Proposed Rule2023-06342
Air Plan Revisions; California; Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control District; Oxides of Nitrogen
Primary source
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Published
March 29, 2023
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a limited approval and limited disapproval of a revision to the Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control District (EKAPCD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NO<INF>X</INF>) from stationary gas turbines. We are proposing action on a local rule that regulates these emissions sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 60 (Wednesday, March 29, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 60 (Wednesday, March 29, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18496-18499]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06342]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2023-0092; FRL-10674-01-R9]
Air Plan Revisions; California; Eastern Kern Air Pollution
Control District; Oxides of Nitrogen
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a
limited approval and limited disapproval of a revision to the Eastern
Kern Air Pollution Control District (EKAPCD) portion of the California
State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern emissions of
oxides of nitrogen (NO<INF>X</INF>) from stationary gas turbines. We
are proposing action on a local rule that regulates these emissions
sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA). We are taking comments on this
proposal and plan to follow with a final action.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 28, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2023-0092 at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. For comments submitted at
<a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>, follow the online instructions for submitting
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from
<a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>. The EPA may publish any comment received to its public
docket. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose
disclosure 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. The 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 or multimedia submissions, and
general guidance on making effective comments, please visit <a href="https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets">https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</a>. If you need assistance in a
language other than English or if you are a person with disabilities
who needs a reasonable accommodation at no cost to you, please contact
the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: La Kenya Evans-Hopper, EPA Region IX,
75 Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 972-3245 or
by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#afcad9cec1dcc7c0dfdfcadd81c3cec4cac1d6ceefcadfce81c8c0d9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4d283b2c233e25223d3d283f63212c262823342c0d283d2c632a223b">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and
``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. The State's Submittal
A. What rule did the State submit?
B. Are there other versions of this rule?
C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule revision?
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action
A. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?
B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
C. What are the rule deficiencies?
D. The EPA's Recommendations to Further Improve the Rule
E. Public Comment and Proposed Action
III. Incorporation by Reference
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. The State's Submittal
A. What rule did the State submit?
[[Page 18497]]
Table 1 lists the rule addressed by this proposal with the dates
that it was adopted by the local air agency and submitted by the
California Air Resources Board (CARB).
Table 1--Submitted Rule
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Local agency Rule # Rule title Revised Submitted
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EKAPCD............................. 425 Stationary Gas Turbines 01/11/18 05/23/18
(Oxides of Nitrogen).
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On November 15, 2018, the EPA determined that the submittal for
EKAPCD Rule 425 met the completeness criteria in 40 CFR part 51,
appendix V, which must be met before formal EPA review.
B. Are there other versions of this rule?
We approved an earlier version of Rule 425 into the SIP on March 1,
1996 (61 FR 7992). The EKAPCD adopted revisions to the SIP-approved
version on January 11, 2018, and the CARB submitted them to us on May
23, 2018. If we take final action to approve the January 11, 2018
version of Rule 425, this version will replace the previously approved
version of this rule in the SIP.
C. What is the purpose of the submitted rule revision?
Emissions of NO<INF>X</INF> contribute to the production of ground-
level ozone, smog and particulate matter (PM), which harm human health
and the environment. Section 110(a) of the CAA requires states to
submit regulations that control NO<INF>X</INF> emissions. Rule 425
establishes updated limits on NO<INF>X</INF> and carbon monoxide (CO)
for stationary gas turbine engines (units), equal to or greater than
0.88 megawatts (MW) operating in the EKAPCD. NO<INF>X</INF> emission
limits were set for stationary turbines, depending on their size, for
both gaseous and liquid fuel, with exemptions for smaller low-use
engines, emergency standby units, and additional categories described
in the technical support document (TSD). NO<INF>X</INF> emission limits
and work practice standards were also set for periods of startup and
shutdown. Monitoring requirements for continuous emissions monitoring
system (CEMS) control system operating parameters, providing source
testing for the exhaust gas NO<INF>X</INF> concentration, maintenance
of records for five years, and clarification on monitoring exhaust gas
NO<INF>X</INF> concentrations for units at 10 MW or greater were added.
Extra test methods for NO<INF>X</INF> and oxygen for compliance testing
and administrative requirements for exempt units have been added to the
rule. The EPA's TSD has more information about this rule.
