Air Plan Approval; Indiana; ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor, 69198-69200 [2021-26467]
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69198
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 232 / Tuesday, December 7, 2021 / Proposed Rules
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Andrew Hirshfeld,
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Functions and Duties of the Under Secretary
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[FR Doc. 2021–26502 Filed 12–6–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–16–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R05–OAR–2020–0699; FRL–9318–01–
R5]
Air Plan Approval; Indiana;
ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve
revisions to the Indiana sulfur dioxide
(SO2) State Implementation Plan (SIP)
for the steel mill in Burns Harbor, Porter
County, Indiana, formerly owned by
ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor LLC and
currently owned by Cleveland-Cliffs
Burns Harbor LLC (the Burns Harbor
plant). Final approval of these revisions
would satisfy a provision in a Federal
Settlement Agreement. EPA approval
would also strengthen the Indiana SO2
SIP by lowering SO2 emission limits and
adding SO2 compliance test procedures
for the Burns Harbor plant. EPA is
proposing to approve this SIP revision
request.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before January 6, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R05–
OAR–2020–0699 at https://
www.regulations.gov, or via email to
Blakley.pamela@epa.gov. For comments
submitted at Regulations.gov, follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments. Once submitted, comments
cannot be edited or removed from
Regulations.gov. For either manner of
submission, EPA may publish any
comment received to its public docket.
Do not submit electronically any
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
SUMMARY:
information you consider to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI)
or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Multimedia
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be
accompanied by a written comment.
The written comment is considered the
official comment and should include
discussion of all points you wish to
make. EPA will generally not consider
comments or comment contents located
outside of the primary submission (i.e.,
on the web, cloud, or other file sharing
system). For additional submission
methods, please contact the person
identified in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the
full EPA public comment policy,
information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on
making effective comments, please visit
https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/
commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mary Portanova, Environmental
Engineer, Control Strategies Section, Air
Programs Branch (AR18J),
Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard,
Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 353–5954,
Portanova.mary@epa.gov. The EPA
Region 5 office is open from 8:30 a.m.
to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,
excluding Federal holidays and facility
closures due to COVID–19.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document whenever
‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean
EPA.
I. Background
On December 10, 2009, the Indiana
Department of Environmental
Management (IDEM) submitted a sitespecific SO2 SIP revision request to EPA
for the Burns Harbor plant. The revised
State rule removed the SO2 emission
limit applicable to the blast furnace flare
from SIP rule 326 Indiana
Administrative Code (IAC) 7–4–14. EPA
proposed to disapprove this requested
revision on March 20, 2013 (78 FR
17157) and finalized its disapproval on
December 27, 2013 (78 FR 78720). The
basis for this action was that IDEM had
not provided an adequate demonstration
that removing the flare limit would
enable continued protection of the SO2
National Ambient Air Quality Standard
(NAAQS or standard), as required by
section 110(l) of the Clean Air Act
(CAA).
On February 25, 2014, ArcelorMittal
Burns Harbor LLC filed a petition for
review challenging EPA’s action in the
United States Court of Appeals for the
Seventh Circuit. ArcelorMittal Burns
Harbor LLC v. EPA, No. 1412. The Court
of Appeals subsequently granted the
State of Indiana’s request to intervene as
a Petitioner.
On May 28, 2019, the parties entered
a Settlement Agreement under which
the State is required to adopt revised
emission limits and other associated
requirements into 326 IAC 7–4–14, as
further discussed below. The parties
entered into an Amended Settlement
Agreement on March 23, 2021. On
March 31, 2021, IDEM submitted
revisions to 326 IAC 7–4–14 to EPA as
proposed SIP revisions.
II. What is contained in IDEM’s SIP
revision request?
The revised rule 326 IAC 7–4–14(1)
increases the blast furnace gas flare limit
from 0.07 pounds SO2 per million
British thermal units (lb/mmBtu) to 0.50
lb/mmBtu. The revision adds a blast
furnace gas testing protocol in 326 IAC
7–4–14(1)(G), which includes a
requirement to perform quarterly gas
testing of blast furnace gas from blast
furnaces C and D, and a requirement to
use the test results to calculate the
emission rate in lb/mmBtu associated
with combusting the blast furnace gas.
