Environmental Protection Agency December 8, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's requests to redesignate to attainment the Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle-York nonattainment areas (hereafter ``the Areas'') for the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour fine particulate matter (PM2.5) national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). EPA is also determining that the Areas continue to attain the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA is also approving as revisions to the Pennsylvania State Implementation Plan (SIP) the associated maintenance plans to show maintenance of the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS through 2025 for the Areas. The maintenance plans include the 2017 and 2025 PM2.5 and nitrogen oxides (NOX) mobile vehicle emissions budgets (MVEBs) for the Areas for the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA is finding the 2017 and 2025 PM2.5 and NOX MVEBs adequate for transportation conformity purposes and is finalizing the approval of the budgets. Furthermore, EPA is approving as revisions to the Pennsylvania SIP the 2007 base year emissions inventory for the Areas for the 1997 annual and the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS.

This action supplements our notice of proposed rulemaking for the national emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for secondary aluminum production, which was published in the Federal Register on February 14, 2012. In that action, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed decisions concerning the residual risk and technology review for the Secondary Aluminum Production source category and proposed amendments to correct and clarify rule requirements. This supplemental proposal presents a revised risk review (including a revised inhalation risk assessment, a refined multipathway risk assessment, and an updated ample margin of safety analysis) and a revised technology review for the Secondary Aluminum Production source category. Similar to the 2012 proposal, we found risks due to emissions of air toxics to be acceptable from this source category and we identified no cost effective controls under the updated ample margin of safety analysis or the technology review to achieve further emissions reductions. Therefore, we are proposing no revisions to the numeric emission standards based on these revised analyses. However, this supplemental proposal supplements and modifies several of the proposed technical corrections and rule clarifications that were originally presented in the February 14, 2012 proposal; withdraws our previous proposal to include affirmative defense provisions in the regulation; proposes alternative compliance options for the operating and monitoring requirements for sweat furnaces; and provides a revised cost analysis for compliance testing. This action, if finalized, would result in improved monitoring, compliance and implementation of the rule.