Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Regional Haze, 3975-3984 [2012-1604]
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 17 / Thursday, January 26, 2012 / Proposed Rules
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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:
• 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);
• 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 rule 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.
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List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Intergovernmental
relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Particulate
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile
organic compounds.
Dated: January 17, 2012.
Susan Hedman,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2012–1606 Filed 1–25–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R05–OAR–2011–0080; FRL–9622–7]
Approval and Promulgation of Air
Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana;
Regional Haze
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
EPA is proposing a limited
approval of revisions to the Indiana
State Implementation Plan (SIP)
addressing regional haze for the first
implementation period. Indiana
submitted its regional haze plan on
January 14, 2011, and supplemented it
on March 10, 2011. The Indiana regional
haze plan addresses the requirements of
the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and
Regional Haze Rule (RHR) requirements
for states to remedy any existing and
prevent future anthropogenic
impairment of visibility in mandatory
Class I areas caused by emissions of air
pollutants from numerous sources
located over a wide geographic area
(also referred to as the ‘‘regional haze
program’’). States are required to assure
reasonable progress toward the national
goal of achieving natural visibility
conditions in Class I areas. EPA is
proposing a limited approval of these
SIP revisions to implement the regional
haze requirements for Indiana on the
basis that the revisions, as a whole,
strengthen the Indiana SIP. In a separate
action, EPA has previously proposed a
limited disapproval of the Indiana
regional haze SIP because of the
deficiencies in Indiana’s regional haze
SIP submittal arising from the remand
by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia (D.C. Circuit) to
EPA of the Clean Air Interstate Rule
(CAIR). Consequently, we are not
proposing to take action in this notice
to address the state’s reliance on CAIR
to meet certain regional haze
requirements.
SUMMARY:
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Comments must be received on
or before February 27, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R05–
OAR–2011–0080, by one of the
following methods:
1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the
on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
2. Email: blakley.pamela@epa.gov.
3. Fax: (312) 692–2450.
4. Mail: Pamela Blakley, Chief,
Control Strategies Section, Air Programs
Branch (AR–18J), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
5. Hand Delivery: Pamela Blakley,
Chief, Control Strategies Section, Air
Programs Branch (AR–18J), U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, 77
West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago,
Illinois 60604. Such deliveries are only
accepted during the Regional Office
normal hours of operation, and special
arrangements should be made for
deliveries of boxed information. The
Regional Office official hours of
business are Monday through Friday,
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding
Federal holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to
Docket ID No. EPA–R05–OAR–2011–
0080. EPA’s policy is that all comments
received will be included in the public
docket without change and may be
made available online at
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided, unless
the comment includes information
claimed to be Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Do not submit information that you
consider to be CBI or otherwise
protected through www.regulations.gov
or email. The www.regulations.gov Web
site is an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system,
which means EPA will not know your
identity or contact information unless
you provide it in the body of your
comment. If you send an email
comment directly to EPA without going
through www.regulations.gov your email
address will be automatically captured
and included as part of the comment
that is placed in the public docket and
made available on the Internet. If you
submit an electronic comment, EPA
recommends that you include your
name and other contact information in
the body of your comment and with any
disk or CD–ROM you submit. If EPA
cannot read your comment due to
technical difficulties and cannot contact
you for clarification, EPA may not be
able to consider your comment.
Electronic files should avoid the use of
special characters, any form of
DATES:
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encryption, and be free of any defects or
viruses. For additional instructions on
submitting comments, go to Section I of
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
of this document.
Docket: All documents in the docket
are listed in the www.regulations.gov
index. Although listed in the index,
some information is not publicly
available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Certain other material, such as
copyrighted material, will be publicly
available only in hard copy. Publicly
available docket materials are available
either electronically in
www.regulations.gov or in hard copy 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. We
recommend that you telephone Charles
Hatten, Environmental Engineer, at
(312) 886–6031 before visiting the
Region 5 office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Charles Hatten, Environmental
Engineer, Control Strategy Section, Air
Programs Branch (AR–18J),
Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard,
Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886–6031,
hatten.charles@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document whenever
‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean
EPA. This supplementary information
section is arranged as follows:
I. What should I consider as I prepare my
comments for EPA?
II. What is the background for EPA’s
proposed action?
A. The Regional Haze Problem
B. Requirements of the CAA and EPA’s
RHR
C. Roles of Agencies in Addressing
Regional Haze
III. What are the requirements for regional
haze SIPs?
A. The CAA and the RHR
B. Determination of Baseline, Natural, and
Current Visibility Conditions
C. Determination of RPGs
D. BART
E. LTS
F. Coordinating Regional Haze and RAVI
LTS
G. Monitoring Strategy and Other
Implementation Plan Requirements
H. Consultation With States and Federal
Land Managers (FLMs)
IV. What is the relationship of the CAIR and
the transport rule to the regional haze
requirements?
A. Overview of EPA’s CAIR
B. Remand of the CAIR
C. Regional Haze SIP Elements Potentially
Affected by the CAIR Remand and
Promulgation of Transport Rule
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V. What is EPA’s analysis of Indiana’s
regional haze plan?
A. Rationale and Scope of Proposed
Limited Approval
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What should I consider as I prepare
my comments for EPA?
When submitting comments,
remember to:
1. Identify the rulemaking by docket
number and other identifying
information (subject heading, Federal
Register date and page number).
2. Follow directions—EPA may ask
you to respond to specific questions or
organize comments by referencing a
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part
or section number.
3. Explain why you agree or disagree;
suggest alternatives and substitute
language for your requested changes.
4. Describe any assumptions and
provide any technical information and/
or data that you used.
5. If you estimate potential costs or
burdens, explain how you arrived at
your estimate in sufficient detail to
allow for it to be reproduced.
6. Provide specific examples to
illustrate your concerns, and suggest
alternatives.
7. Explain your views as clearly as
possible, avoiding the use of profanity
or personal threats.
8. Make sure to submit your
comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
II. What is the background for EPA’s
proposed action?
A. The Regional Haze Problem
Regional haze is visibility impairment
that is produced by a multitude of
sources and activities that are located
across a broad geographic area and emit
fine particles (PM2.5) (e.g., sulfates,
nitrates, organic particles, elemental
carbon, and soil dust) and its
precursors—sulfur dioxide (SO2),
nitrogen oxides (NOX), and in some
cases ammonia (NH3) and volatile
organic compound (VOCs). Fine particle
precursors react in the atmosphere to
form fine particulate matter. Aerosol
PM2.5 impairs visibility by scattering
and absorbing light. Visibility
impairment reduces the clarity and
distance one can see. PM2.5 can also
cause serious health effects and
mortality in humans and contributes to
environmental effects such as acid
deposition and eutrophication.
Data from the existing visibility
monitoring network, the ‘‘Interagency
Monitoring of Protected Visual
Environments’’ (IMPROVE) monitoring
network, show that visibility
impairment caused by air pollution
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occurs virtually all the time at most
national park and wilderness areas. The
average visual range, the distance at
which an object is barely discernable, in
many Class I areas 1 in the western
United States is 100–150 kilometers.
That is about one-half to two-thirds of
the visual range that would exist
without anthropogenic air pollution. In
the eastern and Midwestern Class I areas
of the United States, the average visual
range is generally less than 30
kilometers, or about one-fifth of the
visual range that would exist under
estimated natural conditions. See 64 FR
35715 (July 1, 1999).
B. Requirements of the CAA and EPA’s
RHR
In section 169A of the 1977
Amendments to the CAA, Congress
created a program for protecting
visibility in the nation’s national parks
and wilderness areas. This section of the
CAA establishes as a national goal the
‘‘prevention of any future, and the
remedying of any existing, impairment
of visibility in mandatory Class I areas
which impairment results from
manmade air pollution.’’ On December
2, 1980, EPA promulgated regulations to
address visibility impairment in Class I
areas that is ‘‘reasonably attributable’’ to
a single source or small group of sources
known as, ‘‘reasonably attributable
visibility impairment’’ (RAVI). See 45
FR 80084. These regulations, codified at
40 CFR part 50, subpart P, represented
the first phase in addressing visibility
impairment. EPA deferred action on
regional haze that emanates from a
variety of sources until monitoring,
modeling, and scientific knowledge
about the relationships between
pollutants and visibility impairment
were improved.
Congress added section 169B to the
CAA in 1990 to address regional haze
issues. EPA promulgated a rule to
address regional haze, the RHR, on July
1 Areas designated as mandatory Class I Federal
areas consist of national parks exceeding 6000
acres, wilderness areas and national memorial parks
exceeding 5000 acres, and all international parks
that were in existence on August 7, 1977. 42 U.S.C.
7472(a). In accordance with section 169A of the
CAA, EPA, in consultation with the Department of
Interior, promulgated a list of 156 areas where
visibility is identified as an important value. 44 FR
69122 (November 30, 1979). The extent of a
mandatory Class I area includes subsequent changes
in boundaries, such as park expansions. 42 U.S.C.
7472(a). Although states and tribes may designate
as Class I additional areas which they consider to
have visibility as an important value, the
requirements of the visibility program set forth in
section 169A of the CAA apply only to ‘‘mandatory
Class I Federal areas.’’ Each mandatory Class I
Federal area is the responsibility of a ‘‘Federal Land
Manager.’’ 42 U.S.C. 7602(i). When we use the term
‘‘Class I area’’ in this action, we mean a ‘‘mandatory
Class I Federal area.’’
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The State of Indiana participated in
the planning efforts of the MRPO. The
MRPO is a collaborative effort of state
governments, tribal governments, and
various Federal agencies established to
initiate and coordinate activities
associated with the management of
regional haze, visibility and other air
quality issues inside the borders of the
five States of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,
Ohio, and Wisconsin. Members of
MRPO include the five states, the
Federal Land Managers (U.S. National
Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service, and U.S. Forest Service), and
EPA.
C. Roles of Agencies in Addressing
Regional Haze
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1, 1999 (64 FR 35713). The RHR, which
amends 40 CFR part 50, subpart P,
revised the existing visibility
regulations to integrate provisions
addressing regional haze impairment
and established a comprehensive
visibility protection program for Class I
areas. The subpart P requirements for
regional haze, found at 40 CFR 51.308
and 51.309, are included in EPA’s
visibility protection regulations at 40
CFR 51.300–309. Some of the main
elements of the regional haze
requirements are summarized in section
III. The requirement to submit a regional
haze SIP applies to all 50 states, the
District of Columbia, and the Virgin
Islands.2
A. The CAA and the RHR
Successful implementation of the
regional haze program will require longterm regional coordination among
states, tribal governments, and various
Federal agencies. Pollution affecting the
air quality in Class I areas can be
transported over long distances, even
hundreds of kilometers. Therefore, to
effectively address the problem of
visibility impairment in Class I areas,
states need to develop strategies in
coordination with one another, taking
into account the effect of emissions from
one jurisdiction on the air quality in
another state.
EPA has encouraged the states and
tribes to address visibility impairment
from a regional perspective because the
pollutants that lead to regional haze can
originate from sources located across
broad geographic areas. Five regional
planning organizations (RPOs) were
developed to address regional haze and
related issues in their geographical area.
The five RPOs are the Mid-Atlantic and
Northeastern Visibility Union (MANE–
VU) for the Northeastern states, the
Visibility Improvement State and Tribal
Association of the Southeast (VISTAS),
the Midwest Regional Planning
Organization (MRPO), the Central
Regional Air Planning Association
(CENRAP), and Western Regional Air
Partnership (WRAP). The RPOs first
evaluated technical information to
better understand how their states and
tribes impact Class I areas across the
country and then pursued the
development of regional strategies to
reduce PM2.5 emissions and other
pollutants leading to regional haze.
2 Albuquerque/Bernalillo County in New Mexico
must also submit a regional haze SIP to completely
satisfy the requirements of section 110(a)(2)(D) of
the CAA for the entire State of New Mexico under
the New Mexico Air Quality Control Act (section
74–2–4).
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III. What are the requirements for
regional haze SIPs?
Regional haze SIPs must assure
reasonable progress toward the national
goal of achieving natural visibility
conditions in Class I areas. Section
169A of the CAA and EPA’s
implementing regulations require states
to establish long-term strategies (LTS)
for making reasonable progress toward
meeting this goal. Plans must also give
specific attention to certain stationary
sources that were in existence on
August 7, 1977, but were not in
operation before August 7, 1962, and
require these sources, where
appropriate, to install best available
retrofit technology (BART) for the
purpose of reducing visibility
impairment. The specific regional haze
SIP requirements are discussed in
further detail below.
B. Determination of Baseline, Natural,
and Current Visibility Conditions
The RHR establishes the deciview 3
(dv) as the principal metric or unit for
expressing visibility impairment. This
visibility metric expresses uniform
changes in haziness in terms of common
increments across the entire range of
visibility conditions, from pristine to
extremely hazy conditions. Visibility
expressed in deciviews is determined by
using air quality measurements to
estimate light extinction and then
transforming the value of light
extinction using a logarithm function.
