April 29 , 2010

Via e

- mail

Honorabl e Gina McCarthy ( McCarthy

. gina @ epa .gov )
Assistant Administrator Ariel Rios Building 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W.
Mail Code: 6101A Washington, DC 20460

RE: Request for a Tempo rary Stay of the Comment Period: Docket ID. EPA

- HQ

- OAR

- 2003

- 0064; Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD ) and Nonattainment New Source Review (NSR): Aggregation; Reconsideration

Dear Assistant Administrator McCarthy:

The American Petroleum Institute (API) represents over 400 member companies involved in all aspects of the oil and natural gas industry. API is submitting this request for a temporary stay of the comment period which supports the April 19, 2010 correspondence on this subject sent to you by the Portland Cement Association and the Rubber Manufacturers Association (henceforth referred to as the "P CA request").

As outlined in the PCA request, on April 15, 2010, EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register, 75 Fed. Reg . 19

, 567, to reconsider the final rule that was published on January 15, 2009 in the above

referenced docket (74 Fed. Reg. 2

, 376). The final rule had been issued by EPA with the expressed intent of clarifying for sources and permitting authorities when emissions would need to be aggregated for purposes of determining when a modification to a facility will require a new source review permit (NSR).

API supports the PCA request and therefore asks EPA to:

(1) insert into the docket a copy of each and every case

- by

- case letter EPA has issued on the question of when aggregation should or need not occur, so that members of the public have the opportunity to review and analyze them prior to their submission of comments in response to NPRM;

(2) insert into the docket a copy of the August 7, 1980 and June 28, 1989 notices referred to above, and a copy of any other relevant Federal Register notices EPA has published on this issue; and Ted Steiche n Senior Policy Advisor, Regulatory and Scientific Affairs

1220 L Street, NW Washington, DC 20005

- 4070 USA Telephone 202

- 682

- 8568 Fax 202

- 682

- 8270 Email steichent@api.org

### 2

(3) temporarily stay the be ginning of the comment period pending the insertion of the letters and Federal Register
notic es into the docket as requested

. Depending on the volume of material provided by the docket by EPA, an extension of the comment period may also be warranted.

API agrees with the PCA request, that without having full access to such information the regulated community has no meaningful wa y to determine whether the NPRM’s assertion that the final rule “established a new interpretation of the existing NSR rules” is accurate, as has been asserted, or whether the final rule merely used imprecise wording in its effort to clarify EPA’s policy, a s had been its intent.

API al so agrees with the PCA request; while acknowledging the existence of EPA’s online NSR Policy & Guidance Database, the database in its current form does not provide the degree of functionality that the public needs for pu rposes of responding to this rulemaking.

Finally, API also agrees with the PCA request, that the insertion of this information into the docket and as requested would demonstrate Administrator Jackson’s commitment to her “Open Government Plan” and the plan ’s goal of ensuring public access and participation in EPA’s activities.

API asks for a response to our s tay request at your earliest convenience. If there any questions about this request, please contact me at (202) 682

- 8568 or steichent@api .org

.

Respectfully s ubmitted,

/s/

Ted Steichen

cc: Khary Cathen

– API
Howard Feldman

– API
Janice Raburn

– API
Andrew T. O’Hare

– PCA ( aohare@cement.org )
Robert A. Hirsch

– PCA ( rhirsch@cement.org )
Sarah E. Amick

– R M A ( samick@rma.org )
Richard Ossias , Esq. ( ossias.richard@epa.gov ) David Svendsgaard ( svendsgaard.dave@epa.gov )