Air Plan Approval; Pennsylvania; Adoption of Federal Implementation Plan Reasonably Available Control Technology Requirements for Keystone, Conemaugh, Homer City and Montour Generating Facilities for the 1997 and 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards, 56680-56683 [2024-15114]
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56680
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 132 / Wednesday, July 10, 2024 / Proposed Rules
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R03–OAR–2024–0302; FRL–12064–
01–R3]
Air Plan Approval; Pennsylvania;
Adoption of Federal Implementation
Plan Reasonably Available Control
Technology Requirements for
Keystone, Conemaugh, Homer City
and Montour Generating Facilities for
the 1997 and 2008 Ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standards
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve
part of State implementation plan (SIP)
revisions submitted by the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The
revisions being proposed for approval
adopt nitrogen oxides (NOX) emission
limits and requirements for the coalfired electric generating units (EGUs)
equipped with selective catalytic
reduction (SCR) at the Keystone,
Conemaugh, Homer City, and Montour
facilities. The NOX limits address
reasonably available control technology
(RACT) requirements for these EGUs for
the 1997 and 2008 ozone national
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS)
and are intended to address the
deficiencies identified in EPA’s August
16, 2022 disapproval of an earlier SIP
submission. This action is being taken
under the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: Written comments must be
received on or before August 9, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R03–
OAR–2024–0302 at
www.regulations.gov, or via email to
goold.megan@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
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.,
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SUMMARY:
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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
www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epadockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sean Silverman, Planning &
Implementation Branch (3AD30), Air &
Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Region III, 1600 John
F Kennedy Boulevard, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania 19103. The telephone
number is (215) 814–5511. Mr.
Silverman can also be reached via
electronic mail at silverman.sean@
epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April
10, 2024, the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection (PADEP)
submitted two new revisions to its SIP,
and simultaneously withdrew its prior
SIP submissions of May 26 and June 11,
2022. The new SIP revisions consisted
of title V permits which adopted the
NOX RACT limits and other
requirements promulgated by EPA in
the Federal Implementation Plan (FIP)
published August 31, 2022 (87
FR53381), and codified at 40 CFR
52.2065. One SIP revision contained,
among other things, title V permits
setting RACT requirements for the large
EGUs at Keystone, Conemaugh and
Homer City, while the other SIP revision
contained a title V permit adopting
RACT limits and other requirements for
the EGUs at the Montour facility.
Elsewhere in this Federal Register,
EPA is issuing an interim final
determination (IFD) which proposes to
find that Pennsylvania’s April 10, 2024
SIP revisions address the deficiencies
cited by EPA as the basis of EPA’s
August 16, 2022 final disapproval of
certain portions of Pennsylvania’s RACT
regulations. The effect of that IFD is to
stay emission offset sanctions and defer
the imposition of highway funding
sanctions triggered by EPA’s August 16,
2022 partial disapproval of a prior
Pennsylvania SIP addressing RACT for
these EGUs. Comments on the IFD
should be submitted in accordance with
the instructions in that action.
EPA is not taking action at this time
on the RACT limits for certain auxiliary
boilers at the Keystone and Conemaugh
facilities found in the title V permits for
these sources which were included as
part of the April 10, 2024 SIP submittal.
Approval into the SIP of the RACT
limits for these auxiliary boilers is not
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required to address the deficiencies
cited in EPA’s August 16, 2022
disapproval action. EPA is not
proposing to withdraw the FIP in this
action.
I. Background
The RACT requirements in CAA
section 182(b)(2) apply to all ozone
nonattainment areas classified as
Moderate or higher (i.e., Serious, Severe,
or Extreme). Section 184(b)(1)(B) of the
CAA also applies RACT to all areas
located within ozone transport regions.
The entire Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania is part of the Ozone
Transport Region (OTR) established by
section 184 of the CAA and therefore
subject statewide to RACT
requirements.
On May 16, 2016, Pennsylvania
submitted a SIP revision intended to
satisfy certain CAA RACT requirements
for sections 182(b)(2)(C), 182(f), and 184
for the 1997 and 2008 ozone NAAQS.
The SIP addressed RACT for all major
sources of NOX and volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) in Pennsylvania that
were not subject to control techniques
guidelines (CTGs), with a few
exceptions not relevant to this action
(hereafter the ‘‘RACT II rule’’). On May
9, 2019, EPA published a final action
fully approving certain provisions and
conditionally approving other portions
of Pennsylvania’s RACT II rule. 84 FR
20274 (May 9, 2019). Specifically, EPA’s
action fully approved sections 121.1,
129.96, 129.97, and 129.100 of Title 25
of the Pennsylvania Code (25 Pa. Code),
and conditionally approved 25 Pa. Code
sections 129.98 and 129.99 based upon
Pennsylvania’s commitment to submit
additional SIP revisions addressing the
deficiencies in the RACT II rule
identified by EPA. Id. at 20290.