The deciview is a more useful measure
for tracking progress in improving
visibility than light extinction itself
because each deciview change is an
equal incremental change in visibility
perceived by the human eye. Most
people can detect a change in visibility
at one deciview.
3 The preamble to the RHR provides additional
details about the deciview. 64 FR 35714, 35725
(July 1, 1999.)
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The deciview is used in expressing
reasonable progress goals (RPGs),
defining baseline, current, and natural
conditions, and tracking changes in
visibility. The regional haze SIPs must
contain measures that ensure
‘‘reasonable progress’’ toward the
national goal of preventing and
remedying visibility impairment in
Class I areas caused by anthropogenic
air pollution. The national goal is a
return to natural conditions such that
anthropogenic sources of air pollution
would no longer impair visibility in
Class I areas.
To track changes in visibility over
time at each of the 156 Class I areas
covered by the visibility program (40
CFR 81.401–437) and as part of the
process for determining reasonable
progress, states must calculate the
degree of existing visibility impairment
at each Class I area at the time of each
regional haze SIP is submitted and at
the progress review every five years,
midway through each 10-year
implementation period. The RHR
requires states with Class I areas (Class
I states) to determine the degree of
impairment in deciview for the average
of the 20 percent least impaired (best)
and 20 percent most impaired (worst)
visibility days over a specified time
period at each of its Class I areas. Each
state must also develop an estimate of
natural visibility conditions for the
purpose of comparing progress toward
the national goal. Natural visibility is
determined by estimating the natural
concentrations of pollutants that cause
visibility impairment and then
calculating total light extinction based
on those estimates. EPA has provided
guidance to states regarding how to
calculate baseline, natural, and current
visibility conditions in documents
titled, EPA’s Guidance for Estimating
Natural Visibility conditions under the
Regional Haze Rule, September 2003,
(EPA–454/B–03–005 located at https://
www.epa.gov/ttncaaa1/t1/memoranda/
rh_envcurhr_gd.pdf) (hereinafter
referred to as ‘‘EPA’s 2003 Natural
Visibility Guidance’’) and Guidance for
Tracking Progress Under the Regional
Haze Rule (EPA–454/B–03–004
September 2003 located at https://
www.epa.gov/ttncaaa1/t1/memoranda/
rh_tpurhr_gd.pdf)) (hereinafter referred
to as ‘‘EPA’s 2003 Tracking Progress
Guidance’’).
For the first regional haze SIP, the
‘‘baseline visibility conditions’’ are the
starting points for assessing ‘‘current’’
visibility impairment. Baseline visibility
conditions represent the degree of
visibility impairment for the 20 percent
best days and 20 percent worst days for
each calendar year from 2000 to 2004.
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Using monitoring data for 2000 through
2004, states are required to calculate the
average degree of visibility impairment
for each Class I area, based on the
average of annual values over the fiveyear period. The comparison of initial
baseline visibility conditions to natural
visibility conditions indicates the
amount of improvement necessary to
attain natural visibility, while
comparisons of future conditions
against baseline conditions will indicate
the amount of progress made. In general,
the 2000 to 2004 baseline period is
considered the time from which
improvement in visibility is measured.
C. Determination of RPGs
The vehicle for ensuring continuing
progress towards achieving the natural
visibility goal is the submission of a
series of regional haze SIPs from the
states that establish two distinct RPGs,
one for the best days and one for the
worst days for every Class I area for each
approximately 10-year implementation
period. The RHR does not mandate
specific milestones or rates of progress,
but instead calls for states to establish
goals that provide for ‘‘reasonable
progress’’ toward achieving natural
visibility conditions. In setting RPGs,
states must provide for an improvement
in visibility for the worst days over the
approximately 10-year period of the SIP
and ensure no degradation in visibility
for the best days.
States have significant discretion in
establishing RPGs, but are required to
consider the following factors
established in section 169A of the CAA
and in EPA’s RHR at 40 CFR
51.308(d)(1)(i)(A): (1) The costs of
compliance; (2) the time necessary for
compliance; (3) the energy and non-air
quality environmental impacts of
compliance; and (4) the remaining
useful life of any potentially affected
sources. The state must demonstrate in
its SIP how these factors are considered
when selecting the RPGs for the best
and worst days for each applicable Class
I area. States have considerable
flexibility in how they take these factors
into consideration, as noted in EPA’s
Guidance for Setting Reasonable
Progress Goals under the Regional Haze
Program, (‘‘EPA’s Reasonable Progress
Guidance’’), July 1, 2007, memorandum
from William L. Wehrum, Acting
Assistant Administrator for Air and
Radiation, to EPA Regional
Administrators, EPA Regions 1–10 (pp.
4–2, 5–1). In setting the RPGs, states
must also consider the rate of progress
needed to reach natural visibility
conditions by 2064 (‘‘uniform rate of
progress’’ or ‘‘glide path’’) and the
emissions reduction needed to achieve
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that rate of progress over the 10-year
period of the SIP. In setting RPGs each
state with a Class I areas (Class I state)
must also consult with potentially
contributing states that may affect
visibility impairment at the Class I
areas. See 40 CFR 51.308(d)(1)(iv).
D. BART
Section 169A of the CAA directs
states to evaluate the use of retrofit
controls at certain older large stationary
sources to address visibility impacts
from these sources. Specifically, CAA
section 169A(b)(2)(A) requires states to
revise their SIPs to contain such
measures as may be necessary to make
reasonable progress towards the natural
visibility goal including a requirement
that certain categories of existing major
stationary sources 4 built between 1962
and 1977 procure, install, and operate
BART as determined by the state. Under
the RHR, the state can require sourcespecific BART controls, but it also has
the flexibility to adopt an alternative
such as an emissions trading program or
alternate control providing greater
progress towards improving visibility
than BART.
On July 6, 2005, EPA published the
Guidelines for BART Determinations
Under the Regional Haze Rule at
Appendix Y to 40 CFR part 51 (BART
Guidelines) to assist states in
determining which of their sources
should be subject to the BART
requirements and in determining
appropriate emission limits for each
applicable source. (70 FR 39104) A state
must use the approach in the BART
Guidelines in making a BART
determination for a fossil fuel-fired
electric generating unit (EGUs) with
total generating capacity in excess of
750 megawatts. States are encouraged,
but not required, to follow the BART
Guidelines in making BART
determinations for other sources.
States must address all visibilityimpairing pollutants emitted by a source
in the BART determination process. The
most significant visibility impairing
pollutants are SO2, NOX, and PM. EPA
has stated that states should use their
best judgment in determining whether
VOC and NH3 emissions impair
visibility in Class I areas.
Under the BART Guidelines, states
may select an exemption threshold
value for their BART modeling, below
which a BART-eligible source would
not be expected to cause or contribute
to visibility impairment in any Class I
area. The state must document this
exemption threshold value in the SIP
4 The set of ‘‘major stationary sources’’ potentially
subject to BART is listed in CAA section 169A(g)(7).
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and must state the basis for its selection
of that value. The exemption threshold
set by the state should not be higher
than 0.50 dv. Any source with
emissions that model above the
threshold value would be subject to a
BART determination review. The BART
Guidelines acknowledge varying
circumstances affecting different Class I
areas. States should consider the
number of emission sources affecting
the Class I areas at issue and the
magnitude of the individual source’s
impact.
The state must identify potential
BART sources in its SIP, described as
‘‘BART-eligible sources’’ in the RHR,
and document its BART control
determination analyses. In making
BART determinations, section
169A(g)(2) of the CAA requires the state
to consider the following factors: (1) The
costs of compliance; (2) the energy and
non-air quality environmental impacts
of compliance; (3) any existing pollution
control technology in use at the source;
(4) the remaining useful life of the
source, and (5) the degree of
improvement in visibility which may
reasonably be anticipated to result from
the use of such technology.
A regional haze SIP must include
source-specific BART emission limits
and compliance schedules for each
source subject to BART. The BART
controls must be installed and in
operation as expeditiously as
practicable, but no later than five years
after the date of EPA approval of the
state’s regional haze SIP. See CAA
section 169(g)(4); 40 CFR
51.308(e)(1)(iv). In addition to what is
required by the RHR, general SIP
requirements mandate that the SIP must
also include all regulatory requirements
related to monitoring, recordkeeping,
and reporting for the BART controls on
the source.
The RHR also allows states to
implement an alternative program in
lieu of BART if desired so long as the
alternative program can be
demonstrated to achieve greater
progress toward the national visibility
goal than implementing BART controls.
EPA made such a demonstration for
CAIR under regulations issued in 2005
revising the regional haze program. 70
FR 39104 (July 6, 2005). EPA’s
regulations provide that states
participating in the CAIR cap-and trade
program under 40 CFR part 96 pursuant
to an EPA-approved CAIR SIP or which
remain subject to the CAIR Federal
Implementation Plan (FIP) in 40 CFR
part 97 need not require affected BARTeligible EGUs to install, operate, and
maintain BART for emissions of SO2
and NOX. 40 CFR 51.308(e)(4). Since
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CAIR is not applicable to emissions of
PM, states were still required to conduct
a BART analysis for PM emissions from
EGUs subject to BART for that pollutant.
CAIR was later found to be
inconsistent with the requirements of
the CAA and the rule was remanded to
EPA. See North Carolina v. EPA, 550
F.3d 1176 (DC Cir. 2008). The court left
CAIR in place until the Agency replaced
it. EPA replaced CAIR with the
Transport Rule in August 2011.
On December 30, 2011, EPA proposed
to find that the trading programs in the
Transport Rule would achieve greater
reasonable progress towards the
national goal than would be obtained by
implementing BART for SO2 and NOX
for BART-subject EGUs in the area
subject to the Transport Rule. 76 FR
82219. Based on that proposed finding,
EPA also proposed to revise the RHR to
allow states, including Indiana, to meet
the requirements of an alternative
program in lieu of BART by
participation in the trading programs
under the Transport Rule. The
Transport Rule is not applicable to
emissions of PM, so states would still be
required to conduct a BART analysis for
PM emissions from EGUs subject to
BART for that pollutant. EPA has not
taken final action on that rule.
E. LTS
Consistent with the requirement in
section 169A(b) of the CAA that states
include in their regional haze SIP a 10
to 15-year strategy for making
reasonable progress, section 51.308(d)(3)
of the RHR requires that states include
an LTS in their regional haze SIPs. The
LTS is the compilation of all control
measures a state will use during the
implementation period of the specific
SIP submittal to meet applicable RPGs.
The LTS must include enforceable
emissions limitations, compliance
schedules, and other measures as
necessary to achieve the RPGs for all
Class I areas within or affected by
emissions from the state. 40 CFR
51.308(d)(3).
When a state’s emissions are
reasonably anticipated to cause or
contribute to visibility impairment in a
Class I area located in another state, the
RHR requires the impacted state to
coordinate with the contributing states
in order to develop coordinated
emissions management strategies. 40
CFR 51.308(d)(3)(i). In such cases, the
contributing state must demonstrate that
it has included in its SIP all measures
necessary to obtain its share of the
emission reductions needed to meet the
RPGs for the Class I area. The RPOs
have provided forums for significant
interstate consultation, but additional
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consultations between states may be
required to address interstate visibility
issues sufficiently.
States should consider all types of
anthropogenic sources of visibility
impairment in developing their LTS,
including stationary, minor, mobile, and
area sources. At a minimum, states must
describe how each of the following
seven factors listed below are taken into
account in developing their LTS. The
seven factors are: (1) Emission
reductions due to ongoing air pollution
control programs, including measures to
address RAVI; (2) measures to mitigate
the impacts of construction activities;
(3) emissions limitations and schedules
for compliance to achieve the RPG; (4)
source retirement and replacement
schedules; (5) smoke management
techniques for agricultural and forestry
management purposes including plans
as currently exist within the state for
these purposes; (6) enforceability of
emissions limitations and control
measures; and (7) the anticipated net
effect on visibility due to projected
changes in point, area, and mobile
source emissions over the period
addressed by the LTS. 40 CFR
51.308(d)(3)(v).
F. Coordinating Regional Haze and
RAVI LTS
As part of the RHR, EPA revised 40
CFR 51.306(c), regarding the LTS for
RAVI to require that the RAVI plan must
provide for a periodic review and SIP
revision not less frequently than every
three years until the date of submission
of the state’s first plan addressing
regional haze visibility impairment in
accordance with 40 CFR 51.308(b) and
(c). The state must revise its plan to
provide for review and revision of a
coordinated LTS for addressing RAVI
and regional haze on or before this date.
