Proposed Rule2023-07331
Air Plan Approval; Connecticut; New Source Review Permit Program State Plan Revision
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
April 11, 2023
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve revisions to the Connecticut State Implementation Plan (SIP) concerning its New Source Review (NSR) permit program. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) submitted these revisions on December 15, 2020, as well as a supplemental letter on February 14, 2023. The revised state plan incorporates various updates to CT DEEP's NSR procedural requirements, substantive review criteria, provisions related to the control of volatile organic compounds (VOC), and clarifying revisions to existing SIP-approved regulations.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 69 (Tuesday, April 11, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 69 (Tuesday, April 11, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 21576-21579]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07331]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R01-OAR-2023-0189; FRL-10876-01-R1]
Air Plan Approval; Connecticut; New Source Review Permit Program
State Plan Revision
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve revisions to the Connecticut State
[[Page 21577]]
Implementation Plan (SIP) concerning its New Source Review (NSR) permit
program. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental
Protection (CT DEEP) submitted these revisions on December 15, 2020, as
well as a supplemental letter on February 14, 2023. The revised state
plan incorporates various updates to CT DEEP's NSR procedural
requirements, substantive review criteria, provisions related to the
control of volatile organic compounds (VOC), and clarifying revisions
to existing SIP-approved regulations.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before May 11, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R01-
OAR-2023-0189 at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, or via email to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6803010418091c1a010b0346020d1b1b010b09280d1809460f071e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b7dcdedbc7d6c3c5ded4dc99ddd2c4c4ded4d6f7d2c7d699d0d8c1">[email protected]</span></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>. For either
manner of submission, 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>. Publicly available docket
materials are available at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> or at the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Region 1 Regional Office, Air and
Radiation Division, 5 Post Office Square--Suite 100, Boston, MA. EPA
requests that if at all possible, you contact the contact 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 legal holidays and facility
closures due to COVID-19.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessica Kilpatrick, Air Permits,
Toxics, and Indoor Programs Branch, Air and Radiation Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1, 5 Post Office Square, Mail
Code: 5-MI, Boston, MA 02109-0287. Telephone: 617-918-1652. Fax: 617-
918-0652 Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9af1f3f6eafbeee8f3f9f1b4f0ffe9e9f3f9fbdaffeafbb4fdf5ec"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="80ebe9ecf0e1f4f2e9e3ebaeeae5f3f3e9e3e1c0e5f0e1aee7eff6">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Review of NSR Program Updates
III. Proposed Action
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
CT DEEP established its SIP, including its NSR permit program, in
1972 in accordance with Clean Air Act (CAA) section 110 and 40 CFR part
51. Since then, there have been numerous revisions to the SIP in
compliance with state and federal air permitting regulations. On
December 15, 2020, CT DEEP submitted a SIP amendment to its NSR
permitting air quality regulations, Regulations of Connecticut State
Agencies (RCSA) 22a-174-1, 22a-174-2a, 22a-174-3a, 22a-174-20, and 22a-
174-26, which became effective on November 18, 2020. After initial
review of these SIP revisions, EPA requested clarification of the exact
regulatory text CT DEEP proposed to incorporate into its SIP. As a
result, CT DEEP provided a supplemental clarification letter on
February 14, 2023.
II. Review of NSR Program Updates
CT DEEP's revisions includes various changes to the NSR permit
program. There are multiple corrections and updates to citations within
the RCSA and Connecticut General Statutes (CGS) as well as some
grammatical edits and clarifying language that do not substantively
change the meaning of the regulations. Significant changes are outlined
in the paragraphs below.
The RCSA 22a-174-2a revisions pertain to procedural requirements
for NSR permitting. One of these revisions at RCSA 22a-174-2a(d)(9)
clarifies the requirements that apply when the commissioner modifies an
NSR permit. The provision requires public notice as well as opportunity
for public comment and public hearing before granting, granting with
conditions, or denying the permit.
