Proposed Rule2025-10038
Air Plan Approval; IA; Alter Metal Recycling Permit Modification
Primary source
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Published
June 3, 2025
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing approval of revisions to the Iowa State Implementation Plan (SIP) to include a permit modification for Alter Metal Recycling. The SIP revision addresses modifications to the air construction permit for Alter Metal Recycling included in the State's 2008 Lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) attainment plan for portions of Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, IA. These revisions do not impact the stringency of the SIP or have an adverse effect on air quality. The EPA's proposed approval of this rule revision is being done in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 105 (Tuesday, June 3, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 3, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 23495-23497]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-10038]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R07-OAR-2025-0200; FRL-12750-01-R7]
Air Plan Approval; IA; Alter Metal Recycling Permit Modification
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing
approval of revisions to the Iowa State Implementation Plan (SIP) to
include a permit modification for Alter Metal Recycling. The SIP
revision addresses modifications to the air construction permit for
Alter Metal Recycling included in the State's 2008 Lead (Pb) National
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) attainment plan for portions of
Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, IA. These revisions do not impact
the stringency of the SIP or have an adverse effect on air quality. The
EPA's proposed approval of this rule revision is being done in
accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 3, 2025.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R07-
OAR-2025-0200 to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID
No. for this rulemaking. Comments received will be posted without
change to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, including any personal
information provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and
additional information on the rulemaking process, see the ``Written
Comments'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this
document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bethany Olson, Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 7 Office, Air Quality Planning Branch, 11201
Renner Boulevard, Lenexa, Kansas 66219; telephone number: (913) 551-
7905; email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#81eeedf2eeefafe3e4f5e9e0eff8c1e4f1e0afe6eef7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fd92918e9293d39f9889959c9384bd988d9cd39a928b">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we,'' ``us,'' and
``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Written Comments
II. What is being addressed in this document?
III. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?
IV. What action is the EPA taking?
V. Incorporation by Reference
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Written Comments
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R07-OAR-2025-
0200, at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. 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, 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>.
II. What is being addressed in this document?
The EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Iowa SIP received
on October 23, 2017. Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)
requested to replace a SIP-approved air construction permit with a
modified permit at Alter Metal Recycling in Council Bluffs,
Pottawattamie County, IA. The state's SIP submission requested that the
EPA not act on Condition 11 of the permit, and accordingly that
condition is not included in this action. Condition 11 references 567
Iowa Administrative Code (IAC) Chapter 24.1(1) pertaining to excess
emissions during periods of startup, shutdown, or cleaning of control
equipment.
On October 15, 2008, EPA promulgated a revision to the Pb NAAQS,
lowering the standard from 1.5 micrograms per cubic meter ([micro]g/
m\3\) to 0.15 [micro]g/m\3\ (73 FR 66963). EPA designated a portion of
Pottawattamie County, Council Bluffs, Iowa, as nonattainment for the
2008 Pb NAAQS (76 FR 72097) effective December 31, 2011. The air
construction permit for Alter Metal Recycling was included in the 2008
Lead NAAQS attainment plan, which was approved by EPA on February 26,
2016 (81 FR 9770). The Alter Metal Recycling permit controls fugitive
dust emissions through a Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT)
limit, work practice standards, limits truck traffic and total material
shipped, and requires silt load sampling. The permit also contains
contingency measures if there is a monitored exceedance of the Pb
NAAQS. The area attained the 2008 Pb NAAQS by the statutory deadline of
December 31, 2016, and the EPA approved Iowa's redesignation and
maintenance plan on October 4, 2018 (83 FR 50024).
IDNR continues to conduct ambient air monitoring for Pb in the
Council Bluffs area near Pb emitting facilities. According to 40 CFR
part 50, appendix
[[Page 23496]]
R, the 2008 Pb NAAQS is met at a monitoring site when the identified
design value is valid and is less than or equal to 0.15 [micro]g/m\3\.
The form of the standard is based on the maximum three-month rolling
average over a three-year period (thirty-six rolling calendar quarters,
or thirty-eight total months). The design value is the highest Pb
concentration recorded for a rolling three-month calendar quarter over
a three-year period. The area has not recorded a violation of the NAAQS
since it was redesignated. The most recent valid design value for the
area is 0.08 [micro]g/m\3\ for the 2018-2020 period. A Pb design value
that meets the NAAQS is considered valid if it encompasses 36
consecutive valid 3-month site means. Data loss associated with a new
sampling instrument in December 2021 prevented the calculation of valid
3-month site means for December 2021 through February 2022, causing the
area to have invalid design values for each three-year period since the
2018-2020 period.\1\ The most recent, though incomplete, data indicates
a maximum three-month rolling average of 0.12 [micro]g/m\3\ for the
2021-2023 period.
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\1\ See section ``Lead Monitoring Network Analysis'' of the Iowa
Ambient Air Monitoring 2024 Network Plan, included in the docket for
this action.