It must also submit the first such
coordinated LTS with its first regional
haze SIP. Future coordinated LTSs, and
periodic progress reports evaluating
progress towards RPGs, must be
submitted consistent with the schedule
for SIP submission and periodic
progress reports set forth in 40 CFR
51.308(f) and 51.308(g), respectively.
The periodic review of a state’s LTS
must report on both regional haze and
RAVI impairment and be submitted to
EPA as a SIP revision.
G. Monitoring Strategy and Other
Implementation Plan Requirements
40 CFR 51.308(d)(4) includes the
requirement for a monitoring strategy
for measuring, characterizing, and
reporting of regional haze visibility
impairment that is representative of all
mandatory Class I areas within the state.
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3979
The strategy must be coordinated with
the monitoring strategy required in 40
CFR 51.305. Compliance with this
requirement may be met through
participation in the IMPROVE network,
meaning that the state reviews and uses
monitoring data from the network. The
monitoring strategy must also provide
for additional monitoring sites if the
IMPROVE network is not sufficient to
determine whether RPGs will be met.
The monitoring strategy is due with the
first regional haze SIP and it must be
reviewed every five years.
The SIP must also provide for the
following:
• Procedures for using monitoring
data and other information in a state
with mandatory Class I areas to
determine the contribution of emissions
from within the state to regional haze
visibility impairment at Class I areas
both within and outside the state;
• Procedures for using monitoring
data and other information in a state
with no mandatory Class I areas to
determine the contribution of emissions
from within the state to regional haze
visibility impairment at Class I areas in
other states;
• Reporting of all visibility
monitoring data to the Administrator at
least annually for each Class I area in
the state, and where possible in
electronic format;
• A statewide inventory of emissions
of pollutants that are reasonably
anticipated to cause or contribute to
visibility impairment in any Class I area.
The inventory must include emissions
for a baseline year, emissions for the
most recent year with available data,
and future projected emissions. A state
must also make a commitment to update
the inventory periodically; and
• Other elements including reporting,
recordkeeping, and other measures
necessary to assess and report on
visibility.
The RHR requires control strategies to
cover an initial implementation period
extending to the year 2018 with a
comprehensive reassessment and
revision of those strategies, as
appropriate, every 10 years thereafter.
Periodic SIP revisions must meet the
core requirements of 40 CFR 51.308(d)
with the exception of BART. The
requirement to evaluate sources for
BART applies only to the first regional
haze SIP. Facilities subject to BART
must continue to comply with the BART
provisions of 40 CFR 51.308(e), as noted
above. Periodic SIP revisions will assure
that the statutory requirement of
reasonable progress will continue to be
met.
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H. Consultation With States and Federal
Land Managers(FLMs)
The RHR requires that states consult
with FLMs before adopting and
submitting their SIPs. 40 CFR 51.308(i).
States must provide FLMs an
opportunity for consultation, in person
and at least 60 days prior to holding any
public hearing on the SIP. This
consultation must include the
opportunity for the FLMs to discuss
their assessment of impairment of
visibility in any Class I area and to offer
recommendations on the development
of the RPGs and on the development
and implementation of strategies to
address visibility impairment. Further, a
state must include in its SIP a
description of how it addressed any
comments provided by the FLMs.
Finally, a SIP must provide procedures
for continuing consultation between the
state and FLMs regarding the state’s
visibility protection program, including
development and review of SIP
revisions, five-year progress reports, and
the implementation of other programs
having the potential to contribute to
impairment of visibility in Class I areas.
IV. What is EPA’s analysis of Indiana’s
regional haze plan?
Indiana submitted its regional haze
plan on January 14, 2011, and
supplemented it on March 10, 2011.
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A. Affected Class I Areas
States are required to address regional
haze affecting Class I areas within a
state and in Class I areas outside the
state that may be affected by that state’s
emissions. Indiana does not have any
Class I areas within its borders, but has
been identified as influencing the
visibility impairment of Class I areas in
other nearby states. Indiana is
responsible for developing a regional
haze SIP that addresses its visibility
impairment on Class I areas it may affect
describing its LTS, its role in the
consultation processes, and how the SIP
meets other elements in EPA’s RHR.
Since Indiana does not have any Class
I areas within its borders, and has no
sources that have been identified as
causes of RAVI, however, Indiana is not
required to address the following
Regional Haze SIP elements: (1)
Calculation of baseline and natural
visibility conditions; (2) establishment
of reasonable progress goals; (3)
monitoring requirements, and (4) RAVI
requirements.
Indiana reviewed technical analyses
conducted by MRPO and other RPOs to
determine what Class I areas are affected
by Indiana’s emissions. MPRO
conducted both a back trajectory
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analysis and modeling to determine the
affects of its states’ emissions. Indiana
also used assessments by MANE–VU,
VISTAS, and a joint state assessment by
Arkansas and Missouri, each of which
identified states having non-de minimus
impacts on specified Class I areas. The
following are Class I areas identified as
being affected by Indiana sources:
Southeastern U.S. (VISTAS)—Sipsey
Wilderness Area, Alabama; Mammoth
Cave National Park, Kentucky; Great
Smoky Mountains National Park,
North Carolina and Tennessee; James
River Face Wilderness Area, Virginia
(VA); Shenandoah National Park, VA;
and Dolly Sods/Otter Creek
Wilderness Areas, West Virginia
(WVA)
Eastern U.S. (MANE–VU)—Acadia
National Park, Maine; Moosehorn
Wilderness Area, Maine; Great Gulf
Wilderness Area, New Hampshire;
Brigantine Wilderness Area, New
Jersey; and Lye Brook Wilderness
Area, Vermont
North Central U.S. (MRPO and
CENRAP)—Isle Royale National Park,
Michigan (MI); Seney National
Wildlife Refuge, MI; Boundary Waters
Canoe Area Wilderness Area,
Minnesota (MN); and Voyageurs
National Park, MN
South Central U.S. (CENRAP)—
Hercules-Glades Wilderness Area,
Missouri (MO); Mingo Wilderness
Area, MO; Caney Creek Wilderness
Area, Arizona (AR); and Upper
Buffalo Wilderness Area, AR
Appendix 1 of Indiana’s Regional
Haze SIP contains a list of these Class
I areas for all the Midwest states, and
the analyses performed to assess the
impact from Indiana sources compiled
by the MRPO. Class I areas outside the
areas listed above were not analyzed
further, as there were no significant
impacts from Indiana sources shown.
Further, no impacts were noted in the
WRAP states.
B. Determination of Baseline, Current,
and Natural Conditions
The RHR requires Class I states to
estimate the baseline, natural and
current visibility conditions of those
Class I areas. See 40 CFR 51.308(d)(2).
There are no Class I areas within the
State of Indiana. Therefore, this element
does not apply to Indiana.
C. RPGs
Class I states must set RPGs that
achieve reasonable progress toward
achieving natural visibility conditions.
Indiana does not have any Class I areas,
so it does not need to set any RPGs. 40
CFR 51.308(d)(1). The states with Class
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I areas took the lead in establishing
RPGs. Indiana consulted with Class I
states by participating in the discussions
(meetings and conference calls) with
MRPO and RPOs outside the Midwest to
ensure it achieves its share of emission
reductions as those Class I states
determine RPGs. In Appendix 9c, of
Indiana’s Regional Haze SIP, the Lake
Michigan Air Directors Consortium
(LADCO) document ‘‘Reasonable
Progress for Class I Areas in the
Northern Midwest—Factor Analysis’’
(July 18, 2007), addresses factor analysis
to establish RPG toward achieving
natural visibility conditions in
mandatory Class I areas. In addition,
Appendix 9b of LADCO’S Technical
Support Document ‘‘Regional Air
Quality Analyses for Ozone, PM2.5, and
Regional Haze: Final Technical Support
Document,’’ provides additional
information related to Indiana’s
emissions and visibility contributions
and a detailed discussion of the
measures needed to achieve Indiana’s
share of emission reductions. Indiana
has satisfied this requirement.
D. BART
Indiana began the BART rulemaking
process in August 2006. Following its
rulemaking, which included the notices
of hearings and comments, Indiana
adopted 326 Indiana Administrative
Code (IAC), Article 26, Rule 1, Best
Available Retrofit Technology, on
October 3, 2007; it became effective
February 22, 2008.
Indiana conducted a BART analysis
using the criteria in the BART
Guidance. Using available source
emissions and construction date
information, Indiana developed a list of
32 BART-eligible sources within the
BART source categories by county.
Indiana then applied the results of the
screening modeling conducted by the
MRPO to determine which BARTeligible sources have significant impacts
on any Class I area and thus warrant
being subject to BART requirements. In
accordance with EPA’s recommendation
Indiana defined ‘‘significant impact’’ as
an impact of at least 0.5 deciviews. By
this means, Indiana identified the
following non-EGUs as subject to BART:
Alcoa Inc., ESSROC Cement
Corporation, SABIC Innovative Plastics
(formerly GE Plastics), and Mittal Steel
USA Inc.-Burns Harbor. Indiana did not
consider EGUs in its analysis as it
decided to rely on these sources’
participation in the CAIR to address the
BART requirements for SO2 and NOX
emissions from these sources, and a
modeling analysis demonstrated that
particulate matter impacts from EGUs at
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Class I areas were insignificant and did
not warrant further control.
Indiana further analyzed the four nonEGU facilities to determine which
sources are subject to BART. Additional
more refined modeling analyses
submitted for three of the four non-EGU
sources (ESSROC Cement Corporation,
SABIC Innovative Plastics, and Mittal
Steel USA Inc.—Burns Harbor) showed
that they did not contribute significantly
to the visibility impairment at any Class
I areas, so that these sources may be
exempted from the BART requirement
under the regional haze rule. Modeling
of these facilities indicated that just one
source, Alcoa of Warrick County, is
subject to BART.
Alcoa, Inc.—BART Determination and
Modeling Analysis
Indiana submitted a BART analysis,
prepared by Alcoa, which analyzed
BART and alternative BART control
strategies. Before beginning the five
factor case-by-case BART analysis,
Alcoa performed a baseline visibility
impact analysis for each of the years
2001–2003 using the CALPUFF model
with emission rates based on the 24hour average actual emissions from the
highest emitting day. The initial
screening model projected the highest
visibility impact at Mammoth Cave
National Park (MCNP). Other Class I
areas screened included Mingo
Wilderness Area, Sipsey Wilderness
Area, Great Smoky Mountains National
Park, Joyce Kilmer—Slick Rock
Wilderness Area, Cohutta Wilderness
Area, and Shining Rock Wilderness
Area. The impact at MCNP exceeded 0.5
dv. Since the visibility impact was
highest at MCNP, the BART analysis
focused on the impact at MCNP.
Alcoa identified 18 ingot furnaces,
three boilers (Boilers #2, #3, and 4), and
five aluminum refining furnaces
3981
(Potlines 2–6) as meeting BART
eligibility criteria. Boilers #2 and #3 are
classified as industrial boilers. Boiler #4
is classified as an EGU, and, under
Indiana’s plan, is addressed by CAIR for
SO2 and NOX in conjunction with other
EGUs in the state. Thus, the BART
analysis for boiler #4 will only address
PM emissions.
After proposing determinations of
BART for its BART-subject units, Alcoa
proposed an alternative strategy which
compensates for less stringent limits at
selected BART-subject units by
imposing more restrictive limits at a
non-BART-subject unit at the facility. In
most respects, Indiana’s SIP submittal
reflects the BART determinations and
the alternative strategy that Alcoa
proposed. Tables 1 and 2 show
summaries of the BART determinations
and the alternative BART control
strategy that Alcoa proposed.
TABLE 1—ALCOA’S PROPOSED BART CONTROL STRATEGY
Emission unit
BART
Boiler 1 .................................
PM ........................................
SO2 .......................................
Not a BART-subject unit
..........................................................................................
..........................................................................................
NOX ......................................
..........................................................................................
Boilers 2 and 3:
PM .................................
SO2 ...............................
NOX ..............................
Boiler 4–PM .........................
Potlines (2–6):
—Fugitive emissions:
PM .................................
—Primary emissions:
PM .................................
SO2 ...............................
NOX ..............................
Alternative BART
Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP).
Wet Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) with 91% emission
reduction efficiency.
Low NOX Burners (LNB) with staged over-fire air
(OFA).
ESP .................................................................................
Wet FGD with 92% emission reduction efficiency ..........
LNB with staged OFA .....................................................
ESP .................................................................................
ESP.
Wet FGD with 90% emission reduction efficiency.
LNB with staged over-fire air OFA.
ESP.
No add-on control ...........................................................
No add-on control.
Gas treatment system followed by fabric filter ...............
Limit anode grade coke to 3% sulfur ..............................
No add-on control ...........................................................
No add-on control ...........................................................
Gas treatment system followed by fabric filter.
Limit anode grade coke to 3.5% sulfur.