Following EPA’s approval, the Sierra
Club filed a challenge to certain parts of
EPA’s approval of Pennsylvania’s RACT
II SIP in the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the Third Circuit. Sierra Club v. EPA,
972 F.3d 290 (3rd Cir. 2020) (‘‘Sierra
Club’’). The appeal challenged EPA’s
approval of only that portion of the
RACT II rule applicable to coal-fired
EGUs equipped with SCR for control of
NOX. Specifically, the appeal
challenged EPA’s approval of the
presumptive RACT NOX limit for these
EGUs of 0.12 pounds of NOX per
Million British Thermal Units (MMBtu)
of heat input (lbs/MMBtu) when the
inlet temperature to the SCR was 600
degrees Fahrenheit or above, found at 25
Pa. Code 129.97(g)(1)(viii); the
application of the less stringent NOX
limits of 25 Pa. Code 129.97(g)(1)(vi) to
EGUs with SCR when the inlet
temperature to the SCR was below 600
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degrees Fahrenheit; and the failure of
the RACT II rule at 25 Pa. Code
129.100(d) to specifically require these
EGUs to keep temperature data for the
inlet temperature to the SCRs and report
that data to PADEP.
On August 27, 2020, the Third Circuit
held unlawful and vacated EPA’s
approval as challenged by the Sierra
Club. First, the Court found that EPA’s
record did not sufficiently explain why
the EGUs equipped with SCR could not
achieve a lower NOX emission standard
than the presumptive limits EPA
approved into the SIP. Sierra Club, 972
F.3d at 299–303. Second, the Court held
that Pennsylvania’s standard acted as a
loophole because it permitted unlimited
operations without the use of SCR
controls if exhaust gas temperature was
kept below what the Court considered
an arbitrary temperature threshold of
600 degrees Fahrenheit. Id. at 303–07.
Third, the Court held that
Pennsylvania’s reporting requirements
were not enforceable. Id. at 307–09. As
a result, the Court vacated EPA’s
approval of this portion of the 2016 SIP
and ordered EPA either to approve a
revised, compliant SIP or promulgate a
FIP within two years (i.e., by August 27,
2022). Id. at 309.
Following the Court’s decision,
PADEP worked to develop a SIP to
address the deficiencies identified by
the court within the specified time
frame. EPA simultaneously worked on a
FIP so that EPA could meet the Court’s
deadline to issue a FIP should it be
necessary to do so. EPA published its
proposed FIP on May 25, 2022 in order
to be in a position to finalize a FIP by
the Court’s deadline. 87 FR 31798 at
31801. On May 26, 2022, PADEP
submitted to EPA new SIP revisions
containing title V permits setting caseby-case RACT limits and monitoring,
recordkeeping and reporting
requirements for Keystone, Conemaugh,
and Homer City. Similarly, on June 9,
2022, PADEP submitted a new SIP
revision containing a title V permit
setting case-by-case RACT limits and
monitoring, recordkeeping and
reporting requirements for Montour as a
SIP revision. In order to assure its
authority to issue a FIP, on August 16,
2022, EPA also took final action to
disapprove the vacated portions of the
previously submitted RACT II SIP
revision. 87 FR 50257. EPA’s final FIP
published on August 31, 2022. 87 FR
53381.
EPA’s August 16, 2022 final
disapproval started a sanctions clock
under CAA section 179 and 40 CFR
52.31. The two-to-one new source
emissions offset sanction took effect on
March 15, 2024 (18 months following
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the September 15, 2022 effective date of
the August 16, 2022 partial
disapproval), while highway funding
sanctions will take effect September 15,
2024 unless the state submits, and EPA
approves, SIP revisions that correct the
deficiencies identified in the August 16,
2022 disapproval action. However, in a
separate action concurrent with this
proposed approval, EPA has issued an
IFD that Pennsylvania’s adoption of the
emission limits and recordkeeping and
reporting requirements of the FIP into
title V permits for the four sources, and
submission of the title V permits as SIP
revisions, resolve the deficiencies which
EPA cited in the August 16, 2022
disapproval action. The IFD stays the
emission offset sanctions and defers the
imposition of highway funding
sanctions triggered by EPA’s August 16,
2022, partial disapproval. Additionally,
EPA intends to take action to withdraw
the FIP at a later date, after the SIP
revisions incorporating the FIP
requirements have been approved into
Pennsylvania’s SIP.
Following issuance of the final FIP,
Keystone-Conemaugh Projects LLC, the
operator of the Keystone and
Conemaugh Generating Stations, and
Homer City Generation LP, the operator
of the Homer City Generating Station
(hereafter ‘‘Petitioners’’), filed petitions
for review with the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Third Circuit in October
of 2022. PADEP intervened in support
of Petitioners, and Sierra Club and
Montour, LLC, the operator of the
Montour Generating Station, intervened
on behalf of Respondent, the EPA. In
February 2023, Petitioners moved to
stay their obligation to comply with the
FIP pending the court’s review, but the
stay was denied. The litigation focused
on two main issues: (1) whether EPA
had proper authority to issue the FIP,
and (2) whether EPA’s record
sufficiently supported that the NOX
limits represented RACT (as well as
many sub-issues).