Additional revisions in 326 IAC 7–4–
14(1) remove the limits and listing for
the slab mill soaking pits and the 160inch plate mill I & O furnace No. 8. The
rule clarifies that those units have been
permanently shut down (326 IAC 7–4–
14 (1)(F)). The limits in pounds of SO2
per hour (lb/hr) for the 110-inch plate
mill furnaces No. 1 and 2 and the 160inch plate mill I & O furnaces No. 4, 5,
6, and 7 have been reduced by 90
percent. The total lb/hr limit for the
power station boilers No. 8, 9, 10, 11,
and 12 has been reduced from 2,798 lb/
hr to 2,378 lb/hr. The rule revision also
removes a separate set of alternative
emission limits for the Burns Harbor
plant’s SO2 emission units. The
remaining emission limits in the rule
are unchanged. Table 1 shows the
emission limit changes.
TABLE 1—EMISSION LIMIT CHANGES AND CLOSURES AT THE BURNS HARBOR PLANT
Unit name
Former fuel
Former limit
Revised fuel
Blast Furnace Gas Flare ................................
Slab Mill Soaking Pits: 9 of 32 horizontally
discharged.
Blast furnace gas .......
Coke oven gas ...........
0.07 lb/mmBtu ............
482 lb/hr .....................
Blast furnace gas .......
Closed ........................
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Revised limit
0.50 lb/mmBtu.
0.0 lb/hr.
69199
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 232 / Tuesday, December 7, 2021 / Proposed Rules
TABLE 1—EMISSION LIMIT CHANGES AND CLOSURES AT THE BURNS HARBOR PLANT—Continued
Unit name
Former fuel
Former limit
Revised fuel
Slab Mill Soaking Pits: 23 of 32 horizontally
discharged.
Slab Mill Soaking Pits Set of 4 vertically discharged.
160 inch Plate Mill Continuous Reheat Furnace No. 1 and Boiler No. 1.
110 inch Plate Mill Furnaces No. 1 and 2 .....
Blast furnace gas or
natural gas.
Blast furnace or natural gas.
....................................
24 lb/hr .......................
Closed ........................
0.0 lb/hr.
4 lb/hr .........................
Closed ........................
0.0 lb/hr.
....................................
160 inch Plate Mill I and O Furnaces No. 4
and 5.
160 inch Plate Mill I and O Furnaces No. 6
and 7.
160 inch Plate Mill I and O Furnace No. 8 ....
....................................
29.9 lb/hr;
mmBtu.
44.1 lb/hr;
mmBtu.
27.4 lb/hr;
mmBtu.
27.4 lb/hr;
mmBtu.
0.0 lb/hr.
Power Station Boilers No. 8, 9, 10, 11, and
12.
....................................
299 lb/hr; 1.96 lb/
mmBtu.
441 lb/hr; 1.96 lb/
mmBtu.
274 lb/hr; 1.96 lb/
mmBtu.
274 lb/hr; 1.96 lb/
mmBtu.
176 lb/hr; 1.96 lb/
mmBtu.
2,798 lb/hr; 1.45 lb/
mmBtu.
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III. CAA Section 110(l)
Section 110(l) of the CAA provides
that State submissions cannot be
approved as SIP revisions if they
interfere with applicable requirements
concerning attainment and reasonable
further progress. The Burns Harbor
plant is located in Porter County, which
is designated attainment/unclassifiable
for the 2010 1-hour SO2 standard (86 FR
16055, March 26, 2021). EPA is
proposing to find that the overall
reductions in allowable SO2 emissions
in IDEM’s March 31, 2021 revised rule
offset the effect of increasing the limit
on the blast furnace gas flare. The rule
revisions, which reflect the units that
have new, lower emission limits and the
closed units that no longer emit SO2,
result in a reduction in total allowable
SO2 emissions of 2,265.6 lb/hr. The
increased allowable flare emissions are
estimated at 8.89 lb/hr. The net result is
an overall allowable SO2 emissions
decrease of 2,256.7 lb/hr. The flare limit
has been increased to allow the Burns
Harbor plant operational flexibility, as
the flare is a necessary safety device. In
addition, the improved compliance and
testing protocol will greatly improve the
accuracy of the actual SO2 emissions
calculations for blast furnace gas
combustion. This is because having
more accurate SO2 emissions
information should help the Burns
Harbor plant personnel properly
evaluate and demonstrate its blast
furnace flare compliance status. EPA
believes that the March 31, 2021 revised
rule 326 IAC 7–4–14(1) will not
adversely affect Porter County’s
maintenance of the 2010 1-hour SO2
standard. EPA proposes to find that
IDEM’s March 31, 2021 submittal is
consistent with CAA section 110(l).
