Rule2023-04504
Air Plan Approval; Tennessee; Eastman Chemical Company Nitrogen Oxides SIP Call Alternative Monitoring
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 8, 2023
Effective
April 7, 2023
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is conditionally approving a revision to the Tennessee State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the State of Tennessee, through the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), through a letter dated August 11, 2021. This revision establishes alternative monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements under the Nitrogen Oxides (NO<INF>X</INF>) SIP Call. EPA is approving these changes pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 45 (Wednesday, March 8, 2023)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 8, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 14276-14278]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04504]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R04-OAR-2022-0158; FRL-10541-02-R4]
Air Plan Approval; Tennessee; Eastman Chemical Company Nitrogen
Oxides SIP Call Alternative Monitoring
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is conditionally
approving a revision to the Tennessee State Implementation Plan (SIP)
submitted by the State of Tennessee, through the Tennessee Department
of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), through a letter dated August
11, 2021. This revision establishes alternative monitoring,
recordkeeping, and reporting requirements under the Nitrogen Oxides
(NO<INF>X</INF>) SIP Call. EPA is approving these changes pursuant to
the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).
DATES: This rule is effective April 7, 2023.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2022-0158. All documents in the docket
are listed on the <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a> website. Although listed in the
index, some information may not be publicly available, i.e.,
Confidential Business Information 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 electronically through <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> or in hard
copy at the Air Regulatory Management Section, Air Planning and
Implementation Branch, Air and Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia
30303-8960. EPA requests that, if at all possible, you contact the
person 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
Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Scofield, Air Regulatory
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air and
Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61
Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The telephone number is
(404) 562-9034. Mr. Scofield can also be reached via electronic mail at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b7c4d4d8d1ded2dbd399c4c3d2c1d2f7d2c7d699d0d8c1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a4d7c7cbc2cdc1c8c08ad7d0c1d2c1e4c1d4c58ac3cbd2">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Eastman Chemical Company (Eastman) petitioned TDEC to adopt revised
permit conditions applicable to its Kingsport, Tennessee facility with
an alternative monitoring option for this large non-EGU, along with
corresponding revised recordkeeping and reporting conditions. This
petition resulted in the issuance of the permit for Eastman included as
part of TDEC's SIP submittal. The changes allow Eastman to address the
NO<INF>X</INF> SIP Call's requirements for enforceable limits on ozone
season NO<INF>X</INF> mass emissions through alternative monitoring and
reporting methodologies. The August 11, 2021, source-specific SIP
revision submitted by TDEC contains the permit provisions that TDEC
modified to specifically address the alternative monitoring provisions
allowed under the NO<INF>X</INF> SIP Call and requests conditional
approval of those provisions into the SIP.
Through a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), published on
January 11, 2023 (88 FR 1533), EPA proposed to conditionally approve
into Tennessee's SIP Tennessee Air Pollution Control Board operating
permit No. 077509 for Eastman, state effective on August 11, 2021, to
provide alternative NO<INF>X</INF> monitoring and reporting for Natural
Gas-Fired Boilers 25-29 (PES B-253-1) at this facility in accordance
with 40 CFR 51.121(i). TDEC requests that this approval be conditioned
on Tennessee's commitment to modify the provisions at Chapter 1200-03-
27.12(11) to specify allowable non-Part 75 permissible alternative
monitoring and reporting methodologies for large industrial non-EGUs
subject to the NO<INF>X</INF> SIP Call, such as the alternative
monitoring and reporting provisions in permit No. 077509. The details
of Tennessee's submission, as well as the background and EPA's
rationale for conditionally approving the changes, are described in
more detail in the January 11, 2023, NPRM. Comments on the January 11,
2023, NPRM were due on or before February 10, 2023.
II. Response to Comments
EPA received three sets of supportive comments on the NPRM and one
set of adverse comments, all from members of the general public.\1\ EPA
summarizes
[[Page 14277]]
and responds to the set of adverse comments below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The comment ``in support of the EPA approving [the] TN Air
Pollution Control Board, for the Eastman Chemical Company,'' is
unclear and may be based on a misunderstanding regarding the nature
of this rulemaking. To clarify, EPA is not approving the Tennessee
Air Pollution Control Board. EPA is conditionally approving a permit
issued to Eastman by the Tennessee Air Pollution Control Board into
Tennessee's SIP.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comment: The commenter claims that the State's proposal regarding
alternative monitoring and reporting requirements is ``vague'' and
``harmful'' and would set a ``dangerous precedent'' by establishing
``conditions beneath already lax federal regulations'' that would
enable states and industry to ``seek a carve-out for a particular law
instead of complying with rules designed to provoke compliance with
good neighbor provisions.'' According to the commenter, this approach
would allow the establishment of standards ``that could not register a
problem if it occurred or give the company permission to develop lax,
uninformed, and purposefully negligent reporting and monitoring
requirements.''