While the Petitioners’ appeal was
pending before the Third Circuit,
several other things happened that are
relevant to this action. First, on
February 21, 2024, EPA proposed
disapproval of PADEP’s May 2022 SIP
Revision setting case-by-case RACT
limits for Keystone, Conemaugh and
Homer City (89 FR 13022).1
1 EPA’s proposed disapproval did not include the
case-by-case RACT limits for Montour submitted by
PADEP on June 9, 2022 because PADEP withdrew
that SIP submittal in October 2022 after the owners
of Montour had indicated that they would accept
the limits in EPA’s FIP. See letter from PADEP
Acting Secretary Ramez Ziadeh to EPA Regional
Administrator Adam Ortiz, and EPA’s
acknowledgment letter dated October 26, 2022,
Both documents are in the docket for this action.
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Subsequently, on April 10, 2024,
PADEP submitted a letter withdrawing
that May 2022 SIP revision. Because
PADEP has withdrawn the May 2022
SIP revision setting the case-by-case
RACT limits for Keystone, Conemaugh
and Homer City, EPA will take no
further action on the February 21, 2024
proposed disapproval of that SIP
revision. Still pending before EPA is the
submission proposed for approval in
this notice—PADEP’s April 10, 2024,
SIP submission, which asks EPA to
approve into the SIP newly-submitted
title V permits containing the NOX
RACT limits and other requirements
identical to those in the final August 31,
2022 FIP for Keystone, Conemaugh,
Homer City, and Montour.2
On May 2, 2024, the Third Circuit
issued a decision upholding the RACT
limits and other requirements in EPA’s
August 31, 2022 FIP. KeystoneConemaugh Projects LLC v. EPA, et al.,
No. 22–3026. The court decided and
resolved all issues raised by the
Petitioners in EPA’s favor.
EPA is now proposing to approve the
April 10, 2024 PADEP SIP revisions
which consist of title V permits
adopting the NOX RACT limits and
other requirements set by the FIP for the
EGUs at Keystone, Conemaugh, Homer
City, and Montour.3 This SIP revision
addresses the major NOX RACT
requirements for the EGUs at these
sources for both the 1997 and 2008
Ozone NAAQS. The incorporation of
the title V permits containing the FIP
requirements into Pennsylvania’s SIP
addresses the deficiencies identified in
EPA’s August 16, 2022 partial
disapproval, which started the sanctions
clock for offset and highway sanctions
in Pennsylvania. EPA notes that the title
V permits in the April 10, 2024 SIP
revisions for Keystone and Conemaugh
also contain case-by-case RACT limits
for certain gas or oil-fired auxiliary
boilers at these facilities. However, EPA
is not taking action at this time on the
case-by-case RACT limits in these
permits for two auxiliary boilers at
Keystone (Source IDs 037 and 038) and
two at Conemaugh (Source IDs 039 and
041). These auxiliary boilers were not
subject to the presumptive RACT limit
2 See document, dated April 9, 2024, From
PADEP Interim Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley to
EPA Region III in the docket for this action.
3 The Homer City facility ceased all coal-burning
operations on July 1, 2023 when Unit 3 stopped
operating. However, because Homer City has not
formally surrendered its CAA permits, which
would demonstrate that the shutdown is
permanent, SIP-approved NOX RACT limits are still
necessary to address the 1997 and 2008 Ozone
RACT requirements for this facility. See
www.pjm.com/planning/service-requests/gendeactivations.
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in 25 Pa. Code 129.97(g)(1)(viii) for
which EPA issued a final disapproval in
August 2022.
II. Summary of Pennsylvania’s SIP
Revision and EPA’s Analysis
Pennsylvania’s SIP revision, dated
April 9, 2024, and received by EPA on
April 10, 2024, included four redacted
title V permits incorporating the FIP
requirements for the EGUs equipped
with SCR at Keystone, Conemaugh,
Homer City, and Montour. EPA has
reviewed these permits and determined
that the permits incorporate the same
emission limits, monitoring, testing,
recordkeeping, reporting, work practices
and other requirements for these EGUs
found in EPA’s FIP. The permits are
listed in Table 1 in this document.
These submissions and permits are part
of the docket for this rule making and
are available online at
www.regulations.gov.
TABLE 1—LIST OF TITLE V PERMITS INCORPORATING THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE AUGUST 31, 2022 FEDERAL
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
Source name
Title V permit No.
Conemaugh ...................................................
Homer City ....................................................
Keystone .......................................................
Montour .........................................................
EPA’s assessment regarding the
approvability of the RACT limits and
other requirements for these EGUs
found in Pennsylvania’s SIP submission
is substantially the same as the
justification and analysis in the record
EPA created for its FIP.4 EPA provided
an in-depth discussion of the
methodology and reasoning for setting
the FIP limits for each of these EGUs in
EPA’s proposed FIP (87 FR 31798), the
associated technical support document
supporting the proposed FIP, and in
responses to comments received on the
proposed FIP and published with the
final FIP approval (87 FR 53381). EPA
has put the technical support document
for EPA’s FIP into the docket for this
action. The Federal Register
notifications for the proposed and final
FIP are available at www.regulations.gov
under docket number EPA–R03–OAR–
2022–0347 and in the Federal Register
at the citations provided in the prior
sentence. EPA is not aware of any
change in the facts since the FIP was
finalized that would alter any of the
limits or requirements or EPA’s analysis
supporting the FIP.