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....................................
....................................
IV. What action is EPA taking?
EPA is proposing to approve the
March 31, 2021 SIP revision request for
Indiana’s SO2 rule 326 IAC 7–4–14(1)
for the Burns Harbor plant. If approved,
this revision would satisfy a provision
in a Federal Settlement Agreement. It
would also strengthen the Indiana SO2
SIP by lowering SO2 emission limits and
adding improved SO2 compliance test
procedures for the Burns Harbor plant.
V. Incorporation by Reference
In this rule, EPA is proposing to
include in a final EPA rule regulatory
text that includes incorporation by
reference. In accordance with
requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, EPA is
proposing to incorporate by reference
Indiana rule 326 IAC 7–4–14(1),
effective March 20, 2021. EPA has
made, and will continue to make, these
documents generally available through
www.regulations.gov and at the EPA
Region 5 Office (please contact the
person identified in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
preamble for more information).
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
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....................................
....................................
....................................
Closed ........................
....................................
Revised limit
1.96 lb/
1.96 lb/
1.96 lb/
1.96 lb/
2,378 lb/hr; 1.45 lb/
mmBtu.
Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735,
October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821,
January 21, 2011);
• Does not impose an information
collection burden under the provisions
of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
• Is certified as not having a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
• Does not contain any unfunded
mandate or significantly or uniquely
affect small governments, as described
in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4);
• Does not have federalism
implications as specified in Executive
Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10,
1999);
• Is not an economically significant
regulatory action based on health or
safety risks subject to Executive Order
13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997);
• Is not a significant regulatory action
subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR
28355, May 22, 2001);
• Is not subject to requirements of
Section 12(d) of the National
Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because
application of those requirements would
be inconsistent with the CAA; and
• Does not provide EPA with the
discretionary authority to address, as
appropriate, disproportionate human
health or environmental effects, using
practicable and legally permissible
methods, under Executive Order 12898
(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, the SIP is not approved
to apply on any Indian reservation land
or in any other area where EPA or an
Indian tribe has demonstrated that a
tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of
Indian country, the rule does not have
tribal implications and will not impose
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69200
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 232 / Tuesday, December 7, 2021 / Proposed Rules
substantial direct costs on tribal
governments or preempt tribal law as
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65
FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur oxides.
Dated: November 30, 2021.
Debra Shore,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2021–26467 Filed 12–6–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R10–OAR–2021–0751: FRL–9211–01–
R10]
Table of Contents
Air Plan Approval; Washington;
Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency,
General Air Quality Regulations
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve
revisions to the Washington State
Implementation Plan (SIP) that were
submitted by the Department of Ecology
(Ecology) in coordination with the
Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency
(YRCAA). In 2014, 2015, 2016, and
2020, the EPA approved revisions to the
General Regulations for Air Pollution
Sources promulgated by Ecology in the
Washington Administrative Code
(WAC). In this action, the EPA proposes
to update the SIP for YRCAA’s
jurisdiction to reflect these changes to
the WAC. We also propose to update
certain YRCAA regulations currently in
the SIP, remove obsolete regulations,
and approve a small set of YRCAA
regulations to replace or supplement the
corresponding WAC regulations for
sources in YRCAA’s jurisdiction.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before January 6, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R10–
OAR–2021–0751 at https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Once submitted, comments cannot be
edited or removed from Regulations.gov.
The EPA may publish any comment
received to its public docket. Do not
submit electronically any information
you consider to be Confidential
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:37 Dec 06, 2021
Jkt 256001
Business Information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Multimedia
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be
accompanied by a written comment.
The written comment is considered the
official comment and should include
discussion of all points you wish to
make. The EPA will generally not
consider comments or comment
contents located outside of the primary
submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or
other file sharing system). For
additional submission methods, the full
EPA public comment policy,
information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on
making effective comments, please visit
https://www.epa.gov/dockets/
commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff
Hunt, EPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth
Avenue—Suite 155, Seattle, WA 98101,
at (206) 553–0256, or hunt.jeff@epa.gov.
