Rule2021-22601
Air Plan Approval; Wisconsin; Attainment Plan for the Rhinelander SO2 Nonattainment Area
Primary source
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Published
October 22, 2021
Effective
December 31, 2021
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by Wisconsin on March 29, 2021, which amends a SIP submission previously submitted to EPA on January 22, 2016, and supplemented on July 18, 2016 and November 29, 2016, for attaining the 1-hour sulfur dioxide (SO<INF>2</INF>) primary national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for the Rhinelander SO<INF>2</INF> nonattainment area. This plan (herein referred to as Wisconsin's Rhinelander SO<INF>2</INF> plan or plan) includes Wisconsin's attainment demonstration and other elements required under the Clean Air Act (CAA). In addition to an attainment demonstration, the plan addresses the requirement for meeting reasonable further progress (RFP) toward attainment of the NAAQS, reasonably available control measures and reasonably available control technology (RACM/RACT), and contingency measures. This action supplements a prior action which found that Wisconsin had satisfied emission inventory and new source review (NSR) requirements for this area, but had not met requirements for the elements approved here. In this action, EPA concludes that Wisconsin has appropriately demonstrated that the plan provisions provide for attainment of the 2010 1-hour primary SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS in the Rhinelander SO<INF>2</INF> nonattainment area and that the plan meets the other applicable requirements under the CAA. EPA proposed to approve this action on July 22, 2021, and received no adverse comments.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 202 (Friday, October 22, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 202 (Friday, October 22, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 58577-58579]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-22601]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R05-OAR-2021-0256; FRL-8692-02-R5]
Air Plan Approval; Wisconsin; Attainment Plan for the Rhinelander
SO2 Nonattainment Area
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the
State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by Wisconsin on
March 29, 2021, which amends a SIP submission previously submitted to
EPA on January 22, 2016, and supplemented on July 18, 2016 and November
29, 2016, for attaining the 1-hour sulfur dioxide (SO<INF>2</INF>)
primary national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for the
Rhinelander SO<INF>2</INF> nonattainment area. This plan (herein
referred to as Wisconsin's Rhinelander SO<INF>2</INF> plan or plan)
includes Wisconsin's attainment demonstration and other elements
required under the Clean Air Act (CAA). In addition to an attainment
demonstration, the plan addresses the requirement for meeting
reasonable further progress (RFP) toward attainment of the NAAQS,
reasonably available control measures and reasonably available control
technology (RACM/RACT), and contingency measures. This action
supplements a prior action which found that Wisconsin had satisfied
emission inventory and new source review (NSR) requirements for this
area, but had not met requirements for the elements approved here. In
this action, EPA concludes that Wisconsin has appropriately
demonstrated that the plan provisions provide for attainment of the
2010 1-hour primary SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS in the Rhinelander
SO<INF>2</INF> nonattainment area and that the plan meets the other
applicable requirements under the CAA. EPA proposed to approve this
action on July 22, 2021, and received no adverse comments.
DATES: This final rule is effective on December 31, 2021.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
No. EPA-R05-OAR-2021-0256. All documents in the docket are listed on
the <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> website. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, i.e., Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted
by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is
not placed on the internet and will be publicly available only in hard
copy form. Publicly available docket materials are available either
through <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> or at the 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 telephone Abigail
Teener, Environmental Engineer, at (312) 353-7314 before visiting the
Region 5 office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Abigail Teener, Environmental
Engineer, Attainment Planning and Maintenance Section, Air Programs
Branch (AR-18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 353-7314,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#94e0f1f1faf1e6baf5f6fdf3f5fdf8d4f1e4f5baf3fbe2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c9bdacaca7acbbe7a8aba0aea8a0a589acb9a8e7aea6bf">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
I. Background Information
Following the promulgation in 2010 of a 1-hour primary
SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS, on August 5, 2013, EPA designated the Rhinelander
area within the State of Wisconsin as nonattainment for this NAAQS, in
conjunction with designating multiple areas in other states as
nonattainment (78 FR 47191). Wisconsin submitted a nonattainment plan
for the Rhinelander area on January 22, 2016, and supplemented it on
July 18, 2016, and November 29, 2016. On March 23, 2021, EPA partially
approved and partially disapproved Wisconsin's Rhinelander
SO<INF>2</INF> plan as submitted and supplemented in 2016 (86 FR
15418). EPA approved the base-year emissions inventory and affirmed
that the new source review requirements for the area had previously
been met (79 FR 60064, October 6, 2014). EPA also approved the
SO<INF>2</INF> emission limit for Ahlstrom-Munksj[ouml]'s Rhinelander
facility (Ahlstrom-Munksj[ouml]) (formerly Expera Specialty Solutions
LLC (Expera)) as SIP-strengthening. At that time, EPA disapproved the
attainment demonstration for failing to comply with EPA's stack height
regulations. Additionally, EPA disapproved the plan for failing to meet
the requirements for RFP toward attainment of the NAAQS, RACM/RACT,
emission limitations and control measures, as necessary to attain the
NAAQS, and contingency measures. On March 29, 2021, Wisconsin
[[Page 58578]]
submitted a permit containing a more stringent emission limit for
Ahlstrom-Munksj[ouml] (2.38 pounds per million British Thermal Unit
(lbs/MMBTU) on a 24-hour average basis) than the previous limit (3.0
lbs/MMBTU on a 24-hour average basis), supplemental information in
order to remedy the plan's deficiencies specified in EPA's March 23,
2021 rulemaking, and a request that EPA approve its revised plan for
the Rhinelander area.
EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking addressing
Wisconsin's revised plan for the Rhinelander SO<INF>2</INF>
nonattainment area on July 22, 2021 (86 FR 38643). EPA proposed to
approve the sections of the tile I construction permit (Air Pollution
Control Construction Permit Revision 15-DMM-128-R1) that contain the
revised SO<INF>2</INF> limit for Ahlstrom-Munksj[ouml] and the
associated requirements. Additionally, EPA proposed to replace the
previously approved consent and administrative orders (AM-94-38 and AM-
15-01) governing the Ahlstrom-Munksj[ouml] emission limits with these
elements of Permit 15-DMM-128-R1. EPA proposed to conclude that
Wisconsin has demonstrated that these requirements provide for the
Rhinelander area to attain the SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS. Finally, EPA
proposed to conclude that Wisconsin has satisfied the other applicable
requirements for nonattainment areas, including requirements for RACM/
RACT, RFP, and contingency measures. The proposal supplemented a
previous action in which EPA concluded that Wisconsin had met the
requirement for a suitable emissions inventory.
II. Public Comments
The public comment period for this proposed rule ended on August
23, 2021. During the comment period, EPA received one supportive
comment on the proposal. The comment is included in the docket for this
action.
III. Final Action
EPA is approving Wisconsin's SIP submission, which the State
submitted to EPA on March 29, 2021, to supplement the prior SIP it had
submitted on January 22, 2016, and supplemented on July 18, 2016, and
November 29, 2016, for attaining the 2010 1-hour SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS
for the Rhinelander area and for meeting other nonattainment area
planning requirements. This SO<INF>2</INF> attainment plan includes
Wisconsin's attainment demonstration for the Rhinelander area. The plan
also addresses requirements for RFP, RACT/RACM, and contingency
measures. EPA has previously concluded that Wisconsin has addressed the
requirements for emissions inventories for the Rhinelander area and
nonattainment area NSR. EPA has determined that Wisconsin's Rhinelander
SO<INF>2</INF> plan meets applicable requirements of section 172 of the
CAA.
Wisconsin's Rhinelander SO<INF>2</INF> plan is based on the
emissions limits specified in Air Pollution Control Construction Permit
Revision 15-DMM-128-R1. Wisconsin seeks EPA to approve several elements
of the permit, including the permit cover sheet, emissions limitations
for Ahlstrom-Munksj[ouml] (Conditions A.3.a.(1)-(3)), the compliance
demonstration (Conditions A.3.b.(1)-(3)), reference test methods,
recordkeeping and monitoring requirements (Conditions A.3.c.(1)-(5) and
A.3.c.(7)-(9)), and the effective date (Condition YYY.1.a.(1)).
Wisconsin did not seek approval of limits and test methods associated
with oil sulfur content. Wisconsin stated that limits on the portion of
emissions from oil are unnecessary to comply with the 24-hour
SO<INF>2</INF> emission limit and the boiler heat input limit, and
attainment is ensured by limits on total emissions from boiler B26. EPA
concurs with Wisconsin's rationale, and therefore EPA is approving
these elements of the permit.
Additionally, EPA is replacing the previously approved consent and
administrative orders (AM-94-38 and AM-15-01) governing the Ahlstrom-
Munksj[ouml] emission limits \1\ with the elements of Wisconsin's Air
Pollution Control Construction Permit Revision 15-DMM-128-R1 specified
above. This replacement will not be effective until December 31, 2021,
which is the revised permit compliance date for Ahlstrom-Munksj[ouml].