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III. Proposed Action
EPA is proposing to approve
Pennsylvania’s April 10, 2024 SIP
revisions, which consist of four revised
title V permits containing RACT limits
for NOX emissions from the coal-fired
EGUs equipped with SCR, as well as
associated recordkeeping, monitoring
and reporting requirements for the four
facilities listed in Table 1 of this
document. If approved, the SIP
revisions will incorporate by reference
into the Pennsylvania SIP, via the
redacted title V permits, those source
specific NOX emission limits for the
EGUs equipped with SCR at each
4 The docket number for the FIP is EPA–R03–
OAR–2022–0347.
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32–0059
32–00055
03–00027
47–00001
County
Indiana ..........................................................
Indiana ..........................................................
Armstrong .....................................................
Montour .........................................................
facility and the associated monitoring,
recordkeeping and reporting
requirements for those limits that EPA
set forth in the August 2022 FIP. If
approved, these SIP revisions will
address the RACT requirements for the
1997 and 2008 ozone NAAQS for NOX
for these EGUs, and also address the
deficiencies outlined in EPA’s August
16, 2022 partial disapproval (87 FR
50257) of certain portions of
Pennsylvania’s RACT II regulations.
That disapproval started a mandatory
sanctions clock under CAA section 179
and 40 CFR 52.31. EPA notes that the
title V permits for Keystone and
Conemaugh in the April 10, 2024 SIP
revisions also contain case-by-case
RACT limits for certain gas or oil-fired
auxiliary boilers at these facilities. EPA
is not taking action at this time on the
RACT limits in these permits for two
auxiliary boilers at Keystone (Source IDs
037 and 038) and for two at Conemaugh
(Source IDs 039 and 041). These
auxiliary boilers were not subject to the
presumptive RACT limit in 25 Pa. Code
129.97(g)(1)(viii) for which EPA issued
a final disapproval in August 2022.
EPA is soliciting public comments on
the issues discussed in this document.
These comments will be considered
before taking final action. As EPA views
each facility as a severable SIP revision,
EPA may take separate, final action
regarding the requirements for each
facility independently.
IV. Incorporation by Reference
In this document, 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
source specific requirements via the title
V permits as described in Section II of
this preamble, excluding the auxiliary
boiler limits for Keystone (all source
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Permit effective date
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March
March
March
March
14,
14,
14,
14,
2024.
2024.
2024.
2024.
group requirements in Section E for
G11: alternative RACT II for Auxiliary
Boilers) and Conemaugh (all source
group requirements in Section E for
G11: alternative RACT II for Auxiliary
Boilers). EPA has made, and will
continue to make, these materials
generally available through
www.regulations.gov and at the EPA
Region III Office (please contact the
person identified in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
preamble for more information).
V. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
Under the CAA, the Administrator is
required to approve a SIP submission
that complies with the provisions of the
CAA and applicable Federal regulations.
42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a).
Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions,
EPA’s role is to approve state choices,
provided that they meet the criteria of
the CAA. Accordingly, this action
merely approves state law as meeting
Federal requirements and does not
impose additional requirements beyond
those imposed by state law. For that
reason, this proposed action:
• Is not a significant regulatory action
subject to review by the Office of
Management and Budget under
Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735,
October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821,
January 21, 2011);
• Does not impose an information
collection burden under the provisions
of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
• Is certified as not having a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
• Does not contain any unfunded
mandate or significantly or uniquely
affect small governments, as described
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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); and
• 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.
Executive Order 12898 (Federal
Actions to Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and
Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629,
February 16, 1994) directs Federal
agencies to identify and address
‘‘disproportionately high and adverse
human health or environmental effects’’
of their actions on minority populations
and low-income populations to the
greatest extent practicable and
permitted by law. EPA defines
environmental justice (EJ) as ‘‘the fair
treatment and meaningful involvement
of all people regardless of race, color,
national origin, or income with respect
to the development, implementation,
and enforcement of environmental laws,
regulations, and policies.’’ EPA further
defines the term fair treatment to mean
that ‘‘no group of people should bear a
disproportionate burden of
environmental harms and risks,
including those resulting from the
negative environmental consequences of
industrial, governmental, and
commercial operations or programs and
policies.’’ The Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection did not
evaluate environmental justice
considerations as part of its SIP
submittal; the CAA and applicable
implementing regulations neither
prohibit nor require such an evaluation.
EPA did not perform an EJ analysis and
did not consider EJ in this action. Due
to the nature of the action being taken
here, this action is expected to have a
neutral to positive impact on the air
quality of the affected area.
Consideration of EJ is not required as
part of this action, and there is no
information in the record inconsistent
with the stated goal of E.O. 12898 of
achieving environmental justice for
people of color, low-income
populations, and Indigenous peoples.
In addition, this proposed rulemaking
addressing the NOX RACT requirements
for EGUs equipped with SCR at the
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Keystone, Conemaugh, Homer City and
Montour facilities for the 1997 and 2008
Ozone NAAQS, does not have tribal
implications as specified by Executive
Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9,
2000), because the SIP is not approved
to apply in Indian country located in the
State, and EPA notes that it will not
impose substantial direct costs on tribal
governments or preempt tribal law.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic
compounds.