No add-on control
No add-on control.
TABLE 2—ALCOA’S PROPOSED BART EMISSION LIMITS
Emission limit
Boiler 1 .................................
PM (filterable) .......................
Not a Bart-eligible unit.
0.03 lb/MMBtu, 24-hour daily average ............................
SO2 .......................................
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Emission unit
91% reduction, 24-hour daily average ............................
NOX ......................................
Boilers 2 and 3:
PM (filterable) ...............
0.38 lb/MMBtu, 24-hour daily average ............................
SO2 ...............................
90% reduction, 24-hour daily average ............................
NOX ..............................
Boiler 4:
PM (filterable and sulfuric acid).
Potlines (2–6):
PM (filterable) ...............
0.38 lb/MMBtu, 24-hour daily average ............................
CEMS at the scrubber outlet according to 40 CFR part
60, following Appendix B, PS–11.
CEMS at the scrubber inlet and outlet according to 40
CFR part 60, following Appendix B, PS–2.
CEMS at the scrubber outlet following PS–2.
0.1 lb/MMBtu ...................................................................
40 CFR part 60, Appendix A, Method 5.
0.005 grains/scf, 24-hour daily average .........................
40 CFR part 60, Appendix A, Method 5.
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Compliance demonstration method
0.03 lb/MMBtu, 24-hour daily average ............................
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Continuous emission monitoring system (CEMS) at the
scrubber outlet according to 40 CFR part 60, following Appendix B, PS–11.
CEMS at the scrubber inlet and outlet according to 40
CFR part 60, following Appendix B, PS–2.
CEMS at the scrubber outlet following PS–2.
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TABLE 2—ALCOA’S PROPOSED BART EMISSION LIMITS—Continued
Emission unit
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SO2 ...............................
Emission limit
Compliance demonstration method
The sulfur content in each monthly baked anode composite shall not exceed 2.919%, provided however
that hourly SO2 emissions from the potlines shall not
exceed 1,456 lbs/hr on a combined basis, and determined on a monthly basis.
ASTM D3177–02, modified by adding saturated bromine water before the pH adjustment. Alternatively,
determination of sulfur content by x-ray fluorescence.
As shown in Tables 1 and 2, Alcoa
recommended that it be subject to an
alternative set of control requirements
in lieu of being required to implement
BART at each BART-subject unit. This
alternative would provide additional
control of emissions from boiler #1
beyond that required in the baseline
years, sufficient to compensate for
allowing more SO2 emissions from the
potlines and from boilers #2 and #3.
Thus, Indiana determined SO2 BART
(utilizing wet limestone flue gas
desulfurization) for Boilers #2 and #3 as
92 percent reduction, but it adopted
requirements to control SO2 emissions
from these boilers by 90% as an
alternative. According to the discussion
in Chapter 8, and Appendix 5, of the
State of Indiana Regional Haze SIP,
Indiana determined that BART for the
potlines consists of the use of anode
grade coke containing 3 percent sulfur,
which is higher than the current Indiana
rule that limits sulfur in the coke to no
more than 2 percent. The alternative
strategy recommended by Alcoa allows
the use of coke containing 3.5 percent
sulfur. To compensate for these less
stringent limits, Alcoa’s alternative
strategy requires that the source control
SO2 emissions from Boiler #1 by 91
percent and control NOX emissions to
meet limit of 0.38 pounds/Million
British thermal units (lbs/MMBtu) for
boilers #1, i.e., the same limit as applies
to boilers #2 and #3 (utilizing low NOX
burners and over-fire air). For
particulate emissions, Indiana
determined that BART represents use of
electrostatic precipitators with an
emission limit equal to 0.03 lbs/MMBtu
for boilers #2 and #3. Indiana
determined that the particulate emission
limit representing BART for boiler #4 is
0.015 lbs/MMBtu, with an alternative
limit for this boiler as 0.10 lbs/MMBtu.
Indiana’s submittal nominally follows
Alcoa’s recommendation. Nevertheless,
Indiana’s submittal does not change the
SO2 emission limits that apply to
Alcoa’s potlines. Therefore, EPA views
Indiana’s submittal as mandating a
BART strategy for Alcoa that in fact
includes status quo limits of potline SO2
emissions.
In any case, EPA does not agree that
an increase in sulfur content of coke
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used in the potlines at Alcoa’s Warrick
County facility, as opposed to a decrease
in the sulfur content and thus in the
emissions from these units, represents
BART at these units. Furthermore,
neither the company nor the state has
provided evidence that this relaxation of
limits on SO2 emissions from these
units does not interfere with attainment
and maintenance of applicable SO2 air
quality standards, in contravention of
Clean Air Act section 110(l). On the
other hand, Indiana’s submittal contains
no rule revisions or permit provisions
that would in fact implement any
relaxation of limits on the SO2
emissions from these units. Therefore,
notwithstanding the discussion
suggesting that Indiana supports an
increase in these limits, the actual plan
reflects continuation of the existing
limits without relaxation. That is, EPA
considers Indiana’s regional haze plan
to reflect the current SO2 emission
limits for the potlines, not the relaxed
limits discussed in Indiana’s submittal.
For each potline #2–6 the S02 emission
limit is 195.2 pounds/hour at the stack,
and 21.7 pounds/hour for each roof
monitor associated with the potline.
Viewing Indiana’s plan in that
manner, EPA is satisfied with Indiana’s
alternative strategy for Alcoa. Modeling
conducted by Indiana shows that the
alternative achieves greater visibility
improvement than BART, equal to 75
percent more reduction in deciviews
over the baseline. The alternative BART,
though it achieves greater reductions in
all pollutants (PM, SO2, and NOX); and
most notably achieves significantly
higher reductions in SO2 emissions,
equal to approximately 21,600 tons
more than BART. The resulting
emission limits are adopted by Indiana
into the Indiana’s regional haze SIP
submittal, and will be included in the
facilities’ Part 70 permit for each unit
subject to BART.
Under the CAA, BART is required for
any BART-eligible source that emits any
air pollutant which may reasonably be
anticipated to cause or contribute to any
impairment of visibility in any Class I
area. Accordingly, for stationary sources
meeting these criteria, states must
address the BART requirement when
they develop their Regional Haze SIPs.
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On November 3, 2010, the Indiana Air
Pollution Control Board adopted as final
Indiana BART Rule, 326 IAC 26–2, to
establish BART emission limitations in
order to comply with the RHR. Indiana’s
Regional Haze SIP includes a copy of
rule 326 IAC Article 26–2 in
Appendix 7.
E. LTS
As described in III. E of this action,
the LTS is a compilation of statespecific control measures relied on by
the state for achieving its RPGs. The
LTS must include enforceable emissions
limitations, compliance schedules, and
other measures as necessary to achieve
the RPGs for all Class I areas affected by
Indiana emissions.
Indiana consulted with Class I states
on the development of RPGs through its
participation in MRPO. MRPO
facilitated consultations with other
Midwest states and with states in other
regions through inter-RPO processes. By
coordinating with the MRPO and other
RPOs, Indiana has worked to ensure that
its LTS provides sufficient emission
reductions to mitigate impacts of
sources from Indiana on affected Class
I areas. Indiana believes that existing
control programs will adequately
address Indiana’s impact on Class I
areas. Thus, continued implementation
of the control programs will satisfy the
long-term strategy requirements.
MPRO considered existing onhighway mobile source, off-highway
mobile source, area source, power plant,
and other point source programs as the
existing control programs in its analysis.
Indiana included a technical support
document (TSD) produced by MRPO in
its submission that details the analysis.
Overall, emissions from Indiana and the
Midwest, as a whole, are reduced
significantly over this time, illustrating
that Indiana is making appropriate
progress toward reducing emissions.
At 40 CFR 51.308(d)(3)(v), the RHR
identifies seven factors that each state
must consider in developing its LTS.
The state must consider: (1) Emission
reductions due to ongoing air pollution
control programs, including measures to
address RAVI; (2) Measures to mitigate
impact from construction activities; (3)
Emissions limitations and schedules for
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compliance to achieve the RPG; (4)
Source retirement and replacement
schedules; (5) Smoke management
techniques for agricultural and forestry
management purposes including plans
as currently exist within the State for
these purposes; (6) Enforceability of
emissions limitations and control
measures; and (7) The anticipated net
effect on visibility due to projected
changes in point, area, and mobile
source emissions over the period
addressed by the LTS.
Indiana relied on MPRO’s modeling
and analysis along with its emission
information in developing a LTS.
Indiana consulted with Class I states
through its participation in MRPO.
MRPO facilitated consultations with
other Midwest states and with states in
other regions through inter-RPO
processes. Indiana considered the
factors set out in 40 CFR 51.308(d)(3)(v)
in developing its LTS. Based on these
factors and the MRPO’s technical
analysis, in conjunction with RPGs that
were set by the pertinent states in
consultation with Indiana and other
states, Indiana concludes that existing
control programs adequately address
Indiana’s impact on Class I areas and
suffice to meet their RPGs by 2018 by
implementing the control programs
already in place. These existing control
programs include Federal motor vehicle
emission control program, reformulated
gasoline, emission limits for area
sources of VOCs, Title IV, the NOX SIP
Call, new source review permitting
program, Maximum Achievable Control
Technology standards, and Federal nonroad standards for construction
equipment and vehicles. Furthermore,
Indiana has open burning rules and its
Department of Natural Resources has
the authority to ban outdoor burning if
necessary. Indiana noted in its
submission that the state has a smoke
management plan that complements its
open burning rules, under Indiana Code
13–17–9 and rule 326 IAC Article 4–1.
Significantly, Indiana’s LTS also relies
on CAIR. In rulemaking published on
December 30, 2011, at 76 FR 82219, EPA
proposed to disapprove the BART plans
and LTS’s for Indiana and several other
states because CAIR cannot be
considered to provide permanently
enforceable emission reductions.
As noted in EPA’s separate notice
proposing revisions to the RHR (76 FR
82219, December 30, 2011), a number of
states, including Indiana, fully
consistent with EPA’s regulations at the
time, relied on the trading programs of
CAIR to satisfy the BART requirement
and the requirement for a long-term
strategy sufficient to achieve the stateadopted reasonable progress goals. In
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16:43 Jan 25, 2012
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that notice, we proposed a limited
disapproval of Indiana’s long-term
strategy based on its reliance on CAIR.
Comments on that proposed
determination may be directed to
Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2011–
0729. We are proposing to find that the
remaining elements of Indiana’s longterm strategy meet the requirements of
the RHR.
F. Comments
Indiana took comments on its
proposed regional haze plan. It held a
public hearing on January 11, 2011,
which concluded the public comment
period. As part of the consultation
process, Indiana also received
comments from the FLMs which were
presented at Indiana’s public hearing.
Indiana provided the comments it
received and its responses with its plan.
Indiana revised portions of its plan in
response to comments received. EPA
considers that Indiana has satisfied this
requirement.
IV. What action is EPA taking?
EPA is proposing a limited approval
of revisions to the Indiana SIP
submitted by IDEM on January 11, 2011,
and March 10, 2011, addressing regional
haze for the first implementation period.
The revisions seek to address CAA and
regional haze rule requirements for
states to remedy any existing
anthropogenic and prevent future
impairment of visibility at Class I areas.
Indiana’s plan satisfies a number of
elements of the regional haze
requirements. Indiana’s plan identifies
the Class I areas that the state’s
emissions affect. Indiana demonstrates
that the state has consulted with other
states as appropriate in establishing
reasonable progress goals and
identifying the reductions need in
Indiana to meet those goals. Indiana’s
plan meets the requirement for BART
for non-EGUs and for particulate matter
emissions from EGUs. For these reasons,
and for the SIP strengthening effect of
Indiana’s plan, EPA is proposing limited
approval of Indiana’s plan.
In addition to the above actions, EPA
is proposing to approve regulation 326
IAC Article 26, Rule 2 into Indiana’s SIP
which incorporates BART emission
limitations in order for sources to
comply with EPA’s Regional Haze Rule.
It should be noted that rule 326 IAC
Article 26–2 contains an erroneous
citation, citing limits in 326 IAC 7–4–
10(a)(4) rather than 326 IAC 7–4–
10(a)(3). EPA nevertheless finds the rule
approvable for several reasons: (1) The
pertinent limits are already an approved
part of Indiana’s SIP and are therefore
already enforceable; (2) the State’s
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Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
3983
intent is clear; and (3) Indiana intends
to correct this referencing.
In a separate action, EPA has
previously proposed a limited
disapproval of the Indiana regional haze
SIP because of deficiencies in the state’s
regional haze SIP submittal arising from
the remand by the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the District of Columbia (DC Circuit)
to EPA of the Clean Air Interstate Rule
(CAIR). 76 FR 82219, December 30,
2011. Consequently, we are not taking
action in this notice to address the
state’s reliance on CAIR to meet certain
regional haze requirements.