Another revision at RCSA 22a-174-2a(e)(3)(C) alters the timeline
requirements of the minor permit modification \1\ process after an
application is submitted, so that there is an exception for
implementing the modifications not less than 21 days after filing an
application. If the commissioner notifies the applicant during that
period, the commissioner can define when the modification can be
implemented. If 21 days have passed since filing a complete application
and the commissioner has not notified the permittee, the permittee
shall comply with the terms and conditions of the proposed modified
permit and the terms and conditions of the existing permit that are not
being modified, until the commissioner issues or denies the proposed
modified permit.
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\1\ Connecticut's minor NSR permit modification provisions apply
to changes to a permit that are required for the permittee to
lawfully engage in any of the activities or proposed activities at a
stationary source as identified, which would not otherwise be
permitted under state's substantive review program at 22a-174-3a,
where a 15 tons per year increase threshold for Regulated NSR
pollutants review exists.
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RCSA 22a-174-2a(e)(3) was revised to require a minor permit
notification for a permit issued pursuant to RCSA 22a-174-3a or former
RCSA 22a-174-3 to include the demonstrations required by RCSA 22a-174-
3a(d)(3)(B) and (C). RCSA 22a-174-2a(e) clarifies that the commissioner
may modify a NSR permit in accordance with RCSA 22a-174-2a, RCSA 22a-
174-3a, and CGS 22a-174c. The revision to RCSA 22a-174-2a(f)(2)
requires a permittee of any stationary source for which the
commissioner has issued a permit pursuant to RCSA 22a-174-3a or former
RCSA 22a-174-3 to submit a written request for a permit revision, for
the purpose of implementing a fuel conversion described in section RCSA
22a-174-3a(a)(2)(A)(iii), (iv), or (v). Other purposes established
previously include correcting clerical errors, minor administrative
changes, revising the name of the authorized representative of the
permittee, and more frequent or additional monitoring, record keeping,
or reporting.
The revisions to RCSA 22a-174-3a pertain to permitting for
constructing and operating stationary sources. Permit exemption
criteria are modified at 22a-174-3a(a)(2)(A)(ii)-(v), so that there is
a new subclause (v) that exempts any activity that ``constitutes a
conversion from fuel oil to liquefied petroleum gas, or in addition to
fuel oil, provided such conversion does not increase actual emissions
of any individual air pollutant by fifteen (15) tons or more per year,
unless such conversion results in reconstruction'' from requiring a
permit to construct or operate a
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stationary source or modification. RCSA 22a-174-3a(a)(5) is updated to
confirm that any modification or revision to a permit issued in
accordance with the section or former RCSA 22a-174-3 shall be made as
required in, and in accordance with, the provisions in the section and
section 22a-174-2a of the RCSA.
RCSA 22a-174-3a(d)(3)(B) and (C) modify demonstration requirements
before issuance of a permit or permit modification. RCSA 22a-174-
3a(d)(3)(B) is modified in regard to demonstration requirements for
attainment or maintenance of applicable ambient air quality standards
or Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) increments. The
revision specifies that such demonstration shall be made with respect
to any applicable ambient air quality standard or increment in effect
at the time the application is submitted: (i) when emissions of the
pollutant or a precursor to the pollutant subject to the applicable
ambient air quality standard or increment will increase as a result of
the construction and operation, or (ii) when any parameter is changed
in a manner that may increase the ambient impact. RCSA 22a-174-
3a(d)(3)(C) is modified in regard to demonstration requirements for
attainment or maintenance of any other states' National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS) and SIP application requirements. The
revision specifies that such demonstration shall be made with respect
to any applicable ambient air quality standard or increment in effect
at the time the application is submitted: (i) when emissions of the
pollutant or a precursor to the pollutant subject to the applicable
ambient air quality standard or increment will increase as a result of
the construction and operation, or (ii) when any parameter is changed
in a manner that may increase the ambient impact.
A revision to RCSA 22a-174-3a(i)(2) specifies that the air quality
models, databases, and other techniques used for estimating ambient air
quality impacts must also be approved by the EPA Administrator, not
just by CT DEEP commissioner.\2\ With this revision, Connecticut's SIP
will provide for the performance of such air quality modeling as the
EPA Administrator has prescribed and will therefore comply with CAA
Sec. 110(a)(2)(K). As a result, EPA proposes to convert the
conditional approvals, which EPA previously issued for CAA section
110(a)(2)(K) and for the PSD-related requirements of sections
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II), 110(a)(2)(C), and 110(a)(2)(J) for Connecticut's
infrastructure SIP for the 2015 ozone NAAQS, 85 FR 50953 (Aug. 19,
2020), to full approvals.
