Environmental Protection Agency February 7, 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On November 30, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a rule titled ``Standards of Performance for New Residential Wood Heaters, New Residential Hydronic Heaters and Forced- Air Furnaces.'' The EPA is reopening the public comment period on the proposed rule that closed on January 14, 2019. The EPA is taking this action to allow time for the public to comment on the proposed rule for at least 30 days following the public hearing, which was held on December 17, 2018.

In this final action, EPA is amending its reformulated gasoline regulations to reflect that Boone, Campbell, and Kenton counties in Kentucky (the Northern Kentucky Area), which are part of the Cincinnati-Hamilton, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana ozone area, are no longer federal reformulated gasoline (RFG) covered areas as of July 1, 2018. As described in a separate document published on May 16, 2018, pursuant to EPA's regulations, EPA approved an April 18, 2017 petition from the state of Kentucky to opt-out of the federal RFG program and removed the requirement to sell federal RFG in the Northern Kentucky Area as of July 1, 2018. This effective date applies to retailers, wholesale purchaser-consumers, refiners, importers, and distributors. This rulemaking merely conforms the list of RFG covered areas in the regulations to reflect the effective date of the opt-out for the Northern Kentucky Area.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a revision to its response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Michigan v. EPA which held that the EPA erred by not considering cost in its determination that regulation under section 112 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) of hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions from coal- and oil- fired electric utility steam generating units (EGUs) is appropriate and necessary. After considering the cost of compliance relative to the HAP benefits of regulation, the EPA proposes to find that it is not ``appropriate and necessary'' to regulate HAP emissions from coal- and oil-fired EGUs, thereby reversing the Agency's prior conclusion under CAA section 112(n)(1)(A) and correcting flaws in the Agency's prior response to Michigan v. EPA. We further propose that finalizing this new response to Michigan v. EPA will not remove the Coal- and Oil-Fired EGU source category from the CAA section 112(c) list of sources that must be regulated under CAA section 112(d) and will not affect the existing CAA section 112(d) emissions standards that regulate HAP emissions from coal- and oil-fired EGUs. We are soliciting comment, however, on whether the EPA has the authority or obligation to delist EGUs from CAA section 112(c) and rescind (or to rescind without delisting) the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Coal- and Oil-Fired EGUs, commonly known as the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS). The EPA is also proposing the results of the residual risk and technology review (RTR) of the NESHAP that the Agency is required to conduct in accordance with CAA section 112. The results of the residual risk analysis indicate that residual risks due to emissions of air toxics from this source category are acceptable and that the current standards provide an ample margin of safety to protect public health. No new developments in HAP emission controls to achieve further cost-effective emissions reductions were identified under the technology review. Therefore, based on the results of these analyses and reviews, we are proposing that no revisions to MATS are warranted. Finally, the EPA is also taking comment on establishing a subcategory for emissions of acid gas HAP from existing EGUs firing eastern bituminous coal refuse.