Adam Ortiz,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2024–15114 Filed 7–9–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R02–OAR–2022–0647, FRL–12038–
01–R2]
Approval and Promulgation of State
Implementation Plans; New Jersey;
Elements of the 2008 and 2015 Ozone
National Ambient Air Quality
Standards
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve
the demonstration portions of the
comprehensive State Implementation
Plan (SIP) revision submitted by New
Jersey that certify that the State has
satisfied the requirements for an
emission statement program, certify that
the State has satisfied the requirements
for an ozone nonattainment new source
review program, certify that the State
has satisfied the requirements for a
nonattainment emission inventory, and
certify that the State has satisfied the
requirements for clean fuels for fleets.
The EPA is also proposing to approve
New Jersey’s reasonable further progress
plans and associated motor vehicle
emission budgets for both the Moderate
and Serious classifications of the 2008
ozone NAAQS. These actions are being
taken in accordance with the
requirements of the Clean Air Act.
DATES: Written comments must be
received on or before August 9, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID Number EPA–
SUMMARY:
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56683
R02–OAR–2022–0647 at https://
www.regulations.gov. Although listed in
the index, some information is not
publicly available, e.g., Controlled
Unclassified Information (CUI) (formally
referred to as Confidential Business
Information (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 electronically through 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 CUI 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 CUI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on
making effective comments, please visit
https://www.epa.gov/dockets/
commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Fausto Taveras, Environmental
Protection Agency, 290 Broadway, New
York, New York 10007–1866, at (212)
637–3378, or by email at
Taveras.Fausto@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document, whenever
‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean
EPA.
Table of Contents:
I. What did New Jersey submit?
II. Background
III. Summary and Evaluation of New Jersey’s
Ozone Related SIP Elements
a. Emission Inventory
b. Reasonable Further Progress
c. Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets
d. Emission Statement Certification
e. Ozone Nonattainment New Source
Review (NNSR)
f. Clean Fuels for Fleets
IV. EPA’s Proposed Action
V. Environmental Justice Considerations
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
E:\FR\FM\10JYP1.SGM
10JYP1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 132 (Wednesday, July 10, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 56680-56683]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15114]
[[Page 56680]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2024-0302; FRL-12064-01-R3]
Air Plan Approval; Pennsylvania; Adoption of Federal
Implementation Plan Reasonably Available Control Technology
Requirements for Keystone, Conemaugh, Homer City and Montour Generating
Facilities for the 1997 and 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality
Standards
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve part of State implementation plan (SIP) revisions submitted by
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The revisions being proposed for
approval adopt nitrogen oxides (NOX) emission limits and
requirements for the coal-fired electric generating units (EGUs)
equipped with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) at the Keystone,
Conemaugh, Homer City, and Montour facilities. The NOX
limits address reasonably available control technology (RACT)
requirements for these EGUs for the 1997 and 2008 ozone national
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) and are intended to address the
deficiencies identified in EPA's August 16, 2022 disapproval of an
earlier SIP submission. This action is being taken under the Clean Air
Act (CAA).
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before August 9, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R03-
OAR-2024-0302 at 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 www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sean Silverman, Planning &
Implementation Branch (3AD30), Air & Radiation Division, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1600 John F Kennedy
Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. The telephone number is
(215) 814-5511. Mr. Silverman can also be reached via electronic mail
at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 10, 2024, the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) submitted two new
revisions to its SIP, and simultaneously withdrew its prior SIP
submissions of May 26 and June 11, 2022. The new SIP revisions
consisted of title V permits which adopted the NOX RACT
limits and other requirements promulgated by EPA in the Federal
Implementation Plan (FIP) published August 31, 2022 (87 FR53381), and
codified at 40 CFR 52.2065. One SIP revision contained, among other
things, title V permits setting RACT requirements for the large EGUs at
Keystone, Conemaugh and Homer City, while the other SIP revision
contained a title V permit adopting RACT limits and other requirements
for the EGUs at the Montour facility.
Elsewhere in this Federal Register, EPA is issuing an interim final
determination (IFD) which proposes to find that Pennsylvania's April
10, 2024 SIP revisions address the deficiencies cited by EPA as the
basis of EPA's August 16, 2022 final disapproval of certain portions of
Pennsylvania's RACT regulations. The effect of that IFD is to stay
emission offset sanctions and defer the imposition of highway funding
sanctions triggered by EPA's August 16, 2022 partial disapproval of a
prior Pennsylvania SIP addressing RACT for these EGUs. Comments on the
IFD should be submitted in accordance with the instructions in that
action.
EPA is not taking action at this time on the RACT limits for
certain auxiliary boilers at the Keystone and Conemaugh facilities
found in the title V permits for these sources which were included as
part of the April 10, 2024 SIP submittal. Approval into the SIP of the
RACT limits for these auxiliary boilers is not required to address the
deficiencies cited in EPA's August 16, 2022 disapproval action. EPA is
not proposing to withdraw the FIP in this action.
I. Background
The RACT requirements in CAA section 182(b)(2) apply to all ozone
nonattainment areas classified as Moderate or higher (i.e., Serious,
Severe, or Extreme). Section 184(b)(1)(B) of the CAA also applies RACT
to all areas located within ozone transport regions. The entire
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is part of the Ozone Transport Region
(OTR) established by section 184 of the CAA and therefore subject
statewide to RACT requirements.
