Environmental Protection Agency April 25, 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving amendments to the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut (the Mohegan Tribe, Mohegans, or the Tribe) Tribal Implementation Plan (TIP) under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to regulate air pollution within the exterior boundaries of the Tribe's reservation. EPA approved the Tribe for treatment in the same manner as a State (Treatment as State or TAS) for purposes of administering New Source Review (NSR) under the CAA on December 26, 2006. The TIP revisions we are approving include permitting requirements for minor sources of air pollution not covered by the Tribe's existing federally approved NSR permitting program. The purpose of the TIP revisions is to enable the Tribe to attain and maintain the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) within the exterior boundaries of its reservation by establishing new elements to its federally enforceable preconstruction air permitting program.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing amendments to the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) that apply to the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry (SOCMI) and to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) that apply to the SOCMI (more commonly referred to as the Hazardous Organic NESHAP or HON) and Group I and II Polymers and Resins Industries (P&R I and P&R II). The EPA is proposing decisions resulting from the Agency's technology review of the HON, P&R I, and P&R II, and its eight-year review of the NSPS that apply to the SOCMI. The EPA is also proposing amendments to the NSPS for equipment leaks of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in SOCMI based on its reconsideration of certain issues raised in an administrative petition for reconsideration. Furthermore, the EPA is proposing to strengthen the emission standards for ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions and chloroprene emissions after considering the results of a risk assessment for the HON and Neoprene Production processes subject to P&R I. Lastly, the EPA is proposing to remove exemptions from standards for periods of startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM), to add work practice standards for such periods where appropriate, and to add provisions for electronic reporting. We estimate that the proposed amendments to the NESHAP would reduce hazardous air pollutants (HAP) emissions (excluding EtO and chloroprene) from the SOCMI, P&R I, and P&R II sources by approximately 1,123 tons per year (tpy), reduce EtO emissions from HON processes by approximately 58 tpy, and reduce chloroprene emissions from Neoprene Production processes in P&R I by approximately 14 tpy. We also estimate that these proposed amendments to the NESHAP will reduce excess emissions of HAP from flares in the SOCMI and P&R I source categories by an additional 4,858 tpy. Lastly, we estimate that the proposed amendments to the NSPS would reduce VOC emissions from the SOCMI source category by approximately 1,609 tpy.