ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-.2010-0010; FRL

Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland;

Control of Carbon Monoxide Emissions from Basic Oxygen Furnaces

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Maryland State

Implementation Plan (SIP). The revision, State of Maryland SIP Revision #05-08, replaces the

current SIP requirements for the control of carbon monoxide (CO) emissions from basic oxygen

furnaces (BOFs) at steel mills in the State of Maryland with a new, equivalent CO standard.

EPA is approving this revision to the Maryland SIP in accordance with the requirements ofthe

Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: This rule is effective on [Insert date 60 days after publication in the Federal Register]

without further notice, unless EPA receives adverse written comment by [Insert date 30 days

after publication in the Federal Registerl. If EPA receives such comments, it will publish a

timely withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform the public that the

rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your Comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-R03-OAR2010-0010 by one ofthe following methods:

A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.

B: E-mail: fernandez.cristinaepa.gov
C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2010-0010, Cristina Fernandez, Associate Director, Office of Air

Program Planning, Mailcode 3AP30, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650

Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.

D. Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region III address. Such deliveries are only

accepted during the Docket’s normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be

made for deliveries of boxed information.

Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-2010-OO1O. EPA’s

policy is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change, and

may be made available online at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information

provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business

Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by. statute. Do not submit

information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or

e-mail. The www.regulations.gov website is an “anonymous access” system, which means EPA

will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your

comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through

www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will-be automatically capturethand included as part of

the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit

an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact

information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA

cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification,

EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use ofspecial

characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.

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Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the www.regulations.gov index.

Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other

information whose disclosure is restricted by Statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted

material, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form.

Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically in www.regulations.gov or

in hard copy during normal business hours at the Air Protection Division, U.S. Environmental

•Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of

the State submittal are available at the Maryland Department of the Environment, 1800

Washington Boulevard, Suite 705, Baltimore, Maryland 21230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maria A. Pino, (215) 814-2181, or by e-mail

at pino.mariaepa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, whenever “we,” “us,” or

“our” is used, we mean EPA.

I. Background

On October 31, 2005, the State of Maryland submitted a formal revision to its SIP. The SIP

revision consists of establishment of a new standard for CO emissions from BOFs at steel mills.

This SIP revision replaces the current SIP requirements for the control of CO emissions from

BOFs, which Maryland had previously withdrawn from the Code of Maryland Administrative

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Regulations (COMAR). However, those requirements were not withdrawn from Maryland’s SIP.

CO is generated in large quantities in BOFs at steel mills. BOFs contain hot metal from the blast

furnace and scrap metal which is heated with oxygen to produce molten metal. The molten metal

is ultimately cast into steel slabs. The BOFs are equipped with a gas collection system or hoods

that exhaust the gases into a water scrubber system that is used primarily for control of

particulate matter.

II. Summary of SIP Revision

This SIP revision establishes a new CO standard for BOFs at steel mills by adding new

regulation COMAR 26.11.10.05-ito the Maryland SIP. This new regulation requires affected

sources to demonstrate that the CO concentration in its gas stream does not exceed 1 percent by

volume and to demonstrate compliance by conducting an initial stack test and additional stack

tests every 2.5 years. COMAR 26.11.10.05-1 replaces the CO emission requirements currently

in the Maryland SIP, COMAR 26.1 l.10.06[2].

COMAR26. 11.10.06 [2] required a person who operated ablast furnace, grey iron cupola or. BOF

to burn the gas with excess oxygen at not less than 1300°F for at least 0.3 seconds in a direct

flame afterburner. In addition, COMAR 26.11 .10.06[2] allowed an equivalent control method

which reduces the concentration of CO in the effluent to 1.0 percent by volume or less.

Maryland withdrew that regulation because: (1) blast furnace gas is not controlled but is used as

fuel in on site fuel burning equipment; (2) there are no grey iron cupolas located at steel mills and

cupolas not located at steel mills are subject to the CO emissions requirements in COMAR

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26.11.06 and (3) CO emissions from BOFs are not controlled in that manner. When the furnaces

are operating, the flames extend into the hood and incinerate the CO before it is exhausted

through the scrubbers.

The 1 percent by volume CO emissions limit in the new regulation, COMAR 26.11.10.05-1, is

equivalent to the limit allowed by COMAR 26.11.1 0.06[2]. In addition, replacing COMAR

26.1 1.10.06[2] with COMAR 26.11.10.05-1 strengthens the Maryland SIP by clarifying the

standard for CO emissions from BOFs and removing extraneous requirements. Therefore, EPA

is approving COMAR 26.11.10.05-1 in the Maryland SIP, and removing COMAR

26.11.lO.06[2].