On May 16, 2016, Pennsylvania submitted a SIP revision intended to
satisfy certain CAA RACT requirements for sections 182(b)(2)(C),
182(f), and 184 for the 1997 and 2008 ozone NAAQS. The SIP addressed
RACT for all major sources of NOX and volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) in Pennsylvania that were not subject to control
techniques guidelines (CTGs), with a few exceptions not relevant to
this action (hereafter the ``RACT II rule''). On May 9, 2019, EPA
published a final action fully approving certain provisions and
conditionally approving other portions of Pennsylvania's RACT II rule.
84 FR 20274 (May 9, 2019). Specifically, EPA's action fully approved
sections 121.1, 129.96, 129.97, and 129.100 of Title 25 of the
Pennsylvania Code (25 Pa. Code), and conditionally approved 25 Pa. Code
sections 129.98 and 129.99 based upon Pennsylvania's commitment to
submit additional SIP revisions addressing the deficiencies in the RACT
II rule identified by EPA. Id. at 20290.
Following EPA's approval, the Sierra Club filed a challenge to
certain parts of EPA's approval of Pennsylvania's RACT II SIP in the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Sierra Club v. EPA, 972
F.3d 290 (3rd Cir. 2020) (``Sierra Club''). The appeal challenged EPA's
approval of only that portion of the RACT II rule applicable to coal-
fired EGUs equipped with SCR for control of NOX.
Specifically, the appeal challenged EPA's approval of the presumptive
RACT NOX limit for these EGUs of 0.12 pounds of
NOX per Million British Thermal Units (MMBtu) of heat input
(lbs/MMBtu) when the inlet temperature to the SCR was 600 degrees
Fahrenheit or above, found at 25 Pa. Code 129.97(g)(1)(viii); the
application of the less stringent NOX limits of 25 Pa. Code
129.97(g)(1)(vi) to EGUs with SCR when the inlet temperature to the SCR
was below 600
[[Page 56681]]
degrees Fahrenheit; and the failure of the RACT II rule at 25 Pa. Code
129.100(d) to specifically require these EGUs to keep temperature data
for the inlet temperature to the SCRs and report that data to PADEP.
On August 27, 2020, the Third Circuit held unlawful and vacated
EPA's approval as challenged by the Sierra Club. First, the Court found
that EPA's record did not sufficiently explain why the EGUs equipped
with SCR could not achieve a lower NOX emission standard
than the presumptive limits EPA approved into the SIP. Sierra Club, 972
F.3d at 299-303. Second, the Court held that Pennsylvania's standard
acted as a loophole because it permitted unlimited operations without
the use of SCR controls if exhaust gas temperature was kept below what
the Court considered an arbitrary temperature threshold of 600 degrees
Fahrenheit. Id. at 303-07. Third, the Court held that Pennsylvania's
reporting requirements were not enforceable. Id. at 307-09. As a
result, the Court vacated EPA's approval of this portion of the 2016
SIP and ordered EPA either to approve a revised, compliant SIP or
promulgate a FIP within two years (i.e., by August 27, 2022). Id. at
309.
Following the Court's decision, PADEP worked to develop a SIP to
address the deficiencies identified by the court within the specified
time frame. EPA simultaneously worked on a FIP so that EPA could meet
the Court's deadline to issue a FIP should it be necessary to do so.
EPA published its proposed FIP on May 25, 2022 in order to be in a
position to finalize a FIP by the Court's deadline. 87 FR 31798 at
31801. On May 26, 2022, PADEP submitted to EPA new SIP revisions
containing title V permits setting case-by-case RACT limits and
monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting requirements for Keystone,
Conemaugh, and Homer City. Similarly, on June 9, 2022, PADEP submitted
a new SIP revision containing a title V permit setting case-by-case
RACT limits and monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting requirements
for Montour as a SIP revision. In order to assure its authority to
issue a FIP, on August 16, 2022, EPA also took final action to
disapprove the vacated portions of the previously submitted RACT II SIP
revision. 87 FR 50257. EPA's final FIP published on August 31, 2022. 87
FR 53381.
EPA's August 16, 2022 final disapproval started a sanctions clock
under CAA section 179 and 40 CFR 52.31. The two-to-one new source
emissions offset sanction took effect on March 15, 2024 (18 months
following the September 15, 2022 effective date of the August 16, 2022
partial disapproval), while highway funding sanctions will take effect
September 15, 2024 unless the state submits, and EPA approves, SIP
revisions that correct the deficiencies identified in the August 16,
2022 disapproval action. However, in a separate action concurrent with
this proposed approval, EPA has issued an IFD that Pennsylvania's
adoption of the emission limits and recordkeeping and reporting
requirements of the FIP into title V permits for the four sources, and
submission of the title V permits as SIP revisions, resolve the
deficiencies which EPA cited in the August 16, 2022 disapproval action.
The IFD stays the emission offset sanctions and defers the imposition
of highway funding sanctions triggered by EPA's August 16, 2022,
partial disapproval. Additionally, EPA intends to take action to
withdraw the FIP at a later date, after the SIP revisions incorporating
the FIP requirements have been approved into Pennsylvania's SIP.