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\2\ The EPA Administrator's approved air quality models,
databases, and other requirements are found at EPA's 40 CFR part 51,
Appendix W, Guideline on Air Quality Models.
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RCSA 22a-174-3a(j)(8)(A) adds Best Available Control Technology
(BACT) restrictions to emissions of any pollutant which would exceed:
(ii) any applicable State Implementation Plan limitation or (iii) an
emission limitation established in section 22a-174-22e of the RCSA for
the applicable category of fuel burning equipment, regardless of
whether the equipment is located at a source that is major for nitrogen
oxides (NO<INF>X</INF>). CT DEEP reserves RCSA 22a-174-3a(k)(3), which
exempts a major stationary source or major modification with potential
emissions of NO<INF>X</INF> of more than twenty-five (25) tons but less
than forty (40) tons per year from PSD attainment area permit
requirements.
A variety of changes are made to RCSA 22a-174-3a(l)(1), which
establishes permit requirements for nonattainment areas. These changes
include applicability to any new major stationary source of the
pollutants for which the area is designated as nonattainment, or of the
precursors to such pollutants. There are also updates to applicability
to any major modification that is or will be located at a major
stationary source of the pollutant for which the area is designated as
nonattainment and that results in a significant net emissions increase
of the pollutant for which the area is designated as nonattainment, or
results in a significant net emissions increase of a precursor to the
pollutant for which the area is designated nonattainment. A new RCSA
22a-174-3a(l)(1)(D) defines applicable precursor pollutants to the
subsection: VOC compounds are precursors to ozone, NO<INF>X</INF> are
precursors to ozone and PM<INF>2.5</INF>, and sulfur dioxide is a
precursor to PM<INF>2.5</INF>.
RCSA 22a-174-20(gg), which regulates control of VOC emissions from
offset lithographic printing and letterpress printing, has a new
subdivision for exemption criteria for fountain solutions at RCSA 22a-
174-20(gg)(3)(A) and cleaning solvents at RCSA 22a-174-20(gg)(5)(A) and
(B). Exemption criteria are specifically applicable to an owner or
operator of a heatset web offset lithographic or heatset letterpress
printing press that operates VOC pollution control equipment in
accordance with RCSA 22a-174-20(gg)(4). These exemptions are subject to
the contingency that the emissions from the use of cleaning solvents
and fountain solution are vented to an air pollution control system
that is operated when VOC-containing materials are used.
EPA reviewed these SIP revisions for consistency with the CAA. We
determined that CT DEEP's implementation and enforcement provisions are
at least as stringent as the Federal regulations applicable to NSR
permitting at 40 CFR part 51 and 52. The specific changes proposed to
be made to the SIP and EPA's rationale for approval are included in a
technical support document included in this docket of this action.
III. Proposed Action
EPA is proposing to approve CT DEEP's revised state plan for its
NSR permit program. EPA is also proposing to convert several
conditional approvals, which EPA previously issued for Connecticut's
Infrastructure State Implementation Plan for the 2015 ozone standard,
to full approvals. EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues
discussed in this notice or on other relevant matters. These comments
will be considered before taking final action. Interested parties may
participate in the Federal rulemaking procedure by submitting written
comments to this proposed rule by following the instructions listed in
the ADDRESSES section of this Federal Register.
IV. 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 provisions regulating NSR permitting discussed in Section
II. of this preamble and as specified in CT DEEP's letter dated
February 14, 2023. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these
documents generally available through <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and
at the EPA Region 1 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 Clean Air Act, 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 Clean Air Act.
Accordingly, this proposed
[[Page 21579]]
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 proposed action:
<bullet> Is not a significant regulatory action subject to review
by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders12866 (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 Clean Air Act; 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).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon oxides,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen
oxides, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides,
Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: April 3, 2023.
David Cash,
Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1.
[FR Doc. 2023-07331 Filed 4-10-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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