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The SIP-approved construction permit #A-14-521 required Alter Metal
Recycling to conduct surface silt load sampling on haul routes internal
to the facility boundaries at three locations to demonstrate that the
total silt load content on roadways is less than 2.70 g/m\2\. Section
14 of the SIP-approved permit provided that Alter Metal Recycling could
request a reduced sampling frequency if it met this silt load limit for
12 consecutive months. As detailed in Iowa's October 23, 2017, letter
requesting approval of #A-14-521-S1 into the SIP, data submitted by
Alter Metal Recycling demonstrated compliance between October 2014 and
November 2016. Accordingly, the permit modification reduces the
frequency of required silt load sampling from monthly to quarterly.
The permit modification also adds additional contingency measures
if monitored exceedance of the lead NAAQS occurs during months in which
inclement weather provisions applied. The SIP-approved permit does not
require the facility to sweep if there has been 0.2 inches of rain
within a twenty-four-hour period, the haul routes have not been used
that day, the ambient air temperature is less than thirty-five degrees
Fahrenheit, or the conditions due to weather could create hazardous
driving conditions. In the modified permit, if the facility receives
notification from IDNR that a monitored exceedance of the NAAQS occurs
during months in which the inclement weather provision applied, the
facility is required to implement good housekeeping practices,
including but not limited to, daily removal of material piles that have
accumulated on haul road surfaces and decreasing vehicle speeds on
paved road surfaces from 20 mph to 5 mph. The modified permit further
requires the owner or operator to continue good housekeeping practices
on paved road surfaces until sweeping resumes.
Finally, this action will also make administrative updates to the
permit number and removes compliance dates that have already passed.
The permitted emission limits, work practice standards, control
measures, and reporting and recordkeeping requirements remain
unchanged.
As discussed above, in accordance with SIP-approved permit #14-A-
521, Alter Metal Recycling requested a reduced silt load sampling
frequency from monthly to quarterly. IDNR granted Alter Metal's request
and issued permit modification #14-A-521-S1, which also includes
modifications to the contingency measures that are more protective of
air quality during inclement weather. In addition, the permit
modification does not increase potential lead emissions and retains all
measures necessary to attain and maintain the 2008 lead NAAQS. For
these reasons, the EPA proposes to find that this SIP revision will not
interfere with any applicable requirement concerning attainment and
reasonable further progress (as defined in section 171 of the CAA), or
any other applicable requirement of the CAA as required under section
110(l) of the Act. Accordingly, EPA proposes to remove permit #14-A-521
from the SIP and replace it with permit #14-A-521-S1. The full permit
and the State's submission can be found in the docket for this action.
III. Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?
The State submission has met the public notice requirements for SIP
submissions in accordance with 40 CFR 51.102. The submission also
satisfied the completeness criteria of 40 CFR part 51, appendix V. The
State provided public notice on this SIP revision from May 25, 2017, to
June 27, 2017, and held a public hearing on June 27, 2017. The State
received no comments. In addition, as explained above, the revision
meets the substantive SIP requirements of the CAA, including section
110 and implementing regulations.
IV. What action is the EPA taking?
The EPA is proposing to amend the Iowa SIP by approving the State's
request to modify the SIP-approved permit for Alter Metal Recycling. We
are processing this as a proposed action because we are soliciting
comments on this proposed action. Final rulemaking will occur after
consideration of any comments.
V. Incorporation by Reference
In this document, the EPA is proposing to include regulatory text
in an EPA final rule that includes incorporation by reference. In
accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is proposing to
delete Iowa permit #14-A-521 and add incorporation by reference of the
Iowa permit #14-A-521-S1 discussed in section II of this preamble and
as set forth below in the proposed amendments to 40 CFR part 52. The
EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials generally
available through <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and at the EPA Region 7
Office (please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this preamble for more information).
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, October 4, 1993);
<bullet> Is not subject to Executive Order 14192 (90 FR 9065,
February 6, 2025) because SIP actions are exempt from review under
Executive Order 12866;
<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
[[Page 23497]]
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).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: April 25, 2025.
James Macy,
Regional Administrator, Region 7.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the EPA proposes to amend
40 CFR part 52 as set forth below:
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 Q--Iowa
0
2. In Sec. 52.820, the table in paragraph (d) is amended by revising
the entry ``(111)'' to read as follows:
Sec. 52.820 Identification of plan.
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(d) * * *
EPA-Approved Iowa Source-Specific Orders/Permits
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State
Name of source Order/permit No. effective date EPA approval date Explanation
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(111) Alter Metal Recycling... Permit No. 14-A-521- 6/30/2017 [Date of publication 2008 Pb NAAQS
S1. of the final rule Attainment Plan;
in the Federal condition 11 of the
Register], 90 FR permit is not part
[Federal Register of the SIP.
page where the
document begins of
the final rule].
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[FR Doc. 2025-10038 Filed 6-2-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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