I. Background for Proposed Action
II. Proposed Revisions, YRCAA Regulation 1
A. Sections 1.01 Name of Agency, 1.02
Short Title, and 1.03 Policy
B. Appendix A Definitions of Words and
Phrases [Formerly Section 1.03
Definitions]
C. Section 1.04 Applicability
D. Sections 1.05 Roles and
Responsibilities and 2.01 Authority and
Investigation
E. Section 1.06 Records
F. Section 1.07 General Provisions
G. Section 2.02 Authority To Collect Fees
H. Section 2.03 Applicable State and
Federal Regulations
I. Section 2.04 Public Participation in
Permitting
J. Section 2.05 Appeals
K. Sections 3.01 General Rules and 3.08
Specific Dust Controls
L. Section 4.01 Registration Program
M. Section 4.03 Voluntary Limits on
Emissions
N. Sections 5.01 General Information,
5.02 Additional or Alternative
Enforcement Actions, and 5.03 Penalties
III. Applicability of Chapter 173–400 WAC
IV. The EPA’s Proposed Action
A. Regulations To Approve and
Incorporate by Reference Into the SIP
B. Approved But Not Incorporated by
Reference Regulations
C. Regulations To Remove From the SIP
D. Scope of Proposed Action
V. Incorporation by Reference
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background for Proposed Action
On January 27, 2014, Ecology
submitted revisions to update the
General Regulations for Air Pollution
Sources contained in Chapter 173–400
WAC. The EPA approved these updates
in three phases on October 3, 2014 (79
FR 59653), November 7, 2014 (79 FR
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66291), and April 29, 2015 (80 FR
23721).1 Under the revised applicability
provisions of WAC 173–400–020
approved into the SIP on October 3,
2014, the regulations contained in
Chapter 173–400 WAC apply statewide,
‘‘. . . except for specific subsections
where a local authority has adopted and
implemented corresponding local rules
that apply only to sources subject to
local jurisdiction as provided under
Revised Code of Washington (RCW)
70.94.141 and 70.94.331.’’ 2 Therefore,
the EPA’s approval of Ecology’s January
2014 submittal applied only to
geographic areas and source categories
under Ecology’s direct jurisdiction. We
stated that we would address the
revised Chapter 173–400 WAC
regulations as they apply to local clean
air agency jurisdictions on a case-bycase basis in separate, future actions.
Subsequent local clean air agency
actions related to Chapter 173–400 WAC
include our approval of the Benton
Clean Air Agency (80 FR 71695,
November 17, 2015), Southwest Clean
Air Agency (82 FR 17136, April 10,
2017), Puget Sound Clean Air Agency
(85 FR 22355, April 22, 2020),
Northwest Clean Air Agency (85 FR
36154, June 15, 2020), and Spokane
Regional Clean Air Agency (86 FR
24718, May 10, 2021).
On October 14, 2021, the Director of
Ecology, as the Governor’s designee for
SIP revisions, submitted a request to
update the air quality regulations in the
SIP as they apply to YRCAA’s
jurisdiction in 40 CFR 52.2470(c), Table
10—Additional Regulations Approved
for the Yakima Regional Clean Air
Agency (YRCAA) Jurisdiction. YRCAA’s
jurisdiction consists of Yakima County,
excluding Indian reservation land or
any other area where the EPA or an
Indian tribe has demonstrated that a
tribe has jurisdiction. YRCAA also does
not have jurisdiction over certain
facilities discussed in section IV.D.
Scope of Proposed Action of this
document. We note that YRCAA
regulatory revisions related to outdoor
burning, agricultural burning, and wood
heaters are outside the scope of this
current action and addressed separately.
1 In subsequent actions on October 6, 2016 (81 FR
69385) and February 24, 2020 (85 FR 10302) we
approved revisions to the WAC that incorporated by
reference the most recent changes to the Federal
regulations and other minor changes.
2 These statutory provisions were subsequently
re-codified to RCW 70A.15.2040 and 70A.15.3000,
with no substantive revisions to the statutory text.
For a more detailed discussion of applicability see
page 39352 of the EPA’s proposed approval of WAC
173–400–020 (79 FR 39351, July 10, 2014).
