean Air Act (CAA) section
110(a)(2)(B) and section 110(a)(2)(K) authorities that provide for the
appropriate operation to monitor, compile, and analyze ambient air
quality data and modeling for a pollutant with an established NAAQS.
Ohio EPA is also acting under CAA section 116, to adopt the DFFOs into
the Ohio SIP, if the State elects to do so. Ohio EPA followed EPA's
April 2014 SO2 Guidance to calculate the new limit issued to
Carmeuse Lime that would provide for attainment of the 2010
SO2 NAAQS. EPA's April 2014 SO2 Guidance is
intended to provide guidance and recommendations to States to consider
as they develop information used in future actions, which may involve
SIPs, for the 2010 SO2 NAAQS nonattainment areas. EPA finds
the application of this guidance for the purpose of development of Ohio
EPA's DFFOs appropriate to address the modeled violations of the 2010
SO2 NAAQS. Under 40 CFR 51.1205(d), EPA may take appropriate
action in an area that modeling indicates is not attaining the 2010
SO2 NAAQS, including but not limited to requiring the
adoption of enforceable emission limits to ensure continued attainment
of the 2010 SO2 NAAQS, designation or redesignation of the
area to nonattainment, or issuance of a SIP Call. Therefore, as a
result of modeled 2010 SO2 NAAQS violations, EPA proposes to
find Ohio EPA's issuance of DFFOs establishing new SO2
emission limits for Carmeuse Lime is appropriate, and no further action
is needed by EPA for this area.
Due to modeled violations of the 2010 SO2 NAAQS, Ohio
EPA performed updated modeling for the 2021-2023 period resulting in an
SO2 critical emission rate of 1,350 lbs/hr from the combined
kiln stack at Carmeuse Lime that receives and emits SO2
emissions from rotary lime kiln #1 (EU P003) and rotary lime kiln #2
(EU P004). According to EPA's April 2014 SO2 Guidance,
determining a source's critical emission rate can serve ``as a baseline
for determining a longer-term average limit consistent with this
guidance.'' To derive a longer-term limit, the 2014 SO2
Guidance establishes a six-step process summarized as follows:
1. Establish a critical emission value via dispersion modeling
that serves as compliance with the 1-hour SO2 standard,
2. Compile hourly emissions rate data reflecting the
distribution of emissions that is expected once the limit is in
place,
3. Calculate the longer-term emission rate average using hourly
emission rate data from Step 2,
4. Determine the 99th percentile of the 1-hour average emission
values compiled in Step 2 and the 99th percentile of the 30-day
average emission values computed in Step 3,
5. Compute the ratio of the two 99th percentile values,
6. Multiply the ratio by the critical emission value in Step 1
to find the 30-day average emission limit that is comparably
stringent to the 1-hour limit.
As part of the DFFOs, Ohio EPA used the process in the 2014
SO2 Guidance to calculate the allowable 30-day
SO2 emission limit with which the Carmeuse Lime facility
must comply. Ohio EPA provided documentation of its calculations in its
2024 Annual SO2 Emissions Review, which is included in the
docket for this action.\3\ The ratio of the 99th percentile of 1-hour
average SO2 emission rates and 99th percentile of 30-day
average SO2 emission rates from Carmeuse Lime based on
actual emissions data from 2017-2022 was 0.8665. This ratio was
multiplied by the critical emission value of 1,350 lbs/hr determined
via dispersion modeling, resulting in an allowable 30-day average
SO2 emission rate of 1,170.0 lbs/hr from the combined lime
kiln stack at the Carmeuse Lime facility by no later than 12 months
from the effective date of the orders, in this case by November 8,
2025. EPA proposes to find Ohio EPA's allowable 30-day average
SO2 emission rate of 1,170.0 lbs/hr from the combined lime
kiln stack at Carmeuse Lime issued in the DFFOs as sufficient to ensure
continued attainment of the 2010 SO2 NAAQS.
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\3\ Ohio EPA's ``Ohio's 2024 Annual Sulfur Dioxide
(SO2) Emissions Review'' can be found at https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/epa.ohio.gov/Portals/27/sip/SO2/2024_SO2_annual_emissions_Final.pdf.
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Per EPA's April 2014 SO2 Guidance, sources would
ordinarily rely on data obtained by continuous emissions monitoring
system (CEMS) for sources with CEMS to demonstrate compliance with
existing emission limits. Sources without CEMS wishing to apply longer
term averaging need to establish an appropriate emission limit and an
appropriate compliance method. The facilities without CEMS, such as
Carmeuse Lime, would need sufficient data to demonstrate that the
established emission limits adequately represent hourly emissions
variability and consider a range of factors that influence emissions
variability.