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:
• 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);
• 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 Clean Air Act;
and
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• 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 rule 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, Intergovernmental
relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Particulate
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur oxides, and
Volatile organic compounds.
Dated: January 17, 2012.
Susan Hedman,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2012–1604 Filed 1–25–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R03–OAR–2012–0002, FRL–9622–2]
Approval and Promulgation of Air
Quality Implementation Plans;
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania;
Regional Haze State Implementation
Plan
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
EPA is proposing limited
approval of a revision to the
Pennsylvania State Implementation Plan
(SIP) submitted by the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, through the
Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection (PADEP) on
December 20, 2010 that addresses
regional haze for the first
implementation period. This revision
addresses the requirements of the Clean
Air Act (CAA) and EPA’s rules that
require states to prevent any future, and
remedy any existing, anthropogenic
impairment of visibility in mandatory
Class I areas caused by emissions of air
pollutants from numerous sources
located over a wide geographic area
(also referred to as the ‘‘regional haze
program’’). States are required to assure
reasonable progress toward the national
goal of achieving natural visibility
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
SUMMARY:
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16:43 Jan 25, 2012
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conditions in Class I areas. EPA is
proposing a limited approval of this SIP
revision to implement the regional haze
requirements for Pennsylvania on the
basis that the revisions, as a whole,
strengthen the Pennsylvania SIP. EPA is
also proposing to approve this revision
as meeting the infrastructure
requirements relating to visibility
protection for the 1997 8-Hour Ozone
National Ambient Air Quality Standard
(NAAQS) and the 1997 and 2006 fine
particulate matter (PM2.5) NAAQS. In a
separate action, EPA has previously
proposed a limited disapproval of the
Pennsylvania regional haze SIP because
of deficiencies in the Commonwealth’s
regional haze SIP submittal arising from
the remand by the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the District of Columbia (DC Circuit)
to EPA of the Clean Air Interstate Rule
(CAIR), see 76 FR 82219, December 30,
2011. Consequently, we are not taking
action in this notice to address the
Commonwealth’s reliance on CAIR to
meet certain regional haze requirements.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before February 27, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID Number EPA–
R03–OAR–2012–0002 by one of the
following methods:
A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the
on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
B. Email: fernandez.cristina@epa.gov.
C. Mail: EPA–R03–OAR–2012–0002,
Cristina Fernandez, Associate Director,
Office of Air Program Planning,
Mailcode 3AP30, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Region III, 1650
Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
19103.
D. Hand Delivery: At the previouslylisted EPA Region III address. Such
deliveries are only accepted during the
Docket’s normal hours of operation, and
special arrangements should be made
for deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to
Docket ID No. EPA–R03–OAR–2012–
0002. EPA’s policy is that all comments
received will be included in the public
docket without change, and may be
made available online at
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided, unless
the comment includes information
claimed to be Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Do not submit information that you
consider to be CBI or otherwise
protected through www.regulations.gov
or email. The www.regulations.gov Web
site is an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system,
which means EPA will not know your
identity or contact information unless
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Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
you provide it in the body of your
comment. If you send an email
comment directly to EPA without going
through www.regulations.gov, your
email address will be automatically
captured and included as part of the
comment that is placed in the public
docket and made available on the
Internet. If you submit an electronic
comment, EPA recommends that you
include your name and other contact
information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD–ROM
you submit. If EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties
and cannot contact you for clarification,
EPA may not be able to consider your
comment. Electronic files should avoid
the use of special characters, any form
of encryption, and be free of any defects
or viruses.
Docket: All documents in the
electronic docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index. Although
listed in the index, some information is
not publicly available, i.e., 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
electronically in www.regulations.gov or
in hard copy during normal business
hours at the Air Protection Division,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region III, 1650 Arch Street,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
Copies of the Commonwealth’s
submittal are available at the
Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection, Bureau of Air
Quality Control, P.O. Box 8468, 400
Market Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
17105.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Melissa Linden, (215) 814–2096, or by
email at mailto:linden.melissa@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On
December 20, 2010, the PADEP
submitted a revision to its SIP to
address regional haze for the first
implementation period.
Table of Contents
I. What is the background for EPA’s proposed
action?
A. The Regional Haze Problem
B. Background Information
C. Roles of Agencies in Addressing
Regional Haze
D. Interstate Transport for Visibility
II. What are the requirements for the regional
haze SIPs?
A. The CAA and the Regional Haze Rule
(RHR)
B. Determination of Baseline, Natural, and
Current Visibility Conditions
E:\FR\FM\26JAP1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 17 (Thursday, January 26, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 3975-3984]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-1604]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R05-OAR-2011-0080; FRL-9622-7]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Indiana; Regional Haze
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: EPA is proposing a limited approval of revisions to the
Indiana State Implementation Plan (SIP) addressing regional haze for
the first implementation period. Indiana submitted its regional haze
plan on January 14, 2011, and supplemented it on March 10, 2011. The
Indiana regional haze plan addresses the requirements of the Clean Air
Act (CAA or Act) and Regional Haze Rule (RHR) requirements for states
to remedy any existing and prevent future anthropogenic impairment of
visibility in mandatory Class I areas caused by emissions of air
pollutants from numerous sources located over a wide geographic area
(also referred to as the ``regional haze program''). States are
required to assure reasonable progress toward the national goal of
achieving natural visibility conditions in Class I areas. EPA is
proposing a limited approval of these SIP revisions to implement the
regional haze requirements for Indiana on the basis that the revisions,
as a whole, strengthen the Indiana SIP. In a separate action, EPA has
previously proposed a limited disapproval of the Indiana regional haze
SIP because of the deficiencies in Indiana's regional haze SIP
submittal arising from the remand by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia (D.C. Circuit) to EPA of the Clean Air Interstate
Rule (CAIR). Consequently, we are not proposing to take action in this
notice to address the state's reliance on CAIR to meet certain regional
haze requirements.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 27, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2011-0080, by one of the following methods:
1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
2. Email: blakley.pamela@epa.gov.
3. Fax: (312) 692-2450.
4. Mail: Pamela Blakley, Chief, Control Strategies Section, Air
Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
5. Hand Delivery: Pamela Blakley, Chief, Control Strategies
Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. Such
deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office normal hours of
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of
boxed information. The Regional Office official hours of business are
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding Federal
holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-
2011-0080. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to
be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or email. The
www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which
means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you
provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email comment
directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov your email
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the
comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the
Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you
include your name and other contact information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of
[[Page 3976]]
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional
instructions on submitting comments, go to Section I of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy.
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy 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.
We recommend that you telephone Charles Hatten, Environmental Engineer,
at (312) 886-6031 before visiting the Region 5 office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Hatten, Environmental
Engineer, Control Strategy Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J),
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard,
Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-6031, hatten.charles@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information
section is arranged as follows:
I. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?
II. What is the background for EPA's proposed action?
A. The Regional Haze Problem
B. Requirements of the CAA and EPA's RHR
C. Roles of Agencies in Addressing Regional Haze
III. What are the requirements for regional haze SIPs?
A. The CAA and the RHR
B. Determination of Baseline, Natural, and Current Visibility
Conditions
C. Determination of RPGs
D. BART
E. LTS
F. Coordinating Regional Haze and RAVI LTS
G. Monitoring Strategy and Other Implementation Plan
Requirements
H. Consultation With States and Federal Land Managers (FLMs)
IV. What is the relationship of the CAIR and the transport rule to
the regional haze requirements?
A. Overview of EPA's CAIR
B. Remand of the CAIR
C. Regional Haze SIP Elements Potentially Affected by the CAIR
Remand and Promulgation of Transport Rule
V. What is EPA's analysis of Indiana's regional haze plan?
A. Rationale and Scope of Proposed Limited Approval
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?
When submitting comments, remember to:
1. Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other identifying
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
2. Follow directions--EPA may ask you to respond to specific
questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
3. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and
substitute language for your requested changes.
4. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information
and/or data that you used.
5. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced.
6. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and
suggest alternatives.
7. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of
profanity or personal threats.
8. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period deadline
identified.
II. What is the background for EPA's proposed action?
A. The Regional Haze Problem
Regional haze is visibility impairment that is produced by a
multitude of sources and activities that are located across a broad
geographic area and emit fine particles (PM2.5) (e.g.,
sulfates, nitrates, organic particles, elemental carbon, and soil dust)
and its precursors--sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides
(NOX), and in some cases ammonia (NH3) and
volatile organic compound (VOCs). Fine particle precursors react in the
atmosphere to form fine particulate matter. Aerosol PM2.5
impairs visibility by scattering and absorbing light. Visibility
impairment reduces the clarity and distance one can see.
PM2.5 can also cause serious health effects and mortality in
humans and contributes to environmental effects such as acid deposition
and eutrophication.
Data from the existing visibility monitoring network, the
``Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments'' (IMPROVE)
monitoring network, show that visibility impairment caused by air
pollution occurs virtually all the time at most national park and
wilderness areas. The average visual range, the distance at which an
object is barely discernable, in many Class I areas \1\ in the western
United States is 100-150 kilometers. That is about one-half to two-
thirds of the visual range that would exist without anthropogenic air
pollution. In the eastern and Midwestern Class I areas of the United
States, the average visual range is generally less than 30 kilometers,
or about one-fifth of the visual range that would exist under estimated
natural conditions. See 64 FR 35715 (July 1, 1999).
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\1\ Areas designated as mandatory Class I Federal areas consist
of national parks exceeding 6000 acres, wilderness areas and
national memorial parks exceeding 5000 acres, and all international
parks that were in existence on August 7, 1977. 42 U.S.C. 7472(a).
In accordance with section 169A of the CAA, EPA, in consultation
with the Department of Interior, promulgated a list of 156 areas
where visibility is identified as an important value. 44 FR 69122
(November 30, 1979). The extent of a mandatory Class I area includes
subsequent changes in boundaries, such as park expansions. 42 U.S.C.
7472(a). Although states and tribes may designate as Class I
additional areas which they consider to have visibility as an
important value, the requirements of the visibility program set
forth in section 169A of the CAA apply only to ``mandatory Class I
Federal areas.'' Each mandatory Class I Federal area is the
responsibility of a ``Federal Land Manager.'' 42 U.S.C. 7602(i).
When we use the term ``Class I area'' in this action, we mean a
``mandatory Class I Federal area.''
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B. Requirements of the CAA and EPA's RHR
In section 169A of the 1977 Amendments to the CAA, Congress created
a program for protecting visibility in the nation's national parks and
wilderness areas. This section of the CAA establishes as a national
goal the ``prevention of any future, and the remedying of any existing,
impairment of visibility in mandatory Class I areas which impairment
results from manmade air pollution.'' On December 2, 1980, EPA
promulgated regulations to address visibility impairment in Class I
areas that is ``reasonably attributable'' to a single source or small
group of sources known as, ``reasonably attributable visibility
impairment'' (RAVI). See 45 FR 80084. These regulations, codified at 40
CFR part 50, subpart P, represented the first phase in addressing
visibility impairment. EPA deferred action on regional haze that
emanates from a variety of sources until monitoring, modeling, and
scientific knowledge about the relationships between pollutants and
visibility impairment were improved.
Congress added section 169B to the CAA in 1990 to address regional
haze issues. EPA promulgated a rule to address regional haze, the RHR,
on July
[[Page 3977]]
1, 1999 (64 FR 35713). The RHR, which amends 40 CFR part 50, subpart P,
revised the existing visibility regulations to integrate provisions
addressing regional haze impairment and established a comprehensive
visibility protection program for Class I areas. The subpart P
requirements for regional haze, found at 40 CFR 51.308 and 51.309, are
included in EPA's visibility protection regulations at 40 CFR 51.300-
309. Some of the main elements of the regional haze requirements are
summarized in section III. The requirement to submit a regional haze
SIP applies to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin
Islands.\2\
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\2\ Albuquerque/Bernalillo County in New Mexico must also submit
a regional haze SIP to completely satisfy the requirements of
section 110(a)(2)(D) of the CAA for the entire State of New Mexico
under the New Mexico Air Quality Control Act (section 74-2-4).
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C. Roles of Agencies in Addressing Regional Haze
Successful implementation of the regional haze program will require
long-term regional coordination among states, tribal governments, and
various Federal agencies. Pollution affecting the air quality in Class
I areas can be transported over long distances, even hundreds of
kilometers. Therefore, to effectively address the problem of visibility
impairment in Class I areas, states need to develop strategies in
coordination with one another, taking into account the effect of
emissions from one jurisdiction on the air quality in another state.
