Rule2023-19201
Air Plan Approval; Ohio; Approval of the Muskingum River SO2 Attainment Plan
Primary source
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Published
September 8, 2023
Effective
October 10, 2023
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving, under the Clean Air Act (CAA), a revision to the Ohio State Implementation Plan (SIP) intended to provide for attainment of the 2010 primary, health-based 1-hour sulfur dioxide (SO<INF>2</INF>) national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS or standard) for the Muskingum River SO<INF>2</INF> nonattainment area. This SIP revision (hereinafter referred to as Ohio's Muskingum River SO<INF>2</INF> attainment plan or plan), includes Ohio's attainment demonstration and other attainment planning elements required under the CAA. EPA is finding that Ohio has appropriately demonstrated that the plan provides for attainment of the 2010 1-hour primary SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS in the Muskingum River, Ohio nonattainment area and that the plan meets the other applicable requirements under the CAA. EPA is also incorporating by reference Ohio Director's Final Findings and Orders (DFFOs), issued on May 23, 2023, into the Ohio SIP. The DFFOs set forth additional requirements at Globe Metallurgical (Globe) to verify appropriate source characterization for modeling purposes.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 173 (Friday, September 8, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 173 (Friday, September 8, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 61969-61971]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19201]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R05-OAR-2022-0580; FRL-11047-02-R5]
Air Plan Approval; Ohio; Approval of the Muskingum River SO2
Attainment Plan
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving, under
the Clean Air Act (CAA), a revision to the Ohio State Implementation
Plan (SIP) intended to provide for attainment of the 2010 primary,
health-based 1-hour sulfur dioxide (SO<INF>2</INF>) national ambient
air quality standard (NAAQS or standard) for the Muskingum River
SO<INF>2</INF> nonattainment area. This SIP revision (hereinafter
referred to as Ohio's Muskingum River SO<INF>2</INF> attainment plan or
plan), includes Ohio's attainment demonstration and other attainment
planning elements required under the CAA. EPA is finding that Ohio has
appropriately demonstrated that the plan provides for attainment of the
2010 1-hour primary SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS in the Muskingum River, Ohio
nonattainment area and that the plan meets the other applicable
requirements under the CAA. EPA is also incorporating by reference Ohio
Director's Final Findings and Orders (DFFOs), issued on May 23, 2023,
into the Ohio SIP. The DFFOs set forth additional requirements at Globe
Metallurgical (Globe) to verify appropriate source characterization for
modeling purposes.
DATES: This final rule is effective on October 10, 2023.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
No. EPA-R05-OAR-2022-0580. 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 Gina
Harrison, Environmental Scientist, at (312) 353-6956 before visiting
the Region 5 office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gina Harrison, Attainment Planning and
Maintenance Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago,
Illinois 60604, (312) 353-6956, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#157d7467677c667a7b3b727c7b74557065743b727a63"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f49c9586869d879b9ada939d9a95b4918495da939b82">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
I. Background
On January 18, 2022 (87 FR 2555), EPA partially approved and
partially disapproved Ohio's SO<INF>2</INF> plan for the Muskingum
River area submitted on April 3, 2015, and October 13, 2015, and
supplemented on June 23, 2020. EPA's January 18, 2022, final rule
provided an explanation of the applicable provisions in the CAA and the
measures and limitations identified in Ohio's attainment plan to
satisfy these provisions.
The partial disapproval started sanctions clocks for this area
under CAA section 179(a)-(b), including a requirement for 2-for-1
offsets for any major new sources or major modifications 18 months
after the effective date of this action, and highway funding sanctions
6 months thereafter, as well as initiated an obligation for EPA to
promulgate a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) within 24 months, under
CAA section 110(c).
Ohio supplemented the attainment demonstration on June 24, 2022,
substituting new measures in lieu of a land acquisition and modifying
the air quality modeling to include the use of site-specific
meteorological data. Ohio submitted additional supplemental information
on July 28, 2022, and May 23, 2023, including revised DFFOs for Globe,
issued on May 23, 2023, that supersede the June 23, 2020 DFFOs.