In consideration of EPA's April 2014 SO2 Guidance, Ohio
EPA's DFFOs include an order for the Carmeuse Lime facility, or any
subsequent owner of the facility, to collect two random samples of coal
and coke burned from each rotary lime kiln feed belt each day. These
samples shall be combined into a weekly composite sample of each coal
and coke respectively, and will be analyzed for sulfur content, in
accordance with ASTM method D4239, ``Standard Test Method for Sulfur in
the Analysis Sample of Coal and Coke Using High-Temperature Furnace
Combustion,'' or an equivalent method approved by Ohio EPA. The
analysis methods will satisfy the Facility's title V operating permit
(permit #P0128727) monitoring and recordkeeping requirements for the
emission unit group--rotary lime kilns P003 and P004.
To demonstrate compliance with the established emission limit, Ohio
EPA relies on compliance methods based on a mass balance approach. This
includes instructions to calculate the rolling 30-day average of
SO2 emissions in lbs/hr following a mass balance-based
methodology in the orders. Additionally, the DFFOs will allow for the
installation and use of a CEMS at the facility to monitor
SO2 emissions from the combined lime kiln stack for CEMS-
based compliance methods consistent with 40 CFR part 60, appendix F.
This will allow the replacement of existing mass balance-based
compliance methods without a SIP revision submittal requirement in the
event the facility installs CEMS.
In accordance with the mass balance-based compliance methods in the
orders, the DFFOs describe the methodology to calculate the rolling 30-
day average SO2 emissions rate in lbs/hr from the combined
lime kiln stack. This relies on a calculated scrubbing factor (F)
determined by using the most recent valid stack test data of the
facility's combined lime kiln stack.
Per the April 2014 SO2 Guidance, an absence of CEMS can
pose two challenges: (1) establishing an appropriate emission limit,
and (2) establishing an appropriate compliance determination method.
Because the facility is opting to apply a longer-term average,
exhaustive fuel quality data and exhaustive operating information are
required to support an adequate assessment of emissions variability.\4\
As such, Ohio EPA's DFFOs include orders to perform daily fuel
consumption monitoring and maintain daily fuel
[[Page 38095]]
consumption records that include type and quantity of fuel burned in
the lime kilns each day. The facility is also required to maintain
monthly fuel records that include the quantity of each fuel type
received and the results of each sulfur content analyses of the
required weekly composite sample. In select cases, routine fuel sulfur
content measurements averaged as a rolling average over the appropriate
period and established as an enforceable indicator of average emissions
may suffice to assess compliance with a longer-term average limit.\5\
Further, when approved and appropriate, the DFFOs require a record of
the type and quantity of fuel burned to be maintained if a fuel other
than coal, coke, or natural gas is burned at the facility. Ohio EPA
also includes orders to submit deviation reports of days in which fuel
other than coal, coke, or natural gas are burned, unless approved by
the appropriate agency. These reports shall be submitted within thirty
days after the deviation. EPA is proposing to determine these orders
adequately address hourly emissions variability from the application of
a longer-term average emission limit per EPA's April 2014
SO2 Guidance.
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\4\ See April 2014 SO2 Guidance, page 37.
\5\ See April 2014 SO2 Guidance, page 45.
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III. What action is EPA taking?
EPA is proposing to approve Ohio EPA's DFFOs issued to the Carmeuse
Lime facility, which Ohio EPA submitted on November 13, 2024, into the
Ohio 2010 SO2 NAAQS SIP. The DFFOs establish a new
SO2 emissions limit of 1,170.0 lbs/hr for the combined lime
kiln stack that receives and emits SO2 emissions from two
rotary lime kilns that will ensure continued attainment of the 2010
SO2 NAAQS.
IV. Incorporation by Reference
In this rulemaking, 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 Ohio's DFFOs for Carmeuse Lime, Inc. Maple Grove facility
issued by Ohio EPA, effective November 8, 2024, discussed in sections I
and II 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).
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 CAA and applicable
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). In reviewing
SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve State choices provided 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 Order 12866 (58
FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
Is not subject to Executive Order 14192 (90 FR 9065,
February 6, 2025) because SIP actions are exempt from review under
Executive Order 12866;
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 subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885,
April 23, 1997) because it approves a State program;
Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001); and
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.
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 rulemaking 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, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur oxides.
Dated: July 29, 2025.
Cheryl Newton,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2025-14989 Filed 8-6-25; 8:45 am]
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