II. The EPA's Evaluation and Action
A. How is the EPA evaluating the rule?
Rules in the SIP must be enforceable (see CAA section 110(a)(2))
and must not interfere with applicable requirements concerning
attainment and reasonable further progress or other CAA requirements
(see CAA section 110(l)).
Generally, SIP rules must require reasonably available control
technology (RACT) for each major source of NO<INF>X</INF> in ozone
nonattainment areas classified as Moderate or above (see CAA sections
182(b)(2) and 182(f)). The EKAPCD regulates an ozone nonattainment area
classified as Serious for the 2015 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS), Severe for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS and
Moderate for the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. (40 CFR 81.305). Therefore,
this rule must implement RACT for major sources in the nonattainment
area.
Guidance and policy documents that we used to evaluate
enforceability, revision/relaxation and rule stringency requirements
for the applicable criteria pollutants include the following:
1. ``Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies,
and Deviations,'' EPA, May 25, 1988 (the Bluebook, revised January
11, 1990).
2. ``Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule
Deficiencies,'' EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001 (the Little Bluebook).
3. ``State Implementation Plans: Response to Petition for
Rulemaking; Restatement and Update of EPA's SSM Policy Applicable to
SIPs; Findings of Substantial Inadequacy; and SIP Calls to Amend
Provisions Applying to Excess Emissions During Periods of Startup,
Shutdown and Malfunction,'' 80 FR 33839, June 12, 2015.
4. ``NO<INF>X</INF> Emissions from Stationary Gas Turbines,''
EPA 453/R-93-007, January 1993.
5. ``Determination of Reasonably Available Control Technology
and Best Available Retrofit Control Technology for the Control of
Oxides of Nitrogen from Stationary Gas Turbines,'' CARB, May 18,
1992.
B. Does the rule meet the evaluation criteria?
Rule 425 improves the SIP by expanding the applicability threshold
of the rule to smaller units and non-cogeneration units, strengthening
requirements during startup and shutdown periods, and clarifying
monitoring, recording and recordkeeping provisions. The rule is largely
consistent with CAA requirements and relevant guidance regarding
enforceability, RACT, and SIP revisions. Rule provisions which do not
meet the evaluation criteria are summarized below and discussed further
in the TSD.
C. What are the rule deficiencies?
The EPA is proposing to determine that the following provision does
not satisfy the requirements of section 110 and part D of title I of
the Act and prevents full approval of the SIP revision, for reasons
described here and explained in further detail in the TSD.
1. Rule 425, section (V)(B) revised the NO<INF>X</INF> limits for
Westinghouse W251B10 turbines with Authority to Construct permits
issued before 1983 to 25 parts per million by volume. This revised
limit is higher than the limits for comparably sized units elsewhere in
the District, and higher than the limits applicable to such units in
the existing SIP- approved version of Rule 425. The submission has not
sufficiently justified why this higher limit meets the RACT
requirement. Moreover, the submission, which is seemingly a relaxation
of the rule, is not accompanied with a sufficient explanation as to why
the relaxation does not interfere with attainment of the NAAQS or
reasonable further progress. As a result, the submission has not shown
compliance with the requirement of CAA section 110(l).
D. The EPA's Recommendations to Further Improve the Rule
The TSD includes recommendations for the next time local agency
modifies the rule.
E. Public Comment and Proposed Action
As authorized in section 110(k)(3) of the Act, the EPA proposes a
limited approval of the submitted rule because it largely fulfills all
relevant requirements and strengthens the SIP. The EPA simultaneously
proposes a limited disapproval because of the
[[Page 18498]]
deficiency described in Section II.C of this document. We will accept
comments from the public on this proposal until April 28, 2023. If
finalized, this action would incorporate the submitted rule into the
SIP, including those provisions identified as deficient. This approval
is limited because the EPA is simultaneously proposing a limited
disapproval of the rule under section 110(k)(3).
If we finalize this disapproval, CAA section 110(c) would require
the EPA to promulgate a federal implementation plan within 24 months
unless we approve a subsequent SIP revision that corrects the
deficiencies identified in our evaluation.