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 232 (Tuesday, December 7, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 69198-69200]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-26467]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R05-OAR-2020-0699; FRL-9318-01-R5]
Air Plan Approval; Indiana; ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve revisions to the Indiana sulfur dioxide (SO2) State
Implementation Plan (SIP) for the steel mill in Burns Harbor, Porter
County, Indiana, formerly owned by ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor LLC and
currently owned by Cleveland-Cliffs Burns Harbor LLC (the Burns Harbor
plant). Final approval of these revisions would satisfy a provision in
a Federal Settlement Agreement. EPA approval would also strengthen the
Indiana SO2 SIP by lowering SO2 emission limits
and adding SO2 compliance test procedures for the Burns
Harbor plant. EPA is proposing to approve this SIP revision request.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 6, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2020-0699 at https://www.regulations.gov, or via email to
[email protected]. For comments submitted at Regulations.gov,
follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted,
comments cannot be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. For either
manner of submission, EPA may publish any comment received to its
public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you
consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written
comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and
should include discussion of all points you wish to make. EPA will
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of
the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing
system). For additional submission methods, please contact the person
identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the full
EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please
visit https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Portanova, Environmental
Engineer, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch (AR18J),
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard,
Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 353-5954, [email protected]. The
EPA Region 5 office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, excluding Federal holidays and facility closures due to COVID-
19.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
I. Background
On December 10, 2009, the Indiana Department of Environmental
Management (IDEM) submitted a site-specific SO2 SIP revision
request to EPA for the Burns Harbor plant. The revised State rule
removed the SO2 emission limit applicable to the blast
furnace flare from SIP rule 326 Indiana Administrative Code (IAC) 7-4-
14. EPA proposed to disapprove this requested revision on March 20,
2013 (78 FR 17157) and finalized its disapproval on December 27, 2013
(78 FR 78720). The basis for this action was that IDEM had not provided
an adequate demonstration that removing the flare limit would enable
continued protection of the SO2 National Ambient Air Quality
Standard (NAAQS or standard), as required by section 110(l) of the
Clean Air Act (CAA).
On February 25, 2014, ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor LLC filed a
petition for review challenging EPA's action in the United States Court
of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor LLC v.
EPA, No. 1412. The Court of Appeals subsequently granted the State of
Indiana's request to intervene as a Petitioner.
On May 28, 2019, the parties entered a Settlement Agreement under
which the State is required to adopt revised emission limits and other
associated requirements into 326 IAC 7-4-14, as further discussed
below. The parties entered into an Amended Settlement Agreement on
March 23, 2021. On March 31, 2021, IDEM submitted revisions to 326 IAC
7-4-14 to EPA as proposed SIP revisions.
II. What is contained in IDEM's SIP revision request?
The revised rule 326 IAC 7-4-14(1) increases the blast furnace gas
flare limit from 0.07 pounds SO2 per million British thermal
units (lb/mmBtu) to 0.50 lb/mmBtu. The revision adds a blast furnace
gas testing protocol in 326 IAC 7-4-14(1)(G), which includes a
requirement to perform quarterly gas testing of blast furnace gas from
blast furnaces C and D, and a requirement to use the test results to
calculate the emission rate in lb/mmBtu associated with combusting the
blast furnace gas.
Additional revisions in 326 IAC 7-4-14(1) remove the limits and
listing for the slab mill soaking pits and the 160-inch plate mill I &
O furnace No. 8. The rule clarifies that those units have been
permanently shut down (326 IAC 7-4-14 (1)(F)). The limits in pounds of
SO2 per hour (lb/hr) for the 110-inch plate mill furnaces
No. 1 and 2 and the 160-inch plate mill I & O furnaces No. 4, 5, 6, and
7 have been reduced by 90 percent. The total lb/hr limit for the power
station boilers No. 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 has been reduced from 2,798
lb/hr to 2,378 lb/hr. The rule revision also removes a separate set of
alternative emission limits for the Burns Harbor plant's SO2
emission units. The remaining emission limits in the rule are
unchanged. Table 1 shows the emission limit changes.
Table 1--Emission Limit Changes and Closures at the Burns Harbor Plant
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unit name Former fuel Former limit Revised fuel Revised limit
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blast Furnace Gas Flare......... Blast furnace gas. 0.07 lb/mmBtu..... Blast furnace gas. 0.50 lb/mmBtu.
Slab Mill Soaking Pits: 9 of 32 Coke oven gas..... 482 lb/hr......... Closed............ 0.0 lb/hr.
horizontally discharged.