EPA has encouraged the states and tribes to address visibility
impairment from a regional perspective because the pollutants that lead
to regional haze can originate from sources located across broad
geographic areas. Five regional planning organizations (RPOs) were
developed to address regional haze and related issues in their
geographical area. The five RPOs are the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern
Visibility Union (MANE-VU) for the Northeastern states, the Visibility
Improvement State and Tribal Association of the Southeast (VISTAS), the
Midwest Regional Planning Organization (MRPO), the Central Regional Air
Planning Association (CENRAP), and Western Regional Air Partnership
(WRAP). The RPOs first evaluated technical information to better
understand how their states and tribes impact Class I areas across the
country and then pursued the development of regional strategies to
reduce PM2.5 emissions and other pollutants leading to
regional haze.
The State of Indiana participated in the planning efforts of the
MRPO. The MRPO is a collaborative effort of state governments, tribal
governments, and various Federal agencies established to initiate and
coordinate activities associated with the management of regional haze,
visibility and other air quality issues inside the borders of the five
States of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Members of
MRPO include the five states, the Federal Land Managers (U.S. National
Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service),
and EPA.
III. What are the requirements for regional haze SIPs?
A. The CAA and the RHR
Regional haze SIPs must assure reasonable progress toward the
national goal of achieving natural visibility conditions in Class I
areas. Section 169A of the CAA and EPA's implementing regulations
require states to establish long-term strategies (LTS) for making
reasonable progress toward meeting this goal. Plans must also give
specific attention to certain stationary sources that were in existence
on August 7, 1977, but were not in operation before August 7, 1962, and
require these sources, where appropriate, to install best available
retrofit technology (BART) for the purpose of reducing visibility
impairment. The specific regional haze SIP requirements are discussed
in further detail below.
B. Determination of Baseline, Natural, and Current Visibility
Conditions
The RHR establishes the deciview \3\ (dv) as the principal metric
or unit for expressing visibility impairment. This visibility metric
expresses uniform changes in haziness in terms of common increments
across the entire range of visibility conditions, from pristine to
extremely hazy conditions. Visibility expressed in deciviews is
determined by using air quality measurements to estimate light
extinction and then transforming the value of light extinction using a
logarithm function. The deciview is a more useful measure for tracking
progress in improving visibility than light extinction itself because
each deciview change is an equal incremental change in visibility
perceived by the human eye. Most people can detect a change in
visibility at one deciview.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ The preamble to the RHR provides additional details about
the deciview. 64 FR 35714, 35725 (July 1, 1999.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The deciview is used in expressing reasonable progress goals
(RPGs), defining baseline, current, and natural conditions, and
tracking changes in visibility. The regional haze SIPs must contain
measures that ensure ``reasonable progress'' toward the national goal
of preventing and remedying visibility impairment in Class I areas
caused by anthropogenic air pollution. The national goal is a return to
natural conditions such that anthropogenic sources of air pollution
would no longer impair visibility in Class I areas.
To track changes in visibility over time at each of the 156 Class I
areas covered by the visibility program (40 CFR 81.401-437) and as part
of the process for determining reasonable progress, states must
calculate the degree of existing visibility impairment at each Class I
area at the time of each regional haze SIP is submitted and at the
progress review every five years, midway through each 10-year
implementation period. The RHR requires states with Class I areas
(Class I states) to determine the degree of impairment in deciview for
the average of the 20 percent least impaired (best) and 20 percent most
impaired (worst) visibility days over a specified time period at each
of its Class I areas. Each state must also develop an estimate of
natural visibility conditions for the purpose of comparing progress
toward the national goal. Natural visibility is determined by
estimating the natural concentrations of pollutants that cause
visibility impairment and then calculating total light extinction based
on those estimates. EPA has provided guidance to states regarding how
to calculate baseline, natural, and current visibility conditions in
documents titled, EPA's Guidance for Estimating Natural Visibility
conditions under the Regional Haze Rule, September 2003, (EPA-454/B-03-
005 located at https://www.epa.gov/ttncaaa1/t1/memoranda/rh_envcurhr_gd.pdf) (hereinafter referred to as ``EPA's 2003 Natural Visibility
Guidance'') and Guidance for Tracking Progress Under the Regional Haze
Rule (EPA-454/B-03-004 September 2003 located at https://www.epa.gov/ttncaaa1/t1/memoranda/rh_tpurhr_gd.pdf)) (hereinafter referred to as
``EPA's 2003 Tracking Progress Guidance'').
For the first regional haze SIP, the ``baseline visibility
conditions'' are the starting points for assessing ``current''
visibility impairment. Baseline visibility conditions represent the
degree of visibility impairment for the 20 percent best days and 20
percent worst days for each calendar year from 2000 to 2004.
[[Page 3978]]
Using monitoring data for 2000 through 2004, states are required to
calculate the average degree of visibility impairment for each Class I
area, based on the average of annual values over the five-year period.
The comparison of initial baseline visibility conditions to natural
visibility conditions indicates the amount of improvement necessary to
attain natural visibility, while comparisons of future conditions
against baseline conditions will indicate the amount of progress made.
In general, the 2000 to 2004 baseline period is considered the time
from which improvement in visibility is measured.
C. Determination of RPGs
The vehicle for ensuring continuing progress towards achieving the
natural visibility goal is the submission of a series of regional haze
SIPs from the states that establish two distinct RPGs, one for the best
days and one for the worst days for every Class I area for each
approximately 10-year implementation period. The RHR does not mandate
specific milestones or rates of progress, but instead calls for states
to establish goals that provide for ``reasonable progress'' toward
achieving natural visibility conditions. In setting RPGs, states must
provide for an improvement in visibility for the worst days over the
approximately 10-year period of the SIP and ensure no degradation in
visibility for the best days.
States have significant discretion in establishing RPGs, but are
required to consider the following factors established in section 169A
of the CAA and in EPA's RHR at 40 CFR 51.308(d)(1)(i)(A): (1) The costs
of compliance; (2) the time necessary for compliance; (3) the energy
and non-air quality environmental impacts of compliance; and (4) the
remaining useful life of any potentially affected sources. The state
must demonstrate in its SIP how these factors are considered when
selecting the RPGs for the best and worst days for each applicable
Class I area. States have considerable flexibility in how they take
these factors into consideration, as noted in EPA's Guidance for
Setting Reasonable Progress Goals under the Regional Haze Program,
(``EPA's Reasonable Progress Guidance''), July 1, 2007, memorandum from
William L. Wehrum, Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and
Radiation, to EPA Regional Administrators, EPA Regions 1-10 (pp. 4-2,
5-1). In setting the RPGs, states must also consider the rate of
progress needed to reach natural visibility conditions by 2064
(``uniform rate of progress'' or ``glide path'') and the emissions
reduction needed to achieve that rate of progress over the 10-year
period of the SIP. In setting RPGs each state with a Class I areas
(Class I state) must also consult with potentially contributing states
that may affect visibility impairment at the Class I areas. See 40 CFR
51.308(d)(1)(iv).
D. BART
Section 169A of the CAA directs states to evaluate the use of
retrofit controls at certain older large stationary sources to address
visibility impacts from these sources. Specifically, CAA section
169A(b)(2)(A) requires states to revise their SIPs to contain such
measures as may be necessary to make reasonable progress towards the
natural visibility goal including a requirement that certain categories
of existing major stationary sources \4\ built between 1962 and 1977
procure, install, and operate BART as determined by the state. Under
the RHR, the state can require source-specific BART controls, but it
also has the flexibility to adopt an alternative such as an emissions
trading program or alternate control providing greater progress towards
improving visibility than BART.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ The set of ``major stationary sources'' potentially subject
to BART is listed in CAA section 169A(g)(7).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On July 6, 2005, EPA published the Guidelines for BART
Determinations Under the Regional Haze Rule at Appendix Y to 40 CFR
part 51 (BART Guidelines) to assist states in determining which of
their sources should be subject to the BART requirements and in
determining appropriate emission limits for each applicable source. (70
FR 39104) A state must use the approach in the BART Guidelines in
making a BART determination for a fossil fuel-fired electric generating
unit (EGUs) with total generating capacity in excess of 750 megawatts.
States are encouraged, but not required, to follow the BART Guidelines
in making BART determinations for other sources.
States must address all visibility-impairing pollutants emitted by
a source in the BART determination process. The most significant
visibility impairing pollutants are SO2, NOX, and
PM. EPA has stated that states should use their best judgment in
determining whether VOC and NH3 emissions impair visibility
in Class I areas.
Under the BART Guidelines, states may select an exemption threshold
value for their BART modeling, below which a BART-eligible source would
not be expected to cause or contribute to visibility impairment in any
Class I area. The state must document this exemption threshold value in
the SIP and must state the basis for its selection of that value. The
exemption threshold set by the state should not be higher than 0.50 dv.
Any source with emissions that model above the threshold value would be
subject to a BART determination review. The BART Guidelines acknowledge
varying circumstances affecting different Class I areas. States should
consider the number of emission sources affecting the Class I areas at
issue and the magnitude of the individual source's impact.
The state must identify potential BART sources in its SIP,
described as ``BART-eligible sources'' in the RHR, and document its
BART control determination analyses. In making BART determinations,
section 169A(g)(2) of the CAA requires the state to consider the
following factors: (1) The costs of compliance; (2) the energy and non-
air quality environmental impacts of compliance; (3) any existing
pollution control technology in use at the source; (4) the remaining
useful life of the source, and (5) the degree of improvement in
visibility which may reasonably be anticipated to result from the use
of such technology.
A regional haze SIP must include source-specific BART emission
limits and compliance schedules for each source subject to BART. The
BART controls must be installed and in operation as expeditiously as
practicable, but no later than five years after the date of EPA
approval of the state's regional haze SIP. See CAA section 169(g)(4);
40 CFR 51.308(e)(1)(iv). In addition to what is required by the RHR,
general SIP requirements mandate that the SIP must also include all
regulatory requirements related to monitoring, recordkeeping, and
reporting for the BART controls on the source.
The RHR also allows states to implement an alternative program in
lieu of BART if desired so long as the alternative program can be
demonstrated to achieve greater progress toward the national visibility
goal than implementing BART controls. EPA made such a demonstration for
CAIR under regulations issued in 2005 revising the regional haze
program. 70 FR 39104 (July 6, 2005). EPA's regulations provide that
states participating in the CAIR cap-and trade program under 40 CFR
part 96 pursuant to an EPA-approved CAIR SIP or which remain subject to
the CAIR Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) in 40 CFR part 97 need not
require affected BART-eligible EGUs to install, operate, and maintain
BART for emissions of SO2 and NOX. 40 CFR
51.308(e)(4). Since
[[Page 3979]]
CAIR is not applicable to emissions of PM, states were still required
to conduct a BART analysis for PM emissions from EGUs subject to BART
for that pollutant.
CAIR was later found to be inconsistent with the requirements of
the CAA and the rule was remanded to EPA. See North Carolina v. EPA,
550 F.3d 1176 (DC Cir. 2008). The court left CAIR in place until the
Agency replaced it. EPA replaced CAIR with the Transport Rule in August
2011.
On December 30, 2011, EPA proposed to find that the trading
programs in the Transport Rule would achieve greater reasonable
progress towards the national goal than would be obtained by
implementing BART for SO2 and NOX for BART-
subject EGUs in the area subject to the Transport Rule. 76 FR 82219.
Based on that proposed finding, EPA also proposed to revise the RHR to
allow states, including Indiana, to meet the requirements of an
alternative program in lieu of BART by participation in the trading
programs under the Transport Rule. The Transport Rule is not applicable
to emissions of PM, so states would still be required to conduct a BART
analysis for PM emissions from EGUs subject to BART for that pollutant.
EPA has not taken final action on that rule.
E. LTS
Consistent with the requirement in section 169A(b) of the CAA that
states include in their regional haze SIP a 10 to 15-year strategy for
making reasonable progress, section 51.308(d)(3) of the RHR requires
that states include an LTS in their regional haze SIPs. The LTS is the
compilation of all control measures a state will use during the
implementation period of the specific SIP submittal to meet applicable
RPGs. The LTS must include enforceable emissions limitations,
compliance schedules, and other measures as necessary to achieve the
RPGs for all Class I areas within or affected by emissions from the
state. 40 CFR 51.308(d)(3).
When a state's emissions are reasonably anticipated to cause or
contribute to visibility impairment in a Class I area located in
another state, the RHR requires the impacted state to coordinate with
the contributing states in order to develop coordinated emissions
management strategies. 40 CFR 51.308(d)(3)(i). In such cases, the
contributing state must demonstrate that it has included in its SIP all
measures necessary to obtain its share of the emission reductions
needed to meet the RPGs for the Class I area. The RPOs have provided
forums for significant interstate consultation, but additional
consultations between states may be required to address interstate
visibility issues sufficiently.
