Environmental Protection Agency April 20, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to EPA's authority under the Clean Air Act (CAA), EPA is proposing to disapprove two narrow portions of submissions made by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) to address the section 110(a)(1) and (2) requirements of the CAA, often referred to as the ``infrastructure'' State Implementation Plan (SIP). Specifically, we are proposing to disapprove the portions of WDNR's submissions intended to meet certain requirements of section 110(a)(2)(C) with respect to the 1997 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and 1997 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. Among other conditions, section 110(a)(2)(C) of the CAA requires states to correctly address oxides of nitrogen (NOX) as a precursor to ozone in their respective prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) programs. EPA is proposing to disapprove a portion of Wisconsin's submissions intended to satisfy this requirement. EPA is also proposing to disapprove a portion of Wisconsin's submissions because the SIP currently contains a new source review (NSR) exemption for fuel changes as major modifications where the source was capable of accommodating the change before January 6, 1975.

EPA is proposing to approve into the Illinois State Implementation Plan (SIP) an adjusted standard for Leisure Properties LLC/D/B/A Crownline Boats (Crownline) at its West Frankfort, Illinois facility. On June 10, 2011, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency submitted to EPA for approval an adjustment to the general rule, Use of Organic Material Rule, commonly known as the eight pound per hour rule, as it applies to emissions of volatile organic matter (VOM) from Crownline's manufacturing facility. The adjusted standard relieves Crownline from being subject to the general rule for VOM emissions from its West Frankfort facility. EPA is proposing to approve this SIP revision because it will not interfere with attainment or maintenance of the ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard.

EPA is taking final action to approve a revision to the Alabama State Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), on January 10, 2012, for parallel processing. ADEM submitted the final version of the SIP revision on March 2, 2012. The revision modifies Alabama's SIP to move Chapter 335-3-20 ``Control of Fuels,'' which includes the regulation that governs the State's 7.0 pounds per square inch (psi) requirement for the low-Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) fuel program in Jefferson and Shelby Counties (hereafter referred to as the ``Birmingham Area'') from the active measures portion of the Alabama SIP to the contingency measures portions of the maintenance plans for the Birmingham Area for the ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS or standards), and of the proposed maintenance plans for the 1997 annual fine particulate matter (PM2.5) standards, and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 standards, when those actions are finalized. The change to the SIP will result in the federal RVP requirement of 7.8 psi applying for the Birmingham Area. EPA is approving this SIP revision because the State has demonstrated that it is consistent with section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) to address regional haze in the State of Montana. EPA developed this proposal in response to the State's decision in 2006 to not submit a regional haze State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision. EPA is proposing to determine that the FIP satisfies requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``the Act'') that require states, or EPA in promulgating a FIP, to assure reasonable progress towards the national goal of preventing any future and remedying any existing man-made impairment of visibility in mandatory Class I areas. In addition, EPA is also proposing to approve a revision to the Montana SIP submitted by the State of Montana through the Montana Department of Environmental Quality on February 17, 2012. The State's submittal contains revisions to the Montana Visibility Plan that includes amendments to the ``Smoke Management'' section, which adds a reference to Best Available Control Technology (BACT) as the visibility control measure for open burning as currently administered through the State's air quality permit program. This change was made to meet the requirements of the Regional Haze Rule. EPA will act on the remaining revisions in the State's submittal in a future action.