Following issuance of the final FIP, Keystone-Conemaugh Projects
LLC, the operator of the Keystone and Conemaugh Generating Stations,
and Homer City Generation LP, the operator of the Homer City Generating
Station (hereafter ``Petitioners''), filed petitions for review with
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in October of 2022.
PADEP intervened in support of Petitioners, and Sierra Club and
Montour, LLC, the operator of the Montour Generating Station,
intervened on behalf of Respondent, the EPA. In February 2023,
Petitioners moved to stay their obligation to comply with the FIP
pending the court's review, but the stay was denied. The litigation
focused on two main issues: (1) whether EPA had proper authority to
issue the FIP, and (2) whether EPA's record sufficiently supported that
the NOX limits represented RACT (as well as many sub-
issues).
While the Petitioners' appeal was pending before the Third Circuit,
several other things happened that are relevant to this action. First,
on February 21, 2024, EPA proposed disapproval of PADEP's May 2022 SIP
Revision setting case-by-case RACT limits for Keystone, Conemaugh and
Homer City (89 FR 13022).\1\ Subsequently, on April 10, 2024, PADEP
submitted a letter withdrawing that May 2022 SIP revision. Because
PADEP has withdrawn the May 2022 SIP revision setting the case-by-case
RACT limits for Keystone, Conemaugh and Homer City, EPA will take no
further action on the February 21, 2024 proposed disapproval of that
SIP revision. Still pending before EPA is the submission proposed for
approval in this notice--PADEP's April 10, 2024, SIP submission, which
asks EPA to approve into the SIP newly-submitted title V permits
containing the NOX RACT limits and other requirements
identical to those in the final August 31, 2022 FIP for Keystone,
Conemaugh, Homer City, and Montour.\2\
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\1\ EPA's proposed disapproval did not include the case-by-case
RACT limits for Montour submitted by PADEP on June 9, 2022 because
PADEP withdrew that SIP submittal in October 2022 after the owners
of Montour had indicated that they would accept the limits in EPA's
FIP. See letter from PADEP Acting Secretary Ramez Ziadeh to EPA
Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz, and EPA's acknowledgment letter
dated October 26, 2022, Both documents are in the docket for this
action.
\2\ See document, dated April 9, 2024, From PADEP Interim Acting
Secretary Jessica Shirley to EPA Region III in the docket for this
action.
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On May 2, 2024, the Third Circuit issued a decision upholding the
RACT limits and other requirements in EPA's August 31, 2022 FIP.
Keystone-Conemaugh Projects LLC v. EPA, et al., No. 22-3026. The court
decided and resolved all issues raised by the Petitioners in EPA's
favor.
EPA is now proposing to approve the April 10, 2024 PADEP SIP
revisions which consist of title V permits adopting the NOX
RACT limits and other requirements set by the FIP for the EGUs at
Keystone, Conemaugh, Homer City, and Montour.\3\ This SIP revision
addresses the major NOX RACT requirements for the EGUs at
these sources for both the 1997 and 2008 Ozone NAAQS. The incorporation
of the title V permits containing the FIP requirements into
Pennsylvania's SIP addresses the deficiencies identified in EPA's
August 16, 2022 partial disapproval, which started the sanctions clock
for offset and highway sanctions in Pennsylvania. EPA notes that the
title V permits in the April 10, 2024 SIP revisions for Keystone and
Conemaugh also contain case-by-case RACT limits for certain gas or oil-
fired auxiliary boilers at these facilities. However, EPA is not taking
action at this time on the case-by-case RACT limits in these permits
for two auxiliary boilers at Keystone (Source IDs 037 and 038) and two
at Conemaugh (Source IDs 039 and 041). These auxiliary boilers were not
subject to the presumptive RACT limit
[[Page 56682]]
in 25 Pa. Code 129.97(g)(1)(viii) for which EPA issued a final
disapproval in August 2022.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ The Homer City facility ceased all coal-burning operations
on July 1, 2023 when Unit 3 stopped operating. However, because
Homer City has not formally surrendered its CAA permits, which would
demonstrate that the shutdown is permanent, SIP-approved
NOX RACT limits are still necessary to address the 1997
and 2008 Ozone RACT requirements for this facility. See www.pjm.com/planning/service-requests/gen-deactivations.
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II. Summary of Pennsylvania's SIP Revision and EPA's Analysis
Pennsylvania's SIP revision, dated April 9, 2024, and received by
EPA on April 10, 2024, included four redacted title V permits
incorporating the FIP requirements for the EGUs equipped with SCR at
Keystone, Conemaugh, Homer City, and Montour. EPA has reviewed these
permits and determined that the permits incorporate the same emission
limits, monitoring, testing, recordkeeping, reporting, work practices
and other requirements for these EGUs found in EPA's FIP. The permits
are listed in Table 1 in this document. These submissions and permits
are part of the docket for this rule making and are available online at
www.regulations.gov.
Table 1--List of Title V Permits Incorporating the Requirements of the August 31, 2022 Federal Implementation
Plan
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source name Title V permit No. County Permit effective date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conemaugh....................... 32-0059 Indiana............ March 14, 2024.