States should consider all types of anthropogenic sources of
visibility impairment in developing their LTS, including stationary,
minor, mobile, and area sources. At a minimum, states must describe how
each of the following seven factors listed below are taken into account
in developing their LTS. The seven factors are: (1) Emission reductions
due to ongoing air pollution control programs, including measures to
address RAVI; (2) measures to mitigate the impacts of construction
activities; (3) emissions limitations and schedules for compliance to
achieve the RPG; (4) source retirement and replacement schedules; (5)
smoke management techniques for agricultural and forestry management
purposes including plans as currently exist within the state for these
purposes; (6) enforceability of emissions limitations and control
measures; and (7) the anticipated net effect on visibility due to
projected changes in point, area, and mobile source emissions over the
period addressed by the LTS. 40 CFR 51.308(d)(3)(v).
F. Coordinating Regional Haze and RAVI LTS
As part of the RHR, EPA revised 40 CFR 51.306(c), regarding the LTS
for RAVI to require that the RAVI plan must provide for a periodic
review and SIP revision not less frequently than every three years
until the date of submission of the state's first plan addressing
regional haze visibility impairment in accordance with 40 CFR 51.308(b)
and (c). The state must revise its plan to provide for review and
revision of a coordinated LTS for addressing RAVI and regional haze on
or before this date. It must also submit the first such coordinated LTS
with its first regional haze SIP. Future coordinated LTSs, and periodic
progress reports evaluating progress towards RPGs, must be submitted
consistent with the schedule for SIP submission and periodic progress
reports set forth in 40 CFR 51.308(f) and 51.308(g), respectively. The
periodic review of a state's LTS must report on both regional haze and
RAVI impairment and be submitted to EPA as a SIP revision.
G. Monitoring Strategy and Other Implementation Plan Requirements
40 CFR 51.308(d)(4) includes the requirement for a monitoring
strategy for measuring, characterizing, and reporting of regional haze
visibility impairment that is representative of all mandatory Class I
areas within the state. The strategy must be coordinated with the
monitoring strategy required in 40 CFR 51.305. Compliance with this
requirement may be met through participation in the IMPROVE network,
meaning that the state reviews and uses monitoring data from the
network. The monitoring strategy must also provide for additional
monitoring sites if the IMPROVE network is not sufficient to determine
whether RPGs will be met. The monitoring strategy is due with the first
regional haze SIP and it must be reviewed every five years.
The SIP must also provide for the following:
Procedures for using monitoring data and other information
in a state with mandatory Class I areas to determine the contribution
of emissions from within the state to regional haze visibility
impairment at Class I areas both within and outside the state;
Procedures for using monitoring data and other information
in a state with no mandatory Class I areas to determine the
contribution of emissions from within the state to regional haze
visibility impairment at Class I areas in other states;
Reporting of all visibility monitoring data to the
Administrator at least annually for each Class I area in the state, and
where possible in electronic format;
A statewide inventory of emissions of pollutants that are
reasonably anticipated to cause or contribute to visibility impairment
in any Class I area. The inventory must include emissions for a
baseline year, emissions for the most recent year with available data,
and future projected emissions. A state must also make a commitment to
update the inventory periodically; and
Other elements including reporting, recordkeeping, and
other measures necessary to assess and report on visibility.
The RHR requires control strategies to cover an initial
implementation period extending to the year 2018 with a comprehensive
reassessment and revision of those strategies, as appropriate, every 10
years thereafter. Periodic SIP revisions must meet the core
requirements of 40 CFR 51.308(d) with the exception of BART. The
requirement to evaluate sources for BART applies only to the first
regional haze SIP. Facilities subject to BART must continue to comply
with the BART provisions of 40 CFR 51.308(e), as noted above. Periodic
SIP revisions will assure that the statutory requirement of reasonable
progress will continue to be met.
[[Page 3980]]
H. Consultation With States and Federal Land Managers(FLMs)
The RHR requires that states consult with FLMs before adopting and
submitting their SIPs. 40 CFR 51.308(i). States must provide FLMs an
opportunity for consultation, in person and at least 60 days prior to
holding any public hearing on the SIP. This consultation must include
the opportunity for the FLMs to discuss their assessment of impairment
of visibility in any Class I area and to offer recommendations on the
development of the RPGs and on the development and implementation of
strategies to address visibility impairment. Further, a state must
include in its SIP a description of how it addressed any comments
provided by the FLMs. Finally, a SIP must provide procedures for
continuing consultation between the state and FLMs regarding the
state's visibility protection program, including development and review
of SIP revisions, five-year progress reports, and the implementation of
other programs having the potential to contribute to impairment of
visibility in Class I areas.
IV. What is EPA's analysis of Indiana's regional haze plan?
Indiana submitted its regional haze plan on January 14, 2011, and
supplemented it on March 10, 2011.
A. Affected Class I Areas
States are required to address regional haze affecting Class I
areas within a state and in Class I areas outside the state that may be
affected by that state's emissions. Indiana does not have any Class I
areas within its borders, but has been identified as influencing the
visibility impairment of Class I areas in other nearby states. Indiana
is responsible for developing a regional haze SIP that addresses its
visibility impairment on Class I areas it may affect describing its
LTS, its role in the consultation processes, and how the SIP meets
other elements in EPA's RHR. Since Indiana does not have any Class I
areas within its borders, and has no sources that have been identified
as causes of RAVI, however, Indiana is not required to address the
following Regional Haze SIP elements: (1) Calculation of baseline and
natural visibility conditions; (2) establishment of reasonable progress
goals; (3) monitoring requirements, and (4) RAVI requirements.
Indiana reviewed technical analyses conducted by MRPO and other
RPOs to determine what Class I areas are affected by Indiana's
emissions. MPRO conducted both a back trajectory analysis and modeling
to determine the affects of its states' emissions. Indiana also used
assessments by MANE-VU, VISTAS, and a joint state assessment by
Arkansas and Missouri, each of which identified states having non-de
minimus impacts on specified Class I areas. The following are Class I
areas identified as being affected by Indiana sources:
Southeastern U.S. (VISTAS)--Sipsey Wilderness Area, Alabama; Mammoth
Cave National Park, Kentucky; Great Smoky Mountains National Park,
North Carolina and Tennessee; James River Face Wilderness Area,
Virginia (VA); Shenandoah National Park, VA; and Dolly Sods/Otter Creek
Wilderness Areas, West Virginia (WVA)
Eastern U.S. (MANE-VU)--Acadia National Park, Maine; Moosehorn
Wilderness Area, Maine; Great Gulf Wilderness Area, New Hampshire;
Brigantine Wilderness Area, New Jersey; and Lye Brook Wilderness Area,
Vermont
North Central U.S. (MRPO and CENRAP)--Isle Royale National Park,
Michigan (MI); Seney National Wildlife Refuge, MI; Boundary Waters
Canoe Area Wilderness Area, Minnesota (MN); and Voyageurs National
Park, MN
South Central U.S. (CENRAP)--Hercules-Glades Wilderness Area, Missouri
(MO); Mingo Wilderness Area, MO; Caney Creek Wilderness Area, Arizona
(AR); and Upper Buffalo Wilderness Area, AR
Appendix 1 of Indiana's Regional Haze SIP contains a list of these
Class I areas for all the Midwest states, and the analyses performed to
assess the impact from Indiana sources compiled by the MRPO. Class I
areas outside the areas listed above were not analyzed further, as
there were no significant impacts from Indiana sources shown. Further,
no impacts were noted in the WRAP states.
B. Determination of Baseline, Current, and Natural Conditions
The RHR requires Class I states to estimate the baseline, natural
and current visibility conditions of those Class I areas. See 40 CFR
51.308(d)(2). There are no Class I areas within the State of Indiana.
Therefore, this element does not apply to Indiana.
C. RPGs
Class I states must set RPGs that achieve reasonable progress
toward achieving natural visibility conditions. Indiana does not have
any Class I areas, so it does not need to set any RPGs. 40 CFR
51.308(d)(1). The states with Class I areas took the lead in
establishing RPGs. Indiana consulted with Class I states by
participating in the discussions (meetings and conference calls) with
MRPO and RPOs outside the Midwest to ensure it achieves its share of
emission reductions as those Class I states determine RPGs. In Appendix
9c, of Indiana's Regional Haze SIP, the Lake Michigan Air Directors
Consortium (LADCO) document ``Reasonable Progress for Class I Areas in
the Northern Midwest--Factor Analysis'' (July 18, 2007), addresses
factor analysis to establish RPG toward achieving natural visibility
conditions in mandatory Class I areas. In addition, Appendix 9b of
LADCO'S Technical Support Document ``Regional Air Quality Analyses for
Ozone, PM2.5, and Regional Haze: Final Technical Support
Document,'' provides additional information related to Indiana's
emissions and visibility contributions and a detailed discussion of the
measures needed to achieve Indiana's share of emission reductions.
Indiana has satisfied this requirement.
D. BART
Indiana began the BART rulemaking process in August 2006. Following
its rulemaking, which included the notices of hearings and comments,
Indiana adopted 326 Indiana Administrative Code (IAC), Article 26, Rule
1, Best Available Retrofit Technology, on October 3, 2007; it became
effective February 22, 2008.
Indiana conducted a BART analysis using the criteria in the BART
Guidance. Using available source emissions and construction date
information, Indiana developed a list of 32 BART-eligible sources
within the BART source categories by county.
Indiana then applied the results of the screening modeling
conducted by the MRPO to determine which BART-eligible sources have
significant impacts on any Class I area and thus warrant being subject
to BART requirements. In accordance with EPA's recommendation Indiana
defined ``significant impact'' as an impact of at least 0.5 deciviews.
By this means, Indiana identified the following non-EGUs as subject to
BART: Alcoa Inc., ESSROC Cement Corporation, SABIC Innovative Plastics
(formerly GE Plastics), and Mittal Steel USA Inc.-Burns Harbor. Indiana
did not consider EGUs in its analysis as it decided to rely on these
sources' participation in the CAIR to address the BART requirements for
SO2 and NOX emissions from these sources, and a
modeling analysis demonstrated that particulate matter impacts from
EGUs at
[[Page 3981]]
Class I areas were insignificant and did not warrant further control.
Indiana further analyzed the four non-EGU facilities to determine
which sources are subject to BART. Additional more refined modeling
analyses submitted for three of the four non-EGU sources (ESSROC Cement
Corporation, SABIC Innovative Plastics, and Mittal Steel USA Inc.--
Burns Harbor) showed that they did not contribute significantly to the
visibility impairment at any Class I areas, so that these sources may
be exempted from the BART requirement under the regional haze rule.
Modeling of these facilities indicated that just one source, Alcoa of
Warrick County, is subject to BART.
Alcoa, Inc.--BART Determination and Modeling Analysis
Indiana submitted a BART analysis, prepared by Alcoa, which
analyzed BART and alternative BART control strategies. Before beginning
the five factor case-by-case BART analysis, Alcoa performed a baseline
visibility impact analysis for each of the years 2001-2003 using the
CALPUFF model with emission rates based on the 24-hour average actual
emissions from the highest emitting day. The initial screening model
projected the highest visibility impact at Mammoth Cave National Park
(MCNP). Other Class I areas screened included Mingo Wilderness Area,
Sipsey Wilderness Area, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Joyce
Kilmer--Slick Rock Wilderness Area, Cohutta Wilderness Area, and
Shining Rock Wilderness Area. The impact at MCNP exceeded 0.5 dv. Since
the visibility impact was highest at MCNP, the BART analysis focused on
the impact at MCNP.
Alcoa identified 18 ingot furnaces, three boilers (Boilers
2, 3, and 4), and five aluminum refining furnaces
(Potlines 2-6) as meeting BART eligibility criteria. Boilers 2
and 3 are classified as industrial boilers. Boiler 4
is classified as an EGU, and, under Indiana's plan, is addressed by
CAIR for SO2 and NOX in conjunction with other
EGUs in the state. Thus, the BART analysis for boiler 4 will
only address PM emissions.
After proposing determinations of BART for its BART-subject units,
Alcoa proposed an alternative strategy which compensates for less
stringent limits at selected BART-subject units by imposing more
restrictive limits at a non-BART-subject unit at the facility. In most
respects, Indiana's SIP submittal reflects the BART determinations and
the alternative strategy that Alcoa proposed. Tables 1 and 2 show
summaries of the BART determinations and the alternative BART control
strategy that Alcoa proposed.
Table 1--Alcoa's Proposed BART Control Strategy
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Emission unit BART Alternative BART
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boiler 1.................... Not a BART-subject ....................
unit
PM.......................... .................... Electrostatic
Precipitator (ESP).
SO2......................... .................... Wet Flue Gas
Desulfurization
(FGD) with 91%
emission reduction
efficiency.
NOX......................... .................... Low NOX Burners
(LNB) with staged
over-fire air
(OFA).
Boilers 2 and 3:
PM...................... ESP................. ESP.