III. Final Action

EPA is approving Maryland’s SIP Revision #05-08, which revises the Maryland SIP by adding a

new regulation, COMAR 26.11.10.05-1. This new regulation establishes standards for CO

emissions from BOFs at steel mills in Maryland. EPA is approving this revision to the Maryland

SIP in accordance with the requirements of the CAA. EPA is also removing the existing

requirements for the control of CO emissions from BOFs, COMAR 26.11 .10.06[2], from the

Maryland SIP. COMAR 26.11.10.05-1 replaces COMAR 26.11.1 0.06[2] and requires an

equivalent level of control.

EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a

noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no adverse comment. However, in the “Proposed

Rules” section of today’s Federal Register, EPA is publishing a separate document that will serve

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as the proposal to approve the SIP revision if adverse comments are filed. This rule will be

effective on [Insert date 60 days from date of publication in the Federal Register] without further

•notice unless EPA receives adverse comment by [Insert date 30 days from date of publication in

the Federal Register]. If EPA receives adverse comment, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal

in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take effect. EPA will address

all public comments in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule; EPA will not institute

a second cormnent period on this action.. Any parties interested in commenting must do so at this

time.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General Requirements

Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP submission that

complies with the provisions ofthe Act and applicable Federal regulations 42 US.C. 74 10(k);

40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, EPA’s role is to approve state choices,

provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. Accordingly, this action merely

approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and does not impose additional requirements

beyondthose--imposed-bystate1aw.- For that-reason, this-action:

o is not a ‘significant regulatory action” subject to review by the Office of Management and

Budget under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);

o. does not impose an information collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork

Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);

o is certified as not having a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small

entities underthe Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);

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e does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or uniquely affect small

governments, as described in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law

104-4);

o does not have Federalism implications as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR

43255, August 10, 1999);

o is not an economically significant, regulatory action based on health or safety risks subject

to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997);

o is not a significant regulatory action subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355,

May22, 2001);

o is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and

Advancement.Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because application of those

requirements would be inconsistent with the Clean Air Act; and

• does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to address, as. appropriate,

disproportionate human health or environmental effects, using practicable and legally

permissible methods, under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).

Iifaddition, thig rule does’ not have triba1 implications as‘specified byE’xecutive Order 13 1’75’(65

FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because the SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country

located in the state, and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct costs on tribal

governments or preempt ‘tribal law.

B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General

The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the Small Business Regulatory

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Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally provides that before a rule may take effect, the

agency promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy ofthe rule, to

each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller Generalofthe United States. EPA will

submit a report containing this action and other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S.

House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General ofthe United States prior to publication

of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot take effect until 60 days after it is

published in the Federal Register. This action is not a “major rule” as defined by 5 U.S.C.

804(2).

C. Petitions for Judicial Review

Under section 307(b)(1) ofthe Clean Air Act, petitions for judicial review Of this action must be

filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by [Insert date 60 days from

date of publication ofthis document in the Federal Register]. Filing a petition for

reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect the finality ofthis action for

the purposes ofjudicial review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial

review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or action. Parties with

-objections- to-this- direct—final-rule are encouraged -to filea:comment inresponseto. the-parallel.

notice of proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules section oftoday’s

Federal Register, rather than file an immediate petition for judicial review ofthis direct final rule,

sthat EPA can withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed

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rulemaking. This action, which replaces existing requirements for the control of CO emissions

from BOFs at steel mills in Maryland with a new, equivalent standard for CO emissions from

steel mill BOFs, may not be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See

section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,

W.(

Regiom

JAt42ZZO1U

Dated: __Shawn M. Garvin,

Regional Adminh

Region III.

by reference.

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40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52- [AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Subpart V — Maryland

2. In §52.1070, the table in paragraph (c) is amended by removing the entry for COMAR

26.1 1.10.06[2] and by adding new COMAR 26.11.10.05-ito read as follows:

52.i070 Identification of plan.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

EPA-APPROVED REGULATIONS N THE MARYLAND SIP

Code of Maryland Title/subject State EPA approval AdditiOnal Administrative effective •date explanation! Regulations date citation at 40 (COMAR) citation CFR 52.1100

* * * * * * *

26.11.10 Control of Iron and Steel Production Installations

* * * * * * *

26.11.10.05-1 Control of Carbon 9/12/05 [Insert Federal Monoxide Register Emissions from publication date] Basic Oxygen [Insert page Furnaces number where the

document begins]

* * * * * * *

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