II. Proposed Rule
On June 22, 2023 (88 FR 40726), EPA proposed to approve Ohio's SIP
attainment plan submission for the Muskingum River SO<INF>2</INF>
nonattainment area, which the state submitted to EPA on April 3, 2015,
October 13, 2015, and June 23, 2020, and supplemented on June 24, 2022,
July 28, 2022, and May 23, 2023. The SO<INF>2</INF> attainment plan
included Ohio's attainment
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demonstration for this area. The attainment plan also addressed
requirements for emission inventories, reasonably available control
measures (RACM) and reasonably available control technology (RACT),
reasonable further progress (RFP), and contingency measures. Ohio has
previously addressed requirements regarding nonattainment area new
source review. Because Ohio's submission provides an appropriate
testing requirement to confirm the modeling, EPA has determined that
Ohio's SO<INF>2</INF> attainment plan for the Muskingum River
SO<INF>2</INF> nonattainment area meets the applicable requirements of
CAA sections 110, 172, 191, and 192.
A key element of Ohio's attainment plan is Ohio's revised DFFOs,
issued to Globe on May 23, 2023. Among other requirements, Ohio's DFFOs
retain SO<INF>2</INF> emission limits for Globe set forth in the 2020
DFFOs as a matrix of limits based on 26 separate operating scenarios at
the two baghouses, where each of the 26 scenarios was modeled to
demonstrate attainment and maintenance of the SO<INF>2</INF> standard.
As part of the proposed approval of Ohio's attainment plan for this
area, EPA proposed to approve Ohio's May 23, 2023, DFFOs for the Globe
facility into the SIP. These DFFOs supersede the previous 2020 DFFOs,
retain the SO<INF>2</INF> limits and other requirements set forth in
the 2020 DFFOs, and require additional testing, monitoring, and
confirmation of certain flow parameters for verification of source
modeling characterization. For the reasons discussed in the proposed
rule, EPA finds that these requirements are sufficient for the required
attainment plan demonstration.
III. Public Comments
The public comment period for EPA's proposed rule ended on July 24,
2023. EPA received no comments on the proposal.
IV. Final Action
EPA is approving Ohio's SIP attainment plan submission for the
Muskingum River SO<INF>2</INF> nonattainment area, which the state
previously submitted to EPA on April 3, 2015, October 13, 2015, and
June 23, 2020, and supplemented on June 24, 2022, July 28, 2022, and
May 23, 2023. This SO<INF>2</INF> attainment plan included Ohio's
attainment demonstration for this area. The attainment plan also
addressed requirements for emission inventories, RACT/RACM, RFP, and
contingency measures. By this action, EPA is codifying its approval of
both Ohio's May 23, 2023, DFFOs issued to Globe and Ohio's attainment
plan for the Muskingum River SO<INF>2</INF> nonattainment area.
This approval terminates the highway funding sanction and FIP
clocks started under CAA section 179 resulting from EPA's partial
disapproval of the prior SIP. It also removes the permitting offset
sanction that has been in place since August 17, 2023.
V. 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 Ohio
Regulations described in section II of this preamble and set forth in
the amendments to 40 CFR part 52 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). 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.\1\
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\1\ 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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VI. 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, and 14094 (88 FR 21879, April 11, 2023);
<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 subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885,
April 23, 1997) because it approves a state program;
<bullet> Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001); and
<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.
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).
Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629,
February 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.''
Ohio EPA 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
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action. 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.
This action is subject to the Congressional Review Act, and EPA
will submit a rule report to each House of the Congress and to the
Comptroller General of the United States. 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 November 7, 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, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur oxides.
Dated: August 31, 2023.
Debra Shore,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, title 40 CFR part 52 is
amended 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.
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2. In Sec. 52.1870:
0
a. Amend the table in paragraph (d) by adding an entry for ``Globe
Metallurgical, Inc.'' before the entry for ``Hilton Davis''.
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b. Amend the table in paragraph (e) under the heading ``Summary of
Criteria Pollutant Attainment Plans'' by revising the entry entitled
``SO<INF>2</INF> (2010)'' for ``Muskingum River''.
The addition and revision read as follows:
Sec. 52.1870 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(d) * * *
EPA Approved Ohio Source-Specific Provisions
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Ohio effective
Name of source Number date EPA approval date Comments
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* * * * * * *
Globe Metallurgical Inc........... DFFOs................ 5/23/2023 9/8/2023, [Insert ..............
Federal Register
Citation].
* * * * * * *
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(e) * * *
EPA Approved--Ohio Nonregulatory and Quasi-Regulatory Provisions
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Applicable
Title geographical or non- State date EPA approval Comments
attainment area
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* * * * * * *
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Summary of Criteria Pollutant Attainment Plans
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* * * * * * *
SO2 (2010)........................ Muskingum River...... 5/24/2023 9/8/2023, [Insert ..............
Federal Register
Citation].
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0
3. Section 52.1873 is amended by removing and reserving paragraph (b).
[FR Doc. 2023-19201 Filed 9-7-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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