Section 110(l) of the CAA states that EPA ``shall not approve a
revision of a plan if the revision would interfere with any applicable
requirement. . . .'' Since Permit 15-DMM-128-R1 contains a more
stringent SO<INF>2</INF> limit for Ahlstrom-Munksj[ouml] (2.38 lbs/
MMBTU on a 24-hour average basis) than the previous orders (3.0 lbs/
MMBTU on a 24-hour average basis), and since Wisconsin has demonstrated
that the limit in Permit 15-DMM-128-R1 provides for attainment without
need for the limits in the prior orders, EPA concludes that Section
110(l) does not prohibit EPA from replacing the prior orders with the
newer permit, and EPA is acting in accordance with this Wisconsin
request.
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\1\ Orders AM-94-38 and AM-15-01 were issued to the facility's
prior owner, Expera, but the orders continued to limit the
facility's emissions after it was acquired by Ahlstrom-Munksj[ouml].
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This approval terminates the sanctions clock started under CAA
section 179 resulting from EPA's partial disapproval of the prior SIP,
as well as EPA's duty to promulgate a FIP for the area under CAA
section 110(c) that resulted from the previous partial disapproval.
IV. Incorporation by Reference
In this rule, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR
51.5, EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the Wisconsin
Regulations described in the amendments to 40 CFR part 52 set forth
below. EPA has made, and will continue to make, these documents
generally available through <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, 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).
Also in this document, as described in the amendments to 40 CFR
part 52 set forth below, EPA is removing provisions of the EPA-Approved
Wisconsin Regulations and Statutes from the Wisconsin State
Implementation Plan, which is incorporated by reference in accordance
with the requirements of 1 CFR part 51.
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). 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:
<bullet> 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);
<bullet> Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
<bullet> 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.);
[[Page 58579]]
<bullet> 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);
<bullet> Does not have federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
<bullet> Is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
<bullet> Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
<bullet> 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
<bullet> 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).
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule,
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this action and
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C.
804(2).
Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for
the appropriate circuit by December 21, 2021. Filing a petition for
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect
the finality of this action for the purposes of judicial review nor
does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may
be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or
action. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to
enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)
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: October 8, 2021.
Cheryl Newton,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, EPA amends 40 CFR part 52
as follows:
PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
0
2. Section 52.2570 is amended by removing and reserving paragraphs
(c)(79)(i)(A) and (c)(142) and adding paragraph (c)(144) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.2570 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(144) On March 29, 2021, the Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources submitted a request to revise the Wisconsin State
Implementation Plan for attaining the 2010 primary, health-based 1-hour
SO<INF>2</INF> national ambient air quality standard for the
Rhinelander SO<INF>2</INF> nonattainment area. This submittal
supplements the 2016 plan for the Rhinelander area and includes an
attainment demonstration and a title I construction permit for
Ahlstrom-Munksj[ouml]'s Rhinelander facility. The revised plan also
addresses the requirement for meeting reasonable further progress
toward attainment of the national ambient air quality standard,
reasonably available control measures and reasonably available control
technology, and contingency measures.
(i) Incorporation by reference. Elements of Air Pollution Control
Construction Permit Revision 15-DMM-128-R1, issued by the Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources on March 25, 2021 to Ahlstrom-
Munksj[ouml] Rhinelander LLC, including the permit cover sheet,
SO<INF>2</INF> emissions limitations for Ahlstrom-Munksj[ouml]
(Conditions A.3.a.(1)-(3)), a compliance demonstration (Conditions
A.3.b.(1)-(3)), reference test methods, recordkeeping and monitoring
requirements (Conditions A.3.c.(1)-(5) and A.3.c.(7)-(9)), and the
effective date (Condition YYY.1.a.(1)).
(ii) [Reserved]
Sec. 52.2572 [Amended]
0
3. Section 52.2572 is amended by removing and reserving paragraph (c).
0
4. Section 52.2575 is amended by adding paragraph (a)(2) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.2575 Control strategy: Sulfur dioxide.
(a) * * *
(2) Attainment demonstration--submitted on January 22, 2016,
supplemented on July 18, 2016, and November 29, 2016, and revised on
March 29, 2021 for the Rhinelander SO<INF>2</INF> nonattainment area.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2021-22601 Filed 10-21-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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