Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; Control of Nitrogen Oxide Emissions from Coal-Fired Electric Generating Units, 3233-3234 [2017-00309]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 7 (Wednesday, January 11, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 3233-3234]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-00309]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2016-0238; FRL-9957-87-Region 3]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Maryland; Control of Nitrogen Oxide Emissions from Coal-Fired Electric 
Generating Units

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the 
State of Maryland. This SIP submittal consists of a regulation for 
inclusion in the Maryland SIP which regulates nitrogen oxides 
(NOX) emissions from seven coal-fired electric generating 
units (EGU) in the State. This action is being taken under the Clean 
Air Act (CAA).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before February 10, 
2017.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R03-
OAR-2016-0238 at https://www.regulations.gov, or via email to 
pino.maria@epa.gov. For comments submitted at Regulations.gov, follow 
the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, 
comments cannot be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. 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 https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marilyn Powers, (215) 814-2308 or by 
email at powers.marilyn@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 20, 2015, the State of Maryland, 
through the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), submitted a 
revision to its SIP seeking to include regulation COMAR 
26.11.38.01--.05--Control of NOX Emissions from Coal-Fired 
Electric Generating Units, in the Maryland SIP. On September 8, 2016, 
MDE provided a letter to EPA to clarify that this regulation was 
submitted as a SIP strengthening measure, and not as a submission to 
address reasonably available control technology (RACT) for coal-fired 
EGUs.\1\
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    \1\ Subsequent to MDE's submission of this SIP revision to EPA, 
the State finalized several changes to COMAR 26.11.38 that were 
effective on December 10, 2015. This subsequent MDE action modified 
sections .01, recodified sections .04 and .05 to sections .05 and 
.06, respectively, and added new sections .04 and .07. These changes 
to COMAR 26.11.38 have not yet been submitted to EPA for 
incorporation in the Maryland SIP. EPA is proposing approval of 
sections .01 through .05 of COMAR 26.11.38 as submitted by MDE on 
November 20, 2015, which had a state effective date of August 31, 
2015.\\
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I. Background

    On March 12, 2008, EPA strengthened the national ambient air 
quality standards (NAAQS) for ground level ozone, setting both the 
primary and secondary standards to a level of 0.075 parts per million 
(ppm) or 75 parts per billion (ppb) averaged over an 8-hour period 
(2008 ozone NAAQS). On May 21, 2012 (77 FR 30088), EPA designated areas 
that were not attaining the 2008 ozone NAAQS as nonattainment, 
including the following three areas or portions of areas in Maryland: 
Cecil County (part of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City 
Nonattainment Area); Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and 
Prince Georges Counties (part of the Washington, DC-MD-VA Nonattainment 
Area); and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, and Howard 
Counties and the City of Baltimore (the Baltimore Nonattainment Area). 
The Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City Area and Washington, DC-MD-VA 
Area were classified as marginal nonattainment areas, and the Baltimore 
Area was classified as a moderate nonattainment area for the 2008 ozone 
NAAQS.