In addition, final disapproval would trigger the offset sanction in
CAA section 179(b)(2) 18 months after the effective date of a final
disapproval, and the highway funding sanction in CAA section 179(b)(1)
six months after the offset sanction is imposed. A sanction will not be
imposed if the EPA determines that a subsequent SIP submission corrects
the deficiencies identified in our final action before the applicable
deadline.
III. Incorporation by Reference
In this rule, the 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, the EPA is proposing to incorporate by
reference the EKAPCD Rule 425, Stationary Gas Turbines (Oxides of
Nitrogen), revised January 11, 2018, which regulates NO<INF>X</INF> and
CO for stationary gas turbine engines equal to or greater than 0.88 MW.
The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials available
through <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and at the EPA Region IX Office
(please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this preamble for more information).
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Additional information about these statutes and Executive Orders
can be found at <a href="http://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/laws-and-executive-orders">http://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/laws-and-executive-orders</a>.
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review
This action is not a significant regulatory action and was
therefore not submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for review.
B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
This action does not impose an information collection burden under
the PRA because this action does not impose additional requirements
beyond those imposed by state law.
C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
I certify that this action will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities under the RFA. This
action will not impose any requirements on small entities beyond those
imposed by state law.
D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
This action does not contain any unfunded mandate as described in
UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 1531-1538, and does not significantly or uniquely affect
small governments. This action does not impose additional requirements
beyond those imposed by state law. Accordingly, no additional costs to
state, local, or tribal governments, or to the private sector, will
result from this action.
E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
This action does not have federalism implications. It will not have
substantial direct effects on the states, on the relationship between
the national government and the states, or on the distribution of power
and responsibilities among the various levels of government.
F. Executive Order 13175: Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments
This action does not have tribal implications, as specified in
Executive Order 13175, because the SIP is not approved to apply on any
Indian reservation land or in any other area where the EPA or an Indian
tribe has demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction, and will not
impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal
law. Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not apply to this action.
G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental
Health Risks and Safety Risks
The EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 as applying only to those
regulatory actions that concern environmental health or safety risks
that the EPA has reason to believe may disproportionately affect
children, per the definition of ``covered regulatory action'' in
section 2-202 of the Executive Order. This action is not subject to
Executive Order 13045 because it does not impose additional
requirements beyond those imposed by state law.
H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect Energy
Supply, Distribution, or Use
This action is not subject to Executive Order 13211, because it is
not a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866.
I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA)
Section 12(d) of the NTTAA directs the EPA to use voluntary
consensus standards in its regulatory activities unless to do so would
be inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise impractical. The EPA
believes that this action is not subject to the requirements of section
12(d) of the NTTAA because application of those requirements would be
inconsistent with the CAA.
J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Population
Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629,
Feb. 16, 1994) directs Federal agencies to identify and address
``disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental
effects'' of their actions on minority populations and low-income
populations to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law.
EPA defines environmental justice (EJ) as ``the fair treatment and
meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color,
national origin, or income with respect to the development,
implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and
policies.'' EPA further defines the term fair treatment to mean that
``no group of people should bear a disproportionate burden of
environmental harms and risks, including those resulting from the
negative environmental consequences of industrial, governmental, and
commercial operations or programs and policies.''
Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP
submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and applicable
federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in
reviewing SIP submissions, the EPA's role is to review state choices,
and approve those choices if they meet the minimum criteria of the Act.
Accordingly, this proposed action limitedly approves and limitedly
disapproves state law as meeting federal requirements and does not
impose
[[Page 18499]]
additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law.
The air agency did not evaluate environmental justice
considerations as part of its SIP submittal; the CAA and applicable
implementing regulations neither prohibit nor require such an
evaluation. EPA did not perform an EJ analysis and did not consider EJ
in this action. Due to the nature of the action being taken here, this
action is expected to have a neutral to positive impact on the air
quality of the affected area. Consideration of EJ is not required as
part of this action, and there is no information in the record
inconsistent with the stated goal of E.O. 12898 of achieving
environmental justice for people of color, low-income populations, and
Indigenous peoples.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen
oxides, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: March 22, 2023.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2023-06342 Filed 3-28-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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