Homer City...................... 32-00055 Indiana............ March 14, 2024.
Keystone........................ 03-00027 Armstrong.......... March 14, 2024.
Montour......................... 47-00001 Montour............ March 14, 2024.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EPA's assessment regarding the approvability of the RACT limits and
other requirements for these EGUs found in Pennsylvania's SIP
submission is substantially the same as the justification and analysis
in the record EPA created for its FIP.\4\ EPA provided an in-depth
discussion of the methodology and reasoning for setting the FIP limits
for each of these EGUs in EPA's proposed FIP (87 FR 31798), the
associated technical support document supporting the proposed FIP, and
in responses to comments received on the proposed FIP and published
with the final FIP approval (87 FR 53381). EPA has put the technical
support document for EPA's FIP into the docket for this action. The
Federal Register notifications for the proposed and final FIP are
available at www.regulations.gov under docket number EPA-R03-OAR-2022-
0347 and in the Federal Register at the citations provided in the prior
sentence. EPA is not aware of any change in the facts since the FIP was
finalized that would alter any of the limits or requirements or EPA's
analysis supporting the FIP.
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\4\ The docket number for the FIP is EPA-R03-OAR-2022-0347.
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III. Proposed Action
EPA is proposing to approve Pennsylvania's April 10, 2024 SIP
revisions, which consist of four revised title V permits containing
RACT limits for NOX emissions from the coal-fired EGUs
equipped with SCR, as well as associated recordkeeping, monitoring and
reporting requirements for the four facilities listed in Table 1 of
this document. If approved, the SIP revisions will incorporate by
reference into the Pennsylvania SIP, via the redacted title V permits,
those source specific NOX emission limits for the EGUs
equipped with SCR at each facility and the associated monitoring,
recordkeeping and reporting requirements for those limits that EPA set
forth in the August 2022 FIP. If approved, these SIP revisions will
address the RACT requirements for the 1997 and 2008 ozone NAAQS for
NOX for these EGUs, and also address the deficiencies
outlined in EPA's August 16, 2022 partial disapproval (87 FR 50257) of
certain portions of Pennsylvania's RACT II regulations. That
disapproval started a mandatory sanctions clock under CAA section 179
and 40 CFR 52.31. EPA notes that the title V permits for Keystone and
Conemaugh in the April 10, 2024 SIP revisions also contain case-by-case
RACT limits for certain gas or oil-fired auxiliary boilers at these
facilities. EPA is not taking action at this time on the RACT limits in
these permits for two auxiliary boilers at Keystone (Source IDs 037 and
038) and for two at Conemaugh (Source IDs 039 and 041). These auxiliary
boilers were not subject to the presumptive RACT limit in 25 Pa. Code
129.97(g)(1)(viii) for which EPA issued a final disapproval in August
2022.
EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues discussed in this
document. These comments will be considered before taking final action.
As EPA views each facility as a severable SIP revision, EPA may take
separate, final action regarding the requirements for each facility
independently.
IV. Incorporation by Reference
In this document, 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 source specific requirements via the title V permits as
described in Section II of this preamble, excluding the auxiliary
boiler limits for Keystone (all source group requirements in Section E
for G11: alternative RACT II for Auxiliary Boilers) and Conemaugh (all
source group requirements in Section E for G11: alternative RACT II for
Auxiliary Boilers). EPA has made, and will continue to make, these
materials generally available through www.regulations.gov and at the
EPA Region III Office (please contact the person identified in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this preamble for more
information).
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA and applicable
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices,
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this
action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and
does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state
law. For that reason, this proposed action:
Is not a significant regulatory action subject to review
by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders 12866 (58
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
Is certified as not having a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or
uniquely affect small governments, as described
[[Page 56683]]
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); and
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.
Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions to Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629,
February 16, 1994) directs Federal agencies to identify and address
``disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental
effects'' of their actions on minority populations and low-income
populations to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law.
EPA defines environmental justice (EJ) as ``the fair treatment and
meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color,
national origin, or income with respect to the development,
implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and
policies.'' EPA further defines the term fair treatment to mean that
``no group of people should bear a disproportionate burden of
environmental harms and risks, including those resulting from the
negative environmental consequences of industrial, governmental, and
commercial operations or programs and policies.'' The Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection did not evaluate environmental
justice considerations as part of its SIP submittal; the CAA and
applicable implementing regulations neither prohibit nor require such
an evaluation. EPA did not perform an EJ analysis and did not consider
EJ in this action. Due to the nature of the action being taken here,
this action is expected to have a neutral to positive impact on the air
quality of the affected area. Consideration of EJ is not required as
part of this action, and there is no information in the record
inconsistent with the stated goal of E.O. 12898 of achieving
environmental justice for people of color, low-income populations, and
Indigenous peoples.
In addition, this proposed rulemaking addressing the NOX
RACT requirements for EGUs equipped with SCR at the Keystone,
Conemaugh, Homer City and Montour facilities for the 1997 and 2008
Ozone NAAQS, does not have tribal implications as specified by
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because the SIP
is not approved to apply in Indian country located in the State, and
EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct costs on tribal
governments or preempt tribal law.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Adam Ortiz,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2024-15114 Filed 7-9-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P