Response: EPA disagrees with the commenter. As discussed in the
January 11, 2023, NPRM, EPA revised its NO<INF>X</INF> SIP Call rules
at 40 CFR 51.121 in 2019 to make Part 75 monitoring, recordkeeping, and
reporting optional for subject sources, such that a SIP may establish
alternative monitoring for NO<INF>X</INF> SIP Call budget units if the
SIP containing the alternative meets the general requirements of 40 CFR
51.121(f)(1) and (i)(1). These general requirements ensure that
alternative monitoring is sufficient to determine whether sources are
in compliance with the NO<INF>X</INF> SIP Call budgets. Tennessee
utilized this flexibility in modifying Eastman's air permit to allow
for alternative monitoring and in submitting that permit to EPA for
incorporation into its SIP. The permit conditions contain clear and
specific alternative monitoring provisions that EPA described in detail
in the NPRM, and the SIP revision containing those provisions satisfies
40 CFR 51.121. More specifically, the level of detail and monitoring
rigor required by 40 CFR part 75, Appendices D and E (as an alternative
to the methodologies in 40 CFR 75.12 and 40 CFR 75.17) are adequate to
ensure that Eastman is in compliance with its source-specific
allocation of Tennessee's NO<INF>X</INF> SIP Call budget.\2\ Compliance
with the NO<INF>X</INF> monitoring provisions within 40 CFR part 75,
Appendices D and E is required by Condition 2 of Tennessee Air
Pollution Control Board operating permit No. 077509, which is being
conditionally approved into Tennessee's SIP.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Furthermore, as discussed in Section III of the NPRM,
NO<INF>X</INF> emissions from Eastman's affected units are
substantially below the facility's NO<INF>X</INF> budget, and the
work practice requirements of 40 CFR part 63, subpart DDDDD
(periodic tune-ups) provide additional assurance that the boilers
are operating properly.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. Incorporation by Reference
In this document, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR
51.5, and as discussed in Section I of this preamble and the January
11, 2023, NPRM, EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of
Tennessee Air Pollution Control Board operating permit No. 077509 for
Eastman, state effective on August 11, 2021, into the Tennessee SIP.
EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials generally
available through <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> and at the EPA Region 4 Office
(please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this preamble for more information). Therefore,
these materials have been approved by EPA for inclusion in the SIP,
have been incorporated by reference by EPA into that plan, are fully
federally enforceable under sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the
effective date of the final rulemaking of EPA's approval, and will be
incorporated by reference in the next update to the SIP compilation.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ See 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
IV. Final Action
EPA is taking final action to conditionally approve Tennessee Air
Pollution Control Board operating permit No. 077509 for Eastman, state
effective August 11, 2021, for incorporation into the Tennessee SIP.
These changes were submitted by Tennessee on August 11, 2021. As
discussed in more detail in the January 11, 2023 NPRM, these changes to
Tennessee's SIP are approved subject to the condition that Tennessee
meets its commitment to submit a SIP revision modifying the provisions
of TAPCR 1200-03-27.12(11) to specify permissible non-Part 75
alternative monitoring and reporting methodologies, as allowed under 40
CFR 51.121(i)(1) and (4), by 12 months from the date of this final
approval. If the State fails to submit this revision on or before 12
months from the date of final approval of this action, the conditional
approval will become a disapproval pursuant to CAA section 110(k)(4).
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 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 CAA. This action merely
conditionally 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.);
<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).
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 as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65
FR 67249, November 9,
[[Page 14278]]
2000), nor will it impose substantial direct costs on tribal
governments or preempt tribal law.
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 May 8, 2023. 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, Nitrogen dioxide, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: February 28, 2023.
Daniel Blackman,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.
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.
Subpart RR--Tennessee
0
2. In Sec. 52.2219, add paragraph (b) to read as follows:
Sec. 52.2219 Conditional approval.
* * * * *
(b) Tennessee submitted a source-specific SIP revision to EPA on
August 11, 2021, regarding the Eastman Chemical Company's Kingsport,
Tennessee facility, along with a commitment to modify the provisions at
Tennessee Air Pollution Control Regulation 1200-03-27.12(11) to specify
allowable non-Part 75 permissible alternative monitoring and reporting
methodologies for large industrial non-EGUs subject to the
NO<INF>X</INF> SIP Call. EPA conditionally approved the August 11,
2021, SIP revision in an action published in the Federal Register on
March 8, 2023. If Tennessee fails to meet its commitment by March 8,
2024, the conditional approval will become a disapproval on March 8,
2024.
0
3. In Sec. 52.2220, add an entry for ``Eastman Chemical Company'' at
the end of the table in paragraph (d) to read as follows:
Sec. 52.2220 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(d) * * *
EPA-Approved Tennessee Source-Specific Requirements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State
Name of source Permit No. effective date EPA approval date Explanation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
Eastman Chemical Company....... 077509 8/11/2021 3/8/2023, [Insert Conditional approval based
citation of on TDEC's commitment to
publication]. modify the provisions at
Chapter 1200-03-27.12(11)
to specify allowable non-
Part 75 permissible
alternative monitoring and
reporting methodologies
for large industrial non-
EGUs subject to the NOX
SIP Call.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2023-04504 Filed 3-7-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 8, 2023.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.