Proposed Rule2025-20441
Air Plan Approval; Minnesota; Metropolitan Council Wastewater Treatment Plant Title I PM10 SIP Revisions
Primary source
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Published
November 20, 2025
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a request from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to revise its State Implementation Plan (SIP) by updating information for the Metropolitan Council Environmental Service (MCES) Metropolitan Council Wastewater Treatment Plant (Metro Plant) in Ramsey County, Minnesota. This SIP revision is being proposed in conjunction with an amendment to a part 70 permit maintaining federally enforceable title I SIP conditions. This SIP revision would result in a reduction of allowable emissions of particulate matter less than 10 microns (PM<INF>10</INF>) emitted by the facility.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 222 (Thursday, November 20, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 222 (Thursday, November 20, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52303-52305]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-20441]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R05-OAR-2024-0268; FRL-12929-01-R5]
Air Plan Approval; Minnesota; Metropolitan Council Wastewater
Treatment Plant Title I PM10 SIP Revisions
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve a request from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to
revise its State Implementation Plan (SIP) by updating information for
the Metropolitan Council Environmental Service (MCES) Metropolitan
Council Wastewater Treatment Plant (Metro Plant) in Ramsey County,
Minnesota. This SIP revision is being proposed in conjunction with an
amendment to a part 70 permit maintaining federally enforceable title I
SIP conditions. This SIP revision would result in a reduction of
allowable emissions of particulate matter less than 10 microns
(PM<INF>10</INF>) emitted by the facility.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 22, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2024-0268 at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>, or via email to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b8d9cacad996cbd9cad9d0f8ddc8d996dfd7ce"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8decffffeca3feecffece5cde8fdeca3eae2fb">[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 the docket. EPA may publish
any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit to EPA's
docket at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> any information you consider to
be Confidential Business Information (CBI), Proprietary Business
Information (PBI), 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. 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,
PBI, 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>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole Naber, Air and Radiation
Division (AR-18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-6609,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#caa4aba8afb8e4a4a3a9a5a6af8aafbaabe4ada5bc"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b1dfd0d3d4c39fdfd8d2deddd4f1d4c1d09fd6dec7">[email protected]</span></a>. The EPA Region 5 office is open from 8:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
I. Background
This proposed SIP revision affects the Metro Plant at 2400 Childs
Road, Saint Paul, Minnesota. This facility utilizes three fluidized bed
incinerators each using activated carbon, a baghouse, a wet scrubber,
and a wet electrostatic precipitator to process wastewater solids and
reduce PM<INF>10</INF> emissions. The facility's permit contains site-
specific restrictions as part of Minnesota's SIP for PM<INF>10</INF> in
the Red Rock Road PM<INF>10</INF> Maintenance Area. This SIP currently
contains non-expiring title I conditions from a part 70 permit issued
for the facility (Permit No. 12300053-006), which establish emission
limits and various conditions that were deemed essential to reach
attainment for the 1987 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
for PM<INF>10</INF>. This amendment to the MCES permit allows for the
addition of a new emission unit, specifically an additional fluidized
bed incinerator. To ensure the addition of this new unit will not cause
a violation of the PM<INF>10</INF> standard, an emission limit decrease
and discontinuation of some emission units are being included in the
[[Page 52304]]
permit revision. This permit revision results in a reduction of
allowable PM<INF>10</INF> emissions at the facility; therefore, the
MPCA is requesting that EPA approve changes to the site-specific SIP
for MCES (included in the Minnesota SIP at 40 CFR 52.1220).
II. Analysis of Minnesota's Submittal
The purpose of Minnesota's permit action and related site-specific
SIP revision is to address changes at the facility, specifically the
addition of a fluidized bed incinerator, and decreases in other
emission limits, many of which are affected by title I SIP conditions.
This SIP revision is being proposed with an amendment to a part 70
permit maintaining federally enforceable title I SIP conditions (Air
Emission Permit No. 12300053-102). The permit is final and was
published on January 4, 2024, with an administrative amendment on March
6, 2024. MPCA provided EPA with detailed emissions information for each
of the changes to the permit and SIP as well as the overall
PM<INF>10</INF> emission changes from the prior SIP submittal that EPA
approved on September 11, 2002 (67 FR 57517), (associated with permit
12300053-006), to this submittal (associated with permit 12300053-102).
This SIP revision incorporates several changes made in Permit No.