II. Summary of SIP Revision and EPA Analysis

    On November 20, 2015, MDE submitted a regulation as a SIP revision 
for EPA approval and incorporation into the Maryland SIP. The revision 
consists of Maryland regulation COMAR 26.11.38--Control of 
NOX Emissions from Coal-Fired Electric Generating Units. The 
regulation, effective in August 2015, establishes NOX 
emission standards and additional monitoring and reporting requirements 
for coal-fired EGUs.
    COMAR 26.11.38 defines the affected units for the regulation as 
Brandon Shores Units 1 and 2, C.P. Crane Units 1 and 2, Chalk Point 
Units 1 and 2, Dickerson Units 1, 2, and 3, H.A. Wagner Units 2 and 3, 
Morgantown Units 1 and 2, and Warrior Run. The regulation requires an 
affected EGU to minimize NOX emissions by operating and 
optimizing the use of all installed pollution controls and combustion 
controls during all times that the unit is in operation while burning 
coal. For demonstrating compliance with this requirement, the owner or 
operator is required to submit a plan to MDE and EPA for approval that 
summarizes the data to be collected to show that each affected EGU is 
operating its installed controls.
    The regulation establishes a system-wide emissions rate of 0.15 
pounds per million British thermal units (lbs/mmBtu) on a 30-day 
rolling average for coal-burning EGUs during the ozone season.\2\ 
System-wide emissions are an aggregation of NOX emissions 
from all coal-fired EGUs owned, operated, or controlled by the same 
company. Continuous emissions monitoring (CEM) systems already 
installed on these units as a requirement of previous federal and state 
programs, will be used to track system-wide emissions and to determine 
compliance with the 30-day rolling average emissions limit. See COMAR 
26.11.38.05. The 0.15 lb/mmBtu emission rate does not apply to C.P. 
Crane and AES Warrior Run, as they are not a part of a system.
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    \2\ The limit does not apply to an EGU located at a facility 
that is solely owned, operated, or controlled. AES Warrior Run is 
subject to a limit of 0.10 lb/mmBtu and Charles P. Crane is subject 
to the 24-hour block average rates which trigger reporting 
requirements.
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    To demonstrate compliance with the requirement to optimize 
controls, MDE established 24-hour block emissions levels for each coal-
burning EGU based on historical emissions data. Id. During the ozone 
season, EGU owners are required to provide a daily report for any unit 
that exceeds its 24-hour emissions level. The report requires specific 
operating data and an explanation of any exceedances of the 24-hour 
level. A detailed discussion of the requirements of regulation COMAR 
26.11.38 may be found in the EPA technical support document (TSD) 
prepared in support of this proposed rulemaking, which is available in 
the

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docket for this rulemaking action and online at www.regulations.gov.
    The 14 affected units at the seven plants that are subject to COMAR 
26.11.38 have all installed controls as a result of programs requiring 
NOX reductions by previous regulatory requirements such as 
the NOX SIP Call (65 FR 57356, October 27, 1998), the Clean 
Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) (70 FR 25162, May 12, 2005), the Cross State 
Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) (76 FR 48208, August 8, 2011), and 
Maryland's Healthy Air Act (HAA). All of the affected units have either 
selective catalytic reduction (SCR), selective non-catalytic reduction 
(SNCR), or selective alternative catalytic reduction (SACR).
    EPA finds that the submittal strengthens the Maryland SIP. COMAR 
26.11.38 imposes NOX emissions limits on units subject to 
the regulation which are expected to lower NOX emissions 
within the State. The NOX emissions limits plus the 
operation and optimization of the existing NOX controls 
whenever the units are in operation will help Maryland's attainment and 
maintenance of the 2008 ozone NAAQS. EPA's detailed analysis of the 
Maryland submittal can be found in the TSD developed in support of this 
proposed rulemaking action, and can be found in the docket for this 
rulemaking action and at www.regulations.gov.

III. Proposed Action

    EPA is proposing to approve the November 20, 2015 Maryland SIP 
submittal which seeks to include regulation COMAR 26.11.38, Control of 
Nitrogen Oxides Emissions from Coal-Fired Electric Generating Units, in 
the Maryland SIP as a SIP strengthening measure in accordance with CAA 
section 110. EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues discussed 
in this document. These comments will be considered before taking final 
action.

IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this proposed rule, 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 Maryland regulation COMAR 26.11.28--Control of 
Nitrogen Oxides Emissions from Coal-Fired Electric Generating Units. 
EPA has made, and will continue to make, these materials generally 
available through https://www.regulations.gov and/or at the EPA Region 
III 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 proposed action:
     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) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 
2011);
     does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     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.);
     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);
     does not have federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     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; and
     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, this action proposing to approve Maryland's regulation 
to control NOX emissions from coal-fired electric generating 
units does not have tribal implications as specified by Executive Order 
13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because the SIP is not approved 
to apply in Indian country located in the state, and EPA notes that it 
will not impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or 
preempt tribal law.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: December 16, 2016.
Shawn M. Garvin,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2017-00309 Filed 1-10-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P