[[Page 69199]]
Slab Mill Soaking Pits: 23 of 32 Blast furnace gas 24 lb/hr.......... Closed............ 0.0 lb/hr.
horizontally discharged. or natural gas.
Slab Mill Soaking Pits Set of 4 Blast furnace or 4 lb/hr........... Closed............ 0.0 lb/hr.
vertically discharged. natural gas.
160 inch Plate Mill Continuous .................. 299 lb/hr; 1.96 lb/ .................. 29.9 lb/hr; 1.96
Reheat Furnace No. 1 and Boiler mmBtu. lb/mmBtu.
No. 1.
110 inch Plate Mill Furnaces No. .................. 441 lb/hr; 1.96 lb/ .................. 44.1 lb/hr; 1.96
1 and 2. mmBtu. lb/mmBtu.
160 inch Plate Mill I and O .................. 274 lb/hr; 1.96 lb/ .................. 27.4 lb/hr; 1.96
Furnaces No. 4 and 5. mmBtu. lb/mmBtu.
160 inch Plate Mill I and O .................. 274 lb/hr; 1.96 lb/ .................. 27.4 lb/hr; 1.96
Furnaces No. 6 and 7. mmBtu. lb/mmBtu.
160 inch Plate Mill I and O .................. 176 lb/hr; 1.96 lb/ Closed............ 0.0 lb/hr.
Furnace No. 8. mmBtu.
Power Station Boilers No. 8, 9, .................. 2,798 lb/hr; 1.45 .................. 2,378 lb/hr; 1.45
10, 11, and 12. lb/mmBtu. lb/mmBtu.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. CAA Section 110(l)
Section 110(l) of the CAA provides that State submissions cannot be
approved as SIP revisions if they interfere with applicable
requirements concerning attainment and reasonable further progress. The
Burns Harbor plant is located in Porter County, which is designated
attainment/unclassifiable for the 2010 1-hour SO2 standard
(86 FR 16055, March 26, 2021). EPA is proposing to find that the
overall reductions in allowable SO2 emissions in IDEM's
March 31, 2021 revised rule offset the effect of increasing the limit
on the blast furnace gas flare. The rule revisions, which reflect the
units that have new, lower emission limits and the closed units that no
longer emit SO2, result in a reduction in total allowable
SO2 emissions of 2,265.6 lb/hr. The increased allowable
flare emissions are estimated at 8.89 lb/hr. The net result is an
overall allowable SO2 emissions decrease of 2,256.7 lb/hr.
The flare limit has been increased to allow the Burns Harbor plant
operational flexibility, as the flare is a necessary safety device. In
addition, the improved compliance and testing protocol will greatly
improve the accuracy of the actual SO2 emissions
calculations for blast furnace gas combustion. This is because having
more accurate SO2 emissions information should help the
Burns Harbor plant personnel properly evaluate and demonstrate its
blast furnace flare compliance status. EPA believes that the March 31,
2021 revised rule 326 IAC 7-4-14(1) will not adversely affect Porter
County's maintenance of the 2010 1-hour SO2 standard. EPA
proposes to find that IDEM's March 31, 2021 submittal is consistent
with CAA section 110(l).
IV. What action is EPA taking?
EPA is proposing to approve the March 31, 2021 SIP revision request
for Indiana's SO2 rule 326 IAC 7-4-14(1) for the Burns
Harbor plant. If approved, this revision would satisfy a provision in a
Federal Settlement Agreement. It would also strengthen the Indiana
SO2 SIP by lowering SO2 emission limits and
adding improved SO2 compliance test procedures for the Burns
Harbor plant.
V. Incorporation by Reference
In this rule, EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA rule
regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance
with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, EPA is proposing to incorporate by
reference Indiana rule 326 IAC 7-4-14(1), effective March 20, 2021. EPA
has made, and will continue to make, these documents generally
available through www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region 5 Office
(please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this preamble for more information).
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 Orders 12866 (58
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
Is certified as not having a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
Does not have federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
Is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent
with the CAA; and
Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian
reservation land or in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has
demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian
country, the rule does not have tribal implications and will not impose
[[Page 69200]]
substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur oxides.
Dated: November 30, 2021.
Debra Shore,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2021-26467 Filed 12-6-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P