12300053-102 including lower allowable PM<INF>10</INF> emissions at the
facility through more stringent emissions limits on several pieces of
equipment and processes. The limits for existing fluidized bed
incinerators (FBIs) EQUI 3, EQUI 4, and EQUI 5 will be lowered from
2.01 pounds per hour (lbs/hr) PM<INF>10</INF> to 1.70 lbs/hr
PM<INF>10</INF> on a 3-run average, as specified in permit conditions
5.7.13, 5.8.13, and 5.9.13. The limits for auxiliary boilers EQUI 10
and EQUI 11 will be lowered from 25.82 pounds per day (lbs/day)
PM<INF>10</INF> to 18.54 lbs/day PM<INF>10</INF> on a 24-hour block
average, as specified in permit condition 5.3.13. The limit for ash
loadout housekeeping vacuum EQUI 50 will be lowered from 0.05 grains
per dry standard cubic foot (gr/dscf) PM<INF>10</INF> to 0.005 gr/dscf
PM<INF>10</INF>, on a 3-run average, as specified in permit condition
5.24.2. Finally, MCES will also use natural gas instead of fuel oil in
EQUI 10 and EQUI 11 significantly lowering the PTE from 1.23 lbs/hr
PM<INF>10</INF> to 0.39 lbs/hr PM<INF>10</INF> and will modify their
ash handling equipment to meet the new proposed PM<INF>10</INF>
emission limit of 0.005 gr/dscf. The facility modeled these lower
PM<INF>10</INF> emissions limits in conjunction with equipment and
operational limitations and the analysis showed a combined decrease of
6.3 tons per year in allowable emissions from the actions proposed in
the title I SIP revision. The changes meet section 110(l) requirements
since they are all decreases in emissions.
The permit also includes changes that will not be incorporated into
the SIP but are included in the docket as part of the submittal. These
changes are still federally enforceable through non-expiring title I
NAAQS synthetic minor conditions included in the facility's permit,
under Minnesota's EPA-approved permit program. Specifically, these
permit revisions include plans to build a fourth FBI (EQUI 133) and
additional revisions such as rerouting of the pressure relief cycles.
The potential to emit (PTE) from adding EQUI 133 and discontinuing EQUI
9 will be lowered from 14.08 lbs/hr to 9.22 lbs/hr. If MCES builds EQUI
133, it must also forfeit the construction and operation of three
alkaline stabilization cells (EQUI 6, EQUI 7, EQUI 8). If MCES is
unable to build the fourth FBI, MCES may continue with the previously
permitted and SIP-approved construction and operation of three alkaline
stabilization cells (EQUI 6, EQUI 7, EQUI 8). The facility provided
modeling to demonstrate that these changes do not contribute to
exceedances or violations of the PM<INF>10</INF> standard which were
assessed through the New Source Review program to ensure they meet
Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements.
Under section 110(l) of the CAA, EPA cannot approve a SIP revision
if it would interfere with attainment of the NAAQS, reasonable further
progress toward attainment, or any other applicable requirement of the
CAA. Through this submittal, MPCA has demonstrated to EPA that 110(l)
requirements have been met through the permit amendment and the
successive SIP revision. The SIP revision shows a decrease in emissions
and the permit changes have also been demonstrated to not interfere
with attainment of the NAAQS. Therefore, EPA finds that Minnesota's
permit action and successive SIP revision meet CAA requirements.
III. What action is EPA taking?
EPA is proposing to incorporate into Minnesota's SIP all the
conditions cited as ``Title I Condition: 40 CFR 52.1220
(PM<INF>10</INF> SIP)'' in Permit No. 12300053-102. These revisions
include both the changes in ash handling within the facility and the
lower allowable PM<INF>10</INF> emissions for each Fluidized Bed
Incinerator (EQUI 3, EQUI 4, EQUI 5), auxiliary boilers (EQUI 10, EQUI
11), and ash loadout vacuum (EQUI 50).
This SIP submittal includes Permit No. 12300053-102 and the
supporting technical documentation.
IV. Incorporation by Reference
In this rulemaking, 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, EPA is proposing to incorporate by
reference all the conditions cited as ``Title I Condition: 40 CFR
52.1220(PM<INF>10</INF> SIP)'' in Minnesota Permit No. 12300053-102,
published on January 4, 2024, with an administrative amendment on March
6, 2024, discussed in section II of this preamble. 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).
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 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 Order 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 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;
[[Page 52305]]
<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 rulemaking 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, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Particulate matter, Reporting
and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: November 5, 2025.
Anne Vogel,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2025-20441 Filed 11-19-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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