SO2..................... Wet FGD with 92% Wet FGD with 90%
emission reduction emission reduction
efficiency. efficiency.
NOX..................... LNB with staged OFA. LNB with staged over-
fire air OFA.
Boiler 4-PM................. ESP................. ESP.
Potlines (2-6):
--Fugitive emissions:
PM...................... No add-on control... No add-on control.
--Primary emissions:
PM...................... Gas treatment system Gas treatment system
followed by fabric followed by fabric
filter. filter.
SO2..................... Limit anode grade Limit anode grade
coke to 3% sulfur. coke to 3.5%
sulfur.
NOX..................... No add-on control... No add-on control
No add-on control... No add-on control.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 2--Alcoa's Proposed BART Emission Limits
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Compliance
Emission unit Emission limit demonstration method
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boiler 1.................... Not a Bart-eligible ....................
unit.
PM (filterable)............. 0.03 lb/MMBtu, 24- Continuous emission
hour daily average. monitoring system
(CEMS) at the
scrubber outlet
according to 40 CFR
part 60, following
Appendix B, PS-11.
SO2......................... 91% reduction, 24- CEMS at the scrubber
hour daily average. inlet and outlet
according to 40 CFR
part 60, following
Appendix B, PS-2.
NOX......................... 0.38 lb/MMBtu, 24- CEMS at the scrubber
hour daily average. outlet following PS-
2.
Boilers 2 and 3:
PM (filterable)......... 0.03 lb/MMBtu, 24- CEMS at the scrubber
hour daily average. outlet according to
40 CFR part 60,
following Appendix
B, PS-11.
SO2..................... 90% reduction, 24- CEMS at the scrubber
hour daily average. inlet and outlet
according to 40 CFR
part 60, following
Appendix B, PS-2.
NOX..................... 0.38 lb/MMBtu, 24- CEMS at the scrubber
hour daily average. outlet following PS-
2.
Boiler 4:
PM (filterable and 0.1 lb/MMBtu........ 40 CFR part 60,
sulfuric acid). Appendix A, Method
5.
Potlines (2-6):
PM (filterable)......... 0.005 grains/scf, 24- 40 CFR part 60,
hour daily average. Appendix A, Method
5.
[[Page 3982]]
SO2..................... The sulfur content ASTM D3177-02,
in each monthly modified by adding
baked anode saturated bromine
composite shall not water before the pH
exceed 2.919%, adjustment.
provided however Alternatively,
that hourly SO2 determination of
emissions from the sulfur content by x-
potlines shall not ray fluorescence.
exceed 1,456 lbs/hr
on a combined
basis, and
determined on a
monthly basis.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
As shown in Tables 1 and 2, Alcoa recommended that it be subject to
an alternative set of control requirements in lieu of being required to
implement BART at each BART-subject unit. This alternative would
provide additional control of emissions from boiler 1 beyond
that required in the baseline years, sufficient to compensate for
allowing more SO2 emissions from the potlines and from
boilers 2 and 3. Thus, Indiana determined
SO2 BART (utilizing wet limestone flue gas desulfurization)
for Boilers 2 and 3 as 92 percent reduction, but it
adopted requirements to control SO2 emissions from these
boilers by 90% as an alternative. According to the discussion in
Chapter 8, and Appendix 5, of the State of Indiana Regional Haze SIP,
Indiana determined that BART for the potlines consists of the use of
anode grade coke containing 3 percent sulfur, which is higher than the
current Indiana rule that limits sulfur in the coke to no more than 2
percent. The alternative strategy recommended by Alcoa allows the use
of coke containing 3.5 percent sulfur. To compensate for these less
stringent limits, Alcoa's alternative strategy requires that the source
control SO2 emissions from Boiler 1 by 91 percent
and control NOX emissions to meet limit of 0.38 pounds/
Million British thermal units (lbs/MMBtu) for boilers 1, i.e.,
the same limit as applies to boilers 2 and 3
(utilizing low NOX burners and over-fire air). For
particulate emissions, Indiana determined that BART represents use of
electrostatic precipitators with an emission limit equal to 0.03 lbs/
MMBtu for boilers 2 and 3. Indiana determined that
the particulate emission limit representing BART for boiler 4
is 0.015 lbs/MMBtu, with an alternative limit for this boiler as 0.10
lbs/MMBtu.
Indiana's submittal nominally follows Alcoa's recommendation.
Nevertheless, Indiana's submittal does not change the SO2
emission limits that apply to Alcoa's potlines. Therefore, EPA views
Indiana's submittal as mandating a BART strategy for Alcoa that in fact
includes status quo limits of potline SO2 emissions.
In any case, EPA does not agree that an increase in sulfur content
of coke used in the potlines at Alcoa's Warrick County facility, as
opposed to a decrease in the sulfur content and thus in the emissions
from these units, represents BART at these units. Furthermore, neither
the company nor the state has provided evidence that this relaxation of
limits on SO2 emissions from these units does not interfere
with attainment and maintenance of applicable SO2 air
quality standards, in contravention of Clean Air Act section 110(l). On
the other hand, Indiana's submittal contains no rule revisions or
permit provisions that would in fact implement any relaxation of limits
on the SO2 emissions from these units. Therefore,
notwithstanding the discussion suggesting that Indiana supports an
increase in these limits, the actual plan reflects continuation of the
existing limits without relaxation. That is, EPA considers Indiana's
regional haze plan to reflect the current SO2 emission
limits for the potlines, not the relaxed limits discussed in Indiana's
submittal. For each potline 2-6 the S02 emission
limit is 195.2 pounds/hour at the stack, and 21.7 pounds/hour for each
roof monitor associated with the potline.
Viewing Indiana's plan in that manner, EPA is satisfied with
Indiana's alternative strategy for Alcoa. Modeling conducted by Indiana
shows that the alternative achieves greater visibility improvement than
BART, equal to 75 percent more reduction in deciviews over the
baseline. The alternative BART, though it achieves greater reductions
in all pollutants (PM, SO2, and NOX); and most
notably achieves significantly higher reductions in SO2
emissions, equal to approximately 21,600 tons more than BART. The
resulting emission limits are adopted by Indiana into the Indiana's
regional haze SIP submittal, and will be included in the facilities'
Part 70 permit for each unit subject to BART.
Under the CAA, BART is required for any BART-eligible source that
emits any air pollutant which may reasonably be anticipated to cause or
contribute to any impairment of visibility in any Class I area.
Accordingly, for stationary sources meeting these criteria, states must
address the BART requirement when they develop their Regional Haze
SIPs. On November 3, 2010, the Indiana Air Pollution Control Board
adopted as final Indiana BART Rule, 326 IAC 26-2, to establish BART
emission limitations in order to comply with the RHR. Indiana's
Regional Haze SIP includes a copy of rule 326 IAC Article 26-2 in
Appendix 7.
E. LTS
As described in III. E of this action, the LTS is a compilation of
state-specific control measures relied on by the state for achieving
its RPGs. The LTS must include enforceable emissions limitations,
compliance schedules, and other measures as necessary to achieve the
RPGs for all Class I areas affected by Indiana emissions.
Indiana consulted with Class I states on the development of RPGs
through its participation in MRPO. MRPO facilitated consultations with
other Midwest states and with states in other regions through inter-RPO
processes. By coordinating with the MRPO and other RPOs, Indiana has
worked to ensure that its LTS provides sufficient emission reductions
to mitigate impacts of sources from Indiana on affected Class I areas.
Indiana believes that existing control programs will adequately address
Indiana's impact on Class I areas. Thus, continued implementation of
the control programs will satisfy the long-term strategy requirements.
MPRO considered existing on-highway mobile source, off-highway
mobile source, area source, power plant, and other point source
programs as the existing control programs in its analysis. Indiana
included a technical support document (TSD) produced by MRPO in its
submission that details the analysis. Overall, emissions from Indiana
and the Midwest, as a whole, are reduced significantly over this time,
illustrating that Indiana is making appropriate progress toward
reducing emissions.
At 40 CFR 51.308(d)(3)(v), the RHR identifies seven factors that
each state must consider in developing its LTS. The state must
consider: (1) Emission reductions due to ongoing air pollution control
programs, including measures to address RAVI; (2) Measures to mitigate
impact from construction activities; (3) Emissions limitations and
schedules for
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compliance to achieve the RPG; (4) Source retirement and replacement
schedules; (5) Smoke management techniques for agricultural and
forestry management purposes including plans as currently exist within
the State for these purposes; (6) Enforceability of emissions
limitations and control measures; and (7) The anticipated net effect on
visibility due to projected changes in point, area, and mobile source
emissions over the period addressed by the LTS.
Indiana relied on MPRO's modeling and analysis along with its
emission information in developing a LTS. Indiana consulted with Class
I states through its participation in MRPO. MRPO facilitated
consultations with other Midwest states and with states in other
regions through inter-RPO processes. Indiana considered the factors set
out in 40 CFR 51.308(d)(3)(v) in developing its LTS. Based on these
factors and the MRPO's technical analysis, in conjunction with RPGs
that were set by the pertinent states in consultation with Indiana and
other states, Indiana concludes that existing control programs
adequately address Indiana's impact on Class I areas and suffice to
meet their RPGs by 2018 by implementing the control programs already in
place. These existing control programs include Federal motor vehicle
emission control program, reformulated gasoline, emission limits for
area sources of VOCs, Title IV, the NOX SIP Call, new source
review permitting program, Maximum Achievable Control Technology
standards, and Federal non-road standards for construction equipment
and vehicles. Furthermore, Indiana has open burning rules and its
Department of Natural Resources has the authority to ban outdoor
burning if necessary. Indiana noted in its submission that the state
has a smoke management plan that complements its open burning rules,
under Indiana Code 13-17-9 and rule 326 IAC Article 4-1. Significantly,
Indiana's LTS also relies on CAIR. In rulemaking published on December
30, 2011, at 76 FR 82219, EPA proposed to disapprove the BART plans and
LTS's for Indiana and several other states because CAIR cannot be
considered to provide permanently enforceable emission reductions.
As noted in EPA's separate notice proposing revisions to the RHR
(76 FR 82219, December 30, 2011), a number of states, including
Indiana, fully consistent with EPA's regulations at the time, relied on
the trading programs of CAIR to satisfy the BART requirement and the
requirement for a long-term strategy sufficient to achieve the state-
adopted reasonable progress goals. In that notice, we proposed a
limited disapproval of Indiana's long-term strategy based on its
reliance on CAIR. Comments on that proposed determination may be
directed to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0729. We are proposing to
find that the remaining elements of Indiana's long-term strategy meet
the requirements of the RHR.
F. Comments
Indiana took comments on its proposed regional haze plan. It held a
public hearing on January 11, 2011, which concluded the public comment
period. As part of the consultation process, Indiana also received
comments from the FLMs which were presented at Indiana's public
hearing.
Indiana provided the comments it received and its responses with
its plan. Indiana revised portions of its plan in response to comments
received. EPA considers that Indiana has satisfied this requirement.
IV. What action is EPA taking?
EPA is proposing a limited approval of revisions to the Indiana SIP
submitted by IDEM on January 11, 2011, and March 10, 2011, addressing
regional haze for the first implementation period. The revisions seek
to address CAA and regional haze rule requirements for states to remedy
any existing anthropogenic and prevent future impairment of visibility
at Class I areas.
Indiana's plan satisfies a number of elements of the regional haze
requirements. Indiana's plan identifies the Class I areas that the
state's emissions affect. Indiana demonstrates that the state has
consulted with other states as appropriate in establishing reasonable
progress goals and identifying the reductions need in Indiana to meet
those goals. Indiana's plan meets the requirement for BART for non-EGUs
and for particulate matter emissions from EGUs. For these reasons, and
for the SIP strengthening effect of Indiana's plan, EPA is proposing
limited approval of Indiana's plan.
In addition to the above actions, EPA is proposing to approve
regulation 326 IAC Article 26, Rule 2 into Indiana's SIP which
incorporates BART emission limitations in order for sources to comply
with EPA's Regional Haze Rule.
It should be noted that rule 326 IAC Article 26-2 contains an
erroneous citation, citing limits in 326 IAC 7-4-10(a)(4) rather than
326 IAC 7-4-10(a)(3). EPA nevertheless finds the rule approvable for
several reasons: (1) The pertinent limits are already an approved part
of Indiana's SIP and are therefore already enforceable; (2) the State's
intent is clear; and (3) Indiana intends to correct this referencing.
In a separate action, EPA has previously proposed a limited
disapproval of the Indiana regional haze SIP because of deficiencies in
the state's regional haze SIP submittal arising from the remand by the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (DC Circuit) to EPA
of the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR). 76 FR 82219, December 30,
2011. Consequently, we are not taking action in this notice to address
the state's reliance on CAIR to meet certain regional haze
